Where is the least likely place to find a reindeer? A submarine! And yet this is exactly what happened in World War II.
Pollyanna’s early life as a rescued, orphaned and antler-less foundling was in the Russian tundra, but unexpectedly and because of the influence of World War II in Russia, she becomes gifted to the crew of an English submarine set to sail for home just prior to Christmas in 1941. Pollyanna defies convention in a very military setting and becomes the favourite ‘crew member’, possibly even saving them from attack because of her incredible senses under the surface of the sea. It is hard to imagine how an animal so unlikely to be living on board a submarine amongst the toughest of submariners could win so many hearts. But it happens.
Based on the real-life tale of the reindeer on board the HMS Trident, this is such a charming story that it will be absolutely loved by young readers. Told in the voice of Pollyanna the reindeer, this story reveals the amazing antics and heart of the young animal totally out of her comfort zone. Her desire for food is strong and compelling, but her connection to her human companions is heart-warming, even under combat conditions. In this story truth is stranger than fiction. The idea of a young reindeer being commended for service and loved even though they take up valuable space and oxygen under the sea, becomes an endearing and charming tale ready to be loved by readers far from Russia and England and the difficulties of war-time. And there are dangerous times in war time conflict that must be endured before landing is possible. With small touches of humour spread throughout the book, this is never a sombre war-time story, but instead an uplifting and naive story (with an historical source) ready for young readers.
Harbinder Kaur, first introduced in The Stranger diaries, winner of the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Novel, returns in another riveting story. She has been newly appointed as Detective Inspector and transferred to London. She is faced with a big case – a well-known climate change denying Conservative MP, Garfield Rice has been found murdered during a school reunion. Amongst the former students attending the reunion are Cassie Fitzgerald, now a police officer, who is hiding a deadly secret, Anna a foreign language teacher who has returned from Italy to look after her ill mother, a famous actress, a rock star, and another politician. As Kaur begins her investigation, it becomes increasingly clear that there is a link to a death of another student in their final school year – a young man who fell to his death from a train platform. Then another murder is committed, this time in Bleeding Heart Yard.
The story is told in three voices, that of Cassie, Anna, and Kaur, and all bring different insights into the narrative. Cassie believes that she and her friends killed their fellow classmate and has tried to hide this from her memory. She is convinced that one of her classmates could be the murderer of Garfield Rice and the reader becomes very involved in her feelings and memories of the past. Anna has different memories and has lived abroad but finds that returning to London brings back feelings long buried. Kaur must sift through all the evidence, relying on her instincts whie beginning to trust her fellow detectives.
It is easy to picture the London that Griffiths describes. In her afterword she says that Bleeding Heart Yard is a real place, as are the streets that Kaur’s flatmate Mette travelled along. The private school that Cassie and her classmates attended is also vividly described.
This was a well written, engrossing story, with an ending that I did not expect. This series is likely to prove as popular with readers as the Ruth Galloway series.
The Wondrous Prune by Ellie Clements is a heart-warming story, sharing strength, creativity and love. This charming tale will have you hooked from the very beginning. With a heroine who will capture your heart, you will be invested until the very end.
Prune Robinson is an ordinary eleven-year-old girl who suddenly discovers she has an extraordinary power. She loves to draw but is struggling with many conflicting feelings. Having just moved into her grandparent’s home with her single mum and older brother, Prune is extremely overwhelmed with emotions. Sadness from leaving behind her old friends and school life. Grief over the loss of her much loved Grandma and Poppa. Anger over her older brother’s choice in friendship and subsequent troubles. Fear at starting a new school and navigating new friendships.
When a normal day suddenly becomes one that will change her life forever, Prune is in shock and disbelief. Clouds of colours enter her life and she wonders if she has a problem with her eyes or even her brain. However, when she discovers these cloudy hues can be funnelled into bringing her drawings to life, Prune is uncertain about how to deal with this. The magical colours, that are for her eyes only, leave her confused and worried. To make matters worse, she has just found herself the target of ruthless bullying by “the Vile-lets” at her new school. Without wanting to worry her mother, she tries to deal with these perplexing situations alone. She can’t even rely on her older brother, as he has his own issues to deal with. What is she to do?
