Sarah's two Nativities by Janine M. Fraser and Helene Magisson
Black Dog Books , 2019. ISBN: 9781925381795. hbk., 32pp.
This is the story of Sarah, daughter of Sadek and Anna,
granddaughter of Ali and Azar, and granddaughter of Maria and Paul.
In Sarah's house the Bible and the Koran sit side by side on the
shelf, each full of stories which her grandmothers tell her when
they come to visit. Sarah's favourites are those about the birth of
Baby Jesus, but she is confused because even though parts of each
story is similar to the other, there are parts that are different.
"How can they both be true?" she asks.
Sarah's situation is not an uncommon one - there are many families
where there are differing belief systems, and these are often
highlighted at this time of the year. Similarly, in our classrooms
we share stories about the Nativity with children who might hear a
different version at home. How can the two be reconciled?
Grandmother Azar provides an answer that satisfies Sarah and
celebrates the richness of the two cultures her family straddles.
This is a beautifully illustrated story that is sensitively told and
acknowledges that this is a special time of year for many, not just
Christians, and that there can be bonds that are stronger than
anything else.
Barbara Braxton
Harry Potter and the goblet of fire by J.K. Rowling
Illus. by Jim Kay. Harry Potter, book 4. Bloomsbury, 2019.
ISBN: 9781408845677. hbk.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Readers will need no introduction to
the wonderful books by J.K. Rowling and fans and collectors will
certainly want to keep this fabulous illustrated version of the
fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the goblet of fire.
Jim Kay's illustrations open up a new world for readers which will
take them past the film images and let their imaginations work
overtime. Starting with the fabulous wrap around jacket featuring a
tiny Harry Potter battling an enormous beast, opening onto end
papers showing a strange and fascinating octopus-like creature and
then continuing with brightly coloured illustrations for lighter
moments in the book, and dark, intriguing pictures for darker
events, readers are in for a treat.
This is certainly a book for fans and for collectors and would make
a wonderful gift. I also think that the illustrated editions (Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling has also
been reviewed) would tantalise even the most reluctant of readers
Pat Pledger
Yinti: Desert child by Pat Lowe and Jimmy Pike
Magabala Books, 2019 (c1992). ISBN: 9781925768831.
Highly recommended. Themes: Aboriginal Australians, Indigenous life,
Family. In a series of short anecdotal recounts, we follow the early
life of the desert child, Yinti, and his family as they love, thrive
and explore community life. The simplicity and complexity of the
life of the community are revealed as if told by one of the youngest
members of the indigenous community. It is gloriously naive, and yet
reveals the incredible resilience, bravery and intelligence of the
indigenous community living in the Great Sandy Desert of Western
Australia. Not until the last few chapters do we have a hint of the
influence of the kartiya (non-Aboriginal people).
Based on the early life of Jimmy Pike (who was born in 1940, in the
desert country of Western Australia), this is a wonderful book and
would make an excellent read-aloud book to share with students as
they learn about traditional Aboriginal culture in the 1950s.
The illustrations through the book are exceptionally naive, in a
black and white simplicity.
Carolyn Hull
Girl Geeks: Perfect holidays by Alex Miles
Girl Geeks book 3. Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780143795070.
(Age: 9+) Girl Geeks: Perfect holidays is part of the Girl
Geeks series which has been . . . "developed in partnership
with Girl Geek Academy -
an Australian-based global movement . . . " which aims to encourage
girls to engage with technology." The story is set around school
holidays and the activities and interests of four school girls who
are into technology.
It immerses the reader into the tech world as a natural part of the
protagonists' lives. The concern of the author is for girls to
understand the pitfalls and traps of social media including the
falsities of photo feeds and the mental exhaustion associated with a
life that pings with posts.
In these politically correct times this book ticks all the boxes.
The central girl protagonists represent multicultural friendship.
Their friendship is wise and supportive and they communicate through
social media with feeds that intersperse the text. The single father
of Eve (the central character) is loving and supportive as are all
the parents. Manners and good citizenship are demonstrated by
instances such as the father and daughter giving up train seats for
an elderly man and a pregnant woman.
