Tiny Possum and the Migrating Moths is a beautifully written and illustrated non-fiction picture book which tells the story of the highly endangered Mountain Pygmy-Possum and its important connection to the Bogong Moth. Both creatures hibernate in different seasons in the mountains of the Southern Alps in the south-east of mainland Australia. The story tells of a tiny female possum, no bigger than a mouse, feeding on the moths that hibernate in caves during the summer months. This in turn allows the possum to hibernate during the winter months below the snowline. Once the weather breaks, the possum mates and after 13-16 days up to four offspring are born. The possum feeds on the migrating moths who have travelled from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in order to feed her young and build up her stores of body fat for the next cycle of hibernation. Unfortunately, the moths can be distracted by the lights of towns and cities and conservationists have encouraged communities who live along the migration route to turn off or dim lights between the months of September and October.
The striking full-page illustrations complement the text perfectly and provide a rich visual experience for reader. The author has thoughtfully included further vital information about the possum, its life cycle and further learning links. The benefit of the publication and sharing of children’s non-fiction of this quality is how much knowledge can be gained by the reader, both young and old. This important story is a worthy addition to home, school or public library
Free Teacher Notes and further information is available here.
Themes Mountain Pygmy-Possum, Bogong Moths, Endangered Species, Life Cycles, Australian Wildlife, Community, Conservation, Natural Habitats.
Kathryn Beilby
Ten Minutes to Bed : Little Unicorn's Christmas by Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton
A Christmas-themed, follow-up bedtime story to the popular Ten Minutes to Bed, Little Unicorn, this Christmas sequel is the perfect combination of Fielding’s playful poetry and Chatterton’s glittering, detailed artwork. It’s Christmas Eve in the Land of Nod, and our magical protagonist, with huge eyes the size of her starry rump, Twinkle, is procrastinating over bedtime, much to her weary father’s chagrin. Then, with nine minutes until bedtime, who should appear in need of help but Father Christmas and eight reindeer. Their red-nosed leader (“... can you guess who?”) has reindeer flu (a playful little “red-nose” joke for attentive readers). With only five minutes to visit twenty-two countries, Twinkle, with her unicorn glitter, knows just “what to do”!
Even the youngest of audiences will be captivated (based on a single case study of one nine-month-old and one six-month-old!). Not guaranteed to send a child off to sleep as the book may be TOO attractive, but dreams that follow will certainly be sweet and full of Christmas cheer! The perfect addition to any child’s Christmas tradition, to be enjoyed by the whole family as it is EXTRA-wonderful when read aloud, as with all poetry, and the countdown to bedtime helps parents to count down to real bedtime, as well as being educational (counting backwards, reminiscent of the old classic nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Ducks”!). As a bonus, the inside covers contain detailed maps of “The Land of Nod” during the day and night and, there are so many details in Chatterton’s illustrations, the book can be read again and again from any page and still new things are waiting to be discovered by attentive, little eagle-eyes! The two centre pages also cleverly open to show Father Christmas and his sleigh, led by none other than Twinkle herself! Can anyone say, “most-worn-out pages of all” with such joy?!?
Genre: Young readers’ fantasy adventure, poetry. Age 3+ but illustrations and phrase rhythm are highly attractive to younger “readers”.
By the Book: A Reader’s Guide to Life by Ramona Koval
Text Publishing, 2012. ISBN: 9781922079060. (Age:12+) Highly recommended.
Ramona Koval is a contemporary of mine, and a first generation Australian, the child of Polish Holocaust survivors. For this microbiologist, writer, broadcaster and journalist, books and the mysteries within them have shaped her life and subsequent work. She believes, as I do, that people’s books are a kind of biography.
In By the Book: A Reader’s Guide to Life, she describes how her mother, an uneducated factory worker who wanted to improve her English, read a huge range of contemporary literature and encouraged her children to do the same. The young Ramona was introduced to the suburban Bus Library, and credits both the mobile librarian and her primary school teacher librarian for expanding her world through story and language. And she recognises librarians as the custodians of culture and warriors in the battle for its survival.
