The Guardians trilogy, bk. 3. Piatkus, 2016. ISBN
9780349407906
(Age: Adult) Romance. Fantasy. The third in The Guardians series
see Roberts return to Ireland as her setting where Doyle, the
immortal, must come to grips with his past when he finds that the
house they are living in has been built on the exact spot where he
grew up centuries before. As they begin to search Irish history and
landscape for the final star and the Island of Glass, both Doyle and
Riley must come to grips with the attraction that they feel towards
each other and be courageous enough to admit their love. Island of
glass is not a stand-alone novel, readers should read the others in
the series, Stars of fortune and Bay of sighs,
before reading this.
Roberts' love of Ireland is evident in her telling of this tale. The
soft landscape, misty mornings, green fields and ancient monuments
provide a background to Doyle and Riley's story. The other four
protagonists - Annika the effervescent mermaid, Sawyer the time
traveller, Bran the Irish sorcerer and Sasha the seer, all play an
important role, but it is Doyle and Riley who dominate the story in
Island of Glass. There are dramatic moments, action packed incidents
and a beautiful fantasy island for the seekers of the stars and
readers will be swept along for the quest.
Fans of Roberts will be very familiar with the way she pairs off six
people, giving them a seemingly impossible task to perform, while
finding love on the way, but her novels always provide a great deal
of escapism and ease of reading that brings fans back for more.
Pat Pledger
Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406364392
Themes: Wordless Picture Book; Differences. A family of owls (is
that a small 'parliament'?) settles for the day in a tree. Their
rest is interrupted by the arrival of a family of bats. There is
room for them all as one group is up, and the other down, but owl
mother creates some distance by moving her family away from the
intruders. The smallest of each animal species seems to connect to
one another to the distress of the parents. A wild wind disturbs
their rest and both parents realise that they are alike in being
concerned for their family's safety. Over a series of pages, the two
family groups connect again, with the two youngest forging the way
to a nocturnal friendship.
All of this action happens through simple illustrations involving
the wide eyed owls and inverted bats (or are they the right way up,
and the owls are inverted?) As with many wordless picture books,
this book is one where a pre-reader could tell the story to an adult
listener; which makes this a great book to encourage conversation
and observation. (Speech therapists might like to add this book to
their collection.) On a more mature level, this could be used to
begin a discussion about migration and what keeps us apart and draws
us together in human society.
Carolyn Hull
Chronologica compiled by the Whittaker's Almanack Team
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781472932945
(Age: 10+) Recommended, History, Non fiction. Subtitled The
incredible years that defined history, this massive tome is a
fascinating book to dip into and read about an event which readers
may not know a lot about. Beginning with 753 BC, and travelling
through the execution of Joan of Arc in 1431, shipwreck of the
Batavia in 1629, the first hot air balloon in 1783, to the Fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1989, each year covered, and there are a hundred
of them, has several pages devoted to it. The topics covered are as
varied as they are different, as interesting as they are
entertaining, and they all point to the importance of that year.
Each page offers an illustration pertinent to the text, and a page
of text for kids to read, giving a potted overview of the topic.
Each of the one hundred dates chosen represents an incredible year
in world history, be it the Cornish Rebellion of 1497, 1796 and the
first vaccinations, 1895 seeing the first Nobel Peace Prizes being
awarded, or 1846 when the first saxophone is patented. The list of
things recounted is so varied, it is hard to put a finger on why
each is included, or what may follow. But always interesting,
intriguing and informative, this book will be read by those kids who
hang out looking for facts to read and entertain themselves and
others. There was always a bunch of them looking at the almanacks
and Guinness books of Records and so on in my library, and this will
be eagerly included.
Fran Knight
The nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman
Ill. by Robert Ingpen. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781922244550
(Age: all) Highly recommended. Christmas, Classic tale, The
Nutcracker, Friendship. This wonderful edition of the well known
story, the basis for Tchaikovsky's loved Christmas ballet, The
Nutcracker, is given in its entirety, translated from
Hoffman's original German story by Anthea Bell and given a
brilliantly enticing new set of illustrations by the marvelous
Robert Ingpen, to celebrate its bicentenary. Children and adults
alike will thrill to the complete story offered here, set alongside
seventy glorious illustrations, reminding them of Christmases long
past, of half remembered stories of the nutcracker.
