Holiday Reading 2000: A selection of children's and young adults' books

Picture books

  • Alborough, Jez. Duck in the truck A duck in a truck is struck in the muck from which various animals try to free him.
  • Ahlberg, Allan. The snail house Grandma tells Michael, Hannah and their baby brother the story of three children who shrink to such a small size they decide to live in a snail's shell. Gentle and reflective.
  • Allan, Nicholas. You're all animals Billy Trunk has just started at his new school, but there's a problem. He thinks his classmates are really weird and longs for a friend just like himself.
  • Baker, Jeannie. Hidden forest Ben discovers the wonders of the kelp forest while trying to free a fish trap.
  • Barwin, Gary. The magic mustache Nose climbs the magic beard to reach the castle of the giant mouth. A humorous tale of how a face comes together, based on the story of Jack and the beanstalk.
  • Brown, Ruth. Holly: the true story of a cat Portrait of the artist's cat.
  • Browne, Anthony. My Dad A warm, witty and affectionate tribute to fathers.
  • Browne, Anthony. Willy's pictures The last of the Willy books finds the beloved chimp in amongst the world's art masterpieces.
  • Burgess, Melvin. Birdman First picture book by the renowned author of fiction for young adults, illustrated by Ruth Brown. A boy buys a caged robin intending to set it free but, as the days pass, he finds it more and more difficult to do so.
  • Child, Lauren. I will not ever never eat a tomato A fussy eater decides to sample the carrots after her brother convinces her that they are really orange twiglets from Jupiter.
  • Child, Lauren. My uncle is a hunkle, says Clarice Bean Clarice looks after the school guinea pig, which then escapes.
  • Christian, Peggy. If you find a rock A nicely modulated tale about different sorts of rocks, including skipping rocks, chalk rocks, and splashing rocks.
  • Chichester Clark, Emma. Where are you, Blue Kangaroo? An endearing sequel to I love you, Blue Kangaroo.
  • Collington, Peter. Clever cat Being a cat sometimes has its advantages, as Clever Cat discovers.
  • Cooke, Trish. The grandad tree The changing nature of their apple tree, as it grows and goes through the seasons, reminds Leigh and Vin of their grandfather, who is gone but lives on in their memories.
  • Creech, Sharon. Fishing in the air A "poignant exploration of the ties that bind one generation to another".
  • Crimi, Carolyn. Don't need friends After his best friend moves away, Rat rudely rebuffs the efforts of the other residents of the junkyard to be friendly, until he and a grouchy old dog decide that they need each other.
  • Dotlich, Rebecca. What is square? For children learning their shapes, this rhyme, illustrated with photographs, makes a game out of the question "what's square?".
  • Ernst, Lisa Campbell. Goldilocks returns Thirty years after Goldilocks first met the three bears, she returns to fix up their cottage and soothe her guilty conscience.
  • Elffers, Joost. How are you peeling?: foods with moods Brief text and photographs of carvings made from vegetables introduce the world of emotions by presenting leading questions such as "Are you feeling angry?".
  • Fox, Mem. Harriet, you'll drive me wild A mother yells at her child after several instances of misbehaving, but they both laugh at the end.
  • Frazee, Maria. Hush, little baby In an old lullaby a baby is promised an assortment of presents from its adoring parent.
  • Freymann, Saxton. One lonely sea horse Bright, innovative illustrations use vegetables to represent a wealth of underwater life.
  • Gauch, Patricia Lee. Presenting Tanya, the Ugly Duckling When she has trouble mastering her dance steps in the part of the Ugly Duckling for the spring ballet recital, Tanya is discouraged and fears that she has much in common with the character.
  • Graham, Bob. Max "A small hero doing quiet deeds. The world needs more of those." Max, the young son of superheroes, is a late bloomer when it comes to flying, until he is inspired by the plight of a falling baby bird.
  • Crew, Gary. Gino the genius Gino Garibaldi is a genius. He can invent anything, from a wind-powered lawn-mower to a mega play station. But Gino's little sister Gina has him stumped with her request.
  • Falconer, Ian. Olivia A day in the life of a little pig.
  • Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly worried A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.
  • Hoberman, Mary Ann. And to think that we thought that we'd never be friends A brother and sister learn that friendship is better than fighting and they soon spread their message all over the world. Also a tribute to Dr Seuss.
  • Horenstein, Henry. A is for . . ?: a photographer's alphabet of animals With the letters of the alphabet as clues, readers are challenged to guess the identity of the animals pictured in the photographs.
