Explosive Adventures: Two exciting stories in one! by Alexander McCall Smith
Ill. by Kate Hindley. Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781408865866
(Age: 10-12)Recommended. Themes: Adventure; Thinking; Comedy;
Environmental issues - logging; Piracy. The author who brought to
life the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency has written two wonderfully
witty stories for young readers in this book of Explosive
Adventures. In the first story, The Popcorn Pirates, young
children become the heroes in overcoming pirates who steal their
cherished Caribbean Island popcorn produce. The children, (whose
parents seem remarkably unperturbed by their adventurous suggestion
to act as shipboard lookouts on the trading vessel that transports
the 'explosive' produce) use their wits to overcome the marauding,
but muddle-headed pirates.
The second explosive tale, The Bubblegum Tree, involves a
Bubblegum factory problem, with a secret ingredient that is
experiencing a supply risk. Two children join the factory owner on a
trip to India, with their parent's permission and lack of concern,
to 'rescue' the supply and to prevent the environmental disaster due
to logging of the Bubblegum Trees. The bizarre local people, the
Bubblegummies, live in a treetop city with an exciting Bungee jump
escape route for emergency exits! The loggers become victims of the
clever plot to rescue the Bubblegum trees, a plan hatched by the
young protagonists with help from the locals and the factory owner.
Both these stories show the children overcoming fear and using their
natural intelligence to create solutions to problems and outwitting
adults, and in a Dahl-esque way have parents that give them freedom
that would shock most adults! Consequently, these stories will be
greatly enjoyed by young readers aged 7-10. Delightful, naive
illustrations by Kate Hindley are scattered through the book.
Carolyn Hull
Auggie and me by R. J. Palacio
Corgi Books, 2015. ISBN 9780552574778
(Age: Upper primary - lower secondary) Highly recommended. I looked
forward to reading Auggie and Me after the powerful
emotional journey of Palacio's previous best seller Wonder.
Wonder, recounts the story of August (Auggie) Pullman who was
born with a severe facial deformity that affected both his health
and relationships with others. Wonder is told from different viewpoints, one of them being
Auggie's own reaction to going to school for the first time in his
life, as a middle school aged student.
This novel is not a sequel to Wonder. In fact Palacio
stresses that Auggie's story has been told.
'To be clear: Auggie and Me is not a sequel. It doesn't pick
up where Wonder left off . . . In fact Auggie is only a
minor character in these stories.'
The reader is able to see inside the minds of 3 other children.
The first is Julian, the bully from Wonder, who cannot deal
with Auggie's appearance. His story gives an insight into his family
and his own issues. Julian's grandmother is pivotal in allowing him
to face his actions and come to terms with his behavior.
The second story is about Christopher, who is torn between his
loyalty to Auggie and the challenge of being Auggie's oldest friend.
The last story is Charlotte's. She has to deal with changing
friendship groups and make decisions about trustworthiness, kindness
and compassion.
Every one of the three stories examines bullying and stereotyping
and shows how each student deals with their problems. Middle school
students will be able to relate to the issues that face Julian,
Christopher and Charlotte.
Another impressive novel from Palacio and I highly recommend this
book for upper primary to lower secondary students.
Jane Moore
Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts
The Guardians Trilogy bk 1. Piatkus, 2015. ISBN
9780349407807
(Age: Adult) Romance. Fantasy. Corfu. Goddesses. Three goddesses
made three stars, one of fire, one of ice and one of water. But evil
pushed them from the sky, putting the world into danger. Three women
and three men must join forces to put the pieces back together.
Sasha Riggs is an artist haunted by dreams, which she follows to
Corfu, where she recognises five others - a magician, Bran who will
become more to her, Riley, an archaeologist, Sawyer, a roamer,
Anniker, who loves water and Doyle who is a fighter. All are on a
quest and all have secrets that are gradually revealed as the story
progresses.
Roberts is a master at creating interesting romances, and although
the themes in Stars of fortune will feel familiar to her fans, she
still grabs the reader's attention with her interesting characters,
beautiful setting and battle scenes. The romance is strong between
Sasha and Bran and each bring out the best in each other's
characters. The group must bring their diverse talents and
personalities to form a team, and Roberts deftly shows the group
dynamics, the gradual growth of trust amongst such different people
and their joining together in a big battle to save each other.
The island of Corfu, with its bays and cliffs and beautiful
landscape, makes an entrancing background to the story. Descriptions
of the villages and the villa where the group were staying added to
the enjoyment of the story and it will be interesting to see where
Roberts sets the next book in the series.
This is an easy enjoyable read, with no real surprises and fans of
Nora Roberts will welcome the escapism that she always offers her
readers.
Pat Pledger
The Power of Henry's Imagination by Skye Byrne
Ill. by Nic George. Simon and Schuster, 2015. ISBN 9781471145193
Themes: Imagination; Overcoming problems; Loss and grief. Henry has
lost a treasured toy rabbit, Raspberry. The search is thorough, but
fruitless and his grief remains. Eventually, at his grandfather's
suggestion, he uses his imagination to explore the return of
Raspberry. This provides consolation, as he discovers that he can
imagine his toy friend into existence within his own mind. And
perhaps in reality too! This is a book that comes from the
philosophy of 'The Secret' -
and as such it promotes a point of view that your imagination has
power to change your circumstances. Although this is similar to many
books where a child's imagination gives them power over their own
emotions, helping them deal with their struggles because they have
considered alternative ways of viewing their problems, this book
takes an additional step, in line with the 'The Secret' philosophy,
and suggests that imagination has power to change the circumstances.
[I suspect that imagining the end to war and poverty is not within
the frame-work of 'The Secret'! I am perhaps revealing my lack of
sympathy for this stream of thinking where the universe is in the
control of mere mortals with desires (usually from wealthy
countries!).]
The illustrations are Mixed media with simple pen and ink drawings,
overlaid over a predominantly ochre coloured paper background, with
some touches of realistic photographic images near the edges of the
page. It is subtle - imagination mixed with reality. This book does
deal with an issue that children face, but it is openly part of a
philosophical publicity program to influence thinking. (The Secret's
logo is on the front cover.) If this was a MacDonald's promotion, would you buy it?
Carolyn Hull
Sad, the dog by Sandy Fussell
Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781921529641
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Sad, the dog is a gorgeous
picture book about a small dog who calls himself Sad. His life is
not a happy one as he is an unwanted dog, living in a home where he
can't act like a dog. Why do these people keep him? Why don't they
treat Sad with love? One day, Sad finds he is all alone. He has been
left behind. A new family moves in Sad's house. Can they show him
how a family can love a dog? Sad, the dog is a wonderful story to share with children and
reinforce the responsibilities of being a pet owner. It will be a
great book to read with your children as well as a good book for the
classroom. Sad, the dog can be used to introduce explanation
or procedure writing, can support narrative writing and can help
children develop arguments for and against good pet care.
The text is easy to read and is highly recommended for all readers.
Kylie Kempster
Atmospheric: The Burning Story of Climate Change by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog Books, 2015. ISBN 9781925126372
Highly recommended. Themes: Climate Change; Fossil Fuels;
Environment; History - Climate Change. This small, easy-to-read book
tells the story of our Climate and its change over time. The impact
of human activity is explored in a systematic tour of history and
its relationship with coal, energy production and the consumption of
energy. The causes of the problems that the younger generation have
inherited from their industrial forbears and because of
consumer-driven energy demands leads to a discussion of the small
ways that young people can attempt to halt what seems like a
'runaway' disaster.
Carole Wilkinson has simplified the topic of Climate Change into a
very consumable book for the young reader. Interspersed with the
history of human energy use are small stories telling of the lives
of those who were there at the time of significant change. Although
this is a 'Science topic', it is also an issue that affects all
human citizens and we should all be educated and aware of the
impacts of climate change. This book is written in such an engaging
way, almost magazine-style science and social history, that it is
easy to read from beginning to end. This would make an interesting
change for a teacher-led 'Read-aloud' book, or would make a great
class text. Hopefully this book helps to make change. One small
story of the young African girl's question to a presenter at a UN
conference for young people should also speak to every reader, 'Can
you tell me what you yourself are doing to help solve the problems?'
