Simon and Schuster, 2020. ISBN: 9781471192265. 384pp.
(Adult) Recommended for mystery lovers. Anybody interested in memory
loss and the functioning of the brain will be sure to learn a lot
when reading Mr Nobody. A man is found on a beach with no
idea of who he is and what his name is. Neuropsychiatrist Dr Emma
Lewis is called in to consult in this small English town, but she
has secrets of her own. Why has she hidden her past identify for
fourteen years and why does she feel haunted by the past she left
behind? And how does the mystery man dubbed Mr Nobody know things
about her past?
Steadman melds the two mysteries together while giving an in-depth
look at different types of memory loss and both the character of
Emma and that of Mr Nobody are ones that the reader can relate to.
The novel keeps up the suspense right until the final chapters with
a highly unexpected conclusion which may prove to be a bit
challenging for some readers. Nevertheless it was a good read and
the setting and plot quite different from the usual police
procedural mystery.
Pat Pledger
Our Planet: The one place we all call home by Matt Whyman
Illus. by Richard Jones. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780008180317.
96pp., hbk.
This is the official children's book version of the Netflix
documentary series Our Planet. Endorsed by the World
Wildlife Foundation and with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough,
it is an authoritative exploration of our planet's natural world
using both illustrations and photographs from the series itself.
While each habitat is treated separately, nevertheless this is a
story of interconnection and hope, so much so that Sir David
Attenborough suggests that the children who read it will be "among
the next characters who can, if they wish, tell the most
extraordinary story of all - how human beings in the twenty-first
century came to their senses and started to protect Planet Earth."
So many of our students have access to services like Netflix now and
may well have seen the documentaries so this is a great opportunity
to explore how film and print can work together.
Barbara Braxton
Pretty funny by Rebecca Elliot
Penguin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9780241374627. 336pp.
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Haylah Swinton, sometimes known as 'Hay',
but mostly as 'Pig', is a teen with attitude . . . a funny attitude!
She is comedic and uses jokes (and chocolate) to cope with life. She
is the older sibling of Noah - a 4-year-old with his own naive
comedic spark. Her single-mother lovingly cares for her two children
and also works shift work at the hospital and so relies on Haylah to
organise and look after Noah regularly. The responsible teen though
is seldom seen as anything other than - large. She is a big girl
with a desire to be appreciated and understood for herself, but she
is also happy to be laughed at, particularly as she wants to be a
stand-up comedian. When she connects with the dreamy, older boy Leo
over their mutual enjoyment of stand-up comedy, she begins to think
she might have stumbled across someone who understands her and can
make her laugh and who might actually be interested in her. But not
everything goes smoothly, and her first stand-up gig might just be a
social disaster! When her life does cartwheels and she upsets her
mother's new relationship and her oldest friends, a kiss destroys
her equilibrium and everything seems to be going 'Hay'-wire. Then an
opportunity presents itself to fix problems, to stand up and be
respected and to be laughed at, all in the same evening.
This is a coming-of-age story (set in England) about learning to be
comfortable in your own skin, but also about how to view yourself
when you do not fit the 'norm'. Haylah is both funny and feisty, and
there are moments that are just laugh-out-loud enjoyable in her
life. But the strength of this book is learning to walk in her shoes
and to laugh with her, but also to understand her independence, her
sense of humour and her occasional angst. The fledgling comedian and
feminist is also just a girl who wants to know that someone likes
her, without having to change to meet anyone else's ideas about who
she should be, how thin or smart she should be, or what she should
wear. This is worthy of recommending to teenage girls with a sense
of fun, as they too negotiate where they fit in the world. In
addition, there are many funny lines and jokes throughout the book,
and the extremely charming Noah expresses the naive joy of being
4-years-old in very delightful moments in the book. This is
appealing and a pleasure to read. Themes: Coming-of-age; Comedy;
Family life; Appearance.
Carolyn Hull
Australians all love Easter eggs by Colin Buchanan
Illus. by Sarah Hardy. Scholastic Australia, 2020. ISBN:
9781743834794. 24pp.
(Age: 2-6) Recommended. Australians all love Easter eggs is
a cute rhyming story written by Colin Buchanan and illustrated by
Sarah Hardy. It tells of poor Bunyip Creek, a town too far for the
Easter Bunny to visit. The animals of this town decide enough is
enough and that they are going to work together and help get the
chocolate eggs delivered in time for Easter Sunday. They do
everything they can and get the bunny there on time, so the animals
can wake up to the delicious delivery for the first time.
I liked this charming little story, which has 'Aussie mate-ship' as
an undertone just with animals instead of people! The rhyme was easy
to read and flowed nicely, the text is positioned mainly on a white
background, and the characters are drawn with emotions on their
faces.
The illustrations really make this story, with pencil drawings of
cockatoos carrying the Easter Bunny over the lake, crocodiles
carrying baskets of eggs on their backs, koalas bush walking with
backpacks full and my favourite - the echidna, lizard and possum
filling the baskets!
I think this would be a great story to add in to an Easter book
collection, or as a gift to a younger child (2-6 years). I give it 4
out of 5, and look forward to reading this to Miss 5 at Easter time.
Lauren Fountain
The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey
Mantle UK, 2020. ISBN: 9781529014181. 336pp.
Recommended for adult readers. War threatens London. Not only are
precious children evacuated, but valuable museum artifacts. The
Natural History Museum chooses Lockwood Manor as a safe location,
and Hetty Cartwright as the chosen guardian.
However, Lockwood Manor is large and foreboding, chilling and moody
- a mansion of many rooms. A sad family history echoes in its halls,
and in the eyes of Lucy, the daughter of Lord Lockwood when Hetty
first arrives.
Brusque introductions (and departures) have Hetty on edge, as do the
movement and disappearance of some museum exhibits in her care.
Told in 2 voices - first Hetty, then Lucy, this debut novel from
Jane Healey weaves together historical fiction and mystery, as Hetty
endeavours to protect the collection from war, a zealous host, a
ghost(?) and vengeful past residents of Lockwood Manor.
With gothic elements of doom and gloom (courtesy of WWII), madness,
females compromised simply by being female, and talk of ghosts, The
Animals of Lockwood Manor provides a little twist - with the
relationship between Hetty and Lucy - no Mr Rochester in sight.
Linda Weeks
Peter Rabbit 2: Bunny trouble
Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241410875. 32pp. Peter Rabbit 2: Bunny trouble is a level 2 (progressive
reader) book from the Penguin Young Readers series. It is a
story based on the new Peter Rabbit movie, where Peter
snuggles himself into Thomas's truck and takes a trip to the big
city. He comes into some trouble and is very lucky when his friends
come and help him.
This particular story/level is designed for readers who are able to
use the pictures as clues, can decipher beginning/middle/ending
sounds and can make predictions within an in-depth plot (according
to the levelling information provided). I am guessing that the Penguin
Young Readers series is based on American guided and
traditional reading levels, as I was unfamiliar with the information
provided for parents and educators at the beginning.
This reader would be great for students who enjoy the Peter
Rabbit movies, but are also reluctant readers. This book may
assist them by providing a topic that interests them, and is a bit
different from the regular classroom reader stories.
It has engaging images taken from the movie, along with fun and
bright backgrounds added by the publisher. This may be a bonus for
the unenthusiastic reader, and those that rely on the images for
clues and engagement.
Overall a reasonable reader or story, with the bonus of being part
of the Peter Rabbit empire, which may add to the interest
for many children.
Lauren Fountain
Let's go! On a train by Rosalyn Albert
Illus. by Natalia Moore. Let's Go! series. New Frontier, 2020. ISBN:
9781925594980. 16pp.
(Age: 2+) A simple rhyming story has two friends going on a steam
train journey. Let's go on a steam train
And choo-choo through the land
We wait down at the station
Where we hold each other's hand.
Young children are given the opportunity to examine a train journey
in this book, part of the Let's Go! Series that looks at different
modes of transport. They start off at the station, with its Platform
number and clock with the conductor waving from the train.
They see the fire being stoked and watch the countryside from their
seats.
All the illustrations are brightly coloured and detailed while there
is a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds and gender in the children
and the workers.
Older children looking at forms of transport would be able to
identify how train travel has changed from their grandparents' time
while younger children will enjoy the rhyme and rhythm of the
narrative.
