Got time for a chat?
Breathing fresh air into reading at your place
One thing that August has proved to Team YKNR is the importance of talking about reading. It’s a month where children’s books and reading get more space – in the media and in schools – than at any other time of the year, and activity around that brings its own level of excitement.
So why not continue those conversations about books into September and beyond? Here are three easy chats to have this month.
•Have a chat about your school’s library
If you are lucky enough to have a school library, let the library staff know how much you appreciate the job they’re doing – say hello in person, or send a note. Trust us, they’ll love it. And tell the Principal, too. [Read more: 5 Things Your Child’s Teacher Librarian Wants You To Know]
If you don’t have a library at your school, now’s the time to have a discussion with your school’s staff and your school’s P&C (or similar) about why – and ways you might be able to help make a difference. If you need more information about why students need school libraries, there’s a website full of resources here.
• Have a chat with your kids about what they’re reading
In episode 172 of the YKNR podcast, Megan and Allison had a ‘real talk about literacy and literature’, and one thing Allison pointed out is that there’s a push to promote reading as ‘fun’, when reading is also SO many other things.
“I love reading, but it’s not always fun,” Allison said. “Sometimes it’s thought-provoking and challenging. Sometimes it hurts – we’ve all read a book that’s made us weep buckets, and isn’t that great?
“Sometimes it’s exciting and sometimes it’s soothing. It doesn’t have to be laugh a minute every single minute to be great.”
(Listen to the full discussion here.)
One way to help get these messages across is to talk to your young readers about the books they’re reading – and the books you’re reading. Find out what they’re loving about their books, and what they’re not, and talk through some of the ideas and themes in what they’re reading.
And if they ask you ‘why should I read?’, have a listen to episode 63 of the podcast for some ideas on how to answer.
• Have a chat about organising a book club
Take the idea of talking about books to a whole new social level by bringing together friends and family, neighbours, or a school group for a book club. Giving young readers a common purpose is a great way to help them discover new books, fuel insights and comprehension, and make friends!
Megan has some terrific tips for book clubs in her book ‘Raising Readers: How to Nurture a Child’s Love of Books’, and we’ll also have some information to share in future newsletters.
UPDATES FROM TEAM YKNR
We’ve been on the road for CBCA Book Week, but that hasn’t kept two of us from the business end of writing and editing, and one of us from dressing up as a horse*…
*Sorry, no pictures of said horse were available at the time of publishing (though a quick scan through Megan’s Facebook page might be revealing…).
HELLO FROM MEGAN DALEY
Megan is an award-winning teacher-librarian working in Brisbane, the author of Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love of books, and co-host of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. Her debut picture book THE BEEHIVE is out now! More about Megan here.
I have just returned from Storyfest Out West in St George, which was the perfect way to top off Book Month. Kids in regional areas are fabulous to work with – I love their practical approach to task, whether writing, illustrating, acting or farm duties and their enthusiasm at meeting authors and illustrators.
On the work front, ‘costume a day’ was a big success for us at school, with so many kids hanging out each day to see what Mrs Malta, Ms TH and myself were dressed up as each day. The dress ups are fraught for so many but I love showcasing super simple costumes that kickstart conversations about books and what to read next.
On the home front? Oh, golly gosh. I need to dig in on the home front, having pretty much lived and breathed work and kidlit for the last month! We now have a pool, just in time for the heatwave which has hit us in Brisbane, so I foresee lots of swimming, lots of gardening, lots of baking and lots of cleaning, washing and folding.
MEGAN’S BOOKMARK REVIEWS
Each month, I share full reviews of two outstanding books that have crossed my desk. Bookmark these for your young readers.
‘Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra’ by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze
"Did you know frogs can find their way home? It's called a 'homing instinct' ... no matter where they are, they know where they belong. I think I know how frogs feel."
Eight-year-old Ella hates her new house. She wants to be back in her old house with her best friend Viv next door ... until one day Ella discovers a secret pond in her neighbours' backyard with an orchestra of frogs!
At her new school Ella meets Mai and learns about their class frog bog project. But when Ella finds out that the neighbours' secret pond is under threat Ella and Mai must come up with a plan to save the frogs before it's too late.
You know I love a title that connects kids with nature and this is a delightful new junior fiction title for young readers who love their stories with a sprinkling of facts. Readers will be engaged by Ella’s story as she settles into a new home and school and will gather facts along the way about frogs, habitat protection and life cycles.
Perfect for nature lovers and budding young scientists and eco-warriors.
‘Kev and Trev 1: Snot Funny Sea Stories’ by Kylie Howarth
Join Kev and Trev's epic deep-sea adventure – full of kraken laughs and comic commocean! Dodge flying coconut cannonballs, outrun ghost pirates, escape big sharks, pig sharks, and a punch-throwing pelican, all while hunting for mysterious merpugs and the missing emergency boat snacks! Water you waiting for? Jump on board Kev and Trev's popcorn powered houseboat … and cross-your-claws it doesn't sink!
Kev and Trev are living it large but they do have one problem, their houseboat is falling to pieces and soon may not be suitable at all for epic adventuring. They need money, and lots of it, to fix their boat, so Kev and Trev are on a mission to be famous (and rich!) and while they have made numerous attempts, they now feel on a winner with their latest idea – writing a book.
