Anne Helen
Donnelly, 2018. ISBN 9780646984131
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Octopuses. Marine animals. Recycling
(Waste, etc.) "Ori the Octopus and his friends have left rubbish
everywhere. They tidy up, but it doesn't work. To keep their home
clean and healthy, they need to do something different, something
better." (Author)
This is a lovely story about looking after the world around us, and
how if we all work together we can help keep it clean. The text in
this book is large and easy to read; the illustrations are bright
and help to tie the simple story together.
Ori with the help of his friends clean up all of the rubbish, but
when it just comes back again they think about different ways they
can deal with the rubbish. They don't just get rid of it but reduce
it and reuse what they can and recycle what they can't reuse.
This book can be used with young children to talk about the
importance of looking after our environment.
I recommend this book to 4+
Karen Colliver
Maya and Cat by Caroline Magerl
Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781921977282
(Ages: 4+) Highly Recommended. Themes: Cats. Friendship. Refugees.
Homelessness. This beautifully presented story of reciprocal love
and friendship will resonate with readers as they see Maya
struggling to take a cat back to its rightful home.
On a wet and windy night, Maya spies the cat sitting on the roof
opposite her house. It is very wet and bedraggled, and nothing she
can do to attracts its attention works. She flutters her boa at it,
throws out her pompom on string and even her pink shoelaces. But
when she opens a can of fish and floats it off in the rain, the cat
eagerly eats it up. Maya then leads the cat around a number of
houses in her suburb, and although she stops at some interesting
places, she cannot find its owner. But placed in the basket on her
bike, she leads Maya back home, where a surprise waits in store.
This compassionate story of the love between a child and a stray
cat, of Maya looking out for a lost animal she spies on the roof, of
going to some lengths to help it back home, will speak volumes to
children as they may look further at the plight of many lost people
around the world, waiting for someone to care.
The brilliant watercolour illustrations depicting an array of cats
throughout the story but particularly on the endpapers, will delight
and enthrall all readers as they pore over the pages. The wet and
wintry conditions add a deeper level of concern and urgency to
Maya's quest. What she finds at the end of the pier is simply
charming, and readers will inspect the house and its occupants with
glee.
Australian freelance illustrator, Magerl has illustrated stories for
others, and Maya and cat, both written and illustrated by her is a
wonderful nuanced story full of levels of meaning for readers to
ponder.
The illustrations are designed to draw the reader into the reality
of the weather and its effects, the swirling leaves, the driving
rain, the tossing seas making each page sing with movement.
Fran Knight
Save the date by Morgan Matson
Simon and Schuster, 2018. ISBN 9781471163883
(Age: Teens-YA) In Save the date the story follows Charlie
Grant, the youngest of the Grant family of seven. Charlie is excited
for the next three days, as she finally gets to have all of her
family under the same roof in what feels like forever. And to top it
all off, it's for her sister Linnie's wedding too.
But as life has it, things don't all go according to plan for the
Grants. There's a missing wedding planner that has skipped town, her
favorite brother has bought a surprise new girlfriend, angry
neighbours are constantly trying to hassle them, the rented dog
causing noise complaints. And to top it all off, the new wedding
planner's nephew is kind of cute too.
With problem after problem, over the next three long days, Charlie
will learn more about the people she thought she knew best. And that
holding onto the past isn't good for her future.
Morgan Matson has given us a family orientated story with a complex
family to fit it. It follows a lot of major events that happen to a
lot of people, including family quarrels, distant siblings, fighting
parents and change within the family and life itself. The last being
the main issue that Charlie faces the most in this story: Change. I
think that the themes represented in Save the date would best suit
teenagers and young adults.
Kayla Raphael
Dolls of hope by Shirley Parenteau
A Friendship Dolls Book
Candlewick Press, 2015. ISBN 9781536200263
(Ages: 8-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Friendship. Japan. Dolls. Adventure. Bullies.
Can humility and honour live side-by-side in a progressive society?
Chiyo is a young Japanese girl born into a relatively humble and
simple family in a farming community. It is 1927 - a time when
traditional Japanese life is on the cusp of change. But for Chiyo,
her adventurous spirit is about to create opportunities that she
could never imagine. While attempting to check that her older
sister's potential suitor is worthy, she ends up being sent to
boarding school (at his expense and suggestion) and into an
environment that is challenging to her core. Despite the 'mean
girl', Hoshi, constantly causing havoc, Chiyo eventually gets a
chance to be involved in the Friendship Dolls event - the American
Dolls having been sent to Japan from America to be a diplomacy tool
to create positive relationships between the two countries. Chiyo is
'tripped' at every step by Hoshi, but her grace shines through and
she is eventually chosen to be the protector of the doll 'Emily
Grace', and the face of the Japan Doll. Even this joyful role comes
with pain as Hoshi's jealousy causes strife. Even though Chiyo's
spirit and honour is challenged, she finds ways to rise and smile
through difficult circumstances.
