As the woolly bear caterpillar eats her way through the garden, particularly the dandelion leaves, she wonders what sort of moth she will become. When the gardener pulls up all the dandelions in her part of the green, she is forced to travel further and in doing so meets other caterpillars. The first she sees is a sycamore caterpillar, singing a song about how handsome she is. Rebuffed by her assertions that the woolly bear caterpillar will be plain and ordinary, she moves on and spies a red spotted caterpillar. He is also singing about how handsome he is, inviting people to look at his beauty. Woolly bear tells him that she too will soon be a moth and the red spotted moth tells her dismissively that she will be dull. And on it goes, the woolly bear caterpillar meeting caterpillars all convinced that they are the most beautiful.
But she feels the need to slow down, crawls under a leaf and begins to spin her cocoon. In the garden the others do the same thing, and the sycamore, puss and vapourer moths hatch from their cocoons to reveal a trio of very dull looking moths indeed. They flutter off to see how the woolly bear caterpillar is doing and are amazed to see her emerge as a bright, colourful beautiful moth, the queen of the air.
The vivacious illustrations will attract the readers, encouraging them to scan each page carefully, noting the range of things in the garden, the other animals, leaves and flowers, the gardener’s hand being the only intrusion from the world outside. I loved spying the different things illustrated, and the detailed observation of the ways of caterpillars and their brief lives.
Children will learn lots about caterpillars, and this information is reprised in a booklet in the back of the book, a non fiction summary of the life cycle of caterpillars and moths which will intrigue and educate young readers.
Themes Life cycles, Caterpillars, Moths, Garden.
Fran Knight
The world’s most pointless animals by Philip Bunting
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781760508371. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
The world’s most pointless animals written and illustrated by Philip Bunting is his latest release that readers will find filled with both comical and fascinating facts. The appealing cover of the book asks the question: 'The world’s most pointless animals. *or are they?' There is a detailed contents page with reference to more than seventy animals. Each creature discussed is drawn in a simple pastel true Philip Bunting style and is surrounded by handwritten labels that are both informative and amusing. As well as the labelled diagram of the animal there are segments of text with interesting and quirky facts to build upon the labelled information. Children will be able to find out some very unusual and possibly unknown facts such as the adult mayfly has no mouth, the male sugar glider gets a bald spot, or the parrotfish poops up to 400kg of sand per year. In Philip Bunting’s well-known humorous approach, he has crossed out the animal’s scientific name and replaced it with his own version. For example, the Guinea pig’s scientific name is Cavia Porcellus, but the author has called it Squeakius fuzzballi. For those children who are writing information reports this will be a perfect resource. While searching for information, the clever use of humour will engage the reader and encourage the successful completion of the report.
This highly entertaining book will be one which both adults and children will return to time and time again. A welcome addition to home, school or public library.
The Helsing family of courageous, if not very clever, pigs have always been vampire hunters; so when Mud Canyon advertises for help with their vampire problem Ham answers the call. The rats running the visitor centre (one of whom carries a thesaurus to enrich his vocabulary) are doubtful that mild mannered Ham is capable of killing a vampire but with no alternative they set out to find one. Soon they are confronted by a Lobos (werewolf), in dog form, which chases them before turning back into a child when darkness is dispelled. They can't leave a child alone so it joins the group. On the way to the vampire castle they meet Ronin a tree pig and Knuckles the bear who has also been engaged by the villagers to hunt the vampire. Ham wishes his brave brother Chad was there to help but like the rest of his family, adventurous Chad is thought to have died in a wingsuit accident. They face many bizarre challenges, like a mechanical armoured chicken and not everyone turns out to be what they seem.
This richly coloured, engaging cartoon book skilfully uses perspective to create a feeling of movement and place with lots of action to propel the story. There are funny visual jokes scattered through the pages and the story is interspersed with flashbacks to Ham’s family’s extreme exploits. The overall message that bravery and courage don’t mean absence of fear and that we achieve more with a group of friends makes this a satisfying read.
Themes Adventure, Friendship, Vampires.
Sue Speck
Paris takes over the world by Kyla May with Zanni Louise
This new series co-written by Zanni Louise features fabulous full-colour illustrations by Kyla May (Diary of a Pug, Lotus Lane series) and follows the travels of a young girl named Paris as she explores cities around the world. In this first installment of her travel diary, 10-year-old Paris is visiting her favourite city, Paris. While she is there, she meets a girl named Amelie who has lost her dog. To find the puppy Paris helps Amelie retrace her steps though the city, visiting many landmarks along the way, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees and the Luxembourg Gardens.
