I swapped my brother on the Internet by Jo Simmons
Ill. by Nathan Reed. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408877753
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. This laugh out loud novel starts with
a pop up ad that immediately grabs the attention of nine-year-old
Jonny, and also the reader. Who hasn't dreamed about getting rid of
their annoying sibling at one time or another? For Jonny, of course
he was going to click! The SiblingSwap.com website opens and is
filled with pictures of brothers and sisters playing and laughing
together. Jonny begins to fill in the form . . . but in his haste
fails to tick the box that says "living", and the one that says
"human" (I mean that was obvious, wasn't it?) so SiblingSwap.com
begin to send Jonny a line of increasingly bizarre replacements for
his brother Ted. Jonny finds himself trying to make do with a
merboy, a boy raised by meerkats and then the ghost of Henry the
Eighth! The only person Jonny can trust with his secret is his best
friend George, who finds all of it very interesting compared to life
helping his Dad in a fish finger factory.
This story will have young readers, or whole classrooms full of kids
in peals of laughter. Every child will be able to relate to wish
fulfilment gone wrong. As the brother replacements begin to get more
and more weird, Jonny begins to figure out that Ted is really okay
after all . . . at least compared to his replacements. Teachers
could use this as a gateway for talking about relationships, sibling
rivalry, trust or jealousy. Jonny is forced to look at some of his
annoying habits too, so could be used as a means for self
reflection.
The story is easy to read, and well put together. Readers will find
it hard not to giggle as King Henry tells Jonny off for being a
potty-mouth about his Cockapoo named Widget.
This book is highly recommended, please read it to your children or
your class.
Clare Thompson
Kira dreaming by Belinda Murrell
Pippa's Island series. Random House, 2018. ISBN 9780143783701
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Talent quest, Friendship.
The beach side cafe is the first in a sparkling series for mid to
upper primary school girls, Pippa's Island. The main character Pippa
and her family have arrived from England, and have taken up
residence in a caravan at the back of her grandparent's place at
Palm Cove. All the problems of making new friends is behind the
first in the series as Pippa develops a group: Meg, Charlie, and
Cici. Single mum must now make a living and has an idea of turning
an old beach shack into a cafe, with an upstairs to live in. Pippa's
story continues with number two in the series: Cub reporter,
and the third in the series, Kira Dreaming has the girls
preparing for a talent quest run by Cove Public School, Pippa's
excited trio of friends prepare their dance and song but Pippa is
unsure of performing and a strong case of butterflies holds her back
when the time comes to audition in front of the whole school.
All the while the beach shack cafe is doing well until the girls
decide to paint the upstairs to further the day when Pippa and her
family can move in. But someone is causing havoc at the cafe and it
is up to Pippa to investigate.
The stories move along easily, with incidents that all girls can
relate to, involving friends and family. Mum's need to make a living
has the family working together, while the grandparents play an
important role in caring for the siblings, a circumstance many will
recognise. Told with humour against the background of living on an
island off the coast of Australia, the series will have wide appeal.
Fran Knight
The suitcase baby by Tanya Bretherton
Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9780733639227
(Age: senior secondary to adult) Recommended. Themes: Murder, Post
natal depression, Migration, Sydney, Australia 1920's. Paralleling
the escalating love of crime fiction is an intense interest in real
life crime, and The suitcase baby falls into this realm, a
non fiction book telling a story of a horrible crime, but at the
same time showing the background that led to this murder and others
like it. In the 1920's Sydney was experiencing an increase in the
number of dead babies found in places like train stations and in the
sea. This particular one, found in a suitcase in Sydney Harbour in
1923, set in place investigations, here described in detail, until
the murderer, the child's mother was found and detained.
The media at the time was enthralled with the detecting that led to
the arrest and eventual trial of the mother, Sarah Boyd. But nothing
is that simple, as Sarah and her friend, Jean Olliver were embroiled
in the court case.
