Talent Show (Amira Swift #1) by Sarah Ayoub, illustrated by Niña Nill

Title: Talent Show (Amira Swift #1)

Author: Sarah Ayoub, illustrated by Niña Nill

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 28^th July 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 128

Price: $15.99

Synopsis: Amira Swift is a chatty, energetic 7-year-old who loves to dance. A series celebrating friendship, family and Lebanese-Australian culture with highly appealing stories for all to enjoy.

Year One student Amira Swift has three favourite things: her BFFs Ellie (one) and Naya (two), and dancing (three).

So when her school holds a Talent Show, the BFFs can’t wait to enter as a dance group. But soon the girls go from having fun to having fights. Will they stay friends, or will the pressure to put on a perfect performance ruin everything?

A fun series about dance, friendship and family from bestselling author, Sarah Ayoub, with adorable artwork by Niña Nill.

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Meet the effervescent Amira Swift. She’s six years old, Lebanese-Australian, who has a mixed family background, lots of different cultural influences on her life, and a beautifully diverse group of friends. Everyone in her school has their own heritage, their own interests and their own strengths. Amira loves dancing, and has been learning some pretty cool moves since starting her dance class with Miss Ashley.

So when her school announces a talent show to raise money, Amira and her BFFs are super keen to enter. They’ll be a dance group! Yet, as they practise and try to find their groove, Emily and Amira start arguing as they try to find a way to create their dance.

Amira wants to show them how she dances, but Naya and Emily say it’s too hard. One dance has no consistency, and Amira is worried that not knowing what they are doing won’t end up working. So, she strives for perfection. Perfection might be too much though. After all, they are only six and in year one. The talent show should be about having fun. But having fun is hard when you can’t decide on how to do something. And I felt for Amira, who at one point tried to please everyone, who just wanted to do a good job and didn’t want things to be all over the place. It showed how we need to learn to communicate at any age, because otherwise, how do we know what other people need and want?

As kids, Amira, Emily and Naya are still learning about the world and how to deal with conflict. They need to work through their conflict about the talent show and their dance, because they’re such good friends. Poor Naya didn’t want to get in between her friends either, and nobody wanted to upset anyone, which reflects how children have to navigate friendships and conflict at home and at school.

It’s a gorgeous start to the series, introducing us to Amira and her beautifully diverse world at school, at home and with her friends. It was an utter delight to read, seeing how all these kids interact and come together, and how different families do things in their way. It’s got charm, joy and understanding to show how accepting the world can be, and what we can make from the world when we work together and understand each other’s needs and strengths.

It’s also about finding what you value in life, and how to find the joy in the small moments. How to be a good friend and what it means to be yourself, even if it means missing out on something you really want to do. It’s the perfect start to this series, and I like seeing books like this that celebrate diversity in our world in any way they can.