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Have You Seen Elephant? (David Barrow, Gecko Press)
Released October 2015
The innocent joy of a young child’s self-belief is celebrated in this extremely promising debut picture book. When a boy’s elephant friend suggests a game of hide-and-seek around the house,... Read more
Numerical Street (Hilary Bell & Antonia Pesenti, NewSouth)
Released November 2015
The success of Alphabetical Sydney (still an extraordinarily popular book in the bookshop I work in) might seem like a hard act to follow, but Numerical Street is as much... Read more
Mister Spears and His Hairy Ears (Dawn McMillan, illus by Ross Kinnaird, Libro International, distributed by John Reed)
Released November 2015
Kids will love this very silly picture book about out-of-control hair growth—in particular from the ear region. Poor Mister Spears, whose hairy ears have been growing unabated for years, is... Read more
All the Days After (Sue Gunningham, Finch)
Released November 2015
This emotionally draining book is a personal account of the myriad effects of being one of the many affected by a major natural disaster. Sue Gunningham’s long-time partner Barry was... Read more
Reckoning: A Memoir (Magda Szubanski, Text)
Released October 2015
Magda Szubanski is one of Australia’s best-known comedians but what’s less known is her interesting family history. Her father, who fought in the Polish resistance, lived with the scars of... Read more
Kidnapped (Mark Tedeschi, S&S)
Released November 2015
Mark Tedeschi brilliantly recreates a more innocent Australia in his new book about a crime that shocked the nation in 1960. The abduction and murder of Graeme Thorne remains the... Read more
Before Rupert: Keith Murdoch and the Birth of a Dynasty (Tom D C Roberts, UQP)
Released November 2015
From the title onwards, Rupert Murdoch looms large in this readable and entertaining biography of his father, Sir Keith. The author seeks to show how many of Rupert’s actions have... Read more
Good Money (J M Green, Scribe)
Released November 2015
Stella Hardy is a not-quite-hardboiled social worker operating in Melbourne’s inner west. She likes a drink (usually from the box) and also has an addiction to DVD box sets. When... Read more
The Lake House (Kate Morton, A&U)
Released November 2015
Kate Morton’s fifth novel transports the reader back and forth between 1930s Cornwall and London in 2003. This epic tale opens with the disappearance of a child on the eve... Read more
Olmec Obituary: Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth Book One (L J M Owen, Echo)
Released November 2015
A devastating family tragedy sees young archaeologist Elizabeth Pimms return to Canberra and take on a job as a librarian to support her extended family in their rambling home. She... Read more
Second Half First: A Memoir (Drusilla Modjeska, Knopf)
Released October 2015
This enthralling memoir from the author of Poppy (1990) and The Mountain (2012) is a remarkable literary work. Embarked upon ‘without a trigger more significant than a sleepless night in... Read more
This and That (Mem Fox, illus by Judy Horacek, Scholastic)
Released October 2015
It’s far easier to analyse why a pre-school picture book will be a hit than it is to create one, as simple as it may appear at first glance. This... Read more
At My Door (Deb Fitzpatrick, Fremantle Press)
Released October 2015
Late one cold Monday night, 10-year-old Poppy Campbell and her family get a visit from an unexpected guest. Someone has abandoned a little girl outside the Campbells’ door and sped off... Read more
Freddy Tangles: Legend or Loser: Book One (Jack Brand, illus by Tom Jellett, A&U)
Released October 2015
There are plenty of books competing for the coveted position of being the next ‘Tom Gates’ or ‘Wimpy Kid’, and claiming to be ideally suited to reluctant boy readers. Debut... Read more
The Fairy Dancers (Natalie Jane Prior, illus by Cheryl Orsini, ABC Books)
Released October 2015
Looking distinctly like Kate Knapp’s successful Ruby Red Shoes, this pretty pre-chapter book, containing three stories, is a good gift book for junior fiction readers. Young friends Emma, Mia and... Read more
Harry’s Secret (Anita Heiss, Scholastic)
Released October 2015
Harry lives in the New South Wales town of Cowra and enjoys a life of fishing, footy and skateboarding with his mates. He also really loves to draw but feels... Read more
Rich and Rare (ed by Paul Collins, Ford Street)
Released October 2015
Paul Collins has assembled a who’s who of Australian YA in Rich and Rare. Over 40 authors and illustrators have contributed to this hefty volume, with contributions ranging from a... Read more
The River and the Book (Alison Croggon, Walker Books)
Released October 2015
Sim is the Keeper of the Book, a role of standing in her village. The Book contains the village’s soul; it answers the villagers’ questions, nourishes their lives and contains... Read more
Sing a Rebel Song (Pamela Rushby, Omnibus)
Released October 2015
The Queensland shearer’s strike of 1891 is a relatively unknown event in Australia’s history. In Sing a Rebel Song, Pamela Rushby places fictional characters alongside real people and events to... Read more
Gusto & Gecko Travel to Kenya (Longy Han, illus by Elinor Hagg, Han Creative, distributed by INT Books)
Released October 2015
Longy Han’s crowd-funded picture book Gusto & Gecko Travel to Kenya is the first in the ‘Curious Travels of Gusto & Gecko’ series for readers aged five to eight. Aiming to inspire children’s... Read more
