Fun in the sun: Jack and Mia at the beach by Dr. Annika Smith. Illus. by Lara Porter
Little Steps, 2023. ISBN: 9781922678980. (Age:3-8) Recommended.
This book was written by a dermatoligist Dr Annika Smith and is aimed at providing information to young kids about sun safety. The story follows two siblings Jack and Mia, who are going for an outing at the beach. We watch them get ready to go, taking all the necessary steps to be sun safe including hats, sunglasses, long sleeves and of course sunscreen. The story also has a warning for sun burn when they see their poor friends all red and upset on the beach.
I like the rhyme of the story, which I feel will entice and engage very young children, along with the happy and bright illustrations by Lara Porter.
Fun in the sun is also a good resource for parents as at the beginning there is a page with melanoma information and statistics (all written quite clearly and without to much heaviness) and at the back there is a simple 5 point list that can be used as a conversation starter with kids or as a tick off style list when going out in the sun.
This would also be a great book for children who do not like applying sunscreen, as the text is easy to understand and children from about 7 to 8 years of age would be able to read it themselves, hopefully taking in the importance of sun safety.
Themes Beach, Siblings, Sun safety.
Lauren Fountain
Riz Chester: The Fingerprint Code by R. A. Stephens. Illus. by Em Hammond
Riz Chester has highly tuned senses and notices things that most people don't, such as the brand of cheese being changed in the tuckshop lunches, the 10 gram change in the size of the packets of chips, and the differences between identical twins Sabrina and Jenny. She keeps a note of the differences in her Weird Stuff Log because when she mentions them, people look at her funny.
But, by using her observation skills and logical thinking, she was able to detect counterfeit $10 notes in The counterfeit bust, the first in this series for newly independent readers, and in this episode once again she demonstrates the value of planning, thinking logically and recording what you discover in an organised way as she tries to determine who could have stolen a baby grand piano from the school's music room.
This time the forensic focus is fingerprints and there is more information about this at the end of the book, enabling students to understand why they leave unique markers all the time that science is beginning to unravel with greater depth and accuracy every day.
There are lots of series published for this age group, but this one particularly appeals to me because of its emphasis on the need to approach a problem in a clear, methodical way thus bringing into play all those skills of the information literacy process. What has happened? What do we know? What do we need to find out? How can we find that out? What would be the best tools to use? How do we use them? Do I need help using them?
Themes Detectives, Stealing, Fingerprints.
Barbara Braxton
What do scientists do? by Tom Mumbray. Illus by Can Tugrul & Geraldine Sky
Within the series of books called Jobs People Do, and promoting STEM, What do scientists do?, this brightly coloured and information filled book will satisfy those young inquisitive minds found in primary schools.
Nine chapters offer jobs looking at life on earth, life in space, investigating the universe, combatting illnesses, protecting our universe, developing new technologies, and two chapters showing what scientists do and how to become part of that world.
Each chapter is full of information in the form of small paragraphs of text, diagrams, lists, graphs maps and illustrations. The illustrations show people in the science jobs talked about, giving a hands on image to the reader.
The chapter about working in diseases starts with a startling question, 'Can you imagine finding a cure for cancer?' A list of the scientists involved in this area of research is listed with a little of what they do. Over the page is found information about stopping the spread of COVID and from there the work being done in virus research and the development of vaccines. Clinical trials are done again with specialist scientific jobs and on to being sold by a pharmacist. It is a timeline of fascination, showing all the scientific jobs so important in this one area. Similarly every area spoken of is dealt with in the same way, extolling the range of expertise needed by scientists. Quicklinks are available from the publisher.
Ford Street Publishing, 2023. ISBN: 9781922696373. (Age:10+) Recommended.
