Mouse and Spoon Book Series by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Janna Mattia

When I saw this book cover on social media I was intrigued. I am a huge huge huge fan of Cynthia Rylant. She writes absolutely PERFECT little stories for children who are just beginning to develop reading confidence. Series such as Mr Putter and Tabby; Henry and Mudge; Annie and Snowball; The High-Rise Private Eye; The Lighthouse Family and now Mouse and Spoon.

I started exploring this series by reading book 2 - Owlets and Tarts - on my Kindle. Sadly, may be a little difficult to find here in Australia but they are fairly new so you can order them. I found them listed at Readings in Melbourne for just AUS$13.

Blurb: Mom and Dad Owl are exhausted—their three little owlets refuse to go to sleep. They need pillow tarts for their babies, and quickly! Will Ginger, Tom, and Piper at the Mouse and Spoon Bakery be able to help?

Here is the full review from the School Library Journal:

A long-reigning master of fiction for emerging readers, Rylant nails it again with this sweet new series about a bakery owned by a family of mice. In this installment, the mice are tasked with creating the perfect confection for owl parents who have been getting no sleep thanks to their three newly hatched owlets. The mice sift, roll, and knead until they have baked “three perfect Pillow Tarts” on which the owlets finally fall asleep. Rylant crafts a tale that is engaging without sacrificing decodability, and Mattia’s pastel-hued illustrations have a timeless quality that suits the story perfectly. The bedraggled owl parents add a touch of slapstick humor, and readers are sure to root for this trio of feisty mice. ­

The Elephants Birthday blurb: The baker mice are in for a surprise when an elephant places a large birthday order for over 100 pound cakes--plus some banana bread for her monkey friends! Can the little mice fill this very big order?  Read the review

Rabbit Tea blurb: A rabbit is having a tea party and needs lots of treats! Will Ginger, Piper, and Tom at the Mouse and Spoon Bakery be able to bake enough carrot cakes in time?

A Porcupine Wedding blurb: Ginger, Piper, and Tom of the Mouse and Spoon Bakery have a very important job: making lots of super sticky buns for a porcupine wedding!

Cynthia Rylant is an American librarian and author, who was born on 6th June 1954. She has written over 100 children’s books.

Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup by Giovanna Zoboli illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio translated by Denis Muir

As a soup lover, I hope that this story will also have a gastronomic impact: that is, if children liked this literary soup, it is not excluded that they could start eating 

real soups without raising a bat of protest. 

It will be enough to tell them that to cook them you have followed the secret recipe of the infamous Lepron Soup, and said soups will evaporate from the plates 

in the blink of an eye. Giovanna Zoboli

Click here to read more about the creative processes and original inspiration for Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup at Topipittori and see the exhibition at the Bologna book fair.

Mr Lepron is an older and handsome hare. He loves his family, his forest home through all the seasonal changes and his huge family. Reminiscent of Peter Rabbit, Mr Lepron loves vegetables, the vegetables in the nearby famer's fields - carrots, onions, celery, lettuce, beans, pumpkins, radishes and a variety of herbs. All of these are perfect ingredients for soup. These are seasonal vegetables and so each autumn everyone helps to gather the abundance from the fields. Mr Lepron has a wonderful cooking pot "which he bought by mail order from a world-famous shop." 

It is important to note - "the pot doesn't like to be watched while the soup is cooking, just like Mr Lepron doesn't like to be watched while he's hard at work in his kitchen."

While the soup simmers Mr Lepron dreams of magical things only waking up when the soup is ready. This soup is so delicious. What is the secret? No one seems to be able to create it in quite the same way even though they use all of the same ingredients. Over time word spreads about this soup. Everyone wants some. 

"Then suddenly, one day, to everyone's surprise, Mr Lepron opened a factory: a big brick building that worked around the clock cooking up soup."

Can you think of a problem? Will the soup still be delicious? Why or why not? What might happen to Mr Lepron?

