Ill. by Heath McKenzie. Little Hare, 2013. ISBN 9781742977157.
The Wallabies Gruff - mum, dad and son - are tired of the
drought-ridden, dusty, dry outback and so they set off to find
greener pastures, 'somewhere leafy and cool with trees bending over
a sparkling pool.'
Meanwhile, far away in the back of beyond, a group of wild creatures
lived close to such a pond but it is fiercely guarded by a yowie,
selfish and stingy and cruel, and no one was allowed access to his
pool. He ruled over the rickety bridge and woe betide any creature
who tried to cross it.
'Who's that going PIT PAT
down MY private TRACK?
I'LL GOBBLE YOU UP
FOR MY AFTERNOON SNACK!'
So what happens when the Wallabies Gruff arrive at this pool and
decide it's their perfect home? Especially when they don't heed the
warnings of the other creatures!
This is another in the series of Australian versions of traditional
tales that Yvonne Morrison and Heath McKenzie are becoming known
for. Just as in The Cocky who cried Dingo, The Emu who
laid the Golden Egg and Town Possum, Outback Possum
Morrison has crafted a catchy story in rhyme which bounces along and
McKenzie's illustrations bring it all to life. And, just as in the
other three, there is a message that can be brought out by skilful
discussion and teaching - in this case, bullying. What happens to
the yowie when he picks on someone his own size?
There's also scope for some great bush-based artwork, and also some
science as the children try to build a bridge that would support the
weight of Father Wallaby. Just how much does a wallaby weigh? Very
young children can explore ordinal numbers, size and position words
like 'over' and 'under'. Once you start thinking, the ideas and
possibilities are endless, and no doubt teaching notes for the
original Three Billy Goats Gruff could be easily adapted.
This is a worthy addition to the series and your collection.
Barbara Braxton
Big book of Australian history by Peter Macinnis
National Library of Australia, 2013. ISBN 9780642278326.
(Age: 8-Adult) Highly recommended. Award winning author Peter
Macinnis has produced a wonderful history book that in easy to read
sections provides an overview of Australian history. Starting with
prehistory when Gondwana broke up, it continues with the first
Aboriginal people, the explorers in the 1600's and then the arrival
of Captain Cook. Significant events in Australian history since
1788, including the convicts, explorers, gold rushes, squatters,
Federation, ANZAC, the Great Depression, World War 2 and
controversial issues like the Vietnam War and conservation as well
as sports are all described often in a double page spread. The pages
are illustrated lavishly with pictures from the National Library of
Australia and these add immense interest to the historical
information.
This is a comprehensive look at Australia, giving bites of history
that are really easy to comprehend and very interesting. It could be
read from cover to cover in a chronological order, but it is fun to
pick out pages of interest. The Contents page is useful, giving the
main heading as well as what is contained in the article and there
is an extensive index and list of illustrations. Using the index I
found a section on Women, which led me to succinct information about
women gaining the right to vote and a picture and description of the
work of Enid Lyons.
Students in both primary and secondary schools will find this an
exceptionally useful and fascinating book and I would highly
recommend it for every school library.
Pat Pledger
The true blue scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt
Atheneum Books for Younger Readers, 2013. ISBN 9781442421059.
(Age: Upper primary - lower secondary) A quaint novel for Australian
readers with unfamiliar language and sayings which make the story
hard to follow at times, yet fascinating. Set in the slow-moving
Bayou Tourtelle in the deep southern part of America, the racoon
brothers Bingo and J'miah have become the Official Scouts of the
Sugar Man Swamp. They have additional orders from ordinary Swamp
Scouts: in the event of an emergency wake up the Sugar Man. The
Sugar Man hadn't been seen for many years and has a pet rattle
snake, Gertrude. The Sugar Man has 'legs and arms - like the new
cedar trees... tough and sinuous. His hands were as wide as big
palmetto ferns... the rest of his body was covered in rough black
fur'. He's grown old and sleepier but he can 'spin an alligator over
his head and toss him into orbit' when required. The racoons live in
an old De Soto bought by Chap's grandfather Audie in 1949 and lost
by him when chasing the rarely seen ivory-billed woodpecker. It was
overgrown with vines but home to the two racoons. There's much
language unfamiliar to students but the storyline is strong and
clear. Sonny Boy's relative Alouicious Beaucoup bought the land in
Thomas Jefferson's time and now wants to collaborate with Jaeger
Stitch, the World Champion Gator Wrestler of the Northern Hemisphere
to change the Sugar Man Swamp into the Gator World Wrestling Arena.
