Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408852118
(Age: 3-6) Moving house is a difficult time for adults and young
children, their familiar rooms and play spaces are gone.
Ivan's old house had always been so warm and friendly. This new one
was NOT.
When Ivan cannot fall asleep in his strange new bedroom, he sits up
and stares out of his window. A magical shimmering ball of light
falls in the garden and he dashes downstairs to see what it is. Ivan
is led on a nighttime escapade past rocks, streams and flowers.
Suddenly the light changes into Moji a small friendly magical
creature, who paints the world with moonlight. Ivan becomes a brave
boy following Moji on a special adventure, up into space flying by
the stars and the moon. Moji's magic paintbrush illuminates the sky,
moonbeams shine down on Ivan's new house. Dancing through the
deepest forests and diving under the sea, Ivan's courage grows as he
holds Moji's hand.
When Moji paints the word home across the night sky, Ivan realises
that he can make new memories in his new house.
Tom Percival's computer-generated backgrounds use broad brushstrokes
in muted tones. A palette of blues, pinks, blacks and greys brings
the night setting to life, as motion lines create movement around
the stylised characters. By the light of the moon is a
gentle magical story, just right for those times when young children
need reassurance.
Rhyllis Bignell
Discovering dinosaurs by Simon Chapman
Ill. by Rudolf Farkus and Mike Love. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN
9781408194614
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Dinosaurs, Non fiction, Fossils. The
spectacularly ferocious image of a Tyrannosaurus Rex on the front
cover is a winning invitation to this book with lift the flaps and
pop ups about the perennial favourite topic, dinosaurs. I can't
imagine too many people, kids and adults alike, moving past this
book on the shelf. I picked it up immediately, reveling in the feel
of this over-sized hard cover book and its thick pages revealing a
host of hidden things telling me more about dinosaurs than I had
read for a while.
Any good non fiction book is armed with a contents page, index and
glossary and these, apart from an index are offered in this book,
teaching young readers how to access information.
An introduction by Simon Chapman gives us the background and readers
will love the 'boys own adventure' lifestyle he seems to lead.
The first double page introduces the reader to the time periods
under discussion, Triassic, and the lift out flaps on each page
reveal the Jurassic and Late Cretaceous periods, placed over a map
of the world. Each double page thereafter reveals a different area
of the world and the dinosaurs particular to that area. So the first
page introduces the reader to where and when the dinosaurs first
appeared on earth, followed by the velociraptor, amongst many
others. Each double page tells us about the dinosaur with a fact box
of all those curious bits of information young children absorb. Some
pages have full page illustrations, some have many smaller pictures,
some pages have lift the flaps and some have pop outs. It all leads
to the last pages, one of which talks about their extinction while
the next tells us about fossils and what they show us. All in all a
fascinating addition to the range of books about dinosaurs which I
am sure will be well read. A forward thinking teacher, parent or
librarian might like to show kids how to use it carefully.
Fran Knight
Maladapted by R. Kurti
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406346299
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Science versus Religion in this fast-paced
dystopian adventure. Cillian, a budding mathematician, is the sole
survivor of a terrorist attack on the Metro (subway). Triggered by
the trauma, hitherto untapped superpowers enable Cillian to save
himself. Sadly, his father's parting word, 'Gilgamesh', quickly
becomes his quest.
Within hours, Cillian's home is burgled and he knows he must look
for the answers to the sole clue to his real identity. But there is
another lost soul for him to meet in Foundation City. Tess is an
orphan. She was raised by an extreme religious group, 'Revelation'
who were responsible for the subway disaster and every other attack
on the high tech ruling elite. Tess is sent to observe and
ultimately destroy Cillian but the pair become friends, united by
their distaste for the extremism on both sides.
Of course the friends endure, but it is clear they have unfinished
business in Foundation City. In Maladapted, characterisation
is not one of Richard Kurti's strengths so readers looking to get to
know Tess and Cillian, will be disappointed. However, the
electrifying plot commands you to keep reading and we can expect
that the main characters will be fleshed out in the ensuing series.