Paris is an appealing main character: she is happy go lucky, adventurous, kind and confident. Children will delight in her solo adventures around the big city with a chauffeur at her disposal and her constant need to stop for sweet treats. Maps, landmarks, and smatterings of French make this perfect for those learning French at school or wanting to know more about Paris itself, but it's a delightful story regardless and makes for a great read aloud or shared read. There is also quite a lot of information about the landmarks worked into the story. Bright, fun illustrations take up much of each page, with small chunks of large text interspersed throughout. This is a fun adventure around Paris, perfect for readers who like stories about independent female characters such as Ivy and Bean and Clementine Rose or those who love learning about other places around the world.
A very funny, involving sequel to We love you, Magoo (2020) kids will simply love looking for Magoo on each page as he avoids detection after doing some pretty gross things. Young readers will laugh out loud as they spy the dog covered in mud, leaving footprints on the clean floor, or soiling the washing hanging on the line, or rolling about in the laundry basket. They will shriek as they spy Magoo rummaging through the kitchen pedal bin for any scrumptious leftovers, or tut when Magoo is found having a wee on the pot plant. A more cautious laugh will come as he bounds off down the street making friends with a new dog, and cries of ugh when he cleans the baby’s face of jam with his tongue. Each page shows the family looking for their pet after he has done some pretty dastardly deeds but in the end his smile wins out as they find him asleep in the bed, where he says he has been all night!
The wonderful cheery story will be followed with glee by all readers, asking for it to be read aloud over and over so they can join in, predicting rhyming words and learning the 'Where are you Magoo' catch phrase to be able to repeat it with the reader. They will enjoy the very funny illustrations, boldly outlined in black, showing a cheerful, happy dog, bent on destruction. Many kids will be able to share stories from their own homes about animals that have behaved badly. The warmth of the home is paramount as they search for the dog together. Kids will recognise rooms in the houses and recognise jobs done by members of the family, working together.
Award winning author illustrator Briony Stewart aims to foster creativity in children, and her picture books reflect an indelible link between text and illustrations which children will adore. Her first book, Kumiko and the dragon won the Aurealis Award in in 2008. Books such as these are invaluable, leaving smiles on the faces of the readers which last until the next time it is read to them.
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526832. (Age:13-18) Highly recommended.
Amandla lives with her mother Annalisa in a tin hut in a shanty town outside Durban. Annalisa is strange; for one thing she is white, and for another, she has weird visions and struggles to remember much from their past. Amandla doesn’t know what has happened to her father; she only know he is black, Zulu, and gone. Whilst Amandla and Annalisa live in Sugar Town they are separate from it, because they are different, outsiders. It is only when, in desperation, Amandla has to turn to a neighbour for help that she learns about Ubuntu, the Zulu tradition of neighbours helping each other, a community united by compassion and humanity.
Nunn’s novel is one of racism and racial divides that persist despite Mandela’s supposedly united rainbow nation of white, brown and black together. Life in Sugar Town is one of poverty, it is harsh and dangerous, especially for a young girl like Amandla. Just a short distance away is a whole other world, of gated mansions, with servants and guards, the world that her mother came from. Yet that world of wealth and power is also a trap, dominated by the cold and ruthless. As Amandla gradually uncovers the secrets of her mother’s past, she has to draw on her inner strength, and with the loyal support of her friends Lil Bit and Goodness, face up to the dangers that threaten from both sides.
This is Malla Nunn’s second book for young adults. It is just as captivating as her first 'When the ground is hard', winner of the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. Sugar Town queens is another story about a strong and resilient central character, the power of female friendship, and the hunger for justice. The chapters fly by quickly as the reader is caught up in the mystery at the heart of the story.
Themes Racism, Class divisions, Male power, Female independence, Friendship, Love.
Helen Eddy
Exit through the gift shop by Maryam Master. Illus. by Astred Hicks
Pan Macmillan, 2021. ISBN: 9781760983512. (Age:12+) Recommended.
Handle with care! Exit through the Gift Shop is about 12.5 year old Anahita who is dying of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The story is told in the first person voice of Anahita. Bam - there is no holding back. The book begins thus - "So here's the thing...I'm dying." This statement is accompanied by a drawing of a tombstone engraved with R.I.P. ME (Soonish)
If you decide your readers (and their parents) are comfortable with the theme then prepare for a rollicking rollercoaster of a narrative. This is Maryam Master's first novel. She is a screen writer and playwright and amongst other achievements has adapted three of David Walliam's books for the stage and toured with them across Australia. All of the plays premiered at the Sydney Opera House.
