Young Gun series bk 1. Random House, 2016. ISBN 9781925324501
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Soccer, Teamwork, Friendship,
School Life. Sports fiction is an extremely popular genre, and
currently cricketers, footballers and soccer players are writing
novels for the fans filled to the brim with tactics, strategies, and
game moves.
Twelve-year old Nick Young is a passionate soccer player with big
goals; he wants to play for the A-League and the Socceroos. To set
the scene the junior novel quickly segues from applying for a
scholarship to the National School of Football to the first day of
campus life. Nick has a lot to live up to; his father Shane Young is
the current striker for Arsenal. Nick finds the comparison of his
abilities to his father difficult; he calls it My Life in the
Shadows.
His friends Bazzo, Lexi, Grace support him especially when his
fiercest rival Kane Kruger teases him. Nick's dad lives in England
with his new wife and baby son while Nick lives half a world away in
Australia with his mum. He has a hidden scrapbook with clippings of
his father's career; however, when the newspaper reports on Shane
Young and the birth of his first baby boy, Nick is very upset.
The play-by-play descriptions, match tactics and teamwork provide
plenty of football action for the fans and the characters'
experience real-life dilemmas, first crushes, bullying, difficulty
with school subjects and fun off the field.
Patrick Loughlin's Football High is another exciting sports
based series from the author of Billy Slater - Rugby league
and the Glenn Maxwell cricket series.
Rhyllis Bignell
Marly walks on the moon by Alice Pung
Our Australian Girl series. Penguin, 2016. ISBN 9780143308522
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Australian history, Multiculturalism. The
fourth in this Our Australian Girl series about Marly, the
daughter of a Vietnamese couple living in Melbourne is a delightful
mix of Vietnamese customs surviving in their new home and an overlay
of modern Australian culture seen through their young daughter. It
is 1983 and Marly is mad for Michael Jackson and wants to dance like
him, emulating his Moonwalk, while Mum with her second child is
confined to her home for a month after the birth just as women were
in Vietnam. Grandmother is scrupulous in trying to keep alive the
old customs and finds it difficult to accept Marly's differences.
She is not behaving like a subservient girl should, and Marly
bristles at the adoration given to the new baby because it is a boy.
Meanwhile school has its problems as well. The in crowd derides
Marly, but her best friend, Yousra encourages her to dance at the
end of year school concert. A party at Lauren's house shows her
another world, and the kindness of that family is in stark contrast
with the casual racism of some of the other children at school.
The dance and the support of her family, friends and teacher bring
all the threads together, with Grandma making her Michael Jackson
costume and Mum allowed out for the first time since the birth of
her son. A lovely, gentle story which will encourage readers to
think about the customs brought here by the multitude of different
cultures that make up today's Australia.
Fran Knight
Rory the dinosaur wants a pet by Liz Climo
Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9780316277297
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Friendship, Companionship. When Rory visits
his friends Hank and Vera they have a surprise for him. Hank has a
pet and they do lots of things together. Hank shows off his pet,
Sheldon, as they play fetch and hide and seek. Sheldon is so much
fun and when Rory walks off back home he wants a pet as well.
Rory searches high and low, asking some creatures whether they will
be his pet, but they say no. He looks up in the trees, in the
jungle, on the beach, all to no avail. When Rory turns to go back
home the unexpected happens. A coconut falls from the tree and lands
nearby. He takes him back to the tree house and asks his father
whether he can keep him. The age old excuse of 'he followed me home'
is used with much recognition and humour. Rory names his new pet,
George and makes a space for him to sleep. They do lots of things
together: playing games, dressing up, fetch and hide and seek.
After searching for a friend, Rory has one that found him.
This seemingly simple tale of companionship will appeal to younger
readers as they recognise the urge to have friends, and see that in
wanting and seeking them out, they may miss the obvious right under
their nose. A charming story of friendship and all that means for
younger readers, this book has bright colourful illustrations with
lots of little things to watch for, talk about and recognise.
