Lenny’s Book of Everything Karen Foxlee Allen & Unwin 2018 I’ll be frank about this book. So many people had told me it was brilliant that I wasn’t sure whether I was suffering from FOMO or doing that weird ‘not-reading-it-because-everybody-else-has’ thing. Now, picture me, standing in the bookshop at the CBCA National Conference in Canberra, surrounded by nothing but amazing children’s books, on a self-imposed book diet (to appease the hunger gods, since I’ve dropped to part

I just love drawing inspiration from anywhere I can… and, today, I found something in an unexpected place that made me think. Helping my son organise his thoughts for his new online learning program, I found a list about creativity and how to achieve good ideas. Looking through, I thought that many of these methods for his design course could be modified to help writers get started. So here goes. This is my list on how to come up with some good ideas for writing – whether

In schools all around Australia children and teachers alike enjoy the fun activities designed to celebrate books and reading during Book Week. In our school there were Guest Readers in the Library every day, Drop Everything and Read for 15-20 minutes after lunch each day (with the Year 5/6s going down to read with Kinder), a Guess-the-Teacher competition (where teachers were photographed reading a book that lights up their world), a Treasure Hunt, and the all time Dress up Da

Most people who want to write a novel probably already have a good idea about what they want to write about. It’s the idea that fuels the desire, and keeps you up at night (or, if you are like me, wakes you up early in the morning, kind of like the family pet, helpfully licking your face to let you know the sun is about to come up). I understand, however, that it is a source of mystery for many. And perhaps some of them would like to write a novel if only they could work out

Look at this! This treasure trove of books came to me from Hachette Australia, thanks to Kids' Book Review and one of those lovely competitions where you get to write about something in 25 words: in this case it was what Christmas meant to me. I wrote: Christmas is family. It's giggles and shiny, crinkly paper. Twinkling lights. Lunch that goes forever, with laughter, pudding, and mince pies. Christmas is love. I'm really looking forward to getting some great reading in.

Reading and writing go hand in hand, and there is nothing like sitting down with a good book and getting lost in another world. I can enjoy reading almost anywhere, but some favourite places might be under the shade of a tree on a hot day, curled up on a comfy chair beside the window as the rain drums against the glass, or beside the fire on a cold, wintry day. Or in the mysterious quiet of the library. Just add book. So what sort of books do I enjoy reading? Like the rest