Chicken House, 2018. ISBN 9781906427733
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Survival. Coming of age. Nod to
Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Moss is a young girl who has grown up
on a magical island with her father, who believes that he can use
the flowers growing there to control the weather and stop the floods
that he claims have devastated the world. When a wild young
fish-boy, Callan, is washed up on the shore, Moss grows increasingly
attached to him, but finds it difficult to know what to believe when
he begins to question her father. Then two young men are shipwrecked
and she has to question everything that she has grown up believing
to be true.
I did not realise that this was loosely based on "The Tempest" until
well into the story. However astute readers who are familiar with
the play, will read the quote at the beginning of the book and see
the parallels featuring a father who takes his daughter to an
isolated island, and a young feral boy who threatens their peace. At
the same time, readers who are not familiar with "The tempest" are
able to read it as a survival story and a coming of age story, as
Moss grows physically and mentally, and Pa deteriorates as he
consumes more and more of the storm flowers on the island, living in
a drug induced fever. The appearance of the two young men from the
real world who are shipwrecked adds a new dimension to the story and
Christopher gathers together many interesting threads as her tale
draws to an end.
The lyrical writing and the magic surrounding the island drew me in
and after a rather slow start, I found it very difficult to put the
book down. The descriptions of being totally isolated, with just the
three of them, Moss, Pa and Cal, living together and surviving,
combined with dreamlike sequences, draw the reader in, and often it
is difficult to know what is real and what is not.
This is a unique and magical story that will appeal to readers who
like to be challenged.
Pat Pledger
Birthday baby by Jane Godwin and Davina Bell
Ill. Freya Blackwood, Allen & Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760291525
(Ages: 3+) Highly Recommended. Themes: Babies. Birthdays. Family.
Parties. On baby's birthday many friends come along to the party.
Mum and Dad welcome them all: adults, children and the dog. The
families tumble down the stairs, some with pushers, one carrying
food, one riding a trike, but all happy and pointing towards the
family which greets them.
After that each page has a range of babies and an adjective
(descriptive word) about the baby. We have a smiley baby and
friendly baby and a sunny baby leading into a dribble baby and brave
baby but as time goes on and some of their food is taken by the dog,
the babies become more tired. Adjectives change from positive to
more negative: cry baby, cranky baby, wriggly and angry, and as
every parent will know, it is time to go home.
When the pusher is taken back up the stairs and the tired children
leave, then it is time for the birthday baby to have its bath, have
a book read and then go to bed for a well deserved rest.
The wonderful warm illustrations by Blackwood are enticing,
reflecting a personal view of children and their parents together.
The looks on all the faces are delicious, full of the snatches of
childhood, showcasing the variety of expressions and feelings
exposed by such a tiring day for little people.
A delightful look at a baby and its friends coming around for a
birthday party which will encourage discussion amongst the readers
about their birthdays.
Fran Knight
Varina by Charles Frazier
Sceptre, 2018. ISBN 9781473686144
(Age: 16+) Recommended.
In 1906, a man whose shade of skin is 'noted' by the desk clerk,
asks to see a hotel guest, Mrs. Davis, and is told he may wait
outside on a bench. But he persists in staying by the fireplace
until he meets her - the famous Varina Davis, or V as she is called,
once wife to the President of the Confederate States of America.
James Blake is trying to recover his own history, and in the
following meetings with V, she recounts his life and hers. He was a
waif, brought up with her own young children - the question is
though, could he really have been one of them, or was he a
much-loved pet? Was he owned? Could there really be love,
friendship, and affection between people who are owned and their
owners? Kevin Powers answered this in the negative in his brutal
expose of master and slave in A shout in the ruins, also set
during the American civil war. Frazier's novel is more nuanced.
Slavery may be wrong but relationships are complex, as is
continually revealed throughout the story of Varina's life. And in
the end, after the war, was the freedom brought by the Union
soldiers truly freedom? At the end of the book, when James is
travelling home from V's funeral, he is told by the train conductor
to move 3 cars back to the one with the sign saying COLORED.