When her parents' good friend, Mr Drosselmeier gives Marie and her
brother a nutcracker for Christmas, Marie loves the little figure.
Her impatient brother throws it in the corner when one of his big
teeth is cracked, but Marie cradles him and puts him in the special
place with her other toys.
Unbeknownst to her, Mr Drosselmeier has given the figure to Marie
for a reason, one he cannot tell anyone. He once built a mousetrap
so well that all the mice in the town had been trapped and removed
from the place. The mice then cursed his nephew and only he knows
what can take away that curse.
When Marie is about to go to bed, mice invade the room with her
toys, demanding she feed them or they will eat up her nutcracker.
She complies but when she runs out of food, she turns to see the
nutcracker and the other toys lined up to defeat the mice. She wakes
the next morning, confused and upset to see that her nutcracker has
gone. But Mr Drosselmeier returns that day with his nephew and Marie
realises who he is and takes him as her friend.
This beautiful story of friendship is complemented with Ingpen's
sumptuous illustrations, soft edged and glowingly detailed.
This is a beautiful story to read at Christmas, reminding children
that love and friendship are precious and will outlive all the toys
they are given. This edition includes a biography of Hoffman and
celebrates his influence on fantasy writing, while the tale written
in 1816, includes a story rarely seen, The story of the hard nut,
which tells the reader how the nutcracker came to be.
This is a magical production and deserves to be shared.
Fran Knight
The anti-Boredom Christmas book by Andy Seed
Bloomsbury Publishing Place, 2016. ISBN 9781408870105
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. The Anti-Boredom Christmas Book is
full of activities to make sure readers do not get bored over
Christmas. It has some hilarious activities and is full of jokes,
facts, quizzes and other stuff. Each chapter is themed and readers
can learn how to make some simple Christmas crafts, challenge their
sister to a Christmas quiz or make dad laugh with some Christmas
jokes. There are plenty of discussion pages as well which will make
for some fun conversations. They include asking questions of family
members and getting them to choose Christmas things they prefer.
Readers can learn some new games like 'Table Tinker' where someone
makes changes to the Christmas table and the other guests have to
guess what is different. Try a game of Fangman (a take on the
traditional Hangman) where players draw a vampire face to 'hang' the
players as they guess the wrong letters. Highly recommended for all
readers aged 8+. This book would make a great stocking filler and
could also be used in the classroom. Students or teachers could
choose an activity to do each day in the lead up to the end of the
school year and Christmas.
Kylie Kempster
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows bk 2. Indigo, 2016. ISBN 9781780622309
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction (2016). The
stunning sequel to Six of crows, see Kaz Brekker and his
crew fighting for their lives. They have been double-crossed and Kaz
is determined to have his revenge. In a series of daring heists,
they are fighting for their lives and Kaz needs every bit of his
cunning and intelligence to find out about the deadly drug known as
jurda parem and to bring some peace to his team.
Once again the world building in Crooked Kingdom is
outstanding. The city of Ketterdam is brought to life, with its
canals, warehouses, merchants and people making a fabulous
background to the adventures of the six young people.
The daring exploits of the crew keep the reader totally engrossed as
they break into houses, fool dangerous people and fight off their
foes. The action is breathtaking but so is the characterisation.
Each chapter is told by one of the six characters and it is done so
well that the reader has no problem following such a large group of
main characters as well as a plethora of minor ones.
The characteristics of each person are richly elaborated, with
details of each person's background and reason for being in
Ketterdam gradually evolving as their story is told. Kaz of course
is central to the story and Bardugo leaves us very satisfied with
how he evolves. Of course with such a large cast and with so much
danger to contend with, there are some casualties on the way and
lots of surprising twists as well.
This is an excellent sequel to Six of crows and I look
forward to reading anything else that Leigh Bardugo writes in the
future.