Exit through the Gift Shop is typeset and thickly populated with sketches by Astred Hicks a Sydney based freelance book designer and self confessed "type nerd." Hicks has creatively typeset the internal text design with a combination of hand drawn, typed and scribbled words and illustrations that perfectly complement the wonderful pitch perfect text.Words and word art scatter throughout the whole book accentuating emotions. Masters loves vocabulary - sassy, smart, on-pitch, street-savvy vocabulary. Where Anahita wants to stress a word it is highlighted in large, bold font with the definition supplied right there and then.
In Exit through the Gift Shop we accompany Anahita through the last year of her life. There are many pearls of wisdom shared and many, many lessons learnt as she navigates the usual issues of Middle school and a complicated but loving family life. She is particularly badly bullied by her arch nemesis Alyssa. The plot races along. Although it is about death and it is really in the reader's face - no holds barred, Exit through the Gift Shop is a life affirming book that deals with the real-life issue of death in a very pragmatic and funny/sad way!
This book will easily captivate Middle school readers but comes with a warning for readers who may be sensitive to the theme of illness, cancer and death. Teacher's notes are available.
The Inside Day by Jane Martino. Illus. by Annie White
Puffin, 2021. ISBN: 9781761040085.
It's one of those day when the classroom windows rattle and shake as rain drums on the glass and rather than being able to go outside to play, it's going to be one of those no-good, long, boring, inside days. Milly and her friends feel as gloomy as the weather but Miss Fish has all sorts of ideas that will make them feel sunny inside even though they are stuck inside. And soon, even Milly has joined her classmates in focusing on the things that make them feel good and has forgotten about the sandpit and all the attractions that the outdoors offers.
This is a timely release as so many children are stuck inside, not just because it's winter but also the current public health orders. So it's the perfect time for teachers to become Miss Fish, adapt her ideas and help children see the possibilities and potential of this enforced stay-at-home time. As well as encouraging students to be in the moment, she also wants them to say how they are feeling so there are lots of similes and vocabulary to explore and illustrate. If something makes you feel like "colours are bursting out of your mouth" what would that look like if it actually happened?
The final two pages of the book are devoted to directing the reader to focus on their own feelings and there is an activity pack available as well. The icing on the cake is that Penguin Random House is one of the publishers who have agreed to extending the exemptions of the 2020 Storytime Agreement to this period of lockdown so the book can be read online to a class behind a password-protected platform.
Themes Wellbeing, Feelings.
Barbara Braxton
Muddy people, a memoir by Sara El Sayed
Black Inc., 2021. ISBN: 9781760642464. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
‘Muddy’ is a word that 4 year old Soos confuses with ‘sunny’, scared to step into the ‘sunny’ puddle of water. El Sayed’s memoir is about life as a muddy skinned girl, but is full of sunny, funny moments. Yes, as an Egyptian-born Australian growing up in a Muslim family, she encounters racism and Islamophobia, but this is mostly a story of a child’s love of her parents and grandmother, and the funny and confusing moments in her life. There is a lot of humour, comic episodes involving poo, piss and periods, the humiliating moments that we might all recognise from our childhood, but wouldn’t now share with others. El Sayed shares it all. And though we might laugh, there is also empathy for those embarrassing times.
The description of Soos’s longing for the pretty pink bikinis that her classmates wear for the school swimming carnival, instead of her blue Speedo one-piece, recalled for me, her short story in Arab, Australian, Other of the Arab girl’s longing for the sparkly blue dance leotard worn by the girls in the aerobics class, instead of the shorts that her parents insist on. In her memoir, El Sayed writes that Soos wants to fit in with the other girls but that she also wants to respect and please her parents.
It is a difficult time for Soos, as her parents are divorced. She navigates the shifts between the two homes, shifts to new schools, attempts to make friends and fit in to the group, trying to get a boyfriend, as well as the continual struggle with being the obvious outsider, a target of bullying. And then there are the rules that she must follow as the child of a Muslim family – no fighting with your brother, no pets, no dating, no staying out late, no shoes in the house, etc.
I must admit to being shocked by the description of Soos smiling as her best friend does a presentation on stopping Muslims coming to Australia, and her laugh as the school bully shouts that her musical instrument case might contain a bomb. These are daily incidents. But what is important in the end, and something she reiterates, is the love and respect within her family. Her parents are divorced, they have different values, but they are good people and she loves them both, and they love her.
Themes Memoir, Family, Migrant experience, Traditional values, Muslims in Australia, Racism, Bullying, Islamophobia.
Chloe's life was on track - in her last year of high school, headed towards one of the top colleges - when she collapses during track practice. Rushed to hospital, she learns that her heart isn't working correctly and she needs a transplant, or she won't make it to college. After months waiting for someone to die so she can live, her family gets the call and they rush to the hospital for the surgery. Having recovered from the transplant, Chloe is behind in her life plans while all her friends have graduated. She's stuck at summer school in order to be able to graduate and finds herself lacking her normal drive and her punctuality. She even takes up surfing - which had never been on her radar. And... she has memories that she doesn't recognise. Vivid and recurring memories that make no sense, Chloe needs answers, and will look wherever possible to find them.
This surprisingly delightful contemporary novel has an incredibly relatable protagonist, whose everyday life is disrupted by the need for surgery, at a very young age. The description of the fear leading up to surgery and the post-surgery lethargy is extremely accurate, as well as the monotony of taking daily medications. The aftermath of life saving surgery includes Chloe's search for meaning - in life and in the memories that have filled her mind. The whole story has a simple narrative, focusing on changing relationships, life choices and motivation. You will notice your own heart beating as you read this book, which is ideal for fans of Not if I see you first by Eric Lindstrom, The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting and John Green books.
Themes Contemporary; Human Relationships; Heart Transplants; Cellular Memory; Surfing; Love Stories.
Melanie Pages
Our world out of balance by Andrea Minoglio and Laura Fanelli
Blue Dot Kids Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781735000534. (Age:8-13) Recommended.
Climate change continues to be highly topical in newly released non-fiction texts for middle grade and early YA readers. These savvy young readers are becoming increasingly passionate about the changing environment and the need for immediate action. Our World Out of Balance is another well written and easy to understand book presenting the facts about the issues and how positive change can be achieved. The contents page includes headings such as, When the World Gets Warmer, Melting Ice, Corals in Crisis, Fire!, Too Much Trash, Feeding the World plus many more. While the information may appear complex, it is written for children which allows it to be readable and easy to comprehend. The author has cleverly used recognizable examples to explain the more complicated aspects of each topic. The text is broken into clear segments which appeals to younger readers and is surrounded by colourful and detailed illustrations. There are highlighted words such as cryosphere, xeriscaping and permafrost which are explained further in the glossary at the end of the book. Each chapter contains introductory information, before and after segments as well as ‘How You Can Help?’ and ‘How People are Helping’. The final pages include a ‘Spread the Word’ section as well as ‘You can Be a Part of the Solution’ with a list of online organisations. There is also a detailed index.
Another great addition to a school or public library.
Themes Climate Change, The World, Children, Global Environmental Issues, Global Warming.
The Queen Bee and Me by Gillian McDunn is a book that will walk out of the library into the hands of girls. I will certainly be directing the attention of our upper primary girls to this book because comfort can be found in stories that depict the real-life social issues that they face.
The Queen Bee and Me describes in the first person voice of Meg, the unwritten social rules of Middle and High School girls' cliques. Anyone familiar with Queenbees and Wannabees, Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 self-help book on which the film Mean Girls is largely based, might think that the subject of the aggressive behaviour of teenage girls towards each other may have been already done. However Gillian McDunn takes an additional refreshing, incisive and "Pitch Perfect" (Publisher's Weekly) approach to the subject.
The central character, Meg, is a highly likeable seventh grade girl. We see events unfolding through her eyes. She is anxious, nervous and frightened of things. Ever since sandpit days, she has lived in the shadow of her "friend", the strong and overpowering Beatrix. Meg's lack of self-confidence has led to dependence on Beatrix. Meg is scared of the consequences of leaving the safe haven of protection that she finds being Beatrix's "bestie". With a friend like Beatrix she is protected from loneliness and the stigmatisation of being out of the cool group. She dances carefully to Beatrix's drum because she has had experience of the freeze that happens if she steps out of line with Beatrix in any way. The arrival of a new girl in town together with the development of Meg's individual interests that don't match Beatrix's interests changes the status quo. Meg's eyes slowly and reluctantly open to the social cruelties inflicted by Beatrix on others and she has to make a choice.
The intertwining theme running throughout this story is the behaviour of bees. The bees, their individual roles within the hive, their collective work and the fight that Meg and her friends and family have in order to save them, shines a mirror on the behaviour of the students at school and members of the town community.
