BBC Audio, 2002. Read by Jeremy Irons. 11 hours, 20 mins (10 CDs).
Evelyn Waugh, 1945.
(Ages: 15+) Family and relationships. Anyone who has seen the
excellent television series of this well known book will love this
audio version read by Jeremy Irons. Driving to Canberra last month
his voice filled our car and it was like watching the BBC series all
over again. And we had lots to discuss. The story of Charles Ryder's
infatuation with the Flyte family reflects the disillusionment of
many who have found that what they loved was not what they thought.
Charles is seduced by Sebastian's life of luxury and ease when he
meets him at Oxford in the 1920's. But as Charles becomes more
involved with the family, Sebastian's health deteriorates and his
dependence upon alcohol becomes apparent. Charles is asked by Lady
Flyte to spy upon her son and when he fails to do this, he is
dismissed, and Sebastian banished abroad.
Years later, Charles meets Sebastian's sister, Julia and they become
lovers, Charles moving into the Flyte mansion. Here he is confronted
yet again with their religion and its hold upon the members of the
Flyte family. His love for Julia is compromised by her religion,
especially after the death of her father.
The Catholic religion stamps the behavior of the whole Flyte family,
several members constrained with guilt, and this underline much of
their behaviour towards each other. Despite Sebastian, his father
and Julia separating themselves from it, they all come back to it in
the end. Charles cannot understand this at all, and it is this
argument which finally separates him from Julia, causing the pair
the greatest unhappiness. Each of the characters is selfish, from
Charles' mother going off to the Spanish Civil War, leaving her
husband and infant son, or Charles later leaving his wife and
children to live with Julia, or Lord Flyte leaving his family to
live in Italy with his lover, all are selfish, and despite our
approbation, have qualities we can admire.
It is a wonderful book, audio tape and TV series, and one which
could be paired with many novels which deal with the effect religion
has on a family, or could be compared with The Great Gatsby,
for example, showing a person being overwhelmed by someone else's
wealth and generosity. As a study of life between the wars, too, it
is redolent of the luxury and ease of some classes of people, and
again, the theme of the loss of innocence, and the agony of
disillusionment, comes through it all.
Fran Knight
Skinned by Adam Slater
The Shadowing series. Egmont, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4052-5364-2
(Age: 11+) Having defeated the first wave of creatures from the
netherworld, the hunter Fetch, with the help of the spirit Jacob and
his dog Doom, Callum Scott continues to battle the next onslaught of
creatures as The Shadowing begins. This time, Callum needs to summon
all of his chime child powers to locate and defeat the witch-like
creature Black Annis who lures, murders and devours children. Aware
of his need to improve his knowledge and skills, Callum employs his
spirit ally Jacob to train him during the night and his new friend,
and supernatural authority, Mellissa to teach him the knowledge he
needs to fulfil his chime child duties. As more mysterious
disappearances of children are reported across England, Callum and
Melissa begin to realise the gateway to the Netherworld is opening
at a faster rate than first thought, and that the Black Annis is not
the only creature that is intent on devastating the world of the
living. A coven of evil creatures is planning something much more
sinister.
Like the first book in The Shadowing series there are quite
gruesome descriptions of the murders of children, which seem more
explicit than the first novel, and are no doubt the aspect of the
book that makes it most attractive to upper primary and lower
secondary school readers. This said, younger readers should be
warned that this imagery could cause nightmares.
Adam Fitzgerald
Gorilla Grab by Jackie French
Animal Rescue. Scholastic Australia, 2012. ISBN 9781741698497.
Leo is an unusual young boy who can talk to animals. This makes him
the perfect friend for Moz, who along with her Gran, is dedicated to
saving wildlife. On this adventure their mission is to vaccinate
endangered gorillas from the flu. It is a dangerous trip because
they can't be sure the gorillas will be welcoming and the poachers
don't want anyone interfering with their plans.
This is a simple adventure story for the pre teen complete with
exciting inventions and gadgetry. There are some topical
environmental messages included giving the book an educational
angle.
Tina Cain
The children of the king by Sonya Hartnett
Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9781742535012.
(Ages 10+) Highly recommended. World War Two. From the vantage of
her first class carriage, Cecily watches the evacuees being loaded
onto the train. She feels for them in her own selfish way, wondering
what she can do, whether to take an evacuee into her uncle's house,
where they are to stay for the duration of the war, safe from the
bombings in London. She talks her family into her scheme, and
chooses one of the younger children, left sitting on the floor,
overlooked by the others as they file out. But Cecily, wanting a
demure, grateful sort of child, is sorely mistaken in her choice.
