Sabina becomes instrumental in rescuing the King of the Cats when she is visited by a talking cat that Sabina names Cleo. In an adventurous outing to the Circus Maximus to locate a wizard, Sabina must chase rats, avoid a deadly snake and somehow help to remove the spell on the ailing King of Cats. Cleo is also in danger, and they save each other in this risky adventure.
In a simple chapter book, Sophie Masson has created a captivating story set in Ancient Rome. It is exciting and action-packed and will be enjoyed by early independent readers aged 5-7. There are minimal clues about life in Ancient Rome, enough to pique interest but not enough to confuse a young reader. Mostly this is about a girl and a talking cat and their quest to rescue a royal cat, with the help of the family dogs. The illustrations are cartoon-like in simplicity and scattered through the chapters.
Themes Ancient Rome, Cats, Rats, Curses, Adventure.
In the introduction to her book, Spence describes the three women who impacted her life: Ruth, her gentle long-suffering mother; her aunt Nan, a glamorous journalist; and Eva, her paternal grandmother, a model of old world decorum despite the adventurous turn her life took in Australia. Each of them offers a different image of female identity, different life choices vividly demonstrated to the young Margaret Ann. For her the most traumatic memory of her childhood is the displacement of her young cousin Kristy, lost between the cruel choices that adults are forced to make when there is no child care or any kind of support for women’s aspirations.
In researching the lives of these singular women and their families, Spence provides fascinating insight into many aspects of Australia’s history, not only the Cold War years of mid-century Melbourne. The men were involved in mining, and fertilizer production, both industries she acknowledges to have had a profound impact on the Indigenous population, but this is not the focus of her book. Her anecdotes enliven the intimate details of a past era, and bring to life the world of migrants and refugees carving their way in a new land.
Spence’s exploration of her family’s story highlights issues of ‘class, exploitation, gender roles and ambition’, all relevant to the modern reader. For older readers her memoir is sure to also invoke shared nostalgic reminiscence about past times.
Themes Memoir, Women, Childhood, Australian history, Migrants.
Helen Eddy
Never, not ever by Jodie Benveniste
Brave New World, 2024. ISBN: 9780975822531. (Age:14+) Highly Recommended.
Tilly is turning 16, and has lived 16 years with just her workaholic mum, and until a few months ago, with her loving Grandmother. She has dreamt for all her life that her unknown dad would someday step into her life and reveal himself (because her mother - never, not ever - talks about him). Now that she is turning 16, she thinks it is time! Still grieving from the loss of her beloved Grams she is also angry and struggling with who to love and trust and what to do with those emotions. And Josh … the heartthrob from school … What does she do with those big feelings? Her confidante, Zack, the boy from next door, is nearly the only one she trusts with her fragile ‘self’, he knows her so well, but even that friendship is at risk if she cannot sort herself out. Will an absentee father solve her internal turmoil? Can her counsellor unravel all the mysteries of a 16-year-old in pain? Will her mother ever listen?
This is an absolutely beautiful and poignant teen romance story that also addresses deep hurts from past decisions that have had generational impacts. There is a rich psychotherapeutic element to Tilly’s maturing based on the author’s own psychology background, but mostly this is a family drama combined with a teen romance. Even as an older reader I recognised the ‘inner teen’ experience of dealing with big emotions and turmoil, and the struggle to get things right. In combination with generational patterns of holding secrets, there is an impressive opportunity for emotional healing in this remarkable story set within a recognisable Adelaide setting. I loved the warmth and delight of gentle teen romance, in the age of texting and social media. Zack is perhaps the ‘almost impossible and unbelievable’ male friend, but it is nice to think that Adelaide may have nurtured him. Well done, Jodie Benveniste, to write a teen romance that is not instantly about teen sexual behaviour, even with a family history of single parenting. This can be comfortably recommended to readers aged 14+, even for those who themselves are from a single parent family or who have attended psychological counselling.
