Imposters, book 2. Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN:
9781760528256.
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Themes: Dystopian fiction,
Rebellions, Adventure, Resistance, Earthquakes, Medical emergencies.
The exciting adventures of Frey continue in Shatter City.
After taking on the role of her sister Rafi (Imposters,
2018) Frey is determined to bring down her father and stop his evil.
After a rescue attempt she is stranded in Paz and without allies
finds herself in the middle of a devastating earthquake. The
citizens of Paz regulate their emotions using an interface on their
arms and Frey finds it increasingly easy to use, as she sees the
destruction all around her.
Westerfeld has written another exciting, fast paced novel that will
keep the readers engrossed. Each chapter is relatively short and
often has a cliffhanger so it is easy to continue reading and
forget everything else that is happening around you. Frey finds that
she has to stop being her sister's shadow and start working out what
is important as she tries to help the inhabitants of the devastated
city and then search for her sister and stop her father.
Set in the world of the Uglies
series, readers will enjoy Shatter City more if they read
the first in this spin-off series, Imposters, and people who
are fans of Westerfeld's writing, as I am, will be thrilled to have
another exciting series to follow. Not only is there action and
adventure, but Westerfeld examines themes that resonate today, like
the use of drugs to regulate moods and big brother surveillance
tools.
Lots of twists and turns and something very unexpected at the end
will ensure that readers pick up the next in the series.
Pat Pledger
You can change the world by Lucy Bell
Pantera Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781925700527.
(Age: All) Highly recommended. If your child loves practical
information about the world, is concerned about the environment, and
also wants to actually do something about it then this book is for
you. You can change the world: the kids' guide to a better
planet by Lucy Bell is one of the most relevant, interesting
and engaging non-fiction books I have come across in a very long
time.
After reading the first third of the book I found that a million
bottles of water are sold every minute, and then I read about having
a plastic-free birthday party. The party ideas were easy to
implement and also didn't sound too hard! At this point I decided to
hand it over to my 9 year old and see what happened . . . well, now
I can't get it back! He was absolutely enthralled by all the
interesting information about what is happening to our planet and
how we, as humans, are contributing to it. He kept on yelling out
'Mummy, did you know . . . ' and proceeded to tell me about how much
plastic there is in the world, how awesome it is that we have a
veggie patch and what things we can recycle.
Lucy Bell has really done a wonderful job with this book. Her
writing is easy to understand, and gives children the facts without
difficult words or reams of text.
The illustrations are simple, but super effective in portraying the
idea of each section.
The book also details the lives of young people and children who do
amazing things to morale our world a better place. There are
environmentalists, poets, teddy bear makers and eco warriors. These
stories were so great to read, they are inspiring and I feel would
really speak to the readers hopefully encouraging them to do their
bit to change the world.
I really believe that every school should have this book, so
students can access these easy to understand ideas and teachers can
implement the activities provided within their settings.
5 out of 5 from us! We are going to buy this book for lots of our
friends this Christmas!
Lauren Fountain
The safest lies by Megan Miranda
Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780241344408.
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Themes: Mystery and suspense, Fear,
Kidnapping, Agoraphobia. Wow, another great page-turner from
Miranda, who is fabulous at writing exciting thrillers featuring
interesting heroines. Kelsey is a young woman who has been raised by
her mother to see danger everywhere. Her mother never leaves the
house and has a safe room, fully equipped for any emergency. When
Kelsey has a car accident and goes over a cliff, and her mother's
real name is printed in the news report of the accident, what
follows makes Kelsey wonder if her mother's paranoia about hiding
and keeping safe after her abduction and torture as a teenager is
real.
With a cliffhanger at the end of the first chapter and a graphic
and nail-biting description of the car accident and resulting rescue
attempted by volunteer firefighter Ryan, the reader is hooked into
the story and it is virtually impossible to put it down until all is
revealed at the end. The descriptions of all the measures that
Kelsey's mother takes to secure their home and provide for a
possible invasion are detailed and fascinating and provide the
background to the question about fear, and whether it can be handed
down in DNA or learnt by observation. However, Kelsey may be afraid,
but she is resourceful and when faced with danger and a missing
mother, manages to think through issues and plan what to do. Ryan,
the love interest, is also adept at handling emergencies and the
pair make good partners when things get tough.
This is definitely a read for anyone who enjoys suspense, likes a
strong heroine and enjoys a book that keeps the suspense alive.
