Dance Divas bk 3. Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781619632240.
For readers from 7-9 years. Themes: Dancing - Contemporary, Ballet,
Competition, Friendship Let's Rock is the third novel in the Dance Divas series by Sheryl
Berk. The girls are divas in dancing and some are divas in
everyday life. Snobby Liberty's mother is a very important
choreographer in Hollywood. She has organised for the group to be
backup dancers for the famous band the Sugar Dolls in Los Angeles.
They are also busy learning their Hollywood star routines for
another dance competition in California. Liberty, Bria, Rochelle,
Scarlett and Grace are faced with the usual performance dilemmas,
who is dancing solo, what style of dance will Miss Toni assign to
them and what about their costumes? The girls experience in
Hollywood is fraught with temper tantrums, friendship issues,
rivalry, difficulty in learning the routines and jealousy. The
results of the competition are surprising. Lessons in life are also
learned when the girls put aside their differences to volunteer at a
homeless shelter.
Sheryl Berk's dance background is evident in her understanding of
dance styles, use of dance terminology and in the descriptions of
the auditions and build up to the competitions. Her Dance Divas
series is suited to the younger reader who is a dance fan.
Rhyllis Bignell
Friday Barnes: Girl detective by R.A. Spratt
Random House, 2014. ISBN 9781742759623.
(Ages 8-13) Highly recommended. This is the first title in a new
series by the author of Nanny Piggins. Friday Barnes is the
youngest child of two scientists, and has been left mostly to her
own devices growing up. With an immense IQ and a love of detective
novels, she jumps at the chance to solve a bank robbery, earning her
a fifty-thousand dollar reward. Friday uses this money to send
herself to an extremely exclusive boarding school, where she quickly
earns a reputation as the girl who can solve mysteries. For someone
who aspires to being practically invisible, it is difficult to
adjust to this new-found attention. Friday's biggest challenge
however, is discovering the identity of the Yeti in the school
swamp.
While many literary references in this book may go over the head of
most readers of this age, it is still a clever, engaging, and
entertaining read. Be warned though, the story ends on a major
cliff-hanger, and the next title is not due out until 2015.
Donella Reed
Figgy in the world: All you need is a plan and courage by Tamsin Janu
Omnibus Books, 2014. ISBN 9781742990453.
(Age: 9-12) Highly recommended. Africa. Ghana. Poverty. Optimism.
Journeys. When Figgy's grandmother becomes ill, she decides she will
go to America and find the medicine that she needs. Without further
ado, she sets out. She has no idea of life beyond her small village
where her grandmother looks after her, after being abandoned by her
mother. She has a simple plan and putting one foot after the other,
finds enough friends along the way to help her and keep her courage
high. As readers, we know she will be beset by trials and hurdles,
and always at the back of our minds is the question about where she
will end up. She is only ten, a skinny little kid with her best
friend, a goat, and much determination. She has her money stolen, is
helped by strangers, finds a traveling companion in Nana, a boy of
her own age who is running away from the orphanage, and comes
through it all with a heart untroubled by the vicissitudes of life.
And as the reader we are privy to a small part of Africa about which
we read little. Figgy's background and that of the other children
she meets is astonishing, and the setting is simply there to inform
and educate the readers without them feeling they are being preached
to.
I heartily recommend this book to middle to upper primary readers,
for a taste of a culture so unlike out own, for a look at children's
lives so dissimilar, and a look at a country half a world away. This
would make a fabulous read-aloud and form an outstanding addition to
the novels to be read as part of the Geography Curriculum
strategies.
Fran Knight
Kitten Kaboodle mission two: The lightning opal by Eileen O'Hely
Kitten Kaboodle series. Ill. by Heath McKenzie. Walker Books
Australia, 2014. ISBN 9781921529948.
Recommended for readers from 8-10 years. Cats. Dogs. Opals.
Secret Agents.
Kitten Kaboodle, the feisty top agent for Cat - the Clandestine
Activity Taskforce returns for his second mission in The lightning
opal. His perilous mission takes him to Lightning Ridge where he
fights the evil Disaster Organisation Group - DOG, canines in their
quest to bring back to life the legendary fierce, opalised dinosaur
skeleton. This secret agent has a communication unit in his
scratching post and a multifunctional collar that demobilizes dogs
and modulates his voice.
The story is filled with action and adventure, after the CAT
Headquarters self destructs, Kitten Kaboodle, Delilah and McGeek set
off to find the opal. Their journey involves catching a train,
hiding in a cargo plane filled with dog food, toys and shampoo and
hitching rides on emus.
