Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781681195193
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. "Ellie is an engineer. With a tool
belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can't wear a
dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she
invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop.
Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit's
birthday nears, Ellie doesn't know what gift to make until the girls
overhear Kit's mom talking about her present - the dog Kit always
wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow
so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and
crafty girls, even though the two groups don't get along. Will Ellie
be able to pull off her biggest project yet? Illustrated with
Ellie's sketches and plans, and including backmasters with how-tos,
this is full of engineering fun!" (Publisher)
I have had "Ellie Engineer" highly recommended to me and I was not
disappointed. Ellie is a strong female character who enters a world
normally dominated by boys. She has all the traits we are trying to
foster in the youth of today - friendly, kind, creative and
inventive. Ellie is the perfect mix - although she likes to wear
dresses she also likes to be creative, inventive and wears a tool
belt ensuring she is always prepared. She is a risk taker and fully
understands that when you are inventing things failure is a common
occurrence by one must display persistence and keep going. She
ensures she keeps detailed notes and drawings documenting her
journey which are cleverly interspersed throughout the book. I would
recommend this book for students aged 8 and up. Themes touched on
include STEM, friendship and gender stereotypes.
Kathryn Schumacher
Running on empty by Sonya Spreen Bates
Orca Sports series. Orca Book Publishers, 2018. ISBN
9781459816534
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Themes: Sport - Athletics, Family,
Overcoming difficulties. Leon experiences the worst outcome during
his High School 4 x 100metre relay event - the end of his sprint
career due to a mid-race accident. The turmoil of having his life
turned upside down because of his injury, results in family
difficulties and emotional distress. Nothing will ever be the same
again! A chance meeting at the Physiotherapy clinic with Casey, the
feisty, spirited and attractive teenager, changes his direction, and
potentially leads him towards a new way of living. But is her
direction healthy, or does her own struggle in life put Leon in
danger of some unwise choices? Can he run again, or should he just
give up?
This book takes the reader into the story of an American teenager on
the brink of College life, whose hopes for an Athletics scholarship
get crushed because of injury. Family relationships and disharmony
are addressed, as well as the generational dilemma of coping with a
grandparent on the brink of dementia. But essentially it is a story
of someone at the crossroads trying to deal with difficulty in their
life and to recover from disappointment, all within the context of
school athletics and sporting aspirations. Casey's problems are
intense, and we know there are major problems, but her power to
inspire Leon gives hope where there was none. Problems do not
disappear, but the future for the two teens will not be plain
sailing. This book will be appreciated by sports fans, but also by
others who understand the teenage predicaments that the characters
face.
Recommended for readers aged 13+.
Carolyn Hull
Topspin by Sonya Spreen Bates
Orca Sports series. Orca Book Publishers, 2013. ISBN 9781459803855
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Themes: Tennis, Sabotage, Competition. Kat
has made it to the Junior Tennis championship at Melbourne Park.
This is the chance she has always wanted but Miri, her Doubles
partner, seems to be up to something, and it seems to involve the
unwitting tennis player, Hamish - Miri's very likeable boyfriend.
The tension between Kat and Miri is growing and affecting Kat's
ability to perform on court in both her Singles game and her Doubles
contests. Kat decides she needs to figure out what is behind Miri's
growing secrecy and strange connection with the unpleasant
character, Dray. Kat's sleuthing uncovers a plot that could damage
Hamish's chance in the championship. Will this information put them
all in danger, and will she be able to protect Hamish from Dray's
sabotage?
This is an action book - action on the tennis court and in the
uncovering of the plot to sabotage a tennis player's success. It is
exciting and full of the language, strategy and interest of
competitive tennis for Junior participants. It is also a mystery and
adventure involving the young under 16 characters. This is the kind
of book that young sports lovers will love, because of the
past-paced and intriguing environment of competitive sport. The
action off court is also exciting and slightly cautionary, with
competitive tendencies sometimes making the participants quite
unpleasant in their desire to win.
