Kate Gordon – författare

"e;There is no now and no then, only in between and always Open the box. Come and see."e; Aberdeen Knopwood wants to make a difference - to help save the planet and express the passion for the environment that burns underneath her skin. But how can a girl who is too scared to stand out actually do something meaningful? Aberdeen's family has been woven into the fabric of Hobart for generations. When her journalist father gifts her an antique chronometer, it leads her to another girl who also knows and loves Hobart. But the Hobart this girl knows is very different to the one Aberdeen grew up in - a newer Hobart, where the stone buildings aren't yet mellowed to soft golds, sea shanties echo from tall sailing ships, and men armed with harpoons hunt whales in the harbour. This girl knows something that Aberdeen is yet to discover: one person really can make a difference. CBCA Award-winning author Kate Gordon invites you to walk the cobbled streets of Hobart in the early 19th century, exploring our desire to change our world for the better, and the enduring legacy--both good and bad--of those who came before...

Sometimes Xavier wakes up feeling hopeless. Every new doctor this will fix it. Removing him from school this will fix it. The therapy group this will fix it. And his dad moving out. Maybe, this will fix it. His daily affirmations seem to be helping, yet the black dog never really goes away. But Xavier has a plan. Enlisting the help of best friend Aster, he tries to convince his dad to turn the family sheep farm into a therapy retreat for the group session kids. But he is up against decades of tradition, his parents who are on a break, and the spectre of the black dog. Can Xavier learn to cherish the moments in between the struggles - the moments in the meantime? Xavier in the Meantime has been shortlisted in the 2023 CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers, and is a companion novel to 'Aster's Good, Right Things', winner of the 2021 CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers.

"e;We are the storm and the stillness."e; Indigo Michael isn't like other kids. And her mum isn't like other mums. Life for people like them isn't meant to have meaning—it's just something to survive in whatever way you can. When her mum abandons her, Aster's Aunt Noni becomes her foster parent. Suddenly Indigo has a new 'family'—one she didn't ask for and isn't even sure she wants. Then she meets Liam. He graffiti's revolutionary words across the world, words that make Indigo want to run towards something, build something, be something. For the first time in a long time, Indigo feels she has made a genuine friend, which makes it even harder when that friendship is betrayed ... This poignant companion novel to the CBCA Award winning Aster's Good, Right Things explores the different shapes of friendship and family, and how a girl who longs for all she's never had, learns what it means to truly belong.

WINNER OF THE CBCA 2021 BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER READERS I can't let go of them—the good, right things—because if I do I'll turn into a cloud and I'll float away,and a storm will come and blow me to nothing. Eleven-year-old Aster attends a school for gifted kids, but she doesn't think she's special at all. If she was, her mother wouldn't have left. Each day Aster must do a good, right thing—a challenge she sets herself, to make someone else's life better. Nobody can know about her things, because then they won't count.  And if she doesn't do them, she's sure everything will go wrong.Then she meets Xavier. He has his own kind of special missions to make life better.  When they do these missions together,Aster feels free, but if she stops doing her good, right things will everything fall apart? REVIEWSI ate this book like a nutella sandwich made with just-baked, still-warm fluffy white bread, it was so good. And I'm going to press it into the hands of all the magical 11-year-old girls in my life because of the writing but also because we don't have enough decent, empathetic, overwhelmed, neurodivergent kids in our literature for children that help us to see the world in a different way from the usual way the world is rammed down our throats: as if we are all the same and want the same things.- REBECCA LIM, author of Tiger Daughter I predict oodles of great things for this middle-grade book which has the potential to change how we view living with anxiety. Highly recommended. An absolute must-read for anyone, old or young, who wants to better understand mental health challenges.- NADIA KING, author of The Lost Smile Written with great insight and delight, Aster's voice is pitch perfect and the reader is treated to a view of the world seen through her eyes.- CBCA Judges' comments This emotive and person-centred novel has many layers. It addresses family breakups and its effect on children, the magic influence of friendship, that being different shouldn't be a stigma, and the life-saving value of books.- KIDS' BOOK REVIEW

Temora and the Wordsnatcher is a book of magic and adventure, self-discovery and the true power of words. It is peopled by children who are discovering their true selves and the way they fit in the world.Temora Murphy is eleven years old. She lives in an immaculate house, with a mother who wishes to control and mold her. The only other children she sees are the "shiny" girls her mother selects for her as friends. Girls who tease her for her size and shyness. Girls who call her "Puddingface.". Temora wants more. Temora loves reading, books about adventure and magic. She finds these books in a black pearl box at the bottom of the garden, beneath the Bloodwood tree. She does not know how they come to be there or who sends them, and every time she thinks too hard about it, some strange impulse in her mind compels her to stop.The books help her to escape. But only so much. Then, at a party for her twelfth birthday, Temora Murphy makes another wish. And with that wish, her life alters forever.Temora and the Wordsnatcher is a literary children's story,; a portal fantasy work, featuring characters from multiple backgrounds and a protagonist who does not conform to societal standards of beauty, and who wishes to push against the constructs of what it means to be "feminine".

