Hidden

Hidden by Larissa Ferenchuk, illustrated by Fiona West, (EK Books 2025) HB RRP $27.99 ISBN 9781921497100

Reviewed by Sylvia Forbes

I can see the whole world from my tree, but the world cannot see me.                                                                                           I share figs with the birds and crawly creatures.                                                                                                                            I am hidden in a blur of purple and green.

Hidden is an immediately engaging, textual, visual treat. The illustrations are delicious, and the text pops you straight into the story - with no explanation or hint of anything that's come before - leaving an open space to imagine your own (if you choose). 

 This story - told from a young girls POV - is far more nuanced than just being about a girl hiding in her tree watching the world go by.

Children love being in their own secret little hiding place where they can see - without necessarily being seen. I get a sense that this young girl has been quite content in her own company, hidden in the leafy folds of her beloved fig tree. It's been her safe happy place from which to quietly observe and gather information about her surrounding neighbourhood. (The whole world!)

 She seems to know a lot about her neighbour's daily habits and routines - even anticipating the sounds they make, which suggests to me that she has been watching them for a while. Perhaps over the duration of summer. But now she has reached a point where she wants to do more than simply watch. She wants to be seen, and she wants to be heard. So, she goes about getting their attention. 

I really love how Larissa Ferenchuk has the girls attention-grabbing methods match the sound level of each neighbour, adding to - and in keeping with - the girl's empathetic, thoughtful nature. 

 When she goes to ask her mother if she knows the people in their street and gets told - 'Not really. Everyone is always busy these days’ - the girl doesn't know what she means.  Her motives aren't about getting everyone to slow down, because from the vantage point of her fig tree, she has seen for herself -  that the old lady who sighs every time she finds nothing in her letterbox - is just lonely. She has also seen how none of her neighbours seem to have anything to do with each other - even though they live so close to one another. 

Undeterred by her failed attempts at getting her neighbours’ attention, she comes up with a plan and follows it through with wonderfully heartwarming results.

Fiona West's illustrations work seamlessly with the text - illuminating and bringing it to life. The lush, leafy, coolness of the fig tree you can almost smell, the ease and warmth of summer you can just about feel on your skin and the rosy-cheeked goodness of Hidden's characters - each element enhancing the texts intrinsic gentleness, its unhurried pace, and its charm. 

And her foggy washes (creating a water colour effect) combined with ink work and other techniques, make strong contrasts between her styles - at times soft and blurry, at times sharp and defined - capturing not only the atmosphere and environment - but the subtler emotional qualities of the text as well.

Plus, I adore all the prints and textures she has created on articles of clothing and other various items - even old Mrs. Yeung's letterbox gets a paisley-esque treatment! 

After reading this picture book I wondered if perhaps there could be a metaphoric relationship between the ripening figs and the girl reaching a new developmental level. That over summer - she - alongside the ripening figs (now ready to be eaten) became ready to connect with the wider world and become part of something bigger ... as in nature, the process of growth or change is often a secret hidden thing that only becomes apparent once visible. 

And what a truly lovely thing it was to experience this young girl go from looking out at everyone, to being on the lookout for everyone. The world is full of lonely people who (often) don't want to be the one who makes the first move. So to reach out - to hear and be heard, to see and be seen - is a brave act and one that can have positive outcomes for everyone involved - no matter how big or small the 'whole world' we each live in might be.

From cover to cover, and everything in between, this delightful, understated book - with its themes of Inclusion, kindness, community and connection - reminds us to look up every so often, to step out of our little bubbles and take notice of what's around us. 

It also made me suddenly wish I was eating a slice of fig cake. 

For ages 4-8 + grown up kids.

Splash!

Splash! Written and illustrated by Kym Langfield. 2025 Daisy Lane Publishing. Hardcover picture book. 34 pages. ISBN 9781763670020. RRP $24.99

Reviewed by Debra Williams

Lucy is down. Large grey clouds hang over her everywhere and won’t lift. Nothing seems to help. Mum and Dad try to lift her mood. Skipper the dog tries to help, too, but Lucy is still down. Is there anything that will lift the clouds away from Lucy?

When she reluctantly turns up for art club, she is greeted by a large splash of yellow paint landing on the floor in front of her feet. The paint has escaped from a paintbrush belonging to a girl called Abby. She takes the shy, hesitant Lucy into the art room and offers a quiet corner among the noise, where Lucy is encouraged to make a splash, spreading paint onto paper, swirling it into a lovely watery pattern. Over the next few days, Abby encourages Lucy to experiment with more colour, and Lucy’s grey clouds begin to lift.

