Review: Little Lunch: The School Gate

The Little Lunch books are a wickedly sparkling series for children (and their adults) to fall into with hilarity and glee. Cleverly chaotic words and messy, inky images with line-drawings all intermingle in the most perfect, unexpected and disgusting ways.

Back in the day when my young children inhaled each of the Little Lunch books with abandon, I was delighted, horrified, amused and repulsed in turn. And I’m happy to report, that I still am. These books are fabulous!

The School Gate begins with sad Manny, whose lunch box has fallen outside the school gate where no children are allowed to go during school time. What follows is the involvement of his entire class thinking up ingenious and ridiculous ways to retrieve it – which they eventually do. And they help him eat his amazingly diverse and delicious lunch, too.

Guest Post: Louis White on Writing About The Environment For Children

Today we welcome Louis White and his take on why educating our young people on the world in which they live is important.

One of my favourite memories as a child was to sneak off to my bedroom and read a book. This was not an easy task, as I grew up in a big family – one of nine children – and shared a bedroom with two brothers (first two younger brothers and then two older brothers) until I was 17.

Review: Go Home Cheeky Animals

In this second book by the award-winning team Johanna Bell and Dion Beasley , Go Home Cheeky Animals celebrates the diversity and indigenous culture of the Northern Territory.

The story centers on a family living in Canteen Creek in the Territory where there are cheeky dogs everywhere. 

Mum doesn’t like them and always shoos them away, but when her back is turned Grandpa continues to feed them until it gets out of hand.

Mayhem descends as feeding the dogs soon leads to a whole lot more cheeky animals arriving. 

Gangs of goats, droves of donkeys, herds of horses, bunches of buffalo, caravans of camels all arrive to eat, drink and cause chaos.

Review: The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor

Mystery. Ghosts. Time travel. The Riddle of Tanglewood Manor really does have it all.

Sam and Harry move with their parents from the city to a remote, dilapidated manor during the COVID-19 pandemic. The boys explore the labyrinth-like house. They find spooky portraits of long-dead people and secret rooms. 

In the dust-coated library, they discover a book in which a riddle appears and transports them back in time to 1919.

With chapter names like ‘The Horror’, ‘The Manor Attack’ and ‘Disappearing Doors’, Tracey Hawkins has created intrigue. The writing propels readers into each new scene. 

Hawkins has created a realistic brother relationship layered with both camaraderie and power shifts. 

12 Curly Questions with author Chanelle Gosper

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I can whistle using four different techniques – can you?

2. What is your nickname?
Good friends call me Chan, but my very closest people have special names for me that are like passwords between us. I can’t share them! Strangers misread my name as Chantelle so much that I almost accept it as another nickname (almost).

Winner: Emma's Freckles

Our lucky winner is... 

Kirsty Polujan, NSW

Congratulations!

You have won a signed copy of the newly released, Emma's Freckles by our very own former KBR reviewer, Sarah Wallace. 

Thank you to ALL who entered.

Review: The Wolves of Greycoat Hall: Boris in Switzerland

Boris in Switzerland, the second book in the Wolves of Greycoat Hall series, is full of imagination, humour, action, and clever language and visual elements. 

Boris is a wolf who lives with his mum, Leonora and dad, Randall in Greycoat Hall. There's also his horse, Vlad.

Boris is looking forward to seeing his friends, who have been away for the holidays, but is disappointed, and a little bit nervous, when he discovers he will have to live in Switzerland for a term.

Boris' great aunt has injured herself and needs help for a while, so Leonora and Randall will be looking after her while Boris attends a swanky boarding school called the Institute of International Excellence.

On the journey to Switzerland, Boris starts reading The Art of the Wolf, a book his dad is writing about a wolf artist. Though he doesn't know it yet, this will provide valuable information in solving a mystery that will soon start to unfold.

Review: Satin

Satin is one of those powerful, magical picture books that demands a re-read as soon as you reach the end. It calls you to go back and dive deeper into the story — to try to understand all its secrets.

