Puffin, 2020. ISBN: 9780143794141.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Alice is happy living with her
grandmother, making creme brulee, reading, writing lists and
visiting the shops on the way to the park where they eat their
lunch. Her friends are the shopkeepers: the fish seller, the baker,
the cheesemaker and Miss Clement, the dressmaker. They all say hello
when she passes but now and again, she longs for someone her own
size to play with. She reads a book called, Message in a bottle,
and acts upon the idea, throwing a bottle with a message inside into
the River Seine.
It is picked up by Francois Poulin a lone child on an island where
his father works the lighthouse. He responds to her message and a
correspondence develops. But when her grandmother dies, Alice is
bereft and sends no more messages. One day Miss Clement with whom
she is now living comes across the letters and Alice tells her of
her search for a friend. Without further ado, Miss Clement takes
Alice to visit the island where they all enjoy themselves over a cup
of tea and lemon muffins, promising a return day in Paris. This
wonderful story of finding a friend will touch even the coldest
heart. Two lone children finding they have things in common as well
as things they like that are not shared, come together, promising to
keep up their correspondence even though a long way apart.
The water colour and line illustrations are soft and delicious,
reflecting the concerns felt by both children in their search for a
friend. On some pages the story is given in postcard templates,
while other pages play with the white spaces. Some pages surprise;
opening onto a bleak wintry night on the lighthouse or showing the
waves that buffet the island.
Paris lies at the heart of this inviting book: French words beg to
be translated, French books ask to be read, French food needs
further research and the buildings are there to be recognised and
applauded.
I love the gentle humour of the book: the girl's name mirrored in
the hats worn by Francois, while her first name conjures up images
of falling down a hole in the ground, while his name, Poulin is the
French word for a foal, perhaps a timorous person. The Parisian
background is stunning, impelling the eyes to soak up every image:
the houses, markets, shops, fashion, streets, rivers, the beautiful
buildings along the Seine and the batobus humming along its surface.
This French treat is ready to be savoured.
Themes: France, Friendship, Grief, Humour.
Fran Knight
100% Wolf by Jayne Lyons
Puffin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781761040207. 231pp.
(Ages: 9 - 12) It is no surprise that 100% Wolf was made
into a slapstick Australian animated film. The novel was originally
published in 2008 but was republished in 2020 with the film's
release. Freddy is a boy who lives in Farfang Castle with his
traitorous uncle Sir Hotspur and his cousins Harriet and Chariot.
They are all descendants of a nicer kind of werewolf called Fangen.
When Freddy gets to the right age and on a full moon he is supposed
to transform into a werewolf at a ceremony called a Transwolfation.
Unfortunately this goes wrong and he becomes a poodle. His cousins
make this permanent by attaching a moonstone to him and humiliating
him with pink poodle styling. Freddy flees and makes friends with a
noble stray but they end up in the Coldfax Dog Prison. This suits
Sir Hotspur because Freddy's superior bloodline threatens his role
as the Grand Growler and leader of the Fang Council. In prison
Freddy is desperate to escape and alert the Fangen about his uncle.
Another threat Freddy must deal with comes from Dr Cripps who is out
to destroy the Fangen. There's a steady stream of more crazy events,
a big reveal and Freddy and friends become heroes.
This is an over the top story with villainous characters and a semi
interesting plot line when characters can't speak to each other in
the same language of human, werewolf or dog. There's plenty of
unsubtle bodily function humour and nudity designed to appeal to
young readers. Freddy is a naive show-off who gradually shows more
upright characteristics. The main message is really about being
moral and brave in order to defeat the bad. It may be of interest to
children who have watched the film and want a light funny read,
bearing in mind it will differ from the film.
Jo Marshall
I love dad with the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Puffin, 2017. ISBN: 9780141374376.
