Reviews

Star Wars: Absolutely everything you need to know: updated and expanded by Adam Bray et al

DK Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9780241232392
(age: 7+) Recommended for fans of the genre. Themes: Fantasy. Science fiction. Space. Adam Bray has written six books about the Star Wars phenomenon, and this the latest one. Star Wars; Absolutely everything you need to know is an updated and expanded version of a previous publication. You can find information about each of his books on Amazon.
Living up to its promise, the weighty 255 page tome has chapters entitled Protectors of the Galaxy; Bad guys, bounty hunters and the underworld; Weird and wonderful beings; In a galaxy far, far away and The battle continues. So something for everyone. A detailed contents page begins the read, while a comprehensive four page index will please the readers.
Wherever you flip open the book, new information comes to light for even the most avid of fans. And combined with an array of stills, CGI shots and brightly coloured illustrations with text dotted over each page, the book will be sought after in the library.
I opened to the page about the Slime Lords and was treated to an image of the wonderfully inventive character, Jabba the Hutt. On this page I found that Jabba weighed in at 1,358 kilos and was 604 years old at his death, and the sound of him was made using a bowl of melted cheese. Further over is a double page about the Scrap dealers, those hooded, large eyed creatures first seen trying to sell C3PO. Reading the page we find that they smell awful, thinking washing a waste of water, while they are called Jawas, and spend much of their time in the desert, searching for salvage. And further over is a double page, Monsters of the deep. Here the illustrations are of a series of rather nasty toothy looking creatures, and information about the Naboo Abyss where they live. Weight, habits, and the reasons for the Jedi needing to find their way through the abyss and past these creatures is explained.
A fascinating adjunct to the highly successful series of films, this book is full of information that will delight, inform and entertain young readers.
Fran Knight

The adventures of egg box dragon by Richard Adams

Ill. by Alex T. Smith. Hodder, 2017. ISBN 9781444938401
(Age: 5-8) Recommended. The illustrations in this are fantastic but the story is needlessly long and lacklustre. When young Emma makes a dragon out of egg boxes, the local gardener asserts, "That critter's got magic... put him to sleep under the moon and watch what happens". Emma heeds his advice and the next morning Egg Box Dragon is alive and causing mischief with his new fire-breathing ways. It is soon discovered, however, that Egg Box Dragon has a very helpful gift of being able to find lost items. When the Queen discovers the biggest diamond from her crown is missing she sends for Egg Box Dragon to come at once. After he recovers the diamond, he and Emma are given the royal treatment and driven home.
The illustrations have a retro 1960s feel (judging by the clothing and cars) and are ever so intricate. The characters have exaggerated features to add interest (big hair, big glasses, tall hats, etc.) and the pictures are funny, lively and fascinating. The narrative though, comes to a bit of a flat and abrupt end and the whole story is a bit dull and uninspired. It is a shame because the concept is interesting, the character of Egg Box Dragon is amusing and the illustrations are incredibly good. Unfortunately, the book has not come together as a whole.
Nicole Nelson

Have sword, will travel by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781742374024
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Knights, Chivalry, Swords. When a reader picks up a book by New York Times bestselling authors, there is always a treat in store and Have sword, will travel is certainly that. From New York Times bestselling authors Garth Nix and Sean Williams, comes this funny adventure story starring a talking sword and two young friends.
When Odo and Eleanor find a magical sword in a river they are astounded to discover that not only does it speak but it claims that Odo is now a knight. Eleanor isn't too happy about this as she had always wanted to become a knight but Odo is the one that Biter insists must carry him so she is forced to go along on a quest to save their village from dragons and villains.
Full of quirky humour and entertaining dialogue this fantasy adventure story is a joy to read. Odo and Eleanor's epic journey finds them encountering a group of bandits, meeting Sir Saskia a real knight, rescuing a young lad from slavery in a village where arms are forged and discovering river that has been dammed up. Eleanor is a feisty young girl, courageous and adventurous and comes into her own in the story. Odo is a steady boy who has no desire to be a knight, but knows that he must do the right thing. The sword Hildebrand Shining Foebiter ('call me Biter'), provides much of the humour in the tale with its funny comments.
This is an easy book to read as the adventures and action keep the reader fully engrossed in what's going on. In addition, the main protagonists are very likeable and the villains satisfyingly dastardly.
I look forward to meeting these characters again in book 2, Let sleeping dragons lie.
Pat Pledger