‘In 1992,’ she writes, ‘the century old library of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was shelled and burned.’ Librarians and other volunteers formed a human chain to pass rare and precious books and manuscripts out of the burning building. One librarian was shot and killed by sniper fire, but the others continued the salvage and 10% of this irreplaceable collection was saved.
Unlike the Kovals, Australians have never known the repression of tyrannical regimes, where books are deemed subversive or seditious and are banned or burnt in public displays of threatening control. The great threat here is apathy.
‘Reading,’ says Ramona Koval, ‘is an act of free will… And it means independence of mind and spirit; nobody knows what you’re thinking at the time.’
And that’s a power within everyone’s reach…
Themes Biographies, True Stories.
Jenny Watts
The Book Smugglers by Anna James
The Book Smugglers, book 4. HarperCollins, 2021. ISBN: 9780008410810. (Age:9-12) Recommended.
"From outside on the busy north London high street, Pages & Co looked like an entirely normal bookshop. but once inside it didn't quite make sense how everything fitted inside its ordinary walls. The shop was made up of five floors of corners and cubbyholes, sofas and squashy armchairs, and a labyrinth of bookshelves heading off in different direction. A spiral staircase danced up one wall, and painted wooden ladders stretched into difficult-to-reach corners. Tall arched windows above made it feel a little like a church when the light spilled in and danced on the air. When it was good weather the sun pooled on the floor and the bookshop cat - named Alice for her curious nature - could often be found dozing in the warmest spots. During the summer the big fireplace behind the till was filled to bursting with fresh flowers, but at is was October, a fire was roaring there."
This is the home of Matilda Page, always known as Tilly, who prefers the company of book characters to the people in real life and, although not having been outside London, is a seasoned traveller within the pages of the books that abound on the shelves for in the first in the series she discovered her father was a fictional character and she, herself, was half fictional. As she and her best friend Oskar search for her missing mother, they meet the powerful but sinister Underwood family, search for the mysterious Archivists and encounter the Sesquipedalian, a magical train that uses the power of imagination to travel through both Story and the real world. It is owned by Horatio Bolt who specialises in dodgy dealings as a book smuggler trading in rare books, and his nephew Milo.
When Horatio takes on a dangerous new job, he needs Tilly's help and because she owes Horatio a favour she feels she has little choice. But when poisoned copies of The Wizard of Oz are sent to Horatio and Tilly's grandfather, sending them both into deep sleeps, Milo and Tilly find themselves racing against time to save them - and to figure out what is going on. Their journey takes them to the Emerald City with Dorothy, rocketing on the unruly Quip, and eventually to Venice in Italy, in pursuit of the mysterious Alchemist. The very essence of imagination, story itself, may be in danger . .
This is a series that, IMO, has the potential to rival Harry Potter among younger readers and certainly when I told Miss 10 I had the latest addition she begged me to post it to her rather than waiting for the restrictions of interstate lockdowns to end. Even though this one includes a brief summary of what has gone before, it is a series that is best read in order and I found myself wanting to go back to read the previous three again. (I shall have to persuade Miss 10 to lend it back to me!)
If I were still in a school, I'd be recommending this to the parents of those who are already hooked as a must-have for the Santa Sack because there is just not enough time left in the school year for every student who will want to read it to have access to it. Imagine the joy of getting the WHOLE series all at once - what a binge-read that would be! Don't think we will see much of Miss 10 once she gets her copy!
Trigger Warning: California wildfire, violence, and mentions of sexual and domestic violence. Also contains sex scenes and drug use. A tight-knit group of teenagers celebrate the beginning of their summer holidays at their favourite swimming hole, The Gap, above Sierra Nevada town, Gap Mountain, California. They are carelessly chatting about their future plans when, during an argument, they accidentally start a deadly wildfire that quickly changes their lives, and their close friendship, forever.
