Egmont, 2010. ISBN 9781405248303.
The house is dirty. Crumbs on the floor, wet clothes scattered in
the hall, bike tracks on the carpet, and handprints on the wall. Who
has been making all this mess? Jake? Jane? Bertie? Paul? Louise? Or
Jess the Pup? And, more to the point, who is going to clean it up?
This is a cute picture book perfect for sharing at bedtime. It
raises issues of telling the truth and taking responsibility, as
well as how easy it is for each person to do one little thing rather
than having one person do a lot.
Miss 5 really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun joining in the
repetitive text AND she remembered to take her dirty gumboots off
before she came inside. Worth it just for that!!!
Barbara Braxton
Soonchild by Russell Hoban
Ill. by Alexis Deacon. Walker, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4063 2991 9.
(Ages: 10+) Warmly recommended. Mythology. With the Soonchild
remaining in his wife's belly, Sixteen-Face John is astounded when
the child tells him that she cannot hear the World Songs, songs she
needs to hear before she can come out of the womb. Sixteen-Face John
is distraught and so goes on a journey to find them.
His journey takes him to other times, through shape shifts and
several layers of death, talking to animals, singing songs and
finally going into the Black where he and the raven must go back
thousands of years to find the World Songs, including his own Death
Song. Once the songs are found, the man, now called No-Face John
returns to his wife and in kissing her transfers the songs to their
daughter and she can be born.
Beautifully told, the story fills the reader with the cold of the
North, as Sixteen-Face John uses his sled and huskies for much of
his quest, but must also go into the spirit world to talk to his
great grandmother, avoid the wolves which carry with them all the
things he has neglected to do, and finally befriend the raven.
The sense of place is overwhelming. Both the words and illustrations
bring the cold, the sense of the North with its biting winds, into
the imagination of the reader, allowing them to view No-Face John's
quest with admiration at his courage and tenacity. Readers will gasp
with delight at the images of the animals he meets along the way,
cower with fear as the man is surrounded by wolves and feel despair
as he and the raven descend into the Black. Added to all of this is
the background of the people who live in the Hudson Bay area, their
lives and stories bound up with their environment and now entwined
with modern life, presented to us through John's indolent life,
neglecting his elders, drinking coke and becoming fat, wary of his
responsibilities as a sharman. The beautiful hardcover edition, with
a wrap around dust cover portraying a polar bear, is a pleasure to
hold and will entice younger readers to look inside.
Fran Knight
The smallest bilby and the Easter tale by Nette Hilton and Bruce Whatley
Working Title Press, 2012. ISBN 978 1 9215042 6.
Warmly recommended. Picture book. Easter. How wonderful to see a
bilby book connected with Easter that is at once, entertaining,
witty, beautifully illustrated and has a good story line.
It will be readily picked up by teachers, librarians and especially
children wanting a book to read at his time of the year, full of
gentle humour.
The rabbits farewell the young bilbies, setting off on their journey
to deliver the Easter eggs by morning. They are given instructions
about how to deliver them and advised not to miss anyone. This they
do by the light of the Midnight Star, until Brush falls over the
edge of a cliff and all the bilbies must work together to pull him
back to the top, with an unforeseen result. All is well and they
finish their work by morning light when the rabbits have a special
present for them.
Bruce Whatley's illustrations are endearing, showing the bilbies
with their pointy noses and large ears, carrying their sacks of
eggs. The muted colours he uses perfectly suit the the gentleness of
the story and the setting of the bilbies' work at night. This is the
third in the series about the smallest bilbies, and carries on the
tradition of linking bilbies with Easter, begun by Rose-Marie
Dusting.
Fran Knight
My sister the vampire: Lucky break by Sienna Mercer
Egmont, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4052 5699 5.
(Ages: 11-14) This book is number seven in the series of My Sister
the Vampire. Twin sisters, Olivia and Ivy, are members of a
family of vampires. However, only one of them, Ivy, is a
vampire. Their vampire father, Mr. Vega, finds the sisters'
long lost Aunt Rebecca, the surviving twin of their human mother who
died in childbirth. This is the chance the girls have to get
to know the human side of their family after having already met the
vampire side!
