Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Going by the title and jacket on this hard covered book it is obvious that this is a story about a First Nations person. It is now twenty-five years since the original edition of this book was published and the fella in question is now 87 years old. This is the
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Few people can resist the thrill of the spine-tingling ghost story. Drenched in atmosphere, aided by vivid imagination, unusual natural phenomena, and colourful descriptive language, chilling tales have been part of life for 4,000 years or more. Poetry and drama have an occasional ghostly presence, and even writers such as Arthur
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Christmas Time is the fourth book in the Early Learning first word books by Tom Jellett. This Aussie Baby’s, six-inch board book has twenty- two pages of content, including the covers. It follows other books with words addressing Dinner Time, Bed Time and Bath Time. The pictures are large with the
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Over the past several years Lothian Children’s Books have published work belonging to a set of illustrated Encyclopaedia on animals by natural history illustrator, Sami Bayly. The illustrations in these books are watercolours while the line drawings on the pages which provide interesting facts are produced by pen. The first of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Inga Simpson, author of the children’s picture book, The Peach King, has created a story to remember not just the devastation wrought by the bush fires which impacted the south coast of N.S.W. during the Black Summer of 2019-2020, but to celebrate the renewal of life as things recover after such
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Nations use myths to shape their origin stories and guide the kind of society they seek to become. For some their guiding myths are ones of courage and the ability to overcome adversity as they move forward towards their vision and destiny. For others the myths help tie the people to
Reviewed by Rod McLary Readers of Patricia Cornwell’s novels – and especially those featuring Dr Kay Scarpetta – know exactly what to expect when they open her latest book. No one will be disappointed with Sharp Force as it delivers all of what is expected – the cast of characters we are all familiar with,
Reviewed by Rod McLary William J Byrne proves to be a natural story-teller as he weaves the real-life experiences of his extended family with the history and circumstances of the Indigenous people. As a child, he was immersed in the tales told by his aunties and uncles and his father. And what this has brought
Reviewed by Ian Lipke “Boobs are celebrated and scrutinised, fetishised and censored, worshipped and weaponised. As the saying goes: ‘Behind every great woman is a pair of boobs trying desperately to stay out of the conversation’.” The mood of this cheeky book, written mostly by Lisa Portolan, is reflected in the quote I have selected
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke In 2025 there appear to have been several children’s picture books by First Nation’s talented writers and illustrators sharing their love of country and dreaming tales. As the title of this latest book implies it is about Aboriginal beliefs surrounding the beginning of time which they call, Dreaming. This book by
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This book, by American Tess Thomas and artwork by Kamwei Fong, is a square children’s picture book about our feelings. It talks about when we feel happy and when we are sad, angry or scared and what happens when we keep these feelings bottled up inside ourselves. This makes us feel
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This publication, by Max Hamilton, is not the first children’s book with this title, but this latest version is an interesting read with no doubt different examples from those found in the other books. The author has taken examples from across the world but mainly from Australia and the USA. However,
Ned Kelly Awards 2025 The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2025 Ned Kelly Award winners. Winning works in each category, chosen from shortlists announced in August, are: Best crime fiction The Creeper (Margaret Hickey, Penguin) Best true crime writing A Thousand Miles from Care (Steve Johnson, HarperCollins) Best debut crime fiction All You Took from Me (Lisa Kenway,
Reviewed by Rod McLary It would take a certain amount of courage and perhaps chutzpah to write not just one memoir but four as Phil Brown has done. But while the first quality is certainly present in his latest very honest and revealing volume, the second is far less likely as what may mistakenly be
Reviewed by Susan Francis In writing her novel, Susan Francis has tackled the challenge of combining a gripping thriller with a controversial historical event. This she has accomplished with admirable skill. As the drama unfolds with breathtaking speed, betrayal, greed, politics and courage in dealing with ruthless characters, give it a power that is striking.