May Bright is not afraid of anything, and often challenges and many
times ignores the rules Cecily demands she obey.
One morning, May is nowhere to be seen, and Cecily, disappointed
again at May's independence, finds her heading off into the
scrubland around the Hall, plate in hand. Catching up, she finds
that May is taking food to a pair of brothers hiding in the ruined
castle beyond the woods, and so goes too. Here the girls find an odd
pair of boys whom they assume to be escaped evacuees, but the reader
can detect something much stranger. They meet several times over the
next few weeks, May realising who they may be and encouraging them
to escape their confines.
The plight of the two boys is paralleled by the story Uncle
Peregrine tells each night after tea, concerning the castle on his
land. He relates the story of the two princes in the tower,
imprisoned by their uncle, the Duke, later King Richard 111. The
boys' freedom and ability to grow up is restricted by their uncle,
while their lives are cut short just as they approach their manhood.
Their story is paralleled again by that of Cecily's brother, Jeremy,
treated as a child by those about him, particularly his mother,
hamstrung by his 14 years, cut off from the reality of war, a war in
which he feels he should play a part. He feels he is old enough to
kill, but his later experiences in London show him that he has
become a man through his compassion and bravery, his courage and
nobility in saving lives not destroying them.
Opening the pages of a new novel by Sonya Hartnett fills me with
excitement and trepidation. I was there from the start, with the
rather obnoxious Cecily and her disappointed older brother, Jeremy,
the evacuee May and Uncle Peregrine, telling the story of the castle
on his grounds. Power and its misuse dominate the story, as we hear
of the bombings of London, the grasping of power by Hitler in trying
to intimidate the Londoners, the power of Heloise over her son,
Jeremy, the randomness of May's being chosen by Cecily and her
thwarted attempts at gaining the upper hand over May. All is
reflected by the story of the two boys in the tower, the appalling
misuse of power by their uncle, whose need for power drives him to
kill all those in this way.
Hartnett is never simple, there are always levels of meaning and
understandings in her stories which provoke thought for days if not
weeks after the book has been read and reread, discussed and pored
over. At every level this is a breathtaking book.
Fran Knight
The Lavender Keeper by Fiona McIntosh
Michael Joseph, 2012. 9781921518416
(Age: Senior students - Adults) Set in the last years of the German
occupation of France, The Lavender Keeper is the story of
the romance between Luc, a once wealthy lavender grower from
Provence, and Lisette, a British spy sent to Paris to work with the
French Underground. Part 1 is set in Provence, July, 1942. Luc's
lavender is ready to be harvested; the reader is introduced to his
village, the traditions of the harvest and Luc's adopting family who
have returned unexpectedly from Paris. They are Jews looking for
safety but are betrayed by a French collaborator in the village.
Wanting revenge, Luc becomes a maquis, a member of the underground.
Part 2 begins in London a year later. Lisette is trained to work as
a British spy in Paris. She is parachuted into Provence, from where
Luc helps smuggle her into Paris, despite an encounter with the
Gestapo. Parts 3 and 4 are set in German occupied Paris.
Conveniently, both Luc and Lisette have mixed German and French
heritage which enables them to work for the occupying forces.
Inconveniently, for the mission, they fall in love. Even more
inconveniently, Lisette also forms an attachment with a high ranking
German officer, Markus Kilian. When she suspects that Marcus is
involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler she encourages his
attentions so that she can collect information for London. Marcus is
an honourable soldier, however, and refuses to reveal information or
to endanger her in any way. Luc has become a driver for the Germans
and is forced to watch the relationship flourish. The assassination
plot fails, the allies, led by the French forces under de Gaulle,
reenter Paris and Markus engineers his own death, leaving Luc and
Lisette to each other. The author captures the atmosphere in wartime
Paris and London well, and the early scenes in Provence set on the
lavender farm are believable and interesting. The attitudes towards
the Germans are more nuanced than in many depictions of the same
time. Unfortunately, the language used to describe their love is as
cliqued as the plot device of the romance. However, the book is set
in a fascinating time in history and the dilemmas and privations of
the time are acknowledged.
Jenny Hamilton
There was an old lady who swallowed a thong by P. Crumble
Ill. by Louis Shea. Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 9781742831633.
