Christmas Time! Aussie Baby’s First Words 4

Christmas Time! Aussie Baby’s First Words 4 by Tom Jellett. Allen and Unwin 2025. Board book RRP $12.99 ISBN 9781761181900

Reviewed by Debra Williams

This little book is #4 in the series for Sydney-based illustrator Tom Jellett. Through simple, brightly coloured illustrations, the author takes the little one on a Christmas preparation journey. From the publishers: “Find your stocking, hang some fairy lights, put on your Santa hat and discover everything else your baby needs for the best Christmas ever.”

This book contains all-Australian vocabulary (no diapers or strollers). Designed to be read again and again, babies and toddlers will learn their first words. Other books in the series include Dinner Time!, Bath Time! and Bed Time!

Aussie Baby’s First Words

Aussie Baby’s First Words. Board Book series (Allen & Unwin) by Tom Jellett. Board book. HB

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Tom Jellett is a well-known Sydney-based illustrator with a distinctive style that has brought charm and character to many beloved children’s books, including Australia at the Beach by Max Fatchen and The Littlest Pirate series by Sherryl Clark. His latest work, the Aussie Baby’s First Words series, is a delightful collection of board books designed to introduce Australian toddlers to everyday vocabulary in a fun and engaging way.

The first book in the series, Dinner Time! focuses on mealtime vocabulary. Children are introduced to familiar items such as bowls, spoons, and cups—all illustrated with a distinctly Australian flair. It’s an excellent way to help little ones become familiar with daily routines and local terminology. The book features a vibrant orange cover with a toddler front and centre, happily eating. Jellett’s signature style—particularly in the expressive eyes and face is instantly recognisable. The text adopts a warm, conversational tone, much like a parent speaking to a child: “Hello Baby! It’s time for dinner.” Each featured item is highlighted in bold primary colours, framed in warm orange, yellow, or blue, with the item’s name placed clearly underneath to aid early word recognition.

Continuing the series, Bed Time! focuses on bedtime rituals. The book includes familiar nighttime essentials such as nappy, onesie, and sleeping bag, all presented through the comforting lens of Australian culture. This title features a bright blue cover, with a baby holding a bedtime toy front. The design aligns visually with Dinner Time! making it instantly recognisable as part of the book series. The background colours shift to calming tones of blue, pink, and purple, distinguishing it from the mealtime-themed palette of the first book, while maintaining a cohesive look.

Tom Jellett’s illustrations are bold, bright, and unmistakably Australian. His work brings warmth and playfulness to each page, making the books both educational and visually appealing for young readers.

The Aussie Baby’s First Words board books are ideal for parents, grandparents, and caregivers looking to introduce toddlers to Australian-themed vocabulary in a fun, colourful, and engaging way. With their vibrant colours, clear layout, and relatable content, they would make a great addition to any child’s early learning library.

 

 

 

The Train at the End of my Street

 

The Train at the End of my Street, written & illustrated by Tom Jellett (Affirm Press) HB RRP $22.99 ISBN 9781923022362

The publishers say, ‘This is the book for all tiny train enthusiasts!’ In this picture book, a child tells of the train station at the end of his street. Every day, their mother catches a train to work and home. Sometimes their family catches a train from Minty Bay into the city and return.

Every aspect of catching a train – and what trains and their stations look like – is captured in words and illustrations (which are stunning). It celebrates trains and train travel in an accessible and relatable way.

This book sits alongside best-selling books like That’s Not My Train and Thomas the Tank Engine.

The Backyard Games

The Backyard Games by Alister Nicholson, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Allen & Unwin) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781761180927

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

Inspired by the Olympic Games, some children decide to hold the ‘Backyard Games’. They each choose a country to represent and perform a ‘parade of nations’. Then ‘the quest for gold’ begins. Not everything goes to plan – a few of the plates used as archery targets get smashed, and the frisbee discus goes flying over the fence – but everyone’s a winner. When the sun goes down, there’s no time to be sad – they’ll all meet at Yumi’s house for another festival of sport tomorrow.

