Review: Impossible Creatures: Book #1

After waiting for months to have this in my hands, there was never any doubt in my mind that it would be worth that wait. From the first page, it was as if the glimourie was flowing straight off the text and into my fingers, spreading with warmth and delight as I read voraciously.

Christopher Forrester has a strange connection with animals. Ever since he was tiny, animals of all kinds are drawn to him. His father finds this somehow irritating but Christopher secretly enjoys opening his windows at night for the birds to come in, and having foxes nosing his knees.

In a parallel world, Mal is an orphan girl who is able to fly with the aid of a coat given to her, along with her name Malum, by a seer when she was born. Her great-aunt who has raised her, was distrustful of the giver, and sent him away before any more could be known about either coat or child’s destiny.

Guest Post: Jodie McLeod on The Power Of WOW

Birds are an inspiration for books: Jodie McLeod (left) with illustrator Eloise Short

The first time I saw a lyrebird I was completely gobsmacked. I’d just moved to the Blue Mountains, and I’d heard of these strange creatures and their ability to imitate everything from other birds to chainsaws and crying babies, but I hadn’t really considered the outrageousness of that idea.

Then, one misty Mountains morning, a cacophony of birds sounded in my backyard. Well, not birds, but – bird. A lyrebird. Putting on a spectacular show, just for me.

WOW.

Review: The Aussie Twelve Days of Christmas

Author/illustrator Brentos returns for another brilliant exhibition of their unique soft pastel creations with The Aussie12 Days of Christmas. The traditional Christmas song is given an Aussie twist by introducing a different Australian animal on each of the twelve days. 

There are galahs, turtles, goannas, rosellas, wombats and others to discover. 

But who can it be in the gum tree? 

Children will have fun searching for and identifying the list of animals for the day they get up to.

Working through the twelve days of Brentos’ Christmas, the amount of Australian native animals on the page,  increases.

12 Curly Questions with author Tim Winton

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

 That would be telling. Everyone would know!

2. What is your nickname?
My kids and my grandkids just call me Timmy. Not very special.

3. What is your greatest fear? 

Getting a job where I have to wear a suit and tie – and shoes.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words. 

It’s about ordinary people in extraordinary situations and amazing places.

Review: Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don't

Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don't is divided into eight chapters and packed with facts and figures.

Did you know that more than 99.9% of species that have ever existed are not extinct?

Have you ever heard of a quark (part of a proton)?  

This is the perfect browsable encyclopedia, presented with numerous diagrams, timelines, illustrations, and infographics that give it significant visual appeal.

It covers a broad range of subjects, from the endless skies of the universe, and the wonder of the earth, to the human body, ancient history, and the potential of new and emerging technology.

Guest Post: Fiona Dalwood on When Ghosts Hide In Plain Sight

I used to look out of the train during my commutes and notice graffiti in unusual places. 

How did someone manage a giant wheat paste on a wall without being seen? Did a hooded figure dangle someone upside down from the thirty-second floor? Had they taught themselves to draw and write upside down? 

These short glimpses sparked countless questions—moments that felt magical in their mystery or mildly frightening, depending on how tired I was.

Review: Between

Anna Walker is one of those acclaimed and awarded author/illustrators that makes me so very glad to be alive. And I understand she’s from my home-town of Melbourne, so we down south can also take great pleasure in claiming her!

Between is a beautiful offering, recognised and described by Scribble founder and publisher Miriam Rosenbloom thus:

‘It’s a book about difference – but also about empathy, care, the instinct to connect, and the ongoing impact that people have on our lives…

A reminder that beautiful things are still being made with time, heart and intention.’

A cricket and a cabbage moth are living their short lives, doing their daily things, and we the reader are invited into the spaces between them. And also, into their separate worlds and realities, which ultimately collide.

This book is poetry, texture, warmth and heaven all in one. The wording is sparse and definitive. Deliberate, yet expansive.

And the hand-rendered illustrations are extraordinary. Each page brings a new artistic sensibility. A limited colour palette and balance between tight and loose, spatter and stroke, softness and texture, definition and shadow, strength and vulnerability – all contribute to the wonder and delight of this book.

It is absolutely one to become lost in and pore over, whatever your age.

I can see it being the perfect gift for all. For a student setting off into the wider world, a grandparent creating space with less things and more time, a small child with their insatiable curiosity and love of wonder.

Quite simply, it’s sublime.

Title: Between 

Author/Illustrator: Anna Walker
Publisher: Scribble, $24.99
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761381591
For Ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book

Review: Sundays Under The Lemon Tree

Sundays Under The Lemon Tree is a captivating story of togetherness and deliciousness.

It explores traditions around food, cooking, recipes passed down through the generations, the absolute joy of eating and family life – all of which are squished together into a tangle of mouth-watering hope and delight.

Review: The Great Dawn Choir

Living in Australia, many people are familiar with the sounds of birds singing a greeting as the sun rises and the day begins.

It's often called the dawn chorus, and that's how this book gets its name.

The Great Dawn Choir, written by Sarah Speedie and illustrated by Cindy Lane, is a beautiful depiction of some of the many and varied Australian birds that contribute to a musical start to the day.

Just like the birds, The Great Dawn Choir has a lyrical rhythm. The text rhymes, and the onomatopoeia of the birdsong is shown in larger flowing font.