Eileen O'Hely uses an abundance of acronyms and a wealth of comic
feline and canine references to engage the reader. Heath McKenzie's
action-packed cartoon sketches add to the drama and excitement of
Kitten Kaboodle's adventure.
Rhyllis Bignell
Sylvia by Christine Sharp
UQP, 2014. ISBN 9780702253140.
Highly recommended for 4-6 year old readers, parents, families,
teachers and all who love to share their love of gardening with
young children. Organic Gardening. Snails. Getting Along.
Creativity
'Oh, Simon Green, how I pine for your parsley leaves and fresh young
peas. Your spinach and your strawberries are so scrumptious.' Sylvia
Snail loves gardener Simon Greens' vegetable patch where she can
munch on mushrooms, chomp on cabbages and indulge in luscious
lettuce leaves. Unfortunately, keen organic gardener Simon has
reached the limits of his patience, his carefully tended vegetables
are being eaten by Sylvia. When her note to Simon written with her
shimmering trail is totally ignored, the little snail comes up with
an ingenious and far-fetched plan to attract Simon's attention.
This is a delightful picture book, Christine Sharp's colourful
illustrations are bold in detail, each double-paged spread is filled
to the brim with layers of vegetables, plants and patterned
backgrounds. Close-ups from Sylvia's world view are appealing, adding
to the delightfully alliterative text. There are snail trails to
explore and birds and insects to discover, as the reader or class
engages with Sylvia's creativity.
Rhyllis Bignell
Australian Geographic history (series) by various authors
They came to Australia: Explorers before European settlement
by Joel Weston. ISBN 9781742455129. A failure to understand: Early colonisation and the Indigenous
peoples by Margaret McPhee. ISBN 9781742455136. Life in colonial Australia: From First Fleet to federation by
Kerry Davies. ISBN 9781742455143. Visions of a nation: The campaign for federation by Scott
Brodie. ISBN 9781742455150.
(Age: Yrs 3-6) These are the first four titles in a new series from
Australian Geographic that are especially designed to introduce the
younger reader to Australia's history. Specifically written to
accompany specific outcomes of the History strand of the Australian
Curriculum, they provide a wealth of information in written and
pictorial form that is at a level of readability for the age group.
With clear headings, text in manageable chunks and a range of
photos, maps and other illustrations they open the door to
understanding our past with both facts and explanations. For example
in A failure to understand the reader learns of the
bewilderment of the European settlers in this 'upside-down land';
the impact of their struggle to survive on the Indigenous people and
why conflict was inevitable, all written in a readable way that
tells the story rather than unrelated paragraphs of bare facts.
When I recently shared a pile of new books with a Year 3/4 class,
these four books were immediately pounced on by four boys not known
for choosing to read, let alone write about what they had read. Yet
for the best part of two hours they sat in a group reading and
discussing and eventually writing a review of the one they had
chosen. Initially attracted by their factual nature and then the
illustrations, they soon became absorbed in the accompanying text
and there were a number of times I heard, 'Hey, did you know...?'
They were disappointed when the bell brought the session to an end!
There are another eight titles in the series: The First Fleet:
How why and how it happened; Major events in colonial history:
1788 to 1900; Gold rushes: The new prosperity; Immigration
since 1901: How and why they came; Strangers in the land:
The coming of the Europeans; Governors squatters and battlers:
People who shaped European settlement; Across the seas:
Where our immigrants came from; They shaped Australia:
Contributing to Australia which all together would form a very
solid core of resources to support your school's history program.
Barbara Braxton
Emus under the bed by Leann J Edwards
The Little Big Book Club/ Allen & Unwin 2014. ISBN
9781743313459.
(Age: Early childhood) On Saturdays I visit Auntie Dollo. 'What
would you like to do today?' she says. 'Do you want to help me make
some feather flowers?' Auntie Dollo has all kinds of feathers.
She has feathers from moorhens, magpies, galahs and
cockatoos. But the greatest surprise is what is under
Aunty Dollo's bed - six little emu chicks!
This is a vibrant story which shows how a modern Indigenous child
continues to connect with the traditions of the past through her
family. The relationship between the environment and the
people is very clear as they make a headdress of feathers dropped by
local birds, and as they create it, Aunt Dollo tells the story of
its origins. Written by a descendant of the Mara tribe from
the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Wiradjuri tribe from central New
South Wales, it celebrates the handing down of an ancient culture
through its people and ensuring 'They are the pool of inspiration
all the time.' Having tried various ways of expressing her family
history and culture, particularly through a career as an Indigenous
artist, Leann Edwards was inspired by others to write and tell her
story and this book was produced through the Emerging Indigenous
Picture Book Mentoring Project, a joint initiative between The
Little Big Book Club and Allen & Unwin, assisted by the
Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts
funding and advisory body. The artwork is most striking and
has many of the elements we associate with Indigenous art, and shows
the artist's experience both in Australia and overseas, with colour
and pattern predominating against blocks of solid colour.
