Review: Those Girls

Pamela Rushby’s latest book, Those Girls, brings into the limelight the lives of extraordinary women in the Australian Women’s Land Army, and their valuable contribution during the war. 

The story focuses on the lives of the three leading characters – Aileen, Glad and Hilly.

The story begins in 1942. Sixteen-year-old Hilly, with her parents’ permission, and accompanied by her friend Liz, enlist in the Land Army. 

Within a week they are harvesting potatoes on a farm, a task deemed impossible by Liz, who abandons the idea and leaves the first day.

Hilly encounters other girls that are part of a larger enlisted group, but it is Glad, Aileen and Hilly that fit together, and remain working in partnership throughout the war. 

Review: A Better Best Friend

Have you ever wanted a best friend? A friend to share your favourite hobbies and places and secrets with? That’s what our special squirrel protagonist wants. He just wants a very best friend.

He meets Pock, and Pock is a wonderful best friend (even if he is a little quiet). But then Moo comes along, and he seems like a great best friend, too.

So what do you do when you have two wonderful friends that could both be your best friend? How do you choose which one should be the best, because you can’t have two best friends. Can you?

Junior Review: Jerk Chicken Magic

Jerk Chicken Magic is a delightful journey into the life of a multi-generational immigrant family, the Higgins, from the point of view of charming 6-year-old Lizzy. 

Set against the backdrop of Jamaica's flavorful culinary tradition, this book takes readers on a savory adventure through the magic of jerk chicken.

Authored by Noel-Andrew and Roxanne Bennett, Jerk Chicken Magic is more than just a children's picture book—it's a celebration of resilience, adaptability, and the profound significance of preserving cultural heritage. 

Guest Post: Q & A with Alexia Paglia: My Strong Heart

At only 24 years of age, Sydney’s Alexia Paglia is adding to her already growing list of achievements by releasing a new children’s book all about maintaining good heart health called My Strong Heart, just in time for Heart Health Week from 6th to 12th May.

With cardiovascular disease (CVD) affecting 1 in 4 Australians (that’s over 4 million people), clinical researcher and medical student Alexia Paglia's mission is to lower the rates of CVD, improve health outcomes and educate children at a young age so they can take positive health behaviours well into adulthood. As well as recently winning a Young Citizen of the Year Award for her volunteer work in educating children about their health, My Strong Heart is Alexia’s first children’s book in a series of Dr Zig Zaccy Zoo books on living a healthy lifestyle.

Review: Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit

In Shelwich, the tide has gifted tide-blessings to practically everyone in varying forms.

Ista Flit’s gift is the ability to take on the appearance of any person she has seen, amongst other things.

Her Pa had left Aunt Abigail’s house and come to Shelwich to work and buy a flat for them to live together.

When his clarinet is delivered to Ista at her aunt’s place with a letter, she learns that he has disappeared.

Ista leaves secretly and arrives in Shelwich to try and find him.

The sinister Alexo Rokis, fox-faced and wolf-eyed, on her arrival, steals the clarinet, the only thing left of her father, and holds it to ransom, forcing Ista to steal for him. The deal is twenty errands for the return of the clarinet and freedom from his power over her.

Junior Review: Amanda Commander: The Blues Day Tuesday

In Amanda Commander The Blues Day Tuesday, Amanda gets sick and has to stay home from school. She’s excited to get back to her friends, but when she’s finally better, things have changed.

Her friends, Lu and Mai, have been playing with other people and she’s behind in pottery classes.

Amanda feels left out and alone. She isn’t enjoying being back at school at all. And turns out she isn’t the only one going through this. Other kids get sick, and they also find it hard when they come back to school.

Amanda knows she has to do something, and she also knows her friends will support her. So she tells them how she feels and comes up with a plan to make sure everyone is included.

Review: Brittany And Co Take On Paris

With a title so hefty it needs its own aeroplane seat, it’s no wonder that the laughs from this book are also weighty in the extreme.

Author John Larkin (appropriate name!) may well be the ultimate dad-joker. In the best ways.

Although Brittany & co are banned from bringing their horses to school, they figure out a way to travel for free to Paris and compete in an international event without a scrap of training. As you do.

The tongue in cheek, rogue nature of Larkin’s prose mean that Brittany is at once a biting, visceral, naïve yet overall, (surprisingly!) accurate representation of an 11-year-old girl.

