Reviews

When friendship followed me home by Paul Griffin

Text Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781925355499
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Friendship. Dogs. Cancer. Editor's Choice in the New York Times. A heart wrenching but uplifting story, When friendship followed me home, is the tale of Ben Coffin, a 12 year old who is in foster care. All seems fine, he has adopted a scruffy little dog, called Flip and enjoys reading sci-fi at the library. When Ben meets Halley, the librarian's daughter, he believes he has a friend, but his foster mother Tess, dies and Ben finds himself once again trying to cope. He goes to live with Jeanie, Tess's sister, but her partner Leo has anger management issues and he faces loss and isolation.
Ben is a beautifully realised and remarkable character. As his friendship with Halley develops he is the strong one who is optimistic and caring as she deals with her cancer. Together they begin to write a story called The magic box, and Halley refuses to tell him what is in it (what a wonderful surprise that will be for the reader!) His resilience, his compassion and his humility make this a stand out story. Then of course there is the little dog Flip who has lots of tricks that endear him as a therapy dog when he works with Ben and Halley helping children to learn to read.
Halley's parents are also beautifully portrayed and the relationship that Ben gradually builds up with them is heart-warming. Halley's father is a magician and when Ben begins to work with him, he starts to have confidence in himself and begins to feel at home in the family.
Although I shed many tears throughout When friendship followed me home, the kindness of Ben and Halley's family, and of Tess, his foster mother shone through reminding the reader that helpfulness and friendship are all important even though there is abandonment, domestic violence and poverty in the world.
This is a feel good book that won't easily be forgotten. It would make an outstanding read aloud, class text or literature circle novel. Teacher's notes are available.
Pat Pledger

The world's worst children by David Walliams

Ill. by Tony Ross. HarperCollins, 2016. ISBN 9780008197049
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Humour, Behaviour. Prefaced by a local shopkeeper who exhorts children not to read this book, lest they be encouraged to copy the behaviours shown, no child will resist the ten stories held within. Each describes the antics of one child and the rotten things they get up to. Even the names of the chapters will have readers giggling to themselves. Who could resist reading about Dribbling Drew, Peter Picker or Windy Wendy.
One chapter entitled Grubby Gertrude is about the girl who never throws anything out so her bedroom is more like a rubbish tip. She must wade through ankle deep rubbish to get to her bed, and despite her mother's efforts with a sturdy vacuum cleaner, nothing changes. That is until one night a rubbish monster appears from the leavings on her floor. Lots of fun with a cautionary ending will have readers laugh out loud at the grime, taking note that they may have some similarities with Gertrude.
Opening each chapter drags the reader into a story about these repulsive children. Readers will recognise the characters immediately and snigger at the antics they get up to. And Tony Ross' illustrations are just wonderful, and along with the layout of the book with differing fonts and font sizes, adds an extra level of interest to the eager readers. David Walliams has certainly filled a niche and his stories will be eagerly sought after in bookshop and library or wrapped as a present.
Fran Knight

Dig World by Steven O'Donnell (Bajo) Stephanie Bendixsen (Hex)

Ill. by Chris Kennett. Pixel Raiders series, bk 1. Scholastic Australia, 2016. ISBN 9781760159252
(Age: 8+) Stephanie Bendixsen and Steve O'Donnell are writers and presenters for the ABC3 show Good Game and Good Game: Spawn Point and Good Game: Pocket Edition. They are video game enthusiasts, dedicated gamers across all platforms and they have collaboratively written this new virtual-reality gaming series - Pixel Raiders.
Ripley and Mei are fanatical gamers; each has a high level of skills and mastery of INREAL GAMES including - Teamforce Splatter, Dungeons of Direworld and Space Horizons 1-4. A wonderfully exciting day is about to happen; their class are visiting the INREAL gaming headquarters to see where all the new games are tested. There is an amazing opportunity for the best gamer, who will test the latest VR game. Rip and Mei battle each other in Super Block Knights and each plays to their strengths determined to win the prize, however Angela outsmarts the kids and is declared the winner. A week later, the two gamers are invited to return to INREAL to play Pixel Raiders Level 1 - Dig World.
Trapped inside this brand new game, Rip and Mei work together to build shelters, find food and use voice recognition to move through the game world. George the Wizard is their guide and they soon discover the need for protecting their health. They need to survive for three days in this strange pixelated environment, fighting green arrow shooting goblins and flame tigers, chopping wood for fires and discovering the reasons for fart flowers.
Dig World is an action-packed adventure for readers who love gaming and the world of virtual reality.
Rhyllis Bignell