Recommended for readers who love sport, aged 12+.
Carolyn Hull
Off the rim by Sonya Spreen Bates
Orca Sports series. Orca Book Publishers, 2015. ISBN
9781459808881
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Themes: Basketball, Cyberbullying, Mystery
Adventure. Dylan Lane is in his American school's basketball team
and they are on the brink of making the playoffs. This is their last
chance, with team members facing College and post-school career
choices. Basketball plays and training become very important, as
does improving the playing skills of Noah, the weakest link in the
team. Dylan's girlfriend Jenna is in the girls' team and they have
already made it to playoffs. Will Dylan's team fall short? Can Jenna
help? But this is not the only drama Jenna and Dylan face. For some
reason Jenna is being targeted with a string of texts and emails
that threaten her if she does not stay 'quiet'. And when these
threats become attempts at running Dylan and Jenna off the road it
is obvious that this is very serious. With Noah's help, eventually
they work towards unravelling the mystery . . . and play basketball for
all they are worth.
This is a book full of the drama of a sporting contest and a
life-or-death mystery with cyber threats. It is exciting and the
language of the basketball sporting contest will appeal to those
steeped in the sport. With characters on the edge of adult life,
this is probably suited to high school readership, but there will be
some younger readers who are basketball buffs who would also enjoy
the action. Set in the USA and written by a Canadian writer who is a
resident of South Australia, this book is a cross-cultural
experience, but young readers who are consumers of American culture
through movies will have no problem connecting with the story.
Recommended for readers aged 13+ (especially those that love
basketball).
Carolyn Hull
Marvellous Mummy by Katie Poli and Giuseppe Poli
New Frontier, 2018. ISBN 9781925594188
(Age: All) Recommended. Mums can be funny and friendly and gentle
and strong . . . all in one day!
What an absolutely gorgeous book. The illustrations accompany a
simple story line that will appeal to a wide audience and be a big
hit around Mother's Day. It is interesting that it is not all sweet
and gooey and also talks about mummies that get grumpy, grumbly and
angry! Just shows that we are not always the perfect mother! This
will certainly resonate with lots of the children as they so much
enjoy sharing the good and the bad stories about their mums - often
without a filter. The text allows you to create great visualisations
of your own and it would be a fantastic activity to do with children
- just sharing the text and getting the children to create their own
images. A welcome addition to the collection and is suitable for
children of any ages.
Kathryn Schumacher
The all new must have Orange 430 by Michael Speechley
Penguin, 2018. ISBN 9780143788973
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Themes: Consumerism, Toys. Michael
Speechley's debut picture book "The All New Must Have Orange 430"
introduces young children to consumerism, it demonstrates that you
don't need to have the latest toy to have fun. In our world today,
we are bombarded with advertising, children covet the latest
electronic device, toy or fashion clothing. Speechley's message is
powerfully illustrated in dark, layered backgrounds with sepia toned
images featuring a moody mix of brown, grey, orange and white.
Harvey's desire for the all new ORANGE 430 is driven by marketing in
a magazine, the toy is on sale and of course they won't last at the
discounted price. He searches everywhere to come up with money and
finds some interesting things like false teeth, Lego and the remote
control as well. He passes billboards with interesting messages and
finally arrives at the small shop filled with other useless objects.
Harvey's expressions as he experiments with his new toy are
wonderful, amazement, surprise and contemplation, even LouLou the
cat seems scared of it. Taking his toy back proves frustrating and
along he rushes off to join a long queue of unhappy young customers
at the Useless Object International offices. The young boy asks the
other children and adults, 'could you do anything with your
objects?'
Tipping out the useless toys and playing with the boxes proves to be
a fun and happy time, hopscotch, box boat races and building box
towers. Harvey's message is potent, he's only going to save for
useful stuff from now on, much to the disgust of Mr Ripoff president
of the UIO factory. Even LouLou the cat finds a special use for the
Orange 430 box, it makes a comfy bed.
