Book Reviews
The Jammer, by Nova Weetman
Nova Weetman is one of Australia’s best middle-grade authors and I devour everything she writes. Her book, Sick Bay, was one of the first novels I had read that included a main character with type 1 diabetes and she impressed me with her sensitivity and understanding in relation to what life can be like for…
Read MoreThe Goodbye Year, by Emily Gale
Emily Gale is one of my favourite authors and I shared my review here about the fabulous historical fiction time-slip, Elsewhere Girls, co-written with Emily’s good friend and one of my other favourites, Nova Weetman. Emily’s latest novel for ages 10+ is the first book I have read that includes the Covid-19 experience, and Emily…
Read MoreHeroes, Rebels and Innovators, by Karen Wyld & Jaelyn Biumaiwai
This Children’s Book Council 2022 Honours winner, Heroes, Rebels and Innovators, by Karen Wyld and illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai, shares seven inspiring stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from history. Author Karen Wyld, a writer of Martu descent, and illustrator Jaelyn Biumaiwai, of Mununjali and Fijian descent, have created a beautiful book, that…
Read MoreWhalesong by Kate Gordon
“There is no now and no then, only in between and always. Open the box. Come and see.” CBCA Award-winning author Kate Gordon, is one of my favourite authors. Everything I have read of hers, I have loved – for her beautiful, lyrical prose, and for her insight into human beings, our mental health and…
Read MoreEvery Thing We Keep by Di Walker
How do you leave a family behind? Trailing her orange suitcase and a heart full of worry, thirteen-year-old Agatha is about to go home. She has been in and out of foster care for years, but her latest new life, lived with naval precision with Katherine, Lawson and their dog, Chief, has proved to be…
Read MoreThe Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran & Michelle Pereira
When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts a new school, he knows he’s got to do something about his long name. When no amount of shrinking, folding or crumpling works, he simply settles for Zim – but deep down, it doesn’t feel right. It’s not until a new friend sees him for who he truly is that Zimdalamashkermishkada finds…
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