NEW TEAM MEMBER: Andrea Hillbrick

KBR welcomes new team member, Andrew Hillbrick! What better way to get to know Andrea than with our infamous 12 Curly Questions.

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
My grandma left me a treasured collection of over 100 salt and pepper shakers. Each has a unique character.

2. What is your nickname?
My nickname when I was young was – Andy Bear. I am very fortunate that it is now shortened to Andy.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Quokkas…. after a comical incident on Rottnest Island. I adore them from afar.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
I identify questions to investigate and share practical, thoughtful ideas.

Review: One Word and a Bird

Have you ever gone searching for a word?

A big word. An important word. A word like gargantuan, auspicious, or magnanimous?

While those words are impressive, sometimes the words you are looking for are simple. Love. Family. Home. 

Stephen Michael King’s glorious picture book One Word and a Bird follows a young boy as he searches the world for a word that will lift him up, make him feel important, and comfort him. 

Review: Inclusion: Handbooks for Little Humans

Inclusion is the second book, in the Handbooks for Little Humans series. It opens again with A Note to Big Humans.

What does inclusion mean? It is when children listen and learn from others who open windows and doors to their lives. Then, knowing more, invite outsiders into their circle and make them feel wanted - regardless of their differences - for there are those who may be afraid or shy and believe they don’t or won’t fit into an existing group of friends.

In Inclusion, there are many examples of what differences there are everywhere, in everything and everyone; how each person is individual – special, someone who has something to offer others.

NEW TEAM MEMBER: Nicola McGeown

KBR welcomes new team member, Nicola McGeown! What better way to get to know Nicola than with our infamous 12 Curly Questions.

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you. I was born in Alice Springs!

2. What is your nickname? Nic or Nicoletta.

3. What is your greatest fear? I am not good with cold climates, so being bitterly freezing cold and not being able to get warm.

 

Sunday Shelfie - The Flower Garden

Happy #sundayshelfie day! It is my pleasure to welcome Claire Saxby and Lucia Masciullo. 
This week we are celebrating their special new picture book The Flower Garden - A Changi Secret.

A gorgeously illustrated historical picture book about the women and children of the Changi POW camp.

I have a secret – we have a secret –
in this place where secrets are not allowed.

The children in the Changi camp are working on a surprise for Mrs Ennis' birthday. They scavenge for scraps of fabric in every colour, and hide in cornered shadows to stitch flowers. But they must keep their surprise a secret, not just from Mrs Ennis, but from their black-booted captors …

Written by Claire Saxby
Illustrated by Lucinda Masciullo 
Published by Walker Books Australia 

Visit Picture Book Book Club @picturebookbc on Instagram.

Review: Potion Commotion

We’ve all been there … a pot of soup boiling over, a red sock turning the whole wash pink, a fizzy volcano experiment exploding everywhere. It’s annoying. And messy. But could you call it a commotion?

Nell the witch and her dragon are making a potion. Nell chants the spell. Her dragon stirs the pot. A bubble grows … and grows … and grows, capturing everything around it.

Review: Feathers of Farwood and the Gripps Curse

Eva Feather has moved with her mother and two sisters to the little town of Farwood – a town like many other little country places in Australia but with many secrets. Eva’s secret is that her father has been infected by the Gripps, a mysterious condition affecting many, which causes a person to transform into an animal – in the instance of her dad, an owl.

Eva is already sprouting some feathers. She is desperate to rescue her father from being permanently trapped in owl form as well as to stop her own transformation. To add to the drama, there are the Hunters who roam looking for those who are Gripps-affected and effectively isolating them and banishing them.

Eva loves their new little weird and quirky house and she also likes Farwood very much but she is pretty much an outsider and friendless until she meets new boy, Harvey. Harvey also has secrets but he quickly becomes her staunchest ally and her partner in her mission to find the mysterious and long-hidden book that will reveal answers to help not only the girl and her family but all those who are in the grip of the Gripps.

Review: Clyde the Greyhound

Have you ever spotted a greyhound looking like a fashionista? If this intrigues you, this story is for you!

Meet Clyde, a tall and elegant greyhound who finds himself in a new chapter of life. Like many retired racing dogs, Clyde is learning what it means to be part of a loving home. Everything is new – soft beds, kind humans and the routines of everyday life.

