Book Reviews
See our latest book reviews and search for all previous reviews. We’ll be adding more over the coming months, so check back to see if your favourite book has been reviewed by us.
Our Rights: Stories and Poems About Children’s Rights
Edited by Jake Hope
"Can you imagine a world where all children grow up in peace? Here is a book that celebrates the rights of the child, and what it means to be a child."
Literally: Amazing Words and Where They Come From
Patrick Skipworth, illus. Nicholas Stevenson
From France to Japan, India to Brazil, East Africa to Hawaii, English words are rich with global connections. Explore the way in which 12 well-known words have changed meanings over time or space.
The Pebble
Marius Marcinkevičius, illus. Inga Dagilè, transl. Jūra Avižienis
This moving story about the Holocaust is built around the Jewish tradition of using stones to remember the dead. It focuses on hope and friendship as a way of looking into one of the darkest times in history.
I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast: A Celebration of Plants Around the World
Michael Holland, illus. Philip Giordano
A beautifully illustrated book about plants and nature, full of facts and stories about the ways in which plants contribute to the world – from the air we breathe, to the food we eat and the materials we use.
The General
Janet Charters, illus. Michael Foreman
General Jodhpur martials his soldiers in conventional and rigorous ways, but an accident changes him in ways he would not have predicted.
Astrid Lindgren (Little People, BIG DREAMS)
Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illus. Linzie Hunter
This is a biography of the author Astrid Lindgren aimed at 5 – 8 year olds. Accompanied by lively illustrations, it brings Lindgren to life for a young audience.
The Fox on the Swing
Evelina Daciūtė, illus. Aušra Kiudulaitė
Paul and the fox on the swing are friends through good moods and bad. But life changes. Can their friendship survive?
Wild Song
Candy Gourlay
In this sequel to Bone Talk (2018), the Igorot people, some of the 1000 Filipino people invited by the USA, travel to the St Louis World Fair in 1904. Is America the land of freedom and opportunity they have been promised?
A Child Like You
Na’ima B Robert, illus. Nadine Kaadan
Four brave children watch, listen, search, and feel, as they experience the inequalities, dangers and injustices of life in the world and are inspired to take action.
Children of the Stone City
Beverley Naidoo
An inspiring novel that challenges the reader and questions societal norms and the idea of justice.
Are We There Yet?
Sven Völker
Bear accompanies Butterfly on a great journey through nature in which they learn very insightful lessons.
Rainbow Hands
Mamta Nainy, ill. Jo Loring-Fisher
This book is a colourful celebration of self-expression and the magic of finding your true self.