The Adventures of Tzar the Paddington Poodle : Goanna Encounter by Catherine Toth-Lacey. Illus. by Brian Tisdall
Freedom Fun & Books, 2017. ISBN: 9780648071815. (Age:8-12) Recommended.
This is the second instalment of these travel and adventure stories featuring the two Paddington poodles, Tzar and Ziggy. The series began with the title Crocodile encounter which was set in Mission beach on the North Queensland coast. This next book has the equally beautiful setting of Port Douglas a little further north. Two other books in the series are Brahman Bull encounter set in the outback and Tasmanian Devil encounter set in Tasmania.
The poodles have set out to explore their beautiful surroundings only to find themselves drawn into the rescue of a young boy who appears to have gone missing. They encounter a large goanna who is terrorizing the boy and quickly go to the boy’s rescue. But the real adventure unfolds as Tzar is returning to their holiday accommodation and is captured by dog control officers as a stray. He is put into an animal rescue centre fearful that his life could soon be terminated. Ziggy and the other animals must find a way to work together to rescue Tzar.
The feature that sets these books apart from many novels in this genre is the inclusion of the many interesting and unique forms of wildlife in each of the locations Tzar visits. The creatures form friendships with this interesting looking dog out of curiosity, and the readers are treated to facts about each one as part of the story. In addition, at the end of the books there is an animal glossary which gives a short paragraph about each animal encountered including whether it is endangered or not. There is also a vocabulary glossary to help with the longer words used in the story. A resource list of websites is included along with details about how to contact Tzar and Ziggy on their website, Facebook or Instagram pages.
The illustrations by Queensland artist Brian Tisdall are colourful, detailed, often full or half page and greatly enhance and expand the story for the reader. Middle Primary readers will thoroughly enjoy the adventures of Tzar and Ziggy. I think the books would read aloud well to Junior Primary students.
Themes Australian animals, Poodles, Animal shelters, Cooperation.
Alexandra Bracken knows how to begin a story with a bang. The first few scenes of her standalone young adult fantasy Lore feature a clash between gods, a murder and an illegal basement boxing match. Bracken begins as she means to go on and delivers a fast-moving novel with just the right amount of action, intrigue, girl power and romance.
Lore Perseous is a descendant of the Ancient Greek gods. She lives in a modern New York City where, unbeknownst to the human population, these ancient titans and their progeny live, scheme and do battle. Every seven years a hunt known as the Agon is held. Nine gods are made mortal for one week and if they are captured and killed, their murderer can claim their powers and immortality. Lore’s family was killed seven years ago in the last Agon and she has since immersed herself in the human world, refusing to do anything but survive. However, when Lore is approached by the goddess Athena and offered an alliance, she finally sees a way to exact revenge and escape from the Agon forever.
It is refreshing in young adult fantasy – where trilogies are increasingly the norm, regardless of whether a series warrants a third or even second book – to find a standalone novel. Rather than stringing her readers along or padding her writing to fill up pages, Bracken has delivered a succinct and complete product that is particularly satisfying for tying up all loose ends within one book. Lore is confident writing from a seasoned young adult writer and will particularly appeal to audiences who enjoy Ancient Greek mythology and strong female characters.
Themes Identity, New York City, Ancient Greece, Gods, War, Warriors, Friendship, Love.
Rose Tabeni
Love giraffes can't dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
A board book for the very young featuring all the characters from the very popular Giraffes Can't Dance is a boon and sure to be a favourite bedtime story. Starting with the gorgeous yellow end papers festooned with red hearts, the reader knows that they are in for a treat as Gerard the Giraffe describes how love comes in many forms. Written in lyrical rhyming language, this is a delightful expression of love and happiness and is beautiful to read aloud.
I love you like the swaying grass … I love you like the trees. I love you like the sound of branches Blowing in the breeze.
The illustrations are exquisite. I especially liked the expressions on all the animals’ faces and the picture of the lion and lioness dancing is a treat. Little stars, butterflies, flowers and insects lurk on the pages and will delight children who like to find small details.
