The Surface Trials by HM Waugh

Set on a fascinating yet hostile alien planet, this pulse-pounding, high-stakes, elimination-quest novel will have readers on the edge of their seats. HM Waugh

Groups of kids who live on different planets are sent to complete a trial as a way to enter the Starquest Academy, an exclusive institution dedicated to training future Planeticians. The title uses the word surface because on one level the surface of this planet is terrifying and dangerous beyond almost your wildest imagination. The danger is mostly from enormous 'man eating' plants. Yes I did say plants! And there are also huge man-eating insects too. If you fall into one of the plants it immediately starts to digest you. The word surface, though, also refers to the way these kids judge each other. How much each of the kids in the group we are following are prepared to reveal to the others - to go under the surface. One kid is not who he seems, one kid has dangerous extra powers, and one kid is utterly selfish and out to win at all costs including jeopardising the lives his own team mates.

"During the trials, candidates will be judged on their ... courage, teamwork, innovation and exploration. Assessors will be looking for resilience, assertiveness, empathy and creativity."

Adding to all this pressure the kids are being watched and filmed and this is broadcast on televisions all over the universe. Every kid in this team has watched all the previous trials. They know the rules, they know how easily they can be eliminated. Every moment, every interaction has to be carefully enacted because they are being watched. And this is a race because they have to reach the end in just three days so they can be picked up and return to safety. Survival means looking out for yourself but one of the rules is about teamwork and co-operation. What should they do if helping the team stands in the way of winning?

Bookseller blurb: 

Three days, three clues, one hungry planet.

Constant surveillance.

The entire universe watching every move.

Some will shatter. Most will fail.

A select few will make it through, instant celebrities.

Welcome to the Surface Trials. The only way into Starquest Academy. For Amethyst Antares, Starquest Academy offers an escape from the prison of her home planet. For Rian - the uber-famous and expertly-disguised heir to the universe's two greatest dynasties - failure to get into his own academy is not an option. And Deneb? Well, he's an outlier... But this year not everything goes to plan, and Amethyst and her squad find themselves playing for more than Starquest admission. To survive, they'll have to outsmart carnivorous creatures, share dangerous secrets, maintain trust and embrace the most shocking truth in the galaxy. Set on a fascinating yet hostile alien planet, this pulse-pounding, high-stakes, elimination-quest novel will have readers on the edge of their seats.

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"Panic flooded him, and he fought it back, knowing they were already being watched. Wherever they were about to land, he had to believe he had the skills to make it."

"Daneb shot out, slime oozing all around him, the goo dotted with carcasses of breeders and viperwasps and other unrecogisable things. "

"There were no such things as alien ruins. Through all the worlds that humans had spread to, no hint of other human-level intelligence had ever been found. That's what gave humanity the right to take over all these new planets."

I think lovers of science fiction will enjoy this book, and as someone who does not read a lot of science fiction, it’s a really nice introduction to the genre. Not too heavy or technical at all. It gets things in a nice balance to appeal to all readers who like adventure stories or who want to try science fiction without being overwhelmed by too much of the technical aspects of the genre. And the way it ended made me wonder if it is part of a duology or series, so it will be interesting to see if it is. But it also works as a standalone, and this is what makes it a great book to read when trying out this genre, and it fits in nicely with other books HM Waugh has written over the years as well. The Book Muse

I was interested to read this book because it was a 2026 CBCA Younger Readers Notable title but I am going to say right up front this is book will much better suit an older reader aged 12+. Reviewers consistently compare this book to other YA titles - The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. 

Here are the CBCA Judges' comments:

I seem to have read quite a few Science Fiction books recently. Here are a few:

The Touchstone

The Experiment

We do not welcome our ten-year-old overlord

I previously read this book by HM Waugh - her debut.

The Lost Stone of Skycity

HM Waugh is a children’s author, educator and environmental scientist with a long-term love of wild places and outdoor adventures. She has been kidnapped twice, handled dragons for a job, and dreams of one day blasting into space. Her books mix humour, danger and friendship with a dash of science and imagination.

Koala Lou by Mem Fox illustrated by Pamela Lofts

"There was once a baby koala so soft and round that all her saw her loved her. 

Her name was Koala Lou."

One hundred times a day her mother would say 'Koala Lou, I DO love you!'. But over time more babies arrive and Koala Lou's mother becomes very busy. She no longer stops to say 'I do love you' although of course she did. Koala Lou wants her mother to hug her again so she decides to enter the Bush Olympics. If she can win then her mother will surely say 'I do love you' once again. 

