Giggly times, giggly rhymes : Poems for children by Richie Cotton
Billy's Books, 2009. ISBN 978 0 646 52230 2.
(Age: 8+) Australian poet Richie Cotton has captured everyday themes
and characters in quirky, rhyming poetry. From the wiggly worm to
the astronaut, children will find a topic they enjoy and maybe even
a new one. Independent readers aged 8+ will enjoy the rhyme and
rhythm but children of all ages will enjoy hearing the poems -
especially the one about spiders biting bottoms! The colourful
illustrations compliment each poem, opening up a child's imagination
and giving a better understanding of each text.
These poems would be a great tool for the classroom and helping
children's comprehension before using them as a model for their own
writing.
Kylie Kempster
There's a hole in my bucket sung by The Topp Twins (singers)
Ill. by Jenny Cooper. Scholastic, New Zealand ISBN 9781775430469.
Henry the goat has a hole in his bucket. When he tells Liza
the duck she tells him to fix it, but unclever Henry cannot.
There's a problem with every solution Liza offers. This is a
retelling of the classic song that little people love to sing, but
instead of the dirge I've listened to hundreds of times over the
years, this one is brought to life by the hilarious illustrations of
Jenny Cooper. Not for this Liza the dutiful role of the
patient partner - this one gets cranky and frustrated. Henry's
face when she suggests that he cut the straw with an axe is
wonderful and Liza's frustration is clearly apparent. The
final picture has to express the feelings of many a mother and a
teacher at various times.
The edge that this book has over other versions (apart from the
accompanying CD) is that it is perfect for early reading
activities. Apart from the repetitive text that encourages the
children to join in, the pictures provide an opportunity to help the
children consider how Liza is feeling and start to develop both
empathy and expression. It's also an opportunity to introduce
them to new vocabulary like 'frustrated' and to expand their
lexicon with synonyms for 'mad' and 'angry'.
Miss Just-Started-Kindy was thrilled that she could read it by
herself very quickly but my greatest delight was watching Grandad
being coerced into the role of Henry, while she could have won an
Oscar for her portrayal of Liza.
Share this book with your youngest students and you will hear the
song being sung (and acted) in the playground for days.
Barbara Braxton
The book thief by Markus Zusak (audio book)
Vision Australia, Melbourne, 2010. ISBN 978 1 86482 596 1. 14 1/2
hours (11 Cd's). Read by Denis Olsen. PanMacmillan, Sydney, 2005.
(Ages: 14+) Highly recommended. As Death takes the boy's soul, he
notices the dead child's sister, Liesel, the girl who later becomes
the book thief, and Death is destined to see her several more times
before he comes for her years later. It is 1939 and his business is
booming. Liesel is being taken to a foster home, one where she
learns to read through the teaching of her beloved foster father,
the accordion player, Hans Hubermann, and learns love from the next
door neighbour Rudy Steiner and her taciturn foster mother, the
wardrobe of a woman, Rosa Hubermann.
World War Two sees the best and the worst of deeds and people, as
Death narrates his journey around Liesel Meminger during those
frightful years.
Her first theft of a book occurs at her brother's funeral, when one
of the gravediggers drops his handbook. She seizes it and teaches
herself some words from it. She steals another from the Mayor's
wife's library and saves one from a book burning, all the while
learning to read at night with Papa and then reading aloud to those
who huddle in the shelter during bombing raids. And Max, the Jew who
the family hides in their cellar, writes stories for her to read.
This is a story sewn with many layers and complications as we hear
stories behind stories, people's lives filled out with involvements
and intricacies which tie them all together and keep them apart. The
reality of living in Nazi Germany is brilliantly evoked. But the
emphasis on books and the power of words is at its base, as Leisel
collects her books and keeps safe those written by Max. When she
writes her own story it is Death who finds the book in the street
after their houses have been bombed and all but Leisel killed, and
he takes it with him, reading it over the years until finally he
comes for her.
It is a perfect story, symmetrical in its overall theme, that Death
is haunted by humans, haunted by their power to be good and bad at
the same time, to wreak the worst and best deeds upon each other, to
survive all the horrors known to mankind.