Themes Family, Grief, Romance, First kiss, Psychotherapy, Secrets, Single parents, Trust.
Carolyn Hull
I'll look for you, everywhere by Cameron Capello
Pan Macmillan, 2024. ISBN: 9781035053193. (Age:Adult)
Described as a love story, this is probably a story of troubled attraction, with multiple layers of angst, between Magdalen and Theo whose families have been connected since their parents were students. They both struggle with their past and keep secrets that complicate any chance of their love moving forward. Their physical attraction though is passionately intense and being back home in Italy adds heat to the possibility of a ‘forever relationship’. Magdalen’s reserved nature is transformed by Theo’s attention and touch, but can he be trusted? Will their past secrets, their families’ involvement, and their own personalities impede their future?
Written with great intensity and from the perspective of each of the main characters, this has all the feel of an impossible romance with an X-rating. The physical connection between Magdalen and Theo is described in excessively intimate detail! This transforms the love story to a lustful, erotic narrative … more R-rated than M-rated.This is a very adult book and not for under 18 readers. It has intense moments and some difficult personal issues. I would not recommend this book to any school-aged reader.
Fans of Jeffers’ picture books starring a boy, a star, a Martian and a penguin, Lost and Found (2006), How To Catch a Star (2004), The Way Back Home (2008), and Up and Down (2010), will be delighted with Where to find a star, meeting once again a little boy in a red and white striped pullover, a penguin and a star. This time the trio are playing hide-and-seek, a game that they love. The star is always easy to find, but one day the boy can not find it anywhere. He asks his friend the Martian for help and soon they are on their way to the North Pole in the Martian’s flying saucer. But a surprise awaits them there. A little girl has found the star, something she has always wanted for a friend. What will they do?
The illustrations are beautiful, from the beguiling cover with its beautiful pink and blue sky, to the blues of the North Pole, the dark and frightening blue black of the sea during a storm and the little figures at home against a white background.
The narrative is easy to read aloud and young children will be intrigued by the dilemma of who is going to keep the star as a friend. Can there be a solution that will make them all happy? The theme of loving and letting go could be discussed after reading the book.
Jeffers is an award-winning author and illustrator and Where to find a star is sure to be a hit with young readers. Those new to his books will want to read some of the other books in the series.
Themes Stars, Love, Friendship, Hide-and-Seek, North Pole.
Pat Pledger
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni and Hykie Breeze
UWA Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 9781760802899. (Age:5+) Recommended.
Life is a tad tough for Ella right now - her family has just moved house and, as she unpacks, she's finding it hard to let go of her old room and its familiarity, particularly her BFF Viv living next door. No matter how hard her dad tries to make things fun, the constant rain and mess are really getting her down. So when the rain does stop, she takes the opportunity to go outside into the fresh air and open space.
Outside the garden seems full of promise for the future, but when she hears a strange crick-crick sound it's seems the future is near. What could be making that noise? Bending down, by her gumboot she sees a tiny frog, no bigger than her thumb and it seems to be wanting her to follow it. And so she does - and finds herself in the midst of something so special she is entranced. For in front of her is an abandoned, overgrown pond full of an amazing variety of frogs, all calling to each other and creating her private frog orchestra.
But when she starts at her new school, Ella learns that protecting the local frogs is a major focus of her classmates and she discovers so much more about the species as her new friend Mai shows her the school's frog bog. With her new knowledge and respect, Ella is devastated to discover her neighbour's yard being dig up and her frogs have disappeared...
This is a new series for newly independent readers that not only has characters that they will resonate with - so many will recognise the anxiety and other emotions that come with moving house and starting a new school - but which also has an original storyline that offers new insight into a common curriculum focus. Who knew that frogs have a homing instinct that means they can find their way home because they know just where they belong?