Alister Nicholson channels the glorious childhood of yesteryear, when there was no such thing as screentime, and youngsters eagerly got together to make their own fun. The joyful rhyming text will encourage kids aged four to seven to get out into the sunshine and run, jump, and throw their way to sporting success while building friendships and learning about kindness and empathy. Real Australian sports stars are named throughout the text, and fascinating info about these legends appears on the endpapers.

Tom Jellett matches the exuberance of the text with illustrations that are bursting with cheerful colour. There is plenty of action to draw the readers’ eyes across the spreads, and this adds to the delightful dynamism of the story. The diversity among the young characters is commendable, and showing a child in a wheelchair fully participating in the activities is refreshing.

A sizzling celebration of all things sport, The Backyard Games is lighthearted from beginning to end. Readers will come away from the book with a positive mindset, perfectly encapsulated by a classic phrase: ‘It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.’ 

The Backyard Games

The Backyard Games (Allen & Unwin) Alister Nicholson & Tom Jellett PB RRP $19.99 9781761180927 

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Alister Nicholson is one of Australia’s best-known radio and TV sports commentators who is a leading voice on Channel Seven’s AFL. He has commentated on many of the biggest sporting events in the world, including the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, AFL Grand Finals and Test Cricket.

Tom Jellett has illustrated Whale in the Bath, The Gobbledygook is Eating a Book and My Dad Thinks He’s Funny. Tom is an editorial illustrator for News Limited and has been included in the Editorial and Book category for illustrators 53.

Alister Nicholson & Tom Jellett are the team that also created Cricket, I Just Love it!

The Backyard Games is a celebration of friendship, sports, ceremony and fun. It brings to life the imaginative play of children creating their own Olympic Games, showcasing personal strengths, near misses and victories.

Alister Nicholson’s text has an energetic liveliness that captures the pure joy of sport and fun. The language is rich and on topic so young readers are totally immersed in the Backyard Games environment. What a glorious day for the Backyard Games! Who will be the champions, household names? The text reads aloud beautifully and Nicholson’s radio voice shines through in the voice. Famous names appear throughout text bringing in Olympic history and showing how Olympians have become a part of our culture. Thorpey and Pearson, oh the elation. And Cathy in Sydney – pride of the nation. Names of countries and the importance of ceremonies is shared along with the quest for gold. The characters are the neighbourhood kids and there is no one main character, but varied characters, because that is how the games are too. The verbs work well and reflect the various sports. Weightlifting next- we heave, and we strain. I love how a crowd is included, too. Each child has different strengths and shines individually, and that is an important message the book shares. In the Backyard Games, everyone is a winner!   

Tom Jellett delights the reader with his illustrations that are full of life and action packed with lots of movement and humour. I love the burning sausage in tongs on the front cover as an Olympic torch. The endpapers are clever because they include Olympic facts on Olympians, sports and The Games. An ordinary backyard comes to life with imagination and the characters are kids from all around the neighbourhood. The country names in a hat for the selection of countries is so Australian and fun. A dog cleverly features as a silent character throughout the spreads. There are both double- and single-page spreads with constant movement from left to right taking the reader on a playful journey into the Games.  Competitiveness is shown in the children, but also their mutual respect and admiration.

The Backyard Games is a picture book that will delight children, parents, teachers and librarians because it is fun, informative and a great share. It’s a great teaching resource and I can see it being a handy book for many teachers. This book is suitable for 3-7 years.

Poo! And Other Words That Make Me Laugh

Poo! And Other Words That Make Me Laugh by Felice Arena, illustrated by Tom Jellett (ABC Books) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN9780733341427

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

The title really says all this is to say about the content of this picture book. The word ‘Poo!’ in a speech balloon is on both fly pages, and the title page shows a bright brown and black face on a yellow background with the word ‘Poo!’ issuing out of the boy’s mouth. 

