Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743310311.
Recommended especially for young would be authors.
Angelica Banks is the pen name of two friends who decided
collaborate, writing their first children's book. Whilst it is an
adventure story it is also a lesson in story writing, books and the
magic of words.
Serendipity Smith is a famous writer whose character Vivienne Small
is always prepared and participates in some amazing adventures
mostly involving Mothwood, the Pirate and his gang of cutthroats. In
day to day life she is Sarah McGillycuddy, wife and mother of
Tuesday.
When she has almost finished her latest book, Serendipity appears to
have disappeared from her writing room with her manuscript
unfinished. Desperate to find her mother, Tuesday enters her writing
room and begins typing on her mother's typewriter. With her trusty
dog Baxterr (with two r's) the words she writes transport to the
magical place where writers go.
With the help of young writer Blake Luckhurst and the Librarian she
begins to understand that she has become a writer and will not
return home until she reaches The End. Tuesday knows that her mother
is at the end and so must travel from The Beginning, through The
Middle and then to The End before she can hope to find her, or
return home, since she has surrendered her ball of silver, the
beginning of her story, to the Librarian for safekeeping.
Since her quest is to find her mother she seeks out Vivienne Small
who of course lives in this land of stories and imagination in the
hope that her mother would be near. Thus, Tuesday, Baxterr and
Vivienne embark on an adventure which involves Mothwood, his ship, The
Silverfish, and its crew of cutthroats.
Whilst Tuesday's adventure is the story, the role of the writer is
central to the plot and is the main theme throughout the book. It is
a writer's world they are in. Serendipity changes the ending of her
story with severe consequences for all the characters. Blake is off
to write his action packed thriller and returns to the Library when
things don't quite work out, but won't give up until he has his book
sorted out. Tuesday is in despair to find a way to The End and until
she understands she is writing a story and the end is not a place on
a map but in her imagination can she return home. As the Librarian
reminds her, 'You are the writer, . . . . . So it is up to you to
find an ending to make your eyes sparkle and your heart race.'
My favourite character would have to be the Librarian promoting
writers and holding beginnings of stories in the hope the writers
will finish them. As Blake tells Tuesday 'The Librarian's cool, but
man is she obsessed with books'.
Sue Keane
Omar the strongman by Gregory Rogers
Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 978 1 74283 436 8.
(Age: 4+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Circus. Strength.
Unemployed Omar applies for the job on offer at the local circus. He
knows little about the circus but is strong and willing to do all he
is asked to do. After being shown the circus and introduced to the
characters who perform there, Ringmaster Rose sets him to his tasks.
They are varied and will interest the readers as they learn of the
range of things which happen in a circus. Omar counts all the money,
moves the animals to their positions, cleans and dusts, shovels the
animal droppings, and cleans the elephant. He watches some of the
rehearsal, wondering to himself what it would be like to be the
centre of everyone's attention.
The night the mayor makes a visit to the circus, Omar rushes from
one job to another, making sure that everything is spick and span
for this important visitor. All is going well until Omar notices
that Mavis the elephant is performing without her lucky bow. He
takes it out to her, but she sits down on him with unexpected
results.
Award winning Rogers has a deft touch illustrating the circus in
soft muted tones. The pencil outlines filled with water colour and
coloured pencil give an understated look to the circus and its
inhabitants. Just perfect for this wonderful tale of finding a
place.
Readers will love to hear about the circus with its array of acts
and personalities, and read aloud the book will win hearts as Omar
finds his feet. Discussions about circuses and the different ways in
which circus acts are presented could ensue, with students taught
some circus skills, or better still, taken to the circus when it
comes to town.
Fran Knight
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408836804.
