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Our Map

Nov15
Our Map

Our Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Map

Angie Cui

Novia Heroanto

Wombat Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

9781761112362

Spread out a world map on a table or place a globe where it can be spun and watch the students gravitate toward it like galahs to a bowl of seed. 

But what if you can’t find the place you’re looking for because it’s been swallowed by a larger country and to the eyes of the map-makers, no longer exists?

To JJ, a map of the world is a fascinating thing and she loves spending time poring over them with her Baba as he shows her countries, mountains and seas.  Yet her bestie, Lee, doesn’t like looking at them at all. Because although JJ can find Bangladesh where her baba comes from, and China where her mama comes from, Lee cannot find his country at all.  He and his family came to Australia as refugees when he was very young and now it seems his country no longer exists.  Or is the map wrong?  Does it not show everything? 

Determined to cheer her friend up and make him feel he does belong, JJ has an idea … and soon a new map is born.  One that has meaning and memories for everyone…

Walk into any Australian classroom these days and there will be any number of children who can trace their heritage to somewhere beyond our shores and for whom those origins are kept alive within their families.  But there will also be a Lee whose country has been “eaten” by an aggressor and although the memories persist, it no longer makes a mark, “not even a name or a dot” on  the map.  And that can trigger some strong emotions, so this is a story that will resonate widely and JJ’s solution might be just the answer a teacher needs.  It’s a simple, straight-forward narrative that can have a big impact as children learn more about the place where they were born – even if that’s Australia – while also having big implications as others realise their origins are acknowledged and valued.  Just because the map-makers no longer see them doesn’t mean they didn’t exist. 

(And you could even introduce “cartography” to their vocabulary!) 

Flight of the Drakkonbarq

Nov10
Flight of the Drakkonbarq

Flight of the Drakkonbarq

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight of the Drakkonbarq

Sarah Giddy

Riveted Press, 2025

288pp., pbk., RRP $A19.00

9781764007146

Imagine being so small that a raindrop feels like a waterbolt, you live in a snail shell cottage and your school uniform was made from a caterpillar’s shed skin!   

Even though he is 12 years old, Bat Brikson is less than two centimetres tall—but his dreams are bigger than the sky.

Tired of feeling like a misfit because he has such big dreams, Bat hitches a ride on his newly hatched moth Oddity, and takes off on a daring quest. His mission? To fly beyond the grass, find the legendary enemy dragonfly-riders, and finally discover where he belongs. But the world above is nothing like he imagined.

From riding beetles and exploring treetop villages to joining sky-high honey quests and befriending a fierce young warrior named Elfrida, Bat is swept into a world of wonder—and danger. The dragonfly-riders, known as the Drakkonbarqs, aren’t the villains he was raised to fear. In fact, some of them feel more like home than the classmates he left behind.

As Bat navigates battles, secrets, and shifting loyalties, he begins to realise that being different doesn’t mean you don’t belong. And that sometimes, the greatest quest isn’t to change yourself—but to see others more clearly.

Fantasy adventures are the choice of so many readers right now, regardless of their age, and this is an ideal introduction to the genre for those independent readers who have the confidence and competence to tackle something a bit more challenging while still having the support of shorter chapters and plenty of illustrations to help visualise the world and inhabitants of Groundlands. Yet, despite its characters and setting, it has a familiar theme of needing to belong, to find your place in the world and to be comfortable in it – exactly what many of our students are feeling right now as they straddle childhood and adolescence, and are facing big changes like moving on to high school.  Thus, they will resonate with Bat’s restlessness, to want to know and grow, maybe even be their own equivalent of a Drakkonbarq. But, at the same time as finding their own feet, they are taken out of that egocentric world of childhood and learn how to tread their own path whilst not stepping on the toes of others – that those around them also have dreams and desires beyond their current circumstances and situations and it can be a delicate dance to negotiate everyone and everything. Maybe some of their real-world Drakkonbarqs will surprise them  just as Bat was surprised. And as he discovered, the view of the world changes depending on the lens you see it through.  Perhaps a raindrop is not a waterbolt.  

In a Q & A with Brenton Cullen, the author discusses the background and processes (and time) that go into creating a book such as this  – it began life as a final assignment for her Bachelor of Visual Art and Design, Even if some students prefer to draw rather than read, read them just the first chapter and challenge them to create Bat’s world.  Set their imaginations soaring… … maybe even consider what adventures might be waiting in the world they imagine

She also discloses that she is currently working on a new one “about a girl with a magic bottle of ink and an annoying dragon friend”   which promises to be just as intriguing. 

