The children of Willesden Lane: a true story of hope and survival during World War II by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781760630805
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. In Austria, following the 1938
Kristallnacht (The night of the broken glass) Malka and Abraham
Jura, parents of Rosie, Lisa and Sonia made an indescribably painful
choice to save one of their daughters from the evil brutality of
Nazism.
Having secured only a single seat on the Kindertransport, these
loving parents chose their fourteen year old daughter Lisa, a
musical prodigy who dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. Lisa's
mother urged that she must 'hold on to her music and let it be her
best friend'.
The hearts of all family members were torn when she left on a train
via Holland to take refuge in England where Jewish children were
accepted if sponsored by a relative. Lisa feared for her family and
experienced natural distress caused by separation and feeling
displaced in an unfamiliar country. This was made worse when her
sponsoring relative essentially abandoned her at the railway station
and she found herself assigned as a maid to a wealthy family in the
country. Whilst shown kindness by staff, Lisa realised that she
could not respect her mother's wish to follow her dream if she
stagnated, so the plucky girl left and arranged her own transport to
London.
Life became more bearable for Lisa when she was given accommodation
at Bloomsbury House, a hostel for a large number of Jewish refugee
children of varying ages, run by the kindly Mrs. Cohen. All the
refugee children undertook paid work for their support and when
Great Britain declared war on Germany, they laboured for the war
effort as they anxiously watched Hitler's armies rolling through
Europe to threaten from across the Channel.
Reading historical biographies so often causes me to reflect on how
stoic and resilient previous generations have been under the most
impossible circumstances. I cannot imagine the sense of loss and
fear Lisa Jura must have felt during her early adolescence, yet she
endured mental and physical exhaustion from long days of demanding
work and lack of sleep from nightly bombing during the blitz.
This story centres on the courage and persistence of a child who
yearned to fulfil her musical dreams and quickly matured beyond her
years in a time of grave uncertainty.
I highly recommend this book for 13 years onwards.
Rob Welsh
I just ate my friend by Heidi McKinnon
Allen & Unwin, 2017 ISBN 9781760294342
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Friendship. Belonging. Control. A creature
tells us that he has just eaten his friend. The look on his face is
one of remorse and a little embarrassment as he then goes searching
for a new friend. But it is all too hard. One rejects him because he
is too big, one too small, another too slow, and another too scary.
He keeps on asking other creatures whether they will be his friend,
but still no one is suitable. He begins to question whether he will
ever get a friend, when another creature pops up saying that he will
be a friend. But a twist in the tale occurs overleaf, which will
have readers laughing out loud.
Readers will readily recognise that need to have a friend, and the
joy of finally having a friend after a falling out with a former
friend, or when one moves, or becomes friendly with someone else.
The possibilities of losing a friend are endless and many students
will recall how they lost a friend and the importance of filling
that gap in their lives. The idea of eating a friend too will bring
up discussions of how to keep a friend, of working at a friendship,
of being a good friend.
The spare text is complimented with bright colourful illustrations
denoting the creature who has lost his friend. The use of only a few
colours makes each page stand out boldly, the face with only a few
lines tells us all we need to know about the main character. Its
amazing how a straght line for the mouth and the pin prick eyes show
us remorse or embarrassment, while a slight twitch of the line for
the mouth depicts happiness when a friend is found. Readers will
have fun with this book, watching the journey taken by the yellow
creature and seeing the same thing happening all over again with the
blue friend.
Fran Knight
Sir Scaly Pants and the dragon thief by John Kelly
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408856062
(Age: 4-7) Recommended. This is the second story about Sir
Scaly Pants the Dragon Knight and is just as
entertaining as the first. This time the king is kidnapped by an
evil dragon and Sir Scaly and his clever horse Guinevere, go to the
rescue. After traipsing past a cyclops, a warty witch and a
long-haired lady, Sir Scaly discovers the king tied up to a flagpole
on the top of a very tall dragon tower.
Then he and Guinevere have to use all their wits to work out a way
to rescue him.
The reader is introduced to 'The story so far' in an explanatory one
page rhyme which describes how a knight raised him, how he went to
Knight School, beat a smelly giant and became the King's champion.
