Review: Harris the Hero

Harris the puffin is lonely. All of the other seabirds seem to have friends, just not him. So to cheer himself up, he decides to set off on an adventure, but it's not long before he hears a cry for help — a baby seal has become lost and doesn't know how to get back to his island home. It's Harris to the rescue!

Harris flies low over the water, guiding the baby seal home. But the ocean is stormy and the little seal struggles in the big waves.

Review: The Princess and the Peas

Peas? Lily-Rose May is not a fan. No matter how hard her divinely-dedicated father tries, she can't bear a bite. Pea smoothies, cupcakes, cookies - nothing works. Young Lily-Rose just breaks out in spots and feels awfully poorly.

The doctor is called in. It's serious. And there's no cure. To push his point home, he pulls out a storybook about a young princess who was so allergic to peas, a single green orb under a tower of mattresses still managed to bruise her black and blue.

Review: The Littlest Bushranger

How lovely to see a celebration of Australian childhood in this adorable story about a kid with a very big imagination.

Jack sees his big sister off to school. He's too little for school but he's not too little to go on adventures. Using his sister's telescope, he spies over the backyard fence when suddenly a shadow swoops down from above, snatching the telescope from his hands.

An outlaw!

Blog Tour: The Creation of a Picture Book - The Littlest Bushranger

Kids' Book Review is delighted to welcome author Alison Reynolds, who is stopping by as part of the blog tour for her latest picture book, The Littlest Bushranger. Read on for Alison's explanation of the process of creating her wonderful new book and make sure you check out the giveaway details at the end of the post - there are some great prizes on offer!

The Littlest Bushranger arose from the publisher asking me to create a picture book about a bushranger.

I suspect that the publisher expected a very different book with a stereotypical bushranger robbing stage coaches and hiding out from the police.

Instead, I submitted a book that is very much from the viewpoint of the child. It’s set solely in Jack’s backyard, which transforms through the use of his imagination into a rainforest, desert and billabong. I sought to recapture the sense of your backyard being your entire world when you’re little. I wanted to empower Jack to be his own hero in his own world.

Review: That Boy, Jack

As I read this book, I really worried for That Boy, Jack. I was so concerned about what would happen to him, I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

This evocative book is the reason we read. To be entertained, to be worried, to be affected.

The story transports us to 1874, where we get to experience life in a mining town through the eyes of a normal boy. Just before his twelfth birthday, it is decided that Jack will work in the mines, like his father. The mines are terrifying and Jack is scared of going underground.

12 Curly Questions with author Janeen Brian

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you?

I stole a pencil sharpener from a local hardware shop when I was about seven.

2. What is your nickname?
It’s Neen, which I love for its sound, and the fact that it’s used by my family and oldest friends makes it special and endearing.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Of being unable to look after myself; of being dependent and possibly unable to create.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Picture-creating, emotional, poetic, concise, humorous, tapping into the child’s psyche.

KBR Unpublished Picture Book Manuscript Award 2013

If you entered this comp and have not yet received confirmation, that means we DID NOT RECEIVE your entry and you need to resend it to us ASAP. Please send to kbrawardATkids-bookreview.com and also taniaATkids-bookreview.com, just in case. Please don't wait to let us know - a shortlist is being announced Monday 24 June, so hurry!

Entries are now closed.

Thank you to everyone who entered. We are now busily reading, rating, scoring, devouring and enjoying your glorious work!

Stay tuned for a shortlist announcement on Monday 24 June. We will then announce our winners at 7pm AEST on Monday 1 July.

Good luck, everyone!

Review: Horribly Huge Book of Terrible Tudors (Horrible Histories)

The Tudors were a family who ruled England from 1485 to 1603 – five rulers (including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) over 118 years who significantly influenced England and Great Britain.

While dry historical facts and figures such as this might interest (some) adults, most children will quickly lose interest. That’s where Horrible Histories comes in – sharing all the interesting, gory, quirky, unusual and unbelievable facts from history to engage children in learning about the past. The Horribly Huge Book of Terrible Tudors is a combination of two books, Terrible Tudors (published 1993) and Terrifying Tudors (published 1998), guaranteed to convince children that learning about history is anything but boring.

WIN! Horrible Histories

2013 marks the 20th anniversary for the Horrible Histories series – yep, that’s 20 horrible years! With over 12 million copies in print across the series!!

To mark the anniversary Scholastic have newly released new junior editions, which have be revised by the author Terry Deary, to make Horrible Histories more accessible to younger readers (aged 7+).

Making it the perfect book series for children who like their history a little more gory.

The books are illustrated throughout with hilarious illustrations by Martin Brown.

In the past 20 years, Horrible Histories has developed from a series of books with all the interesting, quirky, unusual and gory facts that bring history alive for children into a popular website, television series and live stage performance.

The Horrible Histories – Awful Egyptians stage performance will be here in Australia during July, with performances at the Sydney Opera House from 2 – 14 July 2013 and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from 19 – 21 July 2013.

Thanks to the wonderfully generous people at Scholastic, we have 10 sets of four Horrible Histories junior edition book packs to giveaway. Each book pack will include a copy of the junior edition of Awful Egyptians, Measly Middle Ages, Rotten Romans and Terrifying Tudors. Each book pack is worth $59.95.

To win, just tell us, in 25 words or less, which historical period you think is the most interesting and why.

Type ‘Horrible Histories’ into the subject line and email your answer to peta@kids-bookreview.com. The most creative answers, as judged by KBR, will win. Be sure to include your full name and address - entries without will be ineligible.

Competition runs from 5am Monday 17 June 2013 to Sunday 23 June 2013, 9pm AEST, and the competition is open to residents of Australia, over the age of 18 (mum and dad can enter on behalf of kids). This is a game of skill, not chance. The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Review: Portraits of Celina

When applied to books, I don’t believe in the phrase ‘never judge a book by its cover’ because I think that a great cover can reveal as much about a book as a great blurb or a fantastic tag line. Portraits of Celina has a great cover and a fantastic tag line – “Make him pay, Bailey. Make him pay” - both setting the scene perfectly for the story within.

Bailey’s family is barely surviving her father’s unexpected death, when her Mum makes the unpopular decision to move to an old house in the country that belonged to relatives long passed. Once there, Bailey finds herself drawn to a chest of items that belonged to the girl who used to live in the house, but disappeared without a trace forty years ago.

Event: The Girl in the Basement Book Launch

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Review: The Reluctant Assassin (WARP #1)

When Riley, an orphan from the Victorian era, suddenly finds himself transported to the 21st Century, he can't even imagine the surprises in store. Not only does this kid find himself grappling with the stunning advances of modern life, he's thrown straight into an undercover world of high-tech mastery even 21st residents would struggle to comprehend.

But no matter - Riley is just thrilled to have escaped Garrick, his evil lord and master, who had been training Riley to kill the rich and the innocent, including the very man whose astonishing time machine drags Riley into the future.