Katherine Tegen Books, 2021. ISBN: 9780062982247. (Age:4+)
Oona the mermaid and her best friend Otto the pufferfish love to search for treasure on the ocean floor, but often they find trouble instead.
Messy trouble. Tricky trouble. Even shark-related trouble.
That's never stopped them though! So when Oona spies a beautiful crown caught in the sand at the bottom of a narrow crack she was determined to have it. But does she have the courage to dive right in and fetch it from the dark, murky depths where who knows what might be waiting for her?
This is an engaging story that has the unusual twist of Oona actually giving up on retrieving the crown but then continuing with how that made her feel and her resolve returning. We all know the feeling of dissatisfaction when something we desire, tangible or not, remains just out of reach. We have to consider whether it is a walk-away thing or whether it's an occasion to rethink our strategies so we can attain or achieve it. So, by not having Oona reach her goal, the author opens up the discussion about what we can do if we don't win. In this success-oriented world where children are rewarded just for turning up to something they have committed to, they don't often have the opportunity to learn to lose, to experience the feelings that that entails and how to not only deal with the loss but also those feelings.
The other element that sets this apart from other stories about mermaids is the illustrations, for Oona is not the stereotypical pretty white mermaid with long golden locks and fish-scale tail and Otto is not a cute rainbow-fish type companion, so that also could lead to an exploration of stereotypes, their impact on our perception and how something that is completely different from what we were expecting can impact on our reading. Does the diversity enhance the experience or distract from it?
This is a book for a range of ages - it could be just a story about a mermaid or even a discussion about how the "treasure" she finds ends up in the ocean, it could be the springboard to much more.
Themes Mermaids, Treasure, Friendship.
Barbara Braxton
Kooking with a Koori by Nathan Lyons
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781761102011. (Age:12+) Recommended.
Wiradjuri man Nathan Lyon began cooking meals for his family from a young age. He grew up in a family where he watched his parents and extended family members cook wonderful meals on very tight budgets. As a family of eight now, he prepares all the family meals and has become a TikTok sensation when in September 2020 he began sharing meal tips online under the name Kooking with a Koori. This very readable and easy to follow recipe book is not large and glossy with photographs of beautifully presented meals. It is an over-sized novel with a no-nonsense approach to cooking aimed at those who may be doing it tough and their experience of cooking has been limited or they are just starting out on their cooking journey. In the introduction the author shares his journey with frankness and humour. The book has a contents page with sixteen chapters that includes headings such as beef, pork, lamb, fish, pasta dishes as well as Indigenous Favourites and After School snacks. There is a Basics chapter that has recipes on such things as perfect scrambled eggs, classic garlic bread and creating a white sauce. Throughout the book are highlighted tips and cheap eats stars. The appeal of this book is that the recipes are what many people have grown up with, simple home cooked food. The recipes are not always the most nutritious but use ingredients readily available and accessible for all especially those on lower incomes. There is a very handy detailed index at the end of the book.
This book is a surprise package and would be worthy of a place in the cooking section of any library.
Themes Recipes, Cooking, Budgets, Cheap Meals.
Kathryn Beilby
Dinosaur Questions & Answers by The Natural History Museum
If you're as old as the dinosaurs themselves, and even if you're not, if you have had anything to do with young children you will know that the fascination for dinosaurs is universal and endless. I wish I had the proverbial dollar for every time I have been told that a child is obsessed with dinosaurs and asked what did I have that was new.
So this new publication from CSIRO Publishing which targets those just beginning to discover these creatures and who have so many questions about them is perfect. Tackling 50 most commonly asked questions such as 'Which dinosaurs had the biggest teeth?' and 'Why did some dinosaurs have such short arms?', both question and answers are in straight-forward language, give just the right amount of information and are accompanied by clear, colourful illustrations ensuring the young reader's inquisitiveness is satisfied while demonstrating the power of books to seek the information we want.
Many of our youngest readers will be experts on this subject before they come to school and even though according to formal tests they can't yet read, they will have cut their teeth on this subject and know more about reading (and dinosaurs) than we give them credit for. So this could serve as an excellent model to let this group create their own Q&A book to not only show off their own knowledge but to learn from their peers, empowering them in a way that few formal lessons could do. It could offer a pathway into the information literacy process for them - what do I already know, what do I want to know, where can I find out, how can I share what I've discovered - and inspire them to investigate further.