The board book is exceptionally sturdy and should allow some heavy use from toddlers. It is also small enough for little hands to manipulate.
This is a gorgeous ode to love, great for Valentine’s Day and lovely to read aloud and remind a child how much they are loved. And children who have not yet been introduced to Gerald in Giraffes Can't Dance are in for a treat, enjoying the story while learning about tolerance and acceptance of difference.
Named for the meteorological fluctuation in air pressure, the fluctuations in Kenneally’s collection of poems reflect the places she oscillates between: South Australia, and the United Kingdom. Locations change from one poem to the other, and only on reading do we gain recognition of those places, and the feelings they provoke.
The poems beautifully and deftly describe places, but it is not the places themselves that draw you into Kenneally’s work, it is the snatches of life, the thoughts, and experiences that we recognise and share.
I loved her descriptions of the election posters in ‘Suburban moments’, then the rows of Vietnamese beauticians buffing and polishing toenails in the local parlour, the plants struggling to grow, neighbours sneakily dumping leaves on verges, and the Bunnings fairy lights in the living room. It’s a familiarity that draws you in, makes you smile, and ponder the questions she tosses out in an offhanded way, something to think about in spare moments.
It’s a slim volume of poetry, but the poems have a way of capturing moments and making you reflect again; you could pick them up and enjoy many times over.
Themes Poetry.
Helen Eddy
Rebel without a clause by Sue Butler
Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781760788322. (Age:14+)
We expect Sue Butler, lexicographer, and former Editor of the Macquarie Dictionary to be outraged by our ongoing mutilation of the English language. Her title promises neither satire nor indignation but instead, she makes measured observations of both the randomness and reasoning for mistakes. With each short, sharp chapter, she delights in the evolution of language, likening it to a game of Chinese whispers, and only mildly irritated by a more colourful phrase resulting from a slip up. Rather than admonishing living speakers for the odd moment when clarity went awry, she writes,
"... I would hope that my swings from tolerant to outraged are measured and balanced. Otherwise I will have become that creature of strident language purity, the pedant."
Her reflections help the reader trip backwards and forwards in time to rediscover lost words. Barely a passage is given to the cry ‘Bar’ or ‘Barley’ meaning a “truce” but the lost word conjures up the sweaty excitement of our childhood running games. As elsewhere, Butler is conflicted – impressed by the word’s appropriation by children from the French “Parlez”, or saddened by it falling into disuse.
It is surprising how much delight she voices for the metonymy created when a word is mistakenly used or mis-pronounced. She lists our sunny disregard for word origins as a reason for making false assumptions and analogies - so whilst we have the word ‘disrepair’ to counter repair, to be disgruntled doesn’t mean the opposite but rather to be doubly displeased or ‘gruntled’ [sic].
The young, with greater tolerance for American spellings such as center or meter, still adhere to Australian norms - simplified spelling hasn’t come to pass as originally feared. Malapropism, however, is not to be excused and word origins can justify why we must care. Take for example, flaunt and the sentence, “The Commonwealth Bank had flaunted [sic] the country’s money-laundering and counter- terrorism laws.” Whereas, Flowers and flags flaunting proudly are transferred to people parading around today but mustn't be confused with flouting, which came from the Dutch to mean flute-playing, jeering, displaying contempt and being above reproach.
Our 21st Century instant culture neither critiques or tips hats - but Butler takes no joy in pedantry for its own sake. She champions editors, who like Teacher Librarians are increasingly undervalued. Editors rebel against the tide of bad grammar and confusing texts, empowering writers (and readers), published or not.
Rebel without a Clause is an important whimsy at a difficult time in history. Butler is not saying there are more important things to worry about than English grammar. Rather she is advising us to let go of correcting cultural variations, so long as meaning isn’t oppositional to intent. One reversal is ‘hoi poloi’ - originally a reference to the common folk.
Common or not, these informative chunks, so easily digested, make character building conversation starters for the coffee table. English teachers will find an ice breaker or two in each chapter or use the text for literacy or reciprocal reading rotations.