Shirley Parenteau's tale gives great insight into more traditional
Japanese culture and thinking - especially their esteem of
honour and humility. But she is also able to show the spirited, but
gentle personality of the central character, almost as a metaphor of
a changing Japanese society. This tale will be enjoyed by female
readers aged 8-12, especially those interested in other cultures (or
for students of Japanese). The cover is a little too 'sweet' for my
liking and may perhaps prevent some potential readers from selecting
this book from the shelf. It does highlight the historical and
Japanese connection, but is a bit too 'cute and girly'.
Highly recommended, for ages 8-12
Carolyn Hull
Off the track by Cristy Burne
Fremantle Press, 2018, ISBN 9781925591743
(Ages: 9+) Recommended. Themes: Humour. Camping. Going hiking and
camping with Mum's long lost old school friend and her daughter,
does not thrill our hero, as he is told there is no mobile phone
reception, so must leave his phone at home. He is bereft. His phone
is a necessary part of his daily activity, not hiking or camping,
and to be expected to be friendly with the daughter is just too
much. He is from the city where the day is full of lying on the
couch and gaming, not being out doors with snakes, the bush and
insects. And the idea of snakes and robbers takes up a great deal of
this thinking.
As he and Deep go off ahead, they have a walkie talkie to connect
with their mothers, but something goes wrong. They realise that they
have taken a wrong turning and try as they might, cannot connect
with their mothers. They retrace their steps, taking care to have
the waiguls guide them along the way, finally reaching the women and
finding out just what has happened.
This new adventure for young readers about finding that there is a
lot to love about the bush. Simply being in the bush helps Harry to
disconnect with his dependence upon technology, and he finds that he
can cope. Embedded in the story are the themes of friendship as the
two older women reconnect and their children become friends despite
early difficulties. Surviving in the bush is subtly displayed
throughout the story as we hear of the things they take camping and
why they are important. We hear of the rules of staying together, of
following the signs and of keeping safe in the bush. All forms a
quiet underbelly of the story and readers will pick up these rules
readily as they are wrapped up in an involving story which is
dramatic and real.
Fran Knight
The cat wants kittens by P Crumble
Ill. Lucinda Gifford, Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781742769097
(Ages: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Cat and kittens. Play. Friendship.
Melbourne based illustrator, Gifford gives a vexed smile to the cat,
Kevin, in this funny picture book showing what happens when the cat,
boss of the house, is supplanted by two new kittens. At the start of
this humorous book we see Kevin doing some very naughty catlike
things about the house: scratching the sofa, biting the dog's tail,
pushing the flower vase off the shelf. It is decided that he is
bored so two new kittens are introduced into the household. But they
undermine everything he does. Readers will laugh out loud, seeing
Kevin stopped from eating his dinner, or taking a sleep in his bed,
or finding the kittens playing with his springy mousey.
Nose put put of joint, he goes to the one place where he feels safe,
under the bed. He waits expecting someone to come looking for him,
but night falls and people are all asleep before he decides that he
had better take a look.
What he finds makes him think that perhaps he had better just accept
what has happened, and readers will be relieved that the situation
has been resolved so peacefully, but turning over to the last page
will anticipate what will happen next.
The look on the cat's face on the front cover says it all.
And some children may make the link to new siblings taking up their
space in a house that was only theirs.
Fran Knight
The wasp and the orchid by Danielle Clode
Picador:Pan MacMillan, 2018. ISBN 9781760554286
(Age: Adult) Themes: Environment. Orchids. Women in science. Edith Coleman.
Botany. This is an insightful biography of Edith Coleman, a woman who
demonstrated the observation skills of a keen scientist and
naturalist and was able to make a difference in the scientific
world, without being a professional or academic. Her
observations revolutionised understanding in the biological world in
the early 20th Century, and yet she was not a scientist, just a
dedicated observer and recorder and communicator of these findings.
In the era when Edith Coleman lived, women were often deemed to be a
'lesser light', and expert only in domestic issues. Edith Coleman
demonstrated that with careful records and clear communication that
it was possible for women to make a significant contribution to the
world of natural science (even as an amateur). Her great claim to
fame was to describe the link between a wasp and the fertilisation
of a look-alike orchid, in a process known as pseudo-copulation.
