Okay, so if you wanted to make my heart go all squishy and get my brain stuck on ‘Aww!’, this book is probably how you’d go about it. A duck explains unconditional love to their five ducklings and they’re all so adorable! It kinda feels like cheating to use ducks to increase the cute factor but it works.
It doesn’t hurt that you’re greeted by shiny gold embellishes every second time you turn the page, giving the sun, stars and water the shimmery treatment. I may have read this book more than five times already…
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
“Before you came I did not know
just how big love can be.
Love’s wider than the ocean,
it’s deeper than the sea.”
Does love have a size? A family of ducks celebrates the boundless affection between them in Emma Dodd’s gentle rhyming ode to unconditional love.
If you’ve ever had the honour of being owned by a dog, you will find every page of this book relatable. There’s so much we can learn from our canine fur babies, like taking the time to slow down to appreciate the little things and learning how to relax.
Whether your arm has been permanently lengthened from one too many vigorous leash yanks or you’ve been protected from a horde of dangerous pigeons, you’ll find it here.
Gabriella Petruso’s illustrations feature a diverse range of dogs and humans. They highlight the loveable quirkiness of dogs and how expressive they are in communicating exactly what they want.
Kids will love this book but adults are the ones who will truly appreciate all of the ways dogs take care of us. It’s probably not what the author and illustrator had in mind but I’m all for the unconventional; I’d buy this book for anyone who’s recently been adopted by a dog.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking? It turns out they know just what humans want – to be walked! And once they’re on their way, these dogs will share exactly how to do it.
Walking Your Human is a light-hearted look at the very different ideas dogs and humans have about what makes for a good walk. A picture book for dog lovers everywhere!
Fergus the brown bear is learning how to hide, only he’s not very good at it. Yet.
When we first meet Fergus, his attempts at hiding are pretty much equivalent to a child putting their hands over their eyes and assuming that means you can’t see them anymore. Or hiding behind the curtains but forgetting that their feet are still visible. Actually, maybe Fergus hasn’t quite reached that level yet.
You’ve got to give him credit though. Fergus listens to instructions and applies what he’s learned to his next attempt. With perseverance, he gradually gets better at hiding until he finally masters it.
This book would not be nearly as entertaining if the animals weren’t so expressive. Fergus is absolutely adorable but you’ll also meet a duck and a fox, and a whole bunch of rabbits, squirrels, elephants, moose and bears (of course).
My favourite finds included a polar bear who’s just heard a joke, a bear hug and “an elephant with a squirrel problem”.
After you finish reading you can go back to the fold-out pages to search for the things (other than Fergus) that there are to find.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
The hilarious mind behind I Don’t Want to Be a Frog and Bad Dog brings picture book fans the super-funny, interactive story of Fergus the bear, who loves to play hide-and-seek with the reader … but can’t really seem to get the hang of it.
Children will giggle from start to finish as they follow huge, loveable Fergus and see all the silly ways in which he is TERRIBLE at playing hide-and-seek such as hiding behind a VERY tiny tree (“Found you, Fergus! That was too easy!”) or hiding in a giant crowd of bunnies and squirrels (“Try bears, Fergus. Bears!”).
But wait the game isn’t over yet! The last two pages fold out into a giant panoramic look-and-find scene, where Fergus is well and truly hidden, and young readers can have fun looking for him and lots of other silly details in the the crowd.
After having a best friend who’s a unicorn for quite a while now, Phoebe discovers that unicorns have become popular and she’s not sure whether she’s okay with that or not. I, too, was into unicorns before they were cool so I understand where Phoebe is coming from.
Marigold employs her skills as a tooth fairy negotiator. Like all parents do, whether they want to admit it or not, Phoebe’s dad attempts to customise her. Phoebe and Marigold enjoy a day out at the water park.
Dakota receives a Blarty Award but she’s not entirely sure what the award is for since she doesn’t speak goblin. Marigold proves she has great taste in movies.
Dakota and Phoebe settle on being kind of friends. Phoebe makes her own Halloween costume without any magical unicorn assistance.
