While all of her friends have shadows of various colours, the narrator’s shadow is blue. Her friends do all sorts of things, but her strength is to run. She runs over hills and mountains, and is ready to run at the sports day, but the coach separates the girls and the boys. Boys can run faster, he says so the girls must start at the back so they don’t interfere with the faster boys.
When the narrator protests she is sent off the field altogether. She listens for the race to start, but nothing happens. She realises that the boys have refused to run until everyone is there.
They all run as a group, the overleaf showing that the shadows are all different meaning they have different interests and abilities.
This is an unusual picture book, the shadow being blue, I had expected a story about depression, but it is about gender expectations. The person in charge certainly relegates the kids to their gender groups in competition in the activities, and it is the boys who complain and want everyone to be together. They respect the girls being involved, because if they win when they are separated, how can it be called a win.
This is an interesting look at gender stereotypes and promotes the idea that all kids be treated as equal. In rhyme the story is easy to read and kids will enjoy predicting the rhyming word.
Head of Zeus, 2022. ISBN: 9781801107686. (Age:Adult - 16+) Recommended.
The cyclist is the second in the DS Cross Mysteries and follows The dentist. DS George Cross is relentless in his pursuit of the truth when investigating a murder and his examination of minute details and patience has led to a very high conviction rate. When a mutilated body is found on a demolition site Cross works out the victim is an amateur cyclist who deals in performance enhancing drugs. Why was this young man murdered? To answer this question, Cross, ably assisted by his off-sider Josie Ottey, uncovers family mysteries and secrets from the past.
Sullivan builds up a fascinating portrayal of Cross who has few social skills and often rubs people up the wrong way. Ottey is beginning to understand the way his mind works with his obsession with patterns and is also able to help him to understand how other people feel. These two characters are very relatable and it is easy to become engaged with the way they investigate the murder as well as their personal lives.
The murdered man Alex Paphides was an avid cyclist as well as helping to run a Greek restaurant with his brother. He was also involved with a 16-year-old girl and was trying to find an investor for a new restaurant in London – all of which give Cross and his team plenty of motives to look at.
I am thoroughly enjoying this series. The descrption of the police procedures will appeal to readers who enjoy that aspect of the mystery genre while the characters and their side stories and the subtle humour contained in the story add depth.
Themes Murder, detectives, Cyclists.
Pat Pledger
Ella and the Sleepover Safari by Cassy Polimeni and Hykie Breeze
UWA Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 9781760803018. (Age:6+) Recommended.
Moving house and starting at a new school hasn't been easy for Ella, but now she has settled in and bonded with Mai over a shared interest in frogs. She hasn't forgotten her best friend Viv who lived next door to her old house, but they haven't seen each other since the move. Now, for a birthday treat, Ella's aunt has gifted her a safari sleepover at the zoo and Ella has invited both Viv and Mai. But will the two get along?
It seems not until a midnight visit to the loo has an unexpected outcome...
Continuing this series for newly independent readers, Cassy Polimeni has continued to combine both a credible story with relatable characters and situations with more information about the natural world as the girls tour the zoo with Frankie the guide, weaving facts about the exhibits together through the underlying tension between the girls. Anyone who has spent time with children of this age will recognise the ebb and flow of friendships that are so common as independence and autonomy mature, while readers themselves will learn that is possible to have more than one close friend.
Already identified in the CBCA Notables for 2025, this is a series that is going to appeal particularly to girls with an interest in the environment and the protection of its creatures, and they will be delighted to know that there are two more coming soon to complete the collection.
Fans of cosy mysteries with a locked room theme and those who want to read a light, enjoyable story will welcome Murder by Candlelight. It is 1924 and the quiet Cotvillage of Maybury-in-the-Marsh is shocked by the murder of Amy Phelps, a rich woman prominent in local affairs. Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift the author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting had been commissioned by Amy Phelps to investigate a ghost in her house and now finds himself trying to deal with her murder. Assisted by Val, the daughter of the local vicar, he uncovers secrets, altered wills and many motives for murder.
This is a very enjoyable mystery, with witty dialogue, two likeable young investigators and enough red herrings to keep the reader immersed in the story while trying to work out who is the murderer. If you are looking for a quick read, then this book is sure to entertain. And it ticks all the boxes for the cosy genre – large house, village life, likeable investigators, rich protagonists and few gory descriptions. Murder by candlelight is followed by The last word is death, which is equally as entertaining. Readers may also enjoy Faith Martin’s The lavender lady, a stand-alone mystery about ghost hunters.
