The Magic Hat by Mem Fox

True to Mem Fox style, quirky and with repeated rhymes designed to get your child to read, this picture book is the full package. It is a funny, dynamic read-aloud book which both entertains and allows for prediction from page to page. The illustrations by Tricia Tusa brings to life both the magic and the unpredictable nature of the marauding hat which flies into town out of the blue. It adorns a toad, a baboon, a kangaroo, a bear and then suddenly its wizardly owner appears...This book is now part of my grandson Archie's collection.

Night Noises by Mem Fox

Whenever I read a picture book about old people now I really appreciate the sentiment especially since my 83 father is now nearing the end of his grand adventure and Mum is hand in hand with Alzheimer's. This is truly a beautiful and dignified story about an old lady called Lily, nearly ninety, who is dreaming about her life and how it has slowly transformed. Yet as things change, some core values and those important things in life remain the same. Seemingly a simple story on the surface, as always with Mem Fox, there is a deeper message about the power of family and loyalty.

It is also a fabulous book for teaching onomatopoeia to students in an interesting way.

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