Hodder & Stoughton, 2015. ISBN 9781444777192
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Welcome to Dumfrey's Dime Museum of
Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders where mysteries, oddities, freaks,
adventures and creepy stuff abound! Orphans Philippa, Sam and Thomas
have grown up in this strange and extraordinary place looked after
by Mr Dumfrey, owner and proprietor of New York's strangest house of
wonders. Each of these children is gifted with a peculiar talent.
Philippa is a mentalist, Sam is so strong he needs to take care
opening doors and Thomas can fold himself up into amazingly small
spaces. Together with assorted helpers and other 'acts' they all
struggle to keep the Dime Museum open.
Then the arrival of a marvellous Amazonian shrunken head lifts the
attendance of the strange museum but not without accompanying dramas
of thefts, mysterious deaths and a creepy stranger stalking the
children. The appearance of a fourth child, Max, a street urchin
with an uncanny ability to throw knives so accurately they can split
a hair completes the cast.
After the audacious theft of the shrunken head the four children are
determined to retrieve and save their home despite some serious
opposition. In the process they encounter murder and mayhem and a
startling revelation about their pasts.
For readers who love the quirkiness of Lemony Snicket and similar
books, this is a great read which moves along at a rattling pace
with some wonderful characterisations and wonderfully spooky
settings.
Sue Warren
Arthur and the curiosity by Lucinda Gifford
Five Mile Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760068387
(Age: 5+) Warmly recommended. Museums. Curiosity. School. When
Arthur and his class goes to the museum, odd things happen. Arthur
sees an animal in a glass fronted case simply called The Curiosity.
It is unlike anything else in the museum, and when he returns to
have another look, it is gone. While travelling through the museum
with the rest of his class and the increasingly frazzled teacher,
Miss Blunkett, Arthur has glimpses of the escaped animal. Children
reading the book will love following Arthur and the rest of his
class, and picking out the appearances of The Curiosity as they turn
the pages.
I cringed with recognition at the increasingly tired and unfocussed
class. At the start they are together in a bunch, attentive to Miss
Blunkett's instructions (well, almost!) but part way through they
are shown all over the place as their individual interests take
hold, before coming back to the group to go home. Miss Blunkett's
cry , 'Move on through' is reminiscent of tour leaders and guides
pushing a group from one end to the other.
Apart from the funny story, following Arthur and his spying of the
animal, the book informs classes about what they might see at a
museum, piquing their interest in a forthcoming excursion through
the highly detailed illustrations. I can imagine lots of discussion
about excursions past and future emanating from reading this book.
Fran Knight
Alphonse, that is not ok to do by Daisy Hirst
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406354317
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Families. Siblings. When Alphonse eats
Natalie's book she is cross with him. He offers to mend her book,
but she puts her fingers in her ears so she cannot hear him. They
had been good friends, doing a lot of things together, naming birds
they see out of the window, hearing stories, bouncing things off the
bunk beds and making things together. So Alphonse is upset. Natalie
goes to have a bath by herself, but while there she hears enormous
noises. A tornado, screaming beasts and thousands of glass peas
falling down from the sky seem to be happening outside the room. She
becomes afraid for her brother and calls out to him, wrapping
herself in a towel to go and investigate. She opens the door to find
an appalling mess and he explains how the room came to be so untidy.
All Natalie can think about is her brother and keenly asks if he is
alright.
This is a charming tale of siblings not seeing eye to eye, of
falling out over a possession that the other has destroyed. But when
the possibility of something happening to her brother occurs she is
the first to investigate and all is put back to normal, with the two
getting along just as they did before. Children will love reading of
the trouble between them and be soothed by the resolution of their
problem. It is a situation many will have been in themselves, and so
seeing it resolved will give them the skills to draw some lessons
for their own situation. The block colour illustrations are
charming, with expressions given by the simplest of lines.
Fran Knight
Lenny and Lucy by Philip C Stead
Ill. by Erin E. Stead. Allen and Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760292119
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Moving home, Friendship, Family life,
Overcoming fear, Loneliness. What a delight! A car piled high with
belongings makes its way through a forest of tall trees. Dad
driving, a young wide eyed boy and his dog sit in the back seat. The
cover says so much. The boy and his Dad are moving house, but just
the two, with a dog, inviting all sorts of questions from
readers. The trees crowd the little car but as the trees thin out
their destination is reached, and the car trundles over a wooden
bridge to their new home. Harold and Peter stare out over the bridge
at night and are frightened by what they see. The forest could hide
anything. The next day they take a pile of pillows and blankets to
the bridge and build Lenny, the Guardian of the Bridge. He guards
the bridge well, but Peter sees that he needs company, so the next
day he and Harold build a companion for Lenny. Peter and Harold play
marbles with the two guardians, and eat their vegetables together,
aware that they are now safe.