  • Hort, Lenny. The seals on the bus Different animals, including seals, tigers, geese, rabbits, monkeys and more, make their own sounds as they ride all around the town on a bus.
  • Hughes, Shirley. Abel's moon The moon unites the children with their travelling father.
  • Jackson, Jean. Mrs Piccolo's easy chair Mrs Piccolo's chair follows her down to the supermarket in search of cheese puffs.
  • Jinks, Catherine. You'll wake the baby! Andy and Annie have to play a quiet game so they don't wake the baby. But finding something suitable isn't very easy.
  • Kvasnosky, Laura McGee. Zelda and Ivy one Christmas The fox sisters are back in this warm collection of linked Christmas stories.
  • Keats, Ezra Jack. One red sun: a counting book First published as a number chart in 1968.
  • Lester, Mike. A is for salad Each letter of the alphabet is introduced in an unusual way, such as: "A is for salad" showing an alligator eating a bowl of greens.
  • Lobel, Anita One lighthouse, one moon Presents the days of the week, the months of the year and numbers from one to ten through the activities of a cat and people in and around a lighthouse.
  • Long, Jonathan. The wonky donkey Illustrated by the popular Korky Paul, this is the story of a donkey whose life is full of heartbreaking work and heartless owners, until he meets Sophie, a small girl who truly loves him.
  • Lunn, Helen. Over the hill and around the bend with Granny and Bert (and me) Going to the shops with Granny turns out to be very exciting, especially when Bert the rooster comes too.
  • Marcellino, Fred. I, crocodile Napoleon captures a crocodile on the Nile River and takes it to Paris. Parisians are initially enchanted but, when they soon forget him, the crocodile decides to have his revenge!
  • Martin, Bill. A beasty story A group of mice venture into a dark, dark wood where they find a dark brown house with a dark red stair leading past other dark colours to a spooky surprise.
  • Meddaugh, Susan. The best place After travelling around the world to make sure that the view from his screen porch is the best, an old wolf tries drastic measures to get his house back from the rabbit family that had bought it.
  • Meddaugh, Susan. Martha and Skits Martha watches as the new dog her family brings home grows through all the troublesome phases of being a puppy, and even though he does not develop Martha's ability to speak, Skits displays his own unique talent.
  • Miller, David. Just like you and me Compares animal and human behaviour using vibrant 3-D paper sculptures.
  • Overend, Jenni. Hello baby Account of a baby's birth, illustrated by Julie Vivas.
  • Raschka, Chris. Ring! Yo? A one-sided telephone conversation opens up a multitude of opportunities for invention and discussion.
  • Ross, Tony. I don't want to go to the hospital Another one of Ross' inimitable "Princess" stories. This time the royal child is reluctant to go to hospital but in the end she enjoys her visit because there they do treat her "like a Princess".
  • Shulevitz, Uri. What is a wise bird like you doing in a silly tale like this? "This is a book to pore over, relish, and enjoy again and again." (School Library Journal)
  • Simmons, Jane. Ebb and the baby seal Third in the series about Ebb.
  • Sis, Peter. Dinosaur A perfect introduction for preschoolers to this perennially fascinating topic.
  • Sis Peter. Madlenka "The adventures of a New York City girl whose loose tooth occasions a one-of-a-kind round-the-world tour." (Publishers Weekly.)
  • Steig, William. Wizzil Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Story about a troublesome witch who falls in love.
  • Wattenberg, Jane. Henny-Penny The classic story retold in lively language and creatively illustrated with Adobe-Photoshop.
  • Wells, Rosemary. Emily's first 100 days of school A fun way to count to 100.
  • Whatley, Bruce. Captain Pajamas: defender of the universe Spoof superhero story with a twist at the end.
  • Wheatley, Nadia. Luke's way of looking Theme of artistic freedom and imagination. All the boys in Mr Barraclough's class except for Luke see things in the same way. Then, one day, Luke discovers a place where he feels at home.
  • Wiesner, David. Sector 7 While on a school trip to the Empire State Building, a boy is taken by a friendly cloud to visit Sector 7, where he discovers how clouds are shaped and channelled throughout the country.
  • Williams, Laura E. ABC kids Photos of children presenting an object, person, or animal for each letter of the alphabet.
  • Wild, Margaret. Jenny Angel Jenny is a guardian angel, at least that's what she believes. If she stays on guard tonight and every night, the doctors will be wrong and her brother Davy will not die. This moving story won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Picture Book of the Year Award.