Then the story continues in humorous rhymes which are a joy to read
aloud. The allusions to myths and fairy tales, like Rapunzel, will
also appeal to astute readers, who will also appreciate the twisty
ending.
John Kelly has been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and his
illustrations, bold and very colourful, will certainly appeal to his
young audience. The evil dragon is a joy to behold, gripping the
king in its forelegs and the looks on all the faces of both people
and animals will have young readers giggling aloud.
This is an uplifting and very humorous story that will have instant
appeal to young readers and listeners.
Pat Pledger
Pippa's Island: Cub reporters by Belinda Murrell
Random House Australia, 2017. ISBN 9780143783688
Life could hardly be more different for Pippa. From a seemingly
happy family living in a Victorian terrace house in London to a
caravan in her grandparents' backyard on a tropical island off the
Australian coast. Forced to make changes when her husband decided to
work in Switzerland without them, Pippa's mother has uprooted the
family to a totally new environment where she is now running the
increasingly popular Beach Shack Cafe created from an old, abandoned
boat shed - a huge contrast to being a stockbroker in London!
Pippa has a new puppy called Summer, is learning to surf, has
settled into school and now has a group of friends - Meg, Cici and
Charlie - and they call themselves the Sassy Sisters. So when teacher
librarian Mrs Neill launches a student newspaper inviting all the
students to submit articles for the first edition, they are very
excited. But each has different interests and therefore different
ideas of the focus of their story so whose idea will be adopted? And
what happens when naughty puppies and tropical weather and
uncooperative shopkeepers interfere with their plans? Being a
junior journalist is not as easy as it sounds.
This is the second in this new series by Belinda Murrell, aimed at
the independent reader who is looking for something that will absorb
them for a while. Writing modern stories for this tween-age group
who are on the cusp of becoming young women with all that that
entails is difficult because there is a fine line between what to
include so the older girl remains interested and what to leave out
so that the younger girl who is reading at this level is not turned
away. In this series, Murrell has nailed it with just the right
balance. There is action aplenty, a healthy relationship with the
boys in the story, Cici's fashion interests to add the touch of
glamour and a main character who could be almost any girl who picks
up the book. This and its predecessor The
Beach Shack Cafe will be in Miss 11's Santa's Sack this
year!
When I was this age I read The Pen and Pencil Girls by Clare
Mallory, a book which had such an influence on my writing as a child
that I tracked a copy down and bought it a few years ago. Move
forward a couple of decades and the Junior Journalists club was the
most popular and sustainable one that operated in my school library,
and now we have Cub Reporters to inspire another generation.
Offering kids an authentic outlet for their writing, their
illustrating and their photography is a winner for getting those who
have a passion for these things involved in school life while
perhaps moving them on to a higher level of expertise. Let this book
be the one to kickstart a program in your library.
Barbara Braxton
His Royal Tinyness : A terrible true story by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Ill. by David Roberts. Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406324662
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. Humour. Siblings. Babies. Told from the
point of view of "the most beautifulest, cleverest, ever-so-kindest
Princess with long, flowing wondrous hair," this is the tale of a
family that was happy until a new ruler was born, "His Royal
Highness, King Baby". The story goes on to describe the terrible
trials that Princess Marianna has to put up with, as His Royal
Tinyness burps his way to his first birthday, when all the family's
friends and relatives meet to celebrate this wondrous occasion.
Told in a very amusing narrative, the first year of the baby is
described, while the little girl, resplendent in yellow tights on
her head to denote her beautiful hair, learns to put up with no
longer being the centre of attention in her kingdom. The addition of
funny little sayings in parentheses like Marianna describing herself
as (lovely in all her ways) greatly enhances the humour and will
have readers laughing out loud. The ending is tender and loving and
leaves the reader feeling uplifted as the little girl shows her love
for her brother.
David Roberts' illustration are fabulous. I loved the retro images
of the parents in their 70's outfits, bell bottom trousers on the
father and hippy dresses and clogs on the mother but what really
stood out for me was the addition of child-like drawings that
Marianna drew showing the life that enfolds around her and just what
she thought of the progress of her baby brother.