(Age: 9-13) Highly recommended. Reprint of a Newbery Honor book,
(2006). Miri lives on a mountain where stone is quarried and life is
simple but hard. Then news arrives that the prince of the kingdom
will choose his bride from their small village and everything
changes. The king's advisors set up an Academy to train all the
teenage girls in the proper ways for a princess to behave. Miri
finds herself faced with a harsh Academy mistress and jealousy and
competition from the other girls. She is also conflicted about her
childhood friend and the thought of being a princess. When bandits
try to kidnap the girls to hold the future princess, Miri rallies
them together and makes use of a strange power that is unique to the
mountain dwellers.
This is a classic example of the old saying 'Don't judge a book by its
cover' being true. The attractive pink cover is sure to appeal to
girls, but there is nothing soft or sweet inside. Life on the
mountain is harsh. Everyone must work in the quarries and there is
no school for the children. Traders pay little for the beautiful
stone and the villagers often go hungry. Life at the Academy is
harsh as well as the mistress looks down on the girls and treats
them cruelly, but it is here that Miri learns to read and finds out
about life away from her village. She is a strong, intelligent girl
who uses her education to help her village and her intelligence to
work out how to overcome the bandits.
This is a beautifully told story that has an engrossing plot and a
clever resolution to the problem of which of the girls would be
chosen to become the princess. Its themes of the importance of
friendship, family, education and ways to use knowledge about
economics are integral to the story but are so subtle that the
reader is not aware of them until reflecting on what has happened.
Hale is a very clever author whose carefully crafted prose makes
this story a pleasure to read and one that would make an ideal
literature circle or class novel.
Pat Pledger
The Academy: Game on by Monica Seles and James LaRosa
Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408841600. 241p.
(Age: 13+) The Academy: Game on looks and feels like a Mills
and Boon title and its classic plot doesn't contradict this first
impression. Girl from the wrong side of the tracks becomes entangled
with boy A and clashes with boy B, only to realize that it's boy B
she's wanted all along.
The setting is a kind of college for rich kids but actually this
sporting academy in Florida, epitomizes the success ethos cultivated
in many middle and upper class American children. The Academy
becomes a kind of purgatory for the rich, athletic or both.
Exceptions are made when the elite students break rules but on the
other hand, the scholarship kids live with the uncertainty of
expulsion from week to week. Having honed her tennis skills for
years to get into The Academy, surprisingly Maya befriends teens
from both social classes. Cleo, another scholarship kid, is her
roommate wrestling with her sexual identity and Renee is a swimmer
whose rich parents never visit. Maya quickly attracts the attention
of both Travis and Jake, the sons of the school's founder and owner.
This connection gets her out of one or two tight spots, but Nicole,
the most successful young Pro on the tennis circuit, repeatedly
tricks Maya whom she perceives as a potential rival in many ways. The Academy: Game on would seem innocuous enough as a teen
romance even if we overlook the shallow characters of both sexes who
are consumed with status, appearance and winning at all costs. Yet
there are no consequences in the world of The Academy - not for
bullying including heinous cyber bullying, not for convoluted and
destructive mind-games, and not for favouritism, vandalism or
prejudice. In the real world, such behaviours would break the most
balanced girl. The Academy: Game on is a disappointing
paperback romance, co-written by a famous sporting identity, yet her
fictional world fails to teach young women anything about a life
well-lived.
Deb Robins
A very peculiar plague by Catherine Jinks
City of Orphans, bk 2. Allen & Unwin, 2013. ISBN
9781743313053.
(Age: 10-15) Highly recommended. The second in the City of
Orphans series has young Jem Barbary joining up with Alfred
the bogler when a spate of bogle attacks finally brings Alfred out
of his semi-retirement. Jem once worked as a pick pocket for the
evil Sarah Pickles who betrayed him and he is determined to get
revenge on her. He is also keen to show his mettle as a bogler's boy
but finds that facing a group of bogles is almost as terrifying as
facing the evil people from his past.
Once again Jinks has excelled herself in this beautifully
atmospheric novel that brings the times of Charles Dickens alive.
