Nosy Crow, 2011. ISBN 9780857630049.
From the illustrator of The Gruffalo comes another Pip and Posy
story for the very young. This time Pip comes to Posy's
place to play, and because it is too wet to play outside, they have to
stay indoors. They have heaps of fun, so much that Pip forgets to
go to the toilet and has an accident. But Posy brings a level
head to the situation and soon the friends are happily playing again,
even if Pip does look a little strange.
It's a simple story based on a very ordinary situation and that's what
engages the age group. They can relate to both characters, and
the illustrations are just enchanting. There's even a lesson to
be learned by grown-ups in this one.
Barbara Braxton
Being here by Barry Jonsberg
Allen and Unwin, 2011. ISBN 978 1742373850.
Leah Cartwright lives in a nursing home and suffers from Alzheimer's
disease but is aware that she is in her declining years. When Carly, a
sixteen year old student interviews her for a history project, Leah
recounts her childhood living on a remote farm with only her mother for
company.
Leah's loneliness of childhood is reflected by her existence in the
impersonal care facility. Despite her assurances to Carly that her life
was not unhappy, the reader is left with a real sense of sadness for a
childhood spoiled and lost.
Being a puritanical Christian with an unhealthy, dogmatic, Old
Testament view of life, Leah's mother is arrogant, ignorant and
completely indifferent to the views, needs and rights of others. What
Leah forgives and understands as circumstantial behaviour is nothing
short of child abuse in emotional and physical form, perpetrated by a
domineering bully.
The suffering of Leah's childhood is moderated by the character of
Adam, a boy of her own age who manifests as an imaginary friend yet
develops substance, influence and presence to a degree which must be
determined and rationalised by the reader.
Through Leah, Jonsberg conveys the message that we are in control of
our stories. As a child, Leah was completely and utterly powerless to
alter any tangible aspect of her life and she had no recourse to social
authorities, friends, family or witnesses of any kind. In the midst of
this powerlessness however, the child responds by re-writing her story
in her own imagination, creating an escapist, alternative experience
which merged and also diverged with her reality. It could be considered
that this response is a symptom of mental illness which would be an
understandable outcome produced by the mother's psychiatric problems.
Interviewed by Carly, Leah has the opportunity to tell her story to a
person who at first appears completely disconnected in a cultural and
generational sense, yet who becomes captivated by the tale. Talking
together, the pair offer insights which touch each other and a
meaningful relationship beyond the school project is formed.
The theme of story telling continues with Leah's desire to commit her
life to tape, almost as a statement but with an attempt to positively
influence Carly, thus altering and participating in her life story.
This narrative will be interpreted differently by readers as Jonsberg
invites them to take some responsibility for bringing the character of
Adam to life and making conclusions about his nature and purpose.
Rob Welsh
The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards
Penguin, 2011. ISBN: 978 0 670 92029 7
Recommended for secondary students. Following her mother's minor
accident and incapacitation, Lucy, between jobs and beginning to
question her relationship and what she is doing with her life, returns
to her family home for a brief stay. Arriving at the place of her
childhood, Lucy is unsettled by the memories of not only her father's
death but also her first youthful romance with Keegan Fall, a local man
with whom she is reunited. Suffering from jet lag, and unable to sleep,
Lucy explores a part of the house her mother has kept locked.
Practicing the skills she learnt from her father, she picks the lock on
a window seat and discovers a blanket and some old brochures about
women's health and the suffragette movement. Her temporary lack of
direction and inquisitive nature lead her to investigate the history of
these items and, in doing so, Lucy uncovers some well hidden family
secrets.
Written with flowing, descriptive text, many paragraphs in this novel
lent themselves to being read aloud. Edwards has produced a well-paced
and engaging novel about family history, love and relationships. The
modern day story is cleverly intertwined with the historic tale and the
selfishness displayed by Lucy contrasts with the selflessness of other
characters from the past. This could perhaps be used by secondary
students as a paired text, contrasted with Mary Lawson's Crow Lake.
Both
revolve
around the untimely deaths of parents and the ways in
which such events can affect those left behind.
Jo Schenkel
7 Souls by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780143206255.
(Age: 14+) Mary is a wealthy and popular teenager living in New York
City. On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, she wakes up
expecting presents. Instead she finds herself naked and scratched in a
department store, and no recollection of the night before. Soon her
life starts falling apart, and she has no idea why. She thinks that
someone is out to get her, but who? Isn't she the popular girl everyone
loves? 7 Souls is definitely original, I can most certainly say that.