And all the while Denis Olsen's beautiful voice carries the story
further. His modulation is perfect, his pitch exquisite, his
rendering of the different voices, a joy to hear, particularly that
reflecting the sardonic wit of the character of Death.
Fran Knight
The Shiny Guys by Doug MacLeod
Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780143565307.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Fifteen year old Colin Lapsley
is visited by the shiny guys, strange creatures that he can see out
of the corner of his eye. Colin is convinced that they want him to
pay for the terrible thing that he has done. His frantic parents
have him admitted to Ward 44 where he befriends Mango who has an
attachment disorder (he 'grabs people from behind and holds on') and
Anthea, who is anorexic.
The book begins: 'This story is set in 1985. Psychiatric wards are
different today.' MacLeod has written a tour de force about mental
illness, leavening it with his outstanding ability to write humorous
one liners. Colin is a wonderful character who uses jokes to cover
up his thoughts about the serious stuff that is happening around
him. At the same time he is a caring boy who looks after Mango and
ensures that Anthea, as a new patient, fits into the complex social
structure of Ward 44. As a reader I became engrossed in the lives of
these three patients, sympathising with them about their
relationships with their parents and revelling in their strengths
and generosity. MacLeod's device of having some chapters written in
Mango's almost illiterate hand, and question and answers from Anthea
and her doctor add to the reader's understanding of the three main
characters and give some relief from Colin's predicament.
MacLeod also builds up a strong thread of suspense that left me
wondering just what had happened to Colin's sister, Briony, who was
lost on a bushwalk, and how he was involved. Small hints are dropped
throughout the book and these kept me reading avidly. The reason for
Mango's attachment disorder is also a theme that is puzzling.
Most of all though, it is the serious theme of mental illness that
captured my interest. I found myself waking up in the middle of the
night thinking about ECT (Electroconvulsive therapy), and then
spending time looking at websites that discussed its medical
background and effectiveness.
Although at times this novel is very dark, MacLeod leaves the reader
with a ray of hope that a person with a mental illness can, with the
help of caring friends, and medical intervention, fight through
depression and better understand their feelings. Background to the
novel can be found on his blog.
Pat Pledger
Show day by Penny Matthews
Ill. by Andrew McLean. Omnibus, 2012. ISBN 978 1 86291 689 0.
Highly recommended. Picture book. When the day of the show arrives,
every member of Lil's family is represented, each having submitted
something for judging. Dad has made marmalade, Lil has helped her
mother with a beautiful birthday cake, Henry has his pet guinea pig,
Bart, entered in the Best Pet competition, and the family rooster,
the grumpy Albert has been entered in the Poultry Section. Lil is up
early the morning of the big day to prepare her cow, Goldie. She
must wash her down, drying her off with old towels, ready to be
judged at the show, and Lil is convinced that Goldie will win a
prize.
The beguiling water colour illustrations by Andrew McLean show us a
family working together for the big day. I love the double
page illustration of the family setting off, with the sun's rays
just shading the sky before it appears, the car packed to the top of
the roof rack with their entries, the cow in the trailer behind, the
family smiling and eagerly looking forward to their big day out. The
country show is lovingly portrayed, full of life and colour,
movement and sounds.
As each of their entrants is judged, we hear that not all win, some
come second, some do not rate at all, while Dad, coming last in the
wood chopping event, gets a loud cheer of encouragement from the
audience. The day is not about winning or losing, but being
involved, participating as a family, being with friends and having a
good time. The little twist at the end rounds off a delightful
story, well told and enticingly illustrated.
Fran Knight
The red poppy by David Hill
Ill. by Fifj Colston. Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 1 86943 998 9.
Picture book, ANZAC. Waiting for the whistle that will send them
over the top of the trenches and for some, their deaths, Jim,
recalls writing to his mother and sister the night before. Of course
he has told them nothing of the coming battle, of his fears, or his
life in the trenches. He like many others talks about things his
family will want to hear, and keeps his fears to himself.
Published with a CD containing the song on which this book is based,
this beautifully produced book will serve well on ANZAC Day and at
any time World War One is under discussion in the classroom. The
stunning illustrations are done in chalk and pencil, using
photographs of the time. With edges of almost torn paper the
impression of being taken from a photo frame, or being ephemeral, is
given to the reader. The illustrations are haunting and realistic,
emotional and sparing no pain as we see men shot and surviving in
shell holes between the trenches.
