Professor Michelle Simmons, a quantum computing scientist, is the latest Australian to be featured in the fabulous Aussie STEM Stars series. For those who may be unfamiliar with quantum computing there is so much to be learnt from reading Michelle’s fascinating story. In her own words, “Quantum computers will perform calculations in seconds that would otherwise take thousands of years.”
Michelle’s story begins with her fervent wish to play soccer with her father and brother. This determination was the beginning of Michelle’s foray into male-dominated areas and excelling in the process. From the age of eight, Michelle mastered the game of chess by quietly watching her father and brother make their moves on the chessboard. She then challenged her father and beat him in her first match. This launched her into playing competitive chess culminating in playing against all boys in an Under 12’s competition in the UK and naturally she won.
Michelle joined her brother at the local comprehensive high school where she enjoyed learning and studied hard. She was accepted into university to study a double Science degree studying Physics and Chemistry. Her PhD centred on finding ways to ‘capture a higher percentage of the sun’s energy and produce a more efficient solar cell than was being used at the time.’
Michelle’s journey has taken her many places, and she was always trying to further her thinking and master new skills especially when it came to atoms. She applied for a fellowship in Sydney to help set up the new Centre for Quantum Computer Technology at the University of New South Wales. Michelle arrived in June 1999 and her path was set. Over many years she was instrumental in designing, overseeing and working collaboratively with incredibly talented people to create technologies never thought possible - with one of her biggest achievements being the single-atom transistor. As the winner of many awards throughout her career perhaps the highlight for Michelle is becoming the 2018 Australian of the Year.
This amazing story will provide so much encouragement for all readers, especially girls, to know that they have the ability to achieve whatever they want through hard work and persistence.
Themes Family, Competition, Chess, STEM, Research, Education, Computing, Atoms, Women in Science.
The story behind Tress of the Emerald Sea is almost as interesting as the story itself. In early 2022, epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson surprised fans by starting a campaign on global crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. The campaign was to help publish four secret novels and was named ‘A Year of Sanderson’. The author wanted one million dollars from his readers. He received more than 41 million. In the end, it was the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of the secret books to be released and slots into the Cosmere universe of stories, made famous by Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Saga series. Each series is set on different worlds in the Cosmere but share the same creation myth and underlying rules of magic. Tress of the Emerald Sea is a standalone novel that combines cosy fantasy and rollicking adventure.
Tress lives on the island of Diggen’s Point where she earns money by washing the windows of the duke’s mansion. Here she meets Charlie, a boy pretending to be a groundskeeper but who is really the duke’s son. When the duke becomes aware of their blossoming romance, he spirits Charlie off the island. When he returns a year later, Charlie is not with him. All Tress knows is that something is very wrong, and that Charlie needs her help. She has no choice but to adventure out into the world and find him. There is only one problem. Ordinary citizens like her are banned from leaving Diggen’s Point and travelling across the Emerald Sea to other lands. It is going to take a lot of ingenuity and more luck for Tress just to get off the island, let alone reunite with the person she loves.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is an utterly charming novel with likeable characters, interesting fantastical elements and a clever plot. It is suitable for a much younger audience than many of Sanderson’s other novels and will be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Electric Monkey, 2023. ISBN: 9780008540968. (Age:14+) Recommended.
Kerry is perfectly content staying home, would prefer it in fact, but her BFF, Annie, would love for them to be more social and be more popular. The opportunity arises when the school's most popular person, Heather, enlists Kerry and Annie to help her work out who is cyber-bullying her. To do this, Kerry and Annie are going to their first sixth-form party. Everyone is at the party, including Scott, Kerry's crush, and just as things are heating up, and Kerry might just be about to get her first kiss, they discover the body of Heather's second in command, suffocated with a menstrual cup. Sadly, the police investigating seem ... a little incompetent (and a touch sexist). Within days, another body is found, this time with a sanitary pad across the eyes. Now Kerry and Annie are on the case officially to catch a killer.
The pure feminist energy is fierce in this very humourous, very unexpected murder novel. Weston has combined a bold feminist and an introvert with anxiety for the main characters for this clever story, essentially best friends who are opposites. Readers will relate to one or the other, and there are many contemporary references (social media, music, movies), while keeping it removed from being too dated. The pacing is even, with the story easy to immerse in, the mystery looks solvable, but readers will be wrong. Really well written, fans of Karen M. McManus will enjoy this book along with fans of the Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens, albeit once they are older (must be older though!), as it has references that will make readers recall the TV series 'Sex Education' that shows on Netflix (including references to female body parts in greeting to village locals!).
Themes Mystery, Suspense, Contemporary, High School, Crime, Revenge, Relationships, Humour.
Melanie Pages
Follow the rainbow by Juliet M. Sampson and Anne Ryan
Ford Street Publishing, 2023. ISBN: 9781922696335. (Age:4+) Recommended.
Rainbows evoke a plethora of responses: many will have seen them after rain, some will have heard the song, Somewhere over the rainbow, some will have heard of ROYGBIV and be able to tell everyone what that means, some will be intrigued with the colours they see in a rainbow, some may know the myth of what lies at the end of a rainbow. Ideas will come thick and fast simply from the title, exciting readers before they begin. Their excitement will be fuelled as they turn the magnificently illustrated pages, showing a rainbow that fills the land with magic.
Ruby looks into the sky seeing a fairy with a wand, then a wizard with a cape but Tavish just looks and snuffles. When a few drops of rain fall, a rainbow forms. She runs for shelter and passes a scarecrow. She asks it if he knows what is at the end of the rainbow but he does not answer so Ruby tries to find someone else to answer the big question. In the shed is Metal Man, and she asks him, and getting no answer, she moves to the stable where she asks the cows, finding her lost Lion on the way. She asks him but he has no answer either. She rushes to find the end of the rainbow and only sees the paddock, nothing unusual there. She and Tavish rush to get to the other end and find their way home. Inside the house Auntie Anne calls them to lunch and they go inside the house full of delicious warm smells. They are home. What a treasure.
The wonderful sweep of colours reflects the changing nature of the sky, with a range of clouds with different shapes, rainbows and rain falling as the girl runs between parts of the farm to find the answer to the question. An engaging adventure, children will wonder along with Ruby about the rainbow and ask questions about this phenomenon. The colours will delight younger readers, and find the collages of recycled paper intriguing. Kids will love trying this technique for themselves, working out how the rainbow can be made or the cows or the scarecrow. A delightful story of the warmth of home also shows readers the scope of a farm and the work that goes on there. And I loved the detail on each page, created with just torn paper and a wonderful imagination. Teacher's notes and activities are available from the publisher.
The Lion in Love is Brophy’s 20th published work and was written during the 2020-21 Melbourne lockdown.
It is obvious from his writing that Brophy is a poet; the stories in The Lion in Love are short but vivid slices of everyday lives, stories of people desperate to connect with others, but constrained by their circumstances. From their unexceptional lives, his characters anxiously seek opportunities that are just out of reach, either physically or emotionally.
Brophy is a master of scene-setting and description. He creates characters and relationships that are so ordinary that you can easily see yourself in them. However there are always other layers of universal truths that are skilfully woven into the story and make you want to reread, afraid that you might have missed a telling detail that will expose a whole new, unexpected perspective.
His themes are universal; love, family, friendship, loss, grief, death, memories.
His characters are eclectic; landlady, artist, missionaries, Indian villager, author, poetry judge, travellers.
In some of his stories, dystopian, desolate landscapes are inhabited by people feeling insignificant and anxious to make meaning of their lives. In others, familiar Melbourne streetscapes and suburbs become the canvas for Brophy to ask the ‘bigger picture’ questions.
And so memories of a lost childhood infiltrate the aimlessness of adulthood. Families buckle under financial and emotional pressures. Fragments of life show the randomness of events. Solace is found in the familiar in the face of change. Age brings weariness. Relationships involve sacrifice and loss. Intimacy fosters co-dependency. Love follows a death. Holidays enable love affairs.