This is an Australian twist on a traditional favourite. It's set at
the beach in summer and the old lady is so engrossed in her book
that she doesn't realise that her grandchildren have put a little
something extra in her sandwich. What follows is an ocean-oriented
version of I know an old lady who swallowed a fly that
introduces the children to a variety of creatures found near the
seaside.
The bright colourful illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to
this quirky rendition and the audience will delight in finding a
host of things included in them as they join in the telling.
I don't why she swallowed the thong - that's gotta be wrong!
Barbara Braxton
Violet Mackerel's natural habitat by Anna Branford
Ill. by Sarah Davis. Walker Books ISBN 9781921529191.
(Age 6-10) Recommended. Another in the award winning books about
Violet Mackerel is a treat for readers. Bored while her mother has
tea with a friend in a big food court, Violet lets her imagination
roam when she sees a sparrow. She decides that the sparrow gets
enough food in the court yard but probably needs something for its
nest, so she unravels the thread on the hem of her skirt so that the
bird can use it to line its nest. Then she comes up with the Theory
of helping small things: ' If you do something to help a small
thing, then that small thing might find a way of helping you', and
sure enough the sparrow does help. When her sister Nicola has to do
a project for Natural science she begins to learn about natural
habits and where is the best place for animals and insects to live.
This is a delightful book that would be most useful when introducing
a class to natural habitats and life cycles. Violet learns a
valuable lesson when she finds a ladybird in the yarrow patch and
puts it in a jar. When she helps Nicola make a chart showing the
life cycle of a ladybird she discovers how long a ladybird is likely
to live, as well as the life spans of other animals. St the end of
the book the author includes detailed but easy instructions for
keeping a ladybird in a jar, for an hour at the most, before
releasing it to its natural habitat.
Not only is there a science theme in this book, with its vivid
descriptions of life cycles and natural habitats, but helpfulness
and cooperation are also featured strongly. Illustrations by Sarah
Davis complement the story and bring the characters alive.
All the books in this series are well worth having in a library.
Activities and downloads are available at the site for the series.
Pat Pledger
The fabulous girls' book: Discover the secret of being fabulous by Veena Bhairo-Smith
Scholastic, 2011. ISBN 9781741699128.
(Ages: 7-12) This book is full of tips and ideas for girls to be
fabulous. They range from ideas on how to make love-heart clips,
tiaras and an antique silver trinket box to doing your own pedicure
in a professional way.
The article on how to make afternoon tea intrigued me, and it had a
lovely recipe for strawberry shortcake. The pedicure article was
also informative as was the one on making a skirt from a pillow
case, which could also have been adapted to making a skirt from a
piece of trendy material. The article on writing your first novel
would also appeal to thoughtful would-be authors. How to be your own
personal trainer described exercises that would tone the body to
make it look good.
All were written in point form and were easy to read and follow. The
illustrations were also cute.
I was disappointed that the book did not present much in the way of
tips to becoming a great leader or sportsperson. Instead it
concentrated mainly on the rather stereotypical view of being
fabulous for a girl: cooking, handicrafts and looking good.
Pat Pledger
Hop, skip and jump, Maisy! by Lucy Cousins
Walker, 2012. ISBN: 9781406333725.
Maisy's day is full of activity as she bends, stretches, hops,
jumps, chases, races and kicks a ball. Her healthy lunch looks
delicious and builds here energy before an afternoon of
skateboarding, leapfrogging, skipping, balancing and somersaulting.
No wonder she is ready for bed at night!
Each of the Maisy books is an enchanting offering, filled with
illustrations of a much stylised mouse taking part in all of the
activities any young child would enjoy. This is a special offering
for other reasons as well. This hardcover book contains tabs to pull
and cogs to turn, giving the effect of movement and activity. Is
addition, the left hand side of most pages is devoted to providing a
question for the reader. It asks which animals are capable of moving
in the same manner as Maisy is demonstrating throughout the story.
Hence, it fits the series 'A Maisy First Science Book.'
This title would support Junior Primary or pre-school units of work
with a focus on not just animals and how they move but also on
activity and healthy eating.
Jo Schenkel
Pure by Julianna Baggott
Headline, 2012. ISBN 9780755385492.
Recommended for Young Adult - Adult readers. Enter the
post-apocalyptic world of Pressia Belize and hold on tight for a
rollercoaster ride through the dark and disturbing world she
inhabits. The life of the two main protagonists is examined
throughout the book. We flip flop between Pressia and Partridge -
Pressia residing in the world with a doll head fused to her hand
after the Detonations. Patridge resides in the Dome - an area
protected from the Detonations by nanobots and nanotechnologies that
allowed them to be unaffected.