And my personal favourite, Claustrophoebea and Pointyhead make another long overdue appearance.
I can’t believe I still love this series so much! This is the thirteenth time I’ve been allowed to see what lies beneath the Shield of Boringness and I’d hang out with Marigold and her human, Phoebe, again tomorrow if Marigold was inclined to magic up the fourteenth graphic novel by then.
There’s a great blend of comics that explore things we already know in a new way, like Marigold’s obsession with her reflection, and entirely new, very important unicorn related information.
Unicorn sneers will make 62% of your freckles fall off.
We also discover what’s to blame for us not being able to get negative comments out of our heads. It was peanut butter all along. Who would have suspected something that’s seemingly innocuous was capable of something so dastardly?!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to fall in love with this graphic novel early.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
When your best friend is a unicorn, every day is a stroll down the red carpet. Phoebe Howell’s unicorn BFF, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, is happy to provide the celebrity treatment – teaching Phoebe fancy new spells, giving her a ride to school so she doesn’t have to ride the bus, and even negotiating with the tooth fairy on her behalf.
But when Phoebe starts noticing that unicorns have become a trendy fashion statement, she doesn’t feel quite so unique. Fortunately, she’s distracted by adventures including a visit to the unicorn community and a trip to the woods to see her friend Dakota receive an unusual honour at the goblin award ceremony. Unicorn Famous is filled with amusing examples of the extraordinary lengths friends will go to make each other feel special.
The living are a mystery to me. I didn’t spend enough time as one of them.
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day was my second ever Seanan McGuire read and it’s just become my first Seanan reread. It also has the distinction of being the only book on my very long list of favourites that, if you were to ask me its name when it wasn’t sitting right in front of me, chances are that I would fail miserably in my attempt to arrange the D’s in the correct order.
Our main character is Jenna, a ghost who volunteers for a suicide prevention hotline, and that right there is the book I didn’t know I needed to read until I learned of its existence.
Jenna’s sister, Patty, died by suicide in 1972. Jenna’s death, shortly after her sister’s, was accidental. Because Patty died when she was supposed to, she bypassed the ghost stage, moving straight on to whatever comes after death. Jenna died before her time so she will remain on earth as a ghost until when she should have died. Except time works differently for ghosts – they can both give and take time from the living.
The guilt Jenna feels over not seeing the signs that led to her sister’s death has resulted in her feeling like she needs to earn her death, only counting the minutes where she’s confident she’s made a positive impact on someone’s life.
I started earning the time I take, justifying it with my actions before I pull it into myself.
I would have been content if that was the entire story, but it’s not. There’s also witches, magic and mysteriously disappearing ghosts. Oh, and a bunch of “feline senior citizens” and cornfields, because this is a Seanan McGuire book, in case you’d forgotten.
If my tear ducts hadn’t suddenly taken a vacation, the dedication alone would have been enough to activate them.
For everyone who has been tempted to go, and has found the strength to stay. I will see you all tomorrow.
Suicide and suicidal ideation can be difficult enough topics to even broach, let alone do right with the sensitivity they deserve. I feel like Seanan has done a really good job here, in the phone call we get to listen in on, in the grief and guilt that Patty’s family experience and the responsibility Jenna feels for not anticipating and preventing her sister’s death.
I’ve paid off a fraction of my debt I owe to Patty, for not hearing the things she never said to me.
It took a little while for me to get my head around how ghost time works but by the time I figured it out, something had happened that has so far always happened when I’ve read a Seanan book: I believed. The characters and the rules that apply in the New York they’re living in felt real to me, and that’s part of Seanan’s magic as far as I’m concerned.
I was entirely satisfied with this story fitting inside a novella during my first read but I’ve gotten greedy since then. I wanted more ghosts, more witches, and more time with those I was introduced to. I could read entire books dedicated to the stories Sophie, Brenda and Delia have to tell.
My reread has raised some questions that my reader’s bliss hid from me during my first read. That was the read that essentially consisted of me marvelling at my good fortune, having so recently discovered a new favourite author.
Don’t get me wrong, though. The question marks above my head did not interfere with my enjoyment of this novella. I still love it to bits. Don’t be surprised if you see me reading it a third time.
