The recorded poems of Och Aye the G'nu by Jimmy Barnes
Ill. by Kat Chadwick. Five Mile Press, 2017. ISBN 9781760407070
Hardcover, 96 pages and CD
(Age: 4+) Recommended. The Recorded Poems of Och Aye the G'nu
is a wonderful collection of funny, rhyming stories written by Jimmy
Barnes in collaboration with The Wiggles. From the inviting tartan
cover to the bonus CD with Barnes's distinctive voice and animated
reading, accompanied by musical trills and interludes, this is a
delightful experience. Kat Chadwick's fun line drawings bring the
characters to life.
Young Och Aye the G'nu is a talented wildebeest who loves to sing,
dance and play the bagpipes, dressed in his Scottish kilt. He is a
crowd pleaser who enjoys the accolades of his fame, and even the
Queen and the Prince and the Great Grand Wazoo love to watch his
antics. 'Every wildebeest needs a good friend who is true' and Kanga
fits this supportive role very well. He is there to cheer him up
with African songs when Och Aye is missing his homeland and even to
share food and blankets.
In seven easy to read chapters Och Aye experiences a sea cruise,
buys new shoes, gets the flue, sings the blues and celebrates a
birthday.
Listening to the CD adds to the fun and excitement of sharing these
humourous tales, perfect for families and classes as they join in
and predict the rhyming words. The Recorded Poems of Och Aye the
G'nu is ideal for a young reader to develop their confidence
and independence. A wonderful text to use for Early Years English,
students can build on their understanding of patterns of repetition,
and use the writing style to create more adventures for Och Aye and
Kanga.
Rhyllis Bignell
Clementine Rose and the wedding wobbles by Jacqueline Harvey
Ill. by J. Yi. Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9780857987907
(Age: 6-10) Highly recommended. Themes: Weddings, Family Life,
Mothers and daughters, Mysteries, Film making. Penberthy House is
buzzing with excitement; everyone is busy with the wedding
preparations, the presentation of Basil Hobb's film documentary on
historic homes and of course there is another mystery to solve.
Clementine Rose is positively 'fizzing with excitement', she is
nervous about introducing the film in character as her great
grandmother and concerned about the possibility of her flower girl
dress not being finished on time. Clementine's great Aunt Violet
changeable character and secretive actions cause some concern as
well. One minute she grumpy and hiding secret letters and the next
she's busy dashing through the countryside chasing the missing
wedding flowers.
Harvey's characters are wonderfully named, beautifully described and
imbued with range of enjoyable qualities. Of course, there is the
over-the-top wedding planner extraordinaire Sebastian Smote, whose
visions include an aviary filled with doves and a cherub fountain
for the front garden. He greatly tests Aunt Violet's patience as
well. Why does she become overly protective of young Clemmie and why
does the mysterious guest from Sweden threaten their family's
happiness? The wedding celebrations, the ceremony and reception are
a delight to read; there is the delectable wedding feast, the
stylish dancing, the dessert dilemma and Clementine Rose's near
disaster with her flower girl dress.
Jacqueline Harvey's series are extremely popular, as they contain a
perfect mix of adventure, fun, mystery and excitement. In this
thirteenth novel in the series, Clementine Rose finally understands
more about her family origins and realises that a true family is all
about those people who love you and care for you.
Rhyllis Bignell
AFL Factivity 2 by Michael Panckridge
Puffin, 2017. ISBN 9780143785330
For those who follow AFL this bright colourful, carefully
constructed factivity book is the ideal accompaniment as fans of all
ages can test their knowledge, learn new things and participate in
some brain-tingling activities that focus on their favourite sport.
Some of the activities are challenging, such as writing a player
profile for the back of the Crunchy Crispies cereal pack; others
will require some research while there are also the usual word
searches and the like. However, it can also be used as a teaching
resource as many of the activities can be made open-ended, having
students apply the challenges to a sport of their choosing or to
have them create a similar challenge for their chosen sport.
