Working Title Press, 2014. ISBN 9781921504570.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Australian animals, Family. The story
of how the yellow-bellied glider takes its first flight is told in
this seemingly simple tale of a baby animal falling from a branch
near its nest and having to spread its wings to float to the ground.
But nothing about Miller's work is ever simple. His tale takes in
the broad sweep of loving families, familial responsibility,
friendship and learning to adapt while looking at a number of
Australian animals in their environment.
At dawn when all the other night animals snuggle into their nests to
sleep, the noise of the birds wakes the baby glider and he ventures
out onto the branch where he falls. This forces him to spread his
legs and the membrane between allows him to fall smoothly to the
forest floor, landing with a bump. Alarmed he must find a quiet out
of way place to hide during the rest of the day. From his position
he watches some of the other forest animals go about their daily
business until night falls, allowing his parents to come and search
for him. His little adventure ends happily and he snuggles down for
the night as do all gliders.
Miller used watercolour and watercolour pencils to present his
images of the forest and the animals in this lovely book which will
delight younger readers and stand out from the array of books which
teach them about Australian animals.
Fran Knight
Pearlie's pet rescue by Gabrielle Wang
Our Australian Girl series, (Pearlie Book 2). Penguin Australia,
2014. ISBN 9780143307952.
(Age: 8+) Pearlie is the 1940s girl and the second of the new Our
Australian Girl characters for 2014. An Australian-Chinese
daughter of hardworking parents in Darwin, Pearlie's life is being
turned upside down by the threat of the war in the Pacific close at
hand. Her best friend Naoko and her family have been interned,
simply for being Japanese and Pearlie is devastated. She and Nao had
suspected one of their neighbours, Mr Beake, of being a spy and had
been almost caught out - Pearlie is still worried that he may found
her bracelet in his house. Now Nao is gone, Pearlie is left on her
own with her anxiety and she wonders what will happen next. Her only
consolation is that she now has Nao's tiny monkey Tinto to look
after and keep her company. The school year finishes, not just for
the year, but for good as women and children begin to be evacuated
compulsorily from the city. While this is traumatic in its own
right, Pearlie discovers that residents have been ordered to destroy
their pets before they leave and she is heartbroken thinking of
these poor animals. She comes up with a plan - Pearlie's Pet Rescue
- which she thinks is brilliant. She knows her own father will never
leave his shop so she is the perfect person to take care of
evacuees' loved pets. They can leave their pets, with enough money
to feed them, with Pearlie and she will look after them as if her
own. Soon, as well as her own Tinto, Pearlie is looking after Rusty
the dog and Santa the cockatiel. But what will Pearlie do when the
worst happens and her own family must leave the city under orders as
well?
Full of appeal for the Our Australian Girl set, girls from 8
and up - especially those who love to follow a series through each
of its episodes.
Sue Warren
Meet Pearlie by Gabrielle Wang
Our Australian Girl series. Puffin, 2014. ISBN: 9780143307945.
Pearlie and her best friend, Naoko, live in Darwin in 1941. As the
war continues Naoko, because of her Japanese origins, begins to be
treated differently by the other local residents. Evidence that
there is a spy living in the town seems to have placed Naoko's
family under suspicion. When the two girls go out together to
investigate, they come across some indications of who may really be
involved in plotting against Australia and sharing information with
the enemy. Will Pearlie be able to maintain her belief in and
friendship with Naoko, knowing that she may well be given the same
poor treatment as her friend?
The Our Australian Girl series is one which has become incredibly
popular, especially with our female students from Year 4 and above.
A large part of the appeal would seem to be due to the large font
and double spacing which make the titles easily accessible to
confident readers, as well as the adventure element being introduced
to these stories which involve children 'just like them'. Daily
activities and routines are broken by the introduction of a mystery
which the children seem likely to be able to solve with little help
from the adults in the stories. With four titles about Pearlie and
each girl in the series, readers who begin Pearlie are more than
likely to want to keep reading until the resolution has been reached
at the end of the fourth book. A number of our classes from Years 5
to 7 are now completing English units which focus on students
reading historic fiction as a basis for their assignments. These
titles sit beautifully alongside the My Australian Story series
favoured by many of the boys from the same age group and have
motivated the students to read more titles in this genre.
