I’ve read out loud to my kids since they were in utero. Starting with the Time magazine and moving up to… well, The Very Hungry Caterpillar mostly. Reading aloud has many amazing benefits for kids (literacy, vocabulary, imagination) but, given we have to do it every single day, it helps if you’re reading a book […]
books for kids
Book review: D-Bot Squad Series (Mega Hatch & Dino Corp)
Usually I take photographs of each book that publishers send me as soon as they’re out of the box. It wasn’t possible with the latest D-Bot Squad books – my 5 and 7 year old boys wrenched away one each as soon as I opened up the latest book mail! The D-Bot Squad books have […]
5 things you probably didn’t know about May Gibbs
I grew up on stories of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the gumnut babies who went on the most fabulous adventures. When you’re a kid you don’t tend to think much about the writer of the book, or how it came to be published. You’re too interested in shoving your fists in your mouth, terrified that Cuddlepie will get […]
What was the most popular book for kids in 2017?
27,700 Aussies voted in Dymocks’ Kids Top 51 books for 2017. And *drum roll…* the most popular book for kids in 2017 WAS NOT Harry Potter! I know, it’s shocking, right? For the first time in 3 years, the boy wizard wonder was knocked off the #1 spot… by a very hungry little caterpillar who […]
Review: Meerkat Choir, by Nicki Greenberg
Meerkat Choir is a very funny new picture book from Nicki Greenberg. A tempestuous meerkat choir master is intent on stopping any other animals from joining his choir – including the giraffe, birds and crocodile who show up to sing. The only problem? Once he gets rid of them, he discovers that his meerkat-only choir […]
Review: The Great Race, by Nathan Kumar Scott
The Great Race is a children’s ‘trickster tale’ from Indonesia with beautiful hand painted illustrations by a traditional artist from India. The story is very similar to the tale of the hare and the tortoise from British folklore, but with a special twist. In the Indonesian trickster version, Pelan the snail uses his wits to […]