(Age: 0+) Recommended. Lovers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
will be thrilled with this gorgeous version of Eric Carle's
illustrations, showing how much a child loves Dad. Little children
will be enthralled by the brightly coloured pictures and will have
lots of fun finding the little caterpillar on each page. There are
many details to hold the interest of a very young child, who will
love the page where there are beetles and tiny little ants while the
page showing the father seahorse and its baby is delightful.
It is a book that parents will be happy to read again and again,
helping the young child to give a name to each of the dads and their
babies and increasing their vocabularies. The narrative is brief and
easy to read aloud and gives the opportunity for lots of discussion
about why children love their dads. The situations are ones that
will be familiar to children, who will delight in recognising the
silly dad who acts like a gorilla, and the loving dad who is still
cool even when the child is as prickly as a hedgehog.
This is a perfect book to read aloud on Father's Day and would make
an ideal gift, especially for a new father.
Pat Pledger
You can't call an elephant in an emergency by Patricia Cleveland-Peck
Illus. by David Tazzyman. Bloomsbury, 2020. ISBN: 9781408880630.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Filled with an array of situations
where an emergency worker is called for, this book, the third in the
series, after You
Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus and You
Can't Let an Elephant Drive a Digger, will have readers,
children and adults alike laughing out loud. The most unlikely of
rescue attempts are presented as an elephant takes on the role of a
firefighter, a sloth becomes a traffic cop, a chimp is a paramedic
and a panda takes the controls of a fire fighting plane. Children
will readily see the incongruity of these animals in situations
totally inappropriate for them. The contrast between the very
important emergency service workers' abilities and those of the
animals provides a wonderful way of teaching children the work these
people do. And how appropriate that this book has been published
now, when younger children are exposed regularly to images on
television of people in masks and scrubs. A most opportune book to
discuss with classes and at home, the illustrations will be pored
over by readers.
Of course you do not have lemmings in a helicopter rescue team:
those who drop the person being rescued are outdone by the others
that leap from the helicopter overhead. And the hen that
thinks she'd make a good police officer is so timid that the robber
has a smile on his face as he runs away.
Each double page has a four line rhyming stanza outlining the
inabilities of that particular animal for the job at hand, supported
by wonderfully vivid illustrations which will entice readers to look
more closely at the events being pictured.
Patricia Cleveland-Peck has published fourteen children's books as
well as adult books and plays. She returned to the world of
children's books with the bestselling You Can't Take an Elephant
on the Bus and You Can't Let an Elephant Drive a Digger
which, together, have sold over 200,000 copies. David Tazzyman is
the bestselling illustrator of the Mr Gum books, which have
won a multitude of awards, including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.
David studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University.
The elephant books are just two of his books published by
Bloomsbury.
Fran Knight
The pony question by Jackie Merchant
Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760651640. 255pp.
(Ages: 9 -13) Recommended. Twelve-year-old Essie lives a modest life
with her mother Francesca in an Australian country town. They
resettled there from the city after her father 'Shiny Steve'
remarried. Essie is still recovering from glandular fever and
feeling rather unloved by her father. Francesca restores old
furniture for a living and this takes them to a clearance sale on a
farm. They accidentally purchase a pony on its last legs. In her
past life Essie was a successful winner of dressage events. However
her father drugged her horse because it had injuries when he wanted
Essie to go in the dressage finals. He was caught and this caused
Essie to be banned from competitions. Essie's reputation was ruined
and social media helped spread the message. As the new pony, Moxie,
recovers with Essie's care it also develops some difficult
behaviours but they also learn it had a successful past. Essie
believes Moxie needs to be retrained but this is expensive. Her
father has moved to Germany and offers little help, although he was
once her mainstay. Fortunately Essie's friend and neighbours make up
for it. Francesca has much sage advice, which helps Essie but as her
self-confidence grows, she makes her own decisions.
This is a well-paced hopeful story. It is not just about a girl
obsessed with horses, although the author's knowledge clearly adds
to the believability. It is more nuanced than that, which makes it
quite satisfying. The setting is well imagined and the characters
all have their own interesting personalities. You feel it would be
terrific to be part of this caring community. Essie is a very
likeable girl with understandable self-doubts, a sharp assessor of
other people's characters, yet considerate and with good values.
