Wilf the mighty worrier battles a pirate by Georgia Pritchett
Ill. by Jamie Littler. Quercus Books, 2015. ISBN 9781848669079
(Age:7-8) Recommended. Themes: Worry, Pirates, Boys, Adventure,
Humourous Stories. Young Wilf comes from a long line of worriers;
his family tree includes Norman the Neurotic, Annie the Anxious and
Freddie the Fretful. His current set of worries focuses on the
actions of Alan his evil next-door neighbour - who comes from a long
line of evil doers. Alan determines to follow in the footsteps of
pirate Long John Alan a distant relative. When Wilf enquires about
the necessary equipment - a ship, a parrot and an eye-patch, the
whole kerfuffle begins.
Anxiety and worry are Wilf's constant companions, even playing with
his best friend Stuart the woodlouse, knitting, whistling and
constantly referring to his new self-help leaflet do not really
help. Things take a turn for the worse when Alan begins to build a
pirate ship in his front yard. In seventeen days with a little help
from Kevin Phillips the dog, the vessel is complete and the worst
pirate in the world is ready to set sail. Wilf, Dot his baby sister
and Stuart unfortunately become stowaways on board trying to find
Dot's stolen bucket and spade . . .
Crazy scenes with an array of quirky characters, ably accompanied by
Jamie Littler's cartoon illustrations take the reader on an
action-filled adventure. Kerfuffle after kerfuffle occurs, with
several false finishes, Wilf learns to think fast, bringing the
story to a big finale. Has Wilf learned his lesson, has he stopped
worrying, no? Georgia Pritchett promises more adventures to come.
Rhyllis Bignell
Australia to Z by Armin Greder
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760113186
(Age: all) Highly recommended. Australia, Racism, Icons. The image
of the globe with a magnifying glass being held over the continent
of Australia, warns us that this is not the usual A-Z of Australia,
with its koalas and Opera House but an acerbic positioning, a
sharper view of the cultural icons of Australia. And with these
cultural symbols under such a spotlight we are forced to look at
them in a different way, to look at things we hold dear with
questioning eyes.
Greder uses his black edged illustrative technique to great effect,
making many images standing out against the white background, with
seemingly few deft strokes encompassing all that needs to be said.
The first two, A and B herald the tone of the book, as A is
Aborigine showing a lone figure standing on the headland watching
the approach of a sailing ship, and B is Boat People, with a small
boat of refugees crossing the expansive ocean. What a contrast. Two
different groups of people approaching Australia for quite different
reasons. And anyone seeing these images will question Australia's
attitude to the three groups today.
To point out only a few amongst the smorgasbord of razor edged
images is difficult. Many made me stop in my tracks, N, Nationalism
shows a large, booted male individual caped in an Australian flag,
reminiscent of the Cronulla riots ten years ago, and R, Rupert shows
the eyeless man whose influence over the land of his birth seems
never ending.
No matter what the image created, each impels the reader to think
more about what is shown, from Yakka for hard work, Vegemite with a
child eating the stuff that visitors are always enjoined to try,
Waltzing Matilda, with the swaggie' s hat in the middle of the
billabong. Several are laugh out loud, Esky, Gold Coast, Ikea, for
example, while others bring a lump to the throat, Digger, Pokies,
Kangaroo.
A mirror is held up to our society, pointing out things about us
which are hard to digest, but necessarily need to be discussed,
especially when our National Anthem forms an appendix underlining
the difference between some of our icons and the words we sing at
occasions of importance. We all know the words parrot fashion, but
reading them shows the divide between what we sing and what actually
happens.
This is a brilliant piece of theatre, one which classes can unpick,
discuss and debate, looking at the icons presented from a fresh
perspective, reading our national anthem with greater care, and
pondering how we can be changed for the better.
Fran Knight
The reluctant jillaroo by Kaz Delaney
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781925266061
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Horses, Riding school, Twins, Romance,
Mystery. Hearing Harper fall over her skateboard with a sickening
crack, Heidi knows that all her dreams have fallen apart. Due to go
to jillaroo school the very next day, Harper is in surgery and
together the girls plot for Heidi to take her place at the school
out west. It is Hayley's chance to excel and gain points towards a
scholarship to the prestigious agriculture college at Tamworth, her
dream school, so they switch. As twins no one will notice, but Heidi
is a surfer, not a rider, so disaster looms for Heidi as she gets
off the bus and spies her surroundings at Winmaroo.
She has ridden before but is certainly not as proficient as her
sister so she is relieved when given a quiet horse for the ten days.
But onto the scene comes Trent a school friend of Hayley's and with
Chaz being very protective and Vee asking questions she is not sure
she can pull it off.
And that is before they begin the course.
And with the constant patter of tiny feet along the rafters, and the
green python wrapped around the beams, not to mention the
possibility of snakes, Heidi's first night is one of trepidation.
It is clear form the start that Vee is hiding something, she seems
diffident and unsure, but the two strike up a friendship. Trent on
the other hand questions Hayley and she is on her guard, especially
after ringing her sister and finding out that he is he biggest rival
and she didn't know he would be there.
And Chaz, well Chaz is a person of interest, a handsome intriguing
young man who seems to like her.
A gently funny story about sticking up for your sister, of getting
yourself into a perilous situation without thought for you own
safety but only caring that your sister gets her dream school, this
novel has broad appeal. Heidi is determined but full of questions,
dogged but unsure, watchful and anxious.
We are looking over her shoulder as she learns the skills of the
jillaroo trade, milking the cows, fencing, drafting, drenching, line
dancing, and everything to do with horse care and riding.
When more things are stolen, one of the girls, Vee, is suspected and
removed from the camp. But Heidi is not convinced that she is the
thief and sets a trap to find the real one. Her investigations and
the final exposing of her real identity brings the story to an
exciting and unexpected conclusion.
An involving and easily absorbed story about life on a station,
peppered with romance and mystery, but also very funny episodes, not
least of which are because the twins have swapped places, this will
appeal to middle school readers, particularly girls.
Fran Knight
My mum has depression by Nina Mitchell
Ill. by Piet van Rosmalen. Self-published: www.nutsaboutnina.com.au (to
buy copies of this book)
Recommended. Themes: Mental Illness; Depression. This sensitive
picture book gives an insight into depression for a young child and
his mother. Using appropriate metaphor the mother explains to her
child what depression feels like for her. Then she explains some of
the small ways that her child can help her. The child's perspective
is only briefly touched on, 'I love it when Mum smiles'. But this in
itself speaks volumes. The reminder at the end of the book is that
whatever the circumstances, his mother is still his mother, is part
of the gentle therapy of the book.
The Illustrations are delightful with clever use of bright colours.
The Mother's depression is indicated with sombre tones, but hopeful
and bright colours are never far away when the child is present.
This clever symbolic use of colour keeps the book hopeful.
This would make a good resource for School Counsellors or Pastoral
Care Workers as it would open up discussion with young children
about depression and could perhaps be used to explore a child's
feelings and emotions in response. A young family struggling with
depression might also find it useful in sharing their own responses.
Carolyn Hull
The ghost by the billabong by Jackie French
Matilda series. Angus & Robertson, 2015. ISBN
9780732295295
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Historical novel, 1960's Australia,
Man on the moon. Choosing subject headings is very difficult as
French crams so much into her historical novels: hints about the
growing equality of women, attitudes in the 60's to domestic
violence, opposition to war, the imminent landing on the moon, the
tracking station in Canberra . . . the list goes on. Reading any of
these books beginning with A waltz for Matilda is like
reading a great sprawling romance covering generations of
characters, all with some relationship with each other and the land,
believable characters set against an impeccably researched
background. And I love them all.
Australia's history rolls past your eyes, and amongst the history,
family dramas, fights and reconciliations, births and deaths, French
blends some of the ballads that used to be far more well known: The
man from Snowy River, Waltzing Matilda, Clancy of
the Overflow, The road to Gundagai and My country.
The multi layered relationships between the protagonists are
developed over many years and the length of the books needed to make
these believable take the readers on their journey, keeping them
reading to the end.
In The ghost at the billabong, we meet again Matilda, now in
her eighties, nursing her dying husband, Tommy. Into their house
comes a stray, a girl called Jed who says she is Tommy's great grand
daughter. Matilda tells her to leave, having had free loaders make
such claims before, but she relents and Jed is taken to stay with
her daughter in law, Nancy who cares for disabled children on the
weekend.
Here Jed learns to shake off some of her past hurt, gain their trust
and prove she is who she says she is. A tall order, but a story that
is so well plotted and told that it takes you willingly with it to
the conclusion.
While Jed learns more about the family, they have investigators
checking her story and although Jed reveals some of her past, most
is a closed and scary book. With Tommy's unwavering interest in the
work being done by the tracking stations in Australia for the
upcoming landing on the moon, Jed treks to Canberra and finds work
at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station reporting back to Tommy on
weekends. The weaving of the moon landing through the story will
fascinate the readers, especially the little known work done in
Australia.
And if five is not enough, then French has said there will be number
six and even another in her notes at the end of this absorbing read.
I have relished them all for their reminders of times past and
intriguing mysteries, but above all the credible story of a broad
acre family reflecting so much of what has happened in Australia
since Federation.
Fran Knight
I'll wait, Mr Panda by Steve Antony
Hodder Children's Books, 2016. ISBN 9781444916669
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Panda, Penguins, Good manners,
Patience. When Mr Panda strikes a pose in the kitchen with frilly
apron, large cooking bowl, wooden spoon and chef's hat perched
cheekily atop his head, the readers will know he is about to cook
something special. The other animals know as well, and crowd in
wanting to know just what he is cooking. Each animal that comes
along asks him the same question, and gets a similar response. They
are told to wait. But none does, stalking off airily. Not so
Penguin. A small voice from the bottom of the page assures Mr Panda
that he will wait, and wait he does.
Each delightful page renders a similar image, that of animals
pestering Mr Panda for a response, but he telling them to wait.
Children reading the story will be very familiar with that response
from an older sibling, parent or teacher and laugh uproariously
seeing it happen to others as well.
They will laugh again when Penguin's patience is rewarded and the
cake baked and given to him for being so patient. A lesson learnt.
The other animals, a llama, an armadillo, several rabbits and a
crane can only look on from the first endpaper as Penguin eats his
cake covered with hundreds and thousands on the last endpaper.
Each image of Mr Panda shows him baking his cake and astute readers
will notice some of his chosen ingredients. Apart from initiating
discussions about good manners and being patient, this book will
also encourage children to try their hands at making a cake,
recognising the various stages Mr Panda goes through with his cake
baking.
Fran Knight
Harry's secret by Anita Heiss
Scholastic Australia, 2015. ISBN 9781760152024
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Subjects: Children's Secrets, Drawing,
Friendship, Family Life. Eleven-year-old Harry loves to skateboard.
He's won the King of Cowra Skate Park two years in a row, sharing
the title with his best mate Gav. His friends love footy, fishing
and camping. Gav has definite opinions about what is cool and teases
kids who are doing nerdy things like reading. Harry has a secret
talent, he loves to draw, and sketch everyday life, scenes at the
skate park, and caricatures of his mates, special friend
Lucy-Lowanna and even the relief teacher Mrs. Bee embellished with
stripy antenna. No one else knows about his abilities, especially
his Dad, who is a man's man, a carpenter who loves football and
fishing as well.
Harry finds every opportunity to draw, at the pool, at the river,
even camping on the weekend. Unfortunately, his drawings suffer a
variety of fates, burnt in the campfire, carried away by a magpie or
swept away by the wind. On the night of the NRL Grand Final, there's
a big family and friends barbecue in their backyard. However, Harry
hides out in his bedroom contemplating the local paper's
announcement of an art competition. Of course, he decides to enter.
Two months later, after a fun-filled family Christmas, January 10th
finally arrives and the mysterious winner is announced - who is HB?
Anita Heiss's junior novel celebrates the everyday lives of
Aboriginal kids living in Cowra, their friendships, love of sports,
family relationships and deadly weekend activities. This story
explores the development of a sense of identity and self-confidence,
the concerns related to peer pressure and the realisation that all
talents need to be encouraged.
Rhyllis Bignell
Tom Gates: Top of the class (nearly) by Liz Pichon
Scholastic, 2015. ISBN 9781760155285
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour; School; Friendship.
Tom Gates is up to his usual mayhem in this latest book from Liz
Pichon. His tendencies to get into trouble deliberately and by
accident are evident again in Book 9 of the Tom Gates
series. With the help of his friends, he misses out on being in
serious trouble with his teacher, but is seriously at risk from the
school bully. Tom is charmingly disarming as he draws and doodles
his way into and out of trouble before the Big School Test and the
School Council elections. The chance of being top of the Class is a
dream, but the after school Catch-up Class might help if only he can
avoid getting into more trouble with his teachers!
Those children who have been charmed by Tom Gates (and his quirky
cartoon illustrations - thanks to Liz Pichon) will be enamoured with
this latest adventure. The school and family dilemmas are simple and
age appropriate and a sense of fun is infused throughout the book.
Liz Pichon has totally targeted her audience again with a winning
formula for success. They will love this humourous journey into
Tom's life and misadventures.
Carolyn Hull
300 minutes of danger by Jack Heath
Scholastic, 2015. ISBN 9781760154035
Recommended. 300 Minutes of Danger is an action book written
by Jack Heath. The book consists of 10 short stories each taking
place in dangerous situations.