Themes Cosy mystery, Ghosts, Murder.
Pat Pledger
My Mum is a bird by Angie Cui and Evie Barrow
University of Queensland Press, 2025. ISBN: 9780702268632. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
Mum is very different from other mums and carers. And many examples are shown of her difference: the way she butters toast or heats the milo, and the most concerning of all of all, the way she flies her daughter to school. The girl knows that people stop and stare when her mother takes her to school and comes into the classroom for parent and carer’s day. She unwillingly adds her bowl of seed to the table with food from all the other families, and is very embarrassed when mum warbles a tune when each child is asked to tell the class what their parents do. At recess mum sits in a tree so her daughter sits with her so she is not alone.
Suddenly a large hairy spider lands on Kayla’s hair. She screams running around the yard. Everyone reacts differently, getting up on a chair, or running around in a panic, or picking up a stick. But mum flaps her wings and flies down, grabbing the spider in her beak and eating it. Mum is cheered by the parents and the children. Kayla has been saved by this unusual mother. The girl happily snuggles down into mum’s feathers as they take off and fly home.
A charming story of the love that exists between a mum and her daughter. This family is not quite like other families but in celebrating their differences will enable children see that differences are part of our world. The mum in this story is quite different from other mums but her skills are useful in a tight spot, and so is seen in a new light by the school and her daughter.
A lovely story to read aloud and share, especially with the light touch of the illustrations, executed with coloured pencils, which will intrigue young readers who have a warm relationship with coloured pencils and will look closely at the images with greater interest. Evie Barrow is able to reflect a feeling on the faces of the children, enabling us to read what they are thinking. This is very obvious when mum turns up at school, with parents’ faces full of surprise and questions, and lovely to see the change in their visages when she saves the child from the spider.
Themes Difference, Animals, Humour.
Fran Knight
Searching for treasure by Johanna Bell and Emma Long
Allen & Unwin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761180682. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
A stunning look at a child walking along the beach looking for treasures at the high tide line will enchant readers as they look at the range of things to be found. The readers walk along the beach with two adults and a younger girl, looking, prodding, collecting, marvelling. Smaller writing weaves its way along the seaweed telling the reader the reason some of the flotsam is there. Shells for example are the hard outer home of small animals, cuttlebone is the remains of a cuttlefish and sharks lay eggs some of which can be found on the beach. On some pages there is a lift the flap, showing more detail of what lies beneath the seaweed. These pages will excite the readers as they realise perhaps what they have missed on their trips to the beach, and makes them eager to visit again.
Toes are seen as the images show the flotsam from a child’s eye view, peering down to see what is near their feet. And Emma Long displays a huge range of the detritus to be found at the beach, much of which is overlooked. She spies lots of different seaweed, shells, the tracks of ghost crabs, limpets, shark eggs, little crabs, dead fish, dragonflies, seaweed that looks like beads, pumice, dead beetles, small crayfish, and the occasional bit of rubbish. Each picture builds an image of what is to be found, and enquiring minds will think about how it got there, and what happens to it. The child collects lots of things to make a leafy sea dragon, which will inspire readers look at how it is constructed, and apply the methods to something of their own.
The wonderful array of sea flotsam is a delight to peruse and readers will love spotting all the things they can, comparing their list with another’s.
Together the beautiful water colour and gouache illustrations and text will delight, inspire and educate the readers as they learn to look beyond their feet on the sand. Teacher's notes are available on the publisher's website.
Five friends gather to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the death of one of their friends. Ed disappeared during a planned three or four day hike in the Blue Mountains when they were all celebrating their last year of high school, and now his mother Martha has invited the disparate group to reunite for a memorial weekend. The friends have each gone their own way since that eventful weekend, and while they might say they are glad to catch up, there is some underlying uneasiness.
The tension ratchets up when Martha disappears and things start to go wrong in the house: the water dries up, the Internet modem is gone, and their cars are all drained of fuel. Strange blue notes appear, each hinting at some hidden shame, and it becomes apparent that Charlotte, Hugh, Jack and Alex have all got something to hide. And as for Laura, is she with the group, or is she complicit in Martha’s crazy plan?
