Ill. by Laura Ellen Anderson. Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781408852651
What's not to like about crazy fairies and equally eccentric witches
making silly spells, living in Ritzy City where almost anything is
possible, fashion reigns and wide brimmed black hats are standard
attire. Add to the mix the detailed illustrations which bring Ritzy
City and its well dressed inhabitants to life, readers with a sense
of humour and everyone is a winner.
Tiga Whicabim leads an unhappy life as the ward of the evil Miss
Heks, but is more than surprised to meet Fran the Fabulous Fairy
whilst hiding out in the garden shed. She is even more surprised
when she finds herself below the drains in Ritzy City, Sinkville.
Not only that but she has been entered in the Witch Wars, a
competition to become Top Witch.
Who nominated her and how she will win when she has no idea about
how things work or how to cast spells is Tiga's first question,
however Fran is more concerned with getting the show on the road,
because Witch Wars is a Brollywood TV show broadcast live by fairy
camera operators of dubious quality.
After meeting the other contestants Tiga becomes firm friends with
the kindly Peggy, who like Tiga seems the least likely to win and
Fluffanora who swaps her fabulous dress for Tiga's jeans. There are
riddle clues to decipher which take them all over Sinkville meeting
an amazing variety of eccentric witches and fairies, all the while
trying to beat Felicity Bat who is happy to cheat and sacrifice her
friend Lizzie Beast in her quest to be named Top Witch.
This is a romp through an alternate world where everything from
underwater beauty parlours to shoes that turn into luxury
alternatives to tents is possible. Friendship and helping others
wins out in the end as Peggy is named Top Witch.
This is Sibeal Pounder's debut novel, but I am sure this is not the
last we will see of the Ritzy City crew.
Sue Keane
Wolves of Witchwood by Kate Forsyth
The Impossible Quest, bk 2. Scholastic Press Australia, 2014. ISBN
9781743624074
(Age: 9-12) The Impossible Quest series began with Escape
from Wolfhaven Castle in which the main characters are
introduced. This title begins where the last book left off so the
reader, new to the series is immediately plunged into the action
with little background information, though it won't take long to be
immersed in the story.
The four main characters, Tom, Quinn, Elanor and Sebastian are on
the run after escaping from Lord Mortlake and his army of Bog Men,
who they have discovered, is responsible for capturing their home
Wolfhaven Castle. With the aid of the Unicorn they liberated from
Frostwick Castle, they head deeper and deeper into Witchwood,
seeking sanctuary in a grove of Hawthorn trees. There they meet
Wilda the witch of Witchwood and seek her help to find the Griffin,
one of the other magical creatures essential to the success of their
quest.
Escaping Lord Mortlake again, with the help of some of Wilda's magic
the children continue their quest, only to meet the wolves of
Witchwood and their pack leader and protector, the wild man who had
originally warned Tom of the danger to Wolfhaven, Tom's father. With
his help they again head off to find the Griffin, not only gaining a
feather but a useful assistant in their effort to free Wolfhaven
Castle.
Magic and good fortune, suspicion and arguments, danger and daring
are all elements of this story. The Bog Men are relentless and
disgusting antagonists, Lord and Lady Mortlake are suitably evil and
the children, whilst bound together, have their own strengths and
weaknesses, characteristics the reader will recognise and empathise
with. The magic elements require some leaps of faith, for example
Sylvan, the wooden talisman which 'talks' to Quinn albeit in
riddles, Wilda's magic and the legendary powers purported to belong
to the Unicorn and Griffin's feather, though what would a fantasy
story be without a bit of magic.
Sue Keane
I'm a hungry dinosaur by Janeen Brian
Ill. by Ann James. Puffin, 2015. ISBN 9780670078103
Highly recommended. Humour. Rhyming text. Read aloud. With the
successful, I'm a dirty dinosaur still ringing in people's
ears, I'm a hungry dinosaur growls at a new and excited
audience as the dinosaur works his way through mixing the
ingredients, putting it into the oven, watching it cook, taking it
out, icing it and then eating it. He gets dirtier as he goes,
anticipating the thrill of the eating as he mixes, waiting patiently
as he watches it rise in the oven, then using his oven mitts to take
it out and ice it. Eating it is an even messier affair and one piece
leads to another and another, until finally he resolves to make
another cake.
