Illus. by Chris Nixon. Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143793489.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Bedtime, Sleep, Fears,
Families, Humour. Bedtime is a little fraught when Leonard, dressed
in his wonderful pyjamas, refuses to have the lights turned off. He
is not scared of the dark, he insists, but of the monsters that lurk
there. A hairy scary, twelve legged, three headed creature with
eight arms prompts him to ask his mother to leave the lights on. She
gives him five minutes but the next time, dad comes to the bedroom
door. This time a five nosed, seven tailed and eleven handed monster
lurks, so dad gives him five minutes and goes to the kitchen to make
a cup of tea.
Adult readers and children alike will instantly recognise the theme,
that of finding it difficult to go to bed: either fear of the dark,
fear of something hiding under the bed, or of a range of monsters
waiting for the light to go out, are all very familiar to readers
and listeners alike who will know Leonard and his parents' actions
are common in many families. Each time his parents try to get him to
bed, Leonard baulks, and a familiar cry rings out.
His parents, exhausted, give in and leave the light on in his room
for the next few nights. but one day Leonard finds a new book on his
bed, entitled, How to Frighten monsters.
Children will laugh out loud at the markers the author gives for
scaring away monsters; from a minty breath to a tidy room, having
bears on the bed, soft music and parental kisses, all instantly
recognisable as things a child does before bedtime, underlining the
routines a child has in the evening.
This lovely book, full of the demands and patience involved with
family life, will resonate with all who open its pages, seeing
within the illustrations the fear a child holds in the dark, and the
frustration of the parents as they try to help their son overcome
his fears.
The twist with the book is most endearing, summoning laughs from the
audience as they see what mum and dad are aiming to do with their
little book.
The sumptuous illustrations, done in the colours of the night: blue,
black, grey, orange and white, show an arrangement of monsters
lurking through keyholes, under the bed, near the wardrobe, using
shapes and spaces to create what Leonard imagines he sees in the
dark. Many of the delicious shapes crawling and slithering across
the pages end with the most ravenous of teeth, again making readers
laugh out loud at the preposterous images that scare Leonard,
knowing full well that they see monsters as well.
This is a masterful book, beautifully told, with a wonderful twist
when the parents create a how to get Leonard to bed book, using all
the tools at their disposal to enable this will happen. And check
out the font and use of white space, and the shadows and streams of
light from the overhead light bulb, sky light and the moon.
Lots to talk about with kids: going to bed, routines, monsters and
scary things, overcoming fear as well as illustrative techniques
used in picture books to exceptional advantage. Teacher's
notes are available.
Fran Knight
When Billy was a dog by Kirsty Murray
Illus. by Karen Blair. Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760631826.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Dogs, Responsibility,
Perseverance, Family, Birth. Billy would love to have a dog. He
visits Mrs Banerjee next door to play with her dog, Fluff, but when
he raises the issue with Mum and Dad, he receives a flat no. No
amount of promising to walk the dog, and clean up its mess, to wash
it and care for it changes their minds, so he hits on an idea. He
becomes the dog he wants.
Children will laugh out loud at Billy as he takes on all the
attributes of a dog, walking around on all fours, barking when
responding to questions, eating his food from a bowl on the floor,
sniffing the fences and almost relieving himself on the fence post.
I can imagine lots of classes practising these skills for themselves
as they read and listen to the story of Billy and his wanting a dog.
As time passes, he crawls into Fluff's bed with her but Mrs Banerjee
sends him home as Fluff needs her basket for herself. When Billy
returns the next day he finds that Fluff has produced three
beautiful pups which Mrs Banerjee invites Billy to name. Readers
will watch as each of the three pups grows older and one by one goes
to another home. Sadly Billy watches them go.
Readers will learn a lot from this lovely tale: the attributes and
behaviours of dogs will have them thinking about how a dog should be
treated, and how a dog will need to cared for in the home. They will
understand the emotional side of having a dog, seeing Billy so
desperate for an animal that he pretends he is one, and seeing his
loving relationship with Fluff next door.
The delightful water colour illustrations reveal a keen eye; the
behaviours of all the characters in the book, both animal and human
are drawn with absolute surety, depicted from close observation and
love. No reader will escape being pulled into the story; sympathetic
with Billy's aim, knowing full well the reasons behind the parent's
refusal, and the warmth from the house next door with the three new
puppies. Scroll down the publisher's page for teacher's
tips.