Pat Pledger
Butterfly yellow by Thanhha Lai
University of Queensland Press, 2020. ISBN: 9780702262890.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Dedicated to the unknowable number of
refugees at the bottom of the sea, Butterfly yellow tells
the story of Hang, a young Vietnamese girl making her way across
Texas, searching for the last remaining member of her family, her
young brother Linh who as a toddler was airlifted to America
following the Vietnam War. As she trudges across the dry landscape
of Texas in long sleeved high necked clothes covering the faint red
scar lines that score her body, her path crosses with a young man,
Lee Roy, a wannabe cowboy with a droopy moustache, seeking out rodeo
excitement. Hang has only a crumpled card with an address, handed to
her many years ago by the American who took her brother, and she
longs to be reunited with the young child she remembers and loves so
much. She is fiercely determined; having endured a horrendous
experience as a refugee boat person, her case file labelled Extreme
Trauma, details that are only gradually revealed as we learn more
about her past.
This is a poignant but heart-warming story of the slow development
of trust and friendship between the Vietnamese refugee and the naive
cowboy. Lee Roy is by Hang's side, initially reluctant, but then
patient and kind, as her Americanised brother rejects any memory of
her. And the people around them, each in their own way, help the
young friends to find a way to a better future.
The writing is beautiful, and very poetic. Hang's forays into
English are captured with Vietnamese tonal typography, and the
reader is grateful for Lee Roy's ear for the accent and his
interpretations of her words. It is a very realistic portrayal of
the struggles to understand different sounds and language
structures. But their differences melt when Lee Roy is astounded to
discover that old Clint Eastwood movies and rap poetry are a shared
connection between them.
In the end it is a positive story of people overcoming hardship,
overcoming differences, building better understanding, friendships
and a new future.
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Themes:
Refugees, Vietnam War, Language, Friendship.
Helen Eddy
Bluey: Easter fun! A craft book by Bluey
Penguin Random House, 2020. ISBN: 9781760896898. 24pp.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. There are lots of activities in this craft
book that will keep young children (and their older siblings)
engaged over the Easter holidays. Fans of the Bluey TV series will
love this book and will want to try many of the activities in it. It
has a useful section on how to use the book and a list of things
that the user will need as a holiday craft kit, in the introduction.
A hint on checking the back of the pages before cutting out is also
useful as is the warning to slow down and relax.
The activities are well thought out and there is a wide variety to
suit the interests of different children. The Easter treasure hunt
sends kids out outside to explore and then bring the items inside,
and could be used at any time. Cut-outs include a Bob Bilby mask and
a sturdy Easter basket with Bluey peering over the top. There are
some pages to be coloured in, a join-the-dots page and a
Hide-and-Seek page where the reader has to find ten Easter eggs.
There is even a recipe for Shadowlands cupcakes, which is written in
clear instructions for both the ingredients and directions. Some
children may want to create their own Easter garden and many will
love Bandit's Easter jokes and the opportunity to draw their own
pictures.
This book will be a boon for parents during the Easter holidays and
would also provide ideas for teachers of young children.
Pat Pledger
Bluey: Bob Bilby by Bluey
Penguin Random House Australia, 2020. ISBN: 9781760896638. 24pp.
(Age: Preschool) Recommended. Bluey is back again for little fans of
the very popular TV series. It is Bingo's turn to have the joy of
taking Bob Bilby home from her classroom, where it is expected that
the family will take photos of the good times that they all have.
Bob Bilby wonders what they will get up to and shows the family the
photo album with all the fun that he has had - off to Scotland with
Mrs Terrier, playing football with Jasper W and karate with another
friend Maxie. Then he is shown a tablet that can take photos and can
be used to play games and watch cartoons. The family goes shopping
but the kids watch more cartoons in the shops and even Bingo's Mum
watches hockey on the big screen. When they return home to look at
the photos Mum has taken to put in the album they discover that in
each of them they are looking at a screen. They will have to remedy
that so Bluey puts all their tablets in a basket and off they go on
some fun adventures.
Bluey's family is a warm loving one and children will love
references to "the big blue guy", Bingo's father. And this time it
is Bingo, the brown dog, who stars in the story although Bluey does
come up with the solution of getting good photos for Bob Bilby to
take back to the classroom.
The book is a sturdy board book that will hold up to much handling
and the familiar TV characters are gorgeous.
The simple message of doing fun things without screens is sent in a
positive, warm way that young readers will relate to and with the
enormous success that Bluey has had on TV, ABC iView and iTunes Kids
Chart, this is one that parents will want to have at home to help
with getting kids off screens and doing other fun activities.
Pat Pledger
What the fluffy bunny said to the lazy llama by P. Crumble and Chris Saunders
Koala Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781743832486. 24pp.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Fluffy Bunny is a great organiser and is
determined that the animals will all practise for the sports
carnival that is on next week. He approaches each animal in turn,
giving them a sport: the lazy llama gets gymnastics; the zebra is
signed up for skateboarding while the snake is up for kayaking. The
mouse is signed up for weightlifting, the turtle for trampolining,
the hippo for high jump and the lion for ice skating.
Of course as the story is read aloud, readers will immediately shout
out that the animal chosen for the sport is not the best one. How
could a tiny mouse lift a really heavy weight? And the hippo is far
too big and heavy to leap over the high jump. What is Fluffy Bunny
thinking? The narrative gives young children the opportunity think
about the skills that each animal might bring to sports day and what
each could do best, while enjoying a laugh at the wonderful pictures
that accompany each animal. These are done in watercolour and kids
will love the expressions on the faces of each animal, climaxing in
a wonderful double page where each animals does its best to
participate in the sport that Fluffy Bunny has chosen. And those of
us who don't like sports will empathise with the lazy llama who does
lots of stretching after a nap. (Note: the refrain "You'll need to
practice" has the verb 'practise' written in the American spelling
version.)
Pat Pledger
E-Boy: Lightning strike by Anh Do
Illus. by Chris Wahl. Allen and Unwin, 2020. ISBN:
9781760877521.
(Age: 10+ years). Recommended. E-Boy begins with Ethan, a
teenage boy, in hospital for his fourteenth operation in eighteen
months. He has a brain tumour and this final operation is his last
hope. Dr Penny Cook has designed and programmed a medical android,
named Gemini, to operate on Ethan. This is top secret and Ethan and
his family have signed confidentiality papers.
The operation takes place during a violent storm and with one
percent of brain connections to go, a bolt of lightning strikes the
facility. The electricity surges into Gemini and then into Ethan.
The operation appears to have worked brilliantly for Ethan and he
goes home. However Ethan realises he has developed a super power and
affinity with computers and feels like he can see inside and
manipulate any computerised item. This new skill leads to some poor
choices by Ethan, danger for his family and the beginning of life on
the run from the authorities.
Meanwhile Dr Cook and Gemini are under the ever watchful eye of a
People's Service Agent. After the success of Ethan's operation the
agent decides to use Gemini in the Sharo Desert where a war is being
fought. Gemini begins to question what he is being programmed to do
in the desert, as he was originally programmed to heal, which leads
to his memory being erased after every dangerous and dastardly
desert task.
The two complex and fast-moving plots of Ethan and Gemini run
parallel and they meet for a final showdown. It is full of tension
and action with the reader left wanting to read the second book in
the series to find out what happens next. The lightning bolt has
obviously caused a change to both Ethan and Gemini's brain
connectors and the question is: are they half-human or half-robot?
Anh Do has written a fast-paced and dynamic story which readers of
his other series will enjoy. The illustrations are spread throughout
the book and provide interesting and supportive visuals for the
reader. Reading
group notes are available. Themes: Robots, Androids, Good vs
Evil, Fighting, Computers, Family, Illness.
Kathryn Beilby
Monkey's tail by Alex Rance
Illus. by Shane McG. Allen and Unwin, 2020 ISBN: 9781760524487.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Howler Monkey loves nothing more than
to swing through the trees in the jungle with his friends, but one
day a branch gives way and he falls to the ground, damaging his
tail. His bandaged tail stops him climbing. He laughs with the
others, but laughter cannot mask his fear that he will not climb
again. One day Oldest Monkey sits next to him and says that he has
noticed he is sad. Howler Monkey shares his biggest secret with the
older monkey. Oldest Monkey asks him how he learnt to climb and then
what most satisfies him about his ability to climb. Howler Monkey
realises that it is his friends and family who make him want to
climb. He loves playing with them in the trees and helping others
climb just as well as he can. He loves how proud he makes his family
by being good at his climbing skills.
But surely your friends and family will be just as friendly and
proud of you even if you don't climb anymore, Oldest Monkey
suggests. You can still play with your family and friends, you can
still help others to learn to climb, you can still make people laugh
and be happy.
