Bon and Lesley by Shaun Prescott

Bon and Lesley by Shaun Prescott Author Interview at Paperbark Words “You’d be surprised how many places elude maps, you can fairly easily stray from the known world entirely. And you’re not paying attention if you think it’s untrue, but you must know it anyway because you got off the train. You always thought these […]

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Tiger Daughter by rececca Lim

Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin) Book review by Joy Lawn When young teen Wen Zhou is stalked by two men at night, in Tiger Daughter by author and lawyer Rebecca Lim, she is caught between fear and rage. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and has been given a boy’s name because “it’s bad […]

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BACK TO THE STORKS by CRESSIDA GAUKROGER, ILLUS ANDREW JOYNER

Reviews > Back to the StorksCressida Gaukroger, illus Andrew JoynerLittle HareReviewed by Joy LawnReleased October 2023HardbackISBN 9781761211874RRP $22.99Category: Children’s picture book Back to the Storks (Cressida Gaukroger, illus Andrew Joyner, Little Hare) 8 August 2023   Unlocked content from the archive.  Books+Publishing (This review was commissioned by Books+Publishing and is reproduced with permission.) Back to the Storks plays on […]

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Affirming, Fun Picture Books

Affirming, Fun Picture Books by Affirm Picture Books & More Reviews by Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog All books reviewed in this survey are published by Affirm Press There’s something magical happening at Affirm Press. A small independent press, they are absolutely punching above their weight by publishing many of Australia’s best picture book creators (as well […]

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World by Martine Murray & Anna Read

World by Martine Murray & Anna Read (published Parachute Press) World is a 2024 CBCA Notable book in the Picture Book of the Year category. Congratulations. Chloe Hooper describes World in her cover puff as, “A wise and generous fable with a vital message”. Martine Murray first came to my attention in 2001 with her novel […]

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Body friend by Katherine Brabon

Body FriendKatherine BrabonUltimoReviewed by Joy LawnReleased September 2023PaperbackISBN 9781761151781RRP $34.99Category: Fiction Body Friend (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo) 25 July 2023   Unlocked content from the archive.  Books+Publishing (This review was commissioned by Books+Publishing and is reproduced with permission.) Katherine Brabon distinguished herself with her first novels, The Memory Artist and The Shut Ins, but she has surpassed these and reached an […]

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One Song by A.J. Betts

One Song by A.J. Betts (published Pan MacMillan) Author Interview with A.J. Betts about her YA novel One Song for Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog I think that One Song is original and highly memorable. Why do you think this is so? One Song is unlike anything I’ve written before, or anything I’ve read. […]

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Fleur Ferris and Seven Days

Fleur Ferris, Seven Days & other books “It blows my mind to think what we do today matters – not just to us, but to those who come after us, to those who aren’t even born yet. It can impact someone one hundred years from now.” (Seven Days) All of Fleur Ferris’ novels (published Penguin […]

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