A Loo of One’s Own by Eleri Harris

A Loo of One’s Own: A Mostly True Tale of Australia’s First Female Parliamentarians written and illustrated by Eleri Harris (Allen & Unwin) “Our story starts eighty years ago in Canberra, where all the cool stuff happens… On the first day of school … Wait! Parliament! Two women walked into Australia’s Parliament House. And came […]

Why, Oh Why? The Story of Rainbows, by Roy G. Biv (Tim Hurburgh)

Why, Oh Why? The Story of Rainbows, by Roy G. Biv (Tim Hurburgh) Hardie Grant Custom Roy G. Biv (Tim Hurburgh) writes about his picture book The Story of Rainbows for Paperbark Word blog. Growing up outside Hobart on the River Derwent, life was full of wonder. We were endlessly curious about the natural world […]

How to Survive 1985 by Tegan Bennett Daylight

How to Survive 1985 by Tegan Bennett Daylight (Simon & Schuster) “ ‘There’s a lot more buildings in 2025,’ I said to Julia as we walked along the Quay to the bottom of George Street. It was such a weird feeling, like the twenty-first century was a kind of hologram hanging over the 1980s.” (How […]

My Mum is a Bird by Angie Cui, ill. Evie Barrow

My Mum is a Bird by Angie Cui, ill. Evie Barrow Guest Author Post by Angie Cui Thank you for speaking to Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog about your imaginative, affirming picture book My Mum is a Bird, Angie. As a debut author, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I first began writing My Mum is a Bird. […]

Parrot PALace by Susanne Gervay

Parrot Palace by Susanne Gervay OAM with illustrator Sarah Tabassum and consultant Pooja Mathur Big Sky Publishing Susannne Gervay writes about her new junior fiction novel, Parrot Palace My beautiful picture book, Elephants Have Wings, illustrated by Anna Pignataro, fosters social inclusion and cohesion and spurred me onto writing my junior fiction Parrot Palace. Diversity, […]

Sally Rippin Australian Children’s Laureate

Sally Rippin Australian Children’s Laureate 2024-2025 Enormous congratulations to Sally Rippin who is the new Australian Children’s Laureate for 2024-2025. This is a mighty and well-deserved achievement and Sally will be an inspirational Laureate. I promoted many of Sally’s books, amongst them Billie B Brown, Hey Jack! and the Polly and Buster series, as a […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Curiosities by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Phil Lesnie

The Curiosities by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Phil Lesnie, published Lothian Children’s Books Author & Illustrator Interview “Miro could swim with the stars and tickle the songs from the earth. He could whisper up waves and weave clouds to make stories for the wind.” (The Curiosities) Perfect confluence of words and illustrations makes The Curiosities […]