Ollie and Bea. Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781666330984. (Age:6-10) Highly recommended.
This new installment in the sensational graphic novel series The Super Adventures of Ollie and Bea series (It's Owl Good, Squeals on Wheels, Bats What Friends Are For) is perfect for young, independent readers or for read alouds. It will appeal to fans of the Duck, Duck, Porcupineseries by Salina Yoon, the Elephant and Piggieseries and Renee Treml's other graphic series, Sherlock Bones. While accessible to a younger audience, its content and format will be equally appealing and relevant to an older age group.
Ollie the owl thinks he is too old to play with stuffed toys...but as soon as Bea ducks off to fetch something Ollie can't help but play Super Duckie with Bea's toy. He gets so into the game that Super Duckie soon ends up stuck in a tree. Ollie manages to keep the secret from Bea with some clever distracting but try as he might he cannot get Duckie out of the tree. When Bea and the rest of the team finally discover the truth Owl expects them to be angry at him. But they understand it is an accident and work together as a team to solve the problem.
Children will love the jokes and world play that come thick and fast ('I'm hoppy to try it', 'let's get quacking') and the story is told exclusively through sharp, fast-paced dialogue. Renee Treml's (Sleep tight, Platypup) full-colour illustrations are crisp, clear and sparse with a superb focus on the changing emotions of Ollie and Bea.
This is such a wonderful series that explores the real problems children have within friendship partnerships and groups. It's a beautifully honest look at those emotions that most kids have but many find it tricky to talk about. It also models wonderfully positive and uplifting ways to be a friend (and the fun of friendships) without glossing over the times when it is hard or uncomfortable.
Nico Cloud’s life in London in 1832 is not easy. As the girl in the family, she must only consider ‘female tasks’ like embroidery and must not explore education, science and complex ideas, like her aunt had pursued before her. Nico’s parents make her life so difficult and restricted that she decides to escape briefly and meet up with her aunt aboard her research sailing ship. Unwittingly she becomes a stowaway and when she is discovered she finds that not only is she sailing with her aunt, but she must keep her aunt’s identity hidden – a female scientist should never exist! An aunt, she aren’t! Scientific research into Paleobiology can only continue if her aunt works as a man. Nico’s passion for seeds and science becomes woven into her aunt’s research, but first they must escape pirates and work out how the myths shared by the crew impact them and connect the past and the future.
This is an interesting tale highlighting the plight of intelligent girls, women and scientists from the patriarchal world of the 19th century, but it is also an adventure on board a sailing ship, a friendship tale and a slightly fantastic meshing of myth and science, with a few fossils thrown in for good measure. Young readers can cope with the excursions into myth, especially as history almost seems like fantasy to them. The historical context of life for women in the 19th century may also be surprising for them. Mostly this book is about a feisty girl from another era who is passionate about science and learning new things. The scattered illustrations in the book sometimes contain small details that do not match the text but they are child-friendly and do not distract from the story. Science-loving readers aged 9-11 will be happily engaged by this different adventure.
Themes Paleobiology, Female scientists, Adventure, 19th Century, Mythology.
Carolyn Hull
My Peppa adventure
Penguin, 2022. ISBN: 9780241543498. (Age:2+)
Little children who love Peppa Pig have the opportunity to look at the pictures on the pages of this book, and choose their own adventures for Peppa.The very detailed and highly coloured pages start with the reader choosing where they would like to go – to a desert, to mountains, on a train trip, underwater and so on, giving adults an opportunity to talk about many different environments with their youngster. On the next double page spread the reader chooses which of Peppa’s family and friends to take on the adventure and from there the reader chooses what clothes to wear, what to eat and how to travel there, all making a story for the young child to decide on. Then there is a playground adventure and a choice of places to live, musical instruments to play, and a party and work adventure.
This is a great book to stimulate the imagination of young children and to extend their vocabularies, while giving them the opportunity to think about their preferences and make choices for themselves.