Chap and his mother make and sell sugar pies in the area and are
devastated at the thought for they need a boat load of money to buy
the land from Sonny Boy and have no visible way of achieving this
without the help of 'The Sugar Man' who hasn't been seen for many,
many years. The language belongs to the local area but for a good
reader who enjoys reading it's a quirky, unusual and funny book.
Words like 'bayou', 'Coyoteman Jim', and little phrases such as
'nostros somos paisanos', 'we are fellow countrymen' permeate the
story adding life and laughter. The language is cleverly written to
match the characters' personalities and the two racoon brothers have
a great affection for each other as do Chap and his Mother. The
theme is good versus evil! It's a fascinating and different book but
quite addictive once begun.
For good readers of upper primary and lower secondary.
Sue Nosworthy
Editor's note: This was a finalist in the US National
Book Awards 2013.
Kissed by the moon by Alison Lester
Penguin Australia, 2013. ISBN 9780670076758
(Age: 2-4) Highly recommended for littlies. Inaugural Australian
Children's Laureate Alison Lester began her present career with
children's book illustrations in 1979. In 1985 her first book in her
own right, Clive eats alligators was published and since
then dozens of books have followed from simple picture books to
novels.
Her seemingly boundless talents have now produced a beautiful part
lullaby, part poem celebrating the world from a small baby's
perspective. I would also describe it as part prayer as the warmth
of the one who loves the baby washes over the whole text.
'May you, my baby, make sprinkles of sand, spy little fish, and
splash in the ocean'.
The beautiful cover and endpapers reflect the night time using
shades of indigo and grey while the illustrations themselves are a
joyous revelation of all the beauty of new experiences for a growing
babe - the garden with its creatures (a particularly gorgeous
illustration), the bush, rain, sunshine or snow and more. Some
wonderful double page spreads are interspersed between smaller
snapshots - all with the inimitable Alison Lester style and grace.
Another book that would make the perfect welcome gift for a new
little human in your world, this is also a delightful read aloud for
little people from around 2-4 years old.
Sue Warren
War horse by Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Rae Smith. Egmont, 2013. ISBN 9781405267960.
Highly recommended for upper primary and older, for art and drama
students too. What an amazingly beautifully illustrated version of a
captivating and heart-rending story of WW1, the trenches of France,
the Belgian countryside and Albert's home in Iddesleigh, England. It
is a truly spectacular book with its stark black and white
illustrations but with two exceptions: the hard cover under the dust
jacket and a double page spread which is one of red poppies
splattered with blood! Very stark and memorable images. The cruelty
of war is expressed in the painfully realistic illustrations and
Morpurgo's lyrical text and highlighted in the two double page
spreads of the rough waters to France which the horses endure and
the trenches, loud and frightening and deadly. It's a book to devour
with the intricate small and double page black and white line
drawings so expressively drawn that they tell a story on their own.
Morpurgo's text is well known and loved for its enduring theme of
the love, heroism and the tragedy of war. When Joey contracts
tetanus Albert's friend David says to Major Martin, 'But I remembers
you telling us when we first come here that a horse's life is
'p'raps even more important than a man's, 'cos an horse hasn't got
no evil in him 'cepting any that's put there by men.' The
relationships of Captain Nicholls and Joey and Joey's friendship
with Topthorn are sensitively portrayed. The end papers give a
practical background to the fighting. This is a book to treasure.
War is terrible and so many lives are lost but the frailty of the
human spirit endures in Albert and Joey and the illustrations bring
the reader face to face with death, love and hope.
Sue Nosworthy
Waiting for Hugo by Amanda Niland
Ill. by Claire Richards. Windy Hollow Books, 2013. ISBN
9781922081216.
(Age: 3-7) Recommended. Hugo loves counting. Even though he is only
four, he is able to count all sorts of things and sorts them out in
his head. This of course, takes some time, and can be rather
frustrating for his family as they wait for him to finish. He is
obsessive about his counting and his older sister has to learn how to put
up with his eccentricity. Then Hugo's skill wins him some prizes and
his sister realises that having a quirky brother can bring rewards.
Amanda Niland is an early childhood educator and brings her
experience to this story about a young child with an Autism Spectrum
Disorder. Her story brings alive a loving family who are able to
accommodate Hugo's counting and appreciate his wonderful
mathematical ability. Children will be engrossed in the way that
Hugo counts, and this is brought alive by Claire Richards'
illustrations which often have a captain cloud where the reader can
see just how Hugo is working out the numbers. It is fascinating for
the reader to count along with Hugo in his shorter calculations and
see if the same number is reached. This is an aspect of the book
that will bring young and old back to ponder just how he works out
counting.