Alvarez perfectly dedicates her novel: “For good people who do bad things”; this, in a nutshell, is the discussion throughout this novel, which explores complex philosophical ideas in a context that is attractive and relatable to teenagers (there is even a mention of contemporary musical artist, Billie Eilish!). Hannah, our protagonist, is the sheriff’s daughter, and considers herself to be the moral compass of their friendship group. She soon discovers that life is complex and her self-identity is tested, artfully, without Alvarez providing clear answers. The structure of her novel is divided into chapters that reflect the timeline, state of disaster, and fatalities, making it easy to follow, and excitingly fast-paced as it starts in media res and then jumps back to the beginning of events. Alvarez has created a group of relatable teenagers whose lives could not be more different, who are suddenly hit with complex issues even without wildfire: wealth disparity, unrequited love and sexual desire, body image and puberty, domestic violence, and family responsibility, just to name a few. Set in the context of a disaster (wildfire) makes the novel exciting and provides potential for educational use in teaching about similes, metaphor, and motifs, as well as complex discussions about morality and ethics. This is reminiscent of John Marsden’s 1993 classic, Tomorrow When the War Began, in its style and appeal. It is hard to put down and will surely make even the most skeptical of teenagers into fans. Genre: Psychological crime thriller.
Themes Disasters, Crime, Social justice, Morality, Ethics, Friendship, Puberty, Sex/desire, abuse, Body image.
Amelie Bottrill
The unusual abduction of Avery Conifer by Ilsa Evans
This is the story of an extended family plunged into a most unexpected and discomforting situation. Cleo, the mother of a young child, Avery, has been jailed after her husband contacted the authorities, suggesting that she is allegedly using violence against their child, Avery. Her husband, Daniel, begins a new relationship with a young woman who knows nothing of his life, and she thinks that he is lovely. However, all is not well, as his mother, Shirley, and his wife’s mother, Cleo, meet to discuss what they think may be an issue: that both agree that it is possibly Daniel who is harming the daughter, rather than her mother. Their unsettled response to bruises on their grand-daughter is so worrying for the grandmothers - causing them to decide that their best course of action would be to steal Avery and escape to the country with her. Daniel’s father seems to be relatively uninterested in the issue - and is happy to go off to play golf when his wife is planning to flee the city to save their grandchild any further problems. She is aware that he may be unsettled by the situation.
The narrative is told by each chapter focussing on different characters, and each chapter is dated so that we ‘diarise’ the events. In a sense, we build an understanding of the narrative through this choice, and see how it revolves around the grandmothers’ anxiety about Daniel’s actions, and being able to keep Avery safe while they decide how to handle their situation. Winnie, Shirley’s quite old mother, insists on accompanying the trio, and is a most interesting character, unexpectedly rather more tech-savvy than the two younger grandmothers, and thus able to access appropriate help online. All three women become imaginative in terms of eluding the police, as well as staying ‘out’ of touch with the other members of both families. Beth had written a letter to The Law Institute of Victoria, explaining her understanding of what had occurred and the court’s response, which she saw as unjust. What is so uplifting is the calming influence of the three older women, their decisions generated to stay ‘safely’ away while they discuss the future choices, and keeping Avery happy on this unexpected “holiday”. Winnie is a wonder with technology and is a great help to them, and their relationship becomes a loving, supportive and united one.
Meanwhile Daniel finds another partner, and she is enraptured by his character. This challenges us to wonder about his choices and personality. Was he right about his wife harming the daughter, or was it him or could it have been someone else? Unable to work with the grandmothers, Cleo continues to be devastated by her ‘punishment’. However, the story of the three older women and the child dominates, and we see how the earlier animosity between the grandmothers is healed and the child is happy and safe. In many ways this is a story of ordinary people responding in a way that brings about the best case scenario for the child, and ultimately the family, and certainly challenges the reader.
This book is definitely an adult read, and would be suitable for older adolescents, in that Ilsa Evans creates a believable scenario that clearly suggests the world of the 21st century, and tells of a very kind, if somewhat risky, but loving response that, while legally questionable, is remarkably daring and ultimately appropriate in terms of the child’s happiness and the outcome of their daring ‘adventure’.
Themes Grandmothers, Child abuse, Kidnapping.
Elizabeth Bondar
The Camping Trip : A book about learning by Jane Martino. Illus. by Annie White
Penguin, 2021. ISBN: 9781761040092.
Henry's greatest delight is finding out about things, particularly the animal world, from his Big Book of Animals. Even when he is outside amongst nature, he uses his book to discover new things about the creatures he sees. But on a camping trip in the bush with his dads, brother and best friend Ruby and her family, Henry discovers his book is missing! How will he learn about all the fantastic things he finds and sees on the trip without it? At first he sulks and misses out because he doesn't have his book to consult but then he discovers there are other ways to learn.
This is the final in this series which includes The Inside Day, Noisy Tom,Super-Me and The Thank You Present developed in collaboration with Smiling Mind, Australia's leading not-for-profit organisation in the pre-emptive mental health space. Like its predecessors it includes activities to engage the child after the book is read, in this case inviting them to explore nature using all their senses. There is also a three-minute Nature Sounds meditation written especially for 3-6 year olds available on their free app.
The mental health of our little ones who have been deprived of their friends' company at such a crucial time of their socialisation development is finally being recognised and so any guidance that enables parents to keep their little ones emotionally okay as well as physically safe is to be welcomed. The suggestions for the senses scavenger hunt outdoors when picnics are making a huge comeback is perfect and so this is a title that parents need to be made aware of. That the stories features a two-dad family, the norm for many of our students these days, is an added bonus.
Themes Camping, Mindfulness.
Barbara Braxton
Dally and Dash go to the bush by Lisa Holt. Illus. by Nandina Vines
Little Steps, 2021. ISBN: 9781925839975. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
This is a lovely story with beautiful illustrations.With the text and illustrations on separate pages it makes this book visually pleasing. The layout of this book also makes the text easier to read for younger readers.
The book starts with the rules Dally and Dash need to follow on their walk to keep themselves safe and look after the environment.They meet a selection of Australian animals on their walk and are friendly to all they meet. The friends have a great day in the bush and are tired and hungry by the time they get home.
The fun facts at the end of this book add another element to this story, and build the readers knowledge of the different animals that Dally and Dash encounter on their bush walk.
I can’t wait to see where Dally and Dash will go on their next adventure.
I highly recommend this book.
Themes Dogs, Australian animals, Bush.
Karen Colliver
The Best Cat the Est Cat by Libby Hathorn Rosie Handley
State Library of NSW, 2021. ISBN: 9781925831191. (Age:5+) Recommended.
Situated in the heart of Sydney on the corner of Macquarie Street and Shakespeare Place since 1826, the State Library of NSW is the oldest library in Australia. And among its bigg-est, small-est, and strang-est items is a secret cat with magical powers that make it and its followers invisible. And so young readers are taken on a special journey around the library - to the reading room which is the booki-est place; to the art gallery where ghosts might come alive; to the stacks, seven stories below street level, where there are stories, poems and pictures from near and far as well all sorts of curios telling the story of this country; to all parts of the library revealing its treasures both visible and not. The cat introduces them to the biggest, the smallest, the strangest, the rarest and the gluggiest objects, shows them secret places and spaces and introduces them to some of the workers.
Using clever rhyme and superlative language and illustrations which are a blend of collage, digital artwork and sketching, the cat explores all the corners of this institution finally revealing itself to be none other than Trim, the cat that helped Matthew Flinders put Australia on the map. And all the items that are featured in the story are given their own brief explanation in the final pages not only encouraging demonstrating the broad spectrum of items on offer but encouraging further exploration.
Any NSW resident who has a public library card can access the State Library's collections and so introducing young readers to all that is on offer opens up one of the finest collections of books (end to end, they would stretch 140km), letters, journals, paintings, photographs, maps and objects that they can access for free to assist with whatever investigation they are undertaking.
The Best Cat even has its own web presence with teachers' notes and a competition offering the opportunity to win a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Library with author Libby Hathorn and illustrator Rosie Handley.
This is the Library's first foray into publishing children's books and it has set an extremely high bar.
Themes State Library of New South Wales. Cats, Libraries, Australia - History.
Barbara Braxton
The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo. Illus. by Sophie Blackall
Answelica the goat’s antics immediately draw you into this quirky and charming tale set in medieval times. Together with Brother Edik, the earnest monk with the wild wandering eye, the two help nurse a young girl called Beatryce back to health. We understand that Beatryce has had terrible things happen to her and she is repressing these memories. She also dreams and tells amazing stories, which are quite significant elements in the plot. Most importantly Beatryce has the unusual ability to read and write, a thing no girl should do. The other monks from the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing believe she is a demon girl and send her away to scribe the confessions of a soldier. She must be disguised as a boy and is guided by a boy called Jack Dory. The story becomes a quest to find the truth and it is evident Beatryce’s life is in danger due to a prophecy about a girl who will unseat the current king.