Developing your own crossword involves a lot more than just
completing one.
Hooking kids into learning by engaging them with their passion is a
surefire way of getting them to learn-by-stealth so even the most
reluctant readers can find something that will help them understand
reading does have a purpose, it can be fun and it IS for them. A
double sheet of stickers at the end could add to the motivation!
Barbara Braxton
The pearl thief by Elizabeth Wein
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781484717165
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Crime fiction. Scotland. Historical
fiction. Prejudice. When Julia returns from Switzerland to help her
family clear out her grandfather's estate before a school takes over
the house, she arrives a few days early and goes for a walk in the
valley, aware it will be for the last time. But she wakes three days
later in hospital, hair shaved and a blinding headache, while the
nursing staff treat her with contempt. She was found unconscious by
a group of Travelers and the resultant newspaper headline and her
scrappy clothes did not endear her to the hospital staff. Prejudice
against the Travelers was well ingrained in the 1930's. But back at
home, where she and her family are living in just a few rooms while
they pack, she finds that her Grandfather's pearls are missing, the
pearl price paid by the Travelers generations ago to use the land
each year, along with those he found in the waterways on their
estate. But when the curator sent from Oxford to catalogue the
estate's trove, also vanishes, Julia begins to take a closer
interest in the artefacts and the man's disappearance. With her
memory of the circumstances when she was struck slowly returning,
she puts herself in danger. She wants to find out what happened to
her, and in trying to find more evidence in the water where she was
when hit, finds a jar with the stolen pearls. She and her brother,
Jamie, alone with the Traveler twins Euan and Ellen who rescued her,
make a decision about what to do with the pearls. And again they are
all in danger.
With a wonderful setting amongst the hills in Perthshire this page
turning story with hints of the nineteenth century stories of
Stevenson and Scott, as well as nods to Robbie Burns, the tale will
appeal to mid secondary readers who relish crime stories. With
elements of a cosy but full of rounded beguiling characters, a touch
of romance and a style which will remind readers of Agatha Christie,
Patricia Wentworth or Dorothy Sayers, this is
a prequel to the highly successful, Code name Verity, and Rose
under fire. The pearl thief will delight readers with
its setting, construction, characters and plot twists. Wein cleverly
shows the changing attitudes to women through Julia and Ellen, and
their changing circumstances reflect the changes in society as a
whole, as the titled family moves from its ancestral home, and the
Travelers find it difficult to find a place to camp.
Fran Knight
Wombat warriors by Samantha Wheeler
UQP, 2017. ISBN 9780702259586
(Age: 8-12) Highly recommended. Conservation. Wombats.
Confidence. Mouse (real name, Minnie) is a young girl who needs to
stay with her Aunt Evie for an extended period in rural South
Australia while her parents are overseas. Mouse reflects her name in
that she is shy and lacking confidence and the thought of going to a
new school fills her with fear. Anxieties are set aside when Mouse
discovers that Aunt Evie shares her house with a rather affectionate
Wombat and a curious duck. Living in a rural environment, Mouse soon
discovers that local farmers do not share her enthusiasm for the
friendly wombats. A new friend who also shares her passion for
wombats and a school project that gives her a reason to explore ways
that wombats can co-exist with their human neighbours creates the
'Wombat Warriors'. Even in the face of opposition, Mouse's concern
for the safety of her friend and for the threatened wombats gives
her reason to speak out and make a difference.
There is enough adventure and emotional growth in this story to make
it interesting on a number of levels, and will appeal to animal
lovers and those concerned about environmental issues as well.
Carolyn Hull
Baby Band by Diane Jackson Hill
Ill. by Giuseppe Poli. New Frontier Publishing, 2017. ISBN
9781925059779
(Age: 3-5) Ukulele playing author Diane Jackson Hill's new picture
book Baby Band celebrates the power of music, its ability to
create moods and emotions and bring a community together. Giuseppe
Poli's charming pen, ink and watercolour illustrations support the
emotional tones of the simple text.