Carolyn Hull
Heartsong by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Ill. by Jane Ray. Orchard Books, 2015. ISBN 9781408336069
(Age: 8-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Music; Abandonment; Orphans;
Resilience. This novella was inspired by a visit to Venice and the
Vivaldi Museum. There the Illustrator, Jane Ray, found an entry in a
Venetian orphanage ledger of one girl, Laura, among many girls; one
name among many foundling children who were gifted to the orphanage
to be protected and to receive sanctuary during the time that
Vivaldi worked there as music master (c1724). From the illustrations
and imaginings of Ray, came the idea of a story that
Crossley-Holland completed with words that are unadorned yet
atmospheric. This artistic collaboration wafts like a performance of
Vivaldi's Four Seasons through this simple story of the life
of Laura, the mute orphan who discovers music, and her own musical
talent. Her 'heartsong' plays through her struggles as the abandoned
child with no history and her lack of her own words finds voice
through her music.
This is a beautiful story, a treasure like the masterful playing of
a haunting piece of music. It lifts and carries the reader as we
discover the filaments of joy and sadness in the life of this child.
Woven through the threads of narrative, we get an insight into the
life of the composer Vivaldi as he works with the orphan children to
create an orchestra. We also get a glimpse of the human responses to
abandonment from the perspective of the foundling children, those
who came to be there 'the ordinary way - through the hatch in the
wall of the orphanage'.
Highly recommended for young readers 8-12, it will also be loved by
adults who read it aloud with a younger audience.
Carolyn Hull
The Luna Laboratorium by N. J. Gemmell
Random House, 2015. ISBN 9780857985699
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Family; Mystery; Adventure; War
impacts. From the author who also wrote The Kensington
Reptilarium and The Icicle Illuminarium (Nikki
Gemmell) comes the whimsical and exciting conclusion to a Trilogy
involving the Caddy children - four exceedingly independent children
who have come from a life lived without boundaries in Central
Australia in the era immediately after World War II. The Caddy
children, nicknamed Kicki, Scruff, Bert and Pin, were relocated to
live in the confines of the Kensington Reptilarium - the London home
of their Uncle Basti, but all the time they have been searching for
their missing parents whose mysterious war service has complicated
their children's lives. In this latest adventure, they follow a clue
that suggests that their mother is in fact still alive in Australia.
Their delightfully persuasive personalities work to convince the
adults in their life to accompany them to solve the mystery of the
'missing mother' which takes them to Luna Park in Sydney, then a
harbourside convent and then back into the outback. Along the way
they clamber, climb and explore risky places and place themselves in
danger to discover more clues.
The beauty of the descriptive writing is part of the appeal of this
book. Nikki Gemmell manages to evocatively conjure the Sydney
environment for the reader as she brings to life the sights and
sounds of the 1946 atmosphere and setting, including the eponymous
Luna Park. The humourous antics of the children and their love for
one another despite the difficulties they face will appeal to all
readers. Gemmell also creates wonderful word portraits of the
outback with its harsh realities, but also its beauty and its
freedom. And through this all, there is an amazing sense of fun,
despite the dramatic life and death circumstances that are
encountered along the journey of this narrative. The young
characters are so eccentric, but the people around them are also
larger than life and distinctly odd. And underpinning the entire
story we sense the deep love of family, and its power.
Very definitely worth recommending to young readers.
Carolyn Hull
Sir Scaly Pants the Dragon Knight by John Kelly
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2015. ISBN 9781408856031
(Age 3+) Recommended. Humour. Knights. Dragons. Bullying. When Sir
Kindly Heart tripped over a dragon's egg and it cracked open he
decided to take it home to Lady Kindly and together they taught the
little dragon, named Scaly Pants, not to use his dragon fire and to
behave well. He is sent off to Knight School where he has a
difficult time from three bullies because he is different, but when
a ghastly giant threatens the kingdom it is Sir Scaly Pants and his
trusty steed, Guinevere, who ride off to the rescue and save the
bullies on the way.
This is a rollicking tale that has enough rhyming words to make it a
great read aloud for the younger children and a fun read for
children who are just starting to become independent readers. Sir
Scaly Pants is a great hero who always tries to do the right thing,
even helping out the three knights who had given him such a hard
time at school.
However it is the humour of the narrative and the illustrations that
make this such an engaging read. The illustrations of a dragon
dressed up in a suit of armour, tiny wings protruding from his back
are very amusing, and there are quite a few sly allusions that
adults will enjoy as well. I loved the determined look on the face
of Guinevere, the fat little pony, and her heroics and help with
getting rid of the giant were great. And the giant, with his boulder
like teeth and habit of picking his nose, comes to a very sticky end
with his trousers on fire, much to the delight of any reader.
This is sure to become a favourite to read aloud for bedtime and
enjoy at any other times as well!
