A push, pull and slide book, Police Patrol is a winner for young children who are interested in adventure and policing, as well as having lots of fun vehicles to examine. When the City Bank is robbed it is up to the Police Patrol to go to the rescue and capture the robbers. Right from the front cover, the young reader is drawn into the action with a flap that pulls out revealing two police officers on motor bikes and a police car. Turning the page, a robber is seen climbing a ladder while the police get to work. There is also a chance for readers to answer a question about the number of police bikes in the picture, as well as pushing a police officer up and down in an escalator. On the next double page spread a helicopter appears in the sky guiding the police who are following the robbers, and once again the reader must answer a question and find where a robber is hiding. Another page has a push tab that makes the police lights turn on and the final page sees the robbers in goal.
The many ways of manipulating the colourful pictures are sure to delight a young child and the story is exciting and gives insights into police procedures, vehicles and personnel. No doubt this will stimulate some building of different objects out of Lego blocks.
Themes Police, Vehicles, Robberies.
Pat Pledger
Round the twist by Paul Jennings
Penguin, 1990. ISBN: 9780140342130. (Age:8-11)
I confess that I have watched many episodes of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation series Round the Twist. Many of the stories are part of my family’s folklore and I have enjoyed the simple and twisted humour created by the original author, Paul Jennings (with additional creative input from Producer and Script consultant, Esben Storm). This book tells three stories that inspired three programmes in the Round the Twist series. It also tells the backstory to the television and film-creation process from the perspective of the screenwriter and author of the original stories. With a resurgence of interest in the series due to Netflix exposure, young readers may be interested in finding out more about the screenwriter and the stories behind what they see.
Because of the divided focus of this book there is slight confusion in what to concentrate on as the pages are turned in this book. On the left side pages there is commentary about the film-making process and introduction to the actors involved. The three stories are printed on the right-hand pages. For a young reader this may create some distraction of their focus, but it won’t take them long to work out which page interests them most. The book is not high-powered literature, but may interest readers of humorous stories. This book is an ‘oldie’, republished after many years… but could comfortably reappear on library shelves.
Themes Short stories, Television, Scriptwriting, Humour.
One special day, Jarrah spends with Grandpa having adventures in the bush. But today, their special day, it is raining so much that they cannot go outside. Instead their imaginations soar as they have an adventure like no other, sailing away on a boat conjured out of leaves, a crown on Jarrah’s head, looking out for animals stranded by the flood. With her special words 'Ziggety Zoo kangaroo', she helps the animals climb the rocky island, then uses umbrellas to sail down into the water below, searching for the blocked drain causing the water to rise. Expecting to find a hole to unblock, Jarrah finds a reptile like animal sleeping and blocking the hole. She tickles it with a reed from her crowns and when he wakes the water sloshes like a whirlpool down the hole, and the animal which she calls Frilly, happily takes all the animals back to their home.
What an adventure. Eager eyes will seek out the things on the floor which gave rise to the bush adventure undertaken by Jarrah and her grandfather. And everyone has a well deserved nap.
The collage like illustrations have layers of intrigue and interest for young children. The intense detail invites young eyes to seek out the animals stranded on the rock, the detail beneath the sea, the toys in the lounge room. The soft illustrations reinforce Jarrah’s loving relationship with her grandfather, a touching focus of the story. More about Kylie’s work can be found here.
Kylie has art sessions in her backyard with her two young children and it is this work that finds itself in her illustrations. Often she uses her children’s art as inspiration for her own.
Themes Australian animals, Adventure, Imagination, Grandfathers, Art.
Bea is part of a huge musical family and does not yet know what shape her music will take but she is eager to start.
An old saying that when a student is ready, a teacher appears is at the heart of this story as Bea finds her music teacher in Gus, the cat ghost who lives in the piano. He is certainly not the teacher Bea expects.
Bea’s older sister, Isla plays the violin and when Bea tries to accompany her with the triangle, she is rejected. Undaunted she finds a piano, smelling vaguely of mouse and sits down to play. Maestro Gus appears and directs her fingers to play just one note. That note, like a tear falling from a star, is enough to wake the piano, and sounds emanate from the instrument, filling the void.
The sounds are deliciously described and eventually Gus sees Isla who recognises him and follows the music to Bea. This time she is far more supportive of her little sister and they make music together.
