Reviews

How absurd by Beck Wheeler.

Hachette Livre Books, 2007. (Lothian Books).
(Age 5-7) This delightful picture book will appeal to young children and the young at heart! Beck Wheeler has put together in rhyme and pictures a story that challenges the imagination about how absurd it would be if animals and birds were combined. What would it be like if a dog and a bird were mixed up? Or a sheep and a hippopotamus?

The story is very amusing and the rhyming language would be fun to read aloud and sure to have children giggling. The humourous illustrations and their delightful captions are really captivating and likely to interest even reluctant young readers.

How absurd is a perfect picture book for reading to the very young and encouraging readers to take their first steps to independent reading. It would also be really useful for an art session where children of any age could design their own absurd creatures.
Pat Pledger

It’s true, Pirates ate rats by Heather Catchpole and Vanessa Woods

Another in the series, It's True, this book focuses on the topic of pirates, which is suddenly everywhere as a theme in books. True to the format of the other 13, the book has a contents page, an excellent index, lots of black and white photos and drawings and a quiz. Interspersed with the chapters are glossary pages, giving explanations of terms used in the text. I was very pleased to see that unlike many other books on a similar theme, there is a last although brief, chapter on Piracy Today.

Kids, particularly boys, will get a giggle and lots of facts from books such as this. It not only tells a great deal of information about pirates and piracy but tells it in a way that is sure to please. I was worried however about the pages of text, unbroken by headings, sub heading and words in bold print, as these are the very things the modern reader of non fiction looks for. From Ancient Greek times to the infamous piracy of the eighteenth century, pirates are shown warts and all. Kids will revel in the gritty detail given, the stories of Captain Kidd and Blackbeard, the tales of being marooned and searching for treasure, and the ending of the pirate era by the signing of a treaty in 1713.

Fran Knight

The year of the dog by Grace Lin

Grace is an American, and her parents are Taiwanese, so accepting her place in the scheme of things causes her some anxiety. Wanting to join the school play, Wizard of Oz, she auditions for Dorothy, but others in her class laugh and tell her that Dorothy is not a Chinese girl, but American, so where does Grace fit?

This funny story of Grace's search for her place in the world will be instantly recognized by anyone who has felt an outsider. Sometimes people tell her she is Chinese and she quite rightly retorts that she is Taiwanese, but when attending a camp for Taiwanese Americans, she has problems here too, as she cannot speak either Chinese or Taiwanese and so feels outside even there. Her parents have insisted she learn English as she is American not Chinese or Taiwanese.

All rolled into the story of the year of the dog, Grace learns some new talents, discovers a new friend and finishes her book for the class project. It is indeed a lucky year for Grace.

Fran Knight

Cedar, seals and whaling ships by John Nicholson

This is the second book in Nicholson's series of books, called Transport, trade and travel in Australia, 1788-1830s, and is a detailed account of Australia's need to find a strong trading focus in the early days of European settlement. Each of the 5 chapters outlines a particular theme, from the first which tells about the early settlement and the attempts to move along the coast, the second about different attempts to make money from the sea, the third about early farming, the fourth about building the roads to the inland and the last about shipbuilding and the development of overseas trade. Each chapter is well supported by Nicholson's wonderful drawings, and is further rounded with lists, statistics and maps. A glossary and index are contained on the last page.

For a young history student the series is admirable, giving a short peep at momentous issues in our early European history, but I am surprised that there is no use made of sub headings and main words made bold, fact boxes or time lines. Each of these could have added more gravity to the books. But this aside, the book gives some wonderfully exciting information about the early years in Australia's recent history, making it a useful resource in the primary school library.

Fran Knight

Blood brothers by Peter Corris

Allen and Unwin, 2007 ISBN 978 0 7344 1006 1
(Age 12+) Wheeled into the hospital with a fracture, Bart Fletcher's thoughts are turned to his best friend, Jack Chandra, and the possible reasons behind his tripping Bart in the rugby game, resulting in his broken leg. Out of hospital, the enmity shown to Bart by his former friend becomes obvious to all round him, and the tension moves up a gear, once Jack's girlfriend is killed in a car crash.
The story gets more involved as Bart's feelings for a girl in his year develop, and she encourages him to speak to Jack. This results in a fight and Bart talks to his mother about his absent father, once imprisoned for marijuana cultivation. The story keeps on building as Bart finds out more about his background, and decides to get a bus to Melbourne to talk to his unknown family.
A well known adult writer, Peter Corris has turned his hand to writing for young adults with a stunning opening novel. A range of issues for young adults is covered in this story, as Bart discovers his father living in a commune not far away. If the story is a little too neatly resolved, this can be overlooked when considering the wider niceties of plot and characterization.
Fran Knight

Giddy the great by Jamie Rix and Lynne Chapman

Orchard Books, 2006. ISBN 9781846164897
(Ages 5-7) Giddy the Goat wants to be the world's greatest climber and win the Giant Pinnacle Race. He flies all around the world practising climbing enormous structures like the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building but his friend Edmund the mutton can't keep up. What is he to do - become Giddy the Great and reach awesome heights or keep his best friend?
Jamie Rix explores in a fun way the importance of friendship in Giddy the Great. The language is simple and Lynne Chapman’s illustrations beautifully complement the text, while adding a humourous dimension.
Young children will enjoy the adventures of Giddy and the dilemma that he faces. This would also be a really useful picture book for examining the value of friendship and ambition.
Pat Pledger

