Reviews

Tilly's big problem by Rose Stanley

Ill. by Lisa Allen. Starfish Bay Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9780994100306
(Age:(for children under 8). Recommended. Themes: Problems; Counselling; Social and emotional development; Problem Solving; Peer support. Tilly has a problem so big that she is unable to deal with it on her own. Her close friend, Ned, comes up with a plan to share the problem with a 'big person', and they list the likely candidates and come up with a test to see who is the most suitable to share the details of the Problem. At no stage in this book do we find out what the 'Big Problem' might be, but the fact that it is something that cannot be solved without some intervention is the essence of the problem.
There is an element of humour in the manner in which the children problem-solve to select the favoured counsellor, and the illustrator has a suitable quirky, naive style. This masks what might be a serious issue for some children, 'Who do I tell when I have a problem that overwhelms me?' This book may be used in discussions about who would be suitable to entrust with issues.
This is definitely a book to encourage students to share with school counsellors. It does not minimise children's issues, nor suggest that they might be easily solved.
Carolyn Hull

Lifespan of Starlight by Thalia Kalkipsakis

Hardie Grant Egmont, 2015. ISBN: 9781742978710
(Age: 15+) Scout, Mason and Bloc live in the future, 2084. It is a world where most humans are microchipped. With a microchip the human has access to food, water, accommodation and travel. All travel, food and water is monitored and rationed.
The novel begins well, with Scout providing a firsthand description and analysis of the society she lives within. Scout is illegal. For reasons unexplained in the novel, her mother has kept her presence a secret for fourteen years. Also unexplained is the presence of the character Alistair and his motivation for educating Scout in using technology with such skill she can hack into the computer systems of other individuals and the government.
After Scout steals a microchip from a homeless woman, she discovers that time travel is possible. Together with Mason and Bloc she trains to extend her capabilities. This ends in tragedy and leads to Scout choosing to leap ten years into the future.
This is the first novel in a trilogy, however there are too many loose ends in the second half of the novel for the reader to feel entirely satisfied with the ending.
The author's website includes a link to Teacher Notes.
Linda Guthrie

The Story of Owen by E.K. Johnston

Dragon Slayer of Trondheim bk 1. CarolRhoda Lab, 2014. ISBN 9781467710664
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Science fiction. Fantasy. Music. 2015 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten), William C. Morris YA Debut Award Nominee (2015), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature (2014). This is the story of Owen Thorskard, slayer of dragons and his bard Siobhan McQuaid, who tells his story. Set in an alternative America, where dragons are drawn to fossil fuels, the people are protected by dragon slayers, who are lured to the cities by big corporations, leaving small towns unprotected. When the Thorskards, a legendary dragon fighting family, arrive in Trondheim, a remote Canadian village, 16 year old Owen faces an onslaught of dragons with just his sword and his bard to help him.
This is a stunning book. Once I got reading I couldn't put it down. It is a wonderful and original mixture of modern life, carbon emission eating dragons and song writing. Owen and Siobhan have to face ordinary situations at school and extraordinary situations fighting the dragons and this mixture adds to the humour and sometimes pathos in the story. A droll social commentary on big corporations and the environment adds to the interest of the story.
The tale is told in the witty and humorous voice of Siobhan:
'Listen! For I sing of Owen Thorskard: valiant of heart, hopeless at algebra, last in a long line of legendary dragon slayers. Though he had few years and was not built for football, he stood between the town of Trondheim and creatures that threatened its survival.'
The reader gets to know both Owen and Siobhan very well. Owen is a likeable hero and Siobhan grows as a bard in training and as a sword wielder while recounting their story. The focus is on the nature of heroism and partnership rather than romance as the pair learn to cope with modern life while defending their village and those they love. They also learn that sacrifices have to be made.
This story was complete in itself. It was such a relief not to be left on a cliff-hanger! However I am thrilled that there will be other adventures in the series and eagerly wait for the next book.
Pat Pledger