Koalas eat gum leaves by Laura Bunting

Where's Wally? Destination: Everywhere! by Martin Handford

Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406376241
(Ages: 5-12) Recommended. Picture Puzzles. This special edition celebrating 30 years of Where's Wally? revisits twelve classic scenes from Wally's past adventures, each one slightly altered and with more searches and games than before. On each page Wally recounts his past adventure and sets a challenge for the pictured scene, in addition to finding Wally, the four other characters and five lost items. In addition, there are numerous other challenges for more advanced searchers and puzzlers.
There is a very good reason why Where's Wally has been so successful over the last 30 years and probably will be into the future. The illustrations, even though they come from previous publications, do not look out-dated, proving the timelessness of the format. The crazy, busy scenes encourage hours of puzzling fun and will be enjoyed by new Wally readers as well as those dedicated fans who have seen each of these scenes before.
Nicole Nelson

The epic city by Kushanava Choudhury

Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408888889
(Age: Adult) The subtitle is The world on the streets of Calcutta and this aptly describes the focus of Choudhury's book. Although a graduate of Princeton and Yale and thus successful in the eyes of his proud parents, Indian immigrants who have carved out a new life in the United States away from the tumultuous world of Calcutta, it is that life cut off when he was only 12 that draws Choudhury back again and again - it is there in the streets of Calcutta that he feels his real self belongs. Nobody can understand his decision to live and work in Calcuttta, when he has so much opportunity elsewhere, and it even threatens his relationship with Durba, the Indian girl who becomes his wife.
The book is a love affair with Calcutta and its street life full of hawkers, fish-sellers, idol-makers, the whole gamut of livelihoods lining the alleyways. And most interesting of all is the 'adda', the spontaneous discussions of life and politics that can keep people engaged for hours. Choudhury's book becomes like a collection of adda, he tells us the stories of Calcutta, the intricacies of flat-hunting, the lovers' retreats behind umbrellas in parks, the long enduring crafts handed from one generation to the next, the religious celebrations, and most especially the horrific impact of the 1947 Partition on the lives of the people, divided into Hindu and Muslim regions by the departing British colonialists.
The epic city is a rich revelation of the life and struggles of the people of Calcutta, and would vividly re-ignite a kaleidoscope of memories for any reader who has ever travelled to India.
Helen Eddy

Birthday Boy by David Baddiel

Ill. by Jim Field. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2017. ISBN 9780008200480
(Age: 8 - 12 years) Sam Green is really looking forward to his birthday and wishes it was every day. His very sensible seven-year old sister Ruby disagrees and points out that if birthdays were every day, they wouldn't be special. When Sam's wish comes true, however, he starts to regret his wish. Funnily enough he blames his guinea pig Spock, who looks at him with disdain. Sam takes a long time to decide he just wants things to go back to normal.
For the first six months of repeated birthdays, for at least a third of the book, the author entertained readers with a ridiculous amount of descriptions of parties and presents. Sam's character quickly got on my nerves, particularly when reading about how his family were completely broke and going without necessities in order to pay for his birthday celebrations each day and his nonchalance about this. 'I want I want I want'. However, I'm sure kids will really enjoy the humour in this book.
The illustrations, by Jim Field, added the comic quality to the story line, and it did aid in allowing the reader to recognize how farfetched the Groundhog Day idea was. Unfortunately at points, I felt like the author was sending the wrong message to the 8-12 age group instead of focusing on building firm relationships with family and giving less thought to material things.
Mind you, the first novel by this duo, The Parent Agency won Best Laugh out loud award in 2016, so maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I read it.
Clare Thompson