Major Spoilers Ahead: Continue reading at your own risk.
It’s mentioned late in the story that
“Ghosts don’t just happen. Someone has to make them. That’s why we all died so early, and why so many of us had freak accidents.”
The person or people or witch or witches who make the ghosts are never revealed. Neither are their motives. Maybe it’s to make sure places are anchored or maybe it’s to make sure time can still be given and taken. The most likely reason to make new ghosts would be to trap them inside mirrors but Jenna has been living her life after death for over forty years mirror free. The not knowing for sure isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things but I would have liked to have at least met whoever it was that was making the ghosts so I could interrogate them myself.
The witch who imprisons almost every ghost in New York must have done a massive amount of research and spent more time than I can fathom collecting a mirror that would work on each individual ghost. It doesn’t say how many ghosts are spending this portion of their lives after death in New York but I’m almost positive that you couldn’t fit all of their mirrors in a supply room.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
When her sister Patty died, Jenna blamed herself. When Jenna died, she blamed herself for that, too. Unfortunately Jenna died too soon. Living or dead, every soul is promised a certain amount of time, and when Jenna passed she found a heavy debt of time in her record. Unwilling to simply steal that time from the living, Jenna earns every day she leeches with volunteer work at a suicide prevention hotline.
But something has come for the ghosts of New York, something beyond reason, beyond death, beyond hope; something that can bind ghosts to mirrors and make them do its bidding. Only Jenna stands in its way.
You never know what’s going on inside someone else’s head – how they’re hurting – even if you put the hurt there yourself.
Marjorie, who felt like a ghost in Sheets, has recently started the eighth grade. In order to fit in, she hides who she really is from her new friends. Marjorie and her family are, each in their own ways, grieving the death of her mother.
Eliza is an outcast who is repeating the eighth grade.
“Sometimes I feel like a ghost, but maybe a ghost in the wrong place, you know?”
Eliza spends her time trying to capture ghosts on Lorraine, her camera (named after Lorraine Warren), for her paranormal portfolio. Being herself has resulted in Marjorie’s new friends bullying her, while Marjorie stands by, visibly uncomfortable but not intervening.
Marjorie spending time with her new friends means she doesn’t have as much time to spend with Wendell, her favourite ghost.
He’s missing his friend and feeling left out. He is trying his best to deal with both his life and life after death.
I loved Eliza. Anyone who dresses up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween and wears different coloured socks is my kind of person. I ached for her as I watched her cross back and forth between being too visible and invisible.
I always look for fun background details in graphic novels. My favourite find in Delicates was the names of the movies playing at The Rubin – The Ghost Wears Prada and What a Girl Haunts.
As I’ve come to expect from Brenna Thummler, the artwork was absolutely gorgeous. The characters’ expressions often speak louder than their words and, although it’s been a long time since I last read Sheets, the colour palette immediately drew me back into its world.
“You should never have to hide who you are.”
Thank you very much to NetGalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Marjorie Glatt’s life hasn’t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her family’s laundromat. Wendell, who died young and now must wander Earth as a ghost with nothing more than a sheet for a body, soon became one of Marjorie’s only friends. But when Marjorie finally gets accepted by the popular kids at school, she begins to worry that if anyone learns about her secret ghost friends, she’ll be labeled as a freak who sees dead people. With Marjorie’s insistence on keeping Wendell’s ghost identity a secret from her new friends, Wendell begins to feel even more invisible than he already is.
Eliza Duncan feels invisible too. She’s an avid photographer, and her zealous interest in finding and photographing ghosts gets her labeled as “different” by all the other kids in school. Constantly feeling on the outside, Eliza begins to feel like a ghost herself. Marjorie must soon come to terms with the price she pays to be accepted by the popular kids. Is it worth losing her friend, Wendell? Is she partially to blame for the bullying Eliza endures?
Delicates tells a powerful story about what it means to fit in, and those left on the outside. It shows what it’s like to feel invisible, and the importance of feeling seen. Above all, it is a story of asking for help when all seems dark, and bringing help and light to those who need it most.