Olivia tries out for the lead in the school play of Romeo and
Juliet, hoping that her famous film star boyfriend, Jackson
Caulfield, will win the part of Romeo. However, her plans
don't turn out the way she had dreamed. She discovers that
another teen vampire, Garrick Stevens, who has a crush on her, is
also trying out for the lead male part. But this play ends up
being a very different version of the original. Ivy is
supporting her twin sister by helping to produce the play.
The girls spend some time with their newfound Aunt Rebecca who lives
on the farm where she and the twin's mother grew up. The twins
discover that their mother helped a mare give birth to 'Lucky' who
became her horse. Ivy wasn't too keen to go to the farm as
most of the animals avoided her, what with her being a
vampire! As a result, Ivy was tense most of the time. While
Ivy explores the farm, she discovers her mother's journal.
Both the girls experience riding a horse and get to know
Lucky. But Ivy left the stable door open and Lucky escaped and
ended up missing for several days. Ivy goes looking for Lucky during
a storm. Does Ivy find Lucky and do they make it back safe and
sound? Does the school play have a happy ending?
This book keeps the reader interested in the story by entwining
Olivia's and Ivy's lives at school and their private lives.
The book also has an interview with the girls at the end of the
book. A book that young teens and pre-teens (11-14 years)
would enjoy.
Janet Cassidy
What's the Matter, Aunty May? by Peter Friend
Ill. by Andrew Joyner, Little Hare Books, 2012. ISBN 9781921714535.
(Ages: 5-9) The unnamed hero of this story is a young boy,
perfectly perfect in every way; perfect hair, perfect clothes and
perfect manners. But does his perfection extend to domestic
cleaning? As we find out he is nothing if not persistent as he
systematically destroys Aunty May's mansion one room at a time all
in the name of being helpful. The entire picture book is
written as a monologue of the young boy as he asks his wealthy Aunt
how she can possibly be so unhappy when he has just done all of the
cleaning for her. As he sits upon a pink foot stool sipping a cup of
tea in his knee high white socks and bow tie he ponders upon her
ungrateful response to his assistance with her housework. In
recounting his cleaning efforts we find out that some of the
cleaning casualties include a now unhinged screen door, antique jugs
and cups, the carpet which is now splattered with red ink and the
budgie which had an unfortunate run in with a vacuum. As his
recount moves forward we see poor Aunty May change from a prim,
proper and composed harp-playing, tweed and pearl-wearing lady into
a dishevelled, ink-splattered, unkempt and agitated one. The
young boy is puzzled; what could possibly have upset Aunty May so
much?
This is an light-hearted story about how some people see the bright
side of everything and how perspectives of people can differ.
I found the characters exaggerated and comical and think most
children will find this book humorous. The facial expressions
of each of the characters add to the wonderful illustrations which
are so important in telling the story due to the optimistic
retelling by Aunty May's 'helper'!
Nicole Smith-Forrest
Runelight by Joanne Harris
Doubleday, 2012. ISBN: 9780857530820
(Age: 10+) Runelight is a rather convoluted sequel to Runemarks,
so it's definitely a good idea to read the first book. Simply put,
the story of Runelight follows two magical girls, six hundred miles
apart, who both have a runemark on their skin, a symbol of the Old
Days when the Worlds were ruled by the gods from their sky citadel,
Asgard. However, the famed citadel of Asgard now lies in ruins and
the gods' power has been destroyed. Or so everyone thinks . . .
The most complicated things about Runelight are the characters.
There are many different characters, all with different
personalities and motives, and it's often hard to keep track of what
everyone's doing.
The best thing about this novel is the construction of the worlds.
The Map Of The Nine Worlds at the beginning is simply incredible to
behold and every location in the novel is well thought out,
imaginative, and filled with colour.
The inclusion of the Norse gods is excellent and the character of
Thor is surprisingly amusing, what with him constantly wanting to
fight everyone and getting into trouble more than the son of Odin
really should be.
However, the downside of this book is that it never really seems to
get going. It stops and starts along for the first hundred pages and
then settles down to a pace that probably won't hold the interest of
younger readers. Runelight is sure to please fans of fantasy or those
interested in the Norse gods. But be prepared for a long, rather
slow read.
Rebecca Adams (Student)
The hunger games : the official illustrated movie companion by Kate Egan
Scholastic Press, 2012. ISBN 978 0 545 42290 1.