Maladapted is crafted to satisfy fans of the Maze Runner
and Divergent series or similar novels in the popular
dystopian/sci-fi/horror category.
Deborah Robins
Riddle Gully secrets by Jen Banyard
Fremantle Press, 2016. ISBN 9781925163957
(Age: 8-11) Adventure, Humour, Bushrangers. Seemingly homeless boy,
Dan, attracts the interest of Riddle Gully's earnest young reporter,
Pollo di Nozi who sees the lack of interesting material a challenge.
Dan camps with his father, Twig, in the bush surrounding the town,
not needing the comforts of town or city to survive. Their
connections with the greedy Major Bullock, links them with Diamond
Jack and the bushranger's hidden treasure. American 'gold-diggers',
Pooky and Curly, stir the pot, developing a sense of danger when
Pollo, Will and their friends are chased in the bushranger's caves.
This is a clever, funny novel for mid to upper primary people which
touches on real situations making readers think about what they
would do in their place, and along with strong characters, makes
this a fast paced read. A terrific mystery novel, this book is the
third in the series.
Fran Knight
Artie and the Grime wave by Richard Roxburgh
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760292140
(Age: 8+) Recommended, Adventure, Crime, Families. Having an
adventure is not something Artie wants to do, but when Bumshoe is
kept captive by a group of thieves in their cave of stolen goods, he
knows he must act, after all, Bumshoe has helped him out before.
Artie is part of an unusual family: Mum, Maggie, has not emerged
from the house or her dressing gown since her husband died, and
Artie and his sister must fend for themselves. Artie loves the next
door neighbours, with their unpronounceable name, who invite him in
to tea. Bumshoe is his opposite and the two get along extremely
well, avoiding the bullies in the town, and being kind to the
strange old woman across the road who insists on giving them talcum
covered sweets.
But finding the cave changes their equilibrium, and Artie must find
a way to rescue Bumshoe after his own hair raising escape.
He enlists the help of the neighbour, curiously called Aunty-boy,
and when the Mayor's sidekicks come to call, both Bumshoe and Artie
seem ready for the chop, or in this case the oven, as the Mayor has
a predilection for pampered pet meat, and wants to try something
different.
A very funny story for middle primary people, the light touch taken
with the poo and fart jokes is most welcome, as the incidents, names
and situations the boys get into carry the story along splendidly.
Roxbugh furnishes his own distinctive drawings, adding another level
of humour for the mainly male audience to snigger over with glee and
satisfaction.
Fran Knight
The mozzie with a sharp snozzie by Irina Goundortseva
Big Sky Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925275773
(Age: 4+) Mosquitoes, Butterflies, Self perception. The mosquito who
lives in the pond hankers after being a butterfly. He sees them
flying around the pond, beautiful creatures, colourful, light and
attractive. He asks if he can join them but is laughed at. When he
asks them why they do not want him, they tell him that he is ugly
and not fit to be seen with them. Dejected he walks away, not
willing to use his flimsy wings. He spies a beautiful flower,
equally as attractive as a butterfly, and using it as a cloak,
approaches the butterflies once again. Life is now just what he
wants, but then the unexpected happens and the group is captured and
taken to a laboratory. Here he is able to use his special skill to
advantage and free them all.
A story of being satisfied with what you have, of celebrating your
skills, of not always wanting to be like everyone else will have
resonance in the classroom as this is an issue which besets younger
children. This story opens that discussion admirably.
Fran Knight
The patchwork bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke
Ill. by Van T Rudd. Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9780734416681
(Age: all) Highly (Highly x 2) recommended. Humour. Africa.