Fran Knight
When the ground is hard by Malla Nunn
Allen & Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760524814
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Adele lives in the coloured
neighbourhood in Swaziland, but she has nice clothes and toys and
goes to an expensive boarding school because she has a white father
who pays for it all. She sees him sometimes, but only when he can
get the time away from his other family in South Africa. Adele has
always been in with the rich girls at the school, the 'pretties',
but this term she has a shock, she has been dropped by Delia, the
most popular girl, and replaced by Sandi, the new girl with very
wealthy parents. Not only that, she has been ejected from her usual
share-room with the top-shelf girls, and now has to share with
Lottie who is a charity student and comes from the native village.
Nunn describes the hierarchy of the boarding school, the trading of
special food to win friends, the training of junior girls as 'pets'
to wait on the top-shelf girls, and the malicious gossip and
put-downs designed to keep people in their places. Adele has always
been a part of that. But now she finds herself sharing with someone
who doesn't play the game - Lottie has built a wall between herself
and that world. She is strong and tough, and she fights back. She
has her own mind. Gradually Adele finds herself being challenged by
Lottie's ideas and the way she says what she thinks.
One of the ways that Adele and Lottie bond is through their shared
love of books, in particular the story of Jane Eyre, a
heroine they can identify with - Jane is poor and is sent to a
boarding school that's even worse than theirs, she has to find a job
to break free, and find her own way in life. Both Adele and Lottie
know that they have to do the same.
The story is one of finding one's own personal integrity and inner
strength. Adele has to rise above her fears. In the midst of
threatening situations she has to find her own courage and finally
learn the meaning of the African proverb 'when the ground is hard,
the women dance'.
Despite their vastly different settings and time periods, When
the ground is hard would make an interesting comparative study
with Jane Eyre, exploring the themes of class divisions,
male power and female independence, friendship and true love.
Helen Eddy
Where Dani goes, happy follows by Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson
My happy life series. Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781776572267.
(Age 5+) Extremely highly recommended. Themes: Family, Grief,
Depression, Friendship, Grandparents, Happiness. The Dani stories
are delightful in their simplicity. This is the sixth book written
about Dani and although they are best read in order of publication,
each title is beautiful as a stand-alone novel.
In this book, Dani's father is again sad over the death of her
mother and decides to leave Dani with her grandparents and head back
to Rome to see his parents and family. Dani is not happy about this
situation but as always tries to make the best of it. While playing
in the snow she realizes that it is her best friend's birthday and
she asks to go to see her. This means travelling on the train on her
own which leads to new adventures and discoveries.
The Dani stories are gentle discussions on childhood experiences and
life in general. The author does not shy away from adult themes such
as a relationship breakdown but includes these in terms that
children can understand, without being patronising or sugar coating
them.
The Dani books are fantastic for young readers who are independent
but are just as fantastic as read aloud stories for the classroom.
These books would be fantastic to generate conversations about
safety, feelings, friendship and family dynamics. Where Dani goes, happy follows is a fantastic novel and is
bound to become a favourite of any reader.
Mhairi Alcorn
Highway bodies by Alison Evans
Echo Publishing, 2019. ISBN: 9781760685027. 366 pages, paperback.
(Age: 14+) What you will find in Alison Evans' second novel is a
book full of friendships, love, acceptance, genderqueer teens, oh
did I forget to mention zombies, there are lots of zombies, yep,
lots of them.
The novel centres on three groups of adolescents that come from the
outskirts of Melbourne and travel through the Victorian country
side. Each chapter is seen through the eyes of three characters who
are genderqueer and the adventures they have in their groups. The
groups are: *A trans girl who is attracted to girls who befriends a
girl. Both do not have a name. *Dee (a bisexual girl), Poppy, Jack
and Zufan who belong in a band. *Jojo (non-binary and bisexual) and
Rhea, who are twins. Hope all the LGBTQI notes haven't confused you
because it does confuse me but I'm getting better.
Anyway, I did enjoy this book and it reminded me of the different
zombie T.V. series out there like The walking dead and Z
Nation. It was an easy read, once you got pass the fact that
there aren't any letters being dropped or strange sentence
structures you find with the trans girl narrative. I thought I was
misreading the text at first. It's the way she talks like so any of
my students. Highwway bodies is a book full of gore and violence and also
full of love and protectiveness of family, born and bred.
I can see teenagers and YA fans enjoying Highway bodies.