This book is a riot, a joy, a hoot, an absolute corker – and not just because it’s got a whole section devoted to The First Inaugural International Hobby Horse Riding Championships in Paris (TFIIHRCiP). 

Review: Smarty Pup: Talent Quest

Smarty Pup, the smartest dog in the world, is back in an all new story, Talent Quest.

The fourth book in Anh Do's Smarty Pup series is packed full of everyday adventures for new readers. 

It begins with Dad's birthday. Birthdays mean presents and if they're to find the right one, JJ will need to remain strong against deliciously distracting food smells at the shops. 

But what to buy for him? And do they have enough money to buy it? 

JJ and Lily hunt for spare change without much luck. Then they discover they have the chance to win a cash prize at the school talent quest.

What will JJ do for his talent? Recite Shakespeare, because of course he's brilliant at it. Or perhaps disco dancing, because he can dance like he's done it for years.

Review: My Heart

Kids do all sorts of things to our hearts, and this is the concept My Heart by Katrina McKelvey and Deb Hudson explores.

When I found out you were coming … my heart glowed.

When we shared our first snuggle … my heart melted.

Review: Mia Megastar

Mia and her family live above their fruit shop. Their extended family are always around with lots of Greek food at the centre of their gatherings. 

Mia loves to sing, dance, and entertain at every opportunity.

She is excited because her stylish, beloved aunty - theia Athina who lives in Paris, is coming to visit. (Mia is her theia’s ‘one’ and ‘only’. That’s what her name means in Greek).

The family is preparing a party to welcome her, with lots of traditional food.

Review: A Small Collection Of Happiness

Hettie is a smallish girl with a biggish imagination. She also has a biggish personality, that much is evident from the first pages of this new very different, somewhat off-beat new Zana Fraillon middle grade novel. 

She lives in a very unprepossessing block of flats, which look out over an equally unprepossessing yard, in an even more unprepossessing part of town. 

The whole town has an unloved, unkempt and barren look and feel about it, despite its ironic name of The Gardens. Yet, within this dreary landscape, there is still life and colour, certainly to Hettie’s mind, and as the narrative unfolds, that life begins to revive and restore the colours and happiness it was once designed to hold.

Announcement! New Junior Reviewer

Fear not, you are not seeing double. We are super excited to introduce another new Junior Reviewer into our illustrious KBR family. 

Last week we met the delightful, Elle Freestone. Now it's time to put your hands together for the utterly fearless and fabulous, Asha Freestone. 

Like her sister, Asha will be sharing her enthusiastic love of all things literary with us in the months to come. 

We simply can't wait to read more, Asha! Meanwhile, welcome! Discover more about Asha via her 12 Curlies, below.

Review: How To Find A Rainbow

One of the first things that is apparent with this stunning picture book, is the slightly subdued nature of the divine illustrations. Set on a rainy day, these pencil drawings are anything but gloomy – rather, they have an air of magic and mystery about them. Indeed, they are totally compelling in all the best ways.

Reena hates rainy days. She hates the way the dark clouds make everything look so dull.

Rekha loves rainy days. She loves the way the rain makes the earth smell.

Review: Saturday Is Pancake Day

It’s hard not to wonder, with the visual riot and chaos of cooking pancakes in this fabulous book, whether there have been spies in my household for years...

Saturday is Pancake Day is a gorgeous, messy and delectable (I use that word loosely) rendition of a family tradition taken to extremes. The huge pancake on the cover is tactile with those little holes that signify the very best of pancake-dom. Fancy.

Milo makes the best pancakes, but today, Henry doesn’t feel like them. What? Why? Who in their right mind doesn’t like pancakes?

Meet The Illustrator: Blithe Fielden

Name: Blithe Fielden

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Fun, playful, colourful, scribbly, imaginative, narrative, child-like, nostalgic

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
If there is one thing I have learnt since my move from England to Australia 18 months ago, it is that it's possible to work almost anywhere as an illustrator. As long as I have a sketchbook on hand, a pencil case filled with an assortment of colourful pencils and somewhere to sit down - whether that is a table in a park, a blanket on the grass or a bench in the city, I can happily sit for hours, scribbling away.

Sometimes, I love to listen to music or have a TV series on in the background (admittedly, I watched all six series of Gossip Girl whilst working on ‘Dinosaur in my Pocket’ over the two and a half month time frame).