What we end up with a graphic novel within a graphic novel now and while Kev and Trev’s idea is very 2024 – seeking fame and fortune FAST…the story is actually about being true to yourself, embracing your creativity and the craft of story writing. It’s the sort of message and book that parents and educators want their kids to read but packaged as a book that kids want to read…very clever!
My fave part of the story is that Trev struggles with reading and this creates a situation where his illustrations don’t always match Kev’s stories - but rather than being seen as an issue, this is embraced. Gosh, how I wish all the struggling readers could see themselves in Trev – talented in their own unique ways and adding great value to the world of storytelling. For me this is a super important little series celebrating the uniqueness of all young readers, writers and creatives.
HELLO FROM ALLISON RUSHBY
The award-winning, bestselling author of 30+ books for children, young adults and adults, Allison Rushby’s novels are firm favourites in the Your Kid’s Next Read community. Her latest illustrated junior fiction series, The Wish Sisters, is fast gaining fans. More about Allison R here.
It’s all going on here! It’s quite the year for my family with a lot of big number birthdays to celebrate – 18, 21, 50, 80 and 90. We’re slowly working our way through them, but it’s hectic to say the least. Not only this, it’s year twelve for my youngest, so there are mock exams and externals and the school formal coming up too.
I didn’t think I could squeeze another celebration in, but I’m definitely going to, as I’ve just sold two adult books in a very exciting deal to VERVE Books in the UK and to Berkley/Penguin in the USA. It’s all a bit thrilling and also a strange feeling to be publishing in adult land again, which is where I started out many moons ago.
I’ve had a few people email/message, worried that I won’t still be publishing for children, but never fear, I’m not giving up writing for children anytime soon!
I’ll just have to squeeze some extra words in between celebratory glasses of champers.
THREAD OF THE MONTH
How could the thread of the month be anything other than what is always our favourite thread of the year – the YKNR CBCA BOOK WEEK PARADE!
We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw some of the amazing costumes our members made this year. WOW! Your excitement really shone through and we just know that you’ve surely made some other people excited about books and reading too, which is so, so important right now.
Some particular favourites of mine were the gorgeous Charlotte’s Web costume with the huge hoop skirt web, the fantastic Snail and the Whale ride-along and The Wild Robot with the must-have wooden replacement foot!
HELLO FROM ALLISON TAIT
Writing as A. L. Tait, Allison is the internationally published, bestselling author of three middle-grade series: The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. She is an in-demand speaker, a writing teacher for kids and adults, and co-host of the YKNR podcast. Her latest novel THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE is out now. More about Allison here.
I confess it felt as though my recent edit lasted 1000 years, but it’s behind me now and I’m working on a new book while I wait for the next stage. This is the reality of a writer’s life where you’re always working on something – often two things at once!
Of course, my favourite bit about being a writer is the one where I get to write something entirely new, discovering the characters and the story as I go. So I’m right in my happy place this month.
In awards news, while The First Summer Of Callie McGee progressed to the shortlist for the 2024 Davitt Awards, the children’s novel category was won by the wonderful Wolves Of Greycoat Hall by Lucinda Gifford. The awards recognise the best crime writing by Australian women and I feel honoured to be in such amazing company.
On the homefront, Book Boy Jr finished his HSC Trials recently and is entering his last few weeks at high school. If you have a teen in a similar position – or heading that way in the next year or two – you might find my tips for helping older kids with school writing useful! Good luck!
BONUS PODCAST EPISODES
The Your Kid’s Next Read podcast is a weekly event, but in August we also shared two bonus episodes to celebrate reading season. Each is a recording of a YKNR special event, held earlier this year.
RAISING WILD READERS captures an insightful and informative conversation between the Australian Children’s Laureate Sally Rippin and our own Megan Daley. It looks at the joys and challenges of getting – and keeping – kids reading, and offers valuable insights, tips and advice for improving literacy outcomes in Australia and fostering a love of literature in all types of young readers. Listen here.
TEENS & READING is a must-listen discussion featuring Allison Tait, Allison Rushby, Dr Bronwyn Reddan from Deakin University’s Teen Reading and Digital Practices Research Programme, and Trisha Buckley, secondary school teacher-librarian, book reviewer, literary judge and vice-president CBCA (Qld branch), looking at why teens aren’t reading, how they are reading, and ways to bring them back to books. Listen here.
Don’t miss them!
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SEPTEMBER BOOKMAIL WINNER
Each month, we give away a prize pack consisting of some of the brilliant bookmail sent to us for the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. One winner* is chosen from our full subscriber list by random draw and announced here!
There are SIX books in the SEPTEMBER prize pack.
The SEPTEMBER bookmail giveaway winner is … Karen McWilliams
Congrats! We’ll be in touch by email.
Want a chance to win next month? All you have to do is subscribe.
Here’s to Spring!
We’re really hurtling towards the end of the year now, and the YKNR Team is planning our EOY lists as well as the summer series of the podcast. We hope you manage to grab some reading time in the busy days ahead.
Allison T, Allison R and Megan
*Australian mailing addresses only. Prize consists of one copy of each book pictured, sent as a pack to the winner by Australia Post. Winner will be contacted by email and prize must be claimed within 14 days or a redraw will take place. You must be subscribed to the YKNR newsletter by midnight (AEDST) the night before publication each month to be eligible to win. No correspondence will be entered into.
Thanks so much for sharing!