Category: middle grade

#AussieAuthors2023, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Children's Literature, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, non-fiction, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Courageous Kids and their Amazing Adventures by Stephanie Owen Reeder and Liz Duthie (illustrator)

Ashleigh

Title: Courageous Kids and their Amazing Adventures Author: Stephanie Owen Reeder and Liz Duthie (illustrator) Genre: History, Non-fiction Publisher: NLA Publishing Published: 1st November 2023 Format: Hardcover Pages: 352 Price: $19.99 Synopsis: Stephanie Owen Reeder’s Heritage Heroes series celebrates stories of incredible survival, persistance and resilience by young people. This book binds together the five original, beloved stories with… Continue reading Courageous Kids and their Amazing Adventures by Stephanie Owen Reeder and Liz Duthie (illustrator)

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October 2023 Reading Wrap Up

Ashleigh

In October, I read eighteen books, and reviewed sixteen of them. Most were by Australian authors, and all were aimed at children or young adults. I had hoped to read more but travel and a few other things meant I didn’t get through everything I wanted. I also worked on some posts about my visit… Continue reading October 2023 Reading Wrap Up

adventure, Book Industry, Books, Casander Bloom, Children's Literature, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, literary fiction, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Casander Darkbloom and the Threads of Power by P.A. Staff

Ashleigh

Title: Casander Darkbloom and the Threads of Power Author: P.A. Staff Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Walker Books Published: 1st November 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 384 Price: $19.99 Synopsis: The first in an extraordinary middle-grade fantasy series that takes the traditional "chosen one" narrative and flips it on its head. Think Nevermoor and The School for Good and Evil, but with… Continue reading Casander Darkbloom and the Threads of Power by P.A. Staff

#AussieAuthors2023, #LoveOZMG, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, historical fiction, history, literary fiction, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

Miss Penny Dreadful and the Mermaid’s Locks by Allison Rushby

Ashleigh

Title: Miss Penny Dreadful and the Mermaid’s Locks Author: Allison Rushby Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Walker Books Published: 1st November 2023 Format: Paperback Pages: 160 Price: $15.99 Synopsis: The final exciting instalment in the Miss Penny Dreadful series from acclaimed author Allison Rushby.Searching for a new story idea for her aunt’s famous penny dreadfuls,… Continue reading Miss Penny Dreadful and the Mermaid’s Locks by Allison Rushby

#AussieAuthors2023, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, Christmas, humour, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, Picture Books, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Ayla’s Christmas Wish by Pamela Jones and Lucia Masciullo

Ashleigh

Title: Ayla’s Christmas Wish Author: Pamela Jones and Lucia Masciullo Genre: Christmas Publisher: NLA Publishing Published: 1st November 2023 Format: Hardcover Pages: 32 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: Christmas is coming, and Ayla wants a snowman just like in her book, but there is no snow to be found in her drought-stricken town, not even a drop of rain.… Continue reading Ayla’s Christmas Wish by Pamela Jones and Lucia Masciullo

#AussieAuthors2023, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Jaclyn Moriarty, Kingdoms and Empires Series, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series, Young Adult

The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet (Kingdoms and Empires #5) by Jaclyn Moriarty

Ashleigh

Title: The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet (Kingdoms and Empires #5) Author: Jaclyn Moriarty Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Allen and Unwin Published: 31st October 2023 Pages: 544 Price: $22.99 Synopsis: A magical book in the rich and whimsical world of the Kingdoms and Empires about a girl, a threat and a pickle jar filled with gold… Continue reading The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet (Kingdoms and Empires #5) by Jaclyn Moriarty

#AussieAuthors2023, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, historical fiction, history, Indigenous authors, Jackie French, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, Speculative fiction, Tim Harris, Young Adult

Completion of QBD Reading Challenge 2023

Ashleigh

I have completed the 2023 QBD Challenge. My last prompt was a funny memoir, which in some ways was hard to find, but I settled on Paul Jennings’ memoir, Untwisted, which was funny in parts, and I enjoyed the way he told the stories – with humour and empathy throughout. I reviewed twenty books for… Continue reading Completion of QBD Reading Challenge 2023

animals, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, series

The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale by Kate DiCamillo

Ashleigh

Title: The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale Author: Kate DiCamillo Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Walker Books Published: 18th October 2023 Format: Hardcover Pages: 160 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: From master storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes an original fairy tale, enchantingly illustrated, in which five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning and high spirits.Once, there… Continue reading The Puppets of Spelhorst: A Norendy Tale by Kate DiCamillo

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Completed: Dymocks Reading Challenge 2023

Ashleigh

This year, I took on the Dymocks Reading Challenge again. This time, we got our prompts season by season, which made it more challenging to plan what to read, but in the end, I managed to do it. The prompts were fairly flexible as well – there were ones anything could fit into and ones… Continue reading Completed: Dymocks Reading Challenge 2023

#AussieAuthors2023, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Ella Diaries, Elston-Fright, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, middle grade, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, short stories

Dymocks Spring Reading Challenge

Ashleigh

The final set of prompts for this year’s Dymock’s Reading Challenge for Spring are completed now too – a couple of them took me a while but I got there. One of the things I have liked about this challenge is how open to interpretation some prompts were, because a prompt will always have a… Continue reading Dymocks Spring Reading Challenge