Ill. by Tom Jellett. Random House, 2012. Hbk., RRP $A19.95. ISBN
9781742748801. (Also available as an ebook 9781742748801)
Santa has a secret and I can't tell you too much about this book
without giving the secret away. But if you want to know what Santa
gets up to after he's finished delivering all the presents, and if
you're looking for a fantastic tale, superbly illustrated, that has
a twist in the tale and is the perfect addition to your collection
of Christmas books, this is the one to buy.And look out for who's on
your beach this summer and be suspicious if your child comes home
with a free present and a strange story.
Barbara Braxton
The down-under 12 days of Christmas by Michael Salmon
Ford St. 2012. ISBN 978 1 921665 60 8.
(Ages 5+) Christmas, Picture book. A brightly coloured and
infectiously rhyming remake of the old favourite, The 12 days of
Christmas, will encourage all comers to join in the fun of reading
this book, whether read as a story, a poem, or joining in with the
music which is easily accessible on Google (well, with a bit of
searching around. There is an Australian version on Youtube which is
hard to listen to, but alldownunder.com
has the music and several Australian versions listed which can be
listened to)
Each page has a range of different Australian animals depicted, with
the refrain gathering a kookaburra, snakes, galahs, lyrebirds,
kangaroos, sharks, emus, dingoes, crocs, wombats, lizards, and
possums as the presents for the narrator. Students will love the
build up of animals as shown on the right hand side of the page as
the cumulative number of animals is revealed, s well as closely
perusing each page to see what else s there. There are a number of
versions of this song around, so it would be a good opportunity to
look at the original and compare it with the other versions. Many
students will love to find out more about some o the animals they
know little about, ponder about the setting for each group of
animals, and possibly suggest others that could have been included.
Discussion about rhyme and metre will also flow from using this song
and book in the classroom.
Fran Knight
Bartholomew Biddle and the very big wind by Gary Ross
Candlewick Press, 2012. ISBN 9780763649203.
(Age 5-9) Highly recommended. Bartholomew Biddle and the very
big wind is simply a joy - a joy to look at, and a joy to read
not just to oneself, but aloud. Penned by Hunger Games
director Gary Ross, and supported by divine oil paintings, which add
texture and depth, from Matthew Myers, it's a must have for any
library, home or school.
The idea for Bartholomew Biddle and the very big wind came
to light when Ross was asked to pen a piece for David Koepp, who was
shooting the 1996 film The Trigger Effect and needed a
bedtime story to be read in a scene. It was the very beginnings of
this wonderful story, which was put aside until now, when Ross (who
was once a library commissioner!) gave it life again.
Bartholomew Biddle sails from his bedroom window one night, using
his bedsheet as a sail - the language is lyrical and beautiful 'why
this silly old wind was nothing to fear, with a bedsheet to sail and
an instinct to steer', compelling the reader to fly out of the
window with Bartholomew, and fly we do.
Over the roof tops, where a gleeful Bartholomew proclaims 'This is
INSANE!', to a strange land with pirates, an even stranger land of
glum children marching in conformity, and finally into a canyon,
fair littered with historical figures, such as Amelia Earheart.
This book is pitched as being for ages 6 and up, but I found it just
perfect for two young siblings in my life, who are a mature 9, and
an immature 5 - something for everyone! Enough quirk and surprise to
engage the elder, and enough rhyme and visual for the younger.
This book is a masterpiece, and comes highly recommended. It's been
a privilege to review it.
Freya Lucas
The dreadful fluff by Aaron Blabey
Penguin Viking, 2012. ISBN 978 0 670 07599 7.
(Ages: 4+) Recommended. Picture book. Perfection. Humour. I know
just the child who would love this. A perfection addict, nothing is
out of place, all is neat and tidy and planned in her five year old
world. And woebegone anything that changes her routines, just like
Serenity the young perfectionist in this new book by Blabey, whose
body of work includes Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley,
Sunday chutney and The ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon,
some of which have been short listed and won awards. But back to
Serenity swanning around in her ballet costume, the reader noting
the Nobel Prize award on her wall or her achievements in the
dressage ring, she pulls fluff from her belly button. She is
distraught. But worse still, the fluff seems intent on devouring
everything in its sight, growing bigger and bigger by the minute.
