Illus. by Angela Perrini. Little Steps, 2019. ISBN: 9781925839531.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Age, Family, Birthdays, Numbers,
Presents, Celebrations. Children will love recognising the customs
surrounding birthdays as the narrator in this story talks about his
grandma's approaching 100th birthday He wonders about what people
will come along: will there be 100 people, or 100 birthday presents?
And then of course, what sort of food to have: Grandma tells him she
needs grown-up food like sandwiches and quiche not potato chips and
little pies which she cannot eat, and he wonders whether they will
need the fire brigade to put out the fire of 100 candles on the
cake. Children will laugh along with grandma at the questions he
asks, enjoying the hunour underlying the young boy's inquisitive
nature. But they may be questions they ask as well, especially when
they have a much older relative who needs special care. We find that
his grandma is in a nursing home, so when the question of a present
arises, he must be careful that it is not too big or noisy. He
deliberates over what to give her, remembering how she only had a
doll when she was younger in times which were, she tells him, a lot
simpler.
Children will enjoy reading of the organisation around birthday
parties, and particularly when someone turns 100, they will love
questioning along with the narrator, and thinking about what they
would do for their older relative.
The bright illustrations concentrate on the customs of the birthday
party: lots of images of cake and presents, candles, flags and
guests, making it a happy, involving look at how a birthday is
celebrated.
Fran Knight
Roly Poly by Mem Fox
Illus. by Jane Dyer. Puffin Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781760896348.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Polar bears, Sibling rivalry,
Families. Learning to get along with a new member of the family,
especially one who wants what you have, can be a painful transition
for some, and Mem Fox brings this issue to life with her delightful
character Roly Poly, imaginatively sculpted by Jane Dyer and
photographed by Jeanne Birdsall.
Roly Poly is used to having his own space. His bed is his bed and
his alone, the fish he catches are his fish and his alone, his
walrus tooth that he plays with is his and his alone. Repetition
entwines the listeners into the story, and they will say the words
out loud, waiting for the verbal clues to show them the way. The
beautifully timed lines create an image of a bear not used to
sharing his life so when a baby brother appears in his bed one day,
he is indignant. He pretends not to hear when his parents tell him
about Monty, and he storms off when this brother tries to play with
him. But Monty follows him, and when the ice flow begins to crack,
Roly Poly pretends not to hear the cries for help, and turns his
back once again.
The images created by Dyer are magical: pulled wool results in a
fluffy felt like appearance, giving the impression of the polar
bears' fur, and the addition of little things like the bedroom
furniture and the scarves add reality to each scene.
It is amazing how lifelike the expressions on the bears' faces
become as the story unfolds, making it clear to all readers that
this book is not just about bears.
Readers will love listening to the story read aloud, anticipating
the repeated words, repeating some of the lines as it is read.
Equally reading it for themselves will be a treat, searching each
page for details, marvelling at how lifelike the bears are,
recalling for themselves times when they have been less than
sympathetic with their siblings.
As a read aloud, a discussion starter about siblings and their
disagreements, or just a good read about two brothers, this latest
offering by Australia's most loved author, Mem Fox, will never be
left long on the shelf in any library. You may need several copies.
Fran Knight
The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan
Egmont, 2019. ISBN: 9781405293679.
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Fantasy, Imaginary lands,
Adventure, Magical Creatures, Good vs Evil, Twins. Rose and Arthur
are twins who have spent holiday time with their grandad. As young
children they played in Grandad's attic and created a mythical land
where they were the heroes of imaginative battles and adventures.
Now back at Grandad's home as eleven year olds, Rose and Arthur are
not quite the connected twins that they used to be. Rose is only
interested in her mobile phone and impressing the older girl next
door whereas Arthur is keen to relive their childhood adventures in
the attic. Rose treats Arthur disdainfully and Arthur keeps on
hoping Rose will become the adventurous and fun sister she once was.
Grandad decides that this year he will give the children the attic
as their own space but they will need to tidy it up and throw things
out. While clearing things out, Arthur finds two important childhood
memories of the Land of Roar which he cannot quite believe are true
- an old hand drawn map and a sign saying "Enter here for the land
of roar". While Grandad is helping Arthur he disappears into the
Land of Roar through a rolled up bed mattress. This is where the
twin's amazing journey begins. Arthur follows and meets all manner
of magical creatures in his search for his missing grandfather. Rose
eventually joins him and with their friend, Win, they must fight the
evil Crowky in order to save their grandad.
