AustLit

'At once ad man and artist, designer and entrepreneur, Ken Done has achieved what few others have. His signature style has graced ad campaigns and cars, magazine covers and duvet covers, public spaces and landmark cultural events, but it is his unabated passion for painting that sustains him. For more than forty years, Done has chronicled the Australian way, documenting how it feels to be Australian with an exuberance that is immediately recognisable.

'Ken Done: Art Design Life documents Done’s expansive art and design practice over four decades and provides a fascinating insight into the artist and his oeuvre. The book features both early and lesser-known works, as well as the iconic paintings of Sydney Harbour, the Outback and the reef. It opens an extensive archive, providing readers in-depth access to the catalogue of fashion and homewares, and the designs that came to define an era.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Join the Tiny Explorers on a treasure hunt through the garden! Kat Macleod’s luscious mixed-media artwork explores the natural world up close. Seemingly ordinary elements – grass, leaves, bugs and blooms – become mighty and magical when seen from their vantage point. And hiding amid this nature wonderland is a series of special items for the explorers to collect and transform into a fun surprise at the end of the journey.

'Repetition and use of prepositions to map the landscape help young readers follow the story, which invites explorers big and small to discover the beauty and wonder of nature from a different perspective. Australian artist Kat Macleod was inspired by watching her children play in their home garden, discovering new flowers, unusual insects and an odd assortment of tiny ‘treasures’.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Hilda Rix Nicholas held her first solo exhibition in Paris in 1912. On sale were drawings made in Morocco earlier that year. The French state bought one of them, Grand Marché, Tanger, for display in the Musée National du Luxembourg. Hilda’s career was launched. She was twenty-eight years old.

'Hilda was making a name as an artist of France when the Great War broke out. She, her sister and her ailing mother fled to London on the last boat out of Boulogne, but sanctuary was fleeting. The war dealt her a series of blows: first her sister died, then her mother, then her beloved war-hero husband. Hilda bore these tragedies with dignity and resolve.

'In the 1920s, dividing her time between Australia and France, she held frequent exhibitions, selling her work to the major galleries of both nations. Working in bold colours and valuing, above all, the foundational skill of good drawing, her best works were grand-scale portraits of common people – French, Australian or Moroccan – all rendered with Hilda’s trademark generosity and honesty.

'One of Australia’s great artists, Hilda’s life and work illustrate a wonderful truth: out of adversity can come great beauty.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In this generous account of life on the land and in the kitchen, trailblazing cook Annie Smithers chronicles her quest for a more sustainable existence, in harmony with the environment and the self. Part meditation, part memoir, the book offers practical advice and wisdom gleaned from a life dedicated to seasonal food and living lightly on the ground beneath her feet. Annie’s story spans thirty years of productive gardens and kitchens across country Victoria. Now settled on a plot of land in Lyonville, which she farms for her family and her restaurant, du Fermier, she shares her hard-won lessons and favourite recipes.

'Recipe for a Kinder Life offers a guiding hand for anyone, from the city to the regions, who yearns to live more gently. It is about caring for land and reaping the bounty. But at its heart, it reveals that the key to living a sustainable life is finding the best way to sustain yourself.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In A Touch of India, Valerie Britton-Wilson discovers the challenges and charms of modern India whilst uncovering the life of her mother Pearl, a young Anglo-Indian woman growing up in end-of-Empire Bombay.

'Pearl was a journalist with the Times of India in the 1940s who unexpectedly fell in love with a brilliant Cambridge pianist on leave from fighting the Japanese in the jungles of Burma.

'The author soon finds herself falling in love with India, which resulted in her launching a textile and clothing business.

'Pearl’s descriptions, and the discovery of touching love letters, are interwoven with the author’s experiences over two decades of working in this sometimes difficult but always fascinating country. There is a search for an elusive ancestor, a tragic dowry murder and insights into being a Chutney Mary (of mixed blood). A touch of history, a touch of travel, a touch of textiles, of humorous and touching anecdotes and much more….'

