Woodlore by Cameron Miller illustrated by Dominique Falla

I picked this book up in a library a couple of weeks ago from their discard pile. You will want to linger over the endpapers - they are so detailed. The illustrations for this book were done on plywood primed with Gesso, using water soluble pencils and each illustration is framed with actual wood which is described in the text and other timbers are used for inlay work and decoration.

"Yew trees, grown throughout the ages, have the wood the bowyer favours."

I do remember when this book was on the CBCA shortlist back in 1995 and at that time many of us decided not to purchase it because the topic was quite niche and the book was very expensive at the time. I see from this library copy it cost AUS$20 which seems okay now. The bowyer, from the quote above, is a man making a longbow.

Here are some other text quotes:

"Maple and Spruce are always kings for the makers of lutes and violins. ... Alder wood is cut into logs, seasoned, taped, and carved into clogs. ... Blackwood and Box are hard and dense to make sweet woodwind instruments."

My favourite illustrations are of the rocking horse and the draft horse pulling the cart loaded with barrels made by the cooper. And the back notes are very detailed and add a good layer of richness to the text. The woods yew, maple, spruce, beech, alder, mahogany, blackwood, box, ash, walnut, cherry, teak, yellow pine, oak, camphorwood and willow. And there are new words to learn such as wane, spindles, cabinetmakers, lathe, felloes (curved parts of a wheel), trenails (used in shipbuilding), and bodgers (they made legs and spindles for Windsor chairs). Do you remember sharing this book with groups of students in your library?

In 1995 Kirkus said: An elegant and informative book about the art of woodworking, the varieties of wood, and their traditional uses. Falla's detailed, historically accurate illustrations show busy woodworkers in various settings—in interiors and exteriors, from the 14th to the 19th centuries, from Europe to China and the U.S.—in scenes of the finished products in use. Each of these is tastefully framed with the type of wood depicted in it. The entire assemblage— picture and ornate frame—is photographed; the result is a series of icon-like compositions, each one devoted to a particular type of wood and its function. The rhymes about each type of wood—yew for longbows, maple and spruce for lutes and violins, beach for chairs, teak for decks of ship—that are printed beneath each frame are rather mediocre, but the detailed explanatory notes at the end of the book are a pleasure to read. These are full of historical information and descriptions of how the objects in the pictures are made. An original conception, masterfully realized.

And The School Library Journal said this, which might explain why I didn't buy this book for my school library:

Yew trees,/grown throughout the ages,/have the wood/the bowyer favors." In 13 double-page spreads of such rhymed couplets and an additional three pages of text at the end, this unusual book provides historical perspectives and description of the special qualities and uses of 16 particular woods. Resembling stained-glass windows with wood grain, Falla's luminous illustrations are done on plywood primed with Gesso, using aquarelles (water-soluble pencils). Miller framed each picture with the wood described in the text and "used a variety of other timbers for the inlay work and decorations." Turning each page, one expects to feel wood, not paper. Parchmentlike endpapers feature sketches of the trees, woodworking tools, and products shown throughout. Vocabulary such as "bodgers" (itinerant wood-turners) and "falloes" (curved section of a wheel rim) are used in the couplets and explained in the textual notes at the end. The volume is slim, beautiful, and represents untold hours of exceptional craftsmanship. Unfortunately, its primary appeal may be to an adult woodworker, especially one with an interest in history. While this title could possibly be used to support an interdisciplinary approach integrating subjects such as industrial technology, social studies, art, and English, it seems more likely to languish on the shelves of an elementary school library.

Sleep Rhymes around the World edited by Jane Yolen

"Mothers and fathers all over the world sing and tell and tell lullaby rhymes to their sleepy children, whether those children doze in tents or huts or apartment houses that reach the sky."

First off I do need to say this book (1994) is long out print but I wanted to share it because I love the idea of collecting lullabies, books like this can be an interesting way to explore illustrators from around the world, and when I saw Jane Yolen's name on the cover I knew this book would be a special one.

