Emily Gale
Emily Gale is a former Readings bookseller and prize manager. She is the author of a number of children’s and young adult books.
Review — 1 Jun 2014
The Minnow by Diana Sweeney
I like the way that YA fiction tackles the overwhelming events that scar each passing year, offering young readers a way in through a character they may identify with. The…
Blog post — 21 May 2014
National Treasure: Bob Graham
It was my privilege to attend this year’s Children’s Book Council conference in Canberra last weekend. The theme for the conference was ‘Discovering National Treasures’ and one of my personal…
Blog post — 13 May 2014
Children & young adult books highlights for May
There are a few different ways one can respond to the Budget, and there’s also a children’s book to suit them all.
1. Celebrate the good stuff.
Last year My…
Review — 12 May 2014
Bleakboy and Hunter Stand Out in the Rain by Steven Herrick
This school-based novel is a story of many contrasts: from the excellently bold cover and the whimsical title, to the two main characters – thoughtful Bleakboy and school bully Hunter…
Review — 25 Jun 2014
Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier
Razorhurst is set in a place and time that may be unfamiliar to readers when they begin – Surry Hills, Sydney, in the 1930s – but a strong opening chapter…
Blog post — 6 May 2014
Mothers we met (and liked) in children's books
If you’re a mother in a children’s book it likely means one or both of the following: (a.) you’re horribly dysfunctional, or (b.) you’re dead. So with Mother’s Day approaching…
Review — 25 Jun 2014
The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew by Eli Glasman
Here’s a fine response to the call for more diverse YA books: the story of a gay teenager growing up in the Orthodox Jewish community of Melbourne.
Yossi is a…
Blog post — 22 Apr 2014
Children's & YA Books Highlights for April
Let’s all take a minute to consider what it would feel like for our 8th-grade diaries to land us a book deal. Correction: most of us don’t need an entire…
Review — 21 Apr 2014
The Bloodhound Boys: The Great Blood Bank Robbery by Andrew Cranna
The little monsters of Skull River City have scary names and odd looks but they also behave like normal kids, and it’s this great balance of behaviour young readers can…
Review — 21 Apr 2014
Stay Well Soon by Penny Tangey
The cover of Stay Well Soon hints at only one side of this wonderful contemporary story about an Australian girl who has just begun Year 5, because although there is…