This would be a welcome addition to any house where a new baby is
expected and would provide a humorous discussion point and read
aloud in the classroom where families are being discussed.
Pat Pledger
Shapes of Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft
Little Hare, 2017. ISBN 9781760129286
So often we walk around with our eyes open but we don't really see
anything. Yes, we see trees and rocks and distant mountains and even
birds in the sky but do we ever see the distinctive shapes they make
and the patterns within them?
With her artist's eye, Bronwyn Bancroft has taken the items we take
for granted and brought them to life through colour and pattern in
the distinctive way that only she can, ensuring that next time we
see ocean waves and river boulders, even city skyscrapers, we will
look at them with new eyes.
Inspirational for its bold use of colour, intricate, detailed
patterns and simplified geometry emphasised by the shapes
within the shapes, this visually stunning book will also inspire
poetry as students appreciate the simple sentences that accompany
each picture building metaphors like the "crystal shards" of
skyscrapers and the "quilt of nature's comfort" of the grasslands.
An excellent companion to Colours
of Australia, students could be encouraged to examine the
unique shapes of their own landscapes, even if that is just the
playground, and reproduce them in Bancroft style.
Barbara Braxton
Little Shaq takes a chance by Shaquille O'Neal
Ill. by Theodore Taylor. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781619638785
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Themes: Talent; Friendship. Little Shaq loves
basketball and he is good at it but is a little worried that he
might not be good at art. He doesn't really want to try something
new (including trying new foods). These struggles are happily
overcome with the support of friends and family.
This early chapter book is a simple and encouraging look at family,
growing up and talents. Written by a very famous basketballer, it is
an unpretentious view of the journey through life for the talented
Little Shaq. The bright illustrations are appealing and helpful for
an early chapter book reader as they transition from picture books
to novels.
Carolyn Hull
A is for Australian animals by Frane Lessac
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781925381009
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Australian animals, Habitat, Fauna,
Distribution. Subtitled, A fantastic tour, this informative book
will take kids on a journey through various environments to spy on a
huge range of animals that share our continent. While some are more
commonly known: kangaroos, wombats and koalas for example, many are
less known: hopping mouse, mulga snake and numbat for example, and
altogether the book reiterates the range and diversity of Australian
animals to a generation bombarded with images of animals from around
the world on their screens and in their books.
Most pages are devoted to one animal, and the page is filled with
illustrations detailing their environment, and with short paragraphs
giving information about that animal, its habitat and behaviours. I
found it fascinating in its detail and what was chosen to be
included, and younger readers too will read it eagerly from cover to
cover.
Some animals cover a double page while several pages have to be read
by turning the book around, adding interest and the question, why?
All will engage and educate the reader.
Lessac uses gouache and oils to develop her naive style of
illustrations, heavily influenced by the bright colours of the
Australian landscape. This technique is delivered with panache in
this individual presentation of Australian animals, one which will
have readers absorbing the facts presented and looking closely at
the illustrations for the detail she includes on each page.
The opening double page has a map of Australia showing where most of
the animals live, while in the back of the book is a more academic
presentation of the distribution of the animals shown in the book.
This helpful resource aiming to educate our students on the variety
of flora and fauna on our continent is a welcome addition to any
school library and classroom.
Fran Knight
Butterfly we're expecting you by Libby Hathorn
Ill. by Lisa Stewart. Lothian, 2017. ISBN 9780733416995
(Age: 4+) Gardens, Exploration, Butterflies. Two children go out
into the garden to see what they can find. They see a caterpillar
and wonder at what it will become, they see a beehive and wonder at
the bees inside, making honey, they see a lizard but it scuttles
away, a frog hops away, birds chirping in the tree.
In rhyming stanzas Hathorn tells of the children and their
exploration of the garden, looking at all the wonders it holds, but
also thinking of what may lie beneath. When it is time to come back
indoors they spy a wondrous butterfly, resulting from the
caterpillar they saw at the beginning.
In this way the story comes back on itself, encouraging children to
go outside and take a look for themselves. The softly sentimental
illustrations show the two children alongside enlarged versions of
what they see.