The author has used every fragment of her imagination to create an
exciting adventure where anything and everything is possible - magic
roads, magic tunnels, stuffed scarecrows that fight, Lost Girls,
dragons, mermaids, Prosecco the wooden horse from the attic and so
much more. Young readers will enjoy the action and tension
throughout the book as well as the clever illustrations to support
the story. Throughout the whole story, Arthur is never quite sure if
the Land of Roar is real or something he and Rose made up. Grandad
tells him it is real in his imagination and "I wonder if every child
has a world like this only not everyone is lucky enough to find it."
Kathryn Beilby
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Del Ray, 2019. ISBN: Del Ray, 2019. ISBN: 9781529100594. 404 pg., paperback.
No one speaks of the Grace Year. Little is known about what goes on
during it, but every girl in the county knows one thing is certain.
It will change them, if they survive it that is. The Grace Year
by Kim Liggett is a feminist thriller centered on Tierney James, who
lives in a village where all the girls are banished to the outskirts
at sixteen for the entire year. To brave the wilderness and expel
their magic is what they are told but really, they must also brave
each other. Trust no one, not even yourself. The Grace Year kept me grabbing the book wanting more and
more whenever I had the chance. Kim wrote of such compelling
characters that had such complex feelings and compulsions of their
own that I wasn't able to tell what was going to happen next. Kim
also described Tierney James well: she is a strong minded, logical
yet rebellious girl coming into her womanhood and after following
the rules of the county for all of her life she still finds it hard
to break free from it all, to finally be free of what she has been
told is expected of her. Going against what has been told of her,
going against the men who control her life, even going against the
other women around her, Tierney faces it all with as much strength
as she can muster. The question is: Will it be enough?
Kayla Raphael. 404 pg., paperback.
No one speaks of the Grace Year. Little is known about what goes on
during it, but every girl in the county knows one thing is certain.
It will change them, if they survive it that is. The Grace Year
by Kim Liggett is a feminist thriller centered on Tierney James, who
lives in a village where all the girls are banished to the outskirts
at sixteen for the entire year. To brave the wilderness and expel
their magic is what they are told but really, they must also brave
each other. Trust no one, not even yourself. The Grace Year kept me grabbing the book wanting more and
more whenever I had the chance. Kim wrote of such compelling
characters that had such complex feelings and compulsions of their
own that I wasn't able to tell what was going to happen next. Kim
also described Tierney James well: she is a strong minded, logical
yet rebellious girl coming into her womanhood and after following
the rules of the county for all of her life she still finds it hard
to break free from it all, to finally be free of what she has been
told is expected of her. Going against what has been told of her,
going against the men who control her life, even going against the
other women around her, Tierney faces it all with as much strength
as she can muster. The question is: Will it be enough?
Kayla Raphael
The perfect puppy by Alyce Hall
Illus. by Katrina Fisher. Little Steps, 2019. ISBN: 9781925839173.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Dogs, Puppies, Family, difference.
Logan is one of a large litter and as people come along to select a
pup to take home, he is rejected because he has one floppy ear. He
tries very hard to look the same, to blot out his difference, but to
no avail, he is still rejected by all the visitors. He ties his ear
up with toilet paper, but that just looks silly, and so he decides
that he will become another animal entirely. He goes to the farm and
watches a cow chew grass and decides that is not for him. He watches
the chooks laying eggs and thinks that is not for him. He looks at
the ducks but feels the water is too cold and the hole the rabbits
hide in underground is much too small for him. He rejects the pigs
as he doesn't like the mud on his fur and he talks differently from
the horse. At the end of autumn he is the last pup left and he does
not know what to do. He has run out of ideas. But a young girl and
her mother come along and see him, crying out that he is perfect
because of his one floppy ear and he has found his home.
A sweet story of belonging, of being different, of accepting one's
difference, this tale could be used in the classroom to look at the
tricky subject of body image, difference and acceptance. The warmly
sentimental illustrations will have wide appeal to the audience
where dogs and pups are things to be admired and loved. The images
of the dog being rejected will draw sighs of disappointment from the
audience, but as with all good stories, they know there will a happy
ending. From this story discussions could centre around dog
ownership, finding a dog for your family, rescue homes and so on.
The book lends itself to a variety of discussion points, and is a
sweet read aloud as well.
Fran Knight
Whose nose do you suppose? by Richard Turner
Illus. by Margaret Tolland. Starfish Bay Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781760360627.