This is the first title I have read from the series, but the appeal
of the books was immediately apparent. I now very willingly
recommend these books to many of our confident younger readers.
Jo Schenkel
Balancing act by Joanna Trollope
Transworld Publishers, 2014. ISBN 9780857521088.
(Age: Senior Fiction). Susie Moran is a very successful business
woman, at the helm of a pottery company, which produces charming and
collectable ceramic pieces - potentially a very interesting backdrop
considering the history of the Stoke-en-Trent potteries. She is
determined not to have the traditional side of the family business
altered but her daughters and their partners are concerned for the
future of the company and want her to rethink this stance. The
sudden arrival on the scene of her 'hippy' father who had abandoned
her as a child adds to her overall distress.
The book treats the subject of family and work needs rather lightly,
with very few character and narrative developments, and it is busy
with unnecessary detail. Balancing Act is an easy read, but
ultimately rather unsatisfying and unfinished.
The reader seems to drift through this middle class family's life
for no apparent reason.
Julie Wells
Big and small by Elizabeth Bennett
Ill. by Jane Chapman. Koala Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781742761053.
A sweet tale about two unlikely friends, this picture book follows a
bear called Big and a mouse called Small as they head out to have a
picnic in the woods. Along the way, they have many adventures and
Small repeatedly finds himself in trouble and asks for Big's help.
Suitable for preschool to year 1, this fun rhyming story will entice
young readers to join in as they anticipate Small's repeated
catchphrase 'a little help please!' The full-page illustrations are
eye-catching and have lots of close-up pictures of the bear and
mouse.
A fun tale about friendship that demonstrates that everybody has
value, this book is sure to engage children to continue reading in
order to find out how Small helps Big in a very important way at the
end of their big day out.
Stephanie Bell
Jam for Nana by Deborah Kelly
Ill. by Lisa Stewart. Random House, 2014. ISBN 9780857980014.
(Age: 3-7) Grandmothers, Babysitting, Reminiscences. Going to Nana's
house means making pancakes. The narrator in the story loves doing
this with the older woman, spreading the jam to the edge of the
pancake, using her spoon to make it smooth. Then the pancake is rolled
up tightly, sprinkled with sugar and eaten. But Nana is a little
disappointed, as she can remember when the jam had real apricots in
it and would cling to the spoon when turned over, and tasted like
the sun.
Nana has not tasted anything like this real jam since she left her
home over the seas, and so the little girl decides to get some for
her Nana. She makes labels for the jam for her Nana, jam which will
have real apricots in it, and not fall off the spoon, and most
importantly taste like a hundred summers.
I found this story rather unusual, and I read it several times,
thinking I had missed out a page as the leap from the child wanting
to help Nana taste the jam of her youth and actually doing it was
very quick.
The soft pencil illustrations suit the story well, showing the child
and her Nana as they work together in the kitchen and talk of how
far away her original home is, but how I wished that the apricot
tree could have looked like an apricot tree.
This is a tale to use with small children, increasingly having their
grandparents look after them when their parents work, or who take on
full responsibility for them, a growing trend within Australia.
Fran Knight
The cuckoo by Gary Crew
Ill. by Naomi Turvey. Ford St, 2014. ISBN 9781925000177.
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Redemption, Forgiveness, Father-son
relationships. A fantastical moral tale will greet the readers who
open these pages, magnificently illustrated by newcomer, Naomi
Turvey.
Deep in the Blue Mountains lives a forester and his family. His
first born sons are replicas of himself, strong and fearless, but
his third son is puny, a runt, and derided by the men in the family.
When his wife leaves, the man does not question the reason and
continues his derision of the boy, Martin.