One day Millie from next door comes over to show Peter the owl. The
group now consists of five and together they watch the owl. The
woods no longer seem fearful.
Beautifully illustrated, the tale of a young boy coming to terms
with change, of learning to cope with fear, of being resilient, will
appeal to all readers, as they recognise situations they have all
experienced, and learn from Peter's behaviour, that fear can be
managed.
This pair wrote and illustrated one of my favourite books, A
sick day for Amos McGee, a Caldecott Medal winner, and Erin's
illustrative technique is deceptively simple. The few colours used
against a mainly white and sometimes grey backdrop, suit the story
beautifully, adding to the threatening feel of the forest with those
tall straight trunked trees. Fascinatingly the trees are almost like
prison bars when Peter looks out of the window, but with overcoming
his fear, the trees take less and less space on the page, until on
the last page they are almost all gone. I could go on, as the
illustrations are to be looked at over and over again, supporting
and extending the sparse text.
Fran Knight
Beastly bones by William Ritter
Jackaby bk 2. Algonquin Young Readers, 2015. ISBN
9781616203542
(Age; 12+) Recommended. Mystery. Paranormal. Following Jackaby
(YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults) comes another
exciting mystery story set in 1892, New Fiddleham, New England. This
time Abigail Rook and Jackaby not only have to face shape-shifters
disguising themselves as kittens but an unidentifiable beast has
starting attacking humans and animals in Gad's Valley, where bones
have been unearthed in a recent dig. Charlie Cane, police detective
is now living in Gad's Valley and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on
the trail of a monster and a murderer.
Fans of the first in the series will be very pleased to see this
sequel, with its exciting action and feisty detectives. Some new
characters are introduced and add depth to the story: Nellie Fuller
is a clever reporter on the trail of both the murders and the
mysterious bones, and Hank Hudson an intriguing trapper who
threatens Charlie's secret. The competition between two
archaeologists over the rights to the dig also add some tension as
Abigail and Jackaby race to find out how the beast is growing in
strength and size. The romance between Abigail and Charlie is only
very lightly touched on, but is compelling too, as the reader wants
to find out if shy Charlie will be able to get enough courage to woo
Abigail.
Readers who have enjoyed the Lockwood & Co. series by
Jonathan Stroud and The city of orphans series by Catherine
Jinks will welcome this series and the slight cliff-hanger at its
conclusion indicates another book to come.
Pat Pledger
Seek and find dinosaurs ill. by Emiliano Migliardo
Bloomsbury Activity Book, 2016.ISBN: 9781408867532
(Age: 4-6). This brightly coloured activity book welcomes the young
child into the world of dinosaurs. Emiliano Migliardo's comical
dinosaurs are portrayed in a wacky array of situations, ballooning,
jogging clothed in a shirt and shorts, snorkelling in the swamp,
skateboarding or piloting a prop plane. Each spread introduces a
different type of dinosaur - long-necked, feathered, frozen and
flying. The bold landscapes are overpopulated with herds of
dinosaurs busy with both animal and human activities. Ten objects to
discover are shown in outlined circles at the top of the page. This
is a fun discovery book similar in style to the I Spy series and the
popular Where's Wally books.
Simple dinosaur facts are included on the final page. Seek and
Find Dinosaurs will keep the young fans engaged, and it is
just right for developing language, perception and thinking skills.
Rhyllis Bignell
Mr Chicken lands on London by Leigh Hobbs
Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781760290054
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Travel. London. Humour. I
reviewed this book two years ago when it was published in a large
hard back book. The 2015 edition is a smaller hand comfy sized for
younger readers who will laugh out loud at the antics of Mr Chicken
in London.
Mr Chicken lands on London with a list of places he wants to visit.
The large, yellow, ovoid figure of Mr Chicken graces each page as we
see him at various sights around the city. He lands, of course,
hanging from a Union Jack parachute and checks in at the Savoy Hotel
where he enjoys his breakfast in bed, contemplating his list. From
there he ventures to an amazing array of known sights: Buckingham
Palace for tea with the Queen, a ride on the red bus, and the
Underground; he climbs Nelson's Column and perches on top, visits
the National Gallery and the London Eye, each time making a grand
entrance amid the crowds of tourists. He perches on top of the Eros
statue in Piccadilly Square and then retires to his hotel room for
an afternoon nap. Starting again he has dinner in the crypt at St
Martin's in the Field, goes to the Opera, and leaves early to get to
Big Ben in time to climb the stairs and be inside the clock when it
strikes nine fifteen, his eyes being the clock hands.