It’s Seanan McGuire. It’s Wayward Children. I will always be sure.
At ten, Regan has already seen what can happen to girls when they’re different. She’s determined to fit in; “strange was something to be feared and avoided above all else in the vicious political landscape of the playground”.
In the Hooflands, Regan comes across all manner of hooved beings including centaurs, unicorns and kelpies. There she is told that it’s her destiny to save this world, even though she doesn’t believe in destiny. She finds acceptance and love with her found family, giving her the freedom to be who she is, rather than having to constrain herself to fit inside the box of other people’s expectations.
This series has the diversity that other series can only dream of and I was absolutely thrilled to learn that Regan is intersex. I trust Seanan to write with the sensitivity her characters deserve and I really felt like I got a sense of what it was like for Regan when she learned her parents had kept this a secret for so long. I wanted to give her parents a bear hug for the way they explained this to her and for their love of their daughter in general.
“There was nothing wrong with you then, and there’s nothing wrong with you now. You are the way nature intended you to be. Horse-crazy and not very interested in math and too fond of cauliflower for any ten-year-old girl.”
Every Heart a Doorway is my favourite book and I always dread having to wait an entire year to get my next Wayward Children fix. I initially wasn’t quite as excited about this book, though, mostly because I’ve been chomping at the bit to read so many Waywards’ stories since the first book and this one was going to introduce me to someone brand new. Then there’s the fact that I bypassed the young girl horse phase entirely and was worried that may cause me to fail to connect with Regan.
I loved Regan, though, and Chicory, the friend she always deserved. But it was Gristle and Zephyr who stole my heart and I only wish they had been given more page time because they (particularly Gristle) were brilliant!
Unlike previous books in this series I didn’t really feel the urgency of Regan’s quest and there was a time during the middle of her story it seemed like I was treading water, waiting for the inevitable. However, the writing was still gorgeous and I hope Regan finds her way into a future quest, through the continuation of her story or by finding herself at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children.
“Feel up to an adventure, human Regan?”
I am already anxiously waiting for Where the Drowned Girls Go.
Content warnings include bullying and intersexphobia.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
“Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”
Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.
When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines – a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.
But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…
The term ‘eggshell skull’ refers to the legal principle that a victim must be accepted for who they are individually, regardless of where their strengths and weaknesses place them on a spectrum of human normality. If you strike a person whose skull happens to be as thin as an eggshell, and they break their head open and die, you can’t claim that they were not a ‘regular’ person. Full criminal liability – and responsibility – cannot be avoided because a victim is ‘weak’.
This was a really drawn out read for me – almost three months have passed since I read the first chapter. Part of this snail’s pace can be put down to bad timing; I’d finished reading Louise Milligan’s Witness less than two weeks before I started this book and it had already solidified my feelings about the way the Australian legal system chews up and spits out sexual assault survivors.
‘But what if the legal system is unfair?’
Reading about the cases that came across Bri’s desk while she was working as a judge’s associate became overwhelming at times. Some of the details were vividly described so if sexual assault is a particularly difficult topic for you, please take good care of yourself if you choose to read this book.
Bri’s experience working in the legal system offers her a different perspective than most survivors. Yet even she is not able to prepare herself for the emotional toll that her own case of historic sexual assault will have on her.
Bri is unlike so many survivors for a number of reasons.
She has the full support of her loved ones throughout the process. Many survivors do not have that luxury, having to go it alone.
She is confident that the people she tells about the sexual assault she experienced will believe her. So many survivors have not been believed when they’ve had the courage to speak out.
She reports the sexual assault to the police. “Less than one in three Australian women who are sexually assaulted ever go to the police.”
The police charge the perpetrator in Bri’s case, while “fewer than one in five sex offences reported to the police result in charges being laid and criminal proceedings being instigated.”
While I wished for less details at times when Bri was explaining the cases she worked on as a judge’s associate, I found myself wanting more details about her own court case. With such a build up throughout the book, I felt like I only managed a quick glance around the courtroom for much of the trial.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
EGGSHELL SKULL: A well-established legal doctrine that a defendant must ‘take their victim as they find them’. If a single punch kills someone because of their thin skull, that victim’s weakness cannot mitigate the seriousness of the crime.