Pat Pledger
Dog on a digger: The tricky incident by Kate Prendergast
Old Barn Books, 2016. ISBN 9781910646144
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Kate Prendergast draws from her transport
industry background creating detailed images of machinery set
against an urban landscape filled with heavy machinery. This
wordless picture book with detailed black and white pencil drawings
with highlights of yellow and blue is a story of friendship, loyalty
and thoughtfulness.
Dog lives with his owner in a caravan surrounded by trucks, heavy
equipment and building supplies. The panoramic front spread
highlights the urban landscape at night; an owl flies by watched by
a city fox. Morning comes and dog wakes his master up with licks to
the face, time to start the day; meanwhile the food truck's owner
and her little white dog open up ready to sell hearty meals to the
workers. Dog joins his master in the cab of the big yellow digger
ready to move all the building rubble into the truck. Both of them
wear yellow safety vests. The digger's scoop is humanised - bolts
become eyes and the large mouth opens and closes eating up the
rubble and scrap wood.
At morning teatime, Dog plays with the small white dog sharing a
bowl of food, while their owners chat over a cup of tea. In an
instant, the little canine disappears and Dog sets off in a hurried
search climbing the stairs of the building next door to see where
his friend has gone. With the aid of Dog's owner, he guides him to
rescue the lost animal stuck in a grate beside the canal. Dog on a digger is an enjoyable picture book, when shared
with a class; students can add their own narrative, writing text in
sticky notes on each page, developing a class book. Pet ownership
and being responsible are topics for discussion as well. For Art,
explore pencil sketching, highlighting one element in colour;
introduce expressive drawing and humanising inanimate objects like
Thomas the Tank Engine and the yellow digger.
Rhyllis Bignell
Girl in pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
HarperCollins, 2016. ISBN 9781460751053
(Age: 15+) Recommended for mature readers. Charlie is really messed
up. But so is everyone at Creeley, the health facility for girls who
self-harm. Part One of Girl in Pieces chronicles their
despair fuelled by anxiety or abuse of one kind or another.
Charlotte (Charlie) is dealing with loss of her father in childhood
and more recently, her best friend.
In Part Two, Charlie is thrust back into the tenuous reality of the
outside world. She is not ready but both she and her counsellor,
Casper, have prepared some strategies to avoid self-harm. Mickey,
her childhood sweetheart, reaches out to her with a bus ticket and a
new start interstate. Inevitably, Charlie's attraction to Riley, a
musician and addict working with her in a coffee shop, can only lead
to one thing.
The author, who has a history of self-harm, takes us on a journey of
gradual understanding. Glasgow's insights into the thoughts of those
who self-harm are palpable and full of wisdom. We come to know
Charlie's own triggers for cutting and the horrific physiological
consequences of cyclical self-loathing. The use of flashbacks
confirm that she blames herself for attracting catastrophe.
Life keeps disappointing Charlie but in Part Three, the inclusion of
her sketches in a local art show gives us hope that she can
ultimately find peace in a world in which she has never felt
welcome. The abiding message of this confronting First Person tome,
is that you are not alone. You can choose self-annihilation of one
kind or another and there'll be no shortage of company - or you can
keep trying. Girl in Pieces provides insightful explanations
for addiction of any kind, but the sub-text is the importance of
mentors, artfully achieved from very well fleshed out and equally
flawed but resilient characters.
Deb Robins
Return of the dinosaurs by Bronwyn Houston
Magabala Books, 2016. ISBN 9781925360370
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. Return of the Dinosaurs is a
beautifully illustrated Australian picture book. What if dinosaurs
returned? What would they do all day? Better yet, what would they do
if they lived in Broome, Western Australia? Author, Bronwyn Houston
uses her local knowledge and Broome landmarks to help describe what
the dinosaurs would get up to. The dinosaurs could be seen at Cable
Beach or the local movie house. Locals could take photos as the
dinosaurs splash in the ocean and the dinosaurs could find the
secret salmon runs. The text is short and descriptive, making it a
great book to read before bed or to a class. The gorgeous
illustrations will provoke discussions, children could create their
own images to go with the story, real photographs of the landmarks
could be compare to the drawings and different art techniques and
mediums could be explored to recreate the images. Highly recommended
for readers aged 3+ but they will require an adult to read it to
them. Children aged 6+ will enjoy exploring the vocabulary and the
images.
