Helene Magisson's illustrations are a standout here; they have a generosity and a spirit not unlike the style of Julie Vivas in Our Granny. Vibrant double page spreads depict a diverse array of families as they prepare for the arrival of a new baby. Different skin tones, varying homes, an array of ages and famliy sizes, people with disabilities, same-sex parents and various cultures and religions are all depicted. The one thing that is constant throughout the pages is the happiness and love shown on the faces of the families. The other fairly common thread is food, as families come together to eat and enjoy each other's company. Gentle rhyming text, directed at the listener, walks readers through the days leading up to their arrival: 'Before you were born and while you grew, there was a party just for you.' They wonder what the baby is doing inside and when it will arrive ('How big were you growing? Did you have hair?'). Everyone gathers, eager and excited, bearing gifts of clothes and toys and food and the nursery is lovingly prepared. At last the moment arrives ('And now that you're here, I know what to do...I will keep showering my love upon you'.
Little ones will love being read this story by their parents as a reminder of their special and important place within their family and of how loved they are. It would also be a fantastic book to share with those children expecting a new baby in the family so they can see how they too were so eagerly awaited, and to allay feelings of jealousy. In addition, it would be a lovely book to gift to a new baby or expectant parents.
It has been three long years for Victoria Aveyard fans. After publishing the last full-length novel in her bestselling Red Queen series in 2018, Aveyard is back with the first in a brand new young adult fantasy series. At over 550 pages, Realm Breaker is a fantasy adventure epic, fundamentally concerned with the classic trope of good versus evil.
The book opens with a vicious and bloody battle that will change the fate of kingdoms. Taristan, the forgotten second son of a long lost royal bloodline, is on a mission to unleash a great and ancient evil on the land. Though they do not know it yet, a group of unlikely strangers are the world’s only hope. Andry is a humble squire who believes that he is powerless in a world of powerful men and women. Erida is a queen whose position is much more precarious than would be believed. Dom is an immortal who knows only too well the unstoppable power unleashed by Taristan. Sorasa is an assassin, accustomed to only taking care of herself. Corayne, a pirate’s daughter, has a secret that could be the key to saving everyone.
Realm Breaker is a more mature story than the Red Queen novels and reflects Aveyard’s growing skill and confidence as a writer. There is a large cast of characters, diverse perspectives and detailed worldbuilding. At its core, Realm Breaker is an adventure story and will be particularly popular with fantasy readers who appreciate an epic and arduous quest. The Realm Breaker series promises to be as enjoyable and popular as Aveyard’s previous work.
Themes Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, War, Good vs Evil, Quests, Family, Friendship.
Rose Tabeni
The man with the silver Saab by Alexander McCall Smith
Detective Ulf Varg has returned for his third novel-length escapade. The creation of prolific British author Alexander McCall Smith (The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and 44 Scotland Street), Detective Varg is back for another perplexing and perhaps trifling crime investigation.
Detective Varg is a very likeable character. Unlike so many of the angry, broken and functioning alcoholics that people contemporary crime fiction, Detective Varg is a calm, ordered and cultured intellectual. He enjoys modern Nordic art, teaching his deaf poodle Marten to lipread and driving his ancient silver Saab. As a member of the Department of Sensitive Crimes in the Swedish city of Malmo, Detective Varg is responsible for solving some of the police’s most baffling offences. In The Man with the Silver Saab, Detective Varg and his trusty team are approached by an art historian who reports that he is the victim of a series of trivial and bemusing crimes. Before he knows it, Detective Varg is drawn into a serious investigation where he may just lose his career, his dog and his heart.
There is a reason that McCall Smith has spent decades as a popular and successful author; his writing style is straight forward and always humorous. There is nothing Scandinavian noir about the Detective Varg series; the plots are light, witty and easy to read. McCall Smith’s characters do have a tendency to ramble on unnecessarily and avid readers of the crime genre may find the plot structure of this novel a little unusual. Nevertheless, The Man with the Silver Saab is an undemanding and entertaining read.
Night ride into danger is another historical adventure book by Jackie French which has to be included in every school library. In this story French has dug into the history of the area in which she now lives in the vicinity of the Atherton Tablelands of southern NSW. The story is bookended by two Henry Lawson poems.The poems describe Cobb & Co. and its impact on colonial life and also jail - an experience which shadows one of the main characters in the story. These poems along with French's interest in the history of her home in the Araluen Valley on the edge of the Deura wilderness were the inspiration for Night ride into danger.