Fran Knight
Hijabi girl by Hazel Edwards and Ozge Alkan
Ill. by Serena Geddes. Bookpod, 2016. ISBN 9780994358356
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Children's librarian Ozge Alkan collaborated
with Hazel Edwards to write a junior novel with the main character,
a spirited eight-year-old Muslim girl. Melek's dream is to have her
own Aussie Rules football team and of course to be the best player
in the world. When she helps new student Tien on her first day of
school, Melek remembers how difficult it was for her, especially all
the jokes about her hijab. Was it a towel, did she have cancer or
was she bald under the scarf?
Their classroom is a wonderful learning environment 'a doing kind of
place', with science project models, a Rainbow Reading Chair and
colourful encouraging posters. Of course, there is one student at
Melek and her friend Lily's table who loves to cause problems. While
Miss is writing an A-Z of positive characteristics on the board,
Zac's pet rat escapes from his bag, but Rattus Rattus is soon
captured and returned to his bag. After Tien's introduction to her
new class, she is seated at the blue table with Melek, Lily and Zac.
Her special skill is drawing, sketching and blending colours from
her large collection of coloured pencils.
At the end of the day, their teacher announces the Book Parade
scheduled for Friday and all her students are to dress up; they may
even win the Best Dressed Class Award. Together Melek and Tien plan
to write and illustrate a new book - 'Super hijabi girl plays Aussie
Rules Football'. Melek's mother is a tailor who makes super hijabi
scarves, which have many uses as butterfly wings, flags or capes.
The authors have written an easy to read junior novel that explores
friendships, the respect of cultural differences and religions,
creative problem solving and the importance of having goals in life.
Discussion
notes and activities are available. Hijabi girl is a
fabulous resource for classes to learn about social inclusion,
celebrate diversity and to explore our multicultural society.
Rhyllis Bignell
The puberty book by Wendy Darvill and Kelsey Powell
6th edition. Hachette Australia, 2016. ISBN 9780733635496
(Age: 9-14) Highly recommended. Puberty. Growth and
development. Sex and sexuality. Health. Authors Wendy Darvill and
Kelsey Powell have utilised their extensive working knowledge of
family planning and the sex education of both primary and secondary
students to update the sixth edition of The puberty book.
The popular book for both males and females supported by informative
diagrams and amusing cartoons, covers the changes that happen at
puberty, sex and sexuality, physical and mental health, teenage
relationships, pregnancy and birth. Worries and concerns about these
issues are dealt with in an honest and open manner. Preteens and
teenagers from 9-14 ask questions across a broad range of issues -
HIV to pregnancy and the easy to understand answers given are
insightful.
Peer pressure, the power of social media, friendships, teasing and
bullying and parental concerns raise a minefield of concerns for
teenagers growing up in today's society. Embracing a healthy
lifestyle, a balanced diet, sleeping, hygiene and looking after your
mental health are discussed, acknowledged as legitimate concerns
with the answers sensitively written in terms the target audience
can understand. Each chapter focuses on one topic - in 'Learning
about sex', Wendy and Kelsey explore sex and sexuality, sexting, same
sex relationships and when sex is not ok.
The authors promote effective sexual education for children
approaching puberty, keeping an honest and open dialogue between
them and their parents. The aim of this book is to communicate the
content in a healthy and constructive way. With each new edition,
current information is added on contraception, medication and the
influence and pressure of social media. The puberty book 6th edition is an excellent resource for
families, educators, health professionals, counsellors and those who
work with preteens and teens.
Rhyllis Bignell
Turning pointes by Emma Freedman
Angus and Robertson, 2016. ISBN 9781460751633
(Age: 11+) Recommended. Emma Freedman is a radio personality and
2015 winner of Dancing with the Stars... and now author. She has
written a very likable dance school story that can be recommended to
young female readers aged 11+ with absolute confidence.
April, the character around whom the story spins gracefully, is
charming and is entering her teenage and high school years with
elegance and maturity. Above all though, she is a dancer. She has
given years to the discipline of ballet, and with her two close
friends, has become a talented devotee of dance. But with the
changes that high school has brought, there are other changes on the
horizon - parties, new friends, more challenging times at school.
Will ballet remain her first love or is there something else that
will inspire her passions, or distract her from her artistic
discipline? Being secretive or being honest become choices that
challenge relationships at school, ballet school and particularly at
home. Will she destroy everything by making the wrong choice?