This is a wonderful story about imagination and following your dreams, as Bea keeps trying until she finds the instrument she wants to play. Children will be immersed in her quest as they read the text and see the ethereal illustrations which flow over each page. This stunning visual feast accompanies an impressive text: watercolour used in conjunction with pen and pencil drawings bring to life the young girl and her search for her musical heart.
For more information about Caroline and her book go hereand watch an introduction to the book by the author, Caroline Magerl. Classroom ideas are available.
Themes Music, Perseverance, Dreams.
Fran Knight
How beautiful by Antonella Capetti and Melissa Castrillon
How Beautiful is a gentle, thoughtful story complemented by stunning illustrations. A tiny caterpillar who has happily lived each day munching on leaves is suddenly plucked from a leaf and told he is beautiful. This leads him on a quest to find out what beautiful actually means. He asks a bear who says honeycomb is beautiful. He asks squirrels who say dry leaves are beautiful. He asks a mouse who says a mushroom that is shelter from the rain is beautiful. He asks a deer who says his golden seat is beautiful. He asks a mole who says his underground hole is beautiful. Along the journey a blackbird annoyingly disputes all of the animals and their choices of beautiful. The caterpillar begins to worry that he will never find the true meaning of beautiful until he and the other animals rest under the night sky and see how beautiful it is.
The striking colour palette of purples, oranges, reds and browns used in the illustrations are reminiscent of stories from the past. The illustrations are both detailed and appealing and offer the reader the opportunity to search for hidden creatures. This story very much reflects the saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ A lovely book to share with children of all ages.
Themes Animals, Nature, Beauty.
Kathryn Beilby
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune tree by Marion Roberts
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781760526795. (Age:9-13) Recommended.
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree, written by Melbourne based author Marion Roberts, is a joyful, hopeful and delightfully quirky novel for the middle years age group. Written in the first person, the reader sees life through the bright and observant eyes of eleven-year-old Alberta Bracken.
Alberta leads a rich and interesting life, surrounded by friends and family. Roberts depicts the pivotal characters in Alberta's life with great intuitive accuracy, drawing them out in the way an eleven-year-old would view them. Alberta has to negotiate many difficulties in life. Her father has had an affair with Ursula Hoffman and her mother has kicked him out of home. Everybody in the small community of Kingfisher Bay know and Alberta has to wear this. Her mother, with her best selling book Tammy Bracken's Guide to Modern Manners is preparing for an upcoming TED Talk and, ironically, Alberta has discovered that she is a kleptomaniac. Alberta has an hilariously irritating younger sister Clementine. A keen boogie boarder, Alberta loves nothing better than catching sets of waves with her friends. However, her friends are ghosting her and the town bully, Seth Cromby actually deliberately knocks her off her bike resulting in a broken arm and a summer break of no surfing.
Enter the delightful Mikki Watanabe, whose parents have a holiday house in Kingfisher Bay. Mikki invites Alberta to help him make nature documentaries about the private lives of trees. A whole new world of eco-warriorhood opens up for Alberta when she and Mikki start a social media nature channel on Youtube. Thousands of followers are gathered and an issue that brings the town together is initiated by Alberta and Mikki.
The whole issue of trees as sentient beings, of the right to life of 'introduced' species, of the ability of trees to communicate plays into the story. Although the presentation of cross cultural relationships in novels has become cliched, in Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree the friendship of Alberta and Mikki adds a crucial dimension to the novel. In fact what Mikki brings to the story is the special sympathies of the Japanese culture towards nature.
Mikki and me and the out-of-tune-tree is full of action and humour. Alberta learns that people are not perfect but that with effort and friendship, drive and can-do, good things can happen. Bad things can be turned around.
A delightful, recommended read for Middle Year readers who enjoy fun fiction with added depth of theme. Teacher's notes are available.
Kathryn Schulz writes beautifully and profoundly about the grief of losing her father, and, in the same time period, finding the love of her life, designated only as ‘C’.
Lost and Found is subtitled ‘a memoir’ and while Schulz describes in detail these two significant events in her life, the book is less a memoir and more a philosophical discussion of the experience of loss and finding. It is truly an ode to life, for life consists of both these things, the deepest grief and the most joyous happiness. These are the two parts of the whole.
For readers who are experiencing the sorrow of loss, this book reflects that grief but also offers the uplifting recognition that loss and joy are intertwined; life combines both the good and the bad, and is in the end, an incredibly special gift. Schulz describes those special moments of wonder, at the beauty of the world around us, things that always offer the infinite wonder of the word ‘and’. There is always ‘and’ – something else that lingers and will come. ‘Life is and’, not either/or, it is many things at once, connected to everything.
This book would be a welcome comfort to those who are struggling with grief, and a reminder to those who are overwhelmed by daily stresses, that life is an amazing and wondrous thing; something we should stop and just experience in the moment, the infinite variety – the sad and the sublime, the beautiful, the magic, the wonder, the joy.
Themes Loss, Grief, Love, Life, Philosophy.
Helen Eddy
Bluey: Baby race by Bluey
Penguin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761044908. (Age:2+)
Another book from the very popular TV show, Bluey: Baby race will appeal to children because of the familiarity of the characters and settings. Adults reading the story to toddlers will also appreciate the message that the book contains: that each child and parent will need to run their own race – it is not a competition to be the first to crawl or walk. The very attractive cover gives a hint to the book’s contents, showing four different dog parents and their offspring, dressed in nappies, each baby at a different stage of development, Bluey crawling, while another one takes confident steps and others try to toddle.
The illustrations are full of bright colours and happy faces and siblings will delight in tracing the development of Bluey as he learns to crawl and walk and compare his adventures to how they learnt to crawl and walk as well. This book is a fun read and should prove popular with Bluey fans.
Themes Competitions, Infants, Child development.
Pat Pledger
Wild life: The extraordinary adventures of Sir David Attenborough by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe. Illus. by Helen Shoesmith
Sir David Attenborough’s life story is told in this engaging and visually appealing picture book, Wild Life: The Extraordinary Adventures of Sir David Attenborough. This beautifully illustrated new release will allow the young reader the opportunity to share in the life journey of Sir David from the age of eight to the present day. A gift of a fire salamander on his eighth birthday began the incredible journey of this man who is easily recognisable by his trademark blue shirts and is known all over the world for his work with, and deep love, of nature.
In 1954 Sir David realised it was becoming too hard to bring animals into TV studios, so he decided to set off exploring the world and film every strange and mysterious creature he saw. One of the places Sir David found the most magical was Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. He was intrigued by the creatures and the colour he found there. In 1979, 500 million people watched on their television screens the documentary Life on Earth which had taken three years to film. The whole viewing world was fascinated.
On Sir David’s travels he became more and more concerned about the environmental damage happening to our planet. He met with world leaders to express his concern and inform the world of the need to take more care of our declining habitats and the damage humans are causing. The final pages of the book showcase some of the unique animals from Sir David’s adventures and examples from his own childhood mini museum.
This wonderful book would make a perfect gift for a young child who loves nature and is a must-have for schools and public libraries.
Themes Sir David Attenborough, Biography, Nature, Wildlife, Naturalists, Conservation.
A lift-the-flap book that is sure to really appeal to toddlers, The Boo! Zoo is a colourful, humorous book by Campbell, author of the very popular Dear Zoo. The young child is invited to play Boo! with the animals at the zoo. Each double page spread greets a different Zoo animal, with a 'Hello … I can see you! And … said Boo!' when the flap is lifted. The refrain is one that young children will really enjoy repeating and they will have fun guessing what animal is under the flap, by looking at the small detail that protrudes – a lion’s paw, and an elephant’s trunk.
The flaps are brightly coloured with a single word labelled on it, and all the animals have such happy expressions on their faces as they say Boo! that readers and listeners will be unable to stop smiling.
This is sure to become a favourite read aloud in a family and is a book that beginning readers might like to try and read to younger siblings. The clear black print, the refrain and the labelling of the animals would all lend to a feeling of success.
The Boo! Zoo would be a perfect gift to a young child and one that would become a family keeper.
Themes Zoos, Animals, Games.
Pat Pledger
Wombat underground: A wildfire survival story by Sarah L. Thomson. Illus. by Charles Santoso
Little Brown & Co., 2022. ISBN: 9780316707060. (Age:4+) Highly recommended.
The story of animals sharing a wombat’s burrow to escape a bushfire has reached the ears of US author, Sarah Thomson. Intrigued with the idea she has built a story to present to children for whom Australian animals are very different and has produced a charming picture book sure to be loved by all who read it.
