ReadPlus is a collection of selected books and films arranged under themes. This web site provides lists, reviews and resources for librarians, teachers and parents about books for young people aged 5 to 18.
Review Blog
Jul 02 2009
One dragon's dream by Peter Pavey
Walker Books, 2009 (c1978) ISBN 9781921150746
(All ages) Highly recommended. It is wonderful that this fabulous
Picture Book of the Year has been reprinted. It is such a treat: a
counting book with intricate pictures that just beg to be...
more
Jul 02 2009
Ten mile river by Paul Griffin
Text, 2009(Age 14+) Recommended. 14 year old Ray and Jose are best friends. Jose is good looking with a talent for wise cracking; Ray is large, strong and very intelligent. Finding the juvenile detention centre not to their taste, they go...
moreJul 01 2009
Fate by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Random House, 2009. ISBN 9761741663044
(Age 13+) In this sequel to Tattoo, Bailey Morgan looks and acts
like a normal teenager during the day, but at night she is the third Fate, weaving
what happens to life. Every evening she...more
Jul 01 2009
Skulduggery Pleasant: The faceless ones by Derek Landy
HarperCollins, 2009.
(Ages 10+) The Faceless Ones, the third title in the series of
Skulduggery
Pleasant books, is best read sequentially as the story line and myriad
of characters could otherwise prove confusing. In book one,...more
Jun 30 2009
The good daughter by Amra Pajalic
Text, 2009 ISBN 9781921520334
(Age 14-16) Sabiha has become conscious of having Bosnian background
since her
grandfather's arrival in Australia. Before that, she and her mother
were somewhat alienated from the community, due to her...more
Jun 30 2009
City of glass by Cassandra Clare
Walker Books, 2009
(Ages 14+) Clare has come up with a very satisfying and gripping
conclusion to her magical The Mortal Instruments series. Clary, still
on a quest to find a cure for her mother who is in a coma, enters the
City of...more
Jun 29 2009
Ruby and Leonard and the great big surprise by Judith Rossell
Little Hare Books, 2009 ISBN 9781921272967
(Ages 5-9) Ruby and Leonard, two mice who live with their brothers and
sisters in
a tin at the back of the cupboard in the kitchen, plan to make a batch
of cupcakes for someone's birthday. The...more
Jun 29 2009
Jolt by Bernard Beckett
Text, 2009. ISBN 9761921520211
(Age 14+) Recommended. An exciting thriller from an award winning New
Zealand author, the action and excitement in Jolt keeps the
reader on
edge. 16 year old Marko wakes up in a psychiatric ward....more
Jun 29 2009
The Scarecrow by Sean Williams
HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 9780732284763
(Age 11+) Recommended The Scarecrow is the satisfying conclusion to
Williams' Broken Lands trilogy, which began with The changeling,
followed by The dust devils which were both...more
Jun 26 2009
The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine
HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 9780007283590
Highly recommended. The house is like an ant colony, everyone living in
their own compartment, together but separate, until one incident brings
them altogether and they find friendship and hope for...more
Jun 26 2009
The remarkable secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen by Deborah Abela
Random House, Australia, 2009
(Age 8-10) Having been brought up at the Seaside Pier funfair, Aurelie
Bonhoffen has had the kind of life of which many children would dream,
filled with fun, freedom, and fabulously eccentric extended family....more
Jun 25 2009
Worldshaker by Richard Harland
Allen and Unwin, 2009. ISBN
9781741757095
(Ages 12+) Recommended. Colbert Porpentine is a teenager living on
board Worldshaker, a huge steam driven Juggernaut that flies around the
world. It is a highly structured society of 10,000...more
Jun 25 2009
Prom nights from hell by Meg Cabot et al
HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN
9780007319893
(Ages 14+) A collection of five entertaining short stories by authors
who enjoy a following by those who like the vampire, paranormal and
horror
genre, Prom nights from hell will engage...more
Jun 22 2009
By the picking of my nose by Martin Chatterton
Little Hare Books,
2009.