Mr Lepron loves making vegetable soup, and all the other creatures love his soup too, It isn’t too long before he decides to monetise his passion and starts making soup at industrial scale. Well that’s fine, he can employ the other creatures which is great – we all need a job. But before long Mr Lepron has been sucked into the very machinery of capitalism. The money-making business of soup takes over his life, his dreams and his nightmares. His coat is no longer so shiny and his eyes lose their brightness. What should Mr Lepron do? Well, this is a fable so I can tell you he doesn’t do quite what the capitalist machine would have him do. Just Imagine

There are several things that drew me to this book. When I was researching Italian children's book illustrators prior to attending the 2024 IBBY Congress in Trieste I saw the name Mariachiara Di Giorgio. I previously read and loved another book by this illustrator - The Midnight Fair. You may also know the famous wordless book Professional Crocodile. 

Next, I saw this book was a 2024 IBBY Honour book for illustration. It has the Italian title: La zuppa Lepron. At the congress there were lots of books on display including all the 2024 honour books and so I was able to see Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup but, because it was in Italian, I could only guess at the story. Opening the book, though, I spied the most delightful endpapers and so when I later saw this book had been translated into English I just knew I had to find it and even buy it. 

See more illustrations from this book here.

Walker Books Australia have the English version of this book [9781529520859] but very strangely I have found it hard to source. Luckily one of our city bookstores did have a copy and because the author's name starts with 'z' it was hidden on a low shelf. Even though the shop had stocked it back in July 2024 it had not been sold. One more thing that made me determined to read Mr Lepron's Soup - I am collecting picture books for older readers (Upper Primary/Elementary and Junior High School) in readiness for a library conference later this year. The age range listed for this book is ages 3-8 but that, in my opinion, totally misses the themes of this book about commercialisation, consumerism, enterprise, exploitation and the dangers of spreading rumours. You could also think about the way social media can inflate or ruin a reputation and there is the issue of the fleeting nature of fame. 

Image Source: Bologna 2022

Zoboli’s lengthy, descriptive text, translated from Italian, and Di Giorgio’s watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil art, together infuse Mr. Lepron with a deep humanity and construct a compelling, dreamy world that harkens back to the past in its tone and look but, with its nods to the all-consuming nature of capitalism, feels grounded in current realities, much like their previous collaboration, Professional Crocodile (2017). A clever, compassionate, and elegantly wrought reminder to do what makes you happy.  Kirkus Star review

Publisher blurb: Mr Lepron lives in the forest and has a toasty warm home and many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Oh, and he adores vegetables and making soup. Mr Lepron also enjoys napping and he always dreams of being a famous chef, cooking his magnificent soup. After his vivid, fantastical dreams, Mr Lepron's soup tastes out-of-this-world irresistible. So irresistible, that Mr Lepron becomes famous. So irresistible, that Mr Lepron opens a soup factory that starts working around the clock. But as his dreams turn to nightmares about the factory, Mr Lepron's soup loses its magical flavour, and he realizes that what matters most in the world is not fame and riches, but time spent with his beloved children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, playing, laughing, napping and, sometimes, cooking his soup ... with love.

Beginning with the title you could talk to your group about the name of the hare Mr Lepron. In French hare if Lievre; in Italian it is Lepre; in Latin it is Lepus; and the Spanish is Liebre. One reviewer also noted the eyes of the hares throughout the book look startled as though they are on alert for predators. And if you look closely at the cover it does resemble a can of soup. 

When you open this book take a moment to think about the official Mr Lepron portrait opposite the title page. Older students could compare this with the portraits of actual people (known and unknown). 

Image source: Topipittori

Think about the opening words of this book: "Mr Lepron is a very handsome hare with a bright, shiny coat and lovely, long ears." Do looks equate with success? Why has the illustrator used this pose? 

... this is what happens until Lepron decides to follow his fantasy, that is, to want the whole world to taste the soup. Thus he opened an industrial plant, where, however, the initial success was quickly followed by the awareness that the soup made in this way could not maintain the same flavor, since the vegetables would have to be available all year round and the preparation would have to be mechanized. ... A story that makes us reflect on the simple pleasures of sharing, of waiting for the times of nature and of the reward and gratification we derive from it. ... Lepron's dream had never been to earn, but to make his autumn soup known in the world. Instead, the soup produced in his factory, canned and designed to have a long shelf life, had nothing to do with the delicious taste of the original soup and this had made him sad.