"The All New Must Have Orange 430" picture book provides an
important insight for families and for classes into the effects of
advertising and consumerism in our world. Take time to observe the
signs, the labels on the stuff in the background and discuss the
difference between needs and wants, the importance of financial
responsibility and the effects of advertising. Speechley's important
messages are equally relevant to children, teenagers and adults
living in today's society.
Rhyllis Bignell
Blue Window by Adina Rishe Gewirtz
Candlewick Books, 2018. ISBN 9780763660369
(Age: Older adolescents - Adults) This powerful novel, epic in
scope, presents an undiscovered world that seems to be both
predictably human and terrifyingly inhuman. Seeming to fall into a
new world through a blue glass window, five imaginative siblings
find themselves caught in an unexpected place where what they have
known as normal does not exist. Their aim is to escape but they
cannot understand how they have been caught in the new world, so the
possibility of leaving seems to be physically impossible.
This is a world of upheaval, violence and fear, a world where the
inhabitants are oppressed, bullied and subjugated to rules that
dominate their lives. They are largely unaware of a possibility of a
world that offers freedom, peace or love. We are aware that Gewirtz
subtly suggests changes in our world that mimic that of her
dystopian society, such as control of free thought, of liberal
education, or of equality and justice. Both disturbing and violent,
this world suggests that some of the present and past worlds that we
have known or inherited are the result of the potential for human
beings to allow those with power to overrule others to the extent
that all known freedoms cease to exist, and dominance, in all
aspects of life, to quash the spirit.
In this dystopian world, the inhabitants, strange-looking and with
quite different ideas about life, seem to follow many of the ways of
the children's own world, yet their world runs on different rules.
It ought to be terrifying but the children seem to find the strength
to analyse the way this world works and the strength to resist
further exploration, and to realize the power of their own
individual strength. The power of their minds to dream up a scenario
seems to be one avenue of enabling change, as they discover, and it
is this positive thinking that offers escape but, paradoxically,
alerts the inhabitants to their presence and endangers them.
This novel is about the power of goodness, decency, kindness,
intelligence, and the capacity of the human spirit to overcome
extreme repression. It speaks of aspects of societies that our world
has known, but placing the children in one such world evokes both
our empathy and our fear of the power of thought and persuasion. I
found it disturbing and unsettling to read, with such young people,
unable to reach their own family and known world, plunged into such
a harsh and violent world. The characters, somewhat ingenuously,
appear to not realize the actual threat of that world, and their
strength of character, loyalty and love, appear to enable them to
find the means to flee.
Qualities such as persistence, kindness and decency are important in
the interactions of the children, both within their little group and
with the locals. Their return to their family home is a satisfying
ending, but plunging such young people into such a violent and
oppressive world evokes a disturbing response in the reader.
Beautifully written, this book is suitable for older adolescents or
adults.
Elizabeth Bondar
The Champion Charlies: The Mix-Up by Adrian Beck
Ill. by Adele K Thomas. Random House, 2018, ISBN 9780143791249
(Age: 6-9) Themes: Soccer, Sports. "The Champion Charlies" series
has been developed in partnership with Football Federation Australia
promoting teamwork and the enjoyment of the game.
When Principal Swift announces that football is cancelled twenty
minutes before the first training session starts, everyone is
shocked. Charles 'CJ" Jackson and Charlotte Alessi, captains of the
boys' and girls' teams can't believe this devastating news. Last
year, both teams had worked hard and won their grand finals, CJ and
Charlotte's photo had appeared in the local paper under the heading
'the Champion Charlies'.
What was the principal doing? The whole class discussed the dilemma
during Science with Mr Hyants (Highpants). They decide to start a
petition demanding that their favourite sport is reinstated. The
principal explains that several families have moved and there aren't
enough students left to make a boys' and a girls' squad; the only
solution is a mixed team.
Both Champion Charlies must get over their personal rivalries and
work together to help form a new Jindaberg Primary football team.