 

 

Clara Capybara

Nov9
Clara Capybara

Clara Capybara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clara Capybara

Aleesah Darlison

Ruth-Mary Smith

Wombat Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781761111952

There are many ways to say the word “yes” – okay, of course, okey-dokey, certainly, my pleasure, absolutely – and Clara Capybara knew them all.  Not only did she know them all but she used them all as she constantly acceded to her friends’ requests, even the unreasonable ones,  because she had forgotten how to say no.  

It gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside to help them because she felt she was needed and the pinnacle was receiving “The Most Helpful Student Award” at school.  In fact, she was so afraid that her friends wouldn’t like her anymore if she didn’t agree, that she spent all her time meeting their needs and not taking care of her own. That innate sense to please those whose approval we want not only drove her but, indeed, she believed, defined her.  Even her mother was concerned enough to tell her to do something for herself instead, but can Clara find the courage to say no?  And will her friends still be her friends if she does? 

Given the current interest in capybaras by many of our young readers,  and cleverly using the natural highly sociable nature of the species, Darlison has created a story that will provoke a lot of thought and discussion about the nature of friendship, and that it is  more than just pandering to the demands of those whose attention we want.  It’s an opportunity to consider what else underpins those relationships that are important to us as well as understanding the old saying, “If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of others.”  At the same time, while Clara learns to say, “No,” she (and the readers) learn that it can be done politely and diplomatically, framed in a way that no one is offended and there is scope for the friendship to continue.  Friendship is about give and take on both sides.  

While many stories for young readers focus on social and emotional development as they move from the comfort zone of family, this one also provides the opportunity to delve deeper and consider how Clara’s willingness to always be there help might be disempowering her friends. Is Clara’s need for the approval of her friends selfish because she is not allowing them to learn and grow and be independent? If she doesn’t comb Fox’s ears or tie Toucan’s shoelaces, would they learn to do it for themselves?  If she doesn’t help with Parrot’s homework, will he have to put in extra effort? If she doesn’t lend her dress to Cheetah, how will Cheetah learn to cope with disappointment?  If our students don’t face negatives like failure, disappointment and frustration, how will they develop the strategies to cope with them when they inevitably do? Sometimes setting boundaries for ourselves opens opportunities for others.

Although this book may catch the eye because of its striking cover and the popularity of its main character, in true Darlison style, it offers much more that the surface storyline suggests.  

The Cockatoo Crew (series)

Nov7
The Cockatoo Crew (series)

The Cockatoo Crew (series)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cockatoo Crew (series)

Elif’s Itchy Palm

9781760803148

Sambu Won’t Grow 

9781760803155

Lora Inak

Kruti Desai

UWAP, 2025

90pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

As this school year draws to a close, we all recognise the gamut of feelings some students are experiencing as they face a move to a new school, whether it’s because it’s the natural next step in their education, family circumstances or something else that is uprooting them from their comfort zone. Anticipation, expectation, trepidation, anxiety, fear  – all underpinned by the common concern about will they be liked and will they make friends.  Then compound those feelings by being in a new country, knowing no one except your family and scarcely speaking a word of English.  All you know are the few words you learned in school in Türkiye and yet, here you are, in a new country, quieter, greener, wider, bigger  and cleaner than what you are used to with no familiar sights, sounds or smells .

It’s Elif’s first day at Cockatoo Hill English Language School and despite her dede reassuring her that it won’t be long before she feels she belongs, Elif is very nervous.  She meets her special helper who speaks both Turkish and English and who will be by her side at school helping her until she has the confidence to cope but how long will that be? And then she meets the Cockatoo Crew, her eight classmates each from a different part of the world, and each with different beliefs, perspectives and stories. Could these be the friends she has been craving?

This is the first in this new series that is for those who are newly independent readers, whether they are like Elif and just mastering this new language, or just mastering reading or both,  And from the get-go where the front pages greet you with a range of “portraits’ of kids welcoming you in their own language, you know that this is going to be a stand-above series because it is filling a gap in the collection by putting the reader directly into the shoes of Elif and Sambu and the others so they can view the world through the lens of those not born here, who don’t speak the language, are unfamiliar with the food and games, and don’t necessarily understand  the quirky things that Australians do.  Yet, at the same time as learning to appreciate the challenges such children face, it is soon clear through the stories that despite the differences all children share the same hopes, aspirations and fears.  Elif is worried that she has lost the special $2 coin here dede gave her; Sambu that even though he is about to be 10 he is not tall  like his Kenyan Massai Warrior ancestors… And just as the English-speaking child learns that, so too, the non-English speaking child sees a story about themselves and their first experiences as they put their foot in the door of the Introductory English Centre for the first time… and learn that you do not have to be the same as everyone else to fit in and belong.  