Danielle Clode has revealed an impressive and detailed unveiling of
all that Edith Coleman was - child, sibling, wife, mother, keen
nature observer, contributor to academic understanding, and a
refreshing writer. Coleman's humanity shines through the enjoyable
discourse of the researcher Clode, who writes her own refreshing
insights on the process of finding snippets of biographical detail
in a myriad of hidden locations - from herbarium records to Field
Naturalist journals and personal communications. This record is both
an in-depth investigation and a lyrical and reflective personal
journey that is full of beautiful language and images of gardens and
natural wonderlands sprinkled with orchids. In reading this book we
remember Edith Coleman, an unsung luminary in Australian biology,
and although this may not appeal to all readers, it will be loved by
any reader who is interested in the way that ordinary people with a
passion for the environment can make a difference. The historical
view of life at the turn of the 20th Century is also delightful, and
Edith Coleman's daughters are revealed as equally influential in the
recording of natural science. Clode's writing reveals her own
joy in communicating science in a way that would appeal to a
non-scientific audience.
Highly recommended, for Adult nature lovers.
Carolyn Hull
The Life and Death Parade by Eliza Wass
Quercus Books, 2018. ISBN 9781784295271
(Ages: 12+) Highly recommended. An exquisite painting of the stages
of grief and acceptance following the death of a loved one. Eliza
Wass shares a breathtaking story of love, loss, and the lengths
people go to to preserve their loved ones.
Nikki met his fate after meeting a psychic who told him he had no
future. The Bramley family have been wallowing in their grief for a
year. Kitty's boyfriend is dead and yet he haunts the family
home - his death causing Kitty to feel even more out of place than
before. A third-generation orphan, Kitty believes that her greatest
talent is in losing people. But can she turn that around and help
the people who have sheltered her and cared for her since her
mother's death?
In her desperation to discover the truth of Nikki's death, Kitty
finds herself at the Canal where, a year ago, it had all changed.
But this time the psychic's boat is different - a boy sits on deck.
His name is Roan and he claims he can speak to the dead. Thinking it
might help, Kitty takes Roan back to the castle to speak with
Holiday and Lady Bramley. While Roan makes quick progress helping
them with their grief, Kitty discovers that while most of The Life
and Death Parade is a farce, Roan is the real deal, talented in many
things, including resurrection. Faced with the most difficult
decision of her life, Kitty must decide if Nikki should stay dead,
or return to life.
Beautifully written, Eliza Wass presents a book that deals with the
grief of losing a loved one gently, a testament to her own
experience. She includes excerpts of poems written by her late
husband which break up the work. I read the novel in one sitting and
would highly recommend to readers twelve and up.
Kayla Gaskell
Want to play trucks? by Ann Stott
Ill. Bob Graham, Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406378238
(Ages: 4+) Highly Recommended. Themes: Playgrounds. Trucks. Play.
Jack and Alex meet most mornings at their local playground to play
together, while their mums sit on the seat in the background,
chatting and keeping an eye on them. The two play in the sandpit,
Jack pushing his beloved trucks around the space, while Alex plays
with his dolls. When Jack asks Alex to play trucks, there is a small
problem to overcome. Alex would prefer to play with his doll. They
decide that the doll can drive the truck and so all is well. When
they turn to the forklift truck, things must be decided again. The
tutu will not fit in the driver's seat, so again a compromise must
be made. The doll is divested of her tutu and dressed in dungarees.
All is well.
An ice-cream truck can be heard in the background, all playing is
stopped for a treat. And the treat is something no one can argue
about.
This delightful tale of a small moment in the sandpit; the use of
strong words between the boys, is resolved by the children as they
decide what is important. Playing together, finding a way to
overcome a disagreement is the basis of their friendship. This
gentle tale of peace and understanding is beautifully paralleled in
Graham's distinctive water colour illustrations, reflecting the two
families which meet at the playground and the efforts made by the
two friends to remain friends and join in their game.
I love the mothers in the background, chatting away, while their
children work out their own disagreements for themselves. And in the
city backdrop, life moves on with people cycling past, a kite is
caught in the tree, a person is helped past in his wheelchair, a
squirrel watches the children and people walk their dogs. What a
wonderful story to encourage discussion about friendship and
compromise, about disagreements and coming together.
