This story is told by 12-year-old Mirra, who has just moved to Djaara Country, Western Victoria. Wingo is Mirra’s neighbour and she loves to be with him and his extended family as they have a menagerie of wildlife that they care for.
Wingo has placed some loose boards from the fence between their houses up in the big tree. It’s the perfect place to watch the sunrise and wait for everyone to get up. They name the place Leaf-Light.
One day the Ranger arrives at Wingo’s house with an orphaned emu egg. He asks Wingo’s family to care for it until it hatches. They will need to keep it warm. They keep it for quite a while safe and sound until one day they all huddle round to watch the chick slowly, slowly chip its way out of its shell.
There is much to read and see in between this main tale. Slowly the fence palings between the two houses are taken down and repurposed. We learn about cultural practices and Djarra language. We can learn the names of flora and fauna while we see the family caring for each other and the land around them.
This graphic novel is in a picture book format so there is lots to look at. But it is easy to read and as you linger, even for a moment, on the pages the story springs to life. The pitch-perfect illustrations and words are so cleverly put together that from the moment I opened this book I was absorbed by Mirra’s world.
Leaf-Light is a companion book to Landing with Wings, but also stands very well on its own. It’s wonderful. Spellbinding. Worth every moment.
Reviewed by Rowena Morcom
Age Guide 8+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trace lives on Djaara Country, South Eastern Australia. Her ancestors come from Hungary, England and France – from them she has inherited a love of dance and artistic creativity. Trace loves to rise at dawn, especially in late winter when it’s frosty, and walk up hills above the fog line to marvel at the dawn light and early spring flowers. She creates graphic novels and children’s books about connecting with Country and community. A self-described ‘story catcher,’ she finds inspiration in nature and incorporates local plant and animal species into her detailed, cartoon-style drawings.
When you’re a boy you are told how to be like the white-roaring oceans.
But I’ve learned the fierceness of flowers, the glory of colour and the beauty of dreaming.
When you’re a boy you might be told how to be like the sure-standing mountains, the cruel-clawing wilds or the white-roaring ocean. This book shows us there is another side to being. There is the falsehood of fighting, the strong shield of slowly, or the strength of contentment, the courage of patience.
When You’re A Boy is a beautifully told story. There is simplicity but with depth of emotion. Every spread of pages will have you feeling the emotions expressed from the joy of dancing, the pleasure of contentment to understanding the wisdom of waiting.
Nuto’s illustrations work perfectly hand in hand with his story, lifting this book high up into the stratosphere. A very special book that would make a treasured gift. But this one is a keeper for me.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Blake Nuto is an award winning writer living in lutruwita (Tasmania), Australia with his wife and three children. He is a trained teacher with a deep love of literature and a desire to integrate philosophy and mindfulness into education.
He currently lives and works in Tasmania.
His books, A Day That’s Ours and Child of Galaxies are currently available through Flying Eye Books. When You’re A Boy is published by Affirm Press.
Love, love love Nick Bland. The Wrong Book, classic. The Very Cranky Bear, another classic. I could go on, and on.
The first in a new series, ‘Bunny and Bird’, Nick Bland kicks off with How to Hatch a Dragon.
Bunny has bought his best friend, Bird, a present. It’s a dragons’ egg … Bunny got it from the dragon-egg shop. Where else? Luckily it comes with an instruction book. They place the egg in a nest on top of a rock and settled down with their backs to it on the ground with their backs to the rock and egg. Bunny begins to read the instructions out loud to bird.
Bunny explains to Bird that there are two types of dragons – yellow and blue. You don’t know what you’ll get until the egg hatches.
If it’s a blue dragon then lucky you! Blue dragons are slow growing and fabulous pets. Yellow dragons however grow very, VERY QUICKLY and grow very, VERY BIG!!
While Bunny is explaining this to Bird and they read along together, behind them the egg begins to crack …
The pandemonium begins!
