Review: Bluey and Bingo's Christmas Cookbook

Bluey and Bingo’s Christmas Cookbook: Yummy Recipes, for Real Life, is a delightful offering for children interested in testing their cooking skills and increasing their interest in food.

Beautifully designed for little hands, the book has wipeable, bright coloured pages and images, sectioned into easy-to-follow instructions and recipes. 

This is initiative enough to send mothers and children off to kitchen cupboards to check for ingredients.

Tips on the importance of preparation before starting, set the scene.

Review: Zola And The Christmas Lights

This book is a gorgeous, heartwarming journey into the wonders of Christmas. It takes us into the inner suburbs of Melbourne (which could translate to any city in the world, really!), with its palpable sense of kindness, friends, neighbours and family coming together for festive celebrations.

The illustrations are sublime, immediately inviting us in to the colourful world of Zola and her family, friends and neighbours. I actually wanted to climb in to the friendly classroom with Zola and her buddies and their delightful teacher, as they investigated the traditions of Diwali, Hannukah, Ramadan ...

Review: Plume: Festival Seeker

Welcome back Plume! Our intrepid Antarctic traveller extraordinaire is taking readers on another worldwide adventure, this time exploring some of the world’s most colourful festivals, proving that life is not just black-and-white for all penguins!

A Very KBR Christmas 2021 and A Delicious New Year!

As we all stumbled through another year of monumental change, frustration, despair and ridiculous joy, for the team here at KBR, one thing remained resolute: our love for story. All stories of course but, most emphatically, kids' stories. For the privilege of being able to share as many as we possibly could with you, we are humbly grateful. To all our contributors, publishers, creators, and fellow book lovers we thank you. 

And, because we too love a good Christmas tradition, this year's team question is one that raised many eyebrows and created as much polarisation as questions surrounding Covid! So tuck in your napkins, set aside your bookmarks and experience our responses to the question: Are you partial to reading while you eat or eating while you read and if so, what is your favourite thing to nibble on as you chow down your favourite book? 

Disclaimer: you may like to nibble on a wedge of shortbread or sip on a mulled wine as you read this, or not. The choice is unequivocally yours! HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

Review: Fire Truck Santa

Fire Truck Santa is dedicated with love and thanks to volunteers around Australia. It is written and illustrated to accent and acknowledge, the kindness, generosity and invaluable help of people everywhere in times of need, especially fire fighters in their untiring role of saviours during bush-fires.

In this gorgeous book told in rhythmic rhyming verse, the Australian tradition of Santa arriving in a fire truck is being upheld!

The reindeers are resting up for the Christmas Eve run.

Review: The Big Book of Festivals

Festivals, celebrations and religious Holy Days have always been part of the world’s history. Some go back thousands of years. 

The Big Book of Festivals encompasses a great range of these from around the globe.

The most popular, original and sometime out-there festivals make interesting reading for those who love to expand their knowledge. 

Review: Meerkat Christmas

Emily Gravett is the winner of two CILIP Kate Greenaway Medals, and author of Too Much Stuff, Cyril and Pat, and Meerkat Mail amongst others. In Meerkat Christmas, she has created another glorious and fun-filled adventure.

Christmas is approaching. Sunny wants everything to be perfect. In the Kalahari where the meerkat family lives, nothing around him is anything like the images in his magazine. He sets off to find a place that is. 

He takes his check list with him.

Review: Mr Walker Braves the Night; Mr Walker and the Perfect Mess

Mr Walker Braves the Night is the fourth book in this delightful series inspired by the real-life Guide Dog Ambassador, Mr Walker, whose home is the Park Hyatt Melbourne.

Life is a sensory experience for Mr Walker. He loves walks. They offer up different smells, sights and opportunities for a chase. He dreams of walks and chasing rabbits, although he has never encountered a rabbit in his life.

Halloween is drawing near. Mrs Reeves is looking forward to her sister coming to visit with her eleven year old son Lawrence. 

Sophie and Amanda want to go on their first trick or treat. The girls demand a scary story from their dad. But it is Mr Walker that has bad dreams that night.

Lawrence arrives with a bored expression on his face. He’s rude and definitely not what the girls expected. Even Mr Walker senses trouble afoot.

