Winter siege by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman
Bantam Books, 2015. ISBN 9780857501479
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Medieval England, Crime, Redemption,
Civil war. When Ariana Franklyn died in 2011, she left behind a
small body of work set in medieval times involving a woman trained
as a physician solving crimes through forensic investigation always
a step in front of those who wanted to kill her as a witch. These
four novels, Mistress of the art of death, The death
maze, Relics of the dead and The assassin's prayer
were mesmerising in their Medieval setting, showing attitudes to
women and medicine at the time. But she had a last novel in
progress, and her daughter, Samantha Norman has completed it and it
is now published.
This story takes a slightly different route from the previous four,
detailing the lives of Gwil, a mercenary who rescues a young girl
raped and left for dead by a monk known for his cruelty. It is the
time of civil war between the forces of King Stephen and his sister
Matilda, involving much of southern England.
Gwil and Pen take refuge in a castle where Maud is the one in
charge, but her enforced marriage sees her relinquish control to an
older man, now her husband, and his whore, Kingva. When he has a
stroke, the only person Kingva turns to is a monk who arrives in the
castle with King Stephen's men, on the lookout for a piece of
parchment taken by Pen, the girl he raped. When Maud refuses to
submit to King Stephen's men after sheltering and then helping his
rival, Matilda, escape, a siege lays the castle open to treachery.
This is a powerful historical crime story set in turbulent times
where lives are often lost for little or no reason. The callousness
of wondering mercenaries is appalling, and Gwil seeks to redeem
himself by caring for Pen. The narrator of the story evokes a change
of heart from his scribe, who is at first condemning of the
participants in the story but by the end learns compassion and
empathy.
The episodes detailing the siege are just wonderful, laying before
the reader the extremes of life lived during such a time.
A wonderful thriller, following the development of Pen and her
protector Gwil, the shadow of the monk is always there, even though
Pen fortunately has no recollection of the incident. A menacing read
right to the last.
Fran Knight
Freedom Ride by Sue Lawson
Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781925126365
Recommended age: 8-12 years. Sue Lawson examines the racial tensions
of 1965 in Freedom Ride. Written for an 8-12 year old audience, it
is set in the fictional town of Walgaree. For young Robbie, life is
bleak living as he does with his nagging grandmother and silent
father . . . doing all the jobs around the house for his grandmother
and when that's done, for all her friends too. His father ignores
him most of the time, although he's surprisingly supportive of
Robbie's holiday job at the Walgaree Caravan Park. Much is written
about Robbie's work experience at the park, and of his budding
friendship with the owners - all of which might hold the key to
Robbie's freedom.
Soon however, trouble comes to Walgaree: broken windows at the
Station school and a fight at the waterhole results in the
Aboriginal children getting the blame. However, a handful of white
townie kids know the truth is a different story. Then, to cap it all
off, Barry, Robbie's employer, takes on another helper - Micky, the
young Aborigine accused of attacking one of the local white lads.
When a death near the Station is 'covered up' and the freedom riders
come to town things reach boiling point. How will things sort out
for Robbie who already has issues with his father and grandmother,
and yet he puts his neck on the line to defend his Aboriginal friend
Micky? Freedom Ride is a work of fiction based on true events and
introduces young readers to the racial tensions of the 'mid-60's. In
Australia the Freedom Ride movement (Student Action for Aborigines:
SAFA) loosely based on the American Freedom Ride movement of the
early '60's, was initiated by a group of Sydney University students.
Attracting much national and international media attention, SAFA
achieved much in its short life, and this novel brings the history
of that era to modern young Australians.
Colleen Tuovinen
Our Class Tiger by Aleesah Darlinson
Oxford University Press, 2014. ISBN 9780195589726
Class 3M has adopted a tiger cub living in a sanctuary on the
Indonesian island of Sumatra. Berhaga was rescued after his mother
had been shot when he was just five months old and the children do
all sorts of fund-raising to get the money needed to send to the
World Wildlife Fund each month so he can continue to be supported
until he is old enough to be transferred to a national park.
Accompanied by stunning photographs the students of 3M explain the
adoption as well as retelling the story of Berhaga's development.
