A curious menagerie: Of herds, flocks, leaps, gaggles, scurries, and more! by Carin Berger
Greenwillow Books, 2019, ISBN: 9780062644572. 40pp., hbk.
We've all heard of a herd of cows and a flock of sheep, but what is
a group of giraffes called? A murder of crows is a common trivia
answer, but what about a mischief of mice? Exploring collective
nouns is always fun and in this book the ringmaster and the monkey
investigate 64 of them opening up a menagerie of creatures for
little ones to learn and perhaps wonder about and perhaps research
their validity. A parliament of owls? Really? That could either be
flattering to some parliaments or insulting to some owls!
Berger has used her skills of making cut-paper collages to create
fascinating illustrations and tying the collection together with the
ringmaster and the monkey makes it a bit more engaging than the
usual word book, especially the final pages! One that will encourage
small groups to share and delight in, and perhaps try to make up
their own. Would a group of koalas be called a cuddle? Or a group of
cockatoos a squawk?
Barbara Braxton
Explanatorium of science by Robert Winston
Dorling Kindersley, 2019. ISBN: 9780241359488.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Science, Physical science,
Biological science, Chemical science, Earth Science. In the
inimitable way that DK publishing has to present complex information
in a readily accessible way, this book that covers the breadth of
science understanding is a wonderful example of publishing. Robert
Winston has distilled some very difficult concepts into easily
digested morsels of detail that a young reader will be able to
grasp. The illustrations are also incredibly clear and photographs
are big, bright and colourful. Complex experiments to reveal what is
happening in science are photographed and annotated with clarity.
The final sections in the book also explain basic science
measurement, procedures, classification and some charts and general
explanations.
This book was a joy to read. It clarified much detail that I had
forgotten from my own science education and teaching, but would make
a wonderful book for those beginning the journey of discovery in
science. It could certainly by recommended for a Library collection
or to be given to a science enthusiast. Nothing in the book is too
complex to leave out, because the author has made the complex into a
bite-size chunk of detail that is easily consumed.
Highly recommended for science interested readers aged 10+.
Carolyn Hull
P.O.O.P. of doom by Adam Wallace and James Hart
Cowboy and Birdbrain, book 2. Scholastic, 2019. ISBN:
9781760661595.
(Age: 7+) Themes: Humour. Cowboy who is half boy - half cow and
Birdbrain - a brain with bird features return in another wild and
crazy story P.O.O.P. of doom. These best friends deliver
Parcels Or Other Packages for IFFY Deliveries and are known for
their F.A.R.T.S (Fast and Reliable Tracking Services). The Boss is
giving them one last chance to deliver a package to the 'middle of
the ocean' by 8.37pm. Their mission is to take the fragile package
to Herman the Hermit in his impenetrable house surrounded by booby
traps and five levels of obstacles. Avoiding the flying chainsaws,
Snoozing Flowers of Death and electric fence takes skill and daring!
Herman's booby traps are outrageous and funny, resulting in the
friends coming up with some silly ways to outwit the hermit.
Birdbrain's often side-tracked by thoughts of completing a world
record in some rather unusual categories, juggling chickens, sucking
the most lollipops and completing the most spins on ice while a
menacing shark swims under him!
Author Adam Wallace combines slapstick humour, silly scatological
acronyms, repetitive banter and cast of unique characters with their
crazy antics to make a laugh-out-loud read. James Hart's cartoon
graphics showcase the madcap situations that Cowboy and Birdbrain
find themselves in. The P.O.O.P. of doom is an entertaining
junior novel, just right for young readers and fans who love
this kind of craziness.
Rhyllis Bignell
Animology: The big book of letter art alphabeasts by Maree Coote
Melbournestyle Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780992491796. 72pp., hbk.
Animology: The big book of letter art alphabeasts by Maree Coote Every
part of me's a letter!
Does that help you find me better?
Look very closely - can you see
The hidden letters that find me?
Sometimes letters may repeat
To make more eyes or fur or feet
Look back-to-front,
Look upside down,
Every letter can be found!
This is one of the most unusual books I've reviewed for a long time
and one of the most fascinating. Paired with an informative verse
about its subject, each illustration is created by using the letters
of the creature's name and the reader is challenged to find each
one. From the vibrant mandrill on the front cover, the challenge is
set to take a journey through the natural world discovering
everything from swans to budgerigars, all cleverly constructed from
their letters.
Readers have to examine the details in each illustrations, honing
their visual acuity skills amongst others, as Coote has had fun with
fonts, their shapes and sizes to tease even the most discerning eye.
