Video: Duck, Death and the Tulip

Grief and loss can be a difficult subject for anyone. Duck, Death and the Tulip, written and illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch, is a unique exploration of these often challenging subjects. 

In a strangely heartwarming story, a duck strikes up an unlikely friendship with Death. 'Who are you? Why are you creeping along behind me?' 'Good. You've finally noticed me,' said Death. 'I am Death.' Duck was startled. You couldn't blame her for that. Death, Duck and the Tulip is the much anticipated translation of Wolf Erlbruch's latest masterpiece. Death, Duck and the Tulip will intrigue, haunt and enchant teenagers and adults. Simple, unusual, warm and witty - a picture book version of The Book Thief. This book deals with a difficult subject in away that is elegant, straightforward, and thought-provoking.

Take a peek inside Duck, Death and the Tulip in this video.

Title: Duck, Death and the Tulip

Author/Illustrator: Wolf Erlbruch

Publisher: Gecko Press, $16.99

Publication Date: 2009

ISBN: 9781877467172

Format: Paperback

For ages: 7+

Type: Picture Book

Video: A Friend for George

If you haven't read A Friend for George, written and illustrated by Gabriel Evans, you should find a copy and share it with your family. It's a particularly good story for children just starting school and making new friends.

George likes living by the sea, but he often feels lonely. He’d like to have a friend – someone to talk to, someone to share stories with and someone to laugh with. As that’s what friends do! When he meets Claude the fish, George finally discovers the joys of having a special friend, as well as learning what it means to be a good friend to someone ... for if you are, the rewards are bountiful!

In this video, Gabriel Evans explains how he was inspired to create this beautiful story about friendship, and gives some advice to aspiring authors and illustrators. 

Title: A Friend for George
Author/Illustrator: Gabriel Evans
Publisher: Puffin, $ 24.99
Publication Date: May 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761046506
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book

Video: The Hedgewitch Books

The Hedgewitch Books are perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Worst Witch, and similar stories. Written by Australian-born author Skye McKenna, they're packed with mystery, magic and adventure.

When Cassie runs away from her dreary boarding school, in search of her missing mother, she ends up in the magical village of Hedgely and discovers she comes from a family of witches - women who protect Britain from the denizens of Faerie, who are all too real and far more frightening than the story books suggest.

Cassie is desperate to find her mother, but will she succeed? Perhaps Montague the talking cat, and a flying broomstick will help!

Title: Hedgewitch / Woodwitch
Author: Skye McKenna
Illustrator: Tomislav Tomic
Publisher: Welbeck Childrens, $ 16.99 / $ 22.99
Publication Date: 2023
Format: Paperback / Hardcover
ISBN: 9781801300681 / 9781801300414
For ages: 9+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

New Australian Children's Laureate announced

Huge congratulations to Sally Rippin, the Australian Children's Laureate for 2024-25.

The announcement of Sally as the new Children's Laureate was made today, and she said the theme for her laureateship will be 'All kids can be readers'.

Sally Rippin is the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults, including the Billie B Brown series, School of Monsters series, and more!

Watch the video below to hear from Sally, visit her website, or visit the Laureate website for more information. You can also read some of our KBR reviews and posts about Sally and her books.

Video: Bedtime Story

From the best-selling author of The Tall Man and The Arsonist, a personal tale about death, life and the enchantment of stories. With illustrations by Anna Walker. Watch the stunning book trailer for this moving book that is both memoir and manual.

Let me tell you a story…

When Chloe Hooper’s partner is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive illness, she has to find a way to tell their two young sons. By instinct, she turns to the bookshelf. Can the news be broken as a bedtime tale? Is there a perfect book to prepare children for loss?

Hooper embarks on a quest to find what practical lessons children’s literature—with its innocent orphans and evil adults, magic, monsters and anthropomorphic animals—can teach about grief and resilience in real life. From the Brothers Grimm to Frances Hodgson Burnett and Tolkien and Dahl—all of whom suffered childhood bereavements—she follows the breadcrumbs of the world’s favourite authors, searching for the deep wisdom in their books and lives.

Both memoir and manual, Bedtime Story is stunningly illustrated by the New York Times award-winning Anna Walker. In an age of worldwide uncertainty, here is a profound and moving exploration of the dark and light of storytelling.

Read our exclusive KBR review by Elizabeth Vercoe, here.