Readers of historical fiction who seek a story of great romance set
against a background of the civil war will be disappointed. There is
no sweeping hero, no grand love story. Varina's choices as a young
girl are limited and she makes the best of what she can. Gradually
she asserts her intelligence and independent spirit, and also her
humanity, to make her own path, and protect her children, including
James, as best she can. Perhaps some of the later choices she makes
could be seen as a kind of atonement for earlier self-perceived
failings. All in all it is a brilliant portrayal of a complex
person, a woman of intelligence, moral integrity and kindness, who
despite her upbringing in slave owner country could probably have
worked out a better solution than the cruel and wasteful war the
country became embroiled in.
Helen Eddy
Grandma Dangerous and the dog of destiny: Book 1 by Kita Mitchell
Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9781408355060
Age: 8+) "WARNING: DO NOT GIVE THIS BOOK TO YOUR OWN GRANDMA. SHE
MIGHT GET IDEAS...
Danger is her middle name!
Ollie's dad is missing - but Grandma Dangerous is on the case! She
has a hot-air balloon, thirty packets of biscuits and a pooch with
magical powers (she says).
But as they sail through the skies, Ollie realises they're not just
on a rescue mission...
Grandma's on the run!" (Publisher)
This is a really funny read. It resonates with David Walliams and
Roald Dahl and I am sure fans of these extremely popular authors
will love this. What child does not like adults and, in particular
one's parents, being the butt of many jokes and adventures? Ollie
can not believe his luck when he has to be looked after by his
grandma, aka Grandma Dangerous. Grandma has promised to be on
her best behaviour but it is not too long before mischief and
adventure comes knocking. Ollie's dad, a famous explorer has gone
missing. His mum is too busy looking after his injured sister, Lucy,
so it is left up to the two of them and Ollie's school friend,
Piper. They set off to Australia with a hot air balloon as their
mode of transport! Of course the plot becomes quite complicated in a
funny way. The main characters are likeable with Grandma sure to be
a hit with the reader. Who does not like a grandma that doesn't make
you eat vegetables, feeds you lots of sugar and takes you on amazing
adventures? A welcome addition to the collection - suitable for ages
8 and up.
Kathryn Schumacher
My Storee by Paul Russell and Aska
EK Books, 2018. ISBN 9781925335774
(Age: 5-8) When he is at home the stories running through his head
keep him awake at night - stories about dragons and rainbow eggs at
the bottom of Grandma's garden; his teacher being eaten by a
gruesome ogre; unicorn detectives chasing robotic pirates up alien
volcanoes. The wonderful, magical ideas just keep flowing and he
writes and writes and writes. It's all about the adventures and not
about the writing rules.
But at school, the adventures dry up because the writing rules rule.
And the red pen is everywhere,
"But at school their are too many riting rulz and with all the rulz
I can never find my dragons."
At school he doesn't like to write
Until a new teacher comes - one who is a storyteller himself and
knows writing is about the story and not the rules.
In the 80s I was lucky enough to be deeply involved in the process
writing movement where we truly believed that writing had to be
about the ideas and the adventures and that the processes of
reviewing, editing and publishing came later once there was
something to work with. Children were just happy to express
themselves and as teachers, it was our job to guide them with
spelling, punctuation and grammar, semantics and syntax, so that if
one of their ideas grabbed them enough that they wanted to take it
through to publication then we would work together to do that. Words
were provided as they were needed in context, and punctuation and
grammar tackled on an individual's needs rather than
one-size-fits-all lessons. And if the effort of writing was enough
and the child wasn't interested in taking it further, then we had to
accept that - flogging a dead horse was a waste of time. In
pre-computer days, how many nights did I spend on the typewriter
with the big font so a child could have the joy of their own
creation in our class library? Children enjoyed writing for
writing's sake, were free and willing to let their imaginations roam
free and were prepared to take risks with language conventions for
the sake of the story.
But when publicity-seeking politicians whose only experience with
the classroom was their own decades previously declared that
"assessment processes need to be more rigorous, more standardised
and more professional" (a quote from "Teacher") we find ourselves
back to the red pen being king and our future storytellers silenced
through fear. While the teachers' notes tag this book as being about
a dyslexic child, it really is about all children as they learn how
to control their squiggles and regiment them into acceptable
combinations so they make sense to others, a developmental process
that evolves as they read and write rather than having a particular
issue that is easy and quick to label and therefore blame. We need
to accept what they offer us as they make this journey and if they
never quite reach the destination, or are, indeed, dyslexic, then as
well-known dyslexic Jackie French says, "That's what spellcheck and
other people are for." So much better to appreciate their effort
than never have the pleasure of their stories.
