The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

https://paperbarkwords.blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/book-of-form-1.jpeg Book Review: The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki “Stories never start at the beginning, Benny. They differ from life in that regard. Life is lived from birth to death, from the beginning into an unknowable future. But stories are told in hindsight. Stories are life lived backward.” (The Book of Form…

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 […]

Say Hello? & The Bear and the Little Green Thing

The Bear and the Little Green Thing by Diandian Say Hello? by Sung Mi Kim Book Reviews by Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog Although very different in style and tone, these two picture books share a message about relating to others. They consider unexpected, reluctant and thwarted friendships and acquaintanceships when characters are too […]

Heroes, Rebels and Innovators by Karen Wyld, illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai

Heroes, Rebels and Innovators: Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People from History by Karen Wyld, illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books Book review and ideas on how to use Heroes, Rebels and Innovators by Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog Heroes, Rebels and Innovators (Lothian Children’s Books) […]

The First Scientists by Corey Tutt, illustrated Blak Douglas

The First Scientists by Corey Tutt, illustrated by Blak Douglas is shortlisted in the 2022 CBCA awards in the Eve Pownall non-fiction category. Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2022 CBCA Notable Books Book Review by Joy Lawn (first published in Magpies magazine and reproduced with permission) Opening with an […]

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 […]