Readers who enjoyed Two can
keep a secret by Karen McManus and Broken
things by Lauren Oliver are sure to want to pick up The safest
lies.
Pat Pledger
Little Mermaid: Ten minutes to bed by Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
Ladybird Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780241372678.
(Age: 3-6) Ten minutes to bed is a beautiful series by
Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton, aimed at young children at
bedtime. Each book follows a similar progression where the
parent/family member counts down the minutes to bedtime while the
main character flits around doing lots of fun things before bed. The
books are all based on mythical type characters and are whimsical in
nature.
Each book has a map at the beginning (daytime) and end (night-time)
of the book showing 'The land of Nod' which young children can
engage with, finding the home of the book's character and also the
homes of the other two in the series (Little Unicorn and Little
Monster).
Splash the little mermaid lives in Golden Cove, deep down below the
waves. She is surrounded by merpeople and lots of merchildren. She
feels small compared to others and in order to feel bigger and
braver she decides to go on a bedtime adventure under a big wave and
into the ocean. She meets lots of very cute sea creatures, but also
a big shark! Luckily, she finds a friendly whale to help her get
back home to the castle and into bed.
The illustrations are bright and colourful, with swishes of rainbow
fishes and pretty pink and purple palaces. The cover has some pretty
pops of tactile sparkles, giving off shimmery colours in the light.
The characters all have facial expressions, giving extra meaning to
the story.
On top of the count down from 10 to bed, children can name the sea
creatures they see and create little side stories on each page. As
with the other stories in the series, we loved this one. The rhyming
nature of the story mixed with very cute illustrations makes it a
book that will stay by the bedside for quite some time!
Lauren Fountain
The Clockill and the thief by Gareth Ward
Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781760651206. 346p; p/b.
(Age: 11+) Themes: Steampunk, Spies, Secrecy, Betrayal. In this
sequel to the award winning The
traitor and the thief, spy-in-training Sin has to hunt
down an old nemesis while suffering from the side effects of a
dangerous experiment. The first book set up both the characters and
the setting so it is important to read the books in order as
character writing is not this novel's strong suit. Minor characters
are often reduced entirely to a bad accent, and even major
characters have quite inconsistent character voices.
The plot is almost entirely action based and is paced with
appropriate down time and rising action. The novel doesn't have much
to say overall in terms of themes, relying on its action for impact.
There's an undercurrent where Sin is supposed to feel bad for
'always being the hero' instead of letting Jasper improve, but it is
completely undermined by Jasper always seeming to really need the
help, shutting down in life-threatening situations.
The novel is set in some alternate version of Earth, with a
'steampunk' technology level. The original book The traitor and
the thief established the world, giving it location names that
are adaptations of the real thing. These and other fantasy
vocabulary are meant to set the world apart, but for me it only
shackles the setting closer to real life.
Vincent Hermann
The Dutch house by Ann Patchett
Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781526614964.
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. Themes: Family, Love, Betrayal, Loss,
Revenge. This is a subtle, highly original story of loss and
betrayal told through the eyes of two children, Danny and his older
sister Maeve, whose lives have always centred around the exoticly
beautiful Dutch house and what it has meant to their family. Their
father, an astute real estate businessman, proudly brought his young
family to install them in its luxuriousness, not comprehending the
impact it would have on the young wife he coaxed away from the
devotion and servitude of a convent. The rift it causes in the
family leads to desertion by the person they love most.
Then along comes Andrea, a woman who has a way of getting what she
wants - and she wants the Dutch house. Danny reflects that 'I'll
always believe that Andrea's face fell for an instant when she
looked at Maeve and me' for the two children were not part of her
picture of the future. What follows is a story of betrayal,
obsession and vengeance; but also a story of devotion, the devotion
of a sister to a brother who cannot remember the love of his mother.
The thing I find most interesting about The Dutch house is
the depiction of the way that children, despite being alienated from
a parent, often develop exactly those same characteristics that
cause the distance between them, thus Danny becomes as aloof and
unaffectionate as his father, a lack of attachment that sees him
also separating from his wife in the end.
The stepmother figure is also not the stereotypical evil stepmother,
her evil is not of cruelty but of not caring, a lack of empathy. As
Danny is aware, the faults are not all one-sided.