(Age: 3+) Themes: Noses, Animals, Comparison, Verse. In easy to read
verse stanzas the question is asked of the reader about the nose
seen on the facing page. When the child has made some hopefully,
extravagant and also some measured guesses the page is turned to
reveal the correct answer. Readers will laugh out loud at their
responses, eagerly seeing who is correct and what the answer will
be. They will notice the detail of each drawing, the nose giving
some clues to recognising the animal, and the page when turned
revealing more of its habitat and environs along with its physical
features.
The accompanying stanza gives details about the animal: where it is
found, habitat, feeding habits and so on, each stanza offering a
different range of information, urging the student to find out more.
The twelve animals depicted include a rabbit, ostrich, elephant,
polar bear and shark, and I found the selection surprising so it
will be interesting to see how younger readers accept them. Some are
well known, meerkat and panda for example, but a few will stretch
their imaginations: anaconda, flamingo, ostrich for example. But its
always useful to add a few variables with the known.
In a classroom a map would be useful to show where these animals
come from and a trip to the local zoo would make a great adjunct to
the reading of the book.
Fran Knight
Rainbow Magic: Camilla the Christmas Present Fairy by Daisy Meadows
Orchard Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781408352465. 155pp., pbk.
Best friends Kirsty and Rachel are very excited to give each other
their Christmas presents! But when Jack Frost steals Camilla the
Christmas Present Fairy's magical objects, the magic of giving is in
danger. Can the girls help get Camilla's items back and save
Christmas for both the human and fairy worlds? The
Rainbow Fairies have been delighting young girls who are newly
independent readers since 2003 with 254 fairies published and 11 yet
to come. The series follows the lives of Kirsty Tate and Rachel
Walker and their magical adventures with their fairy friends, Queen
Titania, Queen of the fairies, King Oberon, King of the fairies and
Jack Frost, who is the enemy of the fairies and his servants, the
Goblins. With all the elements of fantasy that young girls love, the
series has remained popular for 16 years so if you have someone
ready to make the transition to novels this could be the one to
start them. This new release features three stories, each with short
chapters and illustrations to support the reader and with so many
others in the series to move on to, it is perfect for managing this
new step of the reading journey. There is also an
online site so that there is much more to explore and engage
in to enrich their experience, as well as suggestions for other
series that will broaden their reading horizons.
Barbara Braxton
Some places more than others by Renee Watson
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781526613684.
(Ages 8-12). Highly recommended. Themes: Family relationships,
Fathers, Daughters, African American people, New York city. New York
city can be a wonderful, busy place and for Amara it's the only
place she wants to be for her twelfth birthday. She is eager to go
with her father to Harlem to meet his estranged father and his other
family and get to know the place where her father grew up. Feeling a
little unsettled by the fact that her mother is finally having
another child and questioning her strange relationship with her
mother, Amara feels she will understand so much more about herself
and her family if she can get to know more about their history in
New York. Her father makes it clear that this is a work trip for
him, and Amara finds it hard to accept that this is the reason he is
avoiding her Grandpa Earl so much when they get there. Amara puts
herself in danger in a large confusing city as she acts out when she
gets frustrated with her cousins' attitude towards her and the fact
that her father doesn't seem to want to spend any time with her in
New York.
The trip for Amara is enlightening in lots of ways as she learns
more about her father's childhood and how Grandpa Earl now realizes
the mistakes he made when his son was a boy and is trying to make
amends. Her grandpa tells her things about her father that bring
them closer together and ultimately heals the rifts that seemed so
insurmountable at the beginning of her journey. She also has a
school history project to complete. The author includes information
about the Suitcase Project that Amara's teacher sets them which is
designed to get the children to research more about their families.
It provides the perfect vehicle for Amara to fulfill her mother's
wishes to get her father and Grandpa talking and the information
included at the end of the book will provide classroom teachers with
a great resource to use after reading this book.
This is a touching, thought provoking story with well-drawn,
engaging characters that will make a big impact on the reader. It is
about how exploring the places from our past can help us understand
who we are and how our family effects our lives.
Gabrielle Anderson
Yinti Desert Cowboy by Pat Lowe and Jimmy Pike
Magabala Books, 2019 (c2000). ISBN: 9781925936933.
