Diary of a Minecraft Creeper series. Scholastic, 2018. ISBN
9781742768724
(Age: 7-9) Themes: Bullying, School life, Minecraft computer game.
Pixel Kid and Zack Zombie bring Jasper the Creeper back for another
adventure in "Silent but Deadly." This junior novel is written in
the familiar diary format is packed with Minecraft characters and
filled with gross behaviour, family and school dramas and the
requisite fart jokes.
Jasper the Creeper's class is teaming up with Mr Grossegg's class to
write, produce and perform plays about Minecraft Mythology. Jasper's
group includes his best friend Harry and Burt Sting the biggest
bully and his gang, Blake the Blaze, Zane the Zombie and Sam the
Slime. Harry warns Jasper about these guys and their previous
trouble-making. In drama class they just walk around making fun of
the other students' plays. Their group choose to act out the story
of Sir Farts-a-Lot and his epic adventure slaying an Ender Dragon.
Burt and his gang choose the best roles while Harry and Jasper
become the front and back end of the dragon. Burt's continual
bullying causes problems for Jasper who farts gunpowder whenever
he's stressed or upset.
When they meet at the entrance to the mineshaft after school, Stu,
Jasper's human friend offers him some advice. 'Be better than the
bully don't act like they do.' Of course, things get worse for a
while, Harry's temper causes a fire in the drama room, both Harry
and Jasper are suspended for bullying Burt and his mates.
With help from his family and advice on how to stand up to the
school bullies, Jasper plucks up the courage, battles an Ender
dragon and plays the lead character in his school play.
"Silent but deadly" is another fun addition to the "Diary of a
Minecraft Creeper" series. With all the familiar characters and
typical humour, silly situations and grossness, fans will enjoy this
easy-to-read diary and cartoon style format.
Rhyllis Bignell
Parvana - A graphic novel based on the original book by Deborah Ellis
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760631970
Highly recommended. "This beautiful graphic-novel adaptation of the
animated film, inspired by Deborah Ellis's beloved novel, tells the
story of eleven-year-old Parvana.
When soldiers burst into her home and drag her father off to prison,
Parvana is forced to take responsibility for her whole family,
dressing as a boy to make a living in the marketplace of Kabul,
risking her life in the dangerous and volatile city.
By turns exciting and touching, Parvana is a story of courage in the
face of overwhelming fear and repression. Readers will want to
linger over this powerful graphic novel with its striking art and
inspiring story." Publisher.
I must say I was not at all excited about reading a graphic novel as
these do not appeal to me at all but I must say I was pleasantly
surprised. We have Parvana as a set text for our Year 6
classes so I was eager to read this version and I was not
disappointed. The illustrations added so much to the story line and
to the overall understanding of the plot. Concepts such as bullying,
war, family, poverty, friendship and the role of women are
presented. It touches on an important time in Afghanistan and the
hardships that may continue to face. Parvana is an extremely strong
willed lead character who takes it upon herself to help bring her
father home at a time where girls were given very little freedom. A
must have to add to the graphic novels' collection.
Kathryn Schumacher
Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
Ill. by Nicholas Gannon. Text Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9781925603590
(Age: 8-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy. Imagination.
Friendship. Droughts. Country life. Livy has just returned to
Australia to see her grandmother after a five years absence. There
are many things that she can't remember and one of them is the
strange little creature, dressed in a chicken suit, who is living in
the cupboard in her room. His name is Bob and he tells Livy that she
promised that she would help him find his home. He has been waiting
for a long time for this to happen and together they begin to
unravel the mystery of where Bob belongs.
This a timeless and very warm story of an unlikely friendship, set
against the background of Livy's grandmother's residence and the
surrounding area that is stricken by a terrible drought. Told in the
voices of Livy and Bob in alternating chapters, the pair renew their
friendship, reliving some of the happy moments from the past, as
they try and work out where Bob has come from.