This collection of love stories was inspired, for Trent Dalton, by a time in which he was profoundly moved by a love story that someone had told him. Deciding to set up a table and some chairs on the footpath of a busy intersection in the city of Brisbane, Dalton added an advertisement: stating that he wanted to hear and collect people’s stories of love, if they were willing to tell these to him. Many people stopped and he was amazed by the tales that he was told, which led him to decide to include these in a book. Some stories are short, and others longer, as he writes the stories with a dedication to the idea of love, and to its profound effect on people’s lives.
While every story that he narrates, as told to him by the storytellers, speaks of love and its role in human life, others go further, and speak of the profound importance and effect of love on people’s lives. Each story reflects our human desire to experience love, to find romance, and for so many people this means sharing their lives with someone whom they love. So moved by the stories that he hears, he imagines and writes a powerful and moving creed for living in response to people’s ideas. Profound notions of what love is, and how powerfully love can move us to our deepest core, lead to his long statement about love, beginning with his revelatory understanding that changes his own thinking: beginning with 'I believe we are not alone in the universe …'. Over two pages his newly realised creed challenges the reader to both wonder and question what life is, what love is, and how we should live our lives. His eloquent language challenges us, to consider finding out what is our own idea of what life means, and what love is: moving, uplifting, and quite challengingly constructed.
Written during the time of 'Covid', Dalton’s work displays his notion that we should all be kind, compassionate and understanding of others, seeking to take our minds off the fear of illness and its aftereffects, to make the world at least appear as a safe and good place. His work reflects his character, and his sense of loving kindness as the heart of human experience and need, in turn reflecting the best example of humans rising above the evil, the awful experiences that so many people have been through, and most of all our capacity to offer goodness, kindness and love to others, in love’s many different forms. It is a different and wonderful book, appropriate for adolescent reading, and certainly an inspiring book for adults of all ages.
Themes Love, Short stories.
Elizabeth Bondar
Little Owl's new friend by Debi Gliori. Illus. by Alison Brown
Another in the Little Owl series (Little Owl’s egg, Little Owl’s bedtime and Little Owl’s bath time) will be welcomed by fans of the cute little owl. This time Little Owl is playing with Hedge his best friend and trying to get him to roar like a lion. Then Mummy Owl brings along Small Squirrel to play. Little Owl is not impressed and does not want to play with Small Squirrel, but Mummy tells him that she will feed the cinnamon buns that Small Squirrel has brought to the bears in the bushes. So off he goes, with Small Squirrel trailing behind him. Gradually Little Owl gets to know Small Squirrel who is very talkative and drags him off to hunt Snaffle-Worms. When Hush-Hush a ghost scares Small Squirrel Little Owl can protect her, and he begins to see how he could contribute to a new friendship.
The very cute illustrations by Alison Brown are delightful, full of bright and colourful images, and each character comes alive on the page. I loved the character of Small Squirrel, who talks so much. This is a personality type that children and adults will have come across and could be another point of discussion.
Making new friends can be fraught for some children and Little Owl’s new friend is an ideal book for adults to share with children and discuss the issues surrounding friendship.
A push, pull and slide book, Police Patrol is a winner for young children who are interested in adventure and policing, as well as having lots of fun vehicles to examine. When the City Bank is robbed it is up to the Police Patrol to go to the rescue and capture the robbers. Right from the front cover, the young reader is drawn into the action with a flap that pulls out revealing two police officers on motor bikes and a police car. Turning the page, a robber is seen climbing a ladder while the police get to work. There is also a chance for readers to answer a question about the number of police bikes in the picture, as well as pushing a police officer up and down in an escalator. On the next double page spread a helicopter appears in the sky guiding the police who are following the robbers, and once again the reader must answer a question and find where a robber is hiding. Another page has a push tab that makes the police lights turn on and the final page sees the robbers in goal.
