Reviews

Dance of the sugar plum fairy by Sue Whiting

Ill. By Sarah Davis. CD narrated by Antonia Kidman.
New Frontier, 2009. ISBN 9781921042621
(Ages 5-10) Recommended. Sue Whiting has written a fascinating story around the music of The Sugarplum Fairy from The Nutcracker ballet by Tchaikovsky. Marcus and Mary are the finest candy makers in the kingdom. Their sugarplums are so delicious that the greedy king is overjoyed with them and orders 50 jars to be delivered by sun-up. Even though it is an impossible task they do their best to make them. After working frantically and using up all their sugar, they only have 25 jars. They go to bed exhausted and in the morning discover to their delight that there are many jars full of sweets. A sugarplum fairy has come to their rescue, and keeps helping them out.
Sarah Davis' illustrations are a delight. She made all of the characters seemed come alive for me. I loved the little sugarplum fairy. She is a gorgeous mixture of ordinary little girl in leggings and magical fairy with stunning wings. Her smiling face and gleeful expressions brought a smile to my face. The music on the CD is wonderful and an unforgettable way of introducing children to classical music. As well as being a good story for parent or teacher to read aloud, children can also listen to the narration by Antonia Kidman. Notes about the composer and The Nutcracker ballet can be found at the back of the book.
This is a lovely story that young children will enjoy both for the tale and for the accompanying music.
Pat Pledger

They told me I had to write this by Kim Miller

Ford Street, 2009.
ISBN 9781876462840 (Age 12+) Highly recommended. What an emotional roller coaster ride for Clem, and all who read this absorbing and challenging book. Kim Miller's knowledge and understanding of angry and unhappy youths comes through very strongly as he writes with emotion and candour through an adolescent's voice. The title implies an unhappy youth, yet throughout the novel hope shines through. Clem believes his mother's death at his birth is his fault. He and his father have a tumultuous relationship made more difficult from a sexually abusive teacher! He writes to his recently dead grandmother at the behest of the school counsellor called 'the Rev'. The language is that of a teenager at war with himself and the world, (he's in a school for toxic teenagers), but wonderful pieces of wit and humour and growing self awareness are laced throughout the letters and gives the reader a real sense of hope for the 'Clems' of this world. Clem finds peace within himself, a first love and a strong bond between father and son.The topics are tough and of our time but the enduring strength given by the teachers in Clem's school is a reminder of the positive effect teachers can have on each child's development. A fast paced novel well worth reading no matter who you teach.
Sue Nosworthy

Second star to the right by Deborah Hautzig

Walker Books, 2008. ISBN 9781406315493.
(Age 13+) Recommended.A hauntingly distressing book, made all the worse for it's a reality to anyone suffering anorexia nervosa. Leslie at 14 thinks that her life would be perfect if she was thin but as she says on page 69: 'I'll know when I'm thin because I'll be happy.' She has very high expectations of herself, well loved by her family and has a supportive good friend in Cavett. This is a revealing emotional ride for us all, especially as this is partly biographical. The sad journey takes Leslie from home to hospital where we leave her with others in a similar position, struggling to be able to eat again. The stark cover will draw many adolescent readers to look inside. It's a novel to share and discuss with young people
Sue Nosworthy

Oddly by Joyce Dunbar

Ill. by Patrick Benson. Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781844280322.
(All ages) What a strange but memorable picture book! Three weird creatures, Lostlet, Strangelet and Oddlet, are roaming in the woods. The Lostlet is going around in circles and doesn't know what he is hoping for. The Strangelet asks himself, 'What am I?' and doesn't know what he is dreaming of. The Oddlet asks, 'Who am I?' and wonders what he is wishing for. A little boy, who is also lost, comes along, and doesn't know who or what he is. The four get together and discover that love is what makes you better.
This tale looks at identity and self-perception in a warm and loving way. The three strange creatures are very appealing especially when they evolve into Huglet, Snuglet and Foundlet. The little boy has a wonderfully expressive face, each emotion clearly depicted by the beautifully illustrations by Patrick Benson. Indeed, it is the illustrations with their gorgeous sweeps of pale orange and blue backgrounds that bring this story to life.
I can imagine reading it aloud to very young children who will be reassured that love is still waiting even if they get lost or feel strange or odd.
Pat Pledger