Being the consummate storyteller, French wastes no time submerging the reader into the plot. The story begins in heavy rain in a Cobb & Co. coachyard as the night mail to Goulburn coachman and his son Jem wait for the passengers. Horses snuffle and stamp with impatience, small brown frogs jump around in the mud and the straw and old Ma Grimsby owner of the Braidwood lodgings whispers to Paw, "There's somethin' strange about one o' your passengers tonight...Terrible strange," she hisses. "Enough to shiver in your boots!"
The story gallops on from there with the speed and adventure of the wildest coach ride through the NSW countryside along the old Cobb and Co roads. French has thoroughly researched the design and set up of the coaches and horses and the old Cobb and Co routes. The characters are well fleshed out and even the most rotten and perhaps potentially dangerous character emerges as a complex person. The story is fiction but the bushranger character (Mr. Smith) is modelled on the real bushranger Frank Gardiner and the story of a young boy who had to drive the team himself when his father was injured really did happen. The rest of the characters and incidents are an amalgam of people and events of that period of time in Australia.
12 year old Jem is the hero of the story. He is a courageous, sensitive and good person. The third person narration draws in and holds the reader's sympathy with and interest in Jem throughout the entire adventure. The rollicking, heart-stopping and dangerous action culminates satisfactorily as all adventure story books should. To add to the interest for the pre teen reader this is a coming of age story where relationships bud and bloom. Of interest is French's depiction of cross cultural marriages involving Aboriginals, Indians, Chinese and Scots which were considered unorthodox in the 1800s.
French skilfully weaves in much historical detail. Her choice of subject is rarely covered in the history curriculum and therefore Night ride into danger is a great adjunct to the primary curriculum particularly at the year 5 level. The inclusion of Henry Lawson's poems is also a welcome addition, integrating Australian literature into history through the historical narrative form.
This book lends itself to a class read aloud as children will be hanging on their seats to find out what happens next to Jem on the Night ride into danger.
Jackie French is one of our best loved storytellers and this exciting mystery adventure story about the Cobb & Co. set in 1874 is highly recommended.
Themes History of the southern tableland area of NSW, Gold, Bushrangers,Cobb and Co., Adventure, Friendship, Trust.
Olivia, eager to use her Asian Art qualification, has taken an unpaid job as assistant to a London art dealer. When, in late 1999, she is assigned to assess a collection of Japanese netsuke offered by Beatrice, an elderly and eccentric client, she takes on the job with enthusiasm. One of the netsuke, the rare fox-girl, was stolen from a display in Oxford in 1976, so its provenance is important to establish prior to accepting it for sale. The parallel thread to this story goes back to 1945 in Burma where a group of young women from diverse backgrounds volunteer for the Women’s Auxiliary Service (Burma), known as WASABIES. Beatrice Fitzgibbon was one of a group of five women who found themselves in a group providing canteen services to troops fighting in the jungle close to the front line. They served meals to up to 1,000 men a day from temporary canteens set up in the tropical heat. They battle the elements as well as close encounters with the enemy and attention, both looked for and unwanted, from some men, forging a bond which could survive the testing conditions and petty jealousies inevitable in such close quarters.
Back in 1999, Olivia, suffering from a severe cold, is taken in by elderly Beatrice. Recuperating, she finds and starts to read old diaries from that time and from them learns about the fox-girl netsuke. When asked if she will accompany Beatrice to a reunion of the surviving women, which will also achieve certified ownership and provenance for the contentious netsuke, Olivia agrees. What follows strips away the years from the elderly women and brings clarity to their relationship, bringing old wounds to the fore to be healed through their solidarity. Far from being “The last reunion” the reader is left with a feeling their newly found alliance will be ongoing.
This is an interesting and rarely seen insight into the war in Burma and the women who went to support the troops. I was less persuaded by the ending but overall a good read for senior students or adults interested in this period in history.
Themes WW2, Burma, Women's war service.