After Principal Swift and Highpants announce this new plan at the
Alessi house during a girls' team party, (which CJ has crashed) the
competition is on. CJ presumes he's the new captain planning
training sessions whilst Charlotte is determined she will be in
charge.
"The Mix-up" is full of excitement, games, humour and pranks, plenty
of football tips and family fun. With a coach who loves karaoke,
dads who love dancing and performing during half-time and an enemy
determined to stop the Jets from winning, this is a great story for
young sports fan. Adrian Beck's easy-to-read style, great characters
and Adele Thomas' humorous cartoons reinforce positive messages of
working together, active listening and valuing each other's skills
and abilities. A great start to a new series focused on sport and
sportsmanship.
Rhyllis Bignell
Seed Magic by Natalie McKinnon and Margaret Tolland
The Spider series, Starfish Bay, 2018, ISBN 9781760360313
(Age: 5-7) Themes: Plants - life cycle, Anxiety, Friendship. Natalie
McKinnon's story "Seed Magic" draws elements from the Aesop's fable
of the ant and the grasshopper. She is passionate about educating
young children, to develop understandings of where food comes from
and their relationships with the natural environment. Here, she
explores the rhythms of the seasons, the life cycle of plants and
the magical qualities of seeds.
In a quiet corner of the garden, shy Little Spider hides in her
comfy leaf, listening to the everyday sounds. She hears the peaceful
garden song, the tap drip-dripping and the owl family hooting.
However her peacefulness is disturbed by Anxious Ant's refrain
'hurry, scurry, worry-worry,' as he rushes about gathering his
stockpile of seeds. He counts each seed out aloud, determined to be
ready for winter. Wise Little Spider understands the importance
leaving seeds in the ground ready to germinate in Spring-time.
She offers to spin a silky warm scarf for the ant in exchange for
five seeds. This exchange leads to a special friendship as they
observe the seasonal changes brought by the warm Spring sunshine and
rain, watching these seeds sprouting, the plant growing and then
producing juicy fruit. Anxious Ant learns about seed magic.
McKinnon's modern fable has an ecological message, take only what
you need or the balance of nature is compromised. Her detailed
descriptive story is beautifully captured by Tolland's painted
garden scenes, with native New Zealand red blossoms and natural
tones. "Seed Magic" is suitable for Junior Primary Science classes
observing plants and their life cycles.
Rhyllis Bignell
We are not most people by Tracy Ryan
Transit Lounge, 2018. ISBN 9781925760040
(Age: 17+) Themes: Identity, Relationships, Faith and faithlessness,
Marriage, Abuse. This story weaves between the unfortunate stories
of two young people separated by continents and thirty years; both
damaged by childhood circumstances and thrust into the strange world
of cloistered vocations. The reader goes on the journey of discovery
as Kurt and Terry age and explore an array of experiences that shape
their future. They are 'not most people' and their personalities are
not standard colourful stereotypes of young people of their age and
times. The story thread and the connection for the two individuals
occurs tenuously in the classroom; Kurt is the teacher who does his
job without great success and Terry is the young female student who
yearns in silence for this man. When he disappears from her life,
she takes a cloistered route, not unlike Kurt's own, in order to
find a sense of meaning and to fill her void. When they reconnect
many years later, their relationship is impaired by history, by the
torment of memory and their own flawed selves. Even though they are
loving, they must struggle through the strain of the poverty and
pain of their experience of love. This book does explore the painful
experience of sexual abuse as it occurred within a European Catholic
Seminary, and it does reveal marriage relationships that are flawed
in their expression. Kurt, even when divorced and alone, remained
close and strangely connected to his first wife, and maintained this
connection even after the much younger Terry entered his life. The
complications of this expression of relationship are felt in a
peculiarly distant way, with pathos and uncertainty for everyone.
