Meet Ashling Kwok Ashling Kwok writes books that are sometimes funny, sometimes sensitive, but always straight from the heart. She has published several books with Little Pink Dog Books, Yellow Brick Books and EK Books. Join us for this interview as Ashling chats about her book, Butterfly Girl illustrated by Arielle Li. Andrew: Hi Ashling, thanks for coming on the blog. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? And include something about you that not many people know. Ashling: Hey Andrew, thanks so much for having me. I’m delighted to be here! I live in a leafy green suburb in Sydney with my hu ..read more

E.M. Greville is an award-winning short fiction writer with a new fantasy middle grade novel, Raine in the Underlands. It’s a colourful and fun filled fantasy of growing and learning what the world is about. Hi, Emma! Thanks for coming on the blog! I read from your website that you love dragons. What do you most love about dragons? Who is your all-time favourite dragon and why? Emma: Thanks for having me here! The thing that I find really fascinating about dragons is that virtually all cultures across the globe have their own dragon mythology. From Mesopotamia to medieval Europe and across Asi ..read more

Book Week Bear by Rory H. Mather and illustrated by Ruth-Mary Smith is a super fun concept and the perfect book around CBCA Book Week Season. Your child is probably dreaming about the perfect costume and dressing up with all their friends. You can lean into their enthusiasm or help elevate it with this book published by Scholastic Australia. Read this Book Week Bear review to see if it might make your next Book Week even more fun. A Picture Book For Book Week Book Week Bear is the perfect picture book for book week. It’s a fun rhyming story with sweet illustrations. The concept is cool and wil ..read more

As a child, Fiona Lloyd loved reading, sneaking a torch under the covers to ‘just finish this chapter—then the next, then the next.’ Now she has written a middle grade novel for the next generation to sneak under the covers with a torch. I met Fiona in person at the Creative Kids’Tales festival a number of years ago and was very excited to see her recent announcement that her middle grade novel was on the way! Being Jimmy Baxter by Fiona Lloyd Andrew: Hey, Fiona! Thanks for joining the blog. How did it feel to hold your book in your hand for the first time? Fiona: Hi Andrew. Thanks for having ..read more

A Very Dinosaur Birthday by Adam Wallace How awesome would it be if dinosaurs crashed your birthday party? It would blow the minds of all your party guests. You’d see what dinosaurs looked like in real life. It would surely make you the most popular kid in town. There couldn’t possibly be any downsides, could there? Well, you can find out in my A Very Dinosaur Birthday review. Adam Wallace and Christopher Nielsen combine for a crazy concept with a picture book that kids will love. A disaster waiting to happen? Okay, okay, I suppose there are one or two things that could go wrong if you had lot ..read more

There are plenty of book week easy costumes you can get. You can either buy something, make something or make do with what you’ve got. If you want to make something elaborate, you may want to check out this website. We’ll focus on easy costumes here. What are your child’s favourite books and characters? Take a minute to ask your child what their favourite stories are. Then get them to pick some of their favourite characters in their favourite stories. Think about what these characters look like, wear or do. Book Week – Easy Costumes to make Coming soon. I’m planning to come up with a list of e ..read more

Today we have Debra Tidball on the blog. Debra is an award-winning author of picture books, flash fiction, short stories, poems and plays. With a background in social work, she also has an MA in children’s literature, and has a particular passion for picture books. She lives in Sydney where she writes, reviews books and blogs, with her Best Buddy, Archie the French Bulldog, always close by. Anchored by Debra Tidball and Arielle Li, has just launched. Andrew: Hi Debra, It’s a pleasure to have you on the blog! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and feel free to include a surprising fact about ..read more

Dannielle Viera has just launched her new picture book, The Leftover Lemon Dilemma. She has been involved in the publishing industry for over 20 years and has received recognition for many of her manuscripts. In addition to the publication of The Leftover Lemon Dilemma, she has a number of works published in anthologies and collections such as The Creative Kids Tales Story Collection 2 (Creative Kids Tales, 2019), Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble: Magical Poems Chosen by Paul Cookson (Bloomsbury UK, 2020), Once Upon a Whoops! Fractured Fairytales and Ridiculous Rhymes (Share Your Story, 2021) and It ..read more

This book was awesome. Brotherband – The Stern Chase is a novel for kids in the 12+ age range according to its listing on Amazon. But there’s no reason in my mind why people up to adults wouldn’t enjoy it in my opinion. Does adventure on the seas get your child interested? There is high stakes and high adventure as Hal and the brotherband chase down a stolen ship. Here is my Brotherband – The Stern Chase review. Brotherband – On a mission The brotherband protect the Stormwhite Sea from piracy. When pirates try to attack a merchant ship, the brotherband will intervene. But not everyone likes th ..read more

Dads are awesome. You’ll often find them trying to do something adventurous. Having a crack and sacrificing themselves to give their little legends some fun, laughter and experiences they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. Written by Dani Vee and illustrated by Maria Verola. Published by Larrikin House. I hope you enjoy this My Epic Dad! Takes Us Camping review. An Epic Picture Book About Camping This dad takes his kiddos camping. And of course, out in nature and amongst wild creatures are plenty of opportunities for poor, old Dad to become a victim to the elements and wildlife. From a f ..read more