Mass and Stead both write beautifully and the reader is captivated
with the depth of the friendship and the often funny descriptions of
Bob dressed in his chicken suit. The back story of the drought, the
letter that Gran gets from the bank and the pervading dryness of the
country side, is subtly handled by the authors, and Livy's gradually
growth, her friendship with a local girl and her meeting with Danny
the little boy from next door all add to a magical and engrossing
story. The artwork by Nicholas Gannon adds to the appeal of the book
and although initially dark, a perusal of the front cover will
reward the inquiring mind.
I could imagine this being read aloud to a class as well as becoming
a firm favourite of children who enjoy reading about the power of
the imagination, the strength of love and enduring friendship. It is
a must for any library.
Pat Pledger
Allied by Amy Tintera
Ruined trilogy. Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760290665
(Age: Teens - YA) Recommended. Allied concludes Emelina and Olivia
Flores's story of love, loss, vengeance and trust. Fighting to
become the true queen of Ruina, they might be sisters but they are
far from allies. It's queen against queen and the Ruined are split
between who to follow. Will they follow Olivia who has become
consumed by her quest for vengeance? Or will they follow Emelina, a
useless Ruined who fell in love with the new Leran king? All the
nations are at stake and in the end, only one queen will survive.
With this being the last instalment in this trilogy, Tintera has
done well to provide backstory when needed without it being
overwhelming for the reader. Tintera also uses the perspective of
all her many characters to give the story a nice flow. Each
character is unique in their own way and you can tell from the way
Tintera has written them, that they have developed a lot since the
first book. Olivia is driven by her need for vengeance, she is
strong and persistent and has a very strong temper, while Emelina is
thoughtful and wants to avoid conflicts with her sister at all
costs. In this story, they both go through so much that shows just
how much they have changed since the first book in this series,
Ruined. They are relatable and easy to empathize with. And even
though it follows the history of more than 5-6 characters, it is
still easy to follow and remember their stories.
Overall, I think this is a gripping and engaging story and that will
please fans of the trilogy and new readers too. I would recommend
this to young adults and teenagers.
Kayla Raphael
Our forever love by Kristie Groat-Barber
Little Steps Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9781925545531
"In my mind and heart that's where you will stay, I promise to love
you more every day. This heartfelt tribute follows one little girl's
journey to say goodbye to her Poppy while keeping him firmly in her
heart."
A gentle tribute to a grandfather who is no longer physically with
his family, this is a delightful picturebook explaining that he
will always be with them nonetheless. Written in rhyme, there is
minimal text, presented in a clean, clear font. Although undoubtedly
designed as a read aloud to assist a parent in explaining the
reality of death, the language is easily accessible to younger
children. The watercolour illustrations are simple, realistic and
utilise gentle, pastel type colours. They are sensitive and full of
joy, depicting the wonderful relationship shared by the child and
grandparent before his death.
This book would be an asset to any young child dealing with the loss
of a loved one, particularly a grandparent. Both heaven and prayer
are mentioned but the spiritual side would most likely not be a
major barrier to those without a Christian background as it is
simply referred to, without being overly pedantic.
Both the dedication and image on the final endpapers explain the
motivation for the book, as the author is writing to explain the
loss of her father and the grandfather of her children.
Jo Schenkel
Peg + Cat : The camp problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9780763699222
(Age: 5-8) Peg + cat: The camp problem is an engaging story
designed for 5-8year olds. The Peg + Cat series has an
undercurrent of mathematics equations which easily slide into the
stories and essentially enable children to learn about maths without
even knowing it! This story surrounds Peg and her pet Cat who are
dealing with a homesick friend at Camp Niniwawa. The maths topics
include colour patterns and counting in 5 and 10s.
I used this book as a homework reader with my 7 year old and was
pleasantly surprised both with the story and the mix of familiar and
challenging words. The chapters were the perfect length for his
reading level/ability (level 16) and would work either to be read in
one sitting or across a series of days.
