Ill. by David Mackintosh. Little Hare, 2017. ISBN 9781760127510
Archie loves being a bear but people just see him as a boy in a bear
suit. Strong-willed, determined and frustrated that people don't
believe him, Archie runs away to the forest where he meets a bear
who is all about being a boy. When Archie comments on the
bear's boy suit the bear growls at him that he is a boy not a bear,
and instantly there is a bond between them. Sharing the things they
love like honey sandwiches, fishing and reading they support each
other until darkness falls and the night grows cold and suddenly
it's better to be who you really are.
Mackintosh's illustrations bring each identity to life using scale
to show not just the physical relationships but also the emotional
ones. And despite being so small, even just a speck in some
pictures, Archie's will remains strong and large saying much about
physical size and shape not defining us as people.
This is a quirky, original story about being true to yourself that
will open up all sorts of discussions about imagination, self-belief
and friendships. Even though adults might not see Archie as a bear,
young readers will get it as the author has climbed into their
thinking and they will relate to it. Sometimes it's not enough to be
a powerless little boy in an adult-dominated world.
Discussions may even wander into the field of how each living thing
has adapted to its environment, each with its own special needs met
within it, and why the ending was inevitable.
Unusual but intriguing.
Barbara Braxton
Once and for all by Sarah Dessen
Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9780141386690
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Adolescent. Feel good book.
Resilience. I am a fan of Sarah Dessen's novels and Once and for
all did not disappoint. Louna is the daughter of a wedding
planner and helps out at the wedding functions that are held in all
sorts of places - on the beach, in fancy hotels and in lovely
gardens. She has seen all types of brides, from the tearful to the
pushy and is rather cynical about happy ever after endings
especially as she has had a tragic love affair. Ambrose, a happy go
lucky young man who dates different girls all the time, comes to
work with the team and Louna is determined to keep him at bay as she
tries to overcome her grief about her former romance. She ends up
having a bet with Ambrose: for 7 weeks he has to stick with one girl
and she has to date multiple guys.
As the story progresses, the reader is taken back in time showing
the heart breaking journey that Louna has taken with her first love,
Ben. Telling what happened would spoil the story but it is journey
that gives Once and for all so much depth and poignancy. The reader
gains a deep insight into Louna's feelings about romance and love
and aches for her as she gradually come alive and begins to open
herself to a new romance. Ambrose too has to come to grips with his
butterfly approach to dating and gradually he becomes aware of the
meaning of love. Dessen has surrounded Louna with a supportive
mother and business partner, William, who both have to come to grips
with their need for partners and her friend Jilly is a great
character.
Insight into the wedding planning business and flashes of humour
round out what is a most appealing story that will remain with the
reader, as they ponder first loves and the moments that are most
important.
Pat Pledger
Chook Doolan: Un-happy camper by James Roy
Ill. by Lucinda Gifford. Chook Doolan series. Walker Books
Australia, 2017. ISBN 9781925381573
(Age: 5-7) Recommended. Themes: Worry, Family life, School stories,
Camping, Self-confidence. Author James Roy's Chook Doolan
stories are easy to read; they explore real life situations,
emotions, family problems and school dramas. He understands the need
for accessible stories with simple sentences, short chapters, with
large font and black and white illustrations to support the emergent
reader.
Simon Henry Doolan is a chicken, a real worrier, and his nickname of
course is Chook. He worries about things at home, going to sleep at
night and when things change at school. When Mum reads the school
newsletter announcement about Mr Rashid's class camp Chook is
horrified. His imagination runs wild, and he stresses about many
concerns - over liking the food, snakes, homesickness, and is the
hospital close to the campsite? His Mum even packs his bag while
Chook watches a movie at his best friend's house. He is adamant he
is not going camping with his class. Luckily, for this young boy,
there is a surprise waiting for him at school! Chook Doolan: Un-happy camper is a relatable and fun story
for young boys and girls. James Roy's Chook Doolan chapter
book series are a great reading resource for Junior Primary classes,
with their realistic characters dealing with relatable situations.
Rhyllis Bignell
Chook Doolan: On the road by James Roy
Ill. by Lucinda Gifford. Chook Doolan series. Walker Books Australia, 2017. ISBN
9781925381566
(Age: 5-8) Highly recommended. Themes: Fear and anxiety; Family;
Chess. Chook Doolan has other names . . . more normal names . . .
but Chook is the name you sometimes get if you are a little bit
'chicken'! Chook is the kind of kid who prefers reading and playing
chess to other more adventurous or active pursuits. His family heads
off on a family trip to visit his Aunt and his younger twin cousins.
