black dog books, 2008. ISBN 978
174203027 2
(Ages 8+) What a delight to hold and read all that is the best in
presentation, design, photographs and writing of an information book.
Kids will love to read this book from cover to cover or dip in to
gather information, or read a chapter or two before bed. Subtitled,
Erupting near you, the book entices the reader with a cartoon volcano
as the A in the title word, and the stunning picture on the front of a
group of houses in the foreground with an erupting volcano behind. What
child could resist opening the book? Inside the interest level is
maintained with maps, photos, illustrations a glossary and short index.
Each double page spread sets out one of the volcanic eruptions, such as
Krakatoa, Vesuvius, Mount St Helens, and Stromboli, amongst others.
Each has a side panel with a map and a drawing about the volcano. The
information given is concise, but with enough detail to satisfy the
middle and upper primary reader.
Each photograph used is an eye popping experience, giving the reader a
bird's eye view of what molten lava is like, or a body from Pompeii, or
a school bus buried by lava, or the destruction of Montserrat. The
photos chosen will have students' imaginations running wild with
excitement. The last two pages are devoted to several escape stories,
and these round the book off nicely.
Again, black dog books has produced an information book that serves as
an exemplar to other publishers.
Fran Knight
One beetle too many by Kathryn Laskey and Matthew Trueman
Candlewick
Press, 2008. ISBN 9780763614362
(Ages: 10+) This strange picture book, concerning the life of Charles
Darwin is neither one thing nor the other. Written in the form of a
wordy story, it purports to be a biography, presenting Darwin's early
life, culminating in the voyage of The Beagle in 1831. He
collected specimens from all over South America, filling the ship with
animal bones never seen before; shells collected from the tops of
mountains and finch skulls from the Galapagos Islands. He sometimes
came into conflict with the captain of the ship, over the ideas
developing in his remarkable brain, questioning the story of the ark
and the great flood of the Bible.
Back in England he spent many years, refining and developing his ideas
on how the animals of the world emerged. His first published book, his
journal of the voyage of The Beagle, appeared ion 1839, and his
tome which described the ideas he developed, On the origin of species,
finally appeared in 1859, with similar success as the journal, but
arousing much controversy. Laskey devotes much space to the idea
prevalent at the time, that god created the earth, man and the animals,
trying unsuccessfully to explain why Darwin's book was controversial.
So we have a biography/picture book, attempting to make Darwin's life
and ideas accessible to readers in junior primary school, but using a
text that is difficult to read and illustrated in such a way that
makes Darwin an eccentric cartoon character. The facts given in the
book are sound but if it is to be an information book, why not use the
marvelous techniques used by better non fiction publishers: time lines,
fact boxes, side panels, photographs etc. I missed that reinforcement
of information, and came away with just a story of a strange man who
did not discipline his children. People wanting information about
Darwin and his ideas will need to look further.
Fran Knight
Lord of the animals by Fiona French
Frances Lincoln Children's Books,
2008. ISBN 978184507916 1
(Ages: 4+) This retelling of a Native American Creation Myth was first
published in 1997, and tells the story of how man was created by the
Coyote which created the world. Each animal is asked what he would have
as the lord of the animals, but each has a different idea, based on
their own attributes. Coyote asks them to fashion their own idea in
clay, and then as they sleep, their clay models are swept away by the
river, and only the one made by Coyote remains.
When he breathes life into his model, man stands up with the legs of a
bear, the sight and hearing of the deer, the skin smooth like a fish,
and with his ability to swim, and most of all, the cunning and
cleverness of the coyote.
Fiona French uses the patterning of the Indian Nations to fashion her
bright, angular drawings, recalling the detail on the hem of the Indian
woman's dress, the decoration at the top of the tipi, the saddle on the
horse and the armbands on the warrior. The story is taken from two
sources quoted on the publication details page, and is a story of the
Miwok Indians of what is now California. The book, a reprint, is a
beautiful introduction to the myths and legends of the Native
Americans.
