Omnibus, 2012. ISBN 9781862919143.
Highly recommended for ages 10+. This third and final adventure in
the trilogy, The three doors, begins with Rye, Sonia, Dirk and
Sholto having destroyed the skimmers at the Harbour. Believed to be
spies, the four have rescued some prisoners from the Nanny's Pride
Farm, and are now heading back to Weld. With the gifts of the
Fellan, the magic creatures who live in the forest, Rye's magic bag
continues to help the group as they progress in their quest to
remove the threats to their home. Despite facing many problems on
their way, they fight to overcome amnesia and upsets from other
quarters and the team continues its journey to put things to rights
and end the reign of terror in Weld.
Although this title could be read as a stand-alone, I would
certainly encourage readers to begin the series with The golden door
and read sequentially, to enable them to fully appreciate the
changes and development of each of the characters and their roles
within the story. As a fantasy quest, the themes of friendship,
trust, loyalty, personal development, magic, science and history are
all explored. The tale of the brothers is somewhat echoed in the
words of the book with which Rye has been entrusted. Only at the end
of their journey are secrets revealed and things returned to rights.
Rodda continues to write prolifically in the fantasy genre and her
following likewise grows with the release of each new book. These
are great adventures which entertain and engage readers of varied
ages.
Jo Schenkel
Little elephants by Graeme Base
Puffin, 2012, ISBN 9780670076475.
(Age: 4-7) Recommended. Kindness. Farm life. Life is tough on the
wheat farm. Jim's mother tells him that he can't keep a pet mouse
because it might encourage other mice to come and the farm is always
being threatened by plagues, not just of mice but of weevils and
locusts. Jim understands and let Pipsqueak go far from the
farmhouse. When Jim sees a stranger picking some wheat, he tells him
he is welcome to have it. Later when he finds a strange looking
trumpet on the gate post, and blows it, he hears a trumpeting sound
and lo and behold under his bed that night is a herd of little
elephants.
It is rare to see a traditional fairy tale telling in an Australian
setting. Usually the good fairy (or in this case the good swagman),
is set solidly in a European world and it is one that I was familiar
with. Initially, (and as a farmer's daughter), I found it difficult
to visualise the happy ending but on reflection I began to
appreciate the risk that Base has taken putting a fairy tale ending
in a bleak Australian setting. With his wonderful illustrations,
Base brings to life what it is like to live on a farm. The worry
that the farmer, Jim's mother, carries constantly with her is
illustrated through her worried face and bent head and readers will
be able to emphasise with the hardships that farmers face with
plagues of insects and mice. Jim is depicted as an optimistic child
who is kind to strangers and wants to really help his mother.
The world that Jim discovers under his bed is a rich, imaginative
one. The little elephants are lots of fun, riding in Jim's truck and
cars and having a wild time out in the yard. The exuberance of the
fight between the locusts and the small elephants is exhilarating.
The dark illustrations beg to be viewed again and again to see the
detail of the elephants faces, the expressions on the faces of the
people and tiny details like a soldier's picture on the mantelpiece
that gives a clue to who Jim's father is.
Farmer's children will wish that an act of kindness could save a
wheat crop! All children will have a better understanding of life on
a farm and will rejoice in the flights of imagination that Base so
beautifully brings to life.
Pat Pledger
Greek myths: stories of sun, stone and sea by Sally Pomme Clayton
Ill. by Jane Ray. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1
84780 227 9.
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Greek myths. Another beautiful retelling of
ten Greek myths enhanced with luminous illustrations, will be
eagerly picked up by all who see the book, wanting to read something
new, read aloud some favourite stories or reacquaint themselves with
stories known from their childhood. Whatever the reason this book
will have broad appeal.
The ten stories include the Creation story, the story of Pandora,
Athena and Poseidon, Perseus and Medusa, Pan and Midas, Pegasus,
Atalanta, Orpheus and Eurydice, Apollo and Midas, Arachne and
Athena. Each is given a fresh retelling, and several have some
difference in the detail which makes them more intriguing. Pandora
for example, does not have a box, but a pottery jar, given her by
the gods with the order that it not be opened.
Most of the stories are most familiar, and even though people may
think they know nothing of Greek myths, some recollection will occur
when reading these, be it a whole story, a snippet, or a name.