Blair Moon - How to be cooler than the moon (Blair Moon) is Australian poetry, film and fiction writer Ashleigh Mounser's first children's book. It is a recent publication of the Ford Street Publishing Company of Abbotsford which is a small, discerning company that publishes only fifteen to twenty titles/year for children and young adults. Ford Street Publishing focuses on books that allow children to read literary works that explore significant social issues of our time in a fresh, multi-layered and entertaining manner. Thus any book published by Ford Street merits some attention. Available on the publisher's site are teacher's notes for BlairMoon, clearly linked to the year 5 and 6 ACARA Literacy strand, consisting of comprehension and discussion questions for each chapter.
The reader sees the world from the first person narrative perspective of the titular chararacter Blair Moon. Blair marches to her own tune. Young readers may be bemused by her and may even find her arrogance and inability to read social cues and the emotions of others annoying. She may be dismissed, as she is by most of the children at school, as a know all, weirdo. At some point, children may pick that she is "on the spectrum" although that is not clearly spelt out in the book. Delicate classroom discussions about difference and social inclusion may be necessary at teachers' discretion or it may be best left alone for children to enjoy Blair alone - with no interpretation or intervention. Blair Moon is like another Pippi Longstocking - bold, adventurous, single-minded and impervious to adult discipline.
Brought up in a nursing home and home schooled, Blair Moon, when she hits school, speaks like a ninety year old. Her vocabulary is amazing! A glossary is included at the end. She has a single ambition and that is to be school president (followed by more lofty ambitions later...) Blair gets into trouble and exasperates her teachers as she attempts to socialise and impress others into voting her in as school president. She learns, amongst other things, not to start rumours and not to take credit for things others do. She learns what it is to be a friend and how it feels to lose a friend. She tries to be cool - which is definitely not her. She becomes more self reflective..."I am thinking about everything I have learned and how I am growing as a person, and becoming a more complete version of myself..."
Some initial whole class sharing and guidance may be needed for students to settle to identifying and taking the ride with Blair Moon but when they do, they will find her quirky adventures by turn amusing and unsettling. She is a "special" girl.
Blair Moon - How to be cooler than the moon is a thought and discussion-provoking book that will help children understand, enjoy, include and embrace others who think and act differently in the general, mainstream school and classroom and in life.
Themes Friendship (inter-generational and peer), Autism spectrum disorder, Fitting in, Belonging.
Wendy Jeffrey
How to find a missing girl by Victoria Wlosok
Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9781510202726. (Age:13+)
A year ago, Stella Blackthorn vanished. Iris, her younger sister, started her own investigation, but before she could make any progress, she got in trouble with the police, earning herself a stern warning that if she meddles in police business again, once she turns 18, meddling will mean jail time. But now Heather, Iris's ex-girlfriend, has gone missing, just after releasing a shocking last episode of her true crime podcast about Stella's disappearance. This time, nothing will stop Iris and her amateur sleuthing agency from pursing the truth. But with the original detective keeping a close eye on her, her ex-best-friend back in the picture (and maybe possibly more than friends now?), and only thirty days until she turns eighteen, the pressure is on and it's a race against the clock.
This novel is told from the perspective of Iris, with mix-ins of podcast transcripts throughout the novel, and the occasional text message thread. The language is inclusive with one character going by they/them pronouns, which is smoothly integrated through the whole book. Numerous characters are suspects, allowing the author to explore different relationships and develop different characters. Lots of action helps the book to move quickly and the whole novel is well paced. Readers will find themselves immersed in the mystery, and it is good for fans of the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson and the movie A Simple Favour on Netflix.
Albert Street Books, 2023. ISBN: 9781761180637. (Age:5+) Highly recommended.
This story of the celebration of New Year within the Chinese community around the world, focusses on family and togetherness, and is framed with marvellous vivacious illustrations. Award winning author, Rebecca Lim has teamed with Sydney based artist Cai Tse. Their Chinese heritage is reflected in the celebration of the New Year.
This delightful tale is told from the perspective of the young boy in the family. This time of the year is his favourite and he questions his parents about some of the customs they observe. He cannot wait for the dragon to appear, and works with the family in cleaning the house, getting rid of the bad luck. He watches as the family makes their favourite food for New Year including dumplings, Eight Treasure Rice and ting yuan, spring rolls and dried oysters.
Steamed chicken and sweet sticky rice is left through the house to welcome the dragon and remember those who are no longer there. The family sits around telling stories and singing until New Year’s day comes around. They visit relatives and older people as part of honouring the elderly in the community.
They wear their parade clothes to Chinatown to be part of the celebration as the dragon weaves its way around them all. He hopes that soon he will be one of the dragon team and help weave the dragon through the streets.
Back home he rushes to the door hearing a knock. It is his sister, Jie Jie and she greets him as ‘gold rabbit’, while he in turn greets her as ‘gold dragon’.
Last year was the Year of the Rabbit and this year is the Year of the Dragon, so he wishes his sister a very happy Year of the Dragon, the Zodiac sign of her birth. The dragon has arrived.
This lovely tale full of family and celebrations, is beautifully illustrated with bold images of the family and the dragon.
Dragons fill the pages, reds and yellows splash in front of our eyes. The endpapers with their deep reds show the animals that are celebrated in the Chinese New Year, from rabbit to dragons as shown in this book, to the pigs, monkeys and snakes to name a few that form the Chinese Zodiac. I love the touches of Australian culture with the dragon leaping over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the landscape of the house in which they live, along with the clothes hoist in the backyard.
Themes Chinese Zodiac, Chinese New Year, Family, Chinatown.
Fran Knight
Wolf girl 10: The race is on by Anh Do
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761068973. (Age:8+) Highly recommended.
The Race is On, is the tenth book in the popular Wolf Girl series. Gwen is a competitor in the Championship Games with the goal of winning in order to free the people of Hookville. She has taken Jarrod’s place and is up against five boys, all desperate to win the prize of a granted wish. For Gwen though, she is shocked and devastated to discover the Braxan Commander is her long-lost sister Kate. When Kate discovers Gwen is one of the contestants, she is equally shocked and endeavours to steer Gwen away from the competition as she knows how dangerous it is. However the secret meeting between the sisters does not go well and Gwen is very angry and determined to compete.
The race will be televised live to a huge audience and involves a series of challenging stages across inaccessible terrains where the contestants will be stretched to the limit of their physical abilities. Added to this, there are nasty tricks in play, as all are competing to set loved ones free from the Braxans evil clutches. Gwen is on the receiving end of some unpleasant tactics yet in the end the six all band together to save each other from drowning with some welcome help from Jarrod and Gwen’s pack. Running parallel to this is the imprisonment Jarrod and the pack face but they receive help from an unexpected source. Who will win the contest? Will Kate and Gwen be reunited? Does Kate know if their parents are still alive?
This is an exciting and action-packed story that will continue to captivate fans of the Wolf Girl series. Detailed illustrations by Lachlan Creagh provide a strong visual connection to the text. Book Eleven will be published soon.
Mic Drop follows Sharna Jackson's first adventure/mystery/murder book High Rise Mystery. These two books comprise the first of The High Rise Mystery series which is the result of a smart collaboration between English writer, Sharna Jackson and London based illustrator and muralist Wumzum. Sharna Jackson aims to...." encourage and increase diverse and disengaged audiences' participation in the arts..." The High Rise Mystery series, exemplified by Mic Drop, is highly likely to do just that. This book is accessible. The format is immediately highly engaging.
Wumzum has drawn a map of the Tri Towers apartment building on the opening double spread page. The reader is immersed straightaway into the geography of the place where the murder is set. Norva and Nik, two intrepid, quirky, smart and super-annoying, nosey parker, preteen/ teen detectives are on-the-ground super organised sleuths. The reader is privy to their notes/case records which are methodically updated in tabular form. The story has immediacy because it is told in the first voice of Nik. Action is high paced.
