Ill. by Chris Riddell. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408841761.
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. The award winning duo of Gaiman and
Riddell are back with a funny book that will be gobbled up by fans.
When mum goes away on a business trip Dad's left in charge of the
two children. Her last instruction to Dad is 'Don't forget the
milk', but unfortunately that's just what he does and there is no
milk for the children's cereal or for his tea. When he returns from
a lengthy sojourn to buy the milk he comes up with a wild tale of
why it has taken him so very long to get back home.
This is a very humorous story that features a time-travelling
dinosaur, Professor Steg, Priscilla Queen of the Pirates, Splod the
god of people with short, funny names, sparkly ponies and wumpires.
Dad romps from one wild adventure to another, with his two children
making the occasional interjection. As you can imagine a combination
like this makes for a very funny story and Riddell's illustrations
add to the general hilarity. The father bears some resemblance to
Neil Gaiman himself and other characters especially 'Pale and
interesting Edvard' and 'Tvilight Tina' take on book and movie
characters which will delight adults and older readers. Younger
readers or those who listen to it will also have lots of fun, trying
to imagine just what Dad will come up with next.
This would make a great read aloud for younger children and will be
a keeper for all those of us who are avid fans of Gaiman and
Riddell.
Pat Pledger
Alice-Miranda 2014 diary by Jacqueline Harvey
Random House, 2013. ISBN 9780857980526
Pretty in pink, Alice-Miranda's 2014 diary is a marvellous Christmas
or birthday gift for a young fan. It is the most positively perfect
diary you'll ever need!
The diary is brimming with opportunities to fill in sections
on About Me, My Faves, add photos to My Family, and think about
being grateful. Being a friend is an important quality of
Alice-Miranda's and there are guidelines on being a good friend.
After the address book and birthday reminders a fabulous recipe
section is included. Picnics, lunches and weekend meals are an
important part of Alice-Miranda and her friends' life. Nana Jones's
Marble Cake and Alice-Miranda's favourite Devil's Food Cake are two
of the scrumptious recipes included.
A trivia quiz and 'Who said what' section provide opportunities to
test the fan's knowledge, there's even a quiz to find out which
Alice-Miranda character you are like. Before the diary starts
there's so much to read and record; an extensive academy enrolment
form for the WDA, a find-a-word puzzle, a page to record books to
read and places to visit. This is a real treasure trove. The diary
pages with a one week spread are sprinkled with fun designs, book
characters, quotations and some affirmations.
A wonderful present for Alice-Miranda fans from eight years of age.
Rhyllis Bignell
What do werewolves do when it's not Halloween by Heath McKenzie
Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781742838793
(Age: 6+) Picture book. Halloween. Werewolves. Humour. November the
first is not a day to be looked forward to by all the ghosts, ghouls
and monsters that had a field day the night before. They must
now find something else to do for the next twelve months, and this
funny book with its entertaining illustrations, will keep the
audience amused until the end.
In waiting for the next Halloween, the skeletons do nothing at all,
prefering to keep quite still, the mummies renew their bandages, the
witches gather around the cauldron making new spells, the vampires
take out their teeth and have a well earned sleep. Each monster has
a double page spread dedicated to its year long activities, pages
that will entreat the younger reader with its rhyming sentences, fun
illustrations and text. A huge range of monsters is given throughout
the book, enabling children to discuss the range of monsters,
talk about their appearance at Halloween and perhaps other books
where they appear. For Australian readers, the book will answer some
questions about Halloween, a celebration from USA which appears to be
gaining more credibility here.
And the little twist at the end will appeal, as readers look at
faces just like theirs staring back at them.
Fran Knight
Stay well soon by Penny Tangey
UQP, 2013. ISBN 9780702249945.
(Age: 11+) Warmly recommended. Cancer. Friendships. Hospital. Stevie
would love to have a horse, but her family cannot afford one,
especially now that Dad Ben has gone interstate for work, leaving
Stevie and her mother to cope with her brother, Ryan, who is
becoming increasingly ill. At first Ryan seems to take a lot of time
off school, but when mum takes him to the doctor, she is angered by
the lack of attention he receives. Finally she takes him to
emergency where the lad is transferred to Melbourne to undergo a
series of tests. So begins the round of hospital visits, with mum
and Stevie driving to Melbourne, Stevie angry that she cannot stay
at home. She thinks he is faking it, so finds the visits boring,
until she meets Lara, also confined to the hospital, because she has
cancer.
