Little Witch series, book 2. Big Sky Publishing, 2017. ISBN
9781925520576
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Hauntings and hexes is book 2
in the Little witch series and starts where the first book
left off. The holidays are over and our 'little witch' is about to
start at her new school. She has been practising her magic, with
some success and many failures, over the holidays but Courtney
Little is not ready for school to start. Courtney's first days at
school don't go as well as expected. She might have tried to stay
out of everyone's way but her spell to avoid holding a rat caused
utter chaos. When a benevolent spirit is released, it is up to
Courtney to remember the spell to make the town safe again. It is a
huge challenge for the young witch but thanks to the spirit of her
grandmother and her new friends, Courtney will give it a try. She is
the only chance the town has. Hauntings and hexes is a magical themed story with themes of
friendship and doing the right thing. With Courtney starting high
school, it would be expected that the story is aimed at older
children but the vocabulary is aimed at independent readers aged 10+
and the themes are consistent with this age group despite an evil
witch determined to punish the town. The vocabulary is easy to read
as well as descriptive. The story moves quickly and readers will
connect with Courtney as she is just like any girl with any issues -
she has to be independent, she has to step up and she has to solve
her problems. This book is highly recommended for girls aged 10+.
Kylie Kempster
I just couldn't wait to meet you by Kate Ritchie
Ill. by Hannah Sommerville. Random House Australia, 2016. ISBN
9780143785071
(Ages: 0-4) Recommended. Picture Book. This board picture book,
suggesting suitability for the youngest of readers, is delightfully
heart-warming in its exploration of the anticipation and excitement
associated with pregnancy. The small child is addressed directly in
the story with the mother conveying to him/her the emotions
associated with the new life growing within, in this instance, his
or her own gestation. What would he/she look and feel like? What
would be the favourite toy? The lovely, pastel illustrations by
Hannah Sommerville bring these emotions to life. Each 'bubble' could
be discussed at some length with the young reader.
Whilst quite whimsical for those of us looking back on the good old
days of child rearing, I doubt that it is a book a small child would
wish to have read over and over, as indeed the best of children's
book demand. However as a text to be read to a small child expecting
the imminent arrival of a sibling, it serves to introduce the idea
of where babies come from and how exciting and joyful the whole
business is or will be for the whole family and especially the
mother in the initial stages.
I enjoyed I just couldn't wait to meet you, though I won't
have the opportunity to read it to anyone, being well past the
moment as it were. It therefore has limited appeal - simply to be
read once or twice to a child by his/her mother.
Elizabeth Avery
Swimming on the lawn by Yasmin Hamid
Fremantle Press, 2017. ISBN 9781925164855
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Sudan, Family, Food, Civil
war. An ordinary life in the Sudan in the 1960's is full of family
and love. In relating life in Khartoum, Farida talks of her Mum and
Dad, siblings, Sami, Selma and Amir as they live in their neat home,
collecting eggs from the chickens at the back, buying milk from the
man on the donkey who calls, celebrating Eid with the neighbours and
going to the hairdresser's. All is familiar to the reader, but hints
of coming conflict appear in the background. Some unknown men come
by and kill their goat, a kiosk sells children's toys and Sami wants
a tank or a gun, which his mother is adamant he shall not have,
while men have been seen with guns slung on their backs.
Farida goes for a holiday with her uncle to his house, quite
different from their own, where water must be drawn from a well, and
food is cooked on an open fire within the mid brick walls. And here,
Farida sees the Nubian pyramids, a legacy from the past.
The languid atmosphere of the Sudan permeates the story, with Hamid
recalling her homeland, effortlessly reporting the small details of
family life, religion and culture. Food and its preparation,
clothes, school, births and deaths, sleeping on the verandah when it
is too hot inside form a heart warming background to this story of
family life.
But one day, when the girls return from the library with their
books, they find that tanks have surrounded their house and they see
their father taken away. Their lives are shattered. The peaceful way
of life is no more, and they must pack their belongings into one
suitcase and leave. Their peaceful existence has gone. Readers can
only imagine what the next steps will be, the shock of the event
belying all that has gone before. The suddenness of their father
being taken away will stop all readers in their tracks and help them
realise that this happens to such a family, a family not dissimilar
to themselves.
A little information about Yasmin
is available on the Fremantle Press website.
Fran Knight
Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Ill. by Giovanni Rigano. Hodder Children's Books, 2017. ISBN
9781444934007
(Age: 11+) Recommended. Themes: Refugees; Conflict; Freedom;
Survival. The flight to freedom is not easy for many in our world.