"It was Koala Klaws who went first. Her climb was a record-breaking twenty-two metres in seventy seconds flat. The spectators whistled and cheered and wildly waved their holiday hats."

Now it is time for Koala Lou. 

"But she wasn't fast enough. In spite of all her training and all her hoping, it was Koala Klaws who won the gum-tree climbing. Koala Lou came second. Koala Lou went off and hid. She heard the shouts of the Bush Olympics and cried her heart out."

I think you will be able to guess how this story ends - with those all important words - Koala Lou I DO love you. Yes - that is the illustration on the cover - it comes right at the end of the book.

This book is a perfect ambassador for Australia - on this page you can see our Flannel Flowers and Kangaroo Paws (flowers) and animals in the story include the platypus, emu and in the illustrations you will spy a quoll, bilby, numbat, possum, Tasmania devil, and a galah.

Bookseller blurb: There was once a baby koala, so soft and round that all who saw her loved her. Her name was Koala Lou. Koala Lou is the first born in a large family. She feels sad because her mother seems too busy to pay her any attention. Perhaps if she wins the tree-climbing at the Bush Olympics her mother might notice her again . . . Koala Lou starts her training right away!

Mem Fox talks about writing this book here. She says: A grueling two years and 49 drafts later, the final 585 words of Koala Lou were published ...  You can see a full set of books by Mem Fox here. 

There are quite a few videos of Koala Lou - if you need to 'read' the book this way try to find one with an Australian voice. The toy of Koala Lou is no longer available.

A few days ago, I listed some books you could share with your child or in your library about Australia perhaps for Australia Day (26th January) and one I mentioned was Koala Lou. This means I discovered I had not talked about this book which is such fun to read aloud.

In 2023 Koala Lou (1988) was 35 years old and a special anniversary edition was released:

And here is the US cover:

Pamela Lofts (1949-2012) is also famous for Wombat Stew, Hunwick's Egg and Sail Away: The Ballad of Skip and Nell.

Blurb: The dingo pair set out to sea - their hearts were beating fast. Their boat was but a redgum log with neither sail nor mast. Follow intrepid adventurers, Skip and Nell, as they travel round Australia 

on their way to that boat race way out west.

Patina by Jason Reynolds

"I probably should introduce myself. My name is Patina Jones. And I ain't no junk. I also ain't no hair flipper. And most of the girls at Chester Academy are hair flippers who be looking at me like my mum some kind of junk maker. But ain't none of them got the guts to come out of their mouths with no craziness. They just turn and flip their dingy ponytails toward me like I care. Tuh. I guess it's no secret that it's never easy being the new girl."

Publisher blurb: Patina, or Patty, runs like a flash. She runs for many reasons—to escape the taunts from the kids at the fancy-schmancy new school she’s been sent to ever since she and her little sister had to stop living with their mom. She runs from the reason WHY she’s not able to live with her “real” mom anymore: her mom has The Sugar, and Patty is terrified that the disease that took her mom’s legs will one day take her away forever. And so Patty’s also running for her mom, who can’t. But can you ever really run away from any of this? As the stress builds, it’s building up a pretty bad attitude as well. Coach won’t tolerate bad attitude. No day, no way. And now he wants Patty to run relay…where you have to depend on other people? How’s she going to do THAT?

Here are some text quotes:

"And just so you don't get the wrong idea, it' not like my mum just wanted her legs cut off. She got the sugar. Well, it's really a disease called diabetes, but she calls it the sugar, so I call it the sugar, plus I like that better than diabetes because diabetes got the word 'die' in it, and I hate that word."

"Here at Chester, as long as your face is selfie-ready 100 percent of the time, you got a chance. A chance at what? Well, I don't really know. All I know it, I ain't got one."

"My uncle's voice, when he's speaking like a regular human being, is deep, but not in a scary way. He has one of those voices that you wish you could touch, wrap yourself up like a blanket. A voice like a dad. And I guess ... like an uncle. A favourite uncle."

'It's like the less numbers in your bank account, the more numbers in your address."

