Ella and Olivia: Fun friendship tales by Yvette Poshoglian

Illus. by Danielle McDonald. Scholastic Australia, 2019. ISBN: 9781760660833.
(Age: 5-8 years). Themes: Friendship, Sisters. Yvette Poshoglian offers six brand new fun tales in this edition. Ella and Olivia are sisters and best friends. They do everything together. Each of the six stories provides a scenario that younger readers will relate to and the ending is always both positive and happy.
In the first story the girls are invited to a pizza making party. Given how popular cooking shows are at the moment this is an entertaining story to begin with. Of course things do not go quite as planned but it all works out in the end. In the second story, both Ella and Olivia's teams make the netball finals but disaster strikes and Nana comes to the rescue. A lost bunny, a treasure hunt, being trampoline champs plus a bush dance complete the selection.
Younger readers find the stories engaging and popular. The large font, simple text and colourful illustrations allow those students moving onto chapter books the opportunity to read both independently and successfully.
Kathryn Beilby