When reading this book I couldn’t help but get a giggle going. It bubbled up, erupting into laughter, finally leaving me with a lovely smile on my face.
It’s just such fun. Thank you Nick Bland.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick was born on a farm in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, the son of two school teachers. When he moved to the bush at the age of six, he discovered a wonderful new world and his creativity bloomed.
Nick always wanted to be a cartoonist and a writer, but it wasn’t until he got a job at a bookshop in his 20s that he finally found a way to bring those two loves together.
Untrained, he spent the next couple of years reading every picture book that hit the shelves and began discovering his style as a storyteller and illustrator.
He now lives in tropical Darwin where he works full time as an author and illustrator. Nick’s books, which include The Very Cranky Bear, The Wrong Book and The Runaway Hug, have been recognised by many different awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia, the Kids Own Australian Literature Awards and the Australian Book Industry Awards.
Wellington writer Juliette MacIver and Sydney illustrator Sarah Davies have crafted several delightfully playful, re-readable, and award-winning kids’ picture books together. These include, the ‘Marmaduke Duck’ series and 2016 hit That’s Not a Hippopotamus!
The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist sees the return of quiet yet observant Liam and his Class 2B peers and teacher, who are now on a field trip into the Dismal Hills wilderness. Foraging, climbing, hiking – the kids are excited to show off their outdoors skills, and dismissive of quiet Liam’s excellent hiding skills. And dismissive of the legend of the Grizzled Grist.
As the teacher keeps repeating, that best ‘does not exist’. But it turns out a keen-eyed hider can see the clues and signs to something the others don’t believe. And as Class 2B and their teacher stride towards disaster, will it be the quiet child who’s often overlooked, rather than the loud and confident ones, who could save the day?
MacIver and Davies have crafted another clever, superb picture book for young ones and the adults reading with them, full of fun wordplay, a diverse array of schoolkids and other characters, and vivid illustrations with plenty to discover on every page and (re)read.
Reviewed by Craig Sisterson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliette MacIver is a children’s book author, cupcake chef, amateur cardio-thoracic surgeon, and mother of 14. She holds down three husbands, one of whom is her own, and is considering adding guinea pigs into the mix. In her spare time, she runs a successful online smuggling business, and is a keen anthropomorphist.
She can speak with the creatures of the sea and air, and has had some success in dispersing clouds. On windy days she can cause lighter objects to move with the power of her mind (when not dispersing clouds), and has addressed international audiences on the importance of staying local. A strong advocate for taking it easy, she believes that a person’s worth should not be measured by external achievements.
She has twice been nominated for the Orange Nobel Laureate Academy Award. A fierce activist, she has fought for Peace on Earth all over the earth. If she could have any super-power, it would be the ability to kill with a look. She lives in a shoe in a quiet corner of a nursery rhyme.
We’ve all had times in our life that we don’t want to share. We’ve all seen other people not want to share too.
Sally certainly doesn’t like sharing either. When Nico is coming to play at her house she tells her mum that she doesn’t want to share her favourite things with him. Mum suggests that she place things she doesn’t want to share in the wardrobe.
Great thinks Sally. So that would be Squirrel. Mmm, the train, the car park, the fish. Oh wait, I can’t let him jump on the bed. In goes the bed. The puppy picture, her favourite castle, TV, bathtub. Oh and the fridge too! It’s her favourite!
This is such silly fun. Sally keeps stuffing big things into the wardrobe that seems to double as a Tardis. Oh oh, she’s putting mum in too!
Nico’s at the door! Quick! Sally does a round to collect anything else that are her favourite things!
While reading you’ll need to rotate this book as the illustrations change from vertical to horizontal which all adds to the fun.
The unusual illustrations really compliment the story in Mine! and clearly help us understand the difficulty, or possibly chaos, that Sally is causing herself by not sharing.
Maybe not sharing is not so much fun. So then, maybe sharing is easier!
A hoot for you to share and read!
