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Willa and Woof 3: Grandparents for Hire – Jacqueline Harvey
Penguin Australia January 2023 It makes me very happy that my first review for 2023 is for my lovely friend, and über-talented creator, Jacqueline Harvey for #3 in her latest sensational series. Jacqueline has a sublime knack for creating character with whom readers can immediately connect, empathise and love, and Willa – along with her…
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Christmas Goodies
Zola and the Christmas Lights – Melina Marchetta/Deb Hudson Penguin Australia October 2022 For the entirety of the delightful What Zola did On… series, Melina Marchetta consistently delivered such beautiful and meaningful messages to young readers around diversity, community, empathy, friendship and family, all without once becoming preachy or tedious. It truly was joyful to…
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So long Picture Book Month 2022
Well it was a bit of a mammoth effort and one I haven’t undertaken for a few years but a new PB review posted each day of the month – whew!! Thanks for anyone who played along with me :-). Hope you discovered some treasures for your collections!! and of course, thanks to the publishers…
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Thank You, Teacher from The Very Hungry Caterpillar
They tell me Xmas is rapidly drawing closer – but what is even closer than that is the end of the school year. Most of us are now mid-term so that dreaded moment of finding a gift for your child’s teacher is nigh, and while, of course we don’t mind endless scented candles, bath bombs,…
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Busy Betty – Reese Witherspoon. Illustrated by Xindi Yan
Penguin Australia October 2022 Imprint: Puffin ISBN: 9781761047480 RRP: $19.99 Oh, I’m a huge fan of Reese!.. and I can easily imagine her as a little girl just like Busy Betty. This is pure good fun and kids will love the joyousness of it as much as they relate to the getting into scrapes – albeit,…
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My Baba is the Best – Bachar Houli. Illustrated by Debby Rahmalia
Penguin Australia August 2022 RRP: $19.99 Read more in this piece from SBS Arabic24 This is simply just a joyous read filled with family and fatherly love. It is wonderful that we have an ever-increasing diverse representation of our Australian children in books, and, in particular, picture books. Bachar proves himself not just a great…
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Peppa Pig: Peppa’s Dragon Adventure
Penguin Australia August 2022 We can always depend on Peppa and her family to provide us with warm fuzzies, plus imagination combined with happy reality. When George Pig doesn’t want to go to sleep, fearful of bad dreams, Daddy Pig tells a wonderful story about a dragon. Peppa and George enjoy the story so much,…
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Battle Mum – Zoë Foster Blake. Illustrated by Adele K. Thomas
Penguin Australia 1 November 2022 Look, I’ve gotta be honest – anything with Karate Kid moves or ninja references and I’m in! In my experience, the same applies for kids. Ok, so maybe not all of them are actually across the Karate Kid (clearly because their education has been neglected) but definitely ninjas! For anyone…
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Willa and Woof #2: Birthday Business – Jacqueline Harvey
Penguin Australia October 2022 Willa happens to find out that it’s almost Frank’s birthday and it’s a super special significant one. She feels pretty sad when she knows that Frank’s family, son and his wife plus children, who live in England are unable to even be in touch on this special day so, of course,…
Just So Stories 
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