My life and other weaponised muffins by Tristan Bancks
Penguin Random House, 2017. ISBN 9780143781066
(Age: 9-12) Recommended. Themes: Humour; School life; Family. Tom
Weekly has once again shared the bizarrely crazy view of his life in
this collection of random meanderings. His life goes seriously
backwards at one point; toenails become inspirational food for
story-writing; his first longed-for kiss is hijacked; his dog does
something disgusting to his homework; he creates a money-making
venture to sell head lice as a means to escape school; and his own
mother uses muffins in a way that starts out well, but ends
disastrously. Nothing is ever boring in Tom Weekly's life.
Tristan Bancks has a bizarre sense of humour that is well fed by
suggestions from young devotees (and school brainstorm sessions).
His quizzes and his list of 'Would you rather' questions is also
enormously amusing. Any young reader who likes a little dose of
'gross' or 'yuck', with their humourous view of school and growing
up will enjoy this latest offering in the My Life series.
Carolyn Hull
Scarlet and Ivy: The lights under the lake by Sophie Cleverly
Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN 9780008218324
(Age; 9+) Highly recommended. The lights under the lake is
another instalment in the Scarlet and Ivyseries and is just
as much of an adventure and a mystery as the other books. The great
thing about these books is that they are stand alone stories,
hinting at events in previous books to keep the readers up to date
with what is going on. Like the others, The lights under the
lake will keep readers wondering who is behind the mysterious
events.
Scarlet, Ivy, Ariadne and Rose all attend Rookwood School and have
become close friends, protecting each other through everything. As
part of a plan to relax and forget about the horrible events at the
school, the principal has organised a school excursion to a lakeside
hotel. It will be a chance for the girls to relax and learn about
nature. Unfortunately, the nasty prefects are in charge, mysterious
objects keep appearing in the hotel and someone is ransacking rooms.
The nasty prefects keep targeting Rose. Scarlet, Ivy and Ariadne
really don't know a lot about Rose and doubts start to set in. Will
the girls be able to save Rose from the prefects and her past? The lights under the lake is a mystery and
an adventure with excellent role models for girls. Scarlet and Ivy
are twins and always looking out each other. They will do anything
for their friends and are always working at overcoming their fears.
Ivy is the voice of reason while Scarlet acts before she thinks. The
difference is, Scarlet's seemingly inappropriate behaviour is always
in defence of someone she loves. Ariadne is intelligent and not
afraid to show it.
The story is descriptive and the vocabulary is easy and exciting to
read. Author, Sophie Cleverly, gives away just enough to keep the
reader guessing and they won't solve the mystery straight away.
Highly recommended for girls aged 9+.
Kylie Kempster
Tommy Bell: The gold escort gang by Jane Smith
Tommy Bell, bushranger boy series. Big Sky Publishing, 2017.
ISBN 9781925520217
(Age: Middle and upper primary) Tommy Bell continues his time travel
adventures in this third book of the Tommy Bell series, The
gold escort gang. Tommy can use his magic hat to transport
himself and his horse back to the colonial era. In the present time,
Tommy is under pressure to support a friend who wants him to help
steal a bike as a prank. Tommy wants to stay friendly but his moral
compass knows it is wrong to steal.
In the past, he meets Ben Hall, who has not made good decisions
during his life and has joined forces with the notorious bushranger
Frank Gardiner and is now a wanted criminal. As the title suggests,
Tommy becomes involved in a gold escort hold up and witnesses for
himself the impact the crime has on innocent bystanders. It is easy
to compare Tommy's dilemma about right and wrong with that of Ben
Hall's choices and the effect it has had on his life and family.
Jane Smith tells an exciting story and her knowledge of the colonial
era and bushrangers is evident. There is a comical situation where
Tommy witnesses some of the bushrangers having a nude swim when they
are interrupted by the police. This happened in real life, creating
a humorous scene where the bushrangers had to run to their horses
grabbing their clothes on the way. This is all explained in the
historical notes at the end of the novel. There is also a 'Q and A'
addition with Frank Gardiner.