Malala's magic pencil by Malala Yousafzai

Ill. by Kerascoet. Puffin, 2017. ISBN 9780241322567
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: Education. Prejudice. Women's rights. Taliban. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, has made her amazing story available to younger readers in this outstanding picture book, Malala's magic pencil. Malala came to worldwide attention when a terrorist attempted to kill her in 2012. She had promoted the education of girls in war-torn Pakistan, writing under an assumed name for BBC Urdu. In this book we see how girls are imposed upon by the growing threat of the Taliban in her city.
Malala loves watching a TV show about a boy with a magic pencil, who when hungry would draw something and eat it. Malala wishes she had such a pencil, and put a lock on her door, or nullify the terrible smells from the rubbish dump. But one day taking rubbish to the dump she sees young children scavenging for rubbish to sell. She talks to her father and is saddened to hear that some children never go to school, and girls in particular are kept home to work. She longs for a magic pencil to make the world a safer place, one in which girls can all be educated. But then men with guns appear in their streets and impose more burdens upon women. Malala notices fewer girls coming to class and so she begins to write. Her voice is heard all over Pakistan and further, she gives talks around the country, visiting remote communities and speaking to a television reporter. She is amazed that people want to hear her story. But some people are not happy and try to stop her. They fail.
Living now in Birmingham her voice is a constant reminder of what oppression looks like and how important it is to stand up for women's education.
She found her magic pencil and is using it for the promotion of peace in our world.
This magical story is beautifully illustrated by Kerascoet, a pseudonym for French husband and wife team, Sebastien Cosset and Marie Pommepuy using pen and watercolour to recreate the life of Malala. In the detailed background readers will espy lots of information about living in Pakistan, which will both inform and delight. Information is included at the end of the book about Malala's life and work, while a letter from Malala to her readers is included. I found this a moving and personable story and went back to the first book she wrote of her experiences, Malala: the girl who stood up for education and changed the world (Indigo, 2014) as I am sure others will. I was blown away by her understated reference to what happened to her when she was shot, underlining the insignificance of the Taliban against the global importance of education and peace. In a classroom this book would make a study of its own, involving such themes as life in Pakistan, peace and the Nobel Peace Prize, the role of the United Nations, extremism, women's education, amongst others.
Fran Knight

One dark throne by Kendare Blake

Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 9781509807734
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended for fantasy lovers. Three queens, one throne. In Fennbirn only one queen can come to power; the triplets are pitted against one another and only the strongest will rule. Poisoner, elemental, or naturalist. With the help of their adopted families, each queen must take full advantage of her gift to seize the throne. With Katherine the Undead, Arsinoe the bear ravaged, and Mirabella the chosen, all competing against one another, which will win out? Will Katherine's newfound bloodlust be a match for her sisters' compassion?
Picking up from where Three dark crowns left off, the three must deal with the aftermath of their disastrous showings at the Disembarking. Katherine must combat the rumours of her death after having been thrown into The Breccia Domain. Arsinoe must regain the people's trust after her bear-familiar (who was bound with low magic) ravaged several members of the crowd and attacked Mirabella. Mirabella, it seems, is the chosen queen, yet even she is not perfect. With the growing conflict between their adopted families, the need for a quick ascension has never been greater. The queens, however, will not be cheated of their lives easily and it seems that this ascension year will be one of the worst yet.
I would highly recommend this novel for fantasy lovers aged twelve and up. Kendare Blake presents characters struggling to be recognised and coming to terms with the brevity of their lives. The girls learn to recognise that what is important is not the custom of killing their sisters, but the relationships they have forged in their lives, and acting for the good of the people rather than the good of themselves.
Kayla Gaskell, 21

The awesome book of animals by Adam Frost

Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408885130
(Age: 6-12) Recommended. Themes: Animals. Information book. This small format book with full-page colour and infographics relates well-researched facts and anecdotes that will fascinate most people who open it. All the information is given within a context or as part of a comparison so each fact is meaningful and relevant. There are facts of every kind: disgusting, funny, little known and unbelievable, many related as a short anecdote. There are animal comparisons (how much water do animals need to drink each day?), facts related to interaction between humans and animals (examples of people being eaten alive and surviving) and strange but true facts (there is a fish that climbs trees and breathes air). The snippets might even get children curious to research further (as I felt the need to find out about more about it raining raw meat in Kentucky, USA!).
This will especially appeal to lovers of The Guinness book of world records and Ripley's Believe it or not as well as being great for visual learners and high interest, low ability readers. Children will love exploring the book alone or as a group, exclaiming in disbelief and then sharing these (mostly useless) titbits with all their friends and family. A clever way to get children excited about reading and learning.
Nicole Nelson

