Random
House, 2009.
ISBN 9781741664348.
(Ages 6-9) When she discovers that it is Opal's birthday, Pearlie the
Park Fairy decides to organise a surprise party for all of the
creatures from Jubilee Park. Jasper the
Elf is not sure about
inviting the rats, Scrag and Mr Flea. On discovering that they are not
invited,
the rats decide to plan their own party. Both Pearlie and the rats head
to
Great Aunt Garnet's fairy shop to order their party goodies. Whilst
Pearlie
orders a cake 'with sugar and spice and everything nice', the rats
request 'the
biggest, yuckiest cake ever', filled instead with 'slugs and snails and
puppy
dog tails'. On the day of the party, a mix up with the cakes turns out
to be a
blessing in disguise.
Harmer proves that, not only can she use her sense of humour
to appeal to adults but she is equally capable of writing for children
as well.
The simple story, interspersed with rhyming verses, is engaging and
humorous.
Readers see the importance of friendship, inclusion, planning, sharing
and the
benefit of being given a second chance. The Pearlie stories are
didactic yet
hold much appeal for young children. Pearlie
and Great Aunt Garnet includes party invitations, door hanger and
suggestions
for party games and decorations. Together with the clever marketing of
this
hard cover book, Gypsy Taylor's vibrant illustrations make this an
attractively
presented book which will be in demand by emergent female readers or
girls
wishing to be read aloud to by an adult.
Jo Schenkel
Elephant by Petr Horacek
Walker Books, 2009. ISBN
9781406311006.
(Ages 3-6) What is a lonely boy to do when his grandparents are too
busy to
play with him? His solution is to find an elephant for a best friend.
The
elephant is perfect for throwing a football with in the garden and for
splashing in the bathtub. And he's also perfect to be used as a
scapegoat when
something goes wrong and the garden bed is trampled and there are
puddles all
over the floor.
This is a classic story line with a child using an imaginary friend to
explain
away any disasters that happen when rough games are being played. It
works very
well as a read aloud story, particularly as it has a satisfactory
conclusion
which children will find amusing.
Beautiful illustrations complement the text. The end papers show tiny
pictures
of the elephant from all angles on a vivid orange background. Horacek
has distinguished
the imaginary elephant by drawing it with dark grey pencil scribbles.
The pictures
of the little boy, his grandparents and the house and garden are in
full bright
colours. This is a useful technique and would help a very young child
to work
out what is real and what is imaginary.
Pat Pledger
Gool by Maurice Gee
Text Publishing, 2009. ISBN
9781921520129.
(Age 12+) Imagine a
monster that can't really be seen, but which can latch onto you and
suck your
life away. In this sequel to Salt, this happens to Hari while
he is
out
hunting
with his children, Xantee and Lo, who have inherited their parents'
ability to
talk to each other in their minds and to control the actions of people
and animals.
Determined to save Hari, Xantee and Lo set off with Duro, to try and
find the
origin of the gool, which threatens the world.
This is a perilous mission, taking them through forests and mountains
on their
trip back to the city Beyond, where they believe they will find a book
which
tells how to rid the earth of the gool. On
the way they meet up with Tarl the dog man who guides them to the city
where the
evil Clerk and Keech hold sway. There is enough adventure and action to
keep
the reader interested along the way.
I particularly liked the character of Xantee, a young girl who is a
natural
leader. She takes control of the quest and it is her ability and
compassion
that pushes the story along. Her talents
as a mind reader make for an interesting twist to the plot. The other
characters are equally well developed and it was interesting to see
Hari's
children and their companions grow.
At the conclusion of this book I was left pondering the effect that
practising evil
can have on a person's mind. The strong themes of good versus evil and
non
violent approaches to end conflict could make for some stimulating
discussions.
Pat Pledger
Callie by Ruth Park
Angus and Robertson, 2009. ISBN 97807322892
.
(Ages: 8+) This reissue in one volume of Ruth
Park's Callie's
Castle and Callie's Family will win the hearts of
many new readers as they are pulled into the story of Callie, at a
crossroads
in her short life, dealing with step sisters and brothers, missing her
own
father terribly.
Callie's father died when she was three, but
it is only now, as her mother and stepfather and siblings, move to a
new house,
that her fears come to the surface. Irascible at school and at home, it
takes
her grandfather, an old Scots, to put his finger on the problem, and
look for a
solution.
The superb writing make this a sure fire
winner as a read aloud, and the book will be picked up by middle to
upper
primary readers. The cover illustration will unfortunately be a put
off, old
fashioned as it appears, but the story, first published in 1974, has
lost none
of its appeal. Some readers will notice that the children do not rely
on mobile
phones and play outdoors, instead of in front of a computer, and Callie
is at
ease asking strangers for directions, but this points to a different
time,
albeit 30 years ago. The central issues of finding one's voice and
having a
space of your own will not be lost on today's readers.
Fran
Knight
Dark angels by Katherine Langrish
HarperCollins,
2009. ISBN
9780007214891.
(Age 11+) Recommended. After being
abandoned
by his parents at the monastery at the age of five, and terrorised by
Brother Thomas,
Wolf flees to the hills, where he is pursued to Devil's Edge by a pack
of dogs.
Believing that they are the Hounds from Hell, he runs and becomes even
more
terrified when he glimpses a strange little figure escaping into a
cave. This is a place known to be inhabited by
elves, goblins and demons. When Sir Hugo finds him, Wolf leads him to
the elf
child and finds himself at Sir Hugo's castle, looking after the strange
creature he names Elfgift. Nest, Sir Hugo's daughter, is determined to
do
something worthwhile before she is married and with Wolf she takes the
elf
child into her care.
I was drawn into this compelling medieval tale right from the
beginning. It is so
engrossing and well researched that it took me straight into the times
of the
Crusades, into a world on the border of Wales and England, where Celtic
myths
are mixed with Christian beliefs. The description of a place where
people look
at things differently makes for fascinating reading. The simple
acceptance of
the supernatural by the inhabitants of Sir Hugo's castle adds depth and
interest. I found myself, like the
characters in the book, believing in the existence of the White Lady,
an
ethereal ghost who begs to be allowed inside and the hearth hob who
plays
mischievous tricks on Wolf.
Langrish's characters are wonderful. I
became
absorbed in the character of outspoken Wolf, and longed for a happy
ending for strange
Elfgift and Nest. The unhappy Sir Hugo,
obsessed with the belief that he could recover his wife from Elfland,
and the
dangerous jester who beguiles him with strange songs and stories, are
brought
magnificently to life.
There is plenty of action for those who like adventure stories. With
its vivid
descriptions of medieval life, strong characters and often frightening
mysteries, this is a book that was very difficult to put down.
Pat Pledger
It's Yr Life by Tempany Deckert and Tristan Bancks
Random
House Australia 2009.
(Age
range: 14 - 16). Recommended. Two
students from opposite sides of the world are forced to email each
other for a
year 10 English assignment. Milla lives in Hollywood with all the
trappings of
a successful family. Sims is a street kid living in Byron Bay in a
foster home.
Neither are keen on the idea of the assignment, however as they begin
to
correspond they find a link developing and soon they are dependent on
each
other as they try and solve the mysteries they both find creeping into
their
lives.
Milla
discovers footprints outside her bedroom window and is anxious to know
who they
belong to and why the person is sneeking around her home. Sims
discovers body
parts in a bag whilst searching for food in a local supermarket
dumpster.
Unsure whether to go to the police or whether one of his house mates is
involved he confides in Milla to try and decide what best to do.
The
communication between the characters, written in true email teenage
speak adds
to the suspense of the story. Often short and to the point, other times
detailed and full of information, as the characters try and support
each other
through the trials of their lives.
Tempany
Deckert and Tristan Bancks communicated solely by email to compile this
novel
giving it an authenticity that helps the reader to stay engaged with
the
storyline and compelled to continue reading to ensure the issues facing
Milla
and Sims are resolved.
