Angela Crocombe
Angela Crocombe is the Readings Prize and Readings Foundation coordinator and a senior buyer for Readings Kids. She is also the author of two books on sustainable living, A Lighter Footprint: A Practical Guide to Minimising your Impact on the Planet and Ethical Eating: How to Make Food Choices That Won’t Cost the Earth.
Review — 28 Oct 2024
All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad
Katrina Nannestad’s fourth Second World War story focuses on Hitler’s purges of those who were disabled, Jewish or in any way considered different. Seven-year-old Eva has a wondrous view of…
Review — 28 Oct 2024
Thunderhead by Sophie Beer
Written in diary format, this debut novel is a funny, powerful story about a teen music fan. Thunderhead is utterly music-obsessed but also going deaf. She has two tumours in…
Review — 28 Oct 2024
Out of the Box: A One-Stop Guide to Navigating Neurodivergence by Madonna King & Rebecca Sparrow
Finally, we have the first Australian book on parenting a neurodivergent child! The authors surveyed 1,300 families who have an immediate family member, mostly children, who identify as neurodivergent. They…
Review — 27 Oct 2024
The Thinning by Inga Simpson
In Inga Simpson’s seventh novel, she writes atmospherically about the Australian bush, specifically the Warrumbungle Ranges and Mount Kaputar in Gamilaraay Country, NSW. The story is set in a near-future…
Review — 23 Sep 2024
My Family and Other Suspects by Kate Emery
This debut novel set in an old farmhouse in a remote locale in Western Australia is the perfect combination of murder mystery and funny-awkward romance. Ruth and her extended family…
Review — 23 Sep 2024
Wing by Nikki Gemmell
Nikki Gemmell is most famous for her erotic novel, The Bride Stripped Bare, published over 20 years ago and written in second person using the pronoun ‘you’ to address…
Review — 26 Aug 2024
Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria (Bravepaw, Book 1) by L.M. Wilkinson & Lavanya Naidu (illus.)
I love a hero’s journey for young readers and this story is a thrilling addition to the genre. In the land of Alluria, Titch is a very ordinary mouseling who…
Review — 26 Aug 2024
Immortal Dark (Immortal Dark, Book 1) by Tigest Girma
This fantasy debut set on the grounds of an ancient university has a fascinating premise of vampires and humans being bound to one another through generations of clan houses. The…
Review — 29 Jul 2024
Patience: Discover How Good Things Take Time in This Antidote to an Instant World by Rachel Williams & Leonie Lord (illus.)
This is a fascinating look at time and various cycles in the natural world, such as the movement of the moon across the night sky or its monthly cycle around…
Review — 29 Jul 2024
Laughter is the Best Ending by Maryam Master & Astred Hicks (illus.)
The latest middle grade novel from last year’s winner of The Readings Children’s Prize is a delightful story about friendship, adventure and intergenerational friendship. It begins with 13-year-old Zee laughing…
