Trans. by Sally-Anne Spencer. Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN:
9781776571895.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Loneliness, Friendship. First
published in Germany in 2015, this is another 'curiously good book'
to be published by New Zealand house, Gecko Press. Their books
promise 'good heart and strong character' and in this book, we see
just that. Elise lives alone in her dark, gloomy house. She is
frightened of everything: spiders, people and even tress, and never
goes outside, preferring to clean her house every morning until it
is spotless. She sometimes opens a window to let in some fresh air,
and one morning, a piece of paper flies in. She is nonplussed, and
scoops the paper plane into the fire. But she has bad dreams that
night about the piece of paper taking over her house. The next
morning she is startled by a knock at the door and opening it finds
a young boy looking for his paper plane. He searches the house,
asking questions of Elise and for the first time in a long time she
sits and reads to him. They do all sorts of things together until he
must return home, but that night, Elise makes a paper plane, a
remembrance of the day and hope of things to come.
This delightful story of friendship, reflected in the sorrowful life
of Elise, revitalised by the simple paper plane will resonate with
younger children as they read of the growing friendship between
Elise and the boy. The wonderful illustrations reflect the
developing friendship, colour coming into her world as the boy goes
upstairs, turning the stairway red, they read and the room becomes
radiant, a stark contrast to the greys of her house before the boy
entered. I love the cut out effect, black and white images placed
against the greys and browns of the house, the boy bringing in
colour, the pink coming into her cheeks just like the picture of her
as a young girl on the stairwell. The endpapers show what can be
achieved through friendship, and will trigger responses from the
readers. This book, a New York Time best illustrated book, will lead
to many discussions about older people living alone, grandparents
who may not see their grandchildren very often, the relationship
between youth and age, and would be a natty addition to
Grandparents' Day, an annual celebration in Australia during
October.
Fran Knight
How it feels to float by Helena Fox
Pan Macmillan, 2019. ISBN: 9781760783303.
(Age: 13-17) Recommended. Seventeen-year-old Biz lives with her mum
and her younger twin siblings in Wollongong. She has a circle of
friends at school but is particularly close to Grace, until she
kisses her and then worries she has ruined the friendship. She also
worries that she has unwittingly offended Jasper, the new boy at
school. Biz is particularly close to her dad, who sits on the end of
her bed and tells her stories about his life. She can't tell anyone
this though, as her dad died when she was seven, and she blames
herself for his sadness and his death. Biz has learnt to float
through her day-to-day life, appearing to be an ordinary teenage
girl. But then an incident at the beach sets off a series of events
which leave her spiraling further into mental illness. She drops out
of school and experiences more hallucinations and panic attacks,
often finding herself unable to remember events as they really
happened. Through a photography class she befriends an
eighty-year-old lady who turns out to be Jasper's grandmother. Biz
and Jasper go on a road trip which she hopes will reconnect her with
her father, but she might find out more than she ever wanted to
know.
The first-person narration in this book describe Biz's mental state
in uncompromising detail. Helena Fox reports in her acknowledgements
that she herself has lived with mental illness her whole life, and
this is so evident in the way we experience Biz's thoughts and
feelings. While not an enjoyable read due to the rawness of emotion,
it is incredibly well-written, and will speak especially to
teenagers who might find themselves experiencing similar feelings.
Donella Reed
Dead at first sight by Peter James
Roy Grace book 15. Macmillan, 2019. ISBN: 9781509816408.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Crime, Fraud, Online romance,
Internet. The apparent suicide of Susy Driver, a supposedly happy
late middle aged Brighton woman, leads DS Roy Grace into a very
murky world. It also adds friction to the already abrasive
relationship between Roy and his line manager ACC Cassian Pewe, who
would rather have a neat tidy suicide than a murder, which would
make his statistics very untidy.
Susy has been using an online dating service, but had warning signs
when she was asked for money by her online 'lover'. She began to
check, and finds to her surprise, that her man of the moment is Toby
Stewart a motivational speaker and Master Chef contestant, who also
happens to be gay and happily married. She also discovers his image
has been used multiple times. Unfortunately her delving has rather
nasty consequences, and not just for her.