Kylie Kempster
You are oh so horribly handsome by Eva Dax
Ill. by Sabine Dully. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2016. ISBN
9781760360139
(Age: 4+) Image, Friendship. Gregor the monster is unsure of how he
is perceived by those around him. He is exceedingly loud and very
strong and can run extra fast. But one day sitting alone in his
house with a mirror, he looks at his sticky out ears and big nose
and asks himself whether he is handsome. He asks each of his friends
in turn to find the answer. His mother tells him that his squint is
more handsome than anyone else's. Dad tells him that he has the
cheesiest, stinkiest feet in the world, while Granddad tells him
that no one else in the world has crooked, yellow, rotten teeth like
his. On each page Gregor asks someone what he is like, and each time
he gets a list of superlatives about his appearance, and by now the
readers will have laughed out loud at the words used to describe the
monster, Gregor.
By the end of the book when Gregor looks again in the mirror and
lists all of his attributes, he also recounts what each of his
relatives and friends did when he asked them his important question.
Dad threw him into the air, Mum kissed and cuddled him, Granddad sat
him on his lap, he was kissed and cuddled, by all he asked, so he
knows that he is really handsome.
This is a charming story of how people are valued, not by appearance
but by who they are. The book will provide a jumping off point for
discussions about body image, or how people show their affection, or
family and friends and the strengths they show each individual.
First published in New Zealand by Deep Creek Press in 2015.
Fran Knight
The song from somewhere else by A.F. Harrold
Ill. by Levi Pinfold. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408879337
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Fantasy. Bullying. Acceptance. Fear.
Friendship. This is an amazing story of bullying and friendship, yet
it also enters into the fantasy world that lives in parallel to our
own world. Frank (or Francesca) is alone while her friend is away on
holidays and her pet cat has gone missing. The story begins with an
encounter with the local Junior School bully and his two goons while
she is out putting up Missing Cat posters. Her fear rises and
overtakes her until Nick, the big ostracised kid from her class,
rescues her from another incident of humiliation. Unfortunately he
is not a 'Prince Charming', but rather is the lumpish and large kid
who is also the butt of everyone's jokes, and the one that everyone
in class avoids because he smells. Without realising it, Frank
becomes Nick's friend, and the connection between the two lonely
kids is tightened by the mystical and magical music that floats from
within Nick's house and which has a restorative influence on Frank,
but is also part of the intrigue of the unusual Nick. This music
entices Frank's curiosity, and she becomes acquainted with Nick's
fantastic family secret. The tangles that this weaves are like
shadows that creep around in the middle of the night, with the
capacity to trip you over in the uncertainty of each step forward.
Frank's encounters with the fantasy world raise her uncertainties
about how to act; the moral dilemmas she has to face confront her
with her selfishness and her struggles to be friends with the boy
she formerly shunned. But the story ends well, despite her mistakes.
The black and white illustrations in this book are atmospheric and
ethereal in some places, which adds a hint of mystery to the story.
Although we have a fantasy tale at the heart of the story, it is
also a 'real-life' tale of friendship, acceptance and the impact of
fear. Frank's quirky family adds an element of humour to the
otherwise dark mystery. There is nothing in here that would cause
nightmares, but it is a moving tale of overcoming dark influences.
Carolyn Hull
All of us together by Bill Condon
About Kids Books, 2016. ISBN 9780994642806
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Depression (1930's). Australian history. Family. With Dad
leaving home to go on the road to look for work, twelve year old
Daniel is the man of the house, charged with looking out for his
mother and two sisters, Adelaide and Lydia. It is The Depression in
Australia and Daniel's father, like many other men, has lost his job
and so must search for work away from home. Sending any money he
gets back to his family, the budget is never enough, and this book
gives a clear idea of what it must have been like for struggling
families at this time in Australia's history. Daniel is influenced
by his friend Bede, and must make some momentous decisions about his
behaviour, particularly after the family is given some sad news
about their absent father. Without television, mobile phones and
cars, the family will seem quite alien to our middle primary people,
but they will learn a great deal from the setting in this book, and
follow the family's story with interest. About Kids Books is a
new publishing company set up by Di Bates committed to producing
quality books for the age group from middle to upper primary, always
a difficult age age to satisfy, and it is pleasing to see solid well
written stories offered by this new company, a neat counterpoint to
the plethora of poo and bum books seen in bookshops.