It is the characters from these stories that will linger with you. I love Patty's relationship with her little sister Maddy. I love the quiet restrained wisdom of Coach. Patty is so lucky to live with her aunt and uncle. And Patty herself has a wonderful level of maturity especially when it comes to dealing with her school relationships and the girls in her project group. Studying Freda Kahlo seemed like the perfect topic for Patty and I have no idea how he does it, but Jason Reynolds completely convinced me that he truly understands girls, African American girls and girls on the cusp of the teenage years. At times I felt as though I was also running with the track team and completing in the relay races passing those slippery batons. 

Writing in Patty’s voice, Reynolds creates a fully dimensional, conflicted character whose hard-earned pragmatism helps her bring her relay team together, negotiate the social dynamics of the all-girls, mostly white private school she attends, and make the best of her unusual family lot. When this last is threatened, readers will ache right alongside her. Kirkus Star review

Patina is the second book in the Track series. I previously talked about Ghost. 

If you only add one series to your school library this term make it these. The new title is Coach. I love the covers - how terrific these will look on your shelves:

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—

a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. 

They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, 

but to themselves. Simon and Schuster

Jason Reynolds's writing doesn’t hit a single bad note here. The dialogue is crisp, the characters are believable, and it's a beautiful, flawless reading experience that will hook reluctant readers (especially those into sports). Book Trust

This novel tackles everything from parental illness and disability, the loss of a parent, and adjusting to a new socioeconomic condition. I would highly recommend this novel to sports-loving and non-sports-loving kids and adults alike. Reading Middle Grade

The publisher page has a story extract and discussion questions. 

There were parts of this book which reminded me of this one:

So. B. It

Best Australian Picture book part two

Sorry to sound negative but as I predicted there are books on this list that do not meet the criteria set by The Guardian Australia. There are fifty books on the list (you can see 48 of them here) - I do wonder how many people submitted titles and were they able to submit more than one? There are only two books** on this list that I have never seen. I also wonder if people were able to vote more than once? Who decided if the book was for aged 0-6 and could be read 'in a few minutes'? Why are there no books by Margaret Wild on this list except Fox which is for ages 10+? I am also concerned about the idea of a WINNER! Voting starts after 27th January, 2026.

Here are the criteria:

• Primarily intended to be read aloud to children who don’t yet read independently.
• Able to be read in a few minutes – a child’s picture book, rather than a graphic novel or illustrated chapter book.
• Written by an Australian (or someone we’ve claimed).
• Published in Australia.

Before reading any further please take a look at my previous post 

which is filled with questions and concerns.

In my previous post I listed the books that I thought should be included by The Guardian Australia - I am especially sad that Duck, Apple, Egg by Glenda Millard; Puffling by Margaret Wild; Little Humpty by Margaret Wild; Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild; Rudie Nudie by Emma Quay; Sebastian Lives in a Hat by Thelma Catterwell; I'm a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian illustrated by Ann James; and Noni the Pony by Alison Lester.

The next step is to vote for your favourite from this list.

• 11 Words for Love by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Maxine Beneba Clarke
• All the Ways to Be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
• Animalia by Graeme Base
• Another Book About Bears by Laura and Philip Bunting
• Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
• Be Careful, Xiao Xin! by Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng
• Chip by Kylie Howarth
• Come Over to My House by Eliza Hull, Sally Rippin and Daniel Gray-Barnett
• Day Break by Amy McQuire and Matt Chun
• Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
• Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles and Rod Clement
• Emergency! Emergency! Vehicles to the Rescue by Rhiân Williams and Tom Jellett
• Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks
• Grace’s Mystery Seed by Juliet M Sampson and Karen Erasmus**
• Greetings from Sandy Beach by Bob Graham
• Grug by Ted Prior
• Imagine by Alison Lester
• Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe and Hannah Sommerville
• John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks
• Kissed by the Moon by Alison Lester
• Magic Beach by Alison Lester
• Mopoke by Philip Bunting
• Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs
• Mr McGee by Pamela Allen
• My Country by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan
• My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart
• Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey
• Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
• Room on Our Rock by Kate and Jol Temple and Terri Rose Baynton
• Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten by Bob Graham
• Sharon Keep your Hair on by Gillian Rubinstein and David Mackintosh
• Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury (UK Illustrator)
• The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks
• The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base
• The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
• The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke and Van Thanh Rudd
• The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan
• The Rainbow Serpent by Dick Roughsey
• The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland
• There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards and Deborah Niland
• This Small Blue Dot by Zeno Sworder
• Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
• Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
• Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker
• Whistle Up the Chimney by Nan Hunt and Craig Smith
• White Sunday by Litea Fuata and Myo Yim**
• Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
• Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
• Window by Jeannie Baker
• Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan and Pamela Lofts

Books for older readers (these do not meet the criteria above)

Yes, they are splendid books but none of these should be included 

in this project by The Guardian Australia

Read my review here. Take special note of the labels I assigned my post.