As she applies layers of paint to her art surface, a beautiful painting emerges, centred by a large rainbow. She plays outside and notices the sunshine and how much colour there is in the world, wondering why she hasn’t noticed it before. When Lucy returns to the art room, she is both surprised and encouraged by the other students who praise her brightly coloured painting. Now Lucy’s mood lifts, as she appreciates the colours and a newfound friend.

Through art as therapy, Lucy is able to face the grey clouds of life and have her spirits lifted and restored. This book, from primary school teacher/mental health and wellbeing leader and illustrator, Kym Langfield, shows the important themes of friendship and the joy of art to help children with their mental health and wellbeing.

Recommended for a reading level of 5-12 years.

Yildaan

Yildaan by Uncle Bud Marshall with Yandaarra. Illustrated by Hannah Smith and Elaine Carmady. Allen & Unwin 2025. Picture book, RRP $29.99. ISBN 9781761181382

Reviewed by Debra Williams

‘Giinagay, welcome. I’m Uncle Bud. I’m a Gumbaynggirr man, an Aboriginal elder from Nambucca Heads. This is my country. I want to tell you about this place and about my Elders. I want everyone who comes here to know where they are. I want them to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors and be part of Yildaan, our Dreaming track.’

This is a unique and stunning picture book that uses both photographs and artwork over the photographic images to tell the story. It’s an interesting concept that presents the stories in a visually different way and brings them to life.

In Nambucca Heads in Gumbaynggirr Country, the book relates stories of the Gumbaynggirr people, their living culture and their connection to Country. Uncle Bud takes the reader on a journey through daily activities, often referring to the ancestors who are no longer with them. Using a mix of Gumbaynggirr and English language, Yildaan includes artwork from Aunty Shaa’s nieces and Uncle Bud’s great nieces (Hannah Smith and Elaine Carmady), along with a special story from Aunty Shaa, who holds stories from the region.

This book is from the award-winning team who created The Dunggirr Brothers and The Caring Song of the Whale. It will be enjoyed by readers 5+ years of age.

Little Bones

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Little Bones by Sandy Bigma. University of Queensland Press 2025. Middle-Grade paperback, 288 pages. RRP $16.99. ISBN 978-0702268878

Reviewed by Debra Williams

Sandy Bigna is passionate about kids lit. She started Aussie Kids Books Instagram, which reviews Australian children’s and YA books. Little Bones is her debut novel.

The book is written in first person by eleven-year-old bones, known only by her nickname because she is fascinated with animal skeletons. Since her 9-year-old brother died in an accident, Bones has withdrawn into her own world, studying skeletons, sketching and spending most of her time alone, apart from the time spent with her Nonna.

After finding a small bird skeleton and bringing it home, she accidentally makes a wish aloud for the bird to be alive. The small bird indeed comes to life, but not life as it was. The bird becomes a living, talking skeleton. Bird wishes to be returned to its previously dead state, but Bones doesn’t know how to reverse the ‘magic’ she has created.

There appears to be a connection between her late brother, Nico, and a particular magical book he was obsessed with. When a new kid, Tenny, moves in next door, they buddy up with Bones and want to help. There is a plan made and an extended search for the missing book, eventually located in an old tree house.

What follows as Bones tries to restore what was, is an emotional roller-coaster, as memories of her brother’s death, repressed for almost 12 months, come back in spades. Now it is time for Bones to grieve for her brother properly, after finally being able to grant the dead bird’s wish, but along with the grief comes guilt.

 

This novel, written in verse prose, deals with the themes of grief, pain and loss, as Bones leaves her childhood behind in difficult circumstances.

The Cartoonists Club

The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud (Graphix) PB RRP $19.99 ISBN 9781761648304

Reviewed by Robyn Gillies

This is a graphic novel of 288 pages that tells the story of four young people who come together to create The Cartoonists’ Club in their local school. It is also a book about creativity, self-expression, friendship, and of the strength of coming together, of recognising each other’s skill sand of collaborating and supporting each other.

There is Makalya, who has an abundance of ideas but doesn’t know how to make stories from them, Howard who loves to draw but whose dad thinks comics are a waste of time, Lynda who thinks her artwork is full of mistakes and Art who is passionate about making things. Together, they learn about the artistic and technical skills of creating comics with the help of Ms Fatima, the school librarian.

Using the storyline, both the characters and the reader learn new terms about different elements in a comic such as speech and thought balloons, narrative boxes, sound effects and background language e.g. fonts and styles used on a shop front. Character development and visual impact such as colour palettes are also covered.

The story line is easy to follow and read and the pacing of the story is appropriate for the age group 8-12 years. It would be great for developing readers for transitioning into longer stories and reluctant readers who would feel they have read a lot in a short time.

The novel stands alone but there are free downloadable support materials from www.scholastic.com/cartoonistsclub  which could be used for educational purposes, fun classroom learning activities to develop students understanding of storytelling techniques using a combination of pictures and words, and for starting a cartoon club.

The illustrations demonstrated the essence of what cartoons and comics are about and depicted diversity. The language used raises the notion of gender-neutral pronouns. It was easy to imagine the key characters’ individual personality traits as typical of young people their age e.g. impatient, anxious, unsure.

There is a Glossary of terms in the back of the book (love the term ‘plewd’) and further information about the technical skills used for making the book.

 

 

Lucky

 

Lucky by Amelia Tonta, illustrated by Peter Baldwin (Affirm Press) HB RRP $22.99 ISBN 9781923022171

This is an unbelievable picture book story about things not quite going to plan, from the author of Neil, the Amazing Sea Cucumber.

On her birthday, Frankie blows out her candles and finally gets her wish - a puppy! However, the puppy sets off a chaotic chain of events involving a hungry python (which swallows her, so off the family goes to the vet.  At home the smoke from the birthday candles sets off the fire alarm, the fire brigade is called. There are so many things happening all at once, and that includes one surprised stray cat that Frankie decides to adopt.

It sure is lucky that Frankie always looks on the bright side!

True South

True South by Gisela Ervin-Ward. MidnightSun Publishing 2025. Middle-Grade paperback, also available as an e-book. RRP $19.99. ISBN 9781922858597. Distributed by NewSouth Books.

Reviewed by Debra Williams

When 12-year-old Nell South-Nicholas crashes her sailboat into a submerged house in the local lake, she stumbles into a treasure hunt, resulting in her embroiled in a generations-old family feud. Set in rural Victoria during a drought, age-old family secrets are set to emerge and boil over.

Nell and her best friend Gemma are the captain and crew of Nell’s small boat and regularly race together. So do the girls’ mothers, who are also best friends. The South-Nicholas family are steeped in well-to-do history, the daughters of the family attending St. Helen’s private boarding school. Nell is slated to attend as well, but is reluctant to leave Gemma, her parents, her grandma and her local school. The family is no longer well off. Concerned that they cannot afford the boarding school fees, she throws an entrance exam to try and get out of it.

Charlie Douglas, on the other hand, is from the neighbouring property and doesn’t associate with the South-Nicholas family. Nor does her mean older brother (who is nicknamed Streak), or their angry father. Charlie and Streak’s mother works away as a FIFO, so Charlie and Streak are basically the household managers. For generations, the South-Nicholas family and the Douglas family have remained at odds with each other, and the kids don’t know why; simply that it is frowned upon if they associate with each other. However, after Nell discovers the submerged house, and Charlie uncovers a hand-written note between the pages of an old family Bible, two family histories are revealed through a series of investigations and discoveries. There appears to have been a treasure hidden in the old submerged house before it sank under the waters. Nell and Charlie agree to search for it, whatever it is. The two girls uncover truths about the old feud, which relates to property issues, flooding and the creation of the lake. Nell’s late grandfather was at the head of the land dispute. As the adults become involved anew, can things ever be resolved?

This is a story of girl friendship and rivalry. Gemma becomes distant as Nell spends more time with Charlie to uncover the truth. She appears to be jealous of their burgeoning friendship. Much deeper down, it is a story of family rivalry, jealousy and one family feeling cheated by another. The discovery of the treasure may not be what Nell and the others envisaged, but it has a deeper connection and meaning. Nell eventually reconciles herself to the fact that she will move away to boarding school, and begins to look forward to it, especially after winning a writing prize which results in a scholarship.

There is quite a lot about boating and racing, property boundaries, issues and proper compensation. It is an engaging story of mystery, loyalty and moving forward.