Red rage by Brigitte Blobel

Allen and Unwin, Germany 2007 ISBN 978 1 74175 280 9
(Age 14+) Mara is in serious trouble at school: not passing in work, truanting, leaving school on the slightest whim, and when questioned, flying into an instant rage. One teacher however, believes there is more to Mara than everyone thinks, and puts some trust in her. She finds her a work experience placement at a day care centre. Here Mara relaxes with the children, builds some non threatening relationships with both the children and other staff, and forgets her home life.

But her parents' inability to cope is ever present, influencing what she does and how she behaves. She lives in some squalour with her unemployed resentful father, turning constantly to alcohol for solace and a mother who has become increasingly agoraphobic and at a loss to understand what is going on around her. In the middle of the violence and stupor is Mara and her red rage, now becoming increasingly frequent.
Becoming interested in a boy she sees him with another girl, and her uncontrollable rage takes over with disastrous results. She and the others must endure the consequences of what she has done. How Mara accepts responsibility for her actions forms the crux of the story, ending with a neat moral lesson for all readers. Translated from the German edition, Red rage exposes the story of a troubled youth, circumscribed by the indolence of her parents, given no moral boundaries growing up, causing untold and long term harm with her actions. The teacher's efforts to curb her rage came to nothing, although there is some redemption at the end for readers to hold on to.
Fran Knight

The last muster by Leonie Norrington

Shane and Red are two teenagers living on a remote cattle station in the Kimberley region. Shane is captivated by the thought of taming a wild stallion they saw in the hills. The station has been taken over by a large corporation, and greedy for profit, it threatens their positions on the land and Shane and Red find themselves fighting for the right to stay.

On the surface, this could be read as an action packed adventure story. The reader becomes engrossed in the story of Shane's attempts to tame a wild stallion and the danger when the pair become lost in desolate bush. The story of Jandamarra, an aboriginal man who had hidden from the law in the stone country a hundred years before is exciting. At the same time the narration gains the reader's sympathy about the complex themes of ownership of the land and land rights. When Red and Shane work on a project to try and get land rights for Lofty, Shane's father is very resistant. Gradually he has to come to grips with the fact that the Aboriginal people owned the land before his great grandfather took it over and that Lofty and Red have rights to it now.

This will be enjoyed for the exciting story. At the same time, it will give its readers the opportunity to reflect on ownership and care of the land.

Pat Pledger

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Age 14+ When Lakshmi is told that she is to go to the city and work as a maid, she is excited and grateful. She will now be able to send money back to her family in the foothills of Nepal, where, dogged by poverty, they can barely afford to put food in their children's mouths. As she travels further away from her mother, however, the trip becomes increasingly strange, until, finally in the city, she is locked in a room until she accepts that she is there to service the men who knock at the door.

In spare prose, set up in diary form, Lakshma details the life she leads with the other girls. Occasionally raided by police, she comes to realize that they are only there for the extra money from the brothel keeper. Sometimes some American men come in and speak to her of escape, but the stories she has been told about these men, keep her wary and afraid. Her attempts to save money are met with derision from one girl, who confides that she will never be allowed to leave, only being tossed out when she is no longer of any use.

The sweep of the novel is extraordinary, showing the reader just how these girls are sold into slavery, what their lives consist of and the collusion needed with authorities to keep them in the trade. Each of the girls' lives is told in much detail, so that the reader is in no doubt about what happens to them. Statistics at the end of the book, detail the extent of slavery around the world, and in particular the sexual slavery that goes on.

Read it and weep. Fran Knight

Larklight by Philip Reeve. Illustrated by David Wyatt

London : Bloomsbury, 2006 Available from Allen & Unwin

Age 10+ Larklight is a rip-roaring adventure science fiction book with a wonderful whimsical story and terrific characters. It is set in familiar Victorian times with the added dimension of the British Empire ruling some of the planets.

Larklight is a large dilapidated house that flies around in space in an orbit near the Moon. Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle live there with their scholarly father. One day Mr Webster, supposedly from the Royal Xenological Institute, visits and they discover to their consternation that he is an enormous white spider like creature, one of the First Ones, who captures their father and takes over Larklight. Art and Myrtle manage to escape in a lifeboat and are rescued by the pirate Jack Havock, who takes them aboard his ship the Sophronia. Many hair-raising adventures follow in their efforts to foil the First Ones and save the British Empire.

Wyatt's wonderful, funny and detailed drawings are a joy to look at and add to the enjoyment of the incredible creatures and objects that pervade the story. The book is one that booklovers will want to keep for its beautiful hardcover production with end papers featuring Victorian ads, long involved chapter headings and footnotes.

