This star won't go out by Esther Earl, with Lori and Wayne Earl
Introduction by John Green. Penguin Books, 2014. ISBN 9780141354033.
(Age: 12+) Cancer. Diary. When Esther Earl died in August 2010 of
Thyroid Cancer, her friends and family with her, she left behind
diaries, emails, photos. These have been used as the basis for this
book, augmented by reminiscences from friends and relatives, nursing
staff and doctors. Esther's story is brought to the fore in this
large tome, as her parents and friends reveal what they knew of the
young woman who fought to the end with grace and attitude.
Using her journals, diaries and letters, photos from family and
friends, videos, blogs and utube uploads, reminiscences from those
around her, copies of her drawings and many many photos of her in
the last stages of her life, the book is a powerful look at a person
who keeps her star shining. Powerful because she never gives up, and
from age 12 to 16, she discusses all with the medical staff as well
as those about her, she does not stint in asking the hard questions,
nor does she falter in finding what is best for her. And she is
honest. Interspersed between the words are accounts in orange taken
from the website, Caringbridge,
set up in 2008 in which people record their feelings, and her family
document the progression of her disease.
One of her friends was John Green who recently wrote, The fault
in our stars. He, with a number of other people, spent a day
with Esther several months before she died, and he recounts that day
in his introduction.
This is not an easy book to read, and as there is no contents or
index page, it is difficult to just dip into and read sections at a
time. Many girls will read it from cover to cover, adding the book
to the range of books about kids with cancer, and many will go on to
read John Green's The Fault in our stars, looking for traces
of Esther in the main character, Hazel, although he started his book
years before meeting Esther.
The support from her family and friends, shines through the whole
book, and it is a testament to the young girl's courage in life that
John Green dedicated his book to her.
Penguin has published this book in a heavier paper, and although
paperback, is a solid book to hold, its 430 pages making it a long,
intense read.
Fran Knight
The Great Fire: A City in flames by Ann Turnbull
Ill. by Akbar Ali. A & C Black, 2013. National Archives. ISBN
9781408186862.
For readers from 7-9 years of age. Themes: Great Fire of London,
1666, English History, London (England) History. Anne Turnbull's new
junior historical novel is set in London in 1666. Sam has been taken
by the Giraud family after he was left homeless during the Great
Plague. He now enjoys working as their servant boy. His life has
settled down and he is thankful to have Budge his dog who proves to
be a loyal companion with him. Unfortunately the son Andre
constantly bullies him.
Pivotal to the plot is the Great Fire of London that started in
Pudding Lane and spreads with ferocity through the city, even
burning the houses on London Bridge. Of course the boys are drawn
into observing the flames devouring businesses and houses, watching
the fire-squirts trying to control the blazes and even helping in
the bucket brigades.
Adventure waits as the family flees to safe ground and both Andre
and Sam learn the meaning of relying on one another in times of
crisis.
Sam's previous adventure (Plague : a cross on the door)
described the impact of the bubonic plague's devastating impact in
England. Ann Turnbull has partnered with the British National
Archives to produce junior novels suited to the English History
curriculum.
Rhyllis Bignell
Stars in jars: new and collected poems by Chrissie Gittins
Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408196939.
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Poetry. Humour. This lovely volume of short
poems would suit classroom use as well as another book of poetry in
the library. Gittins, often a poet in residence or speaker at
schools in Britain, has four published books of poetry, each about
all sorts of topics, most very funny.
Over one hundred poems deal with topics such as The British Museum
Print Room, How to Make a Cup of Tea, Computer, The Ballet Teacher,
The Fragrant Pirate, and so on. I loved the poem about the sloth,
especially after reading The Advertiser with its article about the
sloth in the Adelaide Zoo being the oldest in the world and Death
in the Poetry Library with its image of the poet's words
'lapping along the corridor', or Dusk at the Botanical Gardens,
Bath with its image of the half pancake moon, and remembering
the tastes of summer in winter in Summer Pudding.
Many of the poems are just a joy to read alone or aloud with a
group, and I can imagine these being read out in the classroom. Some
are a little more serious, while some are wonderful models for
children's writing. Here I am thinking of poems such as the group of
limericks, or Sam, Sam, Quite Contrary, Suzannah the
Tailwagger, The Hysterical Tulip or Riddle.
This infectious book would be ideal for leaving out for kids to pick
up and read to themselves or their friends.
More information about Gittins can be found at her website.
Fran Knight
Meet the Anzacs by Claire Saxby and Max Berry
Random House Australia Children's, 2014. ISBN 9780857981929. eBook
ISBN 9780857981943.