Ellie Clements has created a highly engaging and inspiring novel. Where real life and supernatural easily intertwine, every reader will be enchanted and entertained. Bringing up interesting discussion points, as it delves into the positive and negative effects people have on one another and also how to overcome adversities in everyday life, this story has a lot to offer. The Wondrous Prune is a highly relatable and relevant tale, with a little touch of magic too.
Themes Bullying, Supernatural powers, Relationships, Problem solving, Creativity.
Michelle O'Connell
Little Ash: Goal getter by Jasmin McGaughey and Jade Goodwin
The fourth in this series of books ideal for young primary people, has Little Ash learning how to take defeat as she loses the lunchtime touch footy match. In year two, she is distraught at losing, but her friends take her to another game, lounge room golf to try out. When she loses this match she wants to give up sport altogether. Then she would never lose and so never have this awful feeling again.
Watching football that night, she is devastated when her favourite player misses the ball and the game is lost. Dad guess her some sage advice, to try her best and not worry about losing: a lesson she puts into practice the next day when she loses to James at tennis.
Each of the stories promotes open discussion between friends and family, they model supportive friends and family and promote determination and resilience. The stories are easy to absorb, do not preach and are attractive with information about Ash Barty, and the writer, Jasmin and illustrator, Jade inside the back cover.
Themes Tennis, Sport, School, Choice, Family, Determination, Little Ash (series).
Fran Knight
Need a house? Call Ms Mouse! by George Mendoza and Doris Susan Smith
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761066016.
The sign outside her home says that Ms Mouse & Co are "builders, designers and decorators" and certainly she has a portfolio to back her claims. All the animals want to live in a house designed by Ms Henrietta Mouse, because she is the only mouse in the world who understands exactly what makes a squirrel or a rabbit, a caterpillar or a frog feel at home.
With her faithful mouse helpers she has built just the right home for so many of her forest friends and each is shown in beautiful detail on each double spread from the spaceship for Squirrel to the underwater Atlantis for Trout to the highly tuned web for Spider. Fourteen homes in all, so what does her own home look like?
As the 2022 season of The Block draws to a close, the interest in home design and décor is rising, and I am always amazed at the number of children who not only turn up to view the open houses but who can speak quite knowledgeably about the contestants and what they have achieved. Some even aspire to be on the show themselves. So this picture book will inspire their imaginations as they think about what their own house might look like, taking into account their personal preferences and foibles, or perhaps inspire an activity that involves designing a home for an Australian animal, also considering their unique needs. Combine it with books like Puffin the Architect, and Built by Animals and there is the basis for a range of skills and strengths to come into play combining STEM and art that might even kickstart a career choice...
Themes Homes.
Barbara Braxton
Jorn’s magnificent imagination by Coral Vass and Nicky Johnston
Exisle Publishing, 2022. ISBN: 9781922539144.
It is the backdrop to the lives of so many, draws millions of visitors from around the world, and yet is so familiar now that many don't even see it.
Who would have thought that such a magnificent structure could grow from a little boy playing with sailboats, watching swans land on water, collecting seashells and flowers, even playing with his breakfast orange peel? And yet it did and in this beautiful retelling of the young life of Jorn Utzon, the reader learns not only of the beginnings of one of the world's most recognisable buildings but the power of the imagination, and the importance of letting dreams lead us into amazing places.
Where might today's discovery take a young person in years to come? Even if it is a wet, indoors day, what might they build from "rubbish" that could become the start of something magnificent? In 50 years, will a nation be celebrating their dreams as they are about to celebrate Jorn's?
Sensitively written and illustrated in a way that doesn't reveal the mystery to the end, this is a book that not only celebrates a little life that has big dreams that come true, but inspires the reader to drift away and imagine... If Jorn could begin a building with orange peels, could they make a city floodproof by playing in their porridge and milk?
Themes Sydney Opera House, Jorn Utzon.
Barbara Braxton
Honour among ghosts by Sean Williams
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761065767. (Age:middle grade) highly recommended.
When 12 year-old Penny’s father, the town’s monumental mason, is thrown into goal for possessing a stolen gold cup, Penny knows that he is innocent and vows to see him freed.