The silent boy by Andrew Taylor

Harper, 2015. ISBN 9780007506606
(Age: Young adult/adult) Highly recommended. Crime, Historical novel, French Revolution, Eighteenth century England. When young Charles sees his mother, Augusta killed during the first stages of the French Revolution, he keeps himself quiet and unobserved, not saying a thing, just like she said. So he does not speak. At all. Emigres take him to England and he finds himself in a country house with a man who was a friend of his mother's and insists he is Charles' father. Savill, estranged husband to Augusta has a claim and wants to do the best for the boy even though he knows he is not his son. But he is commissioned by the enigmatic Rampton a childless civil servant within the Post Office, great uncle to Augusta, to fetch the child from the country as he needs an heir. Savill goes on his quest armed with an array of documents giving him the legal power to take the boy, but suffering from tooth ache is laid up for several days. During this time the child is kidnapped, and so the hunt is on.
This is a surprising story. At first I found it rather muddled, and the disjointed writing did not help, but I persevered as the setting is so well defined, and found it a gripping read. Chapters in the past tense carry most of the action, while those in the present revolve around the mute boy and his activities at staying alive. When a young woman reads him the story of Robinson Crusoe he deems that flight to the safety of an island is his only option, so he escapes from his captors several times, making Savill's hunt even more precarious. Cat and mouse chapters follow, with Charles falling into the hands of a variety of people, and Savill being often just one step behind the lad. The plot delves and dives into some amazing places with an array of great characters to keep the readers' interest.
Above all the reader will want to know what happens to the boy, and why he has been struck dumb, while the descriptions of life in both town and city in eighteenth century England makes for a fascinating backdrop to the tale.
Fran Knight

Judy Moody, Mood Martian by Megan McDonald

Ill. by Peter H. Reynolds. Judy Moody bk 12. Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781406357837
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: School stories, Family Life, Emotions, Friends. Judy Moody returns in Judy Moody, Mood Martian, and the young girl we know and love, the emotional, messy, quite contrary has disappeared! Just for a short while luckily! It's Backwards Day at school and she double-dares herself to change into the Queen of the Good Mood for just one week.
"Star-spangle bananas," her mother exclaims when a radically transformed Judy appears the next morning. Judy is transformed, red hair slicked back, all her clothes match and she even laughs at little brother Stink's jokes. Her mood ring is painted with purple nail polish to signal she'll be in a good mood all day. Mr. DDOT (Todd backwards) even introduces the class to palindromes. With her success of staying in a positive frame of mind all day, she decides to continue the positive top-secret experiment for a week. She even decides to ask Jessica-A plus-Finch for advice.
With the help of lots of finger-knitting and making the right choices Judy Moody finds the week challenging. Her family thinks she been invaded by an alien! Once again, Peter R. Harvey's cartoons add to the drama and humour of the story, Martian Judy and the rescue of the finger knitting from the toilet bowl are memorable!
This is a wonderful addition to the Judy Moody series, it will delight the fans.
Recommended for 7-9 year olds
Rhyllis Bignell

Assembly of shapes by Danielle Weiler

Ranga Books, 2015. ISBN 9780987546715
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. 'I need a place, just for me, a place to escape, a place to just be. If I could create an assembly of shapes on endless pages I do believe my life would be complete.'
The main character, Chas is an intense character, so skilfully drawn that the reader feels they know him and the suburb he lives in.
Chas is working his way through year 11 and has lots of secrets. He doesn't know who his father is, he's in love with his best friend's girlfriend and he is an 'undercover' artist.
This book is about relationships. Relationship with family, friends, and self are all put under the microscope in this captivating story.
The writing style is compelling and the situations portrayed so realisticly as to be shocking and thought provoking. Chas grows in maturity as he tackles the challenge to achieve his dreams, seemingly against all odds. He has unexpected champions and foes as the story unfolds, culminating in unexpected tragedy.
The power of this book is the reality of the situations the young characters find themselves dealing with. There is much to discuss and explore.
'I've finally done it. They will all be safe. And this is the sole reason for my sacrifice.'
Linda Guthrie

Home by Carson Ellis

Walker, 2015. ISBN 9781406359428
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. Housing. Homes. Imagination. Buildings. Carson Ellis is an artist and illustrator whose unique naive style is showcased in her debut picture book Home. She is known for her artistic covers on band albums and backdrops and for her illustrations in the Wildwood series written by her husband, Conor Meloy. Here her pen and ink illustrations use dark tonal colors, with solid lines and small, quirky touches to create mood and interest. There is a fairytale quality to her work, the characters stylishly dressed with princesses and pirates. Each setting and each home waits to be explored, studied and discussed.
She takes us on a journey around the world and even into space; the Moonian's home is in shades of grey, with the colourful Earth, a small ball in the distance viewed through a large circular window. From a home in the country, we are taken on a journey past flats in the city, to Indian palaces with underground lairs. Animals' homes are included as well as spiders' webs and birds' nests. The old woman who lives in the shoe is surrounded by her multicultural family drumming, swinging, climbing, sliding and balancing on a tightrope, having fun. Mythical places - underwater Atlantis, a Norse god home are shown in detail. With contrasting scenes placed side by side we see the a Slovakian duchess and her stately home next to a Kenyan blacksmith's small abode. As the pages are turned, each new painting is a celebration of the imagination. The text is simple, engaging and questioning. Where is your home? Where are you? In the final pages, Carson is peering out the window of her two-story home asking the reader to think about their own place.
Highly recommended for 4-8 years and for Early Years Geography and History lessons.
Rhyllis Bignell