Made-up words such as ‘BUMbershoot’ and ‘BUMfuzzle’ compete with words such as ‘bottom’, ‘butty’, and ‘booty’, along with nonsense words such as ‘collywobbles’, ‘gobbles’, ‘doo doo,’ and caca’. Words in different coloured and sized fonts fill each page, along with bold and bright headshots of boys and girls. On the final pages is a glossary which explains what all the words used in the book mean. There is no attempt made to create a story as such. The book is really just random, mostly rude words and bold pictures.

There’s not much else one can say about a book which it seems has been published to attract the attention of naughty children.

Goodnight, Little Tough Guy

Goodnight, Little Tough Guy  written by Michael Wagner, illustrated by Tom Jellett. (ABC Books, 2019). HB 32 pp RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9780733339356

Reviewed by Julie Anne Thorndyke

This unique bedtime picture book has a lively, fun text by Michael Wagner, making extensive use of alliteration without being twee. All the tired little tough guys are finished saving the world and ready for sleep. Has a spell been cast over the entire hero kingdom, just as in the time-honoured tale of  Sleeping Beauty? (I wish! say parents everywhere.)

                             “The firefighters are fitting in forty fabulous winks.”

 “Cowboys and cowgirls are completely cactus.”

 These fun statements using wordplay, puns and lavish language sounds are sustained throughout the book. In a sense, the story is one extended “dad joke”. Bathing, cleaning their teeth, falling asleep over their food, our little tough guys

(and gals) are seen doing all the normal bedtime routines young children perform daily. Many of the characters have already shut their eyes, and the others are yawning.

The matt-finish of Tom Jellett’s engaging artwork—line drawings with flat colours, muted midnight-blue backgrounds, teal, black, yellow-orange areas and fluro accents—resemble early TV cartoons. The end papers are reminiscent of vintage 1950s wallpaper from a boy’s bedroom.  The square, sturdy hardback binding will withstand repeated use by your own little superhero.

This book has a masculine feel, full of trucks, rockets, planes, cricket bats,   tools and footballs, and as such seems to target boys— but there are also many suggestions in the text and illustrations that make the book gender neutral. Parents will appreciate the “falling asleep” scenarios depicted in the pictures. Although “heroes” are referenced visually there is no direct reference to the standard copyrighted superhero characters of popular culture, and the costumes worn by the children are generic. This will increase the longevity of the book.

A fun read-aloud story for little boys (and superhero wonder women) from the creators of Why I Love Footy.

The 12th Dog

The 12^th Dog by Charlotte Calder, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Hachette Australia) HB RRP $24.99  ISBN 9780734416919

Reviewed by Brook Tayla

The delightful memories that this book brought up make me smile.

The 12th Dog is the classic Aussie kids’ street or backyard cricket match story – simple but fun.  Charlotte’s words take us on a sweet journey of the annoying ball thief who is finally recognised for his great cricket playing skills. Tom Jellett’s illustrations are adorable – especially the expressive, realistic faces the dog pulls throughout the book.

When I was growing up there were many games of cricket played in the street and dogs made really good fielders – but occasionally one would take off with the ball and there would be a stream of kids chasing the dog down the road to get the ball back.  From memory the dogs always outsmarted and outran all of us, which ended the game unless another ball could be found!  

At one stage we had a ball crazy dog named Snoopy that the neighbours used to borrow for their backyard cricket games.  They put him to the test one day in a match that lasted five hours – he didn’t let them down!

This is a really great book that both children and adults will enjoy and hopefully it will get lots of you playing cricket with your dog – they make the best players…..and the best memories!

Brook Tayla writes a blog called telltalestome@wordpress.com and would love you to drop by, read some reviews, leave a comment and follow by email so you get to receive all the latest reviews.

My Amazing Dad

My Amazing Dad written by Ezekiel Kwaymullina, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Little Hare Books/Hardie Grant Egmont)

HB RRP $24.95

ISBN 9781921894862

Reviewed by Liz Ledden

Individuality, embracing imperfection and the warmth of unconditional love are at the heart of this sweet ode to dads.

Told from the perspective of a young boy and his little brother (with their ever-present crocodile and red frog in tow throughout the book), the narrative opens with ‘My dad is not like other dads’, building anticipation straight away.

