Reviews

Hotdog! by Anh Do

Ill. by Dan McGuiness. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760279004
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Humour. Animals. Poo. Hotdog, a super low sausage dog has abilities quite different from those shown by his friends. Lizzie the lizard is able to blend into the background so much so that people cannot see her. She is most unlike Kevin the cat, a master of disguises, who uses a variety of costumes to trick people. Watch out for his dairy cow costume, complete with udder.
Together the three friends find a baby bird. It cannot speak and so cannot tell the trio where it lives. But the group works out where it belongs and set about returning it to its mum.
The journey the three friends take will involve early readers in this easy to read chapter book. Filled with McGuiness' funny cartoon like drawings, readers will find humour wherever they look, reveling in the depiction of the trio and their lost bird. Their skills at a range of things, changing nappies, karate and following a trail, lead the trio and the bird to their destination, and all is good.
Designed with younger readers in mind, some pages are in cartoon style, others have some words picked out in a different colour, some words have a whole page to themselves. Numbers are often used and each chapter is only a few pages long. All endearing to the early chapter book reader, and combined with Anh Do's writing, makes this one of those books which will always be borrowed and well thumbed.
Fran Knight

Timing the machine by Gary Crew

Ill. by Paul O'Sullivan. Harbour Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781922134530
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Fantasy. Future. Science fiction. Time travel. When Enoch becomes lost in the museum, he is at a loss to even remember who he is, let alone why he is there, who his teacher is, and how he was separated from his class. He questions himself as he tries to find his way, stumbling over things in his path. Bleeding, he begins to even question his own humanity, as he continues to stagger on through the place. Mixed with time travel, H G Wells' The Time Machine which the class is studying, a museum full of strange offerings, Enoch's journey will intrigue all readers. They, like him, will struggle to find out where he is and why he is there. Sometimes there appears to be someone else in the room, sometimes his hands become automated, sometimes he climbs large staircases finding something at the top of the stairs that may unravel the mystery. All lead the reader on, wanting to know about the journey Enoch is taking. The mystical language, full of what if's and why's, never offering an answer, will delight younger readers, while O'Sullivan's illustrations will carry the reader into the story, offering clues and hints, about what is going on.
This is a marvellously intriguing book, with writing that charms and insinuates, complimented with illustrations that sometimes defy the imagination, but always take the reader further along into a fantasy world where time is immaterial and time travel an option.
I love the Escher style staircase, the hands that move with metallic parts, the soaring Gothic building, the rolls of film on every few pages that tell part of the story of Enoch looking for an answer. He doesn't get an answer and neither do we, but the journey is fascinating, and well worth the travel.
A sequel to The visions of Ichabod X, which was shortlisted for the Australian Book Designer's Award in 2016.
Fran Knight

Little Owl's egg by Debi Gliori

Ill. by Alison Brown. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408853795
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. Little Owl is surprised and a little jealous when Mother Owl announces there is a new baby owl inside the egg Mummy has lain. He wants to remain Little Owl and is scared there won't be enough of his mother's love to share with a new baby as well.
Clever Mummy decides a walk in the woods with the egg safely in its nest pusher will help. Little Owl is adamant: 'I'm your baby owl. You don't need a new one'. Mummy pretends the egg will hatch into an array of different creatures. Is it wiggly worm crawling underground, a chocolate egg, a penguin eating a fish on the freezing ice or a baby crocodile? Each suggestion is met with a negative response from Little Owl, not a baby crocodile, until Mummy suggests an elephant, and Little Owl loves the idea of water fights! There's the suggestion of a dragon, much to Mummy's horror and a wonderful imaginary creature who eats eighty legged snort beans and green tubers. As they return to their home in the tree, Little Owl contemplates all the suggestions and comes to an important realisation that a baby owl may be the best thing of all.
Alison Brown's charming creatures take on human characteristics and show a range of emotions as Mummy Owl and Little Owl venture through the green woodland. Her paintings delightfully depict Debi Gliori's humourous narrative and fantastic story. A story to share before a new sibling arrives.
Rhyllis Bignell