Highly recommended for children from Prep upwards. With perfect
timing as we approach the centenary commemorations of World War 1
and the Anzac legend, this new picture book in the Meet . .
. series (which includes Ned Kelly, Saint Mary
MacKillop, Captain Cook and forthcoming Douglas Mawson) has been
beautifully executed with younger readers in mind. The simple but
eloquent text describes the beginning of the Anzacs as young men in
Australia and New Zealand enlisted and their subsequent travels and
experiences leading up to Gallipoli.
Children from around six and up will be able to grasp the sense of
excitement first felt by these young men, trace through the boredom
of seemingly endless training and drills and realise (without any
graphic detail) the awful realisation that battle engagement brought
the corps.
The inclusion of a timeline at the close of the book will provide
more able readers with interesting, and calamitous, facts.
Linking to the national curriculum examining historical skills,
knowledge and understanding, World War 1 and the role of key groups
in Australian history and society, this would be a valuable addition
to any library's Anzac collection.
Many of us have struggled in the past to find suitable material for
our younger students in promoting awareness of this significant
chapter in our history. This book fits the bill to a high standard.
Sue Warren
Doctor Who: The Vault - treasures from the first 50 years by Marcus Hearn
BBC Books, a Random House Group Company, 2013. ISBN 9781849905817.
In 2013, the television series, Dr Who, celebrated its 50th
anniversary even more popular now than when it began. The TARDIS,
that time machine disguised as a police telephone box, continues to
transport fans, new and seasoned, into another world providing them
with a momentary diversion from the here and now. And in this
magnificent creation of Marcus Hearn, fans can travel back across
time, without a TARDIS, to revisit their favourite memories.
Hearn is a Doctor Who fan, and when he realised that there is no
central archive of props and paraphernalia, he decided to curate a
collection within in a book as a way of marking the program's 50th
milestone. Each chapter is devoted to a year, or other short off-air
periods, in its history and through text, remarkable photographs and
other graphics, the timeline is told. Much of the material is rare
and much of it not seen before. A specific event sparks each chapter
such as the story of the Daleks in 1965 and the phenomenon of time
travel in 2007. This really is an
all-you-wanted-to-know-about-Dr-Who tome.
But it is much more than a book for the aficionados. Given the
popularity of sci fi with our students, this book encapsulates its
development as a genre over the years in both text and film so there
is much that could be used for comparing and contrasting activities.
The development of costume design and makeup could be an interesting
theme as well as the impact of technology on special effects It
would also help satisfy the Year 10 history strand which focuses on
'Popular Culture (1945 - present)' and examines the influences of
music, film and television.
In my opinion, the author has well and truly achieved his aim of
curating a museum in a book and this has a place on the shelves of
every secondary library at least. It is a remarkable work that is
likely to satisfy the appetites of established fans and whet that of
new ones.
Barbara Braxton
Going bush with Grandpa by Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Ill. by Craig Smith. Omnibus, 2014. ISBN 9781742990262.
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. Aboriginal themes. Gold prospecting.
Family. When Pete is asked by his Grandpa to go bush in search of
gold, he jumps at the chance. He helps load up the four wheel drive
with all their gear, food, swags, metal detector and of course, Ace
the dog. At night, camped at Grandpa's favourite place and eating
under the stars, they tell each other stories, Grandpa telling the
boy about corroborees and his fine dancing technique. They go to
sleep, one dreaming of dancing, the other of finding gold. The first
two days prove unsuccessful, the pair only finding a metal can, some
nails and a horse brass, but on the last day when the camp is packed
up, they go out one more time and find a large nugget and two
smaller ones. Their few days away are successful.
This is an endearing story of an older man and his grandson, going
out into the bush, being together telling stories, the older man
passing on stories of his youth, tales of the bush, wisdom from his
experience with the environment and its conservation. Sally Morgan
and Ezekiel Kwaymullina's subtle way of telling a tale means that
the reader is unaware that they too are learning something new,
skills which may help them when out in the bush.
Craig Smith's illustrations are just wonderful, adding a level of
humour which readers will love, as they pick out things they
recognise as the two camp in the bush.
With larger print and each page having illustrations, this is a
perfect early chapter book for younger readers, and a second by the
trio, One Rule, is due out shortly.
Fran Knight
Alice-Miranda in Japan by Jacqueline Harvey
Random House Australia Children's, 2014. ISBN: 9781742757599.
Highly recommended for readers from 8-10 years of age. Themes:
Mystery, Adventure, Japan - travel, Tokyo. Jacqueline Harvey's ninth
Alice-Miranda book takes the reader on another exciting overseas
adventure. The pacing with the effective transitions between the two
female protagonists, underpinned by the rich descriptive setting
makes this another winner for the author.
