Latest Review 
Feb 19 2019
Malala, my story of standing up for girls' rights by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick
Wren and Rook. ISBN 9781526361592.
(Age: 7-10) Highly recommended. Auto-biography. The
extraordinary true story of the Pakistani girl who stood up for
girls' rights to education and was shot by the Taliban is now
available in a new publication for a younger audience, so that they
too can learn about the young girl who refused to give in to
terrorism and believed that truth must prevail.
Malala was fortunate to have a father who encouraged her
independence of thought and her aspirations for education,
allowing her to participate in a BBC website on the daily life of a
girl in Pakistan under the rule of the Taliban, highlighting to the
wider world the issue of girls' rights to education. Hoping to
silence her, Taliban supporters stopped her school bus, and fired
shots to her head. The ensuing airlift to medical services, first in
Pakistan then to Britain as the seriousness of her injury became
apparent, brought her once again to the attention of the world. When
Malala's bravery is recognised with the award of the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2014, the youngest person to ever receive it, it means that
instead of being silenced Malala's message will continue to be
heard.
This version of Malala's life is written simply with short chapters
and large font. There are explainer boxes on some pages to explain
topics such as the celebration of Ramadan, the shalwar kamiz
clothing, the difference between an internally displaced person and
a refugee, the Malala Fund charity etc. And simple black and white
drawings by Joanie Stone further enhance understanding of the text.
At the end there is also a glossary of terms, a guide to
pronunciation of some words, and a timeline of significant events in
Malala's life.
All in all, this is a very accessible book, and would make a
worthwhile addition to every school library. The story of standing
up for one's beliefs and refusing to give in to bullies, is one that
will continue to be relevant to young readers.
Helen Eddy
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Feb 19 2019
How to raise your grown-ups by Lauren Child
Hubert Horatio, Book 1. HarperCollins Children's, 2018. ISBN
9780008264086.
'These stories are about the days when the Bobton-Trents had it
cushy, very cushy indeed.' The Bobton-Trent seniors certainly know
how to make the most of their extravagant wealth - socialising,
doing... more
Feb 19 2019
The ruin of kings by Jenn Lyons
Tor Publishing 2018. ISBN 9781509879496.
(Age: Adult) Fantasy. In a world with eight goods, magic,
music, and plenty of brothels, Khirin's life changes forever when he
robs the wrong house. Discovered as a long lost heir (and plenty
else over the course of the novel), he must fight to... more
Feb 19 2019
The wellness puzzle by Andrew Jobling
Rockpool Publishing, 2019. ISBN 9781925682816
(Age: Adult) Non-fiction. Ex-footballer and fitness professional,
Andrew Jobling has drawn on his experience researching the essential
criteria for a healthy life and has come up with 7 interlocking
pieces to the puzzle, which he sets out in... more
Feb 19 2019
Cherries by Carrie Gallasch and Sara Acton
Little Hare, 2018. ISBN 9781760128593.
As soon as the blossoms appear on the cherry tree in Spring, the
children are eager to pick the fruit. But, "It's not time yet." As
the weeks pass and the cherries develop, the children indulge in all
sorts of outdoor pastimes, but "it's not time... more
Feb 18 2019
Katherine Johnson by Ebony Joy Wilkins
Ill. by Charlotte Ager. DK Life Stories. DK; Penguin Random
House, 2019. ISBN: 9780241358580.
(Age: 8 - 13) Highly recommended. Themes: Biography; Katherine
Johnson; Mathematicians; Space; NASA; STEM; Discrimination.
Katherine Johnson may not be well known to Australian readers,... more
Feb 18 2019
The amazing adventures of Grover McBane rescue dog by Claire Garth
Ill. by Johannes Leak. Piccolo Nero, 2018. ISBN: 9781760641085.
(Ages 7-9) Recommended. Themes: Rescue Dogs, Working Dogs, Farms,
Pets. On a bold yellow and red cover, Border Collie Grover welcomes
junior readers into his world. All five engaging stories are
included in The Amazing... more
Feb 18 2019
The man with small hair by Jane Jolly and Andrew Joyner
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2018. ISBN: 9781742977584.
The man with small hair loves his small hair. He also loves his
short pants, zing-a-ding boots and clickety-clackety beads. He
cartwheels with joy and bursts into song when he wears them. But the
man with small hair is the only person who... more
Feb 18 2019
Believe me by JP Delaney
Quercus, 2018. ISBN: 9781787472419.
(Age: Adult, 18+) Highly recommended. An enthralling and turbulent
psychological thriller, JP Delaney's re-written and re-published
version of his 2001 novel The Decoy grasps the reader's
attention and interest and never relents. Claire Wright,... more
Feb 15 2019
A stack of alpacas by Matt Cosgrove
Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781742998848.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Alpacas, Rules, Family, Verse.