It’s one of those stories I believe readers can find their own truth in — pull out meanings and ideas that others won’t necessarily find.

And the magic associated with this sends tingles down my spine.

Review: Little Lunch: The Monkey Bars

The Little Lunch books are a wickedly sparkling series for children (and their adults) to fall into with hilarity and glee. Cleverly chaotic words and messy, inky images with line-drawings all intermingle in the most perfect, unexpected and disgusting ways.

Melanie Applebum wants a turn on the monkey bars but Tamara Noodle is hogging them. Again. So the two have a face-off (or hang-off, actually). Both of them know that Tamara will win, but Melanie’s making a point. And that’s the point of this story. Melanie stands up to the mean power of the monkey bar queen and has a little win for herself in The Monkey Bars.  

In The Bench Beside The Bin, Manny’s massive sandwich causes a stir with his classmates, who investigate the contents with great curiosity plus communal disagreement about beetroot. It’s pretty funny and quite ooky at the same time.

Meet The Illustrator: Dalia Awad

Name: Dalia Awad

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
It’s colourful, whimsical, funny and I like to draw emotional illustrations.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My Wacom Cintiq is essential at my home studio, and my iPad for mobility as it gives me the ability to work anywhere.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
If you asked me this question 4 years ago I would have said it was gouache and watercolour because they have been my favourite mediums for years but now I prefer to draw digitally-free hand using Wacom tablet and my favourite program is clip studio paint.

Guest Post: Sarah Wallace on Writing Emma's Freckles

I have always loved mythology, so it is no surprise that I incorporate it into my writing. I feel a particular connection with Irish and Scottish mythology due to my family heritage, and the Gaelic myth about how people got their freckles inspired my picture book, Emma’s Freckles.

It is such a magical myth, telling how the gods were worried people would forget the stars (due to the constant cloud and mist!) so they made maps of the stars on people’s faces. I just love the idea that when all the freckled people come together they make a map of the universe!

12 Curly Questions with author Barbie Robinson

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I hate walking into a room full of people.

2. What is your nickname?
I’m just always called Barbie or Barb (or Mum or Grandma).

3. What is your greatest fear?
I have bundles of them but probably loss of loved ones is the greatest.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Accessible but with a deep respect for rich English vocabulary.

Review: It's Time All Possums Went To Bed

It’s taken me almost as long to write this review as it has taken Miss Milly to finally get into bed. 

Like all good picture book odes to the often-unwelcome shenanigans associated with bedtime, this version by Queensland author, Jacqui Halpin and UK illustrator, Gavin Scott takes a familiar ordinary every day struggle and turns it into a sweet game of patience and creativity between mother and child.

It's bedtime and Milly is hosting a late-night tea party with her assortment of Aussie bush mates. As head of entertainment, Mum concedes to a few more moments of play but insists it’s bedtime afterwards. Milly assumes the personality of a possum allowing herself to be fed grapes and juicy pears. But when Mum announces that it’s time all possums went to bed, Milly counters with the proclamation that she is now a bilby.

Giveaway: Emma's Freckles

This month we are thrilled to be giving away a signed copy of Emma’s Freckles by Sarah Wallace, illustrated by Lesley McGee, Little Pink Dog Books. 

Inspired by mythology and full of freckles, this magical story of self-acceptance will capture children’s hearts with twinkling stars, a shimmering island and wonderful tale of connection to the stories of ancestors.

This gorgeous picture book tells a story of an island with mist that dances off the ocean, glimmering stars that speak to you from faraway places, and freckles that are more special than you could ever imagine. A beautiful story with stunning illustrations that will enchant children with the wonder of nature and the night sky.

To discover more about the genesis behind this endearing tale, read Sarah's Guest Post on writing Emma this Wednesday 22 March. Read KBR's Sarah Steed's inspiring review of Emma's Freckles for more insight on this marvellous tale.

For the chance to win this a signed copy of this beautiful picture book releasing this month, tell us in 25 words or less what your favourite myth is and why.