The story is circular. At the start there is a section of italicised text which describes the horrifying death of TrojKat, a south London streaming sensation, who was apparently about to sign a contract with a New York based record label. The story then circles back to TrojKat's arrival at the Towers and the filmcrew, family and neighbours who were part of her final days. Breadcrumbs and red herrings are flung about liberally; some big clues and certainties turn out to be nothing and some subtle, small clues turn out to be vital as in all the best whodunnits.
The sentence structure is snappy, somewhat like a police witness report might be and the reader sees the world through the sassy, smart and inquisitive viewpoint of Nik as the crime scene and clues are sorted. Along the way, the reader is drawn into the family worlds of diverse characters. Particularly heart-warming is the portrayal of Nik and Norva's Pap, who is a single dad.
The text is interspersed with changing fonts in the form of text messages, song lyrics and even old fashioned newspaper cutting ransom notes and updated case notes which serve as a break for reluctant readers who find continuous text challenging. The dialogue is jargonistic, supercool and hip-full of Afro-English and general London teenage urban slang.
Mic drop allows readers to enter the world of the diverse group of people who live in high rise London, the world of the internet, of online chat and communication, of popular music and teenage discourse.
In turns, disturbing and reassuring, this fast paced, action packed murder mystery will have you guessing until the end!
Highly recommended.
Themes Mystery/detectives, Friendship, Diverse families, London high-rise living, Internet streaming pop-culture.
Wendy Jeffrey
Madame Badobeldah and the old bones by Sophie Dahl. Illus. by Lauren O'Hara
This book completely surprised me! I haven't read much of Sophie Dahl's previous work and I guess her last name held certain standards that I felt would be hard to keep up with. Madame Bodobedah and the old bones is nothing like her grandfather's work, but it is wonderful in its own right.
The story is one of an unlikely friendship between Mabel, a child, and an older woman who lives in her family's hotel. The two of them spend a lot of time together going on adventures at the seaside, tell stories and on Sunday nights they explore a huge 570 drawer cabinet full of exciting things in Madame Badobedah's room. Through Sophie's storytelling, I could feel that they had a real friendship and learnt many things from one another.
The book is written in a short chapter style, and is accompanied by the most beautiful painted illustrations by Lauren O'Hara. The water colour images really bring the text to life and are wonderful to look at on their own, even without the text. They are however beautiful and I feel complement the book perfectly.
This book would be great for a child who is becoming independent but still enjoys pictures to help tell the story, or as a night time read by a caregiver in bed, as you could read and explore a chapter per night. Lots of talking points with the book such as female world explorers, dinosaurs and the Natural History Museum to name a few.
Brilliant read, and would make an excellent gift.
Themes Adventure, Dinosaurs, Friendship.
Lauren Fountain
Ecology for beginners by Andy Prentice and Lan Cook. Illus. by Anton Hallman
Usborne, 2023. ISBN: 9781474998475.
'Ecology is the study of how animals, plants and other living things interact with their environment and with each other'.
In its typical, direct reader-friendly language, this is the definition of a word that is bandied around a lot these days, along with 'environment' and 'eco-systems' and other scientific terms connected to the protection and preservation of our planet and its species, in this new book from Usborne.
Described as 'the perfect answer to the question 'What is Ecology, and why should I care?', young readers can explore the basics of ecology by following a wide variety of real-world examples about how living things cope in all sorts of environments which is essential if they are to understand the current concerns about climate change and the responsibilities they are being asked to shoulder. Not only do they learn how ecosystems work and their interdependence, but also what happens when the systems are damaged or destroyed, even how and if they can be protected or even repaired. Importantly they learn that there are still many issues that ecologists are trying to find answers to, and while there are loud voices calling for action, the best course of action might not yet be known.
Its graphic-heavy, byte-sized text format is ideal for the curious mind that wants to delve into this topic, and for those who want to explore further there are the usual Quicklinks which offer all sorts of practical suggestions for students to explore their own world in greater depth such as building a bee hotel or making a quadrat to record wildlife in their backyard.
