1. Possum Magic, Mem Fox
Really, really magic.
2. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, May Gibbs
How else would you know to be scared of the big, bad banksia men?
3. The Magic Pudding, Norman Lindsay
Changed everything you thought about dessert, forever.
4. Diary of a Wombat, Jackie French
When you wished you were a wombat.
5. Imagine, Alison Lester
Because there's nothing like that childhood imagination.
6. The Muddle-Headed Wombat, Ruth Park
Up to his old tricks again.
7. Hairy Maclary, Lynley Dodd
The dog whose home you will forever remember.
8. Grug, Ted Prior
Seriously, is there anything Grug didn't do?
9. The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, Dorothy Wall
So. Iconic. It. Hurts.
10. Wombat Stew, Marcia K Vaughan and Pamela Lofts
"Ooey, gooey, icky, sticky, wombat stew."
11. Where The Forest Meets The Sea, Jeannie Baker
Because collage has always been cool.
12. Animalia, Graeme Base
Hours and hours and hours of searching for the animals hidden in these wonderful pages.
13. Who Sank The Boat?, Pamela Allen
Our first desire to claim something from New Zealand as our own.
14. When The Wind Changed, Ruth Park
Your parent's point of reference every single time you made a face.
15. Seven Little Australians, Ethel Turner
A true classic.
16. Where is the Green Sheep?, Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
WHERE IS IT?!
17. Magic Beach, Alison Lester
Why you think of white horses every time you see waves crashing.
18. The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan
Like nothing you'd ever seen before.
19. Bamboozled, David Legge
Still hilarious. And just as confusing.
20. Hating Alison Ashley, Robin Klein
The book behind every school play.
21. Playing Beatie Bow, Ruth Park
Made you want to go back, back in time. (As long as you were allowed to fast-forward again too.)
22. Adults Only, Morris Gleitzman
Plus every single other thing he ever wrote from Bumface to Blabber Mouth to Water Wings.
23. The Day My Bum Went Psycho, Andy Griffiths
Because BASED ON A TRUE STORY.
24. Tomorrow When The War Began, John Marsden
Started your teenage love affair with reading.
25. Thunderwith, Libby Hathorn
The first book to make you cry.
26. The Burnt Stick, Anthony Hill and Mark Sofilas
Made you think about things. A lot.
27. Deltora Quest, Emily Rodda
Thank you for everything, fantasy.
28. The Gizmo, Paul Jennings
Inspired you to start your own Paul Jennings collection.
29. Wicked!, Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings
Everything.
This. Was. Everything.