Everyone has heard of Medusa and her crown of snakes, but not all
will know of Perseus' method of destroying her or of what he did
with the head afterwards. The vibrant illustrations reflect the
style often used with books of myths and fairy tales, employing a
flat almost embroidered look to the pictures, often edged with
borders and not allowing perspective to get in the way of a good
picture. Children will love seeking out what is mentioned in the
text, and scour the map and glossary, as I did for further
information. A further list of books will not escape people's
attention as they seek more myths to read.
This wonderful retelling held me intrigued for the whole book, and
will no doubt be one that will grace children's shelves, as well as
that of the local and school libraries.
Fran Knight
Feed by M. T. Anderson
Walker, 2012 (2002). ISBN 9781406345209.
(Ages: 12+) Recommended. Dystopian fiction. Future. About to be
released as a film, this republication of the award winning novel by
American author, M. T. Anderson, Feed will engage a new
generation of readers as they like me are amazed at the predictions
shown in a dystopian future written 10 years ago. Uncannily many of
these are now part and parcel of the Y Generation's lives. Feed,
is a word describing the constant marketing material pumped into
their brains through an implant inserted at birth. Some 'unlucky'
ones have this done later in life, and so Violet, who was home
schooled and has odd parents, is outside the usual thirst to be
connected 24 hours a day. It is she who when her implant begins to
fail, see things differently from the friendship group she has just
formed and as an outsider, pulls Titus along with her.
On the moon for an experience, the group is invaded by a virus which
makes their feeds malfunction. It is fascinating to see them all
cope without the feed, just as Generation Y today cannot cope
without their mobile phones and internet access. Anderson was
certainly right on target with his prophecies about the future, and
his darkly ironic story is most engaging. For an older spectator
like me, the images created along with the ideas of a whole society
simply being fed information, music, advertisements 24 hours a day
was alarming, but to many not so. Being 'tuned in' or wired, is
given a whole new level of meaning in this stunning book.
Not only advertisements and information, but a transference of texts
rather like emails is sent and received between the teenagers,
allowing them to chat to each other without a third person knowing.
It is incredibly unnerving, foretelling an appalling future. An
informative web site
gives further facts about the book and background information as
well as a discussion of its impact. The book won two major awards in
the US in 2003.
Fran Knight
The finger-eater by Dick King-Smith
Ill. by Arthur Robins. Walker Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4063 4186 7.
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Humour. 60 pages, large print, pages broken
up by funny drawings, a story split into easy to read chapters, make
this a great read for those beginning chapter books, as well as
those who want a quick and funny read. There seems too few of these,
so with Dick King-Smith as the author, people will eagerly pick it
up to read. First published in 1992, it is a welcome return of this
book, aimed at the early chapter book readers.
The troll, Ulf, is a finger eater. He traps unwary people along the
road with his bright and friendly approach, putting out his hand to
shake. This is most unusual for trolls, and so people are happy to
oblige, but then Ulf eats one of their fingers. Consequently, many
of the people in the village are missing their index finger of their
right hand, or in some case, the little finger. But Gudrun, living
with her family in their tent as they herd reindeer, will not be so
easy to trick. She has been warned by her parents with their seven
fingers, and so will not shake hands with the troll. When he asks
for some of the milk she is carrying to get her to have a hand free
for him to eat, she squirts it into his mouth, rather than release
one hand. When the reindeer shed their antlers, she has an idea, and
when the troll bites her finger, he is in for a nasty surprise.
This is a lovely story of one girl thinking about how to trick the
troll, but it is the background of the reindeer herders that sticks
in my mind. The illustrations will amuse and delight readers as they
read through this highly enticing story of one troll and his tricks
upon the unwary only to be outwitted himself.
Fran Knight
Kizzy Ann Stamps by Jeri Watts
Candlewick, 2012. ISBN 978 07636 5895 3.
(Age: 9+) Warmly recommended. Integration (USA History). Racism.
Dogs. It is Kizzy's first time in a white school after years in a
black school where all students sat together under the watchful eye
of one teacher, a woman beloved by her community. But it is 1963 and
integration is now law and Kizzy, worried about what may happen,
writes to her new teacher to introduce herself. Surprisingly her new
teacher writes back and through Kizzy's letters to her we see her
life and times laid out for us. For readers in 2013, Kizzy's is an
astonishing life, one richly detailed, but one confined by
segregation and racism. The hopes she and her teachers express for
the future are like beacons of light, ones readers think on as they
read this story. This is an astounding tale, engaging, often amusing
and a sobering story of one young girl, one which reveals life as it
was and impels us to question life as it was then for millions of
people.
But these are not Kizzy's concerns, she is more worried that the
awful scar running across her face will cause embarrassment and
teasing, she is worried that her outspoken nature will upset her new
teacher, she is concerned that the boy who bullied her before will
do so again - grass roots concerns set against a momentous time in
the history of the USA and its call for equality.
This story is worth searching for. I had initially put it aside but
reading it was a pleasure. The letter format makes it most
accessible, and readers will become embroiled in the life of Kizzy,
marvelling at her tenacity and loving her dog, as we read of the
inseparable pair. The dog becomes the impetus for some sort of
communication between the groups in her town and the reader is left
with the hope that this will have a wider reach.
Fran Knight
So much to tell you by John Marsden
Lothian, 2012. ISBN 9780734413291.
At Warrington boarding school, girls in the English class taught by
Mr. Lindell are invited to record their thoughts and feelings in a
journal. For Marina, this becomes a means to express her fear, pain
and memories and the narrative of the tale is developed through
these diary entries.
It is soon revealed that Marina does not speak and that she has shut
down from the world following a traumatic event, the details of
which are explained only gradually. The reader pieces together clues
to finally understand the specifics of Marina's lasting physical and
emotional injuries, however during the early stages of the novel, it
is easy and reasonable to accept that this teen simply does not
speak.
The characters of the girls who cohabit Marina's dormitory are
recognisable from life and she gains the reader's sympathy as she
copes with their foolish fun, emotional outbursts and juvenile
behaviour. Tentative gestures of friendship are offered however and
much of the novel is occupied with perceptive portrayal of the
breathtaking fear associated with trusting others and taking the
plunge in reaching out to them.
This 25 year anniversary edition includes the author's recollections
of the writing process in which he assumed this young girl's
character. Marsden's portrayal of this injured soul, struggling to
exist In a world where she is silent and sometimes even invisible is
honest and realistic, without wallowing in excessive emotion. I like
the relative simplicity of this novel because there is an
interesting story being told using a range of plausible characters
drawn with appropriate depth, yet peripheral details, events and
unnecessary description have been pared away.
This story features many instances of kindness extended by
individuals who expect nothing in return. This lends a sense of hope
and faith in the decency of everyday people which is lacking in some
contemporary teenage literature which is bleak and cynical.
Setting, style and language will not betray to modern readers that
this was written twenty five years ago and I believe that it will be
equally enjoyable and moving today as it was then.
Rob Welsh
Princess Betony and the Unicorn by Pamela Freeman
Walker, 2012. ISBN: 9781921720239.
When Princess Betony's mother disappears into the Dark Forest, a
place humans are forbidden to enter, she cannot obey the rules and
attempts to follow her mother, the dryad, to ensure that she returns
to her family. To add to the challenge, the Princess must first
catch a unicorn. Will she be successful in her quest?
Pamela Freeman has proven herself to be a competent and engaging
author, able to attract the attention of her younger readers and the
format of this delightful gift book, styled after Beatrix Potter's
original titles, is bound to delight. With the addition of some
simple illustrations by Tamsin Ainslie, this holds much appeal and
intrigues the reader with the promise of further stories to follow.
Having searched for the author online, I was quite taken by her
website on which she includes some of the beautiful illustrations
from Princess Betony, a book trailer and games and puzzles which are
bound to appeal to young girls as well. This clever aspect to the
marketing of books is bound to lead a few more readers to
investigate Freeman's books.
Jo Schenkel
Cold Days: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Orbit, 2012. ISBN 9780356500898.
Cold Days is another installment in the popular contemporary fantasy
series which comprise the Dresden Files. Set in Chicago, Harry
Dresden, the main character and narrator, pits his wits and talents
as a wizard and private eye against dark forces that conspire to
dominate the world. It's a complex society where fairies, ghouls,
vampires and other spirits co exist alongside humans but interests
often compete.
In this book, Harry has been forced into the service of Mab,
Queen of Air and Darkness and she sets him an almost impossible
mission: kill an immortal. Powerful forces are already working
against him, threatened by his new role as Winter Knight. Harry has
to find out why Mab seeks to destroy this target while constantly
dodging plots against his own life. His investigations reveal the
existence of a catastrophic threat and Harry must race against time
and his own dark impulses to avert tragedy. He is joined by an
assortment of friends and unlikely allies in this rollercoaster ride
against evil.