Themes Dinosaurs.
Barbara Braxton
Comic Classics: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack Noel
The classic tale of Jim Hawkins, Dr Livesey, Squire John Trelawney, Long John Silver, Ben Gunn and an assortment of other characters who set out on the Hispaniola to find Captain Flint's long-buried treasure is brought to a new audience in this adaptation by illustrator Jack Noel to graphic novel format.
Adapted into numerous films, plays and other productions, this epitome of pirate stories really belongs in every child's literary repertoire and using all the visual techniques that attract today's young readers, the once-difficult language of the late 19th century storyteller is now accessible to today's generation. So much of what we believe about pirates, their vocabulary and actions stems from Stevenson's imagination so even if the student can't manage the original, this interpretation will give them some insight and understanding of a story that they are expected to be familiar with in their later studies.
This is the second in this series - the first is Great Expectations - and it would be a worthwhile addition to any library collection that seeks to extend children's reading into the realm of stories to be read again and again.
Barbara Braxton
Space kids : Sabotage by Aleesah Darlison. Illus. by Nancy Bevington
Big Sky Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922387172. (Age:7+) Recommended.
This is the first in a new adventure series by Australian author Aleesah Darlison. It's the year 2088 and there are more than twenty space stations scattered across the Milky Way as tourist destinations. 11-year-old Nash jumps in a shuttle bound for Misty Space station, where his dad lives and works. Nash is not keen to be a 'space kid' and expects the two weeks on Misty to feel like forever, although he is looking forward to spending some time with his father.
On arrival he meets two other kids, Raj and KC, who live on the space station full time. The three children start a firm friendship and even welcome a fourth kid (a tourist) into their midst but it's not long before the group are tested with a series of strange and dangerous events. Is it just bad luck or could someone be deliberately sabotaging the space station? To have a chance at survival the kids must work together, trust each other, think quickly and solve the mystery of what is happening and who is responsible.
This is a clever story with chapters of around 10 pages each and plenty of cartoony illustrations. It's a great step up from series like Hey Jack or Sporty Kids and is a perfect book to read aloud to a younger or less confident reader, especially those who are interested in space or robots. There is also a nice progression in Nash's relationship with his father throughout the story, with a subtle reminder of the importance of telling loved ones how you feel.
Confident readers from age 7 will enjoy the challenge of a decent size chapter book with all the twists and turns of the friendships, danger and mystery along the way.
Gecko Press of New Zealand is an independent publishing house which focuses on carefully selecting, translating and publishing children's books from around the world. Leilong the library bus is a collaboration between two Taiwanese women: Julia Liu, author of many children's books and Bei Lynn, an award-winning artist. The book is translated into English, published by arrangement with Walker's Cultural Ltd/Pace Books through Bardon-Chinese Media Agency and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan).
Whether it is due to the translation or not, there is a quirkiness to this story. Leilong is a Brontosaurus. He has three friends - Max, Monty and Mo. Leilong loves the library and storytime. He becomes totally involved in stories and because of his size he doesn't fit in. A solution is found. The storyline is simple and narrated in third person. The lively dialogue between the characters would lend Leilong the library bus well to being read aloud.
The illustrations are cartoon-like and full of detail which invites time to be spent looking at all the different people depicted on each page. Many people and animals can be spotted reacting to the strange vision of a Brontosaurus transporting children and books around a busy city. The changing, very human emotions of Leilong are beautifully depicted as he moves from delighted expectation to confusion on his rejection to contentment and happiness on his inclusion and acceptance.
A sweet story with fun illustrations! Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Love of libraries and books, Dinosaurs, storytime.
What a moving book! Bavati has succeeded in writing a warm, engrossing story about sixteen-year-old Jamie, who lives with his mother and younger brother Oscar, who has Down syndrome. He is still grieving the death of his father. When his mother wants to visit her sister in Perth, he is more than happy to look after Oscar while she is away but things become very difficult when she doesn’t come back.