Bitch doctrine: Essays for dissenting adults by Laurie Penny

Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408881613
(Age: 16 - Adult) Recommended. Themes: Feminism. Sexism. Identity. Gender issues. There are a couple of references to 'bitch' among the quotes that introduce each section of this book, one from Bette Davis - "When a man gives his opinion, he's a man, When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch" and one from Madonna - "Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done". Author Laurie Penny is being a bitch in this sense, she is putting her opinion out there, she is telling it how it is, and she is demanding change.
Bitch doctrine begins with a diary of reflections on the rise of Donald Trump on a wave of racism and violent popularism, and declares that "toxic masculinity is killing the world." She goes on to attack the patriarchal and sexist basis of Western society. Women are still chasing the illusion of 'work-life balance' whilst finding they are actually responsible for both work and home life. Penny actually promotes singledom as the best option for young women - marriage is not the happy ever after, why not take time to explore interests, career, life? She writes that women need to get on with saving the world and "we can't do it one man at a time".
Penny's essays target Barbie doll and James Bond films, and also the Western fascination with the concept of the oppressed burqa-clad Muslim woman. The oppression of women is a global phenonema, "mysogeny knows no colour or creed", and the anger and violence directed by western society towards the veiled woman is another hypocrisy. To read more on this last topic, Amal Awad's Beyond veiled cliches is an enlightenment.
But for me, the most poignant are the chapters on gender. Here, Penny changes from strident feminist flag-bearer to revealing her own personal teenage experience trying to understand where she fitted in the male/female divide. This section of the book provides an opportunity for empathy and understanding of the personal turmoil of young people who struggle to find where they belong in a world that insists on the identifying labels of male or female. This is particularly relevant in the current context of Australia's vote on recognition of gay marriage.
Penny's voice is loud and provocative, tough, forthright and also often humorous. She is launching a bitch doctrine. It's worth reading.
Helen Eddy

Stink-o-saurus by Deano Yipadee

Ill. by Paul Beavis. (Book+CD). Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781775434733
(Age: 3-6) Themes: Sing-along Book. Dinosaurs. Rhyme. Unlike most dinosaurs who roar from their front, Stan's roar comes from his behind. This tiny little dinosaur's farts, illustrated as a starry green trail of stink, mean that none of the other dinosaurs want to play with him. When Tommy the bully T-Rex comes to town and starts picking on Stan he is so frightened he lets out a very funky fart that brings Tommy to his knees. The other dinosaurs are impressed that Stan has driven Tommy out of town.
Unlike many other sing-along books of this sort, this one actually works both as a standalone read aloud and as a song. It is also easy to sing-along with the music and there is a catchy chorus of sorts that young children will be able to join in with.
The story is ridiculous but there is a nice message in it about valuing diverse skills and character traits (even stinky ones!). It would have been a nice ending if the other dinosaurs welcomed Stan into their group rather than just celebrating the banishment of the T-Rex but as it is he still appears to be an outsider.
Nicole Nelson

