13th Reality series. Scholastic, 2018 (Originally published:
2008. ISBN 9781742998381
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Adventure. Science fiction.
Fantasy. Challenge. This is the third book in the 13th Reality
series and all books are equally compelling. Atticus Higginbottom
(aka Tick) is plunged again into the need to harness his knowledge
of Quantum Physics and his incredible personal force linked to the
Chi'karda (the force that controls quantum physics) to rescue the
world and his family from certain disaster and from Mistress Jane
(his nemesis from a previous book). And he may even be needed to
prevent total annihilation! After meeting the Haunce and coming face
to face with all the energy and memory of lives and memories past
and present, he realises that much depends on him. With considerable
help from his friends on the side of the good of all realities, Tick
must face the challenge head on, and there are no guarantees that he
will survive. With earthquakes of stupendous magnitude and
destruction and strange creatures to contend with, everything about
this book reeks of tension. Tick's comrade for good, Sato, makes a
return in this book and must play a pivotal role in rescuing the
innocents who were to be potential instruments in Mistress Jane's
plans to reimagine the realities.
James Dashner certainly knows how to write an exciting science
fiction fantasy. Young readers will be keen to read the next book in
the series too as there is still more to be done! The elements of
science are woven through the narrative, with genetic recombination
and Quantum physics part of this book in the 13th Reality
series. But this story will also appeal to lovers of pure fantasy eg
the Harry Potter series and Tolkien's work because there are
similar features with youthful characters having to be the rescuing
heroes, harnessing powerful elements and overcoming great adversity
along the way.
Highly recommended for readers aged 12+
Carolyn Hull
Elbow Grease by John Cena
Ill. by Howard McWilliam. Penguin Random House, 2018. ISBN
9781524773502
(Age: 4-8) Themes: Monster trucks. Persistence. Determination.
Wrestler and actor John Cena wants this new book series to inspire
children to persevere and believe in themselves. The series features
five monster truck brothers, with this first book focussing on Elbow
Grease, the littlest of the pack. We are introduced to the five
monster trucks on the opening pages and their appearance and
dialogue help to define their unique characteristics. It is nice to
see their mechanic is a young woman, a welcome departure from the
usual image of car sports being a male-only zone. Flash is all about
speed, Pinball is intelligent and strategic, Tank is big and tough
and Crash is courageous. Elbow Grease doesn't have any of these
obvious characteristics but he remains optimistic and cheery because
he has gumption and never, ever gives up. What also makes him
different from his brothers is that he is an electric, rather than a
petrol truck. When Elbow Grease shares his dream, of one day being a
monster truck star his brothers laugh and jeer: 'You're too slow';
'You're too small'; 'Your technique and experience are insufficient
...' Determined to prove them wrong Elbow Grease zooms off to the
Grand Prix by himself. He is 'bashed and smashed and even caught on
fire a little bit, but still - HE KEPT ON GOING!' He doesn't come in
first place but he does finish and all his brothers are there to see
him cross the finish line. The other trucks then realise that they
can only learn new skills if they stick at it; 'a little Elbow
Grease goes a long way!'
There are many speech bubbles showing the dialogue of the trucks,
which help children to understand their individual personalities,
but these are sometimes disjointed from the main text and make the
pages very busy. In addition, some people may be uncomfortable with
how Elbow Grease calls the other trucks 'jalopies', a word which
many children may be unfamiliar with, but is clearly meant as an
insult. There is a nice message here, albeit much too overt, and
young kids who like monster trucks will love the illustrations.
However, it is hard to preach not to stereotype and to broaden your
skills when you have stereotyped your characters by name and given
them a fairly one=dimensional existence. The story and the
production lack a little finesse.
Nicole Nelson
Wisp by Zana Fraillon
Ill. by Grahame Baker-Smith. Lothian, 2018. ISBN 9780734418043
(Age: all) Recommended. Themes: Hope, Courage. Subtitled A story
of hope, this tale of finding hope within the soulless
confines of a refugee camp will melt the hardest of hearts. Idris is
a young boy who has spent his entire life in such a camp, where hope
has been eaten away by the years spent behind wire fences.
