Illus. by Denise Muzzio. Little Steps Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839357.
(Age: 3-6) Rhyming book, Mothers, Pregnancy. 'My mummy's magic . . .
Her wishes do come true. She waved her magic wand, confirming what
she knew'. This first page (featuring a woman holding a pregnancy
test with positive symbols fanning out as if she is casting a magic
spell) will probably make parents giggle. Indeed, the rest of the
book may seem a little indulgent also, with its focus on a mother
wishing and hoping a baby into existence.
There is a lovely story here though, which shows the journey of a
new baby and the close bond between mother and baby. The growing
baby is compared to an animal, a clever way of helping children
develop meaningful understandings. 'For in her magic belly, taking
shape at speed, was me so teeny tiny - it's hard now to believe. I
was no bigger than an ant!' This refrain is repeated throughout the
book and we see the mother's belly swell until the unborn baby is
about the size of a lemur. In between these updates we see the usual
goings-on of pregnancy and how the mother cares for her baby;
sleeping, feeling unwell, eating and food cravings, scans and
spreading the good news.
The illustrations are fresh, vibrant and organic. 'My mummy's magic.
She wished with all her might to bestow her greatest gift of all -
my very first breath of life'.
This is a lovely book for a toddler or pre-schooler with a growing
interest in the concept of pregnancy, and particularly for those
with a sibling on the way.
Nicole Nelson
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Alex Stern book 1. Orion, 2019. ISBN: 9781473227972.
(Age: Adult) Recommended. Good Reads Best Fantasy Winner,
2019. Themes: Sexual abuse, Rape, Drugs, Secret societies. Alex
Stern, the sole survivor of a terrible multiple homicide, is in
hospital when she is offered the chance to go to an elite
university. Why her? She has been a school drop-out, has been
involved with drugs and drug dealers and her life was going nowhere.
Tasked with checking on the occult used in Yale's secret societies,
she is drawn into a strange and different world, mentored by
Darlington, who introduces her to the rituals of the rich and
privileged people who belong to them.
Bardugo has previously written YA fantasy and this is her first
foray into fiction for adults. It is dark and disturbing and
certainly for adults. The themes that are explored against the
fantasy background of the secret societies include rape, date rape
and the attitude of rich and powerful young men who believe that
they can have everything without any consequences. Alex however
doesn't believe that and her revenge is challenging for the reader.
The question of class, privilege and poverty is also explored, as
Alex struggles with her classes and realises that the murder of a
poor woman doesn't have the impact of that of a rich white person.
Add in ghosts who haunt her, the quest to find who is a murderer,
and the gradual realisation of her powers and the reader will be
dragged along with Alex.
This is a book for readers who enjoy a mix of dark horror and
fantasy, laced with themes that are pertinent in today's world.
Pat Pledger
Gregory Goose is on the loose: In the jungle by Hilary Robinson
Illus. by Mandy Stanley. New Frontier Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925594874.
(Age: 0-3) Board book, Rhyming book, Search and Find book. The
bright, eye-catching colour of this new board book series (the other
title is On
the moon) will draw and hold the attention of even the
littlest children. In each of the books, children can search and
find Gregory the Goose as he camouflages into the background of each
page. In this case, he is travelling through the jungle, complete
with safari jacket and binoculars. 'Gregory Goose is on the loose.
Let's try to find him!'
Simple, predictive and rhyming text make this perfect for the target
age group and in each page Gregory is well-hidden but not difficult
to spot. I particularly like the sense of perspective used, as in
some pages he is close to the front so larger, while in others he is
put further into the distance and is quite small. The text ('Is he
with the chimpanzees, or wading in his boots?') also gives clues
about where we might find him or what he might be doing. The final
page sees all the jungle animals come together for a party; 'Look!
Who's eating jungle cake?' It's Gregory, of course!
This is a bright, engaging board book for little ones to explore
alone or for a fun shared activity.
Nicole Nelson
Where else do teachers go at night? by Harriet Cuming
Illus. by Sophie Norsa. Little Steps Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839050.
(Age: 5-7) Rhyming Book, Teachers. This is a follow-up to the 2015
publication Where do teachers go at night? It doesn't
present anything new but follows the same pattern as the previous
book, an add-on rather than an elaboration. 'Shooting the Congo
river rapids in Africa, or crescent sailing in Madagascar' are just
two of the suggestions of nocturnal teacher activities.
