We all know those kids. They're smart, street savvy and up with all of the latest idioms. Ever ready with gobsmackingly clever answers to everything, they are quick witted and funny... and sometimes annoying. They get into trouble with their big mouths. They hurt people. Often they go onto great careers where being articulate and having a ready arsenal of "quick on your feet" responses is important.
Something I Said is narrated in the first person by Carmichael. Carmichael is one of those kids. The book begins as thirteen year old Carmichael is told off AGAIN at school for seeing life as just a joke. We as readers have access to Carmichael's thoughts as he ponders life. He is a wordsmith - a lover of the mechanics and origins of words. On page three, he cogitates on the two words that he has missed taking on board as a younger child - karma and context. The fact that he has missed the importance of acting according to these two words leads him into a lot of trouble and life lessons. Carmichael has a quirky, loving family. He has a quirky best friend and he has great teachers at school.
At a school talent show Carmichael's standup performance is filmed and it goes viral across global social media. He is spotted by the producer of an American television show and flown to New York for a stand-up performance. A potential life of wealth and glamour is ahead. But where will Carmichael get his comic material from? What price is he prepared to pay? Who is he going to burn with his rapier wit in order to get laughs? What is important in life?
Tantalised by becoming world famous, growing to understand the origins of his cutting style of humour and the truth of his upbringing and after experiencing many dramatic situations, Carmichael makes a decision about his life direction.
The author, Ben Bailey Smith is a comedian, actor and screenwriter himself and so Carmichael jumps off the page as a very authentic character. This book is very funny. We know that when teachers and parents try to be cool with their idiomatic language when attempting to relate to teenagers the results are often awkward. Ben Bailey Smith knows how to hilariously depict how teenage non-compliance and obtuseness challenges and changes against the backdrop of steadfast family, school life and friendship.
A heart-warming, big-hearted book for ages 10+
Themes The love of words, Comedy, Family, School, Identity.
Wendy Jeffrey
Rumble, rumble, dinosaur by Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt
Lured by the statement on the cover that the reader can sing along to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, I attempted this and was amazed at how rhythmic the narrative was and how Charman managed to fit the names of dinosaurs like pterodactyls into wonderful sounding rhymes:
Pterodactyls flying high Watch them as they zoom on by Laughing, playing with their friends Dino fun-time never ends Pterodactyls flying high, Soaring, swooping through the sky.
This is a perfect read aloud, or sing along as the case may be, and will be welcomed by youngsters. Emerging readers too will find the bold print and repetition fun to try as they begin to attempt to read. Children will also enjoy all the action words in the text and could have fun matching actions to the words: 'soaring, swooping', 'stomping, stamping', 'splishing, splashing'. At the same time, they will learn the names and appearance of these dinosaurs: Pterodactyl, stegosaurus, kronosaurus, triceratops, velociraptors, diplodocus, and t-rex.
The illustrations are vividly coloured and really complement the text. Each of the dinosaurs has a happy expression and the illustrations clearly show some of the main features of the dinosaurs in a fun way. I loved the diplodocus with a long neck eating the topmost leaves of a tree, while his large feet stomped along, and his long tail swished around the text. The dinosaurs coloured in blue against a yellow background on the endpapers beg for the young reader to find different ones too.
There is much to like in this energetic and fun book, and I believe it will be a firm favourite will young children and their caregivers alike.
Toddlers will love the familiarity of all the things that the little girl sees once the sun comes up. The rhythm of the text is beguiling and just right to read aloud to very young children:
Hello world Hello sun. Hello day just begun.
The narrative continues through the child’s day, going from waking up in the cot, to a family breakfast, getting dressed and greeting the twirly-curly cat. The activities during the day are described; drumming, having a snack, gluing glitter, and playing in the backyard. Then for a nap for everyone except the child; mum picks up siblings from school, the family goes to the park, then dinner, bath, and bedtime story.
This is sure to be a favourite with toddlers, the ‘hello’ in the text repetitive enough for a young child to read along, but with some gorgeous images that are memorable, like “Hello park, joy of joys!” Young children will love to predict what the little girl does on the next page and will enjoy talking about their day and whether they do some of the activities that make up her day.