This Graphic novel illustrated in colour, clearly shows the journey
of survival of Ebo, a school-aged child with a beautiful voice, who
leaves his home village where he lives with his drunken uncle, to
find his siblings - one of whom has made the long journey to Europe.
With time shifts indicating the passage of time, forward and back,
we see the incredible difficulty he faces. First, he struggles to
find his brother, and then he becomes an illegal boat traveller as
he travels through very uncertain waters to reach Europe. The entire
journey is fraught with difficulty and risk, and the young boy faces
death on many occasions. Throughout this book, the reader is able to
connect to the concept, highlighted in the quote at the beginning of
the book, that no human can be 'illegal'. Ebo is a survivor, but the
book highlights that the journey to freedom for many people who flee
poverty, war or other conflict is not always successful - and yet
they too are humans with the same desire to live well, and to live
in safety.
The style of presentation as a graphic novel will provide
opportunity for many younger readers to grapple with the serious
issues that the world faces in meeting the needs of people who have
no official documents to travel. This is an epic story of hope and
survival, but it is also a sad story. An additional short, black and
white graphic tale of a young woman's journey to England is included
at the end of Ebo's story. Illegal does not shy away from hard issues or circumstances -
people smugglers, violence, bandits, murderers, but the format of
the graphic novel does make it possible for a younger reader to
understand without too much detail given.
Carolyn Hull
Silly Lily and the flower girl adventure by Jedda Robaard
Five Mile Press, 2017. ISBN 9781760405618
(Ages: 2 - 5) Recommended. Board Picture Book. Silly Lily is about 4
years old, and we are told on the first page that she is creative,
resourceful and can get into a lot of trouble. A gorgeous little
girl in fact, she has been invited to be flower girl at a wedding.
She sets off in a van with her family and their equally resourceful
and troublesome dog, Westley.
Lily is into everything as her initial excitement turns to curiosity
and boredom with the grown-ups making their wedding preparations.
Quite unfazed and self-possessed though, her explorations come to a
close as she takes a nap and nearly misses the wedding altogether.
This is a lovely little tale, especially for a young one about to
embark on such an exciting project herself. It is delightfully
illustrated; Westley being his mischievous doggy self in the
periphery of every page.
In true Enid Blyton style, Lily's parents don't play much of a role
in orchestrating her activities for the day. It appears she dresses
herself entirely, wakes herself from her nap in the nick of time and
rushes off to undertake official duties at the ceremony complete
with gorgeous pink outfit, bouquet and nuisance dog. Westley takes a
dip in the sea (beach wedding) and shakes himself all over the
guests' wedding finery.
Cake, music, dancing and sweets cap off a great day for Lily.
Just loved it!
Elizabeth Avery
Dungzilla by James Foley
Fremantle Press, 2017. ISBN 9781925164831
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Dung, Adventure, Monsters.
Charli Stevenson, the world's foremost biologist even though he is
shy of eleven years of age, comes along to see Sally Tinker, a
similarly foremost inventor, being under twelve, along with her baby
brother Joe. Charli brings along Douglas, an Egyptian dung beetle.
Douglas' habit of eating dung leaves Sally rather cold,
but Douglas becomes a real monster when he is zapped by Sally's
invention, the atomic inflation/deflation engine, the Resizenator.
Being enormous Douglas must fliy off in search of lots of dung to
satisfy his now enormous appetite. Joe and Charli follow hoping to
reduce his size but find he has had time to gather a huge ball of
dung. But Joe is there to save the day.
This is an engaging graphic novel with lively drawings honing in on
the faces of the characters, and includes jokes about the act of
reading and writing, which will have appeal to the readers as will
the highly detailed diagrams. This is an entertaining family
adventure with monsters, and lots of nasty things associated with
dung, like dirty nappies and poo.
Fran Knight
The vampire knife by Jack Henseleit
The witching hour series. Hardie Grant Egmont, 2017. ISBN
9781760129255
(Age: 12+) Vampires, horror, Storytelling, Romania, Family. The
professor and his family are holidaying in Romania, the traditional
home turf of Dracula, and Anna the seasoned storyteller cannot help
but make up stories about vampires, using her younger brother, Max
as one of the characters. Transylvania is the perfect setting for
this the first in a series, called The Witching Hour, soon
to be followed by number two, The troll heart.
A classic horror opening sees the family driving through heavy rain,
being forced to take shelter in a remote inn, hemmed in on all sides
by forest. Of course, the inn keeper's name is Mrs Dalca, and she
looks like a witch giving them garlicky stew from a cauldron. The
professor leaves the two children while he goes off to work in the
library, and while left alone they meet the innkeeper's
granddaughter, Isabella.