Eve is an overachieving, competitive perfectionist. She is a girl
who makes "To Do" lists, who wants to please others, who over
commits and in the end makes herself sick. She is helped towards a
life balance by her father and friends. The book represents a
journey of friendship, good citizenship and understanding of self in
a technological world as experienced by Eve.
At the back of the book, there is a friendly invitation for girls to
contact Geek Academy, holiday activities and profiles of the women
involved in Geek Academy. Girl Geeks: Perfect holidays is
simple and accessible both in content and interest reading level. It
would be an easy, light read designed to encourage girls around year
5 level to engage with digital technology.
Wendy Jeffrey
The big blue hullabaloo by Andrea Smith
Illus. by Aleksandra Szmidt. Little Steps Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839432. hbk.
(Age : 3-6) Annie is a very cute little koala who lives at the
zoo. She loves to race high through the tree tops and balance
butterflies on the tip of her nose. Then one day she feels blue and
Keeper Carl races her off to the hospital. There Dr Rosie diagnoses
her with leukameia and it is disease that is making her blue. She
has treatment and her hair falls out ("I really don't like being a
Koals bare!"), but a friend Lottie who also knows all about
leukameia, helps her cope.
This is a special and warm way of telling children about leukameia,
its effects and treatment. From information in the dedication, the
reader will learn that the author Andrea Smith, has battled with
leukameia herself. It is obvious that she is in a unique
position to write this story which is positive and informative.
Children will love the pictures of Annie and are sure to get a
giggle out of the huge mustache and beard on Keeper Carl. The caring
nature of Lottie is very evident from her actions portrayed in the
drawings and kids will enjoy watching Annie and Lottie's progress
and final discarding of their knitted hats as they both feel better.
This would be a very helpful picture book to have in a school
library or classroom to gently inform children about leukameia and
its effects and that it is a disease that threatens
koalas as well as people.
Pat Pledger
Polly Profiterole's little town: Good enough to eat by Maggie May Gordon
Illus. by Margarita Levina. Little Steps Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781925839227.
(Age: 6-8) Imagine a whole town made up of cakes and biscuits.
That's what young readers will find in this unique story of Polly
Profiterole who is fed up with her town. She is the only person who
has a shop in the township; there are no churches, pubs, schools or
shops. She decides that she will bake a town and her husband Percy
would build it and she gets on with the job with gusto.
Readers will be introduced to many different types of cakes as she
builds her town and will delight in the thought of a town made of
cakes and lollies. There is a choc-chip church joined together with
melted chocolate, Lots of Lollies Lolly shop joined with chewy
toffee, Hot Bread Bank made up of lots of dough and the Beef Burger
Butcher Shop joined with tomato sauce. And after reading the book
children will be fascinated to go back to the front cover and work
out where some of the shops in Polly's town are.
Polly Profiterole is portrayed in her chef's hat and clothing, with
a ginger cat for a companion and is a likeable character as is Percy
her husband, who is a hard worker.
Very colourful pictures bring the story to life and the narrative,
with lots of alliteration, flows easily and would make a good read
aloud for young children.
Pat Pledger
Finding Chika by Mitch Albom
Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9780751571936.
(Age: Older adolescents - Adult) Highly recommended. A dark mass on
her brain - this is what the MRI showed, following the examination
of little Chika by a neurologist, and there was no one in Haiti who
could help her. Brought to America by author Mitch Albom, the
operator of the orphanage in Haiti where he met Chika, the diagnosis
was a brain tumour with the survival rate of zero. Albom and his
wife Janine had to make to a decision - to take her back to Haiti to
spend the last few months of her life . . . or to fight it. They
decide to fight - because Chika has always been a fighter. She was
born just before the Haitian earthquake of 2010, and brought to the
orphanage at the age of three; they know her as a cheeky fun-loving
child with an indomitable spirit.
The book becomes a love letter to the little girl who captured their
hearts. Albom has written it as if he were talking to her still.