Tracy
Glover
Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip
Bloomsbury, 2009. ISBN
9780747599937.
(Ages: 13+) I
found this a harrowing read, the tension mounting as each chapter goes
by. Even
though the reader knows that a boy is dead, the alternate sections, Then,
telling of the past, and Now,
relaying what is happening as a
result, does nothing to unclench your muscles as you read. The bullying
and
terror tactics of some of the students, including the hero of the
story,
unsettled me, and lately I have read some gruesome books for
adolescents.
Going
to high school, Nick makes the wrong choice. He sides with one boy in a
fight
and so becomes part of the gang that goes around bullying and thieving
from
younger kids. On one occasion he says no, and becomes instead an
outsider, a
boy with a geeky friend, but when that friend is bullied again, a
second person
steps in, Aidan, his sister's boyfriend, who is killed. His sister,
Allie now has an
invisible
friend called Aidan, who she speaks to all the time, setting a place
for him at
the table, ensuring he is with the family on outings. Aidan's mother
cannot accept that Allie still
does this, a year after his death, and asks Nick to step in.
Told
in alternate sections, the story trickles out information of the
situation at
school, the groups, the bullies and those who try to stop it. It is
familiar
ground, but the way the story is told is electrifying. Told from Nick's
point
of view, he also tells us of his battle scared family, ill equipped to
cope
with what is happening, also trying to manage an aged, demented gran
living
with them. This book gives a background to some of the violence we read
of in
the papers, where youths use knives as their weapons against others.
Fran
Knight
Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy
Penguin,
2009.
ISBN: 9780141325170
(Age 9+) When Anya, her sister Kazia and their parents move
to Britain from Poland,
each is filled with dreams
of a place in which they can have a better life. Teenage Anya imagines
a pretty
picture book cottage complete with whitewashed walls, rambling roses
growing
around the door and a wonderful garden. Her arrival in Liverpool
falls far short of the images gleaned from her story books. Not only is
her
home unattractive, her hopes of quickly making new school friends and
automatically fitting in seem impossible to achieve.
Once Anya meets Dan, the school 'bad boy', she sees another
side to him and hopes that he will prove to be the 'angel' he presents
himself
to be when they are together. Through Dan, she experiences a different
side of Liverpool, and begins to make
friends. Problems arise,
however, and suddenly the concept of returning to Krakow
seems to be the worst possible thing which could eventuate. This is a
story of friendship,
resilience, romance and the desire to belong.
Cathy Cassidy has delivered yet another novel which will be
devoured by girls. Her style of writing is engaging and easily read,
the jelly
bean coloured covers are appealing and eye catching. As with her
novels,
Cassidy's website is interactive, presented using colour, stylised
imagery from
the covers of her books and keeps her fans up to date with new titles
and
author information. Here, the author promotes the importance of
friendship,
daydreaming, reading and writing, major themes in her books. Cassidy
reveals
that she is an 'agony aunt' and genuinely seems to know and understand
her
readers and their concerns. Angel Cake is another title which
will
never be
left on the shelf!
Jo Schenkel
Free to a good home by Colin Thompson
Random House
Australia, 2009. ISBN 9781741663181
Peter and Sally Smith are not ordinary
children. They, along with their parents, are known for collecting
things, but
none more strange than the day the children go shopping and come home
with an
old lady. Drawing on the tales children give their parents about
finding a
stray cat or dog, and the cry of 'it just followed me home,'
Thompson
has
created an intricate and absorbing picture book about an old lady and
her stay
with the Smith family. I loved every page, as I turned each over to
find other
things to look at and think about, drawings to unravel and words to
ponder.
As the children give their parents reasons
for the old lady to stay, she slips into their routines, cooking,
cleaning,
helping the kids with their homework, mowing the lawn, all the while
with the
Smith parents asking questions about who she is and why people are not
looking
for her.