After his full English breakfast he sheds a tear saying goodbye from
Waterloo Bridge and heads off in his balloon, promising to return.
Following Mr Chicken through London, as with Paris, allows the
reader to assimilate the main attractions of these cities, while
engaged in a humorous story of the affable Mr Chicken. He meanders
through the crowds, taking the readers with him on his travels.
Younger readers will get to know the tourist sights and the look of
a great city with its hordes of people, network of transport
facilities and maze of streets and buildings. They will enjoy the
fact of making a list, and sticking to that list to get everything
done within the time allowed. They will be able to discuss the
things needed to have an enjoyable holiday.
The illustrations are just wonderful, showing this oversized tourist
enjoying himself while taking up so much room. The drawings of
London's main attractions are a delight and the endpapers add
another dimension to the story, with a map at the start and thank
you letters and postcards at the end. All will add meaning to the
story to discuss with readers.
Fran Knight
Little one by Jo Weaver
Hodder Children's Books, 2016. ISBN 9781561459247
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Bears. Mothers. Relationships.
Survival. The beautifully rendered images of a mother bear and her
cub will have all readers sighing over this book, as they turn the
pages and are taken into the intimate world of the pair living
through the warmer months before returning to hibernate in the
winter. They wake to spring, and fresh out of the den where she has
given birth over the winter months, she begins to show her cub what
it needs to survive. They wander around their environment, smelling
the flowers, looking at some of the animals, fishing in the stream,
swimming in the lake. She shows him the night sky, the berries to
eat, until she notices that the days are getting shorter, the leaves
are blowing around them and winter is approaching. They then go back
to their den to sleep over the long cold winter.
Children will love having this read to them, snuggled against their
mother's warmth, feeling the comfort of the mother bear as she
teaches her cub how to explore and live.
This will be a delightful book to share with a class, reiterating
how mothers teach their children, exposing them to the variety of
things done in a day, helping them learn to adapt to their
environment, keeping them safe and happy.
The soft black and white illustrations suit the story admirably,
making the eyes focus on the bear and her cub, giving clues as to
their environment with deft images of their world.
I love this work and can see classes using it as a foundation for
talk about mother's role in the family, or how families operate, or
to look more closely at animals and the way they learn about their
environment, and in particular, of course, bears.
Fran Knight
The snow sister by Emma Carroll
Ill. by Julian de Narvaez. Faber Children's, 2015. ISBN
9780571317639
It is Christmas Eve in Victorian England and Pearl Granger has just
got into trouble for using her sister's beautiful red and gold
paisley shawl to adorn the 'snow sister' she has made to honour and
remember Agnes who died from fever three years ago. Since her death,
Christmas has meant little to the family so Pearl is more concerned
about the scolding she is going to get but it will be worth it
because each year she builds herself a snow sister and each year she
misses Agnes a little less. Living in poverty means there is not a
lot of extras for Christmas - even taking the two pieces of coal for
her snow sister's eyes means that the fire will burn a little lower
that night despite the blizzard that is approaching.
As she trudges inside to face her due, she is met by the postman
whose sack is weighed down by 'these new Christmas cards' and he
gives her a letter that she is to give her father immediately. It is
a letter that would seem to change the Grangers' lives forever as Pa
has been summoned to a solicitor's office in Bath to hear the
reading of his rich brother's will - a will of which he is the 'main
beneficiary'. Imagining new wealth beyond their dreams, Pearl is
sent to beg some more credit from Nobel's Grocery so the family can
have the ingredients for their first Christmas pudding since Agnes
died but a series of circumstances see her getting to see the rich
side of life that she fantasises about and helps her understand that
all may not be what it seems. Life is not necessarily about how many
sugar plums you can eat.
As its cover hints, this is a poignant, heart-warming short story,
beautifully written and illustrated with monochrome pictures
evocative of the period, that not only paints a picture of the poor
in Victorian England but also teaches lessons about the true meaning
of Christmas and the power and importance of family love. The
rich-poor, upstairs-downstairs nature of society where wealth
determines status is very apparent and readers will engage with
Pearl's almost Cinderella-like character in comparison to the
snooty, spoiled Lockwood girls.