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

HarperCollins, 2016. ISBN 9781460752036
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Inquisition. Middle Ages. France - History. Miracles. Dolssa de Stigata is a deeply religious girl who believes that she must preach. Persecuted by the Inquisition and hunted by Dominican Friar Lucien, she flees for safety and is found by Botille, a matchmaker in a small seaside town. Hidden in Botille and her sisters' inn, Dolssa talks to God and begins to help the villagers. But danger stalks all of them.
This is an outstanding piece of historical fiction. Berry brings the period and the characters to life - the deeply religious Dolssa and her belief in God, the Friar Lucien who believes that Dolssa is a heretic, and the three sisters struggling to make a living in a poor inn. There is humour and heartbreak as Berry describes the daily life of the villagers, their love and needs, as well as the horror of the Inquisition that hangs over ordinary people and leaves a sense of impending danger throughout the story. Botille is a courageous young woman and her narration brings both tears and laughter to the reader.
At the back of the book Berry gives an historical note, writing that the historical setting is real and that 'Dolssa de Stigata's story is based on the lives of several medieval female mystics'. There is more information about the period and a glossary adds to the authenticity of the narration.
This is a demanding and engrossing read, beautifully written, that vividly describes the life and beliefs of the Middle Ages. For readers who have problems with the ending, Berry has written a piece on her home page: About the Ending: Unraveling The Passion of Dolssa not to be read until the reader has finished the book.
Pat Pledger

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Ill. by Chris Riddell. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870600
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Myths. The story, first published in 2009 and a World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novella, has been given a new face with the fabulous illustrations by Chris Riddell. Odd, whose name means tip of a blade, is left fatherless when his Viking father dies after a raid. His mother remarries but his step-father and step siblings don't want a boy who is a cripple around. One winter that doesn't want to end sees Odd fleeing to the forest and the old woodcutter's hut that his father once used. There he encounters a fox who leads him to a bear that has become trapped while trying to gather honey. Overhead an eagle has hovered watching what was going on. Odd becomes aware that the trio are Norse gods, who have been trapped in their animal forms by the frost giants who have taken over Asgard the city of the gods. Odd goes on an epic journey to find Thor's hammer and overcome the frost giants all the while carrying a wooden sculpture that his father had left behind.
The narrative flows along and keeps the reader engrossed in the tale of Odd, who is a most engaging young man and whose courage in the face of danger and disability is as strong as his resilience and kind heart. The legendary figures of Thor, Odin, Loki and Freya are fascinating and readers will laugh at Loki's antics and smile at the Riddell's illustrations which make them seem life like. The knowledge that Odd's mother had been taken from Scotland by his father and that she had always sung songs in her own language, provides a theme that readers will want to pursue and makes the ending all the more poignant.
The black and white pencil drawings are stunning. The front cover shows Frey, a frost giant and Odd, with a fabulous cut out of icicles and when the reader opens it up there is the strange face of a frost giant. The illustrations of the transformation of Odd from a young boy to a tall young man and the three gods to their proper forms are wonderful and readers will want to pore over them.
This is a story that begs to be read again and again for its approach to adventure, Norse myths and Vikings, while the illustrations ensure that it will be a keeper for families and in libraries.
Pat Pledger

