12 Curly Questions with author Maree Coote

1. What's your hidden talent?

Cooking

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
Cruella de Vil of Hell Hall, from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith. Larger than life, stylishly evil, perverse, entitled, greedy, vain and shameless, Cruella is also graphically arresting — with hair half black and half white. She’s also a woman, and it’s time for more women villains.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Tom Stoppard, Lewis Carroll, Dr Seuss, Edward Lear, Germaine Greer.

Junior Review: Forest of Hearts

Forest of Hearts is an amazing romance fantasy novel for young adults. It has you biting your nails through each twist and turn of the story. 

MA Kuznair doesn't fail to impress as her words whirl around your head and create images of the story as if you were there! 

I loved this retelling of the classic Snow White story and everything in it. I read this book from start to finish without stopping, and then read it all over again! 

This is a fantastic novel, and I recommend it to readers ages 13+.

Title: Forest of Hearts
Author: MA Kuznair 
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, $
Publication Date: 28 October 2025 
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781398551916
For ages: 13+
Type: Young Adult

Review: Don't Let Them Leave

Sometimes a title alone is enough to draw you to a book. Pair that with a somewhat ominous cover showing a shadowy house in the middle of a stormy sea, an author who can get readers laughing in one book and quivering in the next and a killer logline, and you just can’t help but be hooked.

And that’s before you even read the prologue!

After their parents are killed in a car accident, Charlotte and her younger siblings, Jack and Emily, find themselves on a train to Cornwall – a place they’ve never been – to live with a grandmother they never knew they had.

Right from the start, there's something off about the solicitor, Mr Frankelweiss. And from that point on, nothing seems to add up.

Review: You'll Always Be My Baby

This is a glorious rhyming picture book based on a much-loved poem by best-selling author Jessica Urlichs and illustrated by Jedda Robaard.

Indeed, there has been great appetite for these words to be brought to life in a picture book – and now here we are!

A heart-tugging picture book celebrating the deep forever love of family.

With a deceptively simple and limited colour palette, You’ll Always Be My Baby is intricately beautiful. 

Gentle, whimsical and tender ideas unfold through the recurring theme – you’ll always be my baby, just heavier to hold – and are truly universal.

Review: Milly Meelyu

For years now we have seen children and schools becoming more actively interested in conservation and caring for the environment and wildlife. It's now well over 30 years since my first teaching gig with Year 5 when I created a literature-based unit of inquiry based on Fern Gully, we wrote a (published) letter to the editor of the Courier-Mail regarding the threatened destruction on Mt Warning and started an enthusiastic Environment Club.

But it is far more recently that we have begun to share and teach the cross-cultural perspectives of how our First Australians have always been custodians and caretakers of the land, water, plants and creatures.

Now we aim for this more inclusive approach to our conservation efforts and thus welcome any support for these endeavours including books such as this one. I'm not terribly familiar with wildlife of Western Australia beyond the most well-known and these meelyu - spiny-tailed skinks - were new to me entirely.

Review: Swearwolves

Do not let the title of this book turn you off straight away. Hear me out first because the subject matter is treated in an exceptionally mature way and, let’s be honest, those words are out there and being used by our children (but not by Steve Worland in this book).

Luna Wilkinson has not long started at her new school and she’s having trouble fitting in. Everyone has their friendship groups and little cliques and there doesn’t seem to be space for the new kid who is rapidly getting a reputation for being a bit weird.

As Luna sees it, her one chance to stand out – and fit in – lies in wowing the crowds at the upcoming audition for Bite Me – The Musical. Luna doesn’t just want to be given a part; she wants to be cast in the lead role. 

Sunday Shelfie - How to Get Rid of a Princess

Happy #sundayshelfie day! It is my pleasure to welcome the wonderful Alison McLennan and Mel Pearce. This week we are celebrating their delightful new picture book How to Get Rid of a Princess.

Princesses are stealthy, sneaky and sly. 

And once inside the castle walls, they are tricky to remove.

But not impossible…

A hilarious and relatable tale about a mischievous little sister and her frustrated older brother who is desperate to stop her joining in his game. All he has to do is follow the steps in this easy-to-use guide!

There's just one problem: the advice may not work in every castle, and princesses might not be as bad as he thinks ...

