Nine Great New Books for Children Aged 5 to 13 Years

Australia's 2015 Book Week has just finished with the celebration of the many fine books submitted. But they keep on coming. Here are another 8 wonderful books. I've arranged my reviews of the books by age, from books for the very young readers to those aged 12-13 years. I hope you enjoy them.

1.  "Oh Dear, Look What I Got!" by Michael Rosen & illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

A classic new picture book by the creators of the bestselling We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. And once again, children will LOVE this funny and poetical storybook. These are the words for the first four pages:

I went to the shop to get me a carrot. Oh dear, they gave me …. a parrot! Do I want that? No I do NOT

I went to the shop to get me a hat. Oh dear, they gave me... a cat! Do I want that? No I do NOT!"

He goes for a coat! And what does he get? A goat! 

He heads of to the shop for a cake and ends up with a SNAKE!

This wonderful picture book written by the legendary Michael Rosen and illustrated by the talented Helen Oxenbury will delight a new generation of children.  

2. "A Hatful of Dreams" written and illustrated by Bob Graham 

I can't recall Bob Graham writing a book that hasn't been full of wonder and delight for young readers. The mischief and fun of the book will delight a new generation of children aged two to five years. 

As always Bob Graham keeps young readers wanting to turn the pages for the next surprise. And they are never disappointed!

And don’t forget Grandad – with music in his fingers and magic under his hat. No, really! The children aren’t sure if they believe their Grandad’s fantastical tales – “Oh, Grandad! You’re joking!” they cry. But they really won’t believe what happens when Grandad slowly takes off his hat… 

Grandad's house is tiny home warm at the end of a street, filled with large decaying buildings that were once grand but now are falling down. But at Grandad's home "dreams take flight and light the way to a brighter tomorrow". This is a picture book that speaks of hope and the love between and grandparents and children.

3. "Creepy Sheepy" by Lucy Ruth Cummins & illustrated by Pete Oswald

We should not be surprised to see yet another wonderful book written by Lucy Ruth Cummins and illustrated by Peter Oswald. This is a story about learning when to blend in and when to stand out! 

It’s Halloween, and this 'Sleepy Sheepy' wants the perfect costume for trick-or-treating! And it MUST be the scariest, hairiest, werewolf of all!

 

There are other books in the Creepy Sheep series that are also worth sharing with young readers aged three to five.

 

If you don't believe me you might want to read reviews from others: 

“Not too sweet and not too scary, this one is just right. A cute addition to any Halloween shelf.” —Kirkus reviews

“Oswald creates colorful, sweet illustrations that emphasize characters and keep backgrounds simple to guide the reader’s focus. With charming rhythm, rhymes, and clever wordplay, Cummins celebrates the importance of individuality.” —Booklist

4. "Unicorn Post" written and illustrated by Emma Yarlett

This picture book is a delightful story about a child, a unicorn, and finding home. When a lost and homeless unicorn knocks at her door, the small girl who lived there sets out to find it a home. Could it live at the pet shop where she had bought her goldfish she named Geraldine?

 

But it seemed there was no cage that would be suitable for a Unicorn, it was far too big! What about 'Oak Farm' nearby. There was so much space there! But the food was disgusting! What about the local Funfair? This seemed perfect! But it proved far too loud for Unicorn.

 

But finally, there search found the perfect place! The 'Fairytale Castle'! The perfect place and the Unicorn was very excited. But he was soon lonely without his best friend. So he sent her a letter with a simple message: "Please can I live with you?" And that's just what he did.

 

This wonderful picture book has the added attraction for young readers of lift-the-flap messages. As well as a 'Pet Mark', the 'Oak Farm', and a 'Fun Fair' that comes to town. 

 

5. "I Believe in You" written and illustrated by Dani Colvin

 

Blair is a young girl who can at times feel sad. Or as we sometimes say, feeling blue. And this isn't a nice happy place to be, but a sad place. "Not blue like the sky or a swimming pool... those are nice sparkly blues". This type of feeling blue is more like having a "blue holy sock on a winter's day" or a "messy ink splodge on a clean page". Or perhaps a "tiny boat lost on a vast ocean". And for Blair, it's like having all of these at once, "squishing the air out of Blair".