Susy isn't the only victim of 'romance fraud'. Others in the UK,
Germany and the USA had been scammed, and some sought to get back at
the scammers and seek their revenge without the aid of the seemingly
powerless police forces.
Roy Grace has few clues, but a couple of chaps of African appearance
one of whom wears distinctive bright red shoes seem to be involved.
The situation also becomes more curious with the entry of Tooth, a
very accomplished assassin. What on Earth can he have to do with all
this?
Peter James has used an actual event on which to base his Toby
Stewart character. This has in turn put him in contact with the
disturbing data surrounding 'romance fraud'. Victims seem to be
older well educated men and women who have often been in long term
relationships and have looked for companionship and romance online.
They often find that they are only too eager to respond with ever
increasing amounts of money when requests come through to help out
with sick relatives, or provide short term loans in battles with ex
partners. Many of the victims are too embarrassed to admit they have
given away their life savings to a non existent 'lover'. The
agencies in question are often based in Ghana, Nigeria and Eastern
Europe where there is little hope of any justice for the victims.
This is the 15th Roy Grace novel, and those who have enjoyed the
others will be sure to embrace this new wrestle with these more
faceless criminals and those who wish to stop them.
Mark Knight
Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman
Illus. by Divya Srinivasan. Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781408879221.
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. Themes: India, Tigers, Fable,
Friendship, Difference. The beautiful princess who lives in a
country far away is blind with pearls for eyes. But what concerns
her parents, the Rajah and Rani is the fact that she cannot speak.
They offer a room in their palace, the deeds to a stunted grove of
mango trees, a picture of an old aunt who always has a lot to say
and a parrot to anyone who can make their child speak. But nobody
succeeds. Eventually a tiger comes along offering to help Cinnamon
speak. After some disquiet the family and the staff leave the palace
to the girl and the tiger.
He uses feelings to encourage her to speak, succeeding where all
others have failed. She runs her hands through his soft fur, feels
pain when he scratches her, fear when he roars and love when he
licks her hand and face. Moved, she speaks. Her parents are very
happy and want to know why she has not spoken before but she can
only say that she had nothing to talk about, and then surprises them
all by saying what she is going to do next.
A wonderful fable, concentrating on relationships within a family,
where the child Cinnamon cannot speak. The parents offer a flawed
reward to anyone who can help, but the prize claimed by the tiger
takes their child from them.
Wonderfully apt illustrations by Texan artist, Srinivasan,
complement Gaiman's lively text, full of allusions to tigers and
their behaviours. Brimming with wit and humour, the story will be
read and reread by those who love to laugh out loud, while their
eyes will be drawn to the detail in the background of each page,
showing life in an Indian palace, as well as the flora and fauna
outside.
The aunt's negative comments are most amusing as is her end, while
the parents with their half-hearted attempts at helping Cinnamon
speak do not deserve any pity when left in their sumptuous palace
without their daughter. The themes of possessions over a child, of
an inability to help their disabled daughter, of finding love in the
most unusual of places will sing to the book's readers, and Gaiman
again gives a story that is not quite what is expected, a story at
odds with the usual, a story that sings with difference.
Fran Knight
Mindcull by K.H. Canobi
Ford Street Publishing, 2019. ISBN: 9781925804232.
(Ages 11-15) Recommended. In this futuristic thriller, 16 year-old
Elia lives in a world where virtual reality is as much part of life
as the real world itself. In fact, after her mother's death, her
father becomes 'discordant', meaning he can no longer differentiate
between the real and the augmented, leaving Elia to live with her
mother's cousin Malcolm. Through the popularity of her social media
V-clips, Elia is shortlisted to become the new face of Pearl, the
world leader in Virtual and Augmented Reality design. Before she
flies to England for the competition she is approached by the
International Law Enforcement Agency who interrogate her about her
best friend Mia who they believe has dangerous activist connections.
The ILEA use this information to coerce Elia into spying for them
when she enters the Pearl corporation. Elia and Mia overhear a
conversation about a plot to kill the founder of Pearl, and Elia
must decide where her loyalties lie, a difficult choice when she
doesn't even know if she can trust her own thoughts.
