Ill. by Charles Santosa. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781742761909
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Polar bears, Zoos, Cities, Death and
grieving, New York, Friendship. Based on the true story of two polar
bears at New York's Central Park Zoo, this emotional story will have
all readers sniffling by the end of the tale. Ida and Gus have lived
a long while at the zoo, where they are seen by the many visitors,
and are looked after by the keeper, Sonya.
The two bears wait for each other in the morning, ready to feed
together, swim together, play with the ball, sit on their island and
watch the city around them. They listen to its sounds, and watch the
skyscrapers reach into the cloudy sky. They are inseparable, and
always there to be with each other. But one day Ida does not appear,
and Gus must do all the things they did together, by himself. Sonya
comes to tell him that Ida is unwell, and so the keeper and Gus look
after her, making sure she is comfortable and in no pain. They
remember the things they did together, reminding each other that
they will always be there, always. She eventually dies and Gus
misses her, all alone doing the things they did together. But when
he listen to the sounds of the city, he knows she is with him,
always.
This wonderful story of death and grieving will have resonance for
many children who have had a death in the family. They will
recognise the process of death, some times knowing that it is
imminent, and see the way people deal with the process of dying.
They will see too that although that person has died, things live on
to remind them of that person, there will be memories that keep that
person alive.
The soft illustrations will entrance the younger readers who will
look at the bears and their lives in the zoo with fresh eyes. They
will see the images in the clouds, and the skyline of New York, the
depiction of what these huge animals get up to in a zoo, and perhaps
ponder how different their lives would be in the wild. This will be
a lovely read aloud, but have the tissues handy.
Fran Knight
Space: Seek and find activity book ill. by Emiliano Magliardo
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870037
(Age: 5-7) Recommended. Themes: Space; Seek and Find. This is a
simple 'Seek and Find' concept book with a Space theme. Each double
page contains a simple factual paragraph and then humourous
cartoon-style illustrations which are crowded with fun and sometimes
ridiculous detail for a young reader to search and investigate. A
single text question on the featured page gives instructions for
something to find, but also each double page includes 10 smaller
pictures to locate from within the larger complex illustration.
Recommended - as a book to share with pre-readers or for early
independent readers. It will fill those moments when adults need a
bit of focused quiet time!
Carolyn Hull
Fabish: The horse that braved a bushfire by Neridah McMullin
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Allen and Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781925266863
(Ages: 5-9) Recommended. Bushfire, horses. This uplifting story is
based on events that occurred during the 2009 Black Saturday
bushfires in Victoria. Fabish, a retired racehorse, now takes care
of the flighty young horses. When fire looms large on the horizon,
the trainer knows he cannot save all the horses; he throws open the
gates and orders Fabish to take the yearlings and go. The author, a
horse enthusiast herself, does an amazing job of helping the reader
experience the terror of bushfire for both people and horses and the
desolation they leave behind. Rich, visual language makes it easy to
hear, feel and see the story, particularly the situation after the
fire (baked-hard soil, a pile of twisted iron and white ash, the
sound of crackling embers, blistered hands, a stinging throat,
melting boots). The story of the surviving horses seems secondary to
that of the sheer power of the bushfire, but it turns the book into
an uplifting one of against the odds survival and highlights the
love between people and animals. The watercolour paintings are
breathtaking and alongside the clear and concrete language, they
transport the reader into the story. While the subject matter could
be frightening for young children, it dwells more on the positive
behaviours and emotions of the trainer and the horses (hope,
leadership, determination) rather than on the negative. Particularly
as it relates to a real event, this book is a fantastic way for
teachers to stimulate discussion about the effects of bushfire on
humans, animals, and the environment and of the incredible spirit of
both humans and animals.
Nicole Nelson
An artist's alphabet by Norman Messenger
Walker Studio, 2016. ISBN 9781406346763
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Aptly named An artist's alphabet,
the stunning illustrations make this a stand-out picture book.