Most importantly, this book ticks all the selection criteria for
acquiring and using Indigenous literature that Lorraine MacDonald
identifies in A Literature Companion for Teachers (p122-123).
There has been a number of books produced recently which feature our
first peoples celebrating their landscape, culture and heritage in
the most exquisite ways. How wonderful if we could use these
as models for our non-Indigenous students to tell their own stories
so they could leave a similar legacy.
Barbara Braxton
Quest by Aaron Becker
Walker Books, 2014. ISBN 9781406357660.
Highly recommended for readers from 7-10 years. Aaron Becker
presents the next visual narrative that takes the reader on a new
pursuit in Quest. His previous creative wordless picture book that
introduced the child characters was Journey, a Caldecott Honor Book.
Two children are sheltering from the rain under a city park bridge.
To their surprise, a king opens a mysterious door and presents the
young pair with a map and coloured chalk. He quickly disappears
again, dragged away by soldiers. The chalks provide entry into new
worlds, and another venture draws the young explorers into a quest
to save the king and his kingdom. The boy quickly draws keys to
unlock the portal and they step into a new world. The map provides
them with colourful clues and leads them through a tropical jungle,
past a Mayan temple, and an underground city on their quest to free the
king. They are accompanied by a beautiful bird who helps them.
The strength of the story is the visual narrative. Each richly
detailed spread, mixes architectural styles from diverse cultures
and different centuries. As their quest is fraught with dangers, the
children draw on their creativity and problem solving skills to help
them overcome the issues. Aaron Becker's detailed watercolours are
balanced with his use of white space, this draws the observer into
the unfolding drama. Puzzles, maps, colours, creativity and
imagination are all elements that make this an engaging and
enjoyable story.
Rhyllis Bignell
Panic by Lauren Oliver
Hodder & Stoughton, 2014. ISBN 9781444723038.
Teenage coming of age. Independence. Risk taking.
Friendship. In a small town in the USA, the local teens take part in a
competition to win a pot of money that will transform their lives.
The risks required to win put their own lives at risk as they gamble
with fear and the challenge of overcoming life-threatening scenarios
created by their peers in a 'game' that has rules that challenge
wisdom. The central characters of this book are at the threshold of
decision making about their career paths, friendships and romance,
but the 'Panic' - the name of the competition that should not exist,
creates a tension filled segue into their future.
Lauren Oliver creates flawed and interesting characters that inspire
empathy, even when you don't always like them. They are believable,
probably because they are flawed, and their life stories are
interesting, as is the setting in the obscure but dead-end American
town. Because it hints at the angst and uncertainty of the
teenager, and their desire to escape the trappings of the mundane
and the damaged aspects of their lives, it will appeal to teen
readers. Adults are portrayed in secondary roles, or as the
reasons for wanting to escape.
This book has already been targeted as the basis for a teen film
production. It will become another of the teen 'must-reads'.
Not set in a dystopian world, but yet this book retains much of the
appeal of The hunger games, Maze runner and the Divergent series.
Expect to see young people reading this book. It contains very
little adult perspective on the 'Panic', except for a few oblique
references to opposition, perhaps reflecting teen independence and
lack of frontal-lobe perspective on the world!
Carolyn Hull
All my kisses by Kerry Brown
Ill. by Jedda Robaard. ABC Books/ HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN
9780733330711
(Age: Pre-School) Abby the piglet was very kissable. Every night as
she snuggled into bed she would be kissed once on the end of her
nose, twice on her forehead and countless times on the bottom of her
feet. And Abby likes those kisses so much she keeps each of them in
a special bucket to savour later, carrying them with her wherever
she went. But whenever she was asked for one, she would never share.
No matter who asked her, she kept her kisses to herself. They were
too special, too precious, too fragile to share. But something
starts to happen to those kisses, particularly the ones in the
bottom of the bucket that are buried and cannot be seen. In fact,
they have turned into bleak, grey pebbles - ugly things that Abby
throws away into the shadows...
This is a lovely story about how being selfish, even with something
that was given just to us, cannot necessarily make us as happy as we
would think and that sometimes giving it away can have unconsidered
consequences. It's about giving love as well as receiving it, and
how giving makes the receiving so much richer.