One might wonder how this sad story of entangled lives might end -
and surprisingly the ending is a delight, a revelation of warmth and
compassion that suggests that with the turn of generations, people
might come to better understanding and love. This is a richly
rewarding story providing insight into family relationships, love
and loss. I highly recommend it to readers who like stories to
provide psychological depth and development of character, and lots
to think about afterwards.
Helen Eddy
Liarbird by Laura Bunting
Illus. by Philip Bunting. Scholastic Australia, 2019. ISBN:
9781743831571.
(Age: 5-10 years) Recommended. Themes: Australian Bush Animals,
Telling Lies, Lessons to be learned. Laura and Philip Bunting have
combined once again to produce an entertaining and thoughtful tale
of what could happen if you continuously tell lies or fabricate the
truth.
The lyrebird is very clever and spends its time mimicking other
creatures, concocting and playing tricks on the other bush animals
and telling outright lies. He is not a very likeable character as
the reader will identify with and will possibly know someone who is
like this in real life. Unfortunately for the lyrebird your lies can
catch up with you and when he needs his bush friends the most, they
have seemingly abandoned him. After extracting itself from danger,
the lyrebird then decides that honesty is now going to be the best
policy but this proves to be quite hurtful to the other creatures.
The lyrebird still has lessons to be learned.
The simple yet beautiful illustrations capture the text perfectly
and you are drawn to the gorgeous use of pinks, greens, creams and
browns.
Kathryn Beilby
The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
Colter Shaw, book 1. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN:
9780008341909.
(Age: 15+) Recommended for thriller lovers. Themes: Murder, Gaming.
Fans of Jeffery Deaver will be happy to start a new series starring
Colter Shaw, a reward seeker who has been brought up in a
survivalist family. Shaw is smart and an expert woodsman and is used
by distraught relatives to find missing persons for a reward. When
he is called to Silicon Valley to investigate the disappearance of a
young woman, he finds himself embroiled in the world of gamers, and
it seems as if a video game, The Whispering Man, is being
used to give clues to the whereabouts of the victims of a clever
manipulator.
Deaver is a master at writing the action plot and each chapter often
has a hook that compels the reader to quickly move to the next
exciting strand of the search for the people who have been
kidnapped. Colter finds himself in danger as well, and Deaver
cleverly gains the reader's sympathy for Colter and curiosity about
his survivalist family as he tracks down subtle clues and learns
about the video game industry in Silicon Valley.
The setting of Silicon Valley makes for interesting reading. The
problems that workers have in finding affordable housing, the big
tech companies and gaming exhibitions are all described vividly and
in detail and provide the reader with an in-depth insight into the
competitive gaming industry and the gamers who are consumed by the
games.
With some totally unexpected twists and turns and an exciting plot,
The never game is certain to appeal to fans of mystery and
suspense stories, who will want to read the next in the series to
learn more about Colter Shaw and the unsolved mystery in his
background.
Pat Pledger
Little monster : Ten minutes to bed by Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
Ladybird Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780241348918.
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. Little monster : Ten minutes to bed
is a beautiful series by Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton,
aimed at young children at bedtime. Each book follows a similar
progression where the main characters parent/family member counts
down the minutes to bedtime while the main character flits around
doing lots of fun things before bed. The books are all based on
mythical type characters and are whimsical in nature.
Each book has a map at the beginning (daytime) and end (night-time)
of the book showing 'The land of Nod' which young children can
engage with, finding the home of the books character and also the
homes of the other two in the series (Little Mermaid and Little
Unicorn).
This book tells us of the antics of Belch, a cheeky little monster
who does not want to go to bed. She eats jelly, plays with toys and
then is joined by her monster friends for a quick play before she
has had enough and wants to go to bed. I like that this book helps
to make monsters seem funny, cheeky, a little cranky but also not
very scary!
This book would be good for children who may find the concept of
monsters scary, or a bit unnerving.
We loved the illustrations of Belch; she is a cheeky looking monster
with big eyes and rosy cheeks. The other monsters are a rather
amusing, helping to make them more funny than scary!
I give Ten minutes to bed : Little Monster 4/5, suitable for
young children up to age 6. It is one of a 3 book series, all of
which are equally as great!