A finder's magic by Philipa Pearce

Walker Books, 2008. ISBN 9781406309225
(Age 7-12) Highly recommended. Reminiscent of Philip Pullman's The Scarecrow and the Servant, this beautifully crafted novel is a joy to read. Till's dog Bess is missing and Till is shattered. He meets a strange man who calls himself Finder who offers to help find Bess. Finder gently teaches Till to believe in himself and to ask questions of a mole, a heron, a cat who talks in riddles and the two old ladies, Miss Mousy and Miss Gammer. It's a mystery with Finder subtlety suggesting ways to look for Bess. It is written by Philippa Pearce for her grandsons and illustrated by Helen Craig, the boys' other grandmother, who painted and sketched the delicate pictures which enhance the already evocative text. Till's full name is an anagram of the grandsons' names. This is a story to be shared with a child, so together the finer points of language and illustration, can be talked through and enjoyed. The paper is smooth with a silky touch and the embossed cover makes this a special and delightful reading experience.
Sue Nosworthy

Little chick by Amy Hest

Ill. By Anita Jeram. Walker, 2009. ISBN 9781406316414
(Ages 3-6) Three short stories about Little Chick make up this beautifully illustrated picture book. Little Chick longs to be able to make her carrot grow and her kite to fly. She wants to touch her star in the sky and put it in her pocket. But with the help of Old-Auntie, she realises that while she cannot always immediately do what she wants, there are things to be thankful for in the present. She is a good and patient gardener, she can skip very nicely and she is a good stretcher.
Amy Hest has created two lovely characters in a warm and loving relationship. Little Chick is enthusiastic and wants to try out the impossible. Old-Auntie is a wonderful adult, always able to think of positive things and able to reassure Little Chick about her ability to do things.
Anita Jeram's soft muted watercolours highlight this loving connection and make the story come alive. A picture of Old-Auntie putting her wing over Little Chick and protecting her in a blanket of love is very memorable as is Little Chick dragging along a leaf for a kite.
The print is large and clear and each story can be read by itself or as an interconnected whole. This would be a good read aloud for young children and would especially show the importance that caregivers can have in children's lives. It also examines the fact that sometimes people fail at what they want to achieve, but they learn important lessons on the way.
Pat Pledger

Sting by Raymond Huber

Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781921150890
(Ages 7-10) Ziggy is a little bee who just doesn't fit in. He is called Oddbee by the other bees in the hive because he likes to explore and do different things. He goes on a quest to find out why he doesn't fit in with the other bees. He has many adventures on the way to discovering who he really is and why being different can sometimes be a real help in times of danger.
Sting is told in the first person, from Ziggy's perspective. Huber takes the reader on a wonderful journey told through the eyes of the little bee. It is full of danger for Ziggy, who has to answer many questions about why bees are being trained to sniff out explosives and where the black cloud of killer bees has come from. On the way many fascinating snippets of information about bees are described and the reader becomes very aware of the complex life they lead.
All of the characters seemed real and alive to me. Huber has managed to give his little bees separate and engaging personalities. I particularly liked the way the author used names for the bees starting with Z - Ziggy, Zabel, Queen Zenova and so on. This alliteration and the fast paced action would make the story fun to read aloud.
There are many themes in this book that could be explored through discussion and lessons. It has a strong message of tolerance for difference and an anti-war thread is evident throughout the plot. There is a good glossary at the end with information about bees and the fact that they are dying out throughout the world. Sting would fit into a classroom activity about insects, conservation and understanding of diversity. Classroom ideas can be found here.
Pat Pledger

The hunger games by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic, 2009. ISBN 9781407109084.
(Ages 13+) It is the near future. Panem, once known as North America, is controlled by a dictator who manipulates reality TV to control the population. It is divided into 12 Districts and is run from the Capitol. Each year 2 teenagers from each district are chosen by compulsory lottery to participate in the Hunger Games. All must fight to the death, but the winner will never be hungry again. When her little sister is chosen, Katniss Everdeen takes her place and together with Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, they are taken to the Arena knowing they will probably be killed.
Katniss is a survivor. She has been looking after her mother and sister ever since her father died. With the help of Gale, an 18 year old young man, she has left the confines of her village and ventures out into the wilds to gather food for the family and to barter for other necessities. Faced with the Hunger Games, she puts all her knowledge about the wild into use. She thinks her way through the game, just barely keeping ahead of the monster wasps, werewolves and the rest of the teenage pack. She is a strong and gutsy heroine and the reader cheers on her efforts to stay alive.
The story is full of non-stop action and violence and the suspense keeps the reader glued to the page. Collins has created a dystopian world that is well developed and realistic enough to pull the reader in. Her vivid writing made the terror and anguish that the teens go though in the Games come alive for me, almost as if I was actually watching it on TV. Indeed, for people used to reality TV, The Hunger Games show feels quite familiar.
All Collins' characters are well drawn and engaging and their development is clear and deftly handled. The touch of romance between Katniss and Peeta and Katniss's feelings for Gale make for an appealing love triangle which teenage girls will enjoy. Readers will want to read the sequel to see what happens.
This is one of the most exciting books I have read this year, a compulsive survival book with a frightening dystopian society driving the action.
Pat Pledger

