I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear that a good portion of the gifts I buy each year are books. This year I’m buying for two specific groups of kids – the just turned 10 to almost 11-year-old girls, and the fairly newly independently reading boys. I thought I’d share a couple of the titles I’ve picked out for them. For 10ish yr old girls: – The Audition by Maddie Ziegler My daughter has been watching Dance Moms and is going to love this:Twelve-year-old Harper McCoy has danced practically since she could walk, and she is making her mark as one of the top dancers at her studio. Until her parents d ..read more

I thought I’d share a few book recommendations over the next few days in case you’re still shopping – books have your back right up until the last minute! This is a bit specific, but my daughter is almost 11 and is reading all kinds of stuff (from Dogman to Worst Week Ever to Babysitters Club to the Divergent series) but her absolute favourite this year has been Katie Kirby’s Lottie Brooks series. She devoured them in quick succession while we were in England in May and has reread them all a few times since. And she’s not alone – I’m yet to meet a 9 or 10 or 11 year old girl who has picke ..read more

Last week I talked about some festive bookish traditions I love and at the top of the list was counting down to Christmas with a Bookish Advent Calendar. Our Bookish Advent Calendar is made up of four books, one for each Sunday of Advent. Today I’m sharing the books that caught my eye and have been included this year. The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever by L.D. Lapinski This book also got a shout-out in my Christmas traditions post last week as a perfect family read-aloud. There are 25 chapters so you can read it like an advent countdown all the way up to Christmas day. The Biggest Christmas Sec ..read more

To be completely honest, I’m lucky if I get to spend more than the 2 minutes it takes to open the package when a new Cat Kid Comic Club book arrives, because my daughter adores them and they are immediately whisked away to the abyss of her bedroom to be read over and over (and over) again. Here’s what she had to say about this latest offering, the fifth book in Dav Pilkey’s series: Cat Kid Comic Club – Influencers Is an amazing book. It tells the story of baby frog siblings. My favourite this about it is the humorous jokes. I think there’s a lot to love about this series from a paren ..read more

I know I’ve said it before, but one of my favourite things about social media is making new friends with people all over the country and world that have similar interests. Today I’m excited to be chatting with one of my Instagram friends Bethany Loveridge, a fellow fan of middle grade books and aspiring author. Bethany’s Instagram account is always packed with amazing recommendations for readers 8-12 (ish) – she reads for pleasure but also for research for her own writing, and the breadth of her reading is evident from the range of books that pop up on her page. Bethany is currently working on ..read more

What is The Glow about? Megan and her best friend Li must team up and draw on all their creativity and courage to defeat a strange monster that threatens their town. Megan is obsessed with drawing fantastical creatures and she shares them with her best friend Li who writes stories to go with the pictures. They are kindred spirits with big creative dreams. One day everyone in town – except Megan and Li – is immobilised by a strange glow coming from their phones. Megan and Li are initially frightened and alarmed, but when they realise they are somehow immune, they set out to seek help. Soon a ba ..read more

I adore Jeremy Lachlan’s Jane Doe Chronicles series – they are such a great combo of adventure and fantasy and heart, with fabulous female characters and awesome Indiana Jones vibes. The third book, Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales came out this week, and the team at Hardie Grant kindly sent me an early copy. I’ve finally had the chance to get into it over the past few days and I’m loving it – it was the perfect book to get lost in for Australian Reading Hour today. I’ve popped the synopsis for Jane Doe and the Quill of All Tales, and I’ll share my review here in the next few days. Jeremy k ..read more

I’m reading loads of kids’ fantasy books at the moment and absolutely loving them. I posted a little preview of The Wintrish Girl by Melanie La’Brooy when i was reading it a few weeks ago and tonight I’m sharing my review. What is Melanie La’Brooy’s The Wintrish Girl about? On Talisman Day in the Empire of Arylia, every child receives an object that gives them special powers and reveals their destiny. Every child except for the Wintrish girl, Penn, that is. All she has ever wanted is the impossible: to own a Talisman and return to her home in Midwinter to find her true family. But Penn’s trapp ..read more

I might have already said here that I really think middlegrade books (ie for readers 8 to 12, ish, sometimes called “older readers” in book shops) are having a moment right now. I feel like the Aussie middlegrade space in particular is so exciting – there are so many amazing looking titles out and coming out soon. Also, on a more personal note, it’s kind of perfect timing for me as my daughter turned 8 this year so we are enjoying a lot of these fab titles together. The latest fab Aussie middlegrade title to arrive at our place is this one – The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat, by Ka ..read more

Perhaps I say this all the time, but I am OBSESSED with all the amazing middlegrade fantasy books out there right now! I had seen Skandar and the Unicorn Thief (by A.F. Steadman) around on social media a bit and was super keen to pick it up when it came out, so it was a wonderful surprise to find it in my mailbox from the lovely team at Simon & Shuster! I started reading yesterday morning and I honestly had trouble putting it down! I don’t want to say too much now (because then what will I put in my review? lol) but I’m so keen for everyone to read this so we can all talk about it! It come ..read more