One for those boys who like to gather round the same book and test
themselves. And having got the concept by looking, students can then
be challenged to try for themselves, remembering that they not only
have to spell the name correctly and use all the letters, but make
the finished design resemble the creature!! Something very different
for an art/biology lesson that could be a shared activity as the
artists draw and the wordsmiths research to create the verse!
A significant step up from the usual look-and-find books for younger
readers.
Barbara Braxton
Elmer's birthday by David McKee
Andersen Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781783447947. 32pp., hbk.
To celebrate Elmer's 30th birthday, there is a new story called,
appropriately, Elmer's birthday. Hoping to get their own
back on him, the elephants decide to play a joke on Elmer on his
birthday and spend the day getting all the other animals on
board. But who has the last laugh?
Great for teaching children about elephants, the animals of the
jungle, colour and patterns, as well as the themes of each story, I
believe little ones have not had a real education if they don't meet
Elmer. These two are going straight to my version of the pool room!
Barbara Braxton
Elmer: A classic collection by David McKee
Andersen Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781783448678. 152pp., hbk.
Thirty years ago I discovered a lovable character that has been an
integral part of the lives of the very young students I've taught
and my grandchildren - a patchwork elephant called Elmer. Every time
his creator David McKee offered a new story, it was in my hands and
in the ears of the nearest children. So now, to have a
collection of the five earliest stories in one volume is heaven on a
stick for such a fan.
Featuring Elmer, Elmer and the rainbow, Elmer
and the lost teddy, Elmer in the snow, and Elmer's
special day, just five of the 27 stories in the series, the
little patchwork elephant who likes to play jokes on his friends but
is always compassionate and helpful, is set to make a whole new
generation of fans, as parents discover this childhood favourite all
over again.
Barbara Braxton
Ask Hercules Quick by Ursula Dubosarsky
Illus. by Andrew Joyner, Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760296827.
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour, Animals, Magic, Work,
STEM. When Hercules spies a magic kit in the shop window, he falls
in love. All the way home he asks his Aunt Alligator questions about
the cost and how he could buy it. At last they decide that he can do
some odd jobs for his neighbours, a very unusual mix of people.
Upstairs lives an extended family of very hairy elks, while nearby
live the turtle brothers, and an octopus lives on the floor below.
Under Mr Calamari in the cold dark cellar, lives Queen Claude who is
rarely seen.
Hercules makes a lovely sign and puts it in his window, advertising
his abilities and finds a sock to put his money in when he begins to
work.
Surprisingly Professor Calamari knocks on the door. He has a most
unusual job for Hercules: to take his rose petals and cast them out
over the heads of people as they walk by. When the bucket is empty,
Hercules is given his money plus an orphaned tadpole as a gift. Next
he hears from the Elk family wanting a babysitter. This job is much
harder as the elk toddler is full of energy, and just when Hercules
lies on the couch, Queen Claude asks him downstairs as she has lost
her ping pong ball.
Then the turtle brothers want him to sing a wet and dry song to help
with their laundry. His sock is filling with ten cent pieces, and
though it is not enough to buy the magic box from the shop, some
real magic happens in front of his eyes.
Joyner's gloriously funny illustrations keep the story alive as we
see inside Hercules' home and those of his neighbours. Each is
individual, reflecting the character of the tenant, showcasing the
variety of people who may live in an apartment block. Readers will
love pointing out the myriad of objects depicted on each page, and
delight in the characters of each of these unusual tenants.
A warmth of family and friendship over-arches the story, reminding
the reader that family does not mean the nuclear family shown so
often in books, but can be as wide and various as the people around
us. In the background some mathematical deduction happens with
readers asked to think about Hercules' problem and and the work
Hercules must do to earn a few cents, while children will be
intrigued by the variety of animals shown.
Fran Knight
Missing, presumed dead by Emma Berquist
Greenwillow Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780062642813. 369p., hbk.
(Age: 15+) Themes: Mystery, Ghosts, Psychic ability, LGBTQ+,
Loneliness. When she touches someone, Lexi can see when they are
going to die and she can also see the ghosts of people around her.
This means that she has to isolate herself and the only person she
is close to is her grandfather, who also has this psychic ability.
When she touches Jane, a young person full of life, outside the club
one night, and sees her terrible death, a dire chain of events is
put into place. Jane reappears as a ghost, her throat cut, full of
revenge and insists that Lexi helps her find her murderer.
I picked up Missing, presumed dead, after really enjoying Devils
unto dust, and for much of the story I was fully
engaged. Lexi is a complex character, lonely and almost friendless,
afraid to touch anyone as she will see how they will die. She works
in a nightclub, Elysium, for Urie, who gathers together people who
have psychic ability, but because of her ability she is unable to go
to school or improve her poverty stricken life.
I had expected a mystery story with ghosts thrown in and this was
true for most of the book, but the relationship between Lexi and
Jane overshadowed the mystery and the ghost story so for readers who
are expecting either a ghost or mystery as the focus, they may be
slightly disappointed. However those who enjoy a story with
relationships as the main theme will be happy with this combination
of an unusual friendship, horror and mystery.
Pat Pledger
Unicorn Academy series by Julie Sykes
Illus. by Lucy Truman. Nosy Crow, 2019 Ariana and Whisper. ISBN: 9781788004565. 112pp., pbk.
Imagine a school where you meet your own unicorn and have amazing
adventures together! That's what happens for the girls at Unicorn
Academy on beautiful Unicorn Island. There are 12 books in the
series (some still to be released), the latest being Ariana and
Whisper.
Written for younger independent readers, the series appeals to those
for whom unicorns remain a fascination and who dream of having their
own one day, a fascination that shows no signs of abating. Such
series are very popular with younger readers just starting their
reading journey through novels as they associate with and invest
themselves in the characters, putting themselves in their shoes and
truly immersing themselves in the experiences. They form
relationships with them that mean they are eager to read and re-read
each one in the series, honing their skills and understandings of
reading as they do so. So this is a series that will have a strong
following because it features all those characteristics that hook
these emerging readers in. Worth the investment, not just for
themselves but the reading pathways that keen readers will then
follow.
Barbara Braxton
Collins children's picture atlas by Collins Maps
Illus. by Steve Evans. Collins/Times, 2019. 3rd ed. ISBN:
9780008320324. 48pp., hbk.
In all my years of teaching (nearly half a century!) either as a
classroom-based teacher or a teacher librarian, it has never ceased
to amaze me how little ones are fascinated by maps and atlases and
they pore over them for hours, dreaming dreams and making plans for
the future. I remember as a youngster spending endless hours with an
atlas mapping out a route around the world that would take me to
every capital city, and surprisingly (not) that atlas is now among
my treasured possessions inherited from my wanderlust mum, along
with an amazing dictionary that got just as much attention!
So there is no doubt that this new atlas for young children will
have the same sort of fascination for your young readers.
Designed to take children on a journey of discovery around the
countries of the world, it begins with intriguing endpapers of the
world's wildlife and then plots a contents journey around the
continents that is perfect for its target audience. Funky, colourful
illustrations depict a range of themes of the iconic features of
countries, building up a hankering to see these in real life when
they are older. Minimal text provides basic information and there
are the usual non fiction features like an index to help them
navigate their way through the book as well as around the world.
Guaranteed to provide hours of engagement and entertainment!
Barbara Braxton
You made me a Dad by Laurenne Sala
Illus. by Mike Malbrough. Harper Collins US, 2019. ISBN:
9780062396945. 32pp., hbk.
From the time a man first discovers his partner is pregnant, the
bond between father and child begins to grow and this relationship
is celebrated in this charming book. From the time of the first baby
bump through to camping out beneath the stars, the father shares his
joy and his wonder and his gratitude at being able to guide and
share the life of his little one, the big occasions and the not-so.
Perfect for a dad to give to his child on a special occasion, this
is a companion to You Made Me A Mother and turns the tables
on the usual format of the story being told by the child about the
dad.
Barbara Braxton
Frankly in love by David Yoon
Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780241373439
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. This is David Yoon's first book and it
marks him as an author to follow. The story of Frank Li explores
racism, friendship, families and love in a sensitive and engaging
page turner.
Frank belongs to the Limbos. Limbos are second-generation
Korean-American young people walking the line between their
involvement in American culture in school and their Korean culture
at home.
David's writing is nuanced and witty as he describes Frank's journey
in negotiating the perils of young love with the backdrop of high
expectations. Frank's parents expect their children to marry Koreans
and have already disowned Frank's older sister for dating an
American. An elaborate scheme to 'fake date' leads to Frank growing
in awareness as he becomes a conflicted and insightful observer of
his parents and friends. Frank is able to see his parents as complex
characters with unique experiences.
How easy it is to take it for granted that children will speak the
same language as their parents. This story highlights the language
and cultural barriers immigrant families negotiate on a daily basis.
Frank wants to understand his father and mother - and is pressed to
action by circumstances arising from a chance encounter.
The themes of racism and love are intelligently and sensitively
explored in a way that has the reader laughing out loud, or aching
with compassion, in response to the well-drawn authentic characters.
David's clever writing invites the reader to consider that the
adults can be just as compelled to 'fit in' as any teenager.
So frankly this book was a joy to read.
Linda Guthrie
The land belongs to me by Alys Jackson
Illus. by Shane McGrath. Big Sky Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781922265111.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Cautionary tale, Ownership, Environment. When a
beetle looks up from the flower he is on, he tells us that he owns
all from the daisy to the tree, every flower and twig belongs to
him. But the raven disagrees. From the fence post to the daisy to
the oak tree belongs to him. Disagreeing, the farm cat tells them
that he owns every nook and cranny from the farm house to the fence
post to the daisy to the oak tree. The farm dog disagrees, adding
what he owns, then this is supplanted by the cow and what she owns,
then the farmer intervenes. All tell the readers that they own the
land and all on it, repeating the string of things each says with an
easy rhythm.
By now the readers will have understood the message that everyone
thinks they own the land, and question perhaps who does? Turning the
page the argument heats up with a queen, a pirate and a general
disputing the ownership, the general using force to get his point of
view across. The dispute over land ownership has taken a nasty turn.
Children will easily see the outcome of land disputes and through
this story, predict what will happen when such disputes occur. They
will be relieved when turning the page the story comes to a
resolution, one that more should abide by.
The illustrations engender a feeling of comedy behind the story,
diffusing the reality somewhat, making it more palatable to younger
readers. This will readily encourage students to talk about their
environment, who owns it and just who is responsible.
Fran Knight
100 ways to make the world better by Lisa M. Gerry
National Geographic Kids, 2019. ISBN: 9781426329975. 256pp, pbk.
From something as manageable as forgiving someone or leaving a
complimentary note in their locker to more complex ideas such as
taking a First Aid class or letting your trash be someone else's
treasures, this is a small book full of big ideas about how to make
the world a better place both physically and emotionally.
With philosophy such as being the kind of friend you'd like to have
and being inclusive, it covers personal issues that can help the
individual be more calm, more mindful and more responsive to their
world while also taking actions that can help shape the world into
what they want it to be. Ideas are presented as simple concepts with
engaging graphics and photographs, and many are followed by detailed
supporting information, including advice from Nat Geo explorers,
interviews with experts and weird but true facts. Readers can get a
sense of their own power to make a difference and an understanding
of what actions contribute to positive outcomes and how they can
change things by themselves.
While journalling and personal challenges are becoming a popular way
to have students focus on the positives and support their mental
health, sometimes knowing where to start can be overwhelming so this
could be used to guide that journey by having students set
themselves the 100 tasks over the school year, and help them
structure their progress that way as they work their way through
them. They might also have spaces for another 20 ways they discover
that are not mentioned in the book and these could be added to a
class wall chart to inspire others to look more widely.
While these sorts of books always inspire when you first pick them
up, without accountability life can go back to routine quickly so
offering ways to keep the ideas in focus and support the reader over
time will not only help them, but also the adult offering that
support. We can all make our world better.
Barbara Braxton
The curse of the school rabbit by Judith Kerr
HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780008351847. 80pp, hbk.
Ever since it peed on him in Miss Bennett's Year 2 class, Tommy has
hated Snowflake the school rabbit. And now it has come to stay
because his sister Angie is in Miss Bennett's class and Snowflake
needs a home while Miss Bennett goes to look after her mother. But
because Angie is so little, Tommy has the task of looking after
Snowflake and while the extra pocket money will be handy because he
thinks if he wants a new bike he will have to buy it, this is not a
task he is savouring. And so the trouble starts . . . dangerous dogs
bale him up in the park when he is walking the rabbit; his
out-of-work-actor father misses out on a job because Snowflake pees
on someone important, Angie gets really sick, Snowflake goes missing
. . . There really is a curse!
Written and illustrated during the final year of her life - Kerr
died in May 2019 aged 95 - this is an engaging story for the
newly-independent reader from the author of classics such as the Mog
the forgetful cat series and When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit.
It shows she still had all the imagination and wit that she had when
she first wrote The tiger who came to tea in 1968 and will
probably gain her a whole new legion of fans.
You can read more about her work in this obituary.
Barbara Braxton