Jellett’s illustrations depict a lovable yet goofy-looking father, appearing comically dazed at the responsibilities that await. As it turns out, he’s not so good at mowing lawns, fixing taps or baking cakes, but that doesn’t matter to the kids when he creates a maze in the grass, makes bath-time a mess of bubbles and takes them to the cake shop instead.

While some stereotypical chores that are traditionally expected of dads are included, they are seamlessly mixed with other more equitable expectations, like taking the kids to school or reading them a bedtime story. Mum arrives home at lights-out time at the end, presenting readers with a realistic look at contemporary families, where gender roles are much more fluid.

Creativity is another theme at this book’s core; after all, who wouldn’t rather arrive at school via a supersized hopscotch or listen to stories in a makeshift tent past bedtime? Jellett’s vibrant, full-bleed illustrations on each page beautifully highlight the fun and joy of a childhood made all the more exciting by this amazing dad’s ideas.

The release of My Amazing Dad is timed perfectly for the lead-up to Father’s Day, and sends positive messages around togetherness, fun, affection and love, and turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Mates: The Ugg Boot War

Mates: The Ugg Boot War by Kylie Fornasier, illustrated by Tom Jellet (Omnibus Books)

PB RRP $12.99

ISBN 978-1-86291-999-0

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Jake is dreadfully embarrassed by his Dad’s Ugg Boots. In fact Jake must have the most embarrassing Dad in Australia. It is especially humiliating when Dad wears them with boxer shorts and nothing else and chases the garbage truck down the street. Ugg boots are ruining Jake’s life and he knows he has to do something to stop his father from going out in public with those horrible things on his feet. Maybe if the boots disappeared Dad would find something else to wear.

This is a very funny story about Jake and the inventive ways he goes about solving the problem of his father’s embarrassing habit. Of course it backfires in a spectacular way.

I really enjoy all the books in the Mates - Great Australian Yarns series. The Ugg Boot War is another wonderful title. From the expressive text which brings the characters vividly to life; ‘My Ugg boots have gone missing. You two are part of my search party. No one eats or sleeps until the boots are found.’ to the fabulously amusing illustrations, this is a story young children will enjoy.

The humour is gentle and universal and the Australian element (comfortable rather than clichéd) is unmistakable. The dog who retrieves shoes, the old cubby house in the backyard which hasn’t been used for years (sitting like a mini haunted house), the Ugg boots themselves, even Dad chasing the garbage truck down the street, are all such a part of the Australian landscape.

With six chapters, relatively simple words and colourful pages, it will extend beginner readers giving them a great chapter book they can easily engage with.

Seadog

Seadog by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
HB RRP $19.95
ISBN 9781742756509
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781742756523
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Fabulous and fun! I loved this picture book from the moment I saw Tom Jellett’s cheeky cover. There are many rascally dogs in children’s literature such as Harry the Dirty Dog and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, and Seadog has just as much charisma.

Just like we are all different, so too are dogs. Who wouldn’t love a sea dog? Who couldn’t love a sea dog? Seadog is not a work dog or a fetch dog or a trick dog or a clean dog, he’s a ‘find-and-roll-in-the-fish dog’. He’s a rapscallion and his day at the beach is described in lots of hyphenated phrases, until he is a ‘Pee-ee-euw, Seadog’. After the day is done when he’s all stinky with fish he becomes a ‘sit-still-till-it’s-done dog’ and succumbs to a bath.

With Saxby’s clever use of alliteration and assonance, children and adults will have fun twisting their tongues around the rhythm and rhyme as they go on Seadog’s adventures at the beach.

Tom Jellett has captured the enthusiasm and joy of such a scruffy, lovable dog. The endpapers give the book even more sea-appeal with a patchwork of international maritime signal flags. There are lots of close-up pictures of Seadog that make you feel as if you could give him a pat and hold your nose as you smell his fishy fur.