With each chapter he describes the different ways she changed their
lives; the laughter, the games, the hugs, and then sadly the
farewell. Every reader will love Chika as the Alboms did, and no
doubt every reader will also shed tears at the heart-breaking
conclusion. At the age of seven, she had to give up the fight. But
Chika lives on in the joy she brought to a family and the renewed
discovery of love and caring for others.
This is a sad but beautiful story, and a reminder to us all to
cherish the people in our lives, and to take time out to appreciate
what life offers us. Themes: Love, Grief, Childhood cancer.
Helen Eddy
Bluey series by Bluey
Penguin, 2019.
Bluey : Fruit Bat. ISBN: 9781760894047. Bluey : time to play. ISBN: 9781760894030.
(Age: Preschool - 5) Highly recommended. If you have a pre-schooler
in your house then you would have probably heard of Bluey (or had to
do the dance), you may have been asked to play Keepy Uppy or even
Mount Mum and Dad!! Or you may just be wondering what I am talking
about . . .
Bluey is a 6 year old blue heeler from Queensland who is energetic,
funny and inquisitive and with the help of her younger sister Bingo
gets into hilarious and somewhat educational situations in every
episode of the ABCkids show. The award winning series has now been
turned into board books and also an activity book- both of which
were met with squeals of delight by my 5 year old. We read Fruit
Bat which is a glow in the dark book where Bluey doesn't want
to go to sleep, and upon finding out that fruit bats don't sleep at
night either decides to dream about them! We loved that the story
was just as awesome as the TV show and the illustrations are just as
bright and engaging.
We also received the Activity Book Time to play which was a
huge hit with miss 5 and has been used every day in the last week!
There are over 80 stickers to use and lots of the familiar games
from the TV show are represented within the book which was another
bonus in this Bluey fest!
The creator and illustrator have been very clever in producing these
first titles, they are familiar and loved by so many families and
may just be the next best thing to help tired parents get their
children away from Bluey on the screen, as they can now read Bluey
in bed!
We loved it, especially how true it was to the TV show! 5 stars from
us!
Lauren Fountain
Kensy and Max: Out of sight by Jacqueline Harvey
Kensy and Max series. Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN:
9780143791928.
(Age: 9-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Adventures, Mystery, Spies,
Friendship, Problem Solving, Spy School for children, Missing
persons, France, Travel. Jacqueline Harvey's fourth book in the Kensy
and Max series: Out of Sight, is a fast paced and
action packed read. The author cleverly keeps the reader up to date
with the twins' story so far by providing case notes, a map and a
cast of characters. The 11 year old twins are Pharos agents in
training and attend the Central London Free School which has a
mixture of trainee agents and regular school children. There are
complicated ways for the trainee agents to get to their secret
classrooms and unfortunately Kensy and Autumn early on in the story
are followed by a new student who infiltrates the secret area and
has to be dealt with very carefully.
Throughout the story the reader is reminded of previous adventures
had by the twins and the fact that their parents who have been
missing for many years are all back together again living
comfortably in their fortress-like home in London. However nothing
is quite what it seems in this entertaining series and once again
the twins and their family are drawn into another mystery. Missing
journalists from the family-run paper and the theft of valuable
artefacts sends both the twins, their father and their loyal
companions on perilous journeys.
Key to this story is a new drama teacher at the school, Theo
Richardson, who is an accredited agent but is living a double life.
He trains the students in becoming masters of disguises and
convinces Kensy to commit what turns out to be acts of crime in a
roundabout way. Both Kensy, who has amazing skills as an inventor,
and Max, who is a master of coding, use their skills to thwart the
criminals. They are ably assisted by Carlos and Autumn who join them
on an adventure to Paris where they eventually solve the mystery of
the missing journalist and the stolen valuables.
For middle primary school aged readers to teens, this is an exciting
read which holds your interest throughout. It contains all the
elements that children want in a story - humour, justice, belonging,
danger, wonder and there is a hint of a budding relationship between
Max and Autumn. The story though does not solve the challenging code
Max has been trying to decipher neither does it let the reader know
how the twins go in their first agent-in-training review. The next
book will be eagerly awaited by fans of the Kensy and Max
series.
