Review: Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #20)

Partypooper is book 20 in the super popular, bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (hundreds of millions of copies of books in the series have been sold).

What better way to celebrate the milestone of 20 books in a series than to write a story about a birthday, Greg Heffley's birthday.

Greg's sure his family is planning a surprise party for him. Unfortunately, although he's excited about it, he's also a bit nervous, too.

What could go wrong? Well, his family forgetting his birthday is what.

How can that happen? Well Greg soon finds out what led to it, then in true Heffley style his family decides to make it up to him and plan a super dooper party.

That means decisions for Greg, or so he'd like to think. 

Like whether to have a family party at a restaurant, or friend party somewhere like the trampoline park or an escape room or the museum.

Review: Bear to the Rescue

This story is inspired by real life events. It’s the true story of Bear, a working dog who longs for a purpose, told through his voice. 

From puppyhood, Bear is passed from one family to another. He is labelled too much of everything due to his excessive energy and no outlet for it.   

Moving from place to place, he is unable to be what he really is, because no one he lives with, can recognize his true nature. 

That is, until a special girl enters his life and identifies his potential. 

Review: Another Year Around the Sun

Beginning and ending in the same place.  

A Year Around the Sun is the perfect birthday book which journeys through the four seasons and exhibits the joys to be experienced in each one. 

The illustrations by Alice Lindstrom are a blaze of glory! 

Every single page has top to bottom flamboyant illustrations focusing on animated faces - even the dog’s.

 Brilliant backgrounds flooded with colour. 

The illustrations win the prize. 

Minimal words with maximum meaning by Katrina Germein. 

Any amount from one to ten. 

This is an album of joyful family experiences, shared with a child. Beach scenes, backyard discoveries, butterflies and pansies, planting and growing. 

Autmn arrives with stunning colour. Forests and forever memories are made under giant trees. Kites whipping in the wind depict the freedom felt by the child.

Birds migrate to warmer weather.

Flowers and fruit appear from past planting.

Holidays, festivals, birthdays. 

Another year around the Sun.

Title: Another Year Around the Sun 
Author: Katrina Germein
Illustrator: Alice Lindstrom
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, $22.99
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781923022911
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book

Review: Being Indy

Becoming Indy is a picture book in the style of a modern-day fable. It is unique, powerful and oh-so relevant in today’s political climate.

‘This is a story of trying to fit in, and discovering the true worth of being yourself.’ 

Through Indy’s eyes, we are introduced to a rather surprising and enticing playground world. In it, the children playing are big, tall and rendered in black and white.

‘There was no finer place to live than on North Mountain,’ is the line that opens the book, setting the tone for a wander through some very deep, heartfelt issues.

Review: Ariana Treasure: The Perfect Day

The versatile Karen Erasmus brings Jacqueline de Rose Ahern’s characters to life in another visit to the Treasure Chest thrift shop, where Ariana Treasure and her mum live and serve their community.

Ariana’s Aunt Grace is getting married. 

She wants everything to be perfect - and blue. 

Additional responsibilities come with the role of flower girl. 

Ariana must keep an eye on the wedding cake with its blue icing that matches the colour of the wedding dress.

The thrift shop is pulsing with excitement. There is so much to consider, including how they will transport the cake to the park where the wedding will be held. 

Decision-making frequently includes family members, sometimes their diverse group of friends as well. 

12 Curly Questions with author/illustrator Yvonne Low

1.Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I studied dance for many years including flamenco and was teaching myself to play the castanets.

2. What is your nickname?
Y-von. I guess since my name is spelt with a ‘Y’ instead of an ‘E’.

3. What is your greatest fear?
I’d say snakes, as I’m spending more time in the Blue Mountains bush.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Whimsical, often with a dash of humour, wordplay and rhyme.

Review: A Barney Gumnut Christmas

‘What does Christmas actually mean?’

It’s a question that needs answering because Barney Gumnut and his bushland friends are tree-deep in Christmas Eve preparations. 

Each Aussie inspired critter including Wilfred the Budgie, has their own take on this festive time of year.

Suggestions are made. Convictions confirmed that Christmas is … 

Review: Look, See, Find Me

Look, See, Find Me is a fun, activity-based picture book. 

This is a nature hide-and-seek, with double page spreads hiding animals. They're camouflaged in their surroundings -- leaves, trees, ground cover. 

