I'm a dirty dinosaur by Janeen Brian and Ann James
Penguin Australia, 2013. ISBN 9780670076154.
Highly recommended for any little dinosaur lovers from 2 years up. I
just LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!! Where to start? Yes, it is very
simple for little people with a rollicking rhythmic text that just
begs to be read aloud accompanied by some stomping feet. A young
dinosaur progressively gets grubbier and grubbier until finally he
decides it is time to have a bath in the local swamp.
Janeen Brian has created a perfectly balanced rhyming text that is
matched by an onomatopoeic refrain for each action creatively
executed in bright primary colours.
'I'm a dirty dinosaur with a dirty tail.
I flick it in the muck or I slide it like a snail.
SLIDE, SLIDE,
SLIDE, SLIDE,
SLIDE IT
LIKE A SNAIL!'
The superlative Ann James, who never fails to produce outstanding
artwork, has matched this dinosaur tail . . . oops, tale . . . with
illustrations in magic pencil, watercolour and mud - yes, mud! The
little dinosaur is seemingly simply outlined in rainbow magic pencil
which echoes the colourful font of the refrain and with each
illustration more mud is added to his blank canvas to match the
text.
Another detail about the book that has real appeal is the very
sturdy cover with rounded corners - most suitable for small hands.
If you haven't already grabbed this book, make sure it is on your
list pronto - I know I can't wait to share it as a bedtime romp at
my place.
Check out Ann
James talking about her creative process here at Penguin, and
at My
Little Bookcase is an idea for muddy paintings.
Sue Warren
Ice breaker by Lian Tanner
The Hidden series, bk 1. Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN
9781743314340.
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Adventure, Fantasy. The first in
The Hidden series, introduces Petrel, a young girl who
survives by her wits in a strange world aboard a huge ship where
three tribes have developed, markedly separate from each other, the
Cooks, Engineers and Officers. She avoids each level of the ship,
using the passages behind the metal of the ship to crawl from one
level to another, with her two rat friends Mister Smoke and Missus
Slink.
Known as Nothing Girl to all tribes they tease, abuse and chase
Petrel when she is sighted, as she is the daughter of a forbidden
relationship, between two people from two levels, for which crime
they were thrown overboard. This is an even nastier world like the
one created by Tanner for her last unputdownable series, The
Keepers.
Onto this ship comes a small boy who Petrel calls Fin. Found on the
ice he needs to be nursed back to health, but a stranger on board
causes increasing tension between the ship's tribes, and when the
leader is killed, war breaks out.
Petrel scurries Fin to a safe haven but she is found by Squid, the
daughter of Seal, another leader, and together they try to hide Fin
after his talk while delirious shocks them all. He is the harbinger
for a ship following, intent on destroying the ship and all of its
inhabitants. So time is of the essence.
Petrel and the rats seek out the 'sleeping captain', the story of a
man who will save the ship, and so through the secret tunnels and
cavities of the ship they travel, with war and now fire raging on
every level.
This is an exciting adventure story, set in a blizzardly cold place,
where to go on deck means having to wear very protective outdoor
gear, to be thrown overboard means a quick death from the cold.
Petrel's life is always precarious, but when she defends the found
boy, she is targeted by everyone. With a steampunk background, the
mechanics of living in such a world is well drawn, making a
wonderful background to the story which will capture the imagination
of any reader, but particularly those absorbed by fantastical
worlds.
Fran Knight
House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus series. Puffin, 2013. ISBN: 9780141339191.
(Age: 12+) In this latest adventure of the intrepid and dauntless
demi-gods, Percy and his girlfriend Annabeth are trapped trekking
through the Underworld, pandemonium reigns in the form of an
escalating feud between the Greek and Roman versions of the
immortals and most dire of all, the earth is under threat from Gaia
(Earth) the most ancient, powerful and malignant goddess of all.
As Percy (son of Poseidon, for those who don't know) and Annabeth
(daughter of Athena) combat monsters and dark forces, the rest of
the band of seven are struggling with their part of the fateful
mission to save the world. They are Leo (son of Hephaestus), Frank
(son of Mars), Piper (daughter of Aphrodite), Hazel (daughter of
Pluto) and Jason (son of Jupiter) and each brings to the band of
comrades their own special attributes or demi-god powers.
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall,
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arm to the Doors of Death."
The wonderful juxtaposition of teenager/demi-god is one of the most
significant devices in the books. As normal as teenagers can be with
their anguish over boy/girl relationships, being popular and so on,
these teenagers deal with a rigid definition of their own half-blood
heritage.
Moments of humour break the tension and the whole plot is believably
and proficiently executed as time races away and the band of
semi-divine warriors each face their own demons.
Devotees will have already scoffed this up upon release but
definitely worthy of a place on the shelves for readers 12 and up.
Sue Warren
Without Me? by Kayleen West
Wombat Books, 2013. ISBN 9781921632532.
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Without Me is a lovely story of a
young child who decides to run away from home. As she leaves the
house, she thinks about her dog and cat and who will look after
them. Then she thinks about her sister and her brother and her Mum
and Dad. The child decides to take everyone with her and then thinks
about all the things they will need. The child decides it would be
much easier to stay home where she is loved.
This is a gorgeous story of being thankful for what you have and the
colourful illustrations bring it to life. It is recommended for
children aged 5+ who can read it with an adult and for independent
readers aged 7+. It would be a great story to use in the classroom
with the Child Protection Curriculum as teachers could discuss the
mixed feelings the child is having as well as safe behaviours.
Kylie Kempster
Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant
Random House, 2013.
Hoof Beat/Riding Camp. ISBN: 9780857981042. Horse Wise/Rodeo Rider. ISBN: 9780857981059. Starlight Christmas/Sea Horse. ISBN: 9780857981066. Team Play/Horse Games. ISBN: 9780857981073.
Recommended for girls 8+. Yes, just when you thought you were safe
from frenzied whinnying, head tossing and ponytail flicking from the
little horse-mad girls in your library, along come a whole saddlebag
full of new Saddle Club adventures. Attractively presented with very
contemporary covers and two complete stories in each volume, these
will no doubt be trotting - or even cantering - off your shelves in
short order as soon as they are spotted.
Carole, Lisa and Stevie are the Saddle Club members, their
friendship forged by bonds of their shared love of horses and riding
together at Pine Hollow Stables.
Their adventures in these volumes include their first rodeo,
holidays spent apart but with individual excitements such as
Carole's Christmas present bay gelding Starlight, a new Pony Club at
the stables, visits from an Italian riding team and loads more.
Perhaps not the most highbrow of reading but enjoyed endlessly by
all those girls who long to have their very own horse as well as
those who are lucky enough to already own one, over the years I have
seen this series borrowed over and over again.
We all need our 'chill time' when we can pick up what I refer to as
'lolly' books and just read without having to think too deeply.
Sue Warren
Twin Magic: School Bully Beware by Kate Ledger
Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9780545480260.
(Age: 7+) School Bully Beware is the story of twins, Lottie
and Mia. It's a school day and there is a new boy at school. His
name is Max and he seems to be a bully. The girls and their friends
aren't sure what to do, especially when Max kicks their ball away.
The cute twist in this story is the twins have secret super powers
and use their powers to get the ball back. Is Max really a bully or
just a new kid trying to fit in? School Bully Beware is a Scholastic Reader aimed at a Year 2
reading level. The easier text and bright pictures will be appealing
to girls aged 7+. The story would also be good to use as a class
text, to help children discuss acceptable behaviour, help discuss
why children choose to act in different ways and help understand the
structure of a simple narrative.
Kylie Kempster
Send for a Superhero by Michael Rosen
Ill. Katharine McEwen. Walker Books, 2013. ISBN: 9781406327090.
(Ages: 3-5) This is actually a comic within a picture book. Dad is
reading a comic to Emily and Elmer, trying to get them to go to
sleep. While they read about monsters called Filth and Vacuum who
are trying to take over the world, Emily and Elmer interject with
comments and some sibling sniping.
The comic itself is quite entertaining, with an array of
stereo-typical superheroes finding themselves unable to save the
day, so Extremely Boring Man has to be the hero. He comes to
the rescue in a most unusual way. The story of the father and the
children seems a little forced at times, however it does ring true
with the types of comments children come up with during story time.
Unfortunately I felt it lacked the charm of many of the author's
other books.
Donella Reed
Rules of summer by Shaun Tan
Hachette, 2013. ISBN 9780734410672.
(Age: 7 to adult) Highly recommended. Picture book, Summer, Art
perspectives, Childhood. The rules of engagement between friends and
siblings are often arbitrary, changing on a whim, but sometimes
having a strong reason at their base. In this book, Tan presents
those rules between two boys over one summer. Many pages are very
dark, reflecting the cautionary tales of the past, where rules are
given to warn of the possible repercussions of an action while some
are light hearted, some simply reflect the relationship between the
two.
Tan shows the two boys, one older and bigger, fencing the behaviour
of the other with his short, pithy rules. 'Never', begins each page,
telling of a rule which must be followed. Never forget a password,
never give your keys to someone else, never leave the door open at
night, and on they go, the pages darkening as more gloomy
backgrounds fill the boys' days.
And it seems that some of the actions by the older boy are
questionable, scrapping with the younger boy on the ground, leaving
him shut in a furnace, only to return with bolt cutters, one of the
'always' rules that begins to grace the lightening pages.
With nods to the work of Jeffrey Smart, Dali, and Van Gogh, Tan
brings his own imaginative powers to hie illustrations, adding
futuristic themes with space vehicles and robotic dinosaurs, fantasy
in the form of pages of all seeing birds, humour with the tennis
match against a mechanical toy and wonder at the scope of summer's
produce. Each double page with the words on the left and an
illustration on the right, will draw gasps of recognition, fear,
pleasure and, humour as he plays with our emotional responses to
such imagery.
The older boy is at worst a bully, but could simply be teaching a
younger brother the way around the neighbourhood, at the end sitting
with him on the couch, sharing popcorn while watching television,
redeeming himself for his actions of the past.
On Tan's website
is a most informative series of video clips outlining his thoughts
and sketches, his ideas and paintings for this work.
As with much of his work, children and adults alike will spend time
looking and thinking, while in the classroom, lessons could be
developed around the themes, friendship, rivalry, neighbourhoods,
using the set of comprehensive teacher notes to be found on the
website above.
Fran Knight
The Pirate who had to Pee by Tim Miller and Matt Stanton
ABC Books, 2013. ISBN: 9780733332944 .
(Ages: 2 to 5) Highly recommended. The authors of The Fart
Monster have again brought humour to bodily needs in this very
funny picture book.
'Out of Order' is the last thing Pirate Pete wants to see on the
door of the ships only toilet! Young children will love this funny,
rhyming journey across the ocean to find a working toilet. The
imagery of rolling seas and waterfalls is enough to make anyone need
to pee, and the look on a particular mermaid's face is quite
hilarious.
With gorgeous illustrations full of humorous things to spot (the
words written in the sea can even lead to a discussion about
onomatopoeia), this is a perfect book for all little pirates.
Donella Reed
Truly Tan Spooked! by Jen Storer
Harper Collins, 2013. ISBN 9780733331237.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended for girls. Truly Tan Spooked!
is a fun story of friendship and solving mysteries. Tan and Gloria
are best friends and are on the case of the missing stone statues
(or stonies as they call them). Together, they keep track of the
different statues in town but when Tan's gargoyle goes missing, the
girls get worried. Luckily, Tan's friend Molly is visiting and
together the three girls are on the case. Will they find the
gargoyle? What about the other statues, where have they gone? Truly Tan Spooked! is highly recommended for girls aged
10+. It has easy to read but descriptive text and great
characters. The author has captured the idiosyncrasies of young
girls and their obsessions - in this case novelty pens, a love of
animals and the importance of having friends.
Kylie Kempster
Captain Underpants Sticker Studio by Dav Pilkey
Klutz for Scholastic Australia, 2013. ISBN: 9780545615228.
(Ages 6-10) This kit, described as 'an epic colour and stick
activity book', is a sticker collection, colouring book and joke
book all rolled into one. It comes with its own textas, and contains
a wealth of activities for fans of the Captain Underpants
books.
Featuring George, Harold and all your favourite characters, there
are sticker scenes to create; glow-in-the-dark stickers with special
effects and rude messages; stickers to leave sticky-side up on other
people's chairs; and stickers to show off your new silly names.
While not suitable for a library collection, this book would make an
'epic' gift for children who have already discovered the joys of
Captain Underpants.
Donella Reed
My Christmas Crackers by Bronwen Davies
Scholastic Australia, 2013. ISBN: 9781742839585.
This cleverly illustrated book contains over twenty jokes, all on a
Christmas theme. They are very much the sort of jokes you would
expect to find in your Christmas cracker or bon-bon. Some oldies,
some newies, and some which required explanations to the children I
tested them on.