Fran Knight
Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt
Allen & Unwin, 2018, ISBN 9781760291501
(Ages: 12+) Recommended. With the death of her pop Ellie's world
transforms; desperate to maintain some semblance of normalcy, she
clings to the things her Pop left behind: the goat (Nanny Gitto),
Pop's hat, and of course the broken button-box which was stolen from
his grave by their lawyer. Desperate to fix her Pop's instrument,
Ellie goes to a travelling tinker who does what he can to repair the
button-box. Imperfect yet working, Ellie quickly discovers the
button-box's magic. Little does Ellie know, clinging to the past has
a way of stirring up old secrets, secrets she would never have
believed if they hadn't come from her Oma's own mouth. Spurred on by
the knowledge she was adopted, Ellie sets off to destroy the cursed
button-box and uncover her true family. But is it her true family or
her true self she is really searching for?
Haunting and captivating, Shine Mountain shows that what matters
when it comes to family isn't blood, but the people who raised you.
While Ellie journeys to destroy the sinister magic within the
button-box she discovers more about herself than she would have at
Spit Farm. She is a Way-girl, susceptible to the magic within the
button-box and fortune-telling. Yet her path remains unclear in the
struggle to keep the sinister instrument within her possession.
Ellie grows up quickly, travelling across desert and through
mountain to reach the mystical Gleam Land, which, like the rest of
the land, has been affected by the drought.
I would recommend for young people who enjoy fantasy and fairy-tales
aged twelve and up. The novel is engaging and easy to read, dealing
with issues such as belonging, survival, and drought.
Kayla Gaskell
Record breakers by DK
Dorling Kindersley, 2018. ISBN 9780241296967
(Ages: 8-80) Recommended. Themes: Records. Animal records. Human
achievement. Dorling Kindersley's Record breakers focuses on our
Planet Earth, amazing human achievements in people power, the
prowess of athletes, engineering feats, animal records, and space
data. Beautifully presented with amazing photographs, diagrams,
charts, clear captions, easy to read labels, this is an entertaining
book just right to share with the whole family.
Investigate where the world's population lives, the spikes rising
out of the map show the number of people living in each continent,
Greenland has the lowest density. Interested in gems, the most
precious, valuable and rare ones are displayed, the pink star
diamond weighing 59.6 carats sold in 2017 for $71.2 million!
Human achievements include climbers who scaled Mt Everest, the
deepest free divers and the amazing survivors who showed stamina and
strength enduring extreme conditions. Female football stars include
USA's Abby Wambach who scored 184 goals in 256 matches from 2001 to
2015. Imagine jumping further than two Volkswagen Beetles: Mike
Powell jumped 8.95m at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships.
Giant cruise ships, the largest airship to the world's largest
self-powered vehicle, NASA's Crawler Transporter, world breaking
records and giant machinery are included in Feats of Engineering.
Of course, records in the Animal World are both exciting and hard to
comprehend, the Giant Anteater's tongue stretches 61cm while the
Colossal Squid's eye is 28cm in diameter. Animal migration, amazing
mini-beasts and super-sized snakes will delight the animal lover. Record breakers is an engaging, educational encyclopaedia of
facts, there's something there for everyone to enjoy, to marvel over
and discuss.
Rhyllis Bignell
The desert nurse by Pamela Hart
Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9780733637568
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. Themes: Historical fiction. WW1.
Medical. Female rights. The story is about an Australian nurse and
doctor during the years of World War 1. It is more than a love story
but based on the struggles of women at the time. Evelyn's plan has
always been to be a doctor but her father has stood in her way and
also tried to stand in her way when she enlists as an army hurse.
When she enrolled in the army to became a nurse, she never let go of
her dream to be a doctor. She learns many skills and works well in
surgery with Dr William Brent, a polio survivor. During this time
they both became close but neither plans to marry, Dr Brent because
of his disability and Evelyn because of her career plans to become a
doctor.
The reader gains an insight into the disastrous Gallipoli campaign
as the Egypt hospital coped with the many Australian casualities. It
also acknowledged the important role women played in the hospitals
and near the battle fields. I loved this book, and couldn't put it
down. Rating 9/10
Debra Pepper
Something for Fleur by Catherine Pelosi
Ill.by Caitlin Murray. Lothian, 2018, ISBN 9780734418104
(Age: 2-5) Themes: Birthdays. Surprises. Friendship. When Fleur the
flamingo receives a letter delivered by the postman, she is very
surprised. As she relaxes on her outdoor lounge surrounded by
blooming cacti, she wonders about the big present Bo her best friend
is posting. Her imagination takes flight, will it be icecream
mountains or ten-tiered cakes, but maybe they are a little difficult
to deliver. When a second letter arrives, an additional clue is
included, the present is very strong. The anticipation builds with a
third letter informing Fleur that the present is a little bit
wobbly. Fleur's patience is stretched to the limit when nothing is
delivered by the postman on her actual birthday. By now, the young
audience has guessed the surprise present and can join in with the
Happy Birthday chorus sung by a special visitor.