Some teachers may be able to use this book to encourage children to
look beyond the classroom and social media to which they are so
attached.
Fran Knight
Figgy takes the city by Tamsin Janu
Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781742992006
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Figgy and her friend Nana win
scholarships to attend school in Ghana's big city, Accra. The city
is exciting, and full of new friends and adventures. But when Nana
begins acting strangely, and disappears, Figgy follows him to a
place that is scary and sad. She must convince Nana that he belongs,
no matter where he comes from. And she learns that sometimes change
is not so bad... especially if you have somewhere and someone to
go home to.
Tasmin Janu has done it again. Fans of the previous Figgy books will
once again be captivated by this new book in the series. Figgy
continues to develop her feisty nature as she enters a world
extremely foreign to her. Nana and Figgy's relationship is tested
while Nana struggles with believing that he really belongs with
Figgy's family.
Themes such as friendship, family, poverty and homelessness all
combine together to give us an insight into what it is like for many
children in Ghana. A must-have book to keep adding to the series.
The larger text on pages makes it appealing for students 10 and up.
I think this would make a great read aloud series and work in nicely
with a unit on poverty, homelessness or access to basic needs.
Kathryn Schumacher
The Pastor's kid by Danielle Weiler
Ark House Press, 2016. ISBN 9780995391796
(Age: 14+) This book has many good lessons, and is about mostly good
people, or at least those who are trying to be good. The 'Pastor's
kid', Mattie, is in senior high school in the new town where her
father has been sent to work with students. It is her mother, a
teacher at her high school, who is more puzzling, disappearing as
she does on many weekends, for reasons that are only revealed
towards the end. The students appear to be supportive of the
religious element at first but then things begin to change. However,
the story remains centred more on the Pastor's family and their
struggles to fit into their new world.
It is normal to see the presence of God as good for this family, but
with the state high school's invitation to the pastor to work with
the senior students, it is evident that the students' responses will
vary. We are caught up in the story of the parson's daughter,
Mattie, for whom romance blossoms as she is captivated by her new
friend, Jay. Yet, while trying to help her father make the Chapel
program vibrant and workable, puzzled at her mother's frequent
weekend trips to the city, and at the same time trying to keep her
cool as her sister begins a new relationship with Jay's friend,
Mattie struggles and everything seems to get too hard.
This is a good story that addresses issues of the place of religion
in the world today, especially in the public school system. It would
be suitable for students in the middle and senior years of high
school.
Elizabeth Bondar
The bad bunnies' magic show by Mini Grey
Simon and Schuster, 2017. ISBN 9781471157608
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Magic. Magicians. Deception. A slight change
in plans means that The Great Hypno has been unavoidably detained
and is replaced by the two bunnies, Mr Abra and Cadabra. The two
bunnies take over the magic show usually put on by The Great Hypno,
changing a fish into an octopus, using one of the bunnies as a
target for knife throwing, changing a bird into a beast, and sawing
a woman in half. All is done with the magic wand and the words, Hey
Presto, reminding readers of days gone by when this sort of
entertainment was far more usual than it is today. People reading
the story with the children will have fun recalling the fairs, fetes
and circuses which once were common in towns and cities alike.
Television shows about magicians too seem now a thing of the past,
and so this will rekindle interest and teach the words and images
that went with this form of entertainment.
Mr Abra and Cadabra go on their merry way, eventually using
hypnotism to get the audience asleep to steal from them, but the
woman sawn in half comes to the rescue of The Great Hypno and all is
well.
A wonderful read aloud story, I can imagine children and adults
alike putting on various voices of the people involved, searching
for The Great Hypno, detained by the bunnies and looking closely at
the images that make up a magic show. Great fun and gloriously
illustrated, with lift the flap pages adding to the intrigue.
Fran Knight
100 things to know about food
Usborne, 2017. ISBN 9781409598619
This is a fascinating journey through the world of food that will
not only appeal to budding young chefs but to anyone who likes to
eat. Presented with lots of colourful illustrations with
hundreds of simply expressed facts that are readily accessible to
newly independent readers, it begins with an explanation of why we
need to eat, the sorts of basic elements we need to have, like fats,
carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and vitamins and then takes us on
a journey of the most diverse and interesting topics. Who knew
that hating Brussels sprouts could be in your DNA; that you should
never bake meringues on a rainy day; or that the national fruit of
Jamaica contains a deadly poison? Readers can find out about
why farmers rent bees, the last meal served on the Titanic, even
about the Frenchman who ate an entire plane between 1978 and 1980.