Sue Speck
Once upon our planet by Vita Murrow. Illus. by Aitch
Once Upon Our Planet is an interesting and engaging book showcasing twelve original stories related to many amazing wilderness areas on Planet Earth. Nearly every story has Once Upon as its beginning title and is then finished with an aspect of the natural world - reef, tundra, mountain, forest, paradise, savannah, riverbank, salt-lake, wind, sun, island and top of the world. The stories are written in the style of a myth and use various animals and plants throughout. The first story, 'Once Upon Two Suns', tells of the animals who perform together and are left bereft when crocodile refuses to take part anymore as the suns are too hot and drying him out. The other animals devise a plan to get rid of one sun and night is born. 'Once Upon A Forest' shares with the reader the story of Captain Whitehead, an enterprising monkey, who was able to solve problems and had a special way with plants. To the forest creatures great dismay their habitat is being destroyed by a metal machine and it is up to the Captain to find a solution. He cleverly does this and becomes a legend in the forest.
Each story has a message about caring for the planet as well as friendship, cooperation and problem-solving. This book would make an excellent class read-aloud especially around World Environment Day or when discussing themes of sustainability. The book has a striking cover with embossed gold imprinted in the images and a sub-title: Rewild bedtime with 12 stories. The beautiful illustrations throughout the book will keep the reader connected to each story. A perfect gift for those children who love stories about nature and a welcome addition to a home, school or public library.
Themes Planet Earth, Wilderness, Short Stories, Mythology, Animals, Plants, Harmony.
Kathryn Beilby
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781760850449. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
The opening chapters of this novel are based on true events; the foolhardy white settlement of the Marrambidya flood plains and the devastating Gundagai floods of 1852. Two heroic Aboriginal men, Yarri and Jacky Jacky, paddled their canoes through the night to save people stranded on roofs and clinging to trees.
Anita Heiss gives us the fictional story of Wagadhaany, Yarri’s teenage daughter, rescued on that night along with the two Bradley brothers she works for – James and David. As the Bradley’s domestic servant, her life is tied to them, and when James and his new wife Louisa set out to create their future at Wagga Wagga she has no choice but to go with them leaving behind all the family and country she loves so dearly.
As a young black woman, Wagadhaany could be easy prey for the lecherous advances of David, the other brother, but this situation, though an only too common experience for young Aboriginal women, is thankfully not the focus of Heiss’s story, so much as the tenuous relationship between Wagadhaany and Louisa. Louisa is a lonely person, a Quaker, with humanitarian ideals, who aspires to befriend and save Aboriginal people. Of course there is a patronising element to her attitude, naive and good intentioned as she may be. Heiss explores the idea of whether it is really possible to have a friendship between two people from such different backgrounds and unequal situations; recalling for me the theme of Wilkinson’s When the apricots bloom about friendship between a foreigner and women trapped in Iraq. Wagadhaany is just as trapped. Her life is bound by the white man’s laws. She has no freedom.
Heiss’s novel beautifully describes the country, family and stories that mean so much to Wagadhaany, weaving in Wiradyuri language and beliefs. There is a lot of sadness in Wagadhaany’s life; and though there is a gentle love story, we are left with a very strong sense of the suffering and loss.
The chance discovery of a tender note in one of her mother’s books leads Izzy and her friends to connect the dots, and amazingly Izzy discovers her unknown father is actually the Crown Prince of Japan, which of course makes Izzy herself a princess! It sounds cliche, and the opening pages with their descriptions of Izzy’s Asian Girl Gang are particularly brash and upbeat, but the story develops well and the reader is drawn in, especially as Izzy is such a warm and likeable character, a person who 'leads with her heart'.
Izzy goes from being the out-of-place Japanese American teenager growing up with her single mum in California, to being the out-of-place American Princess Izumi trying to adjust to royal life in Japan, when she travels to Tokyo to meet her father. Emiko Jean provides descriptions of Japanese life, food and culture that enrich the story and add another level to what would otherwise be a light read.
It’s a lot of fun; there’s a bad boy cousin who befriends her, horrible enemy Shining Twins, and a scowling but enormously attractive body-guard who has romantic potential. And maybe, her father, the Crown Prince of Japan, still holds a candle in his heart for her mother.
Readers who enjoy this book will be pleased to know that there is the promise of a sequel in 2022.
Themes Japan, Identity, Conflict of cultures, Romance.
Helen Eddy
Ribbit Rabbit by Candice Ryan. Illus. by Mike Lowery
Board book. Frog and Bunny are best friends. They do everything together. They go swimming, eat peanut butter sandwiches and even fight monsters. But sometimes they don't get along and they have to work out how to stay friends.
In an original and unusual picture book, Ryan has written a rhyming story that will appeal to children who like mechanical toys and robots. The repetition of the words 'Ribbit, rabbit' with variations following it like 'Zip it, zap it' and 'Trip it, trap it' make it a fun book to read aloud. It is a story that will make the young listener and reader become aware of the intricate patterns of words and want to try out new rhymes for themselves.
The ups and downs of friendship are effortlessly included in the story as they fight over little and big things but realise what they have to do to make up. Ryan manages to convey in very few words how lonely it can be when you have had a fight with your best friend and also how difficult it is to make up.
The quirky drawings by Mike Lowery are cartoon like, and Frog and Bunny are endearing characters, their facial expressions bringing the meaning of the text to life. The young reader is challenged to follow the illustrations as they show what is happening to the two main characters and are an integral part of the story.
This is an intriguing picture book that I will keep for my young grandson.
An alien has landed in this big boy's house and he isn't terribly happy about it. He has no manners, controls the household and yet all of the adults are completely besotted with him! Can't everyone see how strange he is? The alien's special powers might work on mum and dad and the grandparents, but definitely not on him. But then he realises: 'To have someone to talk to. Someone with whom to play. To make me laugh when I feel blue. I might just let him stay.' Children expecting a new sibling will identify with some of the emotions the boy experiences: loneliness, confusion and uncertainty. It gives a humourous take on what it might be like to have a baby in the household, touching on a lack of attention from mum and dad, the constant crying and eating and the undecipherable mode of communication.
Digital illustrations give a movie-feel that will appeal to the target audience, but they do lack a little in depth and aesthetic appeal. In addition, the flow of the rhyming text is clunky at times ('No one is safe I say, Not Grandma, nor Grandpa. You won't get to me, no way! Can't they see he's just bizarre?'), making it hard to find the appropriate rhythm when reading aloud.
Themes New sibling, Families, Rhyming story.
Nicole Nelson
Ginger Meggs by Tristan Bancks and Jason Chatfield
What a step back into my childhood. I remember always looking forward in reading the next Ginger Meggs comic strip in dad’s newspaper. Cutting out the comic strip and pasting it into a scrap book to read again and again. Yeap, we had newspapers delivered home those days not digitally on line like today.
Puffin Books has managed to put together four brand-new stories of the ironic Aussie legend, Ginger Meggs in an awesome hardcover edition to celebrate 100 years of this lovable character and his friends created by Jimmy Bancks back in 1921. Yeap, Ginger Meggs is 100 years old and he hasn’t aged a bit. Did you know that this comic is one of the longest running comic strips in the world and it's Aussie?
The brand new stories are written by Tristan Bancks, the great-great nephew of Jimmy Bancks and illustrated by the current Ginger Meggs cartoonist, Jason Chatfield. They both have managed to put together a wonderful book. Anyone young or old would love to read the newest adventures of the red-haired mischief maker Ginger Meggs.
All stories are written in a way that you can actually think it’s something you can do in real life. From making a lamington business, to running for prime minster and going camping with dad. The best story was ‘Dead Man’s Hill’; who wouldn’t want to build a billycart to race the other kids in town and what a race it was. All stories had me giggling away.
Also included is a timeline history of Ginger Meggs and how the comic was created and became a world-wide success.
This hard cover edition is a great commemoration to one of Australia’s great icons. So happy to have it on my shelf at school to share with everyone.
Maria Komninos
Goal!!! by Lydia Williams. Illus. by Lucinda Gifford
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526146. (Age:4-8)
Lydia Williams, goalkeeper for the Australian Matildas, has written a follow up to Saved! This is a sporty, motivational story about how sport can bring people together and about appreciating the different skills that each team member brings. An introduction at the start of the book explains how her inspiration for the book came from her own experience of moving from outback Australia to a big city.
The story opens with a young Lydia, the same character from Saved!, soccer ball beside her, surveying the big city that doesn't really feel like home. She misses her friends, and playing and practising soccer by herself is not the same. She worries about how she will learn new goalkeeping skills and get good enough to play in the Olympics. To cheer herself up she visits the zoo. All of the animal friends she meets are so different to her old bush animal friends. They are loud, fierce, intimidating and fast and when they play she can't keep up. They are too good! Eventually she realises that by watching each of the animals and by getting to know them she can learn new and important skills. Day after day she gets better and better and they each support Lydia in their own unique way.
