Foreword by Philip Pullman. Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN
9781760111038
(Age: 8 to adult) Highly recommended, Grimm's fairytales, Sculpture.
A foreword by Philip Pullman sets the scene. He would rather see the
stories of the Grimm Brothers presented without illustrations, than
repeat the soft and pretty images of books in the past. But seeing
Tan's sculptures of the grotesque and weird creatures, he is
satisfied that here is someone who is able to reveal these tales for
what they are.
With that forward in mind, opening this beautifully presented book
of Tan's sculptures set alongside excerpts from each of seventy five
tales, is quite mesmerising.
Dipping in I found some favourites: Brier Rose, Six
Swans, Snow White, The Juniper Tree and so on,
while I came across some I have not heard of: The Three Snake
Leaves, The Bearskin, The Lettuce Donkey to
name a few.
Each story is presented in a few paragraphs, and the facing page has
a stunning photograph of Tan's sculpture about that story.
Amongst the many which stand out for me is Rapunzel. The
brief outline tells us of this beautiful young girl having to let
her hair down for the sorceress to enter the high tower. The long
slim piece of clay stretches skyward, and only the small round face
on top shows us that this is Rapunzel, her hair falling straight
down to the ground. What sorrow and imprisonment is shown in this
tiny image. No Disneyfied young woman with luxuriating tresses
leaning out of her window for the handsome prince below, only a girl
detained without hope of escape. Bearskin was a story I had
not heard before, so I read a complete version in my Maurice Sendak
copy of Grimm's Tales (The Juniper Tree, 1973) to find out
about a soldier who while good at fighting has no way of supporting
himself during peace. Someone offers to support him for seven years
but he must not cut his hair or change his clothes nor pray. The
soldier eventually realises the devil is waiting for him to slip up
and take his soul. An amazing story of courage and resilience, of
temptation and honouring one's parents, Tan's sculpture looks like a
piece of carved wood, with the soldier's face peering out from the
enveloping bearskin. Readers will have lots to think about when
looking at the little piece, wondering why it is presented in this
way.
Grimm's Tales, so much a part of Western literature, exemplify the
basic tenets underlying life, be they sins like greed or envy, or
virtues like looking past appearance or honouring promises. These
stories are given a different aura through Tan's work: his curious
creatures will make readers think, setting aside illustrators of the
past who have seen fit to gentrify them.
An introduction by scholar, Jack Zipes, gives a potted history of
the Grimm Brothers and their work, and is followed by an extensive
bibliography with summaries of the stories and words by Shaun Tan
outlining the influences on his enigmatic work. A book to be
savoured: one that will add a difference to any study of Grimm's
Tales in the classroom.
Fran Knight
Land's Edge: a coastal memoir by Tim Winton
Penguin 2010. ISBN 9781926428284
(Age: Young adult/adult) Highly recommended. Tim Winton's deep love
of the Australian coast shines in Land's Edge: a coastal memoir.
I loved this memoir . . . Winton's writing as ever is painterly,
evocative, perfectly paced. He writes with a great love and respect
of the oceans and the creatures that live beneath the wave . . . to
read this memoir is to experience the majesty of the West Australian
coast through his eyes.
The reader is introduced to the watery world of a coastal life in
this gentle reflection of Tim Winton's formative years. He describes
how the coast anchors his life; how being on the edge of something
between the water and the outback informs his writing; how in the
memories from his childhood there is always . . . the briny smell of
the sea, and how he graduated from comic book to classic.
Tim Winton is a widely known Australian author and is the worthy
recipient of many awards. His books for adults and children have
been translated into twenty-five languages.
Narelle Autio's exquisite photographs are the perfect complement to
this work. Autio captures the essence of water, the movement, the
light.
The poetic beauty of Winton's prose draws me to his writing again
and again. I highly recommend Land's Edge: a coastal memoir
to a young adult/adult readership to appreciate the ocean in all its
raw beauty and danger, and to the poetry within this narrative.
