Leanne Hall
Leanne Hall is a former children’s and YA specialist for Readings online
Blog post — 22 May 2019
Healthy and complicated friendships in YA fiction
Friends are everything when you’re a teen. Finding and maintaining loyal and supportive friendships can be a lifesaver, and dealing with untrustworthy or manipulative friends can cause heartbreak.
Here are…
Review — 21 Jul 2019
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chaim
Anna Chiu and her younger siblings Lily and Michael are very familiar with the ups and downs in their mother’s mental health, but that doesn’t make their family life any…
Blog post — 16 May 2019
Kids books to read for IDAHOBIT
The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), celebrated every year on May 17, is a day to stand with the LGBTIQ+ community, celebrate LGBTQI+ people, champion inclusion and…
Blog post — 12 May 2019
Ten YA award-winners to add to your reading pile
When you’re in the mood for an inspiring and thought-provoking YA book, sometimes there’s no better bet than looking at a few awards lists to decide what to read next.
…
Blog post — 8 May 2019
Recommended YA books for May
This month we’re pumped about Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s newest heart-pumping sci-fi, a thoughtful look at an Indigenous student facing a challenging situation, heartfelt Aussie contemporary YA, a swashbuckling…
Blog post — 8 May 2019
Recommended kids' books, news & events for May
We have a great array of kids books this month – a great illustrated book about the moon landing, some fantastically quirky fantasy, a gorgeous body positivity guide and a…
Blog post — 23 Apr 2019
Fantastic Australian middle fiction that brings history to life
There has been a wealth of fantastic middle grade novels by Australian authors recently that focus on time periods from prehistory, all the way through to recent history.
While wars…
Blog post — 11 Apr 2019
Six fantastic new picture books
There has been a wave of gorgeously-illustrated and skilfully-written picture books this month. Picture books are often viewed as solely for young audiences, but many are objects of art that…
Blog post — 21 Mar 2019
Fostering empathy in kids and teens
We need empathy more than ever in our current world, and we think books are one of the best tools for understanding another person’s perspective.
We highly recommend you read…
Blog post — 13 Mar 2019
Travel the world through kids graphic novels
Graphic novels are more popular than ever with young readers, and the growing selection of titles includes translated works and stories set in far-flung places. Take a trip around the…