Patrick doesn’t know why he collects acorns, he just knows that he feels better when he feels their hard, smooth roundness in his hand.
The fact that acorns suggest new growth, in that they are a very small nut with the potential to grow into a very large tree, is quietly central to the story.
Luckily for Patrick and this story, he lives in a town with a lot of oak trees.
A divine publication, it reflects the good and otherwise of toddler years.
Mothers
will nod their heads in recognition as they associate the familiar issues displayed on the pages with their own experiences.
Each letter of the alphabet is represented in perfect, descriptive, carefully considered and selected wording.
Stamped on the front with shiny gold bits that emphatically state ‘Must Not Be
Talked About,’ this book - with its hand-written feel and engaging line
drawings - will definitely be talked about.
Rufus
Rumble lives more than a hundred years in the future, and this alone is enough
to pique reader interest and intrigue. Also,
Rufus has a ticket to SPACE. And if that’s not enough, he’s also on a quest
to find his mother who simply vanished one morning, leaving Rufus to live with
his grumpy old Grandad.
Pavlo gets the grumps shows us
that no bad day lasts forever. And it reminds us that there are always new and different
ways to deal with big feelings.
Pavlo does not feel like going to the park. Not today.
He does not want to go swimming.
He even says no to the cinema.
What’s going on, Pavlo?
Pavlo’s got the grumps.
Ukrainian-born author/illustrator Natalia Shaloshvili
has created a feast for the eyes and a hug for the soul, with this delightful
and moving children’s book. It ventures into both deep melancholy and unbridled
joy- sometimes both on the same page!
Acclaimed author and mischief-maker Mick Elliot delivers a veritable snapshot of all the possible combinations of mothers, children and their cats – also known as mogs.
This celebration of all things feline within family is a hoot.
‘A joyful carnival of fun, family, and more than a
little bit of mischief…’
We are treated to many, many bright and cheerful illustrations of family situations where mogs abound in daily life.
The voice of Nettie as narrator is innocent, simple
and realistic, while her inner observations successfully draw the intended
response from the reader.
The strict and heartless Aunt Edith has been living
with the family on the farm, begrudgingly caring for them for some time.
Dissatisfying answers from Edith to young Nettie’s questions about life, simply give birth to further queries, especially the explanation that storks deliver babies to families.
This issue is also a pivotal point in this well-crafted
storyline.
It’s
perfect for the middle-grade reader and if I may be so bold, it will sit well
on the Young Adult shelf, too. It’s beautifully paced and crafted. I loved
every funny, flawed and fetid moment and yes, you read that correctly.
Doris Kozlowski lives with her little brother, mother and babcia (Polish grandmother) in Babcia’s Melbourne house, because her dad has run off to London with the performing arts teacher. To say their family is embarrassing, is an understatement. Her mum constantly breaks into show tunes and plays singing, dancing veggies on TV commercials.
However, there is no seat in the immediate vicinity and it soon becomes apparent that she will only place her tutu-clad posterior on the best seat in the house.
We
know this because she demands it, over and over and over again.
This fresh, inspiring book is
big of heart, big of scope and big of weight! A stunning hardcover novel of over 500 pages with
images and words, it’s almost indefinable in its breadth. And although it’s
listed as fantasy/fiction for children, this is one
of those warming books that is absolutely appropriate for all ages to enjoy and
discuss. A surprisingly simple and quick read, with massive themes and
characters that hold your hand through the turbulence, Big Tree is one
for all ages.
‘Hello
stars. I thought I heard you calling me.’
These lines
along with two gorgeous pictures, open the narrative and welcome us into the
story. Louise has been dreaming of the world beyond her home. As fate would
have it, she and her brother Merwin find themselves cast out into the big wide
world when a forest fire rips through and takes the life of their Mama tree.
Thank you to ALL who entered.
Angry and destructive, Indigo builds walls so no one can get close. Left with a brain in chaos, she believes that nobody other than Noni and Aster would take an interest in her. They know what being different is like.
So does Xavier, Aster’s best friend who lives with the black dog.
But, Indigo secretly loves bugs, various scents, and her artistic gift.
Things change when Liam comes to her school. He too, is different. He is judged by his appearance at the posh school they are forced to attend due to proximity.
Thanks to the good folk at Harper Collins, we have a copy of this beautiful new picture book to giveaway, just in time for Mother's Day!
Another
timeless and wordless picture book that, along with companion book Sunshine,
top and tail-ends the day for a little girl and her family. It’s
evening, and the reader sees a little girl who is eating dinner with her
parents before getting ready for bed. Opening onto a bright and cheerful dinner
table, the follow-up activities of dish-washing and bath-time are colourful and
fresh, yet contain the sense of taking us into a gentler, more quiet realm.
A timeless
and wordless picture book that nonetheless says so much as it sparkles
with delight and surprise. Very appropriate for today. This fortieth anniversary edition, with the most beautiful forward by illustrator Freya Blackwood, is a classic in every sense of that word.
It’s
morning, and the reader travels with a little girl who wakes up as the sunlight
streams in through her window. She reads her book for a while before clambering
out of bed to wake her sleepy-head parents.
What on earth do you do when your baby sister won’t
sleep? You head downstairs to get mum. Mum sings baby Jessie a song and tucks
her back into bed. But as soon as mum leaves, the baby wakes and cries again.
So, you go downstairs and get dad. Dad drives baby
Jessie around the block while you watch out the window from your too-quiet
bedroom. Then he creeps upstairs and pops the sleeping bundle back into her
cot. And as soon as dad tiptoes away, the baby wakes again. And cries.
As big sister, it’s up to you now. So you do what
any clear-thinking person would do under the circumstances. You climb into bed
with the baby and both snuggle down to sleep together.
From the Our World, Our Home series of educational books for younger readers. comes In Australia: A Down Under Baby Animal Counting Book. It focuses on mammals and marsupials, viviparous, oviparous known as monotremes, their breeding habits and protection of their young.
Title: A Weekend with Oscar
Author: Robyn Bavarti
Publisher: Walker, $19.99
Publication Date: 7 July, 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760653002
For ages: 12 years +
Type: Young Adult Fiction
Alexis
Brightwell, QLD
Mums often hear the sentiment, ‘You’re the best, Mum!’ from their adoring offspring. The unconditional
love youngsters possess for their mothers, is the stuff the best heart-tugging
movies and tear-jerking works of fiction are made of, almost too good to be
true let alone believe. When you’re having frumpy day, a child’s sweet conviction that you are the most divine creature on earth can buoy you past the thermosphere, which is to say, very very high up.
But is this because of the way we make them feel? And if
so, what innocent acts of lovingness incite such strong bonds between a mother
and her child? The answers snuggle delightfully between the covers of Charles
Fuge’s latest Little
Wombat picture book, You’re the Best
Mum!