Little Witchling is all alone, she longs for a friend and searches her spell book for a solution. The only problem is she needs one special ingredient that means she has to leave her home and find it.
This beautiful story that is told in rhyme is an absolute delight and will become a childhood favourite. Little Witchling’s search for the fur from a one-eyed teddy bear and the kindness that Lilly, the owner of said bear shows, allows for conversations about friendship, kindness and how to make friends, but also the importance of our special things and sharing to be introduced.
The Witchling’s wish is a wonderful story with amazing illustrations that really brings the story to life and engages the reader no matter the age.
This is a book that is sure to become a class favourite as it is wonderful for reading aloud and has so many conversation points. It will also be a bedtime favourite as it is a true feel-good book. I absolutely loved this book and have read it to a large number of students since receiving it. I would highly recommend adding this to a school, classroom, and home library.
Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.
These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They've all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up -Valentine's Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they've all been stood up by the same man.
Once they've each forgiven him for standing them up, they let him back into their lives and are in serious danger of falling in love with a man who seems to have not just one or two but three women on the go....
Is there more to him than meets the eye? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?
This book is a tale of love, friendship and heartache with an element of mystery. Each of our three leading ladies, Siobhan, Miranda and Jane are incredibly unique and I never felt myself wanting to hear from one character more than another. Each with their own quirks and individuality, I loved their journeys and how they evolved throughout the novel. My feelings about Joseph however were up in the air until the very end. Do I love him, or do I want to punch him? There is an answer to that question, but I cannot say without spoilers.
I will say the twist had me reaching for the tissues and my heart to the point of shattering. The plot was so perfectly written, I’ve never read anything like it. Many are saying this is Beth’s best work. Laughing, crying, utter shock, this book is a roller coaster of emotions and I cannot recommend it enough!
There is certainly nothing quite like a cat - all shapes and sizes, all personalities (usually big), a vast range of characteristics and always very self assured. In this engaging book Jacqueline Harvey takes a tongue in cheek look at a variety of cats. In rhyming lines she talks of fat cats, rat cats and bat cats. Then she offers a flat cat, a drat cat and a scat cat. Each cat is quite different and readers will delight in recalling the things which make that particular cat so definitive. Who has not seen a scat cat or a bat cat. Some will have sadly seen a flat cat and talk of their sorrow, while others will know the batman superhero well and relate to the bat cat. Some will have seen the destruction caused by a cat in their house and know all about the dreaded drat cat or scat cat. Rat cat gives readers the opportunity to retell the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, while mat cat parodies the popularity of exercise classes. All varieties of cat will cause smiles and laughter, sharing of stories and involving discussions, winning the audience over completely to this book of whimsy and playfulness.
Packing a punch the illustrations give a deeper level of humour to the spare words, allowing the readers to visualise the word used to describe each cat. Detail on every page will garb the reader as they laugh, recognising different cats’ traits. The detail pokes fun at the human parallels of each cat’s background. The cafe society for example shows a couple seated outside the cafe, check tablecloth, being offered fish and chips by the flamboyant waiter.
Working in the animation industry over the world, more can be found about Scott on her website. Harvey was Scott’s teacher at kindergarten a meeting which has resulted in this winning book, sure to please all kids young and old. Jacqueline Harvey wrote the Alice Miranda books amongst many others, That cat being her 49th publication.
Themes Friendship, Cats, Humour.
Fran Knight
The echidna near my place by Sue Whiting. Illus. by Cate James
Through the story of the echidna that lives nearby we are given an informative easy to absorb, thrilling tale of survival. ‘Every word is true’; the back cover reminds us when presenting another in the wonderful Nature Storybooks offered by Walker Books.
Near the mountain where the hang gliders jump off the cliff, a girl and her grandma walk in the scrubby bushland on its slope. Here they sometimes see an echidna, one of the oldest surviving mammals on this planet.
Through her story of an amazing encounter with the echidna, we see what an echidna eats, how it survives, where it lives and what it looks like. All of these facts are part of the story, and given support from the differently fonted paragraphs on each page which read more like an information text. Both sets of text intertwine, giving readers a non fiction text alongside a story, each adding facts and substance to the fictional tale of the encounter.
