August & Jones by Pip Harry

August & Jones by Pip Harry Pip Harry is the much-loved and awarded author of ground-breaking YA (Because of You, Head of the River and I’ll Tell You Mine) and middle-fiction (The Little Wave and Are You There, Buddha?). Her books are original, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted. Her lovely new middle-fiction novel August and Jones […]

The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg

The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books Author Interview “She slunk off to the library. The room was deserted, as it had been every time she had looked in. She wandered listlessly among the armchairs and sofas and […]

All the Little Tricky Things by Karys McEwen

All the Little Tricky Things by Karys McEwen “I don’t want to be ungrateful about being sent to a good school in the city. I know I’m lucky. It just adds to my weird tummy feelings about being an in-betweener. I won’t belong with the Merri kids anymore, but at the end of each day, […]

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 […]

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 […]

inside the 2022 cbca notable books

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Notable Books for 2022 have been announced. Follow the links to those books I have already reviewed or interviewed the author or illustrator at PaperbarkWords blog. NB I will add reviews and interviews on the Inside the 2022 Shortlist page on the blog until the winners are announced […]

Banjo Tully by Justin D’Ath

Author Interview Justin D’Ath writes about Banjo Tully, his new novel for middle readers for PaperbarkWords: Banjo Tully is my lockdown novel. I wrote it in 2020 when I needed a project to put some structure into my days. It isn’t about the pandemic, but that’s what gave me the idea. Remember how everything […]

Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman

Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman Michelle Kadarusman writes about her new novel Music for Tigers at PaperbarkWords: As an Australian living abroad, you are heightened to any mention of home in North American media. It doesn’t happen that much and when it does it’s somehow personally reaffirming. It’s one of the quirks of living […]

Elsewhere Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman

Elsewhere Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman “Here in the future I can swim every day if I want to. As much as I miss my family, things are easier for me here. There are more choices.” (Elsewhere Girls) Author Interview I am excited to hear from Emily Gale and Nova Weetman about their […]

Rainfish by Andrew Paterson

Rainfish by Andrew Paterson Author Interview “Outside, we ran, leaving the church behind us like a gigantic iceberg. I almost cried with relief to be in day-light with the birds and the wind rustling the branches of the trees.” (Rainfish) Rainfish is a beautifully crafted debut novel for middle-grade by Andrew Paterson, published by Text […]