Caitlin Murray's gorgeous, colourful digital print illustrations
capture the fun and happy mood of Catherine Pelosi's picture book.
Fleur's house is awash in bright bold colours, filled with an array
of lush house plants and jam-packed with fun household items and
gadgets. Fleur's imaginative ideas are creatively represented, three
colourful lorikeets fly overhead dressed in superhero costumes while
frog and sloth become body builders balancing Fleur's presents. The
author's use of letters delivered by the postman is different in
contrast to the popular use of social media. Something for Fleur
is a fun story to share with toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Rhyllis Bignell
The people's poet, transformed by Geoff Goodfellow and Rebecca Bond
Wakefield Press, 2018. ISBN 9781743055755
(Age: Secondary) Recommended.
Designed for use by teachers, this collection of Goodfellow's poems
is supplemented by teacher Rebecca Bond's ideas for how they could
be used in the classroom as texts for transformation tasks as
proposed by the Australian Curriculum for English. Bond says that it
is important to encourage students to write and create texts that
have meaning for them - the tasks encourage students to reinterpret
the poems in their own way, giving voice to their own ideas and
experiences.
Whilst many of Goodfellow's poems may relate to an earlier
generation, the poems are very accessible; the themes are ones that
continue to have relevance today - themes of domestic violence,
adolescent independence, addiction, male aggression, lost love,
smoking and cancer, etc. Each poem has a voice or character that
people can understand and relate to.
An example is the poem 'Crowd control' about Terry the bouncer and
the way he uses violence to assert himself and intimidate. But Terry
is also the guy whose punch put a man into a coma. Bond links it to
today's phenomenon of the 'coward's punch' and makes some
suggestions for a transformation task. If however the suggestions do
not pick up on the issue of 'the king hit' as much as some might
like, I would not see this as a detraction from the book - the
purpose is to provide examples and provoke thought - not provide a
copybook for every teacher. The activities are able to be picked up
and used straight away in the classroom, but they could equally be a
helpful springboard in developing other ideas for transformative
tasks adapted to particular audiences.
Goodfellow provides an example himself where he transforms his
original poem in the confrontational voice of a teenage youth 'Don't
call me lad', to the voice of a rebellious teenage girl in conflict
with her mother, in 'Don't look so glum'; necessitating a change of
focus to the different kinds of contentious issues for a girl.
Bond provides suggestions for a whole range of different kinds of
text types that could be the outcome of a transformation task:
advertising campaign, psychological assessment report, diary, blog,
memoir, song lyric, editorial, poem, newspaper article etc.
The book is most definitely a valuable resource that will be
welcomed by teachers.
Helen Eddy
Storm-Wake by Lucy Christopher
Chicken House, 2018. ISBN 9781906427733
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Survival. Coming of age. Nod to
Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Moss is a young girl who has grown up
on a magical island with her father, who believes that he can use
the flowers growing there to control the weather and stop the floods
that he claims have devastated the world. When a wild young
fish-boy, Callan, is washed up on the shore, Moss grows increasingly
attached to him, but finds it difficult to know what to believe when
he begins to question her father. Then two young men are shipwrecked
and she has to question everything that she has grown up believing
to be true.
I did not realise that this was loosely based on "The Tempest" until
well into the story. However astute readers who are familiar with
the play, will read the quote at the beginning of the book and see
the parallels featuring a father who takes his daughter to an
isolated island, and a young feral boy who threatens their peace. At
the same time, readers who are not familiar with "The tempest" are
able to read it as a survival story and a coming of age story, as
Moss grows physically and mentally, and Pa deteriorates as he
consumes more and more of the storm flowers on the island, living in
a drug induced fever. The appearance of the two young men from the
real world who are shipwrecked adds a new dimension to the story and
Christopher gathers together many interesting threads as her tale
draws to an end.
The lyrical writing and the magic surrounding the island drew me in
and after a rather slow start, I found it very difficult to put the
book down. The descriptions of being totally isolated, with just the
three of them, Moss, Pa and Cal, living together and surviving,
combined with dreamlike sequences, draw the reader in, and often it
is difficult to know what is real and what is not.
This is a unique and magical story that will appeal to readers who
like to be challenged.
Pat Pledger