Here is my blog post about this classic Australia picture book.

This is a book for readers aged 8+

Here is an essay by Shaun Tan where he talks about the way picture books work

Young readers will miss so much if you rush and read either of these in 'just a few minutes'

Also many of the visual concepts are very sophisticated.

Read my blog post.

This story is an allegory about identity and belonging and it is rich text to explore visual literacy

This is about the colonisation of Australia - it is not a book about cute rabbits.

Take a look at the NCACL details in their Picture Books for Older Readers database.

Here is my blog post

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla

I thought my summer would be safe. 

That I’d left all my troubles behind in Texas. 

But maybe troubles trail along with me like sparks along a fuse. 

Maybe I’m the trouble. 

Bad luck all the way around. 

What if there is no safe place for me to be?

Maudie spends term time with her mum and dangerous step father and holidays with her dad in a different part of the US. Her time with her dad is joyous and calm but just as she arrives a wildfire breaks out, her dad's cabin is burnt to the ground and so Maudie and her dad are forced to move to a caravan part at the beach in California. The park is in the area where her dad grew up. Dad finds it hard to get work which means money and food are scarce but Maudie discovers she can surf. At the end of summer this town hosts a famous surfing competition and one category is beginner. The prize money would certainly help Maudie's dad - so now she has a goal - to win!

Maudie has a very dysfunctional mother (and as a said a dangerous and abusive step father). Her mother is all about fame and appearances. She tolerates her but it is so clear that she wishes Maudie could change into the perfect daughter she imagined. Her mother fancies herself as a star of social media. 

I remember once Mom told her viewers, “Imagine if your only child refuses to give you so much as a hug,” which was a lie. Mrs. Jills, my therapist, trained me up to hug. So I’ll do it. But Mom told the camera: “Having a child like Maudie? I confess, while I love her dearly, sometimes it feels like God is testing me.” Well, I sort of think maybe God is testing me, too. The year I was ten, Mom put lots of blush on my pale cheeks so I would look healthier and made me come on her show with her. She said to the camera, “Maudie’s growing up so much! We hardly ever have to deal with her meltdowns or tantrums anymore. She’s so much more under control!” Then she grabbed my hand and swung it up, as if we’d won a race. Which was weird.

Obeying Mom was my job. Obeying Mom. Obeying Mrs. Jills. And now, I guess, obeying Ron.

A perceptive, poignant tale of self-discovery. Kirkus

I like the use of the word perceptive in the Kirkus review final sentence. Maudie does have autism but she is also deeply self-aware and this helps the reader gain a deeper insight into her reactions to other people and to the changes in her life. One thing you will quickly notice is that the autism makes Maudie hyper aware of smells and sounds. 

The Australian distributor has the first five chapters of The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn on their webpage. One of the great features of this book for readers is that while there are 72 chapters each chapter is only a page or two. This book is also a hybrid with verse novel sections interspersed between the narrative pages.

Here are a few text quotes:

I hate it when Mom calls Dad a lump of clay. If that’s what he is, then Mom’s a beautiful shard of glass: so pretty, you forget about her sharp, jagged edges. I’d rather be clay, like Dad. If you’re clay, you can mold and adapt to the new. And that’s what I always do. Mold myself into this or that kind of kid. Adapt. For teachers, for Mom, for Mrs. Jills, for Ron, for the other kids at school . . . I try hard to be the right kind of Maudie for each situation, for each thing. I’ve always felt sort of ashamed of this, but maybe it’s also a skill. To remold, instead of shatter. So yeah, there may be different versions of me for different times and different people, but they’re all made from the same clay of me.

I remember Ron swearing and swooping me off the step. Don’t remember much of anything else. Just a sort of tornado of rage. His hands grabbing my arms. His blood-red face. And I remember feeling like I deserved it all. That I was a dirty, broken kid. Not a nice, capable, normal kid. That’s why my mom had to hide herself, close herself off from me. She was ashamed of me. She had given up on me. That’s why we needed Ron, I guess. Because I was too much trouble for Mom to handle alone. I was too big a disappointment.

