Reviews

The children of Willesden Lane: a true story of hope and survival during World War II by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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