Like Moxie, Essie is also getting a second chance at success as she
becomes a teenager. The author weaves in values of appreciating what
you have and calling out artificiality. In particular sustainable
practices of reusing and remaking things is juxtaposed with our
plastic throw-away society.
Jo Marshall
Roald Dahl: Shapes by Roald Dahl
Illus. by Quentin Blake. Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241439999.
(Age: 0-4) Highly recommended. What a fabulous way to help young
children learn about different shapes. Quentin Blake's amusing
illustrations will bring smiles to the faces of the children who
have the joy of hearing this book read aloud to them. They will be
engrossed in finding shapes right from the first page, where they
encounter a circle and the words, Good morning, Enormous Crocodile! The sun is in the sky!
With a combination of cut-outs, lift-the-flaps and touch-and-feel
this is a superior board book for little hands and curious minds to
explore. The shapes of a circle, diamond and triangle are shown
first, each with its double page spread, giving children the
opportunity to trace over the shape and then find the shape in the
drawings. Then follows a double page spread that has many shapes,
all which can be found by a touch and feel, and this is followed by
a wonderful lift the flap square. Finally, a goodnight is given to
the enormous crocodile, who is pictured against a black sky full of
twinkling stars.
As always, the quirky, bright illustrations of Quentin Blake set
against gorgeous colours, are superb, and children will want to
return to this fun book again and again. What a memorable and fun
way to learn shapes. This board book is a keeper!
Pat Pledger
Where we begin by Christie Nieman
Pan Macmillan Australia, 2020. ISBN: 9781743535660.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Anna doesn't want anything to stand
in the way of achieving her dream to become a doctor; she sets
herself a strict study schedule, and Nassim her new boyfriend is
understanding and supportive. But the secret Anna carries every day
suddenly explodes when Nassim finally gets to meet her mother,
Cathy, whose fierce alcohol-fuelled reaction to their relationship
seems fired by racism.
Anna goes on the run; she tracks down the family that has always
been hidden from her, her fragile grandmother, Bette, and severe
grandfather, Hessel, living on an isolated run-down property in the
shadow of a ruined Victorian mansion. But the mystery only deepens,
as she gradually becomes aware of other secrets that have been kept
hidden for so long.
Nieman's writing kept me enthralled, and while there are hints along
the way that had me guessing, this is not a predictable story and
the ultimate revelation is shocking. At the same time there is an
authenticity to the characters and relationships - the tension
between Anna and her mother goes very deep and is not something that
is easily resolved. Other tensions of violence and intimidation are
equally well described.
There is also a beautiful portrayal of the kind, caring, and
exuberant Basil, the young Aboriginal boy, son of her mother's
childhood friend Leonie. Growing closer to Leonie and Basil, Anna
has to confront her own prejudices and lack of knowledge of the land
and its original custodians. Learning from Basil, she builds an
appreciation of the natural environment that surrounds her.
This novel draws together themes of alcoholism, abuse, racism, and
violence, but it is not a dark book. It is not oppressive. It
explores the values of friendship, the continuity of life in all
things, and the connectedness of everyone and everything in the
world. The ending is positive but also realistic, all threads are
not completely tied up; Anna still has to find her way, but there
are no more secrets and the circle of people around her are willing
to give it a go. It is as the publisher says a "deeply compelling
coming-of-age YA novel" that both teenagers and adults will enjoy
reading.
Themes: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Teenage
pregnancy.
Helen Eddy
My best friend is a dragon: A lift-the-flap book by Rachael McLean
Penguin Workshop, 2020. ISBN: 9780593093993. board book, 14pp.
