Scribble Summer Guide

Written By Miriam Rosenbloom
 

Dear friends,

Beach reads are for kids too! Here are our picks for the summer holidays, along with a description of the sorts of kids (and adults!) who might love them.

Tomorrow is a Brand-New Day

Find out why some of our favourite indie booksellers are calling this the picture book of the year. Allison and Davina really are the most incredible creative duo, and every single one of their titles feels like an instant and much-needed classic. This one is all about learning how to recover when the day doesn’t go as planned — relatable much? This is a hilarious, emotionally intelligent, and hope-filled read — just what we all need right now.

Wrap this one up for kids who …

  • Love Allison and Davina’s other titles, including All The Ways to be Smart, Under the Love Umbrella, and The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade

  • Have been lashing out at people and/or things of late

  • Have been having a hard time and need some comfort

  • Are looking for a classic that they can turn to whenever they need to feel loved and uplifted

  • Love character-driven dramas with cathartic resolutions

  • Love exceptional, bold, bright art

  • Love rhyming texts

Rhyme Hungry

This very silly book has been voted by all the toddlers of Scribbletown as the literary event of the year. Find out why three-year-olds are begging to read this book again and again … and adults are happy to oblige.

Give this shiny flip-the-flaps board book to kids who …

  •  Are wriggly and tactile

  • Love puns and wordplay

  • Adore silly jokes

  • Are curious about rhyme

  • Are learning about phonics, or the sounds that different combinations of letters make

  • Are at the very beginning of their reading journey and want to practise reading alongside their caregiver or an older kid

And definitely leave this one under the tree for babies who …

  •  Love immersing themselves in bright, interesting images and curious-sounding words

  • Want a good summer read that can withstand a real chewing-on

Let’s Eat Weeds:
a kids’ guide to foraging

This is the perfect book to take camping, or just into your backyard. With the endless holidays rolling out before us, we all need as many child-led activities as we can get. Get amongst foraging and discover just how great weeds can taste!

Gift this book to the kids in your life who …

  • Are passionate about the environment

  • Feel sad about the climate crisis and want to be uplifted by writers who understand their woe, and who have some joyful, action-based answers to it

  • Already love foraging — you know, that kid who’s always over the moon to find a juicy sour-grass stem

  • Love cooking, and trying out unusual recipes and flavours

  • Love being outdoors, or who need a sense of purpose in order to bother going outdoors

  • Are bored at home

  • Love facts

  • Are looking for a new hobby

Nina: a story of Nina Simone

Sometimes the perfect summer-holiday gift is one that will open your mind and offer a jumping-off point into a whole world of discovery. Nina offers just that, and more.

Pass this life-changing read on to kids who …

  • Love music

  • Love Christian Robinson’s other books and/or his Instagram @theartoffun

  • Are passionate about the BLM movement

  • Want to learn about the Civil Rights Movement

  • Love biographies

  • Sing and/or play piano

  • Write poetry

  • Are activists or interested in activism

  • Are struggling to find a reason to keep attending music lessons

Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines

Summer activities abound! Alom Shaha’s book is filled with brilliant and accessible toy-building projects, and most of the materials required can be found in your recycling bin.

Give this stunning, activity-packed book to kids who …

  • Love to deconstruct things, build things, and ask lots of questions about how things work

  • Are science buffs

  • Love facts

  • Are interested in reducing, reusing, and recycling

  • Want to be engineers when they grow up

Anemone is not the Enemy

Be sure to pack this oceanic CBCA Honour-winning book in your beach bag!

 Perfect for kids who …

  • Love silly humour

  • Love Finding Nemo

  • Are learning how to make friends at daycare or early primary school

  • Love talking about all the different elements on each page of their books

Izzy and Frank

This beautiful book illustrated by the one and only Sophie Beer will give you that summer feeling in spades! Izzy loves her best friend Frank the seagull more than anything else on her beautiful island — but when her family moves to the city, will they have to say goodbye forever?

 This is the perfect present for kids who …

  • Love character-driven dramas filled with lots of light-heartedness and humour along the way

  • Love Sophie Beer’s other books

  • Love fossicking in rockpools

  • Have experienced moving house or school

I Am Doodle Cat, Doodle Cat is Bored, and Doodle Cat Wears a Cape

Pair these book-gifts with a whoopie cushion, a crayon, and a tea towel. Don’t ask why.

This hilarious, boredom-busting series will delight kids who …

  • Love fart jokes

  • Love cats

  • Love silly cartoons

  • Love drawing

 
Miriam Rosenbloom
Previous

Chatting Katerina Cruickshanks with Daniel Gray-Barnett
Next

Meet Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys