A small collection of happinesses by Zana Fraillon & Stephen Michael King
Hachette, 2024. ISBN: 9780734422989. (Age:7-10)
This altogether quirky tale brings together the young, lonely child, Hettie, and her new neighbour, Ada - the irascible (and possibly grieving) older woman who has lost her partner in life, Bessie. Initially, Hettie and Ada are sandpaper acquaintances, roughly rubbing each other up the wrong way until edges are smoothed off. Eventually they become charming fellow adventurers. Following the story of a black panther in their neighbourhood (is it Bessie’s ghost?) and collecting facts and fantasies for their small collection of happiness, together they make memories and connections with the natural world, with their neighbours and with each other.
This tale is winsome and meandering and occasionally odd. The central characters can be frustrating and endearing at the same time, and their friendship seems both unlikely and yet inevitable. Some young readers may not grasp or appreciate the floaty, ethereal quality of the story. It hides some veiled environmental themes and issues related to grief and loss. It posits the notion that one can reappear as a ghostly being after death. And the crumbling apartment destined for redevelopment or destruction actually hides a secret that needs to be ‘miraculously’ uncovered. Hettie’s own circumstances seem vaguely sad and isolated, but this does not impede her feisty view of life. Eventually everything seems to find resolution and possibility, but I am not entirely sure that this will warm the hearts of young readers in the target audience of 7-10. This book may intrigue some, and will probably impress some adult judges for its esoteric, uniquely whimsical qualities. (I accept that I may be the exception.) Small illustrations by Stephen Michael King, in his recognisable style, head the start of each chapter, and stylistically there are some very different ‘modern abstract’ full page illustrations to divide one chapter from the next.
What is a hole? A hollow place. An empty space. A part of something where there’s nothing at all.
It is a delight to read an engaging non-fiction text that will appeal to a range of readers from young children through to adults. Possibly holes are not high on most people’s agendas but it is surprising how much they are a part of our daily lives. From the front cover featuring a large round hole with a number of diverse faces looking surprised, to the glorious endpapers in tones of blue that showcase a variety of holes, this beautifully presented book will be a joy to share with children of all ages.
From the initial question of What is a hole?, the book moves onto giving examples of a hole: on a shelf where a book has been removed, holes in nostrils, holes in clothes, holes made by animals, builders, cooks or engineers. Some are indentations where they have a bottom or open like the eye of a sewing needle or they can be found on land or underwater like blue holes deep in the ocean. Holes can be made slowly or quickly like a sinkhole or they can be deep, shallow, tiny or enormous.
There can be many holes or just one like a hoola hoop, they can be empty or full, are to get in or out of like burrows, can speed something up or slow it down. A hole can be used to breathe like a whale blowhole or beat the heat like sweating pores, can be a lifesaver or a danger, can either solve a problem or be one like the hole in the atmosphere, can be used for art or music like the sound hole in a guitar, or can be mysterious or familiar like a hole in a sock. The English language is full of holes, for example a loophole, pigeonholed, poke holes, full of holes, a square peg in a round hole.
This clever and informative book with large colour illustrations shares a simple phrase about holes on each page to engage the youngest readers, and then provides further information for older readers. It is a fascinating book that will encourage deeper thinking and wonder about our world.
Themes Holes, Facts, Phenomena.
Kathryn Beilby
Super Sloth: Revenge of the chick-oats by Aleesah Darlison. Illus. by Cheri Hughes
Big Sky, 2024. ISBN: 9781923004948. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
Super Sloth: Revenge of the chick-oats by Aleesah Darlison is a wonderful second episode in the Super Sloth series. Bringing readers another action-packed adventure, this story is full of suspense, excitement and lighthearted humour that will keep the audience engaged from start to finish.
We join Romeo, the super cute sloth with extraordinary powers, as he teams up once again with his trusty friends Tulip the cheetah, Ham and Beth to protect New York City from the despicable plans of their arch nemesis Professor Weird-Warp. The Professor's latest scheme involves creating mutant chick-oats - chickens crossed with goats - to wreak havoc by devouring everything in their path. As chaos ensues, and fear grips the city, the inhabitants pin their hopes on Super Sloth to save the day. But, can Super sloth save the city, or will the powers of the Professor prove too strong?
This book is quite unique with its blend of imaginative storytelling and endearing characters. From driving a Tesla and Vespa vehicle, to using invisible cloaks and secret hide outs, this story brings superheroes into the present! Romeo has spunky determination and Tulip has super fierce loyalty, but each one of the team bring special qualities that are both loveable and admirable.
Illustrated delightfully by Cheri Hughes, the black and white illustrations add another layer of charm to the story. Bringing the characters and their adventures to life in vivid detail, her expressive artwork captures the essence of the story and helps to immerse readers in the adventurous world of Super Sloth.
Super Sloth: Revenge of the chick-oats is a delightful and innovative tale that is sure to captivate young readers. This short novel will appeal to anyone looking for some fun and an exciting adventure. Darlison and Hughes have delivered another winner to the Super Sloth series. A story about the power of friendship, courage and teamwork; reinforcing the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity and the triumph of good over evil.
Themes Superheroes, Teamwork, Friendship, Problem solving, Persistence, Caring.
Well-known children’s author Deborah Abela has written a brilliant debut verse novel. The Kindness Project shares the stories of four very different children all dealing with complex family situations and deep feelings. Throughout the novel, the reader is drawn into the emotions and experiences of the children by the rich language used and the clever positional text techniques employed to emphasise key moments.
The story is told in first person by Nicolette, the quiet and lonely child who has an unbreakable bond with her beloved Nanna now in a care home with early signs of dementia. Then there is new boy Leaf, a talented graphic artist and Nicolette’s first friend, who is staying with his aunty, Layla the pretty, perfect, popular girl who appears to have it all, and finally DJ, the class bully who terrorises the other students for no apparent reason. All four are seemingly chosen at random to work together on a classroom task called The Kindness Project.
At first the group struggle to find a common purpose, with DJ’s negativity and relentless barbs, and Layla’s indifference causing great angst for Nicolette as she and Leaf come up with idea after idea. But all that changes when good girl Nicolette breaks her Nanna out of the nursing home in order to spend a day at the beach with her. Her bravery leaves DJ and Layla in awe of what she has done and the group of four gradually learn to accept each other’s differences and come up with a fabulous idea for their version of The Kindness Project.
The Kindness Project would be a wonderful class novel for Year 5 or 6 students as there are many relatable themes presented in the story. The four strong protagonists show great depth of character, flaws and all, and the way they learn relate to each other and work together is inspiring.
Two important messages resonate throughout this book. Firstly, that we often never know what is going on in other people’s lives to cause them to act the way they do and secondly, that with shared kindness and problem solving the pain of challenging situations can be diminished or resolved.
In this third book in The Daredevil Princess series, bold and brave Princess Tilly and her loyal friends, dachshunds Mitzi and Fritzi, Honey Blossom the unicorn and Lukas from Apple Tree Creek Farm, must solve the mystery of the sudden lack of water that is affecting the whole kingdom. There is no water to wash or cook with, or water the vegetables and most importantly there is no water for the animals to drink.
Unable to see her mother Queen Cordelia, Princess Tilly with the support of her friends decide to follow the water source to see what the problem is. They discover a huge boulder blocking the flow of the water and swimming in the water is a huge grumpy and fiery dragon. The dragon threatens the townspeople and with Prince Oskar in the village square watching a puppet show, Princes Tilly knows she has to act fast to solve the problem and cleverly outwits the dragon in a competition of three riddles.
The Daredevil Princess and the Fire Dragon will engage and support those children who are moving onto chapter books. With simple yet enchanting illustrations by Rebecca Crane this third book is sure to find a place in the heart of young readers. A fourth book in the series, The Daredevil Princess and the Grumpy Giant, will be out in July 2024.
Themes Princesses, Unicorns, Family, Dragons, Problem Solving, Riddles.
Kathryn Beilby
How to measure the ocean by Inda Ahmad Zahri
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180361. (Age:5-10) Highly recommended.
Surgical doctor and scuba diver Inda Ahmad Zahri, author of Salih a CBCA Notable Book for Picture Book of the Year 2022, has created a challenging and thought-provoking picture book. How to Measure the Ocean combines nature, Science, the Mathematics strand of Measurement, and a child’s curiosity, in a beautifully illustrated and intriguing publication.
The book begins with the following words and then shows a world map with oceans, half-oceans, once-oceans and oceans in-between.
The ocean can be difficult to measure. You can’t lift it onto scales to see how heavy it is. You can’t tie a string around it to see how wide it grows. You might be able to scoop it out, cup by cup… …but you’d need a very big bucket to calculate its volume. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. You can work most things out… once you know what you’re measuring.
Throughout the book, mathematical terminology is used including number lines, straight lines, corners and curves, shapes and forms, time, temperature, dimensions, add, divide and multiply, equations, formula, theorem. An important fact, the ocean is never wasted, is clearly shown in a labelled diagram using scientific language which may lead to further discussion and research.
On the final page is a letter to the reader with two messages. One message encourages them to think about things like the ocean which are difficult to measure. The second message is to use words such as courage, kindness, and friendship, in place of the word ocean and see where the deeper thinking can lead.
In this slow-burning mystery there are multiple layers to explore. Firstly there are the words of a drowning girl ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry . . .’ This is followed by a brief account of a girl escaping from a party to a join a companion in a car and her words ‘H-he’s dead’. The novel proper begins with Sade Hussein’s arrival at an exclusive boarding school, the Alfred Nobel Academy. She is an orphan, but wealthy, the new girl intent on making her way in the school. Her room mate Elizabeth seems like she will be a friend, the gay boy Baz is welcoming, and even the Unholy Trinity, the incredibly beautiful Juliette, April, and Persephone, don’t seem as unapproachable as their reputation suggests.
Strangely Elizabeth disappears on Sade’s first night in the school, and after the initial investigation the school seems ready to move on. But for Sade and Baz, there are too many questions about what could have happened to her. This becomes their focus in any spare moment, piecing together any clues they can find. For the reader, there is another underlying mystery: who exactly is Sade herself? We work out that she is black, Muslim, and lonely, and we know that previously she had been home-schooled, but we don’t know why. We know she has disturbing dreams and she sleepwalks, and there are many references to people dying in her past. In one of the earliest chapters there is the line ‘Sade Hussein was used to being lied to’. Sade is also not open about her past; if not lying, she is at least hiding something. In addition to all that we read mysterious diary entries always with the same intriguing anagram ‘I sleep, I drown & disappear’.
Abike-Iyimide has created a real teaser of a mystery. Although the first two parts of the novel are very long, with a number of red herrings, most readers will be drawn into following the various strands, as the tension builds up until the final chapters where all is revealed.
There is the suggestion of a LGBQTI+ romance but it is very understated. Instead it shows the value of platonic relationships. The central issues are those of toxic masculinity, misogynistic attitudes, harassment, privilege and entitlement. The book comes with a warning that it deals with real issues including sexual assault, rape, suicide and suicidal ideation, grief, and death of family members, and at the end there are referrals to support services in the UK. It is a book that reflects diverse cultures and experiences, and would be suitable for mature YA readers with a love of complex mystery stories.
Themes Mystery, Missing person, School story, Toxic masculinity, MeToo, Friendships.
Tweet, by highly talented author Morris Gleitzman, is a heartfelt tale of connection and conservation.
Eleven year old, Jay, finds himself facing the biggest challenge of his young life. His parents are world renowned bird scientists but are currently unreachable in Africa, and he has been left him in the care of his ailing Poppa. They have been searching for answers about his parent’s whereabouts but have got nowhere in this quest; and time is of the essence.
Jay’s life is thrown into further turmoil and he struggles to comprehend what to make of everything that is going on. Losing his Poppa, Jay has always found comfort in his cherished companion, Clyde; a budgie with a remarkable intellect. Clyde is not your average household budgie. He has worked hard to learn to communicate with humans…. and he can even place jigsaw pieces correctly!
So, when Clyde and Jay are torn apart, they are both devastated and lost. Clyde meets Dora, a galah that is half wild and half pet, and he is terrified of her. But she is actually hoping he can help her on her mission. The wild birds around the world are extremely upset, and their behaviour is causing a great deal of unrest and hostility amongst the humans. Dora is desperate to try to rectify this situation and is hoping Clyde may be the missing link to support her.
Alone and lonely, Jay needs to work out what is going on with all the wild birds too, while also trying to find his parents and hopefully locate Clyde along the way. Can their connections draw them back together, and help all the wildlife of the world, or will the task be way out of their control?
Gleitzman masterfully weaves together themes of friendship, loss, unique bonds between humans and animals and consequential actions. Each chapter alternates between the perspective of Jay and Clyde, allowing readers to understand their viewpoint and share insight into both sides of the story. A wild and thought provoking tale that resonates long after the final page is turned.
One little puffin is left behind as the others fly off. He is soon enveloped by fog, fog that becomes thicker and more overwhelming. The bird becomes lost, and stumbles, unsure of what lies ahead. Sometimes he comes up against obstacles, sometimes he is confused. The fog is thick and frightening.
But as he looks more closely at what is around him, he takes notice of what may appear in the fog and he eventually sees something ahead of him, out of the fog. The more he looks, the clearer it becomes. And then he sees his mob, and he joins them again.
This lovely story is suffused with the most illustrative of drawings across each page. The fog becomes thicker and the illustrations become more overwhelming as the fog becomes denser and all encompassing. The little puffin is most endearing, and readers will love seeing what happens to the little bird as he strives to find his way.
The images are disarming, the fog encouraging different responses from the readers as they realise that the story of the bird is a story of sadness, of depression of mental illness. The fog that surrounds and sometimes envelopes people, can be dispiriting, it separates people from their friends, it becomes thicker and so harder to be released from it.
The story takes the reader into a sad mind, but one that can be helped when the person looks falsely at what is happening and understands that there is a way ahead. Younger readers will be able to see this as the aim of the story, and be able to talk about keeping themselves well and mentally fit.
I loved the line at the start of the book 'On a clear day, it’s easy to see your way'. And the last line, 'so much is waiting for you when the fog lifts.' Both lines distill the theme of the book into a few words which could be writ large in every classroom.
We all have times when we feel lost or confused, and a book like this will support children in these times, reading of the little puffin finding his way out of his fog.
Subtitled, A bush ballad for bedtime, this story of an owl flying over the Australian bush will have readers wanting to read it again as they take in the rhythm of the text.
As the sun sets it is time for the tawny frogmouth to start her journey. With the light of the moon to guide her, she begins her night watch, along with her partner.
All is well as they fly over a host of animals, some nestling down to sleep, others watchful in the night. The tawny frogmouth greets her mate and together they fly over their domain. They see the quail burrowing into the soft earth beneath the grasslands, the cockatoo and her fledging in their hollow in the tree, koala and her baby nestled in the fork of a tree, echidnas nestling into their fallen tree trunk till morning, a wallaby with a joey in her pouch, and an emu lying on his stomach, stretched out, camouflaged against the earth, a numbat and her brood asleep on the burrow, a pygmy possum in his crevice nest. Each of the animals seen is going to sleep for the night, an event heralded for the young child listening to the story. With the moon overhead, time for sleep is nigh, and the soft rhythmic tones of the text add to the feeling of the end for day.
Each animal is seen in its habitat, and something is learned about that animal in the short description.
The illustrations, set against the night sky and the luminous moon, add to the feeling that sleep is on the horizon. Several images standout: the owl across the front cover with her waiting eyes, is repeated on every page, watching over the mob. The shadows of the eucalyptus is haunting and the arrival of the sun greets the new day is magnificently portrayed at the end of the book, contrasting vividly with the faded, grey atmosphere of the night.
Violet Everly lives with her uncles, Gabriel, who is rarely around, and Ambrose who cares for her and the isolated old house they live in. Her mother, Marianne has been “travelling" since Violet was 10 and she has never known her father. Violet’s quiet life is rich in fairytales and books overlooked by portraits of the Everly ancestors but all that changes when a strange lady, smelling of vanilla, visits them with her assistant Aleksander. It transpires that the Everlys owe a debt and Marianne is the tithe owed to the witch Penelope and unless she is offered up within ten years, Violet must take her place. While the adults are talking Aleksander, who is not much older than Violet, shows her a magic marble which he manipulates to create a whole galaxy of stars, changing Violet’s life forever in a shower of stardust. As the deadline comes nearer, to break the curse, Violet sets out to find her mother, “long dissolved from her life, like so much salt in the sea….nowhere to be found, yet she is everywhere” p.14. Some of the prose is beautiful but the pace can be slow. It picks up half-way through when there is more action and readers are drawn into the fantasy world through the detailed and engaging descriptions of keys to open magic portals, places with stardust artisans and scholars of arcane knowledge. Worlds where the gods, like the Norse gods, are cruel, vindictive and demand sacrifice. Violet turns out to be brave and loyal in the face of betrayal, and the search for her mother is no sort of happy reunion. This is a novel of complex relationships, with powerful women and weak men, though I did like the uncles who had the raising of a child thrust upon them. A new, young adult writer to watch out for.
Themes Fantasy, Quest, Power, Relationships.
Sue Speck
I hear a buho by Raquel Mackay. Illus. by Armando Fonseca
Using Spanish words in amongst the story adds to the language experience a child gets reading this book. Some books offering a different language experience have two side by side texts, one in English, the other in the language being pursued, but this one is differently presented, giving an extra push for the brain to enjoy. Lines such as, ‘Ojos shut, rocking steady’ accompanies the page in which a child’s face with closed eyes is shown, prompting the child to see that ojos means eyes.
‘Woof, woof, I hear a perro' prompts the child to see that something woofing must be a dog, so the meaning of the word, perro is discovered.
The story goes on with the discovery of a gate, rana, patio and lobo, each time the child telling her mama that it is she donning a disguise. But at the end, they spy a buho, hooting as it flies, and that is definitely not the child. Readers will love working out all the ‘animales’ they can hear and see under the moon.
The child is getting ready for bed, and the game of seeking out the animals is played before bedtime, until she goes to sleep, noting the sounds that they make.
Children will love working out the names of the animals and getting around the Spanish words, using the dictionary at the back of the book along with the pronunciation guide to check what they mean and their use of the word. The handful of words offered in this story will stimulate children to seek out more.
The wonderful, vibrant illustrations drag the eye across each page, taking in the unusual style, the repeated motifs, the colours used, and the surprising amount of detail. I love the page depicting the face, as it blends into the night sky, the colourful earrings like the phase of the moons. Lovely tale before bedtime, the Spanish words will roll about in their dreams.
The blurb says, "Ash, Pikachu and friends head out on an adventure to discover an unusual Pokémon in the cold mountains of the Crown Tundra. Meanwhile Lillie searches for her lost father. Will they all succeed in their quests?
Find out in this exciting chapter book, with a puzzling twist. At the end of each chapter, readers will have to complete an activity to tell them where to find the next part of the story."
I am the first to admit that I know nothing about Pokémon and Pikachu and company so reviewing this book is w-ay- out of my depth, but I do know that there is a whole world both in and out of the story that has captured the imagination of kids and adults alike, if the experiences of my granddaughters and D-I-L are a guide. And so, like The Goblin's Revenge, this and any others that are proposed in the series have a place in the library's collection for those who prefer gaming to reading and who think that there is nothing relevant to their interests in the print-focused library.
