The Little Bookroom Melbourne

 

The Little Bookroom opened its doors to the public on Friday the 13th October, 1960. Albert Ullin OAM, after studying literature and languages and working extensively in the booktrade in Australia and internationally, decided to focus his love for contemporary children’s literature and illustration into an Australian first: he would open a bookshop devoted solely to children’s books. Albert named his shop for a collection of whimsical short stories by Eleanor Farjeon who wrote on the occasion of the shop’s opening: “I am proud and happy to know you’ve chosen the title of my book for the title of your Bookshop in the City my Father first set foot in the 1850s when he emigrated to Australia as a boy of 16. The stories he told me of his arrival in Melbourne have always made it seem to be one of ‘my’ cities. Thankyou for giving me a home in it".  (Source)

On my last visit to Melbourne, I saw a social media post that books from the famous children's bookstore The Little Bookroom were heavily discounted. I couldn't take advantage of that because I had to catch my plane. Then I read that the store had closed but a new owner had been found. After some wonderful crowd funding the store is set to reopen soon. The new owner Michael Earp has asked some very famous Australian illustrators to reimagine the famous shop logo. Over twenty responded. I am sharing a selection here. The real logo will not change but I love this idea as a way to promote the store. People who have supported the crowd funding initiative will be sent one of these limited-edition cards - it is not too late.

Here is the new address: 

Little Bookroom
Woi-wurrung Country

8 Village Avenue, Brunswick East, VIC 3057

BIG NEWS

IBBY Australia are running their second Mini Masterpiece art auction later this year to raise funds so we can pay our IBBY.org international membership. 

Several of the wonderful illustrators you can see in this post who contributed to the project for The Little Bookroom have accepted our invitation too.  

You can read about our 2023 auction here. 

Our 2025 auction will run from 14 November to 28 November. 

Check out my Hans Christian Andersen post about Ann James

I am so lucky to own two pieces of art by Ann James - one from

It's Miroocool and the other from Bird and Bear

Take a look at this post to see more books by Anna Walker

Her new book is titled Between

Check out my post about The Truck Cat

IBBY Australian selected a book by Freya Blackwood for the

prestigious IBBY International Honour Book list in 2016 - Banjo and Ruby Red

and her fabulous book The Boy and the Elephant is now part of the 

very important Silent book collection which are books that are shared with

refugee children on the island of Lampedusa. 

Her book Afloat was a CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2025 Honour title.

Check out my post about South with the Seabirds which has links to 

other fabulous books illustrated by Jess McGeachin

Here is my 2022 Meet the Illustrator post featuring Tohby Riddle. 

He has a fun new book called Cynthia is a wild dog.

My favourite book is Nobody Owns the Moon

Here is my Meet the Illustrator post for Jess Racklyeft

Here is her web page.

Be Careful, Xiao Xin! by Sher Rill Ng was the winner of the  IBBY Ena Noel Award

Sara Acton is the illustrator who created the fabulous cover for the award winning book Runt.

I was lucky enough to submit the winning bid for the picture of Runt at our 2023 IBBY Mini Masterpiece

art auction. Here is my previous post Meet the Illustrator Sara Acton. 

Robert Ingpen won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen award in 1986.

You can use the label 'Robert Ingpen' to see the books I have shared here on this blog. 

The most recent one is Who is the World for?

You can see books illustrated by Matt Shanks here.

Read more about Gabrielle Wang here.

A new and important book by Andrew Joyner written with Beth Ferry is

Roar for Reading

Meet the Illustrator Gabriel Evans

His newest book is Scotty and the Scotties

 

Illustrators who contributed to the Little Bookroom project: (Instagram link)

Allison Colpoys

Andrew Joyner @andypjoyner

Ann James @annjamesillustrator

Anna McGregor @annamcgregorau

Anna Walker @_annawalker_

Ben Wood @benwoodillustrator

Briony Stewart @briony_stewart

Daniel Gray-Barnett @dgraybarnett

Danny Snell @dannydsnell

Evie Barrow @evie_barrow

Freya Blackwood @freyablackwood

Gabriel Evans @gabrielevansart

Gabrielle Wang @gabriellewangbooks

Graeme Base @graemebase

Jess McGeachin @jessmcgeachin

Jess Racklyeft @jessesmess

Lucinda Gifford @lucindagifford

Matt Shanks @matt_shanks

Renée Treml @reneetreml

Robert Ingpen

Sara Acton @saraacton_illustration

Sher Rill Ng @sherrill.ng

Sophie Beer @sophiebeerdraws

Tohby Riddle @tohbyriddle

A Life Song by Jane Godwin illustrated by Anna Walker

This book is a gentle ode to growing up and to the emotional roller coaster of life. There are lines in this book that made me gasp. There are joyful moments and deeply sad life experiences all told so gently.