With all the supports these children need, including familiar characters and situations, uncomplicated storylines,  shorter chapters, larger fonts and plenty of illustrations to illuminate unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary, the production crew has nailed the formatting, while the critical issue of a well–written, engaging story remains central.

Throughout my time in schools, including an IEC, and particularly on a gazillion playground duties,  if I’ve learned anything, it is that despite any differences they might have on the surface, kids will find a work-around so they can play together, enjoy each other’s company, and have fun.  Everything else is irrelevant because after all, we all smile in the same language.  And this series captures that perfectly, making it a must-have in any school where there is anyone from elsewhere who needs some support and reassurance – with the language or otherwise.  

A simple way to welcome all out students and their families - the kids had to dress themselves in one of the variations of our school uniform! The chatter to ensure they had an original combo was exciting to eavesdrop on...

A simple way to welcome all out students and their families – the kids had to dress themselves in one of the variations of our school uniform! The chatter to ensure they had an original combo was exciting to eavesdrop on…

Creepy Sheepy

Oct7
Creepy Sheepy

Creepy Sheepy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creepy Sheepy

Lucy Ruth Cummins

Pete Oswald

Walker Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761601460

Hallowe’en is almost here and Sleepy Sheepy knows exactly the costume he wants to wear to go trick-or treating.  And luckily, there is just one left! No matter what Pa said, this was the costume Sleepy had to have.

But come the big night, not only does the costume not feel comfortable, but when he opens the door, he discovers that everyone else has had the same idea and made the same choice. Will he be one of many or will he be one of a kind?

The third in this delightful series for our youngest readers which reflects the everyday events that they, themselves, encounter.  This time, in the familiar setting of the annual Hallowe’en dress-up, it’s focus is on being one of the crowd or moving to the beat of your own drum.  With its bold illustrations and bounce-along rhythm, it features all the familiar images that children associate with the event that they can have fun identifying and building their vocabulary, while not being too scary.  At the same time, adults sharing the story can help our littlies think about why there might have only been one werewolf costume left, as well as talking about how Sleepy Sheepy responded when he saw everyone in the same costume.  What would they have done? 

A fun one to share as little ones prepare for their own big night. 

 

I Am Me

Sep18
I Am Me

I Am Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Am Me

Mitch Tambo

Carla Hoffenberg

A & U Children, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781761182204

Yaama!
My name is Mitch Tambo.
I’m a proud First Nations man from the Gamilaraay people.
What’s your name? Who are your people?

One of Australia’s most unique and electrifying First Nations entertainers, Mitch Tambo welcomes children of all ages to discover the richness of First Nations culture through song, dance and Language, sharing the ways of his Gamilaraay people in particular.  Using his headdress as the focal point, he explains its construction and the symbolism associated with it, its components and its connections to his wider world. But at the same time he offers young readers a challenge to discover their own heritage, their language and the things that keep their culture connected whether it is First Nation or something else, because it is all those connections that combine to make them the unique individuals they are.   even those children who don’t think they have strong cultural or ethnic bonds can start by exploring their own name – why they have it, who chose it, what it means, its links to other family members and so on.

So while Mitch continues the trend to introduce First Nations culture to non-Indigenous people, and their strong sense of  personal identity built on generations of shared beliefs, links, and bonds, I believe that, given its title and his questions to the reader.  the core of this book is about acknowledging all the bibs and bobs over time, place and space that enable each of us to say “I Am Me.”  That if we are to be able to be resilient and hold self-believe and self worth then we need to know who we are and develop that strong sense of self from the get-go. This is an excellent starting point,

 

Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers

Aug26
Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers

Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers

Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly

Blak Douglas

Thames & Hudson, 2023

136pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

9781760763480

Whenever our young people hear the now familiar Welcome to Country or recite their school’s Acknowledgement of Country, are they just hearing or saying words or do they have an understanding of the meaning and purpose behind them?

Ever since 1835 when NSW Governor Richard Bourke implemented the legal principle of terra nullius in Australian law as the basis for British settlement until its repeal in 1992 by the High Court’s Mabo Decision that recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ continuing connection and rights to land through Native Title., there was a legally perpetuated belief that Australia was, indeed, a  “land belonging to no one”, having “a complete absence of people and additionally the absence of ‘civilised’ people capable of land ownership” and thus, was used to justify and legitimise the dispossession, dispersal, and inhumane treatment of First Nations peoples.