Another reviewer commented: Lepron's dream of greatness, which does not foresee the times of nature and the importance of human work, instead turns into an ugly reality, so much so that even his dreams change and become disturbing. Fortunately, he decides to follow his heart, close the factory and make peace with himself.

This Reviewer links the illustrations in this book especially the pantry and kitchen scenes with the work of Beatrix Potter and Jill Barklem.

Giovanna Zoboli is the author of over 30 picture books, including Professional Crocodile, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio and The Big Book of Slumber, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. Giovanna is also the co-founder of an Italian children's publishing company where she is currently editor and art director.

Mariachiara Di Giorgio is an illustrator, storyboard artist and concept designer from Rome, Italy. She illustrated Midnight Fair, a wordless picture book with a storyline by Gideon Sterer, which won the 2022 Yoto Kate Greenaway Shadowers' Choice award. Her first picture book, Professional Crocodile, was also wordless, with a storyline by Giovanna Zoboli.

Companion books to read after Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup:

Read more here.

Finally, not to trivialize the themes of Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup but my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has a Pinterest collection of picture books about soup. Stealing the vegetables from the farmer's fields also made me think of this book for young readers - The Vegetable Thieves. 

Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemani

"How can anyone draw a line

between neighbors?

between brothers?

between friends?"

"Even if all the Hindus

in the world stop liking

all the Muslims in the world,

I never will."

Raj is twelve. He is a Hindu boy who loves flying kites with his grandfather and his best friend. He dreams of winning the big kite competition. Iqbal is his best friend but he is Muslim and India is about to be divided by partition. Their precious friendship will be cut in half just as their country is divided and their homes now become places of danger and violence.  This is so confusing - it is all because some one from far away has drawn a line on a map.  

People smile with tight lips,

and it's no coincidence

that everyone is dressed in white

the colour we wear 

when someone dies.

Raj and his family become refugees and they have to move from Hyderabad in Sindh to Bombay. The train journey is dreadful and all their possessions are taken by thieves and then the most unimaginable thing happens - in the chaos and confusion Raj's sister Maja aged nine disappears.

This book is sure to make you curious about the partition of India and also about traditional Indian foods. 

We sit down

to a breakfast of dal pakwan,

the creamy-flavoured lentils,

spicy mint coriander chutney

and deep-fried crispy sweetbread

mingling in my mouth

before I swallow with relish.

... with our baskets filled with

diamond-shaped Kaju mithai.

I inhale the scent

of cashew nuts and cardamom

and hope there will be some left over ...

The blended scent

of saffron and cardamom

fills the air

as Amma prepares to slice

her freshly rolled varo.

With careful force

she cuts across the center,

and I lick my lips,

imagining the sweet crunch

of pistachios, almonds, 

cashew nuts, and poppy seeds

with hardened caramel.

The British have left India and Raj is also caught up in the politics of the times. His brother explains:

You would not be sad

if you knew what they have stolen

how they have treated us,

burning out fingers to serve 

them phulko, while they burn

our money and drink out chai. ...

They charge unfair taxes on salt,

take the cotton, spices, 

and crops from our land,

use the modern railways you boast of

to steal what is ours,

and sell it back at inflated prices ...

They keep every last rupee,

while our country starves,

they look at us like we're

uncivilized dogs ...

This is a complex story about a time in history that will be unfamiliar to most young readers aged 10+ here in Australia but it is well worth the reading journey. I am quoting in full the book description by the author:

An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can’t wait to celebrate their independence. But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart—and Raj’s Hindu and Iqbal’s Muslim families are among them. Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj’s family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart. Inspired by the author’s true family history, Lion of the Sky is a deeply moving coming-of-age tale about identity, belonging, and the power of hope.

Listen to an audio sample here. I read Lion of the Sky as an ebook. The hardcover novel with 416 pages is way too expensive for your library here in Australia. It was published in 2024 so I imagine there will eventually be a paperback edition. 

There are some powerful words of wisdom in this book:

"Holding on to your anger is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die."

"Because we don't need your kind and my kind ... only kindness."

Ultimately this is a tale about being lion-hearted, soaring after falling many times, and still reaching for the sky. It’s also about lines that divide, that cut across hearts and countries, and that are seared into memories. An exquisite, memorable story about new beginnings and the quest to belong. Kirkus Star review

Here is an interview with the author. Lion of the Sky is her debut book. 