During the story we were able to stop and focus on the mathematical
concepts, practising counting by 5s to 100, and used the colour
pattern chapter as a stepping stone to more complex pattern
scenarios. The maths level is around that for a 5 year old but
easily extended.
I really liked this aspect of the book as it was such an easy
pathway from literacy to numeracy. There are a variety of other
titles in this series, where Peg and her trusty sidekick Cat use
maths to solve problems. These would be great to be used in a class
situation, to concrete concepts and enlighten students who may be
finding particular base level number concepts hard. Mr. 7 year old
gave it 3.5 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain
Crash landing by Robert Muchamore
Rock Wars Book 4. Hodder Children's Books, 2017. ISBN
9781444914634
(Age: Secondary) "Jay, Summer and Dylan are fresh out of the biggest
reality show there is. But they're about to discover what fame and
fortune are really about. Jay's brother Theo is young, rich and
famous: but is it making him happy? Summer's got to weather her
one-star reviews and take her career back into her own hands. And
Dylan might soon be seeing the world of show-business from the four
walls of a prison cell. They've got everything to play for."
Not having read a single title from amongst the three preceding
books in the series, I came to the story without any background
knowledge of the various characters. Despite this, it was simple to
piece together sufficient information to understand the motivation
of most of the characters and I found them to be interesting and
engaging. From virtually the first page the book is scattered with
drug references, discussion of life in the music industry, reality
TV shows, prison life and general aspects of the 'seedy side of
life'. Positive, loving relationships between friends and family
are, however, present throughout the story too. Loyalty, honesty and
ethical issues are investigated and provide an interesting dilemma
for various characters. Ultimately, the resolution seemed to be
quite satisfying as certain people receive their comeuppance, which
seems to have been well deserved.
The cover of this book does state that it is not suitable for
younger readers and I would agree with this assessment. With the
main characters being sixteen, this title would best be suited to
readers in secondary school. Initially, a definite romp, filled with
fights and life in prison, the story does have a positive outcome
and a message, without being overly didactic. This title would
probably hold most appeal to young teens.
Jo Schenkel
Mercy Point by Anna Snoekstra
Angus and Robertson, 2018. ISBN 9781460755754
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Mystery and suspense. Friendship.
Five teens are best friends online, all convinced that they are
adopted. When they finally meet they are shocked because at school
they all hate each other. Michael is the school bully who gives
Fabian a hard time. Emma is a know it all who can't stand Michael
while Tessie is strange and doesn't fit in. Then there is Sam the
mystery boy who has just appeared and seems determined to keep the
group together, despite their differences and dislike of each other.
But as they talk together they discover that the people who claim to
be their parents are keeping secrets and the group gradually pieces
together clues about what is going on.
This starts out as a traditional, suspenseful mystery, and the
reader is kept glued to the page as each of the five main characters
tell their stories about what is happening to them at school and why
they believe that their parents are lying about their origins. It is
easy to become very involved in the lives of these teens, their
problems and their desire for the truth.
The results of their quest to uncover the secrets that are being
hidden from them will shock and really surprise the reader. Without
giving away the plot I can state that I certainly didn't expect the
outcome, which left me reeling.
This is a riveting read and has many elements to recommend it. The
characters are skilfully and sympathetically drawn, the plot is
tense and the final chapters amazing. And the ending gives room for
a sequel, which will please fans.
Pat Pledger
The 13th Reality: Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner
Scholastic, 2018 (First published by Simon and Schuster, 2008). ISBN
9781742994789
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy, Science Fiction,
Truth and Reality, Courage, Quantum Physics, Adventure, STEM.