Elvis, in charge of the laundry department, suggests trolley-racing to liven things up. They have a great time! Omid challenges them to a game demanding stealth, silence and invisibility. Then, before they know it, it is evening.

Chef Remy and Elvis hollow out pumpkins and shape them into jack-o’-lanterns. To add to the atmosphere, Elvis takes the three children through the hotel’s secret and spooky passageways, while he recalls a ghost story that scares Mr Walker more than the children.

What is that noise that Lawrence and Mr Walker hear at night? Can it be ghosts? Why does Mr Reeves tell them to stay away from the nineteenth floor? When the girls hear it too, they all set out together to discover the scary source.

Again entertained by the intelligent, lovable, always helpful hotel Labrador, Mr Walker, the Park Hyatt’s Ambassador role includes lookout when called for. He is also a useful instrument of diversion when needed. Mr Walker and the Perfect Mess is the fifth book in the series.  

The Reeves household prepares for Christmas with a new advent calendar and a humorous made-up rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas based on Mr Walker’s favourite thing - food!

It is the groundskeeper Josephine’s last Christmas at the Park Hyatt. Her father is retiring and she is taking over the farm. So it is to be a special festive celebration and send-off combined.

This isn’t the only special event on a program filled till well into January. The Guide Dogs fundraiser is keeping them busy but the family is determined to find the right gift for Josephine.

Review: Peppa Pig: Peppa's Christmas Jumper Day

Christmas Jumper Day has come around again at Peppa and George’s playgroup.

Daddy Pig goes into the attic to retrieve the Christmas box. The little ones try on last year’s jumpers. Of course they don’t fit. Daddy Pig suggests that George try Peppa’s and Peppa tries Daddy’s. George is set but Peppa has a problem.

They go to bed with a promise from Daddy Pig that all will be well in the morning. He secretly has a grand idea which he’s not willing to share.

Review: WOW! the visual encyclopedia of everything (New Edition)

Revised and updated for 2019, this encyclopedia really does have a 'WOW!' factor. There are over 300 visually stimulating pages, with detailed photography, realistic illustrations, charts, maps, sketches and other imagery from across the world, the solar system and beyond.

A vast range of topics are covered, with enough detail provided to give an introduction and preliminary understanding of each topic, whilst not becoming overly didactic. The information presented is succinct, relevant and will spark further interest and investigation.

The topics are divided into eight distinct sections: nature; the human body; science and technology; space; Earth; people and places; history; art and culture.

Winner: Patrick Ness

Here is our lucky winner.

Donna Johnson SA

Congratulations! You have won an awesome 10th Anniversary pack of the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness plus an exclusive anniversary tee-shirt, design chosen by Patrick Ness.

We're all a little bit envious here at KBR.

Thank you to ALL who entered.

Patrick Ness will be appearing at Sydney Writers Festival’s All Day YA Day on May 5 and in Melbourne at The Wheeler Centre In-conversation with Jesse Andrews on May 7.

 

Giveaway: Chaos Walking Trilogy 10th Anniversary Series

To celebrate Patrick Ness' visit to Australia next month, and the tenth anniversary of the Chaos Walking Triology, the good people of Walker Books Australia are offering a set of anniversary editions of the series plus an anniversary T-Shirt, design chosen by Patrick Ness. All you have to do is tell us, in 25 words, what you love about Patrick Ness.

Announcement: Eltham Festival of Stories

The tranquil town of Eltham, on the outskirts of Melbourne, is launching its inaugural Eltham Festival of Stories – for Young and Old this Saturday, October 14.

This is an exciting event for lovers of picture books, YA fiction and everything in between. It provides local readers, teachers and emerging writers an opportunity to meet and share stories with local and national writers and illustrators.

Opening with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy, the festival will begin with a morning of story time and hands-on creative activities.

In the afternoon, festival-goers will hear from panels of writers of middle grade and YA fiction and have the opportunity to chat with teen members of the Inside A Dog Advisory Board.

Artists appearing include: Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy (Welcome to Country), Nicki Greenberg (Meerkat Choir), Ailsa Wild (Squishy Taylor), Tull Suwannakit (What Happens Next?), Zana Fraillon (The Bone Sparrow), Kate Constable (Crow Country), Lili Wilkinson (Merry Everything), Penny Harrison (Dance With Me), Kelly Gardiner (1917), Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood & Simmone Howell (Take Three Girls), Kate Mildenhall (Skylarking), and teen judges for the Inky Book Awards.