Younger readers will pick up this book with familiarity after
reading the others in the series about alpacas, knowing that they
are in for a treat, a fun verse story of mayhem,... more
Feb 15 2019
The extraordinary life of Stephen Hawking by Kate Scott
Ill. by Esther Mols. Extraordinary lives series. Puffin
Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780241373927.
(Age: 7-10) Highly recommended. Themes: Biography; Stephen Hawking;
Scientists; Science; Cosmology. In a very unpretentious format, with
simple language and naive illustrations, this... more
Feb 15 2019
Connections in Death by J.D. Robb
In Death book 48. Piatkus, 2019. ISBN: 9780349422015.
(Age: Adult) Themes: Crime, Gangs, Detectives. Roberts has written a
very gripping police procedural in the 48th book in the In Death
series. This time the action centres on gang warfare. Dallas is
called into the case... more
Feb 15 2019
How to train your dragon written and ill. by Cressida Cowell
Hodder Children's Books, 2019 (c2003). ISBN: 9781444950380.
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. To become a Viking hero it was a tradition
of the Hooligan Tribe to undertake the dreaded Dragon Initiation
Programme. Failure meant banishment from the tribe forever.
The unremarkable Hiccup, the... more
Feb 14 2019
The flying orchestra by Clare McFadden
UQP, 2019. ISBN 9780702249297
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Music. Orchestras. A windy day in
Brisbane sees a flying orchestra hit town. The image on the title
page shows a lad watching as the orchestra blows in, heralding a
story full of magical touches. Some poignant, others full... more
Feb 14 2019
Happy camper by Shamini Flint
Ill. by Sally Heinrich. The Susie K Diaries. Allen and
Unwin, 2019. ISBN 9781760528287.
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Camping. Problem
solving. Susie K really, really does not like camping. What she does
like is her skeleton, Bones, the school goldfish, her own company
and... more
Feb 14 2019
The lost girls by Jennifer Spence
Simon and Schuster 2019. ISBN 9781925791372.
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Themes: Loss. Time travel. Families.
Choices. When Stella makes her way home to the Sydney waterside
suburb she and husband Richard have lived in for forty years, it
soon becomes apparent that all is not as it... more
Feb 13 2019
The Ice Monster by David Walliams
HarperCollins Children's Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780008297244.
(Age: 8-13) Highly recommended. Themes: Mammoths; Humorous Fiction;
Orphans. David Walliams writes in a style that would make Roald Dahl
proud! Characters are quirky, some of the adults are Dahl-esque and
unpleasant and the plot... more
Feb 13 2019
Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables on the lookout by Tim Harris
Ill. by James Hart. Penguin, 2018. ISBN: 9780143793144.
(Age: 9-12) Recommended. Themes: Missing persons, Teachers, Camping.
Tim Harris continues the humour, enjoyment and excitement in this
fourth story of Mr Bambuckle and his wild class from room 12B. Mr
Bambuckle's Remarkables on... more
Feb 13 2019
The anger of angels by Sherryl Jordan
Walker Books Australia, 2018. ISBN: 9781760650605.
(Age: 12+) I have never read a book by Sherryl Jordan before and was
given this by a family friend. I originally was skeptical about
whether or not I would enjoy this book, as it is not what I would
usually read. It is a historical... more
Feb 13 2019
Bizz buzz boss by Natalie McKinnon
Ill. by Margaret Tolland. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2018. ISBN:
9781760360566.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Insects, Gardens, Bees, Cautionary tales. This is
a fascinating look at the role of each of a number of insects and
other creatures in the garden (ladybird (bug), spider, bee, worm... more
Feb 12 2019
Wrestle! by Charlotte Mars, Maya Newell and Gus Skatterbol-James
Ill. by Tom Jellett. Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN 9781760296810
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Families. LGBT. Toys. Mardi
Gras. Sydney. What does a parent do when their child takes up a
hobby or interest they dislike? In this funny take on a well known
family situation, the three... more
Feb 12 2019
The ember blade by Chris Wooding
Gollancz, 2018. 824 pages. Paperback. ISBN 9781473214859.
(Age: 15+) Recommended for advanced young adult readers. Two young boys
living in an occupied Kingdom, are fighting to recover a stolen
treasure of their people. The ember blade follows Aren and
Cade, two young boys who are... more
Feb 12 2019
Stephen Hawking by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vagara
Ill. by Matt Hunt. Little people, big dreams series.
Frances Lincoln, 2019. ISBN 9781786037329.
(Ages: 6-10) Recommended. Themes: Physicists. Biographies. 'However
difficult life may, there is always something that you can do and
succeed at.' Stephen Hawking's life was truly... more
Feb 12 2019
Suitcase of dreams by Tania Blanchard
Simon & Schuster, 2018. ISBN 9781925596168.