Harry Dresden has an established legion of fans and this book will
obviously delight them. The action is relentless and the stakes are
always high. Harry is portrayed as an Indiana Jones type character
in a contemporary Lord of the Rings setting. The book stands alone
but familiarity with the strange world he inhabits is enriched by an
awareness of the preceding books
Tina Cain
Kimono Code by Susannah McFarlane
EJ12 Girl Hero. Scholastic Australia, 2012. ISBN: 9781921931154
Emma Jacks, also known as Special Agent EJ12, battles with a fellow
SHINE agent, the mean girl, Nema, on a regular basis but especially
when they are taking part in karate classes. EJ fails to understand
why Nema is so cruel and yet never seems to be caught out by the
adults. When she receives her orders for her next mission, EJ needs
to focus on the job at hand and not her friends and classmates. She
soon finds herself in Japan, entrusted with the task of saving the
cherry blossoms from being destroyed by the members of the evil
agency, SHADOW.
With this being the 14th title in the series, it would appear that
young girls have embraced the EJ12 books as being accessible and
entertaining reads. These can perhaps be seen as the girls'
alternative to the Zac Power books which have won over many young
boys. Kimono Code contains some positive messages about the
environment and addresses the topic of bullying with its causes and
consequences in a thoughtful manner. Acceptance of oneself and
others, despite their insecurities is another theme which could be
teased out. This is another series which is rarely on the shelves in
school libraries so has obviously struck a chord with the younger
independent readers.
Jo Schenkel
The convent by Maureen McCarthy
Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2012. ISBN 9781742375045.
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. This is a delightfully engaging novel
about four women tied together by family and setting: the Abbotsford
Convent, Melbourne. The novel opens in contemporary times with
Peach, a 19 year old university student seeking a summer job at one
of the convent's cafes. She flags at the outset that this story will
be about the past, about the impact of the lives of three other
women on her own... but she doesn't yet know the missing link -
the convent itself.
And so the reader moves back and forth between Peach and the stories
of Sadie (whose child was taken from her in 1915), her daughter
Ellen (brought up in the convent in the 1920s) and Cecilia (a young
nun at the same convent in the sixties). It is not only the setting
that ties these women together, it is also religion and babies. And
their stories have a modern echo in Peach's own life, for her dear,
damaged friend Det, is pregnant - will she keep the baby or give it
up for adoption? And how will her plans impact on Peach, herself an
adopted child? As Det is an artist with a studio in the convent, the
ties of place and birth are even stronger.
This novel is written with warmth and intelligence. The characters
are very real, their personal struggles are sympathetically evoked
and so their lives are immediately engaging. With only one first
person narrator (Peach) the reader is able to learn more about her
back story than Peach herself, so our interest in the mystery of
this family saga is constantly being tweaked. On one level, this
story is about a young girl coming to terms with her history, her
identity and her sense of family; it is about the ties of friendship
and romance. But layered over this is the broader and richer story
of changing times, of opportunities for women, of the impact of
motherhood and religious conviction and love. It is a story with
warmth and heart and style; a winning combination from well-known
author, Maureen McCarthy.
Deborah Marshall
Again by Emily Gravett
Again by Emily Gravett
Macmillan Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 9780330544030.
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Reading. It's not
often you see a book that successfully appeals to both children and
adults alike, but this one does. A treat for all readers, especially
those long suffering parents and carers who read and reread a book
to their impatient charges, again and again. In this delightfully
illustrated book, baby dragon just adores his nightly read with his
mother. The story in his favorite book concerns a red dragon called
Cedric, just like him. The Cedric in the book never goes to bed, but
goes out at night tormenting trolls and grabbing princesses to make
into pies. An increasingly frustrated baby dragon wants the story
read to him again, and as he blusters about prodding his mother to
read the tale over, he becomes redder and redder, until finally his
anger gets a little too much. And the story being read to him
changes as well, as the Cedric in the story is changed by Mum to be
one that does go to sleep, a hint to her charge that rather falls on
deaf ears.
Beautiful touches appear on every page: the look on the baby
dragon's face, the snuggle blanket, the motifs on the blanket, the
increasingly tired mother as her image becomes more and more prone,
the increased demands of the baby; all are instantly recognisable by
the adult reading this book to the children, and parallel what
happens in their homes. The climax of the story will bring hoots of
laughter from the very willing audience, and the last few pages will
intrigue and delight all who read this tale.