Deborah Robins
10 Bush Babies by Grace Nolan. Illus by Nancy Bevington
Big Sky Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922265623. (Age:4+) Recommended.
10 Bush Babies is the first in a series of delightful rhyming picture books for younger readers. On each double page a new bush creature is introduced and added to the rhyme e.g. Five bush babies spot a cassowary's chicks . . . a little chick joined them then there were six. The vibrant and beautiful illustrations by Nancy Bevington creatively introduce the younger reader to the following familiar and perhaps not so familiar Australian animals - tree frog, glider, joey, bilby, brolga, cassowary chick, quoll, quokka, gecko and a budgie. The bush babies all have one added characteristic of being a baby - dummy, nappy, rattle, teddy, toy, bottle and a bib. The story ends with the bush babies having a race to see who wins the cup. Who might it be?
There is an introduction to a simple addition sum on each double page and at the end are fun learning addition and counting activities.
This is an endearing story to share out-aloud between an adult and child. The other titles in the series are 10 Naughty Numbats and 10 Lively Lorikeets.
Themes Rhyme, Counting, Simple Addition, Australian Animals.
Kathryn Beilby
Before the beginning by Anna Morgan
Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9780734419651. (Age:13+)
This coming of age story centres around four teenagers who have finished high school and are off to schoolies – though two of the group are unaware of the fourth person attending. Grace needs a break from her judgemental circle and asks her brother if she can join him and his friends for schoolies – far away from her group. Casper agrees, but neglects to let his friends, Noah and Elsie, know the change of plans. Now out of Melbourne and in the full swing of being out of school, the group awkwardly starts out their schoolies week, and find themselves swept up by a mysterious stranger, Sierra, and her plans to camp on the uninhabited island. They join her in camping on the island and the group starts to realise they each have something they are struggling with, and that Sierra isn’t being completely open with them.
It’s great to see an Australian coming of age story, especially one so complex. The characters are relatable and are experiencing real struggles ranging from self identity issues, relationships and anxiety to life goals and direction. The story flows from one character’s perspective to another, with occasional definitions or news articles, giving the book a similar vibe to the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson and One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus. Well written with descriptive tones, the story is a lovely example of how great Australian YA books are for contemporary readers.
Themes Coming of age, Anxiety, Relationships, LGBTQIA+, Contemporary.
Melanie Pages
Beyond the stage by Anna Goldsworthy and Mark Carroll (Editors)
Subtitled Creative Australian stories from the Great War this book brings together essays with the common thread of the impact of World War 1, both on music and performing arts at the time, and also afterwards in how we remember or memorialise the war. The book is a result of a project bringing together four of South Australia’s performing arts organisations, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, State Theatre Company of South Australia, State Opera of South Australia, and the Adelaide Festival Theatre. The essays vary in their themes and are accompanied by images and archival records, making for a very attractive glossy hardcover book.
Subjects range from the fundraising performances by women on the homefront, to the work of composer Edgar Tattersall, to the incredible meeting of British acting icon Sir Laurence Olivier and Australian comedian Roy ‘Mo’ Rene. There is also the confronting story of the persecution of Elder Conservatorium conductor Hermann Heinicke in a wave of anti-German xenophobia.
The last essay ‘Aftermaths’ by Bruce Scales examines how we mythologise the Diggers in our Anzac memorials, and how the Villers-Bretonneux memorial, for example, has become almost a computer game immersive experience. Whilst we glorify the soldiers who met their deaths on the battlefield, neglected are the memories of the many soldiers who did not die but suffered afterwards from horrific injuries both physical and mental. The Great War was supposed to be the war to end wars. Perhaps our memorials too easily lead in to a glorification of war rather than learning from the past to never repeat the same mistake again.
Our arts have a role to play in how we interpret human experience. This collection of essays presents a fascinating range of thoughts and ideas about that role.
Themes Non-fiction, History, Performing arts, World War I.