It is difficult to like Stevie at the start, she is selfish and
unconcerned about her brother, but as the story progresses,
she becomes a fascinating character. Her problems with her peers at
school are well presented, and the growing relationship with Lara
brings Stevie's attention to her brother's illness. It is only when
Dad Ben returns, that she admits to him her fear of dying, after
finding out that Lara is near death.
All readers will be swept along with Stevie's developing awareness
of illness and death as she at first ignores all attempts to apprise
her of the reason for Rhys' growing ill health. Attempts by friends
and mothers of friends, mum and her friend, Ben, along with the
hospital therapist, failed to make her aware, but her friend Lara,
tells her bluntly that she has not long to live. This galavanises
Stevie into action, she asks the girl to be her friend at her
grade five class Grandparents and Friends Day, after going
with her to meet her horse, Finnegan.
A story of acceptance of death and dying, humour abounds in the
relationships Stevie has with her peers. The details of school life
with all of its ups and downs between the children, along with the
teacher, who inadvertently is a source of much glee, are finely
described. The background of mum's friends and her own relationship
with Ben, are very real, not overstated, but there when Stevie needs
them to be. This is a wholly satisfying novel about cancer and its
effects on one young girl.
Fran Knight
The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan
Ranger's Apprentice bk 12. Random House Australia, 2013. ISBN
9781864718195
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended for all readers and would-be Ranger
apprentices. When this arrived for review I could not help but
wonder - is it really almost a decade since I first 'met' Will and
Halt in The Ruins of Gorlan (Bk 1 Ranger's Apprentice). Nine
years after that first book was published, John Flanagan's epic
adventure series has sold over one million copies in Australia, over
eighty million more world-wide across 30 countries, been shortlisted
for awards nationally and internationally and, above all, hooked
thousands of kids into reading.
With each subsequent instalment the legion of fans has grown and
each new publication hailed with exuberant excitement and, certainly
in my own libraries - countdowns until the day when each devotee
could get their hands on a copy! Will and Halt, Horace, Evanlyn,
Gilan, Alyss and others have become as real people to readers and
many a young boy has dreamed of becoming a member of the Ranger's
Corps.
So now we come to the final chapter, and with this last adventure
with the Ranger's brotherhood, young girl readers will be as fired
up as their male peers to become a Ranger because for the very first
time in the history of the Corps - along comes a girl apprentice!
Princess Cassandra (Evanlyn) and Horace the Oak-Leaf Knight are
having that wonderful experience of so many parents - a teenage
daughter going out of control. Rebellious, self-centred, indulged
and wilful, Princess Madelyn, Maddie, has pushed her royal
parents to their limit. At the same time, Cassandra and Horace,
along with Halt and Gilan, are terribly concerned about Will's state
of mind after the murder of his beloved Alyss. Halt has the perfect
solution for the beleaguered parents as well as a plan to bring Will
back from the depths of his grief and obsession for revenge. He
proposes that Will should take on his goddaughter Maddie as an
apprentice. Not without its hitches, the plan is successful on both
counts (perhaps a little too successful according to Cassandra!)
and with his usual witty humour, gripping adventures and engaging
characters Flanagan takes his readers on one last thrilling
adventure when the master and apprentice Rangers embark upon their
first joint mission uncovering a dark and dangerous crime
conspiracy.
No need to urge to buy this one - I know it will be on everyone's
list and quickly off everyone's shelves! I can't help but feel a
little sad the series is at end but I am sure that John Flanagan
will continue to provide his loyal following with more spirited
adventures and worthy heroes.
Sue Warren
It wasn't me by Belinda Jeffrey
UQP, 2013. ISBN 9780702249877.
(Age: 4+) Warmly recommended. Humour. Childhood. Picture book. The
title is the refrain heard throughout the house as poor old Finnegan
is accused of the destruction which occurs. From the oversudsing of
the bath, to the graffiti on the fence, Finnegan is called to take
the blame. A clever reader will see the monsters hiding in the
wallpaper, and react with Finnegan as he takes to the air.
The winning combination of drawings and text will draw in the
readers as they search for what is actually causing the mayhem in
the house, watching each page for clues as to Finnegan's innocence,
scanning all the illustrations for situations where Finnegan takes
the blame, with rounded owl-like eyes. But when he is taken up into
the air tied to an air balloon, landing in an eagle's nest, the
opposite occurs, he is calling for his mum, calling, calling, until
he finally lands back home, when a twist reveals just what has
happened to Finnegan.
Readers will revel in Finnegan's adventures with his monsters as
they do things for which he is blamed, and then take him away.