Blurb: Sleep rhythms around the world presents a wonderful collection of lullabies from seventeen different nations. Each lullaby is illustrated by an artist native to the country represented. 

Here are some of the countries: Afghanistan; Nigeria; Finland; Uganda; Thailand; Italy; USA; Slovenia; Venezuela and Ukraine.

Illustrators with pages that appeal to me Italy - Maria Battaglia; Ukraine - Maria Peschena; Finland - Kristina Louhi; Iran - Feroozeh Golmohammadi; and Turkey - Mustafa Delogu. 

Read some review comments here. 

Jane Yolen also edited a companion volume entitled Street Rhymes around the world (1992).

As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds

(nearly five stars)

“Yeah, but you never, like, I’on’t know, just walk around your yard? Not all the way to the edge, but just a little bit? ’Cause if I had a big yard like this back home, I would be in it all the time. Even if I was blind,” Genie said. Grandpop cocked his head. “Is that so?” 

Genie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yep.” 

“Well, I guess I gotta figure out how to get as brave as you, Little Wood.”

The opening lines of As Brave as You might make you think this will 'just' be a funny book (perhaps filled with toilet humour) but if you think that you will discover you are so 'wrong'.

#460: Poop. Poop is stupid. Stupid poop. Stupid. Poopid. Poopidity. Is poopidity a word?

The boys are cleaning up dog poo. #460 is a way that Genie keeps track of his questions - especially here living with his grandparents who have no internet and so he has no way to use his friend 'Google'. The boys have come from Brooklyn to North Hill, Virginia. Their parents are supposed to be on a holiday. They are supposed to be 'working things out' and hopefully finding a way to stay together so meanwhile Genie and Ernie are trying to adjust to living in a totally new place with new rules. 

Back to Genie's questions. He writes them in a special book:

Genie flipped through pages of his notebook—where he kept his best questions. Some had already been answered, and some were still mysteries. He landed on one that he had totally forgotten about—#389: Do honey badgers eat honey?

Genie was the kind of kid who kept a small jacked-up notebook and pen in his pocket just so that he could jot down interesting things whenever they came. The point was to keep a list—a numbered list—of all the things he needed to Google, because to Genie, the more questions you had, the more answers you could find. And the more answers you found, the more you knew. And the more you knew, the less you made mistakes. Genie wasn’t about mistakes.

Genie is wise beyond his years, and he has a wonderful level of emotional intelligence.  After their long car trip to the country this is what he says about his mum:

The skin on her face looked heavy, and Genie wondered if she had slept at all during the ride. Actually, the skin on her face had been looking heavy for a few months.

There is another layer to this visit - Genie's father and his grandfather have not spoken to each other for years - so something bad must have happened in the past. AND also, Grandpop is totally blind and yet he manages to navigate inside the house. Inside yes, but he needs Genie to help him learn how to walk outside. 

Genie and Grandpop bond over Grandpop's secret inside greenhouse garden and over names - Genie is a girl's name given to a boy and Grandpop's name is Brooke. Ernie and Genie learn about selling peas at the market. It should be an uneventful Summer but of course it is not especially after the boys meet Tess who lives on the next farm. And good news Tess has Wi-Fi so Genie can get onto his backlog of questions. 

Oh and my heart broke when Genie accidentally broke the little red toy truck that had belonged to his Uncle Wood (spoiler alert - his uncle was a soldier who died in action twenty years ago in operation Desert Storm).

#442: Why am I so stupid? Why did he have to leave the truck on the floor? Why? His first day at Grandma and Grandpop’s house, and he had already messed up. The first day. He just couldn’t believe it. He hated making mistakes. All he could think about was how he had to make it right. He had to fix it. But… how?

I do have to give a content warning - this book contains guns, and a shooting.