Lauren Fountain
Whisper by Lynette Noni
Whisper book 1, Pantera Press, 2018. ISBN: 9781925700992.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. 2019
Gold Inky Award Winner. Themes: Dystopian fiction, Psychic
ability. Winning Australia's only YA award completely selected by
teenagers, gives a good idea of the appeal of Whisper not
just to teens but to anyone who enjoys a fast paced dystopian story
with a great heroine at its heart. 'For two years, six months,
fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject
Six-Eight-Four - 'Jane Doe' - has been locked away and experimented
on, without uttering a single word.' (Publisher). Then she is given
to Landon Ward, a young compassionate man, for evaluation and things
begin to change as she gradually meets more people in Lengard and
begins to understand what is happening in this cold forbidding
underground fortress.
The reader's attention is immediately grabbed right from the first
page as the plight of 'Jane Doe' is described in a first person
narrative and this raises questions of why she has been silent for
so long and why she believes she is a monster. The fact that she is
in a cramped cell and has been tortured also leaves the reader
wondering just what she has done to deserve this fate. However as
the story develops the reader begins to empathise with her and hope
that her relationship with Ward will be a fruitful one and that she
can break her silence.
The setting of Lengard under Centre Point Tower in Sydney and the
descriptions of catacombs under Taronga Park Zoo and the streets of
Sydney make for an atmospheric background to the story. A scary evil
genius, a group of Resistance fighters who have amazing powers,
wonderful moments of female friendship as well as some unexpected
plot twists and action make for a very exciting read which I had to
finish in one sitting.
The cliff-hanger at its conclusion will ensure that readers pick up
the next in this thrilling read and they may want to visit the Medoran
chronicles, with the first in the series, Arkarnae,
reviewed on ReadPlus.
Pat Pledger
Goldilocks and the three bears by Sue DeGennaro
Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781743815878.
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Themes: Goldilocks (retelling), Bears,
Fairy tale. Using watercolour and pencil, DeGennaro creates a
charming series of images of Goldilocks as she takes over the Bears'
house while they are away. The quizzical looks on the faces of the
three bears remind us that Goldilocks is an interloper, taking
liberties in someone else's house. The Goldilocks story has
always held my interest, neither a cautionary tale or fairy tale, it
was collected by Robert Southey an English poet in the early
nineteenth century, adapted from an oral tale. Initially the story
was more cautionary in its nature, having an old, dirty, ugly and
foul mouthed crone as the interloper, who runs away and is never
seen again after being disturbed by the bears.
But in this more well known version, Goldilocks enters the house
while the bears are away waiting for their porridge to cool. The
number three figures prominently as the girl tries the three bowls
of porridge, the three chairs and finally the three beds. When the
three bears return she is surprised by them and runs away, never to
return to their house.
An interesting time could be spent using DeGennaro's version of Goldilocks,
comparing it with other versions in your school library (and there
are quite a few), and then using the Internet to find some original
versions.
Children could be shown the idea of a cautionary tale, using the Goldilocks
story as well as many other tales, particularly from the Grimm
brothers, which warn children of the perils of their behaviour.
This is a strongly bound and inviting production crying out to be
included in the library collection.
Fran Knight
Boo! by Margaret Wild
Illus. by Andrew Joyner. Penguin Books Australia, 2019. ISBN:
9780670078073. 24 pg.
(Age: 1-4) Highly recommended. Themes: Games, Babies. What a joyous
read aloud that carer and children are sure to enjoy. Six different
little babies, each with a delightful grin, say boo to a toy animal
while hiding away from them. Then the tables are turned on the words
'Ready, steady, count - one, two, three' and the animals are the
ones who are saying Boo! to the six little babies.
This is a perfect picture book to buy for a young child or
pre-schooler. While not a traditional board book, the pages are
thick and sturdy and should allow for much use, as this is sure to
become a family and pre-school favourite. The narrative, written in
large black print, flows along smoothly, making it wonderful to read
aloud, and children will have lots of fun joining in the chorus of
Boo! with the children and animals.
The pictures are vivid and each little baby has a distinctive
personality and appearance and the toys are wonderfully humorous as
they scare the little children. I loved the face of the wombat,
splashing in the rain, and kicking up a large puddle at the little
baby, and the tiger reading in the tram is charming. And the end
papers featuring all the babies and toys makes for a last chance to
say Boo!
This is definitely a keeper and is sure to become a favourite
classic for people to buy for young children.
Pat Pledger
The gift by Michael Speechley
Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143788980.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Love, Loneliness, Gifts. When Rosie
looks at the derelict house across the road, she feels that someone
must live there. She sometimes sees a hand come out from behind the
door to take in whatever is delivered on the front doorstep. She
sometimes sees a shadow across a window, but the house is overgrown
and unloved.
