Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 978 1 74331 012 0
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Dinosaurs. Humour. A
'flip-the-flap' Dinosaur tale, this large colourful book will be
loved by all who pick it up. The front cover reminds me of felt
animals ready to be moved around the page, and each proceeding
double page spread continues the idea of cut out, plastic and felt
animals ready to be played with as the book is read and the names
learnt.
The opening stanza tells us about Darwin a three year old who finds
a plastic dinosaur hanging in a tree and so learns that he can find
out lots about these animals using a book. Following are many
dinosaur names ready for children to learn, along with Darwin
completely amazing his Mother and the wider community. But when he
is five, he meets Sally Dolomide with a whole new set of animal
names. When the two become ill, the doctor is called and diagnoses
Dinosauritis, a disease affecting many children because it is so
contagious.
This is a wonderfully bright and inviting book, full of the names
that young children love, words that are in bold, with the syllables
separated to make them easier to learn. The humour is not only
accessible to the reader, but also the parents and teachers reading
the book to the class, as all will recognise the truth behind the
contagion that is Dinosauritis.
Two pages of dinosaur jokes are followed by two pages of dinosaur
facts and then a board game. Two pages at the beginning and end of
the book are able to be cut out, so enabling children to have their
own collection of cardboard dinosaurs. This is one in a series of
four books, ensuring that all become touched by the dinosaur
contagion.
Fran Knight
A hare, a hound and shy Mousey Brown by Julia Hubery
Little Hare, 2012. Hbk., 32p., RRP $A24.99. ISBN 9781921541384.
It is spring and Hare is full of its energy and promise as she jumps
and bounds 'wondrously wild and fearlessly free . . . for the joy of
just being she.' In the meantime, from his hole in the wall, Shy
Mousey Brown is watching in awe at Hare's antics, the victim of
unrequited love. But also in the picture is Hound, who Mousey Brown
knows is secretly keeping a watch on the hoppity hare with evil on
his mind. While Hare is unaware, Mousey Brown knows exactly what
Hound is about but even his loudest voice is not loud enough for
Hare to hear.
How will Mousey Brown be able to warn Hare of the clear and present
danger? Will Hound catch Hare and eat her? What plan does Mousey
Brown hatch to rescue his beloved pink-ribboned Hare from certain
death?
The language, rhyme and rhythm of this story work very well to
create an engaging story reminiscent of the old fable, The Mouse
and the Lion. There's just the right amount of tension to
catch your breath and then let it go as the storyline moves to a
satisfactory ending. There are opportunities to join in with the
reading and the use of text effects helps the beginning reader to
hear and develop expression. Miss 6 also loved trying to predict how
a teeny, tiny mouse might save a hare from a ferocious dog. The
solution is just delightful, and nothing like we thought.
Jonathan Bentley's illustrations are the perfect accompaniment -
their cartoon-like style moves the whole book up a notch from a tale
for pre-schoolers and the humour, particularly when Mousey Brown
puts his plan into action, is very appealing.
Miss 6 asked if she could keep this one rather than sending it on to
her school because she wants to learn to read it to share with Miss
19 months - that means it's hit the spot perfectly.
Barbara Braxton
The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost
Doubleday, 2012. ISBN 9780 857 53120 9.
(Age: 11+) Recommended. Thriller. Sci-Fi. Will has led a lonely
life. His parents have moved often and never encouraged him to mix,
in fact they have taught self reliance according to a set of rules
for life that his father has written. This isolation comes to an
abrupt end when he achieves a perfect score in a standardised test.
He comes to the notice of a range of people, exactly the situation
his parents wished to avoid. One group is from an exclusive, yet
somehow little known school for the elite. The other group is far
more sinister.
Almost immediately he is forced to use many of the skills he has
been taught by his parents and run for his life. He is followed. His
mother is not acting like his mother although she looks the same. He
is able to arrive at his school which is funded to an extraordinary
degree and has every comfort and facility other than internet and
mobile phone connection. There is also a sinister group of students
with power in the school community.
