WeirDo Bk. 7. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760159092
(Age: 6-8, 8+ will also enjoy the simple humour!) Highly
recommended. Themes: Humour, Family, Asian-Australian perspectives,
Friendship, School, Identity. Anh Do does it again! He is a talented
author, comedian, artist and television personality and his writing
for young readers is spot on!
Another book involving the lovable wise-cracking Weir Do, who is up
to the usual joke sharing and simple fun stuff that kids love. Anh
Do tells the story of the Street Garage Sale and what that looks
like for this Asian-Australian family. Their junk-gathering garage
should be a gold mine for the family. Or is it just junk? Weir Do
helps his family as they aim to raise some dollars for a very
special reason. Along the way he also enters a writing competition
and tells very funny jokes.
This is a simple chapter book with cartoon illustrations (and few
words) that children love for its simplicity and amusing view of the
unpretentious things in life. In addition, this series works for
children that dislike or struggle with reading as it gives them a
means of engagement with books and the entire series takes very
little time to consume as there is probably only as much to read as
a typical picture book. An Asian-Australian perspective is also
refreshing.
Carolyn Hull
Party at Cuddleton Castle by Danny Parker
Ill. by Guy Shield. Lola's Toy Box series. Hardie Grant,
2016. ISBN 9781760126858
(Age: 5-6) Young Lola's best friend is Buddy a learn-to-dress clown
toy with zippers, poppers, buttons and buckles, and together they go on
amazing adventures to The Kingdom where toys are living things and
magical events happen. When her older brother Nick stops playing
hide and seek Lola decides to create her own fun. She chooses to
take her friend Buddy and vanish inside her magical Toy Box. Where
will this new adventure take them - to The Button Mines or The Story
Sea? Of course, Buddy comes to life in the magical kingdom and he is
there to help Lola in all sorts of situations. He loves to use
alliterative and exclamatory statements - polish my poppers or bless
my buttons!
The two friends land in Cuddleton Castle, the land of the Great High
Bear and the home of the cuddly toys. In the midst of the
festivities for the bear's birthday, a large cake arrives with a
hidden dilemma inside. Lola and Buddy use their ingenuity to foil
the wicked Plastic Prince's plans so order can return to the castle. Lola's Toy Box is a series just right for the very young
reader as an introduction to chapter books. With large easy to read
text and Guy Shield's full page simple line drawings, these books
are perfect for 5-6 year olds.
Rhyllis Bignell
Hester and Harriet by Hilary Spiers
Allen and Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781925266412
(Age: Secondary-adult) Highly recommended. Crime fiction. Humour.
Asylum seekers. England. Two widowed sisters, Harriet and Hester,
live together in a small cottage in an equally small village in the
south of England. When one night they see their local homeless man,
Finbar in some distress they find that there is a young woman and a
baby in his living quarters, the local bus shelter. They take the
girl in, keeping her warm, and feeding her, finding that she has a
limited grasp of English and is very scared. At the same time, their
nephew Ben, lands on their door step, having run away from home.
They must give shelter to all three guests and find that the wayward
and taciturn Ben, who in the past has caused some upset within the
family, has skills never before known. He is able to talk to Daria,
and look after her son, Milo, and even more surprising, finds a
talent for cooking.
Problems compound when the women realise that someone has been in
their house and Finbar attacked, while a strange man has knocked at
their door, asking awkward questions.
The characters are a treat: each pedantic about the use of their
language, correcting Ben without a second thought, while homeless
Finbar is a classically educated man using Latin phrases. All three
have a wonderful grasp of language adding to the pleasure gained in
reading. When the women find that their houseguest has no passport
and has run away from where she was working in London, only to be
taken in by another couple with suspect motives, their impetus to
get in touch with the police is stalled by Ben's revelations.
They begin to be aware of Daria's untenable status in this country
and resolve to protect her, while at the same time keeping
themselves safe.
This is a beguiling read but beneath the word play, humour and
mocking tone lies a plea for refugees, asylum seekers, displaced
people and those for whom home is no longer a safe place. Through
finding out more of Daria's situation in England her legal rights
are brought to the fore, giving the readers a firm basis of fact,
enlisting their sympathy for people in this position.
Fran Knight
Timmy Failure: The book you're not supposed to have by Stephan Pastis
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406369762
(Age: 8+) Humour. Detectives. This is the kind of book
written for kids who like silly humour, impossible logic and
exceptionally odd and quirky characters who like to solve problems
(even if the problems don't really exist). Timmy Failure is a legend
in his own mind, and he considers himself to be the world's best
young private detective, however his definition of genius and his
tendency to see the world from a very warped perspective seem to get
him into trouble. With the looming wedding of his mother to Doorman
Dave (a man Timmy loathes), and with the punishment of NO detective
work until school is over, Timmy takes unusual routes to hide his
devious detective agency from her attention, and to avoid
participation in the wedding. Failure is intensely awful at
detective work, but he does not realise this. He also ropes in
classmates with equally dreadful deductive reasoning and manages to
just create mayhem wherever he goes.
Pastis has created a series that kids will like, but this is
certainly not great literature. With a crazy plot, scattered comedic
caricatures throughout the book and silly chapter headings, there
are plenty of places to tickle the funny bone of readers aged 8+.
But don't expect that they will grow in their maturity and empathy
by reading this book... it is more likely that they will giggle
at inappropriate moments!
Carolyn Hull
Spark by Adam Wallace and Andrew Plant
Ford St Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925272406
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Bushfire. Australian bush. Disasters.
A cigarette casually thrown onto the dry grass is the spark which at
first flickers but then the wind becomes its friend and helps the
spark grow. It races across the dry grass, increasing in size, until
it tops the trees and frightens the animals from the bush. It now
flies above the tree tops, burning everything in its path. It asks
the wind to quieten but it is too late, the wind keeps pushing it
along until eventually weakening, it changes direction and the fire
is reduced back to where it started, a small spark.
This involving story of taut, measured words shows readers the
strength of a fire as it races over the scrub. With both the author
and illustrator having first hand experience of fire in Victoria and
South Australia (Ash Wednesday, 1983 and Black Saturday, 2009), the
words and images are stunningly presented.
Plant's illustrations encapsulate the dreadful intensity of a fire,
from the tiny spark to the ferocious firestorm engulfing all in its
wake. His use of mixed media including water colour, pencil and
crayon present the small flame beginning quietly in yellows with a
pale blue sky then building to a intensity of reds and dark yellows,
and on to blacks, grays and reds savagely taking up the whole page.
Different illustrative techniques convey the changing nature of the
fire, and readers will be in no doubt about its destructive force.
This will make a powerful addition to any class study of disasters
and fire, of how fires start, of their destruction and place in the
Australian environment.
Fran Knight
The Legends series by Michael Panckridge
Ford St, 2016. Chasing the break. ISBN 9781925272482 Against the spin. ISBN 9781925272499
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Sports. School. With the upper
primary reading group such a hard batch to satisfy with good books,
it is great to see the republishing of Michael Panckridge's exciting
series, The Legends. This is most welcome, with the series
repackaged with an up to date cover and blurb, designed to appeal to
this difficult group of the reading public. Each of the eight novels
in The Legends series are very school based using day to day
encounters to develop the plots, involving sports which are part of
the school's competitions. Chasing the break involves a surfing competition at Sandhurst
Primary School. One boy, Travis Fisk, won the competition at last
year's annual beach camp and intends to win again, but he is
challenged by the new boy at school, Mitchell Grady. Told in short,
easy to read chapters, the characters are well developed and
identifiable, and the integrity underlining the story is easily in
reach of every reader. They will cheer the hero as he strives to win
despite the odds, overcoming the antagonism of the antihero of the
story. Against the spin has a similar plot line, with Travis nursing
his wounds and Mitchell shining on the cricket field as well. But
this involves more of Travis' undesirable bullying coming to the
fore, and Mitchell and his friends having to deal with his antics
both on and off the sporting field.
Exciting, fast paced and easy to read, each of these stories is
about one hundred pages long with scores and quizzes at the end for
further excitement. The whole set will rarely be left on the shelf.
Fran Knight
Animalia by Graeme Base
Penguin, 2016. ISBN 9780670079131
Thirty years ago in 1986 an armoured armadillo avoiding an angry
alligator appeared from the pen of one of Australia's most iconic
illustrators. It was followed by beautiful blue butterflies basking
by a babbling brook and a host of other creatures including eight
enormous elephants expertly eating Easter eggs; horrible hairy hogs
hurrying homeward on heavily harnessed horses; meticulous mice
monitoring mysterious mathematical messages; and even zany sabras
zigzagging in zinc zeppelins.
For this was the magical, mystical, marvellous Animalia - an
alliterative alphabet book and which, after selling more than three
million copies worldwide and spawning a television
series, is now celebrating its 30th birthday and a whole new
audience is set to wonder at its creativity, its detail, its colour
and try to spot the tiny Graeme on each page. It is indeed a feast
of vivid visual literacy. And underneath the familiar dust cover
which so cleverly hints at what is inside is a glamorous golden
cover AND a fabulous poster of the lazy lions lounging in the local
library. (Great role models for reading!!!)
