The Wish Sisters by Allison Rushby

The Wish Sisters by Allison Rushby, illustrated by Karen Blair, published by University of Queensland Press Allison Rushby is part of the famous Brisbane writing Rushby duo. Allison’s mother, Pamela Rushby, is the awarded author of When the Hipchicks Went to War, The Horses Didn’t Come Home and The Ratcatcher’s Daughter. Allison is the author […]

Fix-It Ninget by Sarah Dabro and Luca French

Fix-It Ninget co-written by Sarah Dabro, co-written and illustrated by Luca French (published by Five Mile) Author interview with Sarah Dabro and Luca French ‘There was a Space Ninget who loved building things, She made gadgets and robots and rockets with wings.’ (Fix-It Ninget by Sarah Dabro and Luca French) Luca French’s Ninget Universe animation […]

What’s the Big Idea? by Sue Lawson & Karen Tayleur

What’s the Big Idea?: Australian Inventions that Changed the World by Sue Lawson & Karen Tayleur (Wild Dogs Books) The inventions in this book are impressive and, in fact, mind-boggling. They begin with First Nations inventions such as yidakas (didgeridoos), fish and eel traps and fire stick farming, and continue through the eras to the […]

Two Can Play That Game by Leanne Yong

Two Can Play That Game by Leanne Yong (published by Allen & Unwin) Review and author interview “I want to create something that makes people gasp in revelation with each new level.” (Two Can Play That Game) ***** Book Review Review of Two Can Play That Game by Joy Lawn in Magpies magazine, March 2023 […]

SPICE ROAD by Maiya Ibrahim

SPICE ROAD by Maiya Ibrahim An epic Young Adult fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired land Debut author Maiya Ibrahim has written Spice Road (first in the Spice Road fantasy series), her fantastic #ownvoices story inspired by her heritage and the stories passed down to her from her parents, who fled Lebanon and resettled in Australia […]

Swim, Shark, Swim! & The Voyage of Whale and Calf

PICTURE BOOKS ABOUT SHARKS AND WHALES Swim, Shark, Swim! by Dom Conlon & Anastasia Izlesou The Voyage of Whale and Calf by Vanessa Pirotta, illustrated by Samantha Metcalfe (CSIRO Publishing) Book Reviews by Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog ***** Swim, Shark, Swim! by Dom Conlon & Anastasia Izlesou It is the perfect time of year to read a […]

Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong

Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong Sarah Armstrong, writer of awarded literary fiction, explains how she wrote her imaginative first middle-fiction novel, Big Magic for Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog: A few years ago – squashed beside my six-year-old daughter on her narrow bed, reading her the classic kids’ novel, The Borrowers – it struck me that […]

Our Dreaming by Kirli Saunders & Dub Leffler

Our Dreaming by Kirli Saunders & Dub Leffler (A Scholastic Press book from Scholastic Australia) Book Review by Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog The inclusively titled picture book, Our Dreaming, is by the dream team of Gunai Woman Kirli Saunders and descendant from the Bigambul people of South-West Queensland, Dub Leffler. Their previous collaboration is the verse novel, […]

David Almond & Paper Boat, Paper Bird

Paper Boat, Paper Bird by David Almond, illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman (published by Hodder Children’s Books, Hachette) Author interview with David Almond David Almond is a creator of Promethean depth and reach. He has won the world’s most prestigious literary awards for young readers and his books are devoured by children, young adults and beyond. […]

BERANI by Michelle Kadarusman

BERANI by Michelle Kadarusman (published by Allen & Unwin) Everything Michelle Kadarusman writes is thoughtful, original and important. Music for Tigers (I also reviewed for The Australian) Girl of the Southern Sea The Theory of Hummingbirds Michelle tells us more about her latest middle-fiction novel, Berani, at PaperbarkWords blog: Environment, conservation and how we interact […]