Colleen Tuovinen
The day the crayons came home by Drew Daywalt
Ill. by Oliver Jeffers. HarperCollins, 2015. ISBN 9780008124434
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Humour, Postcards, Travel, Inclusivity, Friendship, Caring for others. A gently humerous look at the crayons lost and forgotten around the house, brought to the attention of their owner by the rueful postcards sent to Duncan by each of the crayons. Each is a delight. Brief words, as befit a postcard, tell a harrowing story of what has happened to the luckless crayons; joined to a sock after being put in the wash, lost down the back of a couch, left in the hands of a younger sibling, or sharpened to oblivion.
But each wants to come home, to be retrieved, to be with their owner, Duncan.
A companion to the well loved The day the crayons quit (2014) this story is very funny, offering younger readers a tilt at differing forms of humour: irony (check out the brown crayon upset that everyone thinks he has a wonderful time drawing lovely things like chocolate), parody (the series of delightful travel postcards from Neon Red crayon), slapstick (Dad sitting on the crayon left on the couch), hyperbole (Pea Green's attempt to run away), Poo jokes (Brown crayon) and scary jokes (Glow in the dark crayon left in the cellar) and more.
Each signing off on the postcards adds to the level of humour which younger readers will love, and the drawings by Oliver Jeffers will raise many laughs. All of his crayons ranging from Brown crayon, to Glow in the dark crayon, to Gold crayon are imbued with lives of their own. In a few deft blocks of colour, the personality of the crayon is exposed, underlined by the picture on their postcards.
Younger readers will squeal with delight at the scenes of the traveling crayons, those stuck at home, those wanting to go out into the big world, those belonging to the younger member of the family. Each page is a visual and textual treat, giving readers lots to take in, to look at and discuss. Smaller drawings around the edges of the pages adds fun to the mix, and the end-papers will delight readers as will Duncan's solution to the problem of the returning but somewhat diminished crayons. He takes care of them all, even if Neon Red thinks he is climbing the Great Wall of China.
I can imagine children in a class taking on the story of one of the crayons using what is told to them in the book, and expanding it to make a whole story. After they have finished laughing that is.
Fran Knight
A Beginner's Guide to Life on Earth by Gill Arbuthnott
A & C Black, 2015. ISBN 9781472915733
(Age: Primary) Recommended. Themes: Biology; Classification;
Animals; Plants. This is an unpretentious, easy to read, accessible
Non-fiction introduction to basic Biology including the
classification system for younger readers. As a former Biology
teacher, I recognise its success in making the complex simple and in
introducing the most interesting life forms and their oddities to an
inquiring audience. Apart from the occasional error or
over-simplification eg Birds . . . front legs have turned into
wings, the information is clear and well-presented. It could
be read from cover to cover for an interested younger reader, or
used to provide a very simple paragraph detail for a research
request. The illustration style includes photographs and some
cartoon-like illustrations which would appeal to a younger reader
with an interest in animals or Biology. It is not a detailed in
depth Biology text, but it is a 'Beginner's guide!'
Can be recommended as a Library purchase or a gift for an interested
'Beginner'.
Carolyn Hull
Trouble Is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN 9781471404856
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Crime. After her parent's divorce, Zoe has
moved to a new school where she meet the weird and brilliant Philip
Digby and finds herself involved in his search for the kidnapper of
a teenage girl. Digby's sister had disappeared years before and he
is convinced that this disappearance has something to do with it.
Digby trusts Zoe because she isn't connected with anyone from the
past, and together they go on some hair raising adventures where
they uncover a criminal gynaecologist and strange cult.
Digby's behaviour is so incongruous that he manages to fascinate the
more up-tight Zoe, who is aiming to get back to an elite boarding
school and not become involved with anyone in her public school.
Digby comes and goes from school; is dressed in strange clothes
(often a suit), and is really rude to everyone. However she is a
very curious girl and can't resist being dragged on one dare-devil
stunt after another as they chase the clues to the teen's
disappearance. Any romance is played down and the action and search
are the focal point of the story.