The red poppy taken by the dog as a signal, gets Jim and the German
he befriends, rescued, adding another layer of meaning to the story,
that of friendship between adversaries. The dog too will be
remembered by students as they recall that animals are often used in
wartime in a variety of roles.
Fran Knight
Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer
Fenestra Book 2. Random House, 2011. ISBN 9781742751306.
(Age: 15+) Recommended for those who enjoy paranormal stories. This
is the second in the series, Fenesetra and follows Meridian,
where Meridian has discovered that she is a Fenestra, a half human,
half angel who communicates with the dying and helps them transition
to the afterlife. After the death of her aunt, she and Tens, her
protector, Tens, have journeyed to Indiana to try and find another
Fenestra, who they can feel in the area. Juliet, a caring teen,
works tirelessly with other orphans, in an old people's home, doing
her best to shield everyone from the cruel actions of the women in
charge. Meridian and Tens are in a race to rescue Juliet from a life
of horror, controlled by the evil Aternocti.
Kizer has excelled herself with descriptions, that felt as if they
came out of a Dickens novel, of the life that Juliet leads in
the Dunklebarger Rehabilitation Center, the home for the dying
elderly and the foster children. I become very involved in Juliet's
story and her struggle to protect the children in her charge and to
help the dying. I ached with her when Kirian left the home and
didn't contact her, and dreaded the things that could happen to her
if Meridian and Tens didn't reach her in time. The book is told both
by Meridian and Juliet in different chapters and this works very
well at keeping up the suspense and giving the reader information
about what is happening.
Readers who enjoyed the first book, Meridian, will be happy to
follow the growing relationship between Meridian and Tens, her soul
mate. Other characters introduced in the book are well rounded and
interesting, including Rumi, a little boy in the home, and
adults in the town, who help sort out problems.
The setting, too, adds to the complexity of the book. The town is so
well described that I could see it in my mind's eye and the author's
knowledge of Indiana, festivals and countryside is evident. The
story of the fireflies that rise from the Wildcat River is also
fascinating. Wildcat fireflies has depth of character and description,
with plenty of action and suspense thrown in, and is sure to thrill
its readers. In the information at the back of the book, it states
that there will be two more books in the series, and I am sure that
there will be a following for them.
Pat Pledger
The biggest estate on earth: How Aborigines made Australia by Bill Gammage
Allen and Unwin, 2011. ISBN 9781742377483.
(Age 15+) Highly recommended. 'To the people of 1788, whose landcare
is unmatched, and who showed what it is to be Australian.' 'The
people of 1788' are the Aborigines and the dedication is by
Professor Bill Gammage. His thesis is that the Australian landscape
as it was first viewed by Europeans was made by humans not by
nature.
The biggest estate on earth begins our journey of discovery by
looking at the landscape through the eyes of the European newcomers.
Why did they comment so often on the 'parks' and 'lawns' that met
their gaze? Why did their paintings show vistas of grassland where
now there are forests or thick scrub? Why did they report that
indigenous people deliberately set fire to the countryside?
According to the author, the newcomers did not recognise that the
land in which they had arrived was as closely managed as the one
they had left. The continent was a mosaic of inherited lands whose
traditional owners conserved precious water supplies, and used
controlled burning to prevent bushfires and create favourable
conditions for the plants and animals they wanted to harvest. A
belated appreciation of the value and complexity of sustainable
Aboriginal land management practices is now emerging. This
remarkable book may facilitate that process.
The writing style is precise and accessible and the organisation of
material assists both ease of understanding and the development of
the argument. However, the author knows that some people will
disagree with his conclusions. He has responded by revealing his
argument slowly through a wealth of documentary and pictorial
evidence, drawn from meticulous observation and scholarship.
Detailed descriptions are based on an evident love of Australian
plants, influenced perhaps by his botanist father.
Reading The biggest estate on earth requires patience but
the rewards are great. They include an insight into a vast store of
knowledge, now diminished but not entirely lost, and an
understanding of how this knowledge has been incorporated into
religious beliefs, culture and daily life.
Elizabeth Bor
Hey Jack! series. Hardie Grant Egmont, 2012. ISBN: 9781742971278.