Ingenuity. Working together. Families. Village life. On the edge of
the No-Go desert, there is not much to work with to have some fun
with your friends. But this one boy and his brothers find much to
keep themselves occupied, whether it be sliding down the sandhill,
climbing the Fiori tree, or avoiding their fed up mum. But the best
thing is riding the bike he and his brothers made, with its bent
bucket seat, handlebar made from twining branches, tin pot handles
and wood cut out wheels. The boys can go anywhere in their bike,
over the sand hills, or riding through the village or the fields.
Many times they must stop and do some running repairs, but they
always have a lot of fun.
The infectiously funny story of boys and their home-made bike will
invite comment and delight as younger readers marvel at their
ingenuity and will eagerly try to replicate what the boys have done.
The illustrations are wondrous, with their thick black outlines and
block colours rendered on recycled cardboard with intriguing
stickers on each piece. The background of the village with its
mud-for-walls houses, sparse fields, few trees, sand hills and
abandoned car will alert the readers to the paucity of these
children's lives, and perhaps make them reflect on the richness of
their own. The stunning illustrations will provide a talking point
for the reader as they hunt out clues about the lives of these boys,
and perhaps think about why the long suffering mother is fed up. I
love the introduction of speed using a bold brush of colour across
the page and was further intrigued by the use of shadows throughout
the book, underlining the heat of the day. There are very few
picture books available for our students set in Africa and this
makes a welcome addition to any class looking at children outside
their own experience.
Clarke has had many short stories, non fiction and poetry published
in Australia and this is her first picture book. The illustrator,
Rudd, too presents his first picture book for us, and I can only
hope they produce more.
Fran Knight
There may be a castle by Piers Torday
Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9781848668621
(Age: 10+) Recommended. On the wordless turquoise cover, a stylised
path winds its way to a distant castle while the blurb simply
states, 'like I said, kid, it's your story. Are you ready?' There may be a castle is a multilayered story, told through
the eyes of two narrators, Mouse Mouse Mallory a small
eleven-year-old boy, a procrastinator, a thinker whose constant
companion is his stuffed toy donkey Nonky and his older sister
Violet. Her personality is opposite to her brother's: she is
confident and feisty like her hero, a pirate queen. Mouse hates
Christmas, as every year they travel to their grandparents' house on
Christmas Eve. Even with dire weather warnings, Mum bundles the
children out of the house and settles toddler Esme in her car seat.
The car ride is fraught with tension, and in a minute in snowy
dangerous conditions, the car crashes. The SUV rolls down a steep
hill, the windscreen shatters and Mouse who has undone his seatbelt
is catapulted out into the snow. His mother bleeding and unconscious
and his sisters hang upside down in the car, Esme safe in her car
seat while Violet is trapped by her seatbelt.
This is the turning point of Torday's narrative, clearly delineated
by chapters and font styles, the two tales unfold. Mouse wakes up in
a magical land inhabited by strange characters, knights, monsters,
giant dinosaurs and a large talking donkey. He cannot look back;
there is an enemy lurking in the woods. He is constantly encouraged
and cajoled to 'maybe find the castle,' that lies ahead. Meanwhile
Violet has to confront the consequences of the car crash; it is up
to her to save her mother and sister.
Just like Christmas cake that exploded on impact, leaving crumbs in
the car and scattered on the snowy ground outside, Torday leaves
plenty of clues for the astute reader along the way to the
culmination of the story. While each of the main characters shows
great resilience and resourcefulness, the reader also needs to
persevere at times with different storylines and the individual
quests.
This story is challenging, a dark and compelling story, at times
nonsensical with the annoying minstrel's lengthy songs, but most of
all it is confronting. There may be a castle is suited to a
more mature, discerning preteen reader.
Rhyllis Bignell
We found a hat by Jon Klassen
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406347517
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Sharing. Problem solving. Humour. Two
turtles find a hat. They try on the hat in turns and find that it
looks good on both of them. But there are two of them and only one
hat. They decide that the best thing to do is to leave the hat,
because it would not be right if one has a hat and the other does
not. But their eyes tell a different story. As they watch the sunset
together they find their thoughts and eyes are drawn back to the hat
on the ground behind them. Later going to sleep, their eyes remain
open, watching the hat. When one falls asleep the other creeps
towards the hat, asking the other what he is thinking. He tells his
friend that he is dreaming of them both wearing the hat. Each has a
hat in his dream and the other turtle, satisfied that this solves
the problem, falls asleep beside his friend.
