There are not so many days I miss being full-time in my libraries but, yes, Book Week with the insane preparations and the fun of dressing up [at one of my schools a different costume every day of the week!] has been one in the last couple of years. But honestly, this year I’ve been so busy with writing, I’ve not really had time to miss even this biggest week of the year. I did think, however, that I should get around to reviewing these two bookish titles in honour of the 80th year of the CBCA Book of the Year awards. Congratulations to this year’s winners and honours recipients. For once, I am relatively happy about the shortlist – haha!! And now to these two books – each wonderful but in very different ways.
The Bookshop on Lemon Tree Lane – Mike Lucas/illustrated by Sofya Karmazina
Hardie Grant Australia
June 2025
ISBN: 9781760506988
Price:AU$24.99, NZ$27.99
Imprint:Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
When the author is also a bookshop owner, and writes a book about a bookshop, you would probably expect it to be a delightful insight into the joy, sense of warmth and happy memories that our favourite bookshops bring to mind. And it is. A little boy loves going with his grandfather to their favourite bookshop, travelling by train when they do.
The old shop has crannies.
The old shop has nooks,
and places to hide in while looking at books.
There’s a rickety staircase
and lamps on the walls,
and a bell that goes DING!
when a customer calls.
The bookshop is decidedly tired, showing many signs of age. And much to the child’s disappointment, one day when he and Grandpa go to Lemon Tree Lane, the bookshop is being packed up and boarded up.
Over a period of months their visits to Lemon Tree Lane are punctuated with mysterious banging sounds coming from behind the boarded-up door and windows of the bookshop, until one glorious day the shop re-opens.
The boy, however, is apprehensive about how the new can be better than the old. Like so many children, a little nervous, even fearful about change. As it turns out the new shop is very different looking to the old one with new colours, new design, new shelves and reading nooks but still with that delicious warmth we love most about our favourite indie bookshops.
While I have seen several of Mike’s other picture books, I had only reviewed his novel One by One They Disappear which was sensational. It is real writing skill to be able to turn one’s hand to both genres, especially with rhyming, and this one was also wonderfully illustrated by Sofya Karmazina, whose work is relatively new to me.
I’m giving this a 4 🍋🍋🍋🍋rating for readers from around Year 2 upwards.
The Most Boring Book Ever – Brandon Sanderson/Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic Australia
May 2025
978-1761641787
RRP: $19.99
Sooooooooooo boring!!!! I mean to say, NOTHING happens.
A boy sits on a chair – boring.
He watches clouds – boring. He watches birds – boring. He thought about laundry – boring. He thought about maths homework – boring.
Finally something happens! He gets up off the chair. Then he sits back down – boring.
The mastery of this one is entirely in the vivid and detailed illustrations from Kazu Kibuishi which make this partnership a complete departure from the standard – and certainly from Sanderson’s novel series. Kiddos will love this.
They will delight in the absurd juxtaposition of the boring text with the wild images and they will pore over those illustrations with great pleasure. It’s a superbly boring 5 😒😒😒😒😒for readers from around 5 up.
Just So Stories 
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