The storyline turns back and forth between the present and the past, as the mystery gradually unravels, providing insight into psychology of each of the group. But the plot continues to twist, and just when the reader thinks they have it all worked out, there is another turn.
This is an absorbing debut mystery thriller from an Australian writer, in the vein of The rush (2023) by Michelle Prak, and Girl falling (2024) by Hayley Scrivenor.
Kip of the Karoo is the sequel novel to Kip of the mountain written by Emma Gourlay. Gourlay is currently working on a prequel to this duology. Gourlay, like the main character Kip, grew up with a black dad and a white mum and a buffel in her head. In Afrikaans, "Buffel" is the word for special, rare creature.
Kip of the Karoo is set in the Karoo which is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. It is an area defined by its topography (mountains and plains), geology and climate especially its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies and extremes of temperature. Into this area, Kip and her friends venture in pursuit of treasure as suggested by an ancient map that they found in a cookie jar. They run into danger in the form of killer leopards, greedy King Double, cowboy ghosts and Hollywood film crew people who are perhaps not trustworthy.
The unusual setting may be of interest to young readers. The characters are somewhat developed. The plot is indeed action-packed and "wildly imaginative" as suggested by Jaclyn Moriarty. However, it is so full of rapid-fire action and constant intensity that the reader becomes fatigued and uncertain about whether there will be a plot climax. This constancy of action and excitement level is at the expense of a satisfying and engaging rising tension which is needed to really hold a young reader's attention.
The tone of the novel is as Jack Heath says -"full of charm". There is a warm-heartedness to this novel. The delightful black and white illustrations by Kate Moon are interspersed throughout the novel. The cover design is by Hazel Lam and adapted by Maya Abraham who are both artists of Harper Collins Design studio.
Themes Facing fears, Friendship.
Wendy Jeffrey
The Mightiest Bite by Howard Calvert and Mike Moran
Andersen Press, 2024. ISBN: 9781839131745.
As a little girl munches on an apple, she thinks she must have the mightiest bite. Suddenly, along comes a parade of animals to compete for the title, including a shark with its 300 teeth in rows, and a t-rex with 60 huge bone-crunchers, each set to show that their bite is even mightier than all the others.
But even the mighty hippopotamus with teeth and a bite that can sever a human body in half is no match for the twist in the end of this absorbing competition, and then the final twist is the best of all.
Young readers love stories about the animal kingdom, particularly those that teach them unusual and unlikely facts that they can drop into the conversation around the dinner table and this one fills the bill. With bright illustrations that give the animals life and personality this is a game of one-upmanship that not only engages but educates, although it is a little disappointing that our own Tasmanian Devil which has the strongest bite of all mammalian carnivores in relation to its body mass, did not get a mention. Nevertheless, I completely agree with the winner of the competition - ask me how I know!!!!
Barbara Braxton
Nobody's fool by Harlan Coben
Century, 2025. ISBN: 9781529906134. (Age:16+ - Adult) Highly recommended.
Is Sami Kierce ‘Nobody’s Fool’? In his youth he was a victim, but was he also a murderer? The uncertainty of this question has haunted Sami, disrupting the trajectory of his life and when a ‘ghost’ from his past re-enters his ’new normal’, he is compelled to investigate. Once a police officer, but now a disgraced former policeman, Sami lives a basic life as an investigator for hire and a night-school lecturer for would-be crime and truth finders. His past keeps coming back to remind him of his fall from grace, and when a convicted man who had apparently killed Sami’s fiancée is released from prison because of Sami’s own failures, he is thrust into a twisted investigation that winds two threads of his life into a knot that needs unraveling. With a new wife and young son to consider he is also keen to see that they are well-supported through all the dangerous twists and turns of his investigation. He is ripe for manipulation, but is he really ‘nobody’s fool’? In an almost comedic way, his idiosyncratic class of amateurs are extra eyes and feet on the ground in this compelling crime drama. This is a story that you won’t want to put down.
I loved this story! Although it is obviously a continuation of a story thread begun in a previous Harlan Coben story (Fool Me Once), the story stands alone as a compelling crime drama, and I could imagine this as a made-for TV series. The flawed central character must untangle stories that have mired his own life. With wealth and corruption, truth and lies, kidnapping and scams, and also redemption and re-writing of history all raising their heads, it is complex but intriguing. Lovers of crime drama will find this an enjoyable reading journey. It is an adult story, but in a pleasing way is light on swearing and grubby detail, but it is in no-way squeaky-clean. The essence of the story is the psychological complexity of carrying guilt. Readers aged 16+ will appreciate this story from an experienced author.
Themes Murder, Corruption, Lies and truth, Guilt, Private investigators.
Neeka and the Missing Key, by Tina Strachan is an engaging and heart-warming first instalment in the Wilder Zoo series. Perfect for readers who love animals, adventure and a touch of fun and mystery.
Neeka is an energetic and passionate eleven-year-old animal lover and wildlife conservationist who lives at Wilder Zoo, an amazing place filled with fascinating creatures and endless excitement. She loves helping out at the zoo whenever she can, even before school, and she also creates educational videos with her best friends, Rumi and Hudson.
When their video is nominated for an award, with an enticing prize of new camera equipment, Neeka is eager to film another standout clip to get the judges attention. However, finding the perfect idea proves more difficult than expected. Enter Rebel, the mischievous red panda, who quickly becomes both her inspiration and her biggest challenge. Neeka hopes to train him for a new video, but Rebel’s playful nature makes it anything but easy.
The story takes a dramatic turn when Neeka loses her zoo key; a crucial item that grants her access to the animals and something she has been entrusted with to prove her responsibility within the zoo. This loss sends her into a frantic search, as she doesn’t want to lose her zoo privileges. Desperate to find it, Neeka is faced with important questions: How far is she willing to go? What does responsibility really mean? And what is the best action to take when faced with a problem?
Strachan crafts a compelling story that blends adventure, humour and emotion. Interspersed with some cute illustrations by Max Hamilton, Neeka is a relatable protagonist, full of determination, curiosity and the occasional bout of impatience. With elements of strong friendships, a lively zoo setting and Rebel’s amusing antics, this novel is sure to entertain, and provide valuable life lessons with the underlying themes of responsibility and perseverance.
Perfect for animal lovers and young conservationists, Neeka and the Missing Key is a delightful and inspiring read that will leave readers eager for the next adventure in the Wilder Zoo series.
Seven-year-old Angus Copelin-Walters is like so many little lads that we all know - he would much rather be outside doing the boy-things that he loves than inside the classroom struggling with reading and maths, especially when the numbers jumble and the letters twist and tumble.
But that could be where the similarity ends because for Angus, who lives in Australia's Top End, his favourite thing is interacting with the many crocodiles at his local fun park, preferring to wrestle with them that the marks and squiggles on a page that seem to make no sense. As his self-esteem and belief in himself goes into a downward spiral, despite his mother's wise words to do things his own way, Angus sees a television doco about homeless people and suddenly his life is changed for ever...
Inspired by a desire to do something, he finds both a purpose and a product, and even though the numbers still jumble and the letters twist and tumble, he perseveres because now he has a need and a reason to tame them.
This is the most uplifting true story of yet another child hero who sees a problem and tries to fix it - in this case, by creating special croc-shaped lollipops that are based on traditional First Nations bush tucker. Now, at 14, an ambassador for global charity Made by Dyslexia, and acknowledged by dignitaries such as the late HM Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Richard Branson, his story is told and his name known so that he can stand alongside peers like Campbell Remess who is continuing to change the world "one teddy bear at a time" and other Australian child heroes who continue to prove that not only not all superheroes wear capes, but that success can be defined by so much more that a mark on an assignment or a score on a test.
As the Australian school year gets underway and some students are embracing it while others are dreading it, this is a must-share. Not only does it demonstrate that success takes many forms, that doing things in your own way and wanting to make a difference and believing that you can can have great rewards and "numbers that jumble and letters that twist and tumble" or any other learning challenges can be overcome, it encourages children to identify their own hopes and dreams, set their goals and pathways to them, and understand that trial and error, practice and patience are all part of the journey. They can learn to harness their personal superpower that, as Sir Richard Branson says, "helps us to see the world differently and come up with new and exciting ideas."
How many green ant lollipops will they have to taste-test until they find the combination that is just right?
Watch 11-yr-old Angus Copelin-Walters meet his mentor – Richard Branson!
Themes Biographies, Dyslexia, Companies.
Barbara Braxton
A mouse called Julian by Joe Todd Stanton
Flying Eye Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781838742140.