While the target audience is stated as pre-schoolers, I would say
that many of these jokes would go over their heads. For example,
there is a joke about 'Elfvis' but I wouldn't expect many
pre-schoolers to have heard of Elvis Presley these days. My 8 and 5
year old boys did enjoy most of the jokes however.
Donella Reed
The twisted window by Lois Duncan
Open Road Young Readers, 2012. ISBN 9781453263372.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Thriller. When Brad Johnson, the new boy at
school, takes an interest in her, Tracy Lloyd is unsure of him but
promises to help him find his sister. Brad is convinced that his
stepfather has kidnapped her and when they finally locate her, Tracy
gets a job babysitting. The plan is to turn the child over to Brad,
but things do not turn out the way she expects.
This is a thriller that was very hard to put down. Duncan is an
expert at building and maintaining suspense and she keeps the
tension very high as Tracy gradually gets to know Brad and together
they plot how to rescue Mindy. She cleverly draws the reader into
the plot, showing the obsession that Brad has with getting his
sister back, the loyalty of his friend Jamie and the way that Tracy
is vulnerable, not believing that her aunt and uncle love her. This
vulnerability makes her wide open to Brad's machinations and she
doesn't think through the consequences of her actions.
This taut, well-written thriller is gripping right to the end, with
lots of twists and turns that ensured that it was difficult to guess
the finale. Although it is a reprint it has not dated and will
appeal to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller. It would
be ideal to introduce readers to the thriller genre.
Pat Pledger
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Puffin, 2013. ISBN
9780143308089.
Recommended for 8-12 year old readers. Themes: School life, Friends.
Hard Luck is the eighth book in the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid
graphic novel series. These books have encouraged many reluctant
readers and have a huge fan base.
In this novel, once again Greg Hefley feels his luck is all bad. His
best friend Rowley has found a girlfriend Abigail and to Greg's
dismay has no time for him anymore. Without Rowley's support
everything changes for the worse, from the seating arrangements at
the lunch table, the consequences of the five-second rule to facing
up to the fearsome Mingo kids on the way home from school. Greg is a
kid with negative outlook on life. Losing his friend impacts on his
life, how does he find a new one and how can he cope with life?
When Greg finds a Magic Eight Ball he uses it to find answers for a
test and then he alters school yearbook photos in unappealing ways.
His grades begin to slip and it's a downward spiral, nothing seems
to be going his way. There are many comic elements throughout the
story provided both by the easy to read text and by Jeff Kinney's
cartoons. Fans are used to the toilet humour, difficult situations
and cringe-worthy moments. In the end when faced with the
opportunity to buy a second-hand science project Greg decides to
change his behaviour. He knuckles down to catch up with all his
missed school work and even gets his project in on time with a
little help from his Mum.
Jeff Kinney's books are relatable, slightly crazy and entertaining
for the pre-teen reader.
Rhyllis Bignell
Takedown twenty by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum Bounty Hunter novel, 20. Hodder Headline,
2013. ISBN 9781472201577.
(Age 16+) Crime. Humour. When Stephanie Plum is given the assignment
to bring in Uncle Sunny she knows that it will be a tough deal.
Uncle Sunny is not only Joe Morelli's actual godfather, he is a
powerful mobster in the local area and Morelli's grandmother, Bella,
is determined that Stephanie won't touch him. Meanwhile Ranger needs
help to find a murderer, who leaves the bodies of elderly women in
dumpsters with a signature sunflower. In addition to all this
excitement, there has been a sighting of a giraffe in the
neighbourhood.
The 20th book in the Stephanie Plum Bounty Hunter novel
series maintains the fast pace and racy humour of her earlier books.
It is laugh out loud in places as Stephanie tries to get the bond
for Sunny, who is surrounded by evil henchmen. Aided by Lulu who is
on the campaign for a designer Brahmin handbag and Grandma Mazur who
is on the lookout for hot dates at bingo, she faces all sorts of
terrors as she investigates.
Her romance with Morelli is still on, but she finds that Ranger, who
often rescues her and lends her cars, is a temptation that is
difficult to resist.
I hadn't read any of this series for quite some time, so I was quite
happy to read along with familiar characters and situations, the
addition of Kevin the Giraffe making for some light hearted moments.
Pat Pledger