Jamie is such an engaging young man. He is so caring of his brother Oscar and the reader really feels for him as he makes the difficult decision to keep on looking after Oscar by himself, not wanting him to go into care. Oscar lives by his routines and Jamie knows that he would not be able to cope very well in a new situation. His growing romance with Zara is also portrayed well. Zara is a young woman who understands Jamie’s need to care for Oscar, as her sister Hayley has autism.
The reader is taken into the world of Jamie and Oscar, both trying to live without their mother. Problems of how to pay for food, organise a birthday party and get Oscar to school and sport without adults knowing that his mother is not there challenge Jamie. And the reader is left asking, did he make the right decision by not telling adults what has happened? Should a 16 year old take a younger sibling to another city to search for their mother?
This would make an ideal class novel or literature circle book as it raises issues of accountability and dealing with grief. Readers too, will grow in empathy and understanding of children living with a sibling with a disability. The author gives an introduction to this highly recommended story here.
Themes Down Syndrome, Dating, Grief.
Pat Pledger
Catch us the foxes by Nicola West
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781760857479. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
Marlowe 'Lo' Robertson is an aspiring journalist, living in country Australia, a few hours out of Sydney. She is stuck covering the town's annual show for the local paper, taking photos of the whole event. As she makes her way to meet her father, the town's police chief, she stumbles across a body - the reigning showgirl, Lily Williams, Lo's friend. Lo notices strange markings on Lily's back, but when she gets her father and they return to Lily's body, he instructs her not to reveal the information to anyone. She promises, but it doesn't sit right. Lo hides the photos she took when she found Lily, and begins her own investigation. Perhaps things aren't what they seem in Lo's peaceful sleepy home town - and Lo dives right into the mystery.
This gripping story will have you hooked early on - with relatable characters, vivid scenery, mystery and thriller combined to make a novel you can't put down. Short, punchy chapters enable the story to progress quickly, as do the twists and turns that Nicola West has woven through the novel. With a well written, strong female lead, readers will find Lo tenacious in her search for the truth. Fans of Karen M. McManus (One of Us is Lying; Two Can Keep a Secret) and Candice Fox will love this book. There are some issues through the book that are not dealt with in an entirely appropriate manner - particularly revolving around homophobic behaviour and demonising mental illness. Even factoring in that the story takes place seven years ago (the novel is a book within a book), the terms, actions and negativity revolving around some of these issues are dated and not exactly appropriate. This aside, the book has been well written and is quite an addictive book to read really.
Themes Australian Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Relationships, Trust, Power, LGBTQIA+ People.
This is a fun book for any dog lover. Ella Farmoodle is a poodle with a difference. She has her very own farm and she looks after all of the animals on her farm. She spends her day doing jobs around the farm, making sure that all of the animals have food and water. She also ensures that all of the animals are safe.
One terrible day the wind blows the gate open and the sheep are nowhere to be seen. Ella quickly leaps into action and goes looking for her precious sheep. She finally finds them and brings them back to the farm safe and sound.
At the end of the day all of the animals gather together so Ella can do her most important job of the day, protecting all of the animals from the fox. Ella and her animals are happy together on their farm.
This is a lovely story, with the illustrations beautifully supporting the narrative. It captures the hard work that is required on the farm with the friendship that Ella has with the animals.
I highly recommend this book.
Themes Dogs, Farms.
Karen Colliver
Forgotten Fairy Tales of Kindness and Courage by Marie Sebag-Montefiore
Usborne, 2021. ISBN: 9781474989657. (Age:7+)
In Children's literature: A reader's history from Aesop to Harry Potter ( 2008, Chicago, IL., USA: University of Chicago Press) Seth Lerer contends that "Ever since children have learned to read, there has been children's literature" and having children learn lessons about life through literature has been a constant thread. Didacticism has been a hallmark of children's stories from the 18th century moral tale to the modern problem novel as using realism to instruct its readers has always been its central aim. Although this has changed from trying to inculcate better, more mature behaviour to presenting a problem without suggestion of a solution, nevertheless for generations of readers education has always been placed before entertainment.