Pat Pledger
Anything that isn't this by Chris Priestley
Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN 9781471404641
(Age: 15+) 17 year old Frank Palp lives in a town
surrounded by grey. The people are grey, their clothes are grey,
everyone and thing is grey. Frank lives in a post war/dystopian town
which is under curfew and everything is controlled by the Ministry.
There is no joy, no laughter. Frank is obsessed with a classmate
Olivia to the point that he thinks if the two of them were to get
together his life will change for the better. There may even be some
colour in his life. He constantly rides his bike past her house
hoping just to catch a glimpse of her. When he find a bottle
containing a note which reads Anything that isn't this he
finally realises he needs to grow up and take on some
responsibility.
Chris
Priestley's style of writing was very bleak and disjointed. If he
wanted to create a world of bleakness he has succeeded. Hence I found the book depressing and the characters unlikable. I didn't
like the character Frank, he seemed pitiful and hollow and who lacks
empathy to his fellow classmates and his own parents. The only ones
who he seems to care about are his elder sister and his dead
grandfather. The one thing that redeemed this book was that Frank's
character did develop, so that the ending did at least represent a
change from the beginning. Though the illustrations are a pleasant
break in reading, they also paint a bleak and dreary picture.
Jody Holmes
Dinosaur Disco by Deborah Kelly
Ill. by Daron Parton. Random House, 2015. ISBN 9780857981363
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Music is pumping at the dinosaur disco
and everyone is having fun. Styracosaurus salsas,
Corythosaurus crumps
Maiasaura moonwalks
Across the shiny floor.
A tri of Pterandons shriek.
Encore! Encore! Encore!
Then the music stops and the ground begins to shake, Tyrannosaurus
Rex has made an appearance - but what does he want - to eat or to
dance?
Dinosaur books are a perennial favourite and this one is sure to be
popular with children. The pronounciation of the dinosaur names that
is given at the back of the book will help the adult reading aloud
as well! Deborah Kelly has a winning combination of dinosaurs, a fun
rhyming story and some factual information as well.
The vividly coloured illustrations are very amusing, but each
dinosaur is recognisable and those young children who are familiar
with them will enjoy the fun. Imaginations could work overtime
coming up with ideas of what dances a dinosaur might like to do.
A fantastic book to read aloud and a really good addition to any
library.
Pat Pledger
Where's Jessie? by Janeen Brian
Ill. by Anne Spudvilas. National Library of Australia, 2015. ISBN
9780642278753
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Historical, Afghan cameleers, Outback,
Teddy bears. When Jessie and her family move to the Outback, her
teddy, Bertie Bear is packed in a box and lifted onto the back of a
camel. The family is going by horse and cart and there is no room
for the bear. Bertie Bear eventually sits on the cameleer's lap but
during a dust storm, the bear falls and finds himself left behind on
the stony desert ground. There he sees many animals coming along to
investigate until an eagle tries to take him away. Dropped, Bertie
is picked up by a boy who takes him back to Jessie. A repeated
refrain, Where's Jessie?, echoes the title, and makes a neat
rounding off of the paragraphs detailing Bertie's adventures,
encouraging readers to repeat it with the reader and predict what
will happen next.
Anne Spudvilas' illustrations are just lovely. Broad sweeps of
colour illuminate each double page as the story of Bertie's
adventure is revealed. From the first page with its intimate image
of the young girl sitting with her teddy bear waiting to go,
foreshadowing the last page with the two back together again, the
images reveal different aspects of the Australian bush: Afghan
travelers, Aboriginal people, early European settlers, animals,
storm and dust, while information at the end of the book continues
with the story of how Janeen Brian found Bertie and the story of the
bear, with the following pages giving the history of the Afghan
cameleers in South Australia.
The juxtaposition of image and text adds to the readers'
understanding of the lives led by outback people in the late
nineteenth century and adds intrigue to her tale of one lost bear.
Younger readers will follow Bertie's adventures with intense
interest, willing him to be found, wanting Jessie and Bertie to be
reunited.
Janeen Brian's stories are always heartfelt and this is no
exception. Her spying of a bear in a display at Kapunda led to her
asking about the bear's history and in talking to its owner Janeen
Brian found a story waiting to be developed. Telling the bear's tale
wrapped around both the Aboriginal and Afghan communities sheds
light on one part of this state's development and introduces several
historical themes for teachers to pursue. Teacher
notes are available.
