This first junior novel by author/illustrator Lorena Carrington is a gentle story about independent Hazel and her fascination with nature. She is a keen photographer and has moved on from collecting natural items to take home, to taking photographs which are thoughtfully spread throughout the entire book.
While out in the bushland near her home Hazel meets Cole, a boy who collects things just as she does, but he stores them in his clothing with multiple pockets. He has a treasure trove of useful items to share with Hazel including the amazing ability to find items to replace the words he does not speak.
While they are closely observing an area of the bush, Hazel and Cole discover a hidden box. Inside the box are some small old fashioned toys plus a book with handwritten clues. The clues are for the finders of the box to try to identify the owner. The two children work closely together to try to decode and solve each of the puzzles and in the end there is a surprise for Hazel.
This delightful story is about friendship, the joy of solving challenging problems, and the beauty of natural world. The black and white photographs add another dimension to the story and the answers to the puzzles are a handy inclusion. There is also an opportunity for the reader to add their own treasures to the book.
This is the way we walk along, walk along, walk along, This is the way we walk along on a sunny funny morning. SLIP SLAP TRIP TRAP FAST SLOW! LET'S GO!
All sorts of young children are making their way across town using any means they can - skateboarding, rising the train, on the zipline, even in a wheelchair. But where are they going? Why are they making such an effort? What could be so important?
This is an engaging story for young readers who will have fun identifying all the ways the children are travelling as their tongues wrap themselves around the familiar rhythm, rhyme and patterns of the classic Here we go round the mulberry bush, and joining in, the anticipation building as they predict where the children are going and why.
But as well as being a fun read for little ones, it's also an excellent kickstart for building vocabulary for those slightly older who are beginning to write their own stories and who need to expand their vocabularies beyond the common but boring 'I went...' Using the examples in the book as a launch pad, there could be a fascinating word wall built of alternatives beginning with modes of transport, but then venturing into creating mood and atmosphere with alternatives like I crept or I stomped. Not only does it encourage them to be more adventurous with their words, it demonstrates the impact of using them to build a story.
I loved this book, but I may have been more easily drawn into it, having recently attended some Pakistani weddings and been given a little insight into Desi culture. Saman Shad’s descriptions are so on key, they had me laughing many times. This is an absolutely brilliant multicultural rom-com. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
Saima and Kal are both ‘third culture’ Australians, forging different values from their migrant parents, but still not feeling like they truly belong in the Australian culture in which they’ve grown up. Saima is a matchmaker by profession, but unlike the traditional version, she is in her thirties, single, and preferring to match people not by their status and wealth but by how they get along together. She wants to find each person’s soulmate. Kal, a Dev Patel look-alike, is a highly eligible bachelor whose parents scheme with Saima to find him a good young Pakistani girl. Of course, the plot is predictable: against parental expectations, the slightly disreputable matchmaker and the career driven bachelor start to fall for each other, despite having arguments every time they meet. It’s all good fun; the usual enemies to lovers trope, with cultural misadventures thrown in.
There is a serious element however: both Saima and Kal have personal issues to deal with, and it is good to see such a wonderful portrayal of the value of friendships. They each have friends that stand by them and give good advice. Saima’s friends are always there for her, full of jokes but also prepared to give honest feedback when it’s needed. Particularly notable is the depiction of the kind of caring support that Kal’s friends Tom and Lachie provide: his mates repeatedly check in on his depressive state, and are available for support.
All of this is delivered in a novel that sparkles with warmth and humour. It is wonderful to see such an uplifting and colourful depiction of multicultural Australia, at the same time providing insight into the dilemmas that ‘third culture’ Australians face. For those who enjoy this book, another book with humorous treatment of South Asian – Australian cultural conflict is Elephants with headlights by Bem Le Hunte (2020).
American history is not always neat, and this book weaves the tale of the ‘ghosts’ – the long-dead ancestors whose journey as chattels of the slave trade gets remembered and honoured in a modern-day literary exploration and a legal fight. After a horrendous journey, and a shipwreck the survivors wash up on a small island off the Florida coast – Dark Isle. The island is cursed by the formerly African inhabitants and their survival is a miracle, and they are joined by escapees from slavery. In the present day, Lovely Jackson, an elderly woman who was born on the island many generations after the slaves arrived, is keen to have the story of her forbears raised to public attention and writes a self-published account of Dark Isle’s history which comes to the attention of a bookshop owner, a noted author - Mercer Mann, and a pro-bono environmental lawyer. The timing of the interest in this elderly woman’s account coincides with a land grab by a wealthy developer wanting the island for big scale development and Casino construction. Will the history of the island be lost, or can one woman’s retrospective memoir and her legal fight protect the ghosts from the ambush of progress?