So many children will relate to this story - those whose mums have
"to wade through a papar ocean to wake [them] up" - and will
continue to keep writing regardless of adults who think they know
better. But who among those adults will have the conviction and the
courage to be like Mr Watson? Who among the powers-that-be will let
them do what they know works best? If the red pen kills their
creativity now, where will the storytellers and imaginative
problem-solvers of the future come from?
Barbara Braxton
Just breathe by Andrew Daddo
Penguin, 2018. ISBN 9780143573623
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Who doesn't love a modern-day Romeo
and Juliet? A schoolboy athlete, Hendrix has no social life, thanks
to his father's ambition for his son to win both the State and
National titles. Paul isn't just Drix's coach but a drill
sergeant, demanding 100 percent dedication to: training, diet and even
clandestine oxygen therapy. But Dad didn't bargain on a distraction
like Emily.
Emily and her mother Anna are from Benalla. They are only living in
the big smoke temporarily, so that Emily's medical condition can be
monitored closely by a Melbourne specialist. It's Emily's new puppy
Lucky, who brings the unlikely pair together. First love proves to
be so intense that escaping overprotective parents occupies most of
their time. The alternating narrations in Book 1, quickly dissolve
into one single all-seeing narrator in Book 2. This strategy works
well to strengthen the connection between the main characters.
With Hendrix's phone confiscated, reunions after even a few days
separation, only heighten their attraction.
"They didn't even kiss. They just stood on the platform together as
one. Hendrix thought she was laughing because she was jiggling so
much, and when he pulled his head back to look at her she burrowed
deeper into his shoulder. That's when he knew she was crying. The
way she let go loosened the tap for him as well. By the time the
platform had cleared, Emily and Hendrix had practically melted into
each other. Anna hung back inside the station, watching. 'Thank
you', she whispered to no one in particular'."(p 298)
As romances go, this one is not intentionally sentimental, likely
due to the amount of detail about athletics training. Adding depth
are a number of other complex issues eg father/son and
mother/daughter relationships, the city/country divide, bioethics
and more. Andrew Daddo has penned his best YA novel yet, with this
heart-rending romance that should appeal to both sexes.
Deborah Robins
Splat the fake fact by Adam Frost
Ill. by Gemma Correll. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408889503
When it comes to free reading choices, young boys, particularly,
tend to go for the non fiction titles about sharks, dinosaurs, motor
vehicles and the "Guinness Book of Records". They are fascinated by
the world of the weird and wonderful that they can pore over and
learn so much from in discussions with their friends as they examine
the pictures even if they can't read the text yet. They are laying
their foundations of the basic concepts of information literacy but
their interest is driven by the illustration rather than a need for
specific information. Splat the fake fact takes this interest up a notch, encouraging
the reader to actually think about what they are being told,
discover the correct answer through some research and then do
something about it. On every page there are incredible, hilarious,
unlikely facts that are completely true... and one fact that
isn't! The reader is invited to find the imposter fact and reveal it
before it goes out into the world - and then take some action like
scribbling on them, lasering them, drawing silly hats or crossing
them out. While that might not be the recommended action for a
community library book, nevertheless the combination of humour and
cartoon presentation will engage young readers into understanding
that not everything they read is true; that there is real "fake
news" and the need to verify what they see and hear through some
basic research.
While this would make an ideal read for that young person moving on
to independent reading and research, it could also have a place in
information literacy levels with each page being a jump start for an
aspect of the information literacy process. Starting with "What do
we already know?" and "What more do we need to know?" and "Where
could we find that information?" students can be led on that journey
of lifelong learning, developing those core concepts in a way that
connects to the interests of the age group.
While many teachers like to use websites like Save the Pacific
Northwest Tree Octopus to have students to learn to test what they
are reading and evaluate the validity of it, Splat the fake fact
is a few steps before this with its accessible language, funky
illustrations, and graphic layout. Each fake fact is identified,
often in another crazy puzzle that requires more learning to
decipher, but more complete explanations are given at the end of the
book.