This stunning story, brimful of information which readers will absorb without effort, adding to their knowledge of Australian mammals and our environment is beautifully supported with digital illustrations giving a stunning panorama of the bush in which the child and the echidna live, begging readers to point out the detail of what the echidna eats and where it lives, and what things are in its environment. The rich illustrations actively involve the readers in spotting other Australian animals living in the scrubby bushland, while the diet of the echidna is reprised on the endpapers.
The girl talks to her grandma about what she sees: the strange ambling walk, the long nose, the pointy spikes while the text underneath tells us more about each thing that she notices, giving it a more scientific basis. So we learn that the snout is about eight centimetres long, useful for burrowing in termite mounds and foraging for food. We learn that the backwards facing feet are used for moving soil out of the way when the echidna digs with its very strong front claws. We learn that the female has one egg at a time and that it is kept in her pouch while it feeds on her milk.
An index at the end of the book will help younger readers learn the way to find information in a non fiction book, while a page of information is given adding to that of the text. A brief note about the author and illustrator rounds out the book
I found all the information fascinating, written in such a way as to entreat younger readers, allowing them to see themselves walking along a bush track and spying an animal too, and given information about how to respect the animal in its habitat. Classroom ideas are available.
Themes Australian bush, Echidnas, Australian animals, Environment, Bush, Grandparents.
Fran Knight
Moth in a fancy cardigan by Charlotte Lance and David Booth
Moth in a Fancy Cardigan, written by Charlotte Lance is a unique and charming story about individuality and expressing yourself. Sharing personal perspectives from both main characters, the reader will find relatability, connection and understanding. The fundamental idea that is interwoven throughout the story is about being able to express and feel comfortable with who you are. An important lesson for us all!
Meet Gary, he is just your average quiet grey moth, who is inconspicuous and blends in with the crowd. He follows rules and get things done on time but is told that he can over think situations. His life is full of grey! Grey clothes, grey furniture, grey lunch…the works, but he desperately would love some colour in is life.
Now meet Florence, she is a beautiful butterfly with amazing rainbow colours and grand beauty. She is one of the popular ones, but constantly feels the pressures to come up to everyone’s expectations; especially as she can be quite forgetful and sporadic, as well as a little bit clumsy and careless at times.
So, when a chance meeting between Gary and Florence comes along, their lives are turned upside down. Who would have thought losing a cardigan could help them discover who they really are and who they want to be.
Charlotte Lance has cleverly created an engaging and emotive novel with endearing characters. A cheerful and refreshing story with insightful perspectives shared by a moth and butterfly. The easy to follow story structure, along with delightful tricoloured illustrations by David Booth will make this story a popular choice!
The love that grew is a very gently written picture book about the love a mother has for her growing family. Each new addition is loved just as much as the other children who came before. The story begins with the following verse:
“Let me tell you of a power that can never be tamed, of how I promise to love you all the same. Something so special you must never forget, no matter how big our family may get…”
Each beautifully illustrated double page has four simple rhyming lines describing a mother’s love that will draw the reader in. Her love is “Protective like the toughest shield, with the kind of strength that will never yield.” Two of the final pages show diverse families floating in heart-shaped hot air balloons with the words:
“Like an expanding balloon that flies up high, powered by magic you cannot buy, that down the track might once more soar to love another, and maybe more!”
This book would be a perfect gift for a mother-to-be or family with a new baby as well as a great Mother’s Day present.
A beautifully crafted historical novel, The wearing of the green, by well-known author Claire Saxby, is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching story about the arrival of Irish famine orphan girls in Melbourne in 1850. The arrival of our heroine Biddy Blackwell on the Eliza Caroline sits against the backdrop of early colonial Melbourne just after Victoria's separation from New South Wales. This period of history was a time of social and political upheaval with the arrival of overwhelming numbers of immigrants to the new colony of Victoria, the discovery of gold, the opening up of pastoral land and the very real hope of building a new and prosperous life.
The story of Biddy's quest to start a new life and find her brother Ewen is cleverly interwoven with the action, characters and settings shining a light onto aspects of the times including racism, classism and gender expectations. This historical detail is brushstroked across the storyline in an uncontrived manner resulting in a very rich and authentic portrait of the times.
Biddy is a thoroughly likeable, smart and resourceful girl. The third person narrative allows the reader to see the world of the Immigration depot in Williamstown, the miserable farm of the cruel Mr Morrison, the country of the Waddawurrung people west of Melbourne and the markets, streets, canvas-town settlement, courthouse and the beginnings of the suburbs of Melbourne to the then boundary - Richmond through Biddy's observant eyes. The cast of characters include Biddy's fellow Irish girls, Miss Carmichael, their benevolent caretaker, the abusive farmer Mr Morrison, his two miserable wives, the beautiful but doomed child Annie, Kanyul, the aboriginal girl, various minor characters from the market, river and courthouse, Mr Owen, an Irish journalist who becomes her employer and possible future and her brother, the hot tempered Irish activist and his new family.
Fittingly, the cover of The wearing of the green features a photograph, reminiscent of a classic painting in its lights and shadows, of a young girl in the dress of the period with a green ribbon in her hair - a portrait of innocence, serenity and vulnerability. Within the front matter Saxby quotes AJP Taylor, The Trouble Makers: Dissent over Foreign Policy, 1792-1939 , 'All change in history, all advance comes from non-conformity. If there had been no troublemakers, no dissenters, we should still be living in caves.' Biddy is the daughter of a dreamer and a realist. She is a solid combination of both - a rock. Ewen her brother is the activist, who fled Ireland when pursued by bailiffs and continued to be active in Irish civil disobedience and rebellion in Australia. The shamrock and wattle (both full of symbolic meaning) make appearances as breaks within the text. A copy of the lyrics of The wearing of the green, a traditional Irish folksong dating back to the Irish rebellion of 1898, is included in the endpages.
The wearing of the green is highly recommended as a class novel and excellent model text for teaching the genre of historical narrative. It is recommended for Year 5 level as the subject matter is early colonial history as studied in year 5 ACARA. Comprehensive teacher notes are available.
Pax : Journey Home is the sequel to Pax, a story about a boy and his fox who are torn apart by the circumstances and betrayal that come from living through a war. In Journey Home, a year has gone by, the war is over, but the impacts remain, not just to the environment but to the people who are still alive.
Peter is 13 and struggling with the loss of his father and his betrayal of Pax and is determined to not feel every again. In his quest to isolate himself from the world and those who are willing to support him, he joins a group of volunteers who are cleaning up the toxic mess created during the war. Meanwhile Pax and his mate Bristle are new parents with a litter of kits to protect. However, they need to find a new home that is safer for all of them, and Pax leaves his family behind to do this.
One of the kits follows Pax and ironically falls ill while playing and drinking the water that Peter is working so hard to clean. Pax realizes that he needs help and when his journey crosses the path of Peter, he knows what he must do.
This is the sequel that was never meant to be, Sara Pennypacker never intended for there to be a second book, but I am so glad that she did. This is a brilliant story about Peter and Pax and the characters that we first met in Pax. Peter is trying to isolate himself, but the world will not let him, Vola continues to support him and accept his need to be alone but still ensures a connection with his grandfather, the volunteers accept his solitary needs while still drawing him into their lives through their stories and shared environmental interest and Pax knows that the only human who can save his daughter is the one person who left him behind.
The broadest theme of this book is that love will always find a way in. However, the other themes of environmental responsibility and animal protection are also there along with survival and family. This is a fabulous series and one that I would recommend highly, however, Journey Home does need to be read after Pax for it to make sense and for the reader to get the full impact of the complexity and richness of the characters and the story.
The author has created a story that readers will want to revisit and engage with again and again as they discover the relationships that bind us to certain places and people and the impact that leaving can have, both through death and by choice. Pax has learnt to be a wild fox but still holds the memories of the love Peter gave him and this comforts and guides him through his struggles. Peter is trying to outrun his memories and the consequences of trying to isolate himself as an escape from the things he has seen and done during the years that the war raged.
I believe that this book could be used as a class novel or as a read aloud in class but also will be one that is passed around as people read and discover the beauty that Sara Pennypacker has created with her story that is enriched by Jon Klassen’s illustrations. I highly recommend adding this to your reading pile and library shelves.