 

Luckily, Blair's Grandpa helps her to see things a different way. He says to her "I have news for you, oh yes, I think you are spectacular! I think you are great!" He tells her this while she feels she isn't and can't do these things. He responds with this message to her to believe:

 

"I believe you can"

"I believe you will"

"Yes, I believe in you"

 

Blair is to discover that mistakes are part of life and that everyone has them. And so she begins to "trust in her own strength and power", "dream big dreams", and much more.  

 

This beautifully illustrated and written book will be loved by children aged 4-6 years old. 

6. "The Aussie Christmas Mix Up" by Jackie Hosking and illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom

Following the success of this teams previous books "An Aussie Christmas Gum Tree" and "When Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney) which I reviewed previously, we have a new book from the team.

This time poor old Santa somehow mixes up the gift tags on the children's presents. "He'd checked the list not once but twice and put all of the gifts in his bag". All had been wrapped "with care and love" but he'd "forgotten to tighten each tag".  

If only he was as careful when he was attaching all the tags! It's to be a great Aussie Christmas mix-up … with presents and confusion galore. Luckily the always helpful crew of Aussie animals are about to save the day … And of course, this caused quite a commotion. 

The wedge-tailed eagle was confused by his gift of a glider? And why was magpie given a gift of singing lessons?! And poor Kookaburra had no idea what to do with a boat! But the wise owl solved the problem for all. Let's put "all the presents together then we can choose what we like". There were some surprises as Emu took to the sky in his new kite, and the wedge-tailed eagle sailed on the dam in his new boat! 

Children will love this book both to read when they can, or else just to listen and laugh as their teacher or a parent reads it to them. 

7. "Promises and Other Lies" by Sue Whiting

A gripping middle-grade mystery from Australian author Sue Whiting, in which a small coastal town is torn apart by more than just a Bushfire.

It is one year on from a devastating bushfire, the small coastal town of Wangaroo Bay is still reeling. Fletch’s family lost their home, and his best friend Immie lost her beloved dad, a volunteer firefighter. Throughout it all, Fletch and Immie have had each other …

This is a story that was inspired by the Australian Black Summer Bushfires in 2019/2020. This was an event that is seared in the memories of all Australians even if their towns, farms or hinterland weren't affected as much as others. In all over 3,000 houses were destroyed, there were 33 deaths and 17 millions hectares of land and forests burnt. I lost a dear colleague in these fires who had a vacation home in the country and went out to fight the fires, but was caught in the firestorm. 

Immie’s grandparents push for the Bayfire investigation to be reopened, but Fletch’s mum, dad and elder brother Cooper want to put the past behind them. When a local person, one of their own, is charged with arson, emotions flare, sides are taken, and promises – and secrets – are at stake. Great courage was shown by thousands across the nation both specialists like fire fighters, but also police, medical staff and emergency services.

The fire has already destroyed Wangaroo Bay, now its aftermath threatens to destroy Fletch and Immie and their families too.

The story is centred on the family that has lost their home, and Immie who lost her Dad. As well, underlying this is how people react to a person charged with starting some of the fires. 

8. "Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia - What We Know & Don't Know" Edited by Christopher Lloyd 

This magnificent new edition of this wonderful encyclopedia has drawn upon100 experts in fields such as space, animals, wars, mummies, Brain Science and many, many more! 

The 415 page hard bound book will no doubt find its way to every school and public library, but what a gift it would be for any child aged from 6 to 12 years.  

This browseable children's encyclopedia is as always with Britannic accurate and trustworthy with information for today's whole new audience. It explores many topics, using text, illustrations, inforgraphics, and photography.

 

In keeping with Britannica’s reputation for expert involvement, each spread includes a credit to the expert involved with its creation, and special features as well as highlighting some of the most intriguing unsolved puzzles in science, archaeology, history, and engineering.

Chapter topics include: the Universe; Earth; the Material World; Living World; Being Human; Ancient Civilizations;  Medieval to Modern; and Today's World and Beyond. The 'Modern Times' chapter looks at the arts feature varied topics (e.g. Taylor Swift, 'The Cold War', 'The Industrial Revolution', 'Nine Eleven", WW II and much more).

 

 

Above: The New York Towers are bombed.

Any person who was alive at the time of the New Your bombing attacks will never forget the site of the Towers finally falling. 

Once again, every elementary school (and home if possible) should have a copy of the Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia