In the sequel to School Rules are Optional Jesse and his friends are back for the end of Year six and the move to high school.
It's my first day back at school after the holidays and I've already got three burning questions: 1) When is my family's disgusting diet going to end? 2) How will I finish my group project on time? 3) Why is my best friend Alex suddenly not talking to me?
If that's not bad enough, the classroom is overrun with lizards. At least things can't get worse, right? (Publisher)
I haven’t read the first book but I quickly found Jesse and his life outlook to be engaging and funny. He is suffering through the worst health kick a mum could impose on her family and to try to get a decent feed at least once a day he joins the early morning cross country squad. Jesse and his best friend Alex are drifting apart and there is a first year student at the school who has decided to shadow the boys rather than playing with classmates. And then there are the lizards!!
Jesse is a likeable character that children will either relate to or see their friends in, he is empathic, a bit of a worrier and generally kind and considerate. He has similar struggles to most children and the author deals with these in believable ways that would help other children to work through these issues and find realistic solutions.
This book focusses on the last two terms of year six with all the usual ups and downs children experience at the end of their primary school years and the unknown of high school, especially when there are no guarantees your friends will be going to the same school or in your classes.
Alison Hart manages to make Jesse’s trials entertaining and relatable without being patronizing and for this reason I think this book will become a favourite in the upper primary years. As I stated I haven’t read the first book, but it is now on my to-read list as I enjoyed this book so much. I want to know where Jesse’s story started and get to know the other characters better. I would recommend this book to children and to teachers as a read aloud or class novel.
Themes Friendship, Humour, School.
Mhairi Alcorn
Plantastic! A to Z of Australian Plants by Catherine Clowes. Illus. by Rachel Gyan
Plantastic! A to Z of Australian Plants is a children’s non-fiction book covering 26 Australian native plants. The striking cover by Rachel Gyan entices the reader to further explore this very interesting and engaging publication. At the beginning of the book, the author gives the reader a brief introduction to Australian plants and their distinctive, often unknown qualities. This is followed by a detailed contents page showing each of the 26 plants discussed in alphabetical order. Before delving into each plant, the reader is shown ‘How to Use this Book’ with a reminder to stick to paths and avoid going off track in case of plant damage as well as other useful tips. The plants begin with’ A for Acacia’ and end with ‘Z for Zieria’. Each plant has its own double page spread with information, coloured illustrations, Genus name, a plantastic fact and a plantastic activity. Included in the facts are a description of the plant, its unique traits as well as more general information which is further expanded on in the following paragraphs. For example, on the Jasmine page there is a detailed explanation about photosynthesis as well as a discussion about climate change. While the material presented is comprehensive, is it written in child-friendly language and clearly set out in paragraphs surrounded by white space. At the end of the book is a map explaining where to find each plant within their ecoregions, a glossary and an acknowledgements page. A surprise at the very end is the endpapers cleverly showcasing simple drawings of parts of plants clearly labelled.
This very informative and beautifully presented book will provide plant-loving children and adults with the opportunity to learn new facts and may encourage them to explore further in the Australian bush. There are free Teacher Notes available from the publisher.
An aunt of mine had a large collection of books that tumbled around in huge cedar bookcases along the hallway of her bohemian cottage in the Blue Mountains. As a child, I coveted these repositories of life, stories, people and places, not the least her stash of first edition Penguins and on the bottom shelf, her twelve volume Oxford English Dictionary. I imagined them in my bedroom, my own personal reference to anything at my fingertips. It was a heady dream until my aunt had children of her own, and my entitlement to the books was snuffed out. I felt a deeply dramatic sense of loss.
The Dictionary of Lost Words is an intriguing story of the curation and publication of the first edition, twelve volume Oxford English Dictionary, as reported by protagonist Esme Owen. While a small child she spent many hours under the sorting table in the Scriptorium, where one day she came across a wayward word – ‘bondmaid’. She purloined the slip, unaware of just how important it was to both the dictionary and society. Fuelled with emotion, the word represented the condition of many women in a variety of ways, and it led to Esme’s collation over the following decades of ‘women’s words’. With Lizzie the kitchen maid, Esme regularly visited local markets to seek out language of the female traders.
Beyond Oxford, the lives of all Britons were impacted by huge social changes represented in part by the growing women’s suffrage movement. Then the Great War erupted, and her cosy protected lifestyle was threatened by frightening changes.