Readers will recognise the nod to the call often heard at home,
where a child is blamed for something which has happened and it
might not necessarily be him. And they will love reading it out
loud, adding stresses to the few words, to add meaning to the sparse
prose, as well as being highly entertained by searching the
illustrations.
Fran Knight
Amina by J. L. Powers
Through my eyes series. Allen & Unwin, 2013. ISBN
9781743312490.
(Age: 11+) Warmly recommended. Children in war, Somali. As the tale
of Amina unfolds, we become aware of her background as she and her
family eke out a living in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The
country has been torn into two pieces by terrorism and war, brought
about by the right wing Islamist group, al-Shabaab. Amina's father
is an artist, but one who draws ire from the ruling party, because
he dares to portray the living form, and depicts some political
comment about the situation in this home city.
We are made aware of the instability of their situation when one day
soldiers burst into their house demanding to see their father.
Amina's pregnant mother sends the girl to the mosque to fetch her
father, packing necessities into a bag, but the soldiers return,
taking him away. The problem comes to the surface, whether to flee
or wait and see if he returns. The next day Anima and her brother
are sent to search for information about their father's whereabouts,
but the brother is kidnapped, leaving Anima and her mother and
ailing grandmother alone and without help.
The image of a family growing up in Somalia is wonderfully shown,
their customs and way of life presented naturally as the background,
their fear of the militant Islamists ever present. Children will
eagerly follow Amina's journey as she tries to make sense of her
world, one which is far removed from the safe world we inhabit. A teacher's
guide is available.
Fran Knight
The runaway king by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The Ascendance trilogy, 2. Scholastic, 2013. ISBN:
9781407136752.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. In the second in The Ascendance
trilogy, following The
false prince, (ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
2013), Jaron is now acknowledged as the rightful king but all is not
safe in his kingdom. There is danger on all sides: an attempted
assassination, a traitor in the castle and regents who want him gone
and a steward in his place. The king of Avenia, allied with the
pirates, threatens his borders but his advisors don't believe there
is a threat. Jaron, as gung-ho as ever, decides to go on a journey
to the pirates to try and stop the war that he believes is coming.
In this rumbustious adventure Jaron sets out alone on a seemingly
impossible quest. After some encounters with pirates who are raiding
his people, he makes contacts and eventually reaches the pirates'
stronghold. As you would expect from a book that is set mainly in a
pirates' hide-out, fights, sneers, torture and imprisonment
dominate, with Jarod's smart one-liners easing the tension.
Jarod's personality is what makes this series stand out. He is
witty, often making wry comments that bring a smile to the face. His
audacious nature leads him to surge forward on wild plans that leave
the reader breathless and wondering what he will do next. His
relationships with Imogen and Amarinda develop but romance is not
the focus of this action packed book, rather it is the character
development of Jarod and the fast paced action.
Readers who enjoyed The Ranger's Apprentice series will
delight in finding another teen hero. Other similar books include
the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and Megan Whalen
Turner's series, The Queen's thief about Eugenedes (The
Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia,
A Conspiracy of Kings), as well as The girl of fire and
thorns by Rae Carson.
Pat Pledger
The women in black by Madeleine St John
Text Classics, 2012 (2009). ISBN 9781921922299.
(Age: Secondary). Recommended. Set in the 1950s in Goode's
department store, which resembles David Jones, the women in black
work in the Ladies Cocktail Frocks department. Lesley has just
finished school and is waiting for her results. She re-names herself
'Lisa' to take a temporary job at Goode's during the Christmas rush
and New Year sales. Lisa is intelligent and an avid reader. She
recommends Anna Karenina to co-worker, Fay, who is searching for a
husband but only seems to meet the wrong type of man. The wry humour
is generated from the idiosyncrasies of the characters.
Magda, who presides over the high couture gowns, takes Lisa under
her wing, benignly exposing her to a more continental lifestyle than
Lisa has grown up with on Sydney's north shore. Lisa's changing life
is epitomised by the New Year's Eve party at Magda's Mosman home,
where she meets Hungarian Miklos (who calls himself Michael) who is
her age and seems as Australian as Lisa herself. This chapter could
be particularly interesting for English classes because the writing
style changes to relate the events of the party. They are told in a
breathy rush by Magda, which encapsulates them in time and
perspective.
Teen fashionistas will enjoy Lisa's growing appreciation of clothing
as art and fans of retro will slip comfortably into Australia's
urban past.
Joy Lawn
Welcome home by Christina Booth
Ford St, 2013. ISBN 9781925000085.