But when it targets the baby, Serenity acts. In one decisive
movement she saves the day, returning to her not so perfect world,
and challenging the fluff each time it appears.
This is one very funny book, there are loads of things to look at in
the illustrations, the looks on the faces of all involved, the
background noise, the things on the wall, the way the pages get
darker and creepier as the thing grows larger and larger, all
conspire to catch the readers' attention and hold it there while
they intently scan each page. I just loved the cat with its security
blanket, the mother in her old comfy slippers, the baby and Serenity
fighting the thing as it attempts to eat the child, the pages split
into two or three pictures, the increasingly dark pages and the
figure of Serenity, standing, feet apart, baby on hip, challenging
the monster in her sights.
What a wonderful book to talk about with a class. It could be part
of a discussion about your body, or being concerned about being
perfect, talking about the expression, 'nobody's perfect', or read
just for fun. Over and over again.
Fran Knight
Deadly reads
Saltwater series. Magabala Books, 2012.
(Ages 3-5) Aboriginal themes, Readers, Warmly recommended. This
series of four titles is aimed at indigenous and non indigenous
children, with their short sentences, range of words and bright
attractive illustrations. They are levelled so will be easily
selected by teachers and parents. Written and illustrated by
Aboriginal authors and artists, the stories are culturally sound and
appropriate, with illustrations that clearly reflect our Aboriginal
heritage. The words used have been specifically chosen to expand the
child's vocabulary, increasing in complexity as the stories proceed. Claws, eyes, flippers ill. by Dub Leffler (ISBN 978 1 921248
74 0
shows the similarities and differences between two animals, the crab
and the turtle. Each has eyes, and these are quite different, and
each have arms, but in one they are called claws and the other,
flippers. In four short sentences, the similarities and differences
between these two Australian coastal animals is shown, with clear,
colourful illustrations that not only show where they live, but also
how we might see them. Animals move, ill. by Dub Leffler (ISBN 978 1 921248 75 7)
Four animals, a crab, dolphin, bird and fish are shown moving within
their environment. Four short sentences give the name for their
movement, and the illustrations show the animal in its environment
and how we might see it. A beach for us to play by Nola Turner-Jensen, ill. by Maggie
Prewett
(ISBN 9781 921248 76 4)
The family on the beach shows the reader all the things they are
doing on the beach, looking at shells, flying a kite, playing with a
bucket, building a campfire to make damper, swimming and then
fishing which results in a crab and a fish to cook and eat. Each of
the things to do is shown with bright illustrations while the short
sentences bring the story to a close with a shared meal. A happy
sharing family using their environment to have fun and catch food. I have ... by Nola Turner-Jensen, ill. by Maggie Stewett
(ISBN 978 1 921248 77 1) Maggie shows us parts of her body (arms,
legs and toes) and these are contrasted with those of animals she
sees in her environment. When she says that she has arms, the turtle
says he has flippers, so leading the reader into making sure that
they have an understanding of the correct terms for the animal's
appendages. The humour in the last page will not escape the reader's
attention.
Fran Knight
Shatterproof by Roland Smith
Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 9780545298421.
The fourth book in the 39 Clues series, Shatterproof by
Roland Smith, takes the Cahill family into even more danger.
Unpredictable and ruthless, their enemies, the Vespers, are forcing
Dan and his sister, Amy Cahill, to commit crimes in order to ensure
the release of seven kidnapped members of the Cahill family.
Not only must Dan and Amy stay one step ahead of the Vespers, but
they are also being pursued by the police, desperate to stop the
crime wave created by the Cahill's.
The action takes place in exotic far flung places, from Samarkand to
Timbuktu and Germany in-between. In a race against time, Dan and Amy
must rely upon their wits to unravel mysterious secrets.
How do the Vespers stay so close to Amy and Dan? Is there a spy
working amongst them? Will Amy and Dan manage to save their family?
Inside the book cover are game cards and a link to the website so
that readers can stop the Vesper Mole!
Thelma Harvey
Hey Baby by Corinne Fenton
Black Dog Books (Walker Books Australia), 2012. Hardcover, full
colour photographs. ISBN; 978 1 742032 49 8.