About why Dad and I understand each other so well and have a special bond. He hyperfocuses on woodworking, I hyperfocus on reading or writing or surfing. Dad gets overwhelmed sometimes, and so do I. He has a scatter-brain about some things, and a hyperorderly brain about other things. So do I. And we both are deeply uncomfortable around new people and new situations. . . . My insides are all squiggly with strange new feelings. I’m a little irritated, to tell the truth. I wish Dad had talked more to me about this before now. It would have helped me to feel less alone.

If I still worked in my former school library I would be very keen to share this book with Grade Six students because that school was located beside the beach and many of the students were keen surfers. In The Fire, the water and Maudie McGinn, Maudie learns to surf, displays some talent, and she is mentored by a surfing champion. Every surfing scene felt so authentic.

Before I know it, I’ve paddled out past the break, my arms pumping like machines. It’s choppy out here, but I turn and watch the horizon, watch the sets, and I find my waves. I pounce on everything I can possibly ride. I feel supercharged, like I’m in some kind of high-energy trance. I fall a few times, but I definitely get in a few good runs, too.

Awards:

• American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award
• Children’s Literature Council of SoCal Juvenile Fiction Award
• Publishers Weekly Starred Review
• NY Public Library Best Book
• Bank Street Best Book (starred for outstanding merit)
• Cybils Awards Finalist
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award Finalist
• Alabama Yellowhammer Award – Honor Book
• 2024 Dog-Eared Book Award Winner
• “Reading MG” Top 15 Books of the Year
• Imagination Soup Best Books of the Year
• Mr. Colby Sharp’s Best Books of the Year

Bookseller blurb: Maudie always looks forward to the summers she spends in California with her dad. But this year, she must keep a troubling secret about her home life—one that her mom warned her never to tell. Maudie wants to confide in her dad about her stepdad's anger, but she’s scared. When a wildfire strikes, Maudie and her dad are forced to evacuate to the beach town where he grew up. It’s another turbulent wave of change. But now, every morning, from their camper, Maudie can see surfers bobbing in the water. She desperately wants to learn, but could she ever be brave enough? As Maudie navigates unfamiliar waters, she makes friends—and her autism no longer feels like the big deal her mom makes it out to be. But her secret is still threatening to sink her. Will Maudie find the strength to reveal the awful truth—and maybe even find some way to stay with Dad—before summer is over?

Read this detailed review from Ms Yingling. And here is an audio interview with the author.

Here is a quote from the interview:

I wanted it to be a book of hope and overcoming and realizing how important it is to speak out. And I guess maybe that’s partly from my own. I got diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult, and it took me a while to be able to speak out about it myself. And once I was able to talk about all the failures and the struggles of my past and what brought me to this point and all that stuff, it’s just so healthy to be able to talk about that, just to be open.

Given the physical and verbal abuse Ron has apparently dished out regularly, being trashed by waves is kid’s play for Maudie. It sure feels like Maudie has found her passion, and it is easy to imagine her and Dad together full-time, living in this great coastside town. Could that ever really happen? You can’t help wondering and hoping for a big break for Maudie and Dad (and a few broken bones for Ron). A Book and a hug

I picked up The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn because I previously really enjoyed this book by Sally J Pla:

The Someday Birds

Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr

An exceptionally lovely and uplifting exploration of change, memories, 

and relationships. Kirkus Star review

Out of the blue his parents sit him down and tell him they are getting a divorce and mum is moving out tomorrow. James had no idea this was coming. His life and whole world are thrown into disarray. Something is going to happen though because each chapter is in the form of a countdown (you knew this from the title) to "launch" but a launch of what. Interspersed between the countdown chapters James shares his precious memories of all the good times with his mum and dad. He shares six wonderful family events such as climbing a steep hill together to see the view; dinner at a revolving restaurant; going to the movies and the day it rained so much that they all stayed together and built a blanket fort in the lounge room.

"Time and place and circumstances are complicated. The future is too huge and unknowable. Even the present is overwhelming. It would be much easier to go back to one moment in the past and exist in that forever. Safe and predicable and perfect."

Memories, though, are slippery things. James has a new friend named Yan. She asks him to recall the pattern on the little tickets that go with cakes from the famous Birthday cake book. James made these tickets and they are used as part of a school fund-raiser where parents select one cake from the book to make for a display and a competition - the prize is a gold apron! James is sure the pattern on these little cards is of cupcakes but when he looks at the cards again he discovers it is a pattern of cake slices. His memory was faulty.