Now living in Sydney, artist, Santoso loves drawing little things and the illustrations in this book showcase his close observation of the Australian bush and its creatures. Readers will readily understand how the wombat can build such deep burrows when spying the long claws on the cover, and seeing it sleeping in its burrow, claws prominently displayed. The illustrations reveal a whole range of Australian animals, framed within the bush they live in, looking for a place of refuge when the sky turns red with flames. The immediate impact of the bushfire is comprehended by the animals and the readers as they realise there is no place to hide, nowhere to run, finding refuge with the wombat when all seems lost.
The text reveals the wallaby and echidna nibbling at the grass, the skink soaking up the heat from the sun’s rays. But as it get hotter, the water dries up, the skink needs to find shade and the grass becomes brittle.
Suddenly lightning ignites a wildfire. Flames and hot winds cause the animals to run towards the hole in the hill, where wombat sleeps on, unconcerned. The animals arrive at the entrance, and wombat initially bares his teeth and readies his claws defensively. But seeing the state of the animals blistered, burnt and with stinging eyes, he relents offering them his shelter. There they take cover through the night. Safe from the flames.
At the end of the book are two pages abut Australian bushfires, how they start and the destruction they cause, and while talking about something so specific, the wider message is one of offering refuge to those in need, putting aside differences and history, being ready to help in times of crisis. It is a lesson we can all digest, ponder and discuss, particularly in the classroom, where some children may be refugees and others from families who have come to Australia because of flashpoints in their own countries.
The illustrations describe the Australian bush in detail. Younger readers will delight picking out the animals they can see, recognising plants and terrain, seeing the way a bushfire takes hold and destroys - causing them to think back to the images they have seen recently on television when bushfires had seemed to be raging across Australia.
A number of other books on fire in Australia have been recently published and an astute teacher or parent will gather them all to discuss what lessons can be learnt. (Fire (2014) Jackie French, Spark (2016) Adam Wallace, Where there’s smoke (2019) Phil Cummings to name a few.) Teaching notes are available.
Themes Bush fires, Wildfires, Australian animals, Wombats, Refugees, Shelter.
Fran Knight
Ceremony: Welcome to Our Country by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing. Illus. by David Hardy
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761065064. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
The Go Foundation, aiming to empower Indigenous kids through education was set up by Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin in 2009, and underlies Goodes’ books, bringing ideas and history to a wider group of children, through brilliantly illustrated stories of community. The first, Somebody’s Land (2021) pointed out the truism that Australia was occupied before European settlers landed at Sydney Cove in 1788. And in this book, Ceremony, we are invited to country to look at the ceremonies and customs of Adam Goodes’ family in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, home of the Andyamathanha people. Here we walk with the families coming together for ceremony.
In four line rhyming stanzas the story unfolds. Cousins meet each other, new friendships are made, the aunties, sisters and mothers go off together while the uncles, brothers and fathers go in a different direction. Each group has dances and stories belonging only to them. Bodies are painted, while the clap sticks are hit together, beating out a rhythm. The girls dance the emu the swan and the snake dances while the boys dance the kangaroo, their legs shaking together.
After much dancing and yarning, the fire is built up and a kangaroo cooked for all to share. After such a full day, sleep comes easily, minds full of the stories they have heard and will pass on at another ceremony.
This lovely story following the families getting together for ceremony, reinforces the place that story holds in all our lives. Here the Andyamthanha families meet to pass on story, to greet each other, to rekindle friendships, to build new friendships, to have fun, to share dance and story and food. The lively illustrations by Barkindji man, David Hardy reflect the environment of the Flinders Ranges with its tall eucalypts, caves, water holes and weathered hills. Readers will spot many birds and animals seen in these hills and valleys, while Andymathanha words are used within the text, sending readers to the list of words given on the endpapers. Hardy’s animation background is reflected in his amusing illustrations, the children full of life and mischief as they learn from their elders at the ceremony. Aiming to share their traditions, dances, song and stories, the book will draw in readers, eager to learn of the world’s oldest continuous surviving culture and share in the wealth of stories it has produced.
Reading about the three people who collaborated to bring this book makes fascinating reading as is the information about the Go Foundation. Teacher notes are available on the publisher’s website.
Themes Aboriginal stories, Ceremony, Celebration, Flinders Ranges, Andyamathanha (South Australia).
Fran Knight
Children of the wild by Michael Grey
Eagle Books, 2022. ISBN: 9780648815433. (Age:14+) Highly recommended for lovers of sci-fi.
