Wolf Road by Alice Roberts illustrated by Keith Robinson

"Even if he never returns ... his friendship will stay with you. You treated him kindly and encouraged others to do so as well."

Publisher blurb: Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards that the climate throws at them. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises that he might hold the adventure she is looking for.  He is from another tribe, sent to find safer ground and as he and Tuuli strike up an unlikely friendship, they set out on a journey that will impact the rest of human history. 

Readers aged 10+ who have good reading stamina and who are curious about ancient peoples are sure to enjoy Wolf Road. If you are book talking this book with a library group you could read the chapter "The River's Pull".  In this scene Tulli is swept away by a fast-flowing river and all her possessions are lost. Such was the power of this scene that I felt a dreadful grief for Tuuli and I hoped she could, by some miracle, perhaps find all her worldly goods again but alas this doesn't happen.

"Her share of hides for the tents, her summer clothes, her hide boots, pieces of antler; the bit of tusk ivory that she'd been going to carve into an amulet for Aski. Her pieces of birch bard and packets of pine resin. And her carefully wrapped parcels of reindeer meat, fermented willow, sweet horse food and groundsel. And all her spare darts, her harpoon, her half-made stone points. Everything."

This book also has really good descriptions of place, seasons, weather and people:

"He was wearing a really basic tunic made of deer-skin, crudely sewn up at the sides. He had a broad hide thong tied around his chest, under his arms, and a short, wooden spear was tucked under the strap at his back. A single fox-tooth hung from a cord around his neck. He was wearing what looked like fur boots, but on closer inspection, Tuuli saw that these weren't properly sewn. They looked like rough pieces of fur just tied onto his feet with sinews."

The cave art descriptions on pages 185-187 reminded me of this book:

Ancestory

I also enjoyed the sophisticated vocabulary used by Alice Roberts and I learned a few new words from this book too such as spoor (animal droppings), pulk, talo, and knapping.

This book caught my eye at a charity book sale earlier this year. It has taken me a few weeks to complete my reading and I will say the second half of this book is way better than the slow beginning. Also this story has tons of characters and yes, there is a list of them at the beginning of the book, but really, you only need to focus on three or four names - Tuuli, Wren, Remi, Aski and Lupa (Tulli's wolf friend).

This story is set against harsh scenery and dramatically changing climate. The impact of these determines what they wear, hunt and eat as well as the superstitions and belief system they live by. Respect is shown to the environment that they survive within, and acceptance that sometimes it gives and at other times it takes away. ... There is a very dramatic twist to this story that sets Tuuli and her lovely wolf cub on a different path. The strong bond between Tuuli and the cub is built up carefully; it is not forced, and grows naturally. Recommended for competent readers of 10 years + who enjoy a page-turning adventure of loving bonds and survival. Historical Novel Society

Wolf Road is a debut novel for Alice Roberts - the sequel is Wolf Mountain (2025).

In her author notes at the back of Wolf Road Alice Roberts explains the way she deeply researched the setting and lifestyles of her Ice Age or Stone Age or Paleolithic people. You may have read about the way Michelle Paver did this too for her book series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. Here is a video with Alice Roberts. 

"I have even lassoed a reindeer. I have found out for myself how warm you can be in a reindeer fur coat and reindeer fur boots in seriously subzero temperatures."

Companion books:

The Cave

Tarin of the Mammoths

A River Running Through You by Amy-Jane Beer illustrated by Elin Manon

"Have you ever lingered on a riverbank watching the water flow, and wondered where it comes from, or where it might be going? These are very old questions. 

And old questions often have stories for answers."

You might expect this book to follow the journey of a river from source to ocean but that does not happen. Instead we read about all the places the river has visited such as the ocean, glaciers, underground, in swamps, marshes, ponds and lakes. 

I can imagine taking this book outside and sitting by a river and reading this book quietly and slowly. 

The format of this book is similar to the series Read and Wonder or as they were later called Nature Storybooks with text in two formats - the lyrical story in a larger font and science facts in a smaller italic font. 

Think about these lyrical phrases: "held the land it it's ice embrace"; "where in darkness it crept and pooled"; "your river has lived uncounted lives".

This is a book to share with all ages from 6 to 11 and perhaps even junior high school. 

Our students and children and grandchildren are so lucky today because there are so many wonderful non fiction books that use simply wonderful illustrations. Take a look at this Pinterest collection from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. You can see inside A River Running through You here published in 2026. 