Claire Saxby is prolific in her writing and admits to being inspired by her own children, memories of childhood and by the children around her. It helps that she has a dog that often pretends to be a cat.

Tom Jellett is not only a bestselling illustrator of books for children; he also has been an editorial illustrator for umpteen print publications.

This is one picture book for 3 and up that will become dog-eared from love.

Marcy Series #2

Marcy Series #2 by Susan Halliday, illustrated by Tom Jellett (FORD ST)
Netball Challenge
ISBN 9781921665714
Quiz Champs
ISBN 9781921665721
Thirteen Dolphins
ISBN 9781921665738
Lost Dogs
ISBN 9781921665745
Award Winners
ISBN 9781921665752

PB RRP $9.95 each
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Marcy, the  leading female character in the Toocool series, has earned her own series. Marcy is a leader. She’s assertive, organized, confident, resourceful and clever. She believes that all her ideas are brilliant, and they are.

In Netball Challenge, Marcy wants to raise money for the Lost Dogs’ Home. Her brilliant idea is to challenge the teachers to a game of netball at the end of school term. The charge to watch is a gold coin. She makes a promise to the tall Stretch Small, to attend his Ballroom Dancing classes with the others if he joins the team. Will Stretch manage to score some goals and beat the teachers?

Book 12: Quiz Champs contains interesting and educational facts. The school canteen has a new menu. Four baby guinea pigs have arrived at the Pet Library. But the best thing to happen is the class quiz – boys against girls. The winning team gets to name the guinea pigs. The class will be quizzed on the week’s lessons which include: the life of tigers, the origins of the umbrella, water, A B Patterson, and the contents of the food we love to eat. The quiz ends in a tie. How will the dilemma be solved?

Thirteen Dolphins: A pod of dolphins has been spotted near Bella’s holiday house by the sea. A young dolphin gets stranded in a rock pool. Can Marcy and Bella use their dolphin knowledge to reassure the anxious marine mammal, and get help?

In Lost Dogs, Gran-Ella has arranged for Marcy and Bella to present the money they raised from the Netball Challenge to the Lost Dogs’ Home where she volunteers. As a reward, Bella and Marcy become part of the Dog Squad which finds new homes for unclaimed lost dogs. They set out on their mission determined to succeed.

Award Winners: Marcy and Bella are chosen as joint winners of the ‘Animal Carer of the Year Award’. A reporter named Mr Hound has sniffed out the story and has come to interview the girls. It results in a comprehensive overview of the two girls’ achievements.

This series full of adventure, positive reinforcement and share the same characters as the Toocool series. Here there is also a Glossary, Jokes, and Did You Know? section that give additional information on the subject used in the book.

These two series come highly recommended for the 7-9 age groups.

Stories for 8 Year Olds

Stories for 8 Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781742756608
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Andy Griffiths, R.A. Spratt, Paul Jennings, Tristan Bancks, Belinda Murrell. This is just a smattering of the all-star line-up of authors for the last of the four collections, Stories for 8 Year Olds.

Editor of the series, Linsay Knight shares her thoughts on the stories chosen for the eight-year-old readership. ‘With burgeoning confidence and feeling increasingly comfortable with fewer illustrations and smaller type, these readers are eager to try out their skills on a range of different genres.’

Once again, 11 stories have been chosen from a smorgasbord of Australian authors, and they’re not all prose. Gruesome Grandads and Nasty Nans, with its shades of Roald Dahl, is a story written in verse.

There are many weird and wacky stories, none so different as the UFD - the Unidentified Flying Dog. Colin Thompson’s, A Giant called Norman Mary, is written with delicious exaggeration where giants roamed the land eating bicycle seats and haystacks as they ‘reached up into the sky and pulled down a star and by its light they picked their way across the world.’ Exaggeration is also the tool used in Toe, where Tom’s cruel sister Tanya could let saliva ‘drip right down to her bellybutton and still manage to vacuum it back up.’ It’s laugh-out-loud wicked humour.