Here are some text examples:

"You get taller still, reach out with your song,

Sing it to your brother, he might hum along

At the end of each year, your grandparents as

What did you eat? You're growing so fast."

"Days pass by, your song moves on

Someone gets sick, might even be gone

You notice the clouds, you look up at the sky

This may be the first time you see grown-ups cry

And your song adds a chorus and verse."

Walker’s vivid, watercolour-style illustrations are poignant and impactful alongside Godwin’s compelling prose. Together, this duo prompts excitement for the adventure of life ahead for young readers. ... this is a story for everyone; all kinds of readers will relish in the metaphorical meaning of song. This belongs on every kid’s bookshelf.  Better Reading

See inside this book here. And take a look at this terrific review from The Bottom Shelf. 

Jane Godwin and Anna Walker have collaborated on so many wonderful books. They are a perfect partnership.

A word of caution - you will need to practice reading A Life Song aloud before you share it with a group of children. Each rhyming verse ends with a single line which you need to read slowly allowing yourself to pause before the page turn. I wonder if someone will put the words of this book to music. I'm also keen (and this is unusual for me) to see how The Storybox Library present this book. 

This book could be a gift to celebrate the arrival of a new baby or perhaps as a graduation gift. 

I am certain this book will feature in the 2024 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards.

Here are some companion books:

Don't Forget

Now we're Together

Dreams for our Daughters

When you're older

A Feather on a Wing

Don't Forget by Jane Godwin illustrated by Anna Walker

"Don't forget that life is long, you're not alone, 

that you are strong and don't forget that you belong."

Let's begin with the cover - the smiling faces of the children are very inviting as is the fact that they have been adventurous enough to climb a tree. One child is showing her friend a tiny caterpillar perhaps they are remembering the famous book by Eric Carle. It is a sunny autumn day and if you stretch out the cover the illustration spread right across from front to back. 

Some questions from the cover:

• Who are these children?
• What do they need to remember?
• Will we meet these children in the story?
• Do you think this book will have a message? Can you guess the author's intention from the title?

Now open the book and pause over the end papers. I like the subtle change between the front and back endpapers with the addition of the kite which has travelled on from the happy community event seen on the previous pages. 

Turn the page again and you will see a small child about to pick a dandelion flower while her dog runs on happily ahead. On the final page you will see the little girl has picked the dandelion and she is blowing the seeds onto the wind. 

The book begins with some practical advice - "Don't forget to make your bed and wear socks that fit your feet." Over the following pages the advice becomes more general and more philosophical - "Don't forget to try new things, to smell the flowers, watch the ocean and listen to the music of the trees."

The repeated motif of ‘Don’t forget’ works so well in this philosophical tale and I like the way the advice moves from practical (clean your teeth) to more abstract/mindful suggestions. 

This book would be a beautiful gift for a new baby but it is also a book you could share with older children as a way to discuss book design, placement of illustrations, pace, page turns and the way Anna Walker interprets the text by Jane Godwin of extending her words in surprising ways. Anna and Jane have made eight books together. 

This book is a worthy addition to the already bulging shelves of mindfulness books that have been appearing recently. The second last page of this book is such a joyful celebration of community and brings together all the gentle advice shared through each page as we see the children we met earlier smiling, playing, sharing, lending a hand and trying new things.  There are some very tender moments in the illustrations which beautifully extend the text well beyond the word such as ‘don’t forget to smile’ where we see the little girl helping her friend with his broken model. The variety of children Anna has included also seem very natural. It is good to notice the way scenes move from inside to outside.

Anna Walker creates love, life and community on the pages through her illustrations. She brings a whole neighbourhood alive and gives each character hopes and dreams and history. The story of their lives plays out on the pages as the kids and their families navigate their worlds, connect and share, and remember not to forget the things that matter. Kids' Book Review

Don't Forget is a CBCA Picture Book of the Year Notable title for 2022.

Take a look at my post about window books which I created as a response to our Covid lock downs. Companion books to read alongside Don't Forget:

Silence

The Quiet Book

A Song full of Sky

Extraordinary

A New Green Day

Happy

Go Go and the Silver Shoes by Jane Godwin illustrated by Anna Walker

When you have new clothes it is fun to wear them straight away and to wear them everywhere. Go Go has to put up with hand-me-down clothes but she is allowed to have new shoes. She goes shopping with her mum and sees the perfect pair of silver sneakers. "Mum bought them a bit big, so they would last longer."