In an apartment block, the residents live separate lives; they never
interact, share a meal or notice each other's activities. On the
front endpapers, each one engages with the park musicians, singers
and dancers individually, while a pregnant mother rests alone on a
bench. Everything changes when the baby arrives in apartment 8A,
this little one cries all the time, day and night. Mum tries
everything to stop the loud wailing, to no avail. Everyone on level
8 is annoyed and nobody stops by to help. Time passes and the little
boy discovers the pots and pans, he laughs as he clangs the lid and
saucepan together. His noises cause the grandma next door to scream,
the teenager in 8C to dance and stomp and slowly through the
apartments, the music brings the place to life. Doors are flung open
and everyone hoots and hustles their way to the rooftop. Where did
the baby go? Is he somewhere safe and quiet? The final endpapers
show everyone singing, dancing and celebrating the joy of music
together at the park bandstand. Baby Band is a pleasing story, one that looks at the
importance of music in people's lives, as it brings a community
together, celebrating diversity and making the world a better place.
Rhyllis Bignell
Welcome home, Harley by Jess Black
Little paws series. Random House, 2017. ISBN 9780143781776
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Dogs. Guide dogs. One in a series called Little
paws, this is a collaboration between Random and Guide Dogs
Association of Australia, bringing short easily read stories about
dogs to life for the newly independent reader. In this title, Lexie
and Tom go to the information session with their parents. Here they
learn all about the aims of the training schedule and what is
expected of them as trainers. The two are very excited when they
meet their dog, Harley, and learn why the dog was named. Given a
carrier, food, bowls and collars the family sets off home to
introduce the dog to their family home. Here it will stay, gaining
valuable training in what it means to be in a family and given a
wide variety of experiences. After a few hiccups in which the
children learn as much as the dog about being in a family, they
settle down to training the dog both at home and at preschool. Easy
to read, short, with some illustrations, these will appeal
enormously to the early reader and they will learn a lot along the
way about guide dogs, having a dog in the family and the
responsibility and care of an animal.
For more about these books see the Guide
Dogs Blog.
Fran Knight
Somewhere else by Gus Gordon
Viking, 2016. ISBN 9780670078851
Some birds fly north; some birds fly south; some birds take the bus
... but George Laurent doesn't go anywhere. It seems he is too
busy baking his scrumptious pastries to be able to explore the
world. Even when his world-travelling customers try to tempt him
with descriptions of a sunrise over the Andes, or Paris by night,
even the Alaskan tundra in autumn, George always has an excuse -
even the ironing is more important!!
But come the bleak, cold days when all his feathered friends have
disappeared to warmer parts and George is left alone, his only
remaining friend Pascal Lombard drops in looking for somewhere warm
for winter. He is puzzled that George has not gone with the others,
and slowly he manages to eke out the truth - George Laurent, baker
extraordinaire, does not know how to fly. When it was flying lesson
day all those years ago he had been doing something else and since
then he had just made excuses not to - even though he really would
have liked to have been able to go somewhere else. Pascal, who
believes he has a knack for solving tricky problems, is determined
to teach George how to fly but it is not until they see a picture in
a newspaper...
This is an engaging tale which will resonate with many children -
having a zillion reasons for not doing something you can't but are
expected to be able to do. As a teacher I was a master at detecting
avoidance behaviour because I lived it at home with my son, so as
soon as I started reading I knew there was an underlying issue. But
astute readers may well pick it up in the clues in the amazing
illustrations which use a variety of media, particularly collage.
From the carefully selected advertisements of old styles of luggage
on the endpapers, Gus Gordon has skilfully used pieces of print from
all sorts of sources to add depth, mystery and humour to the
exquisite illustrations. Every time you read it there is more to
peruse and ponder.
Time to get out the atlas and discover the places that George's
friends went and maybe even investigate the concept of animal (and
human) migration. Why are they always on the move? We can tell the
seasons where I live by the variety of birdlife that is present so
perhaps it's time to do an inventory of the local birdlife over time
- perfect real-life context for data collection and interpretation.
