News: KBR CBCA 2018 Shortlist Predictions!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Forever curious to delve deeper into our book-loving psyches, we asked our intrepid KBR team to predict the 2018 CBCA Shortlist outcome based on the Notable Titles announced on the 27 February.

The Kids Book Review team is a mixed band of accomplished literary professionals, artists, educators, librarians and of course, reviewers so naturally, our responses were never going to be straightforward! Each team member was asked three questions:

·         Which title they thought WILL be shortlisted

·         Which title they thought SHOULD be shortlisted

·         Which title WOULD be shortlisted if they could choose, in other words, their favourite.

Here is what they had to say. Perhaps it will prompt you to make your own pre-announcement predictions. Whatever the outcome, KBR congratulate all those who made the Notables list this year. It is hugely gratifying to see the magnitude of quality, meaningful literature that Australia continues to create for children.

Review: Nevermoor

Morrigan is cursed. Not only do the townspeople blame her for everything that goes wrong in their lives, they demand compensation. Luckily her father is extremely rich.

Morrigan lives in a loveless world where her freedom is measured by the potential damage her presence might cause. As a cursed child, she is also scheduled to die on her twelfth birthday but everything changes on Bid Day.

Not only do four sponsors vie to retain Morrigan as their apprentice, the sky clock cuts her expected lifespan short – by a whole year.

Of course, Morrigan can't die when the story is about her, but the setup is definitely a high-action way to start.

Giveaway: Wundersmith

The highly anticipated second instalment in the Nevermoor series is here, and thanks to the wonderful people at Hachette Australia, we have a copy of Wundersmith, by award-winning author Jessica Townsend, to give away!

Morrigan Crow has escaped her curse and foretold death and has a new home in the city of Nevermoor. She believes she’s finally found a place to belong, but things are never as they seem. A middle fiction novel to be adored by all ages, Wundersmith is filled with fantasy, adventure and magic. Read our KBR review of Nevermoor, here.

Review: Wundersmith

Wundersmith, the second book in the brilliant Nevermoor series sees Morrigan Crow escape her curse, pass all her Trials and enter the Wundrous Society. 

After being unwanted by her own family, Morrigan has found the family she’s dreamed of at the Hotel Deucalion with all the staff that run it.

But discovering she is a Wundersmith is not all she’d imagined. Magic can be used for good and bad deeds. It is a power that can be manipulated, and Ezra Squall, the only other living Wundersmith, is determined to win her over and into his devious world. 

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

Winner: Wundersmith

And our lucky winner is...

Joseph Spagnolo, NSW

Congratulations! You have won a copy of Wundersmith, the highly anticipated sequel to Nevermoor, by Jessica Townsend.

Enjoy!

Thank you to ALL who entered.

If you loved Morrigan Crow in the first Nevermoor book, visit again in January 2019 for our exciting review of Wundersmith.

Look What I'm Reading! Shaye Wardrop

Shaye Wardrop is a picture book writer and blogger. Science fiction and fantasy obsessed, she has a passion for stories with far away lands, magnificent beasts, incredible journeys and brave little feet.

Which children’s book are you currently reading?
The Disappearance of Ember Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina (Young Adult).

Can you tell us in two sentences what the book is about?
The second book in The Tribe series, it’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where resources are strictly controlled and people born with supernatural abilities are labelled ‘illegals’ and detained.

Ember Crow is an illegal hiding in the Firstwood with a whole tribe of her kind, but when she goes missing, the only person who can help get her back is also the person who took her.

10 Quirky Questions with author Paul Russell

1. What's your hidden talent?
I am a little bit artistic. I have a Fine Art degree, which I spent making large sculptures, and I can actually draw, at least by author standards. I would never illustrate my own work. I am blown away by the talents of picture book illustrators and can’t hold a candle to them. But, I am fairly good at Pictionary or putting little pictures in the margins of notebooks.

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
The big fish in This is Not my Hat by Jon Klassen. I guess technically the little fish could be the villain due to his thieving nature, but the determination and cold, ruthless retribution of the big fish makes him such an unsung villain. Otherwise, it has to be Captain Hook in the book version of Peter Pan. If you take away the Disney, he is downright terrifying and such a great villain. He smokes two cigars at once, actually employs his hook as an extra weapon when fighting and hunts children. Terrifying.

Look What I'm Reading! Dianne Wolfer Children's Author

Hello, I live on the south coast of Western Australia but love travelling across Australia to visit readers.

Six weeks ago I broke my foot while walking the dog. That’s slowed me down with school and library visits, but I’m a bookworm and so have enjoyed the extra reading time...

Which children’s book are you currently reading?

I’ve just finished Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt.

Look What I'm Reading! Penelope Pratley

Penelope Pratley is an illustrator, writer and educator who made her illustration debut in February 2018 with The Art Garden. Penelope is currently illustrating books for EK Books, New Frontier Publishing and Christmas Press.

She spends her days creating wonder, ignoring the housework, eating chocolate freckles and teaching others to interpret their world through art. Here's what she has to say about her love of reading.

When I sit down to read, not a lot gets done in relation to the rest of my life. When I read, I am fully immersed in that book’s world and I’m certainly not going to let a load of dirty school socks tempt me back to ‘reality’.

How I love a good tale to get lost in.