Howler Monkey sees that it is not what you do that counts but why
you do it that makes more sense. Howler Monkey parallels Alex
Rance's own story of having a season ending injury in the first
round of the 2019 AFL year. This story is about a life changing
injury causing serious self doubts, while sharing these with others
lessens their impact. Family and friends have a role to play in
helping overcome concerns while Howler Monkey learns to stay
positive to overcome his sadness caused by his injury. Tiger's
roar (2018) by Rance and McG promotes the same level of
understanding about things going wrong in one's life. A trailer
with Alex Rance is available. Themes: Monkeys, Disability,
Overcoming fear, Wellness, Mental health.
Fran Knight
Our Dark Secret by Jenny Quintana
Pan Macmillan, 2020, ISBN: 9781509839476. 320pp.
(Age: Adult) Our Dark Secret is a dark, slow moving story
focussed on complicated families, angst-filled teenage and adult
relationships and deep mysteries. Beginning in the late 1970s,
introspective Elizabeth, a bulimic teenager, who is bullied by her
classmates narrates her story as her home life disintegrates. When
angel-like Rachel and her family move into the village, Elizabeth
seeks her out as a friend. A fortuitous accident leads the girls
into an awkward friendship, and Elizabeth is overly self-sacrificing
to ensure the relationship continues. As their parents' marriages
fall apart, the teenagers seek refuge in a hidden den in the
orchard. Unfortunately, a murdered man's body is discovered in the
girls' hang-out spot, with long-lasting consequences.
Twenty years later, Elizabeth is a troubled adult, still dealing
with her bulimia, moving from job to job, lonely and struggling. She
wants to leave memories in the past, but when another body is
discovered in the village, she must confront the deep far-reaching
truths. She still connects with Rachel, their friendship strained,
but the consequences of their past actions play heavily on both.
Quintana's introspectively draws on the psychological aspects,
exploring themes of bullying, separation, divorce, abuse, secrecy
and obsessive friendships. She descriptively captures the details of
village life, food, music, gossiping and rumour spreading, in
simpler yet still difficult times. The year references form chapter
titles as she weaves the threads of the story between the
twenty-year gap. Our Dark Secret is a multi-layered
introspective drama, confronting and raw, patience and perseverance
are needed to finally gain insight into the connections between the
two murders. Themes: Friendship, Coming of Age, Mystery, Identity,
Family relationships.
Rhyllis Bignell
Red Day by Sandy Fussell
Walker Books, ISBN: 9781760651886. 240pp.
Highly recommended. Red Day is a coming of age story that
takes the reader into the world of Charlie, a young girl who is in
year 7 in a school in Cowra, NSW. Charlie interacts with the world
as a likeable, well balanced person of her age, with all the usual
struggles and fun. However, Charlie has an additional aspect to her.
She is a person with synaesthesia. This interesting condition,
little known but not wholly uncommon, results in the joining of
normally unconnected senses where stimulation of one sense can cause
involuntary reaction in another sense. Amongst other capacities,
Charlie sees colours in days and attitudes in numbers. People, to
Charlie, are surrounded by auras of different colours. Charlie's
enhanced sensitivities, which when really tested, result in physical
pain and near collapse, hold a mirror to the past and drive the
actions of Kenichi (the Japanese student who is being hosted by
Charlie and her mother) and herself in their efforts to right wrong.
For Charlie there is an additional motivation for solving the
mystery and that is to avoid another Red Day which is associated
with terrible pain and grief.
The other aspect to this book that is not particularly well known to
most Australians is the fact that Cowra was a POW camp and scene of
the largest and bloodiest prison escape during World War 2. The
story unfolds through Charlie's eyes. Her mother has insisted upon
hosting a Japanese student (Kenichi) and his arrival triggers the
subsequent unfolding of intertwining cross cultural family
histories. Charlie and Kenichi work together to pierce together the
pain of the past and make it right for the future of their families.
The story is unrelentingly gripping and haunting too. The pain of
the Japanese POWs and the mystery surrounding both families unfolds
within the settings of such places as the Cowra Japanese War
Cemetery, Garden and Museum.
Readers of this wonderful piece of historical fiction, will learn of
an important and sobering part of Australian history and also of an
interesting neurological condition whilst enjoying the development
of strong cross cultural friendship through the collaboration of
Kenichi and Charlie. Hope for the future (an informed future)
springs from this story.
Teacher's notes are available.
Wendy Jeffrey