What I loved about this story is the way Freedman shows that family
and friendship are complimentary and not in competition. The respect
shown to those in authority and peers is overwhelmingly positive.
Even the 'mean girls' and 'wayward boys' that are part of the story
give the central characters opportunities to show there are positive
ways to live. This is a wholesome and refreshingly simple tale set
within the disciplined and well-mannered community of those who love
to dance. Be prepared to be inspired by their commitment.
Carolyn Hull
One step by Andrew Daddo
Penguin Random House, 2016. ISBN 9780143573616
(Age: 15+) Adolescence. Bullying. Suicide. This book is an
uncomfortable read on many levels. Being inside the mind of a young
pubescent male with pimples is a difficult place to be. But added to
that it is peppered with multitudinous poor choices, rampaging
hormones, fickle friends, romantic inclinations, bad jokes and a
family that makes his life embarrassingly difficult (as all families
are for teenagers); this is a place that is intrinsically
uncomfortable. When Dylan becomes the butt of everyone's humour and
taunts after a bullying incident and his own lack of wisdom in the
moments afterwards, the story begins to spiral downwards in a
terrifying dive from the high tower (Dylan's sport of choice). And
the degree of difficulty is high, but the landing is far from
pretty!
This is not a book for the faint-hearted. The messiness and
insecurity of teenage life and the difficulties of being the one who
becomes the target for everyone's jests and the difficulties of
navigating friendships and girls when you are not confident is raw
and painful (despite the author's humour in presentation). In fact
as the book progresses, it is obvious that this is not a fun, Diary
of a wimpy kid clone, but rather a serious descent into the
grim issues that confront some teens. As a consequence, the list of
Help and Counselling services in Australia is included at the end of
the book. It is also what makes this book hard to put into the hands
of teenagers. It points out how easily life can turn ugly for some
young people, when they are at the mercy of others. I am not sure
that this book is helpful in presenting a picture of hope.
This is hard to recommend without the highest level of caution, and
definitely not to someone who is already struggling with their own
self-esteem, bullying or mental health issues. Do not conclude that
this is a comedic exploration of teenage life; language and modes of
expression are also vulgar in places.
Carolyn Hull
Breaking the boundaries: Australian activists tell their stories edited by Yvonne Allen and Joy Noble
Wakefield Press, 2016. ISBN 9781743054185
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Editors and activists Yvonne Allen and Joy
Noble have collected the personal stories of forty-five Australians
who have campaigned for change. Breaking the boundaries provides a
fascinating insight into their lives. The causes they have espoused
include conservation, climate change, Indigenous disadvantage,
support for refugees, overseas aid, fundraising for medical
research, the decriminalisation of sex work, disability awareness,
voluntary euthanasia, the acceptance of transgender people, food
security and pacifism. The age and backgrounds of the activists are
as diverse as their campaigns. Some embraced activism as school
students while others decided to make a difference after retirement.
Their reasons for choosing such a challenging path are revealing and
their practical advice about how to campaign effectively is drawn
from experience. Remarkably, despite the difficulties, not one
expressed regret and several found humour in their experiences.
Above all, the stories reveal humanity and determination.
While some of the information in Breaking the boundaries is
available on the Internet, online sources are unlikely to have the
impact of first-person narratives. Each feature-length story
provides readers with an insight into the unique voice, point of
view and experience of its narrator, and ends with a brief
biographical note written by the editors. Many readers will enjoy
reading the book from cover to cover in order to immerse themselves
in the variety of ways in which individual Australians have pursued
their causes. However, others might have preferred the inclusion of
an index to facilitate selective reading and study.
The editors hope that their book will prompt others to take action.
Those who are willing to take up causes will not lack inspiration
after reading Breaking the boundaries.
Elizabeth Bor
I spy Dad! by Janeen Brian
Ill. by Chantal Stewart. New Frontier Publishing, 2016. ISBN
9781925059649
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Fathers, Father's Day. First published
in 2010, this book along with I spy Mum! is a wonderful
story to read anytime, but has more resonance around those days
remembering fathers and mothers.