This would be a wonderful choice for a family read-aloud over a few
nights or for the newly independent reader who is looking for more
than a picture book story about Christmas. Reviews of other books by
Emma Carroll have suggested that she is an author on the rise and if
The snow sister is a sample of the quality of her writing, she is
one I will look for again. Definitely one for the Christmas
collection.
Barbara Braxton
Adventure time. Which way dude? BMO's day out
Cartoon Network, 2015. ISBN 9781760123208
BMO is the cutest, tiniest little robot in the Land of Ooo but the
future of Ooo is in the hands of the reader because at the end of
each chapter it is up to the reader to decide what happens next. By
solving riddles, puzzles and codes the reader can alter the
characters' paths thus leading them on to new adventures. It's a
chance to let BMO be the hero for once. Along the way the reader
gathers Adventure Minutes and the challenge is to read the book many
times, make different choices and try to better the number of
Adventure Minutes gained.
A new take on the popular Choose Your Own Adventure format, written
in the present tense to increase the pace and sense of urgency, this
is likely to appeal to those who enjoy cartoons and computer games
and can visualise the action. They will enjoy its interactivity as
they try to solve the puzzles, and the challenge to gain Adventure
Minutes gives that competitive element that is a characteristic of
the gaming environment.
If we are looking to capitalise on the interest in cartoons and
computer games that our younger readers are so familiar with,
offering them that in print format may be the way to hook them into
a whole new world of adventure.
Barbara Braxton
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Ill. by David Mackintosh. Alma Classics, 2015 (First published in
1901-02). ISBN 9781847494962
Highly recommended. Themes: Myth and mystery; Detective story. I
confess to never having read a Sherlock Holmes text before, and I
apologise to devotees of Arthur Conan Doyle works; but I do claim to
have viewed interpretations of the detective tale in screen texts
and regularly enjoy a good Crime and Detective narrative. This book
has been republished as a 'Classic' tale for a new generation of
readers and it is worth reintroducing the younger generation to the
original Sherlock Holmes as he makes sense of small inconsequential
clues to uncover the mystery of the Hound of the Baskervilles. The
Hound has been the part of the legend of the Baskerville family in
their life on Dartmoor in England, and its lingering evil influence
reappears with fatal consequences. Holmes, and his faithful and more
trusting friend - Dr Watson, together become entangled in solving
the mystery of the threatening menace of the Hound on the moors.
This story is written in the language of the late 19th and early
20th century, with extensive description and sentences and
vocabulary that are definitely not from the digital era. ' . . .
though I have not finally made up my mind whether it is a benevolent
or malevolent agency which is in touch with us, I am conscious
always of power and design.' (p45) However for any young reader
prepared to journey back in time, this is a wonderful excursion into
history in both a literary sense and in opening up a window into a
time and place that cannot be revisited except through the pages of
a book. And there is a compelling mystery that needs solving as
well. (This text also includes some background notes about Conan
Doyle and the characters within the narrative.)
Carolyn Hull
Ralf by Jean Jullien
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2016. ISBN 9781847808189
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Fire, Dogs, Animals, Pets, Family. This
unusual family pet, Ralf, gets into many places he is not welcome.
He is found in the bath when Mum is taking a shower, under Dad's
feet when he is ironing, in between Mum and Dad when they go to bed,
lying across the family as they watch television. Dad orders him
out, and so he goes, off to his kennel where he can sleep all alone.
Here everything is very quiet, but Ralf smells something, and
realises that the house is on fire. He tries to get back inside but
cannot get through the little door, stretching his body as he
wiggles through. He runs upstairs but cannot wake anyone, so decides
that he will get the firemen. They arrive in the nick of time, and
Ralf's elongated body makes a superb rescue slide for them to get
from their window to the ground. After this Ralf is welcome
everywhere, and his elongated body is enough reason for them to buy
a bigger house.
Gwendal le Bec and Jean Juillien have collaborated to produce Ralf,
and it is hoped that they will produce more stories of this
complexity, layering stories of families and their pets alongside
fun and adventure and a heart stopping moment when the family is
saved by the dog. Deceptively simple, the text is supported by a
wondrous illustrative technique, with bold colours, black line
drawings and cartoon like words usually shouted at Ralf.
Fran Knight
Who's had a poo? And lots of other questions by Anton Poitier
Ill. by Tracy Cottingham. The Five Mile Press, 2016, ISBN
9781760400781
(Ages: 3-5) This 'spot the difference' book is quite a unique
concept, but it does not seem as well thought out as it could be.