Kate DiCamillo is a Newberry Medalist writer who creates unique stories with just the right amount of description, diverse settings, and strong endearing characters. There are many scary incidents, and the characters must be brave and face their fears. All except the fearless Answelica! This goat is a great comic animal character who brings light relief but also devotion and love. The spoken language between the characters keeps the story moving quickly. Along with bravery there is a clear theme of the importance of reading and writing for girls and everyone. Those in power manipulate access to reading and writing in order to maintain their power. Sophie Blackall’s beautiful black and white illustrations manage to create the medieval milieu really well, as do the illuminated letters at the beginning of each chapter. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Bravery, Love, Equality.
Jo Marshall
Wishyouwas by Alexandra Page. Illus. by Penny Neville-Lee
The appropriately named Penny Black is under the care of her austere Uncle Frank, the local Postmaster, waiting for her mother’s return from her duties as a pilot to deliver airmail. While in the post office she discovers a mysterious but cute rat-sized creature, with a naive mastery of grammar, that appears to be raiding letters. An unlikely friendship develops and before long Penny is involved in rescuing the tiny creature from an awful ratcatcher who has been hired to exterminate the vermin. The small creature, named Wishyouwas, is a charming participant in solving the mysteries of ‘lost letters’ alongside the normal mysteries of mail deliveries. Penny eventually becomes involved with the community of ‘lost letter’ creatures and soon must protect the entire population from the ratcatcher and his evil plots to make money from their presence.
This is an absolutely charming story, and you cannot help falling in love with Wishyouwas, the innocent and loyal friend to Penny. The setting of the 1950s post-war postal system is also appealing, with mailbags and post boxes, last-minute Christmas deliveries, and the underground postal rail system playing a part in setting a magical backdrop to this charming fantasy. The lost letter creatures employ intriguing and inventive strategies (akin to The Borrowers) for carrying out their work and their secrets deserve to be protected. With rats employed to create havoc and attack the mini-lost letter workers, there are moments of tension and fantasy violence. With the ratcatcher trying to throw Penny off his trail, there is fear that the gentle creatures will not survive.
Young readers should be able to deal with the tension, but this would make a wonderful read-aloud or a shared book with an adult. The scary moments with the rats and the ratcatcher’s snarling dog might not make this conducive for a calming bedtime story though.
Themes Post World War II, Postal system, Fantasy, Friendship, Bravery.
Carolyn Hull
The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethel
Usborne, 2021. ISBN: 9781474966849. (Age:7+)
Blue Wing is desperate to become a shark caller like her waspapi Siringen.
"I want to be able to call the sharks. Teach me the magic and show me the ways," she begs him for the hundredth thousandth time but he refuses, telling her she knows why he will not.
Instead she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing's island. At first, the girls are too angry to share their secrets and become friends. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, they must journey together to the bottom of the ocean to brave the deadliest shark of them all... and it's not a great white.
Papua New Guinea is just as a mysterious land now as it was when I lived there 50 years ago, steeped in history, legends and traditions going back to the earliest civilisations and when the author moved from there to the UK (and had to wear three jumpers even in summer) she was peppered with so many questions about her life there that she wrote this book to help answer them. And in doing so, she has woven an intriguing tale of adventure, friendship, forgiveness and bravery with such a real-life background that I was taken back to the days when I was there with all sorts of memories that I thought were forgotten, including the pidgin phrases.
Competent independent readers of all ages will immerse themselves in the story which, even though it has such a diverse backdrop, still has a universal theme threaded through it. For those interested in finding out more there are the usual Usborne Quicklinks, as well as a most informative note from the author and some questions for book clubs that delve deeper. One for those who are ready to venture into something a little different.