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Hachette, 2017. ISBN 9781444940633
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. What a wonderful book for young women - one that validates being a woman, takes joy in women's friendships and speaks strongly of a woman's capacity to thrive in the modern world.
Jennifer Mathieu has written a story that outlines how girls are treated as second class to boys in a modern west coast United States high school. This is a story about bravery in the face of mistreatment, of girls facing daily damning condemnation and feelings of isolation. Here we have a young woman in high school who is exasperated by the constant denigration the girls receive from the boys, and sick of the licence their society allows boys to consider themselves superior to girls. This licence, supported by the school, that will do nothing to redress the hierarchical structure of boys as heroic, high-achieving sport stars, seems to give them the right to verbally abuse girls, to demand favours from girls and to make offensive and derogatory sexual innuendos in class, in the schoolyard and in the outside world.
Yet this is modern America and we would think that this couldn't happen. But it does, Poehler clearly tells us, and Vivian is absolutely fed up with the constant abuse, verbal slights, and denigration of girls. So she makes a 'moxie', paper slips of words and images spread throughout the school, and the outcome is explosive. We are so drawn in to her anger that we can't help but hope that she can sustain the rage and build it in the other girls, and stay safe. Good men are in evidence, and decent boys, so this is not a man-hating novel.
What a wonderful achievement for Mathieu, in composing a well-written modern novel that faces reality, that depicts adolescence as school teachers know what it is like, and fearlessly tackles that which is not only unrecognised, but ignored. Highly recommended for high school students of all year levels, and particularly of interest in its informative capacity for parents and school teachers. Brilliant!
Liz Bondar

Spooky Weird by Anh Do

Ill. by Jules Faber. Weirdo series book 9. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781760276775
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: Halloween, Moving house, Friendship, Humour. Spooky Weird! is the ninth humourous addition to comedian Anh Do's WeirDo series. With the bold green, black and white cartoon illustrations, the lenticular cover and the creative and colourful text styles, this is a visually appealing book. Anh Do understands the quirks, the unique problems faced by this Asian family in an Australian situation.
With a Halloween focus, there are so many funny ideas for costumes, toilet paper mummy, vending machine or a rocket ship. Of course, Henry his friend has had some problems with previous outfits - he has been a tree and a target with interesting consequences. Weir's classmates are paired up and asked to create new costumes. Bella his friend is bursting with ideas that are impractical; they spend time in the Do garage looking for inspiration. Bella and Weir's green balloon costumes are certainly different, they both dress up as bunches of grapes.
Meanwhile the family is busy packing, they have to leave their expensive rental property and move far away to a new affordable suburb. Weir is devastated, he loves his friends and his classmates, and it is the worst news ever.
Ahn Do loves to create student names that are funny puns. When Granddad drops him off at his new school, he pretends to be named Hans Some not Weirdo. His classmates also have some silly names, Charles Nott and Goode Looking! Poor guy he cannot win, especially when he trips over in front of the class because he's wearing his dad's old shoes.
They celebrate Halloween with their friends collecting lollies and a toothbrush and toothpaste from Mr. Do the dentist. With the help of a missing parrot, the challenge presented by a nearby spooky house and some creative thinking, the Do family celebrates Halloween and a successful relocation.
This is another winner for Ahn Do, fans of the Weirdo series will find Spooky Weird entertaining.
Rhyllis Bignell

Bring it on! by Jo Stanley

Play Like a Girl, book 1. Five Mile Press, 2017. ISBN 9781760409470
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: AFL, Girls' fiction, School life, Friendship. Play like a girl is a new series celebrating Australian Rules Women's Football, inspiring young girls to have a go, join a team and share in the fun of playing footy. Radio presenter, comedian and author Jo Stanley's novels are easy to read exploring the girls' family life, their school days, team practices and match day fun. Each book focuses on a different team member of the Milsborough West Flyers.
In Bring it On! Sarah is starting at a new school far from her friends and the surfing beaches she loves. When she enters her new class, Sarah realises just how hard these changes will be; her new classmates are football fans, last year their team was runner-up in the grand finals. How is she going to fit when she can't even handle a football? With the help of new friends Hahn and Maddie and the encouragement of her parents, Sarah begins football training. Their coach Shawna has been at Milly West for a long time and she is supportive of Sarah's skill development. "Skills are easily learned . . . but ya have to start to love what ya doing!" says Shawna as she talks about having passion for football.
Jo Stanley's characters are very relatable; she adds touches of humour, understands the difficulties of making new friends, the emotional struggles of moving house and attending a new school. This celebration of girls playing Australian Rules is very timely and is released in partnership with the AFLW.
Rhyllis Bignell