But will it be fun playing with the girls for Ricky, Chook's
soccer-mad older brother or for Chess-loving Chook? How can they
possibly enjoy the twin girls' company?
James Roy has written a simple chapter book for early readers that
is engaging and explores personality and family interactions with
appeal for those who are just starting to read independently.
Carolyn Hull
Chook Doolan: Up and away by James Roy
Ill. by Lucinda Gifford. Chook Doolan series. Walker Books
Australia, 2017. ISBN 9781925381580
(Age: young independent reader) Recommended. Themes: Anxiety and
Fear; Resilience; Flight. A Chook is another name for a 'chicken' -
a flightless bird or someone that is not very brave. In this book
Chook Doolan's underlying anxiety about many things, including
flying, is overcome (a little) by increasing his understanding about
them. An investigation into his Dad's role as a pilot and how planes
are extremely unlikely to fall from the sky, gives Chook the
resources to help a little girl who is struggling with her own
fears. Chook shows that you don't have to be extremely brave all the
time to do brave things.
This is a charming early chapter book (with large font) that will be
excellent for a very young independent reader, particularly if they
too deal with personal confidence issues. But all young readers will
connect with Chook - he has a gentle personality and attempts things
even though they might be difficult. (Note for educators: Growth
mindset in operation)
Carolyn Hull
Contagion by Teri Terry
Dark Matter, bk 1. Orchard, 2017. ISBN 9781408341728
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Science fiction. Infections. Dystopian
fiction. When Shay sees a poster with the face of a missing girl,
Callie, she knows that she saw her get into a car with a man over a
year ago. She contacts Callie's brother Kai and together they begin
a search which leads them into a terrifying epidemic that is
sweeping the land.
Terry immediately grabs the reader's attention with a frightening
prologue and then switches to Chapter 1 and the topic of Subject
369X, who is taken off to be 'cured' in a horrendous scene. Subject
369X is Callie and she is transformed into a shocking state, able to
see what is happening and to travel, but no longer having a body.
After the lab she was held in explodes and oil rigs nearby
disintegrate, the epidemic takes over Scotland. Kai and his doctor
mother appear to be immune and Shay manages to survive the disease.
The scenes of what happens when the disease takes over, the dying
people, the disposal of their bodies and the quarantine by the army
are all described vividly, but it is Kai and Shay's quest to find
Callie that takes centre stage. The narrative consists of short
alternative chapters by Callie and Shay, each adding to the suspense
and the reader's understanding of what is going on.
The action and suspense are so gripping that it is difficult to put
Contagion down, and the themes of revenge, survival and
romance keep the reader enthralled. There is a cliff hanger ending
that will ensure the next instalment in the series is picked up
immediately it hits the shelves.
Pat Pledger
The twin friends by Kim Kane
Ginger Green, Playdate queen series. Hardie Grant Egmont,
2017. ISBN 9781760129606
(Age: 5-8) Recommended. Friendship. Problem solving. Ginger Green is
the playdate queen but runs into trouble when the twins Georgie and
Zara, come to play. First of all Ginger has problems trying to work
out who is who and then there are more problems when they start to
play games that are designed for two players and not three. The
twins begin to fight and Ginger has to work out ways to keep
everyone happy.
Ginger is a most resourceful young girl. Determined to live up to
her name of playdate queen, she decides that playing 'families'
would involve three players, rather than always having one person
left out when playing Connect Four and Checkers. This keeps everyone
happy for a while but then the twins disappear and are found playing
babies in the park. Ginger has to come up with a clever solution to
include all three of them in a game that keeps them occupied for
quite a while.
This is a gentle, humorous story that will appeal to children who
are just moving from picture books to chapter books. The dilemma of
having three people playing together is solved neatly and in a way
that would give children hints on how to handle difficult social
situations.
Readers who enjoyed this will be happy to find other books about
Ginger Green and will delight in the gorgeous illustrations of the
little foxes in clothes.
Pat Pledger
Supertato: Run, veggies, run by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
Simon and Schuster Children's, 2017. ISBN 9781471121036
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Humour. Vegetables. Sports Day. Supertato has
decided that it's time for all the vegetables in the supermarket to
get fit and so he organised a sports day with lots of prizes. Then
along comes the Evil Pea, with Gloria, a giant watermelon, who is
determined to win all the prizes. Supertato gets things going and it
looks as if the Evil Pea will walk away with everything, until
Supertato comes up with a brilliant idea that derails Evil Pea's
dastardly plan.
The third in the series with Supertato as the star (Supertato
and Veggies assemble) will keep readers giggling as they follow the
antics of the vegetables on Sports Day and try and work out just
what Supertato will come up to foil the Evil Pea's plan to have all
the prizes. They will also have fun identifying the pictures of the
vegetables in the races and in the background of the story and there
is the added incentive of working out what Gloria is supposed to
resemble.