(Age: 0-3) Recommended. The bright colours of this sturdy lift-the-
flap book will attract the attention of the young child who will be
fascinated by the green and yellow dragon and the little child who
rides it. What fun to have a dragon for a best friend, a friend who
can help when things need doing. When it is too cold to play in the
snow the dragon can melt a spot and when the child needs to make the
tower tall, the dragon can help stack it high. He can light up a
room, light a fire and unscrew a cookie jar lid - all very useful
things for a best friend to do!
The lift-the-flaps are simple and suitable for very small fingers
and are strongly attached to the page so should withstand some hard
handling.
The illustrations are very cute and on each page are lots of small
details that will be very appealing to little children. There is a
yellow cat with a little beanie on its head, colourful birds fly
across the sky and flowers and little animals abound in the grass,
while fun slippers are under the bed and a robot toy can be seen on
some pages.
Pat Pledger
Peppa's summer holiday
Penguin Random House, 2020. ISBN: 9780241412251.
(Ages: 3-6) Little Peppa Pig fans will love reading about Peppa's
holiday in the sun, especially when she is surprised by all of her
friends. The story shows Peppa and her family as they prepare for
the holiday: packing, driving to the airport and then checking in
for their flight. Their holiday involves swimming in the hotel pool,
watching turtle hatchlings on the beach and a jungle walk to find
sloths. Everywhere they go Peppa and George discover lots of their
friends are holidaying here too! It isn't long before they are all
having fun and dancing in the pool together. Even when their flight
home is delayed and they are all stuck on the plane they manage to
have a fun time to end their holiday.
This cheerful, bright celebration of family holidays and friends is
a joyous read, sure to be loved by Peppa Pig lovers. Themes: Peppa
Pig, Holidays.
Nicole Nelson
I saw Pete and Pete saw me by Maggie Hutchings
Illus. by Evie Barrow. Affirm, 2020. ISBN: 9781925972825. 32pp.,
hbk.
Often, as adults rushing to be where we aren't yet, we miss the
little things on the way, but not so kids. They see and they notice
because they are so much more in the moment so when the little boy
sees the homeless man begging on the footpath he does not hurry on
like the adults who are either not seeing or choosing not to.
Instead he stops and is rewarded with a chat and a beautiful yellow
bird drawn in chalk on the path. And that chat leads to his mum
seeing Pete and others in the community who had not seen him before
. . .
But one day Pete gets sick and disappears. No one has seen him and
all the little boy wants is a sign that he is OK . . .
This is a charming story, at times confronting, that really
resonated with me because earlier this year a little person at a
school that I have been associated with was just like the boy in the
story. She saw, she thought and she acted, initiating a schoolwide
fundraiser that raised enough money to purchase some sleepwear for
those who were about to endure the coldest of winters on the streets
of the national capital.
Homelessness is a significant issue in this country and sadly our
students are likely to know someone not much older than them who
will not sleep in their own bed tonight. While its causes and
solutions are as diverse as each individual, nevertheless stories
like this (dedicated to the author's great-great-grandmother who was
homeless) can start to build social awareness in the same way we are
actively promoting environmental awareness. While the issue itself
is hard and spiky, this is a gentle story of caring, unselfishness
and hope accompanied by equally engaging illustrations that might
encourage all of us to look and really see, not to avert our eyes if
we don't like the scenery and have the courage of both the little
boy and my little girl to act.
Barbara Braxton
Kookaburra by Claire Saxby
Illus. by Tannya Harricks. Nature Storybooks. Walker Books,
2020. ISBN: 9781760651060.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Part of the dawn chorus in Australia,
the laugh of the kookaburra is most distinctive and Saxby imitates
that sound in her text as it follows the lives of a kookaburra
family, mum (Kookaburra) and dad and their three offspring. They
laugh together on the branch of a tree, watching for signs of food.