The illustrations are gorgeous. The loving family is depicted with warmth and there are lots of details for the reader to peruse and talk about. The family cat is delightful and features throughout; the little girl even puts it to bed in a cot of its own before she goes to sleep. The endpapers too are lovely, a bright yellow as the sun comes up, and dark with the moon as the family goes to bed.
This book is a keeper and will be one that is kept in the family for future generations to enjoy.
Damian Callinan is an Australian comedian who has plied his craft on stages and screens… and now a children’s book. His quirky sense of humour is whacked and walloped within the school grounds of Wally Park Primary School to create a warped and bizarrely peculiar collection of yarns involving the strangest school Principal in the world and the assortment of talented and imaginatively formulated students. The result is a book that is a hotchpotch of silliness and madness, with students constantly needing to fix issues created by the Principal’s unusual choices and rules.
While this will be enjoyed by children who prefer humorous stories, it is sometimes baffling as it squeezes too many eccentricities into a small space – a student who is also an alien, another a shapeshifter, a 3-D printer that prints a copy of a teacher, a school tree with magical qualities, an Out-of-bounds area that creates clones… and the list goes on! Amongst the stories are school newsletter examples that reveal the disastrous rules created by the Principal and some naive and amusing cartoons. For some readers aged 10+ this wacky book will appeal to their rule-stretching preferences even if some of the humour flies over their heads. Straight to the Library shelf!
Themes School, Comedy.
Carolyn Hull
The long game by Simon Rowell
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330710. (Age:Adult - Senior secondary) Recommended.
If you are after an easy-to-read and compelling mystery, then The long game may just be the book for you. Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer has returned from leave only to be thrust into a murder case. A local man, Ray Carlson, has been found dead, a kitchen knife in his chest. With her partner Charlie Shaw, she chases up all the obvious clues and makes an arrest, but her intuition and desire for the truth makes her delve deeper into the case and possible connections.
Rowell has cleverly twined two mysteries together and both kept me reading to the end. Not only is there the mystery of who killed Ray Carlson, but the information about the trauma that sent Zoe off on leave left the reader wondering what happened, and why she returned with a service dog, Harry, to help her get through the day.
Zoe is a determined and very organised detective, who is not prepared to take the easy way out and convict the most obvious suspect. She wants answers to questions and her quest for the truth makes for compelling reading as she follows up on her suspicions, even though she is not supported by other detectives in her unit. There are lots of twists and turns and some surprises as she hunts down the killer, going into danger with no back-up.
It was fascinating to read about the role of a service dog in helping a person overcome anxiety and Harry features as a main character, obedient, intelligent, and heroic. He also provides some clues as to the veracity of some of the emotions of witnesses and dog lovers are sure to appreciate this aspect of the novel.
Lovers of Australian mysteries like Kill shot by Garry Disher and Scrublands by Chris Hammer will appreciate the setting of the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne, and hope that Zoe and her service dog Harry, appear in another novel.
Themes Mystery, Service dogs, Murder.
Pat Pledger
The Underdogs by Tracey West. Illus. by Kyla May
Scholastic, 2021. ISBN: 9781761126253. (Age:7-10)
The Underdogs live in Barksdale and as a group they feel the pressure of being the poorest achievers in the Barksdale Academy’s “Best in Show”. Nova is keen for the group to practise together and she sets up training exercises for the Underdogs to help them pass their Agility Exam. Each dog in the Underdog’s group has their own individual issues. Nova gets over excited and becomes clumsy, Duke has height issues and doesn’t want to climb, Harley is a squirrel chaser and Peanut refuses do anything that might get him dirty. To make matters worse other dogs from Barksdale Academy mock their training attempts and Nova finds it difficult accepting that her sisters have all won awards while she hasn’t won anything.
Can Nova help the group pass the Agility Exam or will they always be known as the Underdogs?
This middle grade novel will appeal to newly independent readers. The text is strongly supported by Kyla May’s black and white cartoon style illustrations. The opening pages have a visual representation of both the main doggy gang in “Meet the Underdogs” as well as the other dogs in the story in “The Best of Barksdale”. This is helpful in establishing the different characters and gives some information on the town of Barksdale.
Tracey West is an American writer who is known for her Dragon Master series and Kyla May is an Australian illustrator.
A book for 7- to 10-year-olds to enjoy.
Themes Dogs, Success, Failure, Examinations.