A young girl plays a game of I Spy, looking at the variety
of fathers that are about the place, but wondering what hers will
be. In rhyming lines, Janeen Brian outlines the variety of fathers
and their interaction with their offspring and this delightful tale
is beautifully complemented with the soft water colour drawings,
evoking movement, colour and laughter. Children will love looking at
the variety of fathers and the things they do with their children,
reminding them of what they do with their dads. Love oozes from each
page both with the words and illustrations.
The child see a splashing dad, a crashing dad, a dashing dad, dads
of all ages, sizes and backgrounds, doing all kinds of things that a
dad might do. Where will hers be? A diverse range of fathers is
shown, including some from different ethnic groups but all showing
the joy that comes from doing things with their children.
The rhyme and rhythm in the text are perfect for reading aloud, and
the positioning of the lines on a white background enhances its
ability to be read by beginning readers, while the rhyming lines
encourage the reader to predict the next word.
For classes it makes a wonderful introduction to talking about
fathers and families, and how each family is different but the same.
Fran Knight
Where's Dad hiding? by Ed Allen
Ill. by Anil Tortop. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760273859
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Fathers, Father's Day, Family. The little
bear searches for his father in all sorts of places. He searches the
woods, looks out into the fields, under the water, on the beach, in
the bus, on the toy shelf, but he is no where to be seen.
But reading this aloud with a group of children will have them
calling out as they can see Dad hiding on each page.
'There he is' will be heard as each page is turned in this funny,
involving story of searching for father. The hide and seek game
which all children love is reprised within this story as Dad finds
ingenious ways of staying hidden. Under the water he is in a clam
shell, in the field he is on an electricity line with the birds, on
the beach he is hiding in the sand castle. Each page is a delight of
suspense and recognition for the reader. They will love searching
for the Dad and marveling at how well hidden he is. And they will
cheer when he is finally found, but then the next question is,
'Where is mum?'
I love the use of endpapers to show the little bear at first
covering his eyes as hide and seek begins, and at the end, showing
joy at finding his father.
Fran Knight
Grandpa is great by Laine Mitchell
Ill. by Alison Edgson. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760276638
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Father's Day, Grandfathers, Family. With
Father's Day just around the corner, it is good to see a book
extolling the virtues of grandfathers as well. In this rhyming story
each page depicts an animal with its grandfather, doing all sorts of
activities. Gardening with a bucket and spade (meerkats), kicking
around a football (ostrich), reading comics (penguins) or playing
trains (bears) each older animal and his grandchildren play and
frolic, are active and sometimes quiet and restful, play with toys
or just watch the television together, but what ever they do,
Grandpa is number one.
The soft illustrations add zest, movement and colour to the text,
encouraging the readers to talk about the things they do with their
grandfather and sharing their family's experiences with the class or
friends. The easy rhyming lines encourage children to predict the
rhyming word and say the lines themselves when they have had it read
out loud a few times.
The humour in the illustrations will add another layer of interest
to the sharing of the story be it read aloud or shared in a small
group or just one to one.
Fran Knight
Moonlight Dreamers by Siobhan Curham
Walker Books 2016. ISBN 9781406365825
(Age: 10+ Highly recommended. This is perhaps one of the best books
for adolescent girls I have read in a long time. I really wish I'd
read it growing up. Dealing with issues ranging from racism,
religion, bullying, body-image, sexuality, and the public and
private sphere, this is highly likely to appeal to a wide audience
of young women who are struggling to find a place in the world. Moonlight Dreamers follows four lonely girls as they are
brought together by a secret society, The Moonlight Dreamers, and
their shared love of Oscar Wilde and his writing. The society is all
about encouraging their dreams and supporting one another to achieve
them. Amber is an outcast, an Oscar Wilde nerd, she's got two dads
and the girls at school are trying to teach her that there's
something wrong with that. Maali is a shy, introverted photographer
who is terrible at talking to boys. Sky's world is being turned
upside down by her father meeting another woman, and more than
anything she wants to perform her poetry. Rose, the only non-oddball
of the group, is being pressured by her mother into a modelling
career she hates - all she wants to do is see her father in America
and bake. Each girl feels like she's being pressured from all sides,
and only in coming together do they learn that they are no alone,
and find the strength to face their problems.
I would highly recommend this novel for any girl aged ten and up,
particularly if they too resonate with this quote: 'Yes I am a
dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way my
moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the
rest of the world.' - Oscar Wilde.
