Ill. by Henry Smith. The Invisible
Tree Series, Wombat Books, 2013. ISBN 9781921632587.
(Age: 4-6) Highly recommended. Themes: Australian Poetry, Values,
Christian Ethics, Personal Development. Kirrily Lowe's The Invisible
Tree series encourages young children to develop positive
character traits. Each book begins with 'There is a little tree,
that lives inside of me, it wants to grow big and tall, even though
I am very small'.
Sammy is a young boy patiently waiting for a special present to
arrive but as the days pass his patience is tested. His parents
encourage him to not give up hope. Finally when the special gift
arrives Sammy discovers that he has developed the gift of patience
as well.
Kirrily Lowe's simple rhyme has a gentle cadence. The message of
developing a patient attitude is carefully presented, being based on
the Christian message of the fruits of the Spirit. Each book in The
Invisible Tree series conveys a message about Love, Joy and
Peace.
Henry Smith's creative collages mix recycled and hand-made papers in
a layered style. These add depth and excitement to the story. The
visually appealing text is placed on torn and cut paper utilising
different colourful font styles and sizes.
This would be a great book for teaching Values Education and
Personal Development in the Early Years classroom.
Rhyllis Bignell
My first day at school by Meredith Costain and Michelle Mackintosh
Windy Hollow Books, 2013. ISBN 9781922081254.
(Age: 4-6) Recommended. My First Day at School follows what
four very different children experience as they go to school for the first
time. The reader becomes very familiar with the emotions and
encounters of Zach, Amira, Ari and Zoe as they become used to what
it is like becoming big school children.
This is an excellent introduction to a first day at school and would
be ideal to read to young children before they go to school. There
is a depth to the information that would be very helpful in
familiarising children with what school is like. In a verse story,
Costain describes the feelings of each child; Zach who is eager to
leave his parents, Amira whose friends help her join the class, Ari
who finds all the rules disconcerting and livewire Zoe who has
trouble being quiet. Some of the things that may worry children,
like going to the toilet and time for snacks, are explained clearly
and children would be left with a sense that school can be a very
happy place for all types of children.
The illustrations by Michelle Mackintosh complement the text and
show the diversity of the class. They are often humorous and as such
will be enjoyed by the young child.
This is an ideal book for parents, grandparents and carers to read
to children just about to venture out on the new experience of going
to school or even for those who are returning to the classroom.
Pat Pledger
Resist by Sarah Crossan
Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408827208.
In Sarah Crossan's Resist, the eagerly anticipated
conclusion to Breathe, minimal back story was supplied so it
was easier to treat this as a stand-alone and dive right in with no
preconceptions or expectations, which worked slightly better than
trying to constantly remember each character's circumstances and
failing. The opening chapter plunges the reader into immediate
tension and action which doesn't let up until the last three pages.
Such immediacy leaves the reader in no doubt as to the perilousness
of existing in a world where every breath must be fought for.
Three exiled survivors of a defining battle are each seeking
sanctuary and oxygen. Alina, Bea and Quinn, the narrators of Breathe
are joined by the POD Minister's son, Ronan, in continuing the
narrative, as each character strives to live and to protect what's
left of human civilization, both inside the pod and in the Outlands.
Despite some bleak scenarios, Crossan continually demonstrates the
adaptability of humans and the courage that they are capable of in
the most disheartening situations.
Ronan is the enemy, representing everything that is wrong with the
pod, but he too is beginning to question the regime especially when
recruited to hunt down the Grove's survivors. Sequoia, the much
sought resistance base and sanctuary is also hiding secrets and is
as controlled and threatening as the pod. It is in this section that
Crossan raises some interesting and provocative ideas that sadly are
never fully explained or explored. Suffice it to say that the ruling
elite of Sequoia is every bit as determined to survive and preserve
their way of life as was the Ministry of the pod. No sacrifice or
action is deemed too extreme.
With non-stop action, changing allegiances, betrayals and murder, Resist
keeps the reader constantly on edge as the narrative swings between
the four narrators, each presenting new threats that seem
insurmountable. Yet there is hope, and Crossan is at her best when
ensuring that the reader sees that right action does exist and can
win through because of the strength of individual and group
morality. Similarly, her characters are resilient and rarely waver
in their belief in each other. Crossan leaves the reader knowing
that even in a treeless, oxygen deprived world there is always hope.
R. Lange
Dark Witch by Nora Roberts
Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy bk 1. Piatkus, 2013. ISBN
9780749958596.
(Age: Adult) Romance. Ireland. Fantasy. Bestselling author Nora
Roberts delivers the first book in another of her series set in
Ireland. Iona Sheehan arrives at the wonderful Castle Ashford, after
leaving her job, family and friends behind in Baltimore. She plans
to stay there for a few days before seeking out her Irish cousins,
after her grandmother has urged her to find out about a family
secret legend. Her cousins Connor and Branna O'Dwyer welcome her as
if they have been waiting for her arrival for a long time and when
she gets a job at the local riding school, she meets the dark but
charismatic Boyle McGrath. She discovers that she and her cousins
have inherited a strange gift from an ancestor, The Dark Witch, and
that legends can come true.
Roberts has the happy knack of bringing alive her Irish setting. The
Castle Ashford where Iona first stays is a real castle operating as
a hotel and this setting was particularly interesting. Her
descriptions of the soft rain and the green countryside, the country
walks and the ruins were fascinating.
As always Roberts has appealing characters and a gripping romance.
Iona is a positive young woman and all the men are gorgeous. Boyle
is dark and brooding, Connor, funny and warm and Fin, dangerous and
enigmatic. Branna is the most powerful of the cousins and the
tension between her and Fin make an intriguing back story to the
main romance between Boyle and Iona.
The legend of the Dark Witch, going back centuries, is captivating
and its introduction in the Prologue, Winter 1263, was gripping and
is certain to catch the reader's attention immediately. Sorcha has
handed down her power to her children and their children, as well as
their ability to use the horse, hawk and hound as familiars. Iona is
amazed that she is one of these descendants with a talent for
handling horses. The cousins will need all their ability to fight
the evil Cabhan, who wants Sorcha's power for himself.
Even though there were themes in this story that are familiar from
other books by Roberts, the story is still a gripping one and the
other two books in the trilogy promise more of her engaging writing
style.
Pat Pledger
The Three Wallabies Gruff by Yvonne Morrison
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
