'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Valentine's Day Special: Books to Fall in Love With


Have you ever, seriously and truly, fallen head over heels in love with the book? We at KBR frequently have this experience - so much so, we were compelled to ask some well-known literary faces for their secret children's book crushes.

In support of the National Year of Reading, here are the books making hearts aflutter all over the country . . .


Jackie French, author  
Nation by Terry Pratchett  
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay  
Karalta by Mary Grant Bruce

Graeme Base, author/illustrator
The Favershams by Roy Gerrard
Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Tuesday by David Wiesner

Anh Doh, Author and Comedian
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith
Dumb Bunnies Easter by Dave Pilkey

Goldie Alexander, author
There’s a Hippopotamus on My Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards
Animalia by Graeme Base
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy

Sarah Davis, Illustrator
The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Worst Band in the Universe by Graeme Base

Michael Wagner, Author
All Join In by Quentin Blake
The Big Honey Hunt by Stan and Jan Berenstain
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Sophie Masson, Author
The Stone Cage by Nicholas Stuart Gray (as a child)
Michel Strogoff by Jules Verne (as a teen)
The Song of Wirrun trilogy by Patricia Wrightson (as an adult)

Ursula Dubosarsky, Author
An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
The Chicken Thief by Béatrice Rodriguez

Andy Griffiths, Author
How to be Topp by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Margaret Clark, Author
Little Women by Louisa Alcott
Pete the Sheep by Jackie French
Love Hearts by Margaret Clark

Gabrielle Wang, Author
The Little Green Road to Fairyland by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
Where the Wild Things Are by Marice Sendak
The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Margaret Wild, Author
Suddenly in the Depths of the Forest by Amos Oz
The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Anthony Hill, Author
The Collected Poems of Christopher Robin by AA Milne
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner

Nick Earls, Author
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss
What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner

Katrina Germein, Author
The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde, Michael Foreman & Freire Wright
Koala Lou by Mem Fox and Pamela Lofts
Amy and Louis by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood

David Mackintosh, Author/Illustrator
Grimble by Clement Freud
Eric by Shaun Tan
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin

Di Bates, Author
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
The War of Jenkins' Ear by Michael Morpurgo
Where the Lilies Bloom by Bill and Vera Cleaver

Peter Carnavas, Author/Illustrator
Amy and Louis by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood
Penguin by Polly Dunbar
The Flying Orchestra by Clare McFadden

 
Sean Williams, Author
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

 
Deenie by Judy Blume
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Harry Potter series JK Rowling

Margaret Hamilton, Publisher
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Grug by Ted Prior

Deborah Abela, Author
The Lorax by Dr Seuss
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
The Shadow Girl by John Larkin

Katherine Battersby, Author/Illustrator
A Small, Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate diCamillo
The Red Tree by Shaun Tan

George Ivanoff, Author
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Marianne Musgrove, Author
The Ramona books by Beverley Cleary
The Tomorrow series by John Marsden
Anne of Green Gables
by LM Montgomery

Tristan Bancks, Author
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Rosanne Hawke, Author
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard
Where Does Thursday Go? by Janeen Brian

Meredith Costain, Author
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
A Book for Kids by C J Dennis
Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks
 

Anita Heiss, Author & Social Commentator
Once There Was a Boy by Dub Leffler
Papunya School Book of Country and History by Papunya School
New York New York by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Frané Lessac

Janeen Brian, Author
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo  
The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson

Frané Lessac, Author/Illustrator
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks
Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga’g 

Chris Morphew, Author
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 
How To Be A Baby by Sally Lloyd-Jones
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Adam Wallace, Author
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr Seuss
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
 
Chris Cheng, Author
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Biggles Books/A Christmas Carol/Huck Finn by Capt. W.E. Johns, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain 

Wendy Orr, Author
John Brown, Rose, and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper  
Ark in the Park by Wendy Orr

Sally Murphy, Author
Ca-a-r Ca-a-a-a-r by Geoff Havel & Peter Kendall
The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard 
Jinx by Margaret Wild

Sandy Fussell, Author
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Angela Hall, Literary Aficionado
Samuel's Kisses by Karen Collum
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam by Juliette MacIver

Robyn Opie Parnell, Author & Screenwriter
The Tiny Tawny Kitten by Barbara Shook Hazen 
The Mystery of the Hidden House by Enid Blyton
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Susan Whelan, Writer & KBR Reviewer 
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr Seuss (with Jack Prelutsky & Lane Smith) 
My Place by Nadia Wheatley 
Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Kelly Morton, Publishing Marketing & KBR Reviewer 
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
The Babysitters Club/Sweet Valley High series by Ann M. Martin/Francine Pascal

Tania McCartney, Author & KBR Founder
Leaf by Stephen Michael King
Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 

Does this not make you want to explore new (and old!) books? We hope these titles have inspired you to revisit old classics or even seek out a title you may be unfamiliar with. Thanks to all the wonderful people who participated in our book-love session - I know it was very mean of us to ask you for only three titles, but what a treasure trove your choices are.

NYR12 has been officially launched! Fall in love with reading all over again by checking out the wonderful events the National Year of Reading has organised for 2012. Get involved, and spread the book-love word!