Cirrus@Austlit

'Kit goes to school with her friends Harley and Vanya, and always tries her best at everything she does. Arlo is too loud, too close, just too... much. But when a moving van pulls up next to Kit’s house one weekend, Kit and Arlo find out they have a lot more in common than they thought. Join Kit, Arlo and their friends as they navigate school, home life and friendships, and learn more than a few things about how to get along.

'Kit and Arlo Find a Way: Teaching consent to 8–12 year-olds is a much-needed consent teaching resource for Grades 3 to 6. An action-packed and relatable fictional chapter book, Kit and Arlo is a page-turning journey of upper primary school kids – Kit, Arlo, Harley and Vanya – developing and exploring friendships with plenty of ups and downs. Entertaining and compelling as a standalone narrative, Kit and Arlo’s secret weapon is that it contains all of the complex components of consent and includes respectful relationships education in an age-appropriate format.

'Teachers can read the story, chapter by chapter, in class, and then use the discussion points and ‘read and respond’ notes to facilitate conversations around consent in child-friendly ways with their students. For schools needing a more in-depth consent and respectful relationships curriculum, a dedicated Kit and Arlo teaching resources platform houses evidence-based teaching activities, videos, webinars, podcasts, resource links and lesson plans designed to tie in with the story.

'Key topics include:

• body boundaries and safety
• verbal and non-verbal cues
• developing a sense of self, personal strength and self-determination
• understanding that the responsibly of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ should be shared
• understanding that shared activities should have enthusiastic, affirmative and ongoing consent
• having the courage to withdraw consent
• understanding gendered stereotypes, coercion and power imbalances
• learning to have empathy for others
• managing disappointment when someone changes their mind
• how to be an upstander when someone is being harmed
• the keys to respectful relationships and better friendships.
  
  'Kit and Arlo Find a Way is a vital resource for schools doing the essential work of empowering kids with decision-making skills that will carry through to their interactions and relationships later on in life.'

(Publication summary) 

'Bailey’s mum had always said that being by the creek with Bailey and her dad was as good as it gets. She had shown Bailey sap glistening on tree trunks. They had crouched together to nudge a beetle onto a leaf. They had sat on the creek’s edge with their bare feet in the water.

'It’s one year since Bailey’s mum died. And her dad doesn’t seem to care much about anything. But Bailey still spends afternoons by the creek with her dog, Sheba.

'Until Sheba gets sick—very sick—from something she must have swallowed while swimming in the creek. And Bailey notices all the rubbish polluting the waterway.

'Between visits to Sheba in the vet hospital, Bailey tries to find a way to make the creek safe for Sheba and other animals. And through her unexpected friendship with Israel, a quiet boy who knows about endangered species, Bailey Finch finds the courage to take a stand.

'Bailey Finch Takes a Stand is a moving story about love and loss, about caring for the environment and standing up to make change happen.' (Publication summary)

'Jamila is happy in her new home in Australia, though she still misses her old life in Iraq. She and her new best friend Eva sing side-by-side in the choir at school and have picnics together on the weekends.

'One day, Jamila gets some exciting news: Mina, her oldest friend from Iraq, is coming to Australia. Jamila can’t wait to see her and introduce her to Eva. But when Mina arrives, things do not go as planned.

'Jamila has left her friends, her school and her home in Iraq, and now she has a new home. It’s safe in Australia, but Jamila is finding it hard to settle in. She misses her best friend and worries for her dad’s safety back in Iraq. It’s hard to speak and write in English all day. And Jamila has a secret she wants to keep hidden.

'When she joins the choir, Jamila begins to feel happy. Singing helps take her worries away. And singing will help her find her place in her new life, a place where she can shine.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ingrid Laguna never did things the easy way - she spent much of her young adulthood rebelling against conformism, playing in a mostly girl band and travelling around Australia, before marrying Ben and going to live in Alice Springs. Pregnancy didn't come easily either but, through IVF, she finally fell pregnant. And when she went into premature labour at 23 weeks and her twin sons were born-each weighing about the same as a pat of butter and small enough to fit into the palm of her hand - she had to call on all her reserves of strength and stubbornness to see the journey through and be the mother that her sons needed.

'This is an earthy, honest and heartbreaking memoir about what it means to love; and about the terrible powerlessness and torment involved when there is fear of losing a child. Yet despite the pain and anguish, Ingrid's memoir is at its heart about how we can experience unimaginable difficulty - and still somehow find the spirit to come through blazing with love and optimism and even a kind of joy.' (From the publisher's website.)