Some students might even like to use the puzzles as models to create
their own fake facts, setting up a weekly challenge for library
users to investigate, learning to use the library's resources as
they do.
What looks like a book that might be used as a child's Christmas
stocking stuffer, might just be the best investment you make in your
library collection this year!!!
Barbara Braxton
Front desk by Kelly Yang
Walker Books Australia, 2018. ISBN 9781760650469
(Age: Young adult - Adult) Recommended. Front desk is
inspired by Kelly Yang's personal experience immigrating from China
to America, and her journey of running motels with her parents from
when she was eight to twelve years old. Many of the events that
transpire in Front desk actually happened in Yang's life. The
story follows ten-year-old Mia Tang who after moving to America with
her mother and father has to help out in running a motel, all while
overcoming the issues of language barriers, discrimination, and
finding courage and confidence to make a difference for herself and
her family.
This was a well-written and easy to read novel that really focused
on Mia's journey growing up, and facing and overcoming tough issues
for a ten-year-old. And while Kelly Yang did not shy away from
expressing the harsh truths of discrimination, she balanced it out
with heartwarming moments that made the story flow smoothly. While
the themes explored are heavy ones she addressed them in a way that
made you really think about them. I myself sat down after reading
this book wanting to know more about what it was like for immigrants
coming to America from China in the 80's and 90's. Kelly also wrote
about Mia's character in a way that made her attitude seem older
than that of a ten-year-old, especially considering the issues she
went through in this story. Lastly, I found that Kelly's use of
metaphors throughout the story to be very clever as Mia seemed to
use them as motivators throughout her journey.
I would recommend this to young adults and adults as the themes
explored in this story are important but also not too heavy.
Kayla Raphael
The mystery of the squashed cockroach by R. A. Spratt
The Peski Kids series. Penguin, 2018, ISBN 9780143788812
(Ages: 8-12) Recommended. Themes: Spies. Brothers and sisters.
Country life. Missing persons. When a gun-wielding masked woman
kicks in the front door, siblings Joe, Fin and April's lives change
dramatically. Their palaeontologist mother is missing, caught at an
Eastern European border crossing with a USB hidden inside the ulna
of a stegosaurus. Professor Maynard, their mother's boss needs to
quickly move the children to safety away from the clutches of the
evil Kolectiv hit team. There's no going back when the Professor
blows up their suburban house.
Their horticulturalist father who left the family when April was a
baby lives in a tiny country town called Currawong. The quirky
townsfolk are obsessed with cockroaches, holding the annual
cockroach race. Given a new surname, the Peski kids are left with a
father they don't know, a lifestyle unfamiliar to them and a town
filled with cockroach obsessed people.
After a disastrous first day of school, except for Joe's surprising
aptitude for lawn bowls, the children decide to try and fit in.
Searching for cockroaches to enter into the race, involves breaking
into a neighbour's house with the help of a teenage whirlwind
Loretta Viswanathan. When Loretta's expensive Madagascan cockroach
is found dead in its aquarium, the Peski kids set out to solve the
mystery. When the competitors for the annual race start dying off as
well, Joe, Fin and April accompanied by Pumpkin the ankle-biting dog
become detectives searching for clues. The mystery of the squashed cockroach captures the reader from the
prologue. Joe, April and Fin argue, bicker and generally get on each
other's nerves, however they pull together in times of crisis. Each
of their skills is needed to uncover the villain. Currawong's cast
of characters are unique and unusual adding humour to this
fast-paced adventure. R. A. Spratt's witty writing style and
fast-paced plot make this an exciting new series. Life will never be
the same, what adventures await in the next Peski Kids' adventure?
An exciting class novel for middle primary students.
Rhyllis Bignell
The 104-storey treehouse by Andy Griffiths
Ill. by Terry Denton. Pan Macmillan, 2018. ISBN 9781760554170
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour. Join Andy and Terry in
their wonderfully wild and wacky 104-storey
treehouse. Andy and Terry and friend Jill return for another wacky
adventure as they add another storey to their treehouse, making it
104 storeys tall and full of fantastical inventions and creatures.