My Lovely Colouring Book

Bloomsbury Activity Books, 2016. ISBN 9781408879306
(Age: 7+) Recommended as a gift. With the craze for colouring in books still happening, this beautifully produced book is sure to be a winner.
There are flowers, fish, animals of all kinds, fruit and vegetables, all beautifully designed to catch the interest of someone who would like to relax and be creative with colour. The separate illustrations of two fabulous owls caught my eye as I was flicking through the book. On the left hand side of the page it is coloured in and on the right hand side is the same image for the user to colour in as the imagination demands or perhaps for a younger user, to copy. Each of the many illustrations has wonderful shapes and patterns, some in colour to stimulate interest and some in black and white to whet the artistic bent of the user.
This would make a lovely gift for anyone who is interested in colouring in and is sure to prove to be both stimulating and relaxing.
Pat Pledger

Olive of Groves and the great slurp of time by Katrina Nannestad

Harper Collins Children's Books; ABC Books, 2016. ISBN 9780733333705
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Olive is the only semi-sane character attending Mrs Groves' Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers. This is the second book in the series, and yet again her voice of reason and her kindness come to the fore in the midst of the crazy and bizarre happenings that follow when a time traveller lands in the midst of the usual 'madness' of the unusual school life, and inadvertently creates a 'time slurp' that sucks all logic from this funny story.
Children from aged 8-12 will enjoy the bizarre exploits of rats, moose, goose, acrobats and a plethora of other strange characters that have gross, explosive and disgusting habits. A former student returns to add difficulty to school life and Mrs Groves also proves herself to be the literary world's most inane and peculiar school 'leader' who is unable to recognise a lie if it fell on top of her and crushed every bone in her body! The rules for time travel are also challenging, and nearly result in a terrible disaster. Nannestad writes in a way that is disarmingly quaint and endearing, with charming asides that allow her own humour and understanding of what can tickle the funny bone of young readers to sparkle lightly through the story.
Recommended.
Carolyn Hull

Hillary, a biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Karen Blumenthal

Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408873922
(Age: 16+) Recommended. 'The challenge is to practise politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible' - Hillary is quoted on the front cover. This biography by Karen Blumenthal traces Hillary's life story and reveals an amazingly determined and assured woman who always rose to the challenge no matter the obstacle. In fact opposition only made her more determined to find a way to prevail.
Early experiences provide insight into her strength of character. As a student of law she championed children's rights; her first scholarly article 'Children under the law' was published in the Harvard Educational Review'. Yet one of her first assignments as a legal aid lawyer was the defence of a factory worker accused of child rape, not a task she wanted to take on. Nevertheless she put enormous energy into giving him the best defence possible, bringing the case to a plea bargain. In any job assigned to her, Hillary immediately set to work and gave it her utmost. Early on, Bill Clinton once said of her 'this is a woman whose future is limitless. She could be anything she decides to be'.
What she decided to do though, was support him. She was Bill Clinton's strongest campaigner and strongest support. And it seems like their partnership was the perfect marriage of skills, his charm and sociability combined with her strategy and hard work ethic, a combination that saw Bill rise to Governor of Arkansas and then President of the United States.
The two of them also made a conscious decision, to provide a constant and close family relationship with their daughter Chelsea. Even at the hardest times, in coming to terms with Bill's infidelity, they were united not only in their combined goals, but their love for their daughter. There is a very poignant photograph after the Lewinsky revelations, a back view of them walking away together, Chelsea between them, holding both their hands. They do all appear to have come through that time, still linked by love and respect.
It is interesting to ponder what Hillary may have achieved if she hadn't chosen Bill and followed her own career. But the message of the book seems to be that each of them benefited from the partnership, it was their winning team combination that got them both as far as it did. Hillary's star has continued to rise - as Obama's Secretary of State, and now her tilt at the Presidency itself. No matter the outcome, it is clear she is an amazingly driven person, and it is fascinating to read how her life path has evolved. The book provides an inspiring story for young women of today, to stay strong, never give up, and believe in yourself and what you want to do.
Helen Eddy