Fascinating facts about tigers are interspersed with the "speech
bubble" text providing a unique insight into one of the world's most
endangered creatures and helping the young reader understand why
such magnificent animals need to be protected for the future. Apart
from its important context which fits in perfectly with a
sustainability theme, it is a model of a non fiction book for young
students with all the essential elements that we teach students
about at that age. Features such as contents, headings, captions, a
glossary and an index are all there to help students understand the
cues and clues of navigating an information text. It could also be
used as inspiration for a class to write their own book providing a
platform for their continued development in the information literacy
process giving them both a context to put it into practice and a
product to display their learning.
Ms Darlison was awarded the 2015 Environment Award for Children's
Literature and the inaugural Puggle Award (Children's Choice Award)
from the Wilderness Society for Our Class Tiger and it is
richly deserved.
Barbara Braxton
The Healthy Harvest by Emma Martin
Ill. by Graeme Compton. Little Steps Publishing, 2014. ISBN
9781925117134
Picture book. Meet Harry Harvester who wants to help our very
youngest readers learn about the food they buy in the shops so they
can learn about the five food groups and make healthy choices and
"keep sickness away." His friend Alfie Apple introduces fruit -
where it grows, how much we need each day and why it's good for us -
while Carly Carrot does the same for vegetables. Charlie Cheese
tells us about dairy products and Harry's best friend Wally Wheat
introduces grains and cereals. Sammy Salmon has the big job of
teaching about proteins in all their guises and finally there is
Tommy Takeaway with a message about the "sometimes foods".
With childhood obesity on the rise and a recent survey in the ACT
showing that over 80% of all food advertising aimed at children is
for those "sometimes foods" http://bit.ly/1D6HxaT the message
about healthy eating has never been more important. While it is not
the children of the target age range who buy the food, they do have
"pester power" so encapsulating such an important message in rhyme
and with fun characters who could become household names this is an
important book to have and promote both to teachers and students. It
could form the core component of a unit of work on healthy eating as
well as an investigation about where our food comes from. Eggs don't
magically grow in cartons in the supermarket chilled foods section.
The final two pages show the recommended amounts of each food group
each age group should have each day and many might find it
interesting to keep a food diary and track just what goes into their
mouths. They may be surprised!
The author, Emma Martin, is well qualified to write this book and
accompanied by charming illustrations which will appeal to the
children, it is a refreshing and welcome addition to a topic that
has been covered so often already.
Barbara Braxton
How the sun got to Coco's house by Bob Graham
Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781406359008
(Age: all) Highly recommended. Interconnectedness, Sun's journey,
World view
Graham takes the most simple of everyday occurrences to create a
subtle and rich picture book extolling the interconnectedness of
mankind. The sun's appearance in the horizon opens a new day for
everyone as it climbs its way across the Arctic Circle, uncovers the
barrenness of northern Canada, lights up Japan, then China, the
Middle East and the cities of Europe until it barges through the
window of Coco's bedroom.
Along the way the sun illuminates small pockets of the natural
world: a polar bear and her two cubs, a trawling ship on heavy seas,
a whale, a panda, a snow leopard, a fox and hen, a donkey taking his
owner and his wares to market, camels trekking across the desert, an
eagle high above. Each represents the vastness of the natural world,
while interspersed with these, we see a child and his mother walking
in the snow, a family in a yurt, a child in a plane, a Japanese
street, a woman asleep in her tiny room, a boy putting his toe
through the ice as the shawled women look on, and then we get to
Coco. The sun marks each activity, shows the way for them to travel
or seek out their world, communicate with each other, interact with
their surroundings, bask in its rays.
The sun is the common thread for everyone and everything on this
earth and its warmth enables us to live.
As Coco wakes to the sun, Graham brings his story from the world
wide to the particular, as anyone familiar with his work will know.
His sublime whittling down of major themes always makes me gasp as
he distills the monumental to the specific. From the wide world we
are taken to Coco and her family, waking with the sun, eating
breakfast together, as Coco runs outside to greet he new day with
her friends and neighbours.
Graham includes lots to look at in his watercolour illustrations,
detail not missed by younger readers. I love the toy panda and polar
bear on the floor of Coco's bedroom, duplicating the animals earlier
in the book, or the theme of snow all the way through, of cold and
ice. Many pages have birds still flying south for the winter, while
some people are still snuggled up in bed. The detail of the old
woman in her small room will encourage readers to ask questions
about her and her lifestyle. Every page is littered with questions
begging to be discussed and readers will overflow with observations
and thoughts.
Again, this work is endorsed by Amnesty International 'because it
reminds us that this world belongs to all of us, and we all have the
right to enjoy life, freedom and safety'.
Fran Knight
Being a girl by Hayley Long
Ill. by Gemma Correll. Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN: 9781471403903
(Reading Ages: 12 -13+) Highly recommended. Parental discretion, may
be needed as some of the content requires the reader to be
emotionally mature. Subjects: Health, Puberty, Adolescents, Girls,
Life Skills, Personal Grooming, Dating, Social Relations,
Psychology. Author Hayley Long has read the entire internet and
gathered everything you need to know about being a girl. She
celebrates life, she encourages the sisterhood with a really open
and insightful dialogue. Nothing is off limits, she tackles a
plethora of topics with humour, insight and honesty. Gender
identity, including being transgender is presented with comments,
questions and opportunities to fill in fun quizzes - are you any
good at being a girl? Herstory includes discussion on gender
inequality, being transgender, the Suffragette Movement, sexism and
introduces six women who have stamped their mark on the world.
Each chapter explores another social, emotional or physical issue.
Raging hormones and the cattiness of a high school classroom, turns
into a table of cats - cattiness combined with Gemma Correll's witty
cat sketches. There's Top Cat, Scally Cats right down to Strays and
the girl who tries to be invisible - Cat Food. Bloody Periods are
the most realistic chapter covering everything a girl needs to know.
Crushes, friendships and dating, health and hygiene are explored and
the reader is treated as a friend without being talked down to or
given too much irrelevant information. This is an important
contemporary book written with sincerity and sensitivity. Hayley
Long's text with her honest and open comments, combined with the use
of bold texts, different fonts, diagrams, tables, cartoons make this
a socially relevant book, just right for girls on the brink of
adolescence.
Rhyllis Bignell
The wishing seed by Anna Branford
Lily the Elf series. Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781925081060
(Age: 5+) Themes: Overcoming disappointment; Solving problems. Lily
the Elf has a broken dress-up crown, and she wishes upon a passing
dandelion seed for a new one. She is despondent when her wish does
not appear to be answered, but the skills of her fix-it father, and
creative Granny help her to realise that wishes can be answered in
ways that she doesn't expect.
This is a very simple early chapter book (predominantly simple
sentences and no language complexities) that will appeal to very
young independent readers or struggling readers. There are simple
black and white illustrations by Lisa Coutts scattered through the
book.
Carolyn Hull
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Text Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925240320
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Bridge, Tabitha and Emily swore that
they wouldn't fight but now that they are in Grade 7, things are
beginning to change. Emily has connected with the soccer team,
Bridge has taken to wearing cat's ears all the time and Tab is
obsessed with a feminist teacher. Then Emily begins to text pictures
of herself to Patrick and the girls find themselves with problems.
At the same time, another teen is skipping school and going through
pangs of remorse because she has betrayed her best friend.
This is a stunning read about making mistakes, the joys and
tribulations of friendships and growing up by a wonderful author who
writes in a very sympathetic and compassionate way. The reader knows
that Emily will get into trouble when she starts sending photos of
herself to Patrick and receiving ones from him. Even though Bridge
and Tab try to persuade her of the folly of doing it, Bridge still
helps her take a photo. The way the girls handle this misstep and
the consequences of the mistake make for spell-binding reading. At
the same time an unnamed girl is relating the mistake she has made
about telling a secret to a friend who can't be trusted, and the
reader is kept guessing just who this might be.
The relationships between Emily and Patrick and Bridge and Sherm are
handled with a deft touch. Sherm is angry with his grandfather, who
has left his grandmother after 50 years of marriage, and the reader
finds out about this in a series of letters that he writes but
doesn't post. It is unusual to read about divorce between an older
couple and Stead shows how a marriage break-up can affect people of
all ages. Tab too comes to realise that she must act responsibly
within her feminist beliefs. Stead also subtly shows the physical
differences that can occur as girls grow up. Emily's body has
matured and she is becoming much more interested in boys, while
Bridge is still looking young.
