News and Reviews
Lucy the Lie Detector (Random House Australia, 2010)
News
The second book in the Lucy series is released into the wild July 2010
Don’t Breathe a Word (Random House Australia, 2009)
News
2010 Children’s Book Council of Australia notable book
Short-listed for the 2010 Speech Pathology Australia Children’s Book of the Year
Published in Germany in 2010 under the new title, Als Opa alles auf den Kopf stellte
Reviews of Don’t Breathe a Word
‘Musgrove has written this book with sensitivity, insight and bittersweet humour … Grandpa’s escapades are hilarious … Mackenzie is such a creative, brave and resourceful little girl…’
**** Four stars
-- Wendy Noble, Good Reading, July 2009
‘Easy to digest and full of flavour …’
**** Four stars
-- Kerry White, Bookseller and Publisher, July - August 2009
‘… a difficult subject [handled] really well, with humour and sensitivity.’
-- Julie Thorndyke, librarian and writer
Lucy the Good (Random House Australia, 2009)
News
Short-listed for the 2009 Speech Pathology Australia Children’s Book of the Year
SA and Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge selection
Soon to be published in the USA and Korea
Reviews of Lucy the Good:
‘A charming little girl, very realistically drawn ...’
-- Dr Virginia Lowe, Create-a-Kids’-Book literary critic and children’s literature academic
‘Marianne Musgrove brilliantly captures Lucy’s struggle as she learns how to tame her temperament without losing the one thing that makes her special … a great read for sevens and up.’
-- Francis Atkinson, The Age
All young readers will identify with Lucy’s struggles and enjoy the pace and humour of this story.
-- Julie Thorndyke, librarian and writer
‘Readers will instantly bond with Lucy and recognise some of her not-so-perfect-but-tries-hard-to-be-good characteristics in themselves. As Lucy tries to decode the sometimes mystifying words and deeds of adults around her, she comes closer to unlocking the secrets of her own personality.
Humorous and revealing and plied with fresh, unique characters brought to life both by Musgrove’s descriptions and Orsini’s illustrations, Lucy the Good, is highly recommended for readers aged 6 to 8 years.’
-- Aleesah Darlison, Buzz Words
Many children’s books carry underlying themes of good versus evil, but here is a new and humorous book that takes on every child’s dilemma of working out what is good and what is bad, head-on.
An impending visit from Tanta Bep, a great-aunt from Holland, places Lucy in the difficult position of promising to be “a good girl”, when all events seem to conspire against her and provoke behaviour unacceptable to the adults in her life.
Is she Lucy the good, or Lucy the bad?
Pondering her problems white feeding the family chickens, Lucy remembers being taught that a “good egg” will sink in water and a bad one will float…
Lucy is a very likeable heroine, rather like a modern day Judy from Seven little Australians – certainly a character in the tradition of gutsy girls trying to find solutions to their problems.
I particularly liked the mix of inter-generational and inter-cultural themes in this book – Lucy’s troubled but developing relationship with Tanta Bep, the customs of Holland effortlessly woven into the story, and also the tantalising sub-plot of Lucy's off and on friendship with Paolo. Orsini’s line drawings have a European flavour and sit well with the text. Suitable for independent readers in early to middle primary, this book will also be useful to classroom teachers planning units of work on other countries (a recipe for Dutch biscuits is included).
The Worry Tree
News
Winner 2007 Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature.
Short-listed:
- 2007 National Children's Peace Literature Award
- 2008 Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
- 2008 SA Festival Award for Children's Literature.
Published in Australia, the USA, Germany, Indonesia, the UK and Korea.
Coming soon to Italy and Taiwan.
'This first novel by a new Adelaide author is a delight. Fresh, funny and gently wise, it is full of memorable characters ... '
**** Four stars
-- Katharine England, The Adelaide Advertiser
'Musgrove's writing is sensitive, with subtle humour and utterly charming characters ... Musgrove's debut marks the arrival of yet another talented Australian children's author.'
-- Angie Schiavone, The Sydney Morning Herald
'Told with a light and humorous touch, this story actually covers in a very realistic way many of the situations that worry and upset young children. I think it's rather a little gem.'
-- Val van Putten, Children's Book Council of Australia (SA branch) newsletter editor
'Musgrove's debut novel looks at an important issue, with lots of laughs and a good understanding of her protagonist's dilemmas.'
-- Amanda Holohan, The Sun Herald
'... many readers seeking comfort will find it here.'
-- Frances Atkinson, The Age