The nose pixies by David Hunt and Lucia Mascuillo

Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9780733334870
(Age: 3+) Cautionary tale. Nose picking. Health. You will never pick your nose again after reading this horribly descriptive cautionary tale. And hopefully neither will the young audience to whom it is targeted.
Oliver has a very nasty habit, that of picking his nose and planting the pickings in his mouth. He tells his hands to behave but without thinking those fingers sneak back into his nose. One night Dad tells him a very strange story, that of the nose pickers whose job it is to mine noses. The story has been made up just for Oliver, and Dad tells it with gusto.
Warning: this will make you feel ill for much of the story. Designed to put kids off being involved in this nasty habit, the book will certainly achieve its aim. Kids will read it for the humour and the yuck factor, relishing everything that comes out of Oliver's nose, but take to heart the message given. Young boys in particular will have a great laugh as the story is told, and will relish watching the eight pixies go about their mining work.
Fran Knight

Secret princesses: The magic necklace by Rosie Banks

Orchard Books, 2016. ISBN 9781408336083
(Age: 6-9) Young novel. Princesses. Friendship. A series that concentrated on magical princesses and the power of friendship is sure to have a following. Best friends Charlotte and Mia are very upset when Charlotte's family decide to move away, but when they are given magic necklaces, they discover that they can see each other whenever they want, and have adventures at the same time. When they are taken to Wishing Star Palace they meet their friend Alice, who is a pop star and also one of the princesses. She explains that the secret princesses make wishes come true for girls and at the same time help the Wishing Star Palace from being destroyed.
There is much to appeal to young readers with this book. The plot of keeping in touch with your best friend using a magic necklace is entertaining and the themes of aiding others and being good friends is also alluring. Charlotte and Mia's task is to help out Olivia who is desperate to make new friends but her party is being spoilt by the evil Princess Poison who is determined that they won't succeed. They have to use their ingenuity to foil her evil plans.
There is an extra commercial aspect to this book - Monsoon Children, a UK based clothing company, is part of the campaign and children are urged to get the same princess outfits that Charlotte and Mia wear as well as a Best Friends necklace designed by Monsoon.
Pat Pledger

Ollie's Odyssey by William Joyce

Moonbot Books, 2016. ISBN 9781442473553
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Ollie's Odyssey is a cinematic narrative, an epic 'a-venture' that explores the power of friendship, courage and determination, the forces of good and evil and even love and loss. This is a multi-layered story centred on the world of favourite toys. On the crisp white pages, told from either Billy's or Ollie's point of view, we engage with their special friendship with special words - Yum for food to the simple pleasures of being a toddler and a young boy with a creative imagination. The love of a favourite toy holds a special bond. When Billy is born with a heart murmur, his mother lovingly sews him a stuffed toy, a soft rabbit teddy named Ollie. Inside she stitches a tinkling bell heart from her favourite childhood wooden doll Nina.
Interwoven into the plot, on darker pages, marked with foxing the antagonist appears - Zozo a chipped and battered clown toy abandoned long ago by an amusement stand owner. Years ago, this toy loved a wooden dancing doll with a bell heart. After Nina was won by a little girl and taken from him, Zozo's wanted other children to suffer by stealing their favourite toys and hiding them underground in the derelict tunnels. The clown mastermind has created mechanical henchmen the Creeps who assist him with his wicked plans. Torn and dirty, the favourites are imprisoned and forced to watch as he builds a new Nina, all she needs is a bell heart. Joyce's scary painted illustrations display Zozo's dark personality and his evil character.
After Ollie is stolen, Billy's strength of character and courage shines through, with the aid of a band of misfits - the Junkyard Gang, he plans and carries out a rescue mission. This is a unique story, for a special audience of readers who still enjoy the magic of toys, who will appreciate William Joyce's imaginative characters and delight in the Billy and Ollie's adventures.
Rhyllis Bignell

