FLORA puzzles while you wait...

Flora: Australia's Most Curious Plants is just a couple of months away (1 October) and while you wait, why not put together the cover in this online puzzle? And if you're super keen for an internals peek, put together this full spread in the second puzzle!

FLORA COVER...

ACT Literary Awards win for Wildlife Compendium of the World

Wildlife Compendium of the World (Hardie Grant Explore, 2023) 

Has won for Non-Fiction Children's Book at the ACT Literary Awards, 2024!

cover reveal! FLORA: Australia's Most Curious Plants

I’m beyond thrilled to reveal the cover for FLORA: Australia’s Most Curious Plants – a long, long-awaited companion to FAUNA: Australia’s Most Curious Creatures. This book has been a dream of mine for many, many years, and it was a true passion project to finally piece the wonders of our botanical world together. 

As ever, books take a village. Huge thanks to the @nationalibraryau, to my incredible publisher Lauren Smith, managing editor Amelia Hartney, editors Kath Kovac and Tricia Fitzgerald, image coordinator Madeleine Warburton and the glorious First Nations peoples who added so much richness to this work. 

FLORA is released 1 October, but you can pre-order now – at your local store or online – with the knowledge that pre-ordering is a real gift to book creators and their publishers. The National Library of Australia Bookshop will have copies a couple of weeks ahead of the national launch date, so if you can’t wait, do pop in to the Library, phone or hop on their Bookshop website to snaffle an early bird copy. 

I hope you love this homage to our phenomenal native flora and its spectacular beauty, resilience and mindboggling survival strategies that will blow your socks off. You thought you knew our native plants? Think again. Enter this magical garden of Gondwanan wonder. 

FLORA: Australia’s Most Curious Plants 

National Library Publishing 

ISBN: 9781922507716 

MUSIC: Snow is Coming by Purple Planet Music

recent award nods

Wildlife Compendium of the World (Hardie Grant Explore, 2023) 

Notable Book,  CBCA Book of the Year Awards, 2024

Longlisted, ABDA, Book Design Awards, 2024

WINNER, ACT Literary Awards, 2024

Dorrie (HarperCollins Children's Books/Angus&Robertson, 2023) 

It's been so exciting to have some of my books longlist and shortlist these past months. Thank you to the awards organisers and judges. It's always the loveliest thing to be recognised by our peers.

Dorrie - Best Biography, Bookstagang Best of 2023

Mega thanks to the #Bookstagang_BestOf2023Aussie team for this gorgeous nod for Dorrie! Just thrilled to see her recognised in this way, and so happy to be alongside these other fab books. 

If you love kids' books, give these book-loving instagrammers are follow... @canyoutellmeastory @get.kids.booked @artsplorers_au @aussie_kids_books @ohcreativeday @lovefourreading @bookieboo.au @flipwithjoy 

 

Plume: Christmas Elf Launch

Today we launched Plume: Christmas Elf, hosted by the glorious Peter, Hannah and the team @ The Book Cow - Kingston!

 
We had a beautiful spot in leafy Green Square, with stacks of candy canes, goodie bags and the cutest mylar balloons (which were a huge hit!).

 
Thank you thank you to everyone who came along and braved that truly melting humidity this morning. I was terrified the book pages would curl in protest, but it was such a magical, fun time, with lots of laughter and candy-cane-sweet moments.

Thanks to my beautiful industry friends for the love and support - some gals I haven't seen in years! Indeed, this is the first launch I've had in 5 or 6 years. Has been a long time between page-flips and it meant so much to have you there.

Thank you to my beautiful girl Ella for the pics.

Wishing you a truly sensational Christmas season, and a well-deserved summer break (particularly teachers and TLs!). With love from me and Plume.

Click below for more...

A Kids' Year Series in Simplified Chinese

The A Kids’ Year series has been translated into Simplified Chinese and I’m over the moon.   

Starting with An Aussie Year in 2013 (EK Books), the series is still going strong. Knowing Chinese children can now explore these countries through the eyes of children their age, is a joy for me. We spent four years in Beijing when our kids were young, and I developed a real connection to Chinese children during our time there.  

The books come in a paperback set with a collective sleeve. It also includes a concertina scrapbook for kids to draw and write stories in – perhaps of their own traditions and customs – and a booklet featuring some of the facts from the series, including our own ANZAC Day.  

The production values are beautiful and I’m so grateful to Anouska Jones and EK Books and their rights team for securing this publication. And of course, the books were a team effort, with amazing illustrations by Tina Snerling (Lukas).

Click here to see a video of the books.

Plume: Christmas Elf Christmas Party Book Launch!

Ok - we have a revised launch date for Plume Christmas Elf! The party will be held at The Book Cow, Kingston on Saturday 9 December at 10.30am.

There will be a book reading and signing, mylar balloons and goodie bags, a polaroid frame to have your pic taken with Plume, goodie bags, a lucky door prize with some items featured in the book - and the chance to cuddle Plume!

Come dressed in your best Christmas sparkle! A wonderful way to celebrate the upcoming festive season.

Be sure to RSVP - click right here or email helloATbookcow.com.au and let them know how many kids will be attending.

Plume and I can't wait to see you!

May Gibbs' Legacy at the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature

I loved visiting National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc. recently and writing up this blog post on the legacy of May Gibbs at the Centre. Click here to read the entire piece.

Chief Minister's Reading Challenge School Visits 2023

Thanks to Dionne and Nic at the ACT Government Education Directorate for organising my two recent school visits for the ACT Chief Minister's Reading Challenge, and for their hard work every year on this amazing initiative. It's an honour to be an ambassador for the Challenge (since 2016). 

Cover Reveal - Plume: Christmas Elf!

I'm delighted to share the cover for Plume: Christmas Elf, book 4 in the Plume picture book series. I feel this is the most enchanting Plume book of all and I hope it brings a little bit of magic to your family this Christmas.

Out in Australia/New Zealand on 4 October, you can pre-order by clicking the link below. Ho ho ho!

Plume: Christmas Elf (Book 4)
(October 2023, Hardie Grant Explore, hardback: $24.99, 9781741177923)
PRE-ORDER

4 October Aus/NZ
17 October USA + Canada
19 October UK

Plume: Christmas Elf is a sparkly picture book that celebrates the joy and magic of Christmas around the world – all wrapped up with a visit to Santa’s workshop in the North Pole.

It’s Christmas in Antarctica and our favourite travelling penguin is popping with festive excitement. There are gifts to wrap, cards to write, fairy lights to untangle and gingerbread to bake. 

Ava of the Albatross Express is extra busy. The penguins are buying up big, decking their halls with the biggest and best gifts of all. But things go awry when Ava arrives with terrible news. Santa’s workshop is in trouble and toy production has stopped! 

With a little help from his penguin friends, Plume is off to the North Pole. Can he help Santa and make children's wishes come true?

Join the adorable Plume as he decks the ice halls with joy this Christmas. 

The fourth title in Tania McCartney’s fantastical travel series that is the perfect Christmas gift for children aged 4 to 7 years, and everyone else, too.

#plumethepenguin on social media. 

Wildlife Compendium of the World

Just one week till Wildlife Compendium of the World publishes in Australia and New Zealand. Click the cover above for more info, including dates for US/Can and the UK. I'm so proud of this book. I hope you and the children in your life love learning more about our incredible faunal world.