Rosie decides that she will leave a gift for the old woman in the
house. Her mother, now dead, used to tell her to give a gift that
was different, unusual and surprising. Rosie thinks about what to
leave on the front door step. She thinks about a variety of things,
rejecting them all, until she finally thinks of the perfect thing.
Her weed, carefully placed on the door step with a ribbon attached
is taken in and when Rosie looks at the house in the morning, the
weed is in a beautiful vase in the window. Rosie keeps leaving a
weed on the doorstep, until one day she decides to knock on the
door.
When she goes into the house, she is surprised that the woman is
much younger than she thought, and her story will melt the hearts of
the readers.
A bond is made, a connection secured which sees Rosie use her
mother's plants to rebuild the woman's garden.
From a simple gift a friendship blooms, from a simple act of
kindness two lives are enhanced, and the woman, a recluse, is helped
back into the world, while Rosie is able to use her mother's plants
for something her mother would have been very pleased to see.
Without being overly sentimental, this story will tug at the heart,
its simplicity a lesson for us all, our eyes opened to the needs of
those around us, offering an act of kindness which will engage the
readers and encourage interaction.
Fran Knight
Ella and Olivia: Fun friendship tales by Yvette Poshoglian
Illus. by Danielle McDonald. Scholastic Australia, 2019. ISBN:
9781760660833.
(Age: 5-8 years). Themes: Friendship, Sisters. Yvette Poshoglian
offers six brand new fun tales in this edition. Ella and Olivia are
sisters and best friends. They do everything together. Each of the
six stories provides a scenario that younger readers will relate to
and the ending is always both positive and happy.
In the first story the girls are invited to a pizza making party.
Given how popular cooking shows are at the moment this is an
entertaining story to begin with. Of course things do not go quite
as planned but it all works out in the end. In the second story,
both Ella and Olivia's teams make the netball finals but disaster
strikes and Nana comes to the rescue. A lost bunny, a treasure hunt,
being trampoline champs plus a bush dance complete the selection.
Younger readers find the stories engaging and popular. The large
font, simple text and colourful illustrations allow those students
moving onto chapter books the opportunity to read both independently
and successfully.
Kathryn Beilby
How powerful we are by Sally Rugg
Hachette, Australia, 2019. ISBN: 9780733642227.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Themes: Non-fiction, LGBTIQ+, Gay
marriage, Activism. No doubt history will see the Liberal Party
recorded as delivering equal marriage rights to the LGBTIQ+
community in 2017. Sally Rugg's book is an attempt to counter the
re-writing of history on how Australia achieved one of the most
significant changes in a generation. It did not just hinge on the
Yes vote of a postal survey, it was the result of decades of work by
a grassroots campaign that would not give up. It was the Liberal
government, under Howard, that specifically amended the Marriage Act
in 2004 to state that marriage was a union between one man and one
woman, and that any alternative union solemnised overseas would not
be recognised in Australia. Various attempts by state governments to
allow gay marriage were ruled unconstitutional. That ruling
clarified for activists that the only way forward was legislative
change to the federal law. Thus the campaign began.
Rugg's book recounts all the steps along the path to achieving
recognition of gay marriage, basically the recognition of rights to
not be discriminated against. Not only is it a step-by-step
historical view of the campaign, the book also provides insight into
the strategising process essential to activism. The equal rights
campaigners knew at the time of the postal vote that the majority of
Australians supported gay marriage, so the task was not to be drawn
into argument with people who were not likely to change their minds,
the strategy was to ensure that Yes voters actually went to the
effort of filling in and lodging a non-compulsory postal vote. That
meant not being drawn into futile arguments with nay campaigners
maligning the Safe Schools program, not being drawn into the fear
mongering, but just staying focussed on encouraging the majority
supporters to make their vote count. And ultimately that strategy
was successful.
Rugg's book is an incredibly valuable historical record for students
of civil rights history, as well as being a wonderful insight into
the collaboration and focussed strategy required to achieve change
at the community level - giving hope that people can unite together
to influence government policy. On top of that, it is Rugg's
personal story, a heart-warming story, with funny anecdotes, of
sometimes making mistakes along the way but managing to work
together with friends to achieve something they and all Australians
can be proud of.
Highly recommended for school libraries.
Helen Eddy