Video: Author Interview with Lynette Noni

Our avid well-read junior reviewer, Lily Weigl took time out from her busy school schedule to video interview the delightful, Lynette Noni, author of the enthralling Medoran Chronicles. 

Today they discuss characterisation, writing for your audience and the inspiration behind Lynette's thrilling, The Prison Healer series.

Sit back, get cosy and enjoy!

Video: Axel Scheffler: The Evolution of Gruffalo

The Gruffalo has become a modern day classic picture book, much loved by children around the world. Julia Donaldson created the text, but how did the the Gruffalo become more than words? 

Axel Scheffler has illustrated over 100 books, and amongst them are The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child. In this video, Axel explains how the Gruffalo took shape and evolved from a rather scary-looking creature into the gentle giant we know today.

Title: The Gruffalo
Author: Julia Donaldson
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Pan Macmillan, $ 14.99
Publication Date: 2016
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781509804757
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book

Video: The Secret Detectives

History, mystery and murder. When a girl living in India is orphaned, she is sent to live with relatives in England. On the journey by ship Isobel witnesses something disturbing, but the captain maintains that nothing is amiss. Can Isobel solve the puzzle before they reach England and the passengers disperse? She'll need all the help she can get from her friends Lettie and Sam.

The Secret Detectives is inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel, The Secret Garden. It's written by Ella Risbridger, a young British writer whose first published book was a cookbook.

Title: The Secret Detectives
Author: Ella Risbridger
Publisher: Nosy Crow, $ 16.00
Publication Date: 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781788006002
For ages: 9+
Type: Junior Fiction

Video: Ginger Meggs

Australia's longest-running comic strip is Ginger Meggs, which was first created in 1921 by Jimmy Bancks. Now his great great nephew, author Tristan Bancks has created four new Ginger Meggs stories to celebrate 100 years of Ginger Meggs. They've been illustrated by cartoonist and illustrator, Jason Chatfield, who is the current Ginger Meggs cartoonist. This new Ginger Meggs collection will be enjoyed by new, young readers as well as adult readers who may want to reminisce about reading the comic in their younger years.

Title: Ginger Meggs
Author: Tristan Bancks
Illustrator: Jason Chatfield
Publisher: Puffin, $ 24.99
Publication Date: May 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760894818
For ages: 8+
Type: Comics

Video: Don't Forget

Don't Forget is a special book from two friends and creators, Jane Godwin and Anna Walker. It's about everyday things, and special things, and the things we sometimes need a reminder about. Don't Forget reminds us about the importance of family and friends, happiness, hope, dreams and imagination.

In this short video, Jane and Anna tell us about Don't Forget and about meeting, becoming friends and working together.

Title: Don't Forget
Author: Jane Godwin
Illustrator: Anna Walker
Publisher: Puffin , $ 19.99
Publication Date: March 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761040955
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book

Guest Post: Video Review by Kaavya Prasad

Today we welcome a dedicated book lover all the way from India. Kaavya Prasad reviews her favourite reads and shares this collection of classics with us with precision and enthusiasm. Enjoy!

Title: The Naughtiest Girl
Author: Enid Blyton
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books, $19.99 
Publication Date: 2012 - 2015
For ages: 7+
Type: Junior Fiction

Video: Story Surprise!

Story Surprise! is a great initiative by professional actors, Lauren and Anthony (Lauren Jimmieson and Anthony Craig). With a background in education and theatre, they have created a series of videos suitable for children aged from three to eight years, bringing books to life with stories, songs, and other activities. 

'What started as a few videos to connect with friends and family across the globe has turned into a weekly themed adventure!'

Each of the videos, which are 10-15 minutes in length, features a diffferent theme and comes complete with original music. They are also aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework. Explore the Story Surprise! season 1 and season 2 playlists, and watch the example below which is the episode about megabeasts, especially great for kids who love dinosaurs.

Video: Meet the Creators of Tashi

Tashi is 25! If you've not discovered Tashi yet, he's a cute and clever character who is the star of a fantastical series for younger readers. Tashi lives in a place far, far away where there are dragons and giants, pirates and princesses. He's helpful and can be quite the hero, although he gets into scrapes. In this video, author Anna Fienberg is joined by illustrator Kim Gamble's daughters to chat about creating Tashi and his world. 

Visit the publisher website for downloadable activity sheets and Tashi Books for other ideas and activities.