Themes Environmental Issues, Animal-human relationships, Family, War, Loss, Death, Survival.
Mhairi Alcorn
Only a monster by Vanessa Len
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781760878313. (Age:Young adult) Recommended.
Joan Chang-Hunt is a self-confessed rule-following history nerd who spends every summer living with her deceased mother’s eclectic and eccentric family in London. This summer, she is volunteering at a local museum where she meets Nick, handsome, dreamy, and almost too good to be true. On her way to their first date, Joan falls and hits her head and when she wakes up, twelve hours have passed. Upset and confused, she rushes home to find her grandmother waiting for her, ready to tell Joan about her birthright…that she and her family are monsters and that they can travel through time by stealing the time left on the lives of the mortals around them. This revelation leads to a series of unexpected and tragic events that will pit Joan against her new crush and force her to work with those her family has always considered enemies.
Australian author Vanessa Len’s debut novel is a clever subversion of a typical young adult fantasy trope. Joan, a kind, caring and ethical teenager, is not some helpless heroine fighting for good. Although she does not want to admit or accept it, she is (technically) on the side of evil. Only a Monster is a very interesting take on what can often be a tired concept – Len manages to shake her audience’s view about what makes us good and what makes us bad.
The novel is an extremely fast-paced fantasy thriller, the first of a planned trilogy. Joan is a relatable and sympathetic protagonist, the worldbuilding is interesting and realistic and there is the requisite hint of a doomed love story – what’s not to love?
Themes Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Historical, Supernatural Beings, Time Travel, Family, Romance, Identity, Good vs Evil.
Rose Tabeni
The Mountain by Rebecca Gugger Simon Rothlisberger
Walker Books, 2021. ISBN: 9780735844575. (Age:4+)
The bear knows exactly what the mountain looks like - a forest. The sheep, octopus, and ant also know the mountain. It’s a meadow! It’s surrounded by water! It’s a maze of tunnels! The chamois and snow hare have their opinions too. It seems the mountain looks different to every animal. How can that be? And whose point of view is right, particularly when bird challenges them by asking if any of them have actually been to the top of it to investigate...
Reminiscent of the parable of The Blind Men and the Elephant, this is a great story to demonstrate how we each see things through the lens of our own experience and form opinions based on our relationship to an object or situation. It's why witnesses to an incident can each have a different account because different things have different priorities for them or their personal experience throws something into sharper relief. It's why this Kiwi who grew up with the rugged, jagged Southern Alps as her stage setting now sees the current backdrop of the Snowy Mountains more as rolling hills, even though she knows and understands the geological differences.
Thus, it is a wonderful way to explore the concept of perception with even young students - read them The King's Breakfast by A. A. Milne and have them draw the king then compare and contrast the drawings so they begin to understand how their preconceived ideas influenced their drawing. Continue with either the description of the BFG (Dahl) or The hobbit (Tolkien) and discuss how, even when they were working with identical words, each drawing is different. Have them retell Little Miss Muffet from the spider's perspective and venture into the world of stereotypes and even "judging a book by its cover."
A simply told story of a boy for whom life has gone awry, getting back on his feet with the help of friends will appeal to younger readers, who sometimes become aware that unexpected things can happen in life upsetting its equilibrium.
Told by David’s best friend, the story focusses on the flowers in his hair. David is the best of friends and the two are inseparable, running, jumping in puddles, fleeing form the bees, washing David’s hair. But one day some petals fall out, and that afternoon, he is quiet and does not want to play. The next day David wears a hat and when he takes it off his hair is spiky and the petals have all gone. The other children hold back, careful of the spiky branches and even his best friend finds that the branches have scratched him. But he does not mind, it is not David’s fault. Then he has an idea. He begins to make paper flowers to replace the ones fallen from David’s hair. The other children join in, cutting them out and attaching them until David’s head is covered in paper flowers. After a while a new flower grows and eventually all the flowers on his head are renewed. He is back to his old self and the best friends are doing what they have always done together.
This beguiling story reflects the changes that occur in children’s lives when something happens outside their control. David may be ill, there may be changes in his home circumstances, a friend may have died, or he may be feeling depressed. Whatever the reason for his flowers falling from his head, change occurs in all of our lives, and this charming story allows children to see that change does happen but things can be set right again. The help of friends is paramount in setting him back to his old self.