Fran Knight
The mountain who wanted to live in a house by Maurice Shadbolt
Ill. by Renee Haggo. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2016. ISBN
9781760360030
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Humour. Mountains. Environment. Problem
solving. As the mountain stares down at the people in the town, he
is envious. People come to him to ski or have picnics, to climb and
watch the birds in the trees, but he wants to be just like them and
live in his own house where he would be protected from the cold and
wind and ice and snow, and not be lonely. So one day with a yell, he
begins to walk to the town. People become very anxious and drive
away, or walk or paddle down the river. One boy, Thomas stands in
front of the mountain to ask what he is doing, and finding that the
mountain wants to live in a house, begins to discuss the problem
with him.
He tells him about his mother sometimes washing his jumper only to
find that it shrinks, so he heads off home for soap and water, but
this doesn't work at all. Next he fetches a hammer and begins to
chop bits off the mountain, but the mountain doesn't like this idea.
At last the boy has a clever idea, and races back home to fetch his
father to paint the mountain. In that way the mountain would fit
into a house and be seen by everyone. So the mountain can stay where
he is but also be in the house.
I really like this story of working together to find a solution to a
problem. Readers could begin to discuss why things in the
environment are where they are, and how we can protect them. They
will enjoy the illustrations of the mountain's face peering out at
the readers and could talk about how to go about painting a mountain
scene. First published in New Zealand by Deep Creek Press in 2015.
Fran Knight
A dog like that! by Janene Cooper
Ill. by Evie Kemp. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2016. ISBN
9781760360047
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Dogs. Pets. Comparisons. In this enticing
book, each group of pages introduces a different dog and its owner
and what it does best. Uncle's dog, a labrador, is clever and does
what he is told, but the girl who owns the scruffy dog on the cover
tells us that her dog is not like that. He does what he likes. Her
Grandpa's dog is a watch dog, and keeps guard at night, but the
scruffy dog sleeps. The neighbour's dog is fearsome, barking at all
the other cats and dogs, but the girl's dog likes everyone and licks
them all. Each dog is shown for something it does best, and the girl
is told that all dogs should be like that. But as we read on we find
that her dog is nothing like the other dogs: it sleeps with the
girl, is happy to see everyone, is scruffy and rumpled, and unlike
other dogs that leap and jump, her dog sits at the gate and waits
for her.
Her dog knows when she is sad and licks her face, and stays in her
room with her when she has done something wrong. And that is what
dogs should be.
The bold illustrations have the reader looking straight into the
face of the scruffy dog, comparing its behaviour with the other dogs
and knowing which dog is the best. Each page uses one main colour
with the dog prominently positioned by the words in a large font. It
is a delight to read and look at the illustrations and I can imagine
children reading it aloud, repeating the refrain, 'Dogs should be
like that' with growing knowledge that the best dog is not like that
at all. First published in New Zealand by Deep Creek Press in 2015.
Fran Knight
Why do cats have tails? by David Ling
Ill. by Stephanie Thatcher. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2016 ISBN
9781760360085
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Cats. Pets. Problem solving. Surrounded by
their family's cats the little girls ask their Grandpa why the cats
have tails. Grandpa thinks up some wonderful reasons which will
bring gales of laughter to the listening crowd. He suggests that
they might use them to swing through the trees, but the girls tell
him that this is the reason monkeys have tails. He then suggests
that they could use them to swish away the flies, but the girls tell
him that cows use their tails in this way. Perhaps the tail helps
them swim faster, he says, but no, cats don't like to swim. Suppose
the cat uses his tail as a warning, but no say the girls,
rattlesnakes do that. Grandpa then asks the girls to offer a
suggestion and this is one the readers will discuss as they finish
the book. The pastel illustrations add warmth to the story, but are
a little washed out in my review copy. I do like the cat's paw
endpapers. First published in New Zealand by Deep Creek Press in
2015.
Fran Knight