Review: Tiny Dancer

In the notes that accompany this book, author Patrick Guest mentions the ‘undying love only a mother can give,’ and I strongly, humbly beg to differ.

For it is this father’s undying love that has borne magic, mystery and wonder in abundance with the birth of picture book, Tiny Dancer.

‘Tiny Dancer is about making each moment count and living life to the full.’

A tortoise may live for over one hundred years. An olive tree, up to five thousand. But a mayfly lives for just one day.

Review: Childish

There’s a lot of childishness in this book. Also copious amounts of humour and heart which are the welcome hallmarks of Morris Gleitzman narratives. 

Like many of Gleitzman’s tales, Childish is a collision of inane and razor-sharp intellect, resulting in an invitation to think deeper and go further.

Arkie and Dot are phenomenal kid heroes. Arkie is from the bush. Dot is city minded and part of her family’s dumpling dynasty located within the city burbs. 

With things going sour in the bush, Arkie is jettisoned to live with Nan in the city until his parents can sell the family farm and join him.

Armed with typical Aussie bush stoicism, Arkie’s straightforward integrity matches Dot’s can-do, uncompromising disposition and grit beautifully. This is a merry match despite its infancy and one that is a delight to follow as the friends try their best shake local council and the utility companies into action.

Review: Edie Tells A Lie

Edie Tells A Lie is a tender, compelling story about family, friendship, loneliness, starting over, and the layered consequences of making a mistake.

Told from Edie’s point of view (but not in the first person), Edie Tells A Lie feels very intimate because the reader is privy to her raw thought processes and dreams. 

Like the story itself, the character of Edie is both vulnerable and strong. Ten-year old Edie and her bestie, Bowie, have grown up living next door to each other. 

Each knows the other so well, that even when life throws up challenges their bond cannot be broken. That’s how it has always been.

Until now.

Because Bowie has left town. She’s moved far, far away, and is not responding to any of Edie’s messages. She is obviously having the best time without Edie.

Review: Reach For The Sky

Stories that quietly set your soul soaring are not always abundant. 

To relay a tale based on true life with the perfect balance of sensitivity and fact without sinking into a mire of sentimentality requires a deft narrative voice and strong will, attributes Singaporean author, Evelyn Sue Wong has in spades.

Reach For the Sky records the story of her father and his big sky dream; to fly. 

I am not unfamiliar with notions of ‘dreaming big and flying high’, being well acquainted with a plucky little pigeon (aka Pippa) with similar aspirations. The major difference between Robert Shun Wong and afore mentioned pigeon however is that one has wings and one had to build his own. And build them, he does.

Review: Drift

I’m not sure why but verse novels generate all the feels. Floaty, ethereal emotions that lure you in and linger long after the last word is read. Drift is one of those novels. 

Maybe it’s Pip Harry’s prodigious ability with words. Perhaps it’s Nate and Luna’s blossoming friendship. Perhaps it’s the bittersweet discomfiture of wanting more, missing what was and having to deal with an uncertain tomorrow that makes Drift so appealing.

Nate is in his mid-teens, an ex-pat child of Singapore, recently rehomed along with his physically challenged mother in Australia which he finds as alien and isolating as being on the moon. Luna, his neighbour appears a sensitive and understanding ally however is nursing her own darkness.

When over 20,000 swarming bees decide Nate’s home is the place to be, he and Luna unite to save them along with local surfy and ace beekeeper, Tyler. 

Review: Leo and Ralph

Just because you couldn’t see something, didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

This is the noteworthy phrase in Peter Carnavas’ latest multi awarded middle grade novel, Leo and Ralph. It sums up a multitude of wisdoms and ironically my theory that the more brilliant the writing, the more difficult it is to articulate an appraisal of it.  

Carnavas has created another one of those conundrums for me as this story is suffused with so many fine and memorable moving moments, I hardly know where to begin. 

Leo and Ralph possess a little more clarity. They both know exactly how it all started. With a white balloon, a shift in time and space, a shimmer of imagination and the realisation of a wish come true.

Ralph’s arrival is less perturbing for Leo than one might imagine for despite his alien appearance and raspy voice, his penchant for play matches Leo’s own. 

Review: The Giant

The magnificent simplicity of this latest picture book by Sophie Masson and Lorena Carrington belies its profound complexities. 

Which is exactly what you want in a picture book for kids that conveys some pretty big notions.

It begins in a cave, ostensibly the giant’s where he has been hibernating for some time. As he re-emerges into the world, the world reacts with alarm and fear. 

The giant heads out, dutifully announcing his return and greeting every one he encounters as graciously as a giant with an overgrown beard and foreboding appearance can.  

Review: Wombat Dreaming

What a gorgeous book this is. As well as a purring rhythmic narrative from master crafter Caz Goodwin, the illustrations from emerging artist Zoe Bennett are to die for. 

Well, maybe we don’t need to be that dramatic but you know what I mean.

Lil desperately wanted

to join in the class.

But each time she tried,

She’d land PLONK on the grass.

Review: Hedgehog Or Echidna? Animals Who Are The Same … But Different!

Dozens of cuter than cute echidnas troop across the endpapers of Ashleigh Barton’s latest picture book with one adorbs noticeable exception. No spoilers here but the clue to this character is in the title. 

