Meet the author and illustrator Gail Gibbons

I saw the name Gail Gibbons mentioned on a Social Media post. The library where I volunteer each week has a number of her titles. Goodreads list over 120 of her nonfiction titles. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything tells me her early books broke new ground in nonfiction. Many of her titles are now out of print but I am sure your school or local library will have some. Gail Gibbons first published book was Willy and His Wheel Wagon (1975).

You can see a list of many of here titles here. You could use the titles I have put at the bottom of this post as a way to show a young group of library learners the range of topics that they could explore in your school library. Or you could use these as a prompt to demonstrate how Dewey numbers work to bring subject together. 

Of course you might guess I would like to see this one:

I previously mentioned Gail Gibbons because we share a birthday! Here is a video where she talks about her book Clocks and How they Go and her unicorn, dragon books and the one about puffins!

Here are some books by Gail Gibbons - Alphabetical order by title. (see more here)

Kirkus gave her book Volcanoes a Star review and they said:

Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. ...  The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

A total of 263 candidates from 74 countries and regions have been nominated for the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, including 78 candidates new from previous years. The list includes authors and illustrators, as well as storytellers and reading promoters. The laureate will be announced on 14 April 2026.

Here are some highlights and familiar names:

AUSTRALIA - Alison Lester; Ursula Dubosarsky 

NIGERIA/UK - Atinuke

GERMANY - Axel Scheffler

ITALY - Beatrice Alemagna

CHINA - Cao Wenxuan

IRELAND - Chris Haughton

UK - David Almond; Jackie Morris; Quentin Blake; Michael Rosen; Julia Donaldson; Nicola Davies; Philip Reeve

CANADA - Deborah Ellis; Elise Gravel; Isabelle Arsenault; Jon Klassen; Sydney Smith.

NEW ZEALAND - Gavin Bishop

COLOMBIA - Ivar Da Coll

POLAND - Iwona Chmielewska

USA - Jason Reynolds; Kate DiCamillo

BELGIUM - Leo Timmers

SWEDEN - Marit Törnqvist

IRELAND - Oliver Jeffers; Sarah Crossan

CHILE - Paloma Valdivia

BRAZIL - Roger Mello

SOUTH KOREA - Suzy Lee

FRANCE - Timothée de Fombelle

And some terrific Organisations:

ITALY - Silent books Lampedusa (IBBY) Here are the books from IBBY Australia

USA - A Book a Day; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

UK - Centre for Literacy in Primary Education; Empathy Lab.

These are titles from The Empathy Lab

Aidan Chambers 1935-1925

Image source: Writers Review

I know from experience and from visiting schools that the library can, and should, be the cultural and educational heart of a school, the place where pupils are stimulated and helped to become readers for pleasure, as well as the best resource for information. The success of this depends on the skill, book knowledge and energy of the librarian. (source)

Before you dip into my post take a few minutes to read this wonderful and heartfelt blog entry by my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. 

I found a few quotes by Aiden Chambers:

• Readers are made by readers - it is so obvious it is almost banal to say it.
• Life is not like a novel, but a novel can be like life. The best ones always are.
• You become a reader by reading the literature, not by reading the handbooks about it.
• Books are like friends, they stay with you for life.
• The power of literature lies in its ability to make us think and question.
• Literature helps us to understand and navigate the complexities of human emotions.
• A good story can change the way we see the world.
• Reading is not a solitary act; it connects us to a larger community.

A few facts about Aidan Chambers:

• In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award (acceptance speech)
• He worked extensively in the field of education, specializing in English language teaching and literature.
• Chambers is a passionate advocate for young readers and the importance of literature in their lives. He has actively supported initiatives promoting reading and literacy and has served as a judge for several prestigious literary awards, including the Carnegie Medal.
• Aidan edited a number of short story collections and wrote two novels for children – Seal Secret and The Present Takers. However, he was particularly admired as a writer of YA fiction, or as he termed it, youth fiction.

Read more here from IBBY.uk

You can all a full list of novels (especially YA novels) by Aidan Chambers here. 

My focus (as you have also seen in the Kinderbookswitheverything post) is on his philosophy and wisdom about reading and our young library users.

See the detailed version of this here. 

Basic Questions 

• Was there anything you liked about this book? 

• Was there anything you disliked? 