The many ways of manipulating the colourful pictures are sure to delight a young child and the story is exciting and gives insights into police procedures, vehicles and personnel. No doubt this will stimulate some building of different objects out of Lego blocks.
Themes Police, Vehicles, Robberies.
Pat Pledger
Round the twist by Paul Jennings
Penguin, 1990. ISBN: 9780140342130. (Age:8-11)
I confess that I have watched many episodes of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation series Round the Twist. Many of the stories are part of my family’s folklore and I have enjoyed the simple and twisted humour created by the original author, Paul Jennings (with additional creative input from Producer and Script consultant, Esben Storm). This book tells three stories that inspired three programmes in the Round the Twist series. It also tells the backstory to the television and film-creation process from the perspective of the screenwriter and author of the original stories. With a resurgence of interest in the series due to Netflix exposure, young readers may be interested in finding out more about the screenwriter and the stories behind what they see.
Because of the divided focus of this book there is slight confusion in what to concentrate on as the pages are turned in this book. On the left side pages there is commentary about the film-making process and introduction to the actors involved. The three stories are printed on the right-hand pages. For a young reader this may create some distraction of their focus, but it won’t take them long to work out which page interests them most. The book is not high-powered literature, but may interest readers of humorous stories. This book is an ‘oldie’, republished after many years… but could comfortably reappear on library shelves.
Themes Short stories, Television, Scriptwriting, Humour.
One special day, Jarrah spends with Grandpa having adventures in the bush. But today, their special day, it is raining so much that they cannot go outside. Instead their imaginations soar as they have an adventure like no other, sailing away on a boat conjured out of leaves, a crown on Jarrah’s head, looking out for animals stranded by the flood. With her special words 'Ziggety Zoo kangaroo', she helps the animals climb the rocky island, then uses umbrellas to sail down into the water below, searching for the blocked drain causing the water to rise. Expecting to find a hole to unblock, Jarrah finds a reptile like animal sleeping and blocking the hole. She tickles it with a reed from her crowns and when he wakes the water sloshes like a whirlpool down the hole, and the animal which she calls Frilly, happily takes all the animals back to their home.
What an adventure. Eager eyes will seek out the things on the floor which gave rise to the bush adventure undertaken by Jarrah and her grandfather. And everyone has a well deserved nap.
The collage like illustrations have layers of intrigue and interest for young children. The intense detail invites young eyes to seek out the animals stranded on the rock, the detail beneath the sea, the toys in the lounge room. The soft illustrations reinforce Jarrah’s loving relationship with her grandfather, a touching focus of the story. More about Kylie’s work can be found here.
Kylie has art sessions in her backyard with her two young children and it is this work that finds itself in her illustrations. Often she uses her children’s art as inspiration for her own.
Themes Australian animals, Adventure, Imagination, Grandfathers, Art.
Bea is part of a huge musical family and does not yet know what shape her music will take but she is eager to start.
An old saying that when a student is ready, a teacher appears is at the heart of this story as Bea finds her music teacher in Gus, the cat ghost who lives in the piano. He is certainly not the teacher Bea expects.
Bea’s older sister, Isla plays the violin and when Bea tries to accompany her with the triangle, she is rejected. Undaunted she finds a piano, smelling vaguely of mouse and sits down to play. Maestro Gus appears and directs her fingers to play just one note. That note, like a tear falling from a star, is enough to wake the piano, and sounds emanate from the instrument, filling the void.
The sounds are deliciously described and eventually Gus sees Isla who recognises him and follows the music to Bea. This time she is far more supportive of her little sister and they make music together.
This is a wonderful story about imagination and following your dreams, as Bea keeps trying until she finds the instrument she wants to play. Children will be immersed in her quest as they read the text and see the ethereal illustrations which flow over each page. This stunning visual feast accompanies an impressive text: watercolour used in conjunction with pen and pencil drawings bring to life the young girl and her search for her musical heart.