Barbara Braxton
Pepper Masalah and the temple of cats by Rosanne Hawke. Illus. by Jasmine Berry
This short chapter book by Rosanne Hawke (Shahana, Taj and the Great Camel Trek) is number two in the Pepper Masalah series. The first was Pepper Masalah and the Flying Carpet and a third (Pepper Masalah and the GiantBird set in Afghanistan) is due to be released in 2024. There is a short recap at the beginning of how the journey began but it doesn't give away the full story and with each book being a new adventure it doesn't matter if they are read out of order. Simple sentence structure and vocabulary as well as large typeface and a smattering of black and white illustrations make this perfect for young readers looking for something outside the usual spy/magic/friendship books aimed at this level of reader. At just 58 pages it is an approachable novel format for younger readers who are just getting used to some pages of full text. Some subject-specific language is included (embalm, mummification) as well as some Egyptian Arabic (and a word list at the back) and snippets of information about Ancient Egypt (speaks of hieroglyphs, cultural practices, etc). There are also some super interesting cat facts listed at the end.
Pepper Masalah is a mini-panther who lives with her human Zamir and his family on an olive farm in Australia. Zam's cultural heritage (it is revealed in the first book that his grandmother is from Kashmir) is hinted at but not explicit. The first book in the series told the story of when she and Zam were carried by magic carpet to the Arabian Peninsula. In this installment, they still haven't made it home yet - they are up on the magic carpet and convinced they will never make it back to the farm. A chance landing in the water reveals they are in Ancient Egypt, where cats are revered and the locals want to mummify Pepper. Can Zam work out a way to save her and get away?
For kids hungry for books set in places outside of the usual ones we find written in English, those who enjoy adventure stories and a bit of magic and cat lovers this series will be a welcome find.
Themes Adventure Stories, Ancient Egypt, Time Travel.
Ghost by Jason Reynolds is book one of a four book series called Run. The subtitle: Running FOR his life, or FROM it? encapsulates the theme of the story.
This book needs to go straight into the hands of reluctant teenage readers (especially boys), into the hands of any student who has had a hard upbringing or is suffering from PTSD, or who is feeling angry and getting into trouble at school, or who gets teased and left out of the crowd or whose parents are struggling financially and unable to buy the fanciest running shoes and gymgear. Actually it would be a delight to read to a Middle years class. It would captivate them immediately.
The reader is drawn into the thoughts and the world of Ghost, the main protagonist. Ghost is in about year 7. The story is from his perspective, told in first person in present tense. Ghost is an edgy, excitable, feisty, active and energetic twelve or something year old. His voice captivates. "CHECK THIS OUT," he begins. He is totally informative. He tells the story like he is right there talking with you. The language is informal and one can't help but warm immediately to Ghost. He's interested in World records. Each chapter reflects this as his story proceeds with him winning the world record for the most altercations, for the fastest try-out ever, for the worst day ever, for the most runaways in a single day, for the longest run after the most runaways in a single day, for the best Friday ever after the worst Wednesday and Thursday ever, for having the best secret, for cleaning the dirtiest car and finally race day.
Middle School readers could not help but identify with Ghost as he gets into trouble and more trouble. He is saved by those all important adult mentors in life who one hopes will be there to step in to support, give tough love and show a boy how to fix mistakes, step up in life and develop self esteem. Ghost is given a chance to join a running team and along the way he begins to make some friends. These friends are the main protagonists of the next three books in the series: Patina, Sunny and Lu.
Jason Reynolds writes about real issues that happen to kids. He is a multi-award winning author. As Ghost touches on issues of gun violence, domestic abuse, poverty and has drug references, younger readers would be advised to read it alongside an adult.
Highly recommended, accessible, warm hearted book for Middle Years readers.
Themes Friendship, Coming of age, Running, Finding yourself and your group, Read aloud.