Along the way every four rhyming lines are followed by a repeated
refrain, using a list of words to do with the action preceding them.
Children will love learning the refrain to read along with the
adult, and take delight in the rhyme and rhythm of each set of words
as well as predicting what word might come next. Their involvement
in the words will have them eager to listen again and again. I love
the exploration of the process in making a cake, each step following
the other in sequence, giving the model for telling a story in its
correct order. The words are all accessible to a younger audience,
and Ann James' delicious illustrations, made not only with magic
pencil and watercolour, but also chocolate icing, hundreds and
thousands and flour add to the fun of the reading.
Fran Knight
Blue moon by Tricia Oktober
Ford St Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925000870
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Dreams. Cats. Fantasy.
As the cat kneads its dream mat, a web of wonders is produced, and
cat closes her eyes and drifts away. On opening them she finds
herself in a fantastic garden and spotting all things about cats
will keep the readers glued to the pages as they turn. The place of
dreams is made of catnip and milkweed, it has all sorts of
possibilities, painting a portrait, going to a ball, swimming
beneath the ocean, being the queen.
Each adventure is full of possibilities as the cat dreams of this
wonderful place.
Children will love to recognise the situations presented and share
their dreams.
Oktober's dream-like pictures perfectly suit the story, as readers
will love finding the small things hidden on each page and recognise
the many animals shown, following the meerkat on his journey as
well.
All sorts of cats form all sorts of stories can be spotted by the
astute readers, Puss in Boots, the Cat and the Fiddle, the Cheshire
Cat amongst others. And this will give rise to a different
discussion within the classroom or at home, about some of the
classic stories which involve cats.
Tricia Oktober has won many awards for her illustrations and is the
illustrator of several of my favourite books: The bush tail,
a story set in Papua New Guinea, Drought and Bush babies.
Fran Knight
Frances the royal family fairy by Daisy Meadows
Rainbow magic series. Orchard Books, 2015. ISBN 9781408339381
For readers from 6-8 years. Delicate, shiny leaf invitations have
arrived from Fairyland and Kirsty and Rachel are very excited. A
second royal baby has arrived at the palace and the girls are
preparing for a new adventure. Frances the royal family fairy whisks
them off to Fairyland in a sprinkling of fairy dust. She is the
fairy in charge of the two royal children and with the help of a
magic rubber duck helps them play and laugh together.
Just after all the fairies had presented the baby with gifts of
laughter and sports, the Royal Ceremony is interrupted by the
appearance of mischievous Jack Frost. In a flash he grabs the magic
rubber duck and disappears. Queen Titiana asks Kirsty and Rachel to
travel to the Ice Palace and retrieve the stolen toy. Unfortunately,
Jack Frost's spell creates a new villain, Jilly Chilly, and the
girls and fairies need to use their initiative to snatch the rubber
ducky from Jilly.
The Rainbow magic royal fairies are a magical series for
fairy lovers.
Rhyllis Bignell
New Boy by Nick Earls
Puffin, 2015. ISBN 9780143308393
(Age: 9-12) Highly recommended. Themes: Immigration, School life,
Family, Friendship, South Africa - social life and conditions.
Australia - social life and conditions, Bullying, Racism.
Nick Earl's family migrated from Northern Ireland to Australia when
he was nine. In New Boy, his insightful writing draws
inspiration from his family's experiences and from his involvement
with the refugee community in Queensland. Herschelle's mother and
father's decision to leave behind the problems and difficulties of
living in Cape Town for a new life in Brisbane is made without
consulting him. The catalyst was an incident with knife-wielding
black boys. He's in the popular crowd at school, captain of the
school hockey team and is surrounded by lots of family and friends.
