No passengers beyond this point by Gennifer Choldenko
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9781408815724.
(Age 10+) A unique and memorable story by Choldenko, author of the
Carnegie Medal shortlisted novel Al Capone does my shirts sees India,
Finn and Mouse having to pack up their belongings when their house is
foreclosed. They have to fly to Colorado to stay with their Uncle Red,
while their mother, a teacher, finishes the school year. They do not
know their uncle and when a mysterious taxi driver picks them up at the
airport, they go along for the ride. They find themselves in strange
place where weird things happen, and they have to stick together
and find the black box in order to get home.
With the opening sentence Choldenko grabbed my attention. I loved her
descriptions of family life with each sibling playing a different role.
India, the eldest, is a typical teen, dependent on her best friend and
easily led. Ben is a worrier, always afraid the worst will happen and 6
year old Mouse, intelligent and aware, relies on her imaginary friend
Bing to help her sort through things. When they arrive in a strange
land, they will all need to use their strengths and rely on each other
to survive.
The land that Choldenko has described seems very eerie and strange at
first. The trio is cheered when they arrive and taken to separate
houses where they are given a mother, the type that they may have
dreamt of. They are then taken off on fantastic adventures, each being
tempted by things in this new land that may make them want to stay.
However, they eventually decide that they really want to get back home,
even if it is to an uncle they don't know. It is not easy to return,
and they must cooperate with each other and trust each other's
strengths. Will time run out before they can all get together?
I found it easy to suspend belief, which is essential to enjoying this
book, and became involved in the bizarre happenings that occurred
around the children. The ending caught me completely by surprise,
although there were plenty of clues to what could be happening spread
throughout the book.
I won't easily forget this story. I can imagine it being read aloud and
engendering much discussion about the importance of family and
persevering in the face of danger.
Pat Pledger
Defiance by Lili St. Crow
Razorbill, 2011. ISBN 9781921518935.
(Age 14+) Recommended. This, the fourth in The Strange Angels
series,
following Strange Angels, Betrayals, and Jealousy,
is just as
engrossing as the previous books. They are best read in order of
course, so that the characters and events are clear. Dru Anderson, a
strong tough girl, is determined to face the King of the Vampires and
rescue her best friend Graves, from his clutches. She decides that she
can no longer wait for Christophe with his enigmatic ways and decides
to go it alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Dru. She is strong and caring and
thinks for herself. The love triangle between her, Graves and
Christophe is not at all clearcut, and the author has managed to keep
me on the edge of my seat, wondering just whom she will end up with.
With physical training and pushing her psychic powers, she began to
move towards being the Order's svetocha, with all its responsibilities.
There is plenty of action, with vampire attacks, runs with the
werewolves and conspiracies to foil. A few surprises at the end kept
the momentum going and left enough questions to make me want to read
the next in the series.
Pat Pledger
Minivers Forever by Natalie Jane Prior
Puffin Books, 2011. ISBN 978 0 143303671. Minivers Forever is the 4th book in the series and the
story begins with some background information on the
miniature heroine - Emily and Rosamund Miniver. This explanation
will give the reader some insight into who the characters are but I
would recommend readers start with book 1 - this is one series where
you do need to understand what has happened in previous books so
as they are referred to. Minivers Forever is a longer novel so is recommended for
girls aged 10+ who are confident readers. The story is set in the
fictitious world of Artemisia. Emily and Rosamund are trying to make
sure the right person becomes queen and they get back their
reputation, career and lifestyle stolen from them. Along the way
they have to deal with a rival in their music world and Titus, the new
prime minister whose nasty surprises could ruin everything for them.
Kylie Kempster
Sydney Bridge Upside Down by David Ballantyne
Intro. by Kate De Goldi. First published 1968, Robert Hale Ltd NZ. This
edition published 2010, Text Publishing Company. Louis Braille Audio
Book - 8 Hours. Read by Humphrey Bower.
Harry, his brother Cal and his best mate Dibs Kelly seem to have an
idyllic location for their long summer holidays, playing around the
wharf and abandoned meatworks while observing the comings and goings of
the inhabitants of the small New Zealand community of Calliope Bay.
Then things start to change, triggered by the arrival of Caroline on
the boat that connects them to the outside world. Harry is charged with
looking after his older and more sexually aware cousin as his mother is
away in the city. His desire to impress, triggers his own awakening
sexuality and develops into a need to protect her, especially from the
attentions of the womanising butcher, Mr Wiggins. When the butcher dies
in an accident soon after a similar accident claims the life of Harry's
nosey neighbour Susan Prosser this classic coming of age novel reveals
a more sinister side of the story and veers increasingly into
unexpected directions. Humphrey Bower's narration lends a subtle sense
of place and keeps this sprawling novel moving at a comfortable pace.