Grisham has created a captivating story that almost has a non-fiction quality – an unfolding of history, woven with the fiction threads of intriguing characters, a disquieting setting, and the mystical possibility of curses and danger. The fight for the rights of a woman to protect her ancestral burial grounds feels a little like an indigenous land fight, but in a southern USA and slavery context. The twists and turns of a legal contest are part of Grisham’s literary armoury, and this book reveals how complex the law can be. In addition, the author Mercer’s role in bringing the story to national attention uncovers the complexities of publishing a marketable story. The star of the book though is the character Lovely Jackson, a formidable and forthright advocate for her history, and a reminder that rights are not always easy to argue and sometimes wily activists are needed to enable protection.
Themes Afro-American history, Slave trade, Legal rights, Authors and authorship.
The Run Team, Ghost, Patina, Sunny and Lu have been chosen for their particular abilities and they all know Sunny can’t be beaten in long distance running events. It is coming up for Sunny’s thirteenth birthday but that is also his mother’s death day, the day she died giving birth to him, a difficult day to remember. She was a runner too and Sunny’s father always tells him he must run for his mother and how proud she would have been of his success. When Sunny stops running in the middle of a race it is because winning doesn’t feel right anymore but he can’t explain it. He tells the coach he would rather dance. Aurelia, Sunny’s home-school teacher, had suggested Sunny put his feelings down in a diary rather than yelling and so now, with feelings going 'boing boing in my brain' he starts again. Through the diary Sunny teases out his feelings; his relationship with his father, his reliance on his teammates, the only friends he has. The diary helps examine big feelings which supports big conversations with loved ones with humour and fun wordplay. When the coach comes up with a way for Sunny to make new moves and stay in the team it is the team support that helps Sunny find his way forward. This, the third in the Track series is a great addition, dedicated ‘To the weirdos'.
Themes Athletics, Friendship, Family relationships, Death of a parent, Teamwork.
Compared to the big and boisterous city of Biggerborough, Charlie's home town of Little Import is very staid and sedate, which is extremely embarrassing for someone who is supposed to slay monsters and keep people safe. But in reality, Charlie had never even seen a monster, let alone fought one, and she spent her days reading about them in her Big Book of Beastly Brutes and imagining them.
But what she didn't realise was that the slow demise wasn't being caused by the brashness of Biggerborough and the knights there fighting mile-high monsters and ogres, but by a host of little monsters that were hiding in plain sight in her own town. It starts with her helping the baker get rid of the Triple-Tier Hungerbeak who has been eating his pastries every night for a week and the word of her knowledge and bravery spreading...
This is one of the most original stories I've read and reviewed for a long time, one that will have readers of all ages engaged in Charlie's adventures. As each character presents Charlie with their problem, there is a description of the monster in a separate box and so astute readers will want to use the clues to see if they spot it before Charlie does.
A peek inside...
The ending is a delightful surprise demonstrating that solving small problems can lead to big changes, not only in Little Import but also in life itself, offering a subtle message that having the courage to confront small issues when they arise can prevent bigger problems. The old adage 'A stitch in time saves nine' comes to mind and older readers might want to probe the meaning of that.
Themes Knights, Monsters, Courage.
Barbara Braxton
This is Skateboarding by Hannah Wilson and Peter Phobia
Farshore, 2024. ISBN: 9780008614102. (Age:9-12)
While the name Tony Hawk may be familiar to some, the name Arisa Trew will be well-known to many of our students as this young Australian has just been named the action sportsperson of the year at the prestigious Laureues Awards, up there alongside the likes of tennis player Novak Djokovic and footballer Aitana Bonmatí. At the age of 13, Arisa became the first female to land the notorious 720 trick in skateboarding competition, a feat first performed by skating great Tony Hawk in 1985.
And with the Paris Olympics in view, she will be among the topline skaters displaying their craft for a generation of young athletes who are embracing those non-traditional sports and inspired by them, setting their own goals to make their dreams come true. So this new book that is a guide to all things skateboarding celebrating celebrate the rise of the global skateboarding scene, from the streets of LA to its first Olympic Games and including iconic skateparks, gravity-defying tricks, trailblazers, activists and medal-winning champions, and how skateboarding has influenced everything from shoes to art and urban design will be a perfectly timed addition to the collection.
