Following on from my recent post featuring several fabulous Australian junior fiction titles, I thought it was time to venture further afield to see what the rest of the world (or at least the US, UK and Japan) were doing in this field.The Afterwards is a new story by U.K. poet A. F. Harrold, illustrated … Continue reading Junior Fiction – the rest!
I started the Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson as part of my #readathon session. I had a lovely 15th anniversary edition of this modern day classic, complete with gorgeous blue butterfly. The following day I woke up with a terrible head cold and struggled to work, before realising that I was going … Continue reading Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
The books that comprise The Lord of the Rings are usually presented as a trilogy, but it was in fact designed by Tolkien to be one single book with six parts. Obviously the publishers baulked at publishing such a large tome of a book!On 29th July 1954 George Allen & Unwin published the first volume consisting … Continue reading The Fellowship of the Ring by J R RTolkien
Karen Foxlee has a way about her.Her words weave magic. She draws you in, she makes you believe, she makes you feel brave.A Most Magical Girl follows an ordinary, everyday Victorian girl, who, rather like Harry Potter, suddenly finds herself in a magical world. Her role is to fulfil the prophecy as the 'youngest and … Continue reading A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
Danny the Champion of the World is a homage to good parenting, especially good parenting by a loving father.It's also about courage, loyalty and a little bit of class politics.Danny extols the virtues of working class values, but as with all Dahl books, he subverts it a little. Honesty and the concept of being a … Continue reading Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Mrs Dog by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall touched me to my childhood bones.Growing up in rural NSW meant that the story featured in Mrs Dog was not unknown to me. So many of my friends who lived on farms had a story about a dog and a lamb not unlike Freeman's one.Mrs … Continue reading Mrs Dog by Janeen Brian
Another Night in Mullet Town by Steven Herrick is a verse novel for teens set in a small coastal town with lots of fishing references.How's that for a hard sell?The trouble is, I adore Herrick's writing and his ability to draw complex, authentic characters with so few words.He could probably write a story about boxing … Continue reading Another Night in Mullet Town by Steven Herrick
One of the many pleasures of being a bookseller, is meeting the authors and attending their book launches. I've known about this little gem based on real life events in Albury, NSW for a while now.Loretta lives locally and a year or so ago, she popped into our bookshop to discuss publication options and, eventually, … Continue reading Stand Up and Cheer by Loretta Re
From the Irish author of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' comes a brand new novel, The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket, set in Sydney, Australia. Barnaby Brocket is born into a very normal family. Mr & Mrs Brocket pride themselves on how normal they are...in fact, you could say, that they are … Continue reading The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket | John Boyne
This is a worthy book. 'In The Sea There Are Crocodiles' is the true … Continue reading In The Sea There Are Crocodiles: The True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari | Fabio Geda
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