As well as being one of the most common species investigated when it comes to learning about life cycles, frogs are also an indicator species, demonstrating that the local environment is healthy, although sadly, in Australia alone, there are more than 40 species listed as endangered or vulnerable. Thus, building awareness of their importance through an engaging story, including instructions for building their own frog pond in their backyard, young students can begin to appreciate that while Ella's frog orchestra may be the turning point in her new life, they have a critical role in the bigger picture.
An excellent story to springboard to greater investigations.
Themes Frogs, Ponds, Friendship, Environment.
Barbara Braxton
The best present ever by Zoe Foster Blake. Illus. by Lucinda Gifford
Imaginations will soar as this book is read to younger children or read by those more proficient at reading for themselves. What to give a friend for a present is the task, and some hilarious options are perused which are shot down with imaginative flair by something quite extraordinary. An almost toothless smile greets the reader as the child tells us that they are making the best present ever.
Wonder filled illustrations colourfully fill each page as the imaginings of the narrator explode. Many words are in large print and brightly coloured, prompting readers to try them out for themselves.
At first the idea develops around a magical creature. But which one to choose? A dragon, pixie or unicorn, but just as the decision is made, a wicked witch comes by and with one magical word, Zap, causes everything to disappear. On to the next idea: a swimming pool full of candy! Sounds great but a gang of possums comes in the night and gobbles them all up. Next idea! A baby animal farm. What could go wrong? A heap of baby animals are shown in all their cuteness, but just as the narrator is set to pay for the animals, a baby goat eats all their money. But never mind, another idea is in the offing.
And so it goes on until an idea occurs that is neither outrageous, nor unattainable, one that will appeal to us all. But getting there is a barrel of laughs as the increasingly mad ideas take root across each page. The text uses different fonts, and highlights longer words, and is nestled inspiringly amongst the hilarious illustrations.
Lots of ideas float across each page: a huge trampoline, hundreds of ice cream filled balloons, an amusement park, a trip to the moon, a transforming scooter just for a start. Kids’ imaginations will ignite as they read of some fo the zany ideas and perhaps think about how cool they would be, and come up with their own preposterous ideas.
A glittering cover will encourage kids to pick up the book, and they will find it just as luminous inside as the ideas come thick and fast, supported by bright, vivacious illustrations.
It’s a bitterly cold season on Mount Kosciusko, with two people lost in a storm, first Sam and then his father Owens gone in search of him. But it is not just the weather that is cold, it is an isolated lonely place where 14 year old Beth waits with her Mama and her older brother ‘Little Sasha’, Sam’s twin. They each go about their duties, collecting firewood, preparing meals, caring for the chickens and horses, with few words shared between them as they wait. Mama says Sam and Owens are dead, but Beth cannot give up hope.
Hooper brilliantly captures Beth’s voice, the tone and the singular grammar of a young teenager, as well as her inner thoughts and fears. She is afraid of the harsh and unpredictable anger that springs from Mama, and is certain that for some reason Mama hates her. The reader is left wondering if the friction between them is the inevitable conflict between parent and teenage or whether there is some hidden reason that Mama seems to turn on Beth.
There seems to be undercurrents of tension that Beth is caught up in and struggles to understand, an adult world of suppressed emotions and secrets that she slowly starts to piece together: why her brother Sam left in the storm, and why the outlaw Wallace keeps coming around. Growing from a position of powerlessness, Beth stubbornly asserts her own personality and independence.
The mood of this book is so intriguing, a mix of smouldering silence and unacknowledged pressures that build until the explosive ending. Seen through the eyes of Beth we understand that each of the characters has their own story just outside of our understanding. Hooper has promised a prequel to this book that explores the story of enigmatic returned soldier Owens. I am so curious about his character that I will be grabbing that book as soon as it’s released.
A cold season is an outstanding debut novel, suitable for both teenagers and adults. Highly recommended.
Billy's brilliant butterflies by Jacquie Ward. Illus. by Winona Kieslich
Little Steps, 2024. ISBN: 9781922678324. (Age:5+) Highly recommended.