Each short story takes place during a 30 minute time span and all of
the individual stories weave in and out of each other. The stories
are all interconnected by character point of view or plotline, and
they all take place somewhere that has been affected by the deadly
'flyrus'.
A thing I found interesting about the book was the fact that each
story has a timer along the edge of the pages that counts down from
30 minutes. I think that this countdown is to signify the length of
each story and gives the reader an indication of how much time is in
each story.
The centre point of a lot of the stories in the book is the
'flyrus', which is a virus of epidemic proportions. I personally
feel it helped make the individual stories feel like a whole book
and it was a driving factor of a lot of the smaller stories.
I feel that the plot felt disconnected at times and there were a
couple of stories where the end of one could have fed the beginning
of another. Overall the stories were very connected showing what
happened from different characters' perspectives or showing the
aftermath of one story affecting another.
I found that the book was an enjoyable and easy read, which kept the
reader wanting to see what happens next. The format of the short
stories broke the book up in to quick, but nonetheless exciting
reads and I feel that any kid who is fond of action stories would
probably enjoy this.
Jake D. (Year 8 student)
Inbetween days by Vikki Wakefield
Text, 2015. ISBN: 9781922182364
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. It is almost impossible to put this
book down. The characters are so well developed the reader feels as
if they know them personally, and cannot help but care about them
deeply.
This is a book about relationships and growing into an acceptance of
self. Every character in this gritty and richly drawn story has a
part to play in exploring the sense of self, the perception of the
value of women, and acceptance of difference.
Jacklin Bates (known as Jack) is 17 years old. She compares herself
to others and judges herself to be lesser. Jack has dropped out of
school and moved out of home to live with her sister, Trudy. The
scenes between Jack and her sister are riveting and evocatively
portray the love/hate relationship that siblings can bring out in
the very best of us.
Jack lives in small town. The description of this town is haunting
in creating a sense of suffocation and inevitability that is
possible in a small country town bypassed by not only by a highway,
but the rest of the world.
The great work of this book is in the gradual release of information
that has the reader always sure they know what is going on, only to
find (as in life) that there is often something else going on behind
the scenes. And through it all the reader is always looking for the
best to happen for the characters. This book will give the reader
many moments to relate to and many a pause for thought.
Linda Guthrie
The Lost Kingdom by Nicholas and Alison Lochel
Zarkora bk 2. Hachette, 2015. ISBN 9780734416445
(Age: 10+) The Lost Kingdom follows the Fyrelit Tragedy
and is the second in the four-book Zarkora series. The main
characters, Neleik and Ervine continue their quest to rescue their
sister, Skye. Accompanied by Princess Kyia and Uncle T'shink they
commence the final leg of their journey to the kingdom of Lo'rin to
outwit the evil Versalos.
This book begins slowly as the reader is reminded of the events of
the first book in detail. The story as it unfolds is described
elaborately. The twists and turns see the group encountering old
foes and being rescued by unexpected champions. The Fyrelit family
holds a dark secret, and this becomes clear to Neleik and Ervine as
their lives are held in the balance in Lo'rin in a battle of good
against evil. The epilogue sets the scene for the third book The
Mark of the Jackal revealing Versalos as a pawn of a much greater
enemy.
For Middle Primary readers who can't resist a book that begins with
a map, this is an exciting read with lots of adventure to keep the
reader involved. For adult readers the romance between Neleik and
princess Kyia may seem overly intense given her age of thirteen.
Linda Guthrie
Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
Penguin, 2015. ISBN 9780141354439
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. 'Welcome to hell,' Adam says, under
his breath.
This action-packed book is set in a dystopian future where the Earth
is barely habitable. One way to escape that life and earn the right
to live off world in a utopian existence on Sky-Base is to win the
Blackwater Trail byke race. This is an arduous and dangerous race
with a history of a 40 percent mortality rate. An interesting touch
in the book is that each chapter counts down and from the start of
this race.
Adam Stone has been saving to enter the race. He, Sadie Blood and
mysterious Kane have entered the race and form a team in order to
overcome the dangers of the desert, wolves, bandits and cannibals.
The writing style is fast paced and has the reader urging forward as
much as the riders in the race. Adam, Sadie and Kane each bring
special skills and abilities that enable the team to avoid many
desperate situations.
Those with motorcycle riding experience will appreciate the
descriptions of the rider expertise in the race. There are technical
details to enthral, including 'The Rider's Code' at the end of the
book (a mystical guide the byke riding and maintenance). An
interesting weapon used by the riders is a slingshot. Kane tells
Adam: 'a sling needs tenderness. You hold it like you hold a woman.
