Reviews

The Finder by Kate Hendrick

Text, 2018. ISBN 9781925603811
(Age: Adolescent) Highly recommended. This is a stunning new book that draws the audience into the world of a young woman who is determined to follow her dream as a 'finder', someone who will do the research that is needed to locate those who have become 'lost'. As a child, she lost her sister - who simply disappeared on a picnic, and, as an adolescent girl who cannot forget her sister, she cannot forgive herself, and cannot live with the guilt that she feels as a daily penance. Her parents have resorted to a rigidly organized structure for their large family, overseeing the progress of their children at school, ruling all of their lives through an unbreakable strict routine for eating, homework, activities and chores around the house that might seem to blank out their loss, but is clearly only distracting on the surface.
Having found a young runaway and been rewarded by the immense gratitude of the family, Lindsay has decided that it is a matter of close attention to her variety of sources of information, via internet sources, and particularly public posts, considering what she would do if she were to 'disappear', and following up on her hunches that have brought her the reward of becoming a 'finder' of some notability in the city. We are drawn into her world, and when she disappears to reside in an empty house - found through careful observation - she devotes her attention to her next challenge. When Elias, an extrovert, a wild dresser who is realizing that he is attracted to boys, asks for Lindsay's help to find his birth mother, she is ready to work with him, and finds him an unexpected good friend.
Written in a captivating style, Hendrick's narrative demands our attention! We are positioned to see the the world through Lindsay's eyes, and it is indeed an insightful depiction of today's world - of the pressures on adolescents, and of the interactions with their peers, and of modern family life. Highly recommended reading.
Elizabeth Bondar

Pearl the Magical Unicorn by Sally Odgers

A cardboard palace by Allayne Webster

Midnight Sun publishing, 2018. ISBN 9781925227253
(Ages: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Homelessness, Paris, Child trafficking, Crime. A Notable Book in the CBCA 2018 awards, an enlightening interview with Allayne Webster can be found at http://www.justkidslit.com/interviewbybook-with-allayne-webster/ which underlines her credentials for writing a book about homeless youth in Paris. In 2010, she found herself watching a young boy slip his hand into her husband's pocket and that scene helped develop her character, Jorge, a homeless boy in Paris, used by Bill, along with a number of other children to skim, scam and steal from people in the streets. And this is not random, the children are taught to target likely suspects, confuse and steal from them, then pass the money onto Bill.
At night these children live in cardboard shanties on the outskirts of Paris, some, like Jorge, hopeful that they will be able to leave this life, but most simply living from day to day, grateful to be fed and housed. Many of them are waifs, or bought from parents believing they will be given work, or homeless children taken up by adults who use them to make money.
In an unflinching story, Webster reveals the lives these children live, many not yet in their teens, never going to school, avoiding the police, aware all the time of the power of the men who control them, living in abject poverty and often trafficked.
At times reading like a modern Oliver Twist, Webster has given this theme a modern showing, revealing the children forced into this life, exploited by others, forced sometimes into marriage, abused and neglected.
The story comes to a head when the children find that their homes will be bulldozed by the authorities and Jorge's friend, Ada is about to be forced into a marriage she does not want. With help form their Australian cook friend, Sticky, they take matters into their own hands and survive the brutal lives they have endured.
This is a revealing story about desperate children exploited by adults in one of the major cities in the world and it is a salutary reminder to its readers that this is not just a Parisian problem.
Fran Knight

See Monkey by Sophie Masson

Lttle Pink Dog Books, 2018. ISBN 9780994626981
(Age: Pre-school) Recommended. "See Monkey" by Sophie Masson is a cute, easy to read story about a young child and his favourite toy Monkey and all the adventures they go on during the day. The book is filled with lots of illustrations showing what monkey is doing and would be absolutely perfect as a sharing book with a young child, where you could do the actions with them or their favourite toy too.
Monkey often gets into trouble and causes havoc with the family - which often happens with very young children and their toys! Monkey also gets told off a few times in the story, which many parents and children may relate too.
As a story book to read to a young child around 1-2 years old I think this would be excellent. The pictures are engaging, bright and accurate for the actions in the text. It would also make a great book for mimicking and even a group activity. In saying this - my 4 year old listened happily and pointed to the illustrations telling what Monkey was doing and what she could see. This shows its versatility across the younger age ranges.
I also liked this story for its ability to engage and draw in young children who have a really special toy that goes with them everywhere.
Overall I give this book a 4 out of 5, and think it would be a great addition to a young child's library or even in an education setting such as a childcare.
Lauren Fountain

Angel: A novel by Zoe Daniel

Through my eyes: Natural disaster zones series, Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760113773
(Ages: 10-14) Recommended. Themes: Natural disasters. Typhoons. Author Zoe Daniel has worked for many years as the ABC's South East Asia correspondent reporting on the devastation of wars and the aftermath of natural disasters. In Angel: A novel she has written from her first-hand knowledge of the devastating effects of super Typhoon Haiyan which struck Tacloban in the Philippines in 2013. She realistically portrays the plight of Angel's family and friends, the measures some people are forced into in their search for food and water and the resilience of others willing to provide aid and shelter.
Angel's thirteenth birthday is special, her mother and father give her a special pearl necklace, a talisman that will help her through the most difficult of circumstances. She lives along the sea wall in a simple house with her fisherman father, mother and younger twin brothers. Their livelihood depends on the seas and Angel enjoys helping her father catch the fish. As the family listen to the weather forecasts, they are unaware of just how dangerous the next typhoon will be. The magnitude of water, the depth of destruction, loss of homes, shops, separation of families is unbelievable. Angel stays with her father whilst her mother and the boys travel to Samar to help their elderly grandparents.
Angel struggles to survive as the typhoon hits; she clings to a pole with their old neighbour Mrs Reyes and helps her find shelter with her friend's family. The sights, smells, destruction and people's fight to survive are eye-opening. The problems caused when aid, food and water is delayed is unbelievable. Angel's determination to find her family and seek medical aid for her ill neighbour shows her toughness and inner strength.
The Through my eyes: Natural disaster zones series showcases the courage of children faced with almost impossible situations. Zoe Daniel's novel is suitable for confident readers who enjoy realistic fiction. Angel: A novel is suited to Year 5 and 6 classes studying Geography and Environmental Science researching the cause, effects and characteristics of extreme weather conditions.
Rhyllis Bignell