A tale reflecting the kindness of friends, the support given by them all, facilitates David’s renewal, his overcoming the hardship that has caused his distress. Children will welcome his improvement noting that we can all recover from the changes that upsets us all.
Jarvis is an author illustrator living in Manchester, UK and a little more can be read about him on his website.
The illustrations are amazing: seemingly simple, but with a complexity that stares out at the reader, as the flowers wilt and die, then are regenerated by his friends’ compassion. Each page bears a closer look: I loved the make up of the class, the broken train line, the energy of the class making the flowers and finally the storage of the spares just in case. David is safe and secure with his friends watching out for his welfare.
A wonderful impression of the effect of war on a small community, seemingly thousands of miles from the fighting is told in this wonderful true tale of one boy’s bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
Charlie lived in Roebuck Bay, Broome, and loved to fossick along the shore with his brothers, fishing, opening shells to hopefully find a pearl, and smelling the ocean. The spare words give a wonderful impression of the carefree life lived by Charlie near the sea. And the stunning illustrations fill the pages with colour, a fitting backdrop to the story, reflecting images of Aboriginal culture and detail for young readers to share.
Charlie’s job during World War Two was to clean and refuel the sea planes that landed in Broome, bringing Dutch women and children to safety from Indonesia.
But one day the air was filled with the smell of fuel as Japanese war planes bombed the town and the seaplanes. People jumped into the water from the burning planes and without hesitation Charlie jumped in too. Spying a woman and her child in difficulty, he swam towards them. He was able to let them know to climb onto his back and his strong arms swam towards the shore between bullets, burning craft and the cries of others.
The beach was chaotic. Charlie, exhausted could only watch the burning seas and the small boats attempting to help others. Charlie a humble man received a Certificate of Merit from the Royal Humane Society of Australasia, and medals recognising his bravery from the Dutch Government.
Eighty eight people died that day in Broome, a salutary reminder of how war can be closer than we imagine. Charlie’s bravery serves as a reminder to us all that ordinary people are capable of feats of heroic effort: his extraordinary effort that day in rescuing two people despite the obvious dangers to himself stands as a beacon of light in a dark time.
The image that stayed with me is that of the shadows overhead as Charlie’s idyllic existence is darkened by the Japanese war planes. Others are just as luminous, offering a different perspective to the readers, grabbing their attention by cleverly making them part of the action.
Information at the end of the book gives the historic details of the bombing and a potted biography of Charlie, the author’s uncle. And the last page gives details of the author and illustrator, both renowned in their own fields.
Children will learn about one man’s courage while absorbing the tale of Broome and what happened during World War Two, a little known event in Australia’s war history.
Themes War, Broome, Aboriginal history, Australia history, Bravery, Bombing.
Perhaps your school and home library are low on or lacking martial arts books. Perhaps the teachers/ librarians/parents responsible for developing the collection are unfamiliar with martial arts and virtual reality gaming let alone with virtual fight clubs. Perhaps the young people at your school are only mildly acquainted with fantasy and science fiction...
Enter Paul Collins - award winning writer. He has a blackbelt in both taekwondo and ju jitsu, has trained with the Los Angeles Hell Drivers and served in the army with 2 Commando Coy. This gives him the credentials to write a book like James Gong: The Chinese Dragon. One of Collin's most recent awards was the 2021 Leila St John award which is presented for services to children's literature in Victoria. Teacher notes and units of work are available for some of his books and Collins himself tours schools captivating audiences wherever he goes. His writing style is likewise - captivating. Having written over 140 books for children and young people he is a worthy recipient of an award that recognises service to children's literature.
James Gong:The Chinese Dragon presents a vocabulary challenge to the reader who is a novice in the world of martial arts and virtso fighting but the sheer pace and enthusiasm of the protagonist soon crashes through this barrier. Basically the virtso player sits behind a console and lets a hologram do the fighting for them. This holographic replica - or virtual somatic construct - virtso for short - does martial arts stunts in combat. Games can be for solo, duel or multiple players. Players become obsessed. Such is the growth of this form of entertainment/sport around the world that the software development industry behind it has grown exponentially. VR has become so convincing that players can buy suits which really feel the impact of the virtual punches and kicks through sensors and the pain can render a player unconscious. Mobsters now gamble on the outcome of games and the dens in which they are played attract violence and lowlife characters.