(Age: Adolescents - Adults) Themes: Immigration. Germans in
Australia. Sydney. In 1956 a young couple arrive in Australia by
ship, ready to begin a new life together, far away from their own
country, Germany, that has been suffering the... more
Feb 12 2019
Der glumph went the little green frog ill. by Matt Shanks
Scholastic, 2019. ISBN 9781742993676.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Frogs. Humour. Australian animals. A
version of the song on which this picture book is based showing the
noise made by a frog can be found on... more
Feb 10 2019
47 degrees by Justin D'Ath
Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143789079.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Bushfire, Victoria, Survival,
Disaster. Justin D'Ath lost his house and possessions in the fatal
bushfire now known as Black Saturday which tore through Victoria in
January 2009.
He has recreated this... more
Feb 10 2019
Two can keep a secret by Karen M. McManus
Penguin Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780141375656.
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Themes: Mystery, Diversity. McManus shows a
masterly hand at the mystery genre with this easy to read, dark tale
of secrets in a small town. Ellery and her twin brother Ezra return
to Echo Ridge to live with their... more
Feb 08 2019
The dog runner by Bren MacDibble
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760523572.
(Age: Middle school) Highly recommended. Themes: Dystopia, Future,
Global warming, Climate change, Survival. In a bleak future where
the earth has run out of food and people are starving, Emery and his
little sister, Ella, hook their five dogs... more
Feb 08 2019
Through the smoke by Phil Cummings
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Scholastic Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781760274702.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fire, Survival, Firefighters.
Three children play on a hot blustery day; the wind feels like
dragon's breath. They roam the paddocks around their home, waving
their swords, making... more
Feb 08 2019
Nowhere on Earth by Nick Lake
Hodder Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781444940459.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Adventure, Coming of age,
Survival, Alaska, Family relations, Dance. The blurb says it all, to
add to it would include spoilers:
It starts with a plane crash.
There are survivors: a... more
Feb 08 2019
Black cockatoo by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
Magabala Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925360707.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Aboriginal themes, Kimberley,
Cockatoos, Rite of passage, Growing up. When thirteen year old Mia
rescues a black cockatoo injured by her brother's slingshot, she is
at a loss to stand up to him. But... more
Feb 07 2019
A Darkest Minds collection: Through the dark by Alexandra Bracken
HarperCollins 2019. ISBN 9781460756447.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Consisting of three novellas, Through
the dark, portrays the world of Darkest Minds by focusing on a
set of fringe characters including Zu, Sam, Lucas, and Mia.
In time follows a would-be... more
Feb 07 2019
Rise: the Sam Thaiday story by Sam Thaiday with James Colley
Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN 9780143790419.
(Age: 11+) Recommended. Sam Thaiday's autobiography will be a
favourite from middle school to lower secondary, given his own
popularity and the popularity of the Brisbane Bronco's in the NRL.
There are a few surprises, beginning with the... more
Feb 07 2019
Emily Green's garden by Penny Harrison
Ill. by Megan Forward. New Frontier Publishing, 2019. ISBN
9781925594249.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Gardens. City life. Neighbours. Emily
Green lives in a perfectly neat and tidy home, where her parents
scrub and polish, dust and clean. Everyone joins in cleaning the
house from top... more
Feb 07 2019
Muhammad Ali by Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Ill. by Brosmind. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2018. ISBN
9781786037336.
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Themes: Muhammad Ali. Boxing. Ambition. One
of a series called Little people, big dreams this little
book about Muhammad Ali will intrigue younger readers to find out
more about... more
Feb 07 2019
You make me happy by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
Ill. by Alison Brown. Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN 9781408878958.
(Age: 3-5) Themes: Happiness. Wellbeing. Friendship.
You make me
happy, you make me new.
Together there's NOTHING that we cannot
do.
Fox and Porcupine celebrate their friendship and happiness in this
joyful... more
Feb 06 2019
The house on the mountain by Ella Holcombe
Ill. by David Cox. Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760636968.
(Age: all) Highly recommended. Themes: Fire, Disaster. A family
living at the top of the mountain swelters under the heat of summer.
Mum closes the windows and pulls the curtains across but outside is
just the same as inside.... more
Feb 06 2019
Zelda Stitch: Term two: too much witch by Nicki Greenberg
Zelda Stitch. Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN: 9781760523671.
(Age: Year 3 - Year 6) Recommended. Zelda Stitch started her career
as a primary school teacher in the first of this series: Cursed
first term of Zelda... more
Feb 05 2019
On the come up by Angie Thomas
Walker Books, 2019. ISBN 9781406372168
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. 'I might have to kill someone
tonight'. This is the startling first line of Thomas's novel, but
the 'killing' isn't what it sounds like. Bri is a high school
student who is finding it hard to sit through school when... more
Jan 22 2019
The elephant ride by Kate Bettison
CreateSpace, 2018. ISBN 9781984930217.
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Darcy's family are having a relaxing
beachside holiday in Thailand when Darcy finally gets her wish
granted - to go on an elephant trek in the jungle. It is all very
exciting until the elephant, Dao, sends her tossing... more