Frost has written a suspenseful tale where belief must be suspended
to be fully immersed in Will and his cohort's world. The technology
and abilities discovered by Will's friends are incredible.The basis
of the story follows tried and true territory, think of the many and
varied school based fictions such as Harry Potter and even
back to Blyton's Secret Seven. Children are thrown on to
their own resources to solve a terrible threat. There are the
baddies in this case down right evil ones which have coaxed school
members to their side. Neither the reader nor the protagonists know
who to trust. But you know that right will win the battle but that
the war is not yet over.
A read that is sure to appeal to the sci-fi and fantasy readers who
have stamina, the book is over 530 pages! and is the first in a
series.
Mark Knight
An interview with Aimee Said by Fran Knight
Going to a private school gave Aimee Said first hand experience to
use as background for her first novel, Finding Freia Lockhart.
The circumscribed world of the private school was perfect for Freia,
her friend, Kate and the group Kate aspires to join, the Bs. Their
slavish adherence to fashion, combined with a focus on their
appearance, means a deliberately funny look at girls and their
groups and at the way they treat those outside their group. With
this emphasis, the book is a forum for the captivating main
character, Freia to develop to a point where she can say no to the
influences that beset her. And her latest novel, based in a boarding
school many miles from civilisation and mobile phone coverage gives
Aimee an even stronger sense of dislocation and restriction to work
with. Perfect for a story for young adults full of humour and wry
digs at their current obsessions with body image and fashion.
Aimee Said is one of this year's Fellows of the May Gibbs Children's
Literature Trust and is staying at the May Gibbs studio in Norwood,
South Australia. She had a month of uninterrupted time to work on
her next novel. Uninterrupted that is, except for school visits, a
series of workshops at Seymour College (perhaps another source of
inspiration) and a little spare time for lunches and coffee with
members of the trust, as well as an interview.
This Melbourne based author makes her living from freelance writing,
editing and proofreading work, concentrating on web work. Her website is
testimony to the excellence of her work: it is simple, direct and
easy to navigate, so unlike many other websites I access in my work
as a reviewer. Her target as a freelance web worker is to make the
content of the website easy to understand, creating a smooth road of
communication with the target audience. Happily for young adults,
she also has a passion about communicating with that age group,
writing novels aimed directly at the secondary market, in clear
unequivocal prose, with themes that engage and tempt the reader to
read on.
So it is with Freia, which draws heavily upon her own school
experience. The chapters where Freia is involved with the school
production of My Fair Lady draws on Aimee's school
production, while her knowledge of what happens on the lighting
bridge is from her sister's experience at the same school in a
different production. Pride and Prejudice figures largely in
the narrative as Freia hates the book chosen for her class to read
in English, paralleling Aimee's own experience with the novel. This
gives the novel a firm base of reality, an appealing foundation when
so much YA fiction is base on fantasy and situations far beyond the
normal and everyday.
Wanting to create a home situation for Freia unlike others, Aimee
hit upon the idea of older parents, wanting to do the best for their
child, but unsure of how to go about it. Freia Lockhart's home life
is very funny, as the parents read all the manuals they can find to
raise their children in a modern way. It is telling of Aimee's
talent that she is able to make these people sympathetic as well as
funny, the family never becoming caricatures.
Luckily there is a sequel to the wonderful Freia's life story, and
this along with the novel worked on in Adelaide, will be snatched up
by young adults wanting to see themselves in books, knowing that the
book is based upon the author's own experiences, recognisably
Australian and casting a sympathetic eye on all within their sphere.
What better way to spend an hour or so than with an author, talking
about books and their passion for writing.
Aimee Said has written two books so far, Finding Freia Lockhart, Walker Books, 2010 (no teacher notes)
and Little sister, Walker Books, 2011 (which has teacher
notes on the website)
Fran Knight
Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver
Puffin, 2012.
Highly recommended for readers 12+. From the opening dramatic scene,
Paver sets the pace of her new novel Gods & Warriors. Set in
what later became Greece, Paver hurtles the reader into the thick of
superstition, rivalry, trust/mistrust, power, violence and intrigue.
Hylas is being pursued by the Crows, dark and merciless warriors,
who have already murdered his friend, hunted his little sister Issa
away in fear of her life and killed his dog. Himself wounded by one
of the Crows' arrows, Hylas stumbles into a chain of events where
interconnectedness is so palpable that even a mere goatherd such a
himself can recognise it.
This was a historical period where cultures were dominated by
superstitious beliefs and constrained by the limitations of a lack
of knowledge of life outside their own immediate location. Paver has
crafted a story that ironically liberates Hylas from the shackles of
his serfdom and ignorance by the very fact of his becoming entangled
in events beyond his normal life.
Hylas' relationships, and the exploration of friendship and loyalty
are examined closely. As the bond of his childhood association
with his friend Teremon, son of the Chieftain, wanes in the light of
seeming betrayals, his wary initial contact with Pirra, daughter of
the High Priestess deepens, through their mutual perils. Above all,
his unique and beautiful relationship with Spirit the dolphin has
much to say about true communication, empathy and trust.
Lovers of historical fiction will relish this novel and eagerly
await the next chapter of Hylas' story as he continues his search
for Issa.
Sue Warren
Santa's secret by Mike Dumbleton
Ill. by Tom Jellett. Random House, 2012. ISBN 9781 74275239 6.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Christmas. Humour. After a hard
day's work delivering presents all over the world on Christmas Eve,
Santa is exhausted, but what keeps him going will surprise younger
readers, as he doffs his warmer northern hemisphere clothing and
gets into a wonderful pineapple designed shirt and shorts and heads
for Australia. On the way he practices his Australian speech, and
when he lands, feels into the back of the sleigh to bring out his
expected gift, a surfboard. He dons his wetsuit and heads for the
beach, catching wave after wave in the little sun drenched bay
around which are perched a community of shacks. Jellett has lovingly
recreated an Australian Christmas, with children happily surfing and
swimming, the shore line stretching around the cove, with the little
shacks and caravans fenced from the beach. The illustrations reflect
many such communities along the coast, recalling for me many happy
summers at Aldoinga Beach and Lady Bay. The detail of the little
coastal community is intriguing and draws the eye to look further,
spotting the rainwater tank, iron roof, Weber bbq, thongs and so on.
The large old bewhiskered man surfing attracts many onlookers, not
least the many children cavorting in the sea. When at last Santa
retires to his own small shack, complete with tyre swans at the
steps, he gives his surfboard to the kids, knowing that next year he
will have another in his bag of presents.
A lovely story to present to children at Christmas, this one is
redolent of the celebration in the southern hemisphere, and not a
Christmas tree or plum pudding in sight. It makes a welcome change
from the cliched presentation of Christmas, and gives a class much
to discuss about sharing and giving, peculiarly Australian words,
and how they spend their Christmas.
Fran Knight
White Ninja by Tiffiny Hall
Harper Collins Publishers, 2012, 229 pgs., p/b. ISBN: 9780732294533.
Recommended for readers 12+. Tiffany Hall, Taekwondo black belt and
personal fitness trainer on Channel Ten's The Biggest Loser
has written her first children's novel, White Ninja. White Ninja revolves around Year 7 student Roxy, who lacks
confidence and is bullied at school. There are 2 gates at school and
Roxy and her friend Cinnamon have yet to make it through Gate 1 for
the cool, popular kids. Roxy is bullied by Hero, captain of the
school's martial arts team who starts his day with his mates
bullying the Gate 2 students. Although her mum is a retired ninja
who often disappears for weeks at a time, returning last time with a
black eye, Roxy feels she is a normal teen until she gets provoked
in a school fight with Hero and discovers she also has ninja
abilities. After the fight, Roxy meets good-looking Jackson Axe a
new Year 10 student who knows what is going on with Roxy and also
tells Roxy he needs her help.
Hall's research is evident with her understanding of the reasons why
kids are bullied and her reasons for popularity. Hall also
demonstrates her knowledge with her fight descriptions and the
mention of a zero sugar warrior diet; this is very much a Tiffany
Hall book. This is an action-packed, easy to read book. A good story
for students who feel they don't fit in at school, portraying a good
message that with more confidence you can do whatever you set your
mind to. In White Ninja, Roxy learns her true fighting
spirit and finally finds a place where she fits in.
Michelle Thomson
Ghost buddy: mind if I read your mind? by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 1 407132 28 7.
(Age: 10+) Humour. Ghost. A highly amusing little romp with
Billy having moved school and home when Mum remarries, finds a ghost
already taken up residence in his bedroom. Hoover Porterhouse, or
the Hoove, as he likes to be known, cannot help but interfere in
Billy's life. He often speaks to Billy, giving him unsolicited
advice, for which Billy has no answer, but seen by the nosey next
door neighbour, Rod to be talking to himself. At school it is no
different as the Hoove is often there, egging him on, giving advice,
especially when the teacher asks the students to prepare a talk for
the next week. Billy is bereft, he loathes standing up in front of
his class, and cannot think of anything to talk about. His
stepfather recommends he talk about flossing, and Billy happens upon
a skill he learn many years before, saying the alphabet backwards.
The Hoove cannot believe he is serious and so gets him to pretend to
be mind reading with the Hoove's help. But things never go as we
want them to go, so some very funny things happen to upset Billy's
life even more.
This is an easy to read story redolent of the ups and downs of
school life and life with a new parent and sibling. The ghost does
not help Billy in his attempts to fit in, and the hilarious events
roll along taking the reader with them.
Winkler, known for his portrayal of the character, the Fonze in
Happy Days, has written a series of books called, Hank Zipper, and
this is the first of a series about Billy called Ghost buddy.
Fran Knight
Time Vandals by Craig Cormick
Omnibus Books, 2012. ISBN 978-1-86291-947-1.
Recommended for 11 to 15 year olds. In an action packed opening,
kidnapped teens Mei and Jack begin a time adventure that has them
meeting famous historical characters such as Napoleon and Stalin.
Due to their unique set of genes, Jack and Mei are recruited by a
secret agency to travel back in time to fix historical errors. At
present, Australia is a French colonized country and this is all
because Napoleon didn't have hemorrhoids. You'll have to read the
novel for this to make sense.
This is a crazy, fun story that jumps between times, has plots that
continually twist and turn as well as a bizarre collection of
characters. Ixi is their guide and a garden gnome, a gargoyle is
also on the loose with its own agenda and there are scary flesh
eating Zombies as well.
You'll need to have your wits about you as the time jumping can be
confusing but don't take anything too seriously and you will have an
entertaining and original reading experience.
This novel might work best in the primary classroom with teacher
support as students may not be aware of the historical references in
the text. There are teacher
notes available.
Jane Moore
S.C.U.M. by Danny Katz
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 978-1-74237-924-1.
S.C.U.M. stands for Students Combined Underground Movement and is
the name for a group of 'outcasts, weirdos and massive losers'
at high school. Tom Zurbo-Goldblatt is the teenage narrator of this
story and Tom certainly tells it how he sees it.
This is not a politically correct book and his observations on
different characters show how easily students are judged by gossip,
looks (especially females ) and whether they are in the main group.
Anti bullying policies have obviously no affect in this school, but
even Tom realizes he has at times gone too far and alienates his own
S.C.U.M. group.
It's hard to feel any sympathy for Tom who is as much a bully and as
judgmental as the students he fears. I'm glad I don't have to go to
this school as either a student or a teacher.
Tom provides illustrations throughout the story.
Not suitable for primary school and is aimed directly at secondary
boys.
Jane Moore
Parvana's promise by Deborah Ellis
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 9781743312988.
(Ages 11+) Recommended. War. Afghanistan. People will welcome the
latest book in the group of books about Afghani Parvana, wrenched
from her home through war, surviving in the desert and then a
refugee camp, keeping several children younger than herself safe.
But when she is found by the Americans in the rubble of a school
where explosives have been buried, she refuses to answer any
questions. They believe the worst and incarcerate her. In her cell,
she roams back in her mind exposing for the reader the grim life she
has led and her indomitable belief that she will survive.
Ellis does not hold back in her contempt for the Taliban and those
still adhering to their medieval beliefs and the American soldiers
who see everything around them in black and white. It is these
soldiers who make Parvana stand for hours on end, deride, intimidate
shout, and threaten her, eat in front of her not offering any food,
all to try and elicit a response, as they believe that she is a
terrorist
In alternate chapters we hear of Parvana's time at her mother's
school, learning herself but also teaching others, with growing
awareness of the threats being made against the teachers, the
students and the school. When the school is bombed, Parvana is taken
by the Americans and refuses to talk, but when she hears an American
soldier crying beneath her cell window, she writes a poem she has
learnt and drops it down for him to read. The bombing of the
encampment sees her at last being able to escape, but a badly
wounded soldier demands her first aid skills.
A page turner as all the books in this series are, this one will
endear a new generation of readers to the story of Parvana and
Shauzia, as well as educate the readers about the situation in
Afghanistan, where the Taliban can still threaten, kidnap, torture
and kill. Many schools will be happy to have this as a class set.
Fran Knight
Marty's Nut-free Party by Katrina Roe and Leigh Hedstrom
Wombat Books, 2012. Hbk., RRP $A19.95. ISBN 978-1-921633-36-2.
Marty the monkey loved to party - he was always the first to arrive
and the last to leave. He even counted down the sleeps till the next
one! UNTIL . . . one day, at his cousin's birthday party he was
tempted by a l-a-r-g-e bowl of peanuts. But as soon as he ate it,
things began to happen. His mouth felt funny, his throat swelled up
and that's all he knew until the next day when he woke up in
hospital. Marty was allergic to peanuts!
So, at the next party he went to, his mummy told him not to have
even one peanut - no matter how yummy they looked and who offered
them to him. It was so hard to have fun when everyone else was
enjoying eating them. So he decided to have just one . . . after
all, mum would never know . . .
Marty had a very tough lesson to learn and his mum had to take some
very tough measures to teach him. He couldn't go to Lion Luke's
party and he missed Zac the Zebra's Easter Egg hunt! And even though
he thought he hadn't eaten one single peanut at Gemma Giraffe's
party, he still ended up in hospital. Poor Marty. Would he ever be
able to have a party again?? And what about his birthday? Could he
have a party? Luckily for him, his mum had a brilliant solution and
Marty had a party that didn't land him in hospital!!
Marty's message is delivered in a most delightful story that helps
our youngest students understand why nuts are so often banned from
the places they go to. It also helps those with a nut allergy
understand what could happen but there is a solution that means
everyone can still have fun! It is essential reading for all
preschool to Year 2 classes so everyone can understand the dangers.
I like that Wombat
Books are prepared to take a risk with the titles they
publish and support authors who write about topics that are not
necessarily 'mainstream'. Sharon McGuinness' Coming Home
deals with depression; this one nut allergies - both more common
than we realise and yet so hard to find information about that is at
the child's level. Both books have important information at the back
of them with links to support agencies. For these reasons alone,
regardless of both being excellent stories, these books deserve a
place on your shelves. And check out Wombat's catalogue to see what
else they have that might help your special students understand that
they're not in it on their own.
Barbara Braxton
Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe by Anna Fienberg
Ill. by Stephen Michael King. Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 978 1
74237 311 9.
(Age: 7+) Early chapter book. Humour. Good friends Figaro the dog
and Rumba the cat plan to catch the Very Fast Train to the beach.
But their friend, Rat says he has lost his friend, Nate last seen
paddling a canoe. The first two chapters show their plans for the
beach go awry, but by chapter three they are travelling with Mrs
Foozy on her motorbike, at least headed in the right direction.
King's marvellously wry illustrations set the scene perfectly,
adding a level of humour and anticipation which readers will adore.
This six chapter picture book for newly independent readers will
enthrall and delight as they read of this wonderful pair of
characters and their friends. Each chapter reiterates their
friendship, trust and care of each other's feelings. Chapter four
sees them on the train at long last, but in the carriage of a very
shady character, a crocodile. With his easy charm and wonderful
waistcoat, he invites them to this cafe, redolent of the Cuba where
Rumba was born. Figaro, with some suspicion of the crocodile decides
not to take his offer of staying in the cafe, but goes off to
explore. He finds some cats locked in a small shed and ringing the
police, learns that the crocodile is a cat-napper, ready to add
Rumba to his captives.