Each spread features the same animals but on each page one or more
of the animals have moved or been altered and the reader is asked to
spot the difference/s. The target audience of pre-schoolers are
asked to spot such things as 'who is splashing water around?', 'who
is now upside down?' and 'who is taking a nap?'. Some of the
questions require the reader to compare a page with the previous
one, for example when looking at which animals have swapped places
or changed colour. Some require more analytical skills, such as 'who
is ready for lunch?' which requires the reader to infer meaning from
the animals' behaviour (for example, the panda is holding bamboo and
the duck is diving down into the water). Others provide humour, such
as 'who's done a poo?' which is sure to make pre-schoolers giggle.
The beauty of this book is the opportunity it provides to kick-start
conversations between adult and child. It asks the reader to
investigate each page closely and in some parts to make some
inferences from what they see. Parents who use the book well will
help children develop their analytical skills by discussing how they
know the dog is ready to play or what makes the crocodile look
fierce. However, it is a little limited in allowing this as on some
pages there is only one animal that has moved or changed. For
example, in 'who's showing off?' only the peacock is showing off as
he has his feathers spread; the other animals are unchanged. In
addition, some other questions are very simplistic (eg. 'who's had a
baby?' and 'who's found a friend?').
This will work well as a one on one shared activity with parent and
child rather than as a group read-aloud or for independent perusal.
Some children may tire of this quickly after they already know the
answers, while others may enjoy repeat readings.
Nicole Nelson
Poles apart by Jeanne Willis
Ill. by Peter Jarvis. Nosy Crow, 2014. ISBN 9780857634924
Picture book. Everyone knows that penguins are found at the South
Pole not the North Pole. But when the Pilchard-Browns get lost on
the way to their picnic. things change. Mr and Mrs and Peeky, Poots
and Pog find themselves floating on an iceberg that drifts through
days and nights until they discover a strange something on another
iceberg. It turns out to be Mr White the polar bear who tells them
that the South Pole is 12 430 miles in the opposite direction!
But Mr White has always wanted to go to the South Pole and so the
Pilchard-Browns follow Mr White - always on the lookout for a picnic
place. The ice floe they are on isn't safe with killer whales
floating around, and America was too busy - and it wasn't home. Even
though England was charming it still wasn't home. And so the journey
continues, through countries large and small as they make their way
south. But still no place is home, not even for Mr White.
This is a quirky story, aptly named for the theme that runs through
it that even though we can follow our dreams there is a place for
each of us that is home. Just as we journey through life we can meet
many different types who can still be friends even though everything
about us is poles apart. It could be a good read-aloud for new
students starting school for the first time to show that friends can
come from many different places, as well as reaching out to those
new to this country so they can see themselves in a story. It might
even serve as a vehicle for a class version - if Mr White and the
Pilchard-Browns visited all the countries represented in our class,
where would they go? It could be an engaging introduction to getting
to know each other, as well as mapping.
More to this than meets the eye.
Barbara Braxton
Stina by Lani Yamamoto
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781851778584
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Scandinavia, Cold, Friendship,
Iceland, Inventions. Stina does not like the cold. Even in summer
she bypasses the pool, and avoids the evening breeze. She loves to
be home snuggled up tightly within her duvet. But in winter, she
cannot even go outside, the cold is too much. She prepares for
winter by bringing in lots of wood, putting aside a store of food,
having a basket of wool ready to knit, building a pile of books to
read. She is fully prepared to stay indoors the whole winter long.
She knits warm clothes, socks and mittens, invents ingenious ways of
getting her food from the kitchen without leaving her bed and of
getting food from the fridge without getting a chill of cold air
when the door is opened. But one day she peers out of her window and
sees some children playing in the snow. She wonders what the snow
would taste like.
A sudden storm blows the children to her door, and she lets them in.
They are surprised at how warm it is inside her house and take off
their outer layers. She teaches them how to knit, makes them cocoa
and learns how to whistle.
When they leave she is alone. She decides to do something about it
and uses her sewing machine to make an outside coat from her duvet
and goes outside to meet her new friends, finding that running
around and laughing makes her very warm.
This delightful story of friendship overcoming hurdles was first
published in Icelandic in 2013 and published for a wider audience by
the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 2015. It is quite
wonderful in presenting the universal quest for friendship, and the
detailed illustrations make a wonderful contrast to the styles we
are used to.
Lani, who has lived in Iceland for twenty years was fascinated with
the way Icelandic nicknames work. Her Icelandic title, Stina
Storasaeng means 'girl with big duvet', and from that idea, Lani
developed the tale of a young girl whose house is a prison because
of her fear of the cold. Winning the Nordic Council for Children and
Young People's Literature Prize, is a highlight in her career.
Fran Knight
