The What on Earth Institute of Wonder

I could not love this book any more! @lisanicolauthor has once again blown our minds with a story so fabulously bonkers and so beautifully written that I had to just lie in a dark room for a good while and appreciate what I had just read….. definitely in the running for one of my favourite books of the year!

Rachel Robson, Children’s literacy specialist,, Gleebooks

Charming and surprising and mysterious and whacky. It hooked me from the beginning… One of those books you just put down and sigh with satisfaction.

Pamela Ueckerman, Middlegrade Mavens Podcast, Episode 98

From the moment I began to read this middle grade, speculative fiction novel, I knew it was a goodie… It will make readers smile, yearn, feel sad and most of all wonder... A quirky, heartfelt, unique story of friendship, family and conviction that is sure to be eaten up by kids aged 9-13.

Renee Mihulka, CBCA’s Reading time

… Her writing wraps around me like a warm doona and I slip immediately back into my childhood … I have to say, Lisa Nicol does not get nearly as many song dedications and street parades as she deserves.

Nat Amoore, One More Page Podcast, Episode 62

Lisa Nicol’s whimsical way with words is becoming the stuff of legend. Her narratives are an intoxicating mix of wonderment, cheek and incredible heart; a strange combination but one that makes her middle grade novels fulfilling and memorable. The What on Earth Institute of Wonder perpetuates this premise while managing to incorporate an African forest elephant and a New Zealand Kakapo into the same sentence, never mind the same Kombi van!

Dimity Powell, Dim’s Write Stuff