When a lizard is spied, dad swoops down to grab it in his amazing
beak, bringing it back to Kookaburra, offering it to her as it is
close to mating season. They search for a nesting position, wary
that it should not be too accessible by other animals. Another group
of kookaburras comes close to their territory, and dad, solicitous
of his family, makes his presence known. They posture at each other
across the river and the interlopers move on. Food is gathered when
a single kookaburra appears. It is nesting time and everyone is
tense, the family swoops at the invader and it flees. The story of
Kookaburra and her family is told in one font, enticing readers
along a path that shows the animals and what happens during a day,
while along the bottom of the pages is a text in a different font,
giving more academic information about the birds. So children will
read of the territories of the kookaburra and the fact that they
often return to the same nesting place from the year before, and
often pair for life.
Each page offers the story of the family over the year, and this is
augmented with a sentence of two of factual information, giving the
reader so much more than a non fiction text or a story book.
I like the Nature Storybooks series, the mixture of fact and
story gives a broader multi-layered feel to the book, and they are
always supported with great illustrations and design.
At the end of this book as with all the others in this fine series,
is a page of information about kookaburras, a page about the author
and illustrator and a brief but adequate index.
I particularly like the opening and closing pages, the first at dawn
with the kookaburra family on a bough outlined against the morning
sky, while the last page shows the end of the day, the sun setting
over the hills, the family welcoming the evening with their raucous
laugh. Teacher's
notes are available.
Themes: Kookaburras, Family.
Fran Knight
The odd 1s out the first sequel by James Rallison
Scholastic, 2020. ISBN: 9781760973377.
Highly recommended. The Odd 1s out: The first sequel is the
second funny book in the Odd 1s out series by James
Rallison. It is a story that has many funny anecdotes about his life
in Arizona and is (in his own words) "full of pointless advice".
Before giving it Master 10 to read, I sat down for a look and really
enjoyed it. James Rallison is a great writer within the humour/comic
genre and as I got through the book, I found myself smiling,
chuckling, and wanting to keep reading! I loved that although it is
a humorous retelling of parts of his life, James adds in interesting
(albeit pointless) information about toads and types of cacti, plus
attempts to make light of things such as fears and dislikes all in
the name of individuality. One of the main takeaways I got was that
he was showing all the wired and wonderful parts of his life, and
how the most important thing is to just be you, to change your mind
if you want to and to be unique. Who would have thought that a
YouTuber would be able to write such a funny book full of life
lessons!
Lauren Fountain
This book was very funny. I loved every part of it and thought it
was funny that he put in a section about Australia and it was upside
down in the book! I agree with him that Vegemite is the key
ingredient in Asphalt-YUK!
I really liked the cartoons, especially how he draws his dog Georgie
and cat Poppy. I like drawing too so used his drawing to practise my
cartoon animals.
I loved this book so much that I now really want to go and read the
first book, watch his YouTube channel and look on his website. It is that good. 5
out of 5 from me.
Aston (10 years old)
Brasswitch and Bot by Gareth Ward
Walker Books, 2020, ISBN: 9781760652210.
(Age: 11+) Recommended. 'Until today, being called a Brasswitch
would have got you killed. Now, it may save your life.' (Back
cover). In this book, the first in a new Steampunk series, set in
the Victorian era, Wrench is forced to choose between outing herself
as a Brasswitch and saving countless lives, or allowing the runaway
tram to crash, killing her and all the passengers. Wrench chooses to
stop the tram using her Brasswitch powers which enable her to
control machines, but is arrested as an aberration. Saved from her
interrogation by the mechanoid, Bot, Wrench becomes the Brasswitch
of the elite 'Cabal Thirteen'. Working with a team of regulators
with Bot her new boss, Wrench must come to understand and control
her powers, while hunting down rouge aberrations. Sadly orphaned by
the cabletram accident that killed her parents, Wrench has spent
years hiding her Brasswitch powers, fearing the regulators. With a
good balance of self doubt and sassiness, Wrench befriends her new
team consisting of other aberrations, combining humour and
compassion.