Helen Eddy
The Duchess and the captain's wife by Ulla-Lena Lundberg
A beautiful hardback book with historical black and white photographs of the Herzogin Cecilie a sailing ship more familiarly known as the Duchess, this is the story of a ship at the turn of an era just before the second world war; but even more than that, it is the story of a truly intrepid young woman, who defied her aristocratic family and set sail with the captain who won her heart, and stayed with him as the ship finally sank off the coast from Plymouth, England.
The Herzogin Cecilie won the 1936 ‘grain race’ sailing from Port Lincoln, South Australia, to Cornwall, England, but then floundered in bad weather at Starehole Bay. Newspaper headlines declared ‘Honeymoon ship ashore’ and ‘Bride refuses to quit ship on rocks’.
The book is a treasured historical record of the ship and the people who sailed on it and includes the original photographs by Pamela Eriksson, the young woman who set out on her adventures aboard it. Most poignant is the inclusion of the letters of Pamela’s mother, desperately unhappy, warning her daughter against uniting with the foreign captain. But photographs of Pamela show a determined and confident young woman, completely in her element, pitching in with the sailors at sea.
Lundberg’s book is a different way of telling a very romantic story, the historical record is presented along with the photographs, the book provides the evidence, and we are left to imagine.
This riveting narrative opens to the lilting sound of poetry, the words of a song evoking a world of people who think, feel, and experience life at a visceral level. Dalton’s poetic prose lifts the spirits, giving the reader a sense of soaring above the natural world into an imaginary one that exalts human beings above the level of the tedium of daily life. His repetition is like a refrain, telling us of this world that Australians recognize, focusing, in the opening pages, on the life led by gravediggers in the Northern Territory. He deftly plunges us into the brief experience of this world, when Australia was targeted by enemy aircraft, positioning us to feel the people’s dread of the bombs dropping so unexpectedly, the event that plunged Australia into the war with Japan. His description of Australia’s brief experience of the catastrophic outcome of the bombing evokes an emotional response to this unique and terrifying experience.
Molly Hook, ‘the graveyard girl’, is the fascinating central character of this narrative. Dedicated to her work on the graves, she refuses to be cowed by circumstances, and we are immediately captivated by her character. Molly’s mother asked her to promise to make her life graceful, and to live well, and it is her determination to do so that is at the heart of the narrative. Deeply emotionally connected to her world, yet alone and pragmatic, she is forced to make decisions about her life at a very early age, and Molly considers deeply how she will live. In this narrative we are positioned to understand both the isolation of this part of the country and the challenge it offers to people living in the far northern areas. Described so beautifully, we envisage the countryside of lush growth, of hilly areas, of lush jungles, and of dry, desert areas. When the bombs drop on Darwin, it is such an extraordinary experience that the people struggle to come to terms with the outcome. He focuses on the girl and her choice to flee to a safer place, and it is this place that is so magically evoked in the story.
Trent Dalton has created a world that would be unfamiliar to so many Australians, and it is this world, one of wonderful forests, of water to be found underground, of hills and dry sand dunes, that is explored by the gravedigger girl as she struggles to find her way back to the place that she knew, complex and challenging that this becomes. This is a glorious novel that reveals so much that most of us might well not have known, and Dalton’s vivid description and poetic prose entrances us. It would be suitable for adolescent and adult reading.
Elizabeth Bondar
The Magpie Society : One for sorrow by Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch
Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241402481. (Age:13+)
One for Sorrow is the first volume in a new YA series set at Illumen Hall – a UK boarding school. Audrey Wagner’s just arrived from Georgia, USA, to complete her senior year - but her roommate Ivy Moore-Zhang is a popular school leader having started there back in Yr 7. The girls clash in the beginning but soon become unlikely friends when Theodore tries to hook up with them separately but at the same time. Teaching Teddy a lesson is an amusing bonding experience.
Audrey alludes to leaving her country to escape one tragedy, only to move into a room of a recently deceased student. On her first day, an anonymous podcaster dramatically broadcasts claims regarding how and why Lola was killed. Ivy & Audrey each have good reasons for staying at school over the mid-term break, and both are keen to investigate further. The magpie tattoo found on the dead girl leads them to delve into the school’s mythical secret society.