This is the sort of book that attracts young boys in particular, as
they sit around a library table each sharing the same book and
sharing the most outrageous pieces of information they can
find. Despite the knowledge that they gain about the topic,
the sheer enjoyment of the activity, and the affirmation that
reading is not only useful but fun are enough to ensure that this
book deserves a place in the collection.
As is usual with Usborne non fiction, information literacy skills
are supported by a glossary, and an index, as well as pre-selected Quicklinks
which take the learning even further. Another one for the
information-hungry, daughter-of-a-chef Miss 6. She is going to be
surprising her father with her new knowledge!
Barbara Braxton
Two rainbows by Sophie Masson and Michael McMahon
Little Hare, 2017. ISBN 9781760127794
The little girl looks out from her city window and sees a cloud and
part of a rainbow. At first, it seems like it is the only colour in
this grey, drab city landscape and she thinks longingly of the
rainbows she used to see in the country on the family farm -
rainbows that spanned the whole sky and lit it up, not just a small
arc peeping from a cloud because the sky is full of buildings.
But gradually she begins to see spots of colour in her new
surroundings - not the full-blooded red of the tractor of the farm
but the red postbox in the street; not the orange of the sunset and
the twine around the hay bales, but a curl of orange peel on the
pavement; not the blue of her sheepdog Billy's eyes but the paint of
a neighbour's fence... And there is one colour that both
landscapes have in common.
This story is a marriage of text and illustration, each
interdependent as they should be in quality picture books. At first
the little girl sees only the rainbow, even though there are other
spots of colour around her, as she thinks nostalgically of the
colours of the country, but as she starts to see more of her
environment, so too the colours in the pictures increase although
the city remains grey and the country bathed in light. And as her
thoughts slowly attune to the city environment she begins to see
more objects, different from the farm but perhaps with something to
offer as she peers over the blue fence and sees a treehouse with a
rope ladder and maybe a friend.
Perhaps, after all, there is but one rainbow - it just sees
different things. An interesting contrast between city and country
living that poses the question about why the family may have moved;
about nostalgia as we tend to yearn for the things we remember when
we are out of our comfort zone and hope as we learn to adjust and
adapt to new places, new things and new experiences.
Barbara Braxton
Aussie legends alphabet by Beck Feiner
ABC Books, 2017. ISBN 9781460709214
(Age: 8 - adult) Highly recommended. A surprise package, Aussie
legends alphabet will thrill readers, children and adults
alike, as they peruse the select group of famous and worthy
Australians chosen to be described in this book. Starting with A is
for Adam Goodes, then proceeding through the alphabet, there are
amusing but very recognisable illustrations of people who have
contributed to Australian life and culture, with a small and often
amusing snippet of information about each. There is a good mix of
gender and diversity across the whole spectrum of Australian life.
The following are covered: sports (Adam Goodes, Rod Laver, Cathy
Freeman), politics (Bob Hawke, Julia Gillard and Eddie Mabo), the
arts (Dame Edna Everage, Dame Joan Sutherland, Peter Allen, Queenie
Mckenzie, Henry Lawson, Olivia Newton-John), the media (Lee Lin
Chin, Ita Buttrose, Molly Meldrum, Kath and Kim, Medicine (Fred
Hollows) and History (Ned Kelly).
The way Feiner has drawn each of the people, using the letter of the
alphabet, is original and attention grabbing. She has managed to
capture the personality of each in the drawings and the reader is
tempted to go through the book again to read the clever but short
sentence that encapsulates the person's claim to fame as an Aussie
legend. At the back of the book is a section with more details about
the birthday, place of birth and achievements.
An ideal starting point for students who are looking at famous
Australians in class, as well as being a fabulous gift and talking
point for adults.
Pat Pledger