As with Thompson's books, there is no resolution
but questions and ideas. Some of the pages are very bleak, giving an
impression
that something nasty is about to happen, and the way the old woman, now
'Granny' has them all tied up at the end, but with Christmas lights,
gave me
the eerie feeling that she was taking over. Wonderful illustrations
full of
things to look at and think about, the submarine in the Monet painting
is a
hoot, and the little things scattered on every page a delight.
Fran Knight
Journey of dreams by Marge Pellegrino
Frances Lincoln
Children's Books, 2009. ISBN 9781845079642
(Ages 12+) With planes overhead dropping poison to
deforest the land, young men rounded up and taken by the guerillas and
the army
to bolster their numbers, and mother railing against the civil war
around them,
the village is in turmoil. But when one of her sons is taken, mother
and her
younger son escape to Mexico. Father and the other three children
escape the
village as the guerilla army moves in, killing everyone and burning it
down.
Their escape route to Mexico is fraught with danger as they must elude
the
forces ever at their heels and the bureaucracy which seeks to send them
back. All the while they must be canny enough to avoid the pitfalls
which besiege
all those
on the refugee route to another land.
A heart stopping survival story of a young
girl and her family fleeing the war in Guatemala, Journey
of Dreams is about every refugee, forced from their home
and country by war beyond their power and understanding. This books
takes the
reader into a little known war in a continent few of us are even aware
of. It
would sit well in a study of refugees which might include books like
Mahtab's Story (Libby Gleeson),
Soraya the
storyteller (Rosanne Hawke),
and the Parvana trilogy (Deborah
Ellis).
Fran Knight
Chook Shed Snake by Phil Cummings
Scholastic, 2009. ISBN 9781862918115.
(Ages 7+) One of a series published by
Omnibus, called Mates,
Chook Shed Snake has broad appeal,
as Phil Cummings, once again, draws upon his wonderful childhood
memories to
relate a story about dad and the snake in the chook shed. Filled with
warm,
endearing characters, families everyone dreams of, and augmented with
Greg
Holdfeld's illustrations, this book, one of four in the series will be
well
used in junior primary classes, where the print size and short chapters
make it
instantly appealing.
Dad, sent by mum to mend the chook house, a
task he had been promising to do for years, is squeamish after Harry
spies a
snake heading towards the little building. He gingerly uses the rake to
pull
away the straw to see where the creature could be hiding, but is pecked
by one
of the chooks, and decides to leave the task to another day. Full of
gentle
humour, the details about life on a farm remind us all of childhoods in
the
past with love and affection.
Others in this fine series, include Thorpey
by Ruth Starke, The Wombat and the Giant Poojam by
Jackie French, and The Smartest Dog of
All by Ian Horrocks.
Fran Knight
Boy on a Wire by Jon Doust
Fremantle Press, 2009. ISBN
9781921361456
(Ages:15 - adult) Highly
recommended. Boarding
at one of Perth's private schools from his farm in SW Western
Australia, Jack
learns that the life of a student is far from the happy and carefree
life he
knew at his local primary school. Hit by teachers and prefects, bullied
by
other students, the brutality of the boarding school is one which
affects him
for many years after he leaves.
But
he is no victim; Jack asks questions, enraging staff and students
alike, making
him the recipient of the slipper, the cane and the sandshoe, his words
cutting
the cornerstone of their privileges and customs. It is accepted at home
that
this will happen to him, and a code of silence ensures that it
continues. Jack
supports one other new boy, a quiet, solitary figure who has come to
this
school from the now, well known school to the north of Perth, where
abuse was
exposed. Jack is religious and it is this part of his life which gives
him some
comfort, although the questions he constantly asks of god are never
answered,
and the chasm between his religion and the practice at this school is
overwhelmingly deep.
At
times very funny, many times scarcely credible, but often moving and
sometimes
sad, this semi autobiographical story of a boy's life, growing up to be
a man,
will enrage, endear and instruct its readers, as they follow the boy
balancing
on the wire. The models of manhood he sees about him everyday in no way
reflect
what is expected of him as he grows to manhood, and the behavior of
those paid
to care for him is dreadful indeed.