The themes of diversity and difference are explored in a
heart-warming way and would give rise to interesting classroom
discussion as well as being a great book to share. It would be also
very useful when looking at how to add, sort and count in a Maths
lesson.
Pat Pledger
Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
Finishing School series, bk 2. Atom, 2013. ISBN:
9781907411601.
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. The second in the series following Etiquette
and espionage, sees Sophronia continuing to learn how to fit
into society, while at the same time learning about poisoning with
foxgloves and training to become a spy at Mademoiselle Geraldine's
Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. She has an exciting
time sneaking around the dirigible that hosts the school, learning
secrets about the teachers and visiting Soap and his mates in the
boiler room. She has to take exams and foil a plot to control the
prototype that could change how both people and the supernatural
travel. Danger looms as vampires, werewolves and humans all chase
the prototype through society in London.
Slightly darker than the first book, Curtsies & Conspiracies
sees Sophronia learning that her actions can have consequences that
she didn't consider. She discovers that tarnishing a reputation is
much more serious than she could have dreamt about and learns what
it is like to feel guilty. In the process she grows up and matures
and leaves the reader wondering where her schooling will lead her.
However there is plenty of humour to leaven the action, with
Sophronia making witty comments, even when she has been ostracized
by her friends.
A new character, Felix, a rake-in-training, is introduced and
strongly contrasts to the uneducated by highly intelligent Soap, a
leader in the boiler room. This raises questions about the power of
class, education and wealth and slightly suggests a love triangle
may be in the making. Other characters familiar from the first book,
appear again, with young Genevieve Lafoux playing an important role.
Readers familiar with Carriger's adult series, The Parasol
Protectorate series, will recognise Lord Akeldama playing a
brief but important role in Sophronia's adventures.
This is a feel good, laugh out loud occasionally series that will
have fans of steampunk waiting for the next instalment.
Pat Pledger
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Hot Key Books, 2013. ISBN 9781471402029. Reprint.
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Theatre. Hotels. New York. Scarlett Martin's
family owns the Hopewell Hotel, in the heart of New York. Things
aren't going too well for the Martin family, after the crushing
medical bills that came in when Marlene, the youngest in the family,
got cancer. On her 15th birthday, Scarlett is given the care of one
of the suites in the hotel, the Empire Suite, and with it comes Mrs
Amberson, a rich world traveller, who begins to change her world.
She also meets Eric, a gorgeous actor colleague of her brother,
Spencer, when they get together to do a version of Hamlet. Scarlett
is carried along with Mrs Amberson's vision of a daring Hamlet, and
acting as her aide learns much about life and the theatre.
This is a feel good book, with lots of humour and well written
witticisms that kept me smiling through the trials of the Martin
family as they desperately try to maintain their individuality while
helping out with the family's finances. It was refreshing to read
about a family, each member with different strengths and flaws, and
with sibling rivalry and a realistic take on the coddling of
Marlene, the sibling who had cancer. Told from the point of view of
Scarlett the reader is drawn into the family dynamics as she
describes life in a hotel and the decisions and sacrifices that each
person has to make. Each sibling's character is very well drawn,
from Lola who has a very rich, but dull boyfriend, to Spencer who
gives her a hard time about him, to Marlene who is not expected to
help with chores. Scarlett herself is a very mature 15 year old and
her crush on Eric, an older boy, is brilliantly done. Mrs Amberson
is an enigmatic character and what makes her tick tantalises the
reader.
The setting of the Hopewell Hotel and New York City is very
appealing as is the theatre production that Scarlett finds herself
involved in. Readers who like to learn about how plays are produced
will be thrilled with this story, but it is the humour and wonderful
characterisation that will keep readers enthralled in this story.
Pat Pledger
I love footy! by Matt Zurbo
Windy Hollow, 2013. ISBN 9781922081179.
(Age: 4+) Picture book, Football, Involvement. An affectionate look
at the game played by thousands of kids throughout Australia in
their backyards and local parks, ovals and sports grounds, Matt
Zurbo gives us a peek inside their fears, needs, wants and desires,
as the boy in the book shows us what he can do. From playing
football where he feels like a giant, confident, able to leap tall
fences, charge through the opposition, play with his friends on his
team, each positive side of being in a team is given. After that the
negatives are give, playing in the cold and wet, the mud and slush,
being yelled at by the coach, having a larger opposition, or being
left out of the team. Each of the observations is accompanied by
hilarious, bright illustrations, which will delight the younger
readers, as they peruse the array of children presented, and the
antics they portray.
Promoting team values, the book presents an array of positives which
come from joining a team: friendship, learning to get along,
overcoming hardships together, revelling in the highs and adjusting
to the lows of being in a sports team, taking the good with the bad,
and learning to predict what may happen so that eventualities might
be covered. All of this in one small picture book, which could be
well used by classes, looking at the reasons people play sport and
why the class should get involved.
Fran Knight
Blossom Possum and the Christmas Quacker by Gina Newton
Ill. by Christina Booth. Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781742839592.
(Age: 3+) Christmas. Australian animals. It was Santa Claus' last
stop for the night. Feeling hot and tired he decides to have a
snooze and tells his reinroos to wake him 'up in five'. Blossom
Possum found him fast asleep and couldn't wake him up. She ran off
to seek help and found Rocky Cocky, Echo Gecko and Toey Joey who
couldn't wake him either. So off they go and find some more animals
who might be able to solve the problem of saving Bush Christmas.
This is a Christmas story that kids will enjoy because of the
rhyming of the animals' names. Combat Wombat and Toey Joey are fun
names among many others and children would have the opportunity to
remember them and chant along as each set of new animals is added.
The rhyming in the story is not so easy and occasionally makes this
a difficult story to read aloud.
Kilmeny Niland illustrated the first book about Blossom Possum, Blossom
Possum: the sky is falling down-under, and following in her
footsteps, Christina Booth's illustrations are fabulous and bring
the story alive. The colours of the Australian landscape are
beautifully captured. Each of the animals has distinctive and often
humorous characteristics which will add to children's enjoyment of
this Australian Christmas story.
Pat Pledger
The last girl by Michael Adams
Allen & Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743316468.
Recommended for readers 15+. This novel takes a very interesting
concept for its 'end of the world as we know it'. Adams explores our
world of 24/7 connectivity, and extrapolates that to create a vision
of what would happen if we all (and I mean the whole world) suddenly
had this connectivity without any mediating devices, and we were all
privy to everyone else's thoughts all at once. He allows the darker,
baser sides of human nature to rise to the top:
'The internet placed the world's knowledge at our fingertips, right?
What did most people use it for? Porn and online dating, playing
shoot-'em-up games, spending real money to buy virtual farms,
pop-culture trivia, pirating movies and music, showing strangers
what they ate for lunch and pouring hatred on people they didn't
even know'. (p.288)
The result is a chaotic and amazingly rapid disintegration of
society. Many people die, and then there is such a sensory overload
that almost everyone becomes catatonic and goes into a state of
semi-hibernation. These people can only be rescued by the sentient
few.
The protagonist is a 16 year old girl from Sydney who is immune in
that while she can hear everyone else's thoughts, no-one can
penetrate hers. We follow her journey into the Blue Mountains in
search of her mother, with the dangers along the way. She meets a
couple of others like herself, and Adams poses a number of moral
dilemmas, with different ways of handling the idea of saving
humanity. It reminded me of The Day of the Triffids by John
Wyndham.
The novel is pacey, well written and thought provoking, and would be
a worthy addition to the school library. There is a sequel on the
cards - the novel has a taster at the end of the next book - The
Last Shot.
Anne Veitch
The Sultan's eyes by Kelly Gardiner
Angus and Robertson, 2013.
Highly recommended. With The Sultan's Eyes, as with its
predecessor Act of Faith, Kelly Gardiner has created the
thinking person's historical romp. I thoroughly enjoyed this
imaginative and well researched tale of the inquisition.
This is excellent adventure against the historical background of
early printing which enabled the spread of ideas that lead to the
Enlightenment. Kelly Gardiner gives the reader a delightful heroine
in Isabella Hawkins. The novel features a fine supporting cast of
characters, and rich description of both Venice and Constantinople
Isabella has to flee Venice, when the inquisition arrives and poses
danger to herself and her friends. They have to outwit their old
enemy Fra Clement and they escape to Constantinople where the fame
of the four friends has preceded them and they have to juggle the
politics in the court of the young Sultan very carefully.
Isabella comes into contact with an old friend and his family also
in exile from England and has to reassess her understanding of his
behaviour and past. Her connections from the past tantalisingly
offer the poisoned chalice of freedom from exile and the right to
return to England. Will Isabella abandon her friends to return?
The reader observes as Willem and Isabella circle each other with
their feelings unsure of how they feel for each other, and wary of
the new people in their lives, who may break up the four adventurers
and exiles. The adaptation of a new life means that each takes their
own direction until the opportunity arises to print a lost book of
Hypatia.
An unexpected twist in the plot brings matters to a head and
Isabella has to work out who she loves and trusts in order to plan
her next move.
Kelly Gardiner has written an intriguing well researched story of
the Enlightenment with flair and aplomb and just enough 21st century
nouse. Her plotting and characterisation is a joy.