Utimately this is an unforgettable book about young girls coming of
age written with wit and compassion. It would make an interesting
Literature Circle book engendering discussion about the
appropriateness of sending photos, what makes a good friend and how
to overcome the consequences of a bad decision.
Pat Pledger
Platypus by Sue Whiting
Ill. by Mark Jackson. Nature Storybooks series. Walker Books, 2015.
ISBN 9781922077448
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Platypus, Australian animals, Fiction and non
fiction. Alongside each page of the fictional tale of a male
platypus going about his daily tasks, is an information paragraph
with facts about this unusual animal. Each of the texts is given a
different font and so a canny reader will quickly understand that
there are two stories here, one a story, the other facts. To
underline this the index at the back has a line underneath telling
the reader to look for both as they read, while the brief index
gives younger children easy access to the material in the book and
teaches how to use an index to gain information.
The platypus peeps out of his burrow on the first double page, its
duck bill contrasting with the dark undergrowth. Information is
given about the platypus and its unusual shape and characteristics,
while the factual paragraphs tell us how at first, scientists could
not believe the animal first discovered in 1799 was real.
The animal forages finding food, while the factual text tells us how
each of its characteristics help it swim, dive, forage and survive.
Children will love reading of the platypus' night time forage and
appreciate the inclusion of factual information making the story
much richer.
The beautiful illustrations serve to place the platypus in his
environment and the browns and greens swirl together to give a
marvellous impression of where he lives.
An information page at the end reiterates the facts given,
underlining its oddness in the animal world.
The language is wonderful, using the correct terminology and not
talking down to the audience, making the reader ask questions.
This is the second book I have seen in this series called Nature
Storybooks and I can see it well used in the classroom, both
by children wanting a storybook about one of Australia's strangest
animals, and also for gathering facts.
Fran Knight
Izzy Folau: Chance of a Lifetime by David Harding and Izzy Folau
Random House Australia, 2015 . ISBN 9780857986610 Izzy Folau: Reality Check. ISBN 9780857986634
(Age: Independent readers) This series featuring champion Israel
Folau will be just what younger rugby fans will adore to tide them
over the football season.
Its two stars, Daniel and Sione have both been picked for the Valley
rep team to play at the State Championships. But they couldn't be
more different with Daniel from an affluent family, attending
sports-mad Barker College and having all the confidence in the world
while Sione is from the other side of the tracks where his school
holds a mufti day to raise the funds for him to attend the selection
camp and he's so lacking in self-confidence that he doesn't go to
school that day. But both have been picked and are off to camp to be
coached by Izzy Folau.
As the series follows them through their training to the final
match, as well as great tips about playing football there is also a
strong undercurrent of sportsmanship, friendship and what it means
to be a team member as well as believing in yourself, even when
you're angry and frustrated and you don't reach the heights you were
sure you could. Folau tells the boys, "I've changed sports a few
times and every time I did there were people who weren't happy.
Without meaning to I upset fans, the media, and, worst of all, my
teammates. Each time I had to walk into a change room filled with
people I didn't know to play a game I wasn't too sure about. I found
it hard to be happy and relaxed sometimes, but I did my best to make
it work. I trained, I was nice to people, I was a good teammate. You
know why? . . . If I didn't, I might as well have gone home.
It's the same for you guys. If you can't chill out, have fun and be
proud of your achievements, then you might as well think about going
home."
With episodes three and four in the series being released on the eve
of the World Cup, this is a series for the young fan who is an
independent reader who wishes they had the opportunities that Daniel
and Sione and their teammates have. But even if they don't realise
the dream of having Izzy Folau as their coach, there is much to
learn and enjoy from this series.
