Possum Magic by Mem Fox

This book was one of my daughter's favourite books when she was a little girl. It's about as Australian as you can get with Grandma Poss visiting all of Australia's states. It's all about Grandma Poss who dabbles in bush magic and one day she makes baby Hush invisible.Hush just loves this and gets up to a lot of mischief, however, eventually she tires of the novelty and wants to be visible again. But the problem is that Grandma Poss can't remember the necessary magic and so the quest begins...

The water colour illustrations by Julie Vivas are simply stunning and will have young children pouring over them time and time again. This is a lovely book for book buddy session and for older children looking to explore the different states of Australia
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Check out this YouTube presentation of the book, it's worth a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BboBeS-vhjg

Let the Celebrations Begin by Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas

Let the Celebrations Begin was shortlisted for the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year in 1992. A girl called Miriam and some other women are planning a special party as celebration of their liberation when the soldiers arrive. No direct mention of the concentration camp is made but older readers with background information would be quick to realize where this book is set. It is certainly not a gloomy book, in fact it is quite an uplifting one. For many Jewish people suffering at the hands of a despotic regime, hope of a better life was paramount.The fact that many Jewish people survived such unimaginable horrors should be celebrated. Wild has written more than forty books for children and she is an author well worth following. Julie Vivas of Possum Magic fame has provided the beautiful water colour illustrations which bring this poignant story to life.