Sunday Shelfie - Valerie: Australia's Bravest Sausage Dog

Happy #sundsyshelfie day! It is my pleasure to welcome Lucinda Gifford. This week we are celebrating Lucinda’s delightful picture book Valerie: Australia’s Bravest Sausage Dog.

Join Valerie on her unforgettable journey and discover just how far a brave little dog can go!

Living the beach life and riding the swells. 
Practising backstroke and digging up shells.
Dining on oysters and fancy ice cream... 
Valerie knew she was living the dream.

All over Australia and all around the world, people fell in love with Valerie - the bold-hearted dachshund who escaped a campground on Kangaroo Island and roamed the wilderness for over 500 days before being reunited with her loving owners.

Written and illustrated by Lucinda Gifford
Published by Allen and Unwin

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Junior Review: Valerie: Australia's Bravest Sausage Dog

Valerie: Australia's Bravest Sausage Dog is based on the true story of a little sausage dog who runs away to go on an adventure. 

I wonder where she will go? How far will she go? And most importantly, will she get home? 

Read Valrie's story to find out!

Review: Clyde the Greyhound

Have you ever spotted a greyhound looking like a fashionista? If this intrigues you, this story is for you!

Meet Clyde, a tall and elegant greyhound who finds himself in a new chapter of life. Like many retired racing dogs, Clyde is learning what it means to be part of a loving home. Everything is new – soft beds, kind humans and the routines of everyday life.

Review: Bitza: Rules? What Rules?

Bitza: Rules? What Rules? is Book 2 in this interesting series with Bitza the dog as narrator.  

This is not only a tale about a dog that finds a new home, but an opportunity for children to learn about the necessary commitments involved in dog ownership. 

Humorous and highly entertaining, information concerning the habits of canines flow within the storyline, including why marking their territory is as imperative as smelling, and how training builds a closer relationship between dog and owner.

 Bitza has a new permanent home with humans that love him and has finally established his position in the middle of the couch. But Dad is Top Dog.

And there are rules to be learnt. 

What are Rules? There are so many that listening to them puts Bitza to sleep. 

Junior Review: Dogs with Jobs

You might think that all dogs do is make their owner happy and chase around balls, but turns out some dogs do other important things. Some dogs have jobs!

Like Ralf. Ralf is a helper at the hospital, and he helps children when they are feeling upset or homesick. 

There are also many other jobs that dogs do too, and Dogs with Jobs will tell you all about them.

Review: Bitza

Dog-lover Andrew Daddo’s latest contribution, Bitza is the first in a four-book series. 

This heart-warming story draws attention to the evolving forms longings take before they are realized, plaiting them through the humorous situations that occur in the process.  

Jas has wanted a dog for a long time. She has filled her bedroom wall with prints of possible pets until the real thing comes along. 

She walks Freddy, the neighbour’s dog. This temporarily fills her yearning for her own pet, something which her single parent dad fights against with all his will, but in a loving way.

Love is the pivotal point of this story.

On a special day when Freddy and Jas are on their customary walk around the neighbourhood, another dog joins them. 

Review: Millie and Stella - Best Friends Forever: The Puppy Project

Ten-week-old puppy Fergus, is being trained as an assistance dog.

His trainer, a friend of Granpa’s, has been called away to a family emergency. A temporary carer is needed until he recovers from an operation. 

Stella overhears the conversation and having longed for a dog of her own, convinces Grandpa that she and her best friend Millie, will be happy to take care of Fergus. 

The girls decide that this will be their Project of Choice theme, one of the many which their class has been allocated to research. 

Being the Project of Choice means they must take Fergus to school with them to allow him to assimilate to all the social skills he needs to know, such as being with other people and animals, birds and sounds. Above all, to obey commands and be toilet trained.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Olivia Muscat

1.Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

That I really Hate Mars Bars and I hate Mars Bar slice even more.

2. What is your nickname?
My close family and friends call me Oli or Ol … and many variations of those. To my sister, and only my sister, I’m known as Polly.

Review: My Name Is Jemima - A Tale Of A Guide Dog Superstar

There is so much to love about this delightful book featuring a guide dog and her person – written by Jemima the guide-dog’s real-life handler!

Meet Jemima, a loveable Labrador with a very important job!

Jemima is a very good dog who loves all the usual doggy things such as going to the park, playing games, a good old tummy scratch and of course, dinner.

But she’s also got a very, very important job to do – being the eyes and ears for her blind handler, who she loves more than anything in the world.

From busy street crossings to cosy moments at home, Jemima balances her fun-loving nature with the focus and dedication needed to be an extraordinary guide dog. 

Review: Too Many Dogs

What a delightful romp of a book this is.

In Too Many Dogs, Maura Finn and Lucinda Gifford have created a naughty - but nicely naughty - classic.

The clever, endearing rhyme with marvellously funny illustrations come together as a perfect match to create this wonderful and hilarious story.

Little Percy is used to being Top Dog in a household full of cats. 

Review: Hairbrain Saves The Ocean

If you’ve ever lived with an inventor you’ll know that they can talk themselves (and you) into anything. That’s what Hairbrain does - talks himself into being the inventor that saves the ocean, singlehandedly (apart from when he enlists the unwavering help of his very patient and rather ingenious little sister, Zammy).

This is a story about how I came with a MASSIVELY brainy plan to CELAN up all the disgusting pollution on the beach to help save the whole WORLD!!!!!!

(And also save my own school holidays)

(Which is not so important as saving the world, I know)

(But I thought I’d mention it anyway)

(In case you guys are interested)

This book from beloved duo Danny Katz and Mitch Vane (think ‘Little Lunch!’) bears all their hallmark signatures – chaotic, messy words and word-play, with wacky illustrations that make you laugh out loud and spit drink out your nose.

Review: Grandmas In Grand Cars

Here we have another joyous offering from Walker, in Grandmas In Grand Cars.

Full of fun, fancy, mischief and a surprise or two, this book celebrating Grandmothers and their four-wheeled companions is sure to elicit many smiles.

Celebrating all that is wonderful in the Grandmother/grandchild relationship (and some things that will make your hair curl!), this picture book is a true delight.

A loose rhythm and an easy-going, predictable style mean that there is a great sense of anticipation that builds for the reader. 

Review: Tomato Sandwich

Every now and then, a little something comes along and turns you upside down. A little something, that just shows up to warp your mind and make your heart sing.

Tomato Sandwich is this little something.
Everything about this book is squishily delicious.

A small, twirly girl called Ottliy with magic fairy wings, a tiny little dog with carefree boldness, and a great big kind dad whose pants stay up I-don’t-know-how, all somehow just wiggle their respective ways into your heart.

Review: You Can't Pat A Fish

Almost every child in the history of the world has wished for a pet at some point. 

And those whose wish has included a visit to the pet shop, will undoubtedly have wanted theirs to be the cutest, cuddliest critter that they’ve ever slapped eyes on.

And so … what actually happens when the pet you get, is a fish?

If it’s wet, it isn’t a pet!

You can play with a puppy and snuggle a bunny,

but as much as you wish, you can’t pat a fish.

Review: Dog Beach

Stunning covers, and end pages full of warmth and doggie beauty bid the reader welcome. 

The 32 eye-catching images of different breeds of dog, dressed and au natural, appear in various poses within frames.

You never know what you will see at the dog beach. 

These dogs are sniffing and digging up strange and familiar things from their soggy sand hiding place.

Seagulls keep their distance.

They are gathered here on the beach, to frolic and play.

Review: Bluey and Bingo's Christmas Cookbook

Bluey and Bingo’s Christmas Cookbook: Yummy Recipes, for Real Life, is a delightful offering for children interested in testing their cooking skills and increasing their interest in food.

Beautifully designed for little hands, the book has wipeable, bright coloured pages and images, sectioned into easy-to-follow instructions and recipes. 

This is initiative enough to send mothers and children off to kitchen cupboards to check for ingredients.

Tips on the importance of preparation before starting, set the scene.

Review: Digger Digs Down

This wonderful book is a riotous cascade of colour, curiosity, chaos and charm.

Reading it reminds me of the excitement and movement of picture books from my childhood (back in the stone ages).

Digger digs down. Digger digs deep, deep into the ground.

Review: Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

Small children will love this book. Already, I can hear the giggles, hoots and whoops of laughter across our fair land, as each successive character appears making the wrong (and utterly hilarious) sound.

Bicycles say ‘Cock-a-doodle-dooo’

Firefighters shout ‘Ding Dong’before they put out a fire!

And Flowers go ‘Chugga Chugga Choooo Choooo!’

This fabulous, riotous and chaotic book begs to be read aloud and will probably be started again the moment it is finished.

Review: The Space Between

This picture book, by the CBCA Award Winning creator of Fly, contains gorgeous and accessible messages around change, resilience and friendship.

Max and Milo are country neighbours who do everything together. When they find an abandoned rocket ship (aka an old car) in the orange grove, they polish its fender, make a map and drive it way, way out into the vast universe.

But then one day, Milo and his family move to the city, and nothing is the same any more.

Review: Wolf Girl #11: Hide and Seek

Wolf Girl -11: Hide and Seek, finds Gwen and her pack of dogs – her family, leave Moon City, chased by the Braxans, who are determined to catch her. 

The group find refuge in an underground tunnel before they come upon a shopping centre reclaimed by nature.

At the Mall, a new adventure begins. The dogs sniff out a Pet Shop. Dog’s delight!

But this is not the sanctuary they imagine. 

Others are using the space for housing and security. The group again encounter threats, danger and choices.

But who are the family living there, also hiding from their pursuers.

Nothing comes easy for either group. 

When the soldiers catch up with them, its them against the dogs.