Playing hide and seek with Isabella sees Max taken by a creature
with glowing eyes and Anna must go to the rescue.
The here and now is augmented with familiar vampire images: garlic,
fairies, blood drinking, ruined castles, mutterings and bears and
wolves, all adding to the fun of this book, with readers recognising
stock inclusions in vampire stories. There are witty touches
paralleling familiar fairy tales and some totally gruesome scenes to
add to the fun.
First in a series about a brave pair of siblings and their dreamy
father.
Fran Knight
How to hypnotise a droid by Joshie Lefers
Hectic Electric series. Hardie Grant Egmont, 2017. ISBN
9781760128005
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Themes: Science fiction, Androids, Humour.
Joshie Hectic, also known as 'Hectic Electric' cannot resist opening
the box marked 'Top Secret' which arrives at his house one morning
at breakfast time. He doesn't quite bring all the troubles of
history on his head, but he certainly makes some people very angry.
And this means trouble.
Head of the Robotics Institute Joshie's mum is convinced that the
droid inside the box is the answer to all her babysitting problems.
Joshie's father is unable to babysit as he has been hit by
lightning, the same lightning strike singeing Joshie's hair. But
Joshie doesn't want a babysitter. His dog, Frenchy and best friend
Pops, will be able to babysit for his mum. But when mum finds out
that he has opened the box, he is worried about her reaction and
wants Pops to hypnotise the droid to avoid any confrontation.
Fast paced, energetic writing combined with a comic illustration
style is emphasised with 'explosive' fonts amongst its easily read
large print size. A highly appealing book, this is the first in a
series, about a boy who cannot help staying out of trouble. Three
more books will be published shortly, adding to the easily read,
high octane and funny stories of this singular boy.
Fran Knight
Tom Gates: Epic Adventure (kind of) by Liz Pichon
Tom Gates book 13. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781742768779
(Age: 7-11) Recommended. Themes: Families. Grandparents. School life.
Liz Pichon's extremely popular Tom Gates returns with another
humorous diary, exploring the difficulties of his school and family
life. Granny Pet and Granddad Joe - Mum's parents have just returned
from their world travels after seven years. The Wrinklies as Tom
calls them, have mastered yoga in India, can converse in four
languages and have surprise gifts for their grandchildren. Granny
Pet gives Tom a fabulous digital watch with animal noises for the
alarms. This is just perfect for scaring his sister Delia and making
inappropriate noises at school.
School for Tom continues to be a series of problems, awkward
situations and embarrassing moments. Why hasn't he received an
invitation to Julia Morton's birthday party, everyone else has?
There is his failed spelling test, even after study club and the
embarrassment of long hair, even his teacher comments on his need
for a haircut. Of course, he ends up going to Hairtastic where
Granny Mavis has her hair done. The stylist snips away until poor
Tom ends with a super short cut and has a photo of his new hairdo
displayed in the window.
Julia's party at the boating lake is a series of comic events.
Marcus and Tom haphazardly paddle around the lake on a beakless bird
boat (more like a giant worm), and become stranded on a small island
attacked by hungry birds. After lunch Tom is last to hold the
petting zoo animals, no fluffy rabbits for him, just a smelly
armadillo! Of course, nothing is ever straightforward and his life
often seems unfair. The family outing to Crambly Castle proves to be
a day filled with expensive disasters and Tom returns too late to
attend the school disco.
Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series is perfect for reluctant readers who
enjoy stories told through visual presentations, cartoons, doodles
and sketches. The minimal text is presented in a variety of formats,
styles and sizes, handwriting, bubble writing, emphasized words,
block writing and words made out of patterns. Tom Gates: Epic Adventure (kind of) is another fun addition
to the popular Tom Gates books, recommended for a readers from 8-11.
Rhyllis Bignell
Icky-foodia: The ultimate guide to disgusting food by Richard Higgins and Matt Kelly
Penguin Random House, 2017. ISBN 9780143784388
(Age: 9+) Icky-foodia: The ultimate guide to disgusting food
is the second alphabetical guide book by Australian comedy duo The
Listies. I started with the blurb and didn't know whether to laugh
or grab a bucket in preparation! "It's a CROOKBOOK full of
INGROSSIENTS to make every kid into a DISASTERCHEF. It contains
smelly and just plain horrible words, scribbles, COOKING
DESTRUCTIONS and a guide to the world's worst RESTAURWRONGS." It
really was true to this interesting introduction. Every page has
small snippets of information about either an actual food or a made
up food that is purposefully disgusting, vomit inducing or just
plain wrong. The pictures add to the atheistic and ensure that the
reader really gets a good mental picture of what they are reading
about.