With bite-sized pieces of information in amongst the many illustrations, the text speaks directly to the reader encouraging them to express their individuality in so many ways.
With COVID restrictions keeping us indoors in 2020-2021, many were introduced to skateboarding as an Olympic sport as we watched it at the Tokyo Olympics, and marvelled at how young some of the leading competitors were, as well as their athletic ability. Since then the sport has grown in both stature and followers, particularly for women, and with Australian names sure to be at the forefront in the Paris competition, skateboarding is going to be an in-demand subject as studies of the Olympics generally, step up.
The Other Shadow is a stunning read; full of intense emotion, broken children and finally, hope and healing.
Ten year old Thomas and his two year old sister Tilly have just lost their beloved dad to cancer. Their mother is bereft. Her grief is incomprehensible and life as Thomas and Tilly once knew it is about to change dramatically. When their mother does not come back from the shops, the children are taken into foster care while their mother heals in hospital. On returning back to their mum, life settles down for a while until it unravels and foster care is again sought. This is not an ideal placement and the children are moved once more to a new family, the Henare’s, where they find acceptance, stability, security and love.
Running parallel to the struggle Thomas and Tilly have coping with their mum’s mental illness and the foster family roundabout, is Thomas’s Other Shadow. Appearing after his dad passed away, this shadow is there for Thomas always but is it friend or foe? At times Thomas feels it is a guide and something to rely on but at other times it causes Thomas angst and leads him into some challenging situations. In the final dramatic scene in the story, the Other Shadow’s true purpose becomes evident.
South Australian author of The Other Shadow, Tania Ingram, is a former clinical psychologist who is well qualified to write about the deep and lasting effects parental mental illness can have on children. In the final pages of this compelling story Tania explains bipolar disorder, briefly shares her experiences of children whose parents were struggling and provides contact details for children who may need support.
For those adults who educate, care and work with children in any capacity, The Other Shadow may open conversations for more understanding and support for these children whose own personal stories may not be quite what they appear to be.
New South, 2024. ISBN: 9781742237978. (Age:12-17, adult)
Vanessa Pirotta describes herself as a science communicator and this communication is very personal. A lifetime interest in whales has led her to take on many jobs associated with marine mammals and dolphins, leading to her academic studies in whale research. Central to this is the Humpback Highway along Australia’s east coast where whales make their annual migration from Antarctica to the warm waters off the Queensland coast. Hunted almost to extinction the humpback is a story of conservation success but our knowledge of them is still relatively sparse. Looking for non-invasive ways to sample whale material in the wild, Pirotta and her team pioneered the use of drones to fly over spouting whales, capturing whale snot on a petrie dish to investigate what bacteria and viruses inhabit whale lungs.
The book is slow to start with lots of short sentences and unconnected narrative. We are introduced to the breakout boxes so we can “learn something” but the boxes often repeat what is in the text, just disrupting the flow but randomly contain new information which could be interesting. I would rather have had some whale identification line drawings and diagrams or even a glossary of whale jargon like “mugging,” ”breeching” and “logging”. As she gets into the swing of the personal account we are drawn into Pirotta’s world of whale research and the six pages of colour photos in the middle are very personal. Her team approach, academic rigour and research achievements are awesome and her enthusiasm is contagious; a must read for anyone interested in whale research, a comprehensive list of references is included.
Themes Whale research, Science communication, Popular science.
Milly and her family, including Gilbert the dog, are back for their annual summer holiday with Grandad, and while she is rummaging in the attic to build a pirate fort, Milly discovers a beautiful rainbow flag. It sparks a discussion about how Grandad used to march in the Pride parades, celebrating the diversity of the community and sharing the message that regardless of who they love or their gender, everyone should be treated with equality and respect.
When Milly suggests going to a parade in the old camper van, and Grandad tells her his partying days are over, she has an idea... and Pride comes to Grandad and the village!
Not only is this a joyous celebration of Pride and all that it means, it is also a down-to-earth explanation that young children can understand immediately, and many will delight in seeing children just like them portrayed in the illustrations as the villagers come together to make this a brilliant celebration. Like Grandad's camper, its predecessor, while gender diversity is at its core, it is more about relationships and communities and connections regardless of differences like skin colour, beliefs or living arrangements. After all, we are all humans striving to be loved and treated with dignity and respect.
Fans of Saint’s other books Ariadne (2021), Elektra (2022) and Atalanta (2023) will eagerly reach for her latest, Hera, about the sister and then wife of Zeus, a queen of the gods with a reputation for jealousy and cruel revenge. Saint is expert at bringing to life the overlooked women in Greek mythology, telling their stories of resilience, rebellion and empowerment in a male-dominated world. This is another.