Recommended. Themes: Aboriginal life; Station life and work. The
Yinti stories follow young Aboriginal lad, Yinti, as he grows, lives
and works in North West Australia. In the third book in the series,
Yinti has begun work as a station-hand on one of the cattle stations
out of Derby, in Western Australia. Demonstrating great skills and
capacity to learn quickly, he puts his considerable talents to work
as a 'cowboy', wrangling cattle and riding horses. A later stint on
a sheep station develops his station skills further. Aboriginal life
changes as most of his community head to work with the kartiya
(white people) who are running the stations, and their traditional
skills are adapted to a new way of life. With the advent of wages,
the provision of kartiya food supplies, and with risks of the
stockman life sometimes requiring medical treatment as a consequence
of injury, there are many changes in Yinti's life.
The insights into Aboriginal life after moving from a purely
traditional hunting lifestyle are revealed in this simple collection
of anecdotal stories, based on Jimmy Pike's own experience. The book
is a great insight into aboriginal ingenuity and capacity, and is
worth reading. Although there are references to historical
atrocities involving aboriginal people, this is handled very simply
and yet powerfully for a young audience.
Having now read all three of Yinti's stories, I am impressed at the
power of these stories to create cultural understanding. They are
certainly worth sharing with a young audience and would make great
read-aloud stories. Note, by the end of this, the third book in the
series, Yinti is exploring 'adult life' and a romance with a married
girl at the back of the station wood-pile is obliquely hinted at,
rather than explained in detail. This book is perhaps more suited to
a slightly older reader as a consequence.
Carolyn Hull
Emily Brown and Father Christmas by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton
Hodder Children's, 2019. ISBN: 9781444942002. 32pp., pbk.
It's Christmas Eve and Emily Brown and Stanley have hung up their
Christmas stockings and are snuggled up in bed reading when they
hear "Ho Ho Help" coming from outside their window. It is Father
Christmas and despite having the latest climbing equipment, he is
swinging precariously from a rope and needs rescuing. Emily suggests
that dropping down the chimney might be better because "Sometimes
the old ways are the best ways." But Father Christmas is determined
to embrace the new ways even though it gets him into strife all
night. Will the children around the world get their gifts on
Christmas morning or will they all be disappointed?
This is a very funny story that will appeal to both the reader and
listener alike. With its refrain of "Sometimes the old ways are the
best ways" it marries the magical side of Christmas deliveries that
we are familiar with, with the idiosyncrasies that we have all
experienced with modern technology. This is a Christmas story that
has some substance to it with a determined, credible main character
who will resonate with many and a storyline that will linger,
particularly when our technology next plays up and we are wishing
for some traditional Father Christmas magic.
Barbara Braxton
Oscar the Hungry Unicorn eats Christmas by Lou Carter
Illus. by Nikki Dyson. Orchard, 2019. ISBN: 9781408355824. 32pp.,
pbk.
Oscar the unicorn is always hungry and on Christmas Eve he is eating
his way through the palace Christmas preparations. The stockings,
the tree the presents . . . But the trouble really starts when he
eats the reindeer food meaning the reindeer no longer have their
magic power to fly. How will Santa deliver the presents?
This is a bright captivating tale that will enchant our youngest
readers as they continue the Christmas Countdown to that special
night. There is lots of humorous detail in the pictures,
particularly the one focusing on Christmas morning and this is
likely to be one that is requested again and again.
Barbara Braxton
The corner of my eye by Colin Thompson
Walker Books, Australia, 2019. ISBN: 9781925381931. hbk., picture
book.
(Age: 7-12). Highly Recommended. Themes: Family, Grandparents,
Vision, Memory loss. Colin Thompson has taken us on many journeys
through his books but this one I feel is the ultimate book that
tries to explain what it is like to get old. It is a highly complex
book that takes the reader on a journey which will leave you
realising what it may be like to have memory loss (dementia).
In this story Sally tries to help her grandfather to find something
he has lost. He can't describe it or name it for her, but she is
determined to help him to find it. Her family says he just "lost his
marbles" but she assures them he knows his marbles are in the blue
biscuit tin. She searches the house, the garden and, through the
illustrations, we see all the rooms in his house and all the seasons
in typical, amazing Colin Thompson detail. Ultimately Sally solves
his problem in a satisfying way using something that was always a
tradition with her family, chocolates at Christmas.
The illustrations are varied, vivid and amazing. The full-page
pictures of the various rooms provide hours of fun finding all the
funny little things hidden in them. You can spend days looking and
discussing the things in Thompson's illustrations and this is no
exception.