Teddy took the train by Nicki Greenberg

Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781760112134
(Age: 3-5) Recommended. Teddy bears. Poetry. Lost and found. Trains. The market place is bustling as Dot and Teddy are finishing the shopping, they race after Mum to catch the early train. The train is crowded, Dot squeezes in to get the window seat, whilst Mum sits beside her in her wheelchair. They see diggers, skyscrapers and a runaway balloon. Dot's excitement on arrival at the station, dancing and splashing in the puddles is suddenly marred by a realization. Did the train take Teddy, or did teddy take the train? Sitting on her mother's lap whilst the station attendant Peter (a quite dark figure) talks to them, Dot's imagination takes over and she can see Teddy enjoying a picnic with friends at Bear Bend. Ted's journey home is long and tricky, he's caught in a crowd, tumbled down a riverbank and left alone to watch cloud patterns in the sky. After Dot's tea and her bath, she becomes a little teary, Ted is lost, she's missing her her best friend.
The rhyming story builds momentum, like the rhythm of a train on the tracks, until we read the refrain - The train took Teddy... No! Teddy drove the train! Dot's in bed and Mum's reading to her when they hear the whistle blow, it is the seven-oh-two. Someone is there on the doorstep with a very special surprise.
Nicki Greenfield's illustrations combine the use of ink, pencil, acrylic with digital graphics and scanned objects. Cartoon sketches and caricatures fill the train carriage and market, with the backgrounds flooded with darker colours. As the story picks up speed, Dot's hair becomes wilder and more exuberant.
A delightful picture book, asking to be read aloud at home, preschool, kindergarten or school.
Rhyllis Bignell

Bears don't read by Emma Chichester Clark

HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780007425181
Bear is not like the other grizzly bears in the woods. While they are perfectly happy doing bear things like fishing, Bear is bored.
"Oh, life is lovely," he thought. "Tra-la-la and all that! But is this it?" he wondered. "Is this all there is?"
Then one day, Bear discovers a book. And inside it were pictures of bears just like him, but there were also a lot of words and even Bear knew that they meant something, even the tiny ones. But what? So he decides to go into the town to find out, to find someone who will teach him to read. But instead of being greeted by a band of willing helpers, he is met by people fleeing and the police riot squad! Until he meets Clementine.
As well as being a charming story, this book celebrates Bear's determination and acknowledges that reading is not an easy task, something the target audience will be able to empathise with. Clementine's patience mirrors that of the early childhood teacher and the ending is delightful. Even though bears are depicted as fierce and scary, the illustrations are soft and gentle supporting the words to show a different side of this species. Emma Chichester Clark has a distinctive style that has seen her win many awards for her illustrations and this is another superb example.
Barbara Braxton

Hanna: My Holocaust Story by Goldie Alexander

My Holocaust Story series. Scholastic Australia, 2015. ISBN 9781743629673
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Poland, Holocaust, World War 11, Survival, Family Life, Courage. Only this afternoon Papa had warned us of the German threat to Poland. Now the Luftwaffe's bombs had succeeded in convincing us that everything was about to change.
Scholastic brings us a powerful and emotive new series, My Holocaust Story with strong girl protagonists, set against the horrors of World War II. Each book sold raises funds for the Courage to Care educational program, whose goal is to oppose injustice in the world.
Eleven years old Hanna Kaminsky enjoys her life in Warsaw, Poland, living in a large house with her mother, father, younger brother Adam and baby Ryzia. She loves gymnastics, spending time with her best friend Eva and reading. On one afternoon in September 1939 everything changes, as the Nazis invade Poland and all the Jewish families are pushed into ghettos.
Their loyal maid Elza risks her own life by hiding the family in her mother's farmhouse attic. With little food, freezing conditions and Mama and Ryzia forced to hide all the time, life is tough. Papa rises early to help with the farm work and Adam and Hannah help with the chickens and milk the cows. Goldie Alexander captures the hardships and realities of this life; she doesn't hide the difficult times. Hannah's love of reading, Adam's playing his imaginary violin and their secret forays into the forest lighten the mood.
Their capture and move to the ghetto are confronting and realistic, the stealing, gangs, fighting for food, underground schools, sickness and loss of life are presented openly and authentically. Hannah and Adam's final choices show their courage in adversity and present a hope for their future.
These stories need to be shared with a new generation of readers, they are powerful and confronting. They are important for older readers to develop an understanding of family life, courage and survival in times of war. Our political refugees in classrooms have similar stories to tell.
Rhyllis Bignell