Yan is a very clever girl. She has a keen interest in learning and also in old technology. I laughed over some of the titles of the books she borrows from the discarded section of her school library. Yan calls this the Book Departure Lounge. Some of these titles even seemed familiar to me because in the 1980s I worked for a company that sold computer reference books. Here are a few Program Catalogue for your TRS-80 Colour computer, 1980; Practical interfacing projects with Commodore computers, 1985; Start programming with the electron, 1983; and The Book of Atari Software, 1983.  Yan also talks about the way computers used to come in colours - I remembered that when she explained:

"Did you know computers used to come in flavours? ... Blueberry, grape, tangerine, lime and of course strawberry."

I think Yan is my favourite character in this book. It made me laugh to read that she loves the typewriter cake. It is interesting the way her manner changes, though, when she is with her mum - this simple plot point could make an excellent class discussion topic. (The same thing happens to James' mum when she speaks Chinese). Yan is also a wise girl. Here are a few of her words of advice:

"Life is about choices. Once you figure that out, things get easier."

"You know I was saying the mind is a mysterious machine."

"Sometimes you need fresh eyes. A different point of view."

"As I have said numerous times, James, knowledge is interconnected ... Just like life and the world and the universe and the metaverse and you and me."

"I've also learnt it pays not to be predictable."

"... the biggest poverty in the future will be time poverty."

I need to make a special mention of the wonderful school secretary - Mrs Tagliatelle. I would love to know more about her. 

"Mrs Tagliatelle always has her lunch at twenty minutes after twelve. She puts the phone straight to voicemail and lets me follow her to the staffroom, where we sit down at the corner table. I always have a sandwich and Mrs Tagliatelle always has leftovers from last night's dinner. She brings in extra so that I can taste her home cooking."

I loved all the references to this classic book birthday cake book. I have never owned a copy but I have certainly enjoyed perusing it when visiting friends. I well remember a teacher making the koala cake for a colleague and for myself I really wanted the castle with the ice cream cone towers. Another friend recently sent me a photo of the train cake she made decades ago side by side with the one made last year by her daughter. In this story they talk about the rocket cake (but I couldn't find a photo); the rabbit cake; and the wonderful oven/stove top cake.

I wrote this story for my son, a child of divorce and for all the children out there going through a similar situation. And of course I put in lots of nice cheery things like David Bowie and strawberry mochi and The Women’s Weekly Children’s birthday Cake book! Shirley Marr

In the US this book has a different cover and I read one reviewer who mentioned a QR code at the back of the book so you can find out more about the cakes - sadly this was not part of the Australian copy I borrowed from a school library. 

When you share Countdown to Yesterday with your class of upper primary students you will want to include the David Bowie song Major Tom. Here is one possible video version. And if you are reading this book at home you will most certainly want to make one of dad's deconstructed desserts - they sound wonderful. Here are the Scholastic teachers notes for Countdown to Yesterday. 

I seem to have saved one of the best books from the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Notable titles for last. The storytelling and plot structure in this book has blown me away. At about page 250 of the 276 pages I wondered if everyone/anyone else had stood on their own mountain of books and wanted to shout out about Countdown to Yesterday so without planning to read the reviews I Googled the title and the words 'book review' and YES this book has travelled far and wide to huge acclaim including a Kirkus Star review and a glowing one in the School Library Journal and also one from the UK reviewers at LoveReading4Kids. Surely this book will be included on the 2025 short list which will be announced later this month. 

Here is a quote from the CBCA 2025 Younger Readers Notable titles judges' comments:

A stunning novel that will resonate with anyone navigating change in their life.

At once charmingly quirky and emotionally authentic, Countdown to Yesterday is, above all, a lovely ode to family love, friendship, and finding your way through unsettling change. LoveReading4Kids

The depths of emotion within the main characters, combined with a strong nostalgic feel, create a work that will stay with readers. VERDICT A moving story with a pleasing twist ending. School Library Journal

It does deal with some difficult issues for children going through a divorce but does so in a carefully considered way, exploring the feelings of all concerns and weaving this within a well-crafted narrative. Just Imagine

This is a well-crafted story in which reality and the imagination are cleverly intertwined to result in a clear message – enjoy and appreciate the present. Books for Keeps

