Children's Books for Beginner Readers
The Easter Story
Joy Cowley (author)
Donald Morrison (illustrator)
Pleroma Press, NZ: February 2012
ISBN: 9780986468636
Genres: picture book
Issues: religion
'The Easter story is about God's love for us, a love too big to be described in words. But we know it in our hearts. We can feel it like a warm presence. This is because we all have a spark of God in us.' Joy Cowley's interpretation of the Christian Easter story does tell of the events that led to Christ's death and resurrection but it principally focuses on the religious meaning of the story.
Easter
Fiona French (illustrator)
Francis Lincoln, UK: 2000
ISBN: 0711218587
Genres: picture book
Issues: religion
Stunning double-page illustrations in a glorious contemporary stained-glass window style will immediately engage the reader. The King James Version of the Easter story is entirely appropriate to the layout, as each double-page gives the reader the feeling of walking around the windows of a church, 'reading' the story from the sun-stained patchwork of glass.
The Easter Story
Brian Wildsmith (author/illustrator)
Oxford University Press, UK: 1993
ISBN: 019279986X
Genres: picture book
Issues: religion
This is the christian Easter story told from the point of view of the donkey who carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Proud to carry such a gentle man, the donkey waits and watches as events unfold.
Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat
Anna Branford (author)
Sarah Davis (illustrator)
Walker Books, Australia: November 2011; 108pp
ISBN: 9781921529191
Genres: realistic fiction
Issues: family, siblings, relationships
Violet quite likes helping but now that she's in high school her sister, Nicola, won't include her at all. In fact Nicola has become quite grumpy, especially about her Natural Science project. Violet decides that even if Nicola isn't interested in her idea about ladybirds, she's going to make her own project.
Show Day
Penny Matthews (author)
Andrew McLean (illustrator)
Omnibus Books, Scholastic, Australia: March 2012
ISBN: 9781862916890
Genres: picture book, realistic fiction
Issues: family, rural
It's Show Day and Goldie the heifer is being entered. Dad's made some marmalade, Mum's hoping to win for the Biggest Pumpkin. Everybody's joining in. But Goldie is spooked by the noise and the crowds. Will she win a prize?
Hippo In the House
Lisa Regan (author)
Kelly Byrne (illustrator)
Bloomsbury, UK: February 2012
ISBN: 9781408142455
Genres: factual text, picture book
Issues: endangered species, environment
What would you do if a pygmy hippo came ringing on your doorbell? This delightful book provides plenty of facts but also makes some suggestions about the kind of visitor this critically endangered might make.
Paw Prints in the Snow
Sally Grindley (author)
Bloomsbury, UK: 2012
ISBN: 9781408818456
Genres: adventure, animal stories, realistic fiction
Issues: endangered animals, environment
Joe's mother is an internationally recognised vet so when she goes to Russia to work in a tiger sanctuary, she takes her family with her for a few weeks. As he explores the cold, silent nature reserve, Joe finds himself having the kind of close encounter that endangers his life. Will someone find him in time?
Molly's Memory Jar
Norma Spaulding (author)
Jacqui Grantford (illustrator)
New Frontier Publishing, Australia: 2010
ISBN: 9781921042355
Genres: picture book, realistic fiction
Issues: grief, loss
When Molly's best friend dies, her father suggests she makes a 'memory jar' for Lucy. Each time Molly thinks of something she wants to remember about Lucy, she puts a coloured glass ball in the memory jar. As Molly finds more memories to celebrate, her jar – and her life – begins to recapture the colour and warmth it had when Lucy was alive.
Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble
Tracey Corderoy (author)
Joe Berger (illustrator)
Nosy Crow, Australia: October 2011
ISBN: 9780857630278
Genres: fantasy, humour, picture book
Issues: differences, family, stereotypes
'My Granny's kind of different... She wears such funny hats. She's got a huge menagerie of cats and frogs and bats! She takes them to the cinema. They take her to the zoo...'
Nancy Bentley: the first Australian female sailor
Tracey Hawkins (author)
Jacqui Grantford (illustrator)
New Frontier Press, Australia: 2011 ISBN: 9781921042768
Genres: biography, factual, history, non-fiction
Issues: community
Nancy and her family live in Port Arthur. It is 1920 and a large naval vessel is docked in the harbour near their cottage. When Nancy is bitten by a poisonous snake, she needs immediate attention and the ship's doctor is closer than the nearest town.
Read more: Nancy Bentley: the first Australian female sailor
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