This
highly original story will be picked up eagerly by senior students.
Comparisons
with Catcher in the Rye, and Lord of the Flies, amongst
others spring
to mind as a boy
struggles
to survive in an alien environment, and search for some meaning in his
life as
he approaches adult hood.
Fran Knight
Frannie in pieces by Delia Ephron
Harper Teen, 2009.
ISBN 9780060747183.
(Ages 12+) Recommended. Frannie is fifteen and angry about her artistic
father's
premature death. Her mother has
remarried Mel and Frannie finds them both boring and distasteful. Everything about her father is important to
her and when she finds a beautifully carved box with 'FRANCES ANNE
2000' on it
she assumes it's for her birthday. As
the mystery of the contents of the box gradually unravels, Frannie
learns about
life, a boy and her Mother and Mel. Cleverly constructed, the plot engages the reader who, with
Frannie, is
fascinated with the time changes and the assumptions that aren't
necessarily
what they appear. It's an engaging read
as Frannie learns about love, friendship and her caring family.
Sue Nosworthy
The book of a thousand days by Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury,
2009. ISBN 9780747597810.
(Ages 10+) Highly recommended. Award winning author Shannon
Hale has written another memorable heart wrenching tale of heroism
and
courage.
Based on the Grimm Brothers' story, Maid Maleen, Hale has set
her tale
in
Asia. Lady Saren refuses to marry Lord Khasar, the man her father has
chosen
for her because not only is she is terrified of him, but she is in love
with
Khan Tegus. Her father is furious and locks her in a tower with her
maid, Dashti,
until she comes to her senses. But even the tower doesn't keep them
safe from
the evil Khasar, who arrival brings great danger, while Khan Tegus's
appearance
brings hope.
Told from the point of view of Dashti, in the form of a
diary, the reader is swept into the lives of Saren and Dashti as they
struggle
to survive in the tower. Even though they have been left enough food
and
firewood to survive for seven years, the tower has been completely
walled up so
they live in darkness except for the meagre light that comes from the
fire and
candles. Rats attack their food and the guards outside desert them.
Dashti's
diary descriptions are compelling and the reader will never be able to
think of
being shut in a tower without shuddering.
Hale doesn't follow the usual rules for a fairy story. Her
heroine is not a beautiful princess, but the lady's maid, a Mucker girl
who has
been raised on the steppes and who has a disfiguring birthmark on her
face.
However it is Dashti's indomitable spirit that keeps them from falling
into
deep depression and it is her perseverance that eventually gets them
out of the
tower. She is the brave one, who records their story and who is
prepared to die
for the love of her life. Saren is weak and whiny and would never have
survived
without Dashti.
This is an exciting read, with a wonderful heroine,
adventure, courage, plot twists, romance and heartbreak. Rich in vivid
descriptions, some charming illustrations and a very exciting and
satisfying
conclusion, this book is a keeper for fantasy and fairy tale readers.
It would
also be a powerful read aloud.
Pat Pledger
Naked Mole rat gets dressed by Mo Willems
Walker Books, 2009.
(Ages
3-7) Recommended. Naked mole rats are a little bit rat, a little bit
mole and
are all naked, except for Wilbur the naked mole rat who likes to get
dressed.
All the other moles think that he is very peculiar and go to Grand-pah
complaining about his lack of nudity. Grand-pah is very wise and after
much
thinking makes a proclamation. But his response is a big surprise.
Award
winning author Willems has created a funny and appealing race of
creatures with
his little naked mole rats. Young children will find them irresistible.
The
illustrations are a delight with each naked mole rat looking individual
- just
by changing the shape of the ears and eyes in the illustrations!
It is
a great story about being prepared to be an individual and sticking to
your
beliefs even when everyone else thinks that you are wrong. The message
of being
prepared to look at things in a different way and answering the
question 'Why
not?' is never didactic but rather couched in gentle good humour. A
memorable
book for all the family.
Pat
Pledger
