CATEGORIES

In case you hadn’t worked it out yet, one of my favourite things to do in the whole wide world, is read. And because I simply can’t help myself, I also love to talk to others about what I’m reading. This is why I review. I simply love to review . . . but I [...]

Today is my second-last day at Boomerang Books – tomorrow I shall introduce my sensational new replacement! – but until then, it feels very fitting to feature Sheryl Gwyther in my last Very Bookish Questions. Sheryl is a talented, beautiful writer with a deep passion for children’s literature and literacy. She is also a dear [...]

In the vein of Herve Tullet, this stunning, large-format activity book is stellar quality for kids who are serious about their art. And squiggles. Author/illustrator Pascale Estellon has created a stunner of a book that’s as much a coffee table tome as it is a magnificent stack of pages designed to send your child’s creativity [...]

Got bored kids? Unbelievable, right? I don’t remember being bored as a kid and that’s probably because I spent my childhood doing many of the fabulous, creative, imagination and soul/brain/heart/body fulfilling things in this book. Admittedly, most of them were less high-tech versions! but they were creative nonetheless. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have loved [...]

Looking for some new-release picture books to stash away for the Christmas stocking? This gorgeous selection will delight both kids and adults with a wide range of themes, striking illustrations and stories to touch the heart or tickle the funny bone. Enjoy! Tree: A little story about big things by Danny Parker and Matt Ottley [...]

Which genre of childrens books do you like most and why? Picture books – because those for young children are written to be a true delight for an adult to read out loud as a performance. I miss sharing them with my son and daughter, now in their 20s, but I do love reading picture books to other [...]

The recent loss of legendary Kiwi author Margaret Mahy made me realise something. I had never, ever read any of her books. So remiss of me because this beautiful picture book is testament to a long and glorious authorship I’d completely miss out on – until now. The man from the land of Fandango is [...]

1.      Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why?  Trying to choose a favourite genre would be like asking me to choose a favourite dessert (I have a sweet tooth). When it comes to books I have a restless mind, so I read widely. I love so many different genres for different reasons. [...]

Oh my. Watch out. Belly button fluff is not reserved for the hygienically-challenged, no no. Even pink and perfect peeps like Serenity Strainer find the odd thatch of fluff in said navel – and sometimes, just sometimes, that little thatch can be . . . queue dramatic music . . . Evil! That’s right. Meet [...]

Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why?  I love humour because they’re wacky, weird and make kids laugh (which is very hard to do in books, hehe). Anything by Andy Griffiths is the perfect example, particularly the Just books. I based my first book Thai-riffic! on Andy’s formula of short stories [...]

The life of a modern day family is buzzing and full to capacity – swimming lessons, practice for the spelling bee, signing the homework book, playing the violin, getting the grocery shopping done, working late . . . It’s a whirlwind of activity almost all of us know so well. Some of it is a [...]

Hannah simply adores gorillas. She begs her father to take her to the zoo to see her favourite animal, but Dad is always too busy. During the week he is too busy. On the weekends, he is too busy. The night before Hannah’s birthday, she asks her father for a gorilla and when she wakes, [...]

Love a good inventions book, me, and this wonderful compilation of fascinating info had my heart racing. If it can do that to a comparably jaded adult, just imagine what it would to for kids. Chris Cheng and Linsay Knight have put together an impressive catalogue of uniquely Aussie creations, sorted into categories like Communications [...]

I’m a sucker for vintage books but I’m also loving modern books with that delectable retro edge. Here are some of my very favourite vintage-inspired children’s picture books. Leave a comment and let me know yours. You can see some of my favourite vintage books right here. Next Stop Grand Central by Maira Kalman At [...]

What do Adolf Hitler, HG Wells, Leonardo da Vinci, Genghis Khan and dinosaurs have in common? They all find themselves in a rather precarious situation in this hoot of a book from the masterful Martin Chatterton. Mortimer DeVere and his sister Agnetha are 10,000 years old. Residents of Unk Island, the duo are tasked with [...]

Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? I love picture books and their deceptive simplicity. They’re short… but they have many layers, so you can read them over and over again, finding new things. They’re also warm and inviting for sharing. I read picture books to myself, to babies, to school [...]

Heather is a little accident-prone, especially when it comes to water. If there’s a lake, a puddle, a pool, seaside or drip, she’ll tumble into it, coat and hat and shoes and all. Her parents worry for her safety. They worry so much, they make Heather wear floaties day in and day out. Just in [...]

Nicholas is hunting for sweet juicy berries with his friends but all the best berries have been gobbled by birds. Determined to find some of his own, he sets off into the field where’s snatched by a big ugly bird. Fearing for his life, he wriggles until the bird drops him – right into a [...]

Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? I like Fantasy and Science Fiction most of all, and that’s because I call these ‘Literature of the Imagination’. The boundaries are limitless, the horizons are extended, and the stories are grander. Kate Forsyth and Garth Nix are great examples of the sorts of writers [...]

As a fan of Jacqueline Harvey’s Alice-Miranda books, I was delighted to see a new little poppet land in my mail box – Clementine Rose – a precious and adorable 5-year-old who is delivered, as a baby, to the door of her heiress mother in a basket of dinner rolls. No one knows where young [...]