Companion book:

The Night Diary

Shooting Kabul

To Stir with Love by Kate Mildenhall illustrated by Jess Racklyeff

I am not very good at cooking, but I can make cakes, and this is all due to my mother taking the time to show me how - letting me do some steps at first and later watching me make the whole cake myself. Even now decades later I still hear her voice in my head explaining simple steps used for all cake making about sifting the flour, the speed of the beaters, and incorporating ingredients slowly. 

The little girl in this book is our narrator and she explains how every Monday she visits her grandmother and together they make a cake. 

"It's my everything cake. ... My grandmother's grandmother gave it to her and my grandmother gave it to me."

I was so pleased to see the recipe is included at the back of this book.  I am sure this book will be a 2025 CBCA Notable title in the Early Childhood category. The publisher site has an activity pack to use with this book. 

The wonderful watercolour illustrations sweep across every page, showing a Grandma’s garden with fruit trees, vegetable garden, and lots of different colours. ... I had a lovely time looking at the various older pieces of equipment used in Grandma’s kitchen: a whisk, flour sifter, hand beater, aprons, oven mitts, milk jug, tea pot etc. Read Plus

Real life photographs of the author’s family sit alongside creative colours and montages that transport us straight into the kitchen, where it feels like we’re literally holding cups of sugar and whipping the butter. There are textures and photos and little bits of flour wafting around that actually make one’s nose tickly. Kids' Book Review

For a list of other books about the relationship between a child and grandparent take a look at this post. Companion books:

The Forgettery

Grandma's Story

A Year in Fleurville

Wolfie's Secret

The Science of Baking - Ada Twist Scientist - The Why Files - by Andrea Beaty and Dr Theanne Griffin

When I make a cake - something I do every week - I marvel that odd ingredients can meld together into something delicious. I cannot image eating a dish of flour or a raw egg but adding these to a cake recipe, baking it in an oven for less than an hour and voila - a cake emerges. YUM. Actually as I write this post my cake is in the oven - the smell is wafting around my house - banana walnut cake. 

Most libraries have good collections of books filled with recipes but this one is very different. Ada Twist, Scientist explains how baking actually works. She spends time explaining this one ingredient at a time - flour, sugar, butter or another fat, eggs, milk, baking powder (this has always been a mystery to me) and if you are making bread you can also read all about yeast. There is also so much science in baking - biology, chemistry, physics, and of course maths. This book also contains a recipe and a science experiment. The first modern pastry chef was Marie-Antoine Careme from France (1784-1833).

Yes this book is nonfiction, yes, it is contains all the relevant facts BUT it is also a joy to read because it is filled with fun illustrations and photos and has a big font and very appealing page layouts. 

If you have any of the Ada Twist book series by Andrea Beaty I highly recommend adding the four small non fiction books to your collection. 

Read a review of Ada Twist, Scientist from Kirkus

Check out all the books in the Questioneers Series:

The Questioneers Picture Book Series: Iggy Peck, Architect | Rosie Revere, Engineer | Ada Twist, Scientist | Sofia Valdez, Future Prez | Aaron Slater, Illustrator | Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year

The Questioneers Chapter Book Series: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters | Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants | Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion | Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote | Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs | Aaron Slater and the Sneaky Snake

Questioneers: The Why Files Series: Exploring Flight! | All About Plants! | The Science of Baking | Bug Bonanza! | Rockin’ Robots!

Questioneers: Ada Twist, Scientist Series: Ghost Busted | Show Me the Bunny | Ada Twist, Scientist: Brainstorm Book | 5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories

The Questioneers Big Project Book Series: Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects | Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers | Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists | Sofia Valdez’s Big Project Book for Awesome Activists | Aaron Slater’s Big Project Book for Astonishing Artists

Elephant Soup by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

A small mouse is feeling sad. He knows the best way to cheer himself up is to gather is friends, grab his biggest cooking pot and mix up a big batch of elephant soup! His friends bring all the veggies, fill the enormous pot with water and build up the fire. Meanwhile our little hero sets off to catch an elephant using is trusty lasso. The team of mice then give the huge elephant a good scrub so that he is clean ready to go in the pot. 