In the meantime, I ventured into this unknown world to discover just what it was about, and perhaps get inside the head of those I love to understand what on earth (or beyond) they are on about and so this explanation from Wikipedia was very helpful, and I can now see why Miss 12, particularly, and her mum seem to have no trouble swapping between the real world and the fantasy, even sometimes blurring the lines completely. They would not be alone...
Barbara Braxton
Grandmas are the greatest by Ben Faulks and Nia Tudor
A companion story to Grandads are the greatest, this rhyming text will bring out lots of stories about the readers’ grandmas, as they read of the things grandmas do with their grandchildren.
The innocent question from a child, asking if her grandma had a grandma just as good, opens the gate to many grandmas being recalled. Everyone has a grandma, and these grandmas had grandmas, so the way is open for a plethora of different things each grandma does.
All grandmas are special with secrets and tricks up their sleeves showing how different each is. One grandma is an actor, and her grandchild loves helping her with her costume and make up. Another is a gardener and her grandchild loves to help her in her allotment. Another is an ambulance driver, one an acrobat, while others include a racing car driver, a mountaineer, a secret spy. But while she may not be extraordinary, she will have a twinkle in her eye, just for her grandchild. They will share secrets and jokes together, be quiet and snuggle together, play games, no matter what the weather, but more importantly spend a lot of time together, radiating love.
With pages full of colour and movement, the first few pages show amazing things that grandmas do, but the last few pages show that no matter who they are or what they do, it is the time spent together, full of love that matters most.
And coming up to Mother’s Day, grandmas are celebrated as they are mothers too.
Themes Grandmothers, Mothers, Love, Sharing.
Fran Knight
Anzac Ted by Belinda Landsberry
10th Anniversary Special Edition. Exisle Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 9781922539755. (Age:K-3)
'Anzac Ted's a scary bear And I can tell you why. He's missing bits, his tummy splits, He only has one eye.
His fur is torn and dirty And he hasn't any clothes. He doesn't hear with just one ear; He should have two of those.
His head is kind of wobbly And his legs are rather slow. Perhaps it's due to one or two Encounters with a foe!'
So begins an enchanting story-in-rhyme about a very special teddy bear - one that doesn't win prizes in the toy show and sometimes makes the other children cry when he turns up for Show'n'Tell. He isn't shiny and new and he can't change into something else and the other kids in the class just ridicule him. But Anzac Ted has a story - a story that no other child's toy has about why is he so old and torn and how brave he has been.
With a gentle touch on both text and illustration, Belinda Landsberry has crafted a delightful story about a bear who has seen better (or worse) days that is just perfect to introduce the youngest children to the stories of ANZAC and why there is such a focus on this special day on the calendar. With a clever shift of colour tone between now and then, there is a seamless transition between the two eras of Anzac Ted's life tied together with the love and reverence with which he has been passed down through the family and clearly will continue to be so. The unconditional love of the boy for his teddy is obvious and it remains constant despite the opinions of his peers. Perhaps if his story were told, Ted would have all the votes at the toy show. But really, some heroes don't want, need or get medals or accolades.
On my Pinterest boardRemembering Gallipoli I've pinned over 150 titles of books about World War I for the primary-aged student and Anzac Ted is one of just a handful suitable for sharing and exploring with the K-2 brigade to help them understand. It offers just a broad overview from a family perspective - Grandpa Jack leaves home and even though he's 21, his wife pops his childhood teddy is his case . "For luck." She said, "take Anzac Ted. I know he'll bring you home." And even though we think of soldiers as being big and brave and daring, there are times when they are lonely and afraid and Anzac Ted brings them comfort and courage.
Now 10 years on from its original publication which was timed for centenary of this special commemoration, and with a special cover and including additional content such as a page of information on the history of the ANZACS and the shared experience of ANZAC and Turkish soldiers, as well as a 'How to draw Anzac Ted' activity page to celebrate its endurance, this story remains a must-have and a must-share in your collection.
