How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood “Our word of the week is participation. More like ‘exclusion’ for me, not that anyone seems to care.” (How to Spell Catastrophe) Fiona Wood is one of Australia’s best contemporary writers of YA literature, evinced by the many awards her books have won. In fact, her three most […]

The Verse Novel by Linda Weste

The Verse Novel by Linda Weste “I think verse novelists are so clever in the way they say so much, with so few words.” Pip Harry in The Verse Novel The Verse Novel by Linda Weste is an important text. It is an accessible and interesting academic book of interviews with Australian and New Zealand […]

Walk of the Whales by Nick Bland

Walk of the Whales by Nick Bland Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books Book Review by Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog Nick Bland is very well known and loved for his picture books, The Very Cranky Bear and sequels, The Wrong Book, The Runaway Hug […]

When the Waterhole Dries Up by Kaye Baillie, illustrated by Max Hamilton

When the Waterhole Dries Up by Kaye Baillie, illustrated by Max Hamilton Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books Author & Illustrator Interview When the Waterhole Dries Up by Kaye Baillie, illustrated by Max Hamilton (Windy Hollow Books) is a cumulative, riotous tale about a small dusty […]

Travelling the World with Plume by Tania McCartney

Tania McCartney is a prolific Australian author/illustrator who promotes children’s literature through Kids’ Book Review and The Happy Book podcast. Readers may already have met her food-loving character Plume the penguin in Plume World Explorer. Plume returns for more travel and tasty treats in Plume Global Nibbler (Hardie Grant). Tania McCartney writes elegantly and with […]

Stellarphant by James Foley

Stellarphant by James Foley Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books “So Stella gathered her friends … and together they studied and strengthened, and practiced and prepared … until finally, they were all ready.” (Stellarphant) James Foley puts so much care, generosity, intelligence and talent into his […]

Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist

Inside the CBCA Shortlist The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Shortlisted Books for 2022 has been announced. Follow the links to those I have already reviewed or interviewed the author or illustrator on the blog. I will add to this list until the winners are announced in August. Congratulations to those creators who have […]

Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables Join Forces by Tim Harris

Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables Join Forces by Tim Harris “The truth was, Blue Valley School was hurtling so quickly towards dramatic change that it was near impossible to stop. Knowing full well how devastating an impact the change would have on his students, Mr Bambuckle chose carefully to allow his young learners to do the investigating […]

Robin Klein in Letters

Letters from Robin: a voyage around my author by Jon Appleton “I do hope you continue to write when you have a spare moment – I look forward to hearing about your life in the UK. Take care and God bless – love Robin K.” (Robin Klein to Jon Appleton in Letters from Robin) Many […]

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature by Sami Bayly

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature by Sami Bayly Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books A hat-trick for talented natural history illustrator Sami Bayly who has her third book, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature commended by the CBCA awards in the Eve Pownall non-fiction category. […]