Atticus Higginbottom (nicknamed 'Tick') is not a super-hero type. In
fact he is more the kind of 13 year old student who is likely to
spend time in his own locker at the 'suggestion' of the school bully
and who has a passion for the local library, the pursuit of science
and understanding quantum physics. He is also the recipient of a
series of strange letters that are both extremely puzzling and also
life-altering. These letters demand great intelligence and
problem-solving skills and ultimately bravery as they lead Tick into
dangerous new territory, alternate realities and, as a side-note,
into new friendships. His courage is tested and the world he knows
is challenged, twisted and tipped upside-down in amazing ways.
Reality itself is tested by technology, new knowledge, new
possibilities and possibly even forces of good and evil. Quirky
characters abound. Fortunately he has a supportive family to fall
back on! (This is in itself a pleasant change from the
ultra-independence of many teen YA characters.)
The author James Dashner is perhaps better known for his dystopian
speculative fiction, "The Maze Runner", written for a slightly older
YA audience. "The Journal of Curious Letters" is infused with humour
and a little bit of science and technology, but it is mostly an
enthralling, fantasy-quest, adventure written for capable and
intelligent young readers. This book was originally released in
2008, before "The Maze Runner", but this Scholastic release should
capture a new readership that enjoys reading about young
protagonists who are pushed to their limits and overcome adversity
using their brainpower. (Readers that have enjoyed Trenton Lee
Stewarts' "The Mysterious Benedict Society" series will enjoy this
book too.) I will also look forward to reading more in this series
and will even enjoy grappling with the concepts of Quantum physics
that underpin the idea of alternative realities!
(Note: James Dashner has been embroiled in the #Metoo controversy.
Read his and other comments online to inform your own opinion on
this issue. Young readers may or may not be aware of the issues, but
the book publishing industry is not immune.)
Carolyn Hull
Jane Seymour. The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
Six Tudor Queens series. Headline, 2018. ISBN 9781472227683
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Recommended. Jane Seymour is a
wonderful read with Alison Weir convincingly bringing the Tudor
Court of Henry VIII to real, exciting and tumultuous life both in
the Court and in Jane's daily life.
As a very young girl, she leads a normal quiet country life but
feels that she has a religious calling which she must follow. At
that time, all decisions are made for her by her father and male
members of the family, but having been able to convince her father,
she then observes the difference in conditions between the
postulates and nuns as opposed to those of the Abbess, and can no
longer continue her calling there. Although she never loses her
religious beliefs - which later cause her great mental pain and
danger - it is her first experience of how the world of that time
worked.
She becomes a maid-of-honour to Henry's first queen, Katherine of
Aragon, to whom she is devoted. At that time, Henry is making plans
to somehow remove Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn, in the hope that
she will provide him with the much-needed son to keep the Tudors on
the throne. The clarity with which Alison Weir describes the
intrigues, love affairs, preferments, demotions, cruelty and deaths
of those whom Henry can advance or destroy at will, makes
electrifying - sometimes chilling - reading. Her use of words of
that period - do you know what a 'kirtle' is? - is fascinating.
It would seem that Henry really did love Jane Seymour who, with the
birth of the future King Edward, gave Henry his long-awaited son.
She died 12 days later.
Throughout her life, Jane was haunted in many ways; compromising her
religious calling, her loyalty to Katherine, her hatred of Anne
Boleyn, the fear that she would never produce a male heir. In this
book, we feel that we can see first-hand the turmoils of her life
and of the times.
My only disappointment in the format of the book was that the
Timeline, given at the back of the book, would have been so much
more helpful and interesting at the beginning.
Peb Blackwell
William Wenton and the Secret Portal by Bobbie Peers
Walker, 2018. ISBN 9781406371710
(Age: 9-12) Themes: Science Fiction, Adventures, Codes and
ciphers, Secrecy. Norwegian film director Bobbie Peers' "William
Wenton and the Secret Portal", the second novel is darker and
slower-paced than "William
Wenton and the luridium thief". He takes us back to familiar
surroundings at a more hostile and locked in Institute for
Post-Human Research. William's body is filled with a metallic
substance, 49% liridium which enables him to solve the world's most
difficult puzzles. There are evil forces at play, and a mysterious
women with a mechanical hand who needs William's powers to open a
special cryptoportal in the Himalayas.