Apart from the breath taking adventures, readers will love the zany humour and references to Victorian customs and the weird beings that live in this world. Hoverhogs whiz around and clean up, winged ships, powered by an device called an Alchemical Wedding, flap their way through the aether and the Crystal Palace attacks London.

Readers can look forward to further adventures and lots of fun as it appears that there will a sequel.

Pat Pledger

Opal dream by Ben Rice

Random House Australia, 2006

Age 12+ The film tie-in of the story originally titled Pobby and Dingan tells the story of Ashmol, an 11 year old boy and his sister Kellyanne who inhabits a fantasy world with her two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan. After her father fails to bring her invisible friends back from the opal mine, Kellyanne insists that he goes to search for them. He strays onto another miner's claim, and is accused of 'ratting'. Kellyanne, grieving for her lost friends, becomes seriously ill and Ashmol, in a desperate bid to help her get well, organises the whole town to search for Pobby and Dingan.

Rice captures the atmosphere of the Australian outback in this quirky and moving story. The story is told by Ashmol, who loves his sister but considers her a 'fruit-loop'. All the characters are vivid and real. This story would perhaps respond to being read out loud and could promote much discussion about imagination, dreams and the power of love.

Contained in the same volume is another novella, Specks in the Sky, set in a camel safari centre in America. A mother and her two daughters see specks in the sky which turn out to be a team of crack parachutists who have bailed out during a top- secret mission. Questions are raised about identity and family relations in this unusual story.

Terrier, (Beka Cooper, book one. A Tortall Legend) by Tamora Pierce

Born into the Lower City, Beka's mother is a friend of some with influence and money and when she dies, Beka and her siblings are taken into the lord's household, where Beka decides she will train to be a Guard. Teamed with two Dogs, Goodwin and Turnstall, they are put on the night shift in the Lower City, a den of thieves, pickpockets and rats, and one of their first assignments is to discover why Crookshank's grandson has been killed.
The Shadow Snake, a story told to quieten children, has come to life and is stealing young ones from the streets, blackmailing their parents into their safe return.  Some, like Crookshank, do not believe in the Shadow Snake and refuse to pay, never seeing their children again.

Shy Beka, a Puppy, a trainee, has to follow her Dog's orders, but with her special powers she is able to pass on information. The city's pigeons speak to her, passing on the cries of the newly dead, wanting release, and she hears the cries of those children killed by the Snake. But some of the pigeons' cries are definitely not children, so the Dogs begin to investigate adult murders as well. The two investigations run parallel to the other until they become intricately involved, Beka finding that memories from her past help solve the kidnappings and murders.

The scope of Tamora Pierce's new novel is breathtaking. She tells a powerful story of a young woman coming of age, finding her place in the world. Enmeshed with magic, trials and mysteries, Beka Cooper will enthrall all of Pierce's fans and more. Pierce's mesmerizing world is endless as she peoples it with a huge cast of characters, all with a part to play within the magnificent medieval setting. A glossary at the end will help with the new words, and the list of characters with their parts is helpful for those gasping at the sheer size of the story. I loved it and was thrilled to find that this book is simply Book One. Fran Knight

Everyman's rules for scientific living by Carrie Tiffany

16+ Set in the Mallee during the 1930's, this haunting novel brings vividly alive the trials of farm life during the Depression and the lead up to World War 2. Robert Pettergree and Jean Finnegan meet on the government 'Better Farming Train' which brings city advice to farmers. They settle on a small farm, and Robert is determined to live by scientific rules and change wheat farming by using scientific methods. However natural disasters cannot be ruled by science and neither can love. The author gives an authentic voice to the characters, highlighting their humour, struggles and disappointment, making this an engrossing historical book to read.

Pat Pledger

One whole and perfect day by Judith Clarke

Allen & Unwin
Age 13+  Sensible 16 year old Lily has what she considers a 'freakish' family. Her father left home before she was born and her mother takes in stray people. Her grandfather has chased her brother Lonnie out of his home with an axe and her grandmother talks to an invisible friend Sef. When Nan decides to hold an 80th birthday for Pop and wants all the family there, Lily the sensible one, is left to try and get everyone together for one whole and perfect day.
Judith Clarke has collected together a group of engaging characters who face a series of engrossing and often humourous dilemmas to flesh out her themes of love and family.
This is a beautifully written and complex story that is difficult to put down.

Pat Pledger

Voices by Ursula Le Guin

Ursula Le Guin has written another outstanding fantasy book tackling thought provoking issues like religious fervour, revenge, cruelty, women's rights, leadershipand peaceful negotiation. Voices is the second book in the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy and follows the book Gifts where protagonists, Orrec, a storyteller and Gry who can call to animals, were first introduced as teenagers. It can, however, be read as a stand-alone. It is a compelling coming-of-age story.
 
Ansul, once a beautiful trading city with a famous library, has been conquered by the Alds, a desert people who fear the demons in writing and destroy any books that they find. One last small library is concealed in the Oracle House and it is here that fugitives bring books for safe keeping. 17 year old Memer and the Waylord are scholars and guardians of the library and the Oracle that lies hidden in it. When Orrec and Gry arrive with their half lion they are the catalyst for the uprising of a conquered people.

Pat Pledger