Maria Komninos
Duck duck moose by Lucinda Gifford
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760634704.
(Age: 3+) Games, Animals, Repetition. Paralleling the game, 'Duck
duck goose', this picture book for younger readers will have them
all joining in as they read, singing along with the simple text,
predicting what comes next as they follow the antics of the three
main animals shown.
The game, 'Duck duck goose' has children sitting in a circle with
one child outside the circle. That child goes around the circle,
crying out 'duck, duck', until a hand is placed on another's
shoulder with the words 'goose'. The person so nominated then chases
the other person, changing places to do the same thing. In this take
on the old game, the chorus is 'duck duck moose', with a moose and a
pair of ducks eyeing each other off over the snow. Moose would very
much like to be acquainted with the two ducks, but all they do is
run off as he approaches.
The eyes and size of font gives clues to the readers about what each
animal is feeling. The wide eyed ducks taking fright as the moose
approaches, and their warning of moose is writ large.
The playful font reflects the state of the animals as the moose
tries to befriend the ducks, the ducks run away and the newly
arrived goose remains to be more acquainted with the moose. The
playfulness is reflected in the illustrations, styled to look like
children's drawings, with easily understood, clear text.
Within the pages a catalogue of the moose's attempts at friendship
is given, eyeing them across the snow, coming up closer in the pond,
coming across the snow, with the ducks being standoffish, haughty
and scared in turn. But not so the goose, and the story ends with
the ducks alone watching the friendship between the goose and the
moose blossom.
A clear lesson for all those meeting new people and developing
friendships, this will be the basis for many discussions with
younger readers. Teacher's
tips are available.
Fran Knight
Pirate boy of Sydney Town by Jackie French
HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9781460754795.
(Age: 12-14) Recommended. Themes: Friendship, loyalty, pirates.
Author and historian Jackie French brings another chapter of
Australia's past to life with a tale of privateers and pirates,
smugglers and seafaring. Pirate Boy of Sydney Town is set in
the early nineteenth century, a riches to rags story, told through
the eyes of young Ben Huntsmore.
Ben lives with his wealthy family on his mother's farming estate in
England. He loves his life, helping with the harvest and plans his
future here. Due to his ship-owner father's excessive gambling the
estate is lost, and their lives are turned upside down. A life in
the new colonies seems advantageous but their voyage to Australia is
marred by the death of his mother who succumbs to fever. Ben's
compassion for the convicts imprisoned below decks is at odds with
his father's views. On arrival in Sydney Town life is strange and
confronting, with soldiers and convicts, food and lifestyle. Ben
forms a friendship with Sally Appleby a convict's daughter who lives
on a farm.
Ben's father plans to sail to Western Australia and capture Dutch
trading ships off the coast. Aboard his father's ship The Golden
Girl, Ben proves his worth as lookout in the crow's nest.
After a fierce battle with the Dutch ship, the crew mutinies and
Ben, his convict friend Higgins and Guwara a young indigenous man
escape in a long boat. They hide on the land, as Higgins' leg wound
heals. Guwara teaches Ben how to hunt, search for fresh water and
survive in the harsh environment.
Their epic sea voyage follows the coastline across the Great
Australian Bight fighting the elements, sea, sun, thirst and near
starvation. They land at Kangaruh Island, named by Matthew Flinders.
Here the trio meet with Bucky Morris and his Indian (aboriginal)
women slaves. Ben is treated as a toff sleeping in the main hunt
while Higgins sleeps locked in a storeroom. Rest and recovery, good
food and fresh water, help revive the trio. Escape, sacrifice, loss,
loneliness and finally hope prevails as Ben sails single-handled
through the heads and into the harbour, his two friends lost along
the way.
French is a master storyteller, she weaves the realities of colonial
life, the hardships, and the treatment of indigenous peoples into
this fictional novel. She brings the landscape to life, and her
vivid prose, attention to detail, sensory atmospheres and realistic
portrayals of the main characters make Pirate Boy of Sydney Town
a powerful novel suited to readers from twelve years. What an
excellent resource for students researching Australia's colonial
history including Matthew Flinders' travels. Her insightful
Aboriginal perspectives shed a different light on commonly held
understandings. A teacher's
guide is available.
Rhyllis Bignell
Leonard doesn't dance by Frances Watts
Illus. by Judy Watson. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780733333040.
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. Themes: Birds, Dancing,
Individuality, Friendship. From the creators of Goodnight,
Mice! comes this charming tale about friendship and
finding your own rhythm. Leonard likes to try anything, so when he
sees an invitation to come dancing at the big beaky bird ball he
approaches some of his bird friends to see if he can learn to dance.
He tries the warble-warble waltz with the magpies, the do-si-do with
the ducks and the caw-caw-can-can with the crows but he just can't
seem to get anything right. Dejected, he gives up and isolates
himself from his friends, refusing their invitations to dance. 'I'm
never going to dance again' he declares. At the ball, Leonard is
reaching for a cupcake when a line of ants begins to march all over
him; before long he is squirming and wriggling, shimmying and
twisting. 'Ants in his pants! It's a brand new dance!', someone
shouts. Before long all of the creatures are doing the ants in the
pants dance and Leonard is dancing his own dance.
The illustrations are perfection and this is a joy to read aloud.
Children will love the ending, especially as they will be familiar
with the phrase, and will have fun doing their own ants in the pants
dance. It is also a good way to initiate a discussion about how it
feels when you are not good at something you enjoy doing and how you
just want to hide away. In addition, it highlights many positive
friendship traits (inviting others to join you, being encouraging
rather than critical and not leaving anyone behind).
Nicole Nelson
The missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos
Text, 2019. 511 pages, paperback. ISBN: 9781925773668.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Themes: YA, Fantasy, Mystery.I have always
been of the opinion that sequels never live up to, nor surpass,
their predecessors. This novel proved me exceptionally wrong, as it
arguably surpasses the first novel in the series. The Missing of
Clairdelune continues from where Dabos left off in A
Winter's Promise; Ophelia far away from the ark of Anima in
Citaceleste, where enemies are frequently made, and the torrential
undercurrent of politics threatens to sweep all away. Thorn, her
fiancee, remains cold and unreachable, even as tensions rise and his
family is torn apart. Ophelia finds herself vice-storyteller to the
ancestral spirit of Pole, Farouk; her powers known to all, she finds
herself amidst the nefarious plots that encapsulate Pole, and
eventually trying to expose the truth behind the mysterious
disappearances of influential courtiers.
Ophelia is the same engaging protagonist whose trials and moments of
learning move the story along. The strength of her characterisation
increased throughout the novel as she truly grows into her own and
understands her identity in relation to the people around her.
Dabos' spellbinding use of imagery continues to astound, invoking a
range of vivid emotions from joy to overwhelming fear.
While the story contains many subplots and at times feels cluttered
or confused, Dabos carefully explores each plot thoroughly while
never detracting from the main storyline. I enjoyed the continued
political discussion and the newly introduced themes of freedom and
autonomy, which were wonderfully explored through the characters
Thorn and Farouk. The inclusion of Farouk in such an intrinsic way
added a whole other dimension to the story, subtly compiling layer
upon layer to create a masterpiece. The reduced need to continue
worldbuilding made the pacing much steadier and the use of fragments
to break up the larger story was extremely effective. The
revelations from these fragments and the wonderfully unexpected plot
twists created such a compelling tale that I had to keep reading
until I finished the novel. The Missing of Clairdelune is an incredibly told story of
drama and magic which builds strongly upon the first book and sets
the stage for the next novel in the series.
Stephanie Lam
The daughter's tale by Armando Lucas Correa
Translated by Nick Caistor. Simon and Schuster, 2019. ISBN:
9781760851248.
Recommended for lovers of historical fiction and students studying
WW2. Themes: Holocaust, WW2, families, resilience. The story opens
in 2015 when Elise Duval who has been living in New York since the
end of the war, is given some letters written by her mother. One of
the letters is from 1939, written on the pages of a book of
botanical illustrations addressed to 'my little Viera'. The story
then shifts further back to Berlin 1933-1939, to a small bookshop
owned by Amanda Sternberg, at a time she had been told to get rid of
books that were 'not sufficiently German'. Her husband, cardiologist
Julius Sternberg is reluctant to leave his patents in Berlin in
spite of increasing anti-Jewish sentiment and they endure the
burning of the bookshop from which Amanda saves just one book, a
French album of hand coloured botanical prints. Meanwhile their two
girls are born, Viera in 1934 and Lina in 1935. As conditions for
Jews deteriorate they miss their opportunity to escape and when
Julius is taken away and dies in 1938 Amanda finds he has put in
place an escape plan and money for her and the children. However,
the plan involves getting tickets on a ship and she is only able to
buy two tickets. At the last moment, instead of sending both
children Amanda decides to just send the older daughter, Viera on
the infamous refugee ship St Louis bound for Cuba where a relative
lives. She flees to France with Lina, finding her way to a family
friend, Claire and her daughter Danielle who take them in. Here
Amanda changes Lina's name to Elise and teaches her to call Claire
'Maman' but they are betrayed and taken to a concentration camp.
