The Paperbark Tree Committee
by Karys McEwen
Twelve-year-old Art and his younger brother Hilary are great friends, best friends. When they move to Melbourne from a small town in Queensland things seem to be easy for Hilary, who is still in primary school, but Art struggles to fit in, and he’s become a target for school bully Jack. His dad is too busy to give him much attention, but Art has his stepmum, Sally, who is always ready to listen.
And there’s the paperbark tree. Art and Hilary climb into its branches and hold a secret meeting whenever they need to sort things out. The only problem is Art’s not sure he still wants to be part of the paperbark tree committee. He’s getting older and he thinks he needs to solve his problems on his own.
The Paperbark Tree Committee is a heartfelt story about growing up and leaving childhood behind; it’s about family and being a good brother, fitting in and finding friends, and about making mistakes and learning from them.
All the Little Tricky Things
by Karys McEwen
All the Little Tricky Things is a charming, heartfelt novel about a time when everything is changing, and a girl who’s trying to make sense of it all.
It’s the start of the summer holidays and twelve-year-old Bertie is worried. Next year she’s going to a high school in the city, while all her friends stay behind in Merri, the small town she’s lived in all her life.
To help her feel better prepared for high school, her best friend, Claire, makes a list of tasks Bertie has to complete over the summer. They start working through the list together, only to find that some of the cracks in their friendship are beginning to show. Soon, Bertie’s not even sure she’ll have one friend by the end of the summer.
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‘A growing-up story that had me hooked. Full of real problems and awkward mistakes—and, best of all, genuine heart.’
– Emily Gale on The Paperbark Tree Committee
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‘A warm, down-to-earth story about friends and family and growing up, with characters who nestle into your heart.’
– Fiona Hardy on The Paperbark Tree Committee
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'Karys McEwen’s prose is gorgeous and she deftly traverses the highs and lows of tweenhood with a rich cast of characters. Ideal for 8–12-year-olds.'
– Books + Publishing on All the Little Tricky Things
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‘A big warm hug of a book, tender and true. McEwen writes perceptively about the emotions of growing up and maybe growing apart from everything and everyone you’ve always known. I loved it.’
– Danielle Binks
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'Karys McEwen astutely homes in on that complicated and specific space between leaving primary school and facing a completely new stage in life. Between impending periods, crushes, making new friends and keeping old ones, McEwen honours the complexity of the tween-experience, and infuses it with warmth and originality.'
– Frances Atkinson, SMH
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'My daughter and I read All The Little Tricky Things by Karys McEwen together and it was the best thing we could have done. It allowed us to talk about some of the big topics and things she was feeling, without the pressure because we were talking about characters in a book.''
– Michelle, via Rebel Readers
About the author
Karys McEwen is a school librarian, bookseller, vice president of the Victorian branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and education advisor for the Melbourne Writers Festival. She is passionate about the role libraries and books can play in the wellbeing of young people, and she writes the substack I Read A Lot.
All the Little Tricky Things is her debut middle-grade novel. Her second middle-grade novel, The Paperbark Tree Committee, will be published in April 2025.
Studying or discussing All the Little Tricky Things in your classroom, book club or library?
Story Tools by Story Box Library
See Karys in the new series by Story Box Library! Story Tools is a story writing series, via short video tutorials and resources to support student creativity and literacy, inspiring and creating confident storytellers.
Karys is in Lesson 8: All About Genre and Lesson 12: Reading Stories of Story Tools Series 1, which launched in February 2023. Find out more about Story Tools here.