Tagchildren's literature

Catherine Meatheringham and Deb Hudson – All Dogs Bark

Windy Hollow Books, Australia, 2021

This charming book is Catherine Meatheringham’s second, and follows the equally joyous My Possum Plays the Drums (Catherine Meatheringham and Max Hamilton, Windy Hollow Books, 2020).

Like its predecessor, it delights in the use of onomatopoeia, a favourite device of children’s authors for engaging both the interest and the participation of young listeners. The author has shared with us the words a number of different cultures and language groups use to denote the sound of the dog’s bark – in English Woof Woof.

Barfbie spoke to Catherine Meatheringham about All Dogs Bark
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Amelia McInerney and Adam Nickel – Who Fed Zed?

Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2021

Humour is great way to impart serious messages to readers of all ages and especially to children. This book covers current issues including food allergies and how to respond to them, and the need for the utmost care in reading all labels on foods and chemical products used in the home.

Barbie talks to Amelia McInerney about Who Fed Zed?
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Mandy Foot – Lucy and Copper

Lothian Books, Hachette, Australia, 2021

Artist-writer Mandy Foot has tackled some interesting and important issues in this beautifully presented work.

The surface story is of a little girl growing up and having to stop riding her beloved pony. The application of this to a wider context is clear – we all have to cope with change and loss and to support others as they do so. Lucy’s Pa is a gentle adult figure in the story guiding her through the difficult path to acceptance and the finding of new joy.

Mandy Foot talks to Barbie about Lucy and Copper
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Irma Gold and Susannah Crispe: Where The Heart Is

EK Books, an imprint of Exisle Publishing, Australia, 2021

This book is a perfect example of the capacity of the picture book to both enchant and inform us. Based on the true story of a remarkable relationship between a Magellanic penguin Called Din dim and Joao, the man who rescued him after an oil spill, Where The Heart Is is on first reading  a love story.

Irma Gold and Susannah Crispe talk about Where The Heart Is
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Lydia Williams and Lucinda Gifford – Goal!!!

Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2021

Lucinda Gifford is a children’s book author and illustrator based in Melbourne Australia, who also spends a lot of her time drawing in front of an audience.

Lydia Williams is an Indigenous Australian soccer player, goal keeper for the Australian Matildas and for Arsenal in the UK. She  spent her early childhood  in outback Australia, then moved to the city with her family.

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Mike Lucas and Daron Parton – Let’s Build a House

Cover and internal design: Ingrid Kwong
Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia, 2021

Mike Lucas first started writing silly poems quite a while back to amuse his children. After a time this morphed into writing picture books, many of them full of fun but others also touching on major environmental themes (Vanishing, Midnight Sun, 2018) and love and friendship (Olivia’s Voice, Midnight Sun, 2017).

New Zealand based illustrator Daron Parton has been working as an illustrator since 1990 and is also an illustration tutor at Auckland University of Technology. Daron’s books include The Ultimate Survival Guide to Monsters Under Your Bed and A Crocodile in the Family.

Barbie spoke with Mike Lucas about Let’s Build a House
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