Fran Knight
Stories from the billabong by James Vance Marshall and Francis Firebrace
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2008. ISBN 9781845077044
(Age: 8+) I approached this book with trepidation. The cover, colour
and
illustrations all reminded me of many illustrated books from the 1950s
and 1960s when books of Aboriginal stories were first produced, without
Aboriginal verification or involvement and told wholly from a European
perspective. These books told Aboriginal stories as if there was one
nation, without regard for the variety and difference between the
groups spread over an area larger than Europe.
Dipping into this book I found, initially that I was wrong. There is
regard for Aboriginal ownership. Stories are authenticated and the
illustrations are done by Francis Firebrace, a Yorta-Yorta man from the
northern Victoria, southern New South Wales region. Acknowledgment is
given on the fly leaf that the stories are from the Yorta-Yorta people,
and in the introduction on page 6, a nod is given again to those
people.
But going further, the stories are from a range of areas. They are not
all from the Yorta-Yorta people, nor do they remain in the Murray River
district of western Victoria. The stories range from Central Australia
(The lizard-man and the creation of Uluru) to Northern Australia (Why
brolgas dance and How the crocodile got its scales) to Queensland (Why
frogs can only croak). And I cannot imagine many of them being told
around a campfire in the Australian desert, as most are set in much
wetter areas.
So I was disappointed. There is a need for a well illustrated,
educational book of authenticated Aboriginal stories reflecting the
range and variety of Australian flora, fauna and land forms, involving
Aboriginal people in all stages of production, but this is not it.
Fran
Knight
Paper towns by John Green
(Age 13+) This deliciously funny story about the relationship between two people, Quentin, Q to his friends, an 18 year old unspectacular nerd and his next door neighbour, the beautiful and most unpredictable Margo Roth Spiegelman, will have readers rolling with laughter. The opening chapter details one night when Margo, distraught by the fact that her boyfriend is sleeping with another, takes revenge. And what revenge. She wakes Q in the middle of the night, enlists his help with his mother's car, and takes him to a supermarket where he buys a strange assortment of disparate goods, then spends the night with her, exacting revenge on the people who have been a part of the conspiracy to keep her boyfriend's liaison secret. During the course of the night, Q sometimes detects a wistfulness which is unlike his strong, confident friend, and he is aware that her strings may be coming unraveled.
When over the next few days, Margo fails to turn up at school or home, her parents, tired of her antics, change the locks on their door. Q is distraught, and following what he believes to be clues left behind by Margo, becomes closer to her than he ever imagined. He drives large distances across Florida, using Whitman's Song of myself as a guide, tracking down the places she has stayed.
But it is graduation night that he finally assembles the clues, and works out where she is. Together, he and his three friends drive to New York State to find her, and her paper town. What could have been a sentimental journey becomes one of revealing themselves to their friends, and Q realising that no one really knows another. Although he has lived next door to Margo all his life, he doesn't really know her or what motivates her. A funny, sometimes desperate look at friendship and relationships, this novel will be eagerly read by middle secondary and senior school readers, and impel them to look more closely at those around them. Fran Knight
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bloomsbury, 2009.
(Age 11+) Highly recommended. The harrowing story of slavery in the
Americas is given full reign in
this tightly controlled story about Isobel, a young girl, who along
with her five year old sister, Ruth is sold onto another after the
death of her mistress. The girls had been told they would receive their
freedom, but the person to whom they are sold treats them with disdain
and coldness. The plight of young girls, slaves in a household, where
they are expected to be up before dawn and go to bed after everyone
else, is told in punishing detail. Living in New York, the fact that it
is 1770, adds a greater terror to their lives.
The American War of Independence is all around them, in their household
where the owners are loyal to the British, to the streets crammed full
of soldiers, to the shops, closed through fear of reprisal, to houses
being burnt to the ground, to the prisons where captured American
soldiers are starved and left to rot, their naked bodies thrown into
common graves. The air is full of war and spying and death, and Isobel
becomes a go between for several captured soldiers and their officers,
allowed to live in boarding houses.
It is a time of fear and retribution, and Isobel knows full well to
stay
out of her mistresses' way, but falls foul of her often enough to incur
dreadful punishment. This amazing story will thrill its readers, and
they will gain an awful insight into the role of slavery in the
foundation of the United States of America, and the personal lives of
girls taken from their parents and made to live lives of drudgery and
fear. Isobel's story will be continued in the sequel, Forge.