Review: Little Lunch: The Bubblers

The Little Lunch books are a wickedly sparkling series for children (and their adults) to fall into with hilarity and glee. Cleverly chaotic words and messy, inky images with line-drawings all intermingle in the most perfect, unexpected and disgusting ways.

At Little Lunch we ate a BAD birthday pavlova, Atticus lost his glasses and we had a Disgusting Joke Competition beside the bubblers.

There’s an art to writing and illustrating like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. Danny Katz and Mitch Vane are super impressive on this front! These books are so instantly engaging and compelling that you don’t even think about what went into creating them. Except when you do.

Mrs Gonsha has made a birthday cake for twins Max and Elsa. It’s a pavlova. 

Guest Post: Reading Can Be Fun!

For most of us, reading is pure joy. Something to be savoured and relished in huge amounts. But not always. 

Today Tam Tran from Moody Two Shoes, offers some simple tips and hacks to enhance your reading pleasure and release the bookworm within.

Review: Emma's Freckles

Emma's Freckles shares a Gaelic myth I'd never heard of.

When we hear mythology stories, or talk of them, the ones mentioned most often are Greek and Roman. So it was great to read this book, a tale that weaves the modern world with mythology to create a rather ethereal story.

Emma’s grandma tells her about the land of her ancestors. Of its beauty and mist-filled nights. And of the stars and their importance. Although hidden by the mist, they’re not forgotten because the people of the land wear a reminder of the stars in the freckles on their faces.

Review: The Snow Laundry

In this dystopian world the administration controls absolutely everything and the population know not to challenge the status quo.

Besides it could be a lot worse – many of the country’s homeless are forced to work in the towers with no possibility or hope of escaping. But while their new home is a prison, they are fed and warm.

17-year-old Ally is just of those people enslaved in the towers. Working long hours in the laundry, each day the same, she is resigned to her fate. 

Though there are many people who still exist in the tunnels that are barely surviving, Ally believes she has the better situation; her vote was the price of safety.

Birthday celebrations are in full swing for the Towers Overseer when Ally’s boyfriend Bon goes missing. One minute he was laying beside her in bed, the next he is gone, only leaving behind drawings.

Review: Tales From The Bush Mob: The Cockatoo Wars

This brilliant, humorous story, the fourth in the Tales of the Bush Mob series, opens onto another daring adventure with a group of birds and their animal friends who live in Outback Australia. 

White Boss Cocky and Black Boss Cocky have been at odds with one another for a very long time. Their clans continue to fight about who is responsible for the protection of the ancient forests. There is no end in sight to the raucous they continue to cause.

A monumental fight occurs that causes two baby cockies to fall out of their nests. 

Due to the lack of feathers on the baby birds, their mothers are unable to tell them apart. They decide to move to the edge of the forest and raise them together as brothers. 

Review: My Marvellous Mum

Jonathan Bentley has a wonderful catalogue of more than fifty books for children, and My Marvellous Mum is another fabulous addition.

My Marvellous Mum sets out to list all the ways Mum is special, and it does so alphabetically, working through the letters of the adjective in the book's title: marvellous. 

Animal characters depict mother and child pairs in various situations.

Guest Post: Marc Fink on The Value of Interactive Fiction

‘Tell me a story about me and Poe Poe going for a walk and seeing a trash truck and then a wolf gets eaten by a shark!’

Every night, I get requests like this (future blog post coming about the value of oral story-telling), and I always hesitate ... my mind panicking as I try to think of any possible way to tie all of these elements together. 

‘Oooooooonce upon a time, Mikayla, Poe Poe, and Daddy went for a walk. It was a beautiful day ...’ I begin slowly, but even as I tell the story, I am trying to plan ahead to make it as fun as possible. And at some point, I will say, 'Do you run into the water to escape the wolf, or do you try to climb a tree...?' 

Review: Mama's Chickens

Mama is mother to two adorable kidlets and a backyard of curiously cute chooks – Aussie slang for chicken.

At first, she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to take on such a strange new glossary of feathers and fuss, but once the hens arrived, she changed her mind.