The cover uses bold colours and has a feel of being printed due to
the strong black outlines. The font for the chapter beginnings have
a dated, colonial Australia feel and the page design resembles a
poster.
These books would appeal to middle and upper primary students. They
would be useful to read in conjunction with teaching the Australian
Curriculum in history in the year 4, 5 years.
Jane Moore
What will grow? by Jennifer Ward
Ill. by Susie Ghahremarni. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781681190303
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Gardening. Natural world. Flora. Seeds. A
book about seeds which allows children to understand that each seed
has the promise of something else, is beautifully illustrated by
Susie Ghehremani, showing in bright pared-back illustrations the
habitat of each seed and the animal which will be found in its
vicinity. In this way children can focus on the seeds, animal and
habitat appropriate to the growing plant, adding to their knowledge
of the world around them.
Each double page represents one seed and in rhyming couplet gives
words that describe that seed or its habitat, and shows it and its
plant. So the first page shows round peas, then a pea plant replete
with seed pods showing clearly the peas inside. Over the page is a
pair of rabbits and small thin shaped seeds in the ground, producing
lettuce which the rabbits will adore. This page as with several
others requires the reader to lift a flap to revel the grown plant.
In this way the reader is introduced to a dandelion, tomato, oak
tree, apple tree and pumpkin amongst other vegetables and fruits.
The lift-the-flap will intrigue younger readers, especially when the
flap opens different ways to adjust to the plant being presented.
The last several pages shows what happens beneath the top soil, and
the last double page gives an overview of the seeds presented in the
book, while the last double page of all shows the seeds from
germination to plant to seed, engaging the younger reader in the
process of germination.
This would be a great introduction to a group of children about to
embark on growing things for themselves or setting up a class
garden.
Fran Knight
Billy Sing, a novel by Ouyang Yu
Transit Lounge Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9780995359444
(Age: Adult) Billy Sing was a Light Horse Trooper who served at
Gallipoli and later on the Western Front. A fine marksman even
before his military service, Sing became Australia's most famous
sniper with 150 confirmed kills. Other sources place his tally as
high as 300.
Sing was born to a Chinese father and an English mother and would
have suffered from the racist attitudes which prevailed at the time.
Ouyang Yu lends a narrative voice to Sing, telling his story from
beyond the grave and conveying an intellectual and emotional
dimension which emphasises his humanity and fragility. This is
important given that Sing was known as 'The murderer' or 'The
assassin' by his fellows and history frankly records him as the
highest scoring killer in the Australian army.
In the text, Sing is depicted as being much younger than he actually
was at the beginning of the First World War and the author possibly
sought to emphasise his physical and mental toughness. There is a
great deal of conversational philosophy and deep reflection on human
relations which is often difficult to accept given that this is work
of fiction. Sing's war service, whilst a central feature of the
book, was not detailed as prominently as I would have expected.
Perhaps this underlines that Billy Sing's life was much more than
four years spent as a soldier. The fact that the famous author Ion
Idriess was Billy's spotter is referred to only obliquely and
historical detail is presented as poetic recollection of individual
incidents, rather than in a more familiar narrative style.
The author does achieve his goal of making the reader understand the
appalling treatment that Billy endured during his difficult and too
short life. It is clear that what was just and fair had no bearing
on the life of Billy Sing and those he loved.
This is a complex work which may suit some adult readers.
Unfortunately the inclusion of the worst known profanity in the
opening lines of the novel (for no clear reason) would make this
book an unsuitable acquisition in most school libraries.
Rob Welsh
Moo and Moo and the little calf too by Jane Millton
Ill. by Deborah Hinde. Allen & Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781877505928
Just after midnight on November 14, 2016, the earth under the
north-east of New Zealand's South Island started to shudder and
shake. Once again an earthquake was reshaping the landscape as
immovable forces fought for supremacy 15,000 metres below the
surface - not just a regular shake that Kiwis are used to, this one
was 7.8 on the Richter scale meaning widespread movement and damage.