Bretherton delves into society's attitudes to women at the time,
with no women on the jury, able to offer a more sympathetic ear to
the proceedings, and the medical profession holding some very odd
ideas about post natal depression. Chapters on the immigration of
these desperate women from the poverty of Ireland and Scotland gives
the reader an insight into the difficulties they faced. Often
physically smaller from malnutrition, they were treated with scant
attention, few finding the jobs they expected and having to live in
sub standard conditions with little hope of climbing out of the
poverty they knew so well. Little wonder that many turned to alcohol
and prostitution.
Politicians then used them to further their own ambitions and Sara
Boyd was a victim of political expediency and sentenced to death, an
unexpected verdict as most women were given light sentences at that
time.
Sociologist Tanya Bretherton tells us the story of Sarah, just one
of many women coming to Australia for a new life early in the
twentieth century, but finding themselves in straightened
circumstances. This situation led to an increase in the number of
babies abandoned and killed, and this was instrumental in developing
ideas about adoption as a policy in Australia.
Tanya Bretherton has a PhD in sociology and is particularly
interested in social history, working at the University of Sydney
where she published a book about the conditions of modern nursing.
In 2016 she published a book about families living below the poverty
line in Australia, and her association with organisations such as
Mission Australia, The Smith Family and Adopt Change saw her publish
Journeys to Permanency telling real stories of foster
children and adoption in modern Australia.
Mark Knight
Surrogate by Tracy Crisp
Wakefield Press, 2017. ISBN 9781743055083
(Age: Adult) Themes: Surrogacy; Motherhood; Adoption. Life is
complicated, but the complications for the central character
Rachael, a young nurse, become intense when an encounter with Dr
Cate O'Reilly leads her to emotional, psychological and sexual
foreign territory. This is the story of loss and barrenness, of
taking extraordinary steps to resolve problems that lead to other
complications. It also tells of the psychological webs that we find
ourselves tangled in, when life's journey meets an obstacle or takes
an unexpected path. Although this is a journey into Surrogacy and
the difficulties this raises for all parties, it is also an
exploration of adoption, stress, secrets and family connections. At
no stage is the reader sure what will happen for Rachael and Cate,
and this uncertainty adds power to the story laced with the pathos
of doubt and ambiguity. And all female readers will wonder what
would they do, and do good mothers give up their babies?
This is not a book for young readers as it explores adult
relationships and issues, but it is compelling in its exploration of
the lengths to which some people will go in order to create family
or to keep a secret. Set in Adelaide and redolent with the charms of
all that Adelaide offers, it is also an insight into the parenthood
struggles of past generations as well as modern issues.
Carolyn Hull
My brigadista year by Katherine Paterson
Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9780763695088
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Cuba, Literacy, Gap year,
Volunteering, Civil war, Corruption. After Castro took power from
the corrupt, USA supported leader, Batistia, things changed for
Cuba. Castro wanted the country to become more literate and
thousands of teens were recruited to go into rural Cuba and teach
people to read and write. In this absorbing novel by the award
winning Paterson, she tells the story of these brigadistas through
the eyes of her central character, Lora. At thirteen she is caught
up in the fervour of helping Cuba become literate, trained to be a
teacher, given her supplies and a hammock and a brief knowledge of
first aid, then sent to a village in the mountains, a place where
anti Castro forces still exist, where one of the brigadistas was
killed in the previous year. This is the first time she has left the
safety of her home, and her parents are fearful for her, but she is
determined to go.
Lora's story is deftly told. Paterson is able to diffuse complex
ideas into an easily absorbed story. The reader learns about the
background to this highly volatile situation, with arms supplied by
the Americans to the anti Castro forces as Castro is seen as too
Russian leaning for the USA, where the teachers sent are viewed with
suspicion and must earn the trust of those they live with. Behind
Lora's year in the jungle is the invasion of the Bay of Pigs (1961)
and so the reader is able to absorb a different view of a little
known historic incident.
Brought up with an anti Castro western view of Cuba, this little
book offered me a a chance to reassess ideas held in the past, and
for younger readers this is an historical novel of immense interest
and research which will give readers a new perspective on why Trump
and Obama have such differing views of the USA's relationship with
Cuba.
