Spending time reading catalogues and reading guides is a great way to take a breather between book reviews. It helps gather ideas about all the new books about. Unfortunately, it also increases the length of the list of books you really should read…

The ‘2013-2014 Kids’ Reading Guide’ put out by the Australian Booksellers Association is a recent example of this. From the intriguing picture books, (which deal with fun infant concepts like learning the alphabet, and revisions of ‘This little piggy’), to the latest Anh Do book and classics retold – there is lots to capture the imagination of readers young and old.

Another fabulous addition to this particular catalogue is the inclusion of reviews by young readers – long enough to give you an idea of the story, but short enough not to give away the whole plot. It’s a great way to acknowledge young readers and get an insight into what they enjoy about the featured books – what attracted them and what they they think others might like about the book – and isn’t that what reviewing is all about?

There are several books within the guide that I plan to read, among others that I have read and recommended – e.g. to read: Gabrielle Wang’s ‘the Wishbird’,  ‘Zac and Mia’ by A.J.Betts and ‘the Vanishing Moment’; and recommended: ‘the Sky so Heavy’ by Claire Zorn, and ‘the Kensington Reptilarium’ by Nikki Gemmell. There are also books by Andy Griffiths, Anh Do, Morris Gleitzman and John Flanagan which continue to be popular – many either as continuing series, or in familiar formats to older titles.

An additional bonus to this catalogue is the inclusion of illustrations from Shaun Tan’s latest book, ‘Rules of Summer’ which mix well with the multitude of book covers that readers have to choose from. So browse carefully, before you decide which delight to take home from your local Australian Bookseller.

N.B. For some great insights to the creative mind of Shaun Tan, visit ‘the Rules of Summer’ website