Books: School holiday reading

STUCK UP & STUPID

Angourie Rice & Kate Rice (Walker, $22.99)

Australian actor Angourie Rice — who’ll be starring in the upcoming film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical — has teamed up with her mother, award-winning playwright Kate Rice, for this modern YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It brings a version of Jane Austen’s classic tale to a small coastal town called Pippi Beach in New South Wales, which is home to recent high-school graduate Lily and her mum, Lydia. The latter is delighted when Casey Brandon and Dorian Khan, a pair of “rich and gorgeous megastars”, show up with their friends for the summer, but Lily is less impressed by the celebrities — particularly by the seemingly arrogant and superficial Dorian. Ages 12+.

UNIVERSAL GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY

Lisa Harvey-Smith (Thames & Hudson, $24.99)

Lisa Harvey-Smith fell in love with stargazing as a child, and now the astrophysicist is sharing that passion with astronomers of the future in her latest book, illustrated by Sophie Beer. It’s a “global guide to the sky” that’s suitable for both the southern and northern hemispheres, and for cities and remote areas, offering an accessible introduction to subjects including constellations and the planets; satellites, comets and asteroids; getting started with stargazing; equipment such as binoculars and telescopes; astrophotography, and more. As Harvey-Smith puts it: “An orchestra of light and colour is waiting for you, if only you peek around the curtains.” For ages 8-12.

ARTICHOKE TO ZUCCHINI

Alice Oehr (Scribble, $24.99)

Alice Oehr’s beautifully illustrated children’s books never fail to delight, and the latest from the Melbourne-based graphic artist is no exception. It’ll especially appeal to little food lovers and budding cooks, bringing together bright, bold pictures depicting an A to Z of food from around the world, from apricots, alphabet pasta and agar jelly, to mortadella and mochi, and zucchini and zeppole. Younger readers will especially enjoy spotting their favourite foods in its pages, and being introduced to an international array of fruits, vegetables and dishes that may be less familiar to them, whether that’s nettle leaves, quandongs or spiky sea urchins. It’s aimed at ages 3-7.

GHOST BOOK

Remy Lai (A&U Children’s, $19.99)

This middle-grade fantasy graphic novel by Brisbane-based kids’ author and illustrator Remy Lai has garnered endorsements from the likes of Nevermoor author Jessica Townsend, along with comparisons to the beloved Studio Ghibli, and it’s not difficult to see why. Inspired by Chinese mythology, it’s charming, funny and a bit spooky, telling the story of a girl named July Chen as she befriends a ghost boy called William who is stuck between the worlds of the living and the dead. When the pair discover that for William to live, July must die, they travel to the Gates of the Underworld in the hopes of putting things to rights. For ages 8-12.

EVERYTHING UNDER THE MOON

Michael Earp (Affirm, $35)

Popular YA authors from Australia and beyond reimagine classic fairy tales through a queer lens in this beautiful hardcover book, edited by writer and bookseller Michael Earp and illustrated by Kit Fox. Earp, a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ literature for young people, says he asked each of the contributors “to take a traditional story of their choice and queer it in every sense”. The result is a dozen stories that include a playful, Bachelor-inflected reinterpretation of Cinderella by Lili Wilkinson and a riff on Rapunzel by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman that’s set in space, alongside work from the likes of Will Kostakis, Gary Lonesborough and Helena Fox. Ages 14+.

THE LOST LIBRARY

Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass (Text, $16.99)

The authors of the 2018 middle-grade bestseller Bob return with this fantasy-inflected mystery about books, storytelling and the magic of libraries that’s dedicated — fittingly enough — to “the librarians of the past, present, and future”. Its chapters are narrated in turn by an orange cat named Mortimer, a ghost librarian called Al, and Evan, an 11-year-old boy, following as the latter comes across a new little free library in his hometown of Martinville. After borrowing a couple of books, Evan discovers that they previously belonged to the town’s library, which burnt to the ground years prior, and soon enough, he and best friend Rafe are investigating the mystery. For readers aged 8+.