Green is for Christmas
By Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers Reviewed by Sandy Driessens Green Crayon claims that he is THE Christmas colour in the box. The other crayons have to disagree. No candy canes or Santa without Red, no snow without White, no bells or
Twelve Little Festive Frogs
By Hilary Robinson & Mandy Stanley Reviewed by Sandy Driessens Twelve Little Frogs frolicking in the snow. Based on the classic “Twelve Days of Christmas”, with a nod to “Pass the Parcel”, these little frogs, the first whose name is One, travel
Felix Ever After
by Kacen Callender Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Kacen Callender’s middle grade novel, King and the Dragonflies, won the US National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2020. Felix Ever After is a young adult novel featuring 17-year-old Felix’s antics during a summer
Just Like Me
By Tess Osborne & Zoe Osborne Reviewed by Sandy Driessens “A new girl started at my school today. She’s just like me.” The new girl has a dog like me, a family like mine and feels sadness and happiness just like me. The
StoryLinks Best Children’s Books of 2021
The StoryLinks readers and reviewers have had a lot of fun choosing, arguing, proposing and discarding from all the wonderful books published this year. Here is our list arranged in alphabetical order by title. The suggested age range is always approximate
Mr Men: Mr Men and Little Miss in Australia
By Roger Hargreaves Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran The colourful Mr Men and Little Miss characters created by Roger Hargreaves have come together in a picture book, and they are going to Australia! It doesn’t matter if your kids are familiar with the Mr
Super Sidekicks #2: Ocean’s Revenge
Written and illustrated by Gavin Aung Than Reviewed by Junior Reviewer Finley, aged 8 This book is about
Seven Wherewithal Way
By Samantha-Ellen Bound Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Samantha-Ellen Bound is a writer, editor and bookseller who has previously published a dance-themed junior fiction series called Silver Shoes and an all-ages tale called What the Raven Saw. Seven. Wherewithal Way is book one
Super Geeks 2: Planet Pancake
Super Geeks 2: Planet Pancake Written and illustrated by James Hart Reviewed by Finley, aged 8 This book is about
Terry Denton’s Bumper Book of Holiday Stuff to Do
By Terry Denton Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Terry Denton has been creating children's books for over 30 years and is very popular as his zany sense of humour appeals to the iconoclast inherent in many young children. Ideal for the silly season
Batpig: When Pigs Fly
Written and illustrated by Rob Harrell Reviewed by Sarah Custance Rob Harrell is an author-illustrator of many books including the much acclaimed book Wink, in which the original concept for his newest graphic novel When Pigs Fly can be found among it’s
Rosie-May Blue: Mayhem at the Pet Show
By P E Woods Illustrated by Pene Chadwick Reviewed by Sarah Custance P.E. Woods is a keen lover of animals and literacy, both of which she strives to ignite a passion for in the children that she teaches. Rosie-May Blue: Mayhem at the
Animal Train: Wolf Girl 6
By Anh Do Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh Reviewed by Sarah Custance Anh Do has become one of the most well-known household names in children’s literature with his first few series including: WeirDO, HotDog, and Ninja Kid. For the last few years, he mas
Legends Unite: Rise of the Mythix 4
By Anh Do Illustrated by Chris Wahl Reviewed by Sarah Custance Australian author Anh Do has written dozens of children’s books over the last few years with his latest instalments being upper middle fiction series such as Wolf Girl, Rise of the Mythix,
Funny Kid Prank Ninjas (Funny Kid, #10)
Written and Illustrated by Matt Stanton. Reviewed by Sandy Driessens What! Max, THE funny kid is not even on the cover of his own book! Max’s outrage is on the fly papers and gives a clue to the rest of Book 10
Wandi
By Favel Parrett Illustrated by Zoe Ingram Reviewed by Sandy Driessens “The thing I remember most is my mamma’s soft tail, warm and snug … I could hear my mamma’s heartbeat – strong and constant. Always there. But one day Mamma’s heartbeat changed.
Poetry Books for Children of all Ages – A Sampler
A new resource list compiled by Mia Macrossan It is in poetry that the child discovers the possibilities of language – its range, its flexibility, its infinite variety, and these anthologies provide a broad range of the poetry experience. Here is
Henry Hamlet’s Heart
By Rhiannon Wilde Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Start as you mean to continue. Rhiannon Wilde has followed that maxim to great effect in her remarkable debut novel, Henry Hamlet’s Heart which won the Queensland Literary Awards Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland
Wishyouwas: The Tiny Guardian of Lost Letters
By Alexandra Page Illustrated by Penny Neville-Lee Reviewed by Melissa Salisbury Alexandra Page’s first children’s book (and the first in a series), Wishyouwas: The Tiny Guardian of Lost Letters, is a charming story timed well for release in the lead up to Christmas. As
A Child’s War
Written by Ali Holborn Illustrated by Aaron Pocock Reviewed by Sandy Driessens The leather-bound journal with tape holding the spine and the images of light and dark, prepare you for a heart-wrenching ANZAC story of A Child’s War. But which is the child? “Troy
Christmas Always Comes
By Jackie French Illustrated by Bruce Whatley Reviewed by Barbara Braxton Christmas Eve, 1932 and both drought and The Depression have driven Joey's family into living and droving on the "long paddock", that narrow strip of land between the road and the farmers'
An Unexpected Hero: Pow Pow Pig 1
By Anh Do Illustrated by Peter Cheong Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Anh Do has written many books for young people, all of them wildly popular. They are usually heavily illustrated, simply written with an easily accessible story and a message that appeals to
Australian Verse Novels Bibliographies
Exciting new resource lists from The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature An electronically linked team are delighted to advise of the completion of two new bibliographies on Australian Verse Novels. Verse novelists Sally Murphy and Kat Apel, and Centre volunteers, Ruth
What Do You Do To Celebrate?
Written by Ashleigh Barton Illustrated by Martina Heiduczek Reviewed by Zewlan Moor This is the third picture book collaboration between Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek. The first two, What Do You Call Your Grandpa? and What Do You Call Your Grandma?, were highly
A Bedtime Full of Stories
Collected and retold by Angela McAllister Illustrated by Anna Shepeta Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Angela McAllister has written more than 80 books for children, so she knows what appeals. Here she has gathered together an eclectic mix of short stories that are perfect
Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Life
By Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan Illustrated by Angela Rizza & Daniel Long Reviewed by Mia Macrossan This a really fabulous book about dinosaurs published by Dorling Kindersley. I know there are so many out there but this one is a stand out, it is stunningly
Following Frankenstein
By Catherine Bruton Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has had an enduring impact on the hearts and minds of all who read her ground-breaking book. The monster created by Frankenstein out of plundered corpses has entered the public consciousness and
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief
By Katrina Nannestad Illustrated by Martina Heiduczek Reviewed by Mia Macrossan This is very much a companion volume to the award winning We Are Wolves, same topic, same illustrator, same book format but this time instead of seeing World War II from a
Little Bilby’s Aussie Bush Christmas
By Yvonne Mes Illustrated by Jody Pratt Reviewed by Mia Macrossan We first met Little Bilby in Little Bilby's Easter Egg Hunt, and now he and his friends are travelling through the bush accepting Christmas gifts from various iconic Australian animals with which
Worst. Holiday. Ever.
By Charlie Higson Reviewed by Melissa Salisbury Illustrated by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond books and The Enemy series, excels at humorous and heart-warming middle grade in Worst. Holiday. Ever. Twelve-year-old Stan is a shy, anxious, skinny kid from a
