Through the Darkening Sea*
By Claire Saxby & Peter Cheong Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Claire Saxby is the master of lyrical non-fiction picture books. She has published many, including Emu, Koala, Kookaburra, Secrets of…
The Boy and the Shark
By Cate James Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Cate James is a Sydney-based illustrator and printmaker who has published more than 50 picture books with some of Australia’s biggest publishers. Her…
The World From Here
By Cassy Polimeni & Mel Armstrong Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Cassy has written both fiction and non-fiction picture books including Ella and the Sleepover Safari and The Garden at the End of…
Home
By Rory H Mather & Matt Shanks Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Rory writes very accessible picture books for young children such as Otto’s INK-redible First Day of School and Vlad’s Bad…
The Escape Game
By Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss Reviewed by Zewlan Moor This book is unputdownable! From the very first page it features the entertaining, high energy voice of clever teens with…
Drawing Nudes While Making Oher Plans
By Zoe Gaetjens Review by Lucille Rose Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans is an interesting, aptly named book, though its title is only the beginning of the attention-grabbing aspects…
Duck Look Who’s Talking! (Duck, #1)
By Matt Stanton Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran Matt Stanton is the award-winning author and illustrator of multiple best-selling book series for children including Funny Kid, The Odds, Bored and Fluff,…
Somewhere You Can Dream
By Janeen Brian & Hilary Jean Tapper Reviewed by Margarite Igras Janeen Brian is a prolific award-winning Australian author and former teacher. Her works include poetry, picture books, junior fiction…
Meet the Shortlist! 2026 Book Links Children’s Historical Fiction Award
The waiting is over, here is the 2026 Book Links Children’s Historical Fiction award shortlist – three very different but very exciting and engrossing reads. …
Meet the Author of Kid: Peter Carnavas
By Mia Macrossan Peter Carnavas writes and illustrates wonderful stories for children. He has created over twenty books, many of which have been shortlisted or won prestigious awards, including My…
Hafsa’s Way
By Aisha Saeed Reviewed by Zewlan Moor Hafsa’s Way is the third of a loose trilogy of contemporary realist middle grade novels by Pakistani-American author, Aisha Saeed. The firs two,…
Cities Going Wild – To Save the Planet
By Catherine Barr and Christiane Engel Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Catherine Barr is a prolific author of non-fiction picture books. Based in Hay-on-Wye, the Welsh ‘town of books’, she has…
The Very Fine Clock
By Muriel Spark and Edward Gorey Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray The Very Fine Clock is a new edition of a whimsical fable first published in 1968. It’s written by…
In Ecstasy
By Kate McCaffrey Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey Sophie and Mia have been best friends since they started kindergarten, but by the time they get to the party that kicks off…
Annie and Maeve Are Definitely Not Friends
By Olivia Muscat Reviewed by Melissa Salisbury Olivia Muscat is a Melbourne-based writer, performer, and disability rights advocate, and this is her debut middle grade novel. Muscat wanted to portray…
Archie Can’t Sit Still
By Davilyn Lynch, Dani Vee & James Layton. Reviewed by Margarite Igras This fun, yet serious book, was written by two authors who were diagnosed with ADHD as adults. They…
Girls Like
By Katrina Germein & Deb Hudson Reviewed by Dimity Powell Girls. Creatures unto themselves, unique, uncompromising, spirited. Well that’s exactly what they can and should be so depicted in this…
Green Cities
How Green Infrastructure Helps Heal the Planet By Sheila Boudreau and Katy Dockrill Reviewed by Annaleise Byrd Sheila Boudreau is a landscape architect, urban planner and university lecturer specialising in…
A Lemon for Safiya
By Jemima Shafei-Ongu & Nisaluk Chantanakom Reviewed by Margarite Igras Jemima Shafei-Ongu is a Sydney based writer, teacher, and psychologist. She loves picture books claiming they nurture a special connection…
Oceanforged 2: The Silent Island
By Amelia Mellor Reviewed by Helen Gearing Amelia Mellor, whose debut upper middle grade series ‘Grandest Bookshop’ was highly awarded by critics, readers, and booksellers alike has crafted another edge-of-your-seat…
My Wonderful Disgrace
By Angourie Rice and Kate Rice Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey The school ball is the ultimate dream for many high schoolers – fancy clothes, the date they’ve always dreamed of,…
To Activate Space Portal Lift Here
Be the First to meet Alien Life-Forms By Antoinette Portis Reviewed by Mia Macrossan I always knew that books were portals to another universe and here is proof. On opening,…
Soccer I Just Love It!
By Alister Nicholson & Tom Jellett Reviewed by Mia Macrossan Alister Nicholson is one of Australia’s best-known radio and TV sports commentators. His first children’s book, Cricket, I Just Love It!,…
Audrey Skips
By Andrea Rowe & Lisa Coutts Reviewed by Dimity Powell Unless you are familiar with Melbourne’s skyline and Australia’s recent past, you may not be acquainted with The Skipping Girl,…
Girls Who Play Dead
By Joelle Wellington Reviewed by Lauren Spencer Joelle Wellington is a New York-based author known for her YA thrillers. Her previous titles, Their Vicious Games and The Blonde Dies First,…
Song Of the Saltings
By Rachel King Reviewed by Lucille Rose Song Of The Saltings is a grim, dark fantasy that follows the story of Lotta Salter, a daughter of the island of Brack,…
Is This a Plum?
By Dan & Finn Ojari Reviewed by Barbara Braxton The fun starts on the front cover with the title, a cut-out that just invites you to open it and reveals……
The Future Book
By Mac Barnett & Shawn Harris Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray In the future, things are different. The sun is called the moon, and the moon is called the sun.…
Poster Boys
By Scott Woodard Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey It all starts when Nolan, one of prestigious Highview Grammar’s least popular year nine boys, smashes cool kid James’s nose on Winter Sports…
Belong
By Sharon Seymour & Freya Goldsmith Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray WestWords is a publisher dedicated to unique, diverse stories from the Western Sydney community. They are champions of lyrical…