Full of descriptions of the slums where the poor try to eke out a
living, and the affluent world that Birdie, the heroine from the
first in the series, now inhabits, the reader is steeped in the life
of 19th century London. The building occurring around Newgate Prison
is the background for the gathering of bogles in cellars and sewers
and it is there that Alfred and Jem face the nightmare of trying to
kill them. A glossary at the back of the book gives an explanation
of many of the words used that are ones that are true to the times.
So realistic is the writing that it is easy to believe that bogles
do exist.
Birdie takes a less important role in A very peculiar plague,
than she did in A very unusual pursuit, but readers who were
wondering what was going on in her life will be satisfied to read
that she is still as feisty and as loyal as ever. Jem is a very
determined, stubborn boy and it is easy to empathise with him as he
tries to be heroic and to find and stop the evil Sarah Pickles, who
has destroyed so many lives.
Catherine Jinks' writing is always a joy to read and this story is
rich in detail and characterisation. There is a sneak preview of A
very singular child, the next in the series, at the end of the
book. It stars Ned, another young boy who works with Alfred. Jinks'
use of fascinating but different main protagonists in each book
ensures that readers will continue to enjoy the series, but will be
able to easily pick up each book in the series.
This is an outstanding series that is sure to win accolades and will
fascinate the reader who likes historical fantasy, action and
adventure.
Pat Pledger
The very brave bear by Nick Bland
Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 978 1 74283 800 7.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Animals. Verse. Courage. Bear
and Boris Buffalo test each other's courage by thinking of ever more
tricky things to do. Bear has Boris climb a tree, and swing from the
branches. They try to catch a porcupine, and cross a raging river.
They climb a hill and tumble down, they wear a beard of bees,
but when it comes to a deep dark cave with an animal inside that
roars, they are both so scared that they run back to Slimy Bog and
tumble in.
The verse underlines the humour as readers will try to predict the
last word of each stanza, and learn some of the stanzas to say out
loud. A wonderful read aloud, this book will cause some hilarity
amongst its readers and listeners, all sitting round agog at the
antics of these two animals.
Bland's illustrations are just gorgeous, the Bear and Boris drawn
with personality and expression. Bland creates movement across the
page with almost time lapse illustration as they are shown tumbling,
climbing and running. The background to each page holds delights for
the astute reader, and the inclusion of the little frog on each page
will cause recognition when the end of the tale is reached.
For use in the classroom, this will enhance any discussion of
courage, risk taking and fear, as the two animals serve as models
for children's behaviour.
Fran Knight
The boy with 2 heads by Andy Mulligan
David Fickling Books, 2013. ISBN 978 0 857 56067 4
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Medical ethics. Richard's lump on the
side of his neck keeps growing bigger, so much so that his parents
take him to hospital, but things become very strange when he is then
taken to a research facility with brain specialist Dr Warren in
charge. No one seems to want to tell Richard and his parents what
the growth is until one day they let them know. He has another head
growing out of his neck. From then on Richard is watched by Warren
and his associates, taking him back to their facility if anything
changes.
The new head calling himself Rikki is as anarchic as Richard is
compliant. He is loud and questioning, forcing Richard to want him
gone. But Rikki stays on, questioning the treatment he is getting,
questioning the specialists and the school, undermining the plans
they have for the boys.
The principal at their school is ever vigilant about the school's
good name and so contacts the doctor whenever something goes awry,
Richard is taken to the facility, even his parents kept in the dark.
By now Rikki's questioning has made inroads into Richard's
acceptance of what is happening, and at the facility both their eyes
are opened to what is actually going on there. With Richard hooked
up to machines ready for an operation to remove Rikki's head, and
heavily sedated, it is their friend from school who rouses them,
urging them to escape.
This is a breathless read. Accepting the boy has two heads comes
easily, and then following his journey takes the reader along the
road of questioning established practice, of doctors accepting what
specialists tell them, of schools and parents accepting the word of
eminent specialists. It delves into the region of experimentation,
as the doctor obviously collects cases such as this to delve into,
furthering his research and grants given to his facility. This is a
thriller of exceptional design asking moral questions which beg to
be answered.
