To and Fro
SHORTLISTED: 2025 CBCA Book of the Year, Younger Readers
SHORTLISTED: 2024 Readings Children's Prize
Most kids meet their parents when they’re born. All they need to do to impress them is poop, sleep and make goo-goo ga-ga sounds. But I’m twelve. None of that is going to impress my father.
Sam thinks he’s a weird-looking white kid with an afro. He lives with his white mum (annoying but not smelly) and brown dog Trevor (smelly but not annoying). He’s never met his father. He just knows that his father is black.
But a surprise visit has Sam questioning who he really is. Is he a white kid with a black dad? Or a black kid with white skin? Or half-black and half-white?
Not only does Sam want to know these answers, he has to know them to finish his annoying homework and perform in the school concert. But how can he make his outside match his insides if he doesn’t know who he is?
Reviews for To and Fro
“Perfect for kids who feel like their outsides don't match their insides.”
— Rebecca Lim, illustrator & multi-award-winning author of Tiger Daughter
“Truly satisfying, moving and entertaining.”
— Emily Gale, award-winning author of The Goodbye Year
“Cheeky, funny and full of heart.”
— H. Hayek, bestselling author of Huda and Me
“A heartfelt and humorous exploration of the complexities of growing up mixed race in Australia.”
— Books+Publishing
Stuck in the Middle
Coming August 2026
Dad likes rules. Mum likes order. My siblings like breaking both.
Leon is having a bad time – his best friend Jacob has moved to Alaska, he’s not allowed to look after Jacob’s cat, he has to be a buddy to the weird new kid and no one in his family listens to him. The only place he feels calm is under his bed, listening to cat-themed songs.
When Leon encourages his parents to help out the new kid, his problems get worse. Everyone in Leon’s family seems to like Victor better than him. He tries to tell them how he’s feeling, but how can a quiet person like Leon make himself heard in such a loud family?