Fran Knight
The White Rose by Amy Ewing
A Lone City series, bk 2. Walker Books, 2015. ISBN
9781406347586
Recommended for 15+ years. In this world some girls are taken from
their homes to be surrogates for the elite. Each year they are sent
to an auction where they are bid on by the rich women from The
Jewel. Violet is a surrogate who has just been caught in bed with
her boyfriend Ash, by The Duchess of the lake. With the help of
Garnet, the Duchess's son, they manage to rescue Ash and her
pregnant friend Raven and escape into the Lone City. It's here that
she learns about a rebellion and how her own powers can help. The
only problem is: what are they and could Violet ever reach her full
potential?
I found The White Rose initially difficult to follow as I
hadn't read the previous book, The Jewel, however the more
the book progressed the easier it was to become absorbed into the
storyline. The first half I found a bit repetitive as it explained
what had happened in the first book, though it soon picked up and
became fast paced with a few shocks and spins into the story line.
The characters interaction with each other was well developed and I
found that I really enjoyed getting to know each of them. The ending
ends with a cliff hanger to which made for an interesting lead up
yet I suspected how it would end, which was a little disappointing.
With all that said and done I am now looking forward to reading the
first book and I'm sure I will enjoy the third book as well.
I am going to recommend this book to the readers who really loved
the Divergent series and also readers who enjoyed Margaret
Atwood's The Handmaid's tale.
Jody Holmes
Big family by Mike Curato
Little Elliot series. Five Mile Press, 2015. ISBN
9781760068455
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Family, Friendship, Loneliness,
Elephants, Mice. When Mouse goes off for a family reunion involving
his parents, grandparents, 15 brothers, 19 sisters, 25 aunts, 28
uncles and 147 cousins, Elliot becomes lonely. The house is quiet
and empty so he wanders off into the city, but here people are too
involved in their own world to notice Little Elliot. He goes to the
seaside, he skates at the skating rink, finally going to the movies,
where he is still alone.
Outside in the snow, he hears his name being called and turns to
find Mouse. He has missed Little Elliot, and has come to fetch him
to his family reunion.
Here he joins in the family fun, being counted as one of the family.
This delightful story of belonging, of family and friendship will
resonate with younger readers as they identify with Little Elliot
being left on his own. They will be heartened when he goes off
trying to find something to do and friends to meet, and buoyed up
when Mouse returns for him, inviting him to be part of his family.
The old fashioned style of illustration and colouring will appeal to
readers as they pick out things which are now so different.
Children will love to comment on how families are made up, and enjoy
recounting the number of aunts and uncles, cousins, brothers and
sisters they all have. Sometimes families are made up of many
different layers and this too could be a point of discussion with a
group of children. But certainly the main theme of belonging, of
being part of a family will be the main focus of any child's
attention.
Fran Knight
Olive of Groves by Katrina Nannestad
Harper Collins Children's Books, 2015. ISBN 9780733333682
(Age: 8-11) Themes: Humour; Boarding school; Friendship; Bullying;
Overcoming difficulties. This enjoyable rollicking tale involving a
young, ordinary girl named Olive, who is enrolled into Mrs Groves'
Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus
Performers almost by accident. It is not a 'standard' educational
establishment in any way. The Principal is afraid of girls; lessons
rarely follow any plan or allow any learning of any sort - except
perhaps for the circus classes for the Acrobatic performers. The
enrolled students are so strange they almost defy description - a
knife thrower, rats that share a bedroom (and friendship) with
Olive, a young student named Frank, whose skill is ironically his
ability as a liar; a poorly sighted moose; and a goose that faints
at the sight of cherries! Olive claims skills as an acrobat that she
does not have, but accidentally discovers. The school also has the
ubiquitous 'Bully' - a pig - who has the Principal in his control,
and who selfishly does everything to upset every other student.
Olive charms her other school mates, and they eventually solve all
their problems using their unique skills in combination.
Because of the eccentric characters, the book is automatically funny
- it is almost like a script for a quirky visual cartoon. Olive has
a virtuous and endearing approach to life and her gentle
friendliness and politeness make her very likeable. The 'bully' is
so extreme in his obnoxious behaviour, that the reader knows
immediately that this is a fantastic tale. This author knows how to
entertain, and Olive of Groves will be enjoyed by young
readers aged 8-11.
Carolyn Hull