But in this book, the younger readers adaptation of Songlines from the critically acclaimed, best-selling First Knowledges series,  the authors and illustrators have provided a critical insight into the culture and history that underpins those  statements and helping them better appreciate what they are hearing and saying. 

Through easily accessible language, impactful illustrations and an appealing layout, readers learn how that connection to Country is established as they “walk through the oldest, biggest library of knowledge on Earth.” Not a physical library populated by shelves and shelves of books that may not be read for years on end but one that holds the knowledge of the land, sea and sky and which is read in “the rocks and the stones, the animals and the plants, the seasons and the weather. It’s also told through paintings and carvings, and in the designs of baskets and weapons,  And it’s in the memories , songs and dances of the Australian Aboriginal people…” 

These are the Songlines – the connections that run through place and time , families and kinship as they are passed on and around so that each new generation learns to find their way around, get  food and drink, connect with friends and family and know the right and safe way to make and do things.  How were these sorts of things navigated before shops made acquiring items easy, you could carry a search engine in your pocket or satnav and Google Maps were invented? 

In this book the authors invite the reader to “walk the Songlines with them across Country” to see and learn about it in a new way and really begin to understand what is meant by those ceremonial practices and words.  Spanning  art, history, song, science and culture, this is a collaboration between Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia, and Lynne Kelly, a science writer working as an honorary research associate at La Trobe University and award-winning illustrator Blak Douglas, that gives it  authority and authenticity  relating the contemporary to the ancient and vice versa, with each chapter concluding with an opportunity for the reader to reflect on what they have learned through challenges which might require them to  research, discuss or  create something from the ideas presented including identifying whose country they live on, or  exploring the Emu in the Sky constellation , or comparing Stone Henge and Wurdi Yoang, or maybe visiting the Ara Irititja historical and cultural archive. There is also discussion about why some Songlines have been broken, particularly since those words of Governor Bourke and how their importance is now being recognised and communities are working to rescue and rebuild them.

IMO, if there is ever to be true reconciliation with our First Nations Peoples, then we need books (and series) like this so we can delve deeper into their beliefs, values, practices and priorities so we have a better understanding and a greater respect for them. Both this and Design & Building on Country have been CBCA Notables in their respective years,  and the third Caring for Country will be released on September 30, 2025.

 

 

Hedgehog or Echidna?

Jul30
Hedgehog or Echidna?: Animals who are the same . . . but different!

Hedgehog or Echidna?: Animals who are the same . . . but different!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hedgehog or Echidna?

Animals who are the same . . . but different!

Ashleigh Barton

Amandine Thomas

Lothian Children’s, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780734422682

Hedgehog and Echidna stop  in their shuffly tracks when they meet each other in the forest, surprised to meet someone who is so similar to them but really very different.  And so begins a conversation between the two as they compare their differences, not only educating themselves but also the young reader who may be familiar with both from their storybooks and perhaps in real life -although hedgehogs not only do not live here, but it is illegal to keep one- but not yet able to distinguish one from the other.

Having discovered that they, themselves, are very different despite appearance, the conversation then turns to other animals around the world that are often mistaken for each other, including crocodiles and alligators, llamas and alpacas, rabbits and hares, ostriches and emus and even eels and sea snakes.

Written in rhyme with stunning illustrations that convey the status or each animal through their facial expressions bringing them to life in the way a photograph doesn’t, this is a book that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been written before!  It has heaps of potential to spark investigations into each of the creatures – who knows how to distinguish a magpie from a raven, rook, jackdaw or crow? –  as well as looking for others that could become extra pages in the book.  For younger readers, it  also builds on those initial compare-and-contrast exercises that they engage in, demonstrating that there can be other attributes to look for beyond size, shape, colour and purpose, perhaps beginning with a comparison of similarities and differences between them and their best friend with valuable lessons about still being friends despite being different.

Having lived in New Zealand where we regularly left a dish of milk for the hedgehog who visited each night, and in Australia where we have them waddling around on their endless search for ants, and still fascinated by the experiences, a fact that I know that isn’t mentioned in the book is that hedgehogs DON’T uproot your pot plants to find a place to sleep!  