Or perhaps a physiological investigation into how most birds fly but
some can't and how this has been translated into human flight. Then
there is the philosophical question about "no place like home" as
George and Pascal discover something familiar is missing from their
travels. Some children might even learn from George and seek help to
find pathways around their own difficulties.
I love picture books that seem to be written for one age group but
with some consideration can transcend all ages, offering the prefect
reason to return to them again and again apart from just being an
absorbing story. A CBCA Notable for 2017, I was surprised this did
not make the shortlist.
Barbara Braxton
How to bee by Bren MacDibble
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781760294335
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Bees, Dystopian fiction, Poverty.
Peony just wants to be a bee. She sees the others fall from the
branches of the fruit trees where they pollinate the flowers, and
knows the foreman will want two replacements the next day. Only ten
years old, she is quick and nimble, and she is thrilled to be able
to help her grandfather in keeping their little family fed. But her
mother arrives from the city with promises of better times if Peony
will only come with her. She struggles and runs away, but is
eventually recaptured and once in the city, sees her mother's life
for what it really is, a menial servant to the rich.
This is an eye popping addition to the genre looking at where our
society is going. The huge gap between the haves and have nots is
wider than ever, with one simply slaves to the other, with no power,
money or housing, while the use of pesticides has wiped out the bee
population and so flowers must be pollinated manually by the farm
workers, the lowest of the low. These people live in sheds on the
properties with no hope for ever making a better life for
themselves. But for Peony this is where her heart lies, with her
family.
Peony learns her new role in the city but yearns for home. In
becoming friendly with the housebound daughter of her employers, she
agrees to teach her to be brave, while Ez will show her how to leave
the city. Together the two plot Peony's escape, Ez becoming more
confident as each day goes by.
When Peony finally escapes she must hitch a ride in a truck
returning to Goulburn Valley, and then must walk thirty kilometres
to their farm.
Her tenacity shines through, her strength of character and purpose
draw her on to reach her goal, and with a new friendship and a
change in the life of bees, finds that the future looks bright.
This charming story with the determined Peony at its heart will
enthrall middle school readers.
Fran Knight
Little Witch: Secrets and Spells by Aleesah Darlison
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781925520101
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Courtney is going to be stuck in
Mixton Bay for her summer holidays. She won't have any friends, TV
or pizza as her parents redecorate and ready her unknown
grandmother's house for sale. Courtney might not be happy but the
trip is also hard on her Dad. He hadn't seen or spoken to Delia, his
mother, for a very long time and didn't even attend her funeral.
As Courtney explores the house, she discovers a box labelled with
her name. Inside is a spell book, her grandmother's spell book.
Courtney is now more excited to be in Mixton Bay and meeting 12 year
old surfer, Justice, also helps. Thanks to Justice's friendship with
her grandmother, Courtney starts to learn more and more about Delia
including the fact that she was a witch and helped people. Throw in
a talking cat and Courtney never wants to leave. Now, she just needs
to get her Dad to believe and then persuade him and her Mum to stay.
Secrets and Spells is set somewhere in an Australian
beachside community. It has just enough intrigue to keep readers
reading, giving just a small taste of magic with some funny results.
The text is descriptive and easy to read and a great introduction to
this first book in a new series. It is highly recommended for
readers aged 8+ and will appeal to girls.
Kylie Kempster
The Beast of Hushing Wood by Gabrielle Wang
Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9780143309178
(Age: 9-12) Recommended. Threads of magical fantasy, Eastern
mysticism and mythology weave their magic in this lyrical narrative
written and illustrated by Gabrielle Wang.
Ziggy Truegood is a spirited and imaginative eleven-year-old girl
who has an elemental connection to the world around her. She lives
with her mother in a house surrounded by the dark forest of Hushing
Wood. While the townsfolk fear the evil they perceive lurks amongst
the thousand-year-old trees, Ziggy enjoys the forest's sensory
beauty, finding comfort in the whisper of the stretching branches,
the earthy smells and familiar pebbly trails.