Adult memories have been erased by time, eroded by the lack of hope.
They are alone. One day a wisp flies in at Idris' feet. He picks it
up and wipes the dust from it, holding it in his hands. He takes it
to an old man who in holding the wisp, recalls things from his past.
The simple word, once, recalling for him memories that had been lost
within the confines of the refugee camp. The following night he
takes the wisp to a woman whose memories come flooding back, and in
this way, Idris releases memories throughout the camp, becoming
aware of his own sense of wanting to know. Born in the camp, he has
nothing to remember, but in holding the wisp he learns the promise
of a future, he learns to hope.
This poignant story will tug at readers' emotions as they see a
young child, one amongst many, confined in a camp without hope. The
wisp he picks up creates a need within him in hoping that his future
will hold something more.
The darkly overwhelming illustrations depict the bleak campsite: the
rows of tents and makeshift shelters a stark contrast to Idris'
hopes at the end of the book, the shadowy people becoming lighter
with hope, the cupped hands speaking for the child and his hope for
the future.
This is indeed a story of hope, one that will resonate with all
readers who stop to remember the twenty million refugees around the
world.
Fran Knight
Secret Guardians by Lian Tanner
The Rogues book 2. Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760293536
(Age: 9-13) Recommended. Themes: Good and Evil, Witches and
Warlocks, Fantasy. Lian Tanner's exciting fantasy adventure series
continues with Secret Guardians. She builds a world where
evil forces are ever present, danger lurks in the forest and magical
talents are needed to traverse the difficult times ahead. Her
detailed narrative takes us into challenging places with child
slaves imprisoned in the salt mines and the Stronghold, a fortress
where the malevolent Harshman draws strength from the blood of his
felled victims.
This second novel takes place immediately after a magical escape
from the Stronghold. Disguised as a travelling troupe of actors,
Lord Rump, granddaughter Duckling, Pummel the farm boy and Arms
Mistress Krieg have fled with one-legged Otte the real heir of the
kingdom. Pummel and Duckling are learning to use their magical
gifts, the power of the wind and the raashk, the secret cover of
invisibility. Old Lady Skint and her henchman are on their trail
determined to capture them and claim the reward for the return of
the Young Margrave. They trade in human flesh, selling children and
adults to work in the salt mines,
The oppressive conditions the children are forced to endure, hard
labour, little food or water, even sleeping underground is
confronting. Duckling, Pummel and Otte learn to rely on each other
and help the others. Sooli a SAAF girl, leads and protects the
youngsters, she too has magical powers and is quietly plotting an
escape. Plots and subplots, tests and trials, friends choosing their
own paths, ghosts in the hidden tunnels and dreams foretelling the
future heighten the tension and drive the pace. For comic relief,
Frow Cat and Otte's talking chicken assist with their plans and help
with their plans. Secret Guardians delivers strong and quirky characters,
learning to make their way in this magical world. Tanner's junior
novel is suited to confident readers who will discover how the fight
of good and evil occurs in this magical kingdom.
Rhyllis Bignell
Open road summer by Emery Lord
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408898703
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Romance fans will appreciate this summer
road trip with three seemingly privileged teenagers. Country music
and fame is the backdrop to exploring more than one kind of
relationship - Emery Lord combines every girl's fantasy.
Reagan O'Neill's first bad-boy relationship was an act of rebellion.
A survivor, she seeks healing by accompanying her best friend on her
concert tour of the USA, for the summer break. Lilah Montgomery (Dee
to her friends) is a rising Country and Western performer, who
according to the media, is the girlfriend of her support act, Matt
Finch - still only nineteen himself.
Reagan is slowly but surely attracted to Matt. Not only is Matt
Finch attractive but he is equally as famous and talented as Dee.