Flight of the bumblebee by Hazel Edwards

Ill. By Mini Goss. CD narrated by Antonia Kidman. New Frontier, 2009.
(Ages 5-8) The first in the Music Box series, Flight of the bumblebee is a clever combination of a story and a piece of classical music. Bumble is a little honeybee who has no sense of direction. He bumps into branches and misses petals when he should be collecting pollen. It is not until the kind Drone gets him to fly to Flight of the bumblebee, a piece of music about a king and a bee-prince, that he able to find his way.
This is a captivating story by Hazel Edwards, with amusing illustrations by Min Goss. The story will stand-alone if read by a teacher, but the addition of the wonderful background music by the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Antonia Kidman's narration makes it something very special indeed. The music is such a fine piece and will be a wonderful introduction to classical works for young children. There is a section about the composer and the origins of the music at the back of the book.
A useful addition to the library or for classroom use this story can be read aloud by the teacher or the students can listen to the CD. In the classroom it will be a boon for teachers wanting to give students a taste of classical music or are looking for literature to use when teaching a unit on insects. Teacher's notes are also available.
Pat Pledger

Exposure by Mal Peet

Walker Books, 2008.
(Ages 14+) Highly recommended. Set in South America and featuring Paul Faustino, a football reporter, Exposure follows the books Keeper and Penalty. This can be read a stand-alone novel. The central story is loosely based on Othello: the characters get their names from the play and the book is divided into 5 acts. A star footballer, Othello, meets a beautiful pop singer Desmerelda at a celebrity party. They fall in love and quickly marry much to the delight of the media. But Othello has a deadly enemy, his jealous agent Diego, who plots his downfall. Alongside this plot are several linked stories examining celebrity, racism, poverty and the politics of the country. The main subplot revolves around three street kids. Bush is a hardworking orphan who looks after his sister Bianca and friend Felicia and who earns a little money by running messages for Faustino and other journalists in the press building.
A complex, challenging book, I read this over several weeks, as I allowed the parts of the interwoven stories to seep into my brain. Knowing Othello, I expected that there would be tragedy at the end and dreaded coming to that final stage. Ultimately the conclusion fitted well into the 21st century and what constitutes misfortune in the eyes of the media today.
The story of the street kids was the one that kept me engrossed. Here too I knew that there would be tragedy. Peet's description of the poverty that the children lived in was heart rending and anyone who reads this book will come away with a greater understanding of just what it is like to be homeless.
Peet's main characters, Othello and Desmerelda, have a thinly disguised resemblance to David and Victoria Beckham and I found it fascinating to watch how the media portrayed the pair. The cost of celebrity was made very clear. Faustino's beliefs gradually changed as he grew to know Bush and his companions and the other characters are finely drawn.
A review can't do justice to such a formidable book. I believe it would be an excellent choice for a class study. (Teacher's notes are available). It would provide much engrossing discussion about celebrities, poverty and class structures as well as being a fascinating modern comparison to the original Othello.
Pat Pledger

Collecting colour by Kylie Dunstan

Lothian, 2008. ISBN 9780734410221
(All ages) Highly recommended. Shortlisted by the Children's Book Council, Collecting colour is a beautiful picture book that describes the art of weaving with pandanus leaves. Rose goes on a trip with her Aboriginal friend Olive into the bush. Olive's mother and her Aunty show them how to collect pandanus and find the berries and roots that will make the dyes to colour them. They have a wonderful day, gathering leaves and colour, and having a picnic near the river. They throw in their handlines and catch a barramundi that they bake in coals for tea. When they get back home, they learn how to prepare the leaves and roots and finally they get a chance to weave a mat by themselves.
Collecting colour, a memorable story of how traditional baskets and mats are made, is told from the viewpoint of a small white girl. The text takes the reader through the whole process, clearly showing the complexity of the materials and the expertise that is needed to produce a work of art. What makes this picture book so outstanding is the use of beautiful vibrant colour and bold figures. Dunstan colours her pages with vivid reds and oranges and all the shades of green and the figures of all the characters look so warm and happy.
Reading this book made me want to go out and purchase a lovely piece of art made from pandanus leaves.
Pat Pledger

