Review: Albert and the Flood by Ian Brown

It is such a delight to be back with everyone’s favourite tortoise Albert in Albert and the Flood. The Albert series is inspired by a real life tortoise owned by the author's family.

illustrated by Eoin Clarke

Publisher: Graffeg Books

Publication date: 17th June 2025

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Pages: 35

RRP: AU$19.99 (softcover)

Source: Courtesy of the author

In Albert and the Flood a torrential downpour endangers Albert’s backyard friends. The planned Games Day needs to be postponed as the rain pours down and the water rises.

Albert and friends must work together to get the smaller creatures to a safer place.

Eoin Clarke's illustrations are exceptional. Starting from that first splash of rain through to a torrential downpour. The scared faces of the insects as they scurry for cover and then pictures of the insects all working together. It’s all so endearing and loads of fun. 

I love how Clarke shows the insects with human qualities; the larger worm giving the small worm a hug, the rescue ants wearing fluro vests and the worms mopping up water in their underground tunnel. There is so much detail and so much to see in each illustration.

Albert and the Flood is another must-have addition from the Albert the tortoise series. A wonderful story about teamwork and helping those in need.

Albert and the Flood would be a valuable addition to your home or school library.

My rating 5 / 5 🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

Recommended age: 4 - 10 years

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Review: Literally Hilarious! - Families Gone Wild

 The title says it all! These short stories are Literally Hilarious - a collection of twenty-one short stories, poems, jokes and skits about families gone wild.

You think your family is embarrassing! Read Literally Hilarious - Families Gone Wild.

From swimming carnival disasters to a family camping trip from hell, joker dads to a gran with bad manners, each story is filled with adventure and mishaps but also brimming with love.

Each story is short enough to keep even the most fidgety child engrossed.

What I especially love about Literally Hilarious is; the fun doesn't stop with the reading of the stories. Every story has its own unique QR code  that when scanned opens up extra activities, colouring downloads, recipes, questions about the story and ideas for more family fun.

Literally Hilarious - Families Gone Wild has added a new genre to children's fiction with this electronic interactive anthology.

My rating 4.5 / 5 👦👧🧑👩½

Average over the 21 stories

Recommended age: 6 - 9 years

Publisher: Daisy Lane Seed & Just Write for Kids Aus

Publication date: 22nd August 2026

Genre: Junior Fiction / Anthology

Pages: 194

RRP: AU$17.99  (softcover)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

#literallyhilarious #justwriteforkids #booksontouraus #anthology #juniorfiction #humourforkids #getkidsreading #kidsbookswelove

Review: Ella and the Call of the Wild by Cassy Polimeni

 Ella and the Call of the Wild is book 4 in a fun eco-series by Cassy Polimeni featuring eco-warrior, nine-year-old, Ella and her friends.

Book one: Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra, Ella moves to a new school and makes friends with Mai. She saves the neighbouring frogs from a building site and builds a frog pond in her yard.

Book two: Ella and the Sleepover Party, Ella's has a birthday sleepover at the Zoo. She needs to deal with friendship rivalry when her friend from her old school and Mai have a disagreement. All Ella wants to do is explore and learn about the animals.

Book three: Ella and the Mystery of the Missing Frogs, finds Ella having to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the frogs from her backyard pond and try to stop her little brother getting in the way.

In Ella and the Call of the Wild, Ella's class are given penpals; students at another school over a thousand miles miles away. Ella's class is learning about the rainforest and their penpals live in the rainforest region of Queensland.

Ella doesn't know what to write about. She thinks she doesn't do anything interesting. She soon finds a connection to her pen pal through their shared love of frogs and how they want to protect them.

After a ranger comes to the school and talks about protecting the rainforest and how frogs can end up far from home where the environment does not suit them, Ella hatches a plan to help save the travelling frogs and educate people about what to do if they find one.

Ella is surprised what a difference she can make when she finds her voice.

Ella and the Call of the Wild is such a fun story and a wonderful introduction to caring for the environment for young readers. Ella shows that one person, with the help from some friends, can make a difference.

Ella and the Call of the Wild is the perfect book for classroom discussion on the ecosystem and learning that reptiles need to live in their own environment to survive. This is a fun, informative and educational story for little eco-warriors, frog lovers and nature enthusiasts.

Ella and the Call of the Wild is an illustrated chapter book that will have young readers searching for more.

Charming black and white full and half page illustrations by Hykie Breeze give the reader time to pause and ponder, giving a visual connection between character and reader.

See the publishers website for teaching notes: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/ella-and-the-call-of-the-wild?_pos=1&_sid=d5b00987e&_ss=r

My rating 5/ 5 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

Recommended age: 6 - 9 years

Publisher: UWA Publishing

Publication date: 1st August 2026

Genre: Junior Fiction

Pages: 108

RRP: AU$15.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Kean & Creative

#ellaandthecallofthewild #cassypolimeni #hykiebreeze #juniorfiction #ecowarriors #kidsbooksonecology #australianauthor #littlesquirrelsbookshelfblogspot #keanandcreative #ausbooksontoour #ausbookbloggers #booksforkids #bookishkids #raisingreaders

Review: Shifters by Nicole Kelly

 Shifters is a magical, shape shifter, supernatural adventure for middle grade readers.

Emily has felt lost since her mother left. She yearned to feel whole again, like she belonged. She often escaped into books when the world around her became too much.

When her father announces he has work in Japan Emily is heartbroken to leave her friends however she could never let her father go alone; they were all each other had.

On arriving in Japan, Emily feels as though she doesn't fit in. She doesn't speak the language or understand the culture. When she meets Koji, he helps her learn the language. He is fun and outgoing, although Emily senses a mystery surrounding the boy. As they take in the sights of Kyoto and learn to trust each other, Emily is witness to events beyond her belief.

There comes a day when Emily must draw on all her courage to save her friend from the ancient magic that surrounds him.

With friendship at its core Shifters is a story of trust, courage, embracing new experiences, forgiveness and fitting in.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the sights and foods of Kyoto and the information on Japanese myths and legends. Emily and Kyoto are fun characters, Emily shy and reticent, Kyoto confident and cheeky, they are easily identifiable to middle grade readers.

Each chapter is headed with a Japanese word and its meaning in English which I found to be an engaging way to learn some basic Japanese words and pique a child's interest in learning more words and customs.

Reading Shifters is sure to ignite curiosity and encourage further research on Japan, its language and customs.

Nicole Kelly has developed a simple plot that will be easy for young readers to follow and includes a sprinkling of words that will extend a child's vocabulary.

Shifters is rich in action and intrigue woven through a spellbinding setting.

Shifters is perfect for fans of The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble, Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, and anyone who loves stories with themes of a reluctant hero, found family, and secrets.

My rating 5 / 5 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊

Recommended age: 8 -12 years

Publisher: Hawkeye Publishing

Publication date: 5th June 2026

Genre: Middle Grade / Supernatural 

Pages: 146

RRP: AU$24.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

#shifters #middlegradereads #middlegradefantasy #shapeshifting #australianauthor #littlesquirrelsbookshelfblogspot #ausbookbloggers #bookssetinjapan