SLAV Online Book Club – 14th October 2020 – Biography and Non-Fiction

Our biggest thanks to those of you able to join us for our October bookclub meeting. As you can see the list is quite lengthy, which is a wonderful result! Some titles may have an indicated suitable age range next to each title, however this is merely a guide and as always we encourage you to use your own judgement, as you know your students best.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Happy reading, we hope to see you in November!

Maybe Tomorrow by Boori Monty Pryor and Meme Macdonald
The Top End Girl by Miranda Tapsell
Billy Connelly Autobigraphy
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I Am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai

Lion and A Long Walk Home by Saroo Brierley
Ugly by Robert Hoge (good comparison with Wonder)
The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do
Her Fathers Daughter by Alice Pung
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Football and Soccer player biograhies
Biographica series (scientists, artists and pop stars) infographic format
Leather Soul by Bob Murphy
Steven Curry biography
Elon Musk biography

Diary of a Young Naturalist Dara McAnulty
Jacinda Adern biography
Able by Dylan Alcott
More Than a Kick by Tayla Harris
Little People Big Dreams Series
Fourteen by Shannon Molloy
Tim and Tigon by Tim Cope
A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
Queer Heroes (53 LGBTQ heroes)
The Girl from the Tar Paper School by Teri Kanefield

A Promised Land by Barak Obama (due November 2020)
Dreams From My Father by Barak Obama
Unmasked by Turia Pitt
Astronauts Guide to Life On Earth by Chris Hadfield
Notes From a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig
The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddi Jaku
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes by Quentin Kenihan
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

ADULT Reading

The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies
Electric Blue by Paul Verhoeven
To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohleben
Gilgamesh by Joan London
Untwisted by Paul Jennings
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
Museum of Words by Georgia Blain
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
1000 Ships by Natalie Haynes
A Man Called Possum by David Harris

A big thanks to Lynda Santolin, who shared the below with us after the meeting. 

Popular non-fiction authors:

Amazing Athletes series (eg Kobe Bryant) – individual authors: Savage, Jeff; etc
Abdullah, Ian (Indigenous)
Adamson, Thomas K. eg Apollo 11 Moon Landing: An Interactive Space Exploration Adventure (You Choose: Space)
Deary, Terry – Horrible Histories
Eldridge, Jim
Ellis, Deborah (true-to-life, fiction)
French, Jackie
Grylls, Bear
Kettle, Phil (I Can Be.. Cricket series)
Nicholson, John (History)
Oldfield, Tom and Matt (sports biographies)
Perrett, Brian
Thomas, Ron & Herran, Joe (Macmillan Extreme Sports; Olympics; etc)
Tucker, Alan
Welcome to the Museum series including Botanicum (Welcome to the Museum) – by Katie Scott (Illustrator), Katie Haworth
Wilkinson, Carol (Ned Kelly books)
‘Yinti’ series – Pat Pike & Jimmy Lowe

Some amazing NF:

Becoming – Michelle Obama
Charles Darwin & Evolution – Ian Graham
Conversations with J.K. Rowling -Lindsey Fraser, J.K. Rowling
I Am Malala –
Maybe Tomorrow – Monty Boori Pryor
On Two Feet and Winds and The Boy With Two Lives – Abbas Kazerooni
Red Dog -Louis de Bernières
Rise: The Sam Thaiday Story: Young Readers’ Edition -Sam Thaiday
Selfie: The Changing Face of Self Portraits -Susie Brooks
Stephen Hawking – Nikki Sheehan
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba
The Happiest Refugee – Anh Do
The Woman I was born to be – Susan Boyle
The Word Spy -Ursula Dubosarsky, Tohby Riddle
Young Dark Emu – Bruce Pascoe
Fictionalized true-to-life accounts, including

47 Degrees – Justin D’Ath – 2009 Bushfires
Refugee – Alan Gratz
My Story, My Australian story
Guantanamo Boy – Anna Perera
Freedom Ride – Sue Lawson
Cloud and Wallfish – Anne Nesbet

2 thoughts on “SLAV Online Book Club – 14th October 2020 – Biography and Non-Fiction

  1. Johnathan Thurston
    The Autobiography
    Year 9 onwards. Some language.
    Inspirational. Lots of important messages in this book-overcoming challenges, owning your mistakes and having persistence.

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