Discover the new kids books our booksellers are excited about this month!
Picture Books
A Present for Junket
Mandy Wildsmith, illustrated by Nancy Liu
In an unnamed Melbourne suburb, a Groodle named Gherkin ventures out in search of a birthday present for her best friend, Junket. In the tradition of Hairy Maclary, Gherkin catches up with a varied squad of neighbourhood dogs and learns that each of them is missing a belonging that has been recently replaced with something newer and shinier. When the rubbish truck arrives at the dog park with a CRUNCH! BANG! CRASH! Gherkin may have found the answer.
Having worked in the book industry for many years Mandy Wildsmith knows well what makes a book work; her debut picture book is an excellent read-aloud. Nancy Liu’s lovely, playful watercolour illustrations are perfectly pitched for a young audience. It’s a sweet and thoughtful book, but also very fun. The story gently cautions against replacing things unnecessarily, and I’m sure it will be a big hit with rubbish-truck fans and dog enthusiasts everywhere. For ages 3+.
Reviewed by Kim Gruschow.
The Big Backyard Plan
Kirsten Ealand, illustrated by Laura Stitzel
The Big Backyard Plan is a joyful, rhyming story about four friends – Azumi, Theo, Bree and Jack – who live ‘side-by-side and back-to-back’ but want to live even closer! Between the four households, they have a pool, veggies, chickens and room to pitch a tent. What they don’t have are gates, so these four close friends hatch a plan to tear down the fences that keep them apart. When they pitch their grand concept to their parents, will their vision of one big shared backyard get the tick of approval?
Written by Kirsten Ealand and expressively illustrated by Laura Stitzel, this book celebrates the boundless imaginations of children, and the power of community, nature and friendship. Representing a range of families and cultures, The Big Backyard Plan lovingly portrays the Australian suburbs, and the power of a few outspoken and inventive children to make a plan for a more fun, free and friend-filled tomorrow! For ages 3+.
Reviewed by Tamuz Ellazam.
The Library of Bears
Cat Rabbit
Melbourne textile artist Cat Rabbit is wonderfully talented at creating soft, fluffy creatures that are cute and filled with personality. In her latest picture book, she has made a menagerie of tiny, felt bears and given them their very own world. The bears live in a toy library where, if they are lucky, they are borrowed and have adventures with their borrower before being returned. Poor little Softie, a sweet bear, feels sad about the fact she has never been borrowed. But when the day finally comes for her to be borrowed by a koala named K.B., she has a lot of expectations about what will happen and it doesn’t quite work out the way she expects.
This is a charming story with so much to look at and enjoy on every single page. It will be pored over with utter delight by little ones aged 2+, as well as the grown ups reading it to them!
Reviewed by Angela Crocombe.
Middle Grade
Brightest Wild
Tania Crampton-Larking
Eleven-year-old Alex has just moved halfway around the globe from London to live with her mother’s partner and his son in South Australia. It’s a lot of big changes for a young person to contend with at once: a new climate, school and family life. Alex finds comfort in the natural world as she endures bullying and struggles to feel at home in her new environment. Gradually though, she makes new friends, and the bonds with new family members strengthen as she experiences the wonder of Country with them. When their environment is threatened by fire, Alex is driven to help protect it alongside what is now her community.
The big themes of this book are treated skilfully by Mirning author Tania Crampton-Larking; no one is perfect, and all of the characters are given opportunity to grow as they adjust to the various big changes in their lives. It’s an exciting book and a story that values courage and honesty as well as respect for each other and our environment. This is a heartfelt and relevant read for ages 9+.
Reviewed by Kim Gruschow.
Kids Nonfiction
Wonders Under the Moon
Tai Snaith
In Wonders Under the Sun, local artist and author Tai Snaith introduced us to a treasure trove of 270 diurnal (active during the day) creatures all wonderfully grouped in unique and fascinating ways.
We now explore the night with the companion book Wonders Under the Moon, in which 200 nocturnal (active during the night) creatures are brought together in unusual collections, such as Sonic Superheroes, Pouncers and Purrers, Haunting Hooters and Radiant Radicals, among many other great consortiums. Snaith illustrates all with her beautiful paper art. We are shown the traits and features of each night dweller, with helpful sizing guides to express scale, and a key indicating if an animal is vulnerable or endangered.
Snaith shares fascinating facts about each animal throughout the book, but also draws your attention to the plight of these wonderful creatures. For most, the main cause for concern is the disappearance of their habitat. With the encouraging ‘Ways we can help’ page, Snaith aims to educate the next generation on how they can make a difference and improve the chances of our planet’s biodiversity surviving.
Educational and gorgeous, this is a valuable read for young environmentalists or future scientists. For ages 3+.
Reviewed by Claire Atherfold.
Kids Classic of the Month
Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson
When I read Bridge to Terabithia as a child, it was a brilliant and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale filled to the brim with adventure. Revisiting it as an adult feels like utter magic; Katherine Paterson captures the inner workings of adolescents as though bottling sunshine. Captivating and moreish, I don’t think I could possibly write a review that does its prose justice.
Jess is lonely. As a young boy in a small country town, the boxes he’s being forced into are becoming more claustrophobic by the day. That is, until new girl Leslie turns up, demonstrating exactly how to break out of the boxes, seemingly effortlessly. Together, using their imaginations, they gain the power to create a world of their own as the one they’ve been given fails them.
Tackling complicated themes, Bridge to Terabithia teaches us about loss, the unexpected ways grief manifests, and how those it hurts the most to lose give us the strength to survive the loss. Brilliant, whimsical, poignant, and highly recommended for ages 10+.
