Reviews

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Hodder & Stoughton, 2014. ISBN 9781444723038.
Teenage coming of age. Independence. Risk taking. Friendship. In a small town in the USA, the local teens take part in a competition to win a pot of money that will transform their lives. The risks required to win put their own lives at risk as they gamble with fear and the challenge of overcoming life-threatening scenarios created by their peers in a 'game' that has rules that challenge wisdom. The central characters of this book are at the threshold of decision making about their career paths, friendships and romance, but the 'Panic' - the name of the competition that should not exist, creates a tension filled segue into their future.
Lauren Oliver creates flawed and interesting characters that inspire empathy, even when you don't always like them. They are believable, probably because they are flawed, and their life stories are interesting, as is the setting in the obscure but dead-end American town. Because it hints at the angst and uncertainty of the teenager, and their desire to escape the trappings of the mundane and the damaged aspects of their lives, it will appeal to teen readers. Adults are portrayed in secondary roles, or as the reasons for wanting to escape.
This book has already been targeted as the basis for a teen film production. It will become another of the teen 'must-reads'. Not set in a dystopian world, but yet this book retains much of the appeal of The hunger games, Maze runner and the Divergent series. Expect to see young people reading this book. It contains very little adult perspective on the 'Panic', except for a few oblique references to opposition, perhaps reflecting teen independence and lack of frontal-lobe perspective on the world!
Carolyn Hull

All my kisses by Kerry Brown

Ill. by Jedda Robaard. ABC Books/ HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780733330711
(Age: Pre-School) Abby the piglet was very kissable. Every night as she snuggled into bed she would be kissed once on the end of her nose, twice on her forehead and countless times on the bottom of her feet. And Abby likes those kisses so much she keeps each of them in a special bucket to savour later, carrying them with her wherever she went. But whenever she was asked for one, she would never share. No matter who asked her, she kept her kisses to herself. They were too special, too precious, too fragile to share. But something starts to happen to those kisses, particularly the ones in the bottom of the bucket that are buried and cannot be seen. In fact, they have turned into bleak, grey pebbles - ugly things that Abby throws away into the shadows...
This is a lovely story about how being selfish, even with something that was given just to us, cannot necessarily make us as happy as we would think and that sometimes giving it away can have unconsidered consequences. It's about giving love as well as receiving it, and how giving makes the receiving so much richer.
Accompanied by enchanting illustrations in soft colours which capture Abby's personality and emotions perfectly, this is a lovely tale about bedtime routines, sharing and makings friends that should be high on your recommendations to your parents of preschoolers.
Barbara Braxton

Paruku the desert brumby by Jesse Blackadder

ABC Books/HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780733331794.
(Age: Year 3+) Way out in the Kimberley, on the edges of the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts lies Paruku Indigenous Protected Area, some 430,000 hectares of undulating red sand plains, salt pans and occasional dunes with stunted eucalyptus, acacias and spinifex, surrounding Lake Gregory, the only reliable source of fresh water for the tens of thousands of birds and other creatures that inhabit the area. These include mobs of wild brumbies, descendants of Arabian and thoroughbred horses introduced into the East Kimberley in the 50s and 60s to improve the quality of the stockhorses of what was then, the Lake Gregory Pastoral Station.
Into this landscape come twelve-year-old Rachel and her vet father Mike on a mission to capture twelve of these brumbies for an Arab sheik looking to improve his stock of endurance race horses in Dubai. Inspired by reading Elyne Mitchell's The silver brumby, Rachel has a somewhat romantic view of the brumbies being wild and free to roam, but working with the Aboriginal people of the area, she learns they have a different view of the brumbies because of the damage they cause to the environment. But right at the beginning of her adventure she comes into contact with a stallion and his mare and while she soon learns to work with the team to drive the animals so they can be hit with a tranquiliser dart then transported back to the stockyards, her connection with this pair is her focus with a result that drives the rest of the story from Lake Gregory to Glen Innes in New South Wales and then to Dubai itself.
Intertwined with Rachel's story is that of Paruku, the stallion she so admires and named for the area he comes from, told from Paruku's perspective and adding an intriguing insight that helps explain the course of events that follow.
What gives the whole thing extra interest and weight though, is that much of it is true. In 2008, an Australian vet was commissioned to capture wild brumbies from this area, working with the local Mulan people to take them back to Dubai, but first taking them to Glen Innes to prepare them for the journey ahead. While Rachel's family is fictional, the other characters and events are true - even the names of the horses have been kept.
If I had a dollar for every time a young girl asked me for 'a story about horses' my wealth might rival Clive Palmer's! This book is a very worthy addition to that cohort - even though I'm not a 'horsey person', it kept me engaged through to the end, an ending that is not necessarily the saccharine happily-ever-after that many such books dish up. But apart from feeding that need to have a strong collection of books on the subject, it is also a worthwhile addition to studies about feral animals and their place, or otherwise, in the landscape as well as the Australian psyche.
Now to seek out Jesse Blackadder's other titles, Chasing the light, a fictional recounting of the little-known true story of the first woman to ever set foot on Antarctica (my own mother was the first female journalist to go south) and Stay: the last dog in Antarctica. Quality fare for the independent reader not yet ready for the challenges of contemporary realistic fiction.
Barbara Braxton

The dawn chorus by Suzanne Barton

Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9780140839218.
(Age: Preschool - Year 2) Deep in the forest, just as the sun begins to rise, little Peep is woken from his slumbers by the most beautiful song. Stretching his wings and fluffing his feathers he sets out to find out where it is coming from. But if it's not Owl or Mouse or Frog, who could it be? Aha! There on an enormous tree on the top of a hill are lots and lots of birds, all singing their hearts out. It is the dawn chorus and their job is to sing lustily each morning to let the world know a new day has begun. Because Peep loves to sing, he wants to join and the conductor invites him for an audition the next morning. But Peep doesn't make it in time the next day, and the day after he was so tired all he could do was yawn!
"Perhaps you're not meant to sing", sighed the conductor.
Peep is so disappointed. "Why can I sing in the evening but not in the morning?" he asks. And suddenly, he has the answer - one that lifts his spirits and his voice and brings joy to all!
This is a beautifully illustrated book by new author and illustrator, Suzanne Barton. A combination of collage, drawing and painting, the gentle colours and delicate patterns are enchanting and very appealing.
Anyone who has heard a real dawn chorus wonders at the diversity of sounds as each bird adds its greeting, and this concept is enhanced by each bird in the tree being different. However, even though as individuals each has a song to sing, it is when all are singing together that the true magic happens. But as well as celebrating unity, there is also the ability and need to celebrate difference, as Peep discovers. What a wonderful way to introduce those concepts to young learners. I've put this one aside for when I work with a Year 1 class next week - I can see myself working with it, and that's the greatest compliment of all from a teacher librarian.
Barbara Braxton

The minnow by Diana Sweeney

Text Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9781922182012.
(Ages: 14+) Highly recommended. This is a strange, poignant story of loneliness, loss and grief. We are not given the details of how 14 year-old Tom's (nickname for Holly) parents and sister are swept away in a flood; instead we glean bits of the story from the stream of Tom's consciousness and her interactions with their ghosts - not really ghosts but  each an ongoing presence in her life.
The minnow is the baby growing inside her, something that happens after she moves into the boatshed with Bill, an old friend of her father's, a loner like him, and someone who shares her interest in fishing, - but Bill betrays her trust, and has a dark underside, a dangerous man wanted by the police. Tom has to leave him and somehow find her own way in a world where she feels lost and alone.
However what is really lovely about this book is the number of warm caring people who gradually create a living presence around her - from her eccentric life-loving Nana and her new partner Jonathon, to Jonah her gentle gay friend, the sensitive art teacher James Wu, Hazel the nursing home administrator, calm and responsible Sergeant Griffin, the petshop owner and others. They all are genuinely kind people who go out of their way to help her.
Throughout the novel there is a constant theme of water, fishing, swimming and drowning, the living and the dead interweaving in one stream of life which eventually overcomes the sadness and suggests love and hope.
I enjoyed this novel so much that I read it a second time within a few weeks, appreciating even more on second reading the the weaving of the story, the blending of love and loss, and the gathering of warm and caring characters.
Helen Eddy

So many wonderfuls by Tina Matthews

Walker Books, 2014. ISBN: 9781922077516.
Highly recommended for three to five year olds and for Early Years' classes. Themes: Community, Cities, Urban Life, Geography, Poetry. Tina Matthews creative process started from a few pencil sketches of an imaginary town and led her to the creation of a wonderful town with so many places to explore. She uses lyrical poetry with each stanza's first and fourth line rhyming - an envelope rhyme. Her encouragement at the start is 'So don't hurry by Hold your horses slow down!' Each simple rhyme is accompanied by detailed scenes of town life. There are people to talk to and places to play, the beach, the park, school, shops, a wonderful tree, a community hall and a library truck. There is both a sense of happiness and purpose shown in the townsfolk. Just like a look and find book, the small details are just as important as the overall scene. The structure of the town with care taken to explore different depths, perspectives and views draw the young reader into the story.  
On the school page the classroom has so many elements to investigate, the students are engaged in a lesson about the lunar cycle with wonderful props and costumes. Through the windows we observe the school garden and townsfolk engaged in their everyday lives. Inclusivity is gently portrayed, raised garden beds for a student in a wheelchair, a blind mother, even a gopher is parked on the sandy beach. All ages and stages of life are drawn with a sense of understanding and belonging.  Matthews use of a pastel palette and deliberate choice to add colour to a section of each illustration is another great talking point to engage young readers. The beach scene where no-one is wearing hats also leads to discussion.
This is a richly rewarding picture book, a must buy for teachers of Geography. Students are introduced to my place in space, my special places, community life, maps and perspectives in an easy to understand way.
Teacher notes are available.
Rhyllis Bignell

The Ratcatcher's Daughter by Pamela Rushby

Angus & Robertson, 2014. ISBN 9780732297138.
(Age 10+) Recommended. The year is 1900 and the new century starts with the oldest disease - the Black Death.
The year is 1900. Thirteen year old Issy McKelvie leaves school and is forced to take a job at an undertaking establishment. Issy thinks that life couldn't get any worse, that is until the Black Death hits Australia.
Issy despises rats, and her father's four snappy dogs but after her father falls ill, Issy is unwillingly forced to become the new ratcatcher.
Issy also discovers something that makes her burn inside. What she finds will shock her and makes her think about what she really wants in life.
I would recommend this book to both genders, ages 10 and above. This book really helped me to understand what the families and sufferers of this horrible disease would have gone through. I would also recommend it to anyone who likes to learn about the history of Australia.
Pamela Rushby has really captured the way Australia would have been like in the 1900's when the plague hit. The Black Death hit annually from 1900-1909 and again every few years. The last reported case in Australia was in 1922. Fortunately it hasn't struck since. The plague was an event that traumatised Australia in the 1900's, although now it is something that very few people know about.
Jazmin Humphries (Student Year 7)

Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George

Bloomsbury Children's, 2014. ISBN 9781408836927.
(Age: 8-10) Themes: Magic, Mythical Creatures, Fantasy, Adventure. Jessica Day George's novel Wednesdays in the Tower is the sequel to Tuesdays in the Castle. In this fantasy novel for eight to ten year old readers, Princess Celie and her family return for another adventure in the magical Castle Glower where new rooms appear, old ones disappear, stairs change and rooms can't be accessed. Her discovery of a new roofless room at the top of the castle brings a new thrilling mystery. Why is there a large orange egg resting in a nest? She guards the secret egg until a mythical creature hatches, a baby griffin who thinks Celie is her mother. The castle wants her to raise the creature in secret and Celie must learn responsible griffin care, without the help of her parents.
When a creepy wizard arrives to help her brother Bran to help sort a storehouse of magical and powerful weapons, the castle starts to change in alarming ways. This forces the family to work together and make things right. The family decides to trust the wizard, but Celie and Pogue think he is up to something. When things reach a crisis, it is up to Celie to make the right decision and save her family.
Jessica Day George's junior novel is an amusing fantasy, the magic castle and the protagonist Celie are well-written and enjoyable characters. Taking responsibility is a key message here. Celie is a likable protagonist.
Rhyllis Bignell

Sexts, Texts & Selfies: how to keep your children safe in the digital space by Susan McLean