The text reads fairly well aloud, despite a couple of clunky rhymes
and a grammatically grating first line ('Skating in Iceland on
luminous lake') and the watercolour illustrations are visually
engaging and thoughtfully laid out. Disappointingly, the teachers
are stereotyped (bespectacled female librarian always with her head
in a book, burly male PE teacher with a whistle around his neck,
lab-jacketed science teacher with crazy beard and thick glasses). I
assume this is to further play on the misconceptions of students but
it seems unnecessary. The book ends with the main teacher being
wheeled into school by a nurse, looking happy but fairly out of
sorts. The children look confused and worried.
As with the first book, this is very tongue-in-cheek and does
absolutely nothing to help young kids realise that teachers are
actual human beings with lives outside of the school. The worldly
adventures that the teachers embark on and the busy and sometimes
humourous illustrations are where the fun lies. There is also a frog
and a snake to spot on every page.
Nicole Nelson
The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne by Katrina Nannestad
ABC Books/ Harper Collins, 2019. ISBN: 9780733338199.
Highly recommended for readers aged 9-12. Themes: Family
relationships; Lucerne; Mystery; Secrets. The girl is Freja - a
delightful and wise young lady; the dog is Finnegan - a rambunctious
and exuberant hound, with his nose in everyone's business and their
food as well; and the writer is Tobias - a clumsy crime-writer with
a heart of gold, or perhaps chocolate. They have arrived in Lucerne
with the opportunity to reconnect with Freja's mother Clementine who
is fragile and ailing in a hospital overlooking Lake Lucerne. Freja
is living with the hope of a miracle, and to some extent she
discovers small miracles in the love of the people around her, and
the opportunities to solve another mystery involving copious amounts
of milk chocolate, the Swiss alps and a woman bandaged from head to
foot. The delight of a story with chocolate, alpine castles, secret
passages, and wonderful and unique characters is sometimes shadowed
by the secret that Freja's frail and very unwell mother has yet to
share with her daughter. Tobias and Finnegan take Freja to wonderful
places between her visits to the hospital, and the growing love
story with Tobias and Vivi - the Italian chocolatier, plus the
growing mystery of the chocolate thefts distracts Freja from
thinking too deeply about the secret that her mother has not shared
with her. Ultimately this is a story about love and the love that
can be known in family and in overcoming difficulties together.
This is the third book in the series with The girl, the dog and
the writer and it could be read in isolation, but the
personality growth and maturing of Freja would be understood more
fully by reading all three books - in addition this would give three
times the enjoyment!. The dog and writer are both impossibly
reckless in a completely loving and warm way. Who wouldn't want to
have discussions about the way a body might fall from a third story
building so that it might be included in the next crime novel, or
have the cream licked off your hot chocolate and the chocolate
licked from the corners of your mouth? Their personalities and
slightly disorderly approach to life contrast beautifully with the
endearing and growing bravery of Freja.
Everything about this book is sweet (and not just because there are
lots of chocolate tortes and chocolate delicacies scattered
throughout) and the relationship warmth between all the characters
will warm the heart of any reader.
Carolyn Hull
The Book of Stone by Mark Greenwood
Illus. by Coral Tulloch. Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781760650872.
Recommended for a school library collection. Themes: Geology;
Poetry. This book is a poem with reverence for the place of stone in
our existence. That sentence almost seems strange as I write it, but
Mark Greenwood has led us on a journey of reverie beginning with one
stone, and layering it with possibilities as he unfolds and reveals
the many ways that stone appears in our world and through time. The
language is spare and yet crafted beautifully, almost like a
weathered rock itself. The illustrations by Coral Tulloch are
delightful - mostly detailed pencil sketches, with variations
depending on the content. The endpapers include detailed
illustrations of on array of different stones, rocks, fossils and
gems. As Greenwood says, "Every stone has a story" and the
combination of words and pictures in this The Book of Stone
together tell the story of stone and illustrate it with finesse.
This is a great book that I could see being used by teachers in a
poetry unit rather than as a reference book for those interested in
geology. Particularly as it points out the way that stone is used in
the course of the human story rather than to just describe a
geological formation story. Classroom
ideas are available from the publisher.
Carolyn Hull
Atlas of Ocean Adventures by Emily Hawkins
Illus. by Lucy Letherland. Quarto Group, 2019. ISBN:
9780711245303.
Highly recommended. This beautiful book, focusing judiciously on the
world's oceans, is a timely addition to any library collection. The
pages are busy with detailed soft water-colour illustrations of
marine animals and birdlife of every ocean and continent with each
placed within their particular habitat. The book is large (37x27cm)
and the pages are of good quality, responsibly sourced paper.
Each double page opens to reveal a new part of the world. A large
marine landscape/habitat covers both pages. Upon this landscape the
creatures can be found and each is accompanied by interesting facts.