Narrated by Zoe, this is a fast-paced thriller that is lifted from
the ordinary by very witty and sarcastic dialogue, much of which had
me laughing out loud at times. The relationship between Zoe and her
mother was also a highlight as her mother's character and interests
gradually emerged, and Zoe began to understand what it was like to
be a single parent and to leave a difficult relationship.
This is a fun, escapist story that will appeal to readers who enjoy
crime stories and off-beat characters. Although it definitely reads
as a stand-alone, there are some threads to the story that haven't
been unravelled so a sequel when it appears is sure to appeal.
Pat Pledger
Ripley's Believe It or Not Special Edition 2016
Scholastic Australia, 2015. ISBN 9780545852791
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Ripley's Believe It or Not Special
Edition 2016 is the next instalment in a popular series. It is
packed with crazy facts that sometimes have to be seen to be
believed. Look inside for a close up of a chameleon's eye or see a
man who uses his hair to pull a car. How many golf balls can fit in
someone's mouth? Look on page 105 to find out. Are you a fan of
Harry Potter, Batman or Hello Kitty? Look inside to find out what
some fans have been up to. Readers will be amazed at the collection
of facts and it is a great book to share with friends.
Highly recommended for readers aged 8+. The bright photographs and
easy to read text will appeal to all readers.
Kylie Kempster
Rich & Rare: A collection of Australian Stories, Poetry and Artwork ed. by Paul Collins
Ford Street Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925272116
(Age: 10-14) Highly recommended. Themes: Short Stories -
Contemporary, Fantasy, Humour, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction,
Romance, Ghost, Horror, Historical, Poetry. From the
pens/computers/wisdom of Australian YA and Children's book authors
that grace every Australian Library shelf, comes a collection of
stories that each have their own brilliance, but together make this
Anthology an absolute winner. From the very first story to the last
word in the last poem, emanate a wonderful burst of art - of the
written variety. With everything from gentle romance to ghost
stories; with reality and fantasy; serious, or twisted and funny;
with most pieces wonderful gems of the short story genre, this is a
book that every Library should buy, and would make an absolutely
wonderful gift for the 10-14 year old reader. Because it is short
stories predominantly, teachers will also love this as a resource of
short stories to read with their students. I can recommend this
anthology very highly, both for the quality of writing and also
because there is almost nothing distasteful in any of the stories.
Even the ghost and horror stories have an intrigue, although some
younger children may struggle with these stories. In most stories,
young protagonists deal with life and its twists and turns, settings
are varied and there is often the Dahl-esque 'twist in the tale'. As
the title suggests, this book is 'Rich and Rare'!
Carolyn Hull
Green Lizards vs Red Rectangles by Steve Antony
Hodder Children's Books, 2015. ISBN 9781444920109
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: War & Conflict; Picture
Book. This very simple picture book tackles a profound question -
Why does war happen? Why are we fighting? With very sparse text and
stylised red and green illustrations, the Author has addressed quite
serious issues in a very simple way, but in a way that provokes
thoughtful discussion. The green lizards are almost Escher-esque in
style, and individual lizards are unable to be identified, and the
rectangles are just red! The text is also very lean - there are no
wasted words! This simplicity leads to a solution that seems so
logical, but it is not without difficulty along the way. Lone voices
are sometimes squashed, but may also have power to change what has
always been.
This is a book worth having in every library, its unique style and
content need to be seen and read widely, and could be used as an
introductory text with an older age group in discussions about war
and conflict.
Carolyn Hull
The Monkey's Secret by Gennifer Choldenko
Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN 9781471403521
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. The Monkey's Secret is set in
San Francisco, 1900. Our main character is a strong-willed 13 year
old girl named Elizabeth. Elizabeth wants to be a scientist in an
era when girls are preened to grow up and get married. In this
setting, there are many Chinese immigrants who have created a
Chinatown. Even though Elizabeth's family is not wealthy, they do
have a Chinese cook and house keeper called Jing. At the same time,
rumours of the plague are going through the town and Chinatown is in
quarantine. Jing is missing and Elizabeth has discovered Jing's son
- Noah - hiding in Jing's room. Elizabeth is determined to help Jing
but what is this monkey's secret she has heard about? Where is Jing?
