Category Archives: Shortlist 2012

So of course the one junior book that I hadn’t reviewed carried the day. Can’t blame the CBCA, it is a truly gripping story. So why didn’t I get around to reading it? Here we go: Time-slip is to me … Continue reading →

The winners of the 2012 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award have been announced. Congratulations to Scot Gardiner, Kate Constable, Nick Bland & Freya Blackwood and Bob Graham! Of course, I need to eat my words as I … Continue reading →

Having written the Deltora Quest series (among other things), Emily Rodda is a practiced hand at fantasy. The golden door is exactly what you would expect from such a writer. It ticks all the fantasy boxes with magical things and … Continue reading →

Some may feel that, in an earlier post, I may have implied that Jackie French doesn’t earn her spot in the shortlist year after year, that would be true. But let me say now that French’s writing is consistently good … Continue reading →

What a strange book. A bus called heaven starts before the imprint and continues on in a strange, chaotic sort of way.  Ostensibly this is the story of a ghostly pale girl who claims an abandoned bus for the community … Continue reading →

As teachers we have the ability to abuse our role in indulgent ways. Forcing our students to perform the text of Isabella’s garden  in rounds is one such indulgence. If you haven’t partaken, get on it. For all creatures mines … Continue reading →

Sonya Hartnett has written some terrific stuff over the years and it is easy to see how she has the following that she does (and is shortlisted as often as she is). Come down, cat! shows her versatility in being … Continue reading →

It took me a while to shake off the cravings from my Brotherband experience. For the first few chapters of Ishmael I just found myself wishing they would take to the sea in some inventively designed boat and fight some pirates. The … Continue reading →

Not what I expected from Nick Bland and Freya Blackwood. The runaway hug is an extremely cute book about a girl who is given her mother’s very last hug. Nick Bland of The very cranky bear franchise usually writes funny … Continue reading →

Postmodernism in picture story books is such a common thing that it even has its own wikipedia page. According to the page, No bears fits into the category of ‘books that are aware of themselves’. While some books that are … Continue reading →