• Was there anything that puzzled you? 

• Were there any patterns – any connections – that you noticed? 

General Questions  

• Have you read any other books like this one? 

• Has anything that happened in this book ever happened to you? 

Special Questions 

• How long did it take for the story to happen? 

• Who was telling – who was narrating – the story? Do we know?  How do we know?

"What is it that enabling adults do? They provide, stimulate, demonstrate and respond. They provide books and time to read them and an attractive environment where people want to read. 

They stimulate a desire to become a thoughtful readers. 

They demonstrate by reading aloud and by their own behaviour what a 'good' reader does."

Here are a few text quotes that resonated with me:

"This process of building up pleasurable experience and extending the length of time we can concentrate, depends on regularly giving of oneself to books that replay the effort. So, providing time to read and helping learner readers attend to rewarding books for longer and longer periods of time is an important part of an enabling adult's job."

"All other obstacles in the way of learner readers can be overcome it they have the help and example of a trusted, experienced adult reader."

"Reading aloud to children is essential to helping them become readers. And it is a mistake to suppose that reading aloud is only needed in the early stages ... Ideally every child should hear a piece of literature read aloud every day."

"The message to any pre-service (teacher) must be to read as much as you can now, because you (might) never have such a good chance again."

The enabling adult: readers are made by readers; know yourself as a reader; protect your time to read; visit bookshops; share books at a staff meeting and more!

John Marsden (27 September 1950 – 18 December 2024)

Image source: John Marsden website

John Marsden profoundly impacted the world of literature, particularly with his enthralling young adult novels such as the ‘Tomorrow’ series, which we have previously described as ‘the best series for Australian teens of all time’. His ability to encapsulate the essence of youth struggles and aspirations in his works has left an indelible mark on readers worldwide. A storyteller like no other, John’s books were a masterclass in the creation of characters, plot, pacing and setting.  Pan Macmillan

John Marsden was best known for his Young Adult book series and titles such as Tomorrow when the War Began but here are the titles that I would also like to highlight. I have put the covers I remember - many of these do have updated newer covers. You might also like to notice some of the wonderful illustrators featured here too - Matt Ottley, Shaun Tan, Peter Gouldthorpe, Sally Rippin and Craig Smith. I should also mention my former school and library had a small connection with John Marsden because his niece and nephew attended my school and he kindly gifted us many of his picture book titles.

This one was a very popular class read aloud in several of my previous schools

This is a very important book that explores the issues surrounding the detention of refugees. 

Read more here. 

Read more here.

Read more here

1988 Winner, CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers

Bio from Goodreads: John Marsden was an Australian writer and school principal. He wrote more than 40 books in his career and his books have been translated into many languages. He was especially known for his young adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began, which began a series of seven books.

Marsden began writing for children while working as a teacher, and had his first book, So Much to Tell You, published in 1987. In 2006, he started an alternative school, Candlebark School, and reduced his writing to focus on teaching and running the school. In 2016, he opened the arts-focused secondary school, Alice Miller School. Both schools are in the Macedon Ranges.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted, “John Marsden wanted young Australians to read more, and his writing made that happen. Vivid, funny, quintessentially Australian, he wrote with a real love for our land and a true sense of our people’s character. His was a great Australian voice that spoke to all ages, here and around the world. John’s work will live long in our national memory.” Kirkus

Read some tributes and other links:

• Sally Rippin Sydney Morning Herald 19 December, 2024
• 2019 ABC Radio interview Life Matters
• The Conversation 19 December, 2024
• ABC News
• Children's Book Council of Australia

John Marsden's tips for parents (Victorian Parents Council's Facebook Post August 23rd, 2019)

1. Give children space. Back off. Let them roam. Let them be bored. Don't over-plan their lives. Cut way back on the after-school activities programs.

2. Keep away from all those ghastly, soulless, sterile playgrounds. Keep away from shopping malls. Look for real places. Wild places.

3. Be an adult. Say no to your children at least once a day. If the role of adult in your family is vacant, then one of your children will fill it. And it won't be pretty.

4. Don't take up all the space. If you are dominating, loud, forceful, your children are highly likely to become passive, lacking spirit and personality … and/or sullen.

5. Believe about 40 per cent of the dramatic stories your children tell you of the injustices, corruption and satanic practices happening at school.