Highly
recommended for upper primary and lower secondary readers.
Fran Knight
Tender morsels by Margo Lanagan
Allen and Unwin, 2008. ISBN
9781741147964
(Age 16+) Published as an adult book in Australia, and young adult in
the US, this is an engrossing, horrifying tale of Liga, a young girl
who is abused by her father and raped by a gang of village youths. Liga
lives in a medieval-like community, where there is little help for a
young girl and less compassion for one who has a fatherless child.
Unable to tolerate her situation any more, she mysteriously manages to
retreat to an alternative universe where all the people are kind, and
where she brings up her two children, quiet Branza, and inquisitve
Urrda. It is a world which lacks conflict and danger. Inevitably the
real world intrudes on the trio in the form of a dwarf looking for
treasure and boys transformed into bears, and Urrda, longing to
explore,
makes her way across the border to reality. Eventually all three must
adapt to a place where good resides beside evil and kindness beside
cruelty.
The first section of this book is harrowing with its descriptions of
incest, abortion, gang rape and the effect it has on Liga. I felt
unable to continue with it and put it aside for a couple of months
until positive discussion on Adbooks,
an online US based young
adolescent literature group, motivated me to
finish it. The second half was less traumatic and very thought
provoking. How much can we live in a fantasy world before the real
world intrudes? Should we retreat from the real world or live in it
fully? How much protection should a parent give a child and when do
they allow adolescents to move forward from the safety of the family
home? How does a parent help their children when they discover that the
real world is often hard and cruel?
Lanagan's writing is superb and she has created unforgettable
characters and events. This is not a book for the faint hearted with
its violence and dark themes, but it is a memorable coming of age story
for a mature and intelligent reader.
Pat Pledger
Victor's quest by Pamela Freeman and Kim Gamble
Walker Books, 2008. ISBN 9781921150319 (Ages 7+) When Victor is sent on a quest by his mother, the queen, to find a princess to marry, Marigold the gardener gives him a series of small pots containing balms and ointments to use. Knowing that he is not too clever, she gives him strict instructions, and he finds on his quest, that they come in very handy indeed. He gives the wounded bat some salve for its wounds; the blind eagle is given some sight restoring balm, while the witch with the calloused and rough hands is given some rosemary and glycerin to put her right. Each body that he helps repays his kindness when he finds Valerian, trapped behind a garden full of overly large and ferocious chickens, keeping her captive. Although not a princess, Victor does save her and brings her back to the queendom to marry her, just as his mother instructed. This delightful story was shortlisted for younger readers in the 1997 Children's Book Council of Australia awards, and has been republished by Walker Books, along with its sequel, Victor's challenge. Fran Knight
If I were you by Richard Hamilton
Ill. by Babette Cole. Bloomsbury, 2008. ISBN 9780747552499
(Ages: 4-8) Recommended. Hamilton has written an amusing, affectionate
tale of a father-daughter relationship that is not to be missed. Daisy
is all tucked up in bed and weary Dad says 'If I were you, I'd snuggle
down and go to sleep.' This sets Daisy imagining what it would be like
to change places with her father. She dresses him in a pink tutu, feeds
him porridge and then gives him a ride in her stroller down Main St.
She does all the things that she likes such as eating chocolate fromage
frais and going to the zoo. In turn, Dad decides that he can watch TV
and play while Daisy does the household chores. What does Daisy think
of this exchange?
The rhyming couplets are very enjoyable and will have young children
predicting what will come next. Hamilton has Daisy and her father using
language that they would have heard each other use like Daisy telling
her father that she will take him to the zoo if he 'were very, very
good'. This appealing style keeps the story rolling along.
Babette Cole's illustrations are a delight. Children will find the
pictures of a stubbled-faced Dad, with his hairy chest and skinny legs
sticking out of a pink tutu, really amusing. Daisy is portrayed as a
happy-go-lucky little girl who enjoys having fun. The small, often
humourous details in the pictures such as the plump cat and untidy toys
add a lovely dimension to the story and attentive children will gain
endless pleasure looking at them.