Kayla Gaskell, University student, aged 20
Lily the Elf: The sleepover by Anna Branford
Ill. by Lisa Coutts. Walker Books Australia, 2016. ISBN
9781925381146
(Age: 5+) Recommended. When Lily's cousin Fern comes to stay for a
sleepover, Lily finds that all the preparations that she has made to
ensure a happy visit don't interest Fern at all. She was sure that
Fern would like cheesy acorn pie and play lots of games but Fern
doesn't like anything that Lily suggests and it is not until she
realises that Fern is homesick that she comes up with a suggestion
that makes them both happy.
Branford has deftly described the fears that are part of young
children's lives. A sleepover is a big event and even when there has
been a lot of preparation, it is easy for it to go wrong. With
compassion for her cousin's feelings, Lily is able to use her
problem solving skills to come up with a solution that makes the
pair feel happy. Lily's grandmother is a lovely character as well,
sympathetic and understanding.
The black and white illustrations by Lisa Coutts bring the emotions
of the characters alive and help support the easy text in the simple
sentences. Large font, short sentences and short chapters make this
a well supported text for emerging readers. Classroom activities for
the series can be found here.
Pat Pledger
The Island House by Posie Graeme-Evans
Simon and Schuster, 2012. ISBN 9780731815081
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Historical fantasy. For lovers of history
and fantasy, Posie Graeme-Evans takes the reader to an isolated
island off the Scottish coast. Freya Dane is a young archaeologist
who has been left an island and house by the father that she barely
knows. When she arrives she discovers that her father has unearthed
many treasures from the past, Pagan, Christian and Viking. But it is
when she meets Daniel Boyle from the mainland that she begins to
have visions of the past - a past when a young Pict girl Signy is
left on the island with Bear, a Viking boy after a raid, and brought
up by the Christian community there. The tale of Signy's life
interweaves with the modern story of Freya as she uncovers what has
happened in the past.
Although rather slow in parts, the historical aspects of this story
are fascinating as Evans explores the religious beliefs of the
Pagans, Christians and Vikings and their rituals and their struggle
for dominance. The island of Findmar had been settled by monks and
nuns and their rigid set of beliefs is contrasted with Signy's
ceremonies in the standing stones on the island. Signy is torn
between what she has been brought up to believe and what the
Christians tell her and after tragedy strikes, decides to become a
nun. But things do not go well. Told in alternating chapters,
Freya's actions gradually uncover the secrets of the past after she
and Daniel both have vivid visions that show what has happened to
the young girl and her Viking love.
Descriptions of violence and mayhem, narrow minded monks, Viking
boats and a heart-wrenching love story between Bear and Signy and a
slow burning modern day romance will keep the reader absorbed in the
story.
Pat Pledger
So wrong by Michael Wagner and Wayne Bryant
Billy Goat Books, 2016. ISBN 9780994251756
Highly recommended. Having a problem reaching those reluctant
readers? Well I guess we all have at times. So how to solve the
problem is the question.
Put a fiendishly naughty author and illustrator together and watch
them create what can only be described as outrageously subversive
humorous writing that fools kids into thinking they are not
seriously reading! So wrong is less a book than a collection of snack-sized
craziness which will fool any reader into wanting more of this
reading thing.
There are short stories which it would be reasonable to say include
the universal appeal of toilet humour to a fairly high degree. My
favourite is definitely 'The veree hungree caterpooper'. There are
some fantastically hilarious satirical advertisements - the Parental
Attitude Adjuster would be a highly sought after product.
Interspersed throughout are some dubious snippets of life advice
from a reputedly successful Life Coach for Kids. And of course the
pages are lavishly illustrated with a huge variety of visual jokes
as well.
It's Mad magazine meets Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton...
Both Michael Wagner and Wayne Bryant were reluctant readers
themselves and decided that they would partner up to create the sort
of book (and indeed series) they would have liked to read as kids.
It won't be just your reluctant readers queuing up for this one -
it's going to be a hit with every kid who likes to laugh at general
silliness and a bit of naughtiness.
Check out the Billy Goat
Books website. Highly recommended for all readers who snort
out loud laughing.
Sue Warren