He turned to open the refrigerator door, and that’s when Genie noticed something was sticking up from the back of his pants like a short tail. Oh… my… G—it was a pistol—the handle of a pistol! Genie had never actually seen a gun in real life, just on the cop shows Ma was always watching, or in movies—action flicks, sci-fi flicks, and even the scary flicks Genie and Ernie weren’t supposed to be watching. ... Questions to remember: What’s a blind man doing with a gun?  Why would Grandpop have a gun, period?

Readers aged 11+ with reading stamina will enjoy this book and the story twists and turns will keep them turning the pages desperate to see if young Genie can atone for his mistakes - breaking that precious truck and accidentally killing one of Grandpop's special birds not to mention the messy issue of Ernie's tooth, the gun shot and his worry about his mum and dad. 

Publisher blurb: Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans). How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all. Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?

This is one of those books where you feel as though you are sitting right beside the family. I especially loved Grandma's cooking and her no-nonsense approach to the boys. 

Reynolds gives his readers uncommonly well-developed, complex characters, especially the completely believable Genie and Grandpop, whose stubborn self-sufficiency belies his vulnerability and whose flawed love both Genie and readers will cherish. This pitch-perfect contemporary novel gently explores the past’s repercussions on the present. Kirkus Star review

Reynolds captures the bond that Grandpop and Genie form in a tender, believable, and entertaining way, delivered through smart and funny prose and sparkling dialogue. School Library Journal

Awards:

• ALA Notable Children's Books
• Bank Street Best Books of the Year
• William Allen White Children's Book Award Reading List (KS)
• ALA Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
• Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
• Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (IL)
• ALA Schneider Family Book Award
• ALA Notable Children's Recording
• Wisconsin State Reading Association's Reading List
• Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Multicultural Books List
• New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
• Kirkus Prize Winner
• USBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities Award List

Genie's questions sometimes act as a light relief from some of the heavy themes in this book - here are a few that gave me a smile:

#458: Grits? What exactly are they? And I get that they’re called grits because they’re gritty, but who thought that name was a good idea? That’s like naming peas green slime balls.

#456: How come glaucoma isn’t called eyecoma? Technically, Grandpop’s eyes are ’sleep, right? Eye… coma. Makes more sense.

#447: What does it mean to shoot the breeze? I know one thing, ain’t no breeze nowhere around here for Grandpop to shoot. 

#448: What does a month of Sundays mean? Has there ever actually been a month of Sundays? Maybe the first month of Sundays was the January after Jesus was born. 

#449: Is the sun hotter in the south? If so, then a month of sundaes makes more sense.

#486: How come teeth ain’t called mouthnails? Or maybe fingernails should be called fingerteeth. 

#487: Do old birds ever lose their beaks? Do they ever crack them pecking hard things? If they do, does that change the way they sing? 

#488: Why do they sing anyway? And is the song of a bird different if the bird is in a tree, in the sky, or in a cage?

Symphony of Stories - vintage book series

Take a look at this Pinterest of picture books and images to link with the slogan

Perhaps you recognise these books (see below) called Fantasia Pictorial and have them in your school library. They were published in the 1970s and had the MOST amazing illustrations by different Japanese illustrators. 

This series would be SO perfect to read this year and link with the CBCA slogan "Symphony of Stories". I guess most libraries will have 'weeded' these books which makes me sad but you could use this list of stories as a way to extend your discussions about the 2026 slogan OR you could share these famous pieces of music with your school music teacher if you are lucky enough to have one. AND check out this list of 10 of the best pieces of classical music for children from Classic FM (note the video links do contain advertising). I also found this set of lessons from BBC aimed at Primary level students. 

I am guessing this series Fantasia Pictorial was linked with the famous Fantasia movie which included The Nutcracker Suite; The Sorcerer's Apprentice; and Night on Bald Mountain.

Here are some covers from the Fantasia Pictorial series plus other more recent picture book editions of these famous stories:

Here is my Carnival of the Animals Pinterest collection

I couldn't find a picture book for this famous music

I have a detailed post about The Nutcracker penned in 2024

Read more about William Tell here

It might be good to hunt out other ballet stories books such as these:

Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li

When we did come across May’s, we’d do the exact same thing. We’d stop and exchange a look. Ye-Ye would raise an eyebrow. “Egg tarts or coconut bread?” 
And every time, I said, “Both?”