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

Hodder Children's Books, 2018, ISBN 9781444941951
(Ages: 12+) Highly recommended. Unexpectedly brilliant, Grace and Fury brings together the stereotypical expectations of women and those traits of the outspoken and questioning. The novel is dystopian in nature, however it interrogates the place of women both in the Banghart's fantasy world, and in our own.
In a world where women are only objects, where they are silenced, and forbidden education... In a world where simply being caught with an open book could send you to exile. Two girls leave the comfort of their provincial home for the capital, Bellaqua, where the elder, Serina, has been selected as a potential Grace for the Superior's Heir. But things go badly wrong when it is not Serina who is selected, but her sister, Nomi. With their roles reversed for the first time in their lives, both sisters are terrified and lost. Separated and thrown into opposite worlds they are forced to learn their new roles, will either of them survive? It's time for the rebellious Nomi to stop her madness and douse her fire, but that fire is just what Serina must find if she has any hope of survival. Nothing she learned preparing to be a Grace could prepare her for her new life.
Grace and Fury interrogates both the role and the power of women through a dystopian context. It shows not only are women beautiful but also powerful. By reversing Serina and Nomi's positions as rebellious and submissive, both girls are taught the power of being both and the importance of picking the correct moments to rebel against oppression and when to play the game.
Kayla Gaskell

We all sleep by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan

Fremantle Press, 2018. ISBN 9781925591538
(Age: Pre-school) Highly recommended. Board book. Themes: Animals - Australia. Aboriginal literature. Native species. "Acclaimed mother-and-son team Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina take readers on a journey through a day, celebrating the interconnectedness of people and animals in lyrical language and sumptuous colour". (Publisher)
This is a simple story about a variety of Australian animals and the different things they do. In the end we all sleep under the same stars.
The illustrations in this book are vibrant and tie each part of the story together. On each page you will find the animal the page is about and somewhere the animal that is coming next. There is a child and a blue bird are on every page.
I highly recommend anyone to share this book with their children.
Karen Colliver

Spinning silver by Naomi Novik

Pan Macmillan, 2018. ISBN 9781509899029
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy. Fairy tale retelling. Novik has once again written a compulsively good tale, a sister book to the award winning Uprooted. In this fabulous nod to the fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin", Novik brings to life three girls. Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders and when her ability to collect money and turn silver into gold catches the eye of the cold Staryk Winter King she finds herself in great danger. Wanda is the daughter of a mean alcoholic who beats her and her brothers and she is desperate to leave her home. Irinushka is a duke's daughter and she has been overlooked all her life until she starts wearing the jewellery that has been made from the Staryk's silver.
Highly complex, but equally engrossing, Spinning silver follows the three girls' paths as they negotiate their family lives and their difficult marriages. All the characters are fully fleshed out and each narrative voice is distinctive and easy to follow. Miryem's story is pivotal to the tale and she is the main character, but everyone, including the secondary voices of the mothers and the husbands and other family members, come across as strong and individual, and each is memorable.
The fairytale setting is very atmospheric - the cold of the Staryk homeland, the castles that Irinushka lives in and the desperate poverty of Wanda's home are vividly described and provide a wonderful backdrop for the story.
This is not an easy book to summarise and its themes are equally difficult; magic, domestic violence, alcoholism, forced marriages, death of parents, duty to the realm, usury, family isolation but the empowerment of the three young women, and the warmth of Miryem's loving parents shine through the story making it ultimately uplifting.
Pat Pledger

Amazing acrobats by Meredith Costain and Danielle McDonald

Olivia's Secret Scribbles bk3, Scholastic, 2018, ISBN 9781760277086
(Ages: 5-7) Themes: Sisters. Diaries. Acrobatics. Olivia's secret diary is an exciting recount filled with all things acrobatic. She loves racing out to the playground at recess and lunch with her friends and having fun on the playground equipment. Her daily journal entries focus on her friends and their activities on the monkey bars, hammock swing and climbing frame. Her positivity is delightful, her ability to creatively use everyday things like oranges for juggling or old sticks and bandages for stilts add to the fun of this easy to read story. Her best friend Matilda is willing to go along with most of Olivia's ideas with one exception, she's afraid of hanging upside down.
Fortunately, there's a free Circus Skills Holiday Workshop in the local Sunshine Centre and both girls are delighted to join. Each day brings new skills and equipment, Hula Hoop Tuesday, Slippery Silk Wednesday and Wriggly Worm Thursday. Practice makes perfect, there are lots of fun activities, group games, individual challenges and a special Spectacular Show for family and friends. Matilda gains confidence as she develops her skills with encouragement from Olivia.
Meredith Costain's third story in the Olivia's Secret Scribbles series is an excellent introduction to chapter books for young girls. There is a brightness and bubbliness to Olivia's point of view, that is presented in any easy-to-read format with aqua-coloured bold text. Danielle McDonald's cartoon illustrations add to the excitement and enjoyment of the story. Amazing acrobats is just right for readers from 5-7.
Rhyllis Bignell

Ori's clean-up by Anne Helen Donnelly

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