A collection of poetic, often sad allegories, The Lion in Love is highly recommended for those senior students who ponder the meaning of life and appreciate beautifully crafted prose.
Themes Love, Family, Friendship, Grief, Death, Relationships, Short stories.
In an extra large block of apartments children have hibernated during the long cold winter and weeks of lockdown. Today they take the lift from the fifteenth floor to the ground floor and rush outside while Amanda trails behind with a box of crayons.
Once outside the children watch as Amanda draws a large circle. Then Jackson takes a chalk and turns it into a dandelion, then Janet adds a mushroom and the twins draw flowers. Lovejoy adds a very large snail to the mushroom and Luke’s dog smudges the flowers. Indira uses the large quantity of green chalk to add foliage and a palm tree, rivalling the tall dandelion. Each of the children adds another part of the garden, the twins add a cloud, Cecelia adds an alien and Arthur puts a bird of paradise on the palm tree. When these are finished, Rosie stands in the cloud and after much thought she adds a Queen of Swirls. More things are added: butterflies, a bumblebee and caterpillar, making an exotic colourful garden on the cement outside the apartment block.
Nasrin looking out from her balcony, spies the garden. She takes a photo and immediately sends it to her mother far away in Isfahan, telling her how much she misses her. With a teary face, the woman forwards the message to everyone she knows and the photo wends its way back to the apartment block. Soon everyone in the block is leaning over their balconies looking at the beauty below. They cheer and take photos and the children bow.
The garden and its queen remain there for three days but the next day it rains, washing the garden away. The children play in the water, and when Amanda comes down with the empty box, she pulls it apart for the children to make boats to sail in the gutters. The cardboard boats sail down rainbow filled gutters as the last of the chalk is washed away.
The community of children coming together to make something beautiful for them all to enjoy, relishing the togetherness that unfolds is powerful. Their camaraderie is transported to all the members of the building as they all share in what the children have created. Bob Graham depicts the lives of a group of people stuck indoors for some time. As they bundle out of the lift, the adults are all masked, a nod to the pandemic which has recently restricted out lives. But the children just want to be outside, picking up the simplest of activities with gusto and imagination, creating a garden like no other, working together to shrug off the lonely months they have endured.
Graham includes a wonderful dog nosing through the garden, weeing on the twins’ flowers, scratching his fleas. The endpapers are intriguing, reminding me of all the graphs we saw on the interminable nightly news showing us how the pandemic was progressing, while undeterred, Amanda keeps her chalk on the page.
A wonderful positive story replete with overtones of diversity, companionship, community togetherness and creativity, this book is a perfect salve for the days of lockdown and social distancing. Children will be eager to replicate the drawing of the garden, turning their cement areas into oases of colour and interest, limited only by their imaginations.
As the festive season drew closer in days long past, it was exciting to see the arrival of the Christmas Beetle. With its sparkling metallic-looking body, it was a sure sign for excited children that Christmas was edging closer. Sighting the Christmas Beetle now is no longer as easy as it once was, and thankfully talented author and illustrator Suzanne Houghton has introduced this fascinating but slowly disappearing insect to a new generation of readers. With a delightful cover and gorgeous endpapers, rhyming prose and stunning illustrations, Where are all the Christmas Beetles? is a wonderful factual narrative to share with young children.
Their glistening little bodies look like baubles on a tree. When they cluster altogether, it’s a wondrous sight to see.
The cleverly constructed text gives factual information about physical characteristics of the Christmas Beetle, their diet, habitat and the life cycle, which is skilfully illustrated across a double page spread. The book showcases other beetles; chafer, lawn, stag and dung that are similar but not quite the same. There are also important ideas shared about what might be happening to cause the decline in Christmas Beetle numbers.
Each year, bushfires burn the trees the beetles like to eat. And surviving through tough times of drought can be quite a tricky feat
In the final pages there is a glossary and further detailed information about the Christmas Beetle with highlighted key words. This book is another valuable resource from CSIRO Publishing that will be a welcome addition to a home, school or public library.