(Age: 5+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Whaling.
Environment. A young boy hears the call of the whale, but no
one else can hear it. At night he hears her call, telling him of her
life. She tells him of the good times, and then the bad. She tells
him of her fear and the darkness, and asks why she was sent away,
and whether it is safe to return. All the while the beautiful
illustrations swathe the pages in blues and whites of the animal and
its environment, as we see why the whale has not returned.
Small illustrations surround the whale, images of sailing boats and
crew in longboats, throwing harpoons, the sea littered with many of
these knifing through the water. And the whale asks why. The boy
says sorry to the animal. The next pages show the return of the
whale to give birth to her baby, and people crowding the shores to
watch the majestic animals.
This story is based on the return of the southern right whale to
Tasmania, where until 1900 it was hunted almost to extinction.
The use of crayon and watercolour is stunning, emulating the waves
of the sea, and giving an impressive image of the whale as she
questions the boy about what happened in the past. The spare use of
other colour underlines the feel of the sea and the Tasmanian winter
months, and the boy's warm clothing reflects the time of the year.
The subtlety of the images of the whalers does not overcrowd the
story of the return of the whales to their breeding grounds. It
gives a background, rather than be a treatise on the horrors of
whaling and its results. People reading the book can find out more
for themselves, or read the double page at the end which gives more
details, but the heart of this book is the return. My review copy
came with two pages of information from the author, which I hope
will be available to all.
Fran Knight
Pretty girl by J. C. Burke
Random House Australia, 2013. ISBN 9781741663136.
(Age: 16+) Recommended. Sarah, Tallulah, Paige and Jess were
inseparable friends at boarding school who dreamed of living in the
same college residency when at university. However, once attained,
this dream has turned into a nightmare: first Paige was hospitalised
with a serious head injury after a mysterious fall into the college
swimming pool then Jess died after falling off the laundry roof.
What has gone so terribly, terribly wrong? With this mystery to be
solved, readers are quickly hooked, especially as it appears that
the nightmare may not yet be over.
The story is told in alternating chapters by Sarah (donned 'Sarah
the Sensible' by her friends) and Paige (donned 'Paige the Brave').
Sarah is feeling guilty because she witnessed something when she
rescued Paige from the swimming pool, and as a law student she knows
she should have told the police, every sensible bone in her body
tells her so. Unhappy in her guilt and increasingly unhappy in her
relationship with her boyfriend, Sarah is ready prey for the
handsome and mysterious young man she meets in the laundry, the one
who calls her a 'pretty girl'. Meanwhile, Paige is in rehab, trying
to recover her memory of the days that led up to her accident and
her relationships with two key men in her life: Harry and
Jack.
Whilst Paige is in rehab, she and Sarah can't share their stories
and learn from each other so the reader is in a better position to
join the dots and uncover the mystery well before the girls
themselves. However, rather than detracting from the story, this
framework only adds further tension to J.C. Burke's tale: what
begins as an intriguing read will become a compelling one. It is
rather like watching a horror movie and wanting to scream to the
characters 'No . . . don't do that' knowing full well they can't
hear you. The last few chapters of the novel will simply fly by!
This is a gripping psychological drama, and a rather cautionary
tale, that older girls are sure to enjoy. It also shows the
depth of talent in author, J. C. Burke who constantly surprises with
her themes, setting and genre.
Deborah Marshall
Mortified: Lost in the sands of time by Martin Chatterton
Mort series, bk 3. Random House Australia, 2013. ISBN 9781742758886.
(Age: 9-11) The author Martin Chatterton would probably suggest I
should be mortified that I had not read the first two in the Mort
series. However, I hope to redeem myself thoroughly by
enthusiastically endorsing this hilarious offering of
time-travelling exploits, quirky historical characters, completely
unlikeable villains and very amusing heroes which all combine with a
hugely entertaining plot. Squarely aimed at the 9 years up
crowd, both boys and girls will relish this crazy chase through time
by Mort and his sister Aggie, in their last ditch efforts to attempt
school. While it would be normally unacceptable for children to be
allowed to skive off school, Mort and his family have a convincing
excuse for doing so. They are frevers - a particularly unusual
genetic makeup means that Mort comes from a long . . . longggggggg .
. . line of relatives who live for thousands of years and that being
the case, Mort feels he has quite enough schooling in his own span
of 10 000 years. And after all, having been schooled by such
illustrious teachers as Socrates hardly compares to the prospect of
being forced to attend the local Unk Shire comprehensive, which is
where Education Inspector Trish Molyneux comes in.