Its 1993. Beth McMaugh is eleven years old and about to start her final year of middle school. Her best friend since kindergarten is Ashlee, but Ashlee is changing. She wears surf brand clothes now, and watches teenage TV and knows all the words to all the songs by Girlfriend and Peter Andre. Beth is terrified of losing her when they get to senior school, but Ashlee assures her that grade six is going to be the best year ever. On the first day, though, Beth enters her new homeroom to find Ashlee sitting with Kristy, Abbi and Nikki – the popular girls. The mean girls. What is Beth going to do? Ashlee cant really want to be one of them. They must have trapped her into being part of their group, through some sort of heinous bribery. Beth has to save Ashlee, but how? Further complicating matters, there is a new kid in class – a strange, loud, smart kid from Brisbane, called Jools, who listens to Queen and is obsessed with science fiction and all things nerdy. So obsessed that, on her first day at her new school, she starts the Cooee Middle School Nerd Club and she wants Beth to be her first member – despite the fact that Beth has never even seen Star Wars! Behind all of this – behind everything – is a secret from Beths past, a secret so terrible it stays with her, every day, whispering in her ear: Wash your hands.Behind everything is that day at the beach, when Kristy saw her in her worst moment. Is that why Ashlee doesnt want to be friends with Beth anymore? Is that why her mother doesnt want to be near her? Has Beth ruined everything? And if she has, can a nerdy girl with mismatched socks, a rebellious punk, a popular boy and a science fiction movie trilogy set it all to right?Real Friends, by Shannon Hale, meets Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, meets The Friendship Matchmaker, by Randa Abdel Fattah, this is a story of growing up, of friendship, of finding your tribe and unlocking your hidden talents ... plus Star Wars.

Do you ever look at the sky and think that's where we belong? Like maybe the world is the wrong way around and we're meant to be up there, floating?Sixteen-year-old Therese lives in a small town on a small island. Her Aunt Kath calls her Tiger. Her friends call her Resey. The boy she loves calls her Champ. She's a lot of different things for a lot of different people.Therese has always had her feet on the ground. She's running through high school, but someone in her life is about to fall ...And when he does, her perfect world falls with him. For the first time in her life, Therese can't stand being on the ground.Girl Running, Boy Falling is a raw read about a girl and boy- who are beautifully flawed.

Matilda loves visiting her cousin Emily's farm with her friends. Especially down by the creek with the cute frogs. One day, Emily and her mum find an old tin. It contains a leather pouch and a beautiful Chinese comb. But where did it come from?The girls uncover even more surprises when a naughty froglet stows away in Matilda's jacket and escapes. Now there's a mystery to solve and a frog to find!Can the girls figure it out and set things right again?

Ein ergreifender Coming-of-Age-Roman über die erste Liebe und den ersten Verlust. Was tun, wenn der beste Freund Selbstmord begeht? Ein Buch, das tröstet und Mut macht! Ein schwieriges Thema, sensibel beschrieben.Therese liebt die kleine Stadt auf der Insel am Ende der Welt. Sie liebt Tante Kath, von der sie Tiger genannt wird, ihre Freunde, die sie Resey rufen, und vor allem ihren besten Freund Wally, für den sie nur Champ ist, und der sie endlich, endlich geküsst hat. Doch dann geschieht das Undenkbare. Der strahlende Wally, die nächste große Football-Hoffnung der Schule, nimmt sich das Leben und Thereses Welt fällt in sich zusammen. Sie versucht alles, um nicht selbst zu fallen. Zum Glück gibt es Tante Kath und ihre Freunde, die Therese auffangen und ihr helfen weiterzuleben.»Ein packendes Buch: nachdenklich, authentisch und feinfühlig geschrieben.« (Nick Earls)Trigger-Warnung: suizidales Verhalten

Nyx lebt in Tasmanien im Jahr 2093, wo die Ozeane sauer geworden sind und das ganze Jahr über Buschfeuer herrschen. Um ihre Frustration über die Welt auszudrücken, hinterlässt sie eine wütende und verzweifelte Nachricht an ihrem Lieblingsbaum. Siebzig Jahre in der Vergangenheit findet Bea Nyx''s Zettel und antwortet. Der Briefkastenbaum wird das Verbindungsglied der beiden Mädchen über die Zeit hinweg. Doch als Nyx‘s Welt endgültig unterzugehen droht, wird ihre Freundschaft auf die Probe gestellt und ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit beginnt: Kann die Vergangenheit die Zukunft retten?

Packender Klima-Thriller mit fantastischem Twist und einer Freundschaft, die die Zeiten überbrücktWettlauf gegen die Zeit: Das hochaktuelle Thema Klimawandel wird im spannenden Roman erlebbarEine inspirierende Freundschaftsgeschichte mit fantastischem Twist für Leser*innen ab 10 Jahren