Philomella is an angry girl – angry at her parent’s recent divorce, her new apartment, and her new school. She heads to the library, but on the way, things turn very shimmery and strange and Mary the librarian turns out to be a were-dragon. A hand pops up through the floor with an urgent message. They travel down to the Impossible Forest by moving stairs and discover that the forest is about to be attacked. Somehow Philomella has a part to play in saving it but she is full of self-doubt and can’t understand how or why she has been chosen. She is joined on her action-packed journey by a small band of unusual characters including a flying, talking picnic basket. Many scary creatures challenge her, such as the Dancers who may trick you into dancing forever. Then there are the Eaters who can eat your bad memories as you cross the river. But is it beneficial to be rid of bad memories? Philomella ultimately must figure out what her strengths are to defeat the evil wizard Alazon.
Initially I felt bombarded with the plethora of magical creatures, gimmicks, and events. Needless to say, most of them were important to the resolution of the problem but they were also intrinsic to Philomella becoming braver and more resourceful. Often they were fun and entertaining. I warmed to Philomella as she became better at solving problems and more self-aware. Several of the other characters also had life lessons to learn. I enjoyed Doris Brett’s witty word play. For example, the hairdresser, who made dresses for hair or the Lost Village where Lost Tempers were thuggish looking creatures chasing after Mary and Philomella. Doris Brett didn’t hold back with messages about the need to be compassionate, brave, and caring for the natural environment. This is a fantasy suitable for readers who enjoyed Jaclyn Moriarty’s Kingdom and Empires series and may make a good class read aloud.
Fans of Rebecca Ross, the author of The elements of Cadence duology will welcome her latest offering Divine Rivals. Two young journals, Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, are vying for a promotion to columnist at the Oath Gazette amidst the beginning of war between gods. Iris’s brother Forest has gone to the front lines, and her mother has been fired from her job. Iris has left school to take a job to hold her family together. Meanwhile Roman Kitt comes from a rich family and expects that he will automatically get the job. Iris is a strong girl, who believes that her brother is still alive, even though there has not been a letter for them since he left home. Using an old typewriter, she writes him letters, and slips them under the wardrobe door, where they disappear. Then she receives a letter back, and begins an anonymous correspondence, forging a strong connection with the other letter writer. Circumstances force Iris to leave the city of Oath, and she travels to the front line in search of her brother, where she faces many dangers while reporting back what is happening in the trenches.
While there are elements of fantasy, a war between gods and magical typewriters, what will remain with the reader are the descriptions of journalists working in a newspaper, and the horror of war in the trenches. Ross deftly melds the everyday life of Iris and Kitt with descriptions of warfare. Her use of letters which are interspersed within the narrative, tease out the feelings of Iris and her anonymous correspondent, and gives the reader the opportunity to get to know the two characters, their families and friends very well. Iris is a feisty young woman, determined to use her talent for writing to report what is really happening, while the reader warms to Roman as he grows in courage and thoughtfulness.
Readers who enjoy the romance of enemies to lovers and historical fantasy, will enjoy this engrossing story and the cliff-hanger conclusion will ensure that the next in the duology, Ruthless vows, is picked up as soon as it is published.
Themes Journalists, Letters, Magic, War, Romance.
Pat Pledger
Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey by Bronwyn Saunders
Many children are fascinated by huge prehistoric creatures and this latest release by CSIRO Publishing, Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey will be a popular read. One of the largest marsupials that ever lived, diprotodon, named after the two forward facing tusks in the lower jaw - di(two) protos(first) dont(tooth), roamed the land mostly during the Pleistocene era.
This factual fiction story focuses on one young diprotodon starting from his time spent in the pouch of his mother to finding his own mate. It is the beginning of the Ice Age and environments are changing with natural vegetation becoming scarcer. The diprotodon herd must travel further to source water and more plants for survival. The young diprotodon is separated from his herd and is easy prey for other creatures such as the Thylacoleo (marsupial lion) and Megalania (giant monitor lizard). He continues to search for water which he eventually finds and another lone diprotodon.
