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Turtle Boy on KBR
You can read my second review for KBR now…….. Turtle Boy – M Evan Wolkenstein – don’t miss it because this is a truly wonderful book for middle schoolers!
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Finding Francois – Gus Gordon
Penguin Australia July 2020 ISBN: 9780143794141 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $24.99 In over eighty books Gus Gordon has demonstrated time and again his talent at producing the type of quality books we love to share with our young readers. This beautiful picture book is heart-warming and endearing as two little characters, both lonely and longing for real friendship, discover…
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The Year the Maps Changed – Danielle Binks
Hachette Australia APR 28, 2020 | 9780734419712 | RRP $17.99 What a glorious book with so much richness as it reveals not only a tragic episode in recent history but explores the pain but beautiful bonding in a family and community. 1999 in Sorrento is a difficult time for Fred (Winifred). Her mother died when she was very little…
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How To Make Friends with the Dark – Kathleen Glasgow
Harper Collins Australia April 2020 ISBN: 9781460751060 ISBN 10: 146075106X Imprint: HarperCollins – AU List Price: 19.99 AUD Here is what happens when your mother dies. My timing for reading this could have been better really. It was the 5th anniversary of losing my girl this past week, a scant fortnight before Miss K’s 10th birthday. So at…
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The Space We’re In – Katya Balen
Bloomsbury November 2019 ISBN: 9781526610942 RRP $14.99 What an absolutely stunning debut novel from Katya Balen! Simultaneously heart-breaking and uplifting Balen examines the difficulties faced by a child living with a special needs sibling. Frank is ten years old. He loves soccer and space, he loves secret codes and playing in the ‘Wilderness’ with his two…
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Taking Tom Murray Home – Tim Slee
Harper Collins July 2019 ISBN: 9781460757864 ISBN 10: 1460757866 Imprint: HarperCollins – AU RRP $32.99 The inaugural Banjo Prize competition attracted 320 entries but it was Taking Tom Murray Home that took out the first prize with its truly authentic Australian voice. Tim Slee’s novel bristles with laconic wit, quirky characters and bitter-sweet emotions and underlines with eloquence…
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The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle – Sophie Green
Hachette JUL 23, 2019 | 9780733641169 | RRP $29.99 If you missed The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club which was a runaway success a couple of years ago you must make certain not to neglect this new novel from Sophie Green! Once again readers become heavily invested in the lives of the main characters; Marie,…
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The Pinballs – Betsy Byars
Harper Collins ISBN: 9780062881786 ISBN 10: 0062881787 Imprint: HarperCollins – US July 2019 List Price: 16.99 AUD Now in her 90s award-winning American author Betsy Byars first published The Pinballs in 1977. As I re-read this new edition I wondered if she thought that perhaps the fate of some children might improve over time. It seems that the…
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Animal Crackers
Now that the pile of review novels is finally getting to a stage that could be described as semi-tamed, it’s time to get stuck into plethora picture books. So here are some animal-focused ones to get into – because we all know that our little readers just love a great animal story and…
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Catch a Falling Star – Meg McKinlay
Walker Books March 2019 ISBN: 9781925381207 Imprint: Walker Books Australia Australian RRP: $17.99 New Zealand RRP: $19.99 It’s 1979 and Frankie is just finishing primary school. Her dad has been dead, after a light plane crash over the ocean, for six years and Frankie, her little brother Newt and her mum have been struggling along ever since. With their…
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