Mysteriously, over the next few days, at least a dozen other items belonging to the town’s rich appear in poor people’s homes. Enlisting the help of Colm, Magistrate Nightwick’s son, Mab a magical scribe’s apprentice, and Niclas, a young ‘traveller’, the four are determined to disprove the suspicion of theft that is cast on the recipients.
This middle grade mystery is set in the same mid-Victorian Irish town as was Williams' earlier Her Perilous Mansion. Here it is populated by a large cast of engaging and delightfully named Dickensian characters from all walks of life, attempting to survive a freezing winter and avoid being wrongfully thrown into prison. Over the course of the detective hunt, they express prejudices, take sides and eventually come together for the common good.
Without being heavy-handed, Williams gives a gentle nod to ‘issues’ such as recycling, gay attraction, ethnic discrimination and death taxes. He has his young protagonists question socially institutionalised inequalities and distribution of wealth, and appreciate the importance of relationships both within families and between strangers. The power of the written word and the importance of questioning authority is crucial to the plot, while the difficulties encountered by Travellers is particularly well fleshed-out and the female characters are feisty and ambitious.
While realistically recreating the social interactions and living conditions of the 19th century, Williams adds a layer of magical activity, and a cast of ghosts who are central to the plot but could concern some when recommending the book. This is a fast-paced book with bold protagonists in a well-developed fantasy world, where the characters’ actions and reflections will keep the middle-grade reader engaged.
How to Make a Picture Book is a very entertaining step by step guide to the creation of a picture book. The book begins with an introduction by the author who explains the use of the “assistant” Bert throughout the book as well as explaining what a picture book is. It is full of humour and fun activities that will appeal to all ages.
The first step in the process is to find an idea. It is suggested the budding writer construct a list of favourite things and add them together to make a story idea. After that the next step is to find some characters and give consideration to not just how they look but how they might behave. The setting follows and the writer is encouraged to begin small and zoom out to expand the setting. Finally, it is time to write the story. Building blocks can help and this is clearly explained through words and pictures.
“Assistant” Bert has his own bonus pages where he shows the reader the procedure of how to physically make a picture book. This is followed by information about adding illustrations to the story and the use of colour.
This book would be a worthwhile visual resource for primary school aged children to the process of writing and constructing a picture book. It is light and entertaining and offers some wonderful ideas to help children along the way.
The author’s note at the beginning of this novel invites the reader to accept his version of a real person, Charles Ignatius Sancho, fictionalised to “avoid the lugubrious snares of a history-laden story, full of choice educational snippets”. In telling “the story of the Black presence in the United Kingdom in the eighteenth century” the author is telling "the tale of a lucky African orphan, who despite being born in abject slavery, rose to become a leading light of the abolitionist movement”. Then we are offered the “Prologue 1775”, explaining that this account , hidden until after his death, is for Charles Ignatius Sancho’s son, and immediately we are unsure of where the fiction and non-fiction begin and end, so the reader must surrender to the ensuing story as historical fiction. The first person diary account flits back and forth between current and past diary entries as well as in the form of letters. We learn that Sancho was born on a slave ship on the way to sugar plantations, orphaned then sent to England as a three year old where he became a servant to a household of three women in Greenwich. The sisters were well connected and Sancho came to the notice of the Duke of Montagu who encouraged him to learn to read and play music, however the sisters forbade this and he had to pursue his education in secret. Eventually he escaped but was pursued by the slave catcher as his status as the child of slaves in England equated to slavery. Like Fielding’s Tom Jones our hero is flawed, with a weakness for food, drink, gambling and a blatant self-interest, relying heavily on rich benefactors. He endures hardship, often of his own making, “self-absorbed to the detriment of my character” p197. But Sancho turns his life around for the love of his life, Anne Osborne, eventually becoming a father and shopkeeper with the right to vote.
No doubt this is an important novel, shining a light as it does on an aspect of English history previously unexamined but I found the prose, self-consciously trying for a regency flavour, difficult and too often the author tells rather than shows us aspects of the era. I was prompted to go and look at Wikipedia to read “educational snippets” about Charles Ignatius Sancho so the book has succeeded in raising awareness about this little known figure. By scanning a QR code on the cover the reader can “Discover Sancho’s London”. The author’s status as a “beloved British actor” and the topical nature of the subject matter will ensure the book’s popularity.