Kathryn Beilby
Kensy and Max: Spy Journal by Jacqueline Harvey
Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN: 9780143796978.
(Age: 9-12) Themes: Spies, Journal writing The Kensy and Max Spy
Journal is a hardcover book where readers can learn the craft
of being a secret agent and keep their own notes on all manner of
mysteries in their lives. The journal gives the writer ideas on how
to use this journal as well as providing information about codes,
languages, navigating a map, how to ask questions, where to hide
things, real life skills for spies, how to tell if someone is lying,
a list of items for a spy kit plus a crossword on all things Kensy
and Max related. There is also an opportunity to create your own spy
profile based on an examples of Kensy and Max.
For the avid fan of the Kensy and Max series this would be a
wonderful gift.
Kathryn Beilby
Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl
Illus. by Lauren O'Hara. Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781406384406.
hbk.
(Ages 6-8). Recommended. Themes: Hotels, Girls, Villains,
Friendship, Trust. Madame Badobedah is a rather enchanting
story told by Mabel who lives in a bed and breakfast called "The
Mermaid Hotel". The hotel, which is managed by her parents, is next
to the beach. Mable is an only child who enjoys interacting with the
guests as they come and go. She calls herself an adventurer and
spends many hours barefoot exploring her surroundings but turns into
a spy when the newest guest arrives. The mysterious Madame Badobedah
(rhymes with oooh la la), who is very gruff and unfriendly, has a
mountain of very peculiar luggage and many pets. Mabel decides she
must be a super villain and sets about studying her subject to
uncover all her secrets. Mabel shows how observant she is as she
reports what she knows about the adults around her and everything
her new subject tells her during her visits with the Madame.
The story uncovers the facts about the Madame slowly, drawing more
and more out with each small visit Mabel makes to this strange yet
intriguing person. This makes the story enjoyable and keeps the
reader interested. A friendship develops between Mabel and the very
lonely Irena through play and pretending games and the reader is
given a lovely insight into the special relationship that can exist
between the young and the very old. Perhaps Dahl making connections
to when her grandfather used her as the inspiration for his book the
BFG.
Parents and teachers could use this story to discuss the dangers of
judging people from first impressions and the wide variety of
friendships that work between many different people. The
illustrations are quite charming and whimsical and compliment the
story very well. However, I am not sure who this book is aimed at;
it would be a great first novel for younger children but is
presented as rather a long picture book format. Read over three
sittings using the three parts as a natural break is probably the
best way to introduce this story to the younger children.
Gabrielle Anderson
Hey Grandude! by Paul McCartney
Illus. by Kathryn Durst. Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN:
9780241375655. hbk.
(Ages 4-8) Themes: Grandparents, Imagination, Magic, Adventure. This
book tells a charming story of four children who, while visiting
their Grandad (or Grandude), brighten their drizzly, cold day by
going on some exciting adventures. Using a magic compass and some
postcards, Grandude says the magic words and they are transported to
a variety of exotic locations, including a beach, the wild west and
a peaceful Alpine scene. At each location something goes wrong and
they need to be whisked away to safety. Grandude is always there
ready and able to perform the rescue just in time. The magic words
used by Grandude form an enjoyable opportunity for children to chant
with the reader as they are repeated for each scene.
The story is enjoyable but not fantastic. The children I read it to
like the idea of the story, but it is not one that will be a
favourite for years to come. It seemed a little disjointed and the
side jokes could have been left out producing a slicker read. Less
is more. The story finishes with the magic that every parent wishes
for; the children in bed and asleep without the rigorous bedtime
routine. Now that's magic!
The illustrations are appropriate and colourful with plenty to look
at for the audience if read aloud. Explanations of what a postcard
and a compass is could form an entertaining discussion at Junior
primary level in schools.
Gabrielle Anderson
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780241422236.