Jane Moore
The bench by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Illus. by Christian Robinson
A celebrity aspiring to write a picture book is sure to gain many people’s opprobrium, but this will not stop the book being bought. The usual critical evaluation taken over a book purchase for home and library will be suspended because the author is well known.
The theme of this book has merit: a father and son sit on the bench together, making up games, dressing up, riding a bicycle, watching for the bus, waiting for dad to return home. Each new page reveals a moment on a bench, and the story lauds the presence of a father in a child’s orbit promoting mental wellness as father and son connect.
The unfussy, simple verse structure reiterate the relationship between father and son, stressing the positive influences one has on the other.
You’ll love him. You’ll listen. You’ll be his supporter.
Are the lines on one page and over the page finish with:
When life feels in shambles You’ll help him find order.
The illustrations by Caldecott winner Christian Robinson, are lovely. They show the early years in a boy’s life from birth to primary age. The baby is held by dad, marvelling at the child in his arms. We see the child growing - learning to ride a bike, dad tying his son’s shoelaces, dressing up, having a picnic in the park. When the boy goes off to school dad comforts him. All the while dad tells his son that he is loved and we spy mum on the last pages reflecting a strong family unit where each member supports the other, and no one is ever alone.
Readers will think about their own experiences. They will enjoy predicting the rhyming word in each couplet, perhaps providing ideas of their own, accepting the sometimes unusual word combinations. And overall will enjoy seeing the relationship between fathers and sons taking centre stage.
Themes Fathers, Sons, Family, Growing up, Verse.
Fran Knight
The rainbow connection by Vanessa Parsons. Illus. by Angela Perrini
Little Steps, 2021. ISBN: 9781925839913. (Age:4+) Recommended.
The Rainbow Connection is a very gentle picture book which deals with the first lockdown experienced by families across the world due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. This story focuses on a nuclear family of five, three children and their parents, who take the reader through their stay-at-home activities. Initially it was an exciting and a new experience to be at home with both parents but gradually that enthusiasm begins to wane. The discovery of rainbows being shared around the world opens a community connection for the young family which then leads to forming new friendships and relationships. On their many daily exercise walks around their neighbourhood, the family discovers unique rainbows in amazing places e.g footpaths, windows, bricks, even an old lady’s hair! The children also connect with grandparents and cousins and share in their day. Online learning and working from home become the norm for the family. The story finishes with lockdown still in place but hope for the future. The colourful illustrations by Angela Perrini are quite striking and complement the text perfectly. The author has also thoughtfully provided a Rainbow Cake recipe at the end of the book. As lockdowns continue throughout Australia in 2021, this book will be a worthwhile addition to a library collection.
The Good Wife of Bath is an absolute delight. Karen Brooks has created a riveting and highly entertaining feminist reimagining of the story of Alyson, from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ is one of the most famous of Chaucer’s stories, highlighting and at times critiquing the misogyny present in medieval English society. In The Good Wife of Bath we meet Eleanor, later known as Alyson, who has just been married off at the age of twelve to an elderly farmer with a reputation for killing wives and driving off servants. The deal was brokered by her distant cousin ‘The Poet’ (Geoffrey Chaucer) against her will, after she was found in a compromising position with a member of the clergy. Eleanor’s situation is not helped by the filthy living conditions she finds herself enduring or the animosity from her new husband’s daughter.
However, what follows is an enjoyable tale of Eleanor’s growing maturity, understanding and agency. Over an extremely eventful life we witness her triumphs and failures, as she takes husbands and lovers, survives difficult times, creates successful businesses, and goes on the pilgrimages made so famous by The Canterbury Tales. The Good Wife of Bath is not always an easy read, the time period alone ensures that Eleanor is a regular victim of violence, injustice and hardship common to women of the era. However, her strong willpower, intelligence and resilience result in a mostly triumphant story. Eleanor is an extremely likeable and well-developed character and it is easy to cheer her on as the novel unfolds. The Good Wife of Bath also presents a positive representation of female friendship and sisterhood and the insertion of Chaucer into the story as a character in his own right is extremely clever. Brooks has created a brilliant and entertaining piece of historical fiction.
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330925. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
If you are after a complex, dark, dystopian novel, with the world devastated by fly flu and swarms of flies devouring all living things, then this may be the novel for you. It is one that left me wondering just what happened, trying to work out the complicated plot and wishing that I had time to reread slowly and carefully to find clues to what has happened.