Fast asleep in their paddock in the Clarence Valley on this bright
moonlit night were two cows and a calf, who soon found themselves
the subject of news
footage around the world as the shaking and quaking split
their sleep and their surroundings asunder and left them stranded on
an island two metres high and 80 metres from where they started.
Told in rhyme, Moo and Moo and the little calf too tells the
story of the three animals and how they were rescued, a story that
will fascinate young readers. Imagine if the chair or the carpet
they are sitting on suddenly moved and fell away and they were left
stranded so high they couldn't get down!
While there were many stories of the quake and its impact on the
landscape and the people, just as there are about recent devastating
weather events in Australia, we sometimes forget about the impact on
the wildlife that such phenomena have. The destruction of their
habitat, their dislocation from familiar food sources, their deaths
and injuries are often overlooked as the human drama plays out.
There was concern that the seal
colony at Ohau Point (where I had been with my grandchildren
exactly a year earlier) had been destroyed and with the seabed being
lifted 5.5metres in places, also concern for the marine life off the
coast.
So bringing this true story to life in a picture book that will
endure much longer than a short television news clip not only tells
the story of the cows but also puts a focus on other creatures who
endure the trauma as humans do. What happened to the sealife, the
birds, the kangaroos and all the other creatures during Cyclone
Debbie and the resulting floods? How do they survive during
devastating bushfires? What can be done to save them, help them, and
restore their habitats? What are their needs? Even kindergarten
students can start investigations along those lines, giving meaning
and purpose to the ubiquitous studies of Australia's wildlife so
they go beyond mere recognition.
While Moo and Moo and the little calf too might appear to
have a limited audience and timeframe, used as a springboard it
could be the beginning of something much greater. And that's without
even going down the path of the cause of earthquakes and how such
events give us the landscapes and landshapes we are familiar with.
Barbara Braxton
In the name of the family by Sarah Dunant
Little, Brown, 2017. ISBN 9781844087648
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. This is a blockbuster, a historical
story of a world in moral disarray, ruled by enormously rich
families, their actions morally bankrupt, driven as they are by lust
for personal gain and power. In fact, lust in all its forms plays a
large role in this story. We read about the sexual romps, the
engorged appetites of the men and the women who pander to their
every need. While the men pursue land, wealth and power, the women
are there to entertain, as courtesans, and to bear children, as
wives. They can, and do, influence the men, however. Yet, this world
is depicted as very much a man's world.
It is a tale wonderfully told, in richly descriptive language. It is
not a light-hearted tale about good families and courageous people.
It is instead a powerful, dark, violent, manipulative and, at times,
despicable story. Yet it is also a wonderful and richly satisfying
book that makes the reader very happy to live in the modern world,
where at least there are strategies and laws that may prevent some
of the megalomaniacal actions that we read about in this history, or
so we hope!
Sarah Dunant has a brilliant grasp of the period, her deep and broad
research enabling her to reconstruct a world of the past, and to
construct it in a strong literary piece that is extraordinarily
detailed. The strength of the novel lies in the detailed retelling
of the times and the historically rich narration of the lives of the
main characters - the famous Borgias and Macchiavellis. When we use
the descriptor, 'Macchiavelian', we speak as if we know what that
means. Yet, after finishing this novel, we find that we may not have
known very much of their lives, and now we see, through a modern
mindset, a sense of the oppression of woman, the demands for sexual
favour, the sometimes terrible deeds such as the slaughtering of
women and children, families and small towns when deemed
'necessary', and we are exposed to truly evil characters. We
discover that most of us would know little about these times and
these families as we are drawn into an appalling world, one of
lechery, devious actions, plotting, evil deeds, and dark secrets.
Dunant makes sure that we know much more by the time we finish
reading this most entertaining historical novel.