Julian had lived on his own in his little underground house for as long as he could remember, and being a mouse, it meant he kept himself safe from all the above-ground animals like Fox and Owl who wanted to eat him, and the underground animals like the rabbits, moles and badgers who just got in his way. He led a peaceful, trouble-free life and that was just the way he liked it. Until... one day Fox smashed himself through Julian's window, determined to make a meal of him! Except Fox got stuck and instead of having a meal of Julian, he had a meal with him!
How the story unfolds from there is a little reminiscent of both the Greek legend of Androcles and the Lion, and Aesop's fable of The Lion and the Mouse in which unlikely creatures become friends through helping each other out.
A charming story to share with young readers which may lead them on to those two classics and into the world of legends, fables and fairytales.
As a non-Indigenous Australian, well aware of Australia’s shameful history, Kate Grenville asks what should she do, knowing that she has benefited from a violent past. How does she come to terms with that? She says that the failure of the Voice referendum, giving people permission to look away and retreat from truth telling, prompted her instead to burrow into the hard questions. She undertook a personal pilgrimage, not so much digging up the historical record, as venturing with an open mind and an open heart, to listen, to feel, and to reflect.
Her previous novels have explored Australia’s colonial history; this time she chooses simply to follow in the paths of her ancestors and stand in the places where land was taken from the original inhabitants and understand what that meant.
In her journey she observes the sheep paddocks that have replaced the Indigenous midyini yam daisy plantings, the roads built along original Aboriginal tracks, the ‘heritage’ pubs that ignore older heritage, the fenced properties sectioning up the bigger landscape of another people’s Country.
She observes the ubiquitous war memorials in country towns, ‘Lest we forget’, and the absence of memorials for the fallen warriors of the Aboriginal resistance.
She considers the meaning of places with names like Gins Leap and Poison Swamp, and also of properties that have usurped Aboriginal names for ‘My home’, or ‘meeting place’. She traces the location of the lost Myall water holes and eventually approaches the site of the Myall Creek massacre. The trial of seven white men for the murder of around thirty people at that site was the start of the Great Australian Silence about what happened across the country.
Finally at Myall Creek there are plaques in memory of the murdered Wirrayaraay people, as an act of ‘acknowledgement of the truth of our shared history’, an act of reconciliation. It is a place to stop, be still, to be aware of the history. Grenville writes that the truth of what took place in this country is there; we just have to look.
Grenville’s book is a personal pilgrimage, but her observations and words of inquiry and reflection raise many questions for readers to grapple with. Her past research of her family’s history has been presented as historical fiction: The secret river (2005), Restless Dolly Maunder (2023), and others. This latest book is non-fiction but is compelling and easy to read, a very accessible way to raise important issues that deserve the attention of all Australians. Highly recommended for secondary schools.
Themes Australian history, Dispossession, First Nations, Truth-telling, Reconciliation.
Josephine (nicknamed JET/Jet) has just relocated to France from her home in Australia. Her father and stepmother are in the process of renovating an amazing French chateau and Josephine will be going to school in the same school that her late mother attended. In one of the rooms to be transformed by lots of hard work Jet discovers a hidden old locket, which contains the ghost of the famous Dauphin Louis XVII. She is in control of his appearance and reappearance, and apart from her dog Daisy, she seems to be the only person who can see him. It isn’t long before a firm friendship develops across the ages and the ether. The adventure becomes more intense when she connects with a local boy Gabriel (a very dreamy French teen) and hunts out a team of art thieves in the chateau next door. Will Jet’s life be in jeopardy or can a ghost save her from danger?
This is another of Jacqueline Harvey’s delightful adventure stories. Ironically she even has her characters reference her Kensy and Max and Alice-Miranda books. What I love about this book is that it respects young readers and their issues and concerns. Jet is a ‘just-teen’ with the beginnings of interest in the opposite sex and the standard insecurities about how she is changing. Family life for Jet is safe and secure, and her stepmother relationship is warm and loving. Some of the story detail is told to Jet’s former school friend, now living in Singapore, in their email correspondence. Although the mysterious ghost has a real and sad history, there is nothing frightening about his role in the story. If anything there is a smattering of humour as he tries to understand the contemporary world. I loved this story and readers aged 9-14 will be excited by the Chateau renovation story and will be eager for more adventures in Jet’s life, with the ghost alongside.
Themes France, French History, Restoration, Ghosts, Art theft.
