The Wheeler Centre is dedicated to the discussion and practice of writing and ideas. Through out each year it has a programme of talks and lectures, readings and debates.

You can follow them on twitter and keep up to date with events and news via facebook too.

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A recent study in early childhood development found that reading with kids is a great way to improve their literacy levels and speech in later years. A great way to do this as a family is at the Children’s Book Festival in Melbourne, where kids will have the chance to make their own books, meet their favourite authors and illustrators and get lost in the magical world of reading.

Four  brilliant Australian authors that are taking part in the Festival are Boori Monty Pryor, Andy Griffiths, Alison Lester and Graeme Base. From Animalia to The Day My Bum Went Psycho, there’s something for all ages and reading levels. Enjoy one of the classics below or even find a new favourite.

Boori Monty Pryor

Boori Monty Pryor is an indigenous Australian born North Queensland. His father is from the Birri-gubba Nation of the Bowen region and his mother is from Yarrabah (near Cairns).

He has written several award-winning books with Meme McDonald including Maybe Tomorrow, My Girragundji, The Binna Binna Man and Njunjul the Sun. His picture book collaboration with Jan Ormerod, Shake a Leg, won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction in 2011.

Boori’s stories are about finding strength within to deal with life’s challenges and help to create positive visions of the future for all Australians.

Book recommendation: Shake a Leg

Andy Griffiths

Andy Griffiths is the author of over 20 books. Over the past 15 years, Andy’s books have won over 40 children’s choice awards, been adapted as a television cartoon series and sold over four million copies worldwide.

Andy is best known as the author of the much-loved Just! series and The Day My Bum Went Psycho. Andy has a long-standing collaboration with the multi-talented illustrator Terry Denton. Together they have produced theJust! series, the wildly popular The Bad Book, and What Body Part is That?

Book recommendation: The Day My Bum Went Psycho

Alison Lester

Alison Lester is one of Australia’s most popular authors. She has written and illustrated over 25 picture books including The Quicksand Pony, the Bonnie and Sam series, When Frank Was Four, Magic Beach and Are We There Yet? Alison’s sure sense of colour and design, her humour, and her keen observation of the details of children’s lives make her books lasting favourites.

Book recommendation: Magic Beach

Graeme Base

Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book Animalia, received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986, and has achieved classic status with worldwide sales approaching three million copies. It has now inspired an animated TV series.

Other favourites by Graeme Base include The Eleventh Hour, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, The Sign of the Seahorse, The Worst Band in the Universe, Jungle Drums and Uno’s Garden. Graeme lives in Melbourne with his artist wife, Robyn, and their three children – James, Kate and Will.

Book recommendation: Animalia

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You can actually meet all of these wonderful authors – Boori, Andy, Alison and Graeme from 11am – 4pm at The Children’s Book Festival this Sunday the 25th of March in Melbourne.

The Festival is a free event for kids and their families with workshops, facepainting, a Teddy Bear’s picnic and plenty more! Presented by the State Library of Victoria and the Wheeler Centre, click here to find out more details about the day, including times to see your favourite authors and illustrators.

We love all these authors here at the house of PWK, my personal favourites are Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester, The Eleventh Hour from Graham Base and The Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths (super beginner reader text) and Shake a Leg from Boori Monty Pryor.

What are your faves from these authors?

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Four Australian authors to share with your kids… is a post from: Planning With Kids

So in the festive spirit, from now until December 20, 2011 when you buy the book, you can choose to have it gift wrapped. You can leave me a note in the comments when you make your purchase to let me know you would like it gift wrapped and I will wrap it like you see in the photo above. Please include the following information in the notes instructions section provided:

• Name and address of the person to receive the book.
• Any message you would like written on the gift tag (if not included a simple Merry Christmas message will be hand written).
• I write a personal message in the inside of each book. If there is something special you would like me to include in this message, please also note that down.
• If you forget to add this and confirm purchase, simple email me directly after at nicole@planningwithkids.com and I can still arrange it.
• If you want to buy multiple copies and send them to different addresses, I can arrange that as well. Simply email me the details before or immediately after your purchase nicole@planningwithkids.com.
• If there is no note or email, I will assume the book isn’t a gift and send it out unwrapped.

I however cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas for orders made closer to the 20th December. By regular mail books have been taking a week to arrive to some West Australian and Queensland addresses.

I am happy to wrap international gifts, but at this stage I cannot guarantee they will be there by Christmas going standard mail.

Send Book To: Australia $30.00North America $45.00UK $45.00New Zealand $40.00Asia $40.00South Africa $45.00

How are you traveling with your Christmas shopping? My aim is to have all completed before December starts – I am going to be cutting it fine I think!