When William appears on television ready for a competition to solve
The Difficulty puzzle, he suddenly experiences a powerful seizure
and is unable to continue. Sent home, he is crushed by his loss.
When his grandfather, a master cryptographer, collects him and
deposits him at the Institute, only to leave again, William's
worries continue. The Institute has changed dramatically, more like
a jail than a vibrant research facility. His room is a prison, with
steel bars on the windows and he must be accompanied everywhere by a
porter-bot. Guard-bots carry passivators to stop William from
searching the buildings and grounds for clues to his illness and
reasons for the changes at the now hostile environment. Even his
friend Iscia now a field assistant has altered; she even works with
his enemy Freddy.
When the mysterious woman appears in his room and tries to kidnap
William, he determines to find answers. Stealthy forays into the
basement where he discovers a mysterious man encased in a steel slab
and into the gardens to a secret underground space leave William
with more questions than answers. With Ischia's help and Freddy's
interference William sets consequences in motion when he handles a
powerful orb that destroys many artefacts stored in The Depository.
His actions open a cryptoportal in the Himalayas allowing for the
evil woman Cornelia Strangler to steal an entire cryonic storage
unit. Can William save the earth from the return of vast quantities
of luridium that will infect all human and destroy life on Earth?
Bobbie Peer's second science-fiction novel has a darker quality to
the plot and setting that makes it difficult at times to make sense
of William's struggles and his decisions. His sense of loneliness
and constant struggles are confronting, more darkness than
lightness. More code-breaking and cyphers would have helped as well.
"William Wenton and the Secret Portal" is suitable for readers who
enjoy futuristic fiction filled with gadgetry and alternate forms of
travel.
Rhyllis Bignell
Jabberwalking by Juan Felipe Herrera
Candlewick, 2018. ISBN 9781536201406
"Can you walk and talk at the same time? How about Jabberwalk? Can
you write and draw and walk and journal all at the same time? If
not, you're in luck: exuberant, blue-cheesy cilantro man Juan Felipe
Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States, is here to teach you
everything he knows about being a real-life, bonified, Jabberwalking
poet!
Jabberwalkers write and speak for themselves and others no matter
where their feet may take them - to Jabberwalk is to be a poet on
the move. And there's no stopping once you're a Jabberwalker,
writing fast, fast, fast, scribble-poem-burbles-on-the-run. Scribble
what you see! Scribble what you hear! It's all out there - vamonos!"
(Publisher)
Juan Felipe Herrera is the first Mexican-American Poet Laureate in
the USA. For people that like poetry and nonsense words, then
this book is for you. It is part story, part handbook and
packed with nonsensical words and phrases - which loosely reminded
me of the made up words featured in Roald Dahl books. It
allows readers to see that words can be written down anywhere - they
can be completely random and interesting at the same time.
Lessons learnt could include listening, expressing and tailoring
one's ideas and thoughts about writing. An interesting read.
Kathryn Schumacher
Alma and how she got her name by Juana Martinez-Neal
Candlewick Press, 2018. ISBN 9780763693558
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Alma is a little girl who believes her name is far too
long, until the day her dad explains to her where her name came
from. She then realized that her name had meaning and that each bit
of it did fit her just right. In the end she worked out that her
name was perfect.
The story talks about each of her individual names and where they
came from and what was important about that particular person and
which of these traits Alma has inherited.
She then learns that Alma was chosen just for her and she is the
first person in the family to have that name and she can now make
her own story to go with her name.
The illustrations in this book tie in perfectly with the story that
is being told.
I would highly recommend this book for 4+.
