Reviews

Mr Pavlov's possum by Vashti Farrer

Lothian Children's Books, 2007 ISBN 9780734409546
(Ages 6+) The Giggles Series of books has been released by Lothian (Hatchette) for the newly independent readers. This is an area under catered for in the publishing world, so it is good to see a new series. The two I have read are funny with a light touch, appealing and revealing something about living together successfully.

In Mr Pavlov's possum, the main character, beautifully drawn by Vilma Cencic, loves dogs. He has 6 dogs that he has trained to respond to his whistle. They can sit, stand, heel and roll over. Each day they go for a walk. He fills his day organizing them and teaching them tricks. But one by one they die, and so Mr Pavlov is left alone and with nothing to do. But a possum appears at his window, and try as he might he cannot train the animal.

One day the possum uses the whistle, and it is Mr Pavlov who is trained. The lovely illustrations add to the story which could be read aloud with much glee.
Fran Knight

Cinnamon Girl: Looking for a Hero by Cathy Hopkins

Piccadilly Press, 2008
The third book in Cathy Hopkins third series for younger teenage girls features India Jane (Cinnamon Girl) and her 3 friends at school in London all desperate to find a boyfriend and a perfect date by Christmas. However it is not all escapist frivolity - there are some serious issues - talk of one teenage boy overindulging in drugs and alcohol, and a mugging (which ironically provides India Jane with one of her potential 'perfect dates'). Throughout our protagonist is also exploring the serious issue of what is real love and how do you know it when you meet it.
This is chick-lit for younger teens - witty and well written. Cathy Hopkins has a real ear for the conversations, interests and concerns of teenage girls which obviously appeals to a wide cross-section of them. Even the inner city students in schools I have worked in adore her books even though they live in a very different world from her characters in this series - who seem to frequent Starbucks, live in Holland Park and trendy Notting Hill, have holidays in Italy and mothers who work in Mayfair art galleries and drink herbal tea!
The book carries on from the previous two in the series so if you buy this you will undoubtedly be asked for the previous two.
Laura Taylor

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman

lllustrated by Gris Grimly. Bloomsbury, 2008.
(Age 10+) A combination of Neil Gaiman's incredible imagination and Gris Grimly's wonderful illustrations makes this book a winner. Two children and their pet gazelle go adventuring in a boat, ('B is for Boat, pushing off in the dark'), and enter the frightening dark world of pirates and monsters.
Each letter of the alphabet pushes the children further into the sewers to face danger and fear ('F is for Fear and its many devices').

This is certainly not an alphabet for the small child but has been written for an older audience that likes to be thrilled by horror and mayhem. Grimley's illustrations are intricate and detailed and the reader will find much to pore over time and time again.

This would be a good book to leave lying in a secondary school reading area and would be sure to catch the eye of the reluctant readers.
Pat Pledger

Danny Allen was here by Phil Cummings

Louis Braille Audio, 2008, 4 hours, 4 discs
ISBN 9781742120027 (first published PanMacmillan, 2007)
The delightful story of Danny's childhood in tiny Mundowie in South Australia's mid north is brought to life with this reading by Stephen Pease. Danny and his sister, Vicki and brother, Sam get up to all sorts of mischief on their farm, watched over by their loving and ever present Mum. Any child reading or listening to this book will have all sorts of adventures recalled as the children go to the dam, which is forbidden, to catch tadpoles, or surf the local sand hills, sliding down on pieces of galvanized iron, or building a tree house. Children today will feel envious of the freedom experienced by children in the sixties and seventies in the bush, so different from the cloistered and cosseted experience of childhood in the city today.

When Danny, Sam and Vicki go to the dam, they have great fun catching tadpoles until Vicki spills the can full of the creatures. But when Sam and Danny run back to escape the rain, they inadvertently leave Vicki behind. All hell breaks lose as mum runs barefoot towards the scary place, with Danny running behind having awful images drumming through his mind. The anxiety and fear is marvellously created for us by Cummings, and vividly read by Pease.

All through this endearing tale of childhood, we are treated time and time again with images of an idyllic life, one to be savoured and treasured, but like Colin Thiele's Sun on the Stubble, the end of such a way of life is coming, not because Danny is being sent away to school (as happens to Bodo in Thiele's masterpiece), but because the bank forecloses on a insolvent farm.

Pease's reading is infused with childhood and fun, as he recreates the voices of the children and their mother. He has a clear, unsentimental voice, full of the life and colour of the bush, and he brings an extra resonance to an already wonderful story.
Fran Knight

China Land of Dragons and Emperors by Adeline Yen Mah

This book by Adeline Yen Mah will have classes enthralled. Not only is it a spirited history book, but it contains dozens of entertaining asides and anecdotes which will thrill and titillate the reader. I found myself wholly engrossed in this chatty history book, revealing the scope of China's history from the time of the first emperor to today.