Twig by Aura Parker

Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760157067
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Insects, Camouflage, School, Acceptance. When Heidi, the stick insect first goes to school, she is daunted by the number of other insects there, but is looking forward to making new friends and learning lots.
But no one can see her. She waves her willowy arms, but even the teacher does not see her. The cockroaches and spiders and stink bugs and mosquitoes all walk by without noticing her. Readers by this stage will have worked out why she is so ill defined: being a stick insect means that she blends into her surroundings, and even Miss Orb, the weaving spider who is their teacher does not see her, hanging her weaving on what she thinks is the hat stand, but it is of course Heidi. Readers will now be calling out to the class to recognise Heidi, and watch as the story unfolds, making Heidi noticed by the group.
And they will not be disappointed, this is a charming story of fitting in, of being accepted by the group, but being yourself at the same time.
The insects gather together bits and pieces to make a weaving and one grabs a twig to put in the frame. But the twig calls out, and people realise that it is Heidi. From then on the class works to make Heidi stand out and not fade into the background, except of course when they play hide and seek. And the audience will be delighted with the solution they come up with.
Soft watercolour and pencil illustrations full of detail with draw in the readers' eyes as they too search for Heidi amongst the myriad of things on each page. The endpapers have a legend asking the readers to identify what is shown, and often numbers appear on the pages encouraging younger readers to count. This book will initiate a great deal of fun and sharing as the tale of camouflage is played out.
Fran Knight

Snow White - a Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

Candlewick Press 2016. ISBN 9780763672331
The classic story of Snow White is a dark one; her mother dies, the wicked stepmother usurps her father's love and is jealous of her. She survives a murder attempt and briefly finds friendship in the seven dwarfs only to be poisoned; rescue comes only at the last minute. This graphic adaptation embraces that darkness and imbues it with 1920s style. It opens with the 'glass coffin' scene but here 'White as Snow' lies in Macey's Christmas window display with NYPD crime scene tape in the foreground. The detective interviews a street urchin, one of 'the Seven' and then the story flashes back to the beginning. The monochrome pencil and ink illustrations and foggy winter setting effectively suggest the coldness of Snow's life making the rare splashes of colour quite startling. The stepmother is a famous Zeigfeld Follies star who has enthralled her father and the magic mirror is replaced by a ticker tape machine which seems not only to have protected them from the stock market crash but also to emit statements about who is the most beautiful. The Seven are a group of motherless street urchins who protect Snow when she is alone on the streets and take her in. When the inevitable happens, the investigating detective is the one to give the kiss and wake Snow adding colour to all of their lives.
The visual storytelling is multi layered. A quick read with little dialogue but the attention to detail reveals a great cast of well-drawn characters and an authentic feel of Depression era New York. Not for the very young but a popular story cleverly retold.
Classroom ideas are available.
Sue Speck

Rain stones by Jackie French

Angus & Robertson, 2016. ISBN 9781460753170
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Rural Australia. Drought. This newly presented edition celebrates twenty five years since this book was first published. With a new cover and an edition in ebook format, times have changed, but not the charming set of stories reflecting life for young people in rural Australia.
The opening tale, Rain stones is a story which tells of life in rural Australia during a drought where mum must work in the town, Helen must get tea ready while dad works on the old pump getting what little water there is into the dam for the few sheep left on the property. French breathes life into this scenario as Helen strives to follow up the story about Aboriginal people bringing rain through special stones. She asks the local historian and finds that one of the boys in her class has Aboriginal heritage. She talks to his father but seemingly to no avail, until both groups meet to encourage rain. It remains a wining tale of coming together in drought ridden Australia, and reflects values now part of that time.
In 'Afternoon with Grandma', a visit by a family to their Grandma with Alzheimer Disease sees the two children told to go into the garden, where they meet a girl they think is their cousin and play with her learning all about her life and dreams. It is only talking with their mother that they learn that their Gran's dreams were the same.
In the third story, Ben meets Jacob at the swimming pool for lessons and realises that he is blind, while another story concerns the dinosaurs living in the hills around Canberra. All stories are quite delightful, revealing the early writing of Jackie French for a new generation of her avid readers.
Fran Knight