Penguin Australia, 2014. ISBN 9780670077885.
Highly recommended for both parents and teachers. Digital Citizenship is a particular topic for me at present so this book came along in a very timely space. Easy to read with sensible straightforward advice for parents of children from pre-schoolers to teens, the contents cover all aspects from cyber safety to addiction.
Should parents be not very 'tech' minded there are useful explanations of various programs, apps and digital spaces as well as an extensive glossary. A final chapter of websites for additional information and advice is also a practical and useful extension to the commonsense approach throughout the book. Chapters include: Your Child's Digital Reputation, What are Children Doing Online?, Cyberbullying - the Survival Guide and Sexts & Selfies - What Will They Think of Next?
Recently ACMA (Australian Media and Communications Authority) published its most recent snapshot of young people online, stating that the the numbers of young people online has doubled since 2009 and offers many strategies for managing your children's digital citizenship. Read more here . This book strongly advocates parents to take charge of their children's digital well-being - just as they do with their physical and emotional care. In my opinion, this is a book for you to promote heavily to your parent community and make available in your Parent Resource collection.
Susan McLean began her journey into Digital Citizenship as a member of the Victoria Police Department and an investigation into cyber bullying back in 1994. Since then she has worked diligently to educate both kids and adults in this increasingly more complex cyberspace. 'The perceived anonymity of the internet gives many young people a sense of bravado, allowing them to engage in behaviours that they would not consider in the real world. Most kids think they know it all . . . that they won't make a poor choice and the will be able to sort out the good from the bad. Kids don't always realise that making a poor choice online can be catastrophic, that they can't undo what they did, nor can they erase it. They do not understand that once your press the button to send, enter or upload, it is almost impossible to erase. There is no 'undo' button in cyberspace.
Sue Warren

Jam for Nana by Deborah Kelly

Saving Thanehaven by Catherine Jinks

Allen and Unwin, 2014. ISBN 9781743317747.
(Age: Early secondary) Well recommended. This is a creatively constructed, modern tale appealing to young readers who are familiar with the workings of a computer but whose main characters belong to a medieval world. Noble is the main character in a computer game. He lives in a fantasy computer programme from long ago, where swords smote characters. He sets out to save the Princes Lorellina and meets Rufus, who belongs to the modern computer time and who says, 'I'm not asking you to surrender. I'm asking you to think.' p5. This is the essence of the book. The author challenges the reader to question the computer games, the way they unfold and where the power lies. Noble says,' It doesn't have to be tyranny or anarchy. You can follow rules and still think for yourself' p278. Noble has come a long way from his beginnings! It's a very cleverly contrived novel, attempting to challenge young readers about their game choices.
Catherine Jinks writes persuasively, using humour which the reader understands, while developing strong characters. The cover imparts a mysterious feeling suggesting a quest.
The Cover Story in The Weekend Australian dated September 13-14 by Rosemary Neill, while ostensibly discussing teen films refers to these films as 'going dystopic'. They are 'high-concept tales set in quasi-totalitarian societies and featuring teenagers fighting each other to the death'. This book belongs to this genre. John Marsden's Tomorrow series began this trend. David Kelly, (in this article) says 'dystopias reflect 'our anxieties of where we are heading and what's to come - a grim prospect these days, with our customary apprehensions ratcheted up by the 24-hour news cycle and the public appetite for stories of political, social or personal (often celebrity) crisis'. This article is relevant, topical and well worth reading.
Sue Nosworthy

Sky raiders by Brandon Mull

Five Kingdoms series. Simon and Shuster, 2014. ISBN 9781471121883.
Well recommended for early secondary students. Sky raiders is the first of five books exploring other realms which are not in our present understanding.
Set initially on Halloween night, Cole, Jenna and Dalton, dressed in their costumes, decide with their school friends to visit the haunted house nearby. Life turns frightening and ugly when Jenna and Dalton, along with all the others except Cole are caged and wearing iron collars and leg chains drop into an open manhole and disappear. Cole follows, is caught and marked as a slave and so begins an amazing journey through floating castle worlds. He lands on the 'Brink' where he meets Mira, a princess whose powers have been stolen by her father. Jace, Twitch, Mira and Cole set out to find Mira's lost powers although Cole is trying to find his friends. They encounter semblances who resemble living things, bizarre sights not of this world and worst of all Carnag, who has much of Mira's abilities and which the group try to remove so Mira's powers can be restored to her. This first book moves swiftly with believable characters who will develop and add their individual talents to each of the Kingdoms. It's an exciting start to a 'story (that) must hold out hope for a better, wiser world, one that is less done over by power tripping adults' The Weekend Australian, September 13-14, 2014. And in the same article by Rosemary Neill she says, 'To survive you have to be totally fake'. It's a new world'.
Sue Nosworthy

I love dogs by Emma Dodd

Orchard Books, 2014. ISBN 9781408331262.
(Age: 3-5 years) A little girl is looking for the perfect puppy as her new pet and she explores all the options in this picture book. With simple to read rhyming text, she contemplates her options, 'I love spotty, bouncy jumpy, dotty dogs.' Some of the dogs prove a little too hard to handle and she also states her dislikes of snappy, growly, never happy dogs. Her choice of a sweet willy-nilly dog brings her much joy.
This new edition of I love dogs is part of the popular I love you series by British author Emma Dodd. From the endpapers covered in dog biscuits to bright illustrations of posh dogs, pretty dogs, gruff dogs, canines of every shape and size, this book is visually engaging.
Rhyllis Bignell
Editor's note: There is a companion volume, I love cats. ISBN 9781408331255.

Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer

Simon and Schuster, 2013. ISBN 9781481401067.
(Ages 15+) Action. With El Patron dead Matt, a clone is thrust into a position of immense power. This position is the Lord of Opium, dictator of the most powerful territory in the Dope Confederacy. This means that Matt is now the most powerful drug lord in this dystopian Mexico. At the beginning of the book there is some extremely important information for those who have not read the first book. There are lists of characters and how they relate to each other, a map of both The United States and Mexico in its dystopian drug lord state and a time line of where certain events took place. This drug filled story takes place between 2137 and 2138. Eejits are the slaves of the drug lord and despite the hatred of such an idea Matt is forced to deal with a variety of them. This government is the idea of true dictatorship, a dictatorship where no one has a say because they have no opinions. This book is written in a 1st person continuous narrative form. The concept of the world that they live in is very interesting but the drugs make the story boring. The book is slow and the action does not begin until about three quarters of the way though the book. The other very difficult thing about this book is the Spanish. As this story is set in a dystopian Mexico the characters use Spanish throughout the story. This is wonderful if you understand Spanish but as one who doesn't I missed key storylines and character information. Spanish is to Lord of Opium as French is to Jane Eyre. This story would be suitble for someone who likes reading dystopian novels that don't actually go anywhere.
Azriel P. (Student)
Editor's note: The first book in the series, House of the Scorpion, won the US National Book Award and it would be best to read it before reading Lord of Opium.

Intruder by Christine Bongers

Woolshed Press, 2014. ISBN 9780857983763 (pbk). ISBN 9780857983770 (ebk).
(Age: Yr 6-8) For the three years since her mother's death from cancer, Kat and her dad, Jimmy, have lived a very private life, keeping themselves and their business to themselves, fearing another intervention from the authorities which will split them apart again.Each night Jimmy goes out to play gigs in Brisbane's bars and clubs and then backs up with the early morning shift at a local bakery struggling to meet the mortgage on the house that his wife loved, but also leaving Kat home alone at just 14.One night, Kat wakes up to find an intruder standing over her bed, his hand on her leg and it is only her blood-curdling scream and the arrival of the hated woman-next-door with a softball bat that prevents the attack going any further.
However, this event is just part of a traumatic experience for Kat as it is the catalyst for an unravelling of her life as she believes it to be with all the fervour, tunnel-vision perspective and sense of rightness that 14-year olds have. Born from a real incident happening to the author's daughter who was eventually able to get over her guilt and start exploring the what-ifs, this is an intriguing tale of revisit and reborn. Kat has been shaped by her past and her interpretation of events and is trapped within it, and it is only when she is offered the choice of staying with her neighbour, whom she hates so much she will not even pass her house, or having a guard dog which she fears as a victim of a savage attack that she is forced to find an escape route from the cocoon she has spun around herself and Jimmy. It is not an easy journey and in travelling it she has to confront fears and situation that challenge her beliefs, which, while making her very vulnerable also make her stronger.
Intruder is a story that will be adored by those on the transition between childhood and adolescence. It has just enough suspense to keep turning the page, but not enough to terrify; its characters are diverse, realistic, memorable and recognisable and show that we all need a little bit of everyone to enrich our lives; and the plot, while very plausible, is not so close-to-home that the reader will fear being alone or turning the light off. While I'm not a fan of one-size-fits-all, I acknowledge that this story would have great value as a small-group read, perhaps as a book club, where readers can discuss its layers, explore the what-ifs, and perhaps not only gain some insight into that typical tunnel-vision of the age group, but perhaps develop some safety strategies as well. Teaching notes are available.
Christine Bongers' two previous titles, Dust and Henry Hoey Hobson have both featured in the CBCA awards lists which gives an indication of the quality of her story-telling and ability to reach her target audience well.
Barbara Braxton