Beginning with the first emperor, Quin Shi-huang, ascending the throne in 247 BC ready to amalgamate the seven states, the reader is given an overview of just how he maintained power, deciding to build the Great Wall, and using 700,000 men from all over China to build his tomb. His tyrannical rule saw canals, highways and bridges built, and he stipulated that every book before his rule be burned and that history should begin with him. Within this chapter is also a double page spread about the Terracotta Army and a scattering of astounding facts about the tomb.

Each of the 10 chapters goes on in this vein, giving a potted history, an amazement of facts and inserts which reveal more information about specific subjects. In chapter three concerning the Han dynasty, we read of the Silk Road, in chapter five, within the Tang dynasty appears a double page spreads about Printing. Each chapter has a specialist section within its pages, expanding on something for which China is famous.

For the specialist or for the interested reader, for the student, class and teacher, this book is a winner. Its profusion of photos, drawings, maps, and inserts makes it an entertaining and informative book to read. In a class room, a set of this book will be a most useful addition for students of China. It gives a tantalising insight into the country which is gaining in prestige and influence in world politics and a country to which Australia is increasingly tied. Highly recommended.
Fran Knight

The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

Danny DaVinci: the flying machine of Lombardy by Bruce Whatley and Rosie Smith

ABC Books, 2008.
(Age - Middle Primary) A small graphic novel with some factual information through the story. Danny DaVinci, his sister Lisa Leonardo and his friends Mick Angelo work and play in his uncle Leo's art studio. When the Duke of Milan issues a challenge for someone to build a flying machine the boys think they have a plan that will see them gain the reward. Lisa quietly sorts out the problems as they arise and as the boys become more involved in creating the machine. A short story that could be a starting point for a more indepth look at any of the many ideas and characters mentioned in the story.
Sue Johnston
Marden Education Centre Library

Whose eggs? by Jeanette Rowe

ABC Books, 2008.
(Age - Junior Primary) Lift the flap on each page to find out whose egg is in the picture. Each egg is different in shape and colour and under the flap is a picture of the bird or animal who comes from that particular egg. There are other books in this series (eg whose belly? and whose feet?). A brightly coloured book that could be used to generate discussion within a class or small group. The idea could also be extended to have students preparing their own lift the flap idea to ask a question and then reveal the answer.
Sue Johnston
Marden Education Centre Library

Jimmy Coates: Sabotage by Joe Craig

HarperCollins, 2007.
(Age 10+) This is the fourth in this highly exciting series, Jimmy Coates was presumed dead at the end of number three (Revenge) But this boy, produced by a future dictatorial British government as a weapon, having just 38% of his body human, the rest machine, does not give up easily. Thrown into a situation where he has to fight his machine side to keep his human instincts alive, in the search for his mother and sister, he must use all of his powers to stay alive. NJ7 is after him, although they think that he is Zafi, another of the children born to be weapons, and it is not until Mitchell comes to the oil rig, that his true identity is revealed.

An exciting, thrill a minute series, Jimmy Coates is exhilarating. Young James Bond mixed with a dose of Famous Five, all wrapped up with a big dollop of morality as Jimmy tries to suppress his manufactured side which is bent on destruction. A heady mix for upper primary and lower secondary readers, the series is easy to read and will appeal to boys.
Fran Knight

Media Savvy by Jim Schembri

Lothian 2008 ISBN 9780764410252
(Age 12+) Cobey Myles is a model, and having her face and figure perfect requires all her waking moments. Taken as a work experience student to a snow field brings her luck as the interviewer falls and so Cobey must take her place. She then is put in place to interview the minister who comes to open a child care centre at the lodge, and so begins her meteoric rise to stardom. But her inquisitive mind and exceptional intelligence cause her to rethink things the minister said, and question some of the things happening around her.

Not your usual crime fiction story, Schembri has his tongue firmly in his cheek as he recounts the days spent looking in a mirror, preening, dressing up, talking about tips for dieting and so on, the normal world for aspiring models. Clue by clue is dropped for the reader and Cobey to pick up and mesh together as the story draws to a climax.