Readers will know that this solution satisfies both turtles, that
the hat which loomed as a problem between them has been reduced in
its significance and they are content. Their eyes are closed and
they sleep.
Divided into three chapters, Finding the Hat, Watching the Sunset
and Going to Sleep, children will love reading each section as the
story unfolds, offering possible solutions to the problem. The
wonderful sepia illustrations with pages of single colour against
which the turtles and hat, are initially shown as small figures
within the panorama of the desert. But as the problem looms, the
figures become larger, almost filling the pages.
But the eyes tell the story of trust, of friendship, of longing, of
teetering on the path of deception, of coming together as friends
again - themes which could be discussed with a group of children
either in a class, group or at home.
The third in a series of books about a hat, I want my
hat back (2011) and This
is not my hat (2012) this book will be equally well
received, its charming style, infectious humour and instantly
recognisable themes making it a book kids and adults will pick up to
read and share.
Fran Knight
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760290641
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Fantasy. Romance. Emmeline of Ruina, needs
to restore her rightful place in her country and help regain its
independence. But she has been exiled, her mother and father killed
and her sister, Olivia, imprisoned. And unlike them she does not
have the powers of the Ruined, relying instead on her skills at
swordsmanship and her own cleverness.
She plans to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold and help her sister
escape. She kills Princess Mary of Vallos taking her place as the
betrothed of Prince Casimir of Lera (Cas). Following this is a story
of the growing romance between Em and Cas, as the two are now
betrothed. Beautiful and expensive gowns, detailed with relish,
different customs and a growing rift between Cas and his parents
causes some hesitation on Em's part, as the need to free her sister
becomes secondary to her growing love for Cas. She becomes less sure
of herself and the reason she is in this place. In captivity
Olivia's powers have grown and Em's indecision has created a
distrust between the two girls.
A solid fantasy read, the background of the rivalry between the two
kingdoms is nothing new but the writing is fast paced and the
romance enough to impel any reader to turn the pages.
Fran Knight
Australia: Illustrated by Tania McCartney
EK Books, 2016. ISBN 9781925335217
Perhaps this is the time and place to have a disclaimer that I am an
unabashed Tania McCartney fan. Not just for her wonderful way with
words and her exquisite illustrations but because no matter how
often the topic of a text has been presented before, she always
finds a way to present it in a unique way that totally engages her
audience and makes them want to keep turning the pages.
A prime example is This is
Captain Cook in which the story of the explorer is presented
in a way like no other that not only entertains but educates and is
likely to have teachers and students begging to do a similar
production. Australian
kids through the years looks at Australian history through the
perspective of children's lives of the times and An
Aussie year is the perfect accompaniment to Harmony Day and
all those other times we celebrate the diversity of the children in
our care and in our classes.
So it is no wonder I was excited to receive her latest book
Australia: Illustrated.
Again, there have been many books that try to explore and explain
what it is that makes this country unique; what it is that
encapsulates the Australian identity; and what it is that deserves
our attention and pride. So why another one? What is its point of
difference that will make it stand out and demand to be on shelves
in libraries, classes and homes?
'Big, beautiful, and diverse' are the words McCartney uses to
describe Australia, and they are the very words that could describe
this book. It is big and it is fat (criteria important to some of
our junior readers); it is beautiful with colour, iconic
illustrations and few words; and it's diverse with its focus on a
range of topics that don't usually feature in these sorts of texts.
Each page is a vibrant explosion of colour and movement that
celebrate our places and people in quirky ways like the Sydney Opera
House portrayed as being made of chook feathers and little people
running around trying to catch the chooks to get their feathers!