At this point the elephant looks very happy. The water in the pot is warm - rather like a huge bathtub but then the mice add a lid to their pot and the elephant decides this is all too much, so he tips the pot of water and veggies over and heads off.  The mice can see the elephant is very unhappy so they gather around and invite him to return. Their soup might be ruined but that pot makes a perfect swimming pool complete with an elephant trunk waterspout.

I am a huge fan of books by Ingrid and Deiter Schubert ever since I discovered the book Little Big Feet. I think Elephant soup is now out of print even though it was only published in 2019. The library where I found this copy were able to buy it from a bargain book seller for only AUS$8 so you might be lucky and find a copy somewhere. Elephant Soup has only one line of text on each page - a perfect book to share with a preschool child or to read alongside Wombat Stew. 

Elephant Soup was originally published in The Netherlands with the title Olifanten-soep. I usually see the Schubert's book published by North South but this one is from Lemniscaat. 

Ingrid Schubert (born 29 March 1953 in Essen, West Germany) is a Dutch author and illustrator of children's books and picture books. After studying (free painting) at the Art Academy of Münster (Germany), she and Dieter Schubert received a scholarship to the Rietveld Academy. In response to a remark by Piet Klaasse, they started working on a picture book together. The result was There is a crocodile under my bed! (1980). Although they make most of the books together, Dieter Schubert received a Golden Brush for the only book with only his name on it - Monkie (1986). When asked what characterizes their work, Ingrid Schubert says: "The subtle jokes, if I may say so. Sometimes you have to look three times until you see the details that we have put into the drawing with great pleasure. But also our accuracy."

View from the 32nd Floor by Emma Cameron

Blurb: Something special has been gifted to you. Join your neighbours, Saturday, 6.00 pm, on the roof. Living on the thirty-second floor of an apartment block, William has a clear view of the building opposite. He sees his neighbours eating ice-cream, watering potted palms, painting pictures ... or as shadows behind closed curtains. Shadows worry William. With his new friend Rebecca, and helped by lots of cake, a dictionary of names, tai chi, and banana-shaped sticky notes, he plans to tempt his lonely neighbours back into the world. Can they succeed? Always always.

Today I had to wait around 3 hours at an appointment so I picked up View from the 32nd Floor before I left home this morning. Today is the THIRD time I have read this book and I still adore it - but I so desperately wish Walker Books Australia had given this book a better cover - apologies to Liz Anelli. I need to beg, shout, cajole this publisher to reprint this little book - it is such a GEM. 

I have talked about View from the 32nd Floor twice previously in 2013 and 2019 so please take a minute or two to read my comments and then IF you have any way of influencing the publisher please beg, plead, implore them to republish this book NOW. Perhaps we should all tell the author Emma Cameron too.

Teachers - you could use this book for so many things but most off all this book would be a splendid read aloud to a Grade 4 class. In my previous posts I talked about the music William's dad share each day and all the wonderful names William adopts to match his daily hopes and purpose.  Here are some character descriptions:

Mrs Stravros - "She had hair streaked with more silver threads than black, and her pale face was as wrinkled as crepe paper."

Paula - "Paula was as skinny as Jess but only came up to her armpits. Her boots were nothing like Jess's either. They were covered in sequins of every colour and a tiny bell jiggled at the end of each pointy toe when she walked."

Jess - "her skinny legs covered in stretchy black tights and her fine frame wrapped in a pale blue terry towelling bathrobe. Thick brown hair flopped over her eyes when she juggled a key in the lock."

Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee

Fortune Cookie wisdom  

Good friends are friends for life. 

Talk is overrated. True friendships are not.

Maizy and her mum have driven to Last Chance, Minnesota because Opa (Grandfather) is very unwell. Maizy has never visited her grand parents or seen their Chinese restaurant before. Mum and Oma (Grandma) are not on speaking terms. This is just one of the puzzles Maize has to unravel. She also needs to hear the story of her family going all the way back to the 1850s. Opa tells the story of Lucky - his great great grandfather all the while teaching Maizy how to play poker - the card game and the life game.

"In my family, some times what's not said takes up more space than what is."

"It's not just the cards you're dealt. It's what you do with them that matters most."

"You're not interested in stuff like sailing ships, outlaws and a gold mountain are you?"