It is told by three narrators, Nico, an 18 year old young woman who has been sent on a quest to find a portal by her father who will ring a mysterious bell when she arrives on the 8th day; Kit a young boy who has been brought up by Dakota in an abandoned cinema and carries a key in remembrance of her, and the Deliverer, who lives life after life, bring essential supplies to a few survivors. All the surrounding characters are fully developed. Nico is accompanied by her dog Harry, while Kit leaves the cinema with Monty and Lakie on a trip to try and find a colony of survivors on an island. They meet up with Loretta, Pringles, and Lennon on a quest to get to Boston and decide to go part of the way together. There are hopeful moments as love develops, and heart wrenching ones as the flies attack.
It was very easy to become invested with each of the characters as their circumstances and trials, loves and hopes are described, and I was left hoping that each would survive in such terrible times. The plot is intricate, the writing lyrical and the themes of storytelling, eternal life, art, survival, and love are ones to ponder. Teaching notes are available from the publisher.
I will be sure to pick up other books by David Arnold after reading this highly original book.
True Tracks is a guide to a respectful relationship with Indigenous knowledge and culture. Lawyer and Meriam / Wuthathi descendent, Terri Janke has put together protocols relating to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), 10 principles for ethical Indigenous engagement: respect, self-determination, consent and consultation, interpretation, integrity, secrecy and privacy, attribution, benefit sharing, maintaining Indigenous cultures, recognition and protection. She explains the significance of each of these when considering copyright and intellectual property, and how the protocols should be applied in different professions and industries.
For students interested in the law and Aboriginal culture, the book is essential reading, made more accessible by Janke’s story of how she became engaged in this work. For teachers and librarians, the most relevant chapters would be those on Indigenous languages, arts appropriation, Indigenous voices in writing and education, and issues for libraries, archives and museums. However all the chapters make for interesting reading, as Janke describes the inadequacies of Western law to protect a shared traditional and often secret sacred culture.
Each of the chapters is clearly set out and includes stories and case studies of both Australian Indigenous people and other First Nations, with resource lists and reference notes. Each also concludes with practical suggestions for ‘what you can do’. The index at the back is also useful for researching specific people and examples. The book as a whole provides a very readable resource based on Janke’s 2019 PhD thesis, the culmination of many years working in the area of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property.
There seems to have been an explosion in closed circle thriller mysteries of late, particularly those set in isolated and dangerous environs. Similar to the bestselling books One by One by Ruth Ware and The Guest List by Lucy Foley, Shiver, by debut Australian author Allie Reynolds, takes place in a frozen landscape. The novel follows a group of former professional snowboarders who are meeting up for the first time in a decade. They lost touch after one of their friends, Saskia, disappeared in a devastating tragedy. The former friends are meeting in their old haunt, a ski resort chalet in the French Alps. Things begin to go wrong very quickly however: their phones disappear, they are running out of food, there is no way off the mountain and someone is playing dangerous games…
Shiver alternates between the present day, as the group attempt to both escape and figure out who has trapped them and the past, narrating the events of that fateful snowboarding season when Saskia disappeared. Unfortunately, the continuous switching between the two timelines is jarring at times and while its intention is to build suspense, it ultimately results in frustration. Shiver is also heavy on the snowboarding detail and technical knowledge, unsurprising considering Reynolds is a former professional snowboarder. However, this may become slightly tedious for the lay reader. Despite this, Shiver is a well-plotted thriller and is a welcome addition to the closed circle mystery renaissance. The novel will more than satisfy fans of the genre.
Themes Thriller, Mystery, Missing Persons, France, Alps, Snowboarding.
Rose Tabeni
Amnesia Road by Luke Stegemann
NewSouth, 2021. ISBN: 9781742236728. (Age:16+)
Amnesia Road : Landscape, Violence and Memory written by Luke Stegemann is a non-fiction book exploring the natural landscapes of both rural Australia and Spain, along with their histories. While a seemingly random pairing, the two countries share a common theme in their history: violence, which has been forgotten. Stegemann explores this through his book in a comprehensively literary way. These violent occurences range from massacres to civil war, both with untold victims.