Billy loves his time at home. He spends his time outdoors having his own adventures. When things become too noisy or busy he quietly retreats to his tree house where he can watch the world go by. Billy’s life is about to change, as it is time for him to start school. He is unsure and worried and the butterflies in his tummy are tumbling around. The school uniform is unfamiliar and scratchy. The playground is noisy and he wishes his mum could stay longer.
At lunchtime, Billy is overwhelmed and the butterflies around him flap even louder. He is upset but Amelie joins him and they walk out to the playground together and explore. Amelie becomes Billy’s friend and they spend time together. Even when the classroom is too much for Billy, Amelie is by his side. Their wonderful teacher accepts all her students’ talents and personalities and encourages Billy to be himself.
This is a very gentle story with delightful illustrations about change and learning new ways to cope for children who are highly sensitive. The author has provided information on High Sensitivity and strategies for support in the final pages.
Themes New Beginnings, Highly Sensitive Person (HSP’s), Butterflies, Friends, School.
Sally Tinker is the world's foremost inventor under the age of twelve, and she just knows she can build a better brother than the messy, smelly version she has. Sally's invention - Brobot - is fantastic, until the remote breaks and Brobot careens out of control. Sally realises that maybe there's more to a sibling than just inconveniences.
One of the most popular activities I did during my face-to-face teaching days was to share Shel Silverstein's poem, Sister for Sale and get students to not only create an advertisement to sell their sibling - ensuring they pointed out all the good things so it would seem like an attractive buy - but also to then advertise for a new one. They had to consider what would be the essentials, non-negotiables and compromises they would accept and were often surprised to discover that what they wanted was what they already had!
The premise of this graphic novel for independent readers is somewhat similar - students could design their own brobot (or sisbot) using either their imaginations or the activity sheet, perhaps discovering, as Sally did, that their relationships with their siblings is deeper and more important than they thought.
Bad liar is the third in a series featuring Annie Broussard and Nick Fourcade, married detectives who work in Bayou Breaux, in Louisiana. It follows A Thin Dark Line (1997) and The Boy (2018). Nick is not impressed at being called out to the horrific scene of a man murdered, his face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast. Meanwhile Annie’s first day back on the job after a horrible attack is taken up with investigating the claims of B’Lynn Fontenot, who insists that her son Robbie, a recovering addict, has gone missing. During the course of the murder investigation it seems that Marc Mercier, a popular businessperson and former high school football star, has also gone missing. Is there a link between the two?
Hoag is a master at building up suspense. She uses the swampy setting of Bayou Breaux to great effect. Her first chapter is riveting, with a brief but searing introduction to alligators in the dark waters, a mother who cannot let go and a wife who celebrates her birthday alone. It is easy to imagine the family jealousies, the lonely wife and the small-town inhabitants clinging to the past. Domestic violence, drug addiction and jealousy are major themes in this dark mystery. The plot is clever and all strands come together in a gripping conclusion.
Nick and Annie are a formidable pair of detectives, Nick is intelligent and tough, while Annie follows her investigations with compassion. I look forward to another book by Hoag featuring this pair.
Themes Detectives, Murder, Domestic violence, Drug addiction.
Helen Milroy in telling a story of the natural environment and its interdependence, parallels the history of the First Nations people and their understanding of the environment in which they live.
Helen a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, has written eight books published by Fremantle Press, and her books have been short listed for awards in Australia. Her stories tell a tale which kids will love reading, and woven through that tale are lessons to be learnt about country, the interdependence of the fauna and flora within the environment and directions about living with each other.
With The boab tree, Helen tells a wonderful story about this magnificent tree, and tells us where it belongs in the environment, how it reproduces, its dependance on the leaf litter and the work of small animals beneath the canopy. And entwined with the story readers will learn of belonging, kindness and bravery as the tree finds its way home.