I was taken out of my comfort zone reading this book as it examines
the depths of human misery taking the reader through despair to
utter desolation. Extraordinary imagery woven beautifully by
Julianna Baggott allows the reader to almost be there in the book
with the characters. Patridge's journey to the outer world is
painful and draws the reader in.
Dark themes and death pervade the book but the characters are real
and likeable. It is addictive reading once you get your head around
what is happening. Elements of the story are plausible and I
personally think that is what makes it so disturbing. Although the
main characters are mostly teenagers it is not your usual book full
of teen angst - it is gritty and dangerous. Pure is extremely dark and the world created by Julianna
Baggott is grotesque. But behind these images which you cannot avoid
is a story of hope, perseverance and survival. I would recommend it
for older readers and adults as I believe that younger readers would
find it a very disturbing read.
Elaine Grottick
The Grimstones: Mortimer Revealed by Asphyxia
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN: 9781742376899.
Martha Grimstone is determined to find out more about her father
Mortimer whose death, when she was a baby, dominates the household
and causes her mother Velvetta to spend much of her time in the
crypt weeping over him.
This is the second of the secret diaries of Martha Grimstone who
lives in a broken down gothic ancestral home with her Grandfather,
who mixes potions to heal the local villagers and creates spells to
calm the weather in the valley, Aunt Gertrude who runs the household
and oversees Martha's lessons, Mother, Velvetta, who spends all her
time making fine garments for the locals when not in the crypt and
baby brother Crumpet who is a magical child and the subject of the
first diary.
Martha and Crumpet create a potion in Grandfather's apothecary and
use the doll house on the landing, which is a replica of the
Grimstone house, to recreate the events of the night Mortimer died.
Subsequently Martha develops a greater understanding of her family
and why her grandfather has refused her pleas to learn magic. It
also results in her discovering her special talent and how it
contributes to the wellbeing of the valley.
This is not a normal family but Martha's need for love and
understanding is universal. The picture illustrations from The
Grimstones Puppet Show add to the gothic feel of the story and the
references at the end direct the curious to Youtube to see them
perform.
Many who read this story will find a kindred spirit in Martha, as
they also strive to have their own adventures and find their own
talents.
Sue Keane
Don't wake Mr Bear! by Jill Newton
Egmont, 2011. ISBN 9781405249669.
The first golden oak leaf floating to the ground was the signal for
the autumn orchestra to begin the lullaby of the forest. Dormouse
played his triangle, the squirrels their flutes, the wood pigs
tapped their xylophones and the rabbits strummed their harps. It was
perfect music to send Mr Dormouse off for his long winter sleep.
And, as he left, he warned them not to wake Mr Bear. Unfortunately,
no one told the wolves and when they crashed into a tree making all
sorts of noise and ready to party, the inevitable happens.
But not only is Mr Bear woken, so is Dormouse and he has a very
serious message about the importance of the rhythms of nature and
the need for things to sleep.
With this summer being what it is, particularly on the East coast,
the weather is a common conversation and autumn will soon be upon
us. Thus, this is a delightful book to introduce the changing of the
seasons, and although the creatures are not Australian, it's an
ideal time to widen the children's horizons and have them
investigate why animals hibernate, why some species lose their
leaves and rather than winter being a time of little life, it is, in
fact a time of rest and renewal. It's a bit like night time for
people, only longer.
This book has bright colourful illustrations that are very appealing
and there are lots of opportunities for listeners to join in using
their body orchestra. How can you make the sound of the breeze
without a flute? How can you make the sound of the nuts falling
without an xylophone? And having talked about the different rhythms
from the legato of the flute to the staccato of the xylophone, the
children could then experiment and classify the instruments
accordingly. A music lesson in the library? Why not? And all part of
the information literacy process as they learn to hypothesise, group
like with like, and present their findings.
Barbara Braxton
Ready to read level 1 by Sarah Creese
Scholastic, 2012.
(Age: 5-7) Recommended.This is a series of non fiction books for
beginning readers that will particularly appeal to boys, although
girls would enjoy them as well. From the tantalising moving covers
to the excellent photos inside, each book has been designed for
maximum appeal and all titles would be quite difficult to resist
picking up from the shelves, particularly if placed face out.