The extraordinary adventures of Ordinary Boy series by William Boniface

Title 1: The Hero Revealed. HarperTrophy, New York, 2007. ISBN 780060774660 Title 2: The Return of Meteor Boy. HarperTrophy, New York, 2009. ISBN 780060774691 Ill. by Stephen Gilpin
(Ages 9-12) These are graphic novels in reverse - action packed adventure stories of 'superheroes' in prose, sprinkled with clever illustrations. However, these are heroes with a difference - they have many and varied creative powers, eg Halogen Boy, whose glowing ability depends on his sipping of apple juice; Plasma Girl, who can transform into a jellylike substance; Stench, notable for clearing the room with his gas, and Tadpole who can stick his tongue out twenty feet. They form the Junior Leaguers from Superopolis, along with Ordinary Boy, who has no powers, except lots of smarts. In the first book, the Junior Leaguers hunt for a missing collector card and become entangled with Professor Brain Drain, who can empty a mind by touching a head with his finger, and his adversaries, the League Of Ultimate Goodness, led by the super superhero Amazing Indestructo. The evil Professor plans to drown Superopolis in collector cards. There are a twists and turns and cliff-hangers aplenty as the Junior Leaguers face one amazing scenario after another. There are shades of the real manipulative world of marketing when Tycoon reveals his plans and students learn the economics of supply and demand via card collecting. They learn that superheroes can have feet of clay and everyone has a contribution to make.
In the second book in the series, Ordinary Boy travels back 25 years to save Superopolis from destruction by a meteor, and learns what happened to the mysterious, vanished superhero, Meteor Boy. Even more wierd and wonderful characters are encountered along the way and there are surprises at every turn.
The readers who enjoyed the Captain Underpants series will enjoy this creative, humourous and entertaining series - there are three so far. If read by, or to, parents the adults and children alike will enjoy the creative powers, as I did, and all will enjoy trying to solve the mysteries. A very 21st century band of Enid Blyton sleuths! If children need to read plenty in order to gain fluency and sophistication to graduate to more demanding books, then this is the stuff to give them at this age. The vocabulary will extend but not frustrate them. A must for all primary school libraries!
Kevyna Gardner

Genesis by Bernard Beckett

(Age 13+) A remarkable science fiction story of life in the future, Genesis will have more thoughtful readers talking and thinking about the implications of the story long after it has been read. Anax, a young woman with potential, has been groomed by a tutor, Pericles to sit the exams for The Academy. She has long studied the life of Adam Forde, a revolutionary long dead, and has prepared herself for the examination by learning many of his tracts, and developing holograms which show aspects of his life, particularly his debates with an android, Art.
The exam is a six hour discussion where Anax is expected to tell the three examiners all she knows, what she thinks and field unexpected questions. Throughout her presentation, it becomes clear that society has undergone a radical change, and that the present population lives on an island, surrounded by a sea wall, built to keep out other people, and a defense system which allows no breaches of the rules. While she speaks about this regime, the reader will call into question some of the recent changes within our society, the increasing xenophobia of many nations, the military buildup of some and the increasing suspicion of governments. I found the story brim full of ideas which could be pursued within a classroom, not least of which calls into question what it means to be human.
Fran Knight

Rascal and the hot air balloon by Paul Jennings and Bob Lea

Puffin, 2009. ISBN 9780143502425.
(Age 5-7) Any book by Paul Jennings is sure to delight his young readers and Rascal and the hot air balloon is no exception. Rascal is a little dragon who loves to chase things especially things that fly like aeroplanes, helicopters and hot air balloons. Ben thinks it's too dangerous for Rascal to be chasing planes so Dad tells him to tie him up. When a hot air balloon gets into trouble Rascal knows that he has go to its rescue.
Ben Lea's big, bold illustrations are a combination of fantastic dragons and real life cars and planes and amusing details engage the reader. There are such amusing expressions on the faces of Rascals and his companions. The pictures match the text and will give clues to the beginning reader, who will want to go on and pursue other Rascal books.
With its easy, large text and entertaining illustrations this book is a pleasure to read. The humourous twist at the end is an added bonus.
Pat Pledger

Creature of the night by Kate Thompson