Karen Colliver
Waves by Donna Rawlins
Ill. by Heather Potter and Mark Jackson. Black Dog Books, 2018. ISBN
9781925381641
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Migration, Australian history,
Refugees, Convicts, Boat people. A thought provoking overview of the
waves of immigration which make up this country, is told by an award
winning storyteller in a way that is informative, attractive and
emotional.
When doing research prior to reading this book, I looked up My
Place, Donna Rawlins' and Nadia Wheatley's book, a book
republished many times since 1987 holding a revered place within
libraries and on readers' bookshelves around Australia.
Now thirty years later a book with a similar theme, about who we are
as Australians, is presented by Rawlins.
Divided into fifteen stories, each double page tells the tale of one
child coming to Australia to live. Each of their stories is
representative of one of the waves of people making their way to our
shores on often dangerous seas.
The first group, shows an Aboriginal child on a raft 50,000 years
ago. Becoming separated he eventually sees a line of green on the
horizon. Next a child is on a ship searching for a rich cargo to
take back to Europe which thunders upon a reef, and then a child
comes south on a perahu searching with his family for trepang.
The second group takes in those people who came after 1788, when
Australia became a British colony. We see a child huddled with his
family, leaving England for the colony to make his fortune, then
another child, arrested for theft, finds her way onto a prison ship
bound for hell. Each story aches with emotion, as the child leaves
the familiar to set out for Australia. Being blown off course, being
wrecked on the western coast, sent as a convict, finding work or
searching for a prized delicacy, each story is different and reveals
part of our history in an easily digested format.
From the convict lass, we move on to a third group, those who
arrived in the nineteenth century. We read of people on an assisted
passage, then a Chinese child coming out to work on the Victorian
goldfields, an Afghan boy with his camel, ready to explore, a girl
on a ship where measles has broken out, orphan boys sent out to help
build the empire.
A fourth group, those who arrived after World War Two begins with a
group of Jewish orphans, then a family of Italian migrants, and an
English family.
Between the seventies and now, is a fifth group, those who have
arrived in the most desperate of circumstances, fleeing their homes
in Vietnam and the Middle East because of war.
Each page is full of information, giving a background to the lives
of the children and their circumstances, filling in the reasons for
their arrival here.
Each page has soft edged gouache paintings with a predominance of
blue as if underscoring the 'how' these children arrived, and each
child is given a name, a name by which readers can identify each
wave of immigration.
The diversity that is Australia is given a breathe of life for
younger readers in tis excellent book, and I can imagine its being
widely used and read.
Check out Walker's site
for more information about the book and Donna Rawlins, with a link
to teacher
notes.
The marvelous endpapers show the form of transport each child used,
and a timeline of when these groups arrived on these shores. This is
a wonderful read for any age.
Fran Knight
The Lighthouse at Pelican Rock by Stephen Hart
Christmas Press, 2018. ISBN 9780994528056
(Age: 11+) Recommended. "After 12-year-old Megan Evans almost dies,
she is packed off to the tiny, remote coastal village of Pelican
Rock to recover. Sure she is going to be bored in a place which
doesn't even have the internet, she discovers there is much more to
Pelican Rock that she expected. Are the pelicans really magic? What
is the secret of the ruined lighthouse? Has she found the place
where she belongs? And, perhaps, not just a place..." (Publisher)
This book really intrigued me. I am not usually a fan of time travel
but this book was certainly a winner. Hart has cleverly woven the
past with the present and allows Megan to move effortlessly between
the two worlds. She develops a beautiful relationship with her aunt
and finally finds the love that she has craved. Megan connects with
a number of characters in the small town, all for various reasons.
This allows her to make strong connections to the town and its
goings on. Themes such as friendship, family dynamics and mystery
are delved into. There are lots of smaller story lines that are
interwoven in the story and it is intriguing to try and match them
all together. It certainly kept me turning the pages. I would
recommend this book for children 11 and up as some of the storyline
can be quite complex. A welcome addition to the collection.
Kathryn Schumacher