A pod is about to fall from the Boab tree. As it does a large eagle flies beneath the tree and the pod lands on its back. Unbeknownst to the eagle, it flies off and eventually the pod rolls off into an unknown forest of large trees, unlike those the pod has ever known. He is alone and calls out for help. Mice answer his call and ask him where he has come from. The mice offer their help. But the pod must open and release his seeds to propagate the next generation of Boab trees. The mice scrape away a little hole for the seeds and wait and wait for the green shoots to appear. This takes longer than expected and the tree grows very slowly. The soil is the wrong sort of soil, and the climate and surroundings are very different from where the Boab tree comes from.
One day a storm is predicted, and the mice help the little tree cling onto the surrounding branches and pile up the soil near his trunk, so that he survives. He wonders how he can help the mice who have been so kind to him. They tell him that one day they may be able to use his help. And of course, a time for help does come around. Foxes have returned to the forest. Usually the dingoes help the mice but they are not here, so the tree tells the mice to come inside his hollows. They do and the foxes run straight past.
One day a white feather falls to the ground and Boab recognises it. It is from an osprey, a large bird from his county. He sees Osprey is injured and calls the mice for ideas about how to restore him to health. The mice call the old possum and help him bring Osprey down to a makeshift nest formed in Boab’s branches, where he can rest and recover.
In return Osprey will help Boab move to his home. He flies back and tells everyone that he has found the little Boab tree. Together the community works to tie Boab to the eagles, ospreys, cockatoos and crows who are there to help. They fly off, lifting Boab into the sky. They find his place and position him on a ridge where he can look out over his country. And he does, growing to a large old tree, remembering his friends from the forest, and now and again the mice think they can hear Boab’s singing from a long time ago.
Paintings face each page of text, reflecting the story being told in dots, masses of colour and images of the animals. Young readers will love poring over the paintings, finding the things mentioned in the story, sharing the tale and what it tells them of the Boab tree and its place in the environment. Teaching notes are available.
Themes Aboriginal stories, Boab tree Environment, Kindness, Bravery.
Fran Knight
The wild life: A berry long walk by Laura and Philip Bunting
The first in a series of environmentally friendly books with a group of Australian animals having adventures, will have instant appeal to those newly adept at reading chapter books and like the joy of lots of illustrations. And illustrations by Philip Bunting will be recognised by children as they follow the animals and their daily travels. In the first book, A berry long walk, the idea of feeling safe is explored as Wombat refuses to go on a walk with his friend because he fears the unknown. Roo comes to see Wombat with his idea but Wombat balks, jumping into his burrow. He tells Roo that he does lots of things to keep himself safe. He tells Roo about his poo, which is expelled in little squares. When a butterfly wings by, Wombat takes a step back in fear. He continues to outline his fears in the face of Roo’s promising him berries, and the two set off, Roo then a little fearful himself that the story of berries is only a rumour.
This long chapter of about 25 pages, is followed by seven more chapters of shorter length, allowing a newly confident reader to taste reading a book by themselves.
Chapter two sees the two friends, still having the same discussion. Wombat sees a massive mountain that it fears and Roo calms his fears urging him on. Chapter three sees them overcome the mountain, in chapter four the pair meets an echidna, and in chapter five Wombat almost falls off the mountain. On they go, the argument recurring all the time as Wombat wants to go home, and Roo adamant that they will find some berries.
The text displays a common argument between friends when each want to do something different. The text encourages all readers to assimilate the division that can occur over a point of view.
Supporting the text are Philip Bunting’s wonderful illustrations, showing the animals in all their argumentative best finding their way through the various obstacles in their way. Physical obstacles are shown on each page, and the emotional obstacles are shown in their faces as Roo encourages, cajoles, pushes, lifts his friend Wombat to their goal.