Current Sponsors:

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All Wrapped Up is a post from: Planning With Kids

My son read some of these books when he was 11 or 12 and he knows some boys older 14 and 15 are still reading these books, so this list does cover interests for more than just 13 year olds.

Each listing is actually part of a book series, which could actually make great gift ideas for Christmas for teenage boys. My 13 year old loves having the whole series of books, so for family reading here is a long list of books for his up coming birthday or Christmas!

Please note: Please use discretion when choosing books from this list as some of these books do contain violence, sex and drug references. These are topics we talk openly about with our son and I am aware of what he is reading. Not all parents may feel comfortable with the references contained within some of these books.

Scarecrow Series by Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is an Australian author. At 37, he has an amazing nine novels which are international bestsellers. Matthew seems like a pretty popular guy with over 10,000 fans on facebook and 4,500 followers on twitter. Scarecrow and The Army Of Thieves is the latest installment in the Scarecrow series.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Action packed, mile a minute. Contains swearing and guns. Complex plots.

Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

As an adult, the covers of the Skullduggery Pleasant have always turned me off these books! But my son loves them and there are six in the series now and with a fan base of 14,000 on facebook, they certainly have a dedicated audience.

From the publisher:

The sixth instalment in the historic, hysterical and horrific Skulduggery Pleasant series. Think you’ve seen anything yet? You haven’t. Because the Death Bringer is about to rise…

The Necromancers no longer need Valkyrie to be their Death Bringer, and that’s a Good Thing.

There’s just one catch. There’s a reason the Necromancers don’t need her any more. And that’s because they’ve found their Death Bringer already, the person who will dissolve the doors between life and death.

And that’s a very, very Bad Thing…

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Fantasy style series. About a skeleton that goes around the world solving mysteries.

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Technically my son tells me that there is two series from Riordan: The Percy Jackson Series and the Heroes of Olympus Series, which does star Percy Jackson, but is a different series.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Lots of battle scenes and a very complex fantasy oriented plot.

Holes Sereis by Louis Sachar

This is a book that makes me think about how we treat literature with teenagers. Holes by Louis Sachar is part of the year 7 curriculum for my son. When we were writing down books he likes for this list, he didn’t say Holes. I thought this strange as he actually read this for the first time a couple of year ago an really enjoyed it. When I suggested it, he said to me, “It was a good book, but I have read it so much for school, I don’t like it anymore.”

From the publisher:

Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, “You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green Lake.” Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before.

And so, Stanley Yelnats seems set to serve an easy sentence, which is only fair because he is as innocent as you or me. But Stanley is not going where he thinks he is. Camp Green Lake is like no other camp anywhere. It is a bizarre, almost otherworldly place that has no lake and nothing that is green.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Plot is interweaved in the story very well. Story about never giving up and always remaining hopeful.

Once, Then, Now, After by Morris Gleitzman

My son wrote about sitting in on a session with Gleitzman at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival back in 2009. The images in these books have stuck with him as they are ones he will mentions when discussions of the Holocaust comes up.

From the publisher:

Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.

Everybody deserves to have something good in their life.

At least once.

You can find Gleitzman on facebook here.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Sad story about what happened in World War II. Makes you think about family.

Cherubs by Robert Muchamore

My son has been reading the Cherub series for the last couple of years. He really does love his teen spy genre! People’s Republic is the latest in the series (book 13). Muchamore can be found on Twitter and facebook.
From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Really enjoyable series about kids my age. Contains some swearing and lots of cool gadgets.

Young Bond Series by Charlie Higson

More teen spy action! By Royal Command is the most recent in this series.

From the publisher:

Following a treacherous rescue mission high in the freezing Alps, James Bond is preparing for life back at Eton. But James is under surveillance; his every move is being watched. He alone holds the clue to a sinister plot that will bring bloodshed and carnage to his school – and his country.

SilverFin begins with James Bond arriving at Eton for the first time. He is about to continue his schooling having been educated at home by his Aunt Charmian following the deaths of his parents in a climbing accident.

As he begins to get used to the rules and traditions of Eton, he makes new friends, but he also incurs the wrath of George Hellebore and his arms-dealing father, Randolph.

From my soon to be 13 year old:
A great prequel to the real James Bond books. Shows what a teenager can do on his own. The plots are always action packed.

Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

You guessed it – teen spy! I have listened to many hours of audio books of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz and I can see why this series is so successful with boys this age. Horowitz uses language they use and shows a teenager can outsmart adults. Scorpio rising is the latest novel.

From the publisher:

From my soon to be 13 year old:
Easy to read series. Excellent gadgets. Story lines are set in lots of different countries.

Do you know of other series that would appeal to 13 year old boys?

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Books For 13 Year Old Boys is a post from: Planning With Kids