I have quite the obsession with vintage books – it’s absolutely no secret. And no surprise. Vintage children’s books are at once inspiring and overwhelmingly beautiful – harking back to a time when book creation was more about genius than sales. Here I’m sharing some of my favourite vintage books – and I would love [...]

1. Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? My bookshelves have literally thousands of books across lots of different genres so it’s hard to choose! But I think my favourite genres are adventure, history and a twist of magic – so much like the books I love to write myself. Some [...]

Just loving the gorgeously retro illustrations in this book that send one winging back to the 1970s. Author/illustrator Tai Snaith has created a timeless peek into the typical Aussie family life . . . of our native fauna. The sun has risen and a colourful Gouldian family gobble their breakfast. On a nearby branch, retro [...]

Shy Mousey Brown is watching a sweet, bounding hare, hopping all around, welcoming in spring, totally unaware of the surly old hound, lying in wait. Shy Mousey Brown knows this hound; he’s seen him before. How can he warn the bunny of the hound’s rather sinister motives? He’s so small. He can hardly be heard. [...]

1. Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? I’m not sure if it quite counts as a genre, but I love children’s books that work with ideas you can wonder about all your life because of a sense that, without recourse to any clunky symbolism or a deliberately placed moral, something [...]

Professor Dotty Dabble and her laboratory assistant robot Digby (43 light years old) are opening the mail. There is an invitation from Mad Inventor’s Monthly to enter their best invention, and win the holiday of a lifetime. But how can they possibly choose which amazing invention to enter? Should it be the chocolate cup (simply [...]

Quentin Saxby Blake was born in Sidcup, Kent, in 1932. His first published drawing was for the satirical magazine Punch, at the tender age of 16. Studying English Literature, he went on to complete a post graduate teaching diploma before studying at the Chelsea School of Art, and eventually taught at the Royal College of [...]

Seeing colour through the eyes of an artist is vital for children. It expands their visual horizons, especially when done with the raw simplicity of Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Green is just that. Green. Green in all manner of shades and hues, tints and tones. There’s forest green. Lime green. Sea green and fern. There’s slow [...]

1. Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? Surrealistic comedy adventures. One thing most of the best ones have in common is that they don’t patronise children. I’ve always believed in reading (and writing) ‘up’. If there’s something a reader doesn’t understand then that’s okay. I avoid whimsy, fantasy and ‘issue-based’ [...]

It’s the Gold Rush in Australia – a time when bushrangers are rife and travellers, both local and international, are aplenty in the harsh buslands of northern Victoria and New South Wales. Young Hugo Mars and his wealthy Papa are on an intrepid voyage to Australia to research stories for a French magazine (edited by [...]

If you’re anything like me – completely obsessed with pop-up books, you’ll need only take a peek at the very first page of Wild Alphabet to know it’s a must-add to any collector shelf. Yes yes, I’m ashamed to say it’s one of those books you’re reluctant to hand to a child under 12 – [...]

Happy belated Father’s Day, dads! I hope you were spoiled and adored, as Dad should be on this very special day. In celebration of fathers everywhere, here are my picks for the best new release Father’s Day books. My Dad’s the Coolest (Scholastic) Rosie Smith and Bruce Whatley are back in this sequel to My [...]

Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? I can’t just pick one genre: my top four are fantasy, adventure, history and mystery – and if these can be combined in the one book, that’s the best of all! I also love a little tingle of romance in the blend. So here [...]

Next to Mirror, this is possibly my favourite of Jeannie Baker’s incredibly beautiful picture books. Not only is the imagery stunning, but the power of its wordless form is something Jeannie does with consummate style. Belonging is deceptive in its simplicity. It features repeat double page spreads of a square window, showing an outdoor scene [...]

It’s a delight to see a flood of brand new fiction titles for kids in recent months. If your children devour books like mine do, you’ll be thrilled with this line-up of new releases. There’s truly something for everyone. My only problem is trying to wend these copies out of my kids’ clutches. These titles [...]

Author Ursula Dubosarsky? Check. Illustrator Andrew Joyner? Check. Elephants? Check. But not too many at all. In fact, this book wouldn’t be even half way as cool if it didn’t have simply too many elephants, which raises the question: can anyone really have too many elephants? Eric really likes elephants. He has them everywhere. In [...]

Which genre of children’s books do you like most and why? I like fantasy and science fiction best – and a lot of my favourites are cross-genre. I generally like books for readers of 10 and up, and especially the ones where authors have thought out their settings rather than just grabbing something someone else [...]

Katie is running late for school. Again. Dashing through the park, past the nooks of huddled trees, Katie trips on a tree root and falls sprawling to the ground. That’s when she hears the voice. A high-pitched squeaky voice – with a funny accent. Katie can hardly believe her eyes when a little man with [...]

Molly misses her grandma. It makes her feel awfully sad. She misses her hugs, her smells, her baking scones and biscuits in the kitchen. Molly’s mum is also sad. How Molly wishes Grandma would come back again. One day, Molly finds Grandma’s big straw hat. She puts it on and wanders into the garden where [...]

The sun is sparkling in that lovely way it sometimes does, and Florentine suggests some fun outdoors. A picnic sounds wonderful and Pig agrees. Florentine begins taking comprehensive notes and Pig’s eyes boggle at her picnic schedule – apple and carrot muffins, rainbow sprinkle cookies, green pea tarts and pink lemonade, just to name a [...]