It's always refreshing to read science fiction thrillers with strong
female lead characters, and Elia's tendency towards shyness makes
her more likeable. The terminology used to describe the technology
in this book was interesting, being close enough to our familiar
terms that you can instantly understand what is being described.
This combined with relatable characters and fast-paced action make
for an enjoyable read.
Donella Reed
Wolfy by Gregoire Solotareff
Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781776571574.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Friendship, Acceptance. New
Zealand house, Gecko Press
publishes 'curiously good books' so a book that landed on my desk,
first published nearly thirty years ago, is full of promise.
Rabbit had never seen a wolf, so when Wolfy is left alone after his
uncle dies while teaching him how to hunt, the two become friends.
They work together to bury uncle's body, Tom asking Wolfy if is true
that wolves eat rabbits. Wolfy tells him that some do, but not him,
and Tom tells him that he is not scared of him. They do everything
together, roaming the hills, fishing together, playing hide and
seek, and Wolfy teaches Tom how to run really well. But one day,
when playing 'who's afraid of the big bad wolf', Wolfy opens his now
quite large mouth and roars, scaring Tom so much that he runs home
and hides in his bed. Tom is beside himself, refusing to communicate
with his former friend despite all the apologies that Wolfy speaks
through the door.
So Wolfy leaves, but in crossing the mountain he is attacked by
other wolves and must run for his life.
He goes back to Tom, more apologetic than ever, because now he truly
understands what fear is, and takes to heart the song, 'who's afraid
of the big bad wolf'.
The two remain friends, each understanding the other a whole lot
more, content in their friendship.
First published in France in 1989, this moral tale will have many
new followers, intrigued by a friendship between a rabbit and a
wolf, but equally hopeful that it will be a lasting friendship when
the two can put themselves in the other's shoes and understand what
each is going through.
The book will elicit much discourse amongst its readers, and be a
useful tool for discussions in the classroom about resolving
difference. Indeed this is a 'curiously good book', displaying the
'good heart and strong character' implicit in the books chosen by
this company to publish and well worth reading many times over.
Fran Knight
Just the two of us by Sarah Cathie
Illus. by Jelena Jordanovic-Lewis. Little Steps, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839067.
(Age: 3-6) Themes: Single-parent families, Mothers, Sons. Debut
author Sarah Cathie drew inspiration for her gentle family story
from a conversation with her young son. Just the two of us
is an encouraging story that explores the love of a mother and child
- a single-parent family.
Jasper and his mother love being together, playing in the backyard.
Mum cheers him on at Saturday soccer and they enjoy holiday time,
snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef. The young boy observes other
friend's families; Patrick is picked up after school by his dad.
Jamie their neighbour has a fun father who loves to play tricks.
Jasper's observations turn to questions, as his mother helps him
understand there are many different kinds of families. Some have two
mothers, other children are nurtured by their grandparents. Mum
carefully explains about his donor who helped her to fulfil her
dream of becoming a mother. He's reassured at bedtime with this
exhortation 'all families are beautiful and different and in our
family it's just you and me.'
Jelena Jordanovic-Lewis captures the sunny, happy feelings with
bright sky blues and sunny yellows. Her characters show the loving
relationship between Jasper and his mother and his friends'
families. The author's descriptive story is just right for reading
aloud to youngsters as they begin to look at non-traditional family
dynamics. Just the two of us opens up discussion about the
ways families are created.
Rhyllis Bignell
The coolest book in the whole wide world by Alley Bucci
Illus. by Lauren Mullinder. Little Steps, 2019. ISBN: 9781925545951.
(Age: 7-9) Subjects: Creative writing, Imagination, Choose your own
stories. The Coolest Book in the Whole Wide World encourages
budding young writers to create their own stories. Beginning with a
challenge to 'throw on your clever, creative underwear' there are
plenty of opportunities to be imaginative. This choose your own
style adventure allows the reader to fill in their own sentences and
interact with the interesting characters, settings and plots.
Alley Bucci's stories include 'Grape the friendly alien', 'Millie
the mermaid' and 'Sienna the super scientist' who each have stories
to share. First we encounter the alien at the supermarket, choose a
product to buy, read the rhyming story and provide an exciting
conclusion. Henry the naughtiest boy in the world wraps trees in
toilet paper, and runs amok at the zoo until the writer decides if
he will still be cheeky or change his behaviour. What will happen
next with Sienna the super scientist: another crazy, messy
experiment?