Can I suggest you act quickly - the hardcover edition of this book is a great price AUS$25 [9781917366304] and it is here too. I highly recommend you add this book to your library.

Bookseller blurb: Embark on a never-ending voyage in which young readers explore some very old questions-questions so old that they have stories for answers. This mesmerizing journey through mountain springs to vast oceans, from rivers in the sky to streams within our own bodies, guides readers through reflections on nature, life, and our place within it.

A River Running Through You is on the Children's Wainwright Prize for Picture Books Shortlist 2026. The winner is The Great Bear by Annie Booker.

Amy-Jane Beer is a biologist turned naturalist and writer. She has worked for more than 20 years as a science writer and editor, contributing to more than 40 books on natural history. She is currently a Country Diarist for The Guardian, a columnist for British Wildlife and a feature writer for BBC Wildlife magazine, among others. She campaigns for the equality of access to nature and collaboration between farming and conservation sectors. Her book The Flow won the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

Elin Manon is a freelance illustrator from Wales now based in Cornwall. She graduated from Falmouth University in 2020. Her work is inspired by the natural world, ecology, folklore and anthropology.

The illustrations reflect the lyrical and slightly mystical mood the text creates. Books for Keeps

I am keen to see this book also illustrated by Elin Manon:

Companion books:

A River by Marc Martin

Song of the River

Saturday by Oge Mora

"Saturday was the day they cherished."

On Saturday the little girl and her mum go to the library; the hairdresser; take a picnic in the part; and on this Saturday there is a puppet show. It sounds like a perfect day BUT ...

Bookseller blurb: A mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong - ruining story time, salon time, picnic time and the puppet show they'd been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown...until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all.

Make sure you notice the calendar end papers - there is a tiny change from front to back. 

I am writing this blog in Australia and yes, this is an American book, but I think this is one you should consider reading to your class - all ages. The theme of this book is disappointment and how to cope when things do not go the way we expect. Saturday was published in 2019 and it is still available but only in hardcover and so it is way too expensive for our school libraries but I am sure you will find this book in some public libraries. 

Here is a Kirkus interview where Oge Mora talks about her work and this book. You can see more books by Oge Mora here. 

Thank you, Omu!

Things start to go awry almost immediately, but Ava’s mother is full of reassurances, and they have a strategy for dealing with disappointment: pause, close their eyes, breathe deep, and move on. But after the biggest disappointment comes at the end of a daylong string of them, it’s Ava who brings comfort to her mother in a touching moment that may bring tears to readers’ eyes. Kirkus Star review

Sounder by William H Armstrong

"He ran his fingers back and forth over the broad crown of the head 

of a coon dog named Sounder."

Publisher blurb: Set in the 19th-century American South, this is the story a poor African-American sharecropping family, their faithful dog, Sounder, and the eldest boy's efforts to learn how to read and help his mother to support the family after his father is arrested for stealing a ham. When Sounder chases after the Sheriff's deputies he is shot and he crawls away, seemingly to die. For weeks the boy thinks that he has lost both his father and his dog, but then Sounder comes back, lame and missing an ear. The boy continues to search for his father, until a few years later the father returns home, disabled from a quarry accident. Reunited at last, the father and Sounder go on one final hunting trip together . . .

Sounder was published in 1969 and it won the Newbery Medal but, while I had heard of this book, reading it last week was a new experience for me. You can read a longer plot summary here. 

There is a whole lesson you could using book covers - you can see a good selection at the top of this post. This is also a book to use if you are talking about the power of a short novel. I had lots of readers in my former school library who not only judged a book by its cover but also by its length. For some a long long book was prestigious for others a shorter book meant the reading might be accomplished more quickly but for other, the kids who worried me, a shorter book somehow meant it would not be good or worth reading. If I was book talking Sounder either with a library group or with one reader I think this book could be the one to persuade them that shorter books can be just as terrific as those long tomes.

Here are some text quotes that resonated with me:

"What the boy saw in Sounder would have been totally missed by an outsider. The dog was not much to look at - a mixture of Georgia redbone hound and bulldog. His ears, nose and colour were those of a redbone. The great square jaws and head, his muscular neck and broad chest showed his bulldog blood."