Accompanied by enchanting illustrations in soft colours which
capture Abby's personality and emotions perfectly, this is a lovely
tale about bedtime routines, sharing and makings friends that should
be high on your recommendations to your parents of preschoolers.
Barbara Braxton
Paruku the desert brumby by Jesse Blackadder
ABC Books/HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780733331794.
(Age: Year 3+) Way out in the Kimberley, on the edges of the Great
Sandy and Tanami Deserts lies Paruku Indigenous Protected Area, some
430,000 hectares of undulating red sand plains, salt pans and
occasional dunes with stunted eucalyptus, acacias and spinifex,
surrounding Lake Gregory, the only reliable source of fresh water
for the tens of thousands of birds and other creatures that inhabit
the area. These include mobs of wild brumbies, descendants of
Arabian and thoroughbred horses introduced into the East Kimberley
in the 50s and 60s to improve the quality of the stockhorses of what
was then, the Lake Gregory Pastoral Station.
Into this landscape come twelve-year-old Rachel and her vet father
Mike on a mission to capture twelve of these brumbies for an Arab
sheik looking to improve his stock of endurance race horses in
Dubai. Inspired by reading Elyne Mitchell's The silver brumby,
Rachel has a somewhat romantic view of the brumbies being wild and
free to roam, but working with the Aboriginal people of the area,
she learns they have a different view of the brumbies because of the
damage they cause to the environment. But right at the beginning of
her adventure she comes into contact with a stallion and his mare
and while she soon learns to work with the team to drive the animals
so they can be hit with a tranquiliser dart then transported back to
the stockyards, her connection with this pair is her focus with a
result that drives the rest of the story from Lake Gregory to Glen
Innes in New South Wales and then to Dubai itself.
Intertwined with Rachel's story is that of Paruku, the stallion she
so admires and named for the area he comes from, told from Paruku's
perspective and adding an intriguing insight that helps explain the
course of events that follow.
What gives the whole thing extra interest and weight though, is that
much of it is true. In 2008, an Australian vet was commissioned to
capture wild brumbies from this area, working with the local Mulan
people to take them back to Dubai, but first taking them to Glen
Innes to prepare them for the journey ahead. While Rachel's family
is fictional, the other characters and events are true - even the
names of the horses have been kept.
If I had a dollar for every time a young girl asked me for 'a story
about horses' my wealth might rival Clive Palmer's! This book is a
very worthy addition to that cohort - even though I'm not a 'horsey
person', it kept me engaged through to the end, an ending that is
not necessarily the saccharine happily-ever-after that many such
books dish up. But apart from feeding that need to have a strong
collection of books on the subject, it is also a worthwhile addition
to studies about feral animals and their place, or otherwise, in the
landscape as well as the Australian psyche.
Now to seek out Jesse Blackadder's other titles, Chasing the light, a
fictional recounting of the little-known true story of the first
woman to ever set foot on Antarctica (my own mother was the first
female journalist to go south) and Stay: the last dog in Antarctica.
Quality fare for the independent reader not yet ready for the
challenges of contemporary realistic fiction.
Barbara Braxton
The dawn chorus by Suzanne Barton
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9780140839218.
(Age: Preschool - Year 2) Deep in the forest, just as the sun
begins to rise, little Peep is woken from his slumbers by the most
beautiful song. Stretching his wings and fluffing his feathers he
sets out to find out where it is coming from. But if it's not
Owl or Mouse or Frog, who could it be? Aha! There on an
enormous tree on the top of a hill are lots and lots of birds, all
singing their hearts out. It is the dawn chorus and their job
is to sing lustily each morning to let the world know a new day has
begun. Because Peep loves to sing, he wants to join and the
conductor invites him for an audition the next morning. But
Peep doesn't make it in time the next day, and the day after he was
so tired all he could do was yawn!
"Perhaps you're not meant to sing", sighed the conductor.
Peep is so disappointed. "Why can I sing in the evening but
not in the morning?" he asks. And suddenly, he has the answer - one that lifts his spirits and his voice and brings joy to all!
This is a beautifully illustrated book by new author and
illustrator, Suzanne Barton. A combination of collage, drawing and
painting, the gentle colours and delicate patterns are enchanting
and very appealing.
Anyone who has heard a real dawn chorus wonders at the diversity of
sounds as each bird adds its greeting, and this concept is enhanced
by each bird in the tree being different. However, even though
as individuals each has a song to sing, it is when all are singing
together that the true magic happens. But as well as celebrating
unity, there is also the ability and need to celebrate difference,
as Peep discovers. What a wonderful way to introduce
those concepts to young learners. I've put this one aside for when I
work with a Year 1 class next week - I can see myself working with
it, and that's the greatest compliment of all from a teacher
librarian.
