208. Two Little Monkeys by Mem Fox illustrated by Jill Barton

Two Little Monkeys by Mem Fox illustrated by Jill Barton
Published July 2012 Penguin (Viking)


From the publisher:
Two little monkeys are hiding in a tree - two little monkeys named Cheeky and Chee.

Swing on in if you'd like to see just why they're hiding in that big old tree.

I was lucky enough to hear Mem speak at the CBC conference in May.  She is always an interesting speaker, and one who is not afraid of speaking her mind, and I love that about her.  One of the thing s she hears a lot, and I hear also, is that it can’t be that hard to write a picture book like Where’s The Green Sheep, there’s not even that many words in it!!??!!  This book has a similar feel to the Green Sheep.  It’s true, this is a simple story, with a lot of repetitive text.  What amazes me is that people can’t see the skill involved in telling a great story with so few words. 

180. Gem by Holly Hobbie

Gem by Holly Hobbie
Published June 2012 Hachette Australia (Little Brown)

From the publisher:
Look carefully. There may be a gem in your garden.
For nearly four decades, watercolorist Holly Hobbie has drawn inspiration from the wonders of nature. During one especially hard winter, she found herself imagining the story of a determined toad's spring journey. 

I am a big fan of wordless picture books.  It may seem like a bit of cheating s going on on my Year of Reading if I include a wordless picture book, but I can't help myself, I just have to share it.  The book begins with a letter from a Grandmother to her Granddaughter writing about the long cold winter she has endured and her memories of the "gem' discovered in the garden one spring.

112. Jonathan and Martha by Petr Horacek

Jonathan and Martha by Petr Horacek

Published April 2012 Phaidon

From the publisher:

Jonathan and Martha are two lonely worms that live on opposite sides of a tree.

One day, a big juicy pear lands on the ground between them. Jonathan nibbles from the left, and Martha nibbles from the right ... and soon they are caught in a tangle!

This is the story of two worms, Jonathan and Martha who live on different sides of a tree.  One day they are both enjoying a juicy pear that falls from the tree.  Jonathan nibbled from the left and Martha from the right, they nibbled and nibbled until they meet in the middle.  Their meeting is not a pleasant one as they fight and tussle until they find themselves literally tangled together.  So, now they have to be together and find that they quite like it, until a big black bird comes a long and pecks off their tails, leaving Jonathan and Martha free…only to find that even though they are separate, they still want to be together (without tails?!).

109. Owl Know How by Cat Rabbit illustrated by Isobel Knowles

Owl Know How by Cat Rabbit and Isobel Knowles
Published April 2012 Thames and Hudson

From the publisher:

Owl Know How is about solving problems, big problems that can only be solved by owls Enter the magical world of Cloud Town and meet Cornelia Rabbit and her bestfriend Orvi. With help from their friends they save the town from falling into the treetops by working together and using ‘owl know how’.

Before you even open this book, you know you are going to be in for a treat, not only is the cover gorgeous, the book 'feels' lovely too, like the old fabric covered hardbacks.  Then when you open it up, the endpapers are also stunning, only three colours of paper collage of trees and owls.  There is also a pattern in the back of the book, so you can create your own owl.

84. Little Mouse by Alison Murray

Little Mouse by Alison Murray
Published March 2012 Hachette

From the publisher:

Little Mouse can waddle like a penguin, eat like a horse and splash like a whale. So why does her mother call her Little Mouse? Because, sometimes, it's nice to be quiet and cosy, especially when it's time to cuddle with your mum.


This little girl wonders why her mother could call her a little mouse, when she is so clearly anything but.  In the course of her day she is is adventurous and a bit wild and she has adventures that show her acting like everything from a lion to a penguin.  It is at nigh time though (when she gets into her penguin-ed patterned pyjamas) that she realises sometimes it is OK to be a cuddly little mouse.

75. Living With Mum and Living With Dad by Melanie Walsh

Living With Mum and Living With Dad by Melanie Walsh
Published March 2012 Walker Books

From the publisher:

Mum and Dad don't live together any more, so sometimes this little girl lives with her mum and her cat, and sometimes she lives with her dad. She has two bedrooms and two sets of toys, but she takes her favourite toys with her wherever she goes.

A common story, with a new twist.  There have been other books about divorced/separated parents, but this one has the bonus of seeing both sides of the story on the same page.

64. Demolition by Sally Sutton and illustrated by Brian Lovelock

Demolition by Sally Sutton and illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Published March 2012 Walker Books

From the publisher:

Swing the ball. Swing the ball. Thump and smash and whack. Bring the top floors tumbling down. Bang! Clang! Crack! Load the trucks. Load the trucks. Lift and shift and heap. Drive away the piles of junk. Whump! Whop! Beep! Busy workers and noisy machines demolish an old building and build a new playground.

I find that there are very few picture books just for boys. Lots for girls, lots of general interest, but not many that are real 'boys' books. I was a big fan of Roadworks (also by Sally Sutton), so I was excited to see Demolition hit the shelves.

56. Ten Scared Fish By Ros Moriarty illustrated by Balarinji

Ten Scared Fish by Ros Moriarty illustrated by Balarinji
Published March 2012 Allen & Unwin

From the publisher:Simple, intelligent, bright and cheerful, this early childhood concept book introduces animals and numbers and celebrates indigenous art in a joyous, non-didactic and playful way.

This is a very simple, but very clever first counting book.  We start at the waterhole, with one turtle, then there are two turtles by the waterhole, three turtles by the waterhole and a snake. Then there are four snakes in the river grass, and so on, following the river into the sea.  In the sea we have ten scared fish who meet one big mouth!