Selfless to the last, Amanda manages to smuggle her daughter out of
the camp, back to Claire but they are then caught up in one of the
worst atrocities of WW2, the massacre of Oradour-Sur-Glane in 1944.
That Elise survives yet again is amazing, that she has lived her
life shutting out her wartime experiences is understandable. As the
generation who experienced the horrors of WW2 are no longer able to
bear witness it is important to remember the human cost through the
telling of their stories. The Daughter's Tale is an unremittingly tragic story of one
mother's resilience and hope for her daughters in the face of
harrowing events. I did find it difficult to keep track of the
characters and there were many threads left dangling. The
descriptive style was not very engaging but that may be due to the
translation.
Sue Speck
Aurora rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760295738.
(Age: Teens) Highly recommended. What do you get when you trap seven
teenagers in space on a dead-end mission way below their
capabilities? Chaos.
After a mishap before the Draft resulting in Ty's absence, it seems
that Ty's world has ended. Along with his sister as diplomat and his
best friend as pilot, Ty is stuck with the biggest misfits in Aurora
Academy. And it's only about to get worse. As inter-species tensions
rise, their teamwork is about to face its biggest test ever, in the
form of a stowaway hiding from the GIA. There's almost nothing
special about Aurora O'Malley, unless you count the fact Ty just
rescued her from interdimensional space where she'd been frozen for
almost two centuries. Auri's presence complicates things and life
on ship is about to get that much harder. Unable to return to the
academy, the group can only push on into the unknown, discovering
secrets no one wanted known and pissing off one of the biggest
gangsters in the galaxy.
Kaufman and Kristoff are undoubtedly masters of their art. They
present highly visual content and authentic characters with all the
complications that come with being teenagers (regardless of
species). This is a book that keeps you on your toes and
investigates racism, discrimination, and right and wrong in fresh
and interesting ways. With the constant name-calling and teasing
between the crew the reader really grows to care about these
characters and their problems. Aurora rising is the kind of intelligent and complicated book
I would highly recommend to teenagers regardless of an interest in
sci-fi. Teacher's
tips are available.
Kayla Gaskell
Lento and Fox: My book (not yours) by Ben Sanders
Lothian Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9780734419040.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Rivalry, Sloths, Foxes,
Humour. Sanders cleverly uses the attributes of a sloth and a fox to
describe his characters in this very funny book, the first in a
series. Lento the sloth introduces us to his book, but in doing so
wears himself out and he gradually lies down to a well deserved
rest. But cunning Fox seizes his opportunity to take over the
authorship of the book with his noise and arguing. From then on the
pair argues over just whose book it really is, Lento arguing that
Fox should be following a script and what he says simply is off
script. But counters Fox, he does not need a script and proceeds to
show off his circus skills. Lento keeps up with him, but when Fox
goes off in a hot air balloon, Lento flies through the page causing
the balloon to rip apart. A scene from a wild west shootout follows
until Lento paints a black hole on the page into which Fox falls. It
should be the end of Fox, but no he returns with a clever last line,
designed to undermine the sloth further.
The rivalry is ridiculously funny, using every trick both can
conjure to outwit the other. I love the way Sanders plays with the
audience, using their understanding of the characters' place on the
page, that they are just drawings, talking directly to the audience,
and involving them in their dispute. Young readers will get quite a
kick out of these two characters, mimicking the petty arguments they
have with their friends, showing the rivalry being on both sides and
eventually coming to a conclusion where no one wins because the book
is at an end.
Wonderful illustrations show the two animals, Lento with his banded
face, Fox with a large bushy tail. I love the use of blocks of
colour and the way Sanders is able to describe a character's mind
set through a change in the way the eyes look, and the mouth is set.
A wonderfully funny read, even the back and front covers cry out for
a laugh, I am looking forward to the next in the series from
Ballarat based Sanders.
Fran Knight
A boy and his dog at the end of the world by C. A. Fletcher
Orbit, 2019. ISBN: 9780356510927.