Haunted by premonitions of a huge silver beast drowning her on her
twelfth birthday, Ziggy seeks guidance to understand her frightening
dreams. With the help of her Grandpa Truegood, mute Big Bobby Little
and her friend Petal, Ziggy looks for answers. Ziggy's fear
increases when she notices a silver animal lurking in the woods at
night. Who can unlock the mysteries of why she can see spirit
animals and why has the forest become a fearful place?
When strangers Raffi Tazi and his grandfather arrive in town,
wearing different clothes, speaking a different language, the
townsfolk are concerned. With the aid of a little jade bottle,
guidance from her grandfather and the help of her friends, Ziggy
rises to meet the challenges her birthday brings.
Gabrielle Wang's imaginative fable, is filled with beautifully
crafted descriptions, richly detailed settings and characters that
face real issues - a family breakup, physical differences, the
feeling of alienation and bullying. The Beast of Hushing Wood
is complemented by Wang's intriguing watercolour illustrations of
small detailed elements and lively scenes. This novel is just right
for dedicated readers who enjoy fables and tales of magical realism.
Rhyllis Bignell
The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson
Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9780141363820
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. Something is hiding in poor Rabbit's burrow,
scaring the forest animals. The creature hiding inside announces
'I'm the Giant Jumperee and I'm scary as can be!' Each of Rabbit's
friends offers to help remove the intruder. When Cat slinks up to
burrow ready to pounce, he is greeted by the creature's taunting
remark - 'I'll squash you like a flea!' Bear offers to knock him
down with his big paw however, he is told 'I'll sting you like a
bee!' This mysterious animal certainly knows which buttons to press
to scare each one away. Mummy Frog stands at the each of the burrow,
arms akimbo, eyes wide open, determined to sort out the problem.
She's not concerned and challenges the Giant Jumperee to appear on
the count of three! Out jumps her Baby Frog, happy to have scared
all the animals. Mummy Frog is not amused while Elephant, Rabbit,
Bear and Cat lay back in the green grass, laughing at the trick
played by the little frog.
Donaldson's uncomplicated story uses rhyme and repetition to delight
the young audience. Oxenbury's colourful paintings are delightful;
they show the range of emotions each animal feels as the Great
Jumperee defeats them. This gentle story is just right for
predicting the outcome and engaging a Preschool or kindergarten
class.
Rhyllis Bignell
The blue cat by Ursula Dubosarsky
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781760292294
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. World War Two, Refugees, School,
Family. This beautifully written story of the dislocation of
children through war reveals a young girl, Columba, intrigued by the
new boy in her school, Ellery, a refugee from Europe who cannot
speak. She and her friend, Hilda befriend the lonely boy and the
three search Sydney's Luna Park for a lost cat. It is 1942, the
Japanese are to the north and rumours about what is going on and
what will happen frighten them. First Singapore falls, then Darwin
is bombed, each adding a new level of fear within the families and
with their teachers. Hilda is a master at passing on the most
amazing of stories, insisting they are true. Small things occur in
the background, blacking out windows, cars driving without their
lights on, water rationing, while pages in the book are devoted to
advertisements and government orders and instructions, offering the
reader a taste of what life was like during war in Australia.
But the blue cat is like a shadow behind them all, first coming
ashore and following the neighbour home, disappearing during the air
raid drill and seen by the American soldiers near the shore. The cat
parallels the story of Ellery the refugee. Fear stalks them all, and
losing Ellery at Luna Park is a trigger for Columba's imagination to
soar. She experiences what has happened to Ellery and his family and
she when taken home remains in bed for some days. Then the boy, like
the cat disappears.
Dubosarsky's silken prose wraps itself around the reader, touching
them with the haunted innocence of children, hearing adult concerns
but not understanding the adult words. The fear of encroaching war
touches them all. And the readers, like the children, see things in
episodes, episodes that touch their lives, then move on, people that
are there and then not, incidents that loom large, but then fade
away.