This book, while not so great for those with a weak stomach, would
be awesome for a reluctant reader who enjoys laughing about bodily
functions and anything gross. The small pieces of information would
mean that they don't get bored or fatigued and enables them to
remember the grossest segments to relay to unsuspecting family
members or friends. My son and I found quite a number of things
funny; Feeta Cheese anyone? Or how about a nice Devonshire Wee! The
puns and jokes keep it at a light read, while still providing a
small amount of literary merit.
Although it is an alphabetical guide, it is the perfect book to just
pick up, flick to a random page and read something funny. This
aspect would appeal to readers who are struggling to find books they
want to read front to back, and also those who find it hard to
engage and relate to entire story. Icky-foodia: The ultimate guide to disgusting food would be
suited to children (specifically boys) of ages 9 and upwards, and
would make a great birthday or Christmas gift!
Lauren Fountain
Facing the flame by Jackie French
Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN 9781460753200
(Age: 15+) Set in the 1970s, this story continues the 'Matilda saga'
about a family and community set in the town of Gibber's Creek in
the New South Wales high country.
When bushfire threatens, all members of the community pitch in to
fight desperately to protect life and property. The nightmarish
terror of a firestorm driven by high winds and massive fuel loads,
tearing through forests and communities on multiplying fronts is
described well.
The acts of valour and sacrifice demonstrated by desperate people,
some of whom have lost everything but who continue to labour for
days in hellish conditions are authentic depictions of what is a
frightening reality for many rural Australians.
Unfortunately this novel does not stand alone well and my impression
is that it is expected that readers are familiar with all the other
previous works in the series. Relationships between family members
and community identities are poorly explained and in my view, too
many characters are involved in an unnecessarily busy and overly
long prelude to the main action. The inclusion of strong, female
characters is refreshing and I liked the fact that these differed
from the usual lazy presentations of beautiful young women as
central characters. In this story, the wisdom and experience of age
is valued, intelligence and compassion is celebrated and the
capacity of people with disabilities to contribute to the community
is presented.
What made me uncomfortable was that at times, characters were almost
caricatures in the sense that they appeared to be an overly romantic
and maudlin vision of what country people are like. I felt that the
link to Banjo Paterson's works was too obvious and a little garish,
with an ancestor named Matilda, a matron named Clancy and a woman
known as 'Nancy of the Overflow'. Choosing to assign the surname
'Kelly' to one side of the family also appeared to lack imagination
and naming an important character 'Scarlett O'Hara' seemed too much
until a handsome young man called 'Alex' who was descended from the
Romanov family appeared.
The bravery and stoicism of those facing the infernos and the
kindness and generosity of the community's response to the tragedy
were aspects worthy of presentation in this novel. To that extent,
the author succeeded. Unfortunately I felt that some depictions of
characters and subplots were a bit silly and this detracted from the
overall story which doesn't seem to meet the high standard normally
associated with Jackie French.
Rob Welsh
Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408880975
"Norman had always been perfectly normal. That was until the day he
grew a pair of wings!
He had imagined growing taller or even growing a beard like his dad,
but not growing a pair of wings!
Norman is very surprised to have wings suddenly - and he has the
most fun ever trying them out high in the sky. But then he has to go
in for dinner. What will his parents think? What will everyone else
think? Norman feels the safest plan is to cover his wings with a big
coat.
But hiding the thing that makes you different can prove tricky and
upsetting." The coat became a burden, even an embarrassment and
Norman began to resent the wings until he realised it was the coat
making him unhappy, not the wings. After all, no-one else has wings,
so why him? Can he find the courage to discard the coat? What does
he discover when he does? In this poignant story about being
different, Percival has set the text against striking backgrounds of
various shades of grey depicting normal and dull while giving Norman
bright colour and light so that his feelings of being unique are
highlighted physically as well as emotionally. He has also chosen to
depict a diversity of characters, each unique in their own way and
each of whom accept Norman as normal, so really, what does "normal'
mean?
For a wonderful part of their lives, children don't see difference
and they just love who they are but then awareness starts to develop
and they start to see themselves with new and often unkind eyes.
They want nothing more than to be the same as their peers, to not
stand out, to be normal and anything that makes them unique, whether
it is skin colour, wearing spectacles, being an only child or
growing a set of wings, becomes a burden that they would rather not
carry. But the freedom when the coat is shed...