The central character leads the way, developing skills necessary to
live with an unknown family, learning their way of life, learning to
fit in and to teach them the skills necessary for a modern Cuba.
And all the while is the threat from the terrorists in the mountains
behind the village.
A wonderfully involving coming of age story, Paterson shares a
background unique in children's literature.
Fran Knight
What's your favourite colour? by Eric Carle
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406356526
(Age: 5-Adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Colour. Children's book
illustrators. In this beautiful book 15 outstanding illustrators
have chosen to let the reader know what their favourite colour is
and have drawn a picture to illustrate this, telling why they have
chosen that colour and why they love it. The contributors include:
Eric Carle, Lauren Castillo, Bryan Collier, Mike Curato, Etienne
Delessert, Anna Dewdney, Rafael Lopez, William Low, Marc Martin,
Jill McElmurry, Yuyi Morales, Frann Preston-Gannon, Uri Shulevitz,
Philip C. Stead, and Melissa Sweet and readers will be fascinated by
the colours chosen and the wonderful illustrations that accompany
them. Each artist has a double page spread with a usually short
piece about the colour and then a gorgeous drawing in that colour.
I was particularly taken with the two illustrators who chose grey as
their colour as I had not personally considered it as a favourite.
Melissa Sweet wrote a haiku for grey: Foggy morning grey
Makes other colours glimmer.
Even the gull's beak And then gives a list of different greys and an illustration of
Maine, its boats and water. In comparison the grey chosen by Rafael
Lopez "dares to be different" and knows how to make the other
colours sparkle and a cheeky grey octopus proves this in the
illustration. Marc Martin chose crimson red because "it is the
colour of the crimson rosella" and vibrant rosellas fly across his
double page spread. Other pages are equally as interesting.
This book will inspire readers to consider their own favourite
colours and why they have chosen them. In the classroom children
could do their own drawing and writing and all readers will be
inspired to find books by these wonderful artists to see more of
their art work. There is short biographical information about them
at the back of the book with a photo of each artist as a child and
this is fascinating as well.
Pat Pledger
Screen schooled by Joe Clement and Matt Miles
Black Inc., 2018. ISBN 9781863959995
(Age 16+) Subtitled: Two veteran teachers expose how technology
overuse is making our kids dumber. The promoters of
educational technology claim that it will create a generation of
'digi-learners' who can multitask, explore a wealth of online
information and become independent learners. Secondary teachers, Joe
Clement and Matt Miles have concluded that this claim is a myth. In
Screen schooled, they argue that excessive screen use is
harming students' intellectual and social development.
The authors have collaborated to create the impression that the book
is the work of one writer. They begin their argument by directly
addressing their intended audience of parents and teachers in the
style of a motivational speaker. However, this attention grabbing
device is followed by well-organised chapters, each of which focuses
on what the authors believe is a particular outcome of computer use.
These outcomes include a reduction in the ability of students to
concentrate, memorise, engage in critical thinking, use their
imaginations and develop social skills. The authors also examine the
issues of addiction and social isolation, as well as social media's
potential for adversely affecting mental health. Clement and Miles
build their case for limiting screen time, by combining their
experiences as educators with evidence from social and scientific
research. Sources are listed in a comprehensive bibliography.
Readers who favour the use of technology in education may wonder why
the authors focus on reducing exposure to computers and mobile
phones, rather than finding strategies for using them to enhance
learning. Others may consider that technology is only one factor
affecting young people who are trying to cope with the complexities
of modern life. However, Clement and Miles have made their agenda
clear. They are not opposed to technology but feel compelled to draw
attention to what they consider to be the damaging effects of its
misuse. Screen schooled is a thought-provoking examination of the
role of digital technology in the lives of children and young
adults. It urges parents and teachers to reappraise the use of
computers in education.