Can she keep Noah safe and a secret in her house?
This text is aimed at readers aged 11+ and is highly recommended.
Elizabeth is a strong female lead who models regularly that you
don't need to follow others, that it is good to think for yourself
and how important it is to put others first sometimes. The strength
of this young child going against the expected role of females is
inspiring. It would be interesting to read with older children and
using it to investigate any historical relevance, how friendships
develop and how roles have changed over time.
Kylie Kempster
Spider Sandwiches by Claire Freedman
Ill. by Sue Hendra. Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781408852583
(Age: 2+) Recommended. Board book. Max is a little monster with an
appetite for strange and yucky things - he loves beetle biscuits,
glug slug milkshake, toenail scrambled eggs and many, many more
yucky things! The reader is taken through his day as he munches
gross food for breakfast, lunch (scrummy lice rice) and dinner as
well as the food he eats on a picnic (pickled worms and squashed fly
jam), what he finds in his recipe book and at the beach. But his
favourite food of all is spider sandwiches. And the reader has to
make a guess to see just what gross thing he will not eat for tea.
This is a very funny and engaging rhyming story that will have both
children and adults laughing out loud at the types of food that Max
eats. The reader would also have lots of fun making up foods of
their own when they have finished reading or listening to the story.
Spider sandwiches is also sure to be a winner read out loud
and newly independent readers would enjoy working out the story,
helped along by the alliteration and rhyming word endings.
The illustrations by Sue Hendra add to the appeal of the story. The
bright colours of many objects and Max who is portrayed as very
green, stand out against a black background. There are often funny
little labels on food packages like Go Rat on some rat poison and
grubs coming out of tomatoes that will entice the reader to look
more closely at the drawings.
Max is not a scary little monster; he has a big grin on his face
much of the time, especially as he consumes his weird diet and young
readers will certainly delight in his yucky ways.
Pat Pledger
What we left behind by Robin Talley
Harlequin Books, 2015. ISBN 9781743694275
(Age: 16+) Recommended for a mature 16 year old. Gender identity.
University and college students. What we left behind,
follows Toni and Gretchen, two girls who have had a perfect
relationship for two years and that will all change as they are
about to face going to college without each other. However it's not
long before they realise how hard it is to maintain a long distance
relationship. While Gretchen knows she's a lesbian, Toni is unsure
about her gender. She identifies as genderqueer, but hates labels.
At college Toni starts hanging out with a group of transgender
students that take her under their wing and help her realise that
she may feel more like a boy than a girl. Gretchen has always been
supportive of Toni being genderqueer, but as they grow further
apart, and more life changing decisions are made, Gretchen is left
feeling lonelier and lonelier.
As much as I liked the idea of this book, something left me
disappointed. I enjoyed the way it was written with alternative
points of view from both the main characters. I just didn't like the
character Toni evolved into or the relationships she shared.
Gretchen and the relationships she had with other characters from
college were really great and it was interesting to see the journey
they developed though out the book. Despite that I would recommend
this book for a mature 16 year old and would compare it to either
Robin Talley's other book Lies we tell ourselves or The
perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
Suggested reading age from 16 years of age.
Jody Holmes
A Lottie Lipton Adventure - The Curse of the Cairo Cat by Dan Metcalf
A & C Black, 2015. ISBN 9781472911780
(Age: 7+) Recommended. The Curse of the Cairo Cat is a short
mystery novel aimed at children aged 7+. Lottie Lipton lives with
her great uncle and calls the British Museum home. She loves the
museum and knows each room like the back of her hand. There is a new
Egyptian display and an infamous statue - The Cairo Cat - is the
main attraction. It is said there is a curse on this solid gold cat
and on the opening night of the display it goes missing. All that is
left is a clue in the form of a riddle. Lottie and her friends must
solve the riddle and find the statue or her uncle will be blamed. The Curse of the Cairo Cat is an excellent first novel for
newly independent readers as the story is short, fast moving and
descriptive. There are clues to solve and the readers are asked to
join in. The small black and white illustrations support the text
and at the back of the book readers will find a glossary to help
them understand new vocabulary. There is also a list of interesting
facts, another code to break and a maze. This is a great story for
bringing history to life.