This is in part, an authentic account of James Murray and the team that compiled the first edition OED, appealing on many levels to lexicographers, philologists, etymologists, other language experts as well as readers who just enjoy a good tale. Esme’s life viscissitudes inject intersecting narratives through the female characters, whose stories provide human interest and a fascinating slice of women’s history, largely ignored by historians until the latter part of the 20th century.
Themes Historical fiction, English language, Womens’ history.
Jenny Watts
Dragon skin by Karen Foxlee
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526108. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
How to save a dragon: 1) Assemble equipment. Water, Weet-Bix, sugar, syringe, sticky tape, scissors. 2) Believe in everything.
Pip never wants to go home. She likes to sit at the waterhole at dusk and remember Mika, her best friend. At home her mother's not the same since her boyfriend moved in. They don't laugh anymore and Pip has to go to bed early, turn off her light and pretend she doesn't exist. When she finds a half-dead creature at the waterhole, everything changes. She knows she has to save this small dragon and return it to where it comes from. But how? (Publisher)
This book is beautifully written with language and imagery that fits with the intended reader age range (10+ years).
Pip is struggling with life in every aspect, her home life has changed since her mum’s boyfriend moved in, her school life is hard without her best friend who left without saying goodbye and everything in between is lonely and fills with sadness and loss until she finds a small creature who is more dead than alive near the waterhole where her happiest memories lie and where she feels closest to Mika.
Pip keeps the dragon secret and alive using techniques she has learnt while saving other animals, including a small kitten that lives with Mika's grandma and ideas that come to her through conversations with Mika in her head. She is struggling to know what to do next until she decides to trust two of her classmates, who she has never been friends with and ask them to help. Together, they save the dragon and forge a new friendship that allows Pip to ask for what she needs from her mum and develop a new understanding of the struggles others might have around her.
This is a book of friendship and hope, but it is filled with sadness and struggles too that the reader will empathise with, such is the brilliance of Karen Foxlee’s words. While they may never have experienced loss or domestic violence the reader will understand Pip’s struggles through the story and will be relieved at the ending, that actually feels more like a beginning rather than a finale.
This book was a wonderful read and it is one that I would recommend to anyone, although I do feel that it needs to be read by a mature reader to fully appreciate the stories that are woven throughout the narrative, having said this, a 10 year old will engage with and love this book but depending on the reader's maturity may not fully understand the unsaid stories that are the framework for this amazing book. Teacher's notes are available from the publisher.
Ford St, 2021. ISBN: 9781925804775. (Age:6-12) Highly recommended.
Poet and comic Harry Laing has produced his third collection of poems to entertain primary school aged children. He has creatively used language and words in different shapes and poetry styles such as rhymes, raps, songs, limericks and riddles to engage his young readers. The delightful ‘Moon Poem’ shaped like a crescent moon, ‘Jimi Hendrix and His Guitar’ shaped as a 1968 Gibson Flying V guitar and the ‘Giant Kelp’ poem which is a descriptive collection of words swaying vertically on the page, are well worth sharing with children.
This collection covers a myriad of both surprising and everyday topics written with humour, a light-hearted style and often a message, for example ‘Wild River’ and ‘Plastic is Coming’. Punctuation is minimal but each poem flows succinctly, and the use of space between verses and surrounding the poems ensures the meaning is not lost on the reader. The simple yet clever illustrations by Anne Ryan perfectly complement each poem and provide interest on the page.
This would be an excellent classroom resource when poetry writing is being examined or to have in a classroom library to encourage readers to engage with all forms of poetry. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Poetry, Humour, Children.
Kathryn Beilby
The world awaits by Tomos Roberts. Illus. by Nomoco
The World Awaits is a thoughtfully written picture book with an important message of hope and connectedness. The child in the story awakens to the new day but refuses to get out of bed. His older brother listens to his reason for staying in bed and then gently proceeds to give all the reasons why he should get up. He begins by telling his brother he has so much potential that will be wasted if he does not share it with the world. Then he talks about the plusses and the minuses we have in our core that impacts on how we can add goodness to the world or take it away. The older brother gives examples of simple plus things the younger brother could do such as ‘make your bed’, ‘give your grandparents a call’ or offer a ‘word of warmth to someone struggling’. He encourages his brother to realise that ‘global goodness grows with each good word and each good deed’ no matter how big or small these plusses are. At the end of the story the small child is encouraged to get out of bed with exuberance and begin his day with any necessary support from his brother.