Fran Knight
Haze by Paula Weston
Rephaim series bk 2. Text, 2013. ISBN 9781922079923.
(Age: 15+) Recommended. The second in the Rephaim series sees Gaby
Winters beginning to come to terms with the fact that she is one of
the Rephaim, the wingless half-angels who have supernatural powers.
She still can't remember the life that she once had as the Rephaim's
best fighter and she is desperate to believe that her twin brother
Jude, might be alive. And then there's Rafa, who was the one who
came looking for her and changed her quiet life in a seaside town.
This series is one of the better ones that focus on angels and is
sure to delight readers who enjoy this genre. I thoroughly enjoyed
it because like the first in the series, Shadows,
it was a combination of exciting action and character development.
Gaby is a feisty heroine who although she cannot remember her past
life, begins to act as the leader that she is. Maggie is a great
best friend, and the romance between Rafa and Gaby is fraught with
complications that add to the tension. The action and fight scenes
were thrilling and the mystery surrounding Jude and Gaby continues
to confound.
What makes it a standout read in this genre is the clever writing,
with witty dialogue and a believable cast of characters. It is not a
slow middle book in a series but certainly packs a punch with its
action packed scenes, sword fighting and tension surrounding the
twins.
Pat Pledger
Cartboy and the time capsule by L.A. Campbell
Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN: 9781743314807.
Recommended. Cartboy is another tribute to the success of the Wimpy
Kid style of books though with less drawings and more text.
Hal Rifkind is in year 6 with simple needs, a room of his own, the
key to reaching level 14 on the best videogame ever, RavenCave,
which he plays with his best friend Arnie and an easy year at
school.
Not only does he have to share a bedroom with his twin baby sisters,
but he has an aversion to History and his father will only entertain
moving his home office to the shed, enabling Hal to have his own
room, when his grades in history improve . . . . . dramatically.
Mr Tupkin the history teacher sets a yearlong assignment, to write a
journal to someone living in the future telling them about life
today which will be placed in a time capsule to be opened in 2500.
The book is Hal's journal complete with greetings like 'Dear
Alien/Person/Possible Humanoid/Robot:' drawings and pictures with
funny captions, and some highly amusing and inventive timelines.
Hal has other problems not least of which is the shopping cart he
uses to take his books to school in, resulting in his new nickname
favoured by the school bullies and his mother's aim to save the
planet through recycling meaning Hal wears ill fitting
hand-me-downs. The looming school dance, Arnie's apparent betrayal
and even worse history results are all documented as entries in his
journal.
This book will be popular especially I expect with boys who will be
able to relate to Hal's trials and tribulations with family and
friends and enjoy his funny attempts to solve his problems with a
minimum of effort on his part.
Sue Keane
Where are you, Banana? by Sofie Laguna
Ill. by Craig Smith. Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 978 1 74331 053 3.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Animals. Family. Lost.
Banana the dog has been with the family since Roddy could first
speak. On sighting this brown and black long thin dog, his first
word was banana, so that is what he was called. He is part of the
family, sleeping on Roddy's bed at night, chewing the twins' rug and
Mum's shoes and Dad's helmet, crooning in the yard if left outside,
and on this particular day, escaping though a hole in the fence,
after being left at home alone. After all, Aunt Celia does not like
having Banana at her house so he must miss out on her bbq and
especially her chooks.
When the family arrives home, they search everywhere, but cannot
find their pooch. During the night, Roddy cannot sleep thinking
about his dog, so dons his clothes, takes the torch and searches the
streets. Following the sound of Banana leads him to the distressed
animal, stuck down a hole dug by maintenance workers. He rushes back
home for help, gathering some equipment which may help drag out the
hapless dog, and even the neighbours lend a hand.
