TO and FRO by Anton Clifford-Motopi

TO and FRO by Anton Clifford-Motopi Allen & Unwin To and Fro by Anton Clifford-Motopi is shortlisted for the 2025 CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers. Congratulations on To and Fro being shortlisted by the CBCA, Anton. I was laughing out loud most of the way through. It also has important themes that you share aptly and originally. […]

Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French

Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French (HarperCollins AU) “It wasn’t easy being the smallest bushranger on the goldfields. It was worsewhen your borrowed horse ate your wig.” (Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger ) Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger by Jackie French is shortlisted for the 2025CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers. Tigg and the […]

Music Camp by Penny Tangey

Music Camp by Penny Tangey UQP Guest author post by Penny Tangey for ‘Joy in Books’ at Paperbark Words In Grade 5 I attended an interschool music camp and had the time of my life. I made new friends, laughed, broke rules and played music. Later, I went to other music camps and had intense, […]

Desert Tracks By Marly and Linda Wells

Desert Tracks by Marly & Linda Wells (Magabala Books) Desert Tracks is co-written by mother-daughter duo Linda and Marly Wells. It won the Daisy Utemorrah Award in 2024. The Authors Marly Wells is a proud Warlpiri woman who grew up between Alice Springs and Melbourne. She has worked in social services and the creative art sectors, […]

Hey Zazou! by Tony Thompson

Hey Zazou! by Tony Thompson Published by Ford St Guest author post by Tony Thompson for Paperbark Words Hey, Zazou! is my new novel. It is set in Paris during the Second World War. To introduce it, I thought I would answer some questions that I’ve been asked over the years at schools, libraries, and […]

Emily Rodda Interview: Landovel & other books

Emily Rodda Interview: Landovel & other books Landovel is published by Allen & Unwin 2025 CBCA Notable Books “There’s more than one way to be a hero”. (Landovel: The Truth Teller) Congratulations on Landovel, your three-book fantasy masterwork, being announced as a 2025 CBCA Notable and thank you for speaking with me, Emily. I’ve read […]

Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White

Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White Allen & Unwin ‘What do you think it wants?’ Ezra was talking about the crocodile. It was the only thing they’d been talking about for the past little while. Because it had come back. Not lying around on the boat ramp […]

The Right Book for the Right Reader by Karys McEwen

We welcome Karys McEwen and The Paperbark Tree Committee, her new middle-fiction novel to Paperbark Words. You can see that there’s a perfect synergy between the book’s title and setting and the blog. Karys’s protagonist is even called ‘Art’! Karys also shares her valuable expertise about the right book for the right reader. The right […]

How to Sail to Somewhere by Ashleigh Barton

How to Sail to Somewhere by Ashleigh Barton Lothian Children’s Books (Hachette Australia) Author Interview with Ashleigh Barton about How to Sail to Somewhere ‘I have used to go there with my mum. She loved books. She said they were the adventure you could have when you couldn’t have an adventure. Whatever that means.’ (How […]

Little Bones by Sandy Bigna

Little Bones by Sandy Bigna UQP Author Interview with Sandy Bigna about Little Bones “Keep going, Nico whispers as I get higher and higher. My legs are shaking so hard I don’t know how they’re even Supporting me. ‘Keep going,’ Bird echos Nico from inside my bag. My chest wants to explode from the thrashing […]