Although this book has a frank and raw honesty and a beauty that is
poignant, it is not an uplifting story. It does not reveal hope or
joy, and leaves an incredibly sad pervasive flavour. With each
character's story and the time-line twisted and wrought in the early
part of the book, there is a degree of uncertainty in the direction
of the plot, but it is well-managed by Tracy Ryan. The maturity
required to deal with the discussions of abuse and sexual or marital
dysfunction, demand that this be read only by mature readers,
despite the early chapters dealing with the younger lives of the
central characters. The haunting quality of the writing and the
literature references that are scattered through the book would best
be understood by a well-informed or mature reader. Sad and sombre
books can make you contemplate serious ideas and the directions of
life that can be thrust upon people, and not everyone is alike.
Recommended (for the quality of the writing), to readers aged 17+
Carolyn Hull
The last peach by Gus Gordon
PenguinViking, 2018. ISBN 9780670078912
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Decision making, Food, insects,
Discussion. Two bugs making a decision about eating a peach they see
in a tree, will hold the readers' attention to the last funny page
as they prevaricate from one suggestion to another, finding fault
with each as they proceed.
Two bugs discover the lat peach on a warm summer's day. It hangs
above them just out of reach, shimmering in the sunlight. The
firstly tell each other just how beautiful this peach is, the last
of this year's summer. They debate about what to do, whether to just
admire it or eat it. They are about to eat it when a grasshopper
stops them telling them they cannot eat the last peach. Again they
talk and decide to eat it but another bug comes past and warns them
that its looks may belie what is inside.
By this time the readers will be laughing out loud at the
indecision, and changing of minds of the little insects by passers
by. They look again and think that in eating it they may get a tummy
ache which neither wants. They look at sharing the peach with their
friends, and one of them writes a poem to the peach.
Each suggestion has a counter suggestion, making it very funny to
watch the insects having their debate.
The brightly coloured wonderful illustrations incorporating collage
will appeal to the audience as they read of the plight of the two
insects and perhaps see parallels to their own moments of
indecision.
The last page will bring a gale of laughter as the readers see just
how baseless the whole debate was.
Fran Knight
In-between things by Priscilla Tey
Candlewick Press, 2018. ISBN 9780763689834
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Words. Adventure. Curiosity. A
sumptuously presented picture book which humorously plays with the
word between, inviting readers to see what is in-between the
everyday. Between marvelously attractive end papers, a cat and a dog
romp through the pages, asking the reader to look in-between with
them. The chair is between the parrot and carpet, while the carpet
is between the chair and the floor, but looking between the carpet
and the floor they find things that they would prefer stay there: a
dust ball, fur ball and clump of hair. Going down the stairs into
the cellar reveals a pile of things between the two floors, while
over the page, the idea of between separating two things is
proposed, showing examples of several things that certainly need
something between them.
Each page shows the two animals exploring their domain, pointing out
the importance of things in-between.
With stunningly luminous illustrations, Tey presents a book that
younger children will adore, searching out all the between things on
each page, making connections between the everyday things they see.
Tey loves word play and in this book she gives full reign to those
words to do with between: middle, inside and outside, words to do
with household objects, and some about warm and cold, night and day.
For younger readers this will be a treat, learning new words as they
read of what is between, and having it read a loud, will invoke much
discussion.
Fran Knight
A thousand perfect notes by C.G. Drews
Orchard Books, 2018. ISBN 9781408349908
(Age: 13+) Recommended. The Maestro reigns in Beck's house in much
the same manner as Miss Trunchbull does in Roald Dahl's, Matilda.
An internationally acclaimed and now incapacitated pianist, the
physically imposing matriarch intimidates her son to strive to be a
concert pianist like herself. Beck doesn't rebel despite hours of
piano practice every minute that he is not at school. His hands ache
and so do any other body parts if he speaks up. But he cannot leave
Joey, his baby sister, whom he cares for almost entirely due to his
mother's neglect.