For more information about Caroline and her book go hereand watch an introduction to the book by the author, Caroline Magerl. Classroom ideas are available.
Themes Music, Perseverance, Dreams.
Fran Knight
How beautiful by Antonella Capetti and Melissa Castrillon
How Beautiful is a gentle, thoughtful story complemented by stunning illustrations. A tiny caterpillar who has happily lived each day munching on leaves is suddenly plucked from a leaf and told he is beautiful. This leads him on a quest to find out what beautiful actually means. He asks a bear who says honeycomb is beautiful. He asks squirrels who say dry leaves are beautiful. He asks a mouse who says a mushroom that is shelter from the rain is beautiful. He asks a deer who says his golden seat is beautiful. He asks a mole who says his underground hole is beautiful. Along the journey a blackbird annoyingly disputes all of the animals and their choices of beautiful. The caterpillar begins to worry that he will never find the true meaning of beautiful until he and the other animals rest under the night sky and see how beautiful it is.
The striking colour palette of purples, oranges, reds and browns used in the illustrations are reminiscent of stories from the past. The illustrations are both detailed and appealing and offer the reader the opportunity to search for hidden creatures. This story very much reflects the saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ A lovely book to share with children of all ages.
Themes Animals, Nature, Beauty.
Kathryn Beilby
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune tree by Marion Roberts
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781760526795. (Age:9-13) Recommended.
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree, written by Melbourne based author Marion Roberts, is a joyful, hopeful and delightfully quirky novel for the middle years age group. Written in the first person, the reader sees life through the bright and observant eyes of eleven-year-old Alberta Bracken.
Alberta leads a rich and interesting life, surrounded by friends and family. Roberts depicts the pivotal characters in Alberta's life with great intuitive accuracy, drawing them out in the way an eleven-year-old would view them. Alberta has to negotiate many difficulties in life. Her father has had an affair with Ursula Hoffman and her mother has kicked him out of home. Everybody in the small community of Kingfisher Bay know and Alberta has to wear this. Her mother, with her best selling book Tammy Bracken's Guide to Modern Manners is preparing for an upcoming TED Talk and, ironically, Alberta has discovered that she is a kleptomaniac. Alberta has an hilariously irritating younger sister Clementine. A keen boogie boarder, Alberta loves nothing better than catching sets of waves with her friends. However, her friends are ghosting her and the town bully, Seth Cromby actually deliberately knocks her off her bike resulting in a broken arm and a summer break of no surfing.
Enter the delightful Mikki Watanabe, whose parents have a holiday house in Kingfisher Bay. Mikki invites Alberta to help him make nature documentaries about the private lives of trees. A whole new world of eco-warriorhood opens up for Alberta when she and Mikki start a social media nature channel on Youtube. Thousands of followers are gathered and an issue that brings the town together is initiated by Alberta and Mikki.
The whole issue of trees as sentient beings, of the right to life of 'introduced' species, of the ability of trees to communicate plays into the story. Although the presentation of cross cultural relationships in novels has become cliched, in Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree the friendship of Alberta and Mikki adds a crucial dimension to the novel. In fact what Mikki brings to the story is the special sympathies of the Japanese culture towards nature.
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree is full of action and humour. Alberta learns that people are not perfect but that with effort and friendship, drive and can-do, good things can happen. Bad things can be turned around.
A delightful, recommended read for Middle Year readers who enjoy fun fiction with added depth of theme. Teacher's notes are available.
Kathryn Schulz writes beautifully and profoundly about the grief of losing her father, and, in the same time period, finding the love of her life, designated only as ‘C’.
Lost and Found is subtitled ‘a memoir’ and while Schulz describes in detail these two significant events in her life, the book is less a memoir and more a philosophical discussion of the experience of loss and finding. It is truly an ode to life, for life consists of both these things, the deepest grief and the most joyous happiness. These are the two parts of the whole.