And that is the central thread of this collection of forgotten fairytales, as common in their time as those of Snow White, Cinderella and their ilk today but lost throughout the years. With their focus on the many ways we can be courageous or kind, they feature both genders as heroes and diverse cultures demonstrating that essentially, children are the same the world over. With their message of being kind to ourselves, having the courage to stand up for what we believe in, and being compassionate towards others, even though the stories themselves are over a century old, their message today is as applicable as ever.
Fairytales remain a part of the study of literature across the age groups and this collection offers some "new" stories to compare to the more well-known ones to investigate whether they have a common structure, theme or message that children in 2021 can learn as well as those in 1821. Have things changed so much?
The collection of Shockingly good stories by R.A.Spratt is shockingly good! Shockingly good is what anyone who is familiar with R.A.Spratt's Nanny Piggins series, Friday Barnes Mysteries series or Peski Kids series has come to expect. Spratt knows how to entertain. There are many gasp, hold your breath and laugh out loud moments in these stories.
In the Shockingly good stories collection, the reader is treated to the beloved but irreverent Nanny Piggins telling her version of well-known fairy tales. Spratt, through Nanny Piggins, manages to shock and turn expected conventions upside down. The children I have read these stories to have been horrified and delighted with Nanny Piggin's naughtiness, the clever vocabulary and the adventures.
Friday Barnes appears in other stories. She is a school-girl, the same age as our readers and her detective work occurs within recognisable school and local community settings populated by recognisable characters. She is plucky and intelligent. The switched-on young reader cannot help but try to pick up clues and think logically in an effort to work out "who done it" before Friday does. Good luck to that reader because with Spratt there is always a clever and unpredictable twist!
Other stories about two characters called Mum and Tammy are crazily imaginative and peppered with contemporary sassy dialogue. The stories are far-fetched. Odd things are thrown together like piranhas, grubby boys and ducks. It works.
R.A Spratt does not patronise children or insult their intelligence with simplistic language and predictable stories. She plays with idioms, turns of phrase and with concepts and ideas that encourage questioning and delighted wonder. Her vocabulary is extensive and high impact eg. when referring to ducks waddling across roads... " It's like they've got extremely specific amnesia where they totally forget that they are capable of flying thousands of kilometres with geographic precision." (p.60) Children are inspired to think, imagine and create mental pictures. They learn all sorts of facts and concepts and experience vicariously action, adventure and dilemma without realising because they are so busy laughing. Even reluctant listeners are won over.
Teachers, librarians and parents need to keep Shockingly good stories handy for those moments when engaging, short stories are called for.
Themes Fractured fairy tales, Flights of imagination, Girl detective work.
Wendy Jeffrey
The art of words by Robert Vescio and Joanna Bartel
EK Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781925820843. (Age:5+)
Whether spoken, shouted, murmured or just thought; whether written, read, screened or viewed, we are surrounded by words. Words that are big, little, shortened, extended, kind, hurtful, colourful or ugly. Words that ask questions, shout out loud or tell us to pause - our lives are dependent on our need to communicate and for that we need words.
Vescio, who has proven to be a master in saying so much with so few words, and Bartel, who has interpreted his words with the most exquisitely appropriate illustrations, have crafted a celebration of these most abstract yet concrete necessities. We celebrate a child's first words from just a couple in the first twelve months to an exponential growth by the time they start school. In fact, the NSW Department of Education has declared vocabulary to be "the greatest predictor of success in literacy" so what better tool to inspire the study and development of words than a book about them. The possibilities are endless but if you're stuck there are teachers' notes available.
"Words string together like droplets of dew on a silky web and shape the heart with happiness through stories one word at a time" and on a cold, frosty, foggy morning this book has lifted mine.
Noa loves to watch the elephants play in the water near his small village in East Africa. One day tragedy strikes and the baby is left all alone, his mother killed by poachers. When Noa and his village adopt the lonely orphan, a beautiful friendship is born. Until one stormy night when Noa may need his friend to save him too.
Who doesn't love a story about baby elephants? In this one, in association with Tusk, the African wildlife conservation charity, the plight of elephants is highlighted as, despite the efforts of government rangers and the global ban on trading ivory, their tusks make them prized targets of poachers. Foreman's sensitive text and gentle illustrations make this a compelling story to read and share and give hope that there will still be elephants for our little ones to see in the future.