Oh, and the endpapers are a treat as well - it's always an
extra surprise to see endpapers so well incorporated into the
story rather than be left blank.
Fran Knight
Hard nuts of history by Tracey Turner
Ill. by Jane Lennan. A and C Black, 2012. ISBN 9781408171882.
(Age: 9-12) Non fiction, Biography. Humour. Subtitled Who's who in
hard nut history, this attractively presented book outlines potted
histories of many famous and not so famous gutsy people, starting
with Blackbeard, and then trawling through the lives of such people
as Nelson, Boudica, Wu Zetian, Charlemagne, Attila the Hun, Abraham
Lincoln, and Scott of the Antarctic, along with a smattering of
women, Gracie O'Malley, Cleopatra and Mary Kingsley. A few nods to
non British people are included, as are a few indigenous people,
like Sitting Bull.
Each is given an outline of their life and times, with a ranking
about their toughness. Often a double page offers the person's
biography with more information about his times. For example,
Nelson's double page is followed by information about the British
Navy, while the pages about Ulysses S. Grant are followed by two
pages about the American Civil War.
The book relates to a website which can be accessed via the
Bloomsbury site (see page 7) which links to cards for downloading to
make a game of the book and its contents. At the end of the
book can be found a questionnaire asking how hard a nut you are, and
a timeline of the hard nuts in the book, with an excellent glossary
and comprehensive index. All designed to get kids involved in
learning about history through the people who have some notoriety,
the book makes history and its fact finding element fun and
involving, and uses the internet to further engage the modern
reader.
Fran Knight
Stories for 7 year olds ed. by Linsay Knight
Ill. by Tom Jellett. Random House, 2012. ISBN 9781742756622.
Stories for 8 year olds ed. by Linsay Knight. ISBN
9781742756808.
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Short stories. With authors like
Jacqueline Harvey, Phil Cummings, Deborah Abelah and Vashti Farrer
contributing stories to this series (and there are two more, one for
5 and one for 6 year olds), Random House can't go wrong. Short
stories are always sought after: a teacher wanting a five minute
filler before the bell, or wanting to model a story writing exercise
in the classroom, or parents wanting a short story to read before
bed, or a child wanting to read something within their operating
range, these books contain a wide range of stories designed to
please.
For 7 year olds, the range includes a very funny story by Phil
Cummings inspired by the pool in his home town where one of his
classmates decided it would be a good idea to take a surfboard.
Another by J. B. Thomas tells us why the crow's feathers are black,
another by Michael Pryor shows us a group of disappearing goats,
while another by Morris Gleitzman cleverly parallels a science
experiment to raise lots of laughs amongst the readership. Each is
distinctly different and funny, and the book includes information
about each of the authors at the end, as well as a page about when
the story was first published, revealing that some have been
published before and some are new. We are lucky that some of these
hidden gems have been given a second outing.
For 8 year olds, the range of authors include Paul Jennings, Andy
Griffiths and R. A. Spratt, with stories as strange and different as
they could possibly be. Both of these books will be a hit in the
school library.
Fran Knight
We love school illustrated by Lucie Billingsley
Hachette (Lothian) 2012. ISBN 9780734411570.
(Age: 4-6) Recommended. Picture book. School. Through a gaggle of
dogs, the story is told of the first day at school. The routines are
followed throughout the story, taking all young readers along with
it. For the very young the experience of school and its routines is
neatly outlined, allowing the child to assimilate all that happens
in this place. The dogs allow a distance and give a comforting
introduction to school procedures.
In rhyming couplets, the story develops as each animal prepares for
school, unsure of what to expect. Once at school, they play with
their own toys, paint some pictures, and then go out for a break,
relieving themselves together except for one dog. They go for a walk,
noticing all around them then take time out for lunch. Playtime ends
with water play, then the dogs all settle down to sleep until they
are picked up to go home with their art efforts for the day.
Each dog is given a different personality through the endearing
illustrations. They are shown doing a range of activities which
introduces the reader to the sorts of things to expect at school.
As a read aloud, or simply to look at by themselves, or as a
classroom share book, this book has possibilities in lessening the
anxieties of younger children hearing about school or about to start
school.
Fran Knight