Since Animalia's original publication we have come to
associate Graeme Base with intriguing stories woven around the most
scintillating illustrations and if this is your first introduction
to his work, you will be on the lookout for his other works.
Congratulations Graeme - thank you for bringing us these superb
creatures and creating such riches for our young readers.
Barbara Braxton
His Bloody Project. Documents relating to the case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Text, 2016. ISBN 9781925498257
(Age: Capable senior students) Recommended. Shortlisted for the Man
Booker prize 2016. His Bloody Project is clearly subtitled
as a novel, which is a useful guide as the book has the authenticity
of a historical investigation. It has also been described as a
'crime story', that is, a story about a crime and not a 'crime
novel'. The text is comprised of a number of sets of documents,
including reports from the crime scene, the accused's thoughts
written in prison, an account from a psychiatrist engaged to assess
the accused and press reports written during and after the trial.
The accused is Roderick Macrae, the son of a poor crofter living in
a remote village in the Scottish Highlands in 1869. The reader
learns that Roderick, aged 16, has admitted to brutally murdering
the constable of the village. The crime scene documents detail
events seen by a number of villagers who are all shocked and some of
whom are sympathetic to Roderick. They agree that he was seen
walking to the constable's house with several agricultural
implements and returning covered in blood. However, attitudes to the
boy differ. The school teacher attests that Roderick was a clever
student, a neighbour that he was treated too severely by his father,
but the minister that he was wicked and retarded. Roderick's
statement is written in gaol at the behest of his lawyer. The reader
is given a clear picture of the hardship and deprivation that was
part of Roderick's life, though Roderick does not acknowledge that
his own circumstances are any more difficult than anyone else's.
Roderick's father is a dour, punitive man who seems to accept and
administer hardship with a religious zeal. He is a poor farmer and
father, and sends Roderick to work for the laird despite the teacher
recommending further education. Roderick is dismissed as unsuitable
and so is unable to help with the family's finances. Motivation for
the murder is provided when the constable harasses the family and
finally deprives them of their land. Roderick's lawyer is moved by
the statement and hoping for a verdict of insanity engages a
psychiatrist. The psychiatrist's report illustrates the nature of
psychiatry at that time more than the character of Roderick. Doctor
Thompson is supposedly an expert in the criminal mind. He has no
interest in Roderick himself and little in justice but rather is
concerned with proving his own theories about the criminal
physiognomy and the criminal class. He is unimpressed by Roddy's
writing though to the reader it seems thoughtful and humble. Doctor
Thompson travels to Roddy's village and reinforces his theories by
categorizing the villagers as stereotypes of the lowest class.
Finally, the newspaper accounts relay the trial and its unsurprising
conclusion.
The book is convincing and is a disturbing look at poverty and
victimisation. It also, with its use of multiple voices and
viewpoints, powerfully illustrates the impossibility of truly
understanding the minds of others. It is recommended for capable
senior readers.
Jenny Hamilton
Three sisters, three queens by Philippa Gregory
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781471133022
(Age: secondary) Recommended. English history, Tudors, Henry VIII,
Status of women, Scottish history. When Katherine of Aragon comes to
the Tudor court to marry Arthur, his younger sister, Margaret looks
on with petulant disdain. This woman will be her sister in law, but
Margaret is in no mood to be charitable. She will have to take
second place to this foreigner who cannot speak English, and
Margaret above all else, wants to be first.
However, she must be on her best behaviour at their wedding, as an
ambassador is there to confirm her as the wife to be of James IV of
Scotland. She is thrilled to be betrothed at twelve hardly able to
wait until she marries at fourteen to be a queen.
Her younger sister, Mary is initially betrothed to the Spanish
emperor, so the three sisters are to become queens and are all
related through Henry. Katherine of Aragon becomes Queen of England
when she marries Arthur's brother, the future Henry the Eighth,
Margaret is Queen of Scotland and Mary, Queen of France, and their
fictionalised lives make fascinating reading. Gregory's research is
obvious in the huge amount of detail providing a solid background to
these women's imagined lives. Details like James' metal belt worn
next to his skin to remind him of his killing his father or
Katherine's pregnancies and hair shirt, the progress made by the
kings surveying their lands, the clothing and jewelry and
extravagance of Henry's court are intoxicating. And the details of
court behaviour, the differences between the three courts, the
intrigues behind the decisions to declare war and the hapless lives
of these women dependent upon the men in their lives, are absorbing
to read. Margaret's petulance does not subside, she is ever
comparing herself with the other queens, sometimes their solicitous
friend, other times disgruntled and critical.
