Children

Children

Volcano by Claire Saxby

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Allen and Unwin have produced another book by the creative team behind CBCA Picture Book of the Year, Iceberg. This one is called Volcano. This hard covered 26x31cm, 31-page book tells the story of how the seabed changes as a volcano births a new mountain. This book is the work of

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Children

The Lost Notes of the Soul Spinners by Reece Carter

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This book, which is the final in a series, is the creation of Reece Carter, a high-profile Australian nutritionist who has also written two non-fiction books for adults. He has appeared on many of Australia’s major television networks and his written work has featured in The Australian Women’s Weekly and GQ

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Children

Stories from Magic Beach by Alison Lester and Robert Connolly

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke As I get older, I often think of the early years of my life spent at my grandfather’s holiday home across the Esplanade from the beach at Hervey Bay. The time spent on the beach building volcanos and preparing bonfires or walking along the sand, exploring rock pools or just swimming

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Children

The Thylacine and the Time Machine by Renée Treml

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke What a fascinating informative book which I am sure all students would enjoy reading. It has been presented in a unique format and includes typical Australian humour. Yet at the same time it shares lots of information about the work being done at the Melbourne University by the TIGRR research team

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Children

Tubowgule: A Sydney Opera House History by Melissa-Jane Fogarty

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This is the first book in an Indigenous history series about Australia’s most iconic landmarks. This hardcovered 30x26cm book has thirty-six pages of beautifully presented pictures on glossy paper with a small amount of text fitting the illustration shown. Each page represents the use of the land on which the Opera

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Children

Neeka and the Missing Key by Tina Strachan

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Queensland author, Tina Strachan, has spent twenty years working and studying wildlife conservation and has now written a set of three children’s books set in a location called Wilder Zoo.  Her unique experiences provide authenticity for her stories for middle – grade readers. Her debut book is called Neeka and the

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Children

My Mum is the Best by Nic McPickle

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke There are many children’s books of this title and most appear to be presented by Bluey and Bingo. The book I have just read is part of Albert Street books, Allen and Unwin, and has been compiled by Nic McPickle, a fun-loving children’s author based in Melbourne who has also produced

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Children

Washpool by Lisa Fuller

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This story by lecturer from the University of Canberra and Queensland Wuilli Wuilli woman, Lisa Fuller, would probably best suit 9–12-year-old young people. The key themes as mentioned in the Media Release include – First Nations people and perspectives. Diversity and how this can help to solve problems. Bullying, racism and

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Children

Searching for Treasure by Johanna Bell

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve This is a beautiful book, in both the illustrations which feature the natural wonders of the objects washed up by the tide, and the unfolding way the facts are revealed.  The format is large, the illustrations have the softness of watercolour and the fold-out pages engage a young listener, readily. The

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Children

Dot! Scribble! Go! by Hervé Tullet

Reviewed by Antonella Townsend If I had to sum up Hervé Tullet’s  Dot! Scribble!  Go! in few words it would be ‘Confidence Builder’.  This large hard cover book is pitched at a target audience between three and six-years-old.  It steers the young brain to represent their environment with pride and imagination. I write from a

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Children

We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix

Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Enid Blyton must be glowing green with envy in her grave. Children’s literature is imaginative light years away from days of yore, although brave twelve-year-old and ten-year-old characters are still saving the day.   Although in We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix, they are busy saving the world from

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Children

Something Special by Emily Rodda

Reviewed by Antonella Townsend When a book reappears after forty years it just has to be something special.  So, Emily Rodda’s debut novel Something Special is aptly titled having been a children’s fantasy favourite for many years, winning the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers Award in 1985.  Although

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Children

From the Films of Harry Potter – 100 Objects by Jody Revenson

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeves This hardback and weighty volume is an addition to the ever-increasing mountain of books, toys, even Lego that features the staggering success of the Potter phenomenon. The eight films of the much-loved books have been an unparalleled success, and it is the production values of the movies that made this such

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Children

Marigold’s Magic Stars by Samantha Wills

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The author of Marigold’s Magic Stars is Samantha Wills who is described as a multidisciplinary creative. She is a writer, creator, educator, speaker and feminist. She says of herself, “I’ve never done things the way you’re ‘meant’ to do them. That approach saw me get really terrible grades in high school

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Children

We’re Hopping Around Australia by Martha Mumford

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The story in this bright, square, hard covered children’s book follows four bunnies as they set off on a trip around Australia. They do this using various modes of transport. They arrive in Sydney in a sea plane then take a jeep to more outback areas before boarding a hot air

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