On his first day at One Mile Creek State School, everything seems so
different, he's assigned a nerdy kid Max as a buddy to show him
around. He's learnt Aussie slang phrases and is prepared to speak to
the other kids, unfortunately they aren't the ones his classmates
use. Herschelle's day quickly goes downhill from his introduction to
the class, to being placed with the nerds, not pre-ordering his
lunch and finally having to wear spare clothes from lost property
for PE. He's the new boy from Planet Hersch, Population One.
Misconceptions about his skin colour, why is he white and not black
and lifestyle in South Africa are emotional topics. After PE, Harvey
asks about all the cars having flame throwers fitted under them and
is there barbwire on all the outside walls of the homes?
Embarrassment, language misconceptions - Mum just brings a plate to
the school fashion parade, racism, bullying and trying to fit in are
realistically portrayed.
Nick Earl's opens up the reader's eyes to the challenges faced by
new arrivals, both in school and in the community. This is an
eye-opening story to share with a class to explore the issues of
tolerance, acceptance and racism.
Rhyllis Bignell
Every move by Ellie Marney
The Every series, Bk 3. Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781743318539
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Sherlock Holmes, Crime,
Investigation. Page turning, highly readable and most entertaining,
the story of Rachel Watts and Mycroft continues as their
investigations into the deaths of his parents eight years ago brings
them to the brink of being killed themselves. After the thrilling
episode in Britain in Every word, where the two were
kidnapped and tortured, this has them back in Melbourne, the scene
of the first of this engrossing trilogy, Every breath. DS
Pickup reacquaints himself when two murders are committed, the
victims being look a likes for Rachel and Mycroft. Wild is still
following their movements and when Mycroft's eighteenth birthday
comes around, his aunt gives him a letter from his parents, one they
hoped would never be opened. With Mycroft realising what danger they
are in, the letter reveals more leads to untangle, and they must
decide whether they follow them.
A ripening relationship between Rachel and Mycroft is interrupted by
the presence of Harris, a friend of Rachel's brother, Mike, recently
come to Melbourne from the country town where they all lived. He
helps Rachel overcome her nightmares and fears following her
torture, and his interest in her sees some three way conflict adding
sauce to the story. Mycroft's letter contains clues as to who
murdered his parents, so Rachel takes it into her hands to force
this person into the open with dire results. Results which mean the
three must dampen their differences and work together to survive.
This is a highly engrossing crime fiction series for young adults,
one I was sorry to see end, but I will look forward to any new books
by this new author.
Fran Knight
This is Captain Cook by Tania McCartney
Ill. by Christina Booth. NLA Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9780642278692
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Historical, School, Adventure, School play.
Miss Batts' class puts on a play, with all the classmates taking
part in the presentation of his adventures around the world. It
begins with James Cook being born and raised on a farm where he was
surrounded with small animals before going to a seaport where he
worked in a shop. He loved the sea and eventually was taken aboard a
ship and later he became a sailor with the Royal Navy. He equitted
himself so well, that he was promoted and given tasks to do by the
British Government.
All of this is simply played out by the students taking banners
across the stage, or chickens or small rowing boats, showing what
part each of these had in James' life. Readers will laugh out loud
at the antics played by some class members, and the small
disturbances amongst the audience which of course consists of many
family members.
The charming illustrations reveal the flourishes of a class
production with wheels on the bottom of the ship, paper hats for the
Captain, seagulls hanging from the ceiling, children crying in the
audience and a pesky chicken which wants to be on stage. All adds
humour to this delightful story of Captain Cook for the younger
reader.
Captain Cook then sailed south for Tahiti and his secret orders were
to find the Great Southern Land. This he did planting a flag on what
is now Australia, in New South Wales.
The story published by the National Library of Australia, showcases
some of the archival material about Cook held in its collection in
Canberra.