This beautifully illustrated book would best be shared between an adult and child or within a classroom setting where guided discussions can occur.
Ballet is Luca’s world, he has been at ballet school in Ballarat since he was three and now, at 16 he is looking forward to joining the Australian Ballet School once he has passed the auditions, only six months away. But disaster strikes as he falls down stairs and breaks his foot and ankle so badly it seems he will never dance again. Best friend, bitchy, competitive Talia and offsiders Grace and Abbey are also in his ballet class and he can’t seem to cope with their concern. Luca is adrift, his dreams shattered and a big part of his life gone. He withdraws and becomes depressed, only going out for his physiotherapy sessions with occupational therapist Sami. When he meets year 12 rower and footballer Jordan in the waiting room, Luca is smitten: “this guy is definitely hot, and I’m assuming he’s straight, because this is Ballarat and everyone is straight” p. 26. Seeing Jordan becomes the one bright spot in his life as his poor academic record means the private school scholarship he had won due to his ballet prowess is revoked and he has to start school at North Secondary. Here he is buddied up with Amina Amhad whose unwavering positivity helps balance the casual homophobic bullying Luca experiences in class. As Luca slowly adjusts to his new life he gains a different perspective on some unexamined attitudes he and his friends had held and finds new ways to cope with the help of Amina and Jordan who are on their own journeys.
This funny and sad story is full of believable, often flawed, characters whose relationships are heartbreakingly real. Luca’s father deserves a medal, treading a fine parenting line with his vulnerable young adult son. Regardless of gender identity this love story will have wide appeal.
Alice’s Food A to Z was first published in 2015. This latest glossy edition published in 2021, is full of humour and fascinating facts as well as 30 recipes for budding cooks. Author, Alice Zaslavsky, introduces herself in a warm and heartfelt letter giving early background information and a brief glimpse into her food journey. The Contents pages have alphabetically ordered food and are appealing with both drawings and photographs. With foods presented beginning with the apple to dukkah to Jerusalem artichoke and zucchini as the final offering, readers of all ages are in for an enjoyable culinary treat. The letter ‘U’ stands for utensils and showcases the author’s 'Nifty Nine' that she uses daily. Each food discussed is beautifully photographed with one or more pages of segmented information including, ‘What to look for’, ‘Fun Facts’, ‘What’s to Love’, ‘This goes with that’, as well as recipes incorporated throughout the book. Nut free, gluten free, expert mode and snack attack are highlighted in coloured bubbles. At end of the book is a recipe index, a word wizards list in place of a glossary and a note for grownups.
This excellent foodie book would make a wonderful birthday or Christmas gift for children (and adults) of all ages.
Themes Food Facts, Recipes.
Kathryn Beilby
At the end of the day by Liz Byrski
Macmillan, 2021. ISBN: 9781760781644. (Age:Adult)
Miriam Squires is on her way home to Perth and her bookshop after her annual UK visit with her sister Alice. Now aged 75, she has found it a difficult trip, her post-polio symptoms becoming more pronounced and she decides this will be the last time she makes the journey. Author Mathias Vander has been in Europe making a last visit to his terminally ill best friend. He is flying in to Perth to stay with his daughter Carla, the one remaining member of his family. They meet up in an airport lounge and have an instant, and suprising rapport as they are both normally private and independent. A disrupted flight allows them more time to get to know each other and by the time they arrive a firm friendship has developed. Mim is met by close friend Jodie and Mathias by Carla and they too have an instant liking for one another. But coming home is difficult for Mim. She is feeling her age and disability and the bookshop is becoming a burden. When Jodie injures herself and tactfully suggests Mim can’t look after her she feels she is losing her independence. Now in his late 70’s Mathias too is reassessing his life and decides to move to Perth permanently to be near Carla, and Mim as he is enjoying her company. In finding each other Mim and Mathias find the strength to face some of their burdens, acknowledge the damage of a lifetime and seize the chance to embrace more positive things.
Lovers of women’s fiction and Liz Byrski’s ten other books will enjoy this one but I found the story was a bit trite and preachy and there was no real depth to the characters beyond their relationships with each other.
Themes Ageing, Friendship.
Sue Speck
Tiny Possum and the migrating moths by Julie Murphy. Illus. by Ben Clifford
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’.