Her life going between Linlithgow, Holyrood, Edinburgh and Stirling
Castles, carrying six children and losing all but one, is
magnificently retold, ensuring the reader knows all there is to know
about Margaret of Scotland and her part in the Stuart succession to
the throne of England two generations hence.
She is self absorbed, but her life, always bound but her brother's
ambition and political game playing, or that of her husbands and any
people currying her favour, made her a more sympathetic creature,
tossed around in a world where a woman's voice was seldom given
credence.
A wonderful historical novel for those who love reading of Tudor
times, and are particularly interested in the role of women in this
society.
Fran Knight
Ida, always by Caron Levis
Ill. by Charles Santosa. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781742761909
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Polar bears, Zoos, Cities, Death and
grieving, New York, Friendship. Based on the true story of two polar
bears at New York's Central Park Zoo, this emotional story will have
all readers sniffling by the end of the tale. Ida and Gus have lived
a long while at the zoo, where they are seen by the many visitors,
and are looked after by the keeper, Sonya.
The two bears wait for each other in the morning, ready to feed
together, swim together, play with the ball, sit on their island and
watch the city around them. They listen to its sounds, and watch the
skyscrapers reach into the cloudy sky. They are inseparable, and
always there to be with each other. But one day Ida does not appear,
and Gus must do all the things they did together, by himself. Sonya
comes to tell him that Ida is unwell, and so the keeper and Gus look
after her, making sure she is comfortable and in no pain. They
remember the things they did together, reminding each other that
they will always be there, always. She eventually dies and Gus
misses her, all alone doing the things they did together. But when
he listen to the sounds of the city, he knows she is with him,
always.
This wonderful story of death and grieving will have resonance for
many children who have had a death in the family. They will
recognise the process of death, some times knowing that it is
imminent, and see the way people deal with the process of dying.
They will see too that although that person has died, things live on
to remind them of that person, there will be memories that keep that
person alive.
The soft illustrations will entrance the younger readers who will
look at the bears and their lives in the zoo with fresh eyes. They
will see the images in the clouds, and the skyline of New York, the
depiction of what these huge animals get up to in a zoo, and perhaps
ponder how different their lives would be in the wild. This will be
a lovely read aloud, but have the tissues handy.
Fran Knight
Space: Seek and find activity book ill. by Emiliano Magliardo
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870037
(Age: 5-7) Recommended. Themes: Space; Seek and Find. This is a
simple 'Seek and Find' concept book with a Space theme. Each double
page contains a simple factual paragraph and then humourous
cartoon-style illustrations which are crowded with fun and sometimes
ridiculous detail for a young reader to search and investigate. A
single text question on the featured page gives instructions for
something to find, but also each double page includes 10 smaller
pictures to locate from within the larger complex illustration.
Recommended - as a book to share with pre-readers or for early
independent readers. It will fill those moments when adults need a
bit of focused quiet time!
Carolyn Hull
Fabish: The horse that braved a bushfire by Neridah McMullin
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Allen and Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781925266863
(Ages: 5-9) Recommended. Bushfire, horses. This uplifting story is
based on events that occurred during the 2009 Black Saturday
bushfires in Victoria. Fabish, a retired racehorse, now takes care
of the flighty young horses. When fire looms large on the horizon,
the trainer knows he cannot save all the horses; he throws open the
gates and orders Fabish to take the yearlings and go. The author, a
horse enthusiast herself, does an amazing job of helping the reader
experience the terror of bushfire for both people and horses and the
desolation they leave behind. Rich, visual language makes it easy to
hear, feel and see the story, particularly the situation after the
fire (baked-hard soil, a pile of twisted iron and white ash, the
sound of crackling embers, blistered hands, a stinging throat,
melting boots). The story of the surviving horses seems secondary to
that of the sheer power of the bushfire, but it turns the book into
an uplifting one of against the odds survival and highlights the
love between people and animals. The watercolour paintings are
breathtaking and alongside the clear and concrete language, they
transport the reader into the story. While the subject matter could
be frightening for young children, it dwells more on the positive
behaviours and emotions of the trainer and the horses (hope,
leadership, determination) rather than on the negative. Particularly
as it relates to a real event, this book is a fantastic way for
teachers to stimulate discussion about the effects of bushfire on
humans, animals, and the environment and of the incredible spirit of
both humans and animals.
Nicole Nelson
An artist's alphabet by Norman Messenger
Walker Studio, 2016. ISBN 9781406346763
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Aptly named An artist's alphabet,
the stunning illustrations make this a stand-out picture book.