Lauren Mullinder's wide-eyed characters add to the excitement of
each tale. Her colourful digital images enhance the stories and
actions. Alley Bucci's The Coolest Book in the World
concludes with a 'Certificate of Awesomeness' for the author after
they've completed their challenges and missions.
Rhyllis Bignell
The art of taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
Text Publishing, 2018. ISBN: 9781925603743.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Prejudice, Aboriginal themes,
Germans, South Australia, Internment camps, Loveday. A verse novel
about grief and loss, the page long poems to death expose the grisly
nature of Lottie's fascination with death and decomposition. Picking
up dead birds and animals as she walks around her father's farm she
takes them to her bedroom where she tries to breathe life into them.
Lottie has not yet resolved her mother's death. Her father too is
unable to clear out his wife's possessions, leaving her clothes in
the wardrobe for Lottie to look through with her friend, Annie.
Aunt Hilda comes each day to cook and care for Lottie before father
comes home from work at university. The aunt is aghast at Lottie's
activities, disposing of the animals, throwing them out, then
burning them, complaining all the while to her brother that the girl
is strange, offering knitting and sewing lessons to make her more
natural. The sewing comes in very handy when Lottie attempts
taxidermy, after visiting the museum with her father.
In breathtaking grabs of lines we read of the farm, worked by
Lottie's mother and grand mother during the war, the men, Lottie's
grandfather and father taken to the internment camp at Loveday near
Barmera. Here her grandfather died, her father returning home to an
ill wife, worn down by hard work and poor rations. She and her baby
died in childbirth, and the loss hits the whole family, recalling
the death of the older man and the younger sister, drowned in the
dam.
So Lottie collects dead birds, watching them decay, wondering what
happens to them, willing them to come back to life, using her skills
to recover their lost glory.
On a trip to Loveday, the family visits the site of the camp, and
the cemetery where those who died were buried, her grandfather's
body later exhumed and returned to the farm.
A magnificent story of grief and loss, every reader will take
something from this book as they read of Lottie's predicament, her
one school friend, Jeffrey, her German background used as a source
of bullying, just as Aboriginal Jeffrey is on the outer.
The novel also touches on themes such as the Stolen Generation, the
treatment of Germans during World War Two and the role of women.
Fran Knight
The Wreckers' Revenge by Norman Jorgensen
Fremantle Press, 2019, ISBN: 9781925815450.
(Age: 11-14) Recommended. Themes: Piracy, Courage, Colonisation,
Coming of Age. Norman Jorgenson's swashbuckling tale The
Wrecker's Revenge sees young Red Read sent away to Christian
Brothers' College in Perth after his adventures at sea. He dislikes
the cold weather, food, finds only English and Geography worthwhile
and doesn't tolerate the bullying he observes. When he fights one of
the Brothers hitting a smaller student with a leather strop, Red is
quickly locked up and sentenced by a cruel magistrate to 20 birch
lashes. Whilst locked in jail, Red noticed mysterious writing and
numbers on the wall, William Dampier, bulyon, Coconut Island.
Luckily his guardian Captain Black Bowen rescues him and he's
returned to his seafaring family aboard the Black Dragon.
Captain Bowen's keen for a new adventure, searching for the Dutch
explorer's hidden treasure. He's also on the run from the law for
meting out revenge on the cruel magistrate, shooting him in his
backside. On their journey up the treacherous Western Australian
coastline, they are pursued by five pearl luggers from Broome keen
to reach Dampier's treasure first. Armed with cannons, salvaged from
a Dutch shipwreck, a fierce battle ensues. Their dramatic escape is
just one of the many close encounters on their journey to the Cocos
Islands. Collecting bat guano to make gunpowder, climbing the
ratlines to keep lookout in the crow's nest, assisting the crew as
they prepare for battle, Red Read's ship-board life is filled with
excitement and danger. He learns to think creatively, assisting
Shakespeare quoting Captain Bowen, and the crew fight the 'vicious,
revenge crazed wreckers.'