Recommended. Told from the point of view of a young person after an
apocalyptic event which has wiped out much of the human race and
rendered a proportion of the female population (human and canine)
infertile, much of the book is about the new experiences of Griz as
he leaves home for the first time. Unfortunately for a reader
already familiar with many of these experiences, the novel is slow
to get into.
The arrival of Brand, a stranger, to Griz's island home, sets in
motion a series of events even Griz with his wild imagination could
not have foreseen. Dealing with dishonesty for the first time and
lulled into a false sense of security, Griz and his family are duped
out of a beloved dog, a dog that Griz will stop at nothing to
reclaim. After a second run in with Brand leaves Griz stranded on
the mainland for the first time in his life, Griz becomes only more
determined to reunite with his dog Jess, no matter the cost.
With a mixture of second and third person, the book alternates
between showing Griz's story and having Griz speak directly to the
audience which can be a little disconcerting at times. Like many
post-apocalyptic novels, this one addresses issues of survival,
isolation, and repopulation, going so far as to provide commentary
on all we left behind (aka plastics and technology which has become
obsolete). For the environmentally aware individual interested in
post-apocalyptic tales, I would recommend A boy, and his dog at
the end of the world.
Kayla Gaskell
Wandering star by Natalie Jane Prior
Illus. by Stephen Michael King. Scholastic, 2019. ISBN:
9781760663339.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Horses. Adventure. Friendship. The
girl and her horse, Wandering Star, are inseparable. They do
everything together, from roaming the hills near home, to putting
the sheep away when a fox appears. They join in with the other
animals, regardless of the weather doing circus tricks. But they
both love the sea, and Wandering Star takes her there to see the
dolphins and seagulls. And she dreams. The girl finds a locket in
the rock pool, and is reminded of the old story of a Faery Queen
losing her locket during a perilous storm. They ride past the wolves
and into a cave where the glowworms light their way to the Queen and
they restore the locket to her, receiving a reward.
Told in gently rhyming lines, the rhyming scheme will have readers
predicting the next word, and wondering at the way the lines rhyme,
as each stanza has an AABCCB structure which is wonderful to read
aloud, forcing the reader to think ahead and not fall into the trap
of expecting a simpler rhyming scheme. This poetic form is a breath
of fresh air compared with many much simpler poetic forms being
offered recently. Audiences will appreciate the difference and in a
supportive classroom, try the rhyming scheme for themselves.
The dream sequence of the young girl and her horse visiting the
Faery Queen is beautifully told, and the illustrations by Stephen
Michael King add to the mystery and other worldliness of the book.
The horse, Wandering Star, will appeal to all readers who will be
entranced with the shapes it makes across the pages, each image
quite different from the one before.
Using watercolour, ink and pencil, King has created a wondrous
background to this lovely story and I can hear the sighs of
contentment from its readers, especially when they ride home
together, stopping on the hill to look at their little house waiting
for them.
Fran Knight
Cheeky dogs to Lake Nash and back by Dion Beasley and Johanna Bell
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760528119.
(Age: 9+) Cheeky Dogs to Lake Nash and back is the third book by
Dion Beasley and Johanna Bell. It follows Dion's life from the
walking journey to his birth to when he returns to Lake Nash (his
mother's home town) as an adult. The text has a poetic spin to it,
and after a few pages I could almost hear Dion reading it to me. His
illustrations really add so much life and interest to this book,
which would not be the same without them.
It is a different type of memoir, being a picture book, however
Dion's illustrations of the communities he moves through, including
maps and houses, provide additional information that help us to
piece together his story. I loved hearing about life in Tennant
Creek from the perspective of a young person.
We enjoyed the slight repetition throughout the story which seems to
add a narrative element, bringing my youngest listener in (5 years
old), whilst the understanding that it is someone's life story
captivated the 9 year old.
Johanna Bell, who has worked with Dion (who is profoundly deaf) to
create these stories has really done a wonderful job piecing
together both Dion's life story, plus showing his love for those
cheeky dogs.
I am a sucker for a true story which is probably why I really
enjoyed this one, however my son loved the drawings (he is a keen
illustrator himself) and my daughter was there for all those cheeky
dogs!
Although I had one younger listener, I think this memoir would be
best aimed at students 9 years and above, and would be a great
addition to a curriculum based lesson.
Lauren Fountain