The illustrations are bright and cheerful and the expressions on the
faces of the veggies will bring a smile to the faces of readers and
listeners.
This will be a firm favourite of young children with its original
storyline, subtle hints on healthy veggies and exercise and fun
characters.
Pat Pledger
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare and others
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy bks.1-10. Walker Books,
2017. ISBN 9781406373585
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Fans of Cassandra Clare's series will
be delighted with this compilation of ten illustrated stories
previously published individually as e-books. The stories by Clare,
Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman follow the
adventures of Simon Lewis, star of The Mortal Instruments,
as he trains at the Shadowhunter Academy. Simon doesn't know who he
is anymore as he has lost most of his memories so he decides to
train really hard to become a Shadowhunter, hoping that he will
regain his identity as he goes.
This compilation is very clever and engrossing. People who have read
all the books will gain insights into the backgrounds and what has
happened to different characters as Simon progresses through his
training. I was particularly interested to read about Tessa Gray and
what happens to her as an adult, revealed in one of the stories when
she is a guest lecturer at the academy. Other characters appear,
like Jace Herondale and Magnus Blane, but each story grows on the
back of the previous one, and the reader gets to know and sympathise
with Simon as he struggles with his memories of Isabelle, his
feelings of worth and his friendships at the Academy. It makes for a
complete view of the Academy and what is involved in training to
become a Shadowhunter.
Some big themes are touched on - class and privilege, stereotypes
and duty of care, all done in an engrossing way, with Simon having
to make some difficult decisions about who he is and where he
belongs. Each story is illustrated at the beginning, with graphic
novel type of illustrations, which are interesting to peruse.
For readers who are not familiar with the Mortal Instruments,
Infernal Devices, and Dark Artifices series, there is
enough in the stories to ensure that they will pick up the series,
just to find out what has happened in the past and readers familiar
with the books will be eagerly awaiting the upcoming Last Hours
series. Readers may also want to go on and read other books by
Brennan, Johns and Wasserman.
Pat Pledger
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406373189
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Friendship, Grief, Single parents,
Aged care, Competition. When her father leaves, Raymie is
distraught. She joins a baton twirling class in the hope of winning
Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975, so having her picture in the
paper to lure him back home. She knows that doing a good deed will
sit well with the judges and tries to find one. But her soul does
not seem to be getting much bigger. At the class she meets two other
hopefuls, Louisiana and Beverley, each of whom have quite different
reasons for being there. Beverley is a take it as you see it type of
girl, no holds barred, straight talking and often abrasive, while
her cynical comments about baton twirling, cat homes, families and
the outrageous Ida Nee will have the reader laughing out loud.
Louisiana is an orphan but quietly determined and lives with a very
odd grandmother, always on the lookout for the authorities who may
take her to a children's home. All three girls are quite different
but come to work together to achieve their goals.
But the class does not turn out as it should, partly because of the
antics of the very odd teacher, Ida Nee, and Raymie decides to read
to someone at the aged centre instead of going to class, so
embroiling Louisiana and Beverley in her attempts to retrieve the
library book which she loses under one aged person's bed. Beverley
wants to sabotage the baton competition, while all Louisiana wants
is to get her cat, Archie back. Losing any possibility of winning
the money for baton twirling, the girls decide to take matters into
their own hands and go to the cat shelter to get Archie, making use
of Beverley's skills.
A very funny, darkly humorous episode at the end sees Louisiana in
hospital with an array of parents and caregivers arriving to tend to
their girls. Raymie's soul becomes larger as she develops
friendships and helps solve some of their problems, while accepting
that her father is not returning.
Beautifully written, this tale is most appealing in detailing the
lives of three young girls who do not quite fit in and are certainly
not what they seem. The story evokes understanding and pathos,
sympathy and humour as The Three Rancheros set out to right some
wrongs.
Fran Knight
Animal activity: Cut, fold and make your own wild things by Isabel Thomas
Ill. by Nikalas Catlow. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408870068
(Age: Independent readers) Recommended. The subtitle 'Cut, fold and make your own wild things!' gives a good indication of what the user can find inside. Once opened the words 'This book will self-destruct' are sure to intrigue and make the reader wonder just what they are going to find inside and just how one makes a book destroy itself. The instructions on 'How to wreck this book' will take any user off on an adventure learning about the natural world. Choosing 'Make a flower explode' (page 37) gives instructions on pulling a flower apart and naming its parts. 'Turn paper back into a tree' gives instructions for making a paper tree, and peopling it with creatures. The reader will have fun going outside, shaking a tree and seeing what living creatures fall out!