Alice-Miranda's family seize the opportunity and travel to Japan
when their family cook Dolly Oliver receives an invitation to share
her food invention at a Tokyo conference. Along for the adventure
are Millie, Jacinta and her mother Ambrosia, Uncle Lawrence the
famous actor, Aunt Charlotte and Alice-Miranda's cousin Lucas. The
Highton-Smith-Kensington Jones family and friends pack a lot into
their holiday, exploring a temple, tasting sushi, trying on kimonos
and dressing up in Harajuku costumes.
Intertwined with the excitement of experiencing the different food,
fashion and culture, there is another mystery for Alice-Miranda to
solve. For an eight and one quarter year old girl she is extremely
perceptive and intelligent, piecing together the strange occurrences
happening around her, with the problems in the house next door,
their meetings with a young servant boy, a missing princess and
strangers tracking their movements. Dolly's newest invention helps
save the day. A chance meeting between Alice-Miranda's father and
his old friend Kenzo Aoki the Emperor's Grand Chamberlain leads to a
luxurious meal at the Imperial Palace. Here Alice-Miranda and her
friends finally unravel the mystery of the missing princess.
Rhyllis Bignell
Butterfly grave by Anne Cassidy
The Murder Notebooks, bk 3. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN
9781408815526.
(Age: 13+) Crime. Thriller. Murder. The third book in The Murder
Notebooks, following Dead
time and Killing
Rachel, finds Rose and Joshua travelling with their friend
Skeggsie to Newcastle because Joshua's Uncle Stuart has been injured
in a fall from a cliff. Both Rose and Joshua's parents had
disappeared 5 years earlier in an undercover police operation and
when they find themselves living near each other in London, the pair
decide to hunt for their missing parents. Their stay in Newcastle is
fraught - Joshua is convinced that they are being followed, the
murder notebooks are stolen and their meddling leads to an awful
conclusion. Even Uncle Stu seems to have a secret, dark past.
Someone is out to stop them finding their parents, but who is it?
The emotional toll that his Uncle's accident and other dire
incidents have on Joshua is one of the main themes in Butterfly
Grave. Joshua begins to realise that the actions that he and
Rose are taking can have dreadful consequences and that their search
for their parents is very perilous, not just for them but for the
people who are nearest to them. Rose finds it very difficult to cope
with Joshua's feelings, but they do grow closer together in their
attempts to work out what is happening around them.
More clues are revealed in Butterfly Grave about what is
going on and Rose and Joshua are still determined to find their
parents, even though they have been warned off. Obviously reading
the novels in sequence would be preferable, but I found that Cassidy
gave enough background information for the reader new to the series
to work out what was happening and to remind readers of the previous
books of the story. The last chapters are taut and the ending is
sure to encourage readers to get the next in the series, Dead
buried, when it is published.
This is a well written, suspenseful book that lovers of crime and
thrillers will enjoy.
Pat Pledger
The Nanny Piggins guide to conquering Christmas by R. A. Spratt
Random House Australia Children's, 2013. ISBN: 9780857980922.
(Age: 8-12) Themes: Christmas, Christmas Cooking, The Nativity,
Santa Claus, Humour. The one and only Nanny Piggins is back to
conquer all things Christmas from instructions for cooking festive
treats rewriting Headmaster Pimplestock's school play. She is
determined to add her own chocolate-infused style and slightly
irreverent views to the celebrations. With handy hints, fun games
and recipes this book is another great addition to the series.
One of the highlights is the Nativity story as told by Yudith
Piggins whose eye-witness account has been handed down through the
Piggins generations. Interspersed with comments from the children
Derrick and Samantha this story truly adds a new perspective.
'And this angel didn't mention anything about appropriate visiting
hours, or waiting a few hours while the mother got over a difficult
labour?'
Another humorous event is the Boxing Day skirmish between the boring
Green family and the crazy unconventional Piggins tribe who
celebrate with food, fights and fisticuffs.
Nanny's fashion advice includes wearing underwear with strong
elastic in case you have to tuck your dress up and race to the
dessert table and covering the chimney with chicken wire to stop
that home intruder Santa from entering the house.
R. A. Spratt's Nanny Piggins is a great character with a wicked
sense of humour and a very different take on life. This is
kid-friendly companion to Christmas festivities is a great read for
8-12 year olds. Parents and teachers too may find this novel a great
one to share in the lead up to the season.
Rhyllis Bignell
Meet Pearlie by Gabrielle Wang
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian girl series.
