Honey and the Valley of Horses

Title: Honey and the Valley of Horses Author: Wendy Orr Publisher: Allen and Unwin   Publication date: 1 August 2023 Themes: Adventure, family, grief, healing, horses, fantasy, self-sufficiency, resilience, courage. Teaching resource: Comprehensive teachers’ notes can be downloaded from the Allen and Unwin website When sickness sweeps the world, four-year-old Honey, her baby brother, Rumi, […]

A Message Through Time

Title: A Message Through Time Author: Anna Ciddor Publisher: Allen and Unwin Publication date: 4 April 2023 Themes: Ancient Roman childhood, friendship, family dynamics, adventure, courage, resilience, gender roles, past and present Additional notable information: Extremely comprehensive teachers’ notes can be downloaded from the Allen and Unwin website here. A Message Through Time by Anna Ciddor and […]

Pearly and Pig and the Lost City of Mu Savan

Pearly Woe’s tummy bubbles with worries and she grapples with this as an Adventurologist in training. Self-doubt and pestering worries have no place when you are accompanying your experienced Adventurologist parents and grandpa to the fictious Kingdom of Anachak in a mountainous, dense jungle beside the Mekong River to the remote village of Ban Noa […]

Meet Me at the Moon Tree

Title: Meet Me at the Moon Tree Author: Shivaun Plozza Publisher: University of Queensland Press – (UQP) Publication date: July 4, 2023 Themes: Love, grief, acceptance, hope, courage, science, trees and magic Additional notable information: Comprehensive teachers’ notes can be downloaded from the UQP website here. Love and loss, family dynamics and how grief can impact these, intergenerational […]

Sonam and the Silence

Title: Sonam and the Silence Author: Eddie Ayres Illustrator: Ronak Taher Publisher: Allen and Unwin   Publication date: Paperback edition published in 2023 Additional notable information: A comprehensive teacher resource can be downloaded from the Allen and Unwin website here. Sonam and the Silence written by Eddie Ayres, illustrated by Ronak Taher and published by Allen and Unwin tells […]

The Fix-it Princess

Title: The Fix-it Princess Author: Janeen Brian Illustrator: Cherie Dignam                                                                      Publisher: Walker Books Publication date: March 7, 2023 Additional notable information: Teachers’ notes can be downloaded from Walker Books here. This review is part of a Books on Tour campaign From the Castle-by-the-Woods the indomitable, inventive, resourceful Princess Shona, together with a singing, empathetic dragon embark on a […]

One More Mountain

Title: One More Mountain Authors: Deborah Ellis Publisher: Allen and Unwin Publication date: November 1, 2022 RRP: $16.99 (AUD) Teaching resource: A comprehensive teaching resource written by Robyn Sheahan-Bright is available to download from the Allen and Unwin website. One More Mountain, the fifth book in the Parvana series by Deborah Ellis is set in modern-day Afghanistan in 2021 […]

Runt

Runt by Craig Silvey, illustrated by Sara Acton and published by Allen & Unwin, recommended for readers 8-12, is a fast paced, witty, highly memorable, engaging and ruminative read that I shared with my daughter. Craig Silvey includes many meaty themes such as family selflessly coming together to overcome obstacles, true friendship, grit and resilience […]

The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp

The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen BartholomewCrisp by Paul Russell and illustrated by Nicky Johnston is a sensitively written story about children who have neurodivergent minds. It is a story for all children to gain an understanding and develop an appreciation for such diversity. This book gives readers an opportunity to step into the shoes, […]

How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five

Title: How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five Author:  Carla Fitzgerald Publisher:  University of Queensland Press – UQP Publication date: 2 August 2022 Themes: Action, courage, democracy, friendship, resilience, sisters, Additional notable information: Teachers’ notes can be downloaded from the UQP website here How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla […]