About Tania McCartney

Tania McCartney is an author of both children’s books and adult non-fiction. She is the author of the Riley the Little Aviator series of picture books, is an experienced magazine writer and editor, and is the founder of Kids Book Review where she champions both literature and literacy. Tania is an ambassador for the National Year of Reading 2012, and has been a senior editor and book reviewer for Australian Women Online since 2009. She lives in Canberra with a husband, two kids and a mountain of books. www.taniamccartney.com.

Bedtime Stories for Children: Camping Holiday by Jo Antareau


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family-camping-trip

“Ah, a nice peaceful night in the bush, far away from the noisy city!” Dad said proudly. Rikki and Tom were sitting under some trees with their parents, munching through a mountain of sausages and washing them down with hot chocolate. It was starting to get dark, and everybody was tired after a long drive…Read More

Book Review: Mums Shape Up by Lisa Westlake


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mums shape up

Rating: There’s two things new mums don’t need. One – twelve (or more) months stuck in their maternity jeans. Two – a complicated, time-consuming regime for getting rid of said jeans. New mums are too busy being new mums, looking after their health and the health of their new babe, and attempting to catch up…Read More

Book Review: What’s Eating You? by Kathleen Alleaume


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what's eating you

Rating: We’re a funny species. We know what we need to do. We know what we should be eating and should not be eating. We know all about exercise. We are totally au fait with comfort eating. We’re cohesive of the fact that too much booze and fat, and too many sweets will undo our…Read More

Cookbook Review: A Cook’s Guide by Donna Hay


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a cook's guide

Rating: It’s easy to recognise a Donna Hay cookbook. The queen of gorgeous styling and branding knows the power of both familiarity and consistent best quality, and A Cook’s Guide – a compendium of donna hay magazine’s How to Cook sections – is another mouthwatering concoction for the home cook who wants simplicity with their…Read More

Book Review: When Happiness is Not Enough by Chris Skellett


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Rating: It’s Christmas time – a time that’s meant to be the happiest of the year but for many, the festive season is fraught with stress, relationship strain, financial burden and that Scrooge-like feeling that can seriously test the boundaries of inner contentment. Balancing the ‘perfect’ get together with family and friends can become an…Read More

Cookbook Review: The Art of French Baking by Ginette Mathiot


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art of french baking

Rating: Oh yes, it’s an art all right. Like sushi chefs, French pâtissières spend many years studying and perfecting their craft. Ginette Mathiot (1907 – 1998) taught three generations of French families how to cook. The author of over 30 cookbooks, running the gamut of French cuisine, this legendary food writer has brought together a…Read More

Cookbook Review: The Cook’s Garden by Sheridan Rogers


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the cook's garden

Rating: I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and can truly appreciate those little underrated treasures in life, but there’s not much more satisfying than plucking home-grown produce from your very own garden. Even better – serving it up to appreciative friends and family with flavours that hark back to a 1970s childhood…Read More

Book Review: Everyday Kindness by Stephanie Dowrick


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everyday kindness

Rating: Could there be a more perfect time for a book on everyday kindness? Author and holistic wellbeing expert Stephanie Dowrick has long been tapped into Australia’s emotional zeitgeist, plucking needful gems from society’s ills and polishing them into beautiful books that lay open the requirements at hand. Whether it be learning about intimacy in…Read More

What’s on your Bucket List? 100 Things with Sebastian Terry


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100 things

Handsome, smart, adventurous and philothranthopic? Stand back girls, 26-year-old Sebastian Terry is too busy zipping all over our fair planet achieving extraordinary things to stop for a quick flirtatious chat. Alas. This brand new author, with a degree in Human Movement, is certainly a jack of all trades. Having held almost 100 jobs in his…Read More

Cookbook Review: Sicilian Seafood Cooking by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins


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sicilian

Rating: The wonderful thing about modern day cookbooks is their reliance on more than fabulous recipes. It’s their reliance on travel, on culture, on a way of living . . . a reliance on heart, emotion, experience, as well as flavour texture and culinary fulfillment. Sicilian Seafood Cooking is one such book. Food writer and…Read More