Granny Samurai, the Monkey King and I by John Chambers
Walker Books, 2013, 285pgs. pbk. ISBN 9781406340969.
(Age 8+). Samuel Johnson, an eccentric young aspiring writer is the
scribe for this strange comedy. This story involves a
mysterious old lady who lives next door to Samuel and goes by the
name of Granny Samurai. Her teeth are false as is one of her legs
and she uses a walking stick which conceals a double-action
repeater. Granny Samurai uses Samuel as bait to catch the Monkey
King, a giant monkey with red hair and golden teeth. Granny
Samurai is a lady of few words, who never really explains to Samuel
what's going on which keeps Samuel and the reader in the dark.
This is a good adventure for readers with vivid imaginations because
they can try and come up with their own interpretation of what is
happening. It is well written; funny in places and with good
illustrations throughout the book which add a lot to the reading
experience. Some interesting facts are presented throughout, which I
believe would make this book appealing to boys aged 8-12. This is
also a good book to read out loud to students.
Michelle Thomson
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780141345819.
Highly recommended for older teens. Science Fiction is entering a
new golden era. During the 70s and 80s, with the rise of 'epic'
fantasy, sci fi novels lost favour while Feist, Donaldson and King
dominated. However, the last couple of years have seen an increase
in books with spaceships, aliens and galaxies. Mesh technological
gadgetry with dystopian ideals, and you have the makings of a reborn
War of the worlds.
Rick Yancey already has two action-packed series for young people,
with one of them The Monstrumologist, receiving critical
acclaim, so it's not surprising that The Fifth Wave hits a lot of
the right notes attempting to attract the reading attention of
teenagers. Its basic premise is very simple - an alien race scopes
out Earth and, seeing that it fits their needs, makes a calculated
endeavour to take over by hostile and underhanded means.
What Yancey does with this is to create a tense, taut narrative that
is full of action and snark. Cassie is the main character. We see
her point of view as she attempts to survive the almost complete
annihilation of the human race. Yancey doesn't follow a clear
chronological style. We are thrust into an unwinnable situation, and
quickly find out what Cassie is reduced to - kill or be killed. It's
powerful stuff. As the story progresses we are told virtually
nothing. We have to fill in the gaps between Cassie's solitary
here-and-now, and her flashbacks to the last days of her family
life.
Amidst all the action and the emotional family drama, there is also
much snarky dialogue. When Cassie is alone, it's an inner monologue
of snark and this ensures the narrative isn't totally pessimistic.
Admittedly a lot of the humour is dark; 'Then the door flew open and
Mr Faulks told us to head over to the gym. I thought that was really
smart. Get us all in one place so the aliens didn't have to waste
ammunition . . .' But it defines Cassie's character: She's feisty
and brave.
When the first section ends and we enter the head of another
character, I was pleasantly surprised. Multiple viewpoints allow the
narrative a broader canvas. Whereas Cassie's view is an individual
one, Zombie's is large scale. We see the fight back against the
invaders, we see politics and training. We see the consequences of
the aliens' actions on very small children. More powerful stuff.
Other viewpoints are offered, but to tell you more would spoil the
surprises that are best kept secret. I guess some of what we
discover is predictable and some of it a bit contrived, but that
doesn't stop this from being a cracking read. Although the main goal
of the book is resolved, there is more that can be, and will be
developed.
Highly recommended for older teens. Themes include survival, family
loyalty, trust and betrayal, romance and identity.
Trish Buckley
My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail
Translated by Adriana Hunter. Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 9781408814710.
Highly recommended. I was unaware of this French author's pedigree
as a writer but will, after reading this fine book read more. A
household name in her native France, Marie-Aude Murail has with this
book achieved something great. By turns funny, sad and
heart-wrenching, this book never patronises or preaches. My
Brother Simple; follows the story of two brothers; seventeen
year old Kleber and his Twenty-two year old brother, Barnaby, the
'Simple' of the title. Simple has learning difficulties and Kleber
is struggling to look after him whilst completing his final year of
high school.
In an attempt to rescue Simple from the Institution he has been
living in since their Mother died, the two young men embark on a
heart-warming yet darkly comic adventure in share-housing amid the
tenements of Paris.
It is a thoroughly accomplished, poignant story of brotherly love
and family responsibility and coming of age. Lovers of Mark Haddon's
excellent Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time will
find plenty here to entertain and ponder.
Highly recommended.
Stephen Bull
Me and Rory Macbeath by Richard Beasley
Hachette, 2013. ISBN 9780733630309.
(Age: Mid secondary - adult) Recommended. Me and Rory Macbeath
is set in 1970s Adelaide. Jake's mother, Harry, is a barrister, a
heavy drinker and an even heavier smoker. Jake is not good in a fist
fight but he has learned to fight with words after many late-night
parties where he hears Harry and her colleagues wrangle. Much of the
second half of the book takes place in court.
Jake has been friends with Robbie Duncan for a long time, but his
new friendship with Rory becomes more significant in the year he
turns thirteen. The three boys live in the same street, hang around
together and go on fishing trips with Robbie's policeman father. But
Rory's father is not the same kind of family man as Alec Duncan and
something happens that throws Rose Avenue off kilter.
Life is changing for Jake - ' I could see that it [childhood] had
ended, ended with what had happened that night . . . I wasn't a man
but I didn't feel like a boy either, and I wasn't ready for that
kind of change.'
The prologue of Me and Rory Macbeath is short but poignant
and it complements the ending. This novel could be used in older
secondary English classrooms, perhaps as a companion novel to Jasper
Jones or The Cartographer, which have similar
accessible styles and the theme of the search for identity by a boy
who is making sense of the world and his place in it. Rory Macbeath
has detailed courtroom and related scenes which would also be of
interest for those contemplating a career in law, especially the
bar.
Joy Lawn
Whizz pop Granny stop! by Tracy Corderoy
Ill. by Joe Berger. Nosy Crow, 2013. ISBN 9780 85763 130 5.
(Age: 4+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Grandparents. Witches.
In easily red rhyming verses, the story of Granny unfolds. She is
unlike all other Grannies and although does some wonderful things
for the girl, she sometimes just does too much, putting her
granddaughter in precarious positions. At ballet school the girls
are all doing quite well, doing the graceful movements of a swan
until Granny gives her granddaughter some wings with which to fly
higher than the others. So when the girls are all invited to the
child's birthday party, the reader is agog as to what the woman will
present.
With wonderfully bright and cheerful illustrations, all who are
reading this story will look closely at the pictures, finding all
the things usually associated with witches and witchcraft, laughing
at all the things hidden on each page, and feeling pity for the
young girl who must put up with Grannie's attempts to help her.
The other book about this magical Granny, Hubble bubble, Granny
trouble is also just plain good fun, putting spells and frogs
on each page.
Fran Knight
The Terrible Trickster by Frances Watts
Ill. by Gregory Rogers. Sword Girl Book 5. Allen & Unwin
2013. ISBN 9781743313213. 126p. RRP $11.99.
Highly recommended 7-9 year olds. Themes: Medieval Times, Castle
Life, Ghosts. Frances Watt's Sword Girl series follow a
feisty young girl character Thomasina - Tommy who is Keeper of the
Blades at Flamant Castle. A trickster is making castle life a
nightmare.
There is sneezing powder in the knights' soup, in Mrs Moon's kitchen
the salt is changed for sugar and Sir Walter's sheets are covered in
itching powder. Tommy's inquisitive nature leads her into trouble
and the blame falls upon her. To clear her name she seeks help from
the castle animals, Lil the cat, even the pigeon and the crocodiddle
that lives in the moat. The swords she cleans and sharpens, also
communicate with Tommy and encourage her to find the trickster.
This is another exciting addition to this series; Frances Watts has
created a strong, engaging girl character that readers will come to
love. The cast of castle characters wonderfully add to the interest
and engagement as Tommy is involved with everyone from Sir Walter to
the laundry maids.
Gregory Rogers' pen and ink cartoons add excitement and a fun comic
element to the tricks played out in the story.
I highly recommend this story for independent readers from 7 years
of age. It would make an exciting Year 2-3 class novel - a great
example of a rich narrative story.
Rhyllis Bignell
The Pirate Company: On the Trail of the Golden Toucan by Susan Cason
Scholastic Australia, 2013. ISBN: 9781742990026. RRP:
$14.99 288p.
(Age: 9-11) Highly recommended. Themes: Pirates;
Adventure; Voyages and Travels. Tom Applecross's life is one of
misadventure, his father Josiah Applecross a famous explorer has
failed to return from his latest expedition. His avaricious
stepmother Evlynne casts him aside and he has to leave Port Pandora
to live with his Great-Aunt Audrey in Boston. Aboard the
Marie-Gallante his life undergoes a radical change. Fearsome pirates
swarm the ship flourishing an armoury of bayonets and pistols,
frightening the passengers and crew with their blood-curdling cries.
They ransack the ship and steal personal possessions, supplies and
the pink pearls.
Later that night Tom is swept overboard in a storm and is washed
ashore on a deserted island. By coincidence this is where the
pirates come ashore to replenish their buried treasure chest. Tom is
captured by Carrot and Mortlock who is meaner than a tubful of
piranhas, and they row him to their ship The Thimblerig. There he
awaits his fate at the hands of Captain Shearwater. Along the way
Captain Shearwater's niece Rosie assists Tom is his myriad of
adventures.
Each chapter is full of rich sensory descriptions, these
sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings of the pirates' life at
sea and their life ashore. Susan Cason has beautifully captured the
dramas and dilemmas, the twists and turns of Tom's journey to become
accepted as one of the pirate crew. The pirates' life is a sanitised
one, skimming over their darker pleasures, taverns, women and
mayhem.This is a wonderful fast-paced read; it would make a great
class novel for Years 4-6.
This novel is highly recommended for 9-11 year old confident
readers. Scholastic
teaching notes are available.
Rhyllis Bignell
The last elephant by Justin D'Ath
Puffin Books, 2013. ISBN 978 0 14 330726 6
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Dystopian. Animals. When Colt and his
mother, a veterinarian, go to the Lost World Circus to see an
elephant, the last elephant in the world, they must take action when
the animal is bitten by the dreaded ghost-rat, the reason for all
animals in the world dying. Colt has been bitten before and
survived, so has a special immunity and knows just what these
creatures can do. His empathy with the elephant sees his mother and
he follow the elephant when it is taken away by the Rat Cops, a
government organisation ostensibly there to help the elephant, but
everyone knows a trip with that particular crowd is a death
sentence.
An exciting start to a new series, D'Ath has developed a scenario
which is becoming all too clear as we read of endangered animals in
the wild being counted in their hundreds, or of the number of
animals being wiped out each day. The characters of Colt and his
friend, Birdy as well as his mother, are well drawn and sit well as
the focus of this highly dramatic and involving adventure series
with a message. Book Two and Three, The singing ape, and Secret
superhero are just released, and there are more in the
pipeline. So watch out for this exciting, environmentally conscious
series.
Fran Knight
Fabulous fishes by Susan Stockdale
Working Title Press, 2013. ISBN 978 1 921504 55 6
(Age: 3+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Fish. Rhyming text.
First published in the USA by author illustrator, Stockdale, in
2008, this brightly coloured and informative book will have an
instant appeal to Australian students. With its 3 pages at the end
giving detail about each of the in the text, the verses within will
delight the younger reader. For parents and teachers reading with
the children, the detail offered at the end will enhance the
experience and make the children more aware of the variety of fish
found around the world.
Each page shows a different variety of fish with a refrain about the
fish passing by. A wide variety of fish is shown, from round fish,
spotted fish, fish that have their own light source and fish with
tails that curl around the seaweed. Each is shown in detail with
astute children recognising the backgrounds in which these
particular fish live.
The spiny fish on the cover is shown within its reef and colourful
seaweed environment and the detail at the end of the book describes
this fish as a Lionfish, which has sharp, venomous spines. When
threatened it tuns its back to its enemies using the spines as a
defense. Children will be delighted with this information and learn
that it is found in the western Pacific, the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans.
The illustrations and information give about the spiny fish reflects
the detail given to all the fish included in this lovely most useful
book.
Fran Knight
Spellcaster by Claudia Gray
Harper Collins, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-7322-9615-5.
'It is better to have loved than lost than to have never loved at
all.'
While 'the adventures of a teenage witch' is not original it is
shown in a new light as this sinister novel presents a new way of
looking at witchcraft by using stones to focus magic and feelings
and memories as the ingredients. Not your typical coming of age
novel Spellcaster deals with the importance of loving despite
tragedy and loss.
Motherless and teacher-less Nadia has no choice but to follow her
family to Captive's Sound, repelled by a magical barrier and
fighting to keep her secret from her family Nadia is pulled from the
wreck by a mysterious young man by the name of Mateo. Something
isn't right with the town it is eerie and full of something dark and
malignant, sink holes are appearing, large enough to swallow up cars
and her secret soon comes out. Nadia is a witch. But she isn't the
only one. Recognising the work of a witch aligned with 'The One
Beneath' she must work together with her new friends in order to
save the town from the evil consuming it and in doing so free Mateo
from his family curse.
For me, this novel was tedious to read, rather like paranormal
romances but always remember that different people have different
preferences and I would recommend it to others who have liked
Claudia Gray's previous novels such as The Evernight series as well
as fans of paranormal romance. I would say that the recommended
audience is twelve and up but please be aware that this book does
have elements which some young people may find disturbing.
Kayla Gaskell (Student, age seventeen)
The Tae'anaryn by Joe Ireland
Wombat Books, 2013. ISBN 9781921632327.
Recommended: Middle / Upper Primary. The Tae'anaryn is a
fantasy novel with a very strong philosophical bias. The questions
it asks the reader to ponder are universal: What is the purpose of
my life? How do I respond to and treat others? The characters in the
story offer examples which can be reflected on as an individual or
discussed in a more formal setting.
Kialeesa is a Tae'aranyn, child who is half human half demon. Her
parents own a tavern in the countryside of the kingdom of Lenmer'el
where Kialeesa is forced by her demanding mother to workday and
night in the kitchens, along with her almost adopted brother Kiel.
Her father spends most of his time drunk but loves and protects his
daughter as best as he can.
When Kialeesa is summoned to attend the Kings College she sees it as
an opportunity to change her life, and to learn to read. She meets
the kindly King, despite court protocol, who reminds her that her
lowly upbringing is no barrier to success and reaffirms his belief
that she is destined to do great things for great good.
Despite the different races and status of students attending the
college, Kialeesa finds it extremely difficult to make friends and
is feared by many of the adults due to her appearance and the
reputation of the Tae'anaryn. Through her deeds and actions she
becomes friends with a-would-be wizard, a prayerful warrior, a dryad
enchantress and an untrained half troll, who become a formidable
team in school challenges.
Kialeesa has to draw on all her knowledge and strength to face the
King's assassin though the threat of war continues to hangs over the
kingdom and many questions are left to be answered in the books to
follow.
The quotations at the beginning of each chapter reflect the content
and major discussion point which is reinforced in the Points to
Ponder section in the Appendix making this an ideal novel for study
at an upper primary level.
Sue Keane
Words and pictures: A multimodal approach to picture books by Helen de Silva Joyce and John Gaudin
Phoenix Education, 2011. ISBN 9781921586231.
Recommended as a Teacher Resource. As the current curriculum
documents refer to using and creating multimodal texts this book
offers an invaluable introduction to and analysis of the most basic,
common and accessible of this text type, The Picture Book.
Aimed at informing teachers, the book leads us through the
development of Picture books from a historical perspective looking
at the earliest forms of Picture books to the modern texts. The
texts referred to are then used throughout the following chapters as
examples as the authors explore picture books as narratives
explaining terminology and introducing a framework to analyse
illustrations and explore how words and pictures work together to
tell the story.
The final chapter provides an analysis of three picture books using
the framework provided, focussing on narrative theory and the
grammar of design linking the words and images and introducing
literary genres to children. The suggested classroom activities are
supplemented by possible answers to support teachers new to the
concepts being covered.
Extensive references both written and web based provide
opportunities for further investigation and reflection whilst the
list of picture books used is comprehensive and include many
commonly available in most primary school libraries.
With the current emphasis on multimodal texts being used in all
subject areas, using this book will help develop an awareness of how
the picture book has employed words and pictures to tell a story and
manipulate the reader's response, teachers and students will be
better placed to analyse the design of web pages, advertisement and
other multimodal texts.
Sue Keane
To brave the seas by David McRobbie
Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743313077
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Novel. Merchant Navy. World War Two.
When his mother dies, and his father decides to leave for work in
Glasgow, Adam is at a loss, but buoyed by stories of the Merchant
Navy, he joins up, appearing at the nearby Liverpool Docks, ready
for work. But it is 1940, and German submarines are plying the sea
routes between England and North America, and Adam's first ship is
part of a convoy headed west. Battling seasickness and getting used
to his new role on board, as Peggy, the lowest of the jobs, taking
meals across a cold wet deck to the mess, fetching and carrying hot
cups of tea, everything is new to him. But he survives, partly
through the kindness of the other sailors who help him, teaching him
the way of the ship and the new set of words to learn, and his own
tenacity.
This most unusual background will entice readers to hear of the war
from quite a different perspective. McRobbie's Merchant Navy
background comes to the fore as we learn incidentally about what the
ships did during the war, evading Uboats to get supplies to England.
Adam is a likeable young man who holds the reader's attention to the
end.
Crossing the Atlantic, they are torpedoed and scuttle onto the
lifeboats to try and survive. When all luck has run out they are
rescued when a passing ship, abandoned by its crew, becomes their
new home. They take control and steer it to a port, only to be
chastised for blocking the sea way. Later they are in harbour in
neutral Portugal, when the captain decides that they will do
something about the German submarine moored nearby.
