Reading Matters

Jackie French joins Jojo, Miani, Sarah and Zoe to celebrate Primary Perspectives 7th Birthday! Jackie talks about some of her new titles including her latest release 'Goodbye Mr Hitler' and she reads a poignant passage from the book that has the team almost speechless. http://www.jackiefrench.com/ Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/SwitchOnYourRadio/ https://www.facebook.com/musicmattersradio/...

As part of the 2017 Melbourne Writers' Festival Special Reka, Sarah and Zoe are super excited to chat with renowned Australian author/illustrator Graeme Base, who's alphabet book, Animalia, has achieved classic status since being published in 1986, with worldwide sales of over three million copies. Other favourites by Graeme include The Eleventh Hour, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, The Sign of th...

Reka, Sarah and Zoe are super delighted to be able to chat with Cath Crowely for Primary Perspectives 2017 Melbourne Writer’s Festival Reading Matters Special. Cath is an award-winning author of young adult fiction and her novels include Words in Deep Blue, Graffiti Moon, Chasing Charlie Duskin, the Gracie Faltrain trilogy and Rosie Staples' Magical Misunderstanding. She is also a freelance writer...

Reka, Sarah and Zoe chat with Melbourne Writers' Festival program manager Jessica Alice to find out about all the great things that are happening, especially for children and teens at the 2017 Melbourne Writer’s Festival. http://mwf.com.au/ Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/SwitchOnYourRadio/ https://www.facebook.com/musicmattersradio/ https://www.facebook.com/funkykidsradio/ https://twitter.c...

Miani and Zoe cross to USA to speak with New York Times bestselling author Steve Alten about his latest science-FACTion thriller ‘Undisclosed’. Steve has been lucky enough to be privy to not just a truck load… more like a whole space ship load… of facts and data that Dr Steven Greer's Disclosure Project has been gathering for 25 years on this topic, including hundreds of testimonials and eye witne...

Jojo, Miani and Zoe speak with Australia's own New York Times bestselling author Garth Nix, who talks about his latest release #Frogkisser, which is described as a rollicking fantasy-adventure by the master of children's speculative fiction, and is undoubtedly destined to be yet another best seller! Garth is taking part in this year’s Sydney Writers' Festival Children’s and Young Adult Program, sp...

Jojo, Miani and Zoe cross to the UK to speak with multi-award winning Irish author Sarah Crossan, who has received UK's prestigious Carnegie Medal for her book 'One'. Sarah is coming to Australia to take part in the 2017 Sydney Writers' Festival Children’s and Young Adult Program. https://www.swf.org.au/ http://www.sarahcrossan.com/ Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/SwitchOnYourRadio/ https://...

Jojo, Miani and Zoe find out about the 2017 Sydney Writer’s Festival from the inside with special guest, Head of Children’s and Young Adult Program for the Festival - Clare Sawyer. https://www.swf.org.au/ Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/SwitchOnYourRadio/ https://www.facebook.com/musicmattersradio/ https://www.facebook.com/funkykidsradio/ https://twitter.com/SBNyouthmedia https://twitter.com...

Jojo, Miani and Zoe find out about the 2017 Sydney Writer’s Festival from the inside with special guest, Head of Children’s and Young Adult Program for the Festival - Clare Sawyer. Plus the team cross to the UK to speak with multi-award winning Irish author Sarah Crossan, who has received UK's prestigious Carnegie Medal for her book 'One', as well as Australia's own New York Times bestselling auth...

A blast from the past! Harry D, Miani and Shehan were lucky enough to meet and interview Dav Pilkey when he came to Australia for the Sydney Writers Festival in 2014. Check out this great podcast with Dav! With well over 70 million copies sold, children's author Dav Pilkey has penned and illustrated numerous popular, award-winning books for children, including the Captain Underpants and Dumb Bunni...

Harry, Jojo, Miani and Reka speak with Melbourne writer Gabrielle Wang, about her latest title 'The Beast of Hushing Wood'. Jojo was lucky enough to be the first young person in the world to read the book and she loved it! Gabrielle is a multi award winning, bestselling children’s author and illustrator of books that are a blend of Chinese and Western cultures, with a touch of fantasy. Gabrielle h...

#JaneHissey - Miani, Reka and Zoe were so honoured and excited to be able to chat with world renowned UK author/illustrator of the 'Old Bear' series, Jane Hissey, at her home in Brighton in England, to celebrate Old Bear's 30th Birthday - Jane even read a little from her new book 'Happy Birthday Old Bear'! Check out this great podcast and then head over to Jane's website so see some of her wonderf...

Leah and Miani speak with illustrator Allison Colpoys and author Davina Bell - winners of the 2016 Critchon Award for their book 'The Underwater Fancy Dress Parade'. The Critchon Award recognises and encourages new talent in the field of Australian children’s book illustration and this is the first time Allision and Davina have collaborated together on a children’s book, so it's pretty impressive...