Each page contains an inset box with a map highlighting the place in
the world depicted in the landscape. Most pages contain a second box
with a detailed labelled diagram of particular animals.
The wealth of information contained within these pages is easily
retrieved by the young researcher through the index or the contents
pages and further enhanced by titles, sub-titles, friendly language,
maps, illustrations and diagrams. The casual reader's attention
would be drawn by the sheer pleasure of turning the huge pages and
looking at the intricate pictures. Atlas of Ocean Adventures opens with a large double page map
of the world's continents and oceans and then focuses on particular
oceans and the unique wildlife found in each. At the end there is
information about the dangers to oceans and activities which send
the child back into the book searching for details in the
illustrations.
This is a very special book. Junior and Middle Years teachers would
find it a useful and attractive resource for teaching within the
Geography and Science areas of the curriculum. It is a book that is
made for sharing - adult to children or children together. It's the
kind of book that would make a very special gift for a child.
Although it could be in a general student borrowing circulation,
this book deserves to be displayed prominently in a reserved
reference area within a library where it could be available for
maximum access for students and teachers.
Wendy Jeffrey
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Orbit, 2019. ISBN: 9780356507002.
(Age: Adult) Recommended. Listen. A god is speaking.
My voice echoes through the stone of your master's castle.
This castle where he finds his uncle on his father's throne.
You want to help him. You cannot.
You are the only one who can hear me.
You will change the world.
This challenging and thought-provoking fantasy will have fans of
award winning Leckie wanting to talk and discuss it. A change from
her science fiction (Ancillary Justice and Provenance) Leckie
explores the idea of how gods and men fare when a pretender takes
over the throne.
Written to the warrior Eolo in the second person (using pronouns
you, your, and yours), by the Raven, it took me some time to become
familiar with this as it was relatively new to me, but once I
settled into the book, found it a fascinating way of getting to know
the characters from a different perspective. Eolo is a warrior, body
guard to Mawat, the true heir to the throne, and seen from the
Raven's eye is cool and courageous and very willing to take risks to
uncover what is happening and whether murder has been committed.
Underlying all is the story of the Stone, a great and patient god,
and the stories of how men use gods to try and understand and
manipulate what is happening in their world. And what an ending! It
will stun readers and leave them desperate to reread parts to see
how Leckie managed to pull it all together.
This is a challenging fantasy; the second person writing may daunt
some until well into the novel and the thought of how people have
worshipped different gods over the ages makes for a fascinating
background to the story.
Pat Pledger
The Girl and the Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes
Illus. by Sarah Massini. Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781408880524.
(Age: 3-7) Recommended. Themes: Rhyming Book, Imagination,
Dinosaurs. Sarah Massini's (Kiss it Better, The Boy and
the Bear) beautifully rich and detailed illustrations are
perfect for this magical, dreamy tale. 'There's a town beside the
sea, not so very far from here, with golden sands and rock pools,
and a tattered, battered pier. And there's a girl upon the beach her
name is Marianne, she's digging for a dinosaur just beneath the
sand.' The fisherfolk are worried that Marianne is too preoccupied
with old bones; 'She needs to find some friends', they say. But one
night Marianne wishes with all her heart for her dinosaur to come to
life. 'The wishing stars burn bright that night, the air is thick
with dreams, and a deeply sleeping dinosaur is waking up, it seems .
. . ' And so, we are witness to Marianne and her dinosaur friend's
magical journey in the night: past unicorns and giants, through
magical moonlit clouds and to a party place for all children and
their dream creatures. 'Back to the town beside the sea and back to
empty beds, and back to secret memories to keep from grown-up
heads.' Upon waking, Marianne finds other children who also dream
and imagine and they dig and explore together.
The peaceful, sparse and windy English seaside scene created by
Massini is reminiscent of Emily Sutton's illustrations: evocative
and full of texture. There are so many stunning double-page spreads
and the colour choices and Marianne's flowing red hair are perfectly
executed. The poetic language used throughout is rich with imagery
and flows beautifully when read aloud.
This is a calming and charming bedtime story perfect for dinosaur
lovers and all children who dream.
Nicole Nelson
Bluey: The Beach by Bluey
Puffin Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781760894054.
(Age: 2-5) Board Book, Lift-the-Flaps Book, Independence. As a TV
show, Bluey has been a phenomenal success, so it is no surprise that
there was great anticipation around the release of the accompanying
books. This one is based on a similarly titled Bluey episode in
which she and her family head to the beach for a fun day out. When
Mum heads off on a walk, Bluey asks her why she likes walking alone.