Each book is made up of the same sections. There is an amazing facts
chapter that has high interest information that will fascinate young
readers. Bright photographs are very appealing and on occasion are
often tagged with a word describing different parts of the object
being portrayed. For example, in Extreme animals, the section on the
tiger has a photo broken up into smaller sections, each labelled
with the appropriate word. This device would be useful to teach new
words to the beginning reader. There is also a quiz, a picture
dictionary; a key words section; and ideas for parents to encourage
and improve their child's reading.
I had no problem spending the time to read these books from cover to
cover, as I was fascinated by the fabulous illustrations and
intriguing facts. I believe that they would be a very useful aid in
helping children to learn to read as well as learning interesting
facts.
Mighty Machines. ISBN 9781742831190. This book describes
large machines like dump trucks, transporter, giant excavators, and
wheel loader, and a mobile crane. Dangerous dinos. ISBN 9781742831213. Images of the
incredible dinosaurs that lived on Earth millions of years ago. Sharks. ISBN 9781742831206. Photos of many different sharks
bring their appearance and habitat alive. Extreme animals. ISBN9781742831169. This books explores the
tallest, the fastest, the oldest and the Largest of animals. Slithering snakes. ISBN 9781742831176. This books looks at
the scaly skin of snakes and how they can climb trees and swim. Bugs. ISBN 9781742831183. Photos of all sorts of bugs from
bees to ants illustrate what bugs can do.
Pat Pledger
Try not to breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Kindle Edition, Viking Children's, 2012. Viking Children's Books,
ISBN 9780670013906.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Sixteen year old Ryan is a misfit. He spends
a lot of time at the local waterfall, because it makes him feel
alive when he actually walks under it. He has recovered from time
spent in a mental hospital after attempting suicide, and he's
finding that living with the hovering of his parents and the rumours
at school are very difficult to cope with. When Nicki , a young girl
who also spends time at the waterfall, badges into his life and
starts asking him questions about why he tried to commit suicide, he
finds that he must confront some important questions. Nicki too has
to face some things from her past.
The story is told by Ryan in the first person and as a reader I got
to know him very well as he tried to navigate his way back into a
world where he felt normal. I could sympathise with his
over-protective mother, who made sure that all pills were locked
away and the car out of bounds, but also with Ryan who desperately
needs to be treated normally. When irrepressible Nicki asks him
questions that he has not even answered for his doctor, he knows
that he will have to help her in her quest for answers about her
father, especially when she decides that a psychic might be able to
help.
Hubbard has written an engrossing and ultimately uplifting story
about a very difficult subject. She has delved into depression and
how people are able to hide it from those around them. She examines
the aftermath of suicide and attempted suicide and the feelings of
those who are affected by it. She also looks at how difficult it is
for the survivor of suicide to feel normal and to carry on, when
everyone knows what has happened. This book has made me much more
conscious of the effects of depression and attempts at suicide.
Teens reading this will be able to identify with a great story
written in a positive and gripping way, while gaining understanding
of the feeling of alienation and isolation of those who are
struggling with depression and the aftermaths of suicide attempts.
Pat Pledger
Sam the cat by Sam Bowering and Andrew McLean
Working Title Press, 2012. ISBN 978 1 921504 29 7
Warmly recommended. Picture book. Cats. With a gentle touch, both
author and illustrator tell the story of a cat called Sam, seemingly
displaced in his parents' affection by the arrival of a new baby.
Unable to reach a decision about its name, they take the cat's
name, Sam, for the baby and find another name for the cat. The cat
thinks up some names for himself, but none of these is used, rather
he is given the name of Jack. Miffed, he runs out of the house one
night and becomes lost, rather forlornly sitting on a building's
steps before his kind owner finds him and takes him back home, where
all is forgiven. The cat learns to like his new name, especially
when it is used when he is fed. The water colour illustrations
underline the cat's sensitivities as he gasps with fright at the
parents using his name, or cowers in fear at the gang of stray cats
moving in on him when he is lost. And the last picture of the cat
brings all the family together again.
A charming story of a new arrival in the family and some of the
resentment which may occur, this tale will be a great starter of
discussions about family life, especially when that family
introduces a new member. Using an animal as the protagonist is a fun
way to introduce the theme, whether it be in the classroom or at
home, and children will simply love the story of the cat called Jack
once called Sam, especially as it relates to the author, Sam
Bowering.
Fran Knight