There are many such activities in the book, each providing hours of fun while the user learns about the natural world and animal activity.
Many require scissors, glue and paint and some need an adult to supervise, but all will keep the reader occupied and interested. Certainly the book will not be intact after children start using it.
This would be a wonderful book to have on hand for holiday enjoyment or to use to pry young children away from their screens. Teachers may also find that many of the activities could be useful in the classroom.
Pat Pledger
School daze by Zack Zombie
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie: Book 5. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN
9781743818312
(Age: 7+) Set in the intriguing location of Scare School and
containing characters well known by all those enthralled with the
game Minecraft; School daze follows the story of Zack Zombie
and his aim of getting out of going on camp for the summer.
Zack tries every trick in the book to fail classes, hand in
ridiculous science projects and present crazy history speeches - all
in an attempt to make his parents so mad they cancel summer camp!
But life for this Minecraft zombie is just not going to plan.
Written in a daily diary style, children will find this book easy to
read and are sure to laugh at the funny banter recorded in Zack's
diary and the classic occurrences that even us mere humans will
relate to - such as school photo day and enlisting the help of your
best friend (Steve Human) to help you really stuff up your Scare
School work.
The book easily draws you into the life of Zack, and finishes off
with lots of questions about the outcome of Zack's antics.
Readers will certainly be eager to start Book 6 in this series. It
is felt that this would be a wonderful series to present to children
who are either struggling or not interested in reading, but are
interested in this game.
This unofficial Minecraft book would suit readers from ages 7 and
up, or parents of younger children who just cannot get enough of the
ever growing phenomenon - Minecraft!
Lauren Fountain
The pink snowman by Alan Horsfield
Ill. by Pat Kan. Big Sky Publishing. 2017. ISBN 9781925520439
(Age: 6-8) Snowmen. Blue Mountains NSW. Problem Solving.
Krystal Clearwater is bored. She lives in the Blue Mountains and
there is nothing to do. Outside there's a heavy blanket of snow
covering the yard and inside her father is busy with his model train
set. Dad is a joker; he's always telling stories and sometimes
Krystal believes him. He suggests a bet: if she finds two matching
snowflakes she will receive a fifteen dollar reward. Of course, her
wise friend Jasper tells her the truth and she decides to build a
snowman instead.
After building a rather disastrous looking snowman, Krystal jokingly
challenges the creature to 'Stand up like a man!' Much to her
surprise he does and soon the two friends are busy finding him some
eyes and solving the problem of his strawberry coloured body.
Pat Kan's lively paint and ink drawings add to the fun of Alan
Horsfield's narrative, suited to readers engaging with early chapter
books.
Rhyllis Bignell
Disappearing off the face of the earth by David Cohen
Transit Lounge, 2017. ISBN 9780995359482
(Age: 15+) This contemporary story is set in a self storage business
in Brisbane. Narrated in the first person by the owner Ken, it
details the decline of the business where defaulters of the storage
units disappear and Ken is able to sell the contents to recoup
rental costs.
Bruce, his employee, appears to be mixed up in the disappearance and
'messing' with Ken's mind and view of what is happening.
Along with the decline of the business is the mental decline of both
men.
While the story is engaging and I read it in one sitting to see what
happens at the end, the ending is disappointing and somewhat
inexplicable.
There are a few sub-plots that confuse the main story.
Ann Griffin
Dream little one, dream by Sally Morgan
Ill by Ambelin Kwaymullina. Viking, 2016. ISBN 9780670078868
"When Moon shines and earth breathes a breath of deepest night
dream, little one, dream into the peace of a wonderful world."
As the first fingers of light of the rising sun bring new life to a
new day, the creatures begin to stir and go about their business.
The bird soars, the koala climbs, the dolphin glides - right through
the day till the moon comes again and the lizards settle down to
dream.
Written with the lyrical notes of a lullaby this is a soothing,
gentle tale of lives not seen by busy, rushing people as the day
passes through its phases. Creatures of the skies, land and water
have their own rhythm that has nothing to do with school or work or
sports training or music practice - they are in peace and harmony
with the world that surrounds them, suggesting a sense of routine
and calm that we might well envy, perhaps be persuaded to observe.
Sally Morgan has a gift for selecting words and putting them
together in a way that reaches the soul and demands we take time to
breathe, relax and reflect. Accompanied by bright, stunning,
striking illustrations that are in direct contrast to the gentle
vocabulary, rhythm and repetition of the text, just as nature's
lives are in contrast to that of humans, this is the perfect bedtime
story to draw the curtains on the day, to slow the heart and take
little ones off to Dreamland.
Barbara Braxton