"It's funny how one insult can ruin your day or how one compliment can make someone so happy."

Take a close look at the cover - the tiny details here are important to this story - fortune cookies; Grandma (Oma) and Grandpa (Opa); a large brown wooden bear; the Chinese restaurant; and even the LA T shirt worn by Maizy herself.  There are 81 chapters in this book - they are all so short the pages just fly by. This book truly is a page turner. I can understand why this was a 2023 Newbery Honour Book.

If you are sharing this book here in Australia I would use this quote as a way to start a discussion about the themes of racism which are explored in this story:

"Does this girl even know how beautiful she is? I wonder what it would be like to be blond and beautiful. Or just blond. Or just beautiful."

I was called for jury duty today and because this is a long process I took along my ipad which has a few Kindle middle grade books. At 9am I settled down to wait and I read over 60% of this book and then when I arrived home (everyone was dismissed - no one was needed for a jury today) I finished off Maizy Chen's Last Chance. Now I need to head out to my local Chinese restaurant and devour some delicious food - this book is filled with tantalising dishes. It was great to see so many people who were sitting in the court holding area today reading books and ebooks. 

Here is a video with Colby Sharp talking about this book. He mentions the minor characters and I totally agree. I loved the way Maizy needed to discover each of their back stories and motivations. Take a look at the author page about this book. Here is an in depth interview between Lisa Yee and Roger Sutton (Horn Book). Here is the Kirkus Star review.

This was a perfect balance between a fun setting and characters, and more serious issues and history. Ms Yingling (she also mentions The Parker Inheritance as a related text). Read her review for more plot details. 

Maize asks Principal Holmes if she can borrow books from his high school library over the summer months while they stay in Last Chance. Specifically she asks for this book which I have now added to my own enormous to read list:

Companion books to read after Maizy Chen's last chance:

Zadie Ma and the dog who chased the moon

Thai-riffic

Danny Chung does not do Maths

Front Desk (this is the cover here in Australia)

Tiger Daughter (for readers aged 12+)

Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin illustrated by Astred Hicks

Things that appealed to me about this book:

• The cover
• The back story of the real shipwreck off the coast of south-west Victoria in 1891 which contained exotic animals including a real rhinoceros
• The apple pie recipe at the back of the book
• The small sections of text where we read the thoughts/perspective of Rhino himself
• The themes of justice for animals and healing for humans
• The beautiful "voice" of young Evie
• The wonderful happy ending

Publisher blurb: A moving tale about love, connection and the healing power of friendship. 1891 On a stormy night off the coast of southern Australia, a ship transporting a cargo of exotic animals tosses and turns in enormous seas. Rhino senses they are in grave danger. Not far away, ten-year-old Evie and her grandfather shelter in their crumbling, once-grand old home. They know too well how deadly storms can be. When all is calm, Evie treks over the dunes to the sea and makes a discovery that will change her life, and Rhino’s, forever. Will the tragedies of their pasts finally be put to rest?

This book was published in October 2022. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance copy.

Narrated in the present tense, this charming story of friendship and conservation will be enjoyed by those who like adventure, animals, and justice. McMullin’s descriptive language and captivating story-telling leave the reader wanting more after each chapter. In addition, she incorporates the rhino’s perspective, narrated alongside the child’s perspective, which allows the reader to fully understand the bond between Evie and Rhino. Reading Time

I would pair this book with this picture book:

Recently on a social media forum someone asked for books to read after Storm Boy. Here is their request: Hi everyone! I just read Storm Boy to my 7-year-old son and he loved it, and wants to read more real-life stories about special friendships with animals. 

I did disagree with a few of the suggestions especially Pax by Sara Pennypacker which in my view is aimed at a much older reader and I would like to say save this for later.  I would suggest Evie and Rhino might be a book this parent could read with their child. Other books suggested on the forum were: 

Wandi by Favel Parrett (this could be perfect)

Blueback by Tim Winton

One dog and his boy by Eva Ibbotson (not a true story)

The last bear by Hannah Gold

The dog with seven names by Dianne Wolfer

Speedy by Colin Thiele

The one and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I previously talked about two picture books by Neridah McMullin

Fabish - the horse that braved a bushfire

Drover