The detailed information shared in the final pages provides the reader with all the facts about the diprotodon including description, communication, diet, behaviour, and habitat. There is an extensive glossary and a list of other species mentioned in the story. The endpapers show the diprotodon travelling across a vast arid landscape and the illustrations in muted tones reflect the harshness of the land.
Another great book to add to a non-fiction collection in a school or public library. Teacher notes are available.
Themes Australian Megafauna, Marsupials, Ice Age, Survival.
What a joy to read a feel-good book with wonderful characters, but that also leaves the reader knowing more about the lives of young women in 1896. Tirzah, Louisa and Polly are best friends who have finally finished their education at boarding school and are facing what their lives will be as young women just out of the schoolroom. Tirzah is stuck with her grandmother, working as an unpaid companion. Polly has a job that she loves teaching young orphans, while Louisa is living with her aunt who has sponsored her first London Season, where she is expected to find a rich husband who will be able to provide for her younger sisters.
Through a series of letters, the reader becomes intimately acquainted with the lives, dreams, hopes and hardships that face this intrepid trio, who manage to support each other with love and advice as they face the realities of what their lives have become. The author subtly gives clues to the destiny of women in the late 19th century. The girls’ education has not prepared them for anything other than marriage; they have been taught nothing that would allow them to become anything other than wives, even if it was possible for women to go to university. Tirzah is perhaps the most restricted of all – she has no money and no friends to socialise with and longs to know the mother whom she hasn’t seen since she was very young. Her increasing depression that is evident in her letters will have readers on the edge of their seats as they worry for her well-being. Meanwhile Sophia is very attracted to Sebastian, a charming young man with no job or prospects, and is torn between duty her duty to her family and marrying a rich lord, or following her heart. Polly is happiest of all, with a loving family and a job she loves, and Nicholls brings to life the plight of orphans and children from the slums, especially as Polly tries to find the father of three young boys that she has come to care for.
Readers will cheer these feisty girls as they find romance and will find the letters, although making the book a quick and easy read, an education in love and history. The acknowledgments by the author at the end mention books that influenced her writing, and many were ones that I have loved: Love in a cold climate by Nancy Mitford, Dear enemy by Jean Webster, as well as fairy tales. Readers who enjoy the letter writing style may like Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, To all the boys I’ve loved before by Jenny Han and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
Themes Friendship, Letter writing, Historical fiction, Romance.
Another book in The World of Gustavo series (Gustavo, the shy ghost) by Flavia Z. Drago has the readers enthralled with the fabulous vampire Vlad. His passion is fashion and he can be found clad entirely in black. But he has bright pink cheeks and this makes him feel very different. He tries to hide them, but when he finds out that his friend has a secret of her own, the pair decide that it is best to just be yourself.
The illustrations are eye-catching and very appealing to a young audience. The cover with its smiling vampire, draped in a black cape and grinning through two fangs catches the attention immediately and the bold black and white illustrations, tinged with the colour pink, bring the story alive.
The story can be read on many levels - a fun read for Halloween with charming characters, and a story about accepting your own attributes and abilities and being happy to live with them and find friends who will understand you, regardless of whether those around you reject you.
This is sure to become a favourite with young children and will be a great book to share before Halloween.
Themes Halloween, Vampires, Monsters, Fantasy.
Pat Pledger
Medieval monsters and other creatures by Timothy Ide
Well-known South Australian illustrator Timothy Ide has written and illustrated his first non-fiction book, Medieval Monsters and Other Creatures. This strikingly presented book is full of colour, intricate illustrations showcasing fantastical creatures of the Middle Ages, and easily accessible information explaining each of the creatures mentioned.
The detailed front and back cover folds out to show a castle and village with all sorts of creatures causing a frightening commotion. Included are a fire-breathing dragon, armour-wearing knights in both human and non-human form, snakes, headless or bodyless people, tiny creatures including crabs in various poses and townspeople looking quite perplexed.The endpapers display a huge gruesome beast in muted purple tones lurking low and staring straight at the reader. This is really setting the scene - what more is in store for those who dare to open the pages?
Even before the trepidatious journey begins, there is a comment about ‘marginalia.’ This is anything written or drawn around the edges of the page in Medieval times. It is decorative and can be humorous and is used for entertaining the reader. Following this is an introduction where readers are prepared for the mystery and potential danger that may be found on the forthcoming pages.
Medieval Monsters and Other Creatures is set out in alphabetical order beginning with the Afanc, a huge water beast from Wales that could cause flash flooding with its violent movements and ending with the Ziphius, a monstrous sea creature that was very territorial and would attack and sink huge ships. In between are many familiar and unfamiliar creatures such as the Pegasus, Hippogriff, Dragon, Tengu, Xintian and Vampire. The information about each creature is highly descriptive and clearly set out among the dramatic illustrations that will provide hours of engagement.
This book would be a popular and fascinating read to add to a non-fiction collection in a home, school or public library.
I was fortunate to hear South Australian author Helen Edwards speak passionately about her upcoming debut book The Rebels of Mount Buffalo in early 2023. During her engaging presentation she shared her incredible knowledge of the Mount Buffalo area and her extensive research into the life of ‘Guide Alice’ Manfield. This background research and knowledge is certainly evident in her recently released novel and her stunning descriptions of the scenic environment, the hiking trails and the chalet will have readers planning their next holiday!
The story of Clara and Alice primarily takes place in two time frames: 1998 and 1893. In 1998 the reader is introduced to Clara who has tragically lost her twin brother two years earlier in a car accident and her whole world has fallen apart. Her grief-stricken parents have separated, Clara struggles with bullying at school, and feels deeply that the loss of her outgoing and popular brother Darius is something she may never recover from.
Frequent holidays to the Mount Buffalo Chalet were once the highlight for the close-knit family and this year they must travel there for the Centenary celebrations without Darius, and with each carrying their own unspoken grief and guilt. Clara previously researched ‘Guide Alice’ for a school assignment and is fascinated by Alice’s incredible tenacity and resilience to overcome the dangers of trekking and guiding people up Mount Buffalo. Clara has always enjoyed the history of the area and she and Alice share a love of photography. It is during the celebrations that Clara, through the lens of Alice’s camera, is transported back to 1893 where she meets Alice and becomes a part of her family for a short time. While Clara is there she learns about day-to-day 1890’s life at the hotel belonging to the Manfield family and with Alice, is caught up in a dangerous adventure.
This thoughtful and absorbing story is one where the reader also has the opportunity to learn snippets from history including the effects of the Depression of the 1890’s and Women’s Rights, plus meet historical figures such as Alice Manfield and John Monash. Most importantly the story is about Clara finding the strength and courage to show what she is capable of and learning that the heart can begin to heal.
Before we say goodbye is the fourth book in Kawaguchi’s 'Before the coffee gets cold' series about people returning to the past to revisit a moment they regret. Each story takes place in the mysterious cafe Funiculi Funicula. I had not read the other books in the series, and found I didn’t need to; this selection of four short stories gave me all the context I needed, and I was drawn into the accounts of four distraught people, each trying to come to terms with some form of loss.
In this intriguing world, there are rules about going back into the past and they are repeated for each venturer. Perhaps the most significant is that while they may revisit the past there is no way they can change the outcomes in the present, and they must return from the visit before their cup of coffee goes cold.
In Kawagushi's book we are presented with four stories: the husband who regrets taking his wife for granted, the woman who regrets not being present while her dog passed away, the young woman who regrets her response to a marriage proposal, and the daughter who regrets her harsh words towards her father. There is sure to be something in each scenario that readers will relate to.
The lesson in each story is about kindness, not only towards the other person, but also towards oneself. Each of the characters comes to a feeling of peace, saying the things they wished they had said, and finding the redemption they need.
Kawaguchi’s stories are beautiful life lessons, about communicating and caring for the significant people, or animal companions, that have made life worthwhile. They each provide magical moments to reflect on what is important in life. I am sure that any reader will be drawn into at least one of these stories. And like me, they will want to seek out the other stories in the series. Highly recommended.
Themes Time travel, Regret, Grief, Loss, Redemption, Forgiveness.