Ranging from drawings of fabulous animals, beautiful flowers and
stylish buildings the reader is taken through the upper and lower
case letters of the alphabet each on a double page spread. Starting
with Aa, there is a wonderful acrobat standing on top of a horse and
another curled up to make the small letter a. The illustrations for
the letter Bb are a little more difficult to work out, but beetles
and a butterfly can be seen. From this beginning the reader would
expect to see a traditional alphabet book, with the pictures
matching the letters - but this is not always so. When the page is
turned to the letter Cc, beautiful waves are drawn, but the reader
is left wondering how the waves represent a Cc. This trend continues
throughout the book - a very round grey cat is on the Dd page, but
the Gg page has subtly patterned goldfish. Hh is easy to identify
with its wondrous multi-storied houses with archways and bridges,
but the trees and tree trunk for Rr is much more difficult to work
out.
The strange and fantastic drawings will also pull the individual
into the wonderful world of the imagination, providing so many
stimulating pictures that the reader will want to look at again and
again, not just to try and work out the associations with the
letters, but for their beauty and delicacy of colour. It is a book
that begs to be shared with other people, leading to discussions of
what the illustralions could refer to and coming up with different
solutions.
This is a book that I can see becoming a classic, one that people
who appreciate the surreal and beautiful will want to keep on their
book shelves.
Pat Pledger
Burn baby burn by Meg Medina
Candlewick Press, 2016. ISBN 9780763674670
(Age: 14+) Recommended. 17 year old Nora Lopez lives in New York
during the terrible year of 1977. The heat is scorching and there is
a killer on the loose. But that's not all Nora has to face - her
family is spiralling out of control, with her mother having
difficulty paying the rent and brother Hector becoming
uncontrollable and befriending drug dealers.
In a story of resilience set against a fascinating historical
backdrop, Medina brings to life the difficulties that Nora faces
with courage and thoughtfulness. With her father only interested in
his new family and not paying his way, it is she who must interpret
for her mother, and try and avoid the increasing violence of her
younger brother. When she meets a cute boy at the deli where she
works, she and her friend Kathleen know that Sam the Man, the serial
killer, is murdering young couples, and they both wonder if it is
safe to go out on dates. Her teachers are encouraging her to go to
college but all Nora wants to do is reach the age of 18 when she can
leave home and become independent, without the family worries that
are so overwhelming.
I enjoyed the thread of feminism that weaves its way through the
story, with Kathleen's mother an ardent believer in going to rallies
for women's rights. She takes the girls along with her on marches.
Nora too is clever with non-traditional skills of woodwork and these
skills will ultimately help her in a resolution to her problems.
Friendship plays an important part of the story, and the
relationship between Nora and Kathleen will leave readers asking
questions about when it is right to tell family secrets and seek
help from friends.
There are some big themes here: not only is there the simmering heat
that erupts in violence in the city, and the threat of a serial
killer on the loose, but the family dynamics are dire. In the
author's note at the back Medina talks about her theme of juvenile
domestic violence that is rarely touched on in young adult novels
and the novel being a 'celebration of people who find their strength
even in the worst circumstances'.
This would make a great literature circle book, with lots of themes
to be discussed.
Pat Pledger
Happily ever after: Little Red Riding Hood ill. by Celeste Hulme
New Frontier Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925059564
(Ages: 4-8) This is exactly what it says: a version of Little
Red Riding Hood that ends happily! The story begins the same
way as in most versions of the story, with Little Red Riding Hood
setting out across the woods to take her sick grandmother a tasty
treat. 'Don't talk to strangers' her mother warns. The illustration
on this page shows a clever bird's eye view of the long path to
Grandma's house, which winds past the wolf's lair. The potential for
talking to young children about stranger danger is made clear as
Little Red Riding Hood disregards her mother's advice, not only
talking to the wolf, but giving him directions to her grandmother's
house. 'I will run fast through the woods and meet you there. I
would like to see if your grandma is feeling better' says the wolf.