This book with its zany illustrations and great rhythm would be great
fun to read aloud and a follow up activity could be to have the
children decide what they would do if they changed places with their
father or mother and how their parent might behave as a child.
Pat Pledger
30 Australian sports legends by Loretta Bernard and Gregory Rogers
Random House, 2008. ISBN 978174166286 3
(Age 10+) In 30 short chapters, Loretta Bernard gives bite sixed chunks
of information about sports and their participants in Australia.
Supported by a sound index with an easily read contents page and
illustrations by Gregory Rogers, the book will find a place in primary
libraries where students will want to read about sports and sportsmen
and women, either for class work or leisure.
Each chapter gives a potted history fo the sport at hand. In the
chapter on hockey, for example, is a paragraph detailing where
Australian hockey stands in the world, followed by a summary of their
success at the Olympic Games. Several paragraphs outlining specific
hockey players then follow, and the chapter is finished off with
snippets of information which younger readers would find interesting.
With chapters on AFL, hockey, paralympics, speed skating and sailing,
there is enough information for most students. Whether they be reading
for information or just using the book at home to dip in for interest,
the book will please many.
Fran Knight
The curious case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
HarperCollins, 2008.
(Ages: 10+) Poor Benjamin Button was born an aged man, much to the
embarrassment of his parents, living in Baltimore in the 1860's. His
father did not know what to do with this stooped, 70 year old with a
long straggly beard, hobbling beside him. Passing the slave market he
thought he should sell him, but he took him home instead. As father
aged, Benjamin became younger, and at a ball in 1880, he saw a woman
and fell in love. She accepted his proposal, despite the loud cries
from those around him, but she wanted an older wiser man, not realising
that Benjamin, looking 50, was really 20. Initially successful, their
marriage became strained when Benjamin became more agile and youthful
looking as she aged. Tied to a docile wife, he joined the American army
and served in the Spanish American War, where he was decorated for
bravery. Returning home, he was faced with the sad realisation that his
wife no longer cared for him, so he attended university, but as his
brain became younger, so did his attention span and his ability to take
in new ideas. Eventually he went to school, then kindergarten, and
finally was cared for by a nanny.
An unusual short story by one of the world's greatest writers, this
tale turns the normal progression of man on its head. As he gets
younger, Benjamin experiences the sorts of things younger men
experience, but the reader sees it all from a totally different
perspective. There are digs at American society along the way,
prejudice, social climbing, disparity between old and young,
universities, self made millionaires. Fitzgerald quietly mocks some of
the accepted institutions and precepts as he looks at youth and age.
This handsomely produced hardcover, designed to intrigue and delight
the readers of the 70 odd pages, has been published to coincide with
the release of the film.
Fran Knight
Tales of terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley
Bloomsbury, 2008.
(Ages: 11 +) Recommended. I'm so relieved that I read this before
buying it for my primary school library. This is definitely NOT
suitable for primary children and even at 11+ I would add a
proviso that it's not for the sensitive or faint-hearted. I feel
the front cover is a little deceiving: depicting two small children
holding hands and looking rather anxious and with a cartoon spider
hovering overhead. I predicted something fairly innocuous - nothing
could be further from the truth. However with the age caveat in mind,
this is a fantastic book and Priestly the master of terror.
Set during an unspecified time in history when smugglers and pirates
abound, Ethan and Cathy are unwell. Their widowed father has set off to
fetch the doctor and during his absence both children suddenly feel
better and are able to welcome a mysterious visitor to the coastal inn
where they live. To while away the time the stranger spins them a yarn,
and then another, and then another. Each chapter is a complete story in
itself, ideal for a ghostly bedtime read. The tales he tells are full
of menace, all the more so because they are about the everyday turned
foul - the terrible repercussions of a child's laugh, the horror of
flesh eating snails. There's a fair bit of gore and plenty of sinister
suggestion that will leave many readers feeling unsettled, this one
included!
The true identity of Ethan and Cathy and their mysterious visitor is
revealed in a marvellous twist. This is traditional, eerie storytelling
at its best. Priestly does not talk down to his readers and I had to
use the dictionary more than once to look up an unfamiliar word.