While Reagan takes incisive photographs of their exciting summer bus
tour, Dee and Matt write their feelings into their song lyrics - an
interesting device but a source of angst for Reagan. Despite
focusing on Dee, who is grieving her own break-up and the price of
her fame, the predictable love-hate banter between Reagan and Matt
builds slowly to a sweet surrender to his charms. Almost
immediately, Matt is set-up to fail, but he is determined to win
Reagan back.
After Lord's more recent, The
Names they Gave Us, we could be disappointed that Open
Road Summer is a formulaic romance by comparison, but Open
Road Summer actually predates The Names they Gave Us
as a new edition of Emery Lord's debut novel. To be fair, Lord
weaves in a few meaty realities - losing one's parents, valuing
life-long friendships over casual hook-ups, not making bad choices,
giving step-parents a chance, the price of fame and even the more
topical problem of fake news. This won't be your favourite Emily
Lord read, but it is more than just a beguiling daydream of love and
fame.
Deborah Robins
Australia remembers by Allison Paterson
Big Sky, 2018. ISBN 9781925675788
As the centenary of the silencing of the guns of World War I
approaches, and once again our attention turns to remembering
Gallipoli, the Western Front and all those who have been part of our
armed services in whatever capacity, this new book from the author
of ANZAC Sons explores the concept of commemoration - what
it is, how we do it and why it is so important.
There would be few towns in Australia that do not have a war
memorial, one that becomes the focal point for commemorations on
April 25 and November 11 each year. But many of our young students
do not realise the significance of this place so this book which
explains the background of conflict, the history and meaning of
ANZAC Day, the significance of the elements of the ceremonies, and
the role of Australia service people in war and peace since they
were first called to support the 'mother country' in 1914 with
simple accessible text, coloured photos, and an appealing layout
will be a wonderful addition to your library's collection.
With a Table of Contents, glossary, index and bibliography it is a
wonderful model for those learning about using the cues and clues to
find the information they want, but what set this book apart are the
frequent quotes about its various topics that have been collected
from children who are the age of its target audience, offering their
own insights into what these events mean for them. There are also
questions to ponder and activities to do, all in all making this a
superb contribution to the collection that has been produced over
the last few years to commemorate what was arguably, the making of
this nation.
Barbara Braxton
World War 1 : The story behind the war that shook the world by Nick Hunter
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2018. ISBN 9781526600882
(Age: Younger readers) Recommended. Themes: World War 1. Produced in
conjunction with the UK National Archives, this Bloomsbury
publication creates a simple overview of the First World War for
younger readers. Giving a simple explanation of the reasons for the
war, and the events and places that are now part of our
consciousness from this terrible time in history, this is a book for
young readers to explain the detail of the Great War. Each double
page includes pictures from the Archives and also images of relics
from the era, with a particular focus on the British experience.
(There is a small mention of Australia's involvement at Gallipoli.)
This book is written in an easy-to-read magazine style, with short
excerpts of information and multiple pictures with clear captions
and is easily consumed from cover to cover, or as a quick reference
book. The index would enable young readers to search for information
as required for school tasks.
Carolyn Hull
Me and my fear by Francesca Sanna
Flying Eye Books, 2018. ISBN 9781911171539
(Age: 6+) Highly recommended. Themes: Anxiety; Living with fear;
Overcoming fear; Migrants. Me and My Fear is a delightful
picture book, particularly for children who struggle with anxiety.
The central character is a small girl who has a small companion
called Fear, who stays close to her. This is normally a comfortable
relationship, almost a friendship, when Fear is small. However, when
she moves to a new country and a new school where she understands
very little, Fear grows enormously and really disrupts her life. A
small boy's overtures of friendship arrests the disharmony in her
life and sets her on a more normal companionship with Fear again.
She also discovers that the boy has his own 'Fear' companion, as do
all her classmates.