When his teacher pairs him up with August for an assignment, bit by
bit, the free spirited girl forces him to let her into his life. As
the friendship grows and as a date with destiny approaches in the
form of a possible internship with his famous Uncle Jan, his
dysfunctional home life is exposed. Sadly, as so often happens
outside of books, the characters are not galvanized to act until
someone gets really hurt.
A light romance on the one hand, but a very dark and we hope
anachronistic story of domestic violence. Unfortunately this may not
be the case and many abused children and teenagers may continue to
feel so isolated that they have no one to turn to. The role reversal
of the physically and verbally abusive mother figure highlights the
added shame for a powerless male victim. C.G. Drews infers that
women are not exempt from bad character, nor men from taking the
roles of victim or rescuer.
Natural dialogue and Beck's juxtaposed stream of consciousness helps
young adults to appreciate that neglect and oppression are problems
too serious to bear alone. Thank goodness for August and of course,
the villages and authors who give such characters life.
Deborah Robins
The lemonade problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Peg + Cat series. Candlewick, 2017. ISBN 9781536200614
(Age: 3-6) Themes: Problem solving. Girls. Cats. Small business.
Mathematics. Peg + Cat is a popular animated cartoon series
for pre-schoolers that features a little girl and her indigo cat
working on mathematical challenges using their problem-solving
skills. Through their series of picture books and television
programs, Jennifer Oxley and Ben Anderson's goal is to encourage
pre-schoolers' curiosity about maths in their daily lives and
creatively solve everyday problems.
In The lemonade problem, Peg and Cat decide to start a small
business selling ice-cold lemonade to people passing buy. Instead of
coins, the little girl decides that one cup costs ten marbles. Peg
always keeps her special marble under her hat. Decorated with
balloons and bunting they eagerly wait for their first customer. Can
the young reader see what is missing? After the teens arrive on
their skate boards, they bargain Peg down on her prices until 1 cup
costs two marbles. Unfortunately, Peg forgets the cups and Cat is
sent off to trade cookies for them. Their friend Viv even draws a
bar graph to help Cat understand the maths problem. More exciting
exchanging occurs as Cat's focus becomes diverted with dancing and
red peppers. Of course, just as Cat arrives to save the day, the
weather changes and no-one wants their cold drinks. As the story
line twists and turns, Peg and Cat use their problem solving skills
to work on a better solution, manage their business and then all is
right in their world.
Oxley and Aronson's characters are sketched with pencil on paper
first with simple shapes and lines drawn on a bright patchwork town
that stands out from the graph paper backgrounds. Mathematical
symbols, signs and shapes add interest, as the concepts of comparing
numbers and reading bar graphs are revealed intrinsically. The Peg
+Cat series have a 'transmedia approach' just right for the
preschool audience, with enjoyable books, animated cartoons and an
interactive games website.
Rhyllis Bignell
The mystery of the colour thief by Ewa Josefkowicz
Head of Zeus, 2018. ISBN 9781788546492
(Age: 12+) This is the story of a girl called Izzy, a cygnet called
Spike and the power of feathers gathered from strong winds. It is a
beautifully written debut about hope, healing and new beginnings.
First there was the accident, then came the nightmares and the
mystery of the shadowy thief who steals all the colours from Izzy's
world... a mystery that needs solving.
This is a beautiful story about a girl's struggle to overcome her
guilt for supposedly causing a car accident that left her mum in a
coma. Izzy's world appears to be falling apart in front of her very
eyes - her best friend is being incredibly mean to her, her dad is
distancing himself from her and school is awful. The author has very
cleverly used the colour thief to steal all hope from the young
girl's life - as she begins to unravel the complexities in her life
the colour slowly begins to return. Izzy sees similarities in her
own life in that of her new friend Toby, who was recently paralysed
from a skateboard accident. Toby brings hope to Izzy's life and
allows small glimmers of hope to appear. This is an emotional read
covering themes including families, friends, challenges at school,
belief, self-belief and most importantly empathy. Suitable for
children aged 12 and it will certainly be a welcome addition to the
collection.
Kathryn Schumacher
