Look What I'm Reading! Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg

Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg is a librarian, children’s author and general book enthusiast, who lives in Sydney, Australia, with her bearded husband, two small mischievous children, two fluffy dogs, and a bearded dragon.

Though she is obsessed with books of all kinds, she is particularly enamoured with picture books and would happily spend an entire day (and a year’s salary) in a good book store. Her first picture book, Reflection, was a CBCA Notable book for 2017.

Which children’s book are you currently reading? 
The fourth and final book in the Forbidden Library series, The Fall of the Readers, by Django Wexler

Review: Wild

From Emily Hughes, the creator of The Little Gardener, comes another thoroughly enchanting and stupendously beautiful title.

The production quality of this title is just incredible. I have come to adore finding new titles published by Flying Eye Books, who have a knack for pairing unique stylised artwork with high quality papers and in this case a delicious cloth binding. The end papers alone left me swooning and I'll admit that I'd love to hang most every page of these illustrations up on my walls at home for endless hours of perusal.

Review: Izzy Gizmo

I just love when an impulse selection from the library turns out to be so beautifully and cleverly written, amazingly illustrated and fantastic in quality of production that I feel I must add a copy to my personal library. Izzy Gizmo is one of these happy occurrences.

Isabelle (Izzy) is a little girl who is never without her tool kit. She loves mending objects or tweaking gadgets to improve them, and she also invents some of her own fabulous creations.

But the problem you see is that sometimes Izzy's inventions do not seem to go quite according to plan. When disaster strikes Izzy gets cranky, she gets frustrated, she gets mad. And then she gives up.

Despite reassurance and some gentle encouraging advice from her Grandpa that 'sometimes you need to try again and again if you want to succeed', Izzy finds that she's too upset to do so.

Review: Count the Monkeys

A joyous and extremely unique interactive picture book from the incredible Mac Barnett, author of Triangle, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and Leo: A Ghost Story amongst many, many brilliant others.

From the title page onwards, Barnett addresses the readers and entices us to participate in the story through a series of different requests and instructions, all the while encouraging us to move through the book and find the Monkeys that we are attempting to count.

Review: Dad By My Side

In an online world that often seems chock full of impenetrable ignorance, fear and cruelty, it is the viral posts like this that I live for, that restore my calm and fortify my heart for the next onslaught of articles, images and stories that I can hardly bare to take in.

Soosh is an illustrator who has created a gentle, honest and purely loving commentary on the relationship between a father and his little daughter. With grace and warm humour, each image captures the daily acts of love, sacrifice, joy and togetherness that parent and child share, and they are truly each a work of art to behold.

Review: The Usborne Big Book of the Body

The Usborne Big Book of the Body is a beautifully produced picture book style non-fiction title, with four fold out sections (equal to four pages attached together) that allows kids to start to develop a real sense and understanding of the different parts and functions of the human body.

The fold out sections are very well designed to open in and out smoothly, covering the topics of bones, muscles, the digestive system, and the heart/blood vessel network, all with aesthetically pleasing cartoon style illustrations that are guaranteed to not gross out even the most squeamish of readers.

Review: Lucie Goose

Geese in picture books are historically portrayed as very silly creatures, but Lucie? Well, Lucie is different. Lucie Goose is actually very practical, quite frank and unusually self assured... especially for a goose who is continuously being Raaared, Rorioored and Roaaared at by wolves, bears and lions.

Once she understands that they expect her to be scared, and in fact, they expect her to run away so they can chase her, Lucie wastes no time in informing them how silly that would be. And actually, would they like to come and have tea and cake with her instead?

Audiobook Review: His Dark Materials

As a mother of two small children (and another on the way!) who works four days a week, I just don’t find as much time to read as I used to.  Audiobooks have become my treasured companions during this busy time of life, particularly those in digital format.

With the simple act of plugging earphones into my phone, digital audiobooks have allowed me to continue to ‘read’ as I drive to work (listening through the Bluetooth in my car), hang out washing, cook dinner, load the dishwasher or wait for swimming lessons to finish – all those never ending and often quite mindless daily tasks. In fact, I look forward to these tasks when I have such entertainment while I’m doing them.

Review: Peas and Quiet

Pip the Pea loves to cook and sing even though she can't carry a tune. Pop the Pea loves to sleep, snoring and snuffling and snorting the time away.

Although they are best of best friends, sometimes Pip and Pop do drive each other mad, and one day after Pip refuses to stop her awful singing, Pop decides to leave their pea pod home altogether. And Pip? Well Pip is not in the least bit sorry to see him go!

Pip can sing as loudly and sqwarkily as she likes, and she sets about baking up a storm, singing all the while. But eventually Pip finds there is no one to share her baking with, and that she is after all a little bit sorry that Pop has gone.

Review: I Want To Be In A Scary Story

I've been loving the wave of interactive picture books that have been released over the last few years. I take such delight in leading young readers, be it visitors to the library or my own children, through a story that requires them to respond to questions from the characters, follow requests or instructions, and converse animatedly with what is the brilliantly simple combination of an inanimate illustration and their own stimulated imaginations.