The two authors’ perspectives are almost seamless, and most readers wouldn’t realize there was more than one author. This technique is particularly good for telling the reader exactly how each main character is feeling in response to all the twists and turns. During the research phase, we’re mindful that libraries are sometimes superior to a web browser! Clover, Araminta, Patrick and Mr Willis provide plenty of complications before the narrators clarify, if not complete the mystery….
The book ends on the mandatory cliff-hanger but there is plenitude when Audrey finally remembers to show Ivy the letter Lola had hidden in the secret compartment of their room – this oversight and the initial description of the letter as being very old, detracts from the plausibility of the plot. Nevertheless, fans of YA gothic crime fiction should enjoy cutting their teeth on this crime series.
Themes Gothic thriller.
Deborah Robins
The very hungry caterpillar's first 100 words by Eric Carle
Sure to entice any young child, this beautiful board book will be a boon for any parent. Not only does it introduce many words around the themes of Home, the Sea, The Zoo, the City, the Park and the Picnic, it has lift-the-flaps that will keep children engaged and interested as they guess what is under them.
Commencing with At Home, eager fingers will lift the flap of a brightly coloured tree and find a bird’s nest, then there is a dog behind the kennel, and granddad sitting in a chair behind the walls of the house. All the objects are labelled clearly, and a young child will learn the words, car, cat, bird, tree, kennel, boy, girl window, house, garden, chair and clock just on the first double spread. And to add to the fun, the very hungry caterpillar must be found as well.
This format is followed through out the rest of the book, and as always, the illustrations are delightful, brightly coloured and enticing. The book is very sturdy, and the flaps hold up to much tough treatment by eager hands.
A superb way to teach and reinforce familiar words, while keeping a toddler entertained, The Very Hungry Caterpillar's First 100 Words is sure to become a household favourite.
Professor Tim Flannery’s latest publication is a wake-up call to all Australians by a scientist who demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Climate emergency. The Climate Cure examines the past mistakes and consequences of inaction but more importantly offers clear actions that can be taken to cure the problem.
Flannery demands a new approach, based on the nation’s response to COVID-19:
First, stemming the spread of its cause by cutting the use of fossil fuel, developing the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen, electric vehicle transport, and biofuels, cooperating with and leading other nations in the ‘win-win’ world created by cheap renewables.
Second, in the same manner as COVID, the world needs to develop the equivalent of ‘emergency rooms’ to shelter the worst effected of Earth’s ecosystems and worst affected human populations e.g. bushfire and heatwave preparedness.
Third, drawdown, or CO2 removal, acting as a vaccine for the fossil fuel pandemic. Drawdown being what trees, seaweed and other photosynthesis organisms do.
The author, chief councillor of the Climate Council and former Australian of the Year, presents his information and analysis clearly and logically, supported by interesting and relevant facts and extensive footnotes.
This book is short but it packs a powerful punch.
Students may be interested in 13 year old Izzy Raj-Seppings interview with the author.
Paul Pledger
The secret explorers series by S.J. King. Illus. by Ellie O'Shea
The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales bk. 1. ISBN: 9780241440643. The Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision bk. 2. ISBN: 9780241442258. The Secret Explorers and the Tomb Robbers bk. 3. ISBN: 9780241442265. The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue bk. 4. ISBN: 9780241442272.
The first four books in The Secret Explorers series by S.J. King are a perfect introduction for younger readers to different environments, both past and present. Each of the eight children from different places on Earth are highly gifted and talented in a particular area:
When a glowing shape matching the badge on their shirts appears on a door then the explorers are able to step through to the Exploration Station and receive their next mission. Not all of the eight explorers go on each mission - they are carefully chosen so that their specialist skills best match the problem needing to be solved.
In the first book, The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales, Connor must use his skills and understandings of the marine world to try to turn around a pod of Humpback Whales who heading in the wrong direction. He is accompanied by Roshni whose expertise is in the field of space and who wonders why she has been chosen. However without her knowledge of navigation by the stars the whales may not be saved. The two explorers have to problem solve and use their amazing skills to succeed in their first mission.