With the film of the trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, starting
with The hunger games, about to appear in our cinemas, the
first of the guides has appeared, and I'm sure it will not be the
last. The hunger games trilogy is still hugely successful, and its
popularity will be reignited once this film is released.
This companion is divided into six parts, including history, cast,
the look, places and props, people, and future and each section is
sumptuously filled with quite amazing pictures of the set, costumes
and fascinating facts about the filming. I loved the double page
spread on page 134 showing the make up area for the 400 extras used
in the arena scenes.
With an article in today's press (The Advertiser, 17/3/2012) about
the new style of heroine in film, comparing Katniss to Elizabeth
Bennett, I will need to reread The hunger games! But this
new, smart heroine is one to watch out for, and if you haven't read
the book, at least the first one, grab it now. It is rivetting. It
is also one of those books written for adolescent girls that has hit
the adult market, and is being read by adolescent boys as well. But
be prepared, the franchise is about to hit when the first movie
opens at the end of the month.
This book will be popular in libraries and bookshops as it feeds the
need for information about the film, and nourishes those for whom
Katniss is just wonderful. This is one of two books published by
Scholastic about the film.
Fran Knight
Alice-Miranda in New York by Jacqueline Harvey
Random House, 2012. ISBN: 9781742751146.
Highly recommended for ages 8 and above. Alice-Miranda accompanies
her parents to New York City where they are to complete the final
stages in renovating the family owned department store in readiness
for its unveiling. Here, she is enrolled at Mrs. Kimmel's School for
Girls. With her infectious personality and outgoing nature, she
quickly makes a new group of school friends. Unfortunately, she also
meets up with a girl from her previous school who holds a grudge
against Alice-Miranda. As she visits new locations and indulges in
different experiences, her friendship group continues to grow. When
the store renovations fail to go smoothly, her parents seem to be
somewhat distracted and constantly busy. Alice-Miranda steps in to
help unravel the various mysteries which are uncovered along the
way, assisting other characters in the process.
Alice-Miranda truly is one of the most likeable characters in
contemporary children's literature. She is a great judge of
character, generally accepting of everyone with whom she comes in
contact. In addition, she is obliging, helpful, independent,
resilient and eager to try new experiences. Somehow, despite her
social standing, she sees the good in others no matter what their
background, and cannot comprehend the agendas which others may bring
with them into various situations. Despite the female protagonist,
this series is an utter delight to read and this title could well be
used as a class novel
Jo Schenkel
The ink bridge by Neil Grant
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 9781742376691.
The violent oppression maintained by Moslem extremists in
Afghanistan is revealed in Neil Grant's depiction of a young boy's
desperate flight from the Taliban. Omed does what he can to provide
for his family who live a hopeless existence in miserable squalor
until he enrages the vicious stand-over men who terrorise his
locale. Knowing he will be murdered, Omed flees his village and
journeys to Pakistan where he endures months of privation until
fortune delivers an opportunity to undertake the long and dangerous
voyage to Australia.
Mandatory detention at Woomera follows his arrival, until a breakout
loosely based on real events sees him escape to try to live in the
community without official sanction or the rights and protection
afforded by citizenship.
In Melbourne, Hec, a young Australian man suffering from a family
trauma meets Omed whilst they perform unskilled factory work and the
pair develop a relationship partially based upon the silence they
both maintain for different reasons.
Grant graphically illustrates the plight of those who take enormous
risks to seek the safety of life in Australia. The reader is
transported to a world of corruption and greed where those who
profit from human misery demonstrate a casual disregard for the
suffering of those they exploit. I admired the way the writer
presented a balanced and realistic view of the asylum experience.
Whilst he unashamedly detailed the mental illness, self harming and
hopelessness caused by long term detention, one of his main refugee
characters was a morally bankrupt, evil criminal, - exactly the sort
of individual whose identity and background authorities try to
establish via detention.
The question of why so many unaccompanied men feature in the asylum
seeker population is dealt with by the author in a brave manner
which does not shy away from the harsh realities of life under a
brutal regime perpetuated by bloodthirsty tyrants demonstrating
moronically dogmatic religious intolerance. Grant does not attempt
to excuse or misrepresent reality for those trying to survive in a
land where some lives have no value and he certainly does not insult
the reader with happy resolutions for the helpless innocents left
behind by those who flee.