ISBN
978192127287
(Age 8-11) 11 year old William Shakespeare loves going to the theatre,
but because
of the rules only allowing adults, and his father wanting him to go
into the family business of tanning, he...more
Jun 22 2009
Gone by Michael Grant
Egmont, 2009. ISBN 9781405246347
(Age 13+) Recommended. Imagine how a group of kids would react if
suddenly all the adults disappeared. This is what happens in a small
town in Southern California. In the blink of an eye everyone over...more
Jun 19 2009
Switched by Sienna Mercer
Egmont, 2009. ISBN 9781405240864
(Ages 10+) Telling us that this the first in a series called My
Sister,
the
Vampire, then boldly claiming to be a younger version of the
Twilight
series, made me curious. It's a claim I've seen...more
Jun 19 2009
Chester's back by Melanie Watt
HarperCollins, 2008 ISBN 9780007270248
This sequel to the funny Chester (2007) the picture book about a
forward and pompous cat, which kept intruding upon the illustrator's
page, doesn't quite match the original in humour. In this new...more
Jun 18 2009
Pop Princess by Isabelle Merlin
Random House, 2009. ISBN
9781741663365(Age 12-14) The second book by Isabelle Merlin, set in France, Pop Princess, like the first, Three Wishes, will appeal to romantically inclined girls of lower secondary school age. Both...
moreJun 18 2009
The Witch's children go to school by Ursula Jones and Russell Ayto
Orchard Books, 2009. ISBN 9781408300725
(Ages 5-7) Recommended. It's Gemma's first day at school and at the
school gates she meets the Witch's children, who assure her that she
has nothing to worry about even though the Grade 3 children...more
Jun 18 2009
Mending Lucille by J.R. Poulter and Sarah Davis
Lothian Children's
Books, 2008.
(Ages 5-7) Highly recommended. Shortlisted by the Children's Book
Council of Australia, this is a heart wrenching yet uplifting book
about a small girl whose mother has left her, flying away on...more
Jun 17 2009
The tomorrow code by Brian Falkner
Walker Books, Australia, 2008. Random House Books (UK)
(Ages 12+) Highly recommended. 'Crack the code or tomorrow is history'
is the phrase on the front cover of this thrilling sci fi novel that
looks at how people are exploiting the world...more
Jun 17 2009
Stanley Paste by Aaron Blabey
Viking, 2009. ISBN 9780670071807
(Age 5-8) Highly recommended. Poor Stanley Paste hates being small.
He's never picked for sport and can't defend himself from the school
bullies. Then he meets Eleanor Cabbage who hates being tall because...more
Jun 17 2009
Magic to the bone by Devon Monk
Harper Voyager, 2009. ISBN 9780732289324
(16-Adult) Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, a tracker who seeks out the
source of illegal spells cast on the innocent. In her world every use
of magic has a cost, and sometimes people want to use it...more
Jun 16 2009
The book from Baden Dark by James Moloney
Angus and Robertson, 2009.
ISBN 9780732287672
(Ages 8-13) The Book from Baden Dark draws together the
characters Bea, Fergus, Nicola and Marcel, heroes of The Book of
Lies,
in a new quest. Marcel is now a powerful...more
Jun 15 2009
A book for kidz by C.J. Dennis
Black dog, 2009. ISBN 9781742030944
(All ages) Highly recommended. A reprint of C.J. Dennis' original book
with his own illustrations is a treat for all. Dedicated by the author
to 'All good children over four and under four-and-eighty'...more
Jun 04 2009
Crime Stories by David Belbin et al.
Evans Publishing, 2009. ISBN 9780237536183
Sci-Fi Stories by Mary Chapman et al, Evans Publishing, 2009. ISBN
9780232536190
(Ages 10+) These two small books (about 60 pages long) each has 4 short
stories along the theme of the book....more
© Copyright Pledger Consulting 2007-2009
Latest News
ALA best books for young adults Pullman awarded Oxford Honorary Degree Free online Chaos Walking story East Sussex children's book award 2009 Coke used to bribe boys to read Gaiman wins Lotus awards Kate Greenaway Medal winner Bog child wins Carnegie Australian Book Industry Awards Why kids love spy books Gemmell prize for fantasy Winton wins Miles Franklin Award Little Brother optioned for film Tomorrow series to be filmedReadPlus Features
Sample theme animation Read similar authors... How to find lesson plans Print similar authors bookmarkPromote Reading
Raising a reader Rights of the reader poster Reviews: Author index The Reading Game Books for boys Teenage Book Community