But one day when fire has ravaged the hills, the eagles look for
food for their young and spying the older boys take them off to
their nest. Martin's father is distraught, saying predictable things
to his now only son, and so the boy leaves. He finds the remains of
a fledgeling eagle and donning its feathers in the form of a cape,
climbs the treacherous cliff to the nest where he joins the eaglets
in calling for food from the adult birds. He grows into a
magnificent eagle, and later spying his father mourning the loss of
his wife, sons and Martin because of his inability to love them for
what they are, swoops down and takes him upon his back before the
man throws himself into the valley below.
Children and young adults will love this tale of redemption, of a
father admitting his shortcomings, of the son forgiving him despite
all that has happened. They will love the story of the cuckoo taking
a young bird's place in the nest and the parallels to this story and
will look for the themes of this tale in the illustrations. Turvey
has used a wonderful pen and ink style of illustration reminiscent
of wood block illustrations of old, underlining the morality of a
tale which transcends time. She has built in patches of colour which
add a tiny difference to some pages, making the eyes look again at
the page. She has framed the illustrations, giving them an aged
appearance, and sometimes drawn part of the illustration outside the
frame, drawing the eye across the page. As hard as it is to pick out
pages which resonate with me, and will with other readers, I must
point out the wonderful tall, soaring trees taking more than their
fair share of the frame on the page, and the gum nuts reminiscent of
May Gibbs, and the child cowering by his father's boot. The language
and illustrations coalesce, making this a book to treasure in the
classroom, library or home.
Fran Knight
Side effects may vary by Julie Murphy
Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN 9780143571711.
(Age: Senior Fiction) This is a debut novel for young adults by an
American writer.
Readers will be familiar with 'bucket lists' often conceived out of
revenge in school situations but there is a twist in this story.
Alice has been diagnosed with leukaemia and is on a mission to
fulfil her list but she asks dear friend Harvey to help her. As a
life long and adoring friend, he does not take much convincing.
Alice admits to herself that it looks as if she is using Harvey, but
her illness provides the excuse, and she knows that Harvey is always
there for her. Even when there is a sharp turnaround with Alice
having gone into remission, she is determined to proceed with the
'bucket list' in a reckless fashion, injuring Harvey along the way,
and obscuring the truths about their relationship.
Alice and Harvey provide alternate narratives with the action moving
from the past to the present and vice versa. It is to the author's
credit that this potentially confusing method of storytelling
actually reads fluently and effectively. Alice is a frustrating
character, at times treating Harvey with little regard for his
feelings, and then being jealous on hearing of his new girlfriend.
Both are very interesting, however, devoted to their causes,
supportive of each other and good analysts of situations.
This is an enjoyable read: the language flows well, there are great
moments of humour and the plot moves at a good pace.
Julie Wells
Paul meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb
Candlewick Press, 2014. ISBN 9780763661304.
(Age: 3-7) Recommended. Friendship, Loneliness, Horizons. Paul does
all he can in his fish bowl. He swims from top to bottom, from side
to side, makes little circles and big circles. One day when
Bernadette drops in, she questions him about his world, and then
points out the many things outside. Pointing to a banana she asks
him what it is, His response is tepid, until she points out that
what they are looking at is a boat. Then a vase of flowers becomes a
forest, the paper is a lovely dress, the teapot an elephant. Each
thing pointed out becomes something much bigger and more
interesting, and Paul's world is widened, even more so when
Bernadette stays with him.
His new friend has shown him the world and how it is a much more
interesting place with two looking at it. Being alone narrows his
vista, being alone means doing the same thing each day, being alone
means seeing things in the same way. Having a friend means seeing
things anew, seeing things differently, seeing things together. Even
when they are swimming around and around the same space they are
together.
What a charming tale to introduce the value of friendship to a
child, group or class.
Fran Knight
Coming of age: Growing up Muslim in Australia ed. by Amra Pajalic and Demet Divaroren
Allen & Unwin Children's Books, 2014. ISBN 9781743312926.
Highly recommended for 11+ readers. Here we have contributions of 12
very successful Australians that just happen to come from a Muslim
background. Their stories relating the discovery of who they are and
how they fit into the world are as different as the individuals
themselves. When all young people move into adulthood, there are
many questions to answer and many insecurities to recognize and deal
with. However, when you are also trying to maintain a balance
between two widely different cultures the confusion intensifies.