'I just do', she replies. Bluey thinks it's a strange answer, but
when she gets an opportunity for a solo walk of her own she begins
to understand. Her journey across the sand is filled with adventure
and independent problem solving. She is faced with a flock of
seagulls, a big wave, a weeing pipi, a myriad of crabs, an abandoned
sand castle and a pelican blocking her path. As she proceeds she
gains confidence and persists even in adversity, leading to a joyous
reunion with Mum. 'I love walking by myself', she says. She doesn't
know how to explain why; 'I just do', she says.
The Bluey TV show and this book are filled with typically Australian
cultural and social references and most children and families will
identify with at least something in this book; burying yourself in
the sand, listening for the ocean in a shell and poking jelly blobs
on the sand. The book is made more engaging by the use of flaps,
that in themselves are part of the story and help to create a sense
of movement and action. The text reads fine but it works better if
the reader and the audience are already familiar with the narrative
from the television episode. This is fine, however, because the
target audience will be. It certainly won't disappoint the millions
of dedicated Bluey fans out there.
Nicole Nelson
My folks grew up in the 80s by Beck and Robin Feiner
HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780733339417.
(Age: 6-10) This publication is a nostalgic walk down memory lane
for parents and a chance for their children to giggle at the
craziness of childhood in another time. The front and back cover
feature a hair crimper, leotard and legwarmers, scrunchies and
cassette tapes, trolls and heart-shaped sunglasses (just to name a
few). 'My folks grew up in the '80s. And from what I've heard, it
was a really bizarre time!' It goes on to describe all the weird and
wonderful things that people wore and did in the 80s, from using a
phone book and a landline telephone to aerobic exercising in front
of a Jane Fonda VHS.
The pictures are full of neon and '80s patterning and loaded with
cultural references and details that will make parents cringe,
giggle or both. Floppy discs, slinkies, forgetting to rewind videos
before returning them to the store, a BMX Bandit flag on the back of
the bicycle, Space Food Sticks and Pop Tarts in the kitchen . . .
it's all there.
It is quintessentially Australian and it is quintessentially '80s
and it will have kids asking questions and parents wanting to share
what life was like when they were a kid. As the last page points out
(complete with a nod to the Dirty Dancing water lift scene), it
might even help children understand why their folks are so weird.
A fantastic conversation starter for kids of 1980s Australia and
their curious and disbelieving offspring.
Nicole Nelson
If you meet an elephant by Debbie Smith
Illus. by Emma Middleton. Little Steps Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839104.
(Age: 3-6) Rhyming Book, Elephants, Friendship. This story explores
in picture and rhyme what it would be like to make friends with an
elephant. 'There are things you must know when you're out and about,
if you meet a large elephant there. It may help you to know of some
traits they might show . . . ' The text has mostly good moments
(With their big booty bottoms and flip- flappy ears, there'll be
CHAOS and MAYHEM in store') but is a little too nonsensical in parts
('You had better take care if an elephant's near . . .
especially when hosting high tea. Because ALL children know it's the
start of the show when the elephants come to . . . eat free!')
Emma Middleton's illustrations are whimsical and playful, featuring
a cute, smiling elephant and a bike-riding mouse and do a fair job
of portraying the immense size difference between the two main
characters. It seems a shame though, that the bright colours
featured on the cover give way to mainly muted dull tones as this
may have helped give the story some extra vibrancy. The story
finishes with 'But wait! Can you imagine how cool it would be . . .
if an elephant made friends with you? The intended message is that
even though being friends with someone different to you can put you
into uncomfortable situations it would also be rather exciting, but
this message does seem a little lost.
Nicole Nelson
The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9780571332816.
(Age: 10-12) Highly recommended. At last, a book to challenge young
minds! A book with some substance! The Somerset Tsunami
takes the young reader to another place and time - to the socio-
economic and political landscape of early seventeenth century
Somerset. For the Australian child, this is a leap. Not only is the
geography unfamiliar but the vernacular, the lifestyle - everything
that goes on in the lives of the characters is of another time.
Emma Carroll brings historical fiction alive. The Somerset
Tsunami storyline develops through the voice of Fortune, a
brave and smart heroine. She comes from a poor family who live in a
tiny hamlet called Fair Maidens Lane, somewhere on the Bristol
Channel. Carroll locates the story in a time of great social divide
where the poor cottagers lived powerless hand-to-mouth existences
with the greater social evils of the slave and sugar trades as a
backdrop. The role of women in society at that time is painted for
the reader and the threat of Witchcraft trials overhang the
characters as they fight for survival. Family love and loyalty tie
the characters together in the face of constant danger.