Barbara Braxton
Vietnam by Deborah Challinor
My Australian story series. Scholastic, 2015. ISBN
9781743628003
Highly recommended. This brilliantly crafted story is a realistic
depiction of life in Australia in the late 1960s using authentic
characters and historical events. Davey Walker is twelve years old
and carefree, enjoying surfing every day on Newcastle beaches with
his mates Pete and Johnno when his older brother Tom is selected for
National Service. Davey records his and Tom's experiences over the
next year in a series of diary entries.
It was delightful to read a captivating story which is historically
accurate and which avoids judgement and slavish presentation of
views more palatable to a modern perspective. There is however
nothing inappropriate or unsuitable to an early teen readership in
this book. The harsh truths of the war - death, physical and
psychological injury, fear, even the My Lai massacre are all covered
in a manner which presents the facts without glamour or unnecessary
detail. Challinor deserves credit for crafting a robust, worthy
story which includes a bewildering amount of historical information
and accurate micro details which is suitable for the readership in
terms of content and level of understanding.
I particularly liked that a range of authentic figures interplay to
put forward points of view on the validity of conscription, the
involvement of Australia in the war, the protest movement and
international relations in exactly the way that people did at the
time. I was thrilled to read the explanation of the origins of the
conflict and Australia's role through the words of Davey, his school
mates and a new teacher as they discussed the topic in a social
studies class. A complex matter was summarised clearly for modern
readers and the author is to be commended for not endorsing one
point of view (with child characters parroting their parents'
ideology) over another.
The story is so good because whilst the war is central to the
narrative and important events like the Moon landing are included,
it principally emphasises family relationships and friendship.
Mateship is associated too frequently with the battlefield in
Australian folklore and this novel emphasises the value of caring
friendships in all walks of life in a profoundly moving way.
Rob Welsh
Bob the railway dog by Corinne Fenton
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Black Dog Books, 2015. ISBN 9781922179890
(Age: 4-adult) Highly recommended. Dogs, Loyalty, Independence,
Steam trains, Railways, Historical story, Nineteenth century.
Transport. Living in Peterborough for twenty years, it was
impossible not to hear the story of Bob the railway dog, and to see
it now memorialised in several books, a statue in the main street of
the town, with an information board in Terowie where it was known as
Terowie Bob, is wonderful.
Several years ago a book was published about the animal, (The
Railway Dog by Olwyn Parker) and now a picture book adds
another level of interest. And of course there is a Facebook page
for people to add photos of themselves with the statue in
Peterborough.
This picture book takes the reader into the reasons for the railways
to exist in the outback regions of South Australia, and throughout
the story the impact of the railways on small communities is neatly
observed, while readers will have an overview of the size of
Australia and the distances travelled by the dog.
At Carrieton Station in 1884, a train carrying a load of dogs
destined for the cattlemen in the north of the state, arrived and
one dog piqued the interest of the guard, Ferry.
He took the dog, naming him Bob, and soon they travelled together on
the trains in the Mid North. But when the intercolonial between
Adelaide and Melbourne was opened, he climbed aboard. Several
stories of Bob travelling even further were known, but he was
certainly well known on the trains around South Australia.
This delightful story of Bob will melt the hearts of the readers and
McLean's wonderful illustrations add to the development of the tale.
His watercolour, charcoal and black pen illustrations bring the last
part of the nineteenth century to life, as we see the sparse
landscapes of the mid north of South Australia, the growing wealth
of the cities, the detail of the stations now closed, the finely
observed porters' rooms, and the steam trains chugging through the
saltbush. Text and illustration create a beautiful picture book
evocative of times past, but extolling the virtues of independence
and loyalty.
Fran Knight
Glenn Maxwell series by Patrick Loughlin
Random House, 2015. Glenn Maxwell: State Showdown. ISBN 9780857986115 Glenn Maxwell: World Domination. ISBN 9780857986139
(Age: Yr 3-4) The interest in cricket at my school is very high with
the Ashes series. With the women also competing in their Ashes
series, that interest is widespread. So it has been with delight
that when several have asked me if I had the latest in this series
that features the world's leading T20 player, I've been able to hand
them over or put their names on the reserve list.