Book three in this wonderful series of stories for younger readers will encourage calm in the face of anxiety as Ash prepares for her first big match. She has been preparing for weeks and is ready to show off her newly acquired skills. She wakes before anyone else and has to be content watching cartoons until everyone wakes. Dad makes breakfast and Ash is about to gobble it down until Dad points out that she might get a stomach ache and that would spell disaster. As they eventually drive away from home, she remembers her favourite cap, but Dad refuses to go back for it as it would make them late. The car in front has a flat tyre forcing them to stop for a while. Ash is very frustrated. Finally they read the tournament and the administrator cannot find her name. Just in time it is spotted and Ash must hurry to the court. Dad keeps telling her to calm down and have fun. And eventually she does.
Another warm hearted story showing the problems that may ensue when getting ready for your first match, the butterflies people feel and the need to stay calm.
All wrapped up in a charming tale of Ash and her first match.
The six books in this easy to read series of stories concentrate on how Little Ash feels in separate scenarios, but all showing positive role models, behaviour and outcomes.
The memorable opening scene has Josephine Alibrandi struggling with a multiple choice questionnaire in her final school year and falling foul of Sister Gregory as it is from “Hot Pants” magazine. Brazening it out in front of the class Josie comes across as funny and smart with a healthy disrespect for the system. She is attending St Martha’s Catholic school on a scholarship, a school dominated by rich, mostly Anglo-Saxon Australians where her friends are Anna, Seraphina and Lee. She lives with her single parent mother, Christina in a terrace house in Glebe. Josie’s mother works so she has to go to her Nonna’s after school and they are both strict with her so she is not able to go out a lot. In spite of being born in Australia as was her mother, they maintain strong Italian cultural ties in spite of the fact that the Italian community rejected them because of her mother’s unwed status. Josie is very close to her mother and knows her father’s name is Michael Andretti and that they broke up before he knew she was pregnant so when he returns to the area things get complicated.
The story has stood the test of time and along with the issues of feelings of not fitting in, there are the timeless issues of coming of age, negotiating young adult relationships and envisioning a future pathway. There have been successful film and play adaptations and now there is this lovely hard back edition. 30 years ago a single mother was able to buy a terrace house in Glebe, there were no mobile phones, the internet was in its infancy and Aids was killing many but this is a well told story that has stood the test of time. In the preface Melina Marchetti looks back on the thirty years since the first edition and reflects on its enduring popularity. She admits it has defined her but “Best of all it has made me grapple less with the questions of who I am and where I come from”, may it help others for many years to come.
Themes Italian Australian culture, Single parent family, Friendship, Relationships, Coming of age.
Sue Speck
The lost Ryu by Emi Watanabe Cohen
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761180101. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
It is the mid 1960’s and Kohei lives with his mother and grumpy, violent grandfather, Ojisan. Most Japanese people have palm-sized dragons called ryu. Kohei’s ryu, Yuhara, perches on Kohei’s shoulder giving him advice, translating, and adding sarcastic quips. Kohei has a strange memory and believes that Ojisan’s bad behaviour is tied to the disappearance of the large ryu after World War 2. He hopes that by finding a large ryu Ojisan will be happy again.
Ten-year-old Isolde and her family from the USA move into an apartment downstairs. Kohei eventually makes friends with Isolde, who has Jewish/Japanese heritage and has an American dragon. Kohei persuades Isolde to go with him to a new Ryugu-jo where ryu are hatched from stones. However, from there their quest to the old, original Ryugu-jo becomes even more extraordinary and Kohei uncovers the mystery of what happened to the large ryus and Kohei’s much loved father.
This is an amazing story. The juxtaposition of reality and fantasy work well. The characterization and family drama are well developed and convincing. Kohei is a principled, determined character while Isolde is wise beyond her years, drawing on her experience and family heritage. Kohei’s mother is resigned to their unhappy life and tolerates Ojisan’s bad behaviour, repeatedly saying things like shikata ga nai – there’s nothing we can do. But Kohei acts on his father’s wise words yamenaide – don’t quit. There are many things to learn about Japanese culture and history in the story.