Written by Alison McLennan

Illustrated by Mel Pearce

Published by Hardie Grant Publishing

Visit Picture Book Book Club @picturebookbc on Instagram

Review: Letters to the Lost

“We're all united by grief, and somehow divided by the same thing.”

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer is one of my favourite books of all time, and is the first book that springs to mind whenever anyone asks for a recommendation. The story follows Juliet who has always written letters to her mother, and has continued to do so since her tragic death. She leaves letters at her grave as her way of coping - until one day, when she receives a response. 

When Declan, a troubled teen doing community service at the local cemetery finds a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist the urge to write back. They quickly find themselves opening up to a complete stranger and form a strong, beautiful connection. Their letters start to help each other navigate their grief, loneliness, family pressures, and the guilt that continue to shape their lives. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers and when real life starts to interfere they discover truths that might tear them apart.

Review: Sharks Up Close

Did you know the word ‘shark’ is thought to have come from the Dutch word for ‘villain’ or ‘scoundrel’? Hearing about shark attacks off different parts of our coastline this definition matches what many believe.

But sharks are central for the health of our marine ecosystem and are becoming endangered through human behaviours and climatic change.

Sharks Up Close provides a balance between the non-fiction text and visually rich photographs to stimulate interest in these much maligned animals and highlights the role they play in ocean life. 

Review: A Farm by the Sea

Would you rather live on a farm or by the sea? 

In A Farm by the Sea, Jillian Packer uses simple lyrical text and exquisite illustrations to reveal life on a farm and by the sea.

The story is narrated by the youngest member of the family, and we experience life through her daily rhythms. 

The day begins with the farm chores and saying ‘Good Morning’ to all the animals. 

Review: My Super Uncle

A striking cover and dazzling end papers promote the joy that fills this gorgeous picture book that speaks of love in its many forms.

Imaginative rhyming text accompanies vibrant colour illustrations which spill over every page, always focusing on the two characters - the girl and her super interesting uncle, with backgrounds of family scenes and the natural world.

Book Lists: Top 5 YA Dystopian Fiction

Many teenagers gravitate toward dystopian fiction because it helps them unpack real-life issues through the safety of an imagined world. Here are my Top 5 YA dystopian fiction novels:

Review: Start with a Teapot: An Unexpected Guide to the Art of Drawing

Start with a Teapot: An Unexpected Guide to the Art of Drawing by Enric Lax is just that, unexpected.

Presented in a lovely hardcover format, Start with a Teapot is an instructional guide with a difference. 

It encourages artists young and old to take one object and turn it into something quite different.

The first example starts with a teapot and shows how it can become an elephant. 

It’s as simple (!) as adding eyes and tusks, and that’s the head. Then add a body, legs and tail.

This is a building blocks method, using different shapes. 

Sunday Shelfie - My Love is Bigger Than the Sky

Happy #sundayshelfie day! It is my pleasure to welcome the wonderful Anna Pignataro. This week we are celebrating her beautiful new picture book My Love is Bigger Than the Sky.

In the brambly forest Oli asked, ‘Mummy, how much do you love me?’ ‘More than the whole world and everything in it,’ said Mummy.

From best-selling author and illustrator, Anna Pignataro, comes a tender-hearted story about infinite love.

Written and illustrated by Anna Pignataro
Published by Scholastic Australia 

Visit Picture Book Book Club @picturebookbc on Instagram

NEW TEAM MEMBER: Louise Brooks

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

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I attended 6 schools - one ‘suggested’ I leave (through no fault of my own).

2. What is your nickname?
Flo - given to me by my brother.

Review: The Girl and the Ghost #3: Grand Opening

The Girl In the Ghost: Grand Opening is the delightful third book in the Girl in the Ghost series by Jacqueline Harvey. The story follows Josephine (Jet) as her family prepares for the long-awaited opening of their chateau-turned-hotel in France. However, the grand opening soon takes an unexpected turn. A series of mysterious events threaten to derail the grand opening, leading Jet to suspect that these incidents are not simple accidents, but acts of deliberate sabotage.

Before everything is turned to chaos, Jet must figure out who is behind the sabotage - all the while navigating her budding romance with Gabriel and protecting her precious locket (also home to her ghost companion Louis). As tensions rise, Jet begins to fear that her old enemy, Anastasia, may be behind it all.

With the help of her ghostly best friend Louis and her furry companions Daisy and Tiger, she must solve the mystery before the everything falls apart.