This is a great first read for younger children about one of the
giants of Australia's history, and could well be used as an
introduction to more work about him or looking at archival material
kept in libraries, or as a model for acting out historical plays
within the classroom, or to look at another giant and reduce the
information down to its bare bones, as McCartney has done so well
here.
Fran Knight
Sunny Sweet is so dead meat by Jennifer Ann Mann
Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781619635630
(Age:7-9) Masha Sweet and her precocious sister Sunny return in
another crazy tale of mishap and misadventure. Six year old Sunny
has a brain that's always buzzing, managing a million projects at a
time. She also is a major annoyance to her older sister Masha, whose
hair is still growing back from the superglue and flowers incident
and her arm is still in a purple cast.
Mum's off to a painting class, so she drops the girls off at the
School Science Fair at ten am, one hour early. When Masha questions
Sunny about her costume, a rain hat, raincoat and boots, she's knows
there's something about to happen. Sunny asks her to open a bottle
of ketchup and of course Masha agrees. This is the start of a
calamitous day, Masha is covered in splashes of a special red dye
and is now Sunny's entry in the Science Fair! How will people react
to the girl covered in red dye, how will she cope? Masha is furious
and yells 'Sunny Sweet, YOU ARE SO DEAD MEAT!'
Masha rings her friend Alice, who is in hospital and they work out a
way to disguise the problem. She slips down the school corridors
looking for the art room, with some paint brushes and paint in hand,
she pretends to be an artist. Two young brothers dressed as super
heroes help in her quest. The rest of the crazy day involves taking
bus trips on wrong routes, fly eggs in dog poop, several trips
through a creepy graveyard and a grave site rescue with the help of
Alice in her wheelchair, Sunny and a grumpy caretaker.
Another wild and crazy adventure from Jennifer Ann Mann, a fun
junior novel for girls.
Rhyllis Bignell
Hugless Douglas goes to Little School by David Melling
Hachette, 2015. ISBN 9781444915600
(Age: 3-6) Highly recommended. The sun is shining on Hugless Douglas
and his friends as they join the Walking Bus ready for their first
day at Little School. Miss Moo-Hoo their teacher has a wonderful
outdoor classroom with cushions on the grass and a tree filled with
art supplies. Hugless Douglas is there to lend a hand, he helps
everyone hang up their bags and just for fun he ties one of the
sheep up as well. Everyone has a different idea about their
favourite activity, the duck loves sploshing, of course Douglas
loves hugging, so everybody gives each other a welcome hug. Miss
Moo-Hoo spreads a large sheet of white paper down for painting and
the class goes wild, Douglas uses one of the sheep dipped in green
paint to make bottom prints! He is a very helpful bear who catches
all his friends when the giant block tower topples. The story ends
with small vignettes of their exciting first day at Little School,
everything from the Naughty Step to Wash and Tidy-up and
Will-You-Be-My-Friend Hugs.
This is a delightful picture book by David Melling. Douglas is a
loveable character drawn with a range of expressive emotions. The
bright, vibrant colours and pen and ink drawings d bring the animal
characters' activities to life. The audience's interest is captured
as the school scenes sweep up, down and diagonally across the pages.
Follow the characters, take time to discover all of their fun and
adventures, watch the duck enjoy the water play and the sheep's
playful actions.
Hugless Douglas is a well-loved character and this new story is
great for sharing.
Rhyllis Bignell
Bridget : a New Australian by James Moloney
A New Australian series. Omnibus Books (Scholastic
Australia), 2015. ISBN: 9781742990989
This book introduces a new series from Scholastic called A New
Australian, which will tell the migration stories of children to
Australia, each book written by individual authors. Irish history is
fertile ground for storytelling; one of its most tragic episodes was
the potato famine of the mid-1800s. This intersected with the
history of pioneer Australia, leading to one of the great waves of
migration to this land. The story begins with the Nelligans, an
Irish cottier family who are evicted by their English landlord and
eventually find refuge in a workhouse, sparse as it is.
Heartbreaking circumstances provide an opportunity for two of the
sisters, Maeve and Bridget, to sail to Australia.