For readers who are experiencing the sorrow of loss, this book reflects that grief but also offers the uplifting recognition that loss and joy are intertwined; life combines both the good and the bad, and is in the end, an incredibly special gift. Schulz describes those special moments of wonder, at the beauty of the world around us, things that always offer the infinite wonder of the word ‘and’. There is always ‘and’ – something else that lingers and will come. ‘Life is and’, not either/or, it is many things at once, connected to everything.
This book would be a welcome comfort to those who are struggling with grief, and a reminder to those who are overwhelmed by daily stresses, that life is an amazing and wondrous thing; something we should stop and just experience in the moment, the infinite variety – the sad and the sublime, the beautiful, the magic, the wonder, the joy.
Themes Loss, Grief, Love, Life, Philosophy.
Helen Eddy
Bluey: Baby race by Bluey
Penguin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761044908. (Age:2+)
Another book from the very popular TV show, Bluey: Baby race will appeal to children because of the familiarity of the characters and settings. Adults reading the story to toddlers will also appreciate the message that the book contains: that each child and parent will need to run their own race – it is not a competition to be the first to crawl or walk. The very attractive cover gives a hint to the book’s contents, showing four different dog parents and their offspring, dressed in nappies, each baby at a different stage of development, Bluey crawling, while another one takes confident steps and others try to toddle.
The illustrations are full of bright colours and happy faces and siblings will delight in tracing the development of Bluey as he learns to crawl and walk and compare his adventures to how they learnt to crawl and walk as well. This book is a fun read and should prove popular with Bluey fans.
Themes Competitions, Infants, Child development.
Pat Pledger
Wild life: The extraordinary adventures of Sir David Attenborough by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe. Illus. by Helen Shoesmith
Sir David Attenborough’s life story is told in this engaging and visually appealing picture book, Wild Life: The Extraordinary Adventures of Sir David Attenborough. This beautifully illustrated new release will allow the young reader the opportunity to share in the life journey of Sir David from the age of eight to the present day. A gift of a fire salamander on his eighth birthday began the incredible journey of this man who is easily recognisable by his trademark blue shirts and is known all over the world for his work with, and deep love, of nature.
In 1954 Sir David realised it was becoming too hard to bring animals into TV studios, so he decided to set off exploring the world and film every strange and mysterious creature he saw. One of the places Sir David found the most magical was Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. He was intrigued by the creatures and the colour he found there. In 1979, 500 million people watched on their television screens the documentary Life on Earth which had taken three years to film. The whole viewing world was fascinated.
On Sir David’s travels he became more and more concerned about the environmental damage happening to our planet. He met with world leaders to express his concern and inform the world of the need to take more care of our declining habitats and the damage humans are causing. The final pages of the book showcase some of the unique animals from Sir David’s adventures and examples from his own childhood mini museum.
This wonderful book would make a perfect gift for a young child who loves nature and is a must-have for schools and public libraries.
Themes Sir David Attenborough, Biography, Nature, Wildlife, Naturalists, Conservation.
A lift-the-flap book that is sure to really appeal to toddlers, The Boo! Zoo is a colourful, humorous book by Campbell, author of the very popular Dear Zoo. The young child is invited to play Boo! with the animals at the zoo. Each double page spread greets a different Zoo animal, with a 'Hello … I can see you! And … said Boo!' when the flap is lifted. The refrain is one that young children will really enjoy repeating and they will have fun guessing what animal is under the flap, by looking at the small detail that protrudes – a lion’s paw, and an elephant’s trunk.
The flaps are brightly coloured with a single word labelled on it, and all the animals have such happy expressions on their faces as they say Boo! that readers and listeners will be unable to stop smiling.
This is sure to become a favourite read aloud in a family and is a book that beginning readers might like to try and read to younger siblings. The clear black print, the refrain and the labelling of the animals would all lend to a feeling of success.
The Boo! Zoo would be a perfect gift to a young child and one that would become a family keeper.