(Age : Under 8's) Highly recommended. This book was produced with
assistance of the Australian Council for the Arts, and what a piece
of good fortune that is, because it's just delightful. The message
is just as beautiful as the full colour photographs, which leap off
the page and draw the reader right in.
While this is described as a 'love letter to baby', it doesn't feel
at any point cliched or cloying (as so many books of its ilk do) -
more honest, heartfelt and genuine. The photographs of the animals
are bold and sweet, cute and funny, all at the same time, and they
add a whole extra layer of meaning and movement to the story.
It would have been easy with a book such as this to fall into the
trap of having dappled watercolour illustrations, but the book has
shied away from this, and I think this is the key to its success.
There is enough going on on each page to keep even the most wriggly
toddler enraptured, while you hope that the message of love is
sinking in through the wiggles.
This would make a great book for reading before leaving for
childcare, preschool or school. I read this with a just starting
schooler, on his way out the door, in order to ease some of those
'first days of school' nerves, and it was just perfect for that.
A highly recommended addition to any home or early childhood
bookshelf, to be read often to the under 8's.
Freya Lucas
The Rumpelgeist by Fiona McIntosh
Puffin, 2012. ISBN 978067007511.
(Age 10+) Recommended. Fantasy. Adventure. There are children
disappearing from the capital of Drestonia and a strange apparition,
the Rumpelgeist, seems to be haunting the city. Crown Princess Ellin
must use her magic and work with Flynn Jolien to solve the mystery
and save the children. However a wily sorcerer, Grendel is using his
magic and the pair will need all their courage to find Grendel.
Overcome the witch Grevilya and return the stolen children of Floris
to their parents.
The sequel to The whisperer, this can be read as a stand alone
although of course, fans of the first book will be fascinated to see
the next generation of people in the kingdom and how the main
characters have grown and changed. Familiar characters from the
first book, including Pilo, the centaur Davren, Bitter Olof, Calico
Grace and Little Thom, make their appearance and provide much of the
humour and action in the book.
t Princess Ellin is a brave and feisty girl who knows that she will
have to learn her magic to help save her kingdom. Although Flynn has
been injured by a rival he too will have to use his powers to help
Ellin. The slight romance between the two adds an element of
interest for those who like relationships. The adults in the story
play a secondary role and it is Ellin and Flynn who solve problems
and come up with solutions that will keep the kingdom safe.
There is plenty of action and adventure to keep the reader totally
interested in the story. Magic is central to the story but it is the
thrill of the chase and the quest to overcome the evil Grevilya that
makes this a gripping read.
While it has been written for a younger audience, any lover of
fantasy or adventure should enjoy this well written and compelling
tale.
Pat Pledger
Eleven eleven by Paul Dowswell
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 262 2
(Age: 11+) Recommended. World War One. Armistice. Three lives are
coming together to meet possibly for the first and last time. They
are all young men, caught up in a war out of their control, joining
up for reasons as different as they are poignant and sad. It is
November 11, 1918, and some men representing the armed forces of
England, France and Germany are meeting to discuss the laying down
of arms after four years of bloody conflict.
Starting at 2 am on that last day of conflict, a sleeping Alex
Meyer, a German teen full of pride of being in the forces, and the
English boy, William Franklin, lying about his age to get in and
finally Eddie Herts and American pilot are introduced to the reader.
Each of their lives is defined most succinctly and we follow their
lives through the events of that last day until they meet at 11 am,
Armistice.
Dowswell always writes convincingly of conflict, whether it be the
Napoleonic Wars, the Cold war of the two World Wars, each of his
books is absorbing and informative as he takes young teens and
places them in an event which showcases the futility of war. Eleven
eleven presents the last day of conflict for his readers, and
although at times a touch unsubtle, it is a good read, drawing the
reader into the worlds of these three young men, importuning the
reader to ask what they would do in these circumstances,
sympathising with the characters in their world turned awry.
I was stunned by chapter 6 which fictionalises the meeting between
the representatives of the German, French and English armies,
discussing the laying down of arms. I had never thought about the
actual instigation of Armistice before so the events as outlined are
telling of the attitudes of the participating armies, and Dowswell
certainly made me think about how it was achieved. In an afterword,
Dowswell explains just how much is fact and fiction, so giving the
reader another level of understanding of the events outlined in this
page turning book.