Because of the kindness of the ship's doctor - and Bridget's uncanny
ability to capture rats - the trip for the girls is relatively
comfortable, though they suffer at the hands of religious bigotry
amongst other girls and their bitter Matron Mrs Clements. The
bigotry continues after the two sisters are indentured as house help
and taken to the new colony of Brisbane Town. One escapes the
oppression through a surprise marriage. Bridget, the younger one
must bide her time under increasingly cruel treatment until her
chance comes to find freedom in the new land, caring for the animals
that she loves.
The story reveals the hardship and oppression suffered by the poor
Irish of the time, from the English landlords at home, to the gentry
of a pioneer land. Other hardships of sea travel and life in a raw
country are alluded to but it is the lot of the defenceless and
dependent servant girl that is the focus here. The ending of the
book is more worthy of a pastoral adventure than historical fiction,
though emigration to an unknown land could be seen as a melding of
the genre, a historical adventure. Useful as a pleasant read for
wide reading schemes, this book could also be used as a serial read
for historic background in units on European pioneer settlement in
Australia.
Kerry Neary
The Gallipoli story by Patrick Carlyon
Allen and Unwin 2015. ISBN 9781760112479
(Age: Upper Primary and early Secondary) Well recommended. This book
was first published in 2003. As the centenary of Gallipoli is here
in 2015 the factual entries are still very poignant and relevant
when reading about WW1 and Gallipoli. The author says he 'set out to
explore the events of Gallipoli in 1915. I have tried to find the
facts, but it is not always possible to separate fact from legend'
(Author's Note in the 2003 Edition). This book, with a new striking
cover is full of amazing, intimate facts of the soldiers who landed
at Anzac Cove. Amongst the many fascinating details is one where
Simpson of the Donkey fame, took a possum in his shirt on board ship
from Australia. Anyone who knows about possums will understand how
sharp their claws are! How did he manage? And to know that Major
General William Throsby Bridges insisted that the Australians fight
as a single force. 'Had he not, Australian troops would have been
shared out among British forces. There would have been no ANZACS and
no Gallipoli legends'. p.12-13. The details of individual soldiers'
letters and comments, gives the reader an insight into the
horrendous conditions under which the Australians fought Carlyon's
detailed descriptions of the Commanding Officers, both English and
Australian, gives personal reflections. The black and white
photographs are sensitive and varied, again giving the reader an
opportunity to visually see the soldiers and the terrain. As Carlyon
says 'Sometimes we bathe Gallipoli in a romantic glow. We talk about
the Anzac spirit and mateship and good humour. The Australians at
Gallipoli had all these qualities. But they also had dysentery and
toothaches to think about. They stank of dirt and death'. (p 168).
It's a very sobering book but well worth reading.
Sue Nosworthy
World War 11 Tales by Terry Deary
Bloomsbury, 2015 The Bike Escape. ISBN 9781472916242 The Apple Spy. ISBN: 9781472916211
(Age: 8-10) Recommended. The Bike Escape - London 1939.
Young Harry is a rough and tumble kind of boy, he's an opportunist
whose London life is about to drastically change as is the world
around him. It is 1939 and the government decides that hundreds of
children were to be evacuated from the city, sent in their best
clothes with a label and gas mask hanging around their neck, to an
uncertain future.
School life is tough for the boy; corporal punishment is given out
for stealing one piece of chalk. When the local policeman and
Harry's teacher visit his house, he believes he's off to prison,
however he has to be evacuated as well.
Terry Deary captures the atmosphere, their everyday life and the
reality of the city and country kids trying to fit in to rural
living. Will Harry be successful in escaping from Miss Pim's house
and find his way sixty miles back to London on a borrowed Land Army
girl's bike? The Apple Spy - Scotland 1940. Siblings Marie and Jamie Bruce
are bored: who wants to listen to the teacher reading the fairy tale
of Snow White, the evil queen and the poisoned apple? Luckily they
did! When they are sent home for being rude, Marie has a better plan
- why not catch the Edinburgh express train instead. Two strangers
are also on the platform asking directions from the station-master.