The
problem is, perhaps it was a bit too original. The plot is very strange
and some elements are a little annoying. The main character,
Mary, is very hard to relate to, and the dialogue is quite clumsy, as
though the writers themselves weren't sure what the characters should
be like. The pace is slow at the best of times and some of the
supporting characters are much undeveloped. But this book redeems
itself from those flaws with a couple of things. First, the
description. This may be why the pace is a little sluggish, but anyway
the description is vivid and powerful, and makes the story far more
interesting than it would have been. Second, the plot. Although it is
very strange, it actually makes for an intriguing idea, and a truly
chilling prospect. It is quite a scary book.
This book is not for everyone. A lot of pages coupled with a very
strange plot means you could either love it or hate it. Either way, it
is still a fairly decent read.
Rebecca Adams (Student)
Henry the Goat by Ella Watkins
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2011. ISBN 9781921690877
Henry the goat just loves to play - but sometimes his over-exuberance
for life leads to strife. Today his best friends, Rufus, a
book-worm marsupial, and Oscar, a water-phobic crocodile, are coming to
play and Henry cannot wait. He helps his Dad tidy the garden,
helps his mum bake a cake and then sits quietly with Grandma reading
books until his friends arrive, although Henry's idea of helping
does not necessarily coincide with theirs. The afternoon is
full of fun and frolic, but it may be that Henry is the only one having
fun.
This story has so much energy that it just leaps off the pages and the
reader really experiences Henry's enthusiasm. But you have to
engage with the pictures to see if this is really fun for
everyone. Perhaps Rufus and Oscar are not quite as enthusiastic.
Henry the Goat came to life when the author was just 8 years old and
this book was written when she was 14. 'At first Henry was just a
picture that I drew in my school poetry book. Most things that you draw
you never draw again. However later I decided to redraw him, just to
show him to Mum and Dad. Before I knew it, every time I picked up a
pencil, my hand would etch the few lines that made up Henry's features.
With each time I redrew him he began to change a little and I was soon
drawing him with different expressions and movements. As I drew him
more and more, a personality began to form. I noticed that Henry didn't
seem to react randomly to situations I set him, I began to know him. I
began to understand him and the way he thinks. That's when I realized
his personality was kicking in, he was becoming a person. I now knew he
needed a name. Henry seemed the right name for a goat of such
status.'
Meet Ella and Henry at http://www.henrythegoat.com.au
Barbara Braxton
Hazard River series by F. E. Fison
Tiger terror, Ford Street, ISBN 978 1921665134.
Bat attack! Ford Street, ISBN 978 19 21665141.
(Ages 9+) Warmly recommended. Adventure. Two new books in the series,
Hazard River, will please the readers of this fast and furious
adventure series. In Bat attack, Jack Wilde and his friends are
getting
ready for the New Year's Eve dance at the local disco, but events
intervene to change the direction of their evening. The story Fison
tells at he start of each book was enough to hook me into reading the
series. Tiger terror too is concerned with environmental issues
and
grabs the readers' attentions from the first page as Jack and his
companions set out to save tigers after finding a tiger paw in a
medicine shop in Chinatown.
Easy to read, exciting, with short chapters and easily identified
characters, this series will be readily picked up by students,and the
bright, intertwined front covers will lure them to the books.
Fran Knight
My brother's an egghead by Gretel Killeen
Puffin, 2011. ISBN: 978 0143305644.
Mum's promise to Eppie and Zeke is that, if they can manage to stay out
of trouble for a day and politely take care of their new neighbours,
she will buy them a puppy. When it turns out that the children, Tig and
Pop, are aliens, Eppie and Zeke find it hard to do as they have
promised. As a result, they dress themselves in somewhat bizarre
armour, which includes donning inflatable life jackets.
With three more adventures to come, this series will probably hold most
appeal to the disinclined male reader looking for a short and funny
book. Although, as an adult reader, I didn't find the story to be
wildly humorous, I have no doubt that children will love the 'gross and
grotty' elements of the book and enjoy Mum being referred to by her
children as Bum. Given the variations in font and print size and the
inclusion of small cartoon style sketches, children are bound to find
this series both engaging and easy to read.
Jo Schenkel
The fly by Petr Horacek
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 9781 406330731.
Picture book. When the fly lands inside he is horrified when a fly swat
lands near him with a great thwack. Someone is trying to kill him! Told
from the fly's point of view, this funny take on the life of a fly and
what drives him to do what he must do, will absorb readers and those
read to, alike.
In a few well chosen words Horacek tells his tale, following the fly as
it tries to keep away from the fly swat, eat some food (he doesn't mind
sharing), avoid the cow's tail, the frog an the bird both of whom see
him as their dinner, and then finally returning home for tea.
