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Children’s picture book about navigating change This book caught my eye at a local bookshop some time ago and I couldn’t leave without it. The bright green cover and lyrical title piqued my interest and when I flicked through it in-store I knew I had to buy it for my toddler. “The Bookshop on Lemon Tree Lane” by Mike Lucas and illustrated by Sofya Karmazina is a children’s bookshop about a…

Children’s board book based on the hit TV series I love bookshopping for my toddler so much and she is a massive fan of the “Bluey” TV show and loves all the associated books. It’s actually taken me a really long time to post this because I haven’t been able to find either a motorised scooter or a garage sale close enough to my home to take an accompanying photograph. Then when I finally found…

Final novel in “The Book of Dust” fantasy trilogy This is the long-anticipated final installment of the follow-up trilogy of the “His Dark Materials” series. I reviewed the first and second books in the series already, so if you haven’t read them yet and want to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading my review for the first book first. I did just want to mention that the cover design for this book…

Outback crime novel about murders in a small town Many years ago I received the second book in this trilogy after receiving it as a gift. I don’t usually read books out of order in a series, and given the hype this book has generated over the years, I’ve always wanted to read the first book to see if I liked it better. My local libraries seem to particularly have a lot of Australian audiobooks…

Young adult novel about time travel and special powers Another audiobook find on the Libby app, this one had been on my list to read for some years after it was adapted into a film about ten years ago directed by Tim Burton. It popped up on my StoryGraph To-Read Pile and I decided to give it a listen. “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs and narrated by Jesse Bernstein…

Satirical fiction about a South African mathmatical genius and an atom bomb Another Lifeline Bookfair find, this author was somewhat of a bestseller with his first novel and this one had generated quite some hype as well. Goodness only knows how long it’s been sitting on my bookshelf, but in an attempt to continue to chip away at my outrageous to-be-read piles, I finally picked it up. “The Girl…

Short novel about a woman’s identity as a convenience store employee This book has been out for a while and at some point I had added it to my to-be-read list on Storygraph. I was looking for my next audiobook, and after playing top of the TBR roulette, this one was available on Libby. “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori and narrated by Nancy Wu, is a…

Japanese-inspired fantasy adventure about a pawnshop for regrets This was a set book for my feminist fantasy bookclub last year. It seemed like it was part of the cosy Japanese fiction trend so I was interested to see how the fantasy was woven in. “Water Moon” by Samantha Sotto Yambao is a fantasy novel set in Japan about a young woman who is taking over her father’s pawn shop. It is a very…

Meandering modern fantasy novel inspired by classic faerie mythology Many years ago a good friend of mine recommended this book to me and it has been on my list for a very long time. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a physical copy. After I transitioned away from Audible to Libby, I was a bit overwhelmed with choice and had to come up with some way to choose my next audiobook. I went for pure…

Bildungsroman about male friendship in the Adelaide Hills I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher. “Rat Daniels” by Alex Sawyer is a bildungsroman about a young boy called Jimmy who, while exploring local bushland in the fictional South Australian suburb of Edens Ridge, befriends another boy he calls Rat. The two boys become inseparable friends and Jimmy is drawn into Rat’s…

Final book in trilogy about the Tudors and Thomas Cromwell Another lucky Lifeline Bookfair find, it was released around the time I read and reviewed the second book in the series. However, due to its considerable size (875 pages) and my considerable TBR pile(s), I found it hard to justify spending over two books’ worth of reading time on one book. However, last year it must have wriggled its way…

Children’s board book about “Bluey” character Bingo My toddler is a huge “Bluey” fan, so when we went to a local bookshop last year and she saw this book, I couldn’t help myself. I apologise in advance for the many “Bluey” books that will be featured on this blog. “All About Bingo” is a book by the creators of the Australian cartoon series “Bluey“. The book is all about Bluey’s younger sister,…

Children’s picture book about a sibling relationship in the summer I am a huge fan of this artist and haven’t reviewed nearly as many of his books on this blog as I would like purely because I read many of them before I started it. This was an incredible find at the Lifeline Bookfair and it caught the eye of my toddler as well. “Rules of Summer” by Shaun Tan is a children’s picture book about…

Three “educational” books from the Cat in the Hat franchise These three books made their way into our home as books tend to do when you have a toddler. We read lots of Dr. Seuss when I was a kid so I wasn’t surprised that they captured my toddler’s interest. These are all part of the same series so I’ll review them together in one post. Oh, the Things You Can Do that are Good for You! “Oh, the…

Children’s picture book about six wild ponies I have already reviewed quite a few books by this author including two from this beautiful mini book collection set that was a gift for my toddler. Expect many more to come. “The Painted Ponies” by Alison Lester is a children’s picture book about a little girl called Matilda who, when visiting her grandmother Lucky’s house, is enchanted by a…

Final instalment in the “Blacksad” detective noir graphic novel series I have been obsessed with this series since I first read the books, well before I started this blog. The one of the artists behind it is an ex-Disney animators and the quality of the art has always been exceptional. The series has been going since the year 2000 and, with delays due to translation, the last issue in English…

Children’s picture book about classic fairy tale characters I have such fond memories of reading this book as a child, so I was delighted when someone gave it to us when I had a baby. I could still remember a lot of the rhymes and was very excited to start reading it together. “Each Peach Pear Plum” by Janet and Allan Ahlberg is a children’s picture book about well-known fairy tale and nursery…