Beginning with an overview of the country as a whole, focusing on
everything from our native and endangered animals to bush tucker,
iconic foods, sports, weather and precious rocks, even our
particular brand of English, it then moves on to examine each state
and territory and their unique entities and emblems. And yes, both
Tasmania and the ACT feature as prominently as the bigger states.
But this is not a whole lot of facts and figures accompanying the
sorts of staid photos seen on calendars for tourists... each page is
just bursting with cartoon-like illustrations and few-word captions.
It is peopled with children - many modelled on those whom McCartney
knows and who unwrap the miscellany of heritage that makes us so
every child will find themselves somewhere - and so it is not too
serious her love of words and zany humour is everywhere. Just check
out the page featuring the Snowy Mountains in NSW!
Readers will adore looking at places they have been to or things
they are familiar with - listen for the chorus of 'I've been there'
when they see the BIG page - as well finding places and things they
want to do or try. Astute teachers might ask why a particular person
or item has been included as well as seeking suggestions for things
the students would include if they were to design a page or add to
an existing one. (They would have to research their suggestion so
they could defend its inclusion.)
This is a superb book for examining the Australian identity and
answering 'What makes me Australian?' It works for all ages because
of its format, including those who are learning English for the
first time. It would have suited this year's CBCA Book Week theme
Australia: Story Country perfectly as every illustration has a story
behind it just waiting for the children to discover it. Younger
students can just look at the pictures and use those to work out the
words while older students may well be attracted to a particular
illustration and want to find out more.
Definitely one for the collection and one to promote to your
teaching colleagues.
Barbara Braxton
Frieda by Marianne Musgrove
A New Australian series. Scholastic (Omnibus) 2106. ISBN
9781742991146
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Historical fiction, War, Prejudice,
Concentration camp, South Australia, Unley. When twelve year old
Frieda arrives at Adelaide from Germany she sees racism at first
hand when the surgeon on the ship questions the admittance of
Chinese people to the town. She puts it out of her mind as the
family sets up their pharmacy business in Unley, busies itself with
settling in and decides which school Frieda should go to. But later
she and her family are subjected to ugliness when war is declared
between Britain and Germany, necessitating their new home,
Australia, to come to Britain's aid, an enemy of the country they
left.
The brutality of life for German settlers in South Australia during
war is told fervently by Musgrove in this fine historical novel, as
it shows the abhorrent treatment of all of the family at the hands
of ignorance. Frieda is taunted, her family's business suffers and
is eventually sold, and worst of all, her father and uncle are taken
to the concentration camp on Torrens Island. Here not only recent
arrivals from Germany are kept, but also those who have been in the
country for generations. South Australia could count one in ten of
its citizens having a German background, so the racism that
developed targeted many people.
A recent exhibition at the Migration Museum in Adelaide showed
photos and memorabilia from that camp, and Musgrove has used the
artifacts shown there to make her story sing with authenticity.
With our government still putting people into camps, the book helps
to question the veracity of such treatment and readers will compare
the incarceration of Germans during both world wars with those
refugees making their way to this country in search of a better
life.
A great tale, showing the good and bad sides of racism, well told
with a background that informs as well as entertains, makes this a
must have for school libraries, and I am sure a class set will be
bought, supported by teacher notes from the website. One in the
excellent series of books from Scholastic, A New Australian,
the others will be looked for when this book is read.
Fran Knight
Alison Lester's Wonderful World: Colour your favourite drawings by Alison Lester
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760293130
(Age: 5-18) Recommended. 'Draw with your eyes closed, draw all the
time, mistakes are often the best bits' - words to encourage young
artists from Alison Lester, well-known Australian children's author
and illustrator. Generations of children have engaged with her
picture books from Clive eats alligators to favourites like Magic
Beach and Imagine. She has drawn fantastical places, imaginary
worlds, everyday experiences, country landscapes and outback
settings. Horses and farm animals are clearly important in her life;
she began drawing them on a chalkboard easel at the age of six.