Kylie Kempster
Cheeky Monkey: When I grow up by Lisa Kerr
The Five Mile Press, 2015. ISBN 9781760067854
(Ages: 3-7) Recommended. This is a new addition to the very popular
Cheeky Monkey series. Available in hardback with thick card
pages, the book is durable for little hands, but will also interest
older children because of its 'when I grow up' theme. As with the
other Cheeky Monkey books, there are bright, engaging
pictures filled with little details and things to discuss. Children
will delight in finding all the little mice on every page and will
find new details in repeated readings. The story itself shows Cheeky
Monkey daydreaming about what special job he will have when he is
older. He contemplates many professions that he thinks might suit
him. He would make a fearless fireman and a patient policeman, and
he thinks he would look nice in a white doctor's coat. Some things
he thinks he might not be so good at . . . perhaps not a chef
because he only knows how to cook bananas. The story ends with a
nice message as Cheeky Monkey can't decide but is just happy being
himself for now and will worry about growing up later.
This fun book opens children's world up to the possibilities of
being a grown-up, as well as spring-boarding a conversation about
occupations and how we are all good at different things.
Nicole Nelson
Cut out by Jack Heath
Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781760111984
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Adventure, Spies, War. With all all
the razzle dazzle of James Bond and the swashbuckling heroics of
Errol Flynn, this story will grab readers, following Fero from minor
demonstrator in a far from democratic country, to arrest and
imprisonment. Mistaken for a super spy from their rival neighbouring
country and treated as such until someone from a secretive
department tells them that that person is already in jail, Fero's
plight will intrigue readers. From there fourteen year old Fero is
recruited and hurriedly trained to go to enemy territory and bring
back one of their own, about to be revealed as a double agent. He is
the only one who knows how to get into a disused hospital, the place
now under the control of terrorist threatening to blow it up along
with most of the city. Breathless excitement will keep readers
hooked, as Fero fights dangerous thugs, dodges bullets, rides a
motorbike over the heavily guarded and booby trapped border fence
and evades land mines. But once in the hospital, things heat up as
he must take incredible risks to fight off the gang filling the
disused train beneath the hospital with bombs.
But in going over the border he comes to realise that conditions
there are not what he has been led to believe, and begins in a small
way, to question his own regime. Intersecting layers of story,
humour and many unexpected twists will keep people reading and wait
eagerly for the second episode due out in 2016.
Fran Knight
Adults only by Morris Gleitzman
Penguin, 2015. ISBN 9780143308768
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Loneliness, Ghosts, Orphanages,
Islands. First published in 2001, this is a welcome reprint for
middle to upper primary school readers looking for a gently
entertaining story about one lonely boy. Gleitzman's technique of a
naive child in the centre of the story with things happening around
him somewhat out of his control works well as Jack on an island
where adult guests are promised a holiday without children, must
hide when visitors come along. But this only underlines his
loneliness and he determines to do something about it. He emails all
his School of the Air classmates, inviting them to the island, just
as a couple from a magazine join his parents for a few days. His
parents are hoping for a positive article leading to more guests so
alleviating their financial difficulties. But Jack keeps seeing a
young girl with a pink dress, and each time he tries to find her she
is gone. His only friend, his teddy bear, Crusher, does not know
what is going on either, as Jack tells him all.
In Gleitzman's recognisable brief paragraphs, Jack is drawn into the
world of the children who lived on the island many years ago,
incarcerated in an orphanage where their treatment sometimes led to
their deaths. When Jack realises that these children are ghosts, he
wants to find out more.
At the same time, Jack, convinced that his parents do not want him,
finds the truth about the photographs in the album, and when the
journalists come clean about their reason for being there, all is
resolved neatly and satisfyingly.
Fran Knight