Title: Tashi 25th Anniversary Edition
Author: Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg
Illustrator: Kim Gamble
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $ 16.99
Publication Date: June 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760525446
For ages: 5+
Type: Junior Fiction Younger

Video: Andy Griffiths Answers Children's Questions

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia's best known authors for children. His books, like the 'Just' books, the 'Bum' books, and the Treehouse series created with Terry Denton, are bestsellers. In this video, complete with special effects, Andy answers questions from his young readers.

Some of them are just as wild and wacky as the storylines of Andy's books, while others are about his favourite things, and serious advice on becoming an author and where to get ideas for stories.

Video: Reading@Home

Reading@Home is a special video series from the Queensland Department of Education aimed at children from kindergarten to year three. In this post we're featuring the video of episode two which stars Michelle Worthington, reading her book Glitch, and KBR's own Dimity Powell, reading her book Pippa. Settle in for a fun storytelling session!



Title: Glitch / Pippa
Author: Michelle Worthington / Dimity Powell
Illustrator: Andrew Plant / Andrew Plant
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing, $16.95 / Ford Street Publishing, $16.95
Publication Date: 2017 / 2019
Format: Paperback / Paperback
ISBN: 9781925272703 / 9781925804270
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture book

Video Review: Two Bicycles in Beijing

Join Yvonne as she reviews the picture book Two Bicycles in Beijing and learn more about this sweet story of friendships old and new, lost and found set in the beautiful city of Beijing.



Title: Two Bicycles in Beijing
Author: Teresa Robeson
Illustrator: Junyi Wu
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co
Publication Date: 1 April 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780807507644
For ages: 4 - 8
Type: Picture Book

Video: Human Kind series

What does honesty mean? What about persistence? Author Zanni Louise has written two books that explore these questions. They are the first in a series about values, called Human Kind. In this video, she talks about launching the books and how they can help start conversations with children about these topics.


Title:  Honesty / Persistence (Human Kind series)
Author: Zanni Louise
Illustrator: Missy Turner
Publisher: Five Mile, $19.99
Publication Date: April 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781925970791 / 9781925970807
For ages: 3+
Type: Junior non-fiction

Video Review: Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World

Our innovative KBR team are always looking for ways to enliven your reading experiences. If you love our daily dose of uplifting, thoughtful  and insightful reviews buckle into your beanbags because we have something exciting and new for you! 

In addition to our regular video posts by creators sharing their book trailers and behind-the-scenes news, we now have a dedicated Virtual Wonders page featuring the best of our KBR team's on line antics. Links to their colourful YouTube channels, beautiful Instagram accounts and more are all at your fingertips. Plus we are now sharing virtual reviews so that you can literally soak up the wonder and glory of some of our best loved kids' books almost in real life! Regular contributor, Yvonne Mes, is the first to virtually review especially for you. Have a look...

Title: Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World

Author/ Illustrator: Rachel Ignotofsky 

Publisher: Ten Speed Press 

Publication Date: 2019 

Format: Hardback 

ISBN: 9780399580437 

For ages: 12+ 

Type: Non Fiction

Video: David Walliams reads from Gangsta Granny

Since 2008, David Walliams has released at least one children's novel each year, with his stories being described as having similar style to Roald Dahl. He's also written several picture books and short story collections.

One of his novels, Gangsta Granny, is the story of Ben and his grandmother. Ben has to stay with her every Friday night and thinks she's kind of boring ... until he discovers her secret. This video is a recent live reading by David of an excerpt from Gangsta Granny, followed by him answering questions from fans.



Title: Gangsta Granny
Author: David Walliams
Illustrator: Tony Ross
Publisher: Harper Collins, $14.99
Publication Date: 2013
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780007371464
For ages: 9+
Type: Junior Fiction

Video: Emily Rodda's Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell

Bestselling Australian author Emily Rodda has a new series for younger readers, called Monty's Island, illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. The first book in the series is Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell. Monty's Island is a special place filled with magic. When a pirate crew arrives looking for a new home, they seem set on taking Monty's! How will Monty and his friends save their island? In this video, Emily Rodda herself shares an excerpt.



Title: Scary Mary and the Stripe Spell
Author: Emily Rodda
Illustrator: Lucinda Gifford
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $14.99
Publication Date: March 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760529857
For ages: 6 - 8
Type: Junior Fiction