Jamie picks up on their German accents and water-soaked clothes.
He's an avid reader of the Wizard comic books that are filled with
secret agents and German spy stories. With Jamie's quick thinking
and Marie's quick summoning of the local Home Guard, the spies are
apprehended. Of course, there's a third German spy who jumps on
board, at the very last minute and Marie follows him. Jamie hops on
and runs through the carriages to find Marie. He saves his sister's
life, when he stops her from eating a poisoned apple from the spy's
suitcase.
Terry Deary's World War 11 Tales are drawn from real-life stories,
the junior novels bring to life the experiences of children living
at this time in Great Britain's history. James de la Rue's ink
sketches add humour to the stories, especially the illustrations of the teachers!
Rhyllis Bignell
iF: A mind-bending new way of looking at big ideas and numbers by David J Smith
Ill. by Steve Adams. New Frontier Publishing, 2015. ISBN
9781925059267
Smith has taken a whole host of little known or discussed statistics
and scaled them down to more manageable time frames, numbers or
items. As stated in the blurb, 'iF the sun were the size of a
grapefruit, Earth would be the size of a grain of salt. Even the
largest planet, Jupiter, would only be as big as a small pea . . .
Space, time, inventions, resources, humanity and more - iF scales
down big concepts and invites readers to see the world in a
mind-bending new way.'
Containing stylised illustrations with brightly coloured
backgrounds, the text is presented in different boxes on each double
paged spread yet does not comprise of overwhelming amounts of print.
Events of the last 3,000 years are presented on a single page of a
calendar, inventions on a measuring tape etc. In this way, the
reader has a visual representation of various events which can be
far more easily interpreted by the young reader.
Smith has previously released If the World were a village, a
title which has been heavily used by teachers in Maths, English,
Science and the old SOSE curriculum or inquiry units. This title
will undoubtedly become equally as popular for the same reasons. The
double paged spread at the back of the book contains information for
teachers and parents, including how to use scales, maps and
timelines. Children, particularly boys looking for non-fiction
titles are likely to devour the information included in this title.
Jo Schenkel
Paper planes by Steve Worland
Puffin Books, 2015. ISBN 9780143308744
(Age: Upper Primary and early Secondary students) Well recommended.
It's interesting to read a book of quality after a film has been
made, but this is a story of commitment and obsession. Dylan lives
in outback Western Australia and because of a chance suggestion from
a student teacher he becomes enchanted with paper planes. Dylan's
commitment takes him to Sydney and then Tokyo. Along the way, he
copes with his depressed Father who is unable to deal with his
wife's death and an inspirational, feisty grandfather who, with his
lady friends from the Waleup Nursing Home bring scones, lamingtons
and cupcakes, making the extra money to send Dylan to the World
Championships in Tokyo. Dylan and Kevin, (the school bully) become
friends and Kevin is Dylan's strongest supporter. Dylan's
determination wins him the chance to compete in Tokyo. Jason is his
main competitor. Jason's attitude is very self-confident and leaves
Dylan anxious. He becomes friends with Kimi, a champion in her own
right from Tokyo and his confidence gains strength.
It's an uplifting book. His love and persistence with his Father and
his tolerance of him is touching. Individuals play an important role
in the book giving Dylan the strength to grow and have confidence in
himself and his ability to pursue a great challenge, that of being
part of the World Junior Paper Plane Championships in Tokyo. It's
refreshing to see how a teacher and student- teacher can have such
an incredibly positive and enduring influence on, not just Dylan but
Kevin and no doubt the rest of the school. The Appendices are
fascinating: from Q&A with the Director, the film cast, Notes
from the Paper Pilots, Tips and Tricks, How to Fold a Paper Plane
and Things you might not know about Paper Planes. Lastly, the author
talks about how he wanted his daughter to see the movie and then
read the book. The film clips tell a visual story on their own.
Sue Nosworthy