Wendy Jeffrey
The Wish Sisters: The Christmas wish by Allison Rushby. Illus. by Karen Blair
University of Queensland Press, 2023. ISBN: 9780702266362. (Age:6-8) Recommended.
A charming, festive addition to the comical, illustrated series written for newly independent readers. For Flick and Birdie this is an emotional time as it is their first Christmas without their Granny Aggie, who always made Christmas so special for everyone. Looking at her long, sad face Flick’s mother suggests making Gingerbread houses using Granny’s recipe and soon invitations to help go to their lonely neighbours Mrs Mortlock and Mr Tran. Unfortunately, Mrs Mortlock and Mr Tran don’t know about Birdie’s wishing powers and through the story there are some entertaining, near-miss moments where Flick needs to think quickly to keep it that way. A ginger plant forest, purple ornaments on the Xmas tree thanks to the naughty Imp, a sudden snowstorm and gingerbread people that come alive are just a few of the things that make this book so amusing for these younger readers. A helpful, double page spread at the beginning of the book introduces the Wish sisters and explains the details of how they came to be able to make wishes.
New York based Elizabeth Lim is a successful writer of fantasy stories. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Her radiant curse follows her bestselling duology - Six crimson cranes.
In Her radiant curse we have an amalgam of fairytale, myth and fantasy. Fragments reminiscent of European tales such as The frog prince, Beauty and the beast and Hansel and Gretel are mixed into richly depicted tropical and frozen Asian settings as the heroine Channi travels on her quest to save her sister. The story is told in first person through the feisty Channi's eyes. She is fed wisdom and advice (in italics) by the voices of her magical animal and beast companions throughout the story.
The setting in Her radiant curse is at first natural - an Asian village in close proximity to tropical jungle. Channi develops an affinity with the magical creatures of the jungle and strength borne of toxic, magical blood. A failed sacrifice of her life as a child, strengthens her into an indomitable, relentless warrior who fights to protect her beautiful sister from the fate that awaits her on her seventeenth birthday - shades of the prick of a finger on a spinning wheel! As Channi was filled with the power of toxic blood, she was also cursed to wear the face of a snake and so the ying and the yang/ the beauty and the beast dichotomy of the two sisters is the wellspring of all that follows.
Blessed with beauty, Vanna is beset with marriage proposals; Channi develops as her lifelong protector. Magical alliances are formed and broken, violent and monstrous battles are raged, the heavens are split, the seas are fractured, the land smokes as hordes of fantastical creatures attack. Channi pursues her quest to break the curse of the demon witch.
There is romance and there is high cinematic action. There is a spectacular climax and for this reader a disappointing-seemingly hasty and unlikely conclusion. Although the loyalty is unbreakable between the two sisters, forgiveness is not apparent elsewhere. There are weak flutters of sympathy and awareness of suffering but no mercy. The ability to truly love and forgive is limited to the sisterly bond. All other relationships with well developed characters are severed and a bland end follows. This reader is still trying to work this out. Is it that after such dramatic adventure and utter passionate love, life just fades into nothing much?
Recommended for lovers of fantasy, romance and coming of age stories.
For fans who like psychological thrillers, Just like the other girls is sure to appeal. Una is a young woman who believes she has the perfect job as companion to elderly Mrs. Elspeth McKenzie in a beautiful house. She learns that two girls had lived there before her and that Kathryn the daughter of the house bitterly resents her. What has happened to the girls? What are the McKenzies hiding? Is she safe?
The beautiful mansion gives the novel a gothic feel and the personalities of the girls, Elspeth and her daughter Kathryn, are well developed. Told in Part One from the point of view of Una, Part Two introduces another young woman, Willow who takes up the story. Willow looks like the girls who have gone missing and resembles Elspeth’s daughter who had disappeared many years ago. And Willow wants to know where Una has gone.
With plenty of red herrings and enough suspense to ensure that the novel is difficult to put down, Douglas has created an engrossing thriller that has a sense of foreboding throughout. I look forward to reading other books by Douglas.