Elizabeth Bor
The Susie K Files by Shamini Flint
Ill. by Sally Heinrich. Allen and Unwin, 2018. Life of the Party! File no. 1. ISBN: 9781760296681 Game Changer! File no. 2. ISBN: 9781760296698
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: Self-perception, Identity, Problem
solving, School life, Parties. Shamini Flint's new series The
Susie K Files brings a fresh new approach to the graphic novel
diary genre. Susi K is one of a kind, she is a problem-solver,
analytical, willing to stay home and read rather than attend a
classmate's party, or participate in her school's sports day. She
uses her creativity and resolve to stand up to her mother's demands
that she fit in and be accepted by the popular girls. Her mother's
constant comparisons to her war-torn childhood drive these demands.
The narrative is driven by the funny dialogue with plenty of speech
bubbles, even George has something to say!
File No 1 Life of the Party introduces us to the Smith
Family, her soccer-loving dad, her ambitious mother, handsome and
popular teenage brother Jack and nine year old Susie K. She loves
science, reading and problem solving, her life is so organised she
even keeps records of her experiments. Her Sri Lankan mother wants
the best for her daughter, including success and popularity much to
Susie K's dismay. Susie K likes science instead of netball and uses
the class goldfish as a sounding board. When Mum overhears that
popular Clementine has invited the whole class to her birthday party
she is pleased. Unfortunately Susie K hasn't received an invite yet.
What does Susie K do, she applies her five step approach to problem
solving to come up with a solution? When Clementine's mother bans
the use of party balloons because of their environmental impact, our
problem solving girl comes up with some crazy, creative
alternatives.
Sports Day looms at Susie K's school, everyone is signing up for the
usual events, javelin, discus, races in Game Changer File No. 2.
Susie K has two weeks to choose a suitable sport, unfortunately
netball is not an option. After some spectacular failures, Susie K
rules out team sports and individual events. With her best friend
George the goldfish and Bones her real size skeleton, this problem
solver comes up with a creative solution. Susie K's surprising
answer helps the Purple Team in their quest for house points.
Sally Heinrich's fun cartoon sketches add energy to the humorous
story, with Susie K's lively expressions, her problems solved by
drawing scientific diagrams and the class goldfish George's fishbowl
antics.
Shamini Flint's The Susie K Files are just right to share
with middle primary classes, perfect for introducing problem solving
skills, for creative writing and for teaching scientific strategies.
Rhyllis Bignell
Three cheers for women! by Marcia Williams
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406374865
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Themes: Women. Marcia Williams returns
with her signature comic-strip style in Three cheers for women!
which celebrates over 70 women who have made a great contribution in
all walks of life throughout history. The front end papers grab the
eye with a multitude of banners featuring the areas that women have
excelled in: leaders, inventors, discoverers, thinkers, authors,
environmentalist, doctors, campaigners to name just a few. Of the
women featured some are very well known and some less famous, but all
have led interesting and inspirational lives. The women featured
with their own double page spread are Cleopatra, Boudicca,
Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, Florence
Nightingale, Marie Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Frida
Kahlo, Wangari Maathai, Mae C. Jemison, Cathy Freeman and Malala.
Then there is a section for Leaders and World-changers, with brief
biographical information about women like Edith Cowan, Australian
politician and social campaigner and Sheryl Sandberg, American
executive, activist and author. Readers will learn much about their
lives and will be inspired to follow up and do research on them.
Another double page spread looks at Sportswomen and Creatives and
readers will have fun finding names they know (JK Rowling, Beatrix
Potter) as well as ones they probably haven't heard of (Zaha Hadid,
Iraqi-British architect, and Paula Rego, Portuguese artist). Hooray
for Scientists, Pioneers and Adventurers features Dame Jane Goodall,
Elizabeth Kenny, Australian nurse, Rachel Carson, conservationist,
among many others.
There is a Dear Reader letter at the end from Williams that states
that the women in the book have reminded her "that, whether you are
a boy or a girl, you are never too young to too old to do something
world changing!" A clear index concludes the book.
The facts, quotes and great cartoon style will grab the reader's
attention and the achievements of the women will remain in the mind
as a reminder of what these individuals have achieved. This is
highly recommended for any library or classroom.