An adventure story which gives a great deal of information about the
Merchant Navy and the men who sailed during the war, this book will
readily find a place in the reading list of schools, libraries and
students, wanting something a little different from the huge range
of books about war on offer at the moment. At the end of the book,
McRobbie includes a list of all the words Adam must learn, and
devotes several pages to the facts of the Merchant Navy and its role
in wartime history.
Fran Knight
Between the lives by Jessica Shirvington
Harper Collins, 2013. ISBN 9780732296261
(Age 17 +) Highly recommended. Urban Fantasy. Paranormal. Romance.
The familiar panic rises within Sabine's chest. At the stroke of
midnight - for as long as she can remember - Sabine shifts between
two worlds. Her physicality, name and memory follow her - but
nothing else.
Shirvington's thought-provoking story of a young woman on the cusp
of adulthood, struggling to find her identity in two very different
worlds, is narrated by the main character Sabine. In Roxbury,
Boston, life is far from perfect. Sabine's parents are struggling
business-owners who have little time for her and her younger sister
Maddie. In the thick, city air of Roxbury, Sabine has attitude -
choosing alternative friends, street-wise dress and an indifferent
attitude towards her future. She is smart - earning a partial
scholarship to Boston University. But when her father is around,
Sabine can sense the disappointment she's still a long shot from
living up to his expectations. In Wellesley, Massachusetts -
Sabine's other world - life is picture-perfect. She's a popular, A-
grade student bound for university, surrounded by a beautiful home,
manicured lawns, loving family - albeit two annoying older brothers
- and loyal friends. And then there's Dex - her gorgeous, athletic
boyfriend. What more could she want? But for as long as she can
remember, Sabine had yearned to live one life - in the world of her
choice. She begins a series of dangerous experiments to draw her
closer to her dreams, but when her secrets are uncovered - Sabine's
situation becomes desperate. She is more determined to reach her
goals - but a chance meeting with the handsome and challenging Ethan
changes everything. Suddenly Roxbury offers a glimmer of hope - a
boy who makes her feel like she has never felt before.
This is Shirvington's first stand-alone novel since the release of
her internationally-acclaimed urban-fantasy Embrace series.
Her writing is clever and captivating, taking the reader on the
enthralling and fast-paced journey with Sabine from one world to the
next. Sabine's relationship with Ethan is wonderfully developed and
emotionally riveting. A core theme which runs through her previous
novels, 'destiny is never certain' - also appears in this book.
Shirvington has been quoted as saying her writing is drawn from life
experiences, particularly the confusion felt moving from youth into
adulthood. Between the Lives tells one such story
beautifully - the search for true identity, love and a place in the
world.
Michelle Hunt
Meet Mary MacKillop by Sally Murphy
Meet series. Ill. by Sonia Martinez. Random House, 2013. ISBN
9781742757216.
(Age: 8+) Picture book. Saints. Education. Australian History. Non
Fiction. The Meet series, from Random House promises to
introduce younger readers to significant people within Australia's
history, thus satisfying several parts of the national curriculum
which promotes understanding of our shared past and the role of
groups and individuals within it.
The first in the series, Meet Ned Kelly, written by Janeen
Brian and illustrated by Matt Adams looked at the image of Ned Kelly
within Australian history, showcasing some of the more significant
ties within his short life.
So it is with Mary MacKillop. Born in 1842 in Melbourne, from poor
circumstances herself, she devoted her life to teaching children no
matter what background they had, starting her first school in
Penola, South Australia, and beginning a new order of nuns, the
Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which today is very
much involved in education.
Sally Murphy has written in simple language about the early years of
Mary MacKillop when she and her sisters were invited by Father Woods
to start a school at Penola. The young reader will discover how an
old stable was converted into a school and how anyone, no matter how
poor, was welcome at the school. They will learn how Mary decided to
move on and found other schools once the first school in Penola
became successful.
A useful timeline at the back of the book gives the interested
reader brief information about the struggles that Mary had with the
Church's hierarchy about control of the growing order of Josephites.
A thoughtful reader or teacher may be able to give children some
notion of the strength and tenacity that Mary must have possessed to
continue with her dedication to provide education for the poor in
face of such opposition.
Rather sentimental illustrations portray in tones of brown what the
early school and countryside were like but failed for me to give a
real picture of the poverty that Mary faced or the strength of
character that she displayed.
Pat Pledger