The personal recounts of these years of turmoil remind us all that
each individual, regardless of culture, needs to look to the past to
be able to move into the future. Young Muslims and non Muslims alike
will identify with the emotions experienced by these 12 teens
finding their own pathways in life. Their stories deal with issues
of religious beliefs, morality, honour, family expectations, courage
and stereotype. As with many religions, there exist many
interpretations followed by different sections of the community.
This book helps Muslims and non Muslims to understand and appreciate
the diversity within the world of Islam.
Lynne Poole
Billy is a dragon: First bite by Nick Falk and Tony Flowers
Random House Australia Children's Books, 2014. ISBN 9780857983053.
This is the first book in the Billy is a dragon series. Poor
Billy, for his birthday he has been invited to the local pet shop to
look for a new pet. Things go horribly wrong when the shop owner
insists on showing Billy a red lizard, one he calls a DragOn lizard.
Billy feels compelled to reach out and touch the lizard which
promptly latches onto his finger with its very sharp teeth. He
screams so loudly that his mother rushes him back home.
The next day at school Billy's finger is red and swollen and Billy
begins to feel a little strange. His body is changing slowly but
surely into that of a . . . Dragon. He manages to keep out of
everyone's sight, all that is except for Jeanie, his best friend.
Billy is quite scared but Jeanie is very impressed.
Billy soon comes to really like being a Dragon, especially when he
finds that he can fly. However, Billy also wants to be able to go
home. Unfortunately for Billy, his mother and sister are traumatized
and his father decides to catch the 'unusual lizard' and take it to
the Zoo. Luckily Billy escapes. A return visit to the pet shop gives
Billy the information that he needs to turn back into a regular boy
. . . or is he? Check out the next book in the series: Billy is
a Dragon Werewolves Beware!
This is a delightful book for younger readers. The story is fast
moving and easy to read. There are wonderful illustrations on every
page and Word Art makes it very attractive for reluctant readers.
Lynne Poole
My Mum says the strangest things by Katrina Germein
Ill. by Tom Jellett. Black Dog Books, 2014. ISBN 9781922179562.
(Age: 3 to adult) Highly recommended. Humour. Language. The strange
things we say without thinking, the responses to often said phrases,
the metaphors and similes that are part of our language are given an
airing in this very funny book by Katrina Germein, richly and
hilariously illustrated by Tom Jellett, both of whom collaborated on
the successful duo of books, My Dad thinks he's funny, and My
Dad thinks he's funny too.
For adults reading this book to children, or just reading it to
themselves, sayings we often hear are expressed and given a context
so that we can see just how ludicrous they are. From the often
heard, 'ants in your pants', to 'the maid is on holidays', and 'spinach
makes you strong', the list of commonly heard phrases keep the
readers turning the page to see which one comes next. Each page has
at least one saying with Jellett's squawking illustration showing
just what the saying means when taken literally. His bold and in
your face illustrations will make younger children create gales of
laughter, as they recognise the refrains often heard in their house,
while older children will get a kick out of recognising the sayings,
but will also begin to question just why people say them, and for
those older still, reflection comes with every page turned as the
origins of the phrase becomes a focus.
In classrooms this will be a hit with children reading the sayings
out loud to each other and laughing at the possibilities Jellett
produces in his illustrations, while a teacher reading this aloud to
a class will have the opportunity to discuss sayings with the class,
while in older classrooms, the range of sayings can be discussed,
more added, the idea of metaphor and simile introduced, along with
idiom and literal speech. The whole rounds off with several pages
devoted to Mum putting her young children to bed, telling them that
she loves them all the way to the stars and back, as she sneaks from
their room in her space uniform.
So Germein and Jellett bring the story back to Mum and her love for
her children, the focus no longer on her saying the strange things,
but her love and devotion.
Fran Knight
Mummy, you're special to me by Laine Mitchell
Ill. by Kim Fleming. Scholastic, 2014. ISBN 9781742839813.