Rather be the Devil by Ian Rankin

John Rebus series. Orion Books, 2016. ISBN 9781409159414
(Age: Senior secondary to adult) Highly recommended. Cold case. Crime. Edinburgh. John Rebus though retired, hasn't put away his interest in crime or the criminals in Edinburgh. A cold case stimulates his interest; the death of wealthy, promiscuous Maria Turquand in a room at the Caledonian Hotel was never solved. Her murderer was never found despite there being a notorious rock band and all of its hangers on staying at the same hotel that night. Away from the old 'Cal', Edinburgh's criminal underworld has seemingly flexed its muscles when crime boss Darryl Christie is assaulted and Big Ger Cafferty is the prime suspect.
Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox have to put aside their differences and work together with Rebus, not always a welcome partner in their investigations. Christie's criminal dealings are of interest to revenue and customs, particularly possible money laundering through his betting shops. The fact that he's been assaulted could mean he owes money, or there may be a takeover bid for his Edinburgh businesses.
Rebus has a history with Cafferty so is a useful go-between for Fox and Clarke, but is regarded with distrust by the hierarchy in the force. He can be a loose cannon which is of course, part of his charm.
Links between the cold case, old money and a struggle for supremacy in the Edinburgh underworld lead the investigation in circuitous routes, but who is pulling the strings? Is Cafferty a spent force? Is Rebus' health a problem?
Rankin gives us the old Rebus forging ahead breaking rules, putting himself in danger in pursuit of the perpetrators of crime, and of course Clarke and now Fox are teamed with Rebus to make a familiar and satisfying triumvirate. And for those who love the haunts of Edinburgh, there are descriptions of both the known and unknown of this city, so beloved by Rebus and his creator, Rankin.
Mark Knight

Ducks away by Mem Fox

Ill. by Judy Horacek. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760158514
(Age: 2-5) Highly recommended. Ducks away is a delightful new picture book created by celebrated children's author Mem Fox and Judy Horacek a popular children's illustrator and cartoonist.
Mem Fox has adapted the lyrics of the popular children's song Five Little Ducks and the five little ducks and mother duck are off on a new adventure. One by one, the ducklings follow their mother across a bridge in single file. Just as the last duck hurries to join the family, a gust of wind blows it into the river below. What a dilemma should Mother Duck stay on the bridge or fly down and rescue the one below? Of course the ducklings all jump off the bridge one at a time with encouragement from her and Mother Duck joins her family in the river.
Mem Fox predictive rhyming text is a pleasure to to read aloud, she builds the excitement and drama as one by one the ducklings appear on the bridge and then jump into the water. There are questions to answer, comments to respond to, fun alliterative text and an encouraging ending. Judy Horacek's simple, bold illustrations bring the story alive, against the white backgrounds the grey stone bridge and deep blue river stand out. The yellow ducklings' heads mirror their mother's they look up, back and down, a great way to introduce directional and positional sight words.
Ducks away is just right for sharing over and over again, with a young family, in a preschool or kindergarten. With an easy-to-read font and emphasized words written in red and Mother Duck's repeated refrain, this book is a great start to encourage reading. One of Mem Fox's reading commandments states, 'Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn.'
Rhyllis Bignell

The fabulous friend machine by Nick Bland

Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760277659
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. At Fiddlesticks Farm, Popcorn the caring, considerate chicken is a fabulous friend; she supports all the farm animals in many ways. She has won the friendliest chicken award for the past three years. Popcorn enjoys wonderful conversations over a cup of tea with the hens, brightens up a muddy pig's day and finds time to read splendid stories to the milking cows. She is even the lollipop chicken, stopping the tractor to allow the ducklings' safe access across the track.
Popcorn's life changes dramatically when she discovers a small dazzling object, a little electronic device hidden in the barn straw. To her surprise when she pecks at the tiny envelope on the screen, there is an instant friendly response - 'Hello.' Dropping the green apples meant for the horse, she rushes outside with her exciting fabulous friend machine. Soon she ignores all her farmyard friends, even forgets about her personal safety, because she loves the instant responses from the machine. This is a cautionary tale,and when she invites her online buddies over to her henhouse the situation is a difficult one. Luckily, her true friends come to her rescue.
Nick Bland's farm animals and settings are painted with bold and earthy tones. The font sizes and styles change to suit the mood of the narrative and the black and white text colours stand out on the light and dark backgrounds. Popcorn's wings artistically turn into hands, just right for baking cakes, holding storybooks and especially carrying around her electronic device.
The Fabulous Friend Machine is a wonderful picture book that explores a very current topic: it introduces the dangers of communicating with strangers online. A must read story for families, for schools and preschools, a great platform to inform children about cyber safety and ethical practices.
Rhyllis Bignell