With a simple colour palette and naive illustrations, with Fear
represented as a white blob-like creature, the overall presentation
is immediately accessible for all children. Fear is not conveyed
with any fear-inducing qualities, a clever representation
considering the topic. The power of the story is in the
representation of the psychological struggle with fear and how its
influence can grow and overtake a life. The author confesses to her
own struggles with anxiety in the Author's Note at the end of the
book. The great feature of this book is its reassurance that most
people carry fears, and they can even be a recognised and
comfortable companion, but also that there is hope for those who
need to deal with this sometimes-disruptive and intrusive influence.
This would make a good book to keep in a Counsellor's office.
Highly recommended, to begin a discussion about coping with Anxiety.
Carolyn Hull
Let sleeping dragons lie by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Have Sword, Will Travel book 2. Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN
9781743439937
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy, Swords, Good versus
evil, Dragons. Odo and Eleanor are off on another exciting adventure
with their magical swords Biter and Runnel. When they help a blind
man and an aging knight fight off a bilewolf attack, they discover
that Egda is the king who abdicated when he became blind and the
warrior Hundred is his protector. They are off to try and stop his
sister, the regent from taking over the throne. Joining the pair,
Odo and Eleanor travel across the land meeting dangerous obstacles
and fighting off evil in the hope that they can reach the castle
before Prince Kendryk loses every chance of becoming king.
Written with very humorous dialogue, especially from the magical
swords, Let Sleeping Dragons Lie is a delight from start to finish.
Under the supervision of Hundred, Odo and Eleanor hone their
fighting skills, and learn how to become knights. Their ability to
fight and to plan is put to the test as they face strange
inventions, travel dark underground passages, and cross dangerous
waters. There is a little mystery to solve - why is Prince Kendryk
trying to finish a mural and why is it so important?
One of the outstanding characters in the book is the little bat,
Tip, who spells out messages from the prince to Odo and gives
warning of danger ahead. He joins an array of well developed
characters, including the magical swords that make this book a joy
to read.
With Biter, Odo's talking sword, determined to chase the evil
Falconstone sword that is killing people in the kingdom, readers
know that they are in for another treat in the next episode of the Have
sword, will travel series.
Pat Pledger
Noni the pony rescues a joey by Alison Lester
Allen and Unwin, 2018. ISBN 9781760293123
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Themes: Horses, Australian animals,
Environment, Habitat. Noni the pony rescues a joey will
captivate its audience, already thrilled at the first book about Noni
the pony (2010) and Noni the pony goes to the beach
(2014). All the right ingredients are brought together, Noni, of
course, with her two friends, Coco and Dave, and an array of
Australian animals for young children to recognise and name while
they have this rhyming story read to them. They will thrill at
predicting the word to end each line, and work with Noni and her
friends as they try to find the joey's parents.
Lester entrances her readers with a story of loss, but as Noni asks
each animal she meets, the joey finds her mob, and along the way
small pieces of information are given teaching the audience some of
the habits of these animals. So many of the animals are asleep,
being nocturnal, the koala and her joey asleep because of their poor
diet, the echidna is digging, the father emu is looking after his
chicks, and finally as evening falls the other wallabies come out to
graze, and the joey is reunited with the family.
Lester's recognisable illustrative technique will delight younger
readers as they will be able to find other books by this prolific
Australian author in the library.
The range of animals that live in Waratah Bay will intrigue readers
as they note the echidna, possum, quoll, koala, wallaby, goanna,
emu, wombat and platypus, and feel impelled to find out more about
these Australian animals and their habitat and habits, perhaps
looking for them in their own neighbourhood or seeking them out at
the zoo.
Fran Knight
The Afterwards by A. F. Harrold
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408894316
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Ember and Ness are best friends, completely
inseparable. Ember can't imagine what life would be without Ness.