Liz Bondar
Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake by Rob Lloyd Jones
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406361445
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Jake Atlas is not your average 12 and
a half year old. His parents are archaeology professors, his sister
is a genius and he is constantly in trouble.
In Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake, the Atlas
family are on vacation in Egypt when Jake's parents go missing just
hours after checking in to the hotel. Jake and his sister, Pan, are
on their own. With Pan's intelligence and Jake's ability to get into
trouble, the siblings soon find themselves in the middle of a huge
adventure. They rob a museum, invade a tomb and nearly die as they
try and save their parents. Imagine Jake and Pan's surprise when
they discover their parents are just like Indiana Jones with the
fighting skills of a ninja! Once upon a time, Mr and Mrs Atlas were
treasure hunters and a mysterious group has now kidnapped them as
they need their skills to find the Tomb of Osiris. With high tech
gadgets and puzzle solving, Pan and Jake race against this
mysterious group to find the tomb and save their parents.
Set in Egypt with pyramids and tombs as the backdrop, readers will
learn about the mysteries of Egypt while enjoying the adventure of a
lifetime. As they read Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald
Snake, readers will be on the edge of their seats as Pan and
Jake match wits with mercenaries and treasure hunters. The events
are exciting and the vocabulary easy to read.
This novel is highly recommended to all readers aged 10+. It would
also be a great read aloud novel for the year 7 classroom as they
study ancient civilisations.
Kylie Kempster
What is poetry? by Michael Rosen
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781844287635
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. What is poetry? gives readers
an insight into the messages and technical elements in poetry. In
chapter 1, author, Michael Rosen, looks at the symbolism, the irony
and the rhythm of poetry. He explains how poetry voices and captures
moments. Each section has a poem and some guiding questions or
comments to get readers thinking about each poem and its elements
and messages. Year 6/7 teachers, in a primary setting, could use
these poems in the class and follow Michael Rosen's comments and
questions by handing the discussion over to the students. Young
writers could also use this chapter to help them write better poems
or to understand their writing better.
Chapter 2 covers all you can do with a poem. The tasks include
reading poems, asking questions, looking for connections and using
poems with an arts curriculum. Michael Rosen offers ideas and
examples.
Chapter 3 looks at the thoughts Michael Rosen has when writing
poetry. The poetry examples could be read by students, they can
comment on possible feelings and then the class could discuss
Rosen's thoughts as read by the teacher.
Chapters 4, 5 and 6 look at ways to start writing poems as well as
the technical elements. Michael Rosen offers ideas that would help
guide the teaching program.
This book could be used as part of an author study. Students could
investigate Michael Rosen's poetry as well as other poets. It is
highly recommended for young writers aged 11+ and for teachers to
plan and prepare different poetry investigations.
Kylie Kempster
Down the line by Michael Panckridge
Legends series. Ford Street Publishing, 2017. ISBN
9781925272635
(Age: Middle and upper primary) Recommended. This is the third story
in the Legends series, with each book concentrating on a
different sport. The eight sports narratives feature surfing,
cricket, tennis, football, soccer, basketball, athletics and
swimming. Down the Line focuses on tennis.
The stories concentrate on the same characters and we follow them as
they compete in each sport to try to win 'The Legend' school trophy.
Mitchell Grey has been successful in the first legend trials but now
he must compete against his own friends as well as Travis Fisk, an
unlikeable bully. The stories follow both boy and girl competitors
and there are lots of descriptions of the games, scoreboard results,
statistics, maps and quizzes. All the scores and results of the
tennis competition and the overall competition are given at the end
of the novel.
Michael Panckridge uses his stories to highlight friendship, fair
play and bullying.
This book would appeal to students who play or are interested in
sport. They would enjoy reading the scores and trying the quizzes.