Illustrations are the centrepiece of Look, See, Find Me, and they're diverse and detailed, bright and beautiful. 

Readers are encouraged to spot a variety of creatures.

Can you find the great green bush cricket and European mantis who blend in with a branch full of bright green leaves?

Meet The Illustrator: Sarah Ang

Name: Sarah Ang

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Traditional, timeless, detailed, delicate, whimsical.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
I love collecting beautifully illustrated children’s picture books, even ones in different languages, for inspiration. A window to gaze out of to ponder the world, and to have natural lighting. Elements of nature around me to calm and inspire me.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Chinese black ink and watercolours.

Review: My First Book of Zen

In this introduction to Zen, simple wisdom for children is presented in an imaginative way through a game of seek and find, using thought-provoking notes with quotes, poems, and Haiku by famous people, including the Dalai Lama. 

These notes are left for siblings Molly and Sam by their mother throughout the house, and are included within their daily activities, to surprise and remind them of their Zen teachings.

They help turn a light on inside of us, to find peace in our hearts.

Review: The Last Hollow

What happens when a tree, home to many creatures, is lost?

The Last Hollow traces the final days of the Elder Tree and the animals who lived in it. 

The first thing that strikes you is just how many animals might make their homes in the one place. 

This tree has been standing for more than 200 years, and is home to sugar gliders, cicadas, and even a python.

And in the middle of the tree is a hollow where two red-tailed black cockatoos live. Their names are Marlin and Banksi.

Review: The Legend of Jessie Hickman

Who was Jessie Hickman?

The end pages give a clue to all that she became. 

Once again, Mark Greenwood's trademark sharp and detailed prose, surprises. 

Jessie’s life is laid out in entertaining words and actions that match her countless abilities. 

She was a legend; feisty and fearless. A girl who travelled in a bush circus from an early age and learnt many skills. She got to be known as the Amazing Miss Jessie! 

Her earliest feat was to walk the tightrope before she was ten. 

Review: The Keeper of the Octopus

Pippi has become afraid of water since her mother drowned nine months ago. 

She lost two parents on that day, as her grief-strcken father took off shortly after his wife’s death.

 Pippi, broken and filled with anger, is left with Uncle Isaac, her last family member. 

Isaac, worn by life, has become befuddled. But Pippi is always ready to fill his empty mind's thoughts and his mouth's forgotten words for him. 

But for how long will she be able to do so? 

When she falls off the bow of their fishing boat, she is saved by the giant octopus, Octavia. 

Uncle Isaac decides that it is time to tell Pippi that with her mother’s death, she has  inherited the burden of Keeper of the Octopus.

Guest Post: Catherine Bauer on Juniper's Painting and the Passing Of Storms

In the dairy section of my local supermarket one recent Saturday morning, I was deep in thought and struggling to decide between two yoghurt flavours. Stick with the familiar or try something new?

An ear-splitting screech interrupted these thoughts and seconds later, a fully laden trolley slammed into my back, almost knocking me off my feet.

Stifling an expletive, I turned to see a crimson-faced, tight-fisted child prostrate on the floor, screaming his lungs out as his equally crimson-cheeked Mum rushed to retrieve the trolley and apologise profusely.

'Sorry, sorry,’' she sputtered. 'He wants an ice-cream.’

Review: The King's Conservatorium

Garlan and his mute brother Cadell are the leading characters of an exceptional cast of players in this brilliant character-driven novel.

Cadell has a gift. 

He can find things - lost items, answers to questions, or anything else queried by his mind. 

He is extremely bright and kind.

Garlan is not only a brother, but Cadell's friend and protector.

The brothers have a wonderful method of communicating with one another, and the warmth between them is reflected in their every word and action.

While they had their parents, their life was filled with the joy of music and song. But they now have come from a place where the King’s Law restricts pleasures permitted long ago.

Review: The Village Beyond the Mist

It is holiday time for Lina. She is not going to her usual destination, but somewhere different, where her father sends her. 

She is headed for Misty Valley, also known as Absurd Avenue. 

She discovers the reason for this name is due to the unusual occurrences that continuously take place, and the oddest people that come and go in this place. 

It turns out to be exactly what her father called it. Different! 

She ends up at Picotto Hall, owned by the elderly and crusty, Pippity Picotto. A strange and mysterious boarding house where the boarders earn their keep in one form or another. 

Lina is allocated The Clown Room, with the most perfect surroundings and her own bathroom.