These books explore wonder, tenderness, wordplay and the importance of ordinary moments.
Most begin with noticing. A visual, a word or a thread of an idea that slowly unfolds into story.
And sometimes, they begin with a dried leaf found on an autumn walk.
Kelly’s stories sit somewhere between visual poetry and slightly off-centre human truths.
A Leaf Called Greaf 2024/2026 Fremantle Press
Bear is all alone and lonely until he finds the greenest, most beguiling leaf.
A leaf called Greaf.
Bear holds Greaf tight throughout the days and nights that follow. Bear can barely remember a time before Greaf. It is as if things have always been this way. Until one day, they aren’t. Greaf changes with the seasons, and so does Bear. As Greaf leaves him, Bear feels a lightness and warmth that he had almost forgotten. Greaf has gone, but Bear knows its memory will hold a special place in his heart forever.
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlisted, Children’s Literature
Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards winner, Writing for Children
Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlisted, Picture Book of the Year
Purchase A Leaf Called Greaf here
Timeless 2023 Fremantle Press
Emit (whose parents turned back time to name him) is surrounded by busyness. Dad is too busy to read stories, Mum is too busy to play games and Emit’s brother and sister are simply too busy doing nothing to do anything, at all. Emit tries everything he can think of to get more time, he tries to catch it, wait for it, but it’s not until Emit tries to buy some time that he learns the secret which is, if you want time, you have to make it.
Children’s Book Council of Australia winner, Picture Book of the Year
Purchase Timeless here
Fearless 2026 Fremantle Press
Bea Ware is afraid of everything – from shadows to ladders to trampolines, she is in a constant state of anxiety and trepidation. Her friend, Annie Venture, seems completely carefree, skipping through life without a single worry. But Annie shares her secret with Bea. Annie is not fearless, she has simply learned to fear less. So, just a little every day, Bea tries to fear less, too, and uncover a more carefree life.
Purchase Fearless here
The Hole Story 2018 Fremantle Press, 2022 Star Bright Books
Charlie is excited when he finds a hole! He picks it up and puts it in his pocket, but soon realizes that a hole in a pocket is no good at all. A hole in a backpack is even worse. Charlie sets out to find a new owner for the hole: he asks a tailor, a road worker, and even a donut maker, but no one wants or needs Charlie’s hole.
Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards winner, Writing for Children
Children’s Book Council of Australia notable, Picture Book of the Year
Purchase The Hole Story here
Littlelight 2020 Fremantle Press
When bricks start to go missing from the town of Littlelight, the mayor whips his citizens into a frenzy of aggravation. But when the townspeople find the thief, and her motive, they discover perhaps it is the mayor who is the problem.
Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards shortlisted, Writing for Children
Children’s Book Council of Australia notable, Picture Book of the Year
Purchase Littlelight here
Rodney 2019 Fremantle Press
Rodney spends most of his days looking up. Imagining, for hours, what a life high among the treetops would be like and how it would feel to be so … tall.
Rodney is a small tortoise with a BIG dream. All he wants is to be larger. Then one day, Rodney’s dream comes true – or does it? It’s all a matter of perspective…
Children’s Book Council of Australia notable, Picture Book of the Year
Purchase Rodney here
Kelly Canby 