It is a rapid page-turner that subtly reveals the necessity of memories, but also how they are seldom exactly as they are recalled, therefore can’t be trusted. Kids' Book Review

Shirley Marr is another wonderful writer with an amazing talent who deserves to be celebrated and awarded heaps of prizes. I loved her previous books:

A Glasshouse of stars

Glass house of stars was the winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 2022 and the WA Premiers Book Awards for Writing for Children 2021. It was also nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2022 and shortlisted for the 

Queensland Literary Award - Children’s Book 2022

All Four Quarters of the Moon

All Four Quarters of the Moon was awarded a CBCA Notable Book in 2023

I am so excited to see this new picture book coming in May, by Shirley Marr published by Walker Books Australia and illustrated by Michael Speechley.

Two Turtles by Kiah Thomas illustrated by Jack A Minton

Terrence and Frank are serious rivals. Everything is a competition. If you have siblings you might relate to this. 

"Who has the shiniest shell ... Who can walk the slowest ... Who is the best at pretending to be a shark?"

Then Frank falls off the cliff or perhaps he rolls off - is this an accident? - he cannot bear to lose so he turns this mishap into a competition too and calls out to Terrence 'Bet I can beat you to the bottom'. 

Naturally Frank takes up the challenge and he also jumps off the cliff. Luckily (or perhaps it could be a disaster) this is a very very high cliff. This means there is time to think. About halfway they both realise this could end very badly. At this point you, the reader, are invited to offer some help.

Both turtles have lots of things inside their shells. There are things they have stowed that can could save them but ... you and your young audience need to shout:

HEY, TERRANCE AND FRANK! JUST WORK TOGETHER!

What did they have in their shells? Do they land safely? And most important of all did they learn a life lesson about cooperation (not competition)?

Two Turtles is listed on TWO CBCA 2025 Notables lists - Picture Book of the Year and the Early Childhood list so I thought it must be an amazing book - sorry but I was slightly disappointed. First off I disagree that this is a book for very young readers aged 0-6. 

I made similar comments about Jetty Jumping (here are the teachers notes) and the inclusion of risk-taking behaviours for an audience of very young children. Jetty Jumping is a beautifully illustrated book and it tells a special story but I worried about it being listed for very young children. 

Secondly, Two Turtles is overtly didactic with its lesson about the importance of cooperation, but the ending shows the two turtles are not going to change that that their propensity to see every aspect of their relationship as a competition and it seems their rivalry will continue.

I do like:

• the way this book 'breaks the fourth wall'
• the expressive faces on the two turtles (and the bird)
• the humour - packing a toaster
• the wise little bird watching these silly turtles - you could write a whole story from his/her perspective
• the wordless page
• and there is room here to read other books such as The Hare and the Tortoise (text reference: who can walk the slowest); and The Great White Man-eating Shark by Margaret Mahy (text reference: who is best at pretending to be a shark). 
• The story structure is interesting moving from the present back to the past and then ending where the story started.

I'm not such a fan of:

• Repeated digital illustrations (you can see inside this book here)
• The sudden arrival of extra birds on the second last page - where did they come from?
• Two pages of black showing the side of the tall cliff
• The patterned end papers - do they relate to the story or are they decorative?
• I'm not sure how the four pigs fit into the narrative and also there is a puzzling wire frame around the tree stump where the bird is trying to catch a worm
• There are tiny butterfly decorations on some pages - are these necessary?

The Kids' Book Reviewer totally disagrees with me. 

The illustrations are stunners, with a gorgeous green and brown palette throughout and the funkiest of animal pals. A birdy spectator features on the pages, expressing its own views about the juvenile turtles with the most entertaining facial expressions. ... Two Turtles is a story for everyone. It’s a story about all of us. I highly recommend you grab a copy. It’s an award winner for sure!

What Book Next.com say: But instead of this becoming a tale of a terrible tragedy, readers will laugh out loud at the antics of two rival turtles. ... Entertaining to the last possible moment!  

Other reviewers liken Two Turtles to books by Jon Klassen such as This is not my Hat. Some other (better) books about rivalry for readers aged 6+ are:

The Real Winner

Best Test

I previously read and enjoyed a middle grade novel by Kiah Thomas - The Callers.

The Callers (five stars from me)

Jake A Minton entered this book in the CBCA New Illustrator award 2023. It didn't win but I was one of the judges and we all agreed this book had very special illustrations. 

There's no such book