Suitable for senior secondary students (there is a fairly graphic sex
scene) and adults.
Sue Speck
Song of the Dove by Errol Broome
Ill. by Sonia Kretschmar. Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 9781921529245.
Picture book. In Song of the dove Errol Broome relates the true story of
the musician Bellini and his tragic love for Maddalena Fumaroli. While
he began to write his beautiful music, Bellini made a living teaching
young people to sing. One of his pupils was Maddalena, and they
gradually grew closer. They believed that they would be like doves,
which live in pairs and 'stay that way for life'. However Signor
Fumaroli did not want his daughter to marry Bellini and ordered him
from the house. Bellini was determined to become famous and win the
hand of his beloved and vowed that after he wrote ten operas they would
be together. He eventually triumphed but their love was put to the test.
This moving love story is sure to delight children who enjoy a sad
story. Young music lovers will be pleased to be able to read about such
a famous musician and will feel sorry for the tragic lovers. They will
also question whether Bellini put fame before love, by not returning to
Maddalena as soon as he could have. Short biographical information
about Bellini, as well as a list of his ten operas, is also given at
the back of the book.
The illustrations are sumptuous. Beautiful details like richly embossed
wallpapers, extravagant flower gardens and figures set in cameo like
frames make the historical period come alive. The gorgeous clothes,
hairstyles and buildings of the 19th century are faithfully drawn and
add to the reader's understanding of the period.
I am always happy to read a love story and I enjoyed learning about
Bellini and Maddalena, especially as with the visual feast of
Kretschmar's beautiful illustrations gave me such pleasure.
Pat Pledger
Spaced out by Moya Simons
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 9781921529917. Spaced out is a shorter novel with easy to read text. Boys aged
9+ will
enjoy it but I am sure any child who likes space will enjoy it
too. It is an individual story among a series of books under the
heading of Lightning Strikes and with titles such as 'Freaky',
'Egghead' and 'Haunted', they will have reluctant readers busy.
What boy wouldn't want to go into space with his Dad? In Spaced Out,
our main character, Jesse, can't believe it when his Dad makes the
offer! This futuristic space story is set on the planet Centuria where
Jesse and his Dad spend a week. Jesse is hanging out for a spending
spree and with a pocket full of credits, anything is possible! Readers
will enjoy some of the insights into the far out technology and the
possibilities of space travel.
The author, Moya Simons, has kept the feel of the story light but with
the promise of adventure as Jesse seems to be attracted to mischief. In
this case, he buys a robot boy called Michael and the adventure begins.
Can Jesse show his dad how responsible he can be? Can he save
Michael from being a slave?
Kylie Kempster
No and me by Delphine de Vigan
Translated from the French by George Miller, Bloomsbury, 2010.ISBN
9780747599838.
(Ages 12+) Recommended. Promoted into higher grade because of her high
intelligence and abilities, Lou has one firm friend in her class, the
older and much wiser Lucas, whose wit and knowhow steers her away from
any trouble. But she is quiet and mouselike, sitting at the back,
afraid to participate less she look foolish to the older students. On
her way home one night she notices a homeless girl begging in the
subway, and intrigued talks to her and becomes more involved in her
life. Asked by her teacher to nominate a topic that she will
investigate for her class she agrees to look more closely at homeless
people and so takes steps to interview the girl she knows as No.
When she finds that No has been forced out of any accommodation, she
asks her parents if she can live with them, and surprisingly they
agree. So begins a melding of the two groups, the reticent No, and the
even odder trio that makes up Lou's family. Lou's parents lost a child
and this has had an incredible impact upon all their lives. Mother has
become a recluse, rarely acknowledging the other two, while Lou's
father can sometimes be heard crying in the room which was her sister's
room. Slowly the foursome becomes more of a family, Lou's parents
become more responsive, Lou comes from behind the mouse like veneer she
has built for herself, and No goes out to work. Each person changes,
develops, grows as a result of No's entering the family. But No always
warns Lou that this cannot last, and unsurprisingly No returns to the
world she has left, drinking and taking drugs. She is asked to leave
the apartment but one day she turns up at Lucas's home and so stays
there instead. The future for all the protagonists is profoundly
changed by No's being part of their lives, but in the end she cannot
survive the change herself and the open ended completion to the novel
opens the way for many classroom discussions.
Fran Knight
Raven's Mountain by Wendy Orr
Allen and Unwin, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-74237-465-9.
