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The Great Dawn Choir – Sarah Speedie. Illustrated by Cindy Lane
CSIRO Publishing August 2025 ISBN: 9781486318339 RRP: $26.99 We may not live in the ‘bush’ as I’ve heard some proudly describe their location [while at the same time moaning about the lack of facilities, phone signal and more] but that doesn’t mean in the slightest that we do not have our fair share of wildlife,…
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Bin Chicken Goes for Gold – Kate and Jol Temple. Illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh
Scholastic Australia March 2025 ISBN: 9781760268275 RRP: $19.99 To follow up on the first of this week of birdie books, it’s another Queenslander. Yes, I know ibis are found elsewhere but these are so iconically Queensland that there is a strong push for them to be the Brisbane Olympics official mascot. We generally have at least…
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Cassowary Dad – Beverley McWilliams. Illustrated by Julian Teh.
CSIRO Publishing February 2025 ISBN: 9781486317578 $26.99 To kick off the week of birds [yes intentional!], and so close to Fathers Day, what better choice than our own Queenslander and largest of the cassowary species – the Southern Cassowary, daddy extraordinaire! You know it’s top shelf when it comes from the CSIRO, and Beverley McWilliams…
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Birdie Num Nums…
Peter Sellers may have coined it but I’ve used it for a gazillion years to mean anything from edible goodies to just special things in general. Seems appropriate in this context as I have a stash of bird books to share over the next week or so. It’s still a way off for this year’s…
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My Dog – Olivia Wakeford
the story of an extraordinary friendship Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9780008658588 ISBN 10: 0008658587 Imprint: HarperCollins GB RRP: $17.99 This one I will say was at times, a bit too close to the bone for me. That being said, it is truly a special book that will touch the hearts of sophisticated primary readers and, I would suggest,…
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Little Bee’s Year of Blooms – Sarah Jane Lightfoot
I’ve had quite a few board books come my way this year and truly they’ve all been lovely but this one is the pièce de résistance with its sculptured pages and combination of plants and insects. I hadn’t seen any of Sarah Jane Lightfoot’s books before but if this one is any indication, they must…
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Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopedia
What We Know and What We Don’t Walker Books September 2025 Imprint: Britannica Books ISBN13: 9781804661499 Australia RRP: $64.99 New Zealand RRP: $67.99 Last year I reviewed another of Christopher Lloyd’s amazing fat-as-mud books of EVERYTHING and it was just great. This is an updated edition of the Children’s Brittanica which went totally gangbusters on…
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It’s a Sean E. Avery Special
These two books have been languishing in the PBs’ tubs for way too long. But news of Sean’s recent visit to Canberra [so jelly of all my friends there who got to see him] has guilted me into attending to them pronto. And after all, Sean is a thoroughly nice guy it seems. When I…
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Neeka and the Storm: Wilder Zoo #2 – Tina Strachan
Harper Collins Australia July 2025 I have no doubts whatsoever that many of you will have kids who loved the #1 in this series, Neeka and the Missing Key. Of course, the whole animals aspect is a huge drawcard, but the plot with all its drama, humour and sense of adventure mixed together makes for…
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