It is advertised as a series for reluctant readers aged 8 to 14
years, with 'current, kid-friendly vocabulary and language'. I
showed this book to a very sports focussed year 6 girl and she said
she was strongly interested in reading the novel. The books have
been reissued in more modern jackets and the Down the Line
cover appeals to both girls and boys as there is a photograph of
both. Michael provides teacher's
notes and black line masters.
Jane Moore
Mr Postmouse goes on holiday by Marianne Dubuc
Book Island, 2017. ISBN 9781911496045
(Age: 3-5) Mr Postmouse goes on Holiday continues the mouse
family's adventures, begun in Here
comes Mr Postmouse as they travel by camel, hot air
balloon and cruise ship to deliver parcels and visit with family and
friends around the world.
Marianne Dubuc's lively illustrations are entertaining, filled with
small detailed scenes just right for investigation and discovery.
Similar in style to Richard Scarry's picture books, there are
cutaway diagrams of plants, buildings and landscapes. Her background
colour palette of earth and sky tones and careful placement of the
main characters encourages development of directional tracking and
anticipating the story text.
The story is a simple narrative, translated from Canadian French to
English by Greet Pauwelijn.
This large picture book is suitable for sharing one to one, but is
difficult to access for a larger group reading.
Rhyllis Bignell
Darkmouth by Shane Hegarty
Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN 9780007545612
(Age:11+) Highly recommended. Darkmouth is the first book in
a fantasy adventure series of the same name. Boys and girls of all
ages will be instantly hooked on the reluctant anti-hero and his
rite of passage to become the 43rd Legend Hunter of Darkmouth. Finn
is dreading his "Completion" deadline on his 13th birthday, when he
takes over from his dad - Hugo the Great - perhaps the most
successful Legend hunter of them all. Finn's predicament is
demonstrated by his inability to defeat a Minotaur in the opening
chapters, despite having him in his Desiccator's sights. Of course,
Dad comes to his rescue yet again.
The seaside town has more than its fair share of monsters entering
Darkmouth via an increasing number of portals. There seems to be an
invasion afoot just as Hugo is offered a place on the esteemed
Council of Twelve. Friendless, as his father's inept successor, Finn
begins to rise to his destiny with the arrival of Emmie - daughter
of Steve, an equally inexperienced Legend Hunter.
Broonie, the messenger of the evil Gantura, is reanimated by Finn to
deliver a prophesy of the rise of an army of Legends and the fall of
the last Legend Hunter's child. Gantrua is the leader of the
Fomorians of Irish myth - hideous giants who inhabit the 'Infested
Side'. How will Finn, aided by Emmie, defend Darkmouth without his
father?
Shane Hegarty is an Irish journalist of some note yet the novel
borders on high fantasy. Though we have many ordinary reference
points in the town, the "Infested Side", where the Legends live,
would sate the imaginations of fans of Ransom Riggs, Rick Riordan or
Terry Pratchett.
James de la Rue's sparse illustrations are perfect aids to our
imagination, but the premise and the character development makes the
battle between man and monsters deliciously dynamic. Hailed by Eoin
Colfer as "the next big thing," the film rights were sold in 2015
for a six figure sum. But first boys and girls, you need to devour
this series in print to appreciate the origins of this epic of
cinematic proportions. Official
trailer. There is a prequel to the series here.
Deborah Robins
Worlds explode by Shane Hegarty
ISBN: 9780007545674.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. The second book in the quirky,
action-packed Darkmouth series, finds Finn still 11 months away from
becoming a fully-fledged Legend Hunter upon his 13th Birthday. A
prologue outlines the previous events for those who haven't read the
first book in the series. When Hugo does not return from the land of
behemoths, it falls on poor Finn to defend Darkmouth. Yet his quest
to find his father on the 'Infested Side' means that he must battle
monsters and discover more long lost family members than he
bargained on.
The history of previous skirmishes on the Infested Side, is
documented in a sub-text called 'The Chronicles of the Sky's
Collapse'. It runs parallel to Finn's search for the map and his
father. The journey through another realm filled with monstrous
'Legends' takes a mammoth 400 pages and might put tweens off -
hopefully long enough so that the diehard fans of Darkmouth bk. 1
can get their hands on it in the school library!
