Book Review - Recent MG Books I loved

📚 Latest Middle Grade (MG) reads I loved

What Snail Knows @kat.apel @mandyfootillustrator @uqpbooks
Tender heartwarming early MG verse novel 💜

Get Your Act Together, Doris Kozlowski @jodabrowski @affirmpress
Laugh out loud relatable MG about friends, family and embracing who you are ❤️

The Star Whale @nicolakidsbooks @p.horacek_ @walkerbooksaus
Gorgeous poetry collection celebrating nature by two masters 💙

Tweet @morris_gleitzman @penguinkidsaustralia
Funny, wacky and emotional magical realism about looking after the planet and the power of love 💛

Book Review - Nova's Missing Masterpiece

📕 🥳Nova’s Missing Masterpiece is the fab new collaboration between the CBCA award winning author & illustrator duo @brookegrahamauthor @robin_tatlow.lord @ekbooksforkids

SEL focused like #theworrymonster but instead of 💜 for anxiety this one is ♥️ for anger!

🖼 Nova has made a magnificent masterpiece to give her Dad as a 🥳🎁— but now she can’t find it. And it’s nearly time for his party!

🎢 This assured text allows the young reader to feel in safe hands, even as the vibrant, expressive illustrations draw us right into Nova’s emotional rollercoaster of increasing frustration, anger and panic 😠😡🤯 as she looks everywhere for her missing masterpiece that is nowhere to be found

🐾 Luckily Nova has her faithful staffy, Harley by her side throughout. Not just a source of the comfort and support all pets give us, Harley also provides a model of calm. By watching him, Nova learns effective strategies to self-regulate and help smooth out her bumpy emotional ride

Nova’s Missing Masterpiece will be a great resource for parents and teachers & to help young readers learn to manage big emotions like anger & problem solving under pressure.

Book Review - Ladybirds Do Not Go to Daycare

🐞💛 LADYBIRDS DO NOT GO TO DAYCARE by @alirutstein and @ninanill is a joyful, reassuring picturebook perfect for every child off to daycare, preschool or kindy for the first time — especially helpful for any child who feels a little anxious or hesitant about it all 🎒🍱 🚌

This is just the sweetest book! I’m lucky to have Ali in my critique and writers’ group @writelinks and her voice is distinct – sweet, gentle & authentic with a dash of quirky humour — which is obvious from the very first page. I’m pretty sure the mum in this book is actually Ali 💛 And Nińa’s illustrations are so adorable and capture Ravi’s cute little personality and his apprehension, as well as his mum’s love, in equal measure 🐞

Maybe best of all, if you turn to the last page of the book you will see Ravi drawing ladybirds with three of his new day care friends, and (I hope this isn’t a secret 👀) each of these little friends will soon have their own companion titles to make the most adorable back to school book set ever 📕📒📘📗

I was so happy to attend the launch last December 🚀 I made a special 🐞 badge for the occasion. It is no surprise that the launch was the sweetest – not just because Ali baked the most delicious launch cupcakes I’ve ever had 🧁 or because @quickbrownfoxbookshop is just the sweetest and most supportive children’s bookshop 📚 or because @sandhya_librarybagbooks was the perfect emcee 🎤 or because @zewlanmoor is my fave wingwoman 👯‍♀️ but mostly because Ali and Nińa are just the sweetest peeps 💛and they got to do their launch together 🐞🐞️ Congratulations Ali, Nińa, @brightlightpublishing @hardiegrantkids – I predict this book is going to be on very high rotation at my libraries 🤸🏿‍♂️🤸🏽‍♀️🤸🏿‍♂️