Although slow to get going, I found this a most enjoyable read, similar to several others from this author, ..set in an identifiable place with characters both normal and recognizable, Schembri grounds his stories in the everyday, with a touch of the exotic, leading the reader on through his maze of incidental information to a satisfying conclusion after many plot twists and turns.
Fran Knight

Paraphernalia's present by Diana Lawrenson

Illustrated by Dee Huxley
ABC Books.2008. ISBN 9780733317422.
(Age Junior Primary) A heartwarming story of chooks and friendship. Dottie and her hen, Paraphernalia share the goings on during each day. One day Dottie has an accident and is house bound for a while. During this time Paraphenalia lays an egg each day that hatch into chickens and from then on Dottie has so many eggs she is able to sell them and makes many new friends in the process. The book also contains some useful facts about hens, chickens and roosters which could be used as part of a unit of work for a class.
Sue Johnston
Marden Education Centre Library

Trust me! edited by Paul Collins

Ford Street Publishing, 2008 ISBN 9781876462574
A solid book (412p) containing short stories and poems by some 40 Australian authors and poets, with an introduction by Isobelle Carmody is a well needed resource for schools. Short stories and modern verse written by contemporary poets is in short supply, so I grabbed this to read more eagerly than some I have been sent to review.

A story entitled, Abandoned, by Robert Hood, grabbed me as it was a crime story set in a rubbish dump. What more could you ask for? This was followed with a foray into Bill Condon's little treat about bullying and rats, called The cost of air. For dessert, I read Doug MacLeod's laugh out loud poem, Smarty, then a night cap with Carol Jones, Under/Over. And that was just for starters.

As with any book of short stories, there are some that grab and some that leave you cold, but any reader will find something to amuse, delight and entertain in this tome. Its range of stories is impressive, from horror to mystery to science fiction and even romance, there is something for everyone.
Fran Knight

Jungle by Maurice Pledger

Summit Press, 2008. (Sounds of the Wild)
(Age 4-7) This 16 page pop-up book tells children of the sights and sounds of the jungle. Each double page spread has a host of colourful and intriguing vistas which illustrate the animals and birds which live in that particular jungle. On the following page is an explanation of each spread, with headings and a key to the preceding page. Joining the wonderful pop-ups is sound, initially scaring the pants off me, but thoroughly enjoyable to a child reading the book with an adult.

On the Australian page, for example, is a colourful presentation of the Australian bush, replete with pictures including a cockatoo, kookaburra, koala, wombat, lorikeet, as well as a kangaroo, and assorted waratah. The page opens with a squawk from a cockatoo, and following is a page which explains all that is displayed. That page entitled The Edge of the Forest, seems to include a range of animals, plants and insects common to many areas in Australia.

As with all pop-ups, the book would best be used with a child and an adult, because of the ephemeral nature of a pop-up book, and this dazzling treat is sure to engage young children with its colours and sounds. There are some problems with this book, however, I could not see why it was written or who it was written for. Is it an information book? If so, then there is a lack of consistency, no headings and titles on the picture pages, and no index or contents page. If it is a picture book just for kids to look at then consistency of the word jungle needs to be addressed, and words culled to make it accessible to younger readers.
Fran Knight

Pip: the story of Olive by Kim Kane

Allen & Unwin 2008
(Age 11 – 13) It's not easy having a mother named Mog who was once a hippy and now is a well respected lawyer and judge, a father whom you've never met but you only know as WilliamPetersMustardSeed and a best friend who has the 'perfect' family and who suddenly disowns you to hang out with 'the most elegant girl in Year 7'! On top of this you discover you have a twin sister....or do you? Olive has never felt like she belongs and as she enters high school, life becomes a little more challenging. With a desire to fit in and the sudden arrival of Pip, Olive sets out on a quest to find her father and try and discover who she is. Along the way she makes a new friend and discovers some talents she didn't realise she had. Life as a teenager is filled with self discovery, friendship issues, search for identity, family relationships and the need to belong. This is a great first novel that explores the chaotic life of adolescent girls and the ways they cope with the challenges life throws them.
Tracy Glover

Take it Easy, Danny Allen by Phil Cummings

PanMacmillan, 2008 ISBN 9780330423731
(Age 8-12) The sequel to the engaging and lighthearted, Danny Allen was here, is just wonderful, as Danny must roll with his parents' decision to move to the city after the failure of their farm in the Mid North of South Australia. Remembering comments from his friends at Mundowie sees Danny suspicious and unsettled, and their arrival in the city is marred by their friend, Thommo, being taken to hospital after his truck crashes.

Their 'apartment', a third floor cramped set of rooms, where the three children must bunk in together, is in a strange part of town, next to a run down old theatre, and a sparkling new Mercedes franchise. Looking out of the window, Danny sees an eccentric old man replete with a multi coloured apron, waving at him. The warning words of his friend come back to him, and he refuse to return the wave, watching instead as the man scoops something from the road, giving it to the mad old woman he has already seen around the streets.

The setting is brilliant, evocative of the things a kid would see newly arrived in a totally new place, with people and things, all so fresh and rather unsettling. Instead of looking for friends, Danny is suspicious and backwards, but it takes a loose dog in the park for friendships to develop, and from there the ease of transition to the city becomes less difficult. A warm and engaging story, Take it Easy, Danny Allen will find a host of fans in middle to upper primary schools.