Not wishing to dampen desires to experience it for ourselves, the
language and the subject matter are still to easily managed in the
middle school although the sequel is more demanding in many ways. Darkmouth bk 3 : Chaos Descends will be much awaited. Meanwhile,
devotees can view the trailer
and even immerse themselves in all things Darkmouth by watching a
dozen or more explainer animations on the Darkmouth youtube channel.
There is a prequel to the series here.
Deborah Robins
Rock pool secrets by Narelle Oliver
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781922179357
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Sea, Animals, Rock pools, Camouflage.
This beautifully illustrated book gives younger readers an taste of
what to expect when they look into a rock pool at the beach.
Oliver's linocut prints wonderfully extol the virtues of the rock
pool and its inhabitants as children eagerly seek out the animals
hidden on each page, the excitement mounting as they lift the flaps
to discover more secrets.
With her sparse text, Oliver introduces the animal and gives clues
as to how it hides, so encouraging the child to pick it out. The
rich colours of the sea and rock pools will delight the eye, the
scampering of some of the animals, protected by their camouflage
almost heard as the page is turned. Looking for the animal in the
seaweed or on the rocks, or hidden by the cloud of ink will entice
readers to look for these themselves when they are at the beach and
be more aware of what is around them.
Oliver includes an array of animals: anemone, hermit crab, decorator
crab, shrimp, shellfish, octopus, sea slug, Goby fish and Turban sea
snail. Each is shown in its habitat, and two pages at the end of the
book give more details about each of them, while the glorious double
page before, has open out flaps which reveal the whole vista of the
rock pool with all of the animals mentioned. Children will adore
having the things they learnt as they read this book, reiterated in
the form of a game to end the book. Classroom
ideas are available.
Fran Knight
A letter from Italy by Pamela Hart
Hachette, 2017. ISBN 9780733637544
(Age: Senior secondary) Recommended. This richly detailed novel, a war-time
story, takes us back to an Italy that few of us would know, or even
dream of, so different is the Venice painted by Pamela Hart in her
powerful narrative of the 1914 - 1918 War as told by an Australian
war correspondent. Hart explores just how strong a woman had to be
at this time to compete with men in such a traditionally male
dominion. Neither retiring nor shy, she is clearly intending to
fulfill her role as well as, or better than a man, despite the male
correspondents who demean her role. In fact, her courage,
determination and intelligence are at the heart of her strength, and
it is on these that she will draw in the dark days of a city on the
edge of that terrible war.
Newly married to a serving Australian officer, the young woman is
left alone when her husband is sent away and she hears nothing from
him. The crucial element of danger becomes more evident as she
becomes aware of the enemy's moving closer to the city, and of the
nature of the attacks that she discovers. As she pursues
intelligence regarding specific war incidents, we are aware of this
as a critical point in her career. Supported by new friends, she is
determined to pursue a particular inquiry. The depth of her growing
understanding of various incidents encourages her to pursue the
story of one specific attack, and so to reveal the real story. It is
her pursuit of truth and her determination to write the truth, that
gain her a strong reputation in the world of war-time reporting.
This is a story that grows better as the narrative progresses. It is
about goodness and bravery, decency and treachery, love and hatred.
It begins with a lightness that seems typical of a romantic novel.
Yet this is not its outcome, as Hart draws us into the narrative and
leaves us with a sense of recognition of decency, of good character,
loyalty, friendship - in this case evidently emblematic of the
elusive quality at the heart of a strong narrative.
I would recommend this novel for senior students. Its initial
romantic tone, that makes it see to be a lighthearted romance, is
misleading. I found that, as the reality of the strength, talent,
determination and decency of Australia's first female war
correspondent is revealed, the novel gained in strength and
credibility.
Elizabeth Bondar