Each page is covered with wonderfully bold illustrations, some in
pastel, some watercolour, and some in pencil, but all detail the
exploits of the poor fly, simply trying to survive.
Children will have sympathy with the fly's attempts, and perhaps take a
closer look at this insect in our midst.
The humorous take at the end and the cut pages between will further
endear the readers to this book.
Fran Knight
Violence 101 by Denis Wright
Black Dog Books, 2011. ISBN 9781742031781 Violence 101 is a difficult book to categorise. The main
character is Hamish Graham, fourteen, highly intelligent and extremely
violent. It would be easy to dismiss him as another troubled teen
and given his history it would be easy to dislike him. However as
the book progresses it becomes possible to understand him even when you
strongly disapprove of what he does. The book raises interesting
ideas about good and evil and redemption. Not all of these are
neatly resolved which is a reflection of real life. I like the
style that the author uses with writings from Hamish interspersed with
the action of the story. Some parts of the book are disturbing,
the incident with the neighbour's dog being one example.
As I was reading the book I began to wonder how it would be
resolved. As you have more understanding of Hamish through his
writing and the events in the book you begin to have some empathy for
him and his situation. I think the author handled the issues
involved well and created a realistic and believable resolution. There
is no conventional happy ending, rather there is some hope for
the future if Hamish can learn to control his anger or channel it into
constructive purpose.
I would recommend this book for older teenagers and it could be
suitable for class discussion.
David Rayner
Circle of Fire by S. M. Hall
Maya Brown Missions. Francis Lincoln Children's Books, 2011.
(Age 11+) Fifteen year old Maya Brown is living with her
grandmother because a threat has been made by a terrorist group to
kidnap her. Pam, her mother, is a British security chief and is
obviously too close to the truth about planned attacks. However,
in a bizarre twist, it is Pam who is kidnapped and Maya decides to
rescue her.
This quick moving story delivers 'mystery, intrigue and danger', as
promised on the cover. Along the way it briefly introduces other
themes.Maya, we find, has been adopted after terrorists had
killed her entire family in Kosovo, for being Muslim. Ironically
now she is chasing a Muslim extremist group and we learn some of their
traditions and views along the way. Jamila, a teenage girl whom
Maya befriends wants to be a doctor but her father declares: 'she
doesn't need a career to get married. Her husband will provide.' The
causes of terrorism and race conflict are touched upon.
Having a female role model in an adventure or crime story should appeal
to both boys and girls alike. This book is a fast, easy read
aimed at young adults from 11+. It is the fifth novel from Sylvia
Hall, who uses her teaching background to good effect in using
appropriate language and content. It lacks a little realism and depth
but meets its target audience. Circle of Fire will appeal to
readers who like Robert Muchamore and Anthony Horowitz books.
The book also includes the first chapter of the sequel, Breaking
the
circle, which will be released in early 2012.
Kay Haarsma (Salisbury East HS)
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2011. ISBN: 9781921690624.
Highly recommended for ages 12+. Every morning, when London wakes, she
peruses the notes she has written the previous day. These give her
information relevant to the new day ahead and brief her on events from
her past. Although she can 'remember' things yet to happen in her
future, her memories of previous days are erased from her memory at
4:33 every morning. When she meets Luke, a new boy at her school, she
is concerned that she cannot see him in her future. As her love for him
grows, she tries desperately not to forget him and find a way to slot
him into her memories. She ponders whether or not to include him from
her notes at night. At the same time, she tries to uncover the truth
behind some of the memories with which she is plagued on a daily basis
and continue to unsettle her.
This truly is a book which one wishes to devour in a single sitting.
London, as the main protagonist, appears fragile, troubled and sincere,
filled with love for Luke but confused as to whether or not they can
possibly share a future. Luke is reliable, strong, consistent and
determined in his concern and love for London. As a reader, one can
hardly help but want to become involved in trying to find a way to see
the relationship flourish and help explain the mystery which is
unearthed by London's memories. This is a truly engaging novel, one to
re-visit and read more slowly the second time.
Jo Schenkel
Excalibur, the legend of King Arthur a graphic novel by Tony Lee and Sam Hart
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 978 1 406321593.
(Ages 9+) Warmly recommended. Each book about King Arthur is so
different! In this one, Arthur the boy is taken by Merlin to Avalon
where over two nights in real time but 2 years in Avalon time, he
develops the skills needed to defeat his father's killer, Ulric, and
take his rightful place as King of England, Albion. Here he falls in
love with Vivianne but his memory of her is erased so that he will
marry Guinevere and so set in place the events which are foretold.