Not a book for young children, this will enchant and enthrall older
children who have an ageing grandparent and may assist them to
understand the unsettling nature of dementia. Thompson's use of some
real photography in some of his illustrations enhances his already
rich drawings. A wonderful addition to the Colin Thompson
collection.
Gabrielle Anderson
The Dinky Donkey by Craig Smith
Illus. by Katz Crowley. Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781775436065.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Donkeys, Verse, Sing-along, Read
aloud, Humour, Family. Wonky Donkey's offspring is a little girl.
And from there the lines on each double page have a 'hee haw' in its
middle, adding a new line each time the page is turned. Easy to read
and read aloud and sing along with the downloadable song, The
Dinky
Donkey is infectious, becoming one of those tunes you keep
hearing in your head.
With very cute drawings accompanying the text, no reader will be
unimpressed with the list of her attributes.
From being cute and small, to having long eyelashes, liking loud
music, to painting her hooves bright pink and so on, each attribute
adds one more word to the refrain, dinky donkey. By the end of the
story she is a stinky funky plinky-plonky winky-tinky inky-pinky
punky blinky Dinky Donkey, and all readers will laugh out loud as
they try to say this tongue twister.
Readers will also call out 'hee haw' each time it appears, and try
to guess the word added to the donkey's list of qualities. The
illustrations recall Wonky Donkey as the artificial leg is shown on
several pages, impelling readers to seek out the first book in the
series to see what happened to Dinky Donkey's mother.
As a 2010 finalist for the LIANZA Russell Clark Award (Illustration)
for The
Wonky Donkey (2009) it is wonderful to see a sequel along with
music available to have the kids sing along with the words penned by
Craig Smith.
Fran Knight
Paddy T. and the time-travelling trampoline by Adam France
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760523763.
(Age: Year 3 +) Recommended. Paddy T. and the time-travelling
trampoline is a romp of a book. It is in fact a collection of
short stories about the mad-cap adventures of twelve year old Paddy
T. as told in first person through his eyes.
This collection of short stories lends itself to being read out loud
by teachers. I read the first story to a class of year 3's. They were
captivated. The smiles on the faces of the listening boys in
particular just demonstrated that the cogs in their brains were
turning as they wondered what Paddy was going to be in for next. The
trick for teachers is to hook them in with the first story and then
there is a stampede to borrow the book.
There is a story about Paddy T. and his newspaper round where an
interesting friendship develops with an old man, a story about
solved writing problems at school involving a magic pencil, a story
about a loved uncle who was a hoarder, a story that is more suited
to older children that involves a school disco and crushes and more
. . .
There are some wholesome messages embedded in humour in these
stories. Zainal's illustrations are diagrammatic and onomatopoeia is
a feature throughout.
Adam France is a teacher. He knows what hooks kids in. Lucky are the
children who are in his class!
Wendy Jeffrey
Celeste the giraffe loves to laugh by Celeste Barber
Illus. by Matt Cosgrove, Scholastic, 2019. ISBN: 9781760669171.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Animals, Giraffes, Humour. Celeste
the giraffe just loves to laugh and her winning smile and laughing
face helps others to laugh too. But she has misgivings that others
do much cooler things than she, and so tries to copy them, making
the reader laugh out loud at her attempts to fit in.
In pairs of rhyming lines, readers will love reading out the lines
for themselves, predicting the rhyming word and perhaps offering
other suggestions for a word which rhymes.
Celeste spies the hippo looking ever so cool with her sunglasses,
mobile phone and coconut drink, lazing by the river. When she jumps
in she makes a huge splash, but Celeste, trying to copy her style,
makes barely a ripple in the water. Trying to out roar the lion
leads to a similar disappointment and emulating the ostrich with its
head in the sand is equally regretful. Trying to outpace the cheetah
leads Celeste to utter exhaustion, and her encounters with a shark,
kangaroo, hen, elephant amongst others are just as frustrating.
Children will laugh with glee seeing the way Matt Cosgrove changes
Celeste as she tries to fit the image of the other animal, and laugh
at the antics she displays. Cosgrove's funny illustrations will
bring tears of laughter from the readers as they watch Celeste
trying so hard to be different. She comes to a realisation, after
crashing into a tree, that perhaps she has skills she has not
promoted. She is strong and has a long neck and can teach the other
animals.
A fun filled treatise on being yourself, of being satisfied that you
are unique and do not have to copy others to be cool, this happy
book will encourage readers to think about their own skills and
unique qualities for themselves.
Fran Knight
