Review: Green Cities: How Green Infrastructure Helps Heal the Planet

Green Cities: How Green Infrastructure Helps Heal the Planet, a book by Sheila Boudreau and Katy Dockrill, is an introductory exploration of nature in the urban environment, emphasising the importance of green spaces and green infrastructure.

It’s got a modern, yet retro feel, and is filled with bright illustrations, colourful text boxes, and lots of green to match the theme. The design uses plenty of subheadings and every turn of a page offers visual elements. 

It starts by looking at the history of cities and how city planning can be transformed and improved by working with biodiversity and even creating a walkable city. It also considers the impact of climate change and the way building cities can contribute greenhouse gases, heat islands, and the risk of water pollution.

Review: The Boy & The Shark

Cate James has long been loved and admired for her picture book illustrations. This debut of her work as both author and illustrator in one, is a welcome extension of her mighty talents.

The Boy & The Shark is a wonderfully appealing picture book.

William does not like parties.

William likes sharks.

William’s little sister is having a birthday party with noise and dress-ups and pesky kids every which way.

Review: The Fast Lane

Some of us are naturally competitive. Others are happy to go with the flow. But what happens when one meets the other?

Daisy swims 100 laps of the pool every day in the ‘fast lane’. Everyone knows that this section of the pool is reserved for the serious swimmers.

Everyone – except Frank.

Frank just wants to float around and have fun. He wants to splish-splosh and sidestroke. Daisy doesn’t have a problem with this – until Frank moves over to the fast lane!

Review: Here Come the Cousins

Here Come the Cousins is a joyful and exuberant celebration of family and summer holidays by the beach. There is love, laughter, and nostalgia by the bucket and spadeful.

Written by Maggie Hutchings and illustrated by Sarah Zweck, Here Come the Cousins tells the story of a pack of boisterous cousins who descend on Pop’s beach house for a summer of fun.

Bunk beds are allotted, heights are measured, and then it’s on with the swimmers and off to the beach!

Review: Going Fishing with Nana

Going Fishing with Nana is another superb Magabala Books publication written by Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali and illustrated by Karen Briggs. It is an adventurous follow-up to On the Way to Nana’s, published in 2017.

The day has finally arrived to pick up Nana and go fishing.

It will be a long drive, but luckily there are many interesting things to look at along the way. 

Waterholes, boab trees, and the peeping, squinting, glaring eyes of many Australian animals, birds and insects.

Review: Ningaloo: Australia

This non-fiction picture book is itself a ‘wild wonder.’

Ningaloo – Australia’s Wild Wonder looks at the extraordinary natural phenomenon of  land and sea known as Ningaloo, and celebrates both the awe-inspiring and quiet things that make this place unique.

Penned by Australia’s beloved Tim Winton and accompanied by 100s of gorgeous, hand-painted illustrations by Cindy Lane, it’s a veritable treasure trove of surprise and information.

From itty bitty blind fish that live deep in the murky depths, to massive whale sharks in the glossy blue sea, Ningaloo features more than 50 species of aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants.

Review: Prayer For A River

The gentle strength of a beautiful, striking and uncomplicated cover illustration for Prayer For A River, sets the tone for this heartfelt and important story.

River brings life.

River brings us together.

River holds the stories.

In a direct, deceptively simple and life-affirming way, Prayer For A River celebrates the importance of water to all living things, and reminds us of what we can do to acknowledge and support this valuable resource.

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to read a story that is a prayer that is a rumination that is a plea that is a devotion that is an invocation that is a thanksgiving that is a poem.

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: We Saw What You Started

Creating an instant sense of place. Inviting an immediate connection with someone you’ve never met before. Enticing your nerves to tingle with curiosity. 

These are the elements of the holy trinity that a great story begins with and, I’m delighted to say, qualities Carla Salmon has nailed in her debut YA novel, We Saw What You Started.

Nightmares don’t need passports … lines like this set up a delicious air of intrigue and uncomfortable concern. What is it exactly that US teen, Otto is fleeing from? How does it influence his assimilation into his new Aussie coastal home in Red Sands and how will his past implicate his future?

Salmon deftly sows seeds of secrecy, while plunging the reader headfirst into a dire and dangerous situation; an unchecked bushfire. Now, any Aussie worth their salt knows this is not the sort of calamity to mess around with and yet as we dive deeper into this story, the threat of fire occurs, again and again.

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: Trash-er Island & Mirelle's Mirror

Books about kids trying to save the planet are a plenty in this current climate of intense change and global abuse but these two Kids for Planet Earth picture books by Katherine Wallace possess a charm and allure that younger children will immediately warm to. No pun intended.

Trash-er Island is my fave incorporating the robust rambunctiousness of pirates in search of treasure and one of the planet’s most abhorrent yet oft overlooked environmental disasters; oceanic garbage gyres.

Out of sight, out of mind may be the case for the vast majority of us Earth dwellers but for Tilly, a young pirate determined to win the annual Pirate Regatta, reality couldn’t be more obvious. 

Review: Searching For Treasure

Searching for treasure on the high tide line.

One step, two steps, what can you find?

This book, with its sumptuous illustrations and specially cut-out pages, celebrates all of the good things about a walk on the beach.

From two award-winning creators and told from the visual point of view of a small child, the book takes us on an adventure through the high tide line, finding treasures large and small from both under and out of the water.