Penguin, 2014. ISBN 9780143307945.
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Darwin. World War Two. Prejudice. Japanese.
Spies. Pearlie and her best friend, Naoko, love being in Darwin.
Since first meeting they share everything, their thoughts, secrets,
their spare time. But things are changing. American soldiers patrol
the streets, the threat of invasion by the Japanese Army to the
north seems imminent, people with Japanese or Chinese appearance are
treated with suspicion, and some of their school peers tease Naoko,
calling her father a Jap spy.
The girls have an adventure in a cave newly uncovered by a rock fall
and there they find a battery, which they add to their scrapbook.
But Naoko believes a man living close by really is a spy, not her
father, so intends to find out if this is true. Things point to Mr
Beake's involvement in spying and to get proof the girls break into
his house and look around, but when they present their findings to
General Mitchell, he has no real evidence to go on. But when Naoko
and her family are arrested and taken into detention, and Pearlie
realises that she has dropped her bracelet with her name on it in
Beake's house, complications compound.
This exciting tale of two girls in Darwin at the outbreak of World
War Two is engrossing. Gabrielle Wang has developed two easily
identified characters who will reach out to the middle primary
reader. These readers will learn about Australia's involvement in
war, the prejudice which existed in Darwin towards the Japanese, and
certainly have a feel for that developing city. This is the first in
a set of four about Pearlie within the Our Australian Girl
series which is augmented with teacher notes and extra help on the website.
Fran Knight
There's a dinosaur in my bathtub by Catalina Echeverri
Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408839393.
(Age: 0-5) Recommended. Picture book, Dinosaurs, Bathtime.
Amelia loves her bath time as she plays with her friend, the
dinosaur, Pierre. He is French so he sits in the bath taking up a
lot of room, reading Le Journal. But Amelia does not mind as she has
many fun adventures with Pierre, going to see the moon with its
marshmallow stars, or hiding her friend somewhere in the house so
her parents do not see him, or sailing to magical lands with fairy
floss trees.
They do everything together, but Amelia knows that it is only for
the summer, Pierre must pack and leave at the end of these wonderful
summer days. And he does.
This is a beautifully told story of friendship and change, of people
enjoying themselves when together but knowing there is a time when
they must part. The quirky illustrations add to the style of the
story, whimsical and yet quite serious, making it a fun read but
knowing there is a realistic side to the story at the end. Using a
mix of line drawings, print techniques, cut-outs and various
painting mediums, Echeveri has imagined a wicked world of fun with
the dinosaur and Amelia, while grounding the whole in the everyday.
The fun of bath time mixed with the fantastical dinosaur will bring
laughs to those about to bathe and those who love a good tale.
Fran Knight
Animal atlas by Anna Claybourne
Ill. by Christina Wald. Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN 9781408842188.
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Animals. In large format with plentiful
illustrations and maps, this atlas will give younger primary readers
a sound overview of the animals listed, their habitat and
attributes. The first two double pages introduce the book to its
readers. The first double page shows the colours used to represent
each habitat, and over the page is a double page map of the world
with those habitats shown clearly.
From then on the book is divided into seven continents, each section
having a map and giving an overview of the animals that live there,
with a picture and informative paragraph about six or so specific
animals from that habitat over the next six double pages.
In this way the younger student will have an overview of the world
of animals, and learn specific information about a few animals.
Other fact boxes pop up to give extra tidbits, and at the end of the
book is a two page glossary followed by a detailed index.
The double page on Europe for example, has a fascinating map, with
three fact boxes to give the reader an insight into the range of
Europe, then over the page is a range of animals that inhabit the
area, from the mountains to the Mediterranean, over the page again
takes the reader to the Scottish moorlands, then over the page again
to the animals of the Arctic. All in all a useful book to share,
have available in the classroom or library, as well as an easy to
use reference book.
Fran Knight
Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
The Arcana Chronicles bk 1. Simon & Schuster, 2012. ISBN
9780857079190.
(Age: 15+) Paranormal. Tarot. YALSA's Teen Top 10
2013. In a post-apocalyptic world, where a Flash has
killed most of the human race, people are trying to survive. 16 year
old Evie Green, who ended up in a mental institution because of the
hallucinations she had been having, is frantic to get back to her
normal life. But that is not to be. Desperate she turns to Jack
Devereau, the boy from the wrong side of the bayou, and they race
off to find the source of her visions. They discover others who have
been called - 22 teens will re-enact an ancient battle to the death.