And this is really the crux of this comforting tale; the fact that mama’s mind is slowly but surely changing. Mama is suffering from early onset dementia, a condition mistakenly attributed to the elderly, but debilitating to any aged person. 

Mama’s ability to reason and remember, rationalise and recognise is diminishing but as her family and brood of chooks is about to discover, her love remains steadfast and strong.

Meet The Illustrator: Yulia Gorkina

Name: Yulia Gorkina (aka Yulken)

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
I think of it as naive, joyful, bright, and a bit messy.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
I’d say mobility is pretty important for me (being a mom of two boys, I sometimes have to work in a cafe while waiting for them from their hobbies). I worked hard to move more to digital tools. So If we talk about tools, it would be my iPad. And if I think about other items, it would be my books. And a cup of coffee :)

Review: Mini & Milo: The Teeny-Tiny Voice

The Teeny-Tiny Voice is the first in a brilliant new series for children about emotional and social intelligence. It features Mini, an elephant, and Milo, who is a rabbit.  

Mini has a voice in her head, a teeny-tiny voice that encourages her to do some things and not do others. 

Sometimes Mini responds and makes a mess, or won't eat her vegetables, or simply gets distracted. 

Other times, Mini gets upset because the voice tells her she's not good enough at something, or that nobody likes her.

12 Curly Questions with author Rebecca Fraser

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I don’t have a middle name.

2. What is your nickname?
Beck

Review: Phoenix and Ralph

'...First, the fires came rampaging up the valley, taking everything in their path.

Those of us who were here that summer got ready to run...'

And there is the opening to this harrowing yet hopeful picture book.

Goosebumps? I thought so. Prepare for more.

Canberran icon, Barbie Robinson, is an arts journalist, writer, book designer, photographer and arts advocate, whose support for locals and the wider community is legendary. In her new book, Phoenix and Ralph, she utilises her every artistic skill to bring us a fiery tale based on true life events.

Review: Duckling Runs Away

When Duckling gets mad at her mama, she decides to run away. 

She passes all her farmyard friends, who all invite her to play. But Duckling is on a mission and won’t be distracted. 

She’s running away forever and ever, and nothing will change her mind.

Until…

Junior Review: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

This touching book is about Julia Reyes, a 15 year old teenager who lost her sister, Olga, and is forced to deal with all the struggles that growing up in an immigrant household would bring, like high expectations, stereotypes, all while trying to navigate being a teenager. 

I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter handles sensitive topics like depression, grief.

The book starts off with Olga, getting violently killed in a bus accident. Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter who went to church, attended college, listened to her parents, and would never bring shame to the family. 

Julia is far from perfect, and she matches the standards of the rebellious younger daughter.

Review: The Comedienne's Guide To Pride

Sydney based author Hayli Thomson delivers a topical but relatable debut novel about being true to yourself.

Dilemma – on one hand the opportunity of a lifetime, but to accept it will mean telling everyone who you really are?

Taylor Parker has always wanted to be a comedian. So when Taylor is accepted as a finalist for a diverse writers’ internship at Saturday Night Live – she is equal parts excited and anxious. The opportunity will turn her world upside down.

To win, Taylor will need to come out about both her secrets – she wants to be a comedian and also a lesbian.

On top of that Taylor has a crush on Salem’s most bewitching actress – out and proud classmate Charlotte Grey.

Review: Queenie in Seven Moves

Twelve-year-old Queenie is finishing Year Six when her much-loved home Peachy gets sold. With little notice, she and her mum Clare must find another rental property.

With the overwhelming demand for housing during the Covid lockdown, this is an impossibility. They find themselves temporarily in a spare flat at the Diamond Sands Seniors Village where Clare works.

The ghostly air of the last tenant is pushed to the back of Queenie’s mind when she discovers the elderly residents are interesting, lively, and with needs and longings like those of younger people.

The roll of music manager allows Queenie to use her considerable music skills and boosts her depleted confidence when performing in public. Craft sessions and cooking lessons fill her days.