NEW TEAM MEMBER: Tiarna Georghiou

KBR welcomes new team member, Tiarna Georghiou! What better way to get to know Tiarna than with our infamous 12 Curly Questions.

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I am a very open book, so this is a hard question! But a fun fact is that I am also a singer.

2. What is your nickname?
I don’t really have one, but some people call me T.

3. What is your greatest fear?
I am absolutely TERRIFIED of spiders. I have been bitten numerous times, and am paralysed with fear if one comes near me!

Review: Her Hidden Fire

Éadha, a servant girl, would do anything for her best friend, Ionain. The future of Ailms Keep relies on Ionain and whether or not he has the ability to channel power. So, when Éadha discovers that she possesses the gift to channel magic - but Ionain doesn’t - she hides her gift and allows everyone to believe the power is his.

In a world where the nobility control the narrative, and the lower class are just pawns, Éadha must learn to hide and control her forbidden magic or there will be devastating consequences.

When the pair are sent away to an island to train among the elite and learn how to wield their power, Éadha begins to question the world she has been thrown into. She soon realises that the magic the kingdom values so highly comes with a far darker and deadly cost than anyone is willing to admit.

Review: Claris and the Easter Delight

Adorable Claris is back as the flowers bloom in Paris and the joy of Easter is at hand. When Megan Hess expanded her repertoire of fashion, art and design to include little Claris, it was a genius stroke.

Nearly a dozen titles later and this tiny fashionista has charmed her way into the hearts of little girls in legion. There is no doubt that the prettiness of these books, combined with the always good fun rhyming stories, have been a sure-fire winner with the little ones aged around 4 upwards.

Sunday Shelfie - The Boy Who Lost His Laugh

Happy #sundayshelfie day! It is my pleasure to welcome Dimity Powell and Heidi Cooper Smith. This week we are celebrating their wonderful new picture book The Boy Who Lost His Laugh.

Tim is always losing things when he travels — he is a foster child, and often moves from one family to the next. One day he realizes he has lost something very precious: his laugh. Then he moves in with the Lee family, and some news arrives that might just help Tim find his laugh again. 

The Boy Who Lost His Laugh takes a sensitive look at foster care from the child’s perspective, and shows how humour and love can help you bounce back and find what you’ve been looking for all along.

Written by Dimity Powell
Illustrated by Heidi Cooper Smith
Published by EK books 

Visit Picture Book Book Club @picturebookbc on Instagram.

Review: Easter Cuddle

Two talented creators team up again for this Easter book which will delight tiny readers, and would make a superb gift for a newly arrived little human. The Easter Bunny at our house always delivered a new book as well as chocolate, so if that’s also a tradition for you, this is a perfect choice.

In the same style as their previous two titles in this ‘series’ Mummy Cuddle and Daddy Cuddle, the story line is simple, the text is sweet and the short sentences are exactly right for those tiny ears you want to nibble gently.

Review: Bush Turkey Easter Hunt

Bush Turkey is back! 

The scene for Bush Turkey Easter Hunt it set with a reminder that bush turkeys like to create big, messy nests.

It’s while Bush Turkey is making a nest that he discovers a gold egg. This must be something special because it’s gold and shiny. 

As he explores further afield Bush Turkey finds more and more eggs, in a range of colours, but all shiny.

Unfortunately, the humans are not happy with Bush Turkey scratching around. Not only is he causing a mess, he’s unaware that he’s wrecking the Easter egg hunt.

Review: Banjo the Hot Cross Bun

Just when is the right time for hot cross buns to appear on the shelves? 

Is Boxing Day too early? 

Banjo the Hot Cross Bun certainly arrives in store on Boxing Day, and it causes something of a stir. 

Even Banjo is outraged. He feels it’s way too early to be on sale. Hot cross buns are for Easter! 

Banjo throws a tantrum and causes chaos in the bakery. 

Through the fruit and vegetables, chocolates and lollies, Banjo is intent on making a mess.

Meet the Illustrator: Meredith Downes

Name: Meredith Downes

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less:
Digital three-dimensional painting, with a focus on narrative in nature.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Sketchbook and pencils for early drawings and storyboarding, laptop and pen display for illustration, a solid block of time.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I definitely prefer working digitally. I experiment a lot on the 'page' and would go through too much paper if I tried to do the same thing in pencil or using some other physical medium. I also love the freedom and flexibility of instantly changing what I am doing and how I am doing it.