Accepting and celebrating who we are and what we are, especially
those things that make us special and unique is so important for our
mental health and at last, we are starting to understand that the
self-talk and messages we give ourselves as we interpret our
interactions and experiences as a child can have an incredible
impact on the well-being of our older selves. The more children can
encounter books like Perfectly Norman and discuss them so
they understand that there is no 'normal' or 'perfect' the healthier
they will be. It is our responsibility as teacher librarians,
teachers and other significant adults in their lives to make sure
they meet lots of Normans and not only grow to love their own wings
but to use them to fly!
Barbara Braxton
Tintinnabula by Margo Lanagan and Rovina Cai
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2017. ISBN 9781742975252
(Age: 10+) Recommended. In this picture book for older readers,
Margo Lanagan takes a young woman on a journey to Tintinabula in
times of stress and distress. In wild times and in wartime,
in times of fear and illness, I go
to Tintinnabula, where soft rains fall.
Tintinnabula is a story about moving from discomfort to peace,
from violence and uncertainty to a still, sure place.
It reminds us that our best friend in hard times
can often be ourselves. (Back cover)
The reader is carried along with the young woman in the story as she
flees the vision of monsters in a red background. She moves through
windswept trees, past ruins and devastated lands until she finally
reaches a quiet place where the grass is green and silver rains
fall. The term Tintinabula means small tinkling bells and the young
woman follows their sound to find that final good place that she
needs.
Rovina Cai has produced memorable illustrations which swirl and
twirl, brilliantly showing in reds the fear and need of the woman as
she tries to find a peaceful spot to rest from the violence that
surrounds her. This locale is depicted in greens and pale yellows,
and the end paper finally has a glow of brighter yellow, leaving the
reader with the notion that things can be brighter.
The idea that people in trouble can find a peaceful place within
themselves is one that will resonate with readers and will be a
comfort to those who are having problems, be they ones of mental
illness or of war and violence. The ideas are complex and the book
would be best suited to adults and teens or used by an adult with
upper primary children.
Pat Pledger
A tangled tale of tagliatelle by Yves Stening
Ill. by Nigel Buchanan. Dinner Detectives series.
PublishCreative books, 2017. ISBN 9780648008712
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Humour, Pasta, Italy, Marco Polo.
Clementine and her little brother, Aksel love food, and when a new
girl, Sophia, moves into the street, they play football with her.
She asks them to lunch and once inside her house, find that her
father is making pasta.
When the children ask where pasta comes from this gives rise to the
Dinner Detectives sleuthing the answer. In a bright and breezy
style, the story of pasta coming to Italy and being developed as the
food for which Italy is known unfolds.
From the funny map of Italy, showing its resemblance to a boot, with
the main town of Bologna clearly shown, the story of Marco Polo and
his eventful journey to China hundreds of years ago is told. One of
the things he brought back to Italy, were the noodles eaten by the
Chinese people. Once back home in Italy, the idea of noodles took on
a life of its own, and the basic pasta was expanded from the plain
long strings to all different shapes and sizes.
Any child reading this book will learn the story of pasta and its
association with Italy and they will want to try the recipe for
themselves, handily included at the end of the book. Through the
book, readers will see how pasta is made as Sophia's father uses his
pasta machine. They will see the different types of pasta and be
able to learn their names, and be intrigued by the journey of Marco
Polo.
This is the second in the series called Dinner Detectives,
the first being, A
fearsome beast and a dumpling feastby the same
authors.
Fran Knight
The cute friend by Kim Kane
Ill. by Jon Davis. Ginger Green, Playdate queen series.
Hardie Grant Egmont, 2017. ISBN 9781760129613
(Age: 5-8) Recommended. Themes: Friendship. Problem solving. Ginger
Green is the playdate queen but runs into trouble when she spends
time playing with new school friend Daya. They get on well but when
they go into the kitchen they find that baby of the family remains
nude while everyone else is clothed, the reason Ginger thinks Daya
is cute, becomes obvious. Daya's smallness is pointed out as each of
the girls liken her to the baby's size and stature, wanting to lift
her as they would the baby. Daya is unimpressed. This happens
several more times, Daya's size and therefore cuteness being
commented upon until she takes a stand. Ginger is a most
resourceful young girl and runs to her room to bring out her dolls
and plays with Daya and her dolls until the problem is smoothed
over.
This is a gently humorous story that will appeal to children who are
just moving from picture books to chapter books. The dilemma of a
misunderstanding looms large until the problem is solved neatly and
in a way that would give children hints on how to handle difficult
social situations. Readers who enjoyed this will be happy to find
other books about Ginger Green and will delight in the cute
illustrations of the little foxes in clothes (except for one!)
Fran Knight