In the second book, The Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision, Roshni and Ollie travel to space to attempt to fix a space probe near Jupiter but are unaware a comet is heading towards them. There is danger both in the space craft while dodging asteroids and outside for Roshni when trying to fix the probe but Ollie's cool head and skills learnt in the rainforest enable her to return safely to the space craft.
In the third book, The Secret Explorers and the Tomb Raiders, Gustavo and Kiki travel back in time to Ancient Egypt as they discover the Cairo museum by the River Nile is to close down due to theft. The two Secret Explorers must outwit tomb robbers as well as learn Egyptian hieroglyphics and stop Pharaoh Khufu's tomb being raided. A long the way they enlist the aid of a young Egyptian boy, Bek, who helps them to succeed in their mission and safely escape.
In the fourth book, The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue, Tamiko who is the dinosaur specialist and Cheng the Geology specialist are transported back one hundred and fifty million years in time to save a precious dinosaur egg. Throughout their journey they come across familiar creatures from this Jurassic period: a pterosaur, Compsognathuses, a plesiosaur and Cetiosauruses to name just a few. They even find a baby Stegosaurus with a thorn stuck in its foot and help to pull it out. They are chased by the Allosauruses who are after the egg and hide in caves. They manage to rescue the egg and a baby Archaeopteryx hatches before its mother returns. Eventually the mother and baby are reunited and Tamiko and Cheng realised they have saved this species from extinction.
In each of the stories, the Explorers have a craft in which they travel. The craft is able to transform into a vehicle to suit the time and environment. It is known as the Beagle and was named after the ship that carried the famous scientist Charles Darwin. While the two chosen Explorers are fulfilling their mission, the remaining Explorers are able to watch and listen to their adventures and support them when needed. While these books are considered fiction, they are filled with interesting information throughout and keep the reader highly engaged. There are detailed facts relating to the story at the end of each book as well as a quiz (with answers) and glossary. The illustrations by Ellie O'Shea are perfectly pitched at the 7-9 years age group and add complementary visuals to these excellent early novels.
There are more books in the series, The Secret Explorers and the Rainforest Rangers, The Secret Explorers and the Smoking Volcano and The Secret Explorers and the Missing Scientist which will be valuable additions to this fascinating series.
Themes Friends, Climate Change, Environmental Issues, Gifted Children, Marine Life, Space, Dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt, Mysteries, Problem Solving.
Death Sets Sail is the final novel in the best- selling, award winning series: Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries.
For anyone who cut their teeth on Agatha Christie murder mysteries, it is pleasing to see that the Murder Mystery genre might be reemerging for young readers. Fingers crossed! It can segue into a lifelong love of fiction.
Death Sets Sail is a very upper class English, preppy romp-spiffing! The main protagonists are three teen-age girls who are experienced sleuths. Together they have formed The Wells and Wong Detective Agency. The narrator is Hazel Wong, aged 15. The setting for the murder is a cruise-boat on the Nile in the 1930s. Knowledge of Egyptology, History and Geography are enriched as readers are immersed in locations like the Karnak and Edfu temples, the lives of ancient pharaohs and the activities of a religious society of reincarnation believers.
The plot unfolds reminiscently of a game of Cluedo. Maps, to-do lists, plans, notes, letters, clues, and re-enactments abound, representing logical solution finding through the process of elimination. What great organisational thinking strategies this book supplies for the Tween/YA reader!
The detective schoolgirls, who are boarding school friends, are of Chinese, English and Egyptian heritage. Being a coming of age story to boot, Stevens manages to naturally include multiculturalism and budding diverse sexual identities. These are comforting things to read about when one is a tween or young adult.
This book and series is a most satisfying introduction to the murder mystery genre which has been somewhat underdone for tweens. Capitalizing on individual strengths, the young detectives solve the crime. There is (of course) an unexpected twist.
The packaging of the book (the bright gold cover and the purple edged pages) is unusual and attractive.
A riveting, addictive page turner - highly recommended for upper primary and YA readers.