(Age 11+)The story is set in the present time in northern
America. A family consisting of Mum, Stepdad and two sisters is the
focus. Raven, the younger of the two girls, is approaching her
teens and is missing her natural father (whom she has never met). The
family set out on a holiday. Newly-wed Mum stays back while
Raven's new stepdad, Scott, her sister, Lily and Raven begin their hike
into the mountains. Raven sees a family of bears (especially the
cubs) and a raven in the wild among various other wildlife but keeps
this discovery her secret. While they continue their hike, Raven
occasionally sees this family of bears and feels a bonding with
them. As Raven runs ahead, she accidently causes a
landfall. Rocks and boulders trap Scott and Lily and it is up to
Raven to rescue them. She embarks on a journey back to their
starting point, with the occasional presence of the bear family, and
has adventures along the way. Needless to say, everything turns
out alright.
This is a story about self-discovery and being able to extraordinary
things in extraordinary situations where inner strengths come to the
fore.
Janet Cassidy
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9780747583813.
(Age 14+) Highly recommended. Briony blames herself for the troubles
that beset her family. She has the face of an angel but believes that
she is wicked and deserves to be hanged. She can talk to the Old Ones,
but only witches can see them and witches are hanged in her village.
With her stepmother dead, she must look after her strange twin sister
Rose. When Eldric, a handsome blonde stranger, comes to visit the
vicarage, things are turned upside down and she begins to find out
things that have been secret for too long.
The words on the back cover of Chime describe the themes in this book
perfectly: 'Briony witch Electric Eldric handsome stranger Midnight
Flood Fire Poison Passion'. I became engrossed in Briony's story from
the very first line: 'I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be
hanged'. Billingsley really built up the tension about whether Briony
was a witch and would be hung and this kept me reading to the end in
virtually one sitting.
The setting of a village in the early 20th century was quite
fascinating. It seemed to be a parallel world that still believes in
witchcraft and evil women who deserve to drown, but it could also have
been a village so isolated from the world that beliefs haven't changed.
With the advent of the motor car and the train line the modern world is
encroaching, but old ways and customs are deeply embedded. And what is
the role of the person who is called the Chime?
Exceptional dialogue and clever word building by Billingsley made this
a standout novel. The humour and witty exchanges between Briony and
Eldric gave me many a smiling moment and helped to alleviate the fear
and angst that surrounded Briony. The wordplay also fleshed out the
character traits of both Briony and Eldric so that you felt that you
knew them really well. The pitfalls surrounding the romance between
Briony and Eldric were also handled with a deft hand.
I loved this book and can recommend it highly. I will certainly seek
out her earlier book, The folk keeper, which won the Notable
Children's
Book Award and the Boston-Globe Horn Book Award.
Pat Pledger
That's not a daffodil by Elizabeth Honey
Allen and Unwin, 2011. ISBN 9781742372488
(Age 3-6) Recommended. When Tom sees the bulb that Mr Yilmaz, his
gardening neighbour gives him, he is convinced that it is not a
daffodil. It looks like an onion to him. But Mr Yilmaz convinces him to
plant it and wait and see what grows.
Tom is an imaginative child and as the plant grows he visualises many
different things. The bare soil is a desert, a single stork is a beak
and as the five leaves of the daffodil grow, he thinks that it is
Grandpa's hairs blowing in the wind. Children, too, will have fun
imagining different things as they watch the emergence of the daffodil.
Adults who enjoy gardening will love reading this book to children. Mr
Yilmaz is obviously such a wonderful gardener and each time he comes in
he brings another delicious vegetable or fruit for the family to
consume. The story would stimulate children and adults to plant a bulb
or some other flower or vegetable and watch it grow. Children can also
learn very easily the basics of how to grow and look after plants. I
can imagine using this book as the basis for a classroom activity and
reading it again and again to stimulate children's imagination and
knowledge of plants.
Most of all, though, it is a beautifully written and illustrated book
that is a joy to read.
Pat Pledger
Girls at Sea by Sue Lawson
Black Dog Books, 2011. ISBN 9781742031729. Girls at Sea is part 6 of an 8 book series. It does mention events from
past books but readers don't need to
have read them to understand this as it is independent. We meet
fun-loving Mickey and Skye and snooty Coco who are hosts of Girl's
Stuff T.V. They are filming their show from a resort and Skye is
excited as they head out on a whale watching trip as part of their
filming. Readers will learn interesting facts about whales and will
love it when Coco is highly embarrassed - everyone loves it when the
'evil' character gets what they deserve!
This is a short novel and while the text is mainly told through
conversation, it is easy to read and follow.
Girls aged 7-11 will enjoy this story and I'm sure they will want to
read the set and check out the adventures the girls get up to.
Kylie Kempster
A rose for the ANZAC boys by Jackie French
Harper Collins, 2008. ISBN: 9780732285401.
This novel is simply stunning. I first read A rose for the ANZAC
boys
in year eight for The Readers' Cup and since then it has kept a special
place in my mind and heart. It is a perfect example of brilliant
teenage fiction. A story inside a story. The prologue and the epilogue
tell us about Lachie and his ancestry of war heroes and their tribute
to the Anzac Boys.