As with all Dubosarsky's books the background is impeccably
portrayed and on her website are links
and images of the research behind her book.
Fran Knight
The catawampus cat by Jason Carter Eaton
Ill. by Gus Gordon. Penguin, 2017. ISBN 9780143785583
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Cats, Animals, Humour, Difference. An out of
alignment cat enters the picture. It leans to one side, and strolls
crookedly into the town. As it makes its way through the streets it
has a powerful effect on those around it. There are people
everywhere. Mr Grouse the grocer tries to straighten the cat. He and
his wife haven't spoken nicely for years, but in looking at the
cat's lean they notice their lost wedding ring under one of the
fruit barrows, and all is put right between them. Bob Long the
hairdresser is cutting hair. Looking at the lean of the cat causes
him to cut the woman's fringe on an angle, but she loves it. A house
painter busy at his boring work watches the cat walk by so putting a
zigzag stripe of paint across the mayor's house. But he loves it.
Many other things happen which the cat initiates from his askew
point of view, encouraging the population of the town to see things
differently, to do things differently, to take chances. I love the
librarian who takes the wrong book off the shelf, one about building
a boat, and then takes to the seas.
The population decides that being catawampus is a good way to be,
and set about hanging their town to be out of alignment, while the
mayor calls the Tuesday that the cat appeared, a special day each
year to celebrate.
The humour in the story is replicated and augmented by the hilarious
illustrations. The bemused cat appears on every page, sprinkling his
magic on the populace, encouraging them to see things differently,
while the endpapers show his journey through the town.
A wonderful story to talk about with early readers, touching on the
acceptance of change, of looking at things differently, of seeing
things from another's perspective.
And I was surprised to learn that catawampus is an actual word, and
worth looking up.
Fran Knight
Sorry to disrupt the peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Text, 2017. ISBN 9781925498431
(Age: Senior secondary) Recommended. Helen Moran, the first person
narrator in this first novel by Patty Yumi Cottrell, lives in a
shared apartment in New York. She has a part-time job caring for
troubled young people and sees herself as an organised and
functioning member of society. However, there are signs that her
life is not as controlled as she suggests. As proof of her
competency she presents a pamphlet that she wrote purporting to give
advice on how to survive in New York. The advice includes stealing,
lying and distorting the facts. When her uncle rings with the news
that her adoptive brother has committed suicide Helen decides to
return to her adoptive parents to investigate his death. Her parents
are astounded and uneasy to see her, an odd reaction, it seems. The
reader begins to understand that Helen is not what she believes
herself to be. As she reminisces about her upbringing she reveals to
the reader a difficult and friendless childhood. In her home in
Milwaukee her behaviour indicates both euphoria and depression as
she swings from mood to mood in her search for information. There is
black humour in her extreme actions; she puts the funeral flowers in
buckets containing bleach, she eats all the cake intended for the
wake, on the way to the funeral, in the car in which her brother
killed himself, she gets a flat tyre and has to walk, so missing the
funeral. She interrogates her brother's friends in search of clues
about his decision to kill himself, but ultimately it is the
document that he has left on his computer that gives her answers,
and gives the readers more evidence about Helen herself. Her brother
felt that he could be of most use to the world by donating his
organs; he suggested in his document that he believes Helen to have
undiagnosed bipolar disorder. His reasons for dying are not totally
convincing but his understanding of his sister seems accurate.
Despite her possible disorder Helen is a perceptive commentator on
her adoptive parents' lives and the values of both her home town and
those she associates with in New York. It is also possible to see
the novel as a discussion on the difficulties of being Korean
adoptees, in this case their adopting parents offering charity but
not a lot of love, it seems. The book is written in deceptively
simple prose and so is a quick read but offers rewards to a more
sustained look. It does discuss suicide and the difficulties faced
by those with mental differences so perhaps should be recommended
with care.
Recommended for senior students.
Jenny Hamilton