Source : publisher's blurb

‘A collection of objects, no matter how mundane, tells a story. They are like a little world; you can get lost in them.’ – John Bokor

'Still Life explores the diverse practices of more than forty contemporary Australian artists and documents a repertoire of styles, subjects, visions and philosophies. Alongside flowers and food – mainstays of the genre – the works within these pages also incorporate objects such as books and beer cans, birds and balloons, adding energy and intrigue to both the composition and the story revealed. This book captures the inanimate beauty of the everyday in a distinctly Australian context, and offers a meditation on human experience and the brevity of life.'

'Want to watch spectacular meteors rain down on Earth? Wave to real-life astronauts as they fly overhead? Find your way home using only the Southern Cross?' (Publication summary)

'Furry and flying, wild and domestic, underground and undersea – discover the wondrous ways of the animal world in this intricately illustrated book of facts and explanations.

'‘A beautifully illustrated resource for parents and children alike, bringing the wonder of science to kids. It’s not the answer that gets you the Nobel Prize, it’s the question!’ – Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

'Do sharks sneeze? Do butterflies remember being caterpillars? Why don’t cats wear shoes?

'Children have an insatiable curiosity for the world around them, and life can be an endless source of fascination for young minds. But do you have all the answers? And are they actually correct? Maybe you need to ask an expert …

'Adapted from The Conversation’s highly successful Curious Kids online column, Why Do Tigers Have Whiskers? is the first book in a series exploring some of life’s most pressing questions, submitted by children and answered by leading experts in each field.

'‘After editing Curious Kids for The Conversation for so many years, I’ve developed a deep respect for how children see the world in ways adults cannot,’ says series editor Sunanda Creagh. ‘I love their unalloyed awe at the world and brilliant inability to worry about looking silly by asking questions that range from the blindingly simple to the deeply weird. And in every answer we publish on The Conversation – each penned by an academic expert in their field – there is always something for adults to learn, too.’'

In this first book on animals, venture into the jungle to discover why tigers need whiskers, dig deep with echidnas to find out how they breathe underground, and shimmy up a tree with your pet cat to learn how it uses its claws. Future books will cover such topics as the ocean, outer space, the human body and language.

Aimed at kids aged 4-7, the series asks the big questions about the world as only a child could, with factual explanations that break down the fundamentals and check our assumptions. A glossary helps young readers learn more complex terms, and immersive collages illustrate each answer, with layers of stuff to marvel at and identify.

Learn the why, the how and the wow! as you explore your world through the eyes of a curious kid.' (Publication summary)

'It’s an old cliché that books ‘transport you’; but as any avid reader will tell you, there’s far more to them than that. Alongside comfort and retreat, books offer insight into ourselves and others; they tell us how the world is, was or might be; they are windows into other worlds, whose meanings resonate through the ages. It’s this multiplicity that is at the heart of bibliotherapy, the ancient practice of reading for therapeutic effect.

'Reading the Seasons charts the evolution of a friendship through candid letters between bibliotherapists Germaine Leece and Sonya Tsakalakis. Ignited by a shared love of reading, of finding a book for every occasion, every emotion – both for themselves and for their clients – their conversations soon confront life’s ups and downs. The authors they reach for range from Stephen King to Javier Marias, Helen Garner to Maggie O’Farrell, as they reflect upon loss, change, parenting, careers, simple pleasures, travel, successes, fears and uncertainty.

'Reading the Seasons not only offers an entryway to new titles but affirms the power of books to console, heal and hold us together as friends and as individuals.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Songlines are an archive for powerful knowledges that ensured Australia’s many Indigenous cultures flourished for over 60,000 years. Much more than a navigational path in the cartographic sense, these vast and robust stores of information are encoded through song, story, dance, art and ceremony, rather than simply recorded in writing.