Fran Knight
Find Fenton! by Martin Berry and Stuart Cooper
Headline, 2012. ISBN 978 0 7553 6399 5
(Age: 6+) Picture book. Humour. Cartoons. In the line of Where's
Wally, Find Fenton! follows the effects of the lost
labrador, Fenton as he makes his destructive way around many of
London's iconic places. Starting with Richmond Park, where he causes
havoc, he moves on to Wimbledon, the Oxford Cambridge boat race,
Notting Hill Market, the Proms, the House of Commons, Buckingham
Palace, Tate Modern, St Pancras Station, Trafalgar Square, London
Zoo, Camden Market, the Unolympic games, Leicester Square, Hamleys
for Christmas shopping and finally Somerset House for Christmas.
Each double page has a myriad of figures and things to navigate in
the search for the image of the dog, finding that its face, or feet,
or eyes are to be spotted amongst the colour and movement on every
page. it takes some eyes quite a while to do this, but I am sure
that younger eyes will do it in a trice. At the end of the book is a
list of other things to spot on each page as well as Fenton's lead,
collar, stick, footprints, turd and deer.
Each event in London's diary will intrigue the readers of the book,
finding out about the events and their characteristics, which
along the way are infused with some subtle social comment. the
strawberries at Wimbledon, one of those things associated with the
tennis matches, has people queueing with bags of money, while the
pigeons in Trafalgar Square have a placard which reads, 'Follow us
on twitter'. A book of pure escapist fun.
Fran Knight
RSPCA bumper book of pets and other animals
Random House, 2012. ISBN 978174275711 7.
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Non fiction. RSPCA. Animals. RSPCA and Random
House have a number of pet books published recently (A pet isn't
just for Christmas and a series about pets called, RSPCA Animal
tales), following the line of being responsible for your pets if you
choose to have one. With the astonishing fact that most abandoned
animals are handed into RSPCA and other animal shelters around
Christmas, this is a timely book to have available in the library,
classroom and at home, where pets are under discussion.
A large format soft covered handbook of information, this tome of
some 100 pages will engage its readership easily. The introduction
gives an outline of what is to be found in the book, while the
following page exhorts would be pet owners to think seriously about
the responsibilities of pet ownership, followed by a list of things
to consider before taking that step. After that, the book is divided
into sections dealing with dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits,
horses, rats and mice, ferrets, birds, reptiles and amphibians and
finally fish. Each section discusses topics such as grooming, diet,
exercise, health, lifespan, appearance, training and so on, with a
few pages about the most popular breeds. There are useful checklists
about where to get your pet from and a checklist of the needs to
collect and have ready for your animal when it comes home. These are
most handy and make informative reading.
After 70 pages of pets, the book includes a section about farmyard
animals, followed by a chapter on Australian wildlife, then fun
stuff, a glossary and words about the work of the RSPCA. But I
searched in vain for an index.
All in all an informative and fascinating book, full of interesting
information, and spreading the message that pets are for life and
need to be considered well before they are bought. The RSPCA
provides a shelter from which pets can be bought after they have
become ownerless.
Fran Knight
Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz
Atom, 2012. ISBN 9781907410185.
(Ages: 14+) Lawson and his pack were once enslaved in the underworld
destined to become hounds of hell, but they refused. They managed to
escape to earth but that only brought them a little time and their
old masters soon catch up with them and take the one thing Lawson
cares for most. Lawson and his pack meet Bliss and desperate to find
the girl he loves allows her to help them.
Bliss is an ex-vampire and the daughter of Lucifer. Her mother sent
her looking for the escaped wolves to help in the battle
against her father. When she finds them the last thing she wants is
for them to know who her father is, but when the hell hounds are
afraid of her Lawson knows something isn't quite right.
The characters in this book fight for what they believe to be right
and don't give up even if there is no hope. It's another
werewolf/vampire book, but still really good. I enjoyed reading it
and would recommend it. It gives a different variation of both
werewolves and vampires and you get to see if from both Lawson's and
Bliss's point of view.
Tahlia Kennewell (student)
Solid rock by Shane Howard
One Day Hill, 2012. ISBN 9780 9873139 1 1.
(Age: 8+) Picture book, Aboriginal themes
Vullah vunnah nah by Patricia Clarke
One Day Hill, 2012. ISBN 978 0 9873139 1 1. (Check ISBN
(Age: 8+) Picture book. Aboriginal themes. Both of these books are
produced by One Day Hill, a publishing house set up rather like
Magabala Books in Broome, to promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander books,communities and authorship. One Day Hill aims
specifically to preserve Australian culture which is threatened.
Information about this company can be found at http://www.onedayhill.com.au/.
These books are distributed by Scholastic.
These two books are quite similar, therefore, one promoting a
Gunditjmara lullaby in Vullah vunnah nah, and the other
offering a story of Uluru in Solid rock, using language of
the group who write and sang the stories. Both books then promote
Aboriginal stories of the past and the language in which they would
have first been heard and sung. As a consequence both books read
like a text aimed at a classroom where Indigenous languages are
being studied and I feel would not be often picked up by a student
in a library. Each book has a CD accompanying the book, so this is
another aspect of teaching to which this book could be put. Both
books are boldly illustrated in the naive style seen now to be
recognisably Indigenous.
The lullaby, Vullah vunnah nah(8 pages!) could be learnt in
the classroom using the CD and would be a neat way to introduce
language and compare it with lullabies learnt in the European
tradition, while Solid rock could be used to show a
different perspective of Aboriginal history in Australia's past, and
presenting a point of view of some Aboriginal people today.
Fran Knight
Apollo, the Powerful Owl by Gordon Winch
Ill. by Stephen Pym. New Frontier Publishing, 2012. ISBN 978
191928294.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Australian animals. Endangered species.
Apollo the owl is upset that he only eats meat and feels that this is
the reason he has no friends. He eats the small animals from the
forest floor, the possum, sugar glider, flying fox, baby rabbit,
magpie and cockatoo. They all fall prey to his sharp beak and
powerful claws. He is lonely as these animals all avoid him. He
tries other things, the nectar from the flowers, the seeds from the
grasses, but to no avail. These things do not satisfy him. He hies
off to see the Wise Old Owl and takes his advice. He advises the owl
to be true to himself, to do the things he is able to do, to not
take the food of others, and be happy with what he is. The Wise Old
owl gives him five things to remember, and these could be the basis
for much discussion in the classroom.
The illustrations by Pym in this strong hard covered book, are
intriguing, and follow the tale of the owl and his quest for
enlightenment with interesting detail about the Australian
environment and the other animals that live there, paralleling the
ethos of the story. A page of information at the end of the story
will enlighten the reader about the plight of the Powerful Owl, the
biggest in Australia, having a body height of 60 cms and wing span
of 140 cms. What a bird!
Fran Knight
Eric Vale: Epic Fail by Michael Gerard Bauer
Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 1 86201 992 1.
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Schools. Bullying. Nicknames and their
effects is the theme of this very funny story from Bauer, a genius
at getting down the nitty gritty of school experiences. He presents
the day to day grind of just coping with all that goes on, the
helter skelter of life passing by, and coping with a nickname which
is totally unwanted. In chapter one, Eric explains just how his name
came about, how he often spends time in the classroom thinking of
things entirely at odds with what is actually happening, bringing
the wrath of his teacher onto his head. When the class is discussing
the environment, the teacher tells them of the epic fail that is the
introduction of cane toads, and Martin, Eric's tormentor turns to
his friends to make sure they twigged to the connection between Eric
Vale and the teacher's terminology, Epic Fail. So a nickname is
born, one he would love to be rid of.
Another time Eric and his friends are involved in the school
assembly, presenting a play complete with clip on microphones. Of
course, Eric and his friend sit themselves back in the audience, and
a mix up occurs with the off and on switch, broadcasting Eric's
comments about the boring speaker to the whole school. Epic fail,
once again.
Bauer's descriptions of Eric and his class are all inviting, with
sequences and settings that are familiar to everyone involved in
schools. Laugh out loud, the situations in the school are enormously
funny, and the range of children within the class engrossing. The
attempts by Eric and his friend Chewy to rid him of his hated
nickname will intrigue readers from start to finish, and augmented
by some additional funny drawings around the margins of the pages,
readers will be delighted to see that this is the first of a series.
Fran Knight