Red's journey is filled with danger; for days he sails one of the
captured luggers after the crew die from typhoid fever. He just
escapes a close encounter with a shark, and finally returns home to
Broom receiving a special reward for his bravery.
Norman Jorgensen's dramatic novel delivers fast-paced action,
colourful characters and historical insights into the history of
Western Australian. He challenges the stereotype roles of women and
indigenous peoples and comments on the impact of colonisation. His
protagonist, Red Read is wise beyond his years, resilient, willing
to learn and has a strength of character. Violence is portrayed,
revenge is handed out and fierce battles are fought. The Wreckers' Revenge is a thrilling read for fans of
pirates, Australian history and daring adventures.
Rhyllis Bignell
The girl who came out of the woods by Emily Barr
Penguin. 2019. ISBN: 9780241345221. pbk. 391 p.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Themes: Dystopian. Arty was born in a
small commune hidden in the forests of southern India. Her only
knowledge of the outside world has come from the handful of adults
and from old books. On the twentieth anniversary of the commune,
Arty leaves the only home she's ever known. She doesn't want to. She
intends to come back. A younger child Zeus, is the only person well
enough to accompany her on a mercy dash beyond the woods, through
the locked gate and past the foreboding 'Danger Radiation' sign. The
noisy world, the bustle of modern day India, the toxic environment
and rampant consumerism overwhelm her. Can she save the others, or
will she be too late? Her contingency plan lies in her mother's
instructions to find Persephone or Uncle Matthew in England. But the
tragedy and Arty's unique upbringing make her a social media and
mass media sensation - opening her eyes and ours to insatiable human
appetites.
The story begins darkly as Arty grapples with exploitation and new
friendships, celebrity and family secrets - but things turn darker
as the narrator reconstructs the events that led her brave mother,
Venus (Vicky), to reject civilization and to establish a better one
in the Clearing.
Emily Barr has written her coming of age novel as a metaphor where a
cloistered child confronts a complex modern world. Her protagonist
is only able to navigate a cataclysmic tragedy, because of the
perspective of her clan, particularly Venus, their matriarch. We see
the greed and decay of the planet through fresh eyes and we are
ashamed of our acceptance of a multitude of insane and inane
behaviours. The author doesn't abandon us, because Arty can adapt,
educate herself and carve out a life. Perhaps she can honour her
mother's grand vision by adding her lived experience to the
inevitable cinematic rendering planned by Bollywood - a fate likely
to be shared by this novel, which has brought Arty to life.
Deborah Robins
Secret in stone by Kamilla Benko
The Unicorn Quest bk. 2. Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN:
9781408898512.
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Themes: Fantasy; Unicorns; Magic; Bravery.
This is the second book in The Unicorn Quest series, and I
wish I had read the first, The
unicorn quest. Two young sisters Claire and Sophie have
found themselves in the fantasy kingdom of Arden, and although in
this book we know that Claire has been revealed as a wielder of
magic, and a Princess of the realm with power to call back the
Unicorn from extinction, it seems that there is more to do to rescue
Arden from the power of those who seem to be working against the
kingdom's harmony and who perhaps have deliberately set their mind
and magic to destructive ends. Claire's gentle and apprehensive
spirit must work hard to rescue her sister, and perhaps even rescue
the unicorn. In a fantasy world not unlike Narnia, there is magic of
different qualities and properties linked to different groups within
the kingdom. These distinctions and the intriguing way that magical
skills are expressed is a delight and the author has created a
wonderful fantasy world and adventure. Claire is a wonderful young
heroine - flawed and reticent, but her insights reveal a wonderful
strength and quality. Her friends, all with different magical
skills, are also intriguing.
This book can be recommended to those who love magical fantasy
stories, but it appears the series will continue and so it is
recommended that readers begin with the first book in the series.
Recommended for lovers of magical fantasy adventure, aged 10 +
Carolyn Hull
Memory craft by Lynne Kelly
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760633059.
(Age: Adult) The Melbourne author used knowledge gained from her PhD
research on memory to detail elaborate methods/structures for
memorising large quantities of data eg whole dictionaries!
The book also contends that these methods eg memory palaces were
used throughout history. Before the written word, most cultures used
visual mapping, stories, dance, songs, etc to 'store' and pass on
culture. In medieval times, visual alphabets and illustrated
bestiaries were used as memory aides.
The author argues that while repetition (so knowledge is stored in
long term memory) is an important element of memory recall, it is
not enough. Attaching the knowledge/data to 'memory spaces' is also
necessary. This is evident in the world of memory competitions
detailed in another chapter where competitors use the techniques
detailed in the book.
The section detailing how the author learnt French and Chinese would
be very useful for language teachers. Chapter 12 deals with
utilising memory techniques in education with a great example on the
periodic table.
As a research project topic, it would be interesting to trial one of
the methods used.
On a simplistic level, I successfully used elements to remember
various names and terms I have had difficulty with.
In our digital age, it could be argued that memorising and recall of
knowledge is unnecessary, but Ms Kelly argues that the brain
strengthens connections while memorising - it is a muscle that needs
exercise like all other muscles. In relation to education, the
author views memorisation as a way to enhance what we already do in
education'.
While extremely interesting, I found that a high level of
concentration was required for some sections of the beautifully
illustrated book. I was not tempted to try to memorise eg all of
Australian or world history using one of the memory palace
techniques - it seemed too complicated.
This book is more suitable for teachers and general interest rather
than for students.
Ann Griffin
Boot: small robot big adventure by Shane Hegarty
Illus. by Ben Mantle. Lothian, 2019. ISBN: 9781444949360.
(Age: 8-12) Highly recommended. Boot: small robot big adventure
by Shane Hegerty is such a wonderful book which will be enjoyed by
anyone who loved the movie and character Wall-e. The story begins
with Boot, who wakes up in a scrap yard with only 2 and a half
memories. He knows he must get back to Beth, his owner, as he also
has an undeniable feeling that he is important to her.
This funny story follows a familiar path of the character being
lost, going on a journey/adventure with newfound friends and
finishes with them finding their way. Boot: small robot big
adventure does all of that but with the added element of him
working through new, human like emotions that are not usually
associated with robots. I really like this aspect as readers can be
absorbing the story and without even knowing it, be learning about a
variety of emotions and to not be worried or afraid of them.
Another interesting element of the book is the notion of the
'changing world'. What Boot does remember of life before he ended up
in the scrap yard has changed and things are now very different.
Life is not simple anymore. It is easy to link this component to the
current state of our world and how technology is more prevalent than
ever.
The illustrations throughout the story are by Ben Mantle, who
manages to bring life and emotion to Boot, and enhance the story in
a way which will entice the younger reader and also add additional
meaning to the older reader.
This story would be excellent for readers aged 8 to 12 as it
includes themes that are all relevant to their world: new emotions,
inclusion, social media and the futuristic new world. They will love
Boot and his friends Noke and Red, and all of the funny tid-bits
throughout.
I give it 4.5 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain
The Lily in the Snow by Jackie French
Miss Lily book 3. HarperCollins Australia, 2019. ISBN:
9781460753842. 400pgs paperback.
(Age: Teens +) Recommended. Blackmail, deceit, secrets and the
stigma of society is what you find in the third instalment of the
wartime series Miss Lily by one of Australia's most talented
authors, Jackie French. This was my first attempt at a Jackie French
novel and it did not disappoint.
Jackie's writing is wonderful and easy to read. She always keeps you
wanting to know what will happen next.
Based in the late 1920s your journey through the pages takes you
from Shillings, England to Germany and onto Australia.
Sophie Higgs lives in a quiet life as the Countess of Shillings. She
has left her past behind until Hannelore a former lady of Miss
Lily's orders Sophie to travel to Germany and meet a rising European
figure, who happens to be Hitler, in order to report back to the
Prince of Wales. This was the time that Hitler was coming into power
and not much was known about him.
What hooked me into the story was the little girl at the start that
wanted to find her mother and kill her. Who and why she had to do
this, is what kept me going. The Lily in the Snow is a historical thriller full of
espionage with strong female characters and secrets. It explores the
strengths of friendships and the changing face of women in Europe.
Yes, I did enjoy reading The Lily and the Snow and will go
back to read the first two novels.
Maria Komninos