Barbara Braxton
The minnow by Diana Sweeney
Text Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9781922182012.
(Ages: 14+) Highly recommended. This is a strange, poignant story of
loneliness, loss and grief. We are not given the details of how 14
year-old Tom's (nickname for Holly) parents and sister are swept
away in a flood; instead we glean bits of the story from the stream
of Tom's consciousness and her interactions with their ghosts - not
really ghosts but each an ongoing presence in her life.
The minnow is the baby growing inside her, something that happens
after she moves into the boatshed with Bill, an old friend of her
father's, a loner like him, and someone who shares her interest in
fishing, - but Bill betrays her trust, and has a dark underside, a
dangerous man wanted by the police. Tom has to leave him and somehow
find her own way in a world where she feels lost and alone.
However what is really lovely about this book is the number of warm
caring people who gradually create a living presence around her -
from her eccentric life-loving Nana and her new partner Jonathon, to
Jonah her gentle gay friend, the sensitive art teacher James Wu,
Hazel the nursing home administrator, calm and responsible Sergeant
Griffin, the petshop owner and others. They all are genuinely kind
people who go out of their way to help her.
Throughout the novel there is a constant theme of water, fishing,
swimming and drowning, the living and the dead interweaving in one
stream of life which eventually overcomes the sadness and suggests
love and hope.
I enjoyed this novel so much that I read it a second time within a
few weeks, appreciating even more on second reading the the weaving
of the story, the blending of love and loss, and the gathering of
warm and caring characters.
Helen Eddy
So many wonderfuls by Tina Matthews
Walker Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781922077516.
Highly recommended for three to five year olds and for Early Years'
classes. Themes: Community, Cities, Urban Life, Geography, Poetry.
Tina Matthews creative process started from a few pencil sketches of
an imaginary town and led her to the creation of a wonderful town
with so many places to explore. She uses lyrical poetry with each
stanza's first and fourth line rhyming - an envelope rhyme. Her
encouragement at the start is 'So don't hurry by Hold your horses
slow down!' Each simple rhyme is accompanied by detailed scenes of
town life. There are people to talk to and places to play, the
beach, the park, school, shops, a wonderful tree, a community hall
and a library truck. There is both a sense of happiness and purpose
shown in the townsfolk. Just like a look and find book, the small
details are just as important as the overall scene. The structure of
the town with care taken to explore different depths, perspectives
and views draw the young reader into the story.
On the school page the classroom has so many elements to
investigate, the students are engaged in a lesson about the lunar
cycle with wonderful props and costumes. Through the windows we
observe the school garden and townsfolk engaged in their everyday
lives. Inclusivity is gently portrayed, raised garden beds for a
student in a wheelchair, a blind mother, even a gopher is parked on
the sandy beach. All ages and stages of life are drawn with a sense
of understanding and belonging. Matthews use of a pastel
palette and deliberate choice to add colour to a section of each
illustration is another great talking point to engage young readers.
The beach scene where no-one is wearing hats also leads to
discussion.
This is a richly rewarding picture book, a must buy for teachers of
Geography. Students are introduced to my place in space, my special
places, community life, maps and perspectives in an easy to
understand way. Teacher
notes are available.
Rhyllis Bignell
The Ratcatcher's Daughter by Pamela Rushby
Angus & Robertson, 2014. ISBN 9780732297138.
(Age 10+) Recommended. The year is 1900 and the new century starts
with the oldest disease - the Black Death.
The year is 1900. Thirteen year old Issy McKelvie leaves school and
is forced to take a job at an undertaking establishment. Issy thinks
that life couldn't get any worse, that is until the Black Death hits
Australia.
Issy despises rats, and her father's four snappy dogs but after her
father falls ill, Issy is unwillingly forced to become the new
ratcatcher.
Issy also discovers something that makes her burn inside. What she
finds will shock her and makes her think about what she really wants
in life.
I would recommend this book to both genders, ages 10 and above. This
book really helped me to understand what the families and sufferers
of this horrible disease would have gone through. I would also
recommend it to anyone who likes to learn about the history of
Australia.
Pamela Rushby has really captured the way Australia would have been
like in the 1900's when the plague hit. The Black Death hit annually
from 1900-1909 and again every few years. The last reported case in
Australia was in 1922. Fortunately it hasn't struck since. The
plague was an event that traumatised Australia in the 1900's,
although now it is something that very few people know about.
Jazmin Humphries (Student Year 7)