In a world of sparkly vampires and new adult readers this
intelligent story is highly recommended.
Michael Jongen
Lizzy Bennet's diary by Marcia Williams
Walker, 2013. ISBN 9781406346947.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Inspired by Jane Austen's much-loved
classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, Lizzy Bennet's Diary
tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet. When Lizzy's father gives her a
diary, she fancies she will use it to write a novel as her real life
is exceedingly dull. Then the handsome Mr Bingley moves into nearby
Netherfield Park and suddenly life is every bit as thrilling as a
novel. Who will he dance with at Meryton ball? Who is his haughty
friend? And will Lizzy ever receive a marriage proposal? [Taken from blurb] Lizzy Bennet's Diary is utterly delightful, for fans of Jane
Austen and newcomers alike. A special mention must go to the
beautifully designed and illustrated cover, as well as the lovely
illustrations within the pages. Both catch the eye immediately, and
deserve plenty of praise. The story itself is very well-written;
Marcia Williams has managed to capture the atmosphere and characters
of Pride and Prejudice while still injecting some modernity and
originality into the tale. Another very enjoyable addition to the
book is the use of many original letters to and from various
characters, which add much more to the story. One of the best things
about Lizzy Bennet's Diary is how accessible it is; it can
truly be enjoyed by all ages, Jane Austen fans or newcomers alike.
Bright, colourful and enchanting, Lizzy Bennet's Diary
retains all the magic of the original Pride and Prejudice,
and deserves to be enjoyed by everyone.
I highly recommend this book (if not just for the beautiful
illustrations).
Rebecca Adams (Student)
How I live now (Film Tie In) by Meg Rosoff
Puffin, 2013. ISBN: 9780141346564.
(Age: 14+) Meg Rosoff's debut novel, first published in
2004 was the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and
received great acclaim from all quarters. After finally reading this
powerful novel, re-issued to coincide with the film released in
October this year, I can wholeheartedly concur. From the very
first few pages I was hooked into Daisy's story and indeed read the
entire book in a single morning and afternoon commute.
Daisy is a fifteen year old New Yorker with an indifferent father
who is besotted by his pregnant second wife, also known as Davina
the Diabolical. Daisy's mother died giving birth to her and
throughout the book there is an overwhelming sense of the vacuum
this has caused in Daisy's psyche. To spite her father, Daisy makes
a choice to go and live with her English cousins and aunt, the
sister of her late mother, and it is as she initially meets with
this very charming but definitely different family, that we begin to
read between the lines and learn that Daisy has brought some serious
emotional baggage along with her including anorexia and
self-harming.
Aunt Penn although briefly appearing, represents Daisy's absent
mother figure and her cousins Osbert, twins Edmund and Isaac and
Piper quickly become a vital part of Daisy's sense of belonging. In
particular, she is drawn immediately to 14 year old Edmund and upon
realising the attraction is reciprocal a very deep and passionate
physical relationship begins between the two.
The backdrop of a looming war with an unspecified enemy moves
quickly to the forefront of the plot and when Aunt Penn is stranded
in Oslo on a peace mission, and the invasion escalates the children
are left to fend for themselves. The ensuing trauma endured by all
of them, including painful separations, survival under the most
adverse of conditions, witnessing horrific brutalities and more
change their lives forever.
With echoes of the Holocaust resonating throughout the scenes of
war, the family torn apart are finally reunited but with inescapable
permanent consequences.
A fabulous read for mature readers from Lower Secondary up
Sue Warren
She'll be coming round the mountain sung by The Topp Twins
Ill. by Jenny Cooper. Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781775431725.
(Age: 4+) Picture book, Singing, Verse. The well known song, She'll
be coming round the mountain is reprised here for younger
students to sing along with the CD provided or read the story and
the words as a picture book, or enjoy the funny illustrations.
This is another in the productions offered by Scholastic, which
showcase an old song, revamped and recorded by local talent, and
illustrated by known and loved illustrators. The series includes My
Daddy ate an apple, Do your ears hang low? and There's
a hole in the bucket. Each book includes a CD for the reader
and class to enjoy, sing along to, develop actions to as they use
the book. The books lend themselves to a variety of uses,
particularly in the classroom, where music, poetry and singing along
are valued.
Jenny Cooper gives this version of She'll be coming round the
mountain, a Western feel as the animals all join up in line
dancing mode as their numbers swell with the arrival of yet more
things coming around the mountain, until the last few pages are full
of fun bordering on pandemonium. Kids will love picking out the
different animals with their musical instruments and clothing suited
to the occasion, and I can well imagine a class yelling out the
refrain, 'Singing ay-aye, yippy', till the cows come home.
Fran Knight