Pat Pledger
Me too by Erika Geraerts and Charl Laubscher
Ill. by Gatsby. Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781925381900
When two young friends discuss the things they like and want to do
with their lives, they are pleased to discover that their friend
says, 'me too'. One wants to pack her bag and go off on an
adventure, while the boy does the same thing, saying 'me too'. The
boy hopes to find someone who likes dressing up, and the girl
responds, 'me too'. The girl wants someone to make her breakfast in
bed and the boy walks in with a tray of pancakes and pot of tea,
while the next page the boy hopes someone will help him when he is
down, finding the girl ready with a bandage when he falls from his
bike. Each double page shows the two in a situation where they are
sharing something each likes, one complimenting the other, each
realissing that the other is just like them. The two friends find
out what each other likes as well as what they like, developing
their own characteristics and personalities.
The line drawings suit the story line, its unfussy appearance
focussing attention on the words and the behaviour of the two,
adding a frugally small amount of colour.
Children will enjoy reading this book, talking about the things they
like, and finding out who also likes the things they like, but being
aware that some people may not always like everything that they
like.
This book will make a great discussion starter, as well as making
children think about their preferences in a friend.
Fran Knight
Dark in death by J.D. Robb
In death, book 46. Piatkus, 2018. ISBN 9780349417868
(Age: Adult) Mystery. Eve Dallas is called in to investigate the
killing of a woman in a cinema while watching Psycho. An
ice-pick had been sunk into the back of her neck by the murderer who
then disappeared. As Eve puts together the clues to this murder, new
evidence comes to light: an author comes into the station claiming
that the murder was based on one of her police mysteries and from
there on Eve knows that there will be further murders as the author
has written a number of books in her series. Further investigation
turns up another murder that resembled one of her plots and Eve
knows that she has a serial killer on her hands.
Fans of the In death series will not be disappointed. This
is an easy to read and engrossing mystery and Robb's narrative as
always keeps the interest of the reader. The murderer is not at all
obvious and the plot twists through a series of events and theories
as Eve puts all her intellect and good solid police work to find out
who is behind the bizarre killings. On the way, there is much
fascinating information about police procedures as well as how a
best-selling novelist handles the demands of her fans, which
certainly has a ring of truth to it.
The continuing relationship between Roarke and Eve will please
romance lovers. Fans are sure to want to pick up the next in the
series as each of Robb's plots are certainly different and unique,
at the same time keeping the familiar and very likeable main
characters of Eve, Roarke, Peabody, Mira and Nadine.
Pat Pledger
Women in science by Jen Green
DK, 2018. ISBN 9781465468604
More and more as news coverage reports scientific breakthroughs, it
is a woman who is the face of the science rather than the
stereotypical man in a white coat. Women leading scientific
discoveries is not a new phenomenon, as this new DK publication
demonstrates with its introductory section about scientists of
ancient times, but at last it is becoming understood and accepted
that science is not "bizniz bilong men".
Written especially for young readers who are verging on independence
or who have made that journey, this book links the achievements of
just a handful of women who have made significant contributions to
their field of study. Familiar and unfamiliar names are included as
well as a brief introduction to just some of the fields that come
under the science umbrella, encouraging the reader to perhaps be the
next big name.
There is a quiz to spark further investigations as well as the
characteristic DK attention to detail in the layout and supporting
clues and cues.
As well as introducing young readers to the work of these remarkable
women, there is scope for it to be the springboard as they answer
the questions, "Who would you add? Why?"