This heavily detailed non-fiction work is filled with descriptive narrative for both history and landscape of Australia and Spain, as Stegemann has travelled the locations he writes about numerous times, in addition to researching the forgotten histories. More accurate telling of Australia's true history has been something the literary world has required for sometime, and Stegemann has done an admirable job in getting the specifics lined up. As the book progresses, more anecdotes and historical writings are included to give the book greater depth, with the book moving between personal narrative to historical retellings. This would be an ideal book for those researching the specific geographic areas, or honest information about Australia's sordid past - in particular the victims of settlers and foreign government taking over a land that was already inhabited. Perhaps those interested in reconcilation could pick this book up to learn some hard truths, as it is a brutally honest book, which is not suitable for younger readers.
Themes Australian History; Spanish History; Australia; Spain; South West Queensland; Landscape; Rural Australia; Forgotten Histories.
Melanie Pages
The shadow arts by Damien Love
Rock the Boat, 2021. ISBN: 9780861540860. (Age:9+) Highly recommended.
The Shadow Arts, sequel to Monstrous Devices, written by Scottish freelance writer, now new novelist Damien Love, feels like a run away blockbuster novel. It has a similar effect on the reader as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone did when first read in terms of its cinematic potentiality. This book, rich in visual imagery and non-stop action is made for the screen.
Damien Love's previous articles for magazines, journals and newspapers focus on music, film,TV and photography. It is no surprise then that his writing maximises the visuals so magnificently.
Alex, our protagonist, is dragged in the dead of night by his reappearing grandfather from his normal life of school, bullies, homework and family. He is immediately caught up in a life and death struggle of great brutality against forces of unparalled evil dating back to the dark ages of forested Europe and having the power to bring the world as we know it to an end. There is a puzzle to be solved and it is intertwined with the presence of evil and magic. Alex thinks that his father was killed but was he...? What is this unknown super power that he seems to have and how does he control it? What has happened to Harry?
Not only does this novel delve back into age-old mythology, there is a continuity - a thread (although what it is is uncertain) that ties the evil past to the terrors of the present. AI, in the hands of evil is all powerful. Life sizers (robots the size of humans) and vicious fliers form an army of relentless, unmerciful assassins controlled by humans with a lust for something that is gradually understood. The last stand is at the sinister Chateau de Saint Clement- a fitting setting for the revelation of the dastardly master minds and their plans.
The reader can revel in the hilarious, clever patter of the idiomatic Scottish/English dialogue between Grandfather, Alex and Harry as they scramble for survival. Although the situations are dire, the droll and dry humour, reflective of the wit and intelligence of our protagonists permeates the perilous situations and contributes to the delight of this book.
This novel is break-neck, it is adrenaline-pumping and it is also a lesson on acceptance and getting on with dealing with life. This series must continue...after all The Shadow Arts finished enigmatically...with" a trick of the light."
Themes resourcefulness,deadly peril, trust, identity, heredity, ancient lore, secret societies and AI.
Planet Pancake is the second book in the Super Geeks series, written by James Hart. The story is about a boy named Zeek Emerson, his best friend Arnie and his loveable pet fish Eleanor. Zeek has a one tracked mind for ‘World Domination’. His friend Arnie is kind, reliable and inventive; ingeniously creating imaginative models. Eleanor is Zeek’s shrewd pet fish, but she hasn’t been sparking on all cylinders since his last attempt at world power.
While seeking world power and control, Zeek hears of treasure that can be found at the edge of the world. He sees this as a full proof way to fuel his world supremacy. But how will he get there? His supportive friend Arnie and he work together to invent and build a super ship, that they name the Enchilada. Together, with Eleanor, they set off on an adventure to find the much-anticipated treasure. How will they go in their quest? Will they encounter problems or prizes? Will Zeek finally find the success and power that he seeks?
This novel is extremely fast paced with a highly energetic storyline. At times it has so much going on that it is hard to keep up! Cleverly, the author introduces the main characters at the beginning of the story. This is a successful technique, so if you have missed reading the first story you are able to catch up and read this one without any major gaps. An easy read, it will keep the reader interested with each page featuring great black and white cartoon pictures and speech text. This book contains adventure and fun and would appeal to anyone who loves to also use their imagination and invent new ideas. Zeek and Arnie are quirky, yet relatable characters and the storyline will keep the reader intrigued as to what is going to happen next.
Themes Inventions, Problem solving, Friendship, Humour.