Havoc by Jane Higgins

Text, 2015. ISBN: 9781922147295
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. This dystopian novel is the sequel to Bridge (winner of the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing in 2010) and has the reader urgently turning the page to see what happens next.
Nick Stais and Pathmaker Lanya, are skilfully drawn main characters who share their inner world with the reader as they grapple with betrayal and conflict. They are caught in a war between two cities, Cityside (rich and powerful) and Southside (portrayed as disadvantaged). A more sinister plan involving biological warfare is discovered. Nick and Lanya must find Nick's father (across the river in Cityside) in order to establish collaborations that will reveal the conspiracy of the governments involved. The writing that explains the actions and thoughts of the characters is intelligent. The reader is often held in suspense as the intrigue and power games threaten to overcome the main characters.
This novel provides opportunities to examine and discuss contemporary issues such as border security, asylum seekers, conflict, loyalty and trust in government.
Excellent teaching notes are available and these are aligned with the Australian Curriculum.
Linda Guthrie

Akarnae by Lynette Noni

Pantera Press, 2015. ISBN: 9781921997501
Recommended. Much to her dismay, Alexandra Jennings is being shipped off to boarding school while her archaeologist parents make their next big discovery. But Alex is taken by surprise when she walks into the principal's office on her first day and instead finds herself in Medora, a futuristic other world, where she must remain until the missing Professor Marselle can send her home. Surrounded by advanced technology and students with special gifts, Alex embraces the wonder that the Akarnae Academy has to offer, and forms some unlikely friendships along the way. Alex may be from another world but she is far from normal, and little does she know that the fate of Medora and those she has grown to care for, may very well rest in her hands.
Noni's debut novel is a fantasy whirlwind filled with loveable and charismatic characters. Her writing is simplistic yet beautiful, and she constructs the world of Medora so eloquently that the reader is pulled in from the first page, experiencing all that Akarnae has to offer. Although this is primarily a fantasy novel, readers of dystopian and science fiction are sure to take pleasure in the fast-paced action and futuristic technology that Noni describes. Akarnae is the first in a series and the cliff-hanger ending will leave readers needing to know what happens next. This story of adventure, friendship, wonder, and sacrifice is sure to entice middle school students and all readers with a wandering imagination.
Emma Gay

Big Digger ABC by Margaret Mayo

For the forest of a bird by Sue Saliba

Penguin, 2015. ISBN 9780143571780
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Change. Perception. Divorce. Environment. Nella has a secret vigil. She waits by the creek for the return of the swallows in spring, believing that her father, like the swallows, will return home. At home, her mother's mental illness has become worse since the divorce and Nella and her older brother have found it very difficult to cope. When her father has a heart attack, Nella is convinced that this is the right time for him to return home and prepares a room for him. But life has unexpected twists and turns, as Nella discovers.
Sue Saliba's writing is beautiful. Each page is a lyrical journey into the feelings of a teen who desperately believes that her father wouldn't abandon her. The reader discovers the bleakness of her home life with a mother who can't cope at all and a brother who is angry and doesn't communicate. It is easy to empathize with Nella as she journeys to Phillip Island where her father has been living and uncovers the life that he now lives. The reader gains a deep insight into the nature of perception and change and how people can have a very different slant on the same thing. This is a message that is important for the reader as well as Nella to uncover.
The beauty of Phillip Island rings out with the descriptions of the wildlife and forests and people aspiring to help the environment will be inspired by the actions of the girl that Nella meets on the island. It is this friendship that ultimately helps Nella to understand about loss and abandonment.
This is a lyrical coming of age story, beautifully and evocatively written. It is not very long, but it covers many themes in a unique way that I have found impossible to describe in a review. I believe that it would be a wonderful class novel or book for a literature circle to explore.
Pat Pledger

Fish out of water by Natalie Whipple

Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN 9781471404306
(Age: 16+) "People like to think fish don't have feelings - it's easier that way - but as I watch the last guppy squirm in his bag, his eyes seem to plead with me. I get the sense that it knows just as well as I do that bad things are on the horizon."
Mika loves fish but her plans for the summer holidays come awry when her estranged grandmother arrives unannounced. This sets the scene for a difficult family reunion as old grievances resurface and conflict ensues. The characters are lightly drawn, yet the reader can relate to the complications life presents them.
The characters in this novel are all fish out of water. Alzheimers, cultural differences, socioeconomic differences, and educational differences are all explored in this novel. While it lacks complexity, and can be predictable at times, this novel does show the power of forgiveness in resolving difficulties in relationships.
While there is, of course, a love interest in this book, the most nuanced relationship is that between Mika and her grandmother. It is these segments that bring the book to life and allow the reader to experience the complexities of Alzheimers.
Linda Guthrie