THE TEACHER'S LIBRARY

It's no secret that Emily Rodda is a fantastic Australian author, but honestly I think this is my favourite thing I've read that she's written! When my husband asked "What's that book about?", I had to reply with "...A book". It's a story within a story, both equally compelling and beautifully told. Colin is on a school trip when the bus breaks down (a teachers worst nightmare! In fact.... that could be another name for this book!). He and three other students offer to stay b

Continuing my read through of the CBCA Shortlist 2019 for Young Readers. Check out my previous reviews for The Peacock Detectives and Black Cockatoo. This one was on back-order for a few weeks, but I was excited because it also won the NSW Premier's Literary Award 2019. It's also written in free-verse poetry which I haven't seen in a book for this age level before. Leave Taking follows Toby's journey of saying goodbye to the family farm after the death of his little sister, L

Continuing my plan to read all six of the CBCA 2019 Shortlist books for Younger Readers - I'm already doing better than last year! I picked this one up assuming it was yet another young female detective novel. Don't get me wrong, I've loved plenty of those recently, but I was pleased to discover this was so much more! It reminded me of Boy Underwater by Adam Baron in the way it handled complex issues in a way that was accessible for younger readers. Cassie lives with her sist

My plan this time last year was to review all six of the CBCA Shortlisted books in the Younger Readers category. I ended up reading one and a half.... but the one I finished was The Elephant and it was completely fantastic! So I'm trying again this year! The first book I picked up from the pile was Black Cockatoo. At under 60 pages, this seemed like an easy one to fit in during the school term (and in the middle of reports no less!). Unfortunately, however, there was somethin