The writer's personal experience in Afghanistan and level of
research into human trafficking is evident in the text, however I
thought that presenting the two boys with their disparate
backgrounds and trying to meld them into a larger story was just a
little too much to handle in this novel. An unresolved climactic
event at the factory, unconvincing Woomera content and a laughably
bad depiction of an Australian truck driver were also elements I
cannot help recalling which reduced the overall impact of this
otherwise good story.
Rob Welsh
Goldilocks on CCTV by John Agard
Frances Lincoln Limited, 2011. ISBN 978 1 84780 183 8.
(Ages: 11+) A twist on the old favourites! Through poetry, John
Agard has given a modern twist to fairytales such as Cinderella,
Jack and the Beanstalk and Red Riding Hood. Imagine
Cinderella asking her fairy godmother to turn her pumpkin into a
motorbike and instead of silver slippers - biker boots! Imagine
Sleeping Beauty singing a rap song as she calls on her 'dude' to
rescue her.
Readers aged 11+ will enjoy these 'grown-up' versions of fairytales.
John Agard has used rhyming, rap and story-telling to investigate
the point of view of different characters such as the wolf and the
ugly sisters. This would be a great resource for the classroom,
giving students a chance to compare traditional tales and experiment
with writing their own stories or poems.
The illustrator, Satoshi Kitamura, has used black and white
illustrations to compliment the text. He has a unique technique and
I especially like the 'Scream' (By Edvard Munch) influence for the
poem The Bad Hair Day.
Kylie Kempster
The flame of the dragon by Tommy Donbavand
Scream Street, No. 13. Walker Books, 2011
(Age: 8-10) Scream Street is a fun and slightly creepy
series of novels for primary aged children who want something fast
paced and scary. The Flame of the Dragon continues the adventures of three
young friends from Scream Street, Luke, who transforms into a
werewolf, Resus a vampire wannabe, and Cleo a mummy. Scream Street
is where all the alternative 'people' live and there is a wide range
of creatures and life forms, one of my favourite being the laid back
zombie, Doug who refers to everyone as 'dude'.
All three children have been on a quest throughout the past 12 books
to collect 6 relics and this is their final mission. Even in Scream
Street there are good and bad guys and our three adventurers are
banished to the Underlands by Acrid Belcher, the evil head of
G.H.O.U.L. They must travel to China and face an angry dragon before
they can return home.
I have also read the first in this series and have found both books
to be light hearted fun, full of action, squeamish descriptions and
ghoulish jokes. Author Tommy Donbavand does not take himself
seriously as you will discover when you search You Tube for his many
self made book trailers ( i.e. book
trailer #1 ).
Students at my school love them and the whole series is heavily
reserved. Good fun for 8 to 10 year olds.
Jane Moore
Stones for my father by Trilby Kent
Alma Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 84688 174 9.
Recommended. Having both South African Dutch and Canadian ancestry,
Trilby Kent has been moved to write this neat historical novel
concerning the experiences of a teenaged girl during the second Boer
War of 1899-1902.
Corlie Roux is a girl who gains the reader's sympathy from the first
page, as she struggles to please her domineering mother who, being
recently widowed, barely maintains the family farm on the Transvall.
Corlie is clearly unloved by her mother and is regarded as second
class which is an interesting parallel to the treatment of the
family's house servants by both the Dutch farmers and English
soldiers.
Corlie has a positive outlook, an innocent world view and great love
for her younger brothers, upon whom her mother dotes. Despite her
mother's unreasonable and sometimes excessive treatment, the
daughter admires and respects certain qualities in her character
which later become important when the family is detained in what the
British euphemistically refer to as 'Refugee camps'.
Some readers may be unaware that these were in effect concentration
camps, with large numbers of civilians being imprisoned in
impossible conditions where starvation and disease took a terrible
toll on life.
The author provides a realistic and restrained account of the
terrible suffering endured by those who were detained in response to
the reprisal attacks carried out by Boer Commandos, being farmers
who participated in guerilla warfare. Even allowing for narration
through the eyes of a young Boer girl however, Kent fails to portray
the position of British civilians and soldiers in the wider
perspective of the conflict. I think that authors who choose to
write historical fiction have some responsibility to reasonably
educate their readers and this otherwise great story was slightly
flawed by what appeared to be ancestral bias, to the extent that the
only benevolent character representing the British Crown was cast as
Canadian.