While I have read many (many, many!) picture books that directly address the reader(s) and ask for verbal or physical interaction, I haven't come across one quite like I Want to be in a Scary Story. This picture books is unique in the sense that it is the narrator and the character of the story that are interacting, while the reader remains a passive, though still highly engaged, participant.

Review: Miles is the Boss of His Body

Body autonomy and privacy are topics that are important to introduce to children from quite a young age, both for their own well being and safety as well as for their development of social awareness and respect of others around them.

As all parents can I'm sure attest, young children are not inbuilt with a respect for privacy or personal space.

Today is Miles' sixth birthday and he is very much looking forward to having a pizza dinner at home with his family, but from the moment he arrives home from school he is greeted with unwanted physical contact.

Review: Sam: The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World

Oh how I relish the first viewing of a Mo Willems title - his books are delightful, often charming, always hilarious and so deliciously odd.

Characters do not always act as expected and it is an adventure to read through each new offering that Mo presents, and repeat readings are always must - he is the top of my recommendations list when patrons ask for my assistance at the library.

In this sequel to Leonardo the Terrible Monster (KBR Review here), we learn a bit more about Leonardo's friend Sam who as the title suggests, is the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world. Sam is scared of absolutely everything, well everything except for Leonardo of course, because Leonardo and Sam are very good friends.

Terrific 10: Clever Interactive Books

These books all elicit enthusiastic participatory reactions from their readers. Some do it by addressing the reader and asking direct questions that need to be answered before the story can move on. Some do it by giving instructions and tasks that need to be followed. Others still have a combination of both techniques, however all of the listed titles achieve their interactive elements without the inclusion of flaps, pop ups or other amazing gimics. 

All in all, these books are irresistible to little hands and are guaranteed to be enthralling and exciting on each and every read.

Touch the Brightest Star by Christie Matheson, Harper Collins Publishers, $19.99, 9780062274472, 3-6

This is Not a Book by Jean Jullien, Phaidon, $14.95, 9780714871127, 2 - 100, KBR Review

The Odd One Out: A Spotting Book by Britta Teckentrup, Big Picture Press, $19.99, 9781848773516, 3-8, KBR Review

Audiobook Review: The Forbidden Library Series

I devoured the three available Audiobooks in the Forbidden Library series in record time.

Then I noted with dismay that I would have to wait for more to be published before I could continue on with one of the best children's fiction series I have ever read or listened to. I am well and truly hooked!

And, although it is a big call, it is really the only series I feel absolutely comfortable comparing to Harry Potter, as I believe it has real appeal for fans of the infamous series, both young and old. It is a series that I can see myself returning to again and again.

Review: Double Take! A New Look at Opposites

As the title suggests, this book is a new offering on the ever popular topic of opposites. 

Rather than single words conveying the opposites, Double Take! is a complete story that can be read at bedtime, with the added bonus of being a strong learning experience.

What really sets this book apart however, is it's inclusion of relativity. At first the elephant is strong and the boy is weak, but when elephant is compared to a whale, then is elephant still the strongest? 

Terrific 10: Grumpy Books

Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer, Albert Whitman & Company, $33.99, 9780807530757, 2-7

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins, Disney Hyperion, $28.99, 9781484730881, 3-8, KBR Review

Penguin by Polly Dunbar, Walker Books, $16.95, 9781406312461, $16.95, 3-8, KBR Review

Review: Antoinette

From the author and illustrator team that created the Gaston (a gorgeous story about four sibling puppies, Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Oh-La-La and Gaston) comes the sequel, Antoinette.

Antoinette's brothers, Rocky, Ricky and Bruno, all have special skills. One is clever, one is fast and the other is strong! 

However Antoinette is a little bit worried that she hasn't yet figured out what her special skill is. Her Mother isn't worried though, she knows that Antoinette has something 'extra special'. She can feel it in her bones.

Terrific 10: Dogs

Yip! Snap! Yap! by Charles Fuge, Walker Books, $14.99, 9781582460970, 0-4

This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne, Oxford University Press, $17.95, 9780192737298, 3-7

Ted by Leila Rudge, Walker Books Australia, $27.99, 9781921977503, 3-7, KBR Review

Review: There is NO Dragon in This Story

Dragon has left his story book in quite a bit of a huff, thank you very much. He is sick of having to capture icky, frilly princesses and he is tired of having to fight with brave and shiny knights.

He has gone off in search of a story where he can be the hero for a change. On his travels, Dragon comes across a litany of fairy tale characters and seizes on each of these encounters as an opportunity to become a hero.

He offers to save the Gingerbread Man from a fox and a Little Pig from the Big Bad Wolf, he tries to give Hansel and Gretel a map, and he attempts to help Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood as well.

Review: Eat Your People

A funny twist on the age-old frustrated chant that every parent knows - "Eat your dinner!".

This book introduces us to a little monster called Monty, who does NOT like to eat his people at dinner time.

He whinges that they are too sour, they are too chewy, they are too wriggly and too jiggly. Plus, they keep waving at him. Yuck!