This book is complex. It is bitter and it is sweet. Gillian McDunn is shrewd and has no illusions about the dynamics of girls' groups in Middle School. Girls who are feeling the rough edge of this phenomenon will find great encouragement reading about Meg. Place this book in the hands of the girls who might need it.
Highly recommended.
Themes Girls' friendships+cliques, Middle school, Bees, Being true to yourself.
Hattie and Olaf by Swedish writer Frida Nilsson has been translated into English by Gecko Press, a small New Zealand-based independent publisher that specialises in publishing books chosen from the best writers and illustrators in the world. Thus Hattie and Olaf has already been through a rigorous selection process before its distribution in Australia by Walker Books. It is not difficult to see why Hattie and Olaf passed that discerning screen. It is a delightful chapter book for young readers.
The central character is six-year-old Hattie who is navigating her first year in school. Hattie is feisty. Through the third person narrator, the reader has access to Hattie's thoughts and reactions to the goings-on around her, both at school and at home. The action and dialogue in the classroom and playground would be very easy for junior primary children to relate to. There are shifting friendships, rejections, bullying and put-downs. Family strength and togetherness remains stalwart.
Central to the story is Hattie's desire to have a beautiful horse. Hattie's Papa cannot afford a horse but he procures Olaf, an unprepossessing donkey with bad attitude from a neighbour. Hattie is shattered and doesn't know how to let her parents know because she doesn't want to disappoint her father. She creates an unstoppable lie that grows out of control at school. Events proceed from there.
Hattie and Olaf takes readers to a snowy village in Sweden where there is a forest on the edge of town and frozen lakes to skate on. Hattie is a bold and brave heroine, not unlike Pippi Longstocking in her "bull at a gate" approach to life's problems. It is not surprising that Nilsson has been awarded the Astrid Lindgren prize. Stina Wirsen's illustrations complement the book perfectly.
Warm and funny, Hattie and Olaf is a follow-up to Hattie.
Five renown ‘Black’ YA authors have collaborated to put together this interlinked collection of short stories that take place during a massive power failure in New York City. When I came to the end of the first chapter ‘The long walk, Act 1’ I was so disappointed because I wanted to know more about the two young people, Tammi and Kareem, former girlfriend and boyfriend, crossing paths at a job orientation session. Flicking through the rest of the book, I realised that their story continued so I must confess, I cheated, I read the chapters out of order, jumping to the next section about their relationship. But I think that is a mistake. The book is cleverly constructed with interleaving stories that add to each other as you read along, all linked by a connection to an unmissable block party to be held by someone called Twig; they all want to get there.
They are all stories with interesting characters and situations, taking place over one eventful night, similar to the night of the New York City blackout of 1977, where different people around the city find themselves in an unpredictable situation. Dhonielle Clayton says the initial inspiration came from the question posed by her young niece after COVID marathon movie watching; asking why Black girls didn’t get big love stories. Clayton brought together her friends, fellow Black authors, to workshop a book full of Black love stories.
The authors are Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, and Ashley Woodfolk. For writers like Angie Thomas and Tiffany D Jackson, whose novels are particularly gritty insights into ghettos with black gangs, drugs, and corrupt police, it must have been a challenge to write a romantic love story. But that is exactly what the group has achieved with this book, a charming collection of stories about young love in all its variations: girl and boy, boy and boy, girl and girl, old exes and new friends. I particularly liked Thomas’s story of a girl trying to negotiate her attraction to two different boys, and the advice of the observant school bus driver to ‘choose yourself’, there is no rush to be in a relationship.
This book is a refreshing addition to the YA romance genre, not only for its representation of diversity, but because they are all really lovely stories to read.
Themes Love, Teenage relationships, LGBQTI+, Black Americans, Diversity.
Helen Eddy
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781760850449. (Age:Adolescent) Highly Recommended.
The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.
Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.
When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?
Most novels about 19th century European settlement of Australia are written from the point of view of the settlers, with occasional (if any) reference to the Indigenous people. This is the first novel I have read from an Indigenous perspective. It was an incredible journey to witness Wagadhaany and her family come alive, and to witness their relationship with country.
This is a wonderful novel that took me into a world I thought I knew and completely changed the perspective. The use of Wiradjuri language made the book so much richer in culture, forcing me to stop and listen and analyse the words instead of just reading past them.
The attention to detail and respect shown towards traditional customs and the environment is refreshing to see. This was a very difficult book to put down. It had an emotional impact and made me sad and angry at times, but it is one that will stay with me forever.
