John Nicholson
Publishing non-fiction books for young adults and children demands creativity, invention and a dash of bloody-mindedness. Our relatively small population means that non-fiction books must make their way in an ever-tightening market. Big-budget ‘wow factor’ titles like the design-heavy Pick Me Up (Dorling Kindersley) and the best-selling The Dangerous Book for Boys (Conn and Hal Iggulden) are largely beyond the scope of the domestic market. Both have been international hits. Without the audience base to launch such books, Australian writers and publishers must work to a tight brief, navigating between the relatively small market and the diminishing school library budget. To succeed, these books need to work outside the school context as well as within.
... (read more)Alive in the Death Zone by Lincoln Hall & 30 Australian Sports Legends by Loretta Barnard and illustrated by Gregory Rogers
Sherryl Clark
Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Scholastic), by Louise Rennison. With all the serious young adult books around everyone needs a dose of Georgia Nicolson’s confessions. Between the Sex God, the troublesome cat and life at school, Georgia’s diary is full of deep meaningosity – not! Life on a small farm in 1906 is beautifully portrayed in Jennifer Donnelly’s A Gathering Light (Bloomsbury). Mattie longs to be a writer, but it seems impossible when her father won’t even let her work at the Glenmore Hotel over summer. Everyone wants Mattie to do things their way and the strength of the story lies in her quiet persistence and honesty. Historical description creates a believable world without ‘teaching’. Dragonkeeper (black dog books), by Carole Wilkinson, deservedly won a CBC Award this year. Ping’s travels with a dragon follow the idea of the quest, but the setting and detail bring ancient China to life for readers of all ages.
... (read more)When I Was Little, Like You by Mary Malbunka & Animal Architects by John Nicholson