Entry is by gold coin donation, with all proceeds donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and books will be available for sale and signing. For more information, follow www.facebook.com/ElthamFestivalofStories.

Review: New Year Surprise!

Little Brother is impatient to be part of the preparations for the Spring Festival. He has been told that he has a very special responsibility on the day, but it seems that all of the important jobs are already being done by other members of his family. What will his special job be?

Beautifully illustrated with traditional Chinese paints and brushes on rice paper by Di Wu, New Year Surprise! captures the excitement of Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) celebrations in a snowy rural northern Chinese village. The text by Christopher Cheng follows Little Brother as his family prepares for Spring Festival and as they celebrate this special event with their extended family and friends.

CBCA National Conference, Canberra 2014 - Vox Pops Wrap-Up

The CBCA National Conference, Canberra, was a roaring success, with a stellar line-up of industry talent, sharing their passion and drive for literacy and fabulous books. Here are just some of the comments made at the conference, compiled by KBR Consultant Librarian, Sarah Steed. You can see a wrap-up of presentations on the Conference website, which will appear in the coming weeks, and we hope you enjoy the handful of conference photos at the end of this post. You can also see a detailed Conference rundown on Tania McCartney's blog and Irma Gold's blog.

'Books matter, and books for children matter even more,' Jackie French told participants at the Children’s Book Council of Australia National Conference, held in Canberra this weekend. Those words surely encapsulate the primary motivation of those in attendance.

With the theme ‘Discovering National Treasures’, there were two days jam-packed full of creative insight and inspiration for lovers of children’s books - authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, publishers, and others. For those who were unable to make it, here are a few bite-sized snippets from some of the movers and shakers in Australia’s children’s book industry.

'I don’t want to write safe books. I want to make people laugh and cry.'
- Margaret Wild, author (by proxy)

'I drew the dark, then added light.
- Stephen Michael King, author and illustrator, on creating The Duck and the Darklings, his recent collaboration with Glenda Millard

SCBWI's New ACT Chapter Opens

Top: Sarah Steed, David Murphy, Phil Kavanagh, Harry Laing, Grace Bryant, Tracey Hawkins, Deb Abela. Bottom: Leanne Barrett, Tania McCartney, Gina Newton, Jennifer Bradley, Pauline Deeves

Last night was my kind of night--a bunch of children's book-addicts gathering together to natter, nibble and talk books, writing, illustrating, literacy and the brand new ACT Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Deb and Tracey lead the way

Let's just say, it's about time! The group may be small (so far) but it's already dynamic, with real movers and shakers [read: people impassioned by books and know their stuff!].

Attended by author and assistant regional advisor for SCBWI NSW and the ACT,  Deborah Abela (who is in town for her May Gibbs Fellowship), the meeting was opened by local SCBWI coordinator Tracey Hawkins, who spoke about her hopes for the local chapter, and the exciting SCBWI Sydney Conference in July.

Deb updated everyone on the brilliant new SCBWI site and also spoke of the LA and New York SCBWI Conferences. We then discussed our hopes and dreams for our local chapter, which was incredibly inspiring. Oh--and we did a lot of laughing.

SCWBI is definitely a warm, inclusive, level playing field of both big industry players and newbies. It's an amazing way to network, share, learn and hone your craft. You can learn more about SCWBI Australia/NZ right here. We like to have a lot of fun - it's worth joining!

- KBR Founder, Tania McCartney

Showcase Festival: Views on Picture Book Apps at the National Library

 

Last night here in Canberra saw the wrap-up of a truly sensational Showcase Festival: the second annual Festival of Australian Children's Literature, created and run by Belle Alderman, Emeritus Professor of Children's Literature at the University odf Canberra and her sensational team, including Sara Rapp who curated the Bob Graham illustration exhibition at Civic Library.

The afternoon began with a book signing in the National Library Foyer with picture book superstar Nick Bland, seen here with Rosemary Thomas, entries coordinator for the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards. Nick was VERY busy!

We then convened to a conference room for the View on Picture Book Apps event, introduced by Belle Alderman ...

And featuring Omnibus publisher Dyan Blacklock and Nick Bland ...