“I’m going to help save the bakery.” “What?” “The bakery,” I said, my voice steadying. “It can’t go. I’m going to figure out a way to help May Wong save it.” There. I said it. Now there was no going back.

It might be good to grab a map of San Francisco or look for some photographs of the city - especially if, like me, you don't live in the US or you are unfamiliar with this city.

I did read this book quite quickly. There were many plot points that felt familiar or similar to other books so while I did enjoy some parts of this story it didn't completely grab me. I have put some similar books at the end of this post.

Plot points:

• A young girl (Ruby Chu) is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother - Nai-Nai. This is partly a punishment because Ruby has been caught leaving her school at lunch time
• Ruby is carrying the burdens of grief and guilt. She is sure it is her fault that her grandfather Ye-Ye died about a year ago.
• Ruby was once best friends with her sister Viv but now that her sister is older and about to head away to college their connection seems to be gone. 
• Adding to this Ruby's best friend Mia has moved across the country and Naomi, her other friend, seems to have moved on to a different group. Ruby feels isolated and alone.
• Mum and Dad are absent from Monday to Friday because they are frantically busy with their work commitments and Ruby cannot talk to them over dinner at the weekend because they are always rushing to answer important phone calls.
• Ruby spends her weekdays with Nai-Nai and each day they go to the Seniors Centre. Ruby does make a friend but at first, she is sure she does not like Liam at all. Over time she finds out he has had some deep sadness in his life and with teamwork they bond over their shared goal of saving the bakery.

Maybe it was because after Liam and I had talked, things had changed. We now worked on stuff together and told each other all kinds of things about our families. I would never ignore him in a hallway again or tease him in my mind.

• Ruby knows she is 'grounded' but she breaks this rule by going a sleepover with Naomi. If she talks to her parents about her grandmother, they will discover this and the sleepover is a disaster.

I needed to tell Dad about Nai-Nai getting lost. And Mom. When would I mention it? I would bring it up at dinner, maybe, tonight when Dad picked me up and drove me home. But then I tried to imagine how the conversation would go. They would ask me what had happened. I would have to tell them about Naomi’s sleepover. They would get mad, I realized. My heart sank. Of course they would. They’d get angry at me and at Nai-Nai for letting me go. I didn’t know what would happen next. Would they yell at Nai-Nai? It wasn’t her fault. But would they stop letting me stay at Nai-Nai’s place? Would that leave Nai-Nai by herself again? I couldn’t leave her alone. If she was left alone maybe she’d forget more things and no one would be around to help her remember. Maybe I wouldn’t tell them, for now. I would tell them eventually. For now, I’d just keep watching Nai-Nai.

• Her grandmother is showing early signs of memory loss and later Ruby learns the words dementia and Alzheimer's.
• Mum and Dad decide Nai-Nai needs to go to an aged care facility and when Nai-Nai runs away but Ruby is able to 'rescue' her and things in her family are finally out in the open and able to be resolved.
• So by now you probably agree with me that the title is perfect - Ruby is lost and then she is found or she discovers things about herself and begins to accept the changes in her life.

Listen to an audio sample here.

Publisher blurb: Thanks to her Ye-Ye’s epic scavenger hunts, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu knows San Francisco like the back of her hand. But after his death, she feels lost, and it seems like everyone—from her best friends to her older sister—is abandoning her. After Ruby gets in major trouble at school, her parents decide she has to spend the summer at a local senior center with her grandmother, Nai-Nai, and Nai-Nai’s friends for company. When a new boy from Ruby’s grade, Liam Yeung, starts showing up too, Ruby’s humiliation is complete. But Nai-Nai, her friends, and Liam all surprise Ruby. She finds herself working with Liam, who might not be as annoying as he seems, to help save a historic Chinatown bakery that’s being priced out of the neighborhood. And alongside Nai-Nai, who is keeping a secret that threatens to change everything, Ruby retraces Ye-Ye’s scavenger hunt maps in an attempt to find a way out of her grief—and maybe even find herself. 

