Book of the Month - OCTOBER

Lionel And Me

by Corinne Fenton

Illustrated by Tracie Grimwood

CBCA 2023 SHORTLISTED TITLE

This is a glorious, fun and uplifting story containing all of the very best picture-bookish things: gorgeous illustrations, a fabulously relatable story, cute dogs, friendships and family.

Lionel And Me celebrates kindness, friendship and caring through the heartwarming relationship between two real-life dogs – Maverick the golden retriever and Lionel the dachshund.

When Lionel arrives, Maverick is unimpressed.

Is there enough love to go round for the two of them?

Told from Maverick’s point of view, his picture-perfect dog’s life is at first, the epitome of heaven: a family to adore, children to romp and play with, meals at all times of the day and a selection of warm beds to choose from. Everything is going swimmingly for Maverick.

Until Lionel arrives.

Lionel the sausage dog is tiny, cute and needy. Lionel’s tiny little legs mean that Maverick’s exciting and adventurous walks become slow, short and boring. Lionel’s tiny little howls mean that he gets all the attention. And his tiny little food bowl contains much more interesting food than Maverick’s – and yet his tiny little dog deposits that occur inside, manage to stink the whole house out.

Poor Maverick. What is a good dog to do?

This gorgeous book packs a very big punch. Tracie Grimwood’s delightfully engaging and simply beautiful illustrations, bring the story to life in a multitude of clever ways. There’s a dance that happens between words and illustrations, encouraging the reader to pore over both and sit with the wonderful detail. The gradual usurping of Maverick happens quietly in some places and very obviously in others. Throughout, Maverick’s patience and frustration are tested to their limits. He is a joy to watch as the story unfolds.

At the book’s launch, much-loved author Corrine Fenton shared that for her, the most important theme of this book is caring - for animals, and for each other. This idea is brought to life with an incredibly entertaining and reassuring narrative. The sense of being overlooked for someone more shiny and interesting is completely relatable, and such an important subject for small children to encounter in story form.

This book is an absolute gem!

www.kids-bookreview.com

BOOK CLUB ISSUE 7 . . . CHRISTMAS EDITION!

'Every child deserves a book!'

Your book orders have arrived! Books will be coming home soon!

Thank you for sharing the joy of reading!

VPRC 2023! WE DID IT ! BRAVO

We are a Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge School and WE DID IT!

The certificates are expected to arrive mid term 4.

EVERYONE who completed the Challenge will receive a Certificate of Achievement from The Victorian Premier.

WHAT TO READ?

The CBCA Shortlist, Winners and Honours is a good place to find a great read!

CBCA Awards 2023 Shortlist!

Congratulations to all CBCA Book of the Year Award WINNERS and HONOURS!

The WINNERS & HONOURS!

The shortlisted titles and the WINNERS!!!

Younger readers

August & Jones (Pip Harry, Hachette)
Evie and Rhino (Neridah McMullin, illus by Astred Hicks, Walker Books)
The Raven’s Song (Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble, A&U)
Runt (Craig Silvey, A&U) WINNER!!!
The Way of Dog (Zana Fraillon, illus by Sean Buckingham, UQP)
Xavier in the Meantime (Kate Gordon, Riveted)

Early childhood

Bev and Kev (Katrina Germein, illus by Mandy Foot, Little Book)
Jigsaw: A Puzzle in the Post (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
Lionel and Me (Corinne Fenton, illus by Tracie Grimwood, New Frontier)
Market Day (Carrie Gallasch, illus by Hannah Sommerville, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Snap! (Anna Walker, Scribble)
Where the Lyrebird Lives (Vikki Conley, illus by Max Hamilton, Windy Hollow) WINNER!!!

Picture book of the year

Dirt by Sea (Tom Jellett, illus by Michael Wagner, PRH)
Farmhouse (Sophie Blackall, Hachette)
Frank’s Red Hat (Sean E Avery, Walker Books)
My Strange Shrinking Parents (Zeno Sworder, T&H) WINNER!!!
Our Dreaming (Dub Leffler, illus by Kirli Saunders, Scholastic)
Paradise Sands: A story of enchantment (Levi Pinfold, Walker Books)

Eve Pownall award

A Is for Australian Reefs (Frané Lessac, Walker Books)
Amazing Animal Journeys (Jennifer Cossins, Hachette)
Come Together: Things every Aussie kid should know about the First Peoples (Isaiah Firebrace, illus by Jaelyn Biumaiwai, HG Explore)
DEEP: Delve into hidden worlds (Jess McGeachin, Welbeck) WINNER!!!
Opal and Dart (Vianne Brain, illus by Clare Bradley, Forty South)
Wild Australian Life (Leonard Cronin, illus by Chris Nixon, A&U)

CBCA award for new illustrator

Australia: From dawn to dusk (Brentos, Affirm)
The Best Hiding Place (Jane Godwin, illus by Sylvia Morris, Affirm)
Naturopolis (Deborah Frenkel, illus by Ingrid Bartkowiak, Storytorch)
There’s No Such Book (Jessica Dettmann, illus by Jake A Minton, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Tiny Wonders (Sally Soweol Han, UQP) WINNER!!!
We Are Australians (Duncan Smith & Nicole Godwin, illus by Jandamarra Cadd, Wild Dog).

All these BOOKS are a good choice for your next new read!

Many of these books are here in the library at BPS!

Your local bookshop is a good place too, to find these new books and to stay connected and keep up to date on the latest releases.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for the book donations to the BPS LIBRARY and to our CLASSROOM LIBRARIES!

At times we find a lovely surprise outside our Library door! Thank you!

It is so nice to see a student pick up a pre-loved book to read!

So we just wanted you to know, you are making a difference and making someone smile.

Thank you for your wonderful book donation and at times for the generous donations!

We love books at BPS!

READING QUOTE OF THE MONTH . . . OCTOBER!

“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

The BPS Library Team

Diana Farfalla

Kelsey Shepherd-Smith

Team Kids