There is a reason for Hera’s fury. She fought by her brother Zeus’s side when he and their siblings defied their father Cronus and defeated the Titans, seizing power as supreme gods. She expected that seven of them would share the glory in the halls of Mount Olympus and that she would sit alongside Zeus as his equal. The three male gods divide the realms between them, the goddesses have instead to argue for their place. Hera discovers that instead of being granted her rightful status, as daughter of Cronus, Zeus decrees that her position is to be his wife, subservient to him. She will be the goddess of marriage, patroness of brides. Her realm is one of ‘empty promises, of stunted hopes and ruined faith’, whilst Zeus assuages his rapacious appetite with conquest of goddesses, nymphs and mortals.
Hera’s rebellious spirit rises and she determines to avenge herself. She undertakes many secret plots, but each seems to turn back on her. Zeus even seems to enjoy the challenge of trying to outwit her. Their marriage is one of distrust and constant sparring.
Saint’s novel become one long tale recounting one misadventure after another, and she references many of the famous myths. There is a simplified, but still complicated, divine family tree at the beginning of the book showing primordial deities, Titans and Olympians and their offspring. This is helpful, but there are still many more characters encountered along the way. Because of this, the story of Hera is not as enthralling as Saint’s previous novels, lacking a more dramatic central plot. I would recommend reading the other books before this particular one, and then if the reader still has a thirst for tales of strong female characters in Greek mythology, this latest book provides a grand overview of many familiar characters and stories.
Allen the Alien and his pet Byte decide to visit Earth. They believe that the Earthlings are very friendly, but they run away in fear when they appear. Allen has some favourite toys with him – a ninja star, x-ray gun, double headed axe and alien lazer sword – and thinks that the children will love to play with them, but when they flee, he decides that they want to play hide and seek. Byte wants to play fetch in the park but dogs don’t like to play with him. In the meantime, news reporters are gathering around and a breaking news flash is telling people to run for their lives.
The hilarious illustrations are opposite to the simple text. While Allen and Byte think that the children are happy to see them, the expressions on the children's faces and their actions tell a different story, one that children will have lots of fun examining and talking about. The ‘illustrations were created in biro then finished in a digital collage of photos, paint and mixed media’ and are sure to appeal to children. Young children will have fun listening to the text and following the contrasting story, while older children (and adults) will delight in the sly humour in the illustrations and funny captions.
Another layer can also be found when thinking about Allen the Alien. Children could discuss people’s fear about the alien creatures and talk about accepting difference and how easy it is to have differing beliefs about the same things.
A fun book, with quirky illustrations, Allen the Alien has instant appeal.
I listened to a podcast of this author speaking at Sydney Writer’s Festival, and was so intrigued I checked that it was on Audible to listen to. Bird is on the run. And while avoiding the places where others may be looking for her, she uses burner phones and leaves cold trails for others to follow. She is always on the lookout. Bird has been transferred to Birmingham to work in an outpost of the Secret Service set up to check others within the organisation, with hints she may be tapped on the shoulder for the top job. Initially I felt disheartened at her introspection, but with hints along the way of a stronger theme, I kept listening.
Bird is running presumably for her life, from the clutches of the Secret Service where she worked. Her father had been a spy, and in her 30’s after being discharged from the army she was tapped on the shoulder and offered this post. But in debt, with her chief of staff complicit in withholding information about this breach of conditions, she runs to a small town in Scotland’s north, when her situation is exposed. This is a place where she has happy memories spending time with her friend Flavia and her daughter. It is a strange relationship, intriguing and almost self combusting. Bird goes there for refuge after escaping Birmingham, but finds since their time it has become a rental. All the while she recalls moments of their friendship, and Bird questions her romantic interest in Flavia.
But spine tingling episodes invade the introspection, as she must plan her route carefully, watching those who might be looking for her, using a burner phone and giving little away at her infrequent stops, sometimes sleeping rough.
I wanted to know what happened so kept on listening, all the while asking myself how I would cope having to step away from my house and its comforts to avoid disclosure.
Bird is the single figure in the plot, the others almost shadows to the central figure, but important to the succession of events. There are some with clout, and many whose loyalty she must question.
I was surprised when the end of the story came somewhat abruptly, and seemed to leave a few threads unresolved, which may lead to a sequel.
Themes Spying, Thriller, Iceland, Norway, Secret service (London).