"The boy pressed his head deep into his straw pillow. The pillow was cold, but it felt smooth, and smelled fresh. He had the same feeling he got when he rubbed his face against the sheets that hung on the clothesline every Monday. His mother washed his pillowcase and sheet every week, just like she did for the people who lived in the big house down the road."

"He watched his mother as she patched his father's overalls with a piece of ticking. The combination of faded blue overall cloth and grey-and-white-striped ticked looked odd."

"The loneliness that was always in the cabin, except when his mother was singing or telling a story about the Lord, was heavier than ever now. It made the boy's tongue heavy. It pressed against his eyes and they burned. It rolled against his ears. His head seemed to be squeezed inward, and it hurt."

"The boy was crying now. Not that there was any new or sudden sorrow. There just seemed to be nothing else to fill up the vast lostness of the moment. ... The tears ran down through the cobwebs and dust that covered his face, making little rivulets. ... There was so sign of Sounder's body."

The novel's strength lies in its meticulous portrayal of the boy's internal world as he grapples with the injustice inflicted upon his family. Following his father's arrest and subsequent imprisonment, the boy embarks on a series of lonely journeys, seeking his father in chain gangs across the landscape, his steadfast loyalty mirroring Sounder’s own unwavering devotion. These journeys are not merely physical; they are spiritual odysseys that test the limits of childish optimism and force a premature confrontation with the world's cruelty. Armstrong masterfully uses the natural world – the desolate roads, the changing seasons – as a backdrop that both reflects and amplifies the boy's emotional state, a silent witness to his quiet suffering. Reviewer Insight

Companion books:

Shiloh

The truth as told to Mason Buttle

ABC Radio National top 100 Australian Books

ABC Radio National: Each year we focus on a different theme. In 2026, we're celebrating Australian writing in all its many forms. ... Our definition of Australian is deliberately broad. We want to celebrate books that reflect Australia and Australian life in all its richness. ... There are no genre restrictions.

As you would expect I am going to list the Children's Books that 'made' this list.  I predicted NONE of my choices would be listed but in fact ONE of mine is there! Nineteen children's books are in the top 100 so that is something to celebrate even though a few of were written many decades ago. And I have listed a few others that were later published as young reader or abridged editions. 

IBBY Australia Honour Book 2010; Shaun Tan IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen nominee; Shaun Tan winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2011. 

The Arrival is a title on the IBBY International Silent Books list (2013). 

Read this article by Shaun Tan about The Arrival

100. Round the Twist by Paul Jennings

99. The 13-Storey Tree house by Andy Griffiths

98. The Arrival by Shaun Tan*

91. Where the Forest meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker*

83. Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughan illustrated by Pamela Lofts

70. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French* illustrated by Bruce Whatley*

62. Are we there yet? by Alison Lester*

55. The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay (1918)

48. Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox* illustrated by Judy Horacek

47. Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (1980)

42. The Complete adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs (1918)

37. I can jump puddles by Alan Marshall (1955)

32. Animalia by Graeme Base

25. Seven Little Australian by Ethel Turner (1893)

19. Magic Beach by Alison Lester

17. Storm Boy by Colin Thiele (the best edition is the one illustrated by Robert Ingpen 1974)

13. Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (1992)

11. Possum Magic by Mem Fox illustrated by Julie Vivas

6. Tomorrow when the War Began by John Marsden

* the labels on this post will take you to more books by these authors and illustrators.

Illustration by Robert Ingpen (IBBY Australia HCAA Nominee 1986)

Source: The Guardian

Other titles:

I also need to mention 59. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku because there is a picture book edition and 60. The Man from Snowy River by AB Banjo Paterson which you can read in several picture books. There are abridged editions written for young readers of 21. My Place by Sally Morgan; 24. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, 12. Dark Emu was published for young readers as Young Dark Emu and 50. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. I guess I should also have added 81. We of the Never Never by Jeanie Gunn published in 1907.

Illustrated by Freya Blackwood*

Cookbooks on the list:

22. The Birthday Cake Book (Australian Women's Weekly)

96. Recipe Tin Eats Dinner

56. The Cooks Companion Stephanie Alexander

I mentioned this book in my post about Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr

You will also want to watch the Bluey Episode "Duck Cake" season 2 episode 43. 

Round the Twist was a television series based on several previous short stories found in collections by Paul Jennings such as Unreal. My own favourite Paul Jenning stories are One Shot Toothpaste and Smart Ice cream.