Bunting shows many Australian animals on the way to the berries and includes a fantastic map at the end of the book to reprise where the animals went. Readers will love the continuing argument between the two friends, each showing a respectful attitude toward the other’s point of view, and the environments they travel through to get to their goal. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Australian animals, Environment, Wombats, Arguments, Points of view.
When is a gnu not a gnu? It is also called a wildebeest, adding another level of snorting mirth to Good gnus! Phil Cummings’ latest book, which makes fun of the word, gnu, with its silent g. So what else can also be found in this work? What about saying the word gnu out loud, remembering the g is silent. Then it sounds like news and so underscores the ways in which the word is used on each page, homophones offering two different meanings for the word, gnu. Young readers will have a belly laugh at each pair of words. What about ‘late gnus’ (think news) or ‘overseas gnus’, ‘old gnus’, ‘live gnus’ and ‘hard hitting gnus’?
Each page adds another reason to guffaw as readers get the joke and add what they know about the news they hear on television. They will be able to tell stories they have remembered which can be placed into the categories Phil outlines. Who has heard some ‘good gnus’, or ‘gnus flash’, perhaps someone has heard of a ‘gnus desk’ or ’local gnus’ or ‘overseas gnus’. I can imagine kids bubbling over themselves with a story they have heard and want to share.
Some of the pairs make for a more contemplative response such as, ‘sad gnus’, but most are very funny, showing the range of news stories we are exposed to every day. Some will require more thought: ‘fake gnus’, ‘scary gnus’, ‘hard-hitting gnus’.
Words and their meanings are at the heart of this story, as children will learn of the way we get news, the way it is promoted and the importance we attach to it. And reading any of Phil Cummings books out loud rewards readers and listeners alike as the infectious rhythm takes over.
Phil’s humour is mirrored by Daron Parton’s wonderful digital illustrations. Each page is a delight to pore over, with a text that invites an imaginative response and an image which charms the eye. The two gnus cause havoc from the time they get up. We see the ‘morning gnus’ bounce on their bed, causing Dad’s ‘gnus cross’. The two play outside, ‘live gnus’, and play cricket, ‘hard-hitting gnu’s, when a window is smashed, ‘breaking gnus’, the parents call ‘no gnus.’ Every image reflects the pair of words wonderfully aligned to an illustration that will tickle the funny bones of all who read it. After a hectic day of ‘gnus flash’ the children go to bed, ‘gnus just in’. A full day of activity sees the parents eager to have their kids retire to bed.
What more could mystery aficionados and lovers of the paranormal want than a murder to solve, with a detective team of a girl who turns into a werewolf at the full moon, a handsome warlock and a poltergeist who is a great cook? All set in Manchester, with its Upside for people who are normal and Downside for those with supernatural powers. Sage lives with her poltergeist friend P and is trying to make sense of her life. Oren Rinallis is a warlock, notorious for the way he upholds the law for the Arcanum, the institution that keeps order in the supernatural world. He is sent to investigate the murder of a young woman in her apartment and there encounters Sage who has come to visit her. Together with P they set out to discover who is murdering young werewolves in the city.
This is a clever combination of crime, the supernatural and found family. The twists and turns of the plot around the murders will keep readers glued to their seats, wanting to find out who the murderer is. Who is leaving a bunch of the herb sage as a warning? Will Sage be the next victim? The Downside, the home of the supernatural creatures is vividly described, with a Yuletide Ball as a fascinating culmination, while the everyday activities of Sage’s teenage friends contrast with the grisly murders that she and Oren are investigating. The back stories of Oren who is feared by everyone in Downside and Sage who is unable to accept her werewolf side will tug at the heart strings and readers will want to see their personal growth as much as they want to solve the mystery.
All the hidden monsters is a riveting novel and I look forward to the next in the series All the lost souls. Readers who enjoy books by Cassandra Clare are certain to want to pick this up, while readers might like to try the Edinburgh nights series by Tendai Huchu or Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.
Themes Werewolves, Warlocks, Murder, Found family.