The series continues Will Albright's journey from local team to
state representation which is his dream. But a crisis in confidence
threatens his success and so Maxwell steps into help. And finally,
in World Domination his team is off to England to take on the best
of the best in the T20 Youth World Cup. Each book includes Maxwell's
Top Tips for T20 batting and a full glossary of cricket terms and
colleague Sue Warren has a Q&A with Glenn Maxwell himself at https://losangzopa.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/qa-glenn-maxwell/
Even though the books themselves are written for an independent
reader about Year 3-4 level, a number of the names on my reserves
list are both older and younger, showing that the subject is the key
ingredient and that having enjoyed the first two it is the storyline
that brings them back, not any degree of difficulty with the text.
If you haven't got the first two - Lucky Break and Academy All-Stars
- then it is worth seeking them out so when students' thoughts turn
to playing cricket as summer comes (they say it is coming) you will
have a complete series to offer them.
Barbara Braxton
Alex as well by Alyssa Brugman
Curious Fox, 2014. ISBN 9781782020899
(Ages: 13+) Recommended. Growing up. Sexuality. Now a teenager, Alex
feels more female than male, and refuses to take the medication
which suppresses his femininity. Born without specific gender
alignment, Alex has been brought up as a boy by sometimes caring but
often confused parents, but is determined to make his own decisions.
He leaves school where he has been bullied, and enrolls in another
school as a girl, wearing a dress and drawing her hair extensions
back into a pony tail. She is amazed at how differently she is
treated as a girl, and the underlying values attributed to one sex
over the other. It is fascinating to see Brugman playing around with
sex roles through this novel, exposing for us the different traits
credited to each gender through the body of the sometimes capricious
Alex.
But things do not go as she expects. Her new life is at odds with
the old, she is lonely and unsure of herself. She makes friends but
is attracted to one of the girls, while one of the boys is attracted
to her. Going to a solicitor to gain a new birth certificate telling
the world she is female, she makes her only friend, one who believes
her, explores the issues for her and protects her when her parents
become cloying.
It is the scenes with his parents that disturb. They come across as
totally confused, their relationship in tatters because of Alex and
their treatment of him, and they feel that life has treated them
unfairly. At times I wanted to yell at them, they never see Alex in
terms other than their failed male child, they never sit down with
her to talk things through, nor allow Alex to explain how she feels,
there is never a counsellor visited or doctor consulted, but the
internet and the rubbish advised by 'friends' seems to take
precedence, particularly where her mother is concerned.
I was enthralled with Alex's story, wanting her to make it in the
end, find her feet and make a stand. This she does, but in accepting
that her parents will never be wholly supportive she realises in the
end that we are all flawed, especially when it comes to gender and
what is expected of us.
Fran Knight
My amazing Dad by Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Ill. by Tom Jellett. Little Hare, 2015. ISBN 9781921894862
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Families, Fathers, Difference. What a
delightful story. Having just read Fly-in fly-out Dad (Sally
Murphy) this story compliments the other like a hand in a glove,
both reflecting the diversity of arrangements that make up
Australia's families.
In My amazing Dad, the children reflect upon the things that
their father does with them. He is different as Jellett shows in the
opening picture of the two children on Dad's back, all still in
their pyjamas. The stage is set for a Dad who stays home with his
children. Overleaf, he does not like mowing lawns, but loves to make
a mess. He never gets the two children to school on time, but gets
there in the end. He cannot bake a cake but they all eat happily
what he buys at the bakery. Each pair of two double pages presents
Dad and something he doesn't like doing, but overleaf shows what he
does instead. He may not be the 'typical' Dad but has many other
wonderful qualities ensuring the lives of his children are happy,
safe and full of humour.
The subtle inclusion of Mum returning from work at the end
underscores the stay at home Dad theme, and adds to the love filled
story.
Jellett's illustrations fill the pages, bringing a sense of fun and
excitement to the children's days as Dad does things in an
unexpected way. Jellett's expressions are priceless and his ability
to make a flat painted face reflect so much expression will amaze
the readers as they can read what each character is feeling with
ease.
I just love the humour, from the toys the children have, appearing
on most pages, to the frog cakes in the bakery window, the tool kit
in the bathroom and the bathroom full of bubbles. Readers will
readily recognise each stage of daily events and laugh out loud at
Dad's antics.
Fran Knight