(Age: Older adolescents and adults) Highly recommended. This is a
stunning novel that tells a narrative through short chapters
featuring many quotations from real people of the historical time
and telling the story of real and imaginary characters, both
American and Spanish, who lived in that time. The narrative features
two eras, the first and longest beginning in 1957 and set only in
Spain, the second much shorter and set in Dallas, Texas in 1975, and
Madrid, Spain in 1976.
While most chapters are very short, the narrative is clearly
revealed both through the inclusion of quotations, at the start of
many chapters, from American newspapers and statements about Spain
and Spanish issues. Thus we feel deeply connected and drawn into the
exposition of the reality of the communication between America and
Spain. The plot line is deeply embedded in the world of the
Diplomatic corps. Similarly, the interaction between the business
section of both countries, relating both particularly and directly
to oil, and the interaction between the Americans who resided in
Spain and the Spanish who were part of their world, is an intrinsic
part of this story. We are drawn into this world through the reality
of many extracts from official documents.
In this narrative, there is a sense of both an historical document
enabling a development of our understanding and our consciousness of
the reality of life in the country of Spain during this time, and of
the reality of that world for the people who lived in that era. The
dark secrets that underlie this narrative relate to Franco's
dominating Presidency and that of the compliance of the leaders of
the Catholic Church and its acceptable dominance in Franco's world,
revealing some details that are both surprising and some that are
deeply unsettling.
This novel would be particularly appropriate for older adolescent
readers and adults, and is indeed an inspiring and challenging novel
of events and principles observed during one of the unsettling
periods in history.
Elizabeth Bondar
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760630904.
(Age: secondary) Fantasy. Themes: The three musketeers, Magic,
Angels. Garth Nix has created a world where magic is the domain of
angels and those who are able to summon them. He begins by
describing the destruction of Ystara, brought about by the summoning
of powers too great for Liliath who thought she could control the
Archangel Pallenial. The surrounding kingdoms closed the borders of
Ystara and the beastlings that were created, but its people the
Refusers became slaves. Liliath survives and after 137 years wakes
to begin her devotion and worship of Pallenial once more. She needs
the special qualities of four special candidates all of whom have
come together in the Kingdom of Sarance. Agnes a newly fledged
musketeer, Simeon a young doctor, Dorotea a young icon painter and
Henri a clerk in the cardinals office are thrown together on a
dangerous path seemingly not of their making.
The tale reaches its climax with the return of Liliath, a large
group of Refusers, the four 'heroes', and troops from the Queen's
musketeers, the cardinals Pursuivants, the city watch to Ystara and
the Temple of Pallenial.
Those followers of Nix who are expecting another Sabriel or
Abhorsen I fear will be disappointed. I found it difficult to
engage with the narrative and the main characters, which somehow
failed to gel into an involving story line. For me it wasn't a page
turner.
The prologue is very important to understand where Liliath is coming
from and the attitudes of the Sarance population to the Refusers. Be
sure to read it carefully as it is an important key to unlock the
narrative.
Mark Knight
The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts
Chronicles of The One book 3. Piatkus, 2019. ISBN:
9780349415024.
(Age: 16+) Recommended. Roberts completes her dystopian/fantasy
novel with a stunning conclusion that neatly reveals the fates of
all her characters from the previous books Year
One and Of
blood and bone. In The rise of magicks Fallon Swift,
The One, has to come to grips with the brutality of war as she and
other members of New Hope plan to overtake key cities that are held
by the enemy as well as facing her old nemesis Petra. Her biggest
challenge however, is to restore the shield that had once protected
Earth from the darkness. With Duncan and Tonia by her side and ably
assisted by her mother Lana, father Simon, Mallick, Mick, Fred and
Arlys she follows her destiny.
Roberts brings this series to a satisfying ending blending the
family unity and community living of New Hope with the intense
planning for the awful battles to take Washington and New York. Her
fantasy elements come together beautifully in the final scenes of
light battling against dark and of course the burgeoning romance
between Fallon and Duncan also features.
Roberts never fails to deliver a highly readable book and The
rise of Magicks will please her many fans.
Pat Pledger