A bird's eye view is used again, showing the wolf's shadow looming
large over tiny Grandma huddled in her bed. The iconic scene where
the wolf pretends to be Grandma goes just as expected but Little Red
Riding Hood somehow manages to open the cupboard door, releasing
Grandma and the avalanche of things in the cupboard! The wolf looks
injured and the reader is told he is never seen again. There are
some large passages of text and the ending seems a little peculiar,
but the language is relatively simple and the story flows well,
making it an appealing version of a traditional tale, especially for
children who are more sensitive.
Nicole Nelson
Twelfth night by William Shakespeare, retold by Terry Deary
Terry Deary Shakespeare Tales series. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN
9781472917836
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Theatre. Another in Deary's retelling
of Shakespeare's plays will help introduce this play to a new
audience. One of his best loved plays, Twelfth night is
often presented on the stage around the world and has been made into
countless film adaptations.
Here it is presented as a story and stripped back to its bare
essentials. John and Jane are at Richmond Palace to watch Master
Shakespeare's latest play, 'Twelfth night'. Through their eyes
we see the court and its splendour, Queen Elizabeth, now coming
towards the end of her life, the courtiers pressing their advantage
and the play set out before them. Their story and observations make
a fascinating backdrop to the play which tells of deception, just as
Lord Essex deceives the Queen. The two children could see that Essex
and his armed men, were up to no good and using the suit of armour
in the hall were able to defuse the plot by Essex's guards.
So the play continues, the parallels between what is actually
happening and the play's plot gathering speed. Both come to a
satisfactory conclusion and readers will have a sound grasp of the
play, while infusing some details about Elizabethan life. A
postscript about Essex's true attempts to overthrow Queen Elizabeth
rounds off the short book. This is one in Deary's series presenting
Shakespeare's plays in an abridged story version which will acquaint
younger readers with an outline of each play. Behind the play
presented is a story of young people involved in some way with the
play, giving a perspective which will appeal to the readers.
Fran Knight
Agatha and the dark by Anna Pignataro
Five Mile Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760402075
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Fear of the dark. Anxiety. Friendship. Being
afraid of the dark is tackled well in this Agatha's second outing
for Anna Pignataro. Agatha wakes one cold wintry morning and dresses
to go to kindergarten with her mother, dresses in her bright red
coat. On the bedroom floor can be seen an outline of something in
the shadows which should not be there. Her teacher admires her coat
reminding her of the story of Red Riding Hood, a story Agatha likes,
although the walk though the dark woods is a little unsettling.
A storm outside upsets her friend, Yoko, so Agatha fetches her bear
for her to cuddle. Soon everyone wants a cuddle too. Miss Tibble
tells the group that everyone is frightened of something - why, even
she is afraid of spiders. But the day remains just as dark, and one
of the group tells them his brother had told him that monsters were
in the dark. After that Miss Tibble does some positive work with the
class about shadows, while at home, when Agatha goes to bed and is a
little upset, her parents ask her to draw a monster she would like.
All the way through different tactics are taken to allay the
children's fears about the dark, underlining the work being done at
school and at home, as well as by Agatha and her friends helping
each other.
Pagnataro's illustrations complement the text, showing some of the
things the children are afraid of, but supporting them in their
endeavours to overcome their fears. This will be a welcome
introductory picture book for discussions at home and in the
classroom, modeling strategies for parents, teachers and students.
Fran Knight
Olive of Groves and the right royal romp by Katrina Nannestad
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Harper Collins Children's Books/ABC Books,
2016. ISBN 9780733333712
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Boarding schools,
Friendship. Continuing the rollicking series involving the
wonderfully loving, kind and generous Olive and her classmates at
Mrs Groves' Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and
Circus Performers, is this wild romp involving all the weird and
wild characters from previous books as well as a visit from the
Queen. Because this is a boarding school that defies description,
with a Principal who is entirely incompetent, and students who are
bizarre in the extreme, the local School Inspector is doing all he
can to close down the school that Olive has grown to love. The
Queen's visit creates a flurry of activity that is laughably
impossible and introduces an advisor sent by the School Inspector to
overcome the obvious dysfunction. This book can only be described as
mayhem - with flying food, multiple explosions, and an evil and
duplicitous pig. Bizarre, curious, uncanny and peculiar antics from
all characters are drawn together under the umbrella of Olive's
steadying and loving influence. Friendship proves its capacity to
overcome all problems.