'Weaving deeply personal storytelling with extensive research on mnemonics, Songlines: The Power and Promise offers unique insights into Indigenous traditional knowledges, how they apply today and how they could help all peoples thrive into the future. This book invites readers to understand a remarkable way for storing knowledge in memory by adapting song, art, and most importantly, Country, into their lives.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'From the backblocks of Perth to international stardom, this is a story of courage to fight against the odds for your passion and succeed.

'David McAllister has always belonged onstage. As the middle child in a Catholic family who knew nothing about dance, he watched himself twirl in the reflective glass of the TV and dreamed about becoming the next Rudolf Nureyev. As a little boy taking ballet lessons, he was mercilessly bullied. As a young man joining the ranks of The Australian Ballet, he worried that he would never play the prince because he lacked the height and lean limbs of a classical dancer. Every time he heard ‘no’, he simply did what he loved – danced.

'Sure enough, curtains rose for the unlikely prince: he represented Australia on the world stage; he became a principal dancer and performed his dream roles; he fell in love, onstage and off; and he enjoyed a twenty-year tenure as artistic director of The Australian Ballet, transforming it into one of the top flagship dance companies in the world.

'Fifty years since he stepped into his first ballet class, McAllister reflects on his dance journey, his relationships, embracing his sexuality, and the combination of talent, timing and sheer perseverance that gave rise to his transformative career.

'Includes 16 pages of colour photos from McAllister’s life and career.' (Publication summary)

'With a strong message of interconnectedness, hope and empowerment, This Small Blue Dot follows a little girl exploring the big and small things in life. From contemplating our place on this 'blue dot' to the best Italian, Chinese and Indian desserts, the book provides a broader, more inclusive view of who we are, where we come from and where our dreams may take us. Delivering big lessons with playful humour, the precocious young narrator shares her take on nature and the environment, wisdom from elders, broccoli, embracing difference and the power of imagination. This Small Blue Dot captures not only lessons on life but also the sense of fun and strangeness that comes with being a member of the human family on planet Earth.' (Publication summary)

'You Might Find Yourself follows a small person’s journey as they navigate the world through their imagination. This charming and lovingly handcrafted picture book invites readers to examine notions of resilience and collaboration, while on the winding path that is life.

'From eating green beans with a king and a queen to playing a hologram guitar from the future, You Might Find Yourself encourages an exploration of empathy and compassion. In weird and wonderful ways, Tai Snaith unleashes the power of our imagination, and on a journey full of possibilities, all you need to do is imagine where you might find yourself.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A vigorous reinterpretation of Australia’s colonial past, as seen through contemporary and historical artworks.'  (Publication summary)

'Mirka Mora features a rich insight into the intellectual life and art practice of one of Australia's most versatile, creative and prolific modern artists. A Melbourne cultural icon, Mirka, along with her ex-husband Georges, was instrumental in helping to establish Australian modern art on a global stage. She was integral in reviving the meetings of the Contemporary Artists Society, whose members included friends John Perceval and John and Sunday Reed, and later in creating hubs for artistic figures at Mirka cafe and the Balzac restaurant. Among her many artistic achievements, Mirka is much admired for her Flinders Street mural, Adelaide Festival frieze and stained-glass paintings at Heide. This book focuses on her idiosyncratic processes, which are largely self-taught and blend traditional techniques with modern creativity.With privileged access to Mirka and her studio, Sabine Cotte offers an intimate portrait of one of Australia's best-loved artists.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Kookaburra Kookaburra features original lino-printed illustrations of much-loved Australian bird species, alongside short rhymes that will help children engage with the birdlife around them.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Join a bunch of cheeky galahs in the latest look-and-find adventure in the Hello...! series. 

'This time we're taking a trip around Australia to discover more about the animals, birds and plants that live here. Along the way, you'll meet some very friendly quokkas, take a ferry to Kangaroo Island, marvel at the Big Things and learn about some places that are sacred to the traditional owners of the land. 

'From sunny Queensland to the ski fields of Victoria, there's so much to see and do around Australia. '   (Publication summary)