Review: Wave Atlas: Everything You Need To Know About Waves

To say things have been a little turbulent weather wise lately (at least in my small part of the world) is a wee understatement. 

Much of that recent SE QLD tropical cyclone turbulence resulted in storm surge, disastrous beach erosion and record-breaking massive wave heights (12.3 metres off the Gold Coast).

You don’t have to be an ex-sailor, like me, or even a storm chaser to appreciate the wonders of weather however; the pulse and rhythm of waves has a hypnotic pull that most of us find difficult to resist. 

Which is why, Thames & Hudson’s latest atlas-styled publication about the phenomena of waves rates high on my barometer of brilliant reads.

Following a similar format to Cloud Atlas, Wave Atlas: Everything You Need To Know About Waves, takes young readers (and old sea dogs like myself) through a fascinating journey around our water dominated planet. We explore the hows and whys of our oceans’ existence and the global currents, tidal pulls and meteorological conditions that induce those great oceans to move.

Review: Australia's Baby Animals

If I had to choose just one word out of all the words in the world to describe this Non-Fiction Picture-Book, I think I’d have to go with ‘phenomenal.’ 

Oh sure, the scope and quality of information and artwork is wonderful, clever, wholesome, uplifting and any manner of others, but still my one-word description stands.

Published in a large format which best showcases its many beautiful artworks, this is a collectible companion book to Australia: Country of Colour!

Award-winning author/illustrator Jess Racklyeft takes us on an incredible journey across earth, sky tree, river and sea, to explore and celebrate the baby animals found within Australia.

Review: Wild Australia

Our Marine and National Parks are protected areas. Before we set out on our journey of discovery, there are things to do and know. 

The lists of vital preparations to be made before setting out to journey though Wild Australia should be adhered to.

These necessities create an immediate awareness of the environment and our role in its protection, from the first page where it sits in the company of a numbered map of Australia. 

Look out for wildlife is a main one.

Review: Taronga Big Book Of Animals

This sumptuous book contains over 200 fabulous and fascinating wildlife facts, along with more than 140 glorious illustrations of animals. It is indeed a feast for the eyes and the senses.

Did you know that pandas can do hand-stands?

That some penguins make their very own poo bombs?

Or that tigers have spikes on their tongues?

Well now you do. You’re welcome.

The world-class wildlife experts at Taronga zoo have captured some of the most exciting and crazy information for us to laugh at, marvel over and wonder about. AND they remind us that although this is the current leading-edge science, it may not always be – so it’s important to remain open and curious about the world around you.

Four artists and a designer (who we meet at the back end of the book) have brought the animals to life visually in the most beautiful ways. The layout, colour, line, space, movement, flow and vibrance of the information and illustrations are very special – alive and engaging.
There is so much to love about this book, not least that it’s divided into segments with easy to read maps - which help us to navigate our way through chapters organised by habitats that feature land animals, mountain dwellers, sea creatures, and the like.

Coloured side tabs indicate where in the book you are, and each page is chock full to the brim with text boxes, fun facts, vibrant colour or engaging double spreads with dreamy colour and gorgeous design.

This lush, friendly book contains much to pore over and marvel at. It’s perfect for dipping into at leisure, and a wonderful bonus – it also shares the Taronga Conservation Society’s important work with endangered and critical species.

It will no doubt adorn coffee tables, perhaps become the centrepiece for family games, and be a frequent visitor on bedside book piles.

Perfect for Christmas! Or as a gift for any special occasion. 

Title: Taronga Big Book Of Animals
Author: Taronga Conservation Society Australia
Illustrators: Various
Publisher: Penguin, $39.99
Publication Date: 29 October 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761347467
For Ages: 4+
Type: Non Fiction

Review: Over or Under?

Over or Under? by Pip Harry and Hilary Jean Tapper is a distinctly Australian story, from the landscape to the scenarios.

Maisie is learning how to swim safely. With her Dad by her side she practices jumping waves and knowing when it's better to dive under them. 

When Maisie hesitates to dive under a bigger wave, she discovers the strength of the water as it tumbles her about and dumps her. Maisie's fortunate that Dad's there to pull her to safety.

Review: Marion And The Forty Thieves

The opening of this book with its sedate, fluffy scones and cups of tea doesn’t feel like your typical rollicking tale of skulduggery, but be warned! 

Because quite early on in this narrative, the storyline whisks us into an intriguing, if unsettling, world.

The action takes place on a boat for wayward schoolboys that is permanently anchored in 1800s Sydney harbour, and on the mean streets of Sydney’s Rocks area.

This is a wonderful work of historical fiction (or ‘faction’ if you prefer) that features real people and places from Australia’s history. 

Review: Little Angler

I live in the water, deep down in the sea.

Check out my light, it’s as bright as can be.

Take a deep, deep underwater adventure with Little Angler in this gorgeous lift-the-flap board book by Zoe Gaetjens and Heidi McKinnon.

Something looks tickly, what could it be?

I’ll turn on my light, then we can see.

Review: Cheer Up, Blobfish!

The Kid and I have long had a soft spot [so to speak] for blobfish, going way back to her days as mini-Attenborough, so this book was always on my radar. And really, who could go past that sensational cover with its lenticular feature?

Any reader whose eye is caught by this awesomeness, will not be disappointed by the story and art inside either. 

From the fabulous endpapers [you know my thoughts on this topic by now] and throughout the delightful rhyming narrative, to the sweet and affirming ending, this is a hit all round.