The 4th in the Cyrus Haven series following Good girl, bad girl,When she was good and Lying beside yousees the return of Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac. The first three books unfolded some of the secrets of Evie’s past and in Storm child the reader will finally learn more about what happened to her as a child. They are best read in order.
Evie and Cyrus have visited a Lincolnshire beach, when they see the horrific scene of bodies of immigrants washing up on the beach. A teenage boy is the only survivor and Cyrus becomes involved in the investigation when the boy reports that the boat was deliberately rammed and the immigrants left to drown. Evie is traumatised by the drownings and spends some time in hospital with Cyrus realising that somehow there is a link to this tragedy and Evie’s past. With Cyrus working hard to solve the case and Evie getting flashes of her past, the reader is kept rivetted to the book. Everyone they interview is afraid of The Ferryman, but is he real? Does he really kill the refugees who don’t pay to be transported? What happened to Evie’s mother and sister? And what happened to her if she was an illegal immigrant?
I was fascinated to see the growth of Evie while reading Storm child. She works at a shelter for abandoned dogs, has a bank account and even goes on a date with her neighbour Liam. Witnessing the death of so many people is a blow for her, and it is during a trip to Scotland searching for the origins of the trawlers that might be transporting illegal immigrants that her memories of what has happened to her return. The pair face some breathtaking danger while they search for the truth.
As usual, Robotham writes a mystery that is hard to put down. Themes of human trafficking, rape and child abuse are difficult to read about; however, I was satisfied to see how the threads of Evie’s childhood were drawn together, and the emotional growth of both Cyrus and Evie was positive.
"From outside on the busy north London high street, Pages & Co looked like an entirely normal bookshop. But once inside it didn't quite make sense how everything fitted inside its ordinary walls. The shop was made up of five floors of corners and cubbyholes, sofas and squashy armchairs, and a labyrinth of bookshelves heading off in different direction. A spiral staircase danced up one wall, and painted wooden ladders stretched into difficult-to-reach corners. Tall arched windows above made it feel a little like a church when the light spilled in and danced on the air. When it was good weather the sun pooled on the floor and the bookshop cat - named Alice for her curious nature - could often be found dozing in the warmest spots. During the summer the big fireplace behind the till was filled to bursting with fresh flowers, but as it was October, a fire was roaring there."
Does this not conjure up every booklover's dream of a magical place, a bookstore where magic and mysteries, adventures and escapades beckon? And for it to be the home of Tilly who prefers the company of book characters to the people in real life and, although not having been outside London, is a seasoned traveller within the pages of the books that abound on the shelves just shouts that this is going to be a series for booklovers and readers that will deliver all that is expected and more.
But what if your favourite characters could not only come out of the books and have real-life conversations with you but could also take you back into the book to have your very own adventure within the story? Tilly discovers that this is part of her relationship with her books and that, unlike other series where it is a secret power, this one is shared by her family. There is much more to her grandfather and grandmother and the family's history and lives than she ever imagined. Bookwandering is what this family does, and it might explain the mysterious disappearance of her mother and the absence of her father.
Keen readers have followed the adventures of Tilly and her friends since 2018, and if Ms Now 13 is an indication, they will be as eager to read this final instalment as they were the first, for it is, indeed, "as comforting as hot chocolate" as the blurb says. In this last adventure, Tilly, Oskar, Milo and Alessia venture into King Arthur's realm in search of the wizard Merlin, and discover that the magic of bookwandering is not at all what they thought. Together, they must journey into myth and legend - to bargain with the trickster Loki and unlock their destinies with the help of the Three Fates - and find a way to untangle the Alchemist's grip on the world's imagination. To save Pages & Co. and the very foundations of bookwandering, Tilly and her friends will have to learn the true power of imagination in a thrilling final adventure, but an unexpected enemy stands in their way . . .
If you don't have the series in your collection, it is available in a variety of formats including a boxed set, but you may have to search beyond your usual suppliers for the five earlier books because it is a series that is best read in order. It will be well worth the effort because this is one of a handful of series that I have sought out all the additions to review over the years, and one which my granddaughters yelled "yes please" when I told them I had the final, even though they are so much older now. This is a series that, like The Magic Faraway Tree and Harry Potter, will be kept for their own children to enjoy. It is for independent readers with a penchant for magical bookshops and being able to really delve into the world of stories and become part of them. And for those who have to wait their turn, or those who ask, "What next?" you could suggest The Bookseller's Apprentice and The Grandest Bookshop in the World. For those a little younger, suggest The Travelling Bookshop series.
