Our favourite reads of 2023

And here comes 2024!

TeamYKNR would like to wish all of our subscribers a very happy (and very peaceful) festive break!

2023 has been a (long and) productive year for us – between us we’ve:

•published nine books,

•spoken at countless events,

•participated in key industry research,

•won an award (Megan Daley, ASLA Teacher Librarian of the Year)

•updated and upgraded our website (see it here),

•grown our Facebook community to 32,000+ members (join us here),

•created and launched this newsletter,

•produced 50+ podcast episodes,

•given away stacks and stacks of books,

•promoted hundreds of Australian titles – and their creators,

•advocated for school libraries everywhere,

•curated dozens of book lists and

•squeezed in a ‘summit’ to plan ahead for next year.

And 2024 is looking to be even bigger – so we’re taking the chance to have a little lie down while we can.

We hope you enjoy this list of our favourite reads in 2023.

You can hear us chat about why we chose each one in episode 133 of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast.

Speaking of the podcast, we’re off on summer break until mid-January, but, in the meantime, we’ve got a mini-series rolling out called Behind The Books – bite-sized episodes that take you behind the scenes of children’s publishing to discover what goes on and who’s involved.

The first two episodes – The Bookseller, and The Publisher – are out now. Hit the red button to discover them.

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Team YKNR’s Favourite Reads 2023

Picture books

Anchored by Debra Tidball (ill. by Arielle Lu)

Neil, The Amazing Sea Cucumber by Amelia McInerney (ill. by Lucinda Gifford)

The Gargoyle by Zana Fraillon and Ross Morgan

Pasta! by Felice Arena and Beatrice Cerocchi

Stay for Dinner by Sandhya Parappukkaran and Michelle Pereira

You’re Fabulous As You Are by Sophie Beer

Alight: A Story of Fire and Nature by Sam Lloyd (ill. Samantha Metcalf) 

The Garden at the End of the World by Cassy Polimeni (ill. Briony Stewart)

Nikki Hind: Dressed for Success by John Dickson (ill. Chantel de Sousa)

Craig Shanahan: Cooking up a Storm by John Dickson (ill. Claudia Frittitta)

Matt Formston: Surfing in the Dark by John Dickson (ill. Phillip Bunting)

A Life Song by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker

Ten Blocks to the Big Wok: a Mandarin counting book by Ying-Hwa Hu 

Junior Fiction

The Wish Sisters (series) by Allison Rushby (ill. Karen Blair)

Millie Mak The Maker by Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng

Fluff: Bullies Beware by Matt Stanton

Miss Penny Dreadful and The Mermaid’s Locks (series) by Allison Rushby

Little Ash (series) by Jasmin McGaughey and Jade Goodwin

Willa and Woof (series) by Jacqueline Harvey. Illustrations by A. Yi

‘Hello Twigs’ series by Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood

Middle Grade

Queenie in Seven Moves by Zanni Louise 

The Mud Puddlers by Pamela Rushby 

Hamlet is Not Okay by R. A. Spratt (lower YA)

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

The Thames and Tide Club by Katya Balen

Foxlight by Katya Balen

The Hotel Witch by Jessica Miller

Ghost Book by Remy Lai

It’s the Sound of the Thing by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The Unlikely Heroes Club by Kate Foster

Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer 

Indigo in the Storm by Kate Gordon 

Aster's Good Right Things by Kate Gordon

Xavier In the Meantime by Kate Gordon

The First Summer of Callie McGee by A.L. Tait 

YA

Grace Notes by Karen Comer 

I am The Mau (and other stories) by Chemutai Glasheen 

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (series) by Garth Nix

Scar Town by Tristan Bancks

Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

Borderland by Graham Akhurst 

Burn by Melanie Saward 

We Could be Something by Will Kostakis 

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See you in 2024.

Allison T, Allison R, Megan

Visit Allison Tait over the holidays

Visit Allison Rushby over the holidays

Visit Megan Daley over the holidays