But what if it also works the other way? What if a defendant on trial for sexual crimes has to accept his ‘victim’ as she comes: a strong, determined accuser who knows the legal system, who will not back down until justice is done?
Bri Lee began her first day of work at the Queensland District Court as a bright-eyed judge’s associate. Two years later she was back as the complainant in her own case.
This is the story of Bri’s journey through the Australian legal system; first as the daughter of a policeman, then as a law student, and finally as a judge’s associate in both metropolitan and regional Queensland – where justice can look very different, especially for women. The injustice Bri witnessed, mourned and raged over every day finally forced her to confront her own personal history, one she’d vowed never to tell. And this is how, after years of struggle, she found herself on the other side of the courtroom, telling her story.
Bri Lee has written a fierce and eloquent memoir that addresses both her own reckoning with the past as well as with the stories around her, to speak the truth with wit, empathy and unflinching courage. Eggshell Skull is a haunting appraisal of modern Australia from a new and essential voice.
It’s time for Duck Creek’s Halloween Fair and Nelson and Kenny have been eating all their vegetables and working out to prepare for it. Last year they weren’t tall enough to go on the scariest rides but they’re determined to be able enjoy them this year.
It’s a good thing Grandma has a brand new invention, a size converter, which she cautions the boys not to use because it still has some kinks.
Like accidentally making you smaller when you wanted to be taller. This comes with a unique set of problems.
It wouldn’t be a Ninja Kid book if evil Dr Kane didn’t show up in his helicopter, ready to implement his latest dastardly plan to run everyone out of Duck Creek.
This looks like a job for Ninja Kid and H-Dude!
‘Ah, maybe they’ve got other problems to deal with’
Ninja Kid and H-Dude may look more adorable than they ever have before …
but they’re still ready to take on Dr Kane and save Duck Creek again.
Grandma, as usual, was the highlight of the book for me. Readers who have been following this series from the beginning are being rewarded for their patience; we’re closer than ever to finding out exactly what happened to Nelson’s father.
Anton Emdin’s illustrations are staying true to the style Jeremy Ley introduced in the early books. The details are fun, the Halloween costumes are imaginative and the fair definitely looks like somewhere I would want to spend Halloween.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
The fair is in town! Nelson and Kenny want to go on ALL the rides! But after testing Grandma’s new invention, they’re suddenly TOO SMALL to go anywhere! Luckily, Nelson and Kenny have a plan to get TALLER again … way, WAAAAY TALLER!
I didn’t think the awe I felt when I first saw Helen Ahpornsiri’s A Year in the Wild could be replicated. I was wrong. Beneath the Waves has had the same effect on me.
Helen took me on a journey through the seasons in A Year in the Wild, using petals and leaves to create the most adorable array of animals. My favourite image from that book remains the owl.
In Beneath the Waves, Helen uses seaweed, coastal flowers and garden plants to explore the coast, open ocean, tropics and polar waters. I loved the entire book but did have a few favourites:
The baby turtles, each of which have a different expression and unique shell design.
The contrast of the polar bear against the black background enables the details to stand out more. There’s a black background behind the angler fish as well and it’s absolutely stunning.
The blue whale. Not only was this image so detailed, my favourite fact of the book accompanied it. Their “tongues alone weigh as much as an adult elephant!” How’s that for perspective?!
If you can’t believe an artist could possibly transform pressed plants into such realistic animals, I’d encourage you to watch Helen at work on YouTube.
I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Take a journey through the oceans of the world in this beautiful book, made entirely from hand-pressed plants.
Artist Helen Ahpornsiri transforms silky seaweeds, feathery algae and bright coastal blooms into playful penguins, scuttling crabs and schools of silvery sharks. Turn the page to explore each corner of the oceans, from hidden rock pools to the darkest depths. Marvel as plants transform into marvellous creatures, and discover the magic and beauty that lies beneath the waves…
Schizanthus Nerd 