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Shelter (Catherine Jinks, Text)
Released January 2021
Meg has taken in three strangers—Nerine and her two small daughters—in a bid to hide them from Nerine’s abusive ex-husband. The house is secluded, safe, but Nerine can’t shake the... Read more
Fire, Flood, Plague: Australian writers respond to 2020 (ed by Sophie Cunningham, Vintage)
Released December 2020
This deeply unsettling book bravely attempts to interpret, chronicle and reflect on the nightmarish events of this year. While I relished the opportunity to try to make sense of 2020,... Read more
Let’s Go, Little Roo (Renée Treml, Puffin)
Released January 2021
Prolific author Renée Treml says she wrote Let's Go, Little Roo from experience with her own shy child, and Little Roo’s stubborn emotions and thought processes are certainly recognisable. (Though... Read more
The Carbon-Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens (First Dog on the Moon, A&U)
Released December 2020
Political cartoonist First Dog on the Moon’s debut book for children is a delightfully absurd metatextual picture book/graphic novel hybrid starring a genius wombat inventor, a superhero social media celebrity... Read more
An Amazing Australian Road Trip (Jackie Hosking, illus by Lesley Vamos, Walker Books)
Released January 2021
This cheerful picture book employs a lively rhyming narrative alongside factual snippets, creating a unique reading experience that is sure to appeal to fans of both fiction and nonfiction. The... Read more
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman (Julietta Henderson, Bantam)
Released January 2021
Norman Foreman isn’t your average 12-year-old: he’s obsessed with classic British comedy, he’s got raging psoriasis, and he and his best mate Jax have a five-year plan to perform stand-up... Read more
Black Summer (ed by Michael Rowland, ABC Books)
Released January 2021
This excellent anthology won’t be the final word on the 2019–20 Black Summer fires but it contains some of the very best words you can read on the subject. From... Read more
The Odds (Matt Stanton, ABC Books)
Released November 2020
The lack of locally produced graphic novels for young Australians has been noted for some time now, but middle-grade and children’s author Matt Stanton has a new book to appease... Read more
Give Me Some Space! (Philip Bunting, Omnibus)
Released December 2020
Una is a singular girl on a mission: leave boring old Earth behind for greener pastures—or in this case, planets. Smart, determined and ingenious, she crafts herself a homespun spacesuit... Read more
I Want to be a Superhero (Breanna Humes, illus by Ambelin Kwaymullina, Magabala)
Released November 2020
A little girl in a homemade blanket cape wants to be a superhero, and not just any superhero, she wants to fly! Breanna, the girl in question, is a younger... Read more
Boy on Fire: The young Nick Cave (Mark Mordue, Fourth Estate)
Released November 2020
After 35 years of communication with Nick Cave, 10 of them actively spent researching a biography which eventually grew to Moby Dick proportions, Mark Mordue has fashioned this expertly detailed... Read more
Dog (Shaun Tan, A&U)
Released November 2020
This is Shaun Tan doing what he does best. Carrying an elegant tension between joy and sadness, Dog left me in a puddle of emotion. The prose poetry traces the... Read more
Factory 19 (Dennis Glover, Black Inc.)
Released November 2020
Dennis Glover’s second novel, an intriguing potential unveiling of our very near future, is crafted with a light touch and a satirical sense of humour. Factory 19 is a reflection... Read more
We Are Wolves (Katrina Nannestad, ABC Books)
Released November 2020
In We Are Wolves, middle-grade author Katrina Nannestad, creator of the ‘Olive of Groves’ and ‘Girl, the Dog and the Writer’ series, moves confidently into more sombre territory with the... Read more
One Day I’ll Remember This: Diaries 1987–1995 (Helen Garner, Text)
Released November 2020
The second volume of Helen Garner’s diaries picks up right where the first left off. It’s 1987 and her daughter, having graduated high school, is leaving home—or rather, Garner is... Read more
Anemone is Not the Enemy (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
Released November 2020
Everybody needs a special friend—one they can rely on, one who’s there for them—but Anemone is lonely and finding it very difficult. The problem is he accidentally stings everybody who... Read more
The Fifth Season (Philip Salom, Transit Lounge)
Released November 2020
Philip Salom has twice been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin, and The Fifth Season will attract serious readers as a result. But this is not a book for everyone; its... Read more
I’m a Hero Too (Jamila Rizvi, illus by Peter Cheong, Puffin)
Released November 2020
I’m a Hero Too is about a little boy named Arty who’s feeling sad and out of sorts because his parents are acting strangely. Mum is talking in whispers and... Read more
Songlines: The power and promise (Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly, Thames & Hudson)
Released November 2020
The first in a series of six books introducing Indigenous knowledges, Songlines: The power and promise explains the use of mnemonics, or memory systems, in Aboriginal culture. Songlines archive knowledge... Read more
How to Be a Real Ballerina (Davina Bell, illus by Jenny Løvlie, Little Hare Books)
Released November 2020
Many preschoolers go through a ballerina phase and Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie’s latest picture book shows a little girl doing the utmost to be a real ballerina—but not quite... Read more