This happy, family centred story is a quiet and subtle
exposure of the household and how it works together, given greater
resonance through Smith's drawings, adding detail to the spare,
evocative text. The watercolour illustrations are deftly done with
differing perspectives of the family given. Craig Smith captures
this significant and emotive event within the family with seeming
ease, but the details reflect incredible skill. The looks on all the
faces, particularly Banana's, will captivate a large audience as
this book is shared, read aloud or borrowed to take home.
Fran Knight
Hostage Three by Nick Lake
Bloomsbury, 2013 ISBN: 9 781408 838372.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Hostage Three is an atmospheric novel
told in first person and recounting a series of events which led to
the capture of the yacht The Daisy May by Somali pirates and the
tedious negotiations which followed. Amy is the narrator of this
compelling story which begins in London on the morning of Amy's
final exam, she is trying to get her father's attention by rebelling
against the school rules. She arrives with piercings and leaves with
a lit cigarette; her rebellion has cost her what would otherwise
have been a successfully completed final year. In response to this
her father, who is never home, has The Stepmother tell Amy about his
plan to sail around the world. Dismissing the plan Amy is shocked to
learn that the plan is actually going to happen, her father had
bought a yacht and they were leaving the following week. The family
spend the next few weeks on board The Daisy May until they are
assaulted by Somali parasites. Unable to reach help the crew
surrender and are held hostage in Eyl until the yacht's owner can
pay the ransom. The pirates refer to the hostages by number to avoid
familiarity but something goes wrong when the youngest pirate begins
to spend time with Amy. It is a forbidden love on both sides. The
couple must keep their love a secret until Farouz can free himself
and his brother from the terrors of their Somali lives.
I highly recommend it for mature audiences aged fifteen and up
as it makes the reader reflect on how lucky they are to have a life
where hunger is not a daily battle. At first I was wary of this
novel, without speech marks and chapter-less, written in a similar
way to Tim Winton's work, but Nick Lake makes his writing flow
despite the his unusual choice in writing style. This
beautifully crafted novel is a gem just waiting to be discovered and
I can't help but re-iterate the Daily Mail's conviction, Hostage
Three is unputdownable! I look forward to reading more of Nick
Lake's work.
Kayla Gaskell (Student, age 17)
The keeper by Rosanne Hawke
University of Queensland Press, 2013. ISBN 9780702249730.
'Gran used to watch me like a one-legged gull at a picnic' is one of
the brilliant expressions from The keeper. Set in a small
seaside town on the Yorke Peninsula, this marvellous story centres
upon Joel, a young boy without parents who lives with a loving
Grandmother. Having a learning disability and a tendency to respond
to taunting bullies with his fists, Joel is frequently in trouble at
school and is frustrated and angry, except when fishing or playing
with his friend Mei, the daughter of a local fisherman.
Fed up with not having a Dad, Joel places an advert in the newspaper
to offer the position and is impressed when tough looking biker Dev
arrives on a Harley to try out for the job. The pair establish a
friendship with shared experiences, conversation and intuitive
understanding which is developed by the opportunity to compete in
the annual fishing competition, a chance previously denied to the
fatherless Joel.
This is a genuinely enjoyable novel and wholesome but realistic life
lessons are delivered within a captivating story and polished
narrative. Hawke presents a flawed individual with a shady past who
has learned from his mistakes and seeks to teach a youngster to
avoid conflict and violence. The author is to be commended for
including such a character whilst avoiding gushing sentimentality or
diminishing the threatening nature of bikies, drugs and crime.
The basis of the relationship may be implausible to adults,
especially in the context of stranger danger and child protection,
however the story's development feels natural, especially given
Joel's loner behaviour and tendency to keep quiet about what he gets
up to.
The arrival of other significant characters from the past could be
considered too contrived, however the story works satisfactorily
towards an acceptable conclusion.
Written for children of 9 years onwards, Primary school librarians
can be confident that the content and language is age appropriate.