The main story is set though 1915 to 1920 and follows the journey
Margery McPherson takes to find her twin brother Tim. She and her
friends Anne and Ethel, desperate to help, go to France to set up a
canteen for the poor soldiers going home. They tend to the desperate
men some nursing fatal injuries as they wait for the train to take them
to be treated properly. As the years pass Midge sees for herself the
true horrors of war. She serves as an ambulance driver for the
duchesses for a brief time before going on to work in Casualty Station
number fifteen as an unofficial nurse with her Aunt Lalie. Each chapter
begins with the inspirational piece, a letter either received or sent
by Midge. The letters show us a wider view of the trauma of WW1 and the
types of things soldiers would have thought and felt during that time
of crisis.
This story is stunning, the text creates a feast of authentic images
that will stay with you long after you've finished. I recommend this
novel as it is written spectacularly and is in most cases it tells of
what war in 1915 was really like in a much more condensed version than
is common. Jackie French conducted years of research before she started
working on this novel - and sometimes even she didn't know whether she
could finish it but I'm glad she did complete it as I'm sure that
anyone could both benefit and enjoy this story no matter your
age.
Kayla Gaskell, 15
Hattie and the fox by Mem Fox and Patricia Mullins
Scholastic, 2011. ISBN 978 1 74169 8206.
(Ages 4+) Highly recommended. A reprint of this classic story will have
toenails curling all over Australia as a new generation of children
follow Hattie's attempts to warn her fellow barnyard creatures of the
impending attack by a fox. Each page is wonderful as the group of
animals respond in the same way to Hattie's fears, pulling the reader
into predicting what will happen on each subsequent page and eventually
singing along with the refrains.
The humour in the story of the disinterested farmyard animals is
reflected in the stunning illustrations, in which Mullins has used torn
paper to create a visual splash of colour and line. A lovely touch to
watch out for is the change in pace of the illustrations from the
dreamy animals at the start to the frightened animals moving quickly to
escape on the last few pages as the fox attacks. And I loved Hattie's
concern for her fellow animals, despite their disdain, with her looking
around and warning them, until finally she is resting in her
chookhouse, her lookout work completed.
I heard Mem Fox read this aloud to an audience of children and adults
at a Premier's Reading Challenge reception, and was thrilled to see the
adults so engrossed. This makes a wonderful read-a-loud book.
Fran Knight
Guardian of the dead by Karen Healey
Allen and Unwin 2010. ISBN:978-1-74175-880-1
A fantastic first novel! Karen Healy has employed several classic
concepts to create a work of pure fantasy. The story follows Ellie
Spencer, an overweight year thirteen Mansfield College student who is
completely 'normal' - or so it was until she ran into mystery boy Mark
Nolan. Between falling in love and stressing about the coming exams
something bigger is taking place around her and occupying her thoughts;
the fate of New Zealand's North Island. Maori Faeries are plotting to
regain their immortality from Hine-nui-tepō, the guardian of the dead.
Enlisted in a war she didn't know existed, armed with nothing but her
new found powers and a magical mask, does this ordinary girl stand a
chance?
I have to say, The Guardian of the Dead is one of the most mythology-
rich fantasy book I've read to this day. I confess I'm not familiar
with Maori mythology but this book has inspired my interest in their
legends. I loved how Greek and Maori legends were compared in this book
if only in scraps. The comparisons are in perfect alignment with the
plot. I highly recommend that any fantasy lover who has a thirst for
legend join the characters in this dark adventure to save the North
Island; just don't let the mask fool you!
Kayla Gaskell (Student, 15)
Poisoned House by Michael Thomas Ford
Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN: 978-14088044506.
(Ages: 10 +) Set in 19th Century England, Poisoned House
follows a
young servant girl's quest to solve the unexplained death of her
mother. Abigail Tamper works to overcome her draconian master and
housekeeper Mrs Cotton to get in touch with the spirit of her late
mother
who has been haunting Greave Hall since her death. Along the way
Abigail has familiar teenage relationship issues with her close friend
Lizzy, who is mourning the break-up with her boyfriend. After the visit
from an exorcist Dr Reinhardt, Abigail establishes a communication
method with the spirit of her late mother using a Ouija Board, which
she keeps secretly hidden in the basement. Abigail's suspicion that her
mother was murdered becomes clearer when the hierarchy of Greave Hall
changes when the son and heir of Greave Hall Samuel Greaves returns
injured from war and Abigail is required to nurse him. In the theme of
murder mystery, Poisoned House has some unexpected twists that
occur at
the end right at the end of the book. It would be recommended for
students in upper primary to lower secondary with these students being
attracted to themes of overcoming authority.
Adam Fitzgerald