The first book of a new Steampunk series, The Rise of the
Remarkables, Brasswitch and Bot follows Wrench, the
female protagonist, finding herself, working with a dynamic team and
facing prejudice from all fronts. This action packed story is well
paced, humorous, detailed in a Victorian era setting and ideal for
middle grade readers. I found it just plain clever and I think
you'll 'bally-well' enjoy it!
Themes: Steampunk, prejudice, relationships, good and evil.
Melanie Phillips
Grumbelina by Esther Krogdahl
Illus. by Aleksandra Szmidt. Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9781869714291.
Recommended. I feel like the book Grumbelina, by Esther
Krogdahl was written about my daughter! The similarities are far too
easy to spot . . .
Hazel Spratt grew to be a happy, well mannered child who was a true
joy to her parents. Then one day when she turned three-and-a-half
things took a turn for the worst and she turned into Grumblelina!
The girl who was suddenly grumpy, irritable, whingey, and whiney!
She did not want to play, and everything was just not right. Her
parents exhaust all the strategies they knew to make her happy but,
in the end, they just seem to give up. Suddenly Grumblelina
disappears and back comes their lovely Hazel! She hugs them and
smiles and gets tucked into bed . . . but Grumblelina is not gone
for good yet!
So many parents can identify with their three-year olds' mood swings
and the fact that they just cannot get anything right. Esther
Krogdahl does a great job of sharing this well-known story through
rhyme and with the edition of Aleksandra Szmidt's illustrations it
turns in to a wonderful picture book. The illustrations are my
favourite as they really show the facial expressions of Hazel which
I know so well from my own feisty daughter. I feel a page worth
sharing which sums up the twists and turns of a 3-year-old is this
'She grumbled about that and grumbled about this. She screamed "Go
away!" then demanded a kiss'. The author really captured so much in
these two sentences, and I love every bit of it!!
This is a funny picture book that will entice both young listeners
and parents alike. 4 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain
When I was Ten by Fiona Cummins
Pan Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781509876945.
(Age: Adult - late adolescent) Stunning in its impact, this is one
of the most disturbing books that I have read. It takes us into a
world of familial abuse that is shattering for the family members
and devastating in terms of their capacity to face life. Attempting
to live 'normal' lives, when a young person has experienced daily
bullying, beating, punishment and violence, mostly by the father, is
a tremendously difficult task. Even more difficult is to experience
such a life when the abuser and bully is a parent. We are positioned
to grasp the horror for the children as their father's actions and
words cut like a knife, crumbling any sense of loving family that
they may have managed to hold on to. The creation of a hell-on-earth
for children cannot possibly enable them to mature normally, nor
does it allow them to be 'normal' adults, and this is indeed the
scenario for a particular family in this novel.
When the father goes too far in his criticism, supported by the
mother, in a particularly dreadful episode of his violence, the
daughters are banished to the cold, dark shed for the night. Along
with his disgusting and shocking accusations, one sister finds that
she can no longer bear any more of his violence, and she kills both
the mother and father, stabbing them with a pair of scissors. In a
magnificent gesture that will haunt her life, the other sister
confesses to the murder and at that point the lives of both sisters
collapse. Years later, a television producer seeks to revive this
story and, having traced the sisters, the team move in on the story,
compelling a reaction. When we read about what their father did and
how the girls were treated, the only word for our response could be
absolute horror.
Well-written and gripping, this story emotionally draws us in to the
psyche of the sisters and the woman who befriends the innocent
sister, in an interesting reflection of the anger and violence that
is indeed part of the modern world, not only in the terrible actions
of the father, but also in the notion of a 'story' that is
discovered and used to make a 'winner' for the news media out of the
dreadful experience of others. This novel is disturbing, as Fiona
Cummins has constructed the narrative so that it reveals the reality
that some people experience. It is a gripping tale, mixing the years
across the connecting narratives, gradually including some of the
more horrendous experiences and actions, threaded throughout the
narrative. This brilliantly written novel would not be appropriate
for a younger child or early adolescent; indeed, I would recommend
it only for an adult or late adolescent reader.
Elizabeth Bondar