This story also serves the needs of older struggling readers who
require less demanding text but still enjoy well-crafted narrative
with a solid plot.
Rob Welsh
The Perplexing Pineapple by Ursula Dubosarsky
The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta series. Allen
and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743312575.
(Age: 9+) A strange pineapple floats by at the same time everyday
followed by a scream and then laughing. That's enough to scare
anyone! When the Chief of the Buenos Aires police is scared who does
he call? He calls his very smart cousin, Alberta, because she has a
very big brain.
Alberta and Coco (the Chief of police) are guinea pigs by the way
and their story is a quick paced, easy read for independent readers
aged 9+. It is especially good for those readers who don't like
large novels and as part of a series, children can follow these
guinea pig cousins as they crack more mysteries.
As Alberta and Coco get to the bottom of the strange pineapple, Coco
ends up solving another police issue. Maybe he is not that silly
after all.
The book includes illustrations to help solve the mystery and it
asks the reader questions along the way, helping involve them in the
mystery.
Kylie Kempster
The first third by Will Kostakis
Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780143568179.
Billy Tsiolkas loves his Yiayia (Grandmother) openly, without
embarrassment and he endures her ethnic idiosyncrasies with good
humour and respect. In his final year at school, with two estranged
brothers and a mother who is saddened by her single status, Billy
becomes fearful when Yiayia is hospitalised by complications from a
kidney stone. The elderly woman clearly has a major influence in
family affairs and Billy dares not decline when she submits to him a
'bucket list' or series of wishes to be granted before she dies.
Accompanied by an amusing best friend 'Sticks' who has cerebral
palsy, Billy sets forth to try to bring about three seemingly
impossible feats which Yiayia considers will fix his family. This
story is all about relationships including friendships, familial
interactions and romantic involvement. Sticks inveigles his way into
Billy's negotiation of all three and shows a curious mix of
compassion and kindness with a merciless attitude to dropping Billy
in embarrassing situations.
This is a realistic portrayal of adolescent life and I liked the
fact that everyday situations encountered commonly in families were
presented in an entertaining manner and were completely adequate in
framing the narrative.
The novel still has quirks however. Items on the bucket list include
'fixing' Peter, the aggressive, truculent younger brother with whom
Billy no longer has any communication beyond grunts, and finding a
girlfriend for the eldest brother Simon who lives interstate. The
rift with Peter troubles Billy greatly and he agonises over its
causes as he seeks to reconcile differences and restore the
relationship, yet the reader never discovers why and how this has
come about. Similarly, the amusing twist in finding Simon a
girlfriend, given that he is gay (known by the family but an alien
concept to Yiayia) becomes secondary in Billy's difficulty to fulfil
this promise when he discovers a facade which is never explored in
any depth.
The characters represented in this novel are familiar in an
Australian context and the reader is caught up in Billy's quest to
ease their pain and strengthen the bonds within his own family as
its members negotiate the ups and downs of contemporary life.
Rob Welsh
Let's paint by Alborozo
Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743313695.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Art. Experimenting. This joyous colour
filled book that will encourage and delight young readers to try
something for themselves will be a hit amongst parents and early
childhood teachers alike.
From the different coloured dog prints on the front endpapers
through all the different experiments with paints and paint brushes
and canvasses through to the endpapers showing coloured human foot
prints, the book encourages children to try their hand at painting.
Faced with a blank canvas and a handful of paint, the question is
what if I make a mistake. The answer that there are no mistakes in art
can be very salutary to the young beginner. Then ideas crowd in as
the reader is told that ideas come from anywhere, they can be big or
small, uninvited or collected. From there the reader is shown a
variety of different methods with some pages hinting at the artist
who used this technique. The author then shows the reader that it
can be scary or embarrassing, but whatever, it is important that the
painter has fun!
The lightly sketched illustrations do not overwhelm, the colour is
filled with fun and interest, inviting the reader to run out and get
some paint and get painting.
Fran Knight
