Cirrus@Austlit

'Fleur Ferris has catapulted onto Australia's young adult literary scene, carving a niche for herself as a writer of thrillers for teens. This wasn't a deliberate decision at first but her heart does lie with thrillers - movies and books.' (Introduction)

'Life can be very messy. Trauma or tragedy can leave you broken. Life can also be very beautiful. Sometimes you need just the right person to stand by your side at the time you need them most.' (Introduction) 

'The term empathy has become part of our everyday dialogue. As our world continues to face significant cycles of change, there is a growing need for people to connect with and understand one another, and reading can play a crucial role in helping us develop into empathetic human beings.' (Introduction)

'Paula Weston took the reading world by storm when her first novel Shadows was published in 2012. It was the first of four in the contemporary The Rephaim series which quickly went on to be one of Australia's bestselling and most loved paranormal narratives. It added a uniquely Australian flavour to the popular angel genre. Readers have fallen deeply for Paula's protagonists Gaby and Rafa who are snappy, sexy and real. The series has sold widely throughout the world.' (Introduction)

'I immediately knew that Ruben was a tale to treasure the moment it landed in my hands. It is an extraordinary picture book; complex, evocative, and visually stunning from the intriguing front cover that draws the reader inside to cautiously follow Ruben into his world, to the back cover adorned with a symbolic single lock. What lies inside?' (Introduction)

'This anomaly of a book is one that some young readers or read-tos will remember all their lives; a picture book of wonderful, soft charcoal and pencil animal studies - more fine art than illustration - all filled with character and motion; a letter that masquerades as a chapter book in five relaxed, clear large print parts full of curly metaphors and word-music; a sideways sort of morality tale accumulating and developing from chapter to chapter in a sophisticated, slow-building anatomy of friendship that, by the end, triumphantly belies it's title.' (Introduction)

'The latest addition to Black Dog's award winning Our Stories series is a particularly apt and personal one: well loved Dragon author Carole Wilkinson's parents came to Australia as Ten Pound Poms, nearly 13 year-old Carole and her younger brother Brian travelling free; illustrator Liz Anellis is a more recent import from the U.K. ' (Introduction)

'Guff is a worn, old fabric friend. He has only one ear and might be coming apart at the seams, but he is loved by his young owner - even when he is smelly or boring.' (Introduction)

'This picture book for a preschool audience asks young readers to answer the title's question. In rhyming verse the author/illustrator asks his audience to imagine what it thinks may be on top of a ladder, and offers some examples of what might be found ...' (Introduction)

'Picture books for young readers often choose rhyme over the cadences and openness of poetry. Pea Pod Lullaby, a story about seeking refuge, belongs to the realm of poetry and incantation. A mother, child, baby and dog escape to the seas on a perilous passage and, along the way, a seemingly threatening creature seeks refuge with these castaways.' (Introduction)

'Pamela Allen should be declared a 'national treasure'. It is almost forty years since her first picture book Mr Archimides' Bath was published to much acclaim. Since then very few Australian and New Zealand children would not have experienced the delight of her picture books. The magic continues, as invitingly and as assured as ever with book number forty-eight: A Bag and A Bird. Just a glance at it's cover with that characteristic high definition pen and wash art sharply focused against white space would have young familiar readers enthusiastically identify it as a Pamela Allen book.' (Introduction)

'Baby Band begins by distancing readers whilst simultaneously intriguing them: 'The apartment block loomed cold and quiet. The same people had lived there for a long time. They did not know each other and they never spoke - not even to say hello.' Even though the building and its inhabitants are unwelcoming, the loose lined, colour-splotched illustrations intimate change. A baby arrives to disturb the strained peace and he certainly shakes up both his mother and the occupants of every apartment.' (Introduction)

'In her first self-authored picture book since her writing debut in Ivy Loves to Give (2009), illustrator Freya Blackwood has the measure of her early childhood readership. Here, in The Great Rabbit Chase, she presents a simple circular take in which the reader is at one with the cumulating group of characters moving lineally through the pages in pursuit of their goal - an escaped pet rabbit. The format is a classic staple of literature for infants and always delights with its page turning surprises; Blackwood has served the genre well.' (Introduction)

' Although Little Dog is firmly at the centre of his family's life, the real value of  Little Dog and the Summer Holiday (by the author and illustrator of  Queenie : One Elephant's story and  Little Dog and the Christmas Wish) is in the memories it will evoke in the Older Set and the opportunities to share these with the younger set for whom a lot of details in the illustrations will be a mystery. (Introduction)

This exuberant and colourful counting-down book celebrates the beauty of the Kimberly country as a family drives from Broome to Wyndham to see their Nana. A little girl describes what she sees on her journey as she counts down from fifteen, The text bounces along in rhythm with the four-wheel drive as she wonders, 'I'm on my way to Nana's house. what will I see?' And what wonderful and varied features of the Australian landscape, fauna and flora she spots and counts.' (Introduction)

' Zanni Louise's story is original and funny. Archie is a boy convinced that he is a bear, and in the forest he meets a bear convinced he is a boy. They spend a happy day together. Beside the river, the bear shows Archie how to skim stones across the water, and a bit later Archie shows the bear how to catch fish with his claws, something at which the bear is extraordinarily clever.' (Introduction)

'As a girl, I was fascinated by the bright colours and creatures of our Great Barrier Reef that I saw in pictures. i remember the feeling of disappointment when I finally saw the reef for myself. It wasn't as vibrant and cluttered with as much exotic sea life and coral as the images had led me to expect.' (Introduction)

'One spirited little bee, Bertha, yearns for adventure in the big world beyond the hollow tree in which she lives. in a sudden burst of wild weather, a falling branch smashes the hive and so the Queen orders Bertha to scout out the surrounding countryside, to find a new home for the bees. Bravely, Bertha flies out into the gathering storm, over fleeing children, panicking animals and swirling trees into the relative sanctuary of a nearby forest where she meets a huge bear. Despite her fear, Bertha plucks up the courage to ask for help.' (Introduction)

'Bessie is upset. Her father, big brother and uncle were all fighting in the war in Europe. Her mother worked in a factory making slouch hats for the soldiers. Even Maud next door was helping, as a nurse tending to wounded soldiers. everyone is doing something to help, but everyone thinks thirteen year-old Bessie is too young, And what can she do back home in Australia?' (Introduction)

'Claire is eight and her world has become increasingly confusing, Her mum seems to be stashing secrets and Claire can't understand why she keeps going out and leaving her with her aunt. It turns out that her mum has a 'special friend' called Mac and although Daddy is important to Claire, Mum doesn't feel the same way about him. this culminates with her mother announcing she is leaving her father and she and Claire will be moving to the middle of nowhere ... with Mac. Not only that, there isn't even a toilet: just a hole in the ground in an outside shed without a door.' (Introduction)