The Tale of Gwyn by Cynthia Voigt

Tales of the Kingdom bk 1. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015. ISBN 9781481421805
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. This reprint of Jackaroo with a new title and cover is a boon for readers who enjoy fantasy, especially one with a heroine in the vein of Robin Hood. Written in beautiful language by award winning author, Voigt, the tale of a kingdom ravaged by poverty is spell binding. There is little hope for the common people who are starving and burdened by taxes and wars until a masked outlaw called Jackaroo comes at night to leave money and assistance for the helpless. Gwyn the daughter of the innkeeper doesn't believe in fairy tales, but when she finds a mask, cloak and sword in an abandoned cottage, she finds herself searching for answers.
Gwyn is a fabulous character. She is practical and loyal, brave and daring. Although the bones of the story lie in the tale of a masked person giving to the poor, under Voigt's magical writing, the story becomes much more than that. It is a vivid depiction of a medieval type of society, with kings, earls, manors and common people, and a beautiful rendition of a young woman's coming of age. The secondary characters are fully realised and Burl the young servant at the inn is a wonderful person, stalwart, calm and helpful.
Originally I read this as Jackaroo when it was first published. I loved it then and it has stood up very well to the test of time. An outstanding book by an outstanding author.
Pat Pledger

The Tale of Birle by Cynthia Voigt

The tale of Oriel by Cynthia Voigt

Tales of the Kingdom bk 3. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015. ISBN 9781481403245
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Originally published as The Wings of a Falcon, the third in the Tales of the Kingdom series is a searing, heart wrenching, horrifying and wonderful story by a masterful storyteller. The boy is given no name by the Damall, the master of the small island where he trains boys who have been abandoned or enslaved. Together with Griff, his ever loyal companion, the boy manages to escape this cruel and evil place, taking the name Oriel as he leaves. Together they face many dangers travelling through unknown lands until they settle as journeymen to a saltweller. This is a happy time for three years, but the Wolfers, a barbarian tribe, destroy the farm and take them prisoner. On the run for a year, they face terrible privation, but eventually reach the farm of Beryl, who is a descendant of the main characters in The tale of Gywn and The tale of Birle. Here the three plot for Oriel to win the hand of Merlis, the heiress to the Earl of Sutherland.
This is a book that has many dark components - the treatment of the boys by the Damall is horrifying, there are whippings, betrayals and attempted murder. The harshness of the Wolfers is also appalling. However threaded through this story of survival come major themes, one of which is loyalty. Griff is almost a secondary character, but with his knowledge of what is right and wrong and his sense of justice, he gives Oriel the understanding of how to act, while Oriel shows him how to be strong and lead. Beryl faces heartbreak but she teaches them about love and sacrifice. Throughout there is a theme of women's rights - why shouldn't Merlis be given the right to choose her own husband and how do women left pregnant and single manage to look after the baby.
This is an intelligent and confronting book that could be read as a stand-alone. Certainly the series would be well worth having in any library and will appeal to readers who enjoy books by Ursula Le Guin and Robin McKinley.
Pat Pledger