The three main characters in this book are so unalike that you would never think they could end up supporting each other as they do, and building the friendship that ends up forming through the book. The way Eve, Julia and Lucy are introduced though their individual stories and then slowly woven together shows the great storytelling ability of the author.
Eve has been involved with the prawn industry in Wallaby Bay for as long as she can remember, and has been living in the past for a long time. Her goddaughter Julia works in Melbourne in research, and has issues with work and her relationship that she is not ready to face. Lucy is the wife of a FIFO worker struggling with family life when her husband is away. These three women are thrown together in the most incredible way.
This is a great story. Three unlikely characters drawn together by unusual circumstances, each believing they don’t need anyone but themselves. As the relationship between the three women grows their need for each other also grows. This unlikely friendship helps all three women to start looking forward at the future rather than living in the past.
The hardest thing for Eve was to accept that she needed help. Julia and Lucy both needed someone to confide in but neither of them realised the importance of sharing their problems. All three needed to learn to let go of the past and look to the future. Help can come from the most unlikely places and when Eve lets her stubbornness go a little she was able to see what a difference a new friendship can make in her life. Julia and Lucy both realise that opening up and talking about things can help to reduce the burden. The way we each deal with life’s challenges is what makes us who we are.
The powerful way this book is written made me feel like I knew the characters and had a personal connection to them. I had trouble putting this book down; I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The story kept me hooked right to the very end.
Who would have thought that such a small insect could have such a big impact!
So much can happen in such a short time. In less than a month Brian’s whole life changed.
With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing Brian and his wife Emma are struggling to get their new business off the ground. A family holiday seems like a good idea to refresh them, but little did the family know that the holiday would change their lives completely.
After enjoying a BBQ on the beach Emma became unwell and the family decided to cut their holiday short and head home. As they traveled home Emma’s condition became dramatically worse leading to a visit to the ED, where she was diagnosed with Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). To add to the trauma of his sick wife Brian received a huge hospital bill that his insurance refused to pay.
On top of this Brian’s daughter was not herself and slowly becoming more unwell, even with repeated trips to the ED Brian was not able to get them to take the illness seriously. Brian didn’t realize how serious his daughter's illness was as she seemed to get better then sick again then recover and the cycle continued. Everyone kept telling him it was due to his wife being unwell and she was just upset.
Through the troubling times Brian managed to find someone in similar situation to him who was able to support him. Jeanne became a great support to Brian while he was trying to support his daughter through what had happened to her mother.
Through all of this Brian discovers that the hospital and insurance company bosses are out to make money no matter who they hurt in the process, it is all about the bottom line. Brian is determined to expose these people for who they really are.
Remember you should always read the fine print….
This is a gripping story of family struggles and how big business treat the little person.
Themes Revenge, Insurance Companies, Viruses.
Karen Colliver
Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! by Charles Fuge
Walker Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781760653538. (Age:3+)
Little Wombat is so very excited because he's found a fun new friend to play with - one with a strange name Pla-ty-pus and with an even stranger walk, a funny face and who can swim like a fish. But when Little Wombat tries to mimic Platypus's walk and finds himself in the water and having to be rescued by his new friend, he realises water is not for him. Nevertheless, he is determined to learn to swim and while trying to teach Little Wombat, Rabbit and Koala begin to wonder if wombats should, after all, stick to dry land!
Swimming lessons are such an integral and necessary part of our littlies' lives that when the NSW "roadmap to freedom" was released it was quickly changed to bring forward the opening of indoor pools because of the outcry of parents demanding access to swimming lessons for their young children. Indeed, in my teacher ed days in New Zealand we could not graduate until we each had our swimming teacher quals as swimming lessons were a compulsory part of the phys ed curriculum for both term 4 and Term 1 with most schools, even in the coldest parts of the country, having their own learner pools installed as a matter of course.
So this is a timely tale about the importance of learning to swim and the fun it can be, as Little Wombat learns to kick his legs and float using a log, to paddle like a dog and dive like a frog. After all, if a wombat can learn to swim and become a wom-bat-y-pus, then so can any little child! So sharing this message with a lovable little character with the most endearing expressions with them will give them confidence to try and the expectation that if they work hard as Little Wombat does, they will succeed. Swimming is just what Australian kids do.