Review: Where The River Runs Free

This spring weather is just glorious and a perfect time for a family walk out in the beauty and calm of nature. Why not follow the example of this family as they take an adventurous walk along the local river.

What might they see? A frog? Birds? Tadpoles?  Butterflies? Platypus? Wattle blossoms?

What might they hear? Splashes and sploshes, waddles and flops, rumbles and scratches.

It’s a feast of onomatopoeia that is just perfect for  your younger readers. Follow the children as they take their curiosity, and  find their joy in the simple pleasures of paddling in the water and observing the bush. And, of course, a picnic lunch is perfect to snack on when it’s time to rest up before making their way home.

Review: The Peach King

The Peach King, Inga Simpson’s second book for children, begins at the cover which depicts a magnificent pear tree stripped almost bare, but heralds life again with scattered blossoms. 

The emergence of green leaves from its thin branches proclaims the resilience of nature. 

The orchard was filled with Little Peach trees; saplings that bent in the wind. 

On the crest was Peach King; an image of authority, standing strong against the wind, watching over the tender young ones. As guardian, he was sensitive to the change of weather, the sky that darkened, any looming shadow of threat.

Meet The Illustrator: Hélène Magisson

Name: Helene Magisson

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Whimsical, dreamy, poetic, delicate, timeless, charming, ethereal.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My window is essential. It's open in every sense of the word. Open to let light pour in, open to the world outside. My books are also necessary. Art books and picture books from all over the world, always within reach to get inspiration. Then there are all the tools of my creative process: paper, brushes, paints, a scanner, my tablet, and an iPad for listening to audiobooks during the colouring phase. And of course, a mug for the hundreds of tea breaks I need throughout the day.

Review: Millie and Stella - Best Friends Forever: The Puppy Project

Ten-week-old puppy Fergus, is being trained as an assistance dog.

His trainer, a friend of Granpa’s, has been called away to a family emergency. A temporary carer is needed until he recovers from an operation. 

Stella overhears the conversation and having longed for a dog of her own, convinces Grandpa that she and her best friend Millie, will be happy to take care of Fergus. 

The girls decide that this will be their Project of Choice theme, one of the many which their class has been allocated to research. 

Being the Project of Choice means they must take Fergus to school with them to allow him to assimilate to all the social skills he needs to know, such as being with other people and animals, birds and sounds. Above all, to obey commands and be toilet trained.

Review: Oh Dear, Look What I Got!

Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury are award-winning, best-selling creators of books for children. 

Maybe you recognise their names, or maybe you don't, but you probably know their internationally acclaimed picture book, We're Going On a Bear Hunt.

Michael and Helen are back with another collaboration, their first in more than 30 years.

It's called Oh Dear, Look What I Got!  

In it, a child's trip to the shop to buy a carrot turns into a succession of mistakes.

Review: Danger Road

Danger Road is the current true crime podcast absorbing Mum in the car, forcing brothers Leo and Alex to listen also, as she drives them wherever they need to go.

It is a twenty-five-year-old cold case, about seventeen-year-old Corey Armstrong, who was hit and left to die just outside of town.

The podcast is nearing the end with the mystery still unsolved. 

Leo is smart, athletic, and popular. Alex is a single-friend person, with few interests outside of his art.  

Their constant bickering concerns their single mother a great deal. She suggests that they team up to see if they can find any clues about Corey’s death that may have been missed, before the last podcast. 

She hopes that doing something important together will bring  them closer to one another.

They reluctantly agree although it is a challenge for the boys to both agree to anything. 

At night they go with torches, to the tree where Corey’s memorial cross was hammered, but has now been removed. Here they find their first clue. 

Slowly and through crafty questioning and casual conversations, they uncover unknown information. 

Harry is Alex’s only friend. A highly intelligent individual, she discovers what the boys are up to, and wants to join in. Her intuitive and lateral thinking proves valuable. 

Slowly truths are uncovered. The past becomes the present as personal issues concerning their estranged father, are stirred up.  Prominent names of the town surface under the list of unanswered questions.

They find themselves wading in dangerous waters.

Can the brothers discover the truth about Corey’s death? 

Within the mix of mystery and the search for truth, is the underlying evolving relationship between the brothers, who, until the decision to investigate together, had no time for each other. 

Red herrings lead the reader astray at times, but it is exciting to follow the detailed trail of clues about what really happened to Corey so many years ago. 

Multi- talented A.I. Tait has created a riveting mystery/adventure. Although she writes in varied genres, crime is her favourite and is something at which she excels.

Title: Danger Road 
Author: A.L. Tait   
Publisher: Scholastic, $ 17.99
Publication Date: 1 July 2025
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761646270
For ages: 10+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

Review: Ningaloo: Australia

This non-fiction picture book is itself a ‘wild wonder.’

Ningaloo – Australia’s Wild Wonder looks at the extraordinary natural phenomenon of  land and sea known as Ningaloo, and celebrates both the awe-inspiring and quiet things that make this place unique.

Penned by Australia’s beloved Tim Winton and accompanied by 100s of gorgeous, hand-painted illustrations by Cindy Lane, it’s a veritable treasure trove of surprise and information.

From itty bitty blind fish that live deep in the murky depths, to massive whale sharks in the glossy blue sea, Ningaloo features more than 50 species of aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants.