Art (Arthur) and his younger brother Hillary have moved with dad and his partner to Melbourne. Dad is a writer (of Young Adult fiction ironically) who rides an emotional roller-coaster of writer's block, breakthrough, doubt and insecurity. This means Dad is constantly distracted and has not formed any sort of real relationship with his two sons.
"We all know the stages of his writing by now - frustration when he can't think of an idea or has an idea he can't quite figure out, over-the-top joy when he finally settles on something, absence when he starts writing, grumpiness when he has writer's block, then mania when he's back on a roll, nervousness while he waits for feedback from his editor, and back and forth between those last few until the book is published. And then it's all the highs and lows of review and author talks, and then, luck us, it starts all over again."
The main theme of this book is the exploration of the complexities of relationships. Art has a good relationship with his younger brother but as Art enters his teenage years there are of course some complications. Art also has a good relationship with his stepmother Sally, but there is his underlying fear that she might one day leave the family as his mother has done.
Art works hard to make new friends - Micah and Lexi - at his new school in Melbourne and, even though it felt slightly contrived, it was interesting to see how, once he found two friends, he decided to be proactive and find more. The running scenes reminded me of the wonderful Tracks series by Jason Reynolds.
On the downside, as I said, Art has a very complex relationship with his distant and dysfunctional father. Sorry to say this but I just couldn't believe a parent, an adult, could be so deliberately unkind, uncommunicative and so insensitive towards his two sons and new partner. Dad's whole focus on being or becoming a famous writer, to my eye, portrayed a really really bad impression of that profession.
The other relationship Art has to navigate is with the school bully - Jack. It always seems little too obvious to me when, as readers, we make the discovery that Jack comes from a dysfunctional family and that his own father is also a bully. I am sure this sadly is a real experience for some kids but after reading many hundreds of books that feature bullies I do find this all a bit too predictable.
Things I liked in this book: Art's relationship with Hillary - it is terrific to read about siblings who get on well with each other (albeit with some ups and downs); Sally the step mum is a fantastic character - wise and loving; and the final poem Art writes to perform with his after school writing group is emotional, truthful and worth thinking about deeply.
The CBCA judges mention emotional intelligence and I thought about this too. It was good to see both boys were 'allowed to cry' and in the scene where Art tries to convince Hillary that they should trick their dad into proposing marriage to Sally; it is Hillary who shows enormous maturity when he talks about how this could badly hurt Sally.
"I think this is the worst idea you've ever had ... By far. ... Dad won't go along with it. We'll get in huge trouble and Saly is just going to get hurt ... "
The title is not exactly a central focus of the story - Art and Hillary had a special tree in their former town and they used it to talk through their problems using the idea of a committee with an agenda. In Melbourne they find a new tree - a paperbark - but Art feels self-conscious when kids from his school see him climbing a tree like a little kid. Moving away from needing to use the tree to talk to each other links with the themes in this book of change and growing up.
The CBCA selected 25 Younger Readers Notable titles (long list) for their 2026 award. Last week the short list of 6 were announced and I was utterly dismayed that FIVE of my predictions did not make the cut. I have seen The Paperbark Tree Committee in several shops since it was first released in April 2025 but the cover and blurb did not really grab my attention.
Because this book is on the 2026 CBCA short list for Younger Readers I needed to read it (done) and then think about it perhaps a little more deeply than I usually do.
As an adult reader I one plot point did not ring true for me. Art wants to 'get back at' Jack, the boy who has been bullying him. He sets up a plan with the help of his new friends to distract the librarian (why isn't she called a Teacher-Librarian) so he can get into the library or school computer system called Orbit. In NSW schools Orbit is one part of our library management system which is called Oliver. Orbit is the simple OPAC (online public access catalogue) designed for use by the younger students in a Primary school it is not part of the school administration software. I did hold my breath when Art tried to 'hack' the library circulation computer hoping to alter Jack's school records and I was glad when none of his attempts at guessing the password were successful.
Generally I only quote review comments that echo my own thoughts but here is the one from Readings (Melbourne bookshop) and I have to say I really disagree with their use of the word hilarious:
Other reviews: Reading Time; The Book Muse; Read Plus; and Paperbark words an interview with Joy Lawn.
There are teaching notes on the publisher page but again I am going to say I think this book better suits an individual reader and I cannot imagine dissecting every scene/page/incident as part of a class novel study.
Blurb from author page: Twelve-year-old Art and his younger brother Hilary are great friends, best friends. When they move to Melbourne from a small town in Queensland things seem to be easy for Hilary, who is still in primary school, but Art struggles to fit in, and he’s become a target for school bully Jack. His dad is too busy to give him much attention, but Art has his stepmum, Sally, who is always ready to listen. And there’s the paperbark tree. Art and Hilary climb into its branches and hold a secret meeting whenever they need to sort things out. The only problem is Art’s not sure he still wants to be part of the paperbark tree committee. He’s getting older and he thinks he needs to solve his problems on his own.
Here are the judges' comments:
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