Nannestad knows how to create a story that kids will enjoy. There is
nothing normal or 'mature' about this series, and language is used
creatively and artistically to describe characters and events, and
the humour is just silly. In fact this book series would make a
wonderful cartoon adventure. Although this is the third book in the
series it could be read on its own without having read the earlier
books, but the flow of misadventure is worth recommending to young
readers. Comedic naive illustrations are dotted through the book.
Caroline Hull
Test match by David Warner with J. V. McGee
Ill. by Jules Faber. The Kaboom Kid bk 7. Simon and
Schuster, 2016. ISBN 9781925368185
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Themes: Cricket, Friendship, Meeting
Challenges. Davey Warner is an 11 year old cricket 'tragic'. Every
moment of the day is an opportunity to think about cricket . . .
even in the middle of a test at school. In this book in The Kaboom
Kid series, Davey and his mates have organised a 2-day weekend
cricket test match at the beach. Their rivals have included a
surprise 'secret weapon', a Davey doppelganger, in the hope that
this would unsettle Davey and his team. But even though Davey ends
up in trouble with the authorities at the beach, there is still hope
that they can pull off the big win.
This is an uncomplicated narrative which will appeal to young lovers
of cricket (males and females). The friendship opportunities within
a team sport are highlighted, but also the interest of competition
adds a spark of narrative tension. Davey's family is portrayed in a
wonderfully ordinary light, with a sunscreen promoting mother, who
also sets rules for the young boy. This is a book that you can
recommend to young readers - even those who are not cricket
aficionados as cricket terminology should be understood by most.
Simple cartoon style black and white illustrations are scattered
through the book. (Note: Teachers, who don't mind their profession
being the object of some humour, could use this as a shared novel.)
Caroline Hull
Sage Cookson's Ring of Truth by Sally Murphy
New Frontier Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925059748
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. What an amazing life Sage has! Her
parents are hosts of a cooking show and travel around Australia with
Sage. In this story, Sage and her parents are in Tasmania to visit
and film Bettina and Babette's bakery. When Bettina's most treasured
ring goes missing, the filming is put in jeopardy and Sage is
accused! The ring doesn't turn up and Sage is determined to help.
Can Sage get to the bottom of this mystery and save her parents' TV
show? Sage Cookson's Ring of Truth is a short novel at 56 pages
long and is aimed at young girls. It is highly recommended for
readers aged 7+ who are starting to collect and read longer stories
and short novels. The text is easy to read and Sage is a lovely role
model for young girls. The events happen quickly to help keep
readers engaged and it will have readers wondering just how a ring
can disappear.
Kylie Kempster
The Sisters Saint-Claire by Carlie Gibson
Ill. by Tamsin Ainslie. Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760291563
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Themes: Animals, Cooking, Family, Rhyme. The
youngest mouse in the Saint-Claire house is a magnificent pastry
baker and cook . . . but is too little to leave the house and go to
the market to sell her wares. Then one day she is able to convince
her family that she is big enough to go with her siblings, even
though she is small. Despite initial poor sales, eventually a Royal
patron proves that her culinary skills are worthy of attention,
despite her small size.
This is a gentle rhyming tale with a French twist and mousy
characters illustrated in a naive style by an experienced
illustrator (whose work is reminiscent of the style shown in Angelina
Ballerina; but whose skilful work also appears in other works
eg the covers of the Matty and Bill novels for Young
Readers).
Carolyn Hull
Fright club by Ethan Long
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781681190433 (Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Halloween, Ghost and ghouls, Monsters,
Humour, Board book. In the midnight hour, Vlad has called a meeting
of the Fright Club, designed to get his friends run through their
scariness for Halloween. His friends include Frankenstein, a witch,
a wolf and a mummy. There are three things they need to practise
before Halloween: ghoulish faces, scary moves and chilling sounds.