This is a gentle, inspirational story that will hit home with sports lovers, especially those dealing with the conflicting and varied character traits of their teammates and friends. Hopefully this will help them realise that everyone brings something to the team; sometimes we just have to be willing to listen, watch and learn.
A new book in the stunning series called Nature Stoybooks, (‘where every wonderful word is true’) has two fonts, the text in one font is a fictional story of a wombat, while the other gives information using a non fiction tone. Each story is true, so children will extract a great deal of information about wombats from the book. Like the others in the series, the storyline is inviting and generous, creating an intimate portrait of a female wombat going about her daily sleep routine and night time forage. The factual text fills in the details of a wombat’s life, enhancing the words already absorbed by the reader.
We see and read of the female wombat digging a burrow, sharing with another wombat, foraging through the grasses for food, avoiding the clutches of the predatory dingo out hunting for a meal.
The wombat, ‘the bulldozer of the bush’, will engage younger readers with the facts about its claws and fur, its short leg and backwards facing pouch, its little ears and poor eyesight. All of the facts given will intrigue younger readers and these are enhanced by the stunning illustrations by Duthie. They will see the words described in the accompanying illustrations, be able to work out why the animal is as she is, look at her environment and feel the cool dark burrow she digs out for her living quarters. The illustrations give a stunning vista of the wombat's life, and the book’s endpapers will give the reader an idea of what it is like to burrow beneath the earth. A page of extra information is given along with a short index, rounding off a most satisfactory introduction to this wonderful Australian marsupial.
Readers will learn an array of new words: nocturnal, marsupial, mammal, predator, burrow and so on, adding to their knowledge of Australian wildlife. Teacher's notes are available.
Fans of The Crown? Then you will definitely be a fan of Pamela Hart’s new book The Charleston Scandal. I love historical fiction especially when the author makes you think you're actually there in the era they write about. Being a fan of Pamela Hart and a massive fan of jazz in the roaring 20s, I was looking forward to reading this and it did not disappoint.
The Great World War has ended and we are taken into the Roaring 20s Jazz era.
The Charleston Scandal is a story about a girl from Australia, Kit Scott and a lad from Canada, Zeke Gardiner, who travel to London to follow their dreams of being actors and dancers on stage in the West End. They both get cast in a show alongside each other as partners. We follow their stories of their past and present and the adventures they have and survive in an era so different from ours. Kit and Zeke have a great chemistry between each other but they both have said they will remain as friends because they working together.
Kit Scott whose real name is Katherine Scot, has left her family and home in Sydney to follow her dream to be on stage. She is the daughter of Agatha Scott (from a well-known prominent family) who left England to marry and The Dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney. Her parents did not want her to become an actress, it is something high society does not do.
Zeke Gardiner moved to London from Canadian province of British Columbia. He was leaving behind his mother who was in hiding from her abusive husband. Zeke travelled to another land to find work and support his mother by sending her money to pay her rent with the vision that she will follow him to London as soon as he could afford it.
Once in London, Kit and Zeke are thrust into a world of poverty while also trying to find steady work. We read about them mixing with high society and the world of the stage while at the same time mixing with the greats of that time. They meet and befriend Noel Coward, Fred Astaire and his famous sister Adele, as well as Royalty.
The Charleston Scandal is a great easy read which any historical fiction lover will enjoy learning more about the Jazz Era and the way different people lived in the past. We learn about the diverse group of people and the way the world looks upon them.
Now I feel like dancing, where are my jazz albums . . .
Legend of the lost Lilies is the fifth and final book in the Miss Lily series of novels. The story of things that ordinary women did in times of war to help their country are way beyond what most people would believe. The sacrifices they made and for some it meant their life. Sophie receives a telegram from Miss Lily asking for help and without thinking she answers it and goes to help Miss Lily leaving her quiet life behind her. She has no idea what to expect when she arrived at Shillings. Sophie finds that she needs to reunite with old friends to try and help to end the war; it will not be easy but she is determined to do what she can to help. She has no idea how these old friends will react to her turning up and if they will help her or not, but she chooses to take a chance and go for it. She finds out who she can trust and who she can’t the hard way. Although faced with many confronting challenges during the story she manages to show an inner strength that keeps her going. She and Lily both have some difficult decisions that they have to make that will affect their lives into the future.
This is a beautifully written story. As with all Jackie French books you are drawn in from the very beginning and can’t put the book down until you reach the end. The fact that this book is based on real events makes the story even more powerful.