#DannyParker - Leah and Miani speak with Danny Parker, winner of the 2016 CBCA Honour Award in the Early Childhood category. Danny grew up in England and now lives with his wife and two children, a couple of dogs called Barney and Charlie and a cat called Tiny in sunny Perth. When he’s not writing children’s books, or thinking about writing children’s books, Danny has a proper job – as a writer in...

#AnnaWalker - Leah and Miani speak with Melbourne based children’s illustrator and author Anna Walker, whose images are inspired by tiny details in the world around her. Anna has a long list of accolades for her books, including a 57th Book Design Award for Best Children’s Series Design for her “I Love to’ series and her wonderful book Mr. Huff won the 2016 CBCA Early Childhood Book of the Year Aw...

#JaneJolly - Leah and Miani speak with Adelaide author Jane Jolly, winner of the 2016 CBCA Picture Book honour award for her children's book 'One Step at a Time'. Jane has three children’s picture books published by Limelight Press (Limpopo Lullaby illus. Dee Huxley 2004, Glass Tears illus. Di Wu 2005). Both of these books were listed as Notable Books by the CBCA. “Ali the Bold Heart” illustrated...

#RohanCleave - Leah and Miani chat with Rohan Cleave, author of Phasmid: Saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, which received the CBCA 2016 Eve Powell Honour Award for Information Books. Rohan is a zookeeper at Melbourne Zoo, where he’s been involved in the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect recovery breeding program since 2003. Rohan now manages the phasmid recovery program at Melbourne Zoo and al...

#LeighHobbs - Miani, Reka and Zoe speak with 2015/16 Australian Children's Laureate, bestselling author/illustrator Leigh Hobbs. Leigh is perhaps best known for the children’s books that he writes and illustrates, featuring his characters ‘Old Tom’, ‘Horrible Harriet’, ‘Fiona the Pig’, ‘The FREAKS in 4F’, ‘Mr Chicken’ and most recently ‘Mr Badger’. However, children’s books are only one aspect of...

#MichaelGrant - Felix, Miani and Reka speak with Michael Grant bestselling author of the insanely popular young adult 'Gone' series, the Magnificent 12 and latest series 'Front Lines'. Michael will be a guest speaker that the 2016 Sydney Writers Festival. www.swf.org.au http://www.michaelgrantbooks.co.uk/ http://themichaelgrant.com/ Music cut: 'Let's Fly' by Shenay Ibrahim from the debut Music Mat...

#MattStanton - Felix, Miani and Reka speak with award winning designer Matt Stanton. By night, Matt Stanton is the illustrator of There is a Monster Under My Bed Who Farts and The Moose is Loose. By day he is the Head of Design at Harper Collins Australia. His unique illustration style combines hand-drawn images with digital colouring to create lively and humourous picture books for children. Musi...

Felix, Miani and Reka speak with Sue McWinney, author of the Eddie McTeddie picture book series about the REAL Eddie who is the inspiration for Sue's engaging story books for young readers. https://www.facebook.com/theadventuresofeddiemcteddie/ Tune into Primary Perspectives - radio created for kids by kids, drive-time every Monday 4-5pm (AEST / EDST Melbourne, Aust) via direct stream www.3wbc.org...

#JonKlassen - Kaylee, Felix and Miani chat with multi-award winning author/illustrator Jon Klassen. Jon lives in Los Angeles now, though he was born in Winnipeg in Canada and grew up in Niagara Falls and Toronto in Ontario. Jon’s book ‘I Want My Hat Back’ was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, a Publishers Weekly Best...

#ClaireZorn - Kaylee, Felix and Miani chat with YA Australian author Claire Zorn, who is someone who knows how to channel challenging times into brilliant, award winning literature. Claire 's first young adult novel, The Sky So Heavy, received a 2014 CBCA Honour Book award for Older Readers. Her second novel, The Protected, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction, the 20...

#SallyRippin - Kaylee, Felix and Miani chat with Australia’s highest-selling female author and one of the country’s best-loved children’s authors, Sally Rippin. Sally has been writing for almost 20 years, and in that time has penned over 50 books for children and young adults. Her mantelpiece is full of numerous awards for her writing and she is probably best known for her Billie B Brown and Hey J...

#SWF - Kaylee, Felix and Miani speak with Sydney Writers’ Festival Head of Children’s and Young Adult Program, Jeanmarie Morisin, to find out about the exciting program for 2016 and about the Glowtopia Precinct for the YA and Children's programs. www.swf.org.au If you love our podcasts then you can support SBN's Youth Charity and several important youth initiatives by purchasing your copy of our f...