This was an exciting read that girls who like paranormal stories
would enjoy. The dystopian background provides a lot of tension with
people being turned into blood-suckers, a militia that rapes women
and the threat of cannibalism. The use of tarot cards provided an
original way of setting up the characters, and there was lots of
action with sword play and motor bike rides.
Jack Devereau is a very appealing bad boy, speaking in Cajun patois,
and the budding romance between Evie is handled well. A few side
tracks of jealousy and angst keep the tension going. Evie grows in
strength and character throughout as she learns that she represents
the Empress card in the Tarot pack. She can make plants grow, a
fabulous ability in a blight stricken world but can she save the
world?
This is the first book in the Arcana Chronicles.
Ending on a cliff-hanger, the conclusion is sure to entice readers
into the series. It is followed by book 2, Endless Knight.
Cole is an established author for adults and her flowing prose and
plot make for a light read.
Pat Pledger
Along the road to Gundagai by Jack O'Hagan
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Omnibus Books, 2014. ISBN 9781862919792.
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Folk song. War. War does not finish
when the final whistle blows, men are returning years later, the
effects of what they have been through apparent on their faces and
in the eyes of the grieving families. Jack O'Hagan, an Australian
musician, was 20 when World War One finished, and worked for Allen's
Music, playing sheet music for customers. In his career he wrote
some 600 songs, and one of the earliest was Along the road to
Gundagai, published in 1922, when he was 24.
Dyan Blacklock of Omnibus books gave this well known Australian song
to Andrew McLean, and his re-imagining it as a story of returning
home after the war is simply powerful. His research of Jack O'Hagan
led him to see the song in a different light, and any person reading
it with his evocative illustrations, will succumb to the emotional
pull of the words and illustrations he creates. McLean gives the
familiar words a new layer of meaning, a returning soldier headed
for home.
Historical film, illustrations and paintings, were used by McLean to
develop a series of paintings to illustrate the lines of verse.
Images of war cover double pages, whereas the others, giving an
impression of home, are often framed one to a page, the watercolour
and charcoal images accentuating the difference between war and
home.
McLean tells the story of his father as a postscript and this
combined with the scant information about O'Hagan,
will enable people to read this Australian folk song anew. It then
is impossible not to believe that O'Hagan wrote it after seeing the
men coming home from war. In a classroom or library the strands of
this evocative picture book can be mulled over, kids thinking and
talking of their ancestors' involvement in war, looking at the
history of war in Australia and how it is commemorated, discussing
the coming 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, and next
year, the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli. Many, many books have been
published recently predicting the rise in interest in this topic
within schools, but this is one that stands alone, taking as its
theme a known song and giving it a stunningly new perspective.
Fran Knight
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell
Macmillan, 2013. ISBN 9780230759800.
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Picture book for older readers. 2013
Costa Children's Book Awards. Specsavers National Book Awards 2013
shortlist. Ada Goth lives at Ghastly-Gorm Hall with the famous
cycling poet Lord Goth. Since the death of her mother, a daring
trapeze artist, Ada has been forced to wear clumping boots so that
her father can avoid her, as he finds it difficult to face her
because she reminds him of her mother. When Ada meets Ishmael a
ghostly mouse, she discovers that Maltravers, the indoor gamekeeper
has a dastardly plot for the annual indoor hunt and together with
William and Emily Cabbage, they begin to unravel it.
This is a delight of a book! A hard back publication, it is
beautifully presented with a black, purple and silver cover, purple
edged pages and silver end papers. Chris Riddell's black and white
illustrations are lavish, with Ada a Regency heroine garbed in
beautiful dresses and often with a huge feather in her head-dress.
Lord Goth is also fabulously illustrated, looking Bryonesque, with
tight trousers, waterfall cravat, riding boots and sweeping
wind-swept hair. There is much humour to be had in the illustrations
of the other characters and the Metaphorical Bicycle Race has a
double page spread and is riotous. With many literary allusions, it
is amusing for older readers and adults to work out just who Riddell
is alluding to. One of the many examples is the references to
governesses (I could pick out Jane Ear, Nana Darling, Hebe Poppins,
but not the rest). Other literary and historical characters include
Mary Shellfish, Charles Cabbage and Lucy Borgia, and these versions
would certainly add an element of fun for those who enjoy reading.
The adventure in the story is hilarious and will be enjoyed by
younger children, who will cheer when Ada makes friends and with
them goes about the business of foiling Maltravers and rescuing the
creatures that he has imprisoned. The addition of a tiny book in
verse telling the adventures of Ishmael the ghostly mouse will also
entertain readers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this rollicking Gothic adventure with its
eccentric characters, strange contraptions and whimsical humour that
all ages could enjoy.
Pat Pledger