At the last moment, just before their imminent departure for the
dreaded school, Mort, Agnetha along with H. G. Wells and Genghis
Khan (cloned copies of figures encountered in past adventures) whisk
off in their Retro 0.2 time machine and career wildly through time
bumping into such historical figures as Queen Victoria, Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, Howard Carter . . . and Tutankhamen, their rather jolly
boy-king friend . . . leading the dread education inspector and her
hapless sidekick on a chase of epic proportions.
Whether read as part of the series or a stand alone, this book will
delight your readers, both boys and girls, of about 9 to 11 years.
Sue Warren
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Miles Vorkosigan bk 14. Baen Books, 2012. ISBN 9781451639155.
(Age: 15+) Recommended. Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2013),
Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction (2013). Captain Ivan
Vorpatril is happy as a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral, far
away from his mother and his volatile cousin, Miles Vorkosigan. That
is until he is approached by a Barrayaran intelligence officer to go
undercover and protect a very attractive young woman, Tej Arqua, who
may be on the hit list of a criminal gang. Ivan is more than happy
to help a damsel in distress, particularly one that he finds as
attractive as Tej. Danger and adventure follow them both.
This book moves away from Miles Vorkosigan as the main character and
instead concentrates on Ivan, who has often appeared as a secondary
character in the space opera series. There is more to Ivan than just
a pretty face. He is able to outwit the villains, who are all as
nasty as usual and solve the mystery without the help of Miles.
Bujold's books are characterised by humour and excitement and a
mixture of genres that keep the reader coming back for more as each
book is different, but all are characterised with clever writing,
smart people, fun and romance. There is always great character
development, ideas to make the reader think like themes of loyalty
and betrayal and love. The reader discovers all these and more in Captain
Vorpatril's Alliance and the importance or necessity of
ambition is also subtly examined. In addition the mystery is
thrilling and the romance is enthralling.
I first read this as an ARC ebook from Baen, as I couldn't wait for
the final copy to come out. I was so pleased that I did as it is
another of Bujold's feel good books that the author does so well.
The Miles Vorkosigan series is one that would be enjoyed by
senior students who enjoy well written space opera stories.
Pat Pledger
The house of the cats : and other tales from Europe by Maggie Pearson
A & C Black, 2013. ISBN 9781408180075.
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Folk tales. Humour. For those students who
like to read a variety of folk tales then this is a most diverse
collection. Collected from across different European countries, many
are a little like some heard before, but most are new to me, and
several are variations upon themes. But all are fascinating, give
life lessons and are funny to boot.
Several stand out. One from Germany, Mannikin Spannalong, I
have not heard before. When a young woman, intent on making her own
way in the world, calls at a house for shelter she finds a long
bearded wizened old man who demands that she feed him, put him to
bed and comb his beard. When he becomes a young man released from a
spell, readers will expect love to bloom. But not so, she wants to
succeed and so he leaves, and she uses the hair from his beard to
spin and so sell and make money.
Belgium's The traveller from Paradise and The Mandrake
child from the Czeck Republic are two of the more interesting
cautionary tales, while The Pope's mule from France was
fascinating, set in Avignon, from where the Papacy ruled in late
Medieval times. The story will make readers laugh out loud.
All 28 stories are short, to the point and will excite the
imaginations of the readers. This is a neat addition to an area of
the library that often contains few new books.
Fran Knight
Two little bears by Suzi Moore
Ill. by Nicola O'Byrne. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408836941.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Bears. Companionship. Baby bear sleeps in
the warm den with his mother, but wakes, wanting to go outside.
Similarly a snow bear wakes and wants to venture outside, but both
bears are told that it is still winter and they must sleep the long
cold nights until spring. When spring finally arrives the bears take
in their new surroundings, the smaller bears learning fast how to
make use of their environment with their parents showing them how.
In crisp rhyming lines, we see the bears stand by the river,
spying each other across the water, each wondering what the other
one is.
They come together, hiding, smiling, running and working out that
two bears are better than one.
The repetition of the first stanzas rounds off the tale as the two
bears once again, get into their den for the long winter sleep.
The soft water colour illustrations readily show the young
bears, getting up to the sorts of things all small children do,
exploring their environment and meeting new friends.
This would be a good introduction to friendship and companionship,
the fun in having a friend to do things with, and also teach about
the different bears that are in the world, and what their habits
are, making them need to sleep for the winter long. A great read
aloud, the gentle rhyming lines will be eagerly repeated by the
children listening to the tale.
Fran Knight