Just one further point, I have always been against the idea of
'recommended ages' being printed on books, but I think somewhere on
this book should be a warning that younger readers may be frightened by
the content, or perhaps I'm just reinforcing the nanny state? I would
be interested to know what other readers think!
Claire Larson
The boy who could fly by Laura Ruby
HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN:
9780007210107
(Age 10+) Sequel to The wall and the wing, this is another
original
fantasy set in New York. Gurl is now living with her long lost parents,
The Richest Couple in the Universe, and her friend Bug is busy making
advertisements and doesn't seem to have time for her. Gurl's classmates
at the posh school make her life a misery, and she can't even turn
invisible to get away from them because she has promised her parents
not to use her skill. But when a vampire appears outside her window,
Gurl just has to do something!
There is action and adventure galore in this off-beat story. A
fearsome octopus and a giant sloth are two of the fabulous monsters
that Gurl and Bug have to contend with, as well as a strange artist
called the Chaos King and scary vampires. While all the action is going
on, Gurl, or Georgie as she is now known, has to contend with the rich
bullies in her class, and yearns for her old friend Bug who seems to be
totally engrossed in gaining publicity for himself.
Ruby has combined an engrossing mix of adventure and an insightful look
at the meaning of friendship and the complexities of being rich and
famous.
Pat Pledger
Cookie by Jacqueline Wilson
Random House, 2008. ISBN 9780385613972
(Age 10+) When Beauty's father becomes even more abusive and critical
of the girl and her mother, Dilly, the pair decides to leave their
'happy home'. Dilly and Beauty have put up with derision and nastiness
all their lives with Mr Cookson, the owner of a development company. He
treats them as if they were his servants, expecting Beauty to live up
to the name he gave her, expecting Dilly to be the subservient wife and
mother he needs to advertise his houses. All should be happy, to
parallel his ads, but it is not. Beauty would dearly love a pet, and
when a friend gives her a rabbit for her birthday, her father leaves
the hutch open and the bunny is killed.
Mr Cookson is unrelenting in his victimisation and bullying of his
small family, and this all comes to a head at Beauty's birthday party,
where her class mates, invited by her father, see his behavior first
hand. The girls from the private school her father insisted she attend,
reflect Beauty's father's bullying, and it is a relief to her when she
and her mother leave.
I found the constant bullying overwhelming, and it was a relief to me
when the pair reached the sea, and fell under the wing of a kindly
older man for whom Dilly began to work. The story resolves itself
happily and will be most pleasing to the readers to see the girl and
her mother finally develop some independence. Beauty and her mother are
almost indivisible in their lives with Mr Cookson, and while younger
readers will sympathise with Beauty, older readers will feel for Dilly,
a young woman who relied on her attractiveness to marry almost as soon
as she left school, rather than develop her talents.
Fran Knight
Sleep tight, my honey by Lisa Shanahan
Ill. by Wayne Harris. Hachette,
2008.
(Ages: 3+) Alice is a gorgeous bunny, but she just won't go to sleep at
nights. Lily and Monty do everything they can think of to get her to
sleep. They consult Grandma who advises them to sing a lullaby,
Tortoise, who suggests putting her into a shell, and Possum who thinks
she needs a big hairy pouch. Butterfly believes that a cocoon would do
the trick and Bat is convinced she needs to sleep upside down. Nothing
works, until Lily finds the perfect solution!
Young children who have a baby in the house will know about the noise
that can keep everyone awake at night. Shanahan has written a story
with a memorable refrain: 'Sleep tight, my honey, You gorgeous bunny'.
Children will enjoy repeating this as well as making the crying Waaa
waaa noises that baby Alice makes. Along the way they will
incidentally
learn about the nocturnal habits of many animals.
The illustrations by Wayne Harris are a delight, with beautiful
lavender, blue, yellow and pale orange colours. Alice has an engaging
grin on her little face during the day and a wide-open mouth to show
her displeasure about being left alone at night. The Rabbit family is
portrayed as a warm and caring extended family, where love is very
evident.
This is a book that pre-schoolers will enjoy, and that adults will love
to read aloud.
Pat Pledger