Word Hunters Top Secret Files by Nick Earls

Graphic Designer: Terry Whidborne. UQP, 2016. ISBN 9780702254024
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Word Hunters: Top Secret Files is a visually engaging compendium of word origins, letters, notes, sketches, diagrams, photographs, diary entries and historical facts. There's a feast of information, presented in a multi-layered style with colourful text boxes stuck down with tape, engaging font styles and sizes, different papers, splats and splodges of ink accompanied by Terry Whidborne's and Nick Earl's humourous comments and asides.
Familiar characters from the Word Hunters Trilogy, Mursili and Caractacus once again ask for the assistance of twins Al and Lexi, Grandad Al and other word hunters. Their task is to uncover the origins of words, research the beginnings of the alphabet and preserve the future existence of the English language. Humorously Al Hunter reminds us of words that have disappeared - pigsney, fudgel and snecklifter for example.
The history of tennis and cricket; the word origins for 'busk', 'guy' and 'feisty' are extensively researched and the recipes for Hittite Bread and Cleopatra's Sweet Sesame Honey Balls are included. Detailed instructions, diagrams and drawings are included for the creating of dragon scale armour.
Nick Earls and Terry Whidborne's Word Hunters Top Secret Files encourages active research skills, exploring etymology, historical facts and figures and writing narratives. Readers can also connect to online resources, including the Layar app, which brings up additional digital experiences. A fun fact-filled, high interest book just right for those readers who love the Guinness Book of Records.
Rhyllis Bignell

Lily in the mirror by Paula Hayes

Fremantle Press, 2016. ISBN 9781925163872
(Age: middle school) Recommended. Vietnam, Family. 'To be dark and mysterious is one of my lifelong goals' says Lily, bemoaning the fact that her life is rather slow, but when she discovers a strange mirror in her Grandfather's house, locked in a room that no one uses, she is entranced with what she finds. Mystery and magic appear all at one, as the girl in the mirror needs Lily's help.
Of Vietnamese extraction, Lily does not know her mother's parents but the locked room in her granddad's house is intoxicating. Related in Lily's emotive voice, the story is of wrongs righted as Lily and the girl solve a family mystery together. Lily's brush with he supernatural helps her win over the bullies at school, and her advanced knowledge of the Harry Potter books gives her an unexpected advantage. Middle school readers will love Lily's fresh voice and the working out of the problem of the girl in the mirror.
Fran Knight

The Memory Book by Lara Avery

The giant's necklace by Michael Morpurgo

Ill. by Briony May Smith. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406357127
(Age: 10+) Recommended (with reservations for sensitive children) Themes: Ghosts; Death. Young Cherry, the only girl in her family, is keen to finish the excessively long 'Giant's Necklace' (a shell collection on a string) before the family leaves their beachside holiday home. Unfortunately, her focus on finishing the task prevents her from noticing the changing sea conditions, and this prevents her from leaving the shore safely. Her attempts to climb the cliff to escape the wild seas leads her to the old abandoned tin mine, where she encounters ghosts from a long ago mine collapse. Although Morpurgo cleverly leads the reader to think this is a story of survival, it is actually a ghost story and might be quite confronting for readers too young to deal with the grief-washed ending.
Morpurgo writes very engagingly with metaphor dripping from the pages, and simple scenarios of family life revealed in a way that children can connect to. The challenging theme of lives lost though may mean that this is one of Morpurgo's books that may need to be discussed with the child reader, rather than just placed in their hands. The illustrations by Briony May Smith are colourful and in a naive style, and perhaps may wrongly hint at a more light-hearted story.
Carolyn Hull