Reviewed by Jane Stephens Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Klara Person is an author, illustrator and graphic designer with a Master of Fine Arts in Design from HDK – School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg.
She loves working with both text and images, and to her, children’s literature is the perfect format for that combination. She always cares deeply about all aspects of a book, and how they work together. One of her goals has always been to continue experimenting and try new ways of telling stories in picture books.
Charlotte Ramel was an art director of food magazines before becoming an illustrator. The first children’s book she illustrated, The Cake Book by Marie Meijier, was an international hit. She lives in Sweden.
Blossom is a possum. Although not a very big possum, in fact she was little.
Being little never held her back. She has a dream to be a full-forward for the local footy team.
Although when Blossom turns up to try out for the team the coach says, NO.
‘Sorry squirt. You’re just too small. You’re barely bigger than the ball!’
Blossom tells the coach she is fast and fierce. She knows the rule book back to front, She tackles like a snake!
Okay, relents the coach, ‘we’ll let you … bring the halftime oranges.’
Blossom is there every game, wildly enthusiastic, always ready in case she gets a go.
The girls play well at every game, and get into the granny! It’s the possums versus the goannas!
Will our plucky Blossom get a run and help win the day?
Nicki Greenberg seems to be able to turn her hand to anything from graphic novels, picture books, fiction for kids. Whether it’s writing or illustrating her combined talents are always a winner for readers.
Nicki’s illustrations fill every page of this book to the brim with bright colours, matching the enthusiasm of Blossom and all the players.
It’s a super fun rhyming story reminding us that no matter your size you can be just as good as everyone else. Heroes can come in any size.
It made me want to go to the footy and cheer Blossom on!
Reviewed by Merle Morcom Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicki Greenberg is a writer and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. Her first books, ‘The Digit’s’ series, were published when she was 15 years old. They sold more than 380,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand.
When Nicki was 17, two big things happened to her. She started drawing comics. And she read The Great Gatsby for the first time.
Eight years and lots of comics later, those two big things came together when she embarked on the mad venture of adapting The Great Gatsby in graphic form. This labour of love took her six years, while she worked as a lawyer to support her scribbling habit. The result was a very unusual book.
Nicki’s innovative adaptation of Gatsby was widely acclaimed and was selected as a White Raven at the Bologna Book Fair. She then went on to tackle Hamlet in a lavish 425-page ‘staging on the page’. Hamlet was joint winner of the 2011 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year award.
Nicki’s elder daughter was born one month after she finished drawing the final page of Hamlet, and her younger daughter two years later. Inspired by their delight in picture books, Nicki returned to working in this form. Her recent picture books include The Naughtiest Reindeer, Monkey Red, Monkey Blue and BOM! Went the Bear. She has also written and illustrated non-fiction for children, and her book, It’s True! Squids Suck! was shortlisted for the 2006 Aventis Prize for Science Books.
This graphic novel is in a picture book format so there is lots to look at. But it is easy to read and as you linger, even for a moment, on the pages the story springs to life. The pitch-perfect illustrations and words are so cleverly put together that from the moment I opened this book I was absorbed by Mirra’s world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick was born on a farm in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, the son of two school teachers. When he moved to the bush at the age of six, he discovered a wonderful new world and his creativity bloomed.
Juliette MacIver is a children’s book author, cupcake chef, amateur cardio-thoracic surgeon, and mother of 14. She holds down three husbands, one of whom is her own, and is considering adding guinea pigs into the mix. In her spare time, she runs a successful online smuggling business, and is a keen anthropomorphist.
Klara Person is an author, illustrator and graphic designer with a Master of Fine Arts in Design from HDK – School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg.
Charlotte Ramel was an art director of food magazines before becoming an illustrator. The first children’s book she illustrated, The Cake Book by Marie Meijier, was an international hit. She lives in Sweden.
Nicki Greenberg is a writer and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. Her first books, ‘The Digit’s’ series, were published when she was 15 years old. They sold more than 380,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand.