Say no to plastic by Ned and Shane Heaton. Illus. by Tamzin Barber
Little Steps, 2022. ISBN: 9781922358646. (Age:4-10) Highly recommended.
The overuse of plastic and the long-term environmental damage to sea life created by this usage is beautifully presented in this rhyming picture book with gorgeous illustrations. Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year and environmentalist Ned Heaton along with his dad Shane, founders of The Turtle Tribe, have written an entertaining and clever story that will provide young readers with an easy-to-understand look at the damage plastic is causing in the marine environment.
The main character Roy, his Nan and Heidi the Peidy, share their concerns about the danger the sea creatures face from plastic at their local beach and take them all the way to New York to where the world nations meet. The message of the story is that leaders from all over the world are responsible for caring for our environment, but we also can all play a part in restricting our use of plastic. The book includes a Turtle Tribe logos search, as well as a double page asking the reader to find out how many ways there are to reduce plastic, with answers provided on the final page.
A visit to The Turtle Tribe website Bamboo Toothbrushes - The Turtle Tribe adds another important and impressive layer to the story and is well worth viewing for both children and adults.
Katrina Nannestad, author of award-winning books, We Are Wolves and Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief, continues with the theme of war in her latest release, Waiting for the Storks. This deeply moving and at times cruel and disturbing story, centres on eight-year-old much-loved and adored Polish girl, Zofia Ulinski.
Zofia, with her parents Joseph and Halina, and Aunt Barbara live in the city of Krakow, Poland which in 1941 has been overrun by German soldiers. Unfortunately, Zofia comes to the attention of German soldiers and is subsequently kidnapped and taken on a long and difficult journey with many other stolen Polish children. Their destination is Germany, and it is here that these young, traumatised children begin to understand why they have been taken away from their families and homeland when they realise they are all blonde haired and blue-eyed. What follows is the complete and utter indoctrination of the children into the ways of the Hitler and the Third Reich.
Once again, Zofia who is now known as Sophia Ullman, a good German girl, is singled out by Doctor Engels who oversees the continual assessment of the Polish children, and is taken to his home to be adopted by himself and his wife. Sophia is treated as a princess and has no memory of her past existence until meeting a young boy called Tomasz, a Polish slave on a neighbouring property, and her forgotten past becomes her present.
The meaning of the title Waiting for the Storks is referred to throughout the story and connects Zofia to her family story and home. Even through the worst possible traumas, Zofia was able to maintain a positive outlook by constantly playing a family word game where there is only one choice between two quite outrageous questions. At the end of the book the author shares with readers the inspiration behind the story, The Lebensborn Program, where Hitler’s plan was to grow a strong, pure German population.
A truly inspiring and heart-wrenching story that will have a place in the hearts and minds of its readers. A wonderful read. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes World War Two, Nazism, Stolen Children, Poland, Germany, Family, Friendship, Trauma, Resilience.
Adrienne Young, author of the young adult books, Fable, Namesake, and The last legacy, has written an engrossing mystery for adults and older teens which was very difficult to put down. August Salt is returning with his mother’s ashes to Saiorse Island, a place that he and his mother had fled many years before when he had been accused of the murder of a young woman, Lily. Emery Blackwood had loved August and had planned to run away with him after their graduation, leaving the island and its superstitions far behind but the death of her best friend Lily put an end to all her dreams. Now August is back, and old mysteries and rivalries haunt the rural community.
The story is told by Emery and August in alternating voices, bringing the past events to life as they describe what happened on the island before that fateful night when the apple orchard caught alight, and Lily’s body was found amongst the trees. August is not welcomed home and gradually the reader is given clues to what really happened to Lily and just what the islanders are covering up.
Saiorse Island is described vividly, and it is easy to imagine the fishing village, the lighthouse and rocks and the rows of apples in the orchard. The community is tight knit and relies on tourists who come to pick the apples from the orchard. The tourists are disliked but they are essential to the well-being of the islanders, as is the apple orchard, once owned by August’s grandfather.
Witchcraft plays a subtle part in the life of the island where old habits and superstitions are part of the fabric of life. Emery comes from a long line of women who have the power of reading tea leaves and casting spells and she and Lily had read spells in Emery’s grandmother’s spell book.
Young expertly brings together the island folklore and the relationship between August and Emery in an exciting mystery that will appeal to readers who enjoy well crafted tales with a touch of the supernatural.
Themes Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Fantasy.
Pat Pledger
The raven's song by Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761065798. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
The Raven's song is a complex and richly rewarding read. It is the remarkable result of the collaboration of two Australian authors at the height of their powers. The highly unusual idea of a joint effort to produce a novel by two brilliant Middle school writers could only come out of unprecedented times such as the period of Covid lockdowns. This novel speaks of worldwide virus contagion stemming from the ruined environment, of extraordinary attempts to save children and save Earth.
Bren MacDibble is a well-known eco-lit writer whose work often depicts a futuristic dystopian world. Her novels How to bee (2017), The dog runner (2019) and Across the risen sea (2020) have won multiple awards. Zana Fraillon’s award-winning The bone sparrow and The lost soul atlas also interrogate hefty topics of today.
The Raven’s Song invites close reading because of subtleties, nuances - breadcrumbs that are knitted in and through a plot that entangles three periods of history together. The alternating chapters dip in and out of the existences of the main protagonists who somehow are linked over time to the same location. The characters are fully rounded. Twelve -year-old Phoenix’s parts are narrated in third person and are set in our near future - around the late 2020s. Shelby’s parts are narrated in first person and her life is set one hundred years further into the future. The third strand of the story (powerfully linked) is set in the distant past - the pre-Christian era perhaps where villagers believed that sacrifice of a young girl (by drowning her in the bog) would bring rain.
The Raven’s Song has the bog as its central location. The bog is the recipient of lives and the preserver of life and memories and continuity. It is the shroud that hides and reveals. Artefacts and symbolism play an important role in the mystique of this book. The powerful and constant presence and visitations of ravens signifies something portentous? But what? Are they really the souls of the dead?
In The Raven’s Song we have the spooky, speculative freezing of pandemic infected children in the hope that they may be resurrected in the future. McDibble and Fraillon convey an urgent and powerful sense of big brother and of the wholesale failure of industrialization of our world.
Beautifully written and not for the faint hearted, The Raven’s Song is a powerful warning about the destruction of the environment in our current times. In an echo of D.H. Lawrence, MacDibble and Fraillon immerse the reader fully into atmospheric and sensory nature. Teacher's notes are available.
A young girl and her three brothers stop by the hot and dusty desert road to pick flowers for their mother and wanting a cool space after their travels, enter the Paradise Sands Hotel.
Washed clean in his pool, we fall under his rule . . . Away from what is, we all are now his.
Their mother’s poem is repeated by them as they take advantage of the stopover in the cool shade.
The brothers swim in the pool and take the drinks offered, but the girl sees them swimming as dolphins in the pool. Almost like a fairy tale, the story is other worldly and borders on the supernatural, as the girl seems hesitant and attempts to alert her brothers to some sort of danger as the Teller draws them inside his domain. The eerie silent walls offer contentment, but the girl wants her brothers back as they were and negotiates with the Teller for their return. If she can stay and not eat or drink for three days then all will be restored as it was, the lion tells her.
This she does but one small slip sees a future hold that she cannot escape.
The reader almost expects a moral to the tale, some sort of lesson to be learnt about the nature of human desire, but none comes immediately although there will be much to discuss and ponder as the young men fall easily within the grasp of the Teller rather like Ulysses’ men falling to the trickery of Circe.
Breathtakingly illustrated by Kate Greenaway Medalist Levi Pinfold, the images fancifully evoked for me references to the Beats in the 1950’s and Kerouac’s On the Road (1957) along with paintings by mid nineteenth century American artist, Edward Hopper depicting people in a familiar yet unexpected landscape. Touches reveal a setting half a century ago, with macrame hanging from the rear vision mirror, the girl wearing a pinafore, the boys in t-shirts, a la James Dean, the brutalist architecture, the hospital bed. Each page brought something different to focus the eyes, and the wonderful outdoor eating area with columns and a range of backgrounds was riveting, as was the muted palette changing from the dark sombre colours of eerie silence to the shock of the blue sky before the whole is blown away into dust.
More can be found about the haunting illustrative techniques of this young author illustrator here.
The Emmie and Friends series is very popular in school libraries and Remarkably Ruby will be no exception. If the reader has read the other books in the series they would be familiar with the format of these books, but if they haven’t it can take some getting used to. The Emmie series is written from the point of view of two characters, one written as a novel with illustrations and the other in a graphic novel format. As the text chapters open each book this may put off readers who are looking for a purely graphic novel but I would encourage them to give it a try as this style of book is a great way to move from graphic novels into chapter books.
Ruby is the main character in this book and the one who has the text chapters. Readers of the series will recognize her as Baked Bean Girl - she suffers from a medical condition that causes her embarrassing side effects. She also struggles in new social situations which means she has few friends and seems to be on the perimeter of the friendship groups. Then there is Mia, whose story is written in the graphic novel format; she is popular, ambitious - to her detriment at times, and she used to be Ruby’s best friend. Both girls come to realise their value as they develop confidence in themselves and experience new friendships.
If someone is struggling in upper primary or high school this book is so relatable, the characters are open and honest about the difficulties they are facing and they both show that school and life is not easy but that the right attitude can help, as well as friends and a supportive teacher or adult. What I like most about this series is that it is real and the author does not shy away from the embarrassing and devasting moments that impact teenagers everywhere. This is a book and series I would highly recommend for teenagers and upper primary students to read alone but I would also encourage parents and teachers to read this book and the whole series to get an honest insight into how their children and students might be feeling and the experiences that they might need support with.
Definitely one to recommend to students if they are looking for a new series to read and discover.
The Accomplice is another well written novel by Steve Cavanagh that keeps you going till the very end. When you feel like you know what is happening another twist is thrown in to make you rethink everything and wonder what is coming next.
Daniel Miller has been identified as the Sandman who killed fourteen people before his disappearance. His wife Carrie is now on trial for being his accomplice. Eddie Flynn has the hard job of proving that she was not involved in these murders and in fact she is a victim the same as all the others who had the misfortune to cross paths with the Sandman. As Carrie’s trial starts, she becomes scared and goes into hiding, and this makes it even more difficult for Eddie Flynn to defend her and prove her innocence. Everyone believes because she has run away, she must be guilty. When the Sandman reappears, killing witnesses to protect his wife, the challenges for Eddie continue to grow.
Eddie is finally able to convince Carrie to trust him and come to court so that she can testify to her innocence. But as the trial comes to an end and it seems like everything has been dealt with nicely another twist is thrown in to change the whole outcome.
This novel is written with different chapters from the various characters points of view, and this adds to the suspense within the story.
This novel will keep you hooked and guessing to the very end. I highly recommend this book.
Themes Lawyers, Murder, Runaways, Trials.
Karen Colliver
Amy's balancing act by Bjorn Sturmberg. Illus. by Laura Stitzel
Little Steps, 2022. ISBN: 9781922678072. (Age:8-12)
On first read of this boldly illustrated picture book about the use of clean energy there was some initial confusion about the story. However, on reading the final pages where each new clean energy source is explained, it helped to clarify understanding of the story and the message being presented.
Young Amy delivers post on the island of Energia using an ageing packhorse named Clyde. Along her journey she finds her customers complaining about how destructive Clyde is for the local environment. As Clyde begins to find the workload too much, Amy is encouraged to use other sources of energy including a goanna, albatross and glider. Each of these Australian animals represents clean energy. The goanna presents photovoltaic solar panels, the albatross presents wind turbines, and the glider represents pumped hydroelectricity. This book sends the clear message that finding solutions to energy concerns plus teamwork will help human society in the future. For middle primary school and lower secondary students studying sources of energy, this book may be useful as an introductory text.
Well-known South Australian children’s author Katrina Germein has written her first information picture book in collaboration with illustrator Suzanne Houghton. Wonderful Wasps is a stunning read with ingenious rhyming text and striking illustrations and is all about a number of little-known wasps that exist in Australia.
From the detailed endpapers where eleven different wasps are displayed and labelled, to the double-page spread of facts and the glossary in the final pages, this delightful book will engage its young readers with its interesting information and colourful illustrations.
The book begins by asking the question: What do you know about wasps? It then mentions ‘not the plain European wasp’ but ‘colourful, wonderful, weird Aussie wasps.’ The text then goes on to explain about Australian wasps, what they do, where they are found, what might happen if they are no longer around, as well as giving a snapshot of some of their characteristics including this one of the Orange spider wasp:
Spiders are food that many wasps need. They paralyse spiders so larvae can feed. A wasp lays an egg right onto a spider. The baby wasp hatches and feeds from outside her! (Think that sounds gross? It’s what parasites do, and they need to eat, like me and you.)
When reading and sharing stories with young children the ability to connect them with the text is so important and this has been skilfully achieved with questions posed throughout. This entertaining new release is an outstanding book that will be enjoyed by all readers, both young and old.
Kate Ritchie, well know author, actor and radio personality, has written an honest and breezy account reflecting on the joy to be found in everyday life. The book begins with a personal note from Kate telling of her past happiness found from being in the garden and then not having a garden but finding delight doing a myriad of other enjoyable activities that are either free or inexpensive. Everyday Play does not have a contents page at the beginning but is set out in seasons beginning with Autumn and in the final pages there are a range of lists with different activities to do with the corresponding page numbers for easy access.
This attractively presented book is full of ideas such as writing a story, reading a book, making a worry doll or lollipop spiders, starting a collection of items from nature, even cooking up a storm with recipes such as pizza, rainbow fruit platers and shortbread. Complete with delightful photographs and illustrations, coloured pages and inserts, plus clearly segmented information, this easily accessible book is perfect for middle - upper primary school readers and their adults who might find themselves at a loose end during holidays, on a weekend or after school.
Back on country by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing. Illus. by David Hardy
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761065088. (Age:4+) Highly recommended.
Somebody’s land and Ceremony have showcased the collaboration between Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing with books that have informed and entertained younger children about the people of the First Nations. Now a third book has been added to their repertoire, one that explains in a story what the land means to this family.
Lucy and David travel to the Flinders Ranges, Adnyamathanha country in the Mid North of South Australia. Here Mum is going back to where she came from, showing her children the country, her relatives, the stories and the environment in which she was raised. With bright engaging illustrations the group goes camping to see what being on country is all about.
As they sleep under the stars, her father sings songs to the children, using words from his language, words reflected in the illustrations. At breakfast they are woken by the loud noise of a wdhingala and ready themselves for the day. Their day includes a walk to the wirra, the family’s special tree, one that has drawn their ancestors to its canopy for many years. Overhead they spy an eagle, and they move on to an ochre pit and paint their faces. Sheltering in a cave they see drawings done by the people who lived here years before, and the remnants of a shelter, now a pile of sticks on the ground. Adniyini tells them that they are part of the Ararru or Mathari, either the north wind or the south wind a delineation which tells them who they can marry when they are older. By the campfire that night, the children are impressed with the night sky so different from the one they see at home and they are told that the sky is like a map which shows them where to go and tells them about the seasons. The next day the children see their mother painting under a tree and come over to her. She unfurls a piece of canvas for them to draw their memories of being back on country. They have learnt so much about their country, its traditions and customs, the environment. Their efforts are shown on the last double page encouraging the readers to reprise their journey with them, adding the Adnyamathanha words they have learnt.
The illustrations show the sort of country in the mid and upper north of South Australia, with river red gums, dry dusty river beds, mountains and caves, ochre pits, and birds and animals that can be found thee. Readers will love spotting the detail on each page, asking for their faces to be painted, or a night out under the stars, as they to learn what it is like to be back on country.
Writers, Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing have produced a story that reflects what being on country means for people of the First Nations, encouraging empathy from all readers as they travel the same path. An activity sheet is available.
Act is the third book in the series about Olive and her classmates. In this book she is in sixth grade and life is starting to get complicated, her best friend has developed a crush and Olive is realizing that life is not always fair and equitable.
At the start of the book, Olive and her class are going to see a play in the city; however she soon realizes that not everyone attended the outing. When she discovers that the reason for one of her classmates not attending is because she can’t afford the fee, Olive decides to change the policy and so the story about social justice and politics in schools begins.
Olive’s aunt Molly encourages her to look at peaceful protests and historical incidents that have changed social policy. The story focuses on Olive running for student council and the issues that this raises not just with her friendship group but also within the wider school. Act is very much a realistic look at the school dynamics of school council elections and the wider issues of popularity, social disparity and evolving friendships.
I really enjoyed this book as the storyline moves quickly and in a way that doesn’t feel contrived or simplified. The characters are relatable and the issues they are all dealing with are real and ones that the reader will either have faced or will be dealing with as they are reading. The illustrations are great, I love the bright colourful nature of each strip and the fact that so much can be said without words.
This series is a brilliant addition to any book case and is definitely one I would recommend for a classroom library as it is great for all students as it will encourage thought provoking conversations between peers and their families.
Themes Family, Social injustice, Friendships, School, Politics.
Mhairi Alcorn
The Crayons Trick or Treat by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
The hilarious crayons from The Day The Crayons Quit are ready to celebrate Halloween! They want to go trick-or-treating, but they're not sure what to say!
So Purple Crayon tries to teach the rest of the box the magic words to say when they ring their neighbours' doorbells. (Hint: It's NOT "Boo!")
This is a story for young children who are noticing the preparations happening in stores for this not-so-traditional celebration in Australia but who are fascinated by it, its trappings and the concept of trick-or-treat. While it is growing in popularity here, there are still many who mutter about it being an American thing but in fact, it is much older than that, dating back to pagan times and the festival of Samhain which marked the end of the harvest season then gradually morphing into All Hallows Eve as the night before the Christian festival of All Saints Day as Christianity spread throughout Britain, and its familiar celebrations were taken by the Irish to the USA.
Written as a conversation between the crayons themselves, the font used means that this is one for adults to share with littlies, which opens up opportunities to talk about the origins of trick-or-treat as well as the importance of using manners.
Themes Crayons, Halloween.
Barbara Braxton
Rainbow Fish and the storyteller by Marcus Pfister
North South, 2022. ISBN: 9780735845008. (Age:3-8) Recommended.
The latest in the Rainbow Fish series, Rainbow Fish and the Storyteller, is about a fish called Humbert who befriends Rainbow Fish but tells very tall stories that frighten the other fish. The first story is about a plug at the bottom of the ocean that is going to be pulled out. Another story is about a huge blue whale who is going to eat all of the plankton so the little fish might starve. But for each story the hero is Humbert who is going to be the fish who saves them all.
Humbert is just looking for company and friendship, but he is going about it the wrong way. The other fish soon decide to leave Humbert alone and not listen to his stories anymore. Humbert is lonely and Rainbow Fish and Red Fin decide to help him by suggesting he tells stories to entertain his friends rather than frighten them.
The beauty of the Rainbow Fish stories are the striking illustrations which always appeal to a wide audience. This story might have a valuable lesson for younger readers in not to act boastfully and to be honest with friends.
Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan is the first novel, in what will certainly be a popular new series for anyone who enjoys adventure and the supernatural. This brand-new adventure is one like no other. With a protagonist who is appealing and relatable, a plot that has twists and turns and an ending that will keep you guessing, the story has many appealing qualities. It is full of adventure, action and anticipation, and charmingly interwoven with concepts of self-identity, teamwork and determination.
Sidonie Jones is a twelve-year-old girl who is struggling to fit in with what she perceives as normal life. She lives in a small town called Fathom with her father and has a wonderful best friend called Zen. However, this beautiful friendship is tested as she questions how to fit in with other peers. She prefers to just blend in and go unnoticed, whereas Zen likes to be bold and stand out; he doesn’t seem to worry about what others think.
Her life is turned upside down when on an ordinary afternoon, Sid discovers she has accidently released a 300-year-old ghost who is trapped because of unfinished business. What is she to do? Dealing with these problems on her own, for fear with what others will think of her, causes life to be really difficult and Sid and Zen gradually drift apart. What is friendship really about? Can Sid embrace who she really is and help her new ghost friend, or will all be lost forever?
Jenny McLachlan has created an engaging and interesting novel. This story will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good adventure, some ghosts and a little bit of fun. Chloe Dominique’s illustrations fill pages with further engagement and entertainment to bring extra interest for the reader. With sequels to come, this is a novel that will be enjoyed my many!
Themes Friendship, Adventure, Teamwork, Problem solving, Ghosts.