In Matthew’s world families survive in a subsistence jungle haven as hunters and gatherers, living mostly within the shelter they have made to protect them from wild animals. They are the only humans in their world. Matthew is part of the community, but has no family and so lives with a slight disconnect and the observation powers of the isolate as he looks on those around him. His desire to move beyond the borders sometimes puts him at odds with those in power and it is this desire that puts him at risk and also gives him opportunity to demonstrate his maturity and skills. The first part of the book reveals many tense moments as he battles wild animals and learns his place within the community. But through it all he is growing in wisdom and wondering whether he should trust Jonah, the aging leader of the community. Into the haven comes a stranger and then several others carrying an unknown virus and the world that they had known must grapple with the uncertainty that all that they had known and the wisdom of the elders might be a lie. Sent on an extreme journey to restore health to the community becomes Matthew’s final challenge and with a number of friends and younger members of the haven, they must confront the unknown world and risk their own lives to go back into Jonah’s former life before the haven and search for a solution to their current viral threats. But it comes with considerable costs.
This is an exciting and impressive first novel. There are waves of dramatic moments within a dystopian or speculative-style fantasy set in an unidentified world that has declined beyond imagination. Sometimes it has the feel of a ‘Hunger Games’ survival tale with bows and arrows, set within a world-gone-wrong, and sometimes it is more Sci-fi with coming-of-age overtones. The fact that the younger characters know only the world of their community means that they do not have language or social constructs of many things well known to current readers, and hearing their descriptions of technological or modern-world features has the quality of the ‘primitive’ tribal man being brought into the modern world. Sometimes this may confuse younger teen readers, but it is clever in its capacity for making us see things in new ways. The main character, Matthew is likeable in an aloof and reserved way, and his relationships with friends and the older community member, Rona, is mature and sometimes surprising. The quest-like aspect of the final part of the story is also compelling and distressing and has movie-like qualities. This will be a book that will be worth recommending to YA lovers of Dystopian and Sci-fi.
Along with author Vivian French, fitness coach Joe Wicks has written his first children’s book in a new series, The Burpee Bears. This brightly illustrated and energetic picture book is about a busy family of bears who share their everyday life. The very active Daddy Bear is awake first and encourages his three young bear cubs to get up and ready for the day. Young readers will identify with each of the diverse personalities of the three bear cubs who want different things for breakfast or do their own special activities and take ages to get ready to go out. Daddy Bear is full of encouragement to get moving and go on a big adventure. The family has a fun day outdoors, despite the changing weather, and have a family meal under the stars. As an added bonus for readers, the recipes for the healthy meals are included at the end of the book as well as warm up and wind down exercise activities.
Joe Wicks may be unfamiliar to many Australian readers but is known to millions of British fans as 'the Body Coach'. Given the title, 'the nation's PE teacher' during the 2020 lockdown, he delivered online fitness sessions to children and adults every day. He was awarded an MBE in October 2020 for this work during the global pandemic.
Set in the world of Fable and Namesake, The last legacy is a stand-alone novel that delves deep into the world of the Roths, a family notorious for selling false gems and with a name for dire deeds. When Byrn receives a letter from her Uncle Henrik Roth, she returns to Bastian, hoping that she will find a place in this family. She has been brought up in faraway Nimshire by her great aunt Sariah as a proper young lady knowing what to wear and how to behave, but dreams of being accepted for the skills she could bring to the family. When she arrives, she finds an infamous family ruled over with an iron fist by her Uncle Henrik who wants to make the family business legitimate by joining the Guild. He thinks that Bryn will be able to teach them manners and how to dress but also has plans for her to join in marriage with another of the influential families headed by Simon. Bryn however has other ideas, especially as she is drawn to the silversmith Ezra.
Young makes a study of the world of the merchants and guilds, and the machinations that take place when the Roth family wants to move up the social ladder away from the business that caused her parents’ deaths. Bryn takes her time trying to work out the power structure of the Roth family, while being drawn into the dangerous work that Henrik presides over.
The slow burning romance between Bryn and Ezra is a plus for romance lovers, and the descriptions of Bryn’s tea house, the beautiful silver and fabulous clothes are wonderful. But it is the engrossing story of a strong, intelligent, and thoughtful young woman coming of age and taking power to find a place in the world that keeps the reader’s interest.
Fans of Young will delight in The last legacy while those new to the world will want to read the other books in the series, or move onto Six of crows by Leigh Bardugo or Devil’s ballast by Meg Caddy.