(Age: Pre school) Mothers, Family relationships. Each double page of
this book about mothers and their offspring, is devoted to a four
line stanza telling how one mother loves her charge. She may know
numbers, telling the time, counting, or painting and writing a play,
or taking the children on picnics. Whatever expertise she has is
illustrated by Fleming in a soft watercolours as he illustrates each
stanza with a different set of animals. Thus the sheep are on the
page about counting, the one who writes and performs plays is about
the octopus, and building sandcastles on the beach is devoted to
turtles. Children reading this book will have another layer of
meaning behind the pictures as they can see the underlying play on
words. On each page too they can search for the giraffe, the first
animal appearing in the book, and the one which follows the action
of the book to the end. Underneath each stanza is the refrain of the
title, allowing someone reading it aloud to encourage little voices
to join in.
Fran Knight
Warriors by Krista Bell
Windy Hollow Books, 2014. ISBN 9781922081032.
(Age: 6+) Recommended. History, China, Travel. Two stories of the
Terracotta Warriors are told side by side in this fascinating book
for younger readers. Andrew travelling to China with his father,
knows little of the country of his family. So when they get to
Xi'an, Da tells his son the story of the finding of the sculptures
in 1974, when farmers digging a well, came across a stone head. They
believed it as had others before them, to be part of ghosts in the
fields but when an archaeologist from the district museum came and
looked, it was declared a site of historical interest. Consequently
this area in Central China is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The story of how they came to be there is also told. Da tells Andrew
some of the story of the emperor who wanted his army buried with him
when he died, and scraps of paper on the pages next to the story
gives more information. So Da tells his son about the emperor, Ying
Zheng, while from the act sheet, we learn that he became emperor
when thirteen and took over from his guardian when he was twenty
two. Other fact sheets fill out the story that Da tells, allowing
the reader to develop their own sense of the emperor who left behind
this strange army.
Much more information is given in the maps, postcards home to
Melbourne and fact sheets given within the covers of the book, even
the endpapers adding to the tale, and the range of photographs
ensures that readers will be occupied long after the words have been
read. Teacher's
notes are available from the publisher's website.
Fran Knight
In certain circles by Elizabeth Harrower
Text, 2014. ISBN 9781922182296.
(Age: Senior secondary) Written in 1971 but unpublished until now,
this is Elizabeth Harrower's final novel. The psychological strains
of relationships are examined in the story of a successful and happy
family which attempts to improve the lives of others less fortunate.
Zoe, the pampered, talented and generous daughter of the Howards,
successful academics, is intrigued by taciturn, aloof Stephen and
his younger sister, Anna, but frequently offends them with her
casual generosity. Anna is proud and understands Zoe well, but is
focused on surviving in her job and tiny flat. Russell, Zoe's
brother, has returned from war determined to help those who need it,
and is about to marry his old sweetheart Lily. He is Stephen's best
friend and they go into business together, while Zoe becomes an
energetic and successful photographer in Paris. When Zoe returns
from Paris she and Stephen fall in love and marry; Anna marries a
musician; Russell and Lily have twins. However, Anna's husband dies
and she acknowledges what she has long known, that she loves
Russell, and he in turn loves her. The final section of the novel
reveals the pain in Zoe's life; Stephen has a cruel need to bully
and dominate and Zoe has become afraid. Life has closed in on her,
and no longer impetuous or spontaneous she faces a bleak future. She
must suffer because of her husband's earlier life, and she who had
no inkling of what it meant to be poor must now understand that
poverty warps the spirit permanently. Anna and Russell have accepted
their separation and similarly expect no happiness, until suicide
letters posted accidently arrive and in revealing the truth about
their situations act as catalysts for change. All the while the
Harbour glitters in the background, successful careers are created,
and seemingly enviable lives are lived out in the Sydney of the
60's, and 70's. However, Harrower makes it clear that happiness is
fleeting. She examines the psychological minutiae of her characters'
lives in prose that is both economical and at times richly
metaphorical.
The novel is recommended for better readers.
Jenny Hamilton