A lovely story, neatly resolved, it is full of things to take note
of: invitations from strangers, friendship, holidays with friends on
a train, learning to swim and taking risks for a friend while
learning a little about Cuba and the Spanish language. An astute
teacher or parent will find a lot to discuss with a child or a
class. But the main thing is the story of friends helping each
other, and along with the lively illustrations, will be sought
after, with a hint from Fienbeerg that there may be another story
about these two, adding to its pleasure.
Fran Knight
Black Mountain by Venero Armanno
University of Queensland Press, 2012. ISBN 9780702239151. This eerie tale recounts the horrors of the Sicilian sulphur mines
while imagining the future of scientific exploits into genetic
engineering.
When twenty-two year old Mark Alter inadvertently plagiarises from
the novel Black Mountain by Cesare Montenero, he begins a
journey to find the old author and eventually finds himself. The
story within a story follows Cesare Montenero from his earliest
memories as an abandoned child through his exploitation as a child
labourer in a tile factory to his time as a child slave in the
horrific sulphur mines, his escape and eventual rescue by Domenico
Amati. Cesare's saviour harbours secrets, which Cesare instinctively
feels have something to do with him and he is right. Both men
are products of genetic engineering, experiments that have been
carried out in secret and were started by the Amati family with
their wealth accumulated from their sulphur mines. In reading
Cesare's story, Mark realises that he also belongs to this group of
engineered people.
The author evokes sympathy for the victims of this experimentation
and a questioning of the ethical and moral responsibility of the
people in control. These current and contemporary ethical dilemmas
will engage students, although the detail in recounting Cesare's and
Domenico's experiences makes this novel more suitable for senior
students, Year 10 and up. Although very different stories, Black
Mountain and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go would
make an excellent pair for senior English students.
Linda Koopman
Curious Minds: The Discoveries of Australian Naturalists by Peter Macinnis
National Library of Australia, 2012. Pbk., RRP SA39.99. ISBN
9780642277541.
Australia's unique flora and fauna fascinated our early European
visitors who took home tales of strange and curious creatures that
could surely only be the product of an over-active imagination or
too many days at sea under an unfamiliar hot sun. Perhaps being down
under did something strange to their eyes and brains! So naturalists
became an essential part of the passenger lists of explorers so
these weird and wonderful things could be documented through
drawings, descriptions and specimens. Names like Banks, Dampier and
Darwin appear as prominent people in our history, almost as well
known as the explorers they travelled with.
In his latest book for the NLA, Curious Minds (which could
well describe the author's as well), Peter Macinnis examines the
contribution made by these naturalists to the understanding and
conservation of our plants and animals, introducing us to a host of
people including a number of women who made significant discoveries.
In typical Macinnis style, everything is thoroughly researched and
verified and because of this we learn not only the important and
interesting but also the quirky and quaint.
Also in typical Macinnis style, the text is not dull and boring but
written to tell a story and absorb the reader. This is a book for
ordinary people - although it might be about 'the first geeks', it
is not necessarily for them - and the myriad of illustrations from
the National Library's collections not only help us understand but
leave us in awe of the skill of these people who did not have the
advantages of photography and technology. This is a book that is
enhanced by the print format as you flip through it, see a picture
that catches your eye and then your curious mind takes over.
Like his other books, Curious Minds has a special place on the
shelves of your library as we help students to not only develop
their knowledge of those who developed our knowledge of our amazing
country but also to open up another dimension of the word
'scientist'. Perhaps even inspire a new Joseph Banks or Harriet or
Helena Scott.
In my opinion, if you want your students to engage with our country
and its wonders in a way that leaves them wanting more, then you
must make Peter's books available. They will be entranced and
perhaps inspired to look for the story behind the story in their own
research. Macinnis does that so well.
Barbara Braxton