The story is told through the first person narration of likeable James Gong, our 12 year old hero. From the start, 'My name is James Gong, but I reckon you know that...' James invites the reader in to the action and into his thoughts. This is an engaging narrative style for young people. James is like a friend talking to the reader, bouncing off the reader throughout the whole story. After some solo fight disasters, James teams up with Ming Lee, the undisputed virtual martial arts best player and their fight, the preparation for it and the machinations around it are brilliant and courageous. Extortion, blackmail, robbery, cheating, lying, bargaining - it's all there. This novel is very, very contemporary - complete with QR codes, Covid and the latest cutting edge technology. The action is rapid and punchy. There is a sense of immediacy and snappy decision making. The protagonists are clever, high achieving and competitive young people.
Collins addresses many other themes in this clever little book. Jame's problems with family, school life, money, divided loyalties and bullies are ongoing and require all of his attention even as he prepares for a dangerous game against threatening opposition. His growing relationship with Ming is gently handled by Collins. It's a coming of age story in a hi-tech modern world.
The gaming world is an interesting new world for young people to learn about. The story is quite beguiling and provides insight into the world of virtual reality and artificial intelligence in a very exciting and entertaining way. James Gong:The Chinese Dragon and other Paul Collins books may be just the hook for previously reluctant readers.
Like the real life gaming world itself, the fantasy worlds created by Paul Collins in his books may become quite addictive. Important morality and life lessons underlie the storylines.
The Voyage of Whale and Calf is a beautifully written story by Vanessa Pirotta of the birth, the growth and migration of Whale and Calf. Born in warm Australian waters, Calf’s journey to adulthood is gently told in simple language that shares many facts about the characteristics and life cycle of Humpback Whales.
Through the story telling young readers will learn many interesting facts such as the whales eat krill, how their baleen plates push out the water once they have swallowed the krill, that they poo and feed in different areas and that poo feeds marine creatures that are eaten by the krill. The story tells of the dangers to Whale and Calf of nets, boats, and party balloons as well as the threat of Killer Whales further south. As Calf grows and the season changes, he is ready to begin his own journey back to warmer waters to begin a new cycle of life.
The full page soft, pastel illustrations by Samantha Metcalf are simply stunning and complement the text perfectly. Unfamiliar words are highlighted and their meaning accessed from the glossary in the final pages. Also provided after the story are Humpback Whale facts including a map of their migration.
This highly engaging book will provide children with easily accessible information about this magnificent marine animal. A wonderful resource for classroom teachers when looking at collecting information for report writing.
The title of this new release, Poo, Spew and other Gross Things Animals do! will immediately appeal to so many children who are fascinated by all things gross. The contents page contains eight chapters with headings that include: Animal Grossness, Poo Detectives and World’s Grossest Animals Revealed. The two authors are introduced at the beginning of the book and while both come from different career backgrounds share a passion for conservation. Scientific names of species are highlighted in italics and words in bold are further explained in the Grossary (Glossary).
Each chapter has captioned photographs and humorous illustrations by Rachel Tribout. The comprehensive information is clearly set out and easy to follow. Here are a couple of examples that the reader may be fascinated by in the Love is Gross chapter. Male Capuchin monkeys when attracting a mate take a wee-wash for the females to inhale their extra strong scent and female lobsters wee on the face of their love interest! In the Grossness as Self-defence chapter, we are informed that sperm whales poo to confuse predators and that adult turkey vultures use vomit to defend themselves when threatened while nesting. On a very prestigious note, Australia can claim to have the animal with the world’s thickest wee – spinifex hopping mouse. Apparently the wee is almost solid!
Throughout the book are Scientist Profiles of several very clever people who talk about their careers. At the end of the book is a page of how to say ‘poo’ in different languages as well as acknowledgments, an index, and picture credits.
There are just so many new and incredibly enthralling facts to learn throughout this book and children will love sharing them with their friends and grossing out the adults in their lives.