Sometimes the point of view is that on an animal, as in Anita Bell’s Marom. A challenge is set up in Michael Pryor’s Say Cheese, where Phil builds a Santa display out of bits of junk that he declares, ‘the finest piece of engineering since the Pyramids.’

There’s great imagery in The Lachatim Dragon, where Lachie ‘could smell the distinctive rotting reek of bats’ as he and his friend explore a cavern for treasure.

Nanny Piggins is at her best in the Holistic Cake Healer as she gives free advice at the doctor’s surgery; after all, she has taken ‘the Hippopigic oath.’

And don’t forget to read about your favourite storytellers at the back of the book. You’ll be amazed when you find out how many other books they have written. Enough to keep you reading until the cows come home!

Stories for 7 Year Olds

Stories for 7 Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781742756622
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

This is the third instalment in the Stories for … anthology series. For seven-year-old readers, editor Linsay Knight says, ‘these stories take readers into worlds beyond the familiar – particularly into fantastical and humorous worlds.’

The lime green cover is the colour of grass and the great outdoors, and I can imagine a young reader sitting under a tree or spread out on a rug, laughing and turning the pages of this selection of stories.

With more words to the page and three black-line illustrations per story, the seven-year-olds are eased into a more grown-up style of reading. The 11 stories have slightly more complicated language and layered plots, rather than single-line plots.

There are sub-headings, dot points and pieces of poetry scattered throughout the stories. Some are short stories and some are written in chapters. There’s lots of colloquial language to connect with, such as ‘Mum’s gone mental about food,’ in Morris Gleitzman’s, Think Big.

The concept of allusion is found in Mr Jonah’s Whale by Vashti Farrer, and a sense of irony is gleaned in Paul Jennings’ Snookle, where readers will find they should be careful what they wish for!

There are new genres introduced, like Deb Abela’s sci-fi story, My Friend Wilbur, and the understanding of legend comes across in JB Thomas’ How the Crow’s Feathers turned Black.

We meet Alice-Miranda’s new friend, Millie, which provides an introduction to Jacqueline Harvey’s series of the same name.

There are lots of laughs as Derek learns to ride a surfboard in a swimming pool and African Itching Ants run amok as a guest author plays one too many practical jokes on the kids at assembly. One lovely touch is the main character Daisy, who, as a shy girl finds her voice and saves the day.

As with the rest of the series of Stories for …, you can read about each of the authors at the back of the book and see where else your favourite stories have been published such is the quality of the inclusions.

Stories for 5 Year Olds

Stories for 5 Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781742756660
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

It’s a perennial question asked by parents, relatives and friends. What book can I buy for a 5 year old to read?

Editor, Linsay Knight, has responded to the question with the first in a series of anthologies for young readers.

At 5, some children are reading independently, some are reading with help and others are being read to. This selection of 10 stories has something for everyone.

Most are short stories, but three are written in chapters. The font is friendly to new readers, the sentences are short and simple and there are small twists in the plots to keep the readers guessing. That doesn’t mean that the stories are simple. On the contrary, there are many quirky stories.

There’s Dianne Bates’ inventive adventure story set in the middle of the post-Christmas sales and Sophie Masson’s layered plot that builds and builds the suspense and then cleverly unwinds it.

Humour paves the way with Bill Condon’s descriptions of Jasper, the bottom-biting dog and in Victor Kelleher’s story, The Gorilla Suit.

There are challenging words, lots of alliteration, onomatopoeia and vibrant verbs. These stories come from a variety of sources including Aussie Nibbles and The School Magazine.

Tom Jellett’s cute sketches break up the prose on every second or third page so that the reader doesn’t get too word-weary.

You can even find out about the award-winning authors by reading their biographies at the back of the book.

With writers like Mark Macleod, Janeen Brian, Phil Cummings and more, the 5 year old in your life will be well catered for.

Santa’s Secret

Santa's Secret by Mike Dumbleton, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
HB RRP $19.95
ISBN 9781742752396
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781742748801
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness


Here’s another rollicking, rhyming picture book to romp us towards Christmas.