6. Teach them empathy. For example, after their jubilant victory celebrations when they win a sporting match, remind them that their jubilation was only possible because someone else – the losers – have been made to feel awful.

7. Help them develop language skills. Don't finish their sentences for them. Don't correct them when they mispronounce a word – they'll work it out sooner or later. Ask them open-ended questions, that need a detailed answer, not Yes/No questions.

8. Make sure they have regular jobs/duties at home and that those jobs are done to a consistently high standard.

9. Don't whinge endlessly about the miseries of your adult life. A lot of children now are fearful about growing up because their parents paint such a grim picture of the awfulness ahead.

10. Teach them to be very wary of people who Absolutely Know the Absolute Truth about Absolutely Everything! The colour of truth is always grey. Extreme positions are for the ignorant. Every creature, every person and every situation is complex. The universe is a wonderful mystery.”

Meet the author Pip Harry

Image source: 2014 interview with Kids' Book Review

This week I attended a local library conference, and the after-lunch speaker was Pip Harry.  I have previously talked about quite a few of her books and in this post, I can share some news of her new titles coming out later this year and next year. Here is her Instagram page. 

Are you there Buddha?

August and Jones

The Little Wave

Pip saw some children at South Curl Curl beach here in Sydney and she found out about 

Stewart House and this gave the idea for this book. 

As a child this was the beach where I swam with my parents. 

Here are a few things I discovered about Pip Harry:

• Many years of her childhood were spent in Singapore and later at a girls' school in Melbourne
• As a child she moved a lot and so is familiar with the complexities of fitting in
• Her books explore big themes - change, loss, grief, trauma
• Her early career was writing for magazines such as Women's Day and New Idea
• Magazine writing taught her about deadlines and developed her own curiosity about people
• She also learned how to think on her feet
• In her early 20s she wrote a novel but it was not accepted by any publisher (she tried 23).
• At age 35 she started writing again and Pip Harry also went back to night school to study creative writing and she found a group of other writers who supported her work
• She writes to make sense of the world, to process situations and relationships
• The blue cover of August and Jones was not intended to link with the US Classic Wonder by RJ Palacio

There was one more thing Pip Harry mentioned that I have been pondering. She said in journalism it is important not to 'bury the lead' and that has helped with her writing for children but oddly I am not so sure about this. I adore books where the plot line slowly unfolds - where you are NOT told everything up front but have to do the 'hard yards' and read the whole book to discover the 'truth' or the solution to the mystery and so on.

Here are her first three books:

Read this interview where Pip talks about this book.

Shortlisted - CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2018
Shortlisted - Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018
Shortlisted - Queensland Literary Awards 2018

Here is a 2017 interview where Pip talks about this book

Coming next from Pip Harry:

• Picture books - Over and Under (with Hilary Jean Tapper from New Zealand); The Inside Dog; and The Goodbye Tree.
• Junior novel series - Camp Spook: Attack of the Aliants written with Kate Foster.
• A young adult verse novel called Drift.

Pip Harry likes the form of the verse novel (so do I) because

• you need to strip away all unnecessary words
• highlight imagery
• they accesible to all readers especially reluctant readers
• the offer a fun way to play with words

Pip mentioned the wonderful NCACL verse novel database. Check out this link and this post. 

Pip Harry is SO lucky - she will visit Milkwood the farm owned by Sophie Blackall for an author/illustrator retreat. Here are some photos of previous events at Milkwood. Hundreds of people apply to attend these events each of which have a different focus. See all the wonderful books by Sophie Blackall here. And check out all her photos on Instagram. 

Residencies are designed for writers, illustrators, and researchers who want to get sustained, uninterrupted work done. You might work at the desk in your room or at the communal table in the two-story library, in the light-filled Calf Barn studio or the cavernous hayloft, on a sunny balcony or under the shade of the open-air barn, or in any number of secluded nooks and corners. 

One more thing ... As usual I didn't gather enough courage to personally speak to Pip Harry but I was thrilled when she said she now lives in the suburb of Sydney where I grew up!!

After six years abroad, Pip recently returned home to Australia and now lives on the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney. Pip works as a copywriter for a non-profit in the youth homelessness sector and has three picture books coming out soon. When Pip isn’t scribbling, typing or reading, she loves to swim in the ocean, wander along bush tracks and eat ice-cream.