Big feelings are uncomfortable but to be expected in this story of finding joy and community amid change and loss. Kirkus Star review

(While) this is not an exciting, page-turner; it's a self-contained family drama that's essentially about a grieving girl getting to know her grandmother better. It's definitely worth a read though -- Ruby's family and struggles feel real, the exploration of grief and intergenerational family relationships is touching, and the San Francisco setting sparkles. Common Sense Media

Read this detailed review from Ms Yingling and one from Horn Book Magazine.

I did enjoy the descriptions of Chinatown and also the relationships between the older ladies at the senior centre where Ruby goes each day with her grandmother. This book also explores the complexities of junior high friendships and peer group relationships. Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of this story by Christina Li.

I took a bite and savored the sweet, creamy egg custard, pressing down the inkling of worry in my chest. The crust was soft and flaky and melted on my tongue. “Thank you,” I said, muffled, my mouth half-full. It was just like how I remembered it in May’s Bakery on a busy Saturday morning or on a quiet Sunday afternoon, leaning over the counter to peer at the egg tarts and sponge cakes through the glass. I took a sip of the tea and leaned back and felt warm and full.

They passed out bingo cards and chips. And right before it started, Auntie Lin leaned back to speak to May Wong. She kept her voice low, but I was just close enough to hear her say, in Mandarin, “Another kid to babysit? What are we, a day care?" ... Also: another kid? Some other grandchild was being brought here against their will? Five hours to go. The clock was literally slowing before my eyes.

Nai-Nai also didn’t do much after the days at the senior center. She used to always go on small trips and errands. Back when she was really into making clothes, she’d take me with her to the fabric store. We’d hang out for hours while she draped lengths of fabric over herself, so it looked like she had a rainbow cape. Or during her paint phase, she’d grab watercolors and have Ye-Ye and me paint with her. But now, like clockwork, we headed straight back to the apartment in the late afternoon. She wore gray sweater-vests and different varieties of handmade baggy pants. And her only hobby these days seemed to be watching TV.

Ye-Ye made me a scavenger hunt every August, the weekend before school started. There were colored-pencil marks over all of this map, a different color for every year. Dark green was last year. Gold was the year before, then red. The last time that Viv joined us for the scavenger hunts was recorded in a beautiful sky blue, looping near the ocean. Viv always liked to charge ahead with each clue, as if it was a race to finish as fast as possible. I liked to wander. And then the next year she stopped coming.

The other day, she left the package of tofu out on the counter after cooking noodles. When Nai-Nai came for breakfast, she stared at the tofu package and asked me why I’d taken it out for breakfast. Nai-Nai was always a bit scatterbrained. She often left mail and receipts out on the coffee table and left books she was reading open and facedown. But she never really misplaced things in the kitchen.

You might want to grab a copy of this book after reading Ruby lost and found:

And you want to eat a custard tart or some coconut bread and visit a Japanese stationery store to buy some of those fun animal erasers (chapter 7).

Companion books:

Tree Table Book

Talking to the Moon

Maizy Chen's last chance

Just like Jackie

Elmer Day 2026

Read about Elmer Day here

It is a testament to the wonder and appeal of this special little colourful elephant named Elmer that so many of the books in this series are still in print. I picked up a copy of my second favourite Elmer book - Elmer and the Hippos at a recent charity book sale and it is in mint condition. My other favourite is Elmer on Stilts.

Blurb for Elmer and the Hippos: The elephants are not very happy: the hippos have come to live in their river because their own has dried up. When the elephants complain that the river is over-crowded, Elmer the patchwork elephant soon discovers that the problem can easily be solved, but only if the hippos and the elephants work together!

Reviewers said (of Elmer and the Hippos):

"A lesson in tolerance, co-operation - and recognising colours."  Culture Sunday Times 

"With its vibrant, eye-catching colors and engaging goings-on, this book is a visual delight."  School Library Journal 

"A lovely story about co-operation . . . The Bookbag 

In a previous post about David McKee, who died in 2022, I shared nearly all of the Elmer books. Here are a few:

If you need new copies of the Elmer books or you have not yet added this series to your library I found a terrific deal - 30 titles in a set for around AUS$300 - that's only AUS$10 per book! [9781839136924]

Last week my friend and I discovered there is one new Elmer book that has just been published.

Book seller blurb: With a gentle environmental theme, this is the last Elmer story that David McKee was working on, finished by his close friend and artist Marysia Milewski. When the ice starts to melt at the North Pole, a polar bear sets off on an adventure that takes him all the way to Elmer's jungle! When a mysterious white bear appears in the jungle, Elmer and Wilbur are keen to hear his story. He has come all the way from the north pole on a floating scrap of ice, and now he can’t find his way home. Luckily, Elmer and Wilbur have an idea! But what caused the white bear’s icy home to melt in the first place? That’s a much more puzzling question. With a gentle introduction to the themes of climate change, this is David McKee's (1935–2022) Elmer story with artwork by his dear friend and fine artist, Marysia Milewski.

Here are a few other newer Elmer titles:

And this one could fit in with your Book Week reading and the 2026 slogan A Symphony of Stories:

Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa'aoso, Michelle Scott Tucker and Lyn White

The crocodile’s eyes were yellow, slit by a vertical pupil. 

The creature remained perfectly still, but it throbbed with life. 

Ezra felt goosebumps in spite of the afternoon heat, 

and took a few steps back.

‘Is that thing looking at you?’ asked Mason.

‘Nah. How could it be?’

It took me many days to read this book but I am not the target audience. I did find myself wondering though, why Spirit of the Crocodile has been short listed by the CBCA even though I think it was a good choice for their Notables list and secondly, I wonder how many readers (target audience ages 10+) will have enough reading stamina to stick with this story right to the end. Spirit of the Crocodile has been short listed by the CBCA as I mentioned and by ABIA and for the Queensland Literary Awards and it was awarded Highly Commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. It clearly appeals to many adult judges of book competitions here in Australia. I have made some suggestions of extracts you could use to entice readers in your library to read this book later in this post because there are some moments of good tension which young readers will enjoy. 

Here are the CBCA judges comments:

Publisher blurb: Twelve-year old Ezra is an ordinary boy who lives on Saibai, an extraordinary Australian island. He loves a laugh, he loves his family, and - almost more than anything - he loves a dare. But when one of his dares goes wrong, Ezra realises he needs to make some decisions about helping out and measuring up. He learns that there's more than one way to look at, well, nearly everything. And as ever-increasing climate disasters threaten Saibai, Ezra and his best mate Mason must draw on their resilience and courage to help the community survive a massive out-of-season storm. Set in today's Torres Strait, Spirit of the Crocodile is a captivating novel that explores the importance of culture, community and place to a carefree kid on the cusp of growing up.

Strengths of this story/book:

• An appealing cover
• The decorations used to fill the cover title lettering and chapter headings (check out the link to the blog Paperbark Words to read more about this - see below)
• The exploration of extended family relationships in indigenous communities
• The family relationships, sibling relationships and friendships - I especially love Ezra's little sister Tarzie.
• Descriptions of the island landscape and village

"Saibai's tiny village of maybe a hundred buildings perched on the northwest coast of the island. The village looked out to sea on one side and was hemmed in by bird-filled brackish lagoons on the other. Mason's home and the airport were at one end of Main Road. The other end of the road ran past the jetty and the council depot before finishing at the cemetery."

• Details of indigenous cultural practices and beliefs

"Ezra looked at the evening star, knowing it was part of the Koedal constellation and thinking about how he himself belonged to that crocodile clan. He thought about what Mum had told him - that Koedal was fierce and fast moving, but patient and knowledgeable as well. When Ezra's male ancestors died they became part of the Koedal constellation. when Ezra's time came, he would too."