Read more here

If you are curious here are my votes:

Tiger Daugher; Fox; Picasso and the Greatest Show on earth; Then and Now; The Foal in the wire; Scar Town; The way of Dog; and Across the Risen Sea. My tenth book is My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder.

The Christmas Book by Katherine Woodfine illustrated by Lizzy Stewart

"Grandfather had been a fisherman, but he had also been a teller of tales. He had so many stories of valiant rescues and brave deeds at sea ... But the tales the children loved hearing best of all were his legends of gods and giants, dwarves and dragons, heroes and hunters. Old tales that made the warm kitchen feel full of strange magic."

Grandfather told the children Icelandic stories about characters such as Yggdrasil (the tree); Asgard (home of the gods); and Thor, Oddin and Loki. Your local or school library might have books about Norse Mythology such as these:

YES! I am talking about a Christmas book and it is only October but this is a book I really want you to add to your gift list and then you should plan to read this book over the Christmas period as a family read aloud. AND good news - this book is a small hard cover with a dust jacket for less than AUS$20.

My copy of this book was a surprise gift this week from a book lover friend. It is so great to read a book where my plot predictions are totally wrong. I absolutely did not expect the ending of The Christmas Book - and I need to say it was utterly perfect. 

Bookseller blurb (spoiler alert): It was Christmas Eve in the little farmhouse. The air was full of good smells of spices and jam and hot cocoa. No one was expecting any presents, but there would be leaf bread, and cookies, and Grandmother's embroidered tablecloth, and they would all do what they could to make the Yuletide bright. Picking his way home across the lava field, Tomas knows that this Christmas won't be quite the same - not without his Grandfather. But as the war draws closer, Tomas devises a plan to ensure his Grandfather's stories will still be at the heart of his family's Christmas - even if it means being braver than a boy ever dreamed he could be. Donning his grandfather's jumper for courage, working hard at chores for neighbours, he takes his hard-earned pennies to shop for presents - only to find all the shops empty of stock. This is war time and rationing. There is just one shop still open ... Inspired by the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, where books are given as gifts on Christmas Eve.

The art in The Christmas Book is also truly special. You can see inside this book on Lizzy Stewart's Instagram page. 

Here are two other books illustrated by Lizzy Stewart:

I previously talked about these books by Katherine Woodfine - I highly recommend her as an author you should add to your school library.

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

Rose's Dress of Dreams

Sophie takes to the Skies

The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo illustrated by Michael Foreman

This is one of those very powerful shorter books that would be perfect for your reluctant readers in Grade 6 or 7. The reporter is told not to ask 'The Mozart Question'.  Why? Paulo decides to tell his story of survival during the holocaust. This is not a book for young readers. Concentration camps and gas chambers are mentioned. Make sure you take a close look at the cover.

Michael Foreman adds his usual fabulous water colour art to this book:

Sadly, this book from 2007 is out of print but I am sure it will be easy to find a in many libraries.

... it is Paulo himself who decides that the time has come for the truth to be told. And so follows the story of his parents in a concentration camp, forced to play Mozart violin concertos for the enemy; how they watched fellow Jews being led off to death and knew that as long as  they were played  they themselves would live. (read about the stage play of this book)

In this stunningly written and very moving book Michael Morpurgo pays tribute to the Jewish musicians who played musical instruments during their captivity in German concentration camps. Their skill kept them alive, and they played to survived. Morpurgo also explores the idea that secrets are often no better than lies. There comes a time when the truth must be told and only then can healing begin. Through the Looking Glass review

You can read background notes from Michael Morpurgo here. 

Publisher blurb: When Lesley is sent to Venice to interview world-renowned violinist Paulo Levi on his fiftieth birthday, she cannot believe her luck. She is told that she can ask him anything at all – except the Mozart question. But it is Paulo himself who decides that the time has come for the truth to be told. And so follows the story of his parents in a Jewish concentration camp, forced to play Mozart violin concerti for the enemy; how they watched fellow Jews being led off to their deaths and knew that they were playing for their lives. As the story unfolds, the journalist begins to understand the full horror of war – and how one group of musicians survived using the only weapon they had.

This book caught my eye at a recent charity book sale because I recognised the format. I previously read (and enjoyed) these books - the series doesn't seem to have an official name but they are published by Walker Books UK.

This Morning I met a Whale

Captain Rosalie

A Swallow in Winter

I Believe in Unicorns

The Kites are Flying