As well-known by today's inhabitants, a tsunami did destroy the
coastal hamlets in Somerset changing lives forever and perhaps
offering new opportunities to the brave. The rush of the tsunami
mirrors the chilling rate of challenges faced by the characters as
they try to evade their pursuers.
Carroll presents a cast of well-rounded characters. Gender roles are
explored. The characters are not stereotypical and they survive and
thrive. This is great representation of difference for young readers
to empathise with. Our heroine, for one, is no shrinking violet -
eventually going to sea as a sailor. Carroll allows her characters
to grow into themselves with natural acceptance of whatever that may
be. Love and relationships and what one does for love of the other
are central to the story.
This book would be ideal for age 10 to 12 stronger readers and would
work well as a serial read. Young readers could be encouraged to use
their atlases and explore historical themes arising from the book
that interest them.
Wendy Jeffrey
The girl who reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury
Translated from French by Ros Schwartz. Mantle, 2019. ISBN: 9781509868339.
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. Travelling on the Paris Metro to work
in a real estate office, Juliette had often passed her time covertly
making out the book titles or the page being perused by fellow
commuters, and wondered about the lives of the readers and their
book choices. In a spontaneous variation to her route one day, an
encounter with a sprite of a girl, Zaide, leads her to the strange
dusty world of a bookshop, 'Books Unlimited', and its mysterious
owner Soliman, who dispenses books to 'passeurs' - not the agents of
the secret French resistance WWII escape routes, but people who pass
on books to the person most in need of them. Soliman tells Juliette
about Hornbaker's concept of BookCrossing, releasing books into the
wild, leaving books in public places for people to find; only
Soliman wants his passeurs to give the right book to the right
reader. It reminded me of Ranganathan's laws of library science:
every person his or her book; and, every book its reader. Juliette
had been studying readers on the Metro for a long time but the idea
of matching the right book to the right reader seems overwhelming to
her. But somehow she seems to have the knack . . .
The novel is set in the modern world of stressed work lives and
mobile phones, but the story invokes the quirkiness of past French
films, and I could just see Amelie star Audrey Tatou in the
role of Juliette, a person of lightness and grace, caught in the
humdrum of daily life, and bringing a spark to her encounters with a
variety of unusual people: the man in the green hat with his insect
book, the sad woman with Italian recipes, the pretty young woman
tearfully reading page 247 of the romance novel.
However Juliette has always led a sheltered life, never going
further than the few Metro stops to her work, her only adventures
those in the books she's read. When she enters into the bookshop
with its teetering piles of books, and then is suddenly asked to
take care of it all, the task seems overwhelming. But the friends
she has come to know help her to inevitably take courage and find
her true vocation.
This is definitely a book for book lovers; there are many references
to treasures of literature, both classical and modern. At the end
there is a list of amazing books. Readers will be familiar with
many, but are invited to also add their own favourites, books they
would "recommend to a friend - or to your worst enemy, so they will
no longer be so, if the magic works".
Helen Eddy
The very super bear by Nick Bland
Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781743831267.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Bears, Verse, Humour, Problem solving,
Environment. When Bear finds a cape on the ground, he swings it onto
his shoulders, swishing it here and there, when a voice from on high
asks him to fly up and help.
In lovely rhyming verses, the tale of the bear and his cape unfolds,
him insisting that he may have a cape but he is not a super bear,
and cannot fly like super heroes. But each time he is asked for
assistance, he tries somehow to help. His first request is an
elephant stuck high up on a palm tree. Not able to fly up to help,
Bear climbs the tree, helping to rescue the elephant. But when the
elephant gets off he leaves the palm like a giant spring which
flings Bear into the air. He flies alongside a goose (Bruce) who
call for his help because a monster is gobbling up the trees in
their forest, and even though Bear insists again that he is not that
sort of bear, he tries to help. He does indeed find a monster
ripping up the trees and concocts a very funny solution to the
problem, using his cape, the flowers and the bees.
The acrylic illustrations are just delightful: the look on Bear's
face telling of his exasperation in not being able to convince the
other animals that he really cannot fly is memorable, while the
antics the Bear performs when donning his cape or throwing the
flowers are so full of movement many readers will get up and try it
out for themselves. Readers will laugh out loud at the animals'
attempts to rid their forest of the invader, and think about the
destruction that deprives these animals of their habitats. The
verses, so wonderful to read aloud, will entice children to call
out the rhyming word each time a second line is read, and they will
ask for the story to be read and read again.
Fran Knight