I recommend this book however, as this genre has great power to
enlighten young people regarding otherwise unknown episodes from
history and Kent's research and literary skill bring the location
and era to life.
As book covers are extremely important in appealing to library
patrons, I was intrigued by the illogical depiction of a young girl
wearing modern clothing. Whilst this may depict the author's
personal journey, it seemed to imply a time slip theme which is not
present in the text.
Rob Welsh
How to be a good cat by Gail Page
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 2618 8.
(Age: Pre-school) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Bobo the
dog is a good dog, he jumps in to help around the home, dusting,
sweeping and polishing. When their neighbour knocks at the door,
wanting to know whether someone could look after his kitten while he
was away, Bobo volunteers readily. The kitten looks cute but
surprisingly, she is fast, naughty, and very difficult. The
illustrations show the readers just how difficult the little kitten
is and Bobo's attempts to tame her. The other cat in the household
gives Bobo lessons in what a cat is like, so that Bobo will have
more ability to keep her under control.
Small children will love the ideas put forward in this story about a
kitten and her characteristics, and the attempt by the dog to tame
the animal. The bare illustrations will absorb the readers' interest
as they recognise things about kittens and cats. In the end, Bobo
attempts to do the same things, will hilarious results, both so
tired out they fall asleep. The old adage about teaching an old dog
new tricks springs to mind and could well be a discussion point with
the tale.
Fran Knight
Hunted by Adam Slater
The Shadowing series. Egmont, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4052-5363-5.
(Age: 11+) Callum Scott is a Chime Child, which means due to the
time of his birth he was born with the special abilities to see the
supernatural. Up until recently this has been something that Callum
has learnt to accept, until his powers as a chime child are
eventually called into being with the arrival of 'the shadowing.'
The Shadowing is when a gateway in the parallel netherworld opening
allowing evil creatures to enter and terrorise the living world.
Callum's responsibilities as a chime child are called into action
when a series of unexplained gruesome murders of children occur in
his Village. The hunter, Fetch, is the first of many creatures who
have passed through the gap from the Netherworld and is hungry to
hunt, murder and eat children. Meanwhile Callum is working though
some bullying issues with other students at his school and develops
a friendship with Melissa who knows lots about the supernatural.
Callum also meets the spirit chime child Jacob and his ferocious dog
Doom whom he soon realises is an ally. ' The Hunted is certainly fast pace with some chilling imagery,
particularly of the creature Fetch's murders of children, which
could potentially give younger readers nightmares. This in itself
will make it attractive to upper primary and lower secondary male
readers. It is bound to become a popular horror fantasy series.
Adam Fitzgerald
Battle Files: Land by Mac Park
Boy vs Beast: Border Guard. Pop and Fizz and Scholastic Australia,
2011. ISBN 9781921931093.
(Age: 8+) This book contains a who's who of the beasts that inhabit
the stories of Boy vs Beast series and an information guide of all
of the beasts, pests and gadgets that appear in the books.
The story starts with how Border Guards battle beasts with the help
of the Bordaria Master Command. In every battle, guards learn
new things and win points. If they win enough points they can
win a badge from the BMC. When they win enough badges they can
become a Border Captain like Kai Masters. There is a
description of the type of badges that can be won and how many
points are needed. The book goes on to explain that these
battle files for land and how to attain the rock badge.
There are five Beastium lands, Terradon, Infernix, Sludgia, Isolus
and Volcan. Each of these lands have very different landscapes
and goes on to describe them. Border guards have to battle
pests before they can find and battle the beasts that are attacking
the wall between Earth and Beastium. But the pests are tricky
and can change like the beasts. There are seven beasts to
battle. Each beast has a file number, how to pronounce their
name and some facts about where they are found, how many times they
evolve or change, background information, what they are capable of
doing, tips on how you can defeat this beast, what gadgets you need
to help you and illustrations and diagrams to look for.
This is an easy to read book with larger type and lots of
illustrations for younger readers who like to know more about the
characters in this series of books. An exciting and
informative read for 8+ readers and fans of the Boy vs Beast series.
Janet Cassidy