 

Or maybe take a wander across the snow…

 

The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall

Jul26
The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall

The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret Detectives Club

The Haunting of Hindmarsh Hall

Kate Gordon

Riveted Press, 2025

140pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9780645869385

As the first meeting of the Table Cape Scrabble Club gets underway at Fred’s Café with its only two members (also its founders) Rocko and Cosmo in attendance, they have no idea that their latest attempt to join the “cool kids” of this tiny town where everyone knows everyone and nothing ever remains a mystery, is going to lead them on the greatest adventure of their lives so far.

Seated at the table they have reserved for the meeting, is someone who seems to be absorbed in writing furiously on his laptop, carelessly splashing his coffee on the table and clearly not a prospective member of the club. Turns out he is PD Watkins, the renowned author of the Winston the Wizard  series which is a current favourite of all the kids in town, particularly Rocko who is a reader, and Cosmo who is not but who loves superhero movies. Watkins has taken up a writer’s residency in the local Hindmarsh Hall, an old mansion steeped in mystery and rumour but is finding it impossible to write there because of the strange goings-on that are terrifying him. Instead of the quiet writing retreat he anticipated, he has barely been able to work or sleep. There have been weird noises, things rearranged, strange messages carved on the walls … how is he supposed to write another bestseller with all of that going on? And so, joined by Mingus Reid, who is a cool kid and who does want to be a member, the Scrabble Club morphs into The Secret Detectives Club.

But as Rocko starts to investigate, backed by his big sister Pen, who is the coolest kid in town, he starts to realise that no one and nothing is what it seems and that he is not only not the wallpaper kid who was mercilessly bullied at his old school, but that his ability to be in the background and notice things that others don’t is a real advantage. 

This is the first in a new series – the second is due in October – for younger readers venturing into this genre of mystery, crime and the seemingly supernatural by Kate Gordon who consistently writes intriguing stories that engross the reader but which have powerful underlying themes that the reader can relate to and which make her characters so much like the kids they know, giving them a more-rounded personality.  In this one, she explores the idea of people having both a public and private persona, one they want the world to see and view them as, while keeping their vulnerability out of sight, visible only to those who know them well. Just as the mysterious events at the Hall may not be what they first appear to be, so too the characters are not who they first present as, either.

Not only does this have all the hallmarks of being a series that is going to appeal to the younger independent reader, but it may well send them in search of other titles by her such as The Ballad of Melodie Rose,  The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow  The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn, My Brother Finch,  and Small Acts.   A different way to Book an Adventure. 

The Phoenix Five

Jul16
The Phoenix Five

The Phoenix Five

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Phoenix Five

Sandi & Christopher Phoenix & Monica Millgate

Katherine Appleby

Little Steps, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.95

9781922833457

Down by the coast, where the river meets the sea, there’s a secret meeting place beneath an old gum tree…

And gathered around that old tree are five friends – Flo Cockatoo, Marli Croc, Cody Quokka, Frankie Sea Eagle and Saffi Koala – who call themselves The Phoenix Five, “Adventurers of the land and skies.”  At today’s meeting they decide that they need a meeting place, more than just the tree itself,  and so they start to plan the construction of a tree house.  Agreeing on the design, materials and procedures, they collaborate and cooperate to build it, each using their particular strengths and interests to make it the best tree house ever.  

With its rhyming text and characters that youngsters can relate to and appealing illustrations that could be Anywhere, Australia, at first glance this appears to be just another story for little ones about how they can work together to achieve something that they couldn’t do by themselves, but the Educator Notes at the back take the adult reader much deeper, explaining the philosophy of “Needs Literacy” that underpins the story.

For decades, educators have known, understood and applied William Glasser’s Choice Theory that is founded on the premise that each of us, as humans, have five basic innate needs – the physical need to survive and the psychological needs of love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun – and that our behaviour at any given time is determined by the need to satisfy one or more of these, even if the choice impacts others.  However, while adults might understand the impetus that drives the challenging behaviour they encounter from children, the child itself  doesn’t yet have the words, understanding and logic to articulate their need so physical actions and emotional outbursts become their only way to express their frustration. So this book, based on The Phoenix Cup philosophy, becomes a starting point to help them begin to understand what their particular, individual strengths and needs are so that as they mature, their experiences broaden and their language develops they can start to choose and modify their behaviours.

Currently, not a day goes by when news bulletins are not peppered with stories of violence, particularly amongst young people, and violence against teachers especially by primary-school aged children, is becoming alarming so clearly there is a need in both home and school to teach children to recognise what is driving their emotions and how to manage these better.  While it might take some time to work through the system, this book is another weapon in the mindfulness arsenal we can draw on.