Along with Mark McLeod ... who opened proceedings and set the tone for the picture book app discussion with some fascinating statistics on reading, children's book sales and Australian purchasing/book devouring habits.

The trio then spoke of their own views and experiences with apps, with Nick revealing why he chose to move into the PB app arena with his company Wheelbarrow, and Dyan talking of the health concerns surrounding extended play on devices such as iPads, both in terms of inertia but also in regard to radiation exposure, particularly in the very young.

Dyan also said the picture book app section on iTunes was her equivalent of the slush pile, with endless badly-written, designed, edited and illustrated books cluttering the few productions that were even worth screen-swiping.

Nick then spoke about app creation processes, and the new Shaun Tan app for his book Rules of Summer, which has become the highest-selling book on the Australian app store.

Mark discussed the fact that we don't need to panic--hard copy books aren't going anywhere, that we are only just experimenting with electronic reading in its various forms, and that it's just the way we read that will change--not only in terms of what literal form we read in, but in terms of the way we visually scan, mentally process and emotionally harness written works.

Questions and comments from the audience included the 'delete' (ie; throw away) factor in regard to books read via electronic platforms, the repeat-read issue, what contributors are required for app creation, and one librarian mentioned a push by some librarians to digitisein favour of hard copy books.

This event was a fine ending to a superb Showcase Festival, featuring a truly impressive line up of presenters, facilitators and talent. Biggest congratulations to Belle and her team, who already have an exciting 2014 in the planning. I can't wait to see what they have up their sleeve. It's a thrill to see the children's book industry opening up, discussing and sharing its direction in our Nation's Capital. I hope you can join in the fun next year.

- Tania McCartney

Thanks to Leanne Barrett, CBCA President ACT, for providing some of these photos.

#showcasefest

Dinosaurs Love Cheese! Jackie French and Nina Rycroft at Civic Library

The kids and I had a lovely afternoon last week, visiting Civic Library and listening to the superlative Jackie French talk about her gorgeous picture book Dinosaurs Love Cheese. The event was part of the Festival of Australian Children's literature, running in Canberra until 15 November.

Illustrator Nina Rycroft also spoke about her illustration process, and it was such a treat to have a sneak peek at her original drafts, and to see an entire double page spread come to life--from first sketch to final--via a stop motion video.

Jackie and Nina were in town to celebrate of the opening of a superb exhibition, curated by Sara Rapp, on Dinosaurs Love Cheese--which features dozens upon dozens of original drafts and in-process drawings, as well as final images.

The exhibition also features books by both creators, and fun activities for the kids, presented in a beautiful atmosphere on the mezzanine level at Civic Library, Canberra.

Event: Writers Unleashed! Festival

Want some fabulousness with your Festival? Don't miss the Sutherland Shire's Writer's Unleashed Festival this November 16 and 17. This is a weekend popping with incredible workshops, talks and publisher/industry interaction and opportunities.

Congrats to Jodie Wells-Slowgrove and the team for such an amazing line-up and festival programme. You can see more right here. Tickets went on sale today so get in lightning fast! Places won't last long.

I'll be there--hope to see you!

Event: Showcase: Second Annual Festival of Australian Children's Literature

The University of Canberra in parnership with the Lu Rees Archives, Libraries ACT and the Children's Book Council of Australia, will host Showcase: The 2nd Annual Canberra Festival of Australian Children's Literature, which will celebrate the writers, illustrators and publishers of children's books directly connected with Canberra and District for the past 100 years, and explore developments that could impact the future, such as children's e-books.

The 2013 Festival objective are to:

• Explore the wide range of imaginative work for children created by Canberra and District authors, illustrators and publishers
• Promote the work of local children's authors and illustrators to inspire Canberra school, TAFE and university students through talks, books signings and related events
• Connect local authors and illustrators to each other, their community, and their communities of interest
• Explore the imaginative process of local creators through original artwork, papers and manuscripts on exhibition
• Showcase the unique Lu Rees Archive resources about local writers, illustrators and publishers available to students, researchers and teachers in Canberra
• Profile the outstanding alumni of the University of Canberra

The Festival will include a panel event addressing the topic 'Who do we write for - who are our readers?' where prominent authors are interviewed by their avid readers.

See more here and check out the fabulous line-up of talent by clicking on the image below.