Ranging from drawings of fabulous animals, beautiful flowers and
stylish buildings the reader is taken through the upper and lower
case letters of the alphabet each on a double page spread. Starting
with Aa, there is a wonderful acrobat standing on top of a horse and
another curled up to make the small letter a. The illustrations for
the letter Bb are a little more difficult to work out, but beetles
and a butterfly can be seen. From this beginning the reader would
expect to see a traditional alphabet book, with the pictures
matching the letters - but this is not always so. When the page is
turned to the letter Cc, beautiful waves are drawn, but the reader
is left wondering how the waves represent a Cc. This trend continues
throughout the book - a very round grey cat is on the Dd page, but
the Gg page has subtly patterned goldfish. Hh is easy to identify
with its wondrous multi-storied houses with archways and bridges,
but the trees and tree trunk for Rr is much more difficult to work
out.
The strange and fantastic drawings will also pull the individual
into the wonderful world of the imagination, providing so many
stimulating pictures that the reader will want to look at again and
again, not just to try and work out the associations with the
letters, but for their beauty and delicacy of colour. It is a book
that begs to be shared with other people, leading to discussions of
what the illustralions could refer to and coming up with different
solutions.
This is a book that I can see becoming a classic, one that people
who appreciate the surreal and beautiful will want to keep on their
book shelves.
Pat Pledger
Burn baby burn by Meg Medina
Candlewick Press, 2016. ISBN 9780763674670
(Age: 14+) Recommended. 17 year old Nora Lopez lives in New York
during the terrible year of 1977. The heat is scorching and there is
a killer on the loose. But that's not all Nora has to face - her
family is spiralling out of control, with her mother having
difficulty paying the rent and brother Hector becoming
uncontrollable and befriending drug dealers.
In a story of resilience set against a fascinating historical
backdrop, Medina brings to life the difficulties that Nora faces
with courage and thoughtfulness. With her father only interested in
his new family and not paying his way, it is she who must interpret
for her mother, and try and avoid the increasing violence of her
younger brother. When she meets a cute boy at the deli where she
works, she and her friend Kathleen know that Sam the Man, the serial
killer, is murdering young couples, and they both wonder if it is
safe to go out on dates. Her teachers are encouraging her to go to
college but all Nora wants to do is reach the age of 18 when she can
leave home and become independent, without the family worries that
are so overwhelming.
I enjoyed the thread of feminism that weaves its way through the
story, with Kathleen's mother an ardent believer in going to rallies
for women's rights. She takes the girls along with her on marches.
Nora too is clever with non-traditional skills of woodwork and these
skills will ultimately help her in a resolution to her problems.
Friendship plays an important part of the story, and the
relationship between Nora and Kathleen will leave readers asking
questions about when it is right to tell family secrets and seek
help from friends.
There are some big themes here: not only is there the simmering heat
that erupts in violence in the city, and the threat of a serial
killer on the loose, but the family dynamics are dire. In the
author's note at the back Medina talks about her theme of juvenile
domestic violence that is rarely touched on in young adult novels
and the novel being a 'celebration of people who find their strength
even in the worst circumstances'.
This would make a great literature circle book, with lots of themes
to be discussed.
Pat Pledger
Happily ever after: Little Red Riding Hood ill. by Celeste Hulme
New Frontier Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925059564
(Ages: 4-8) This is exactly what it says: a version of Little
Red Riding Hood that ends happily! The story begins the same
way as in most versions of the story, with Little Red Riding Hood
setting out across the woods to take her sick grandmother a tasty
treat. 'Don't talk to strangers' her mother warns. The illustration
on this page shows a clever bird's eye view of the long path to
Grandma's house, which winds past the wolf's lair. The potential for
talking to young children about stranger danger is made clear as
Little Red Riding Hood disregards her mother's advice, not only
talking to the wolf, but giving him directions to her grandmother's
house. 'I will run fast through the woods and meet you there. I
would like to see if your grandma is feeling better' says the wolf.
A bird's eye view is used again, showing the wolf's shadow looming
large over tiny Grandma huddled in her bed. The iconic scene where
the wolf pretends to be Grandma goes just as expected but Little Red
Riding Hood somehow manages to open the cupboard door, releasing
Grandma and the avalanche of things in the cupboard! The wolf looks
injured and the reader is told he is never seen again. There are
some large passages of text and the ending seems a little peculiar,
but the language is relatively simple and the story flows well,
making it an appealing version of a traditional tale, especially for
children who are more sensitive.
Nicole Nelson