Santa is zonked out after his exhausting Christmas Eve round-the-world trip. After a refreshing sleep, he’s ready to holiday … Aussie style!

Out goes the Santa speak of ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ and in comes ‘G’day’, ‘Fair go!’ as Santa lands at a beach shack where he secretes his reindeer and unpacks a surfboard from his sleigh.

Illustrator, Tom Jellett, dresses Santa in a tropical pineapple-patterned shirt and thongs before he dons a squeezy wetsuit (red of course!) and hits the waves. He bedazzles the grommets with his surfing skills: ‘He’s in the zone! He’s in a class all of his own!’

The lovely twist at the end reveals the Christmas spirit of giving in a fun way, without being preachy: ‘So, watch out after Christmas Day, for the greatest surfer in the bay.’

Santa’s Secret is a jolly read aloud book for three to five year olds. Children will love the clear and colourful illustrations that depict, not only Santa’s changing expressions, but also the humour of such a bizarre situation. Keep your eye out for the tyre swans, kettle barbecue and wind chimes at Santa’s beach shack.

Seven of Mike Dumbleton’s picture books have been selected as ‘Notable Books’ by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. He is also a multi-award winner for his titles. Illustrator Tom Jellett has illustrated a number of best-selling books for children; he combines this with his work as editorial illustrator for the various papers of News Limited.

A fine and quirky team!

Barnesy

Barnesy by Allayne Webster, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $11.99
ISBN 978-1-86291-821-4
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Barnesy is a wonderfully quirky Australian story about Hannaford and his eccentric family who name everything, rescue injured animals and are inspired backyard inventors. All the characters are brilliantly realised and Webster manages to build a real picture of this family with few words. References such as Sir Robert Helpmann (the wombat) and Barnesy (the lamb named after Jimmy Barnes) add extra layers to the story.

Part of the Mates series of Great Australian Yarns, Barnesy is perfect for younger readers to enjoy reading themselves or to read with an adult. I read Barnesy with my nine-year-old son and we both giggled and laughed throughout. That is what shared reading should be all about!

Innovative presentation adds to the reading experience. The text is large with varied fonts and accompanied by Tom Jellett’s hilarious collage style illustrations. Unlike other chapter books, even for this younger age group, the illustrations are in full colour yet there is still plenty of white space so as not to overwhelm the reader.

My son and I will certainly be searching out other titles in this series.

My Dad Thinks He’s Funny

My Dad Thinks He’s Funny by Katrina Germein, illustrated by Tom Jellett (black dog books)

HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 978-1-74203-121-7
Reviewed by Di Bates

Any child or parent reading this book will instantly recognised the way in which many adults wise crack. For instance, when a child says, ‘Dad, do you know what?’ Dad replies, ‘I don’t know What, but I know his brother.’ Or when a kid tells dad his finger hurts, dad replies, ‘Let’s chop it off.’ No doubt as you read this book, whoever you are, you’ll be nodding, smiling and say, ‘Yes, that’s right! That’s just how it is in our house.’ Smart aleck dad.

Australian writer Katrina Germein has a clever ear for dialogue and this book is full of gentle (and sometimes hilarious) family fun with a boy and his dad communicating – albeit not too seriously. My only problem with the story line is that it ends abruptly. Perhaps Dad saying something sensitive or loving at the end when his son is in bed might have been a more satisfactory ending rather than the much repeated refrain, ‘My Dad’s funny.’

Two other endearing features of this funny and engaging book are the design and the illustrations. To match the textual humour, Australian illustrator Tom Jellett has employed a cartoon style with lots of engaging design features. This includes the use of backgrounds which range from paper-bags to graph paper, corrugated paper to wall paper. As you open every page there’s a visual treat with the way in which the illustrations are placed and the illustrations themselves, which are full of unexpected fun. To add to this, the book designer has played around with text font, from small to large, from typeface to handwritten messages.

All in all, this book is going to capture a lot of attention and is likely to become not just a child’s favourite book, but also one which a parent will enjoy reading with his or her child. The reading level suits a child seven years and up, but the interest level is universal.