Recommended for ages 5+. The very creative Jack has made his own
costume to attend the birthday party of a friend from soccer. Up
until the time for his departure arrives, he is excited and happy.
Last minute nerves, however, leave Jack feeling 'wobbly'. Not only
does he become nervous about his home made costume, he is aware that
he won't know anyone else at the party. His mother jollies him
along, using robot voices to encourage him. As they sit in the car
and watch some of the other guests arrive, Jack is very aware that
he will be different - the only child in a costume which is not store
bought. Will he survive the festivities or go home feeling even more
embarrassed?
Rippin cleverly achieves in this series, for boys, much the same as
she does for girls in her Billie B Brown books. She takes a
situation to which all children can relate, and considers the
characters' emotions, actions and possible outcomes. Her messages to
children are positive and filled with encouragement. With the large
typeface and spacing and a multitude of illustrations, this title
would be accessible to many emergent readers as well as lending
itself to be used as a read aloud text in a classroom situation. It
would be a great starting point when discussing creativity, the
different talents which children may have, accepting others and
overcoming personal fears.
Jo Schenkel
Bananas in my Ears by Michael Rosen
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4063 3455 6.
(Age: 10+) Poems to make you smile! Michael Rosen takes everyday
events and highlights the funny side through his poetry. I would
recommend this for independent readers aged 10+ to ensure full
comprehension but parents and their children would enjoy reading
them together.
Rosen's poems have been in circulation since the 1980's and this new
publication ensures children today are also able to enjoy his work.
The illustrator, Quentin Blake, has illustrated many of his own
books as well as other author's and brings his trade mark drawings
to each poem. Many of the poems are like stories, exploring everyday
themes such as going to the beach, what happens when we wait for
breakfast and what happens when we wait at the doctor's. The
poems aren't traditional rhyming poems but read like a story, using
speech between characters to tell the story.
Kylie Kempster
Snake by Kate Jennings
Black Inc, 2011. ISBN: 9781863955256.
Highly recommended. This is a beautifully written story about a rather ugly situation. It concerns the post-war marriage and lives of Irene, from Sydney's North Shore, and Rex, a stolid but decent farmer, from the backblocks of NSW. Although a dependable provider and family man, Rex's biggest crime is that he is unimaginative and boring, to his wife anyway, and he pays a terrible consequence for this. The story proceeds through a series of vignettes, with cryptic and intriguing titles such as 'I wish you bluebirds', and 'In accents most forlorn'. It is told with wry humour and understatement, but builds up a devastating picture of a marriage gone sour. Inventive similes abound, for example 'Such a dull mean ordinary existence - she chewed on the injustice of it like a dog on a piece of hide', or 'Girlie read books like a caterpillar eating its way through the leaves on a tree'. Although the story is very bleak, I found myself uplifted by the strong sense of place and brilliant, assured writing, remarkable in a first novel. Peter J Helman
What would Jesus drive by Paul Clark
Ill. by Graham Preston. Wombat Books 2012. ISBN 9781921633713.
(Age: Young primary) If Jesus lived in modern times what kind of car
would he drive into Jerusalem? A variety of cars gather in the
church parking lot on Psalm Sunday and debate this question. Each
suggestion tells the reader something about Jesus.
This is a short and simple book with entertaining illustrations
aimed at young, primary children. It will serve as a useful teaching
aid for discussion in the class room or Sunday school.
Tina Cain
Australian story: an illustrated timeline by Tania McCartney
National Library of Australia, 2011. ISBN 9780642277459. Available
from National
Library Bookstore.
(All ages) Highly recommended. A visual feast, Australian story
is just what its title claims: an illustrated timeline of events
that have been significant in Australia's history. Starting from a
time when there was nothing and continuing from when earth is
created, the book travels through to 2010, where it leaves the
reader gazing at a blue sky page and being asked, 'Where will we go
next?'
Aimed mainly at primary school students the bite size snippets of
information and accompanying illustration will entice children into
finding out more about particular events, or discussing events that
happened during their parents' and grandparents' lives. However,
older students studying a particular decade in history will find
that the timeline will give them succinct information about major
events that happened in Australia during that time and which are
accompanied by photographs and illustrations. An example of this is
the 1960-1969 decade, where both social