With an array of encouraging artistic tips on the endpapers and in
the prologue, Alison encourages the young artist to experiment,
colour outside the lines, to have a go and to keep a folder of their
work. Each double page spread is filled with familiar characters,
there is Noni the Pony, farm animals from My Farm and
creatures from Alison Lester's ABC.
Her picture books encourage children's creativity, their
self-belief; they celebrate differences and bring faraway places to
life. The much-loved Magic Beach was published over
twenty-five years ago, here we can add a splash colour to the beach
and jetty scenes. Why not bring the jungle scene from Imagine to
life and discover all the animals listed around the page border? Alison Lester's Wonderful World: Colour your favourite drawings
is a perfect present, to build a young artist's creativity or
something special for families to work on together.
Rhyllis Bignell
The bad guys, episode 4: Apocalypse meow by Aaron Blabey
Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760158774
(Age: 6-10) Highly recommended. Humour, Adventure, Zombies. Another
outing for the good guys, once bad guys now trying to repair their
images: Mr Shark, Mr Fox, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Spider, as
they grapple with the phenomena of zombie kittens. We find them
standing on each other's shoulders, Mr Shark's feet firmly planted
in a baby swimming pool (because the kittens are frightened of
water)surrounded by millions of cheesy looking kittens, all showing
their sharp teeth to advantage. The five heroes recall that their
arch enemy, a guinea pig called Dr Marmalade is the one who created
these monsters and are determined to find him. But Granny Gumby, an
inventor knows how to mix an antidote so needs the boys to capture
and bring a live zitten to her. All seems quite straight forward but
in the hands of superb illustrator and writer, Blabey, the pun and
games come thick and fast as he navigates the boys through some
tricky scenarios. His use of comic techniques works well as the eye
is drawn across each page, taking in the humour of the illustrations
and textual wit. I love the drawings of the five heroes, their faces
alive with the possibility that they could be eaten by the zittens
while Mr Piranha's reticence at diving into sea water (I am a
freshwater fish!) is hilarious. But their enemy creates zombie dogs
and dolphins, so necessitating our heroes to look further afield for
a pristine environment, so with their eyes on the moon, the fifth in
the series will shortly be launched.
All good fun with delightfully funny drawings to attract the lower
primary readers these books will not be on the shelf for long.
Fran Knight
Dog Zombies rule for now by Liz Pichon
Tom Gates series bk. 11. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781743812563
(Age: 8-11) Recommended. Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series is
extremely popular; the diary style format includes the creative
doodles, small cartoons, thought bubbles her fans love. The
easy-to-read text includes an array of appealing fonts and styles,
handwriting, bubble writing, emphasized words, block writing and
words made out of patterns. The placement of text and illustrations
along with the large line spacing is great for high interest-lower
reading age students.
Tom has agreed to help his best friend Mark who is moving house and
needs to find a pet-sitter for a few days. Of course, at school
Marcus Meldrew finds out and begins to tease Tom, will it be Mark's
pet snake? Tom begins to worry and doodle, his sister Delilah has
allergies and his parents do not actually know about the promise.
This is just another day in the life of Tom Gates. Marble the
hamster arrives with a long list of instructions and takes up
residence in Tom's room. Yes, he loves to run all night on his
hamster wheel!
Tom has big plans for his band Dog Zombies, to write more songs and
to make spectacular music. Unfortunately getting more sleep proves
difficult with Marble the hamster active all night and the constant
chiming of the cuckoo clock. Annoying Delilah proves to be an easy
task for Tom.
Nothing in Tom's life is dull or boring and he finds trouble
wherever he goes. Filled with family dramas, band rehearsals,
pet-sitting problems and the ups and downs of Tom's school life, Dog
Zombies Rule For Now is another amusing and entertaining
addition to the series. Liz Pichon also includes opportunities for
craft activities and suggestions for story writing.
Rhyllis Bignell