Loose, but strong.' More detail in the use of this weapon is
included in the Guide.
This book explores the theme of loyalty. The characterisation of
Adam, Sadie and Kane appear at first to be light, drawing on the
action, violence and starkness of the environment to stage the
story. As the story progresses the reader sees there is more to
Adam, and questions arise. Who are the Nakoda? How do they live so
well and how are they a part of the life of Kane? The planned sequel
to this book and the answers to these questions are already awaited
by this reader.
Linda Guthrie
Fall by Sean Williams
Twinmaker 3. Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781743316481
(Age: 15+) Recommended. This, the third book in the series, is the
best so far. This is a fast paced, action packed scifi novel that
doesn't leave the reader time to catch a breath.
Clair is trying to restore her world and her relationships. The
complexities of perception, intention and memory are explored
through the incarnations of Claire and her friends/foes. This novel,
though set in the future, presents many conundrums that are
currently evolving in our society: 3D printing of food and medicine;
3D printing of human enhancements; bioprinting. The characters in
the novel provide many interpretations and options for managing
these complex issues.
This book allows the reader opportunities to grapple with the
ethical considerations of Artificial Intelligence and teams well the
ideas of Nick Bostrom when he stated: "Machine intelligence is the
last invention that humanity will ever need to make," during his TED
Talk What happens when our computers get smarter than we are?
South Australian readers will also enjoy the reference to Kupa-piti
ultramaximum-security penitentiary. The name Coober Pedy is said to
have developed from the Aboriginal "kupa piti", meaning "white man
in a hole". In August 2004 the Australian government abandoned plans
for the nuclear waste dump at Coober Pedy, but it seems Williams has
put the site to another 'out of sight out of mind' use.
Linda Guthrie
Editor's note: Published as Hollowgirl in the UK (Electric
Monkey, ISBN 9781405264419)
Night Owls by Jenn Bennett
Simon & Schuster, 2015. ISBN: 9781471125300
(Age: 17+) Recommended. Beatrix (Bex) Adams is artistic, very
talented and is seeking to win a scholarship by drawing cadavers
(Leonardo Da Vinci style). Jack is charming, too good to be true,
mysterious and dangerous. Their eyes meet across a crowded bus (The
Owl) and there is overwhelming attraction.
'His gaze lifted and met mine. We stared at each other.
And stared. And stared . . .
A strange heat sparked inside my chest and spread over my skin. - I
didn't know what was happening between us, but I honestly wouldn't
have been surprised if the Owl had burst into flames, veered off the
road, and exploded in a fiery inferno.'
This is a fine romance. There are many references to how gorgeous
Jack is (and he is, of course, rich), however there doesn't seem to
be a corresponding amount of depth to his character. Bex's mother
and brother are gritty and real with both having a very positive and
open approach to sex. There are many positive messages about safe
sex and caring relationships.
This is a book all about relationships: romantic, familial, and
platonic. The reader will discover why these simple words: BEGIN,
FLY, BELONG, JUMP, TRUST, BLOOM, CELEBRATE, ENDURE, RISE, and LOVE
can be so important, so illegal and so endearing. Will and Jillie
are two of the powerful characters who give depth and insight to the
world inhabited by Jack and Bex and develop another important theme
in the book - mental health. The author subtly portrays the very
different ways individuals manage (or deny) their issues and how it
ripples throughout their lives.
Linda Guthrie
I knew you were trouble by Paige Toon
Simon and Schuster, 2015. ISBN: 9781471118807
(Age: 16+) Recommended. This book is an enjoyable read and while it
follows on from the first book The Accidental Life of Jessie
Jefferson it can be successfully read as a stand alone.
Jessie is in High School and, following the death of her mother, has
recently found out she is actually the daughter of a famous rock
star. We see Jessie coming to terms with this new information and
adapting to the disruption this causes in her life and relationships
as the paparazzi learn of Jessie's existence.
This is a fabulous book about relationships. We see Jessie's
relationship with her stepfather (Stu), her biological father
(Johnny), and her Stepmother (Meg) mature and stabilise through some
lively misunderstandings and challenges. Jessie has heartbreak of
all kinds as she negotiates the changes in her friendships as she
becomes more famous. She discovers some friendships are not as solid
as she had imagined, and her romantic interests are not all they
appear to be. The characters lead the reader to think about the art
of forgiveness and the part it plays in forming our lives and
determining our path through life.
Importantly we see Jessie coming to terms with growing up in the
world of social media, where every mistake can be broadcast across
the world. While some of her exploits in LA are a little predictable
this book is a great read that leaves the reader with plenty to
think about.
Linda Guthrie