The storey is introduced at the beginning of the book, with all its
wonderful inventions. A money making machine is sure to appeal to
all, except when Terry hits the wrong button and it turns into a
honey making machine, and the drawings of the trio climbing the
never ending staircase will have readers giggling. Poor Andy has a
terrible toothache and the different remedies to pull the tooth
suggested by Terry will resonate with young and old alike as they
recall losing a tooth. There are bears, joke writing pens and Mr Big
Nose who expects the latest book to be delivered on time.
As popular as the previous ones in the series, I had to wait in line
to read The 104-storey treehouse, as both grandchildren and
visitors to the house devoured it and had no trouble recounting the
plot lines in detail. The jokes at the bottom of the page were
funny, and often groan-worthy, and make a wonderful addition to a
family's joke repertoire.
This is sure to be a hit at home and in classrooms, with young and
old, and will be welcomed by all the creators' many fans.
Pat Pledger
Fergus the farting dragon by Monique Mulligan
Ill. by Veronica Rooke. Serenity Press, 2017. ISBN 9780995410435
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Themes: Dragons. Similarity.
Stealing. Humour. "Fergus is different to other dragons. But when
people make fun of him, he has an ear-splitting, eye-watering,
toe-curling, stink-making response. He farts! When a cheeky knight
in a fire-proof suit steals a precious dragon egg, the other dragons
are at a loss. It's left to Fergus to get the egg back from the
thieving knight." (Publisher)
Fergus is a very unfortunate dragon. Because he can't breathe fire
like all of the other dragons, they tease him. Even though Fergus
can't breathe fire he is really good at farting. Fergus shows the
other dragon that being different is not always a bad thing. When
all of the other dragons fail to save the golden egg, Fergus is the
one who saves the day.
This book has a great message in it, that it is ok to be different.
Just because someone is different does not mean they are not as good
as everyone else.
I highly recommend this book. I think it will appeal to both
children and adults with the fart humour. Activities
to complement the book are available from the publisher.
Karen Colliver
Puddle hunters by Kirsty Murray
Ill. by Karen Blair. Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760296742
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Rain. Puddles. Family. After a
rainy morning, the family goes out puddle hunting. The sky has
almost cleared as Ruby and Banjo find their boots and set off with
mum to find some puddles. There are no puddles to be found in their
garden as the flowers have soaked up all the rain. There are no
puddles on the glistening footpath and once in the park, they hunt
under bushes, beside the path and on the hillside, still without any
success. But walking over the bridge to the river flats they find
all the puddles they need.
Each of the children, sometimes together sometimes alone, jumps into
the puddles they find, making a splash, and squelching in the mud.
What fun!
Perth freelance illustrator, Karen Blair has impressed with her
wonderful illustrations. I loved Granny Gromet and me, all
of her pictures redolent of the great outdoors, reflect her
childhood on a farm.
Her illustrations for Puddle hunters are delicious, showing
two small children and a quick thinking mum taking their walk
through the puddles in the park. Full of movement, each picture
reflects the love and familiarity between the three as they do
something which in the end renders them all wet and muddy,
necessitating a bath when they get home.
This engrossing story will be fun to read aloud and act out. Its
repetition will engage, its movement both in the story and in the
illustrations on each page will delight all the readers, young and
old.
Fran Knight
Bonesland by Brendan Lawley
Text Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9781925603583
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Explicit content. Shortlisted, The Text Prize, 2017. A multi-layered
coming of age story about family, mates, bullies and maybe hooking
up with the hot American exchange student. Set in country Victoria,
Banarang is a fictional town.
But it's not pretty when you live in it every day. If you don't
escape Banarang straight after Year Twelve, you've got two options -
you make a bunch of kids with your high-school girlfriend or you
smoke ice all day and start pub fights at night. There are plenty of
guys who manage to juggle both.
In the first chapter Bones demonstrates that Banarang is a short
commute to Melbourne. Bones is suffering from OCD, likely because
his mother left. Given his oversexed mates with whom he shares the
exact same urges, this inner monologue is hilarious. The boys don't
pull any punches and the misogynistic dialogue and euphemisms are
very explicit. But that's not the reason readers can't put it down.