Without further preamble, the two spiky critters meet, head-to-head in the first spread of this curious clash of comparisons.

One is surrounded by flowering gums and kookaburras. Clearly an Aussie original. The other is nestled in a forest of fungi and European song birds. 

They look alarmingly similar yet obviously different. Does this stand in their way of friendship? Most definitely not!

Review: Wind Atlas: Everything You Need To Know About The Wind

As a kid, the wind unnerved me. Wild, unpredictable, displacing. As an adult, the wind is still my least favourite weather phenomena but along the way to learning to sail and gaining a better understanding of meteorology, my appreciation of ‘wind’ is now more discriminating.

Wind Atlas, the third in the amazing weather series by Thames & Hudson, consolidates that appreciation and then some. 

Like its predecessors, Wave Atlas and Cloud Atlas, this guide into the world’s fascinating zones of pressure and air movements is both refreshingly informative while simultaneously easy to assimilate.

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. 

Junior Review: Loverboy

The compelling young adult novel Loverboy by esteemed author Ben Tomlinson captures the essence of teenage years, transporting the reader into the life (or should I say love life) of Alfie.

This novel centres Alfie who believes he has found ‘the one’. Meet Maya, his best friend and girl of his dreams. Alfie and Maya share a long, intimate history together. 

They spend both the highs and lows of their life together, their loves and losses, their pains and gains. They share everything, right? Or that’s what they both thought until they discover an underlying romance to their relationship that blurs the line between friends and lovers.

Alfie’s desperate search for love finds him falling for Gwen, one of the close members in their friendship circle and becomes confused when she doesn’t share the same feelings for him. It turns out Gwen was hiding a bigger secret of her own…

Review: Once Upon An A To Z

Three friends in a large library with a ladder (OMG, A LIBRARY LADDER!) and a shiny magic book on the top shelf, bring Once Upon An A To Z to life in the most delightful of ways.

Abracadabra! Alakazoo!
Bubbily, bobbily, boffity, boo!

Clutch your cauldrons and crystal balls,

Dance with dragons down the halls… 

Junior Review: Blood Moon Bride

Demet Divaroren’s Blood Moon Bride is a deeply moving and empowering YA fantasy that explores themes of resistance, identity, and the fight against injustices. 

In a world where young women are forced into marriage, auctioned off to the highest bidder, the novel follows teen Rehya, a skilled hunter who is confronted with being sold at the upcoming Blood Moon Ceremony.

With the survival of her valley on the line, Rehya must decide: submit to a life of enslavement or rebel against the system trying to control her fate?

Divaroren’s narrative draws on issues like child marriage, tyranny and gender inequality. The story’s raw portrayal of Rehya’s internal and external battles is resonant, engrossing readers in a world where courage and resilience are the weapons against a discriminative society. 

Review: Rosie's Garden

Rosie’s favourite thing in the world to do, is to dig. She finds all manner of mysteries deep in the ground, and forges new friendships when she’s in the community garden, next door to her little stoop and green front door.

There’s Mr Delagatti who collects seeds, Annika who plays the violin, and even Esmerelda the chicken, who likes worms for breakfast!
But then, things change for Rosie. 

A large company with noisy, powerful machines takes over the precious little garden and builds a towering skyscraper in its place. Where will the friends go? 

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: Mavis The Little Plane Spotter

This picture book is an absolute gem. Opening it is like stepping into a gorgeous moment of history. 

I was instantly entranced by the end-papers with their hand-drawn memorabilia, the silhouettes of friendly and enemy planes and many other interesting tid bits.

Then, I turned the page and was gobsmacked to learn that both author Angela Toniolo and illustrator Shannon Melvillle, are the direct descendants of women who performed as enemy plane spotters during the second world war. 

I got goosebumps on my goosebumps, and the story hadn’t even begun!

Review: Gone

Gone’s deceptively simple and achingly beautiful book cover is wrapped around a heartwarming, important offering to the world of picture books.

This accessible, thoughtful rumination on the nature of life’s biggest mystery explores both life and death.

Long or short, every life on earth comes to an end some day.

But what happens when we die?

The last few years have seen a number of picture books that broach the subject of death, grief and loss in various ways. Gone adds to this list with its wonderful, clear message and bold illustration style.

Review: I Am Not An Owl

A wonderful collaboration between Rhonda Ooi and Mel Corrigan, this delightful book contains layers of narrative and information depicted through both words and illustrations.

‘He can hum like a cricket and tell you all about Tasmanian devils.’

Our curious narrator Alexander is working very hard to NOT have a daytime sleep, and nocturnal animals are his go-to rationale (what is mummy actually talking about?, I’m not a nocturnal animal who needs to sleep in the daytime!).

And so begins a cheerful and mischievous adventure.

Review: Tilly In A Tangle

This multi-layered book is sheer delight and well deserving of its CBCA 2025 notable listing.

What do we do when things get in a tangle?
Do we tussle and struggle? Or do we try something different?

We all have a little bit of Tilly inside us - an adventurer who is happy, headstrong and independent.

We all need to push our own boundaries now and then, for interest’s sake if nothing else. And we’ve all experienced being in a tangle, a tight spot or a pickle, because we wouldn’t be human if we hadn’t.