My Little Bookcase started on a kitchen table, a stack of library books, and a child who refused to go to bed without “just one more story.” That child is now in school, the stack is taller, and the bookcase has spilled across our whole home — but the bedtime habit hasn’t budged. We figured we may as well share what we read, what we make, and what we mess up.
Who’s behind it
Lila runs the reading. She’s the one elbow-deep in picture books, ploughing through CBCA shortlists, and arguing with the kids about whether the pelican really did all that. Most of the book reviews on the site started life as a scribble in the margin of her notebook.
Joel handles the craft, garden experiments, and “let’s actually try this at home” pieces. If a project needs PVA glue, masking tape, or a backyard hose, he’s the one with stained hands and a phone full of step-by-step photos.
Mia teaches Year 1 and lends us the classroom-tested view: which books actually hold up when you read them aloud thirty times, which crafts survive twenty pairs of hands, and which “educational” activities just teach kids to throw glitter at each other.
What we cover
- Book reviews — Australian and international picture books, early readers, and chapter books we’ve actually read with our own kids.
- Kids activities & craft — projects we’ve built ourselves, with the bits that worked, the bits that didn’t, and the cleanup honesty included.
- Education — reading tips, library habits, and the small daily moves that turn reluctant readers into curious ones.
- Family stories — what we read together, what we make together, and the small wins along the way.
How we work
We only review books we’ve read cover to cover. We only post crafts and activities we’ve actually done with kids. We don’t run sponsored book reviews — if a publisher sends us something, we’ll tell you, and we’ll still say what we think. Anything else would defeat the point.
Get in touch
Got a book we should read? An activity we should try? A question about something we wrote? Drop us a line through the contact page — we read every message.