Imagine being able to walk to the woods at the bottom of your garden where the leaves of the trees whisper to each other that you are there and find yourself at the bottom of a tree that has the most remarkable inhabitants like Moonface, Silky and Dame Washalot living in its branches and a revolving world of magical lands at its top, high in the clouds. That is what Joe, Beth and Frannie (PC'ed from the original Fanny) discover when they move to the countryside and discover that their new house lies next to the Enchanted Wood! And in that wood stands the Magic Faraway Tree where they have so many amazing encounters and adventures.
This collection comprising all three books in the series - The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree and The Folk of the Faraway Tree - is now, once again, on offer to parents, teachers and independent readers to share. Over my 50+ years in teaching, I've lost count of how many children I have shared this magic with. Apart from transporting the children to new worlds of imagination and wonderment, it was my go-to read-aloud when they were ready for a serial that had continuous characters and settings so they were familiar with the background, but still needed a complete story within each session.
There is a reason that Blyton's stories (over 700 books and about 2,000 short stories) have not dated and have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into other languages more often than any other children's author and remain in print more than 50 years after her death. Apart from being childhood favourites of previous generations and thus handed down through families like fairytales, her imagination gave her readers the wings to fly away from whatever circumstances they were in to a world where anything was possible, anything could happen and usually did. In series like The Magic Faraway Tree, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy, there were no everyday constraints on the characters and they could become heroes in the most mundane of circumstances, resonating with the audience in ways many authors have envied and tried to emulate since.
Visiting a new world every read, this is truly a perfect collection for this year's CBCA Book Week theme of Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds and because my own grandchildren have had this series on their bookshelves for many years, I know just which family needs this copy to start their tradition.
Barbara Braxton
Story doctors by Boori Monty Pryor. Illus. by Rita Sinclair
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526559. (Age:All) Highly recommended.
Let the stories heal is the powerful message in Boori Pryor’s latest book, Story Doctors. He trawls through millennia, the stories told and images left in cathedrals of rock, recording the journeys made by those who live in this nurtured land. Using ochre and spit, the stories are there to heal. He reminds us that the environment will help with the healing, the stories and dance facilitating this process.
In verse form, Pryor has used words which resonate with meaning. Each line will make readers stop and ponder the ramifications of the words: ideas spread out, capturing things half remembered, alluding to a range of themes and impressions gained and sometimes forgotten.
Story doctors will help people recall two hundred years of insecurity, and find the path to use the stories to heal.
Well known and loved First Nations storyteller Boori Monty Pryor, Australian Children’s Laureate in 2011–2013, offers a multi layered account of Australia’s history, aiming to teach his readers and help heal the nation. With a sense of foreboding he had predicted that Australia was going to get very sick – a result of us leaving our past unacknowledged. His impetus is to have everyone share in healing, to have everyone listen to the stories so our country becomes a place where we all belong.
For some time Boori has felt the longest continuous culture in the world would be able to use its medicine through storytelling. To this end he has written this book, a thoughtful message of healing and hope with allusions to a myriad of events and people, places and stores, all encouraging contemplation, thought and discussion. The future is in the past, and this is reiterated by Rita Sinclair with a twirling ribbon leading the way, entwining the black and white hands that recur through the pages.
Sinclair’s naive art encompasses the ideas Boori presents, speaking volumes through the illustrations alluded to in the text. So we see the cathedrals of art, the pharmacies above and below ground, the footprints of time, roots of old and the dancing in the dust with a new found sound. Her images recall thousands of years of history, the bushfires, the damage done to the environment by the recent settlers, the healing that can put things right. She includes details that eager eyes will point out: a stethoscope, a myriad of different animals, kangaroo, echidna, koala and so on, and various Indigenous tools, the dark emu in the night sky, the burnt trees, a history book with a renewed title.
The images and the text coalesce to create a picture book worthy of further study, thought and action. Story Doctors is well-timed for NAIDOC week, 4 –11 July. The theme this year: Heal Country. Downloadable activities are available from the publisher.