• Ezra is so proud of his mum (and dad).

"Ezra's mum Zipporah, a teacher's aide, worked in the junior classes at the school on Saibai. Zippie was a tall, intelligent woman, full of enthusiasm and energy. With her beautiful green eyes, not a few of the littlies in her classroom were madly in love with her. She was studying part-time and online to become a fully qualified teacher."

Here are some very detailed teachers notes from the publisher (via Pegi Williams). 

Here is the author talking about his island. Further thoughts:

This quote could be a good discussion point with your class:

"the conversation sometimes veered off into a discussion about marine pollution; about which containers sank straight away and which ones kept floating for weeks; about how many and what a menace they were; about the impact of other discarded objects like fishing gear, and plastics, and household rubbish."

Ezra has a different experience of moving from Primary to High school - leaving Saibai and heading to Thursday Island. I imagine most readers of this book will have no idea about this and again this could be a good topic to discuss especially since this experience is not unique to Australia - I met a family on Fair Isle (Scotland) and their son was about to head away to his high school in Lerwick having just finished Grade 6.

It is vital to explore the topic of global change, and the dangers and evidence are a daily and terrifying reality for island communities such as this one on Saibai I did find this aspect of the story 

"He knew that the seawall, seemingly so solid and sturdy, was in fact a desperate attempt to keep the remaining community safe from the encroaching waters of the sea. Two years ago he'd seen a tide come up so high that the sea water sloshed right over the wall and inundated the gardens of many of the houses fronting Main Road. It was as if the wall wasn't even there."

"The whole world knew that islands like Saibai were in danger - that special tress like his were in danger, that houses like Mason's were in danger - and no one in charge was doing a thing to stop it. They said all the words, but they never did anything real. Nothing."

Here is another quote which you could use for a discussion with an older group of students:

"What it might give me is an easier way through to the whitefella world ... So I can learn how to use their stuff to help our people. Like Eddie Mabo did. Like the uncles achieved in the High Court. I want to learn how to use their rules, their laws, their knowledge."

The action in this story really does not 'heat up' until page 175+ of the 242 pages. This makes me wonder if readers aged 10+ will 'stick with' this book right to the end. There are a couple of terrific scenes earlier in the story though. If I was sharing this book with a group in the library here are a couple of the scenes you could use for a book talk: When Ezra dives under the truck pages 101-103 and the awful incident with the spear fishing 'gun' pages 155-157.

Joy Lawn from Paperbark Words talks to the creators of this book.

It is books like this about community and culture that truly showcase what a different culture is like, what they contribute and how they bring two worlds together to create lives filled with joy, family and everything they need to live. It acknowledges the conflicts and knowledge gaps, and shows that using what you have at hand can be the best way to work towards making a difference. The Book Muse (this review has a good plot summary).

Spirit of the Crocodile is, in many ways, an extremely relatable, age-old story exploring the pain and excitement of growing up. However, its evocative descriptions of island life, kinship systems, trilingual code-switching, cross-cultural negotiation, and community resilience also offer a generous and original insight into Torres Strait culture. Story Links

There is real tension which the authors bring to a head and then resolve beautifully. The Australian Legend

Here is a 12 minute ABC Pacific radio review.

Companion book to read after Spirit of the Crocodile:

Swimming against the Storm

Having now read all six of the CBCA 2026 Younger Readers shortlisted titles I cannot help but observe that the CBCA Younger Readers short list for 2026 does seem to be a little contrived because the choices by the judges seem to fit into very specific categories. One graphic novel - Inked; a junior chapter book for the youngest readers - Tim tie-your shoelaces; a verse novel - Little Bones; the action thriller Run by Sarah Armstrong; a realistic fiction title The Paperbark Tree Committee; and one indigenous title - Spirit of the Crocodile.