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Jo Dabrowski

@jodabrowski

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Children’s Author
📙’The Good Decision’ Affirm Press
Out September 2026
To get in touch, please contact me via my website.

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Another day, more author visits!

Thank you to @ninakenwood, @stuwilsonwrites, #carrietiffany @newsouthpublishing, & @jodabrowski for popping in to sign your books!

Hurry and get yourself a signed copy today! 💙

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In ‘The Good Decision’, written by Jo Dabrowski and illustrated by Cate James, Albert has a Saturday full of good intentions and some rather questionable decisions!

From waking his baby brother Bob to making breakfast and playing cricket, nothing quite goes to plan. By the end of the day, Albert is exhausted by all this decision-making and finally makes one his parents wholeheartedly approve of. But there’s one last laugh in store!

A funny, relatable picture book about the consequences of our choices, with plenty of opportunities for children to predict what might happen next. I particularly loved the humour in Cate James’s illustrations and Albert’s very innocent approach to creating absolute chaos! It’s refreshing to read a story that reminds us we don’t always get things right—and that, on some days, we never do!

#thegooddecision #picturebookreview #picturebookrecommendation #selbooks #australianpicturebooks

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Pulled off our bookshelf this week 📚. My son and husband have been reading picture books together every night this week with one little challenge - to find a story with two characters talking to each other so they can each have a character, do a silly voice, and bring the story to life!

We’ve had lots of laughs (and one very emotional broccoli - happy tears of course). I love how picture books can be seen, read, and even sometimes performed! Which books should we try next?

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Back with book recs for middle grade readers!

#bookrecs #middlegradebooks

Martha Mayfield has always been the quiet kid.
Martha is, after all, her mother’s daughter. The shy child of an even shyer mum. And she likes it this way.
That is, until Martha’s mum loses her job. And Martha’s teacher overlooks her at school. And soon, Martha realises something has to give. Can she really go through life being so quiet that nobody takes her seriously? Should she really keep all her good ideas to herself forever?
Putting yourself out there is every quiet kid’s worst nightmare, but Martha is determined to make the most of it. And perhaps to make something of herself along the way ...

Luna rides a battered old broom that keeps crashing itself into the school pond. She has a witch’s hat and wand and sometimes she’s quite good at magic, but she isn’t completely sure that she’s a real witch. She doesn’t have a familiar for one thing, and she doesn’t know where she came from—only that she was found by three witches who she now calls her aunts. When she swaps her moonstone ring for an Australian boobook owl in the Lost Forest, the mysterious bird seller makes her promise to keep the bird hidden for as long as she can. This is not easy when you live with very inquisitive aunts. And it’s not easy when you find out that the fearsome Madame Valadon, the Best Witch in Paris, is missing her boobook owl and she’s sure that Luna knows something about it.

Could it be that Luna has Madame Valadon’s boobook? Why then did the mysterious bird seller give it to Luna? Why did she say the bird belonged to her? A familiar can only belong to one witch, after all. Luna has lots of questions—the biggest one of all is who she really is.

Gaming fanatic Jay receives a strange phone call on a school trip to Titanium Tower. The voice on the other end calls himself Z. And he has trapped Jay’s classmates in the elevator at the very top of the skyscraper. Jay finds himself with no choice but to try and solve Z’s deadly riddles. Not only that, he has the worst person possible helping him: Hudson Hamm, the school’s star athlete and resident tough guy. Soon Jay and Hudson are on a high-stakes scavenger

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Little adventures can begin with a book 🤎

Five Australian and Kiwi bookshelf favourites we love for little explorers — from finding your brave to seaside adventures and connections across the Tasman.

Plus one clever favourite we couldn’t leave out.

Save this for your next library visit, and tell us: which book would you add to the pile?

Sunday Nook · Designed for life out & about.

For all the little surfers out there about finding your brave and giving something new a go. @ziggythesurfingpiggy

For seaside adventures and imaginations that turn a beach day into something magical. @alisonlesterbooks

For little hearts with a connection to more than one place. @kiwisandkoalas_book

For discovering the adventures waiting just outside your comfort zone. @piphaz @carolyn_davis

For outback animals, bathtime fun and a little Australian adventure. @mhdesignillustration

For a dinner-table debate with a difference: the broccoli writes back. Clever, funny and too good to leave out.

We’ve heard you might even be able to meet the author, @jodabrowski at @bookandpaper 👀 💛

We’re currently refining something else for little explorers…👀

Our next Adventure Hat™ sample is on its way, and we’re making a few changes based on our first prototype. We are excited to show you what they are.

Follow along for the journey 🤎

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#booksareessential #quoteoftheday

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Jo Dabrowski joins Books+Publishing to remind the world: #BooksAreEssential

The Good Decision (Jo Dabrowski, illus Cate James, Affirm Kids)

#BooksAndPublishing #BooksAreMagic #KidsWhoRead #BooksForChildren #readaustralianstories

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📚✨ THE GOOD DECISION — A VERY GOOD DECISION!

From the award-winning creative team behind Dear Broccoli comes another wonderful Australian picture book!
🥦 Dear Broccoli, written by Jo Dabrowski and illustrated by Cate James, was the 2026 CBCA Shadow Judging Picture Book of the Year winner — chosen by young readers who read, discuss and judge the shortlisted books before selecting their winner. 👏📚

Now Jo and Cate are back with The Good Decision — an engaging story that gives young readers plenty to think about, notice and discuss.

I recently read this beautiful book with my granddaughters, and seeing the story through their eyes made me appreciate even more the wonderful detail and humour within Cate’s illustrations. ❤️

📖 It would be a GOOD DECISION to contact Charlotte at Schoolworks Bairnsdale to find out more — and remember to shop local and support independent bookshops.

📚 Or borrow a copy from your school or public library. Libraries Change Lives.

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Kids author @jodabrowski dropped by this morning to sign copies of her new books 📚

Drop buy or give us a call to get your hands on a copy.

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The Good Decision (Jo Dabrowski, illus Cate James, Affirm Kids)

Jo Dabrowski and Cate James’s The Good Decision reminds readers that good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes.

This adorably funny picture book follows Albert, a young boy who wakes up determined to help his family but can’t quite get his choices right. Whether he’s squeezing the toothpaste tube by jumping on it, taking the pet guinea pig on the trampoline, or letting his baby brother draw on the wall with crayons, Albert always means well. Unfortunately, his family repeatedly labels his actions “bad decisions”.

James’s lively illustrations highlight the amusing consequences of Albert’s efforts, adding plenty of visual humour for young readers.

A great discussion starter for children aged 4 to 6, the book encourages conversations about what makes a decision “good” or “bad”, and the difference between helping and hindering. Dabrowski and James, who also collaborated on the hilarious Dear Broccoli (Affirm Kids), show a keen understanding of the well-meaning logic behind children’s sometimes baffling choices.

While the ending may require some explanation for younger readers, the strong pacing and repetition of Albert’s increasingly entertaining mishaps are sure to capture even the most fickle attention spans and keep pages turning.

A Books+Publishing unlocked review: New-release picture books

#booksandpublishing #review #childrenspicturebooks #outnow #australianauthor #supportyourlocalbookstore

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Footy Colours Day. Did I do it right?

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