Every character is capable of redemption - even Dad, the loser and
Shitty, the bully.
By contrast, Naya, the UNICEF "do-gooder" exchange student, seems to
have more going on in her top paddock, as does the Muslim girl,
Aaleyah. Despite his problems, Bones is soon fantasising about the
cosmopolitan yet altruistic Naya. Jimmy is a leader by virtue of his
confidence and cash but is intent on breaking into pop culture by
imitating African American rappers - doubtless, girls will be
offended by his lyrics. All the boys have problems, Leon is Gay and
Bones' brother Trav is tangled up with the town bully, yet the
friends tolerate Bones despite his nerdy obsessions. Tension builds
as Bones is targeted in and out of school. The coward's punch climax
is cathartic for Bones and his family.
"Bonesland" is the most consistently explicit YA title I've sampled;
but somehow the language isn't gratuitous because we all know these
Aussie males at the end of schooling, for whom the only meaningful
education they have garnered is both the best and worst of each
other. An eBook is available and Text Publishing link
to Lawley's playlist while you read a sample chapter.
Deborah Robins
Swallow's Dance by Wendy Orr
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760297879
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Disasters, Crete - History,
Survival, Ancient Civilisation. This is a very touching story about
one girl's inner strength, and how when faced with life-changing
problems she was able to overcome the odds to keep her family alive.
Leira who was born to be a priestess finds herself in a situation
that was beyond anything she could imagine.
Her home is hit by a huge earthquake that leaves everything she
knows in pieces, including her mother. She is forced to do what she
can to keep her mother alive while waiting for help. Leira then
finds that she needs to take charge and do something otherwise
neither of them will survive.
Leira is reunited with her father and brother who take her, her
mother and elderly nurse on their ship across the sea to the land
where her other brother lives. When they arrive they find things are
not as they seem. When Leira's father and brother set off on their
trading mission she is left to look after her injured mother and
elderly nurse.
Again another earthquake and again things change for Leira.
Throughout the story Leira learns that she is stronger than she ever
realized and she is able to survive against what the goddess can
throw at her.
This book is written in a way that draws you in and you just want to
keep reading to see what will happen next. There are a number of
twists to the story that you will not see coming.
I highly recommend this book 12+. Teacher's
notes are available on the publisher's website.
Karen Colliver
Night Flights by Philip Reeve
Ill. by Ian McQue. The Hungry City Chronicles book 5.
Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781742997674
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Science fiction, Steampunk.
Good versus evil. Slavery. In "Night Flights" Philip Reeve returns
to the world of "Mortal Engines", to provide readers with three
short stories about Anna Fang, aviatrix and spy, who is a secondary
figure in the series. Anna Fang's story is fascinating. In "Frozen
Heart", her beginnings are described, first as a happy child on
board her parents' ship, then captured by the traction city
"Arkangel", where she is held as a slave working to dismantle scrap
metal from the ships that the city captures and eats up. Determined
to be free again she catches the eye of the son of the owner and
helps him build a plane and in a daring bid for freedom uses her
wits and intelligence to escape. In "Traction City Blues" an
adolescent Anna lands on London, another traction city and here
faces a Stalker who she wants to recruit as a weapon against the
slaver ship. Finally in "Teeth of the Sea" Anna goes to Pulau
Pinang, where she uncovers a mystery about the disappearance of raft
boats and in the final chapter meets the two children who will be
the main characters in the Chronicles.
All three stories are compulsive reading and would serve as a
fascinating introduction to the "Hungry City Chronicles", although
she is a minor character in those books. Anna is determined and uses
her fine mind to work out strategies for escape and on a practical
level, uses her engineering skills to build an aircraft. She is
faced with disappointment on a personal level and learns to be very
careful of the people that she can trust.
The illustrations by Ian McQue are fabulous, and the reader gets a
wonderful picture of the personality of Anna, as well as the
destructive nature of the predator traction ship "Arkangel".
With "Mortal Engines" soon to be a major film directed by Peter
Jackson of "Hobbit" fame, it won't be difficult to find new fans of
this excellent, challenging and exciting series.
Pat Pledger