I found the fantasy aspects equally appealing.There are no whiz bang gadgets and the fantasy feels seamless. I loved the dragons and Emi Watanabe Cohen created a unique world which honors the Japanese connection to the ocean. Themes of terrible betrayal, the traumatic legacy of war, overt nationalism, and the need to be accepted make this a sophisticated deep and puzzling story at times, but totally worth reading.
Themes Dragons, Japanese culture, Racism, Bravery.
Winner of the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Novel, The Stranger Diaries introduced Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur who returns to solve more mysteries in The postscript murders. A ninety-year-old woman, Peggy Smith, has died, her death believed to because of a heart condition, but her carer Natalka, knows there is something suspicious when she uncovers multiple murder mysteries all dedicated to Peggy, PS: for PS. Two of Peggy’s friends, Edwin, an elderly ex-broadcaster who lives in the apartment building and Benedict, an ex-monk who runs a café on the beach, join with Natalka and when they are faced with a gunman who steals one of the books, Harbinder decides there is something suspicious going on. It turns out that Peggy had functioned as a murder consultant for authors of crime novels and Natalka, Edwin and Benedict decide to follow two of the authors to Aberdeen. From then on things begin to escalate as the action moves to a literary festival in Aberdeen, to Edinburgh and back to the English coast with authors being murdered.
Readers who enjoy reading about books and the publishing industry will find much to enjoy in the pages of the book, as publisher, agents, and editors as well as literary festivals are all described by a knowledgeable author. Those who enjoy following clues and trying to work out who committed the crimes will be in for some surprises in this entertaining and twisty novel. It could be read as a stand-alone, as Griffiths has the happy knack of making different supporting characters play a very important role in the action and narration of each of her novels.
A cosy mystery, this is multi-layered and complex, the narrative engrossing and easy to read.
Themes Books and publishing, Murder.
Pat Pledger
Charlie's whale by Libby Gleeson and Hannah Somerville
Charlie loved the sea, and all the creatures that lived within it - seashells and seahorses, sharks and stingrays, crabs and crayfish. He loved the gentle tickly waves and those that crashed and trembled. But most of all, Charlie loved whales - minke whales, orcas, beluga whales and humpbacks, sperm whales and right whales, and especially the great blue whale. He loves to read about them, research them on the internet and play with his toy whale and imagine... But most of all, he wants to see one. Will his patience, persistence and perseverance pay off?
As the humpback highways of our east and west coasts reach their peak as over 30 000 whales make their way north to warmer waters to breed, many, like me, will have been privileged to see these amazing creatures, and, just like Charlie will have waited in anticipation and then been overwhelmed with joy. For something that appears for just a few seconds, maybe as it breaches or just sends a plume of spray into the air, it gives immense pleasure and all the waiting is worth it as a lifelong memory is made. As well as being a story about waiting for a dream to come true, it is also one about having the patience to wait for something so fleeting, particularly in this world of instant gratification and click and collect.
Libby Gleeson's words are lyrical, and Hannah Somerville's illustrations are almost ethereal as they combine to make a story that is as magical as the whales themselves.
Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent - which has more than doubled - and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.
One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling (sex-work). Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.
Based on true events involving institutional exploitation, brutality and corruption in the Oakland police department, this novel depicts a desperate teenager having to make some terrible choices to survive, and finding way to cope with the horrific traumas inflicted upon her. The author says in her notes - “When I began writing Nightcrawling, I was seventeen and contemplating what it meant to be vulnerable, unprotected, and unseen”.
While this book has a beautiful sense of rhythm and language and has many memorable quotes, such as “The idea of drowning doesn’t bother me, though, since we’re made of water anyway. It’s kind of like your body overflowing with itself” and describes the city and melting pot of cultures in Oakland in vibrant colour and details, it also includes graphic depictions of rape, violence and abuse, and is a harrowing and ultimately depressing read that mirrors the reality of life for many people living in poverty.
I did enjoy this book and it certainly opened my eyes to a world I have little knowledge of, however it is not for the faint hearted.
Themes Poverty, Sex-work, Family, Corruption, Substance abuse, Racism, Power dynamics, Loss of innocence.