Barbara Braxton
Palace of Fires: Initiate by Bill Bennett
Penguin Books, 2018. ISBN 9780143783794
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Themes: Witchcraft. Good and evil. Beginning
with the tale of an ancestor's pact with the devil, Initiate
follows a modern American girl, Lily, on her journey of discovery
following her mother's disappearance. For the first time since her
father died Lily's life is close to settled. She and Angela are
selling their produce and hoping for a decadent lunch at one of the
fanciest restaurants in town. But things change when three scary
looking women appear. Without any warning Angela takes Lily and
flees, leaving her daughter in a motel and disappears. With Angela
gone, leaving Lily all alone she has no choice but to get in contact
with her uncle Freddie who, as Angela explained in the letter she
left, would explain everything. While Freddie organises someone to
collect her, Lily is subject to the questioning of Detective Marley
Davis, who, of all things, asks her about witches and the Golden
Order of Baphomet. While Lily dismisses this as ridiculous, she soon
learns it is anything but, and she has the potential to be a great
and powerful witch, with training. But first she must reach her
uncle in Santa Fe while continuing to evade the three biker women
who are desperate to catch her too.
Confusion reigns for most of the novel as Lily comes to terms with
her budding sensitivity to the energies that surround her and her
sudden desirability to the school stud, KJ and the forces of evil.
Meanwhile she hurtles towards a destiny she previously could not
imagine, discovering family secrets along the way and embracing the
reality that she is a soldier of the light.
I would recommend for anyone twelve and up with an interest in
witchcraft and the battle between good and evil.
Kayla Gaskell, 21
The detective dog by Julia Donaldson
Ill. by Sara Ogilvie. MacMillan Children's books, 2018 (2016). ISBN
9781509801596
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Dogs, Board book, Detection. School.
Books. Libraries. Read aloud. I love books about books, stories that
tell of people sharing books, of reading books, of borrowing books.
Well, this one is someone stealing books! But it all ends happily,
so don't fret. Nell's story is told in rhyming stanzas, a tale of a
dog who is born to be a detective, her nose sniffing out the places
where all sorts of things lie hidden: socks, honey, a lost book, a
spider in the bath, a lost ball. And she loves going to school to
hear the children read, but one day when they come to school, the
library has been ransacked and all the books are gone. Catastrophe!
But Detective Nell to the rescue. She picks up the scent and follows
it, leading the class trailing out behind her. They traverse roads
and gardens, past the zoo and the take-away shop and into a wood.
Here they run through a very overgrown garden and push open the
messy gate. Behind the gate sits the culprit, a man with a stack of
books, his nose buried in one of them. He is most apologetic,
promising that he intended to return them after they had been read,
and he helps the children take them all back to school. A happy
relationship is established as the children show the man how to open
a library account and borrow as many books as he wants. The
infectious illustrations swirl with colour and life moving quickly
across the pages, inviting the readers to follow the action. The
dog, Nell, is a wonderful creation, one every child would love to
have, and the way Nell is depicted with her nose in everything about
will have resonance with most dog owners.
This is a charming homage to pets and libraries, to frazzled
teachers, to those sharing books, to those who are helped in their
quest to find books, and of course to skillful dogs and
accommodating children. A real treat. And now republished as a board
book spreads the fun to a wider audience.
Fran Knight
Toto the Ninja cat and the great snake escape by Dermot O'Leary
Ill. by Nick East. Hodder, 2017. ISBN 9781444939453
(Age: 7+) "Oh hi! You're here. Purrfect Timing! I wrote this story
about my cat. This is TOTO and she's awesome. But she is no ordinary
furry feline, my friends. She is almost totally blind, she has ninja
skills and at night she has amazing adventures with her cheeky
brother, Silver. Want to join them on their first great adventure? A
deadly King Cobra has escaped, and TOTO's going to have to use all
her powers to capture him . . . . "
For young readers who love books about animals this is bound to be a
popular series. It would make a fantastic read aloud or be equally
enjoyed by a child reading it by themselves. It is a purrfect fit
for those wishing to read chapter books as the text is large and
interspersed with gorgeous black and white illustrations. Underlying
themes of friendship, inclusivity and facing adversity and winning
it would make a great back to school read. I love the Q and A at the
end of the book with O'Leary as it gives the reader an added insight
into the book. Children will also appreciate the findaword. Toto
will fast become a favourite with many. Suitable for ages 7 and up.
Kathryn Schumacher