Until Ness dies, in a most sudden and unexpected way. Ember feels
completely empty. How can this even be real? Then Ember finds a way
into the afterworld - a place where the recently dead reside. She
knows there must be a way to bring Ness back, so she decides to find
it. Because that's what friends do: rescue each other. But the
afterworld holds its own dangers. How far will Ember go to make
things the way they were?
The wonderfully talented A. F. Harrold, author of The Imaginary,
has not disappointed fans with her latest works. This is a heart
warming and touching story that delves into the dark side of the
afterworld. It explores the emotional roller coaster people can
travel on when faced with losing a loved one - the character could
easily be a best friend, family member or even a pet. The book
leaves us wondering what extremes would we go to if we were able to
bring our loved ones back. Themes such as desperation, loss, love
and darkness are evident throughout the storyline. Due to the depth
of darkness in the book, I would recommend it for children aged 10
and up. It would make a fabulous read aloud and create some
interesting discussions. A must have for the library and a welcome
addition to the Christmas wish list.
Kathryn Schumacher
Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper by Alan Horsfield
Big Sky, 2018. ISBN 9781925675160
(Age: Primary) Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper is
certainly a title that leads the mind to think that the story will
be filled with toilet humour, and silliness. But, to the author's
credit, it is actually a well written story that has a whole range
of concepts and ideas meaning it will engage readers that vary in
age and likes.
The book centres on Rudi Hooper and his aim of winning fame and
glory through Student of the month and the Tidy Towns initiative,
where he decides to clean up the problem that most people pretend
isn't there - the dog poo! He uses all of his inventive ideas to
make the job quicker and easier, which leaves his family very proud
of him. His younger brother Morris also plays a valuable role, as he
sticks up for his brother and tries to help solve the very
interesting mystery that is integrated beautifully into the story.
This book was well liked by my 8 year old, although he stated that
he would have enjoyed a few more pictures throughout the story,
especially of all the poop! I liked how Alan Horsfield was able to
weave conflict, cheating, inventions, sibling rivalry, problems,
family support, humour and dog poo altogether in one story. Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper was a good book that would be
enjoyed by primary aged children. It is funny, and will assist to
engage readers who may not enjoy reading on a daily basis. The
laugh-out-loud nature of the book keeps it interesting and will
ensure the reader wants to go back for more. A good reader to add to
the library collection, 3.5 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain
Collecting sunshine by Rachel Flynn
Ill. by Tamsin Ainslie. Puffin Books, 2018. ISBN 9780143785187
(age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Seasons, Autumn, Leaves Friends. Mabel and
Robert love collecting. They leave home with Mum and their much
younger sibling, and a paper bag in which to put all the marvellous
things they spy on this wonderful autumn day. The children are
dressed for the cold day, boots and jackets keeping them warm. They
collect seeds and leaves, berries and flowers, and some sticks, and
when it begins to rain, Robert opens up his paper bag to collect
some raindrops. They soon learn that this is not a good idea as the
water softens the bag so much that their collection falls out of
through the sodden bottom of the bag. With no bag, they collect
things with their eyes, spying a train and a birdsong, while walking
home, they collect a dog's smell and jump in lots of puddles. Once
home, they draw what they have collected, jackets and boots put away
for another day. A lovely book to remind us all of the great
outdoors, of the wonderful things to look at and see, if only in the
streets around out homes. The children see lots of other people,
other children and animals being walked by their owners: they count
out some of the things they see, but after the bag has
disintegrated, use their eyes and imaginations to collect things
around them.
Perfect illustrations add another dimension to the story as the
children's journey is set in a suburban street, the small single
fronted cottages with their range of fences and gates, front gardens
and occupants offering a contrast to the park and the high rise
flats behind the houses. The setting is familiar and small scale, a
place where the imagination can roam freely. This is a wonderful
promotion of children playing in the great outdoors, of families
being together outside, of using their imagination to fill their
days, and on each page readers will eagerly search for a budgie and
a mouse hidden within the colours of the park.
Fran Knight
Clever crow by Nina Lawrence
Ill. by Bronwyn Bancroft, Magabala Books, 2018. ISBN 9781922142610
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Aboriginal themes. Crows.