Go Go wears the shoes everywhere including on an adventure to the creek with her brothers. Astute readers will have already guessed there will be a disaster. One shoe is lost. Go Go says she doesn't care and she continues to wear her one silver shoe on her left foot and a different shoe on her right foot. She bravely copes with the teasing of her classmates. Then a new girl arrives in her class. Ellie is fascinated by Go Go's silver shoe. After school the pair head over to Ellie's house and, well as you have guessed the pair of shoes are back together but what will happen now?

Here are a set of excellent teaching notes. Reading these I discovered Jane Godwin was inspired to write this book because

• she saw a lone shoe abandoned near a creek
• she heard the name Go Go (short for Marigold) and loved it
• she is interest in the idea of fate

There are so many great Picture books for your youngest students. written about shoes. My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything has an excellent collection on her blog. Make sure you include some fairy tales too.

Go Go and the Silver shoes is a 2019 CBCA Notable book (Picture book of Year). With an older class I would pair Go Go and the Silver shoes with Four feet Two Sandals and Those Shoes. There are some other text ideas here.

Looking for ideas connected with this book I discovered this wonderful site for shoe fans - The Virtual Shoe Museum. You can select material, type, colour, designer and more and see a huge array of wild shoes. Go Go and the Silver Shoes could be an inspiration for an art activity designing and decorating shoes.

From its sparkly cover to its stunning endpages, this is a unique story that had me enthralled to the end. Barbara Braxton The Bottom Shelf

What do you wish for by Jane Godwin illustrated by Anna Walker

WISH

I wish I could write this heading in gold just as it appears on the cover and title page of 

What do you wish for?

Here are a few wishes (from the end papers see below):

I wish we could have pink lemonade

I wish I could drive a bus

I wish I would get taller

I wish my teddy would talk to me

I wish I was able to fly

I wish I had sparkly shoes

I wish stories could come true

The children in this special Christmas book have some magical rituals.

"Every year there was a Christmas party in the park at the end of the street.  Ruby and her friends put on a show, with songs and costumes and real curtains.  But first, each of them wrote a Christmas wish to hang on the tree."

Everyone writes their wishes for the tree except for Ruby.  Her wish seems too big to fit on a little piece of paper. Ruby thinks about all the things that make Christmas special.  My favourite is when she mentions the smell of baking.  This is a strong memory for me, especially of mince pies and special Christmas biscuits with silver decorations.  We do discover Ruby's wish but you need to read this book because it really is too big to explain here.

This is a truly Australian Christmas book - we see the family enjoying an ocean swim on Christmas day and lunch outside in the sunshine.

I am really looking forward to sharing this magical book with our youngest students over the next few weeks as we lead up to Christmas.  You can see a few of my other seasonal favourites below all of which can be found in this blog and a review of Peggy which was also illustrated by the talented Anna Walker.

Peggy by Anna Walker

Peggy is another title which has been short listed for the CBCA Awards.

At its heart this book has a simple message "One good turn deserves another."

Take a close look at the front and back end papers before you begin to read this book.  You will see a train travelling from the country to the city - it appears empty at the beginning but there is a surprising passenger at the end.

This is a book for a pre-school aged child.  It will be interesting to see how my Kindergarten students react. I do like the way the visual images go way beyond the written word.  For example when we read  "every day, rain or shine, Peggy ate breakfast, played in her yard and watched the pigeons."  In a series of small comic strip style pictures you will see Peggy eating (five panels), playing with her food bowl, sitting on fence in all weathers including the snow, trampolining, using a sun flower as a spring and gazing at the pigeons overhead.  Similarly the little images later in the book that show all her experiences in the city contain lots of visual jokes.
'
This book has a neat structure of life in the country, a city adventure, the journey home and a new life back in the country that will never be quite the same.  Peggy's life has certainly been enriched by her recent experiences.

There have been other books with similar themes of giving and receiving such as Jennie's hat by Ezra Jack Keats is one I thought of immediately.  We will also look at Queenie the Bantam by Bob Graham which is a about a chicken who makes a journey along with Daisy by Brian Wildsmith which is about a cow who heads off to the city.  This book also made me think about the classic story of Town Mouse and Country Mouse and we have a terrific little edition of this illustrated by Louise Pfanner.  Here is the web site for Anna Walker. Here is a review with teaching ideas.



Peggy by Anna Walker - book trailer from Anna Walker on Vimeo.