Lancelot, a cousin of Vivianne, vows his life to Arthur, but seeing
Guinevere falls for her and the two cause an enormous rift in the
relationships at court. In the meantime, Arthur's half sister, Morgana
is plotting and things come to a head towards the end of the book when
Arthur must meet his enemies head on.
An exciting take on the Arthurian legends, the plot dives and twists,
keeping the reader alert and involved. The illustrations are
breathtaking. Huge men dominate the pages, striding across the
landscape, holding weaponry which is sure to make the reader's blood
run cold. Excalibur is a huge golden sword, often held aloft, noisily
making its presence felt in the bloody battle scenes. The movement,
intricate design and boldness of the illustrations will entertain and
excite the readers as they follow Arthur's fight for Albion.
Fran Knight
Don't wake the beastie by Dawn Casey
Ill. by Kirsteen Harris-Jones, Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 978 14088
00027.
The animals spy a hive at the top of the tree, full of lovely dripping
honey. But it is too high for any of them to climb up and get, and
there is a beastie asleep beneath the tree that none of them wishes to
wake. What to do? Each tries in turn, the one climbing up on the
shoulders of the one before. The donkey, pig, the lamb, the dog and the
chook all climb onto each other's backs in an attempt to get the honey
but inevitably their tower collapses, waking the beastie.
A wonderful tale of co-operation, endeavour and achievement, this book
will be well used in classes in the junior primary school as a lead in
to discussions about those values. The repetition of the sentences will
encourage children to predict what is going to happen next as well as
multiply their involvement and interest in the story and the words. I
loved the way the words are not prescriptive, the author using an array
of words, some of which will be unfamiliar but will help create an
atmosphere where new words can be discussed. She also uses words about
the animals which will be used by the astute teacher in talking about
animals in the classroom. The illustrations are infectious, funny and
fluid, with the words spaced across the page underlining the movement
of the animals and the story.
Fran Knight
Ransom by David Malouf
Ages: Senior students and adults. Fiction. Highly recommended. The story of the Greeks besieging the city of Troy is an age old legend, part of the group of stories which make up The Illiad and The Odyssey. Many versions of the tales have been published but none like this. Malouf's retelling of the story of the ransom paid for Hector's body is captivating, the frailties and inconsistencies of those involved revealed for the reader, their back stories told with understanding and sympathy. When Achilles takes umbrage at Agamemnon claiming his prize, the enslaved girl, Briseis, he retreats to his tent, refusing to fight alongside his leader. As a result, his best friend and companion, Patroclus dons Achilles' armour to lead the field, losing his life as a consequence. Achilles' grief is overwhelming and his resultant fight with Hector, sees Hector being killed. Instead of allowing the Trojans to retrieve the body of their king's son, their hero, for a proper burial, Achilles ties the body to his chariot and every day for eleven days, drives it around the walls of Troy. Each day the gods renew Hector's body, making it seem recently killed. King Priam, desperate to bury his son, has a humble cart loaded with treasure and rides out to meet Achilles and beg for his son's body. The carter, a day labourer from the market place, is unsure of how to treat his king, but his natural instincts take over as he realises that the king is an innocent, used to such a different life that he must take some leadership and direct his moves with sympathy and thoughtfulness. The story of the reason for the ransom being paid, the debate within his household for Priam to do such an unheard of thing, the journey to the Greek encampment and the bargaining between Priam and Achilles is given a fresh retelling in this book. As Malouf says in his afterword, some of the stories he uses in this book take only a few lines in The Illiad, but he fleshes out the story to give us a narrative rich with the thoughts and actions behind the deeds. The reader falls into the windy plains of Troy to listen to the motives behind some of the events which although thousands of years old, have resonance in today's world as the events of September 11, 2001 provided the impetus for this writing. Fran Knight
Judy Moody, Girl detective by Megan McDonald
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4002 27435.
(Ages 9+) Humour. Warmly recommended. Judy Moody passionately following
the stories of Nancy Drew, finds herself developing the skills needed
to be a detective, through finding things lost at home. But when the
local policeman, Officer Kopp and his police dog arrive at school for a
show and tell, Judy's imagination takes over. She is invited onto the
stage to hide something for the dog, Mr Chipps to find and gives him a
sound workout trying vainly to trick him.
And the very next day, when Mr Chipps goes missing, Judy sees it as a
personal mission to find the dog and return it to Officer Kopp. She and
the members of her club, Rodney, Frank and Stick decide on action. They
go to Officer Kopp's house and offer their services and are asked to
put up posters around the district. Judy and her crew investigate the
scene of the crime and from there much mayhem and fun ensues and the
quartet go about their business. All good fun, a light read with easily
identifiable characters, this will be a popular choice amongst middle
primary readers, especially those already entranced with Judy Moody.
Fran Knight