Unfortunately, their faces wouldn't even scare a daddy long legs and
Vlad is extremely disappointed. A knock at the door reveals a rabbit
intent on joining their club. Rabbit is sent away and Vlad returns
to his teaching role. Just as Mumford's eyes are boringly popping
out of his head, there's another knock at the door and the rabbit
has returned, this time with her lawyer Frances Foxx. Vlad shuts the
door in their faces and tries to get his monster friends to focus.
But rabbit returns with her critter friends complete with banners
and lots of noise. They pound on the door and show their amazing
scary steps and frightening screams, scaring the Fight Club to bits.
A compromise is reached and Operation Kiddy Scare is set to be the
best Halloween yet.
This is a wonderfully dark and devious story, designed to have
readers laugh out loud at the implications of Vlad and his club
refusing entry to rabbit and her friends.
A wonderful read aloud, full of information about Halloween which
seems to be gaining more interest in Australia, but also giving an
underlying lesson in compromise and working together.
The funny illustrations help make this board book a joy to read.
Fran Knight
Gumnut babies by May Gibbs
Angus and Robertson, 2016. ISBN 9781460752555
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Classics, Australian children's literature,
Environment. This beautifully presented compendium of May Gibbs'
stories is a centenary edition of the first publication of the Gumnut
Babies in 1916. Beloved all over Australia, many homes would
still have older editions on a bookshelf and many more would have
more recent editions, her books remaining in print over the years.
Containing seven stories: Gumnut Babies, Gum-blossom
babies, Flannel Flowers and other Bush Babies, Boronia
Babies, Wattle Babies, Nuttybub and Nittersing,
Chucklebud and Wunkydoo, the whole is lavishly illustrated
with her wonderful drawings and paintings. The book is finished with
a biography of May Gibbs containing a selection of photographs of
May, her house and garden, along with more images of her work. This
is a wonderful book to reintroduce children to these stories of
Australia's environment, published at a time of great emphasis on
our natural world, when Gibbs imagined the bush was full of little
gumnut people, along with dastardly villains ready to ensnare them.
Her emphasis on our natural environment must have been a wonderful
introduction for many children in the early part of the twentieth
century, and her using a range of flowers, flannel, native fuchsia,
boronia and gum blossom, along with animals such as koala, possum,
kookaburra and so on would have enthralled a society with a closer
knowledge of the bush. But all this changed when the Depression
meant that her cartoon strips were no longer bought by the
newspapers and replaced with those from the USA.
The biography at the end of the book is brief but most enlightening
about her life and career, urging readers to look for more
information. And it is amazing to read that a place like Nutcote was
about to be demolished, but is thankfully there for all visitors
wanting a look at where she developed her ideas.
Fran Knight
Mulga's magical musical creatures by Mulga
Hachette Australia, 2016. ISBN 9780734416704
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Imagination. Humour. Intrigued by the
author's name, Mulga, I went to his website and found
that 'Mulga is Joel Moore, a Sydney based artist, freelance
illustrator and poet who paints murals, designs t-shirts and runs
the Mulga brand.' In this intriguing picture book Mulga has drawn
some magical animals who play musical instruments and in a fun
rhyming story tells how his dreams inspire the creation of music.
Readers will be fascinated by the beautifully coloured animals that
dance across the pages. There are fishes in ponchos playing their
guitars against a desert background, elephants tooting trumpets in
vivid jungle, beautiful owls in boots playing the banjo, lions in
pink and blue sunglasses singing in mics and gorillas playing on
drums. All are coloured in gorgeous bright yellows, blues and pinks,
with lots of intricate detail that begs for a second look. Young
children will delight in the humour of the illustrations and spend
time finding how many animals are hiding on each page.
The story is told in rhyming verse that would be a joy to read
aloud. A discussion about musical instruments, the sounds they make
could lead to lots of fun with children finding other instruments
and drawing animals with them. The idea that dreams can be an
important part of creativity and using the imagination is also a
theme that could be pondered upon.
Pat Pledger