Cleverness. Language. Crow flies around the countryside looking for
food, he is hungry and no matter how far he searches, he cannot find
anything to eat. He spies several young men preparing for a
ceremony, while their mother fans a fire ready to cook a turtle egg.
Crow spies the egg and swoops down to grab it in his beak. But other
animals are cleverer than he. Kookaburra laughs, making crow laugh
and the egg drops from his beak. It rolls into the waiting pouch of
a wallaby, but when she goes to rest in the shade, it rolls out of
her pouch and onto the riverbank. Nearby an old man is fishing and
spies the egg, taking it onto his boat. He knows someone will be
happy to eat this egg, and finds several young men and their mother
on the riverbank preparing for a ceremony, the perfect recipients
for the egg. But crow is still watching, and when the egg is handed
over he swoops, taking the egg back again and flying off with his
prize.
A delightfully funny and rounded story of being clever, crow will
make readers laugh as they watch his antics at getting food for his
empty stomach. The stunning illustrations complement the story, with
their bold, black outlines and techniques reflecting dot paintings.
Award winning illustrator, Bronwyn Bancroft, a Djanbun clan member,
brings her vast experience to the story, adding levels of interest
to the story of the crow which will engage and delight younger
readers. In telling the story of crow, Nina Lawrence, from the
Yidinji of Far North Queensland, reflects the community of her
childhood and the stories she heard of survival in the bush.
The book has parallel texts, of English and Yolngu of Arnhem Land and
the latter seems almost woven into the illustrations as it follows
the repeated band of colour and dots across the bottom of each page,
drawing the eye to the unfamiliar words, which are given in
translation in a glossary at the end of the book.
This book gives so much more than the simple story told. Children
will talk about the ceremony and what the boys are doing, they will
ask questions about their mother building a fire, and the food that
people eat and how it is collected, they will wonder at the things
the people are doing. Each page will produce questions from the
listeners and I can imagine many students trying out Bancroft's
illustrative style as well as speaking the language for themselves.
Fran Knight
Doctor Who: Twelve angels weeping: Twelve stories of the villains from Doctor Who by Dave Rudden
Ill. by Alexis Snell. BBC Children's Books, 2018. ISBN
9781405938273
(Age: 12+) Recommended. Themes: Science fiction. Doctor Who. Time
travel. Monsters. Aliens. Robots. Villains. Life on other planets.
Twelve short stories featuring the villains from the Doctor Who
series will enthral any fan of Doctor Who and probably encourage
many who haven't seen all the series to go back and find them. The
author Dave Rudden must have an immense knowledge of and love for
the series to be able to write convincingly of all the monsters and
villains that are described in this set of stories. As a fan of the
series I was reminded of many episodes that I had seen and some that
I had missed.
The introduction reminds the reader that 'Everywhere in the
universe, on every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a
winter...' and that 'stories are a light in themselves' and then
goes on to explain the light that is carried in these stories. All
were very readable and will be particularly enjoyable for Doctor Who
fans, but some stood out for me. One was 'Student bodies',
where a young PHD student, Donovan Claire, tries to record what is
happening to her as her memories are stolen by something strange and
alien. The reader also finds out about River Song's youthful
exploits at the university. In 'Judoon the rhino of twenty-three
Strand Street', 10 year old Patricia meets an alien rhino and
learns that she needn't restrict herself to the narrow pathways that
Mother Superior and her father expect of her. Of course a volume
about Doctor Who would be incomplete without a story featuring
Daleks, and the reader will be mesmerised by 'Daleks, the third
wise man', and the doctor as the Renegade.
Each of the stories has a full page black and white drawing by
Alexis Snell and each one vividly illustrates the villain in the
following story - some may give you nightmares!
A must for any Doctor Who fan, this group of short stories will be
welcomed in a library or as a gift.
Pat Pledger