Another night in Mullet Town by Steven Herrick

University of Queensland Press, 2016. ISBN 9780702253959
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Reluctant readers. Another outstanding verse novel from Herrick stars two Year 10 boys, Jonah and Manx who not only are facing the dilemmas of teenage life but their small coastal town is being taken over by rich city developers. Herrick's verse shows off the virtues of mateship, the gulf between the rich and poor, the heartbreak surrounding family breakdowns but through these problems his story shines with the uplifting message that friends can help each other through the difficult times.
Told in a rich verse narrative by Jonah life for the people in the little town comes alive as he describes the fishing trips that sustain Manx and him, the fights that his parents are having, the parties on the beach, and the attraction that he feels for Ella.  Each chapter is given a heading that summarises an aspect of life in Turon - The colour of rich, Climate change 101, The irony of beer - and each illuminates how the boys are feeling and what is going on in the town.
The themes of bullying by Patrick and his father who is a developer are handled sensitively and Jonah manages to work out a way that stops some of the more sinister intimidation that is going on.
There is everything in this novel that will appeal to teens - it is a believable and captivating look at the life that many will recognise - from kids being harassed at school, with developers taking over an area for rich people who no vested interest in keeping the town alive, parties on the beach and good friends looking out for each other. It would make for a great class novel or literature circle book for older teens, giving the opportunity not only to discuss issues around development, but also bullying, drugs and alcohol and coping with broken families.
Pat Pledger

Julius Zebra: Bundle with the Britons by Gary Northfield

Julius Zebra series. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406354935
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Champion gladiator Julius Zebra returns in another crazy outing with his zany friends. Life for the People's Champion should be exciting; everybody loves the zebra, he's even asked for hoof print autographs in the muddy streets of Rome. Emperor Hadrian has promised Julius freedom after his last fight at the Colosseum, unfortunately, they are not going on holidays, and they have one more task to complete. Julius is excited about the upcoming holibobs, while Felix is keen to add to his extensive rock collection and Rufus the giraffe is ready for a relaxing fishing holiday. They must travel on a stinky sailing ship all the way to Britannia and fight another tournament.
Septimus is a hard taskmaster on board and the animals are forced to scrub the decks daily and sleep in hammocks inside the stinky hold. An attempt to dress in chainmail and escape the confines of the ship leads to an hilariously incident that requires the rescue of the crocodile, warthog, giraffe, lion and antelope
Life in Roman Britain proves fraught with danger, the smelly streets of Londinium treacherous and their holiday home a hovel near the small amphitheatre.
Each of the animals are quirky characters who are drawn together in difficult circumstances, unaware that their opponents are mean fighting machines.
Gary Northfield's hilarious cartoons highlight Julius's and his friends' struggles with life in an unknown land, as they prepare to face new combatants in the arena. The animals' irreverent dialogue is sharp, witty and sarcastic. This is another laugh out loud story, with plenty of jokes, gags and puns. These stories combine facts about Ancient Rome life with humorous scenes and silly animal antics.
Recommended for readers from 8+
Rhyllis Bignell

The truth according to Arthur: A funny book about fibbing by Tim Hopgood

Ill. by David Tazzyman. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408864982
(Ages: 4 - 7) Recommended. Honesty. The Truth is personified and given the physical form of a grey blob in this story, which means that what Arthur does to The Truth can be concretely illustrated. This is a clever visual way to talk to children about lying and truth, as we see Arthur bend, stretch, cover up, disguise, hide and ignore The Truth. Unsurprisingly, no matter what Arthur does, The Truth just keeps following him around, so he faces The Truth, and tells his mum 'I did it'. Arthur and The Truth are then illustrated sitting side by side, best of friends again.
The truth, told in a matter of fact manner, is that Arthur rode his big brother's bike without permission, lost control of it, and damaged the bike and his mum's car. These are issues that will resonate with young children: using something that isn't yours, accidentally damaging something, and not being brave enough to face the truth straight away for fear of the repercussions. Parents and teachers are often telling children that the consequences of not telling the truth are worse than owning up to what you have done, and this is emphasised here. When Arthur tells his mum the truth she is not happy about the damage but is pleased that he has told the truth. The visual aspects of the story are fantastic. Even the stories that Arthur invents to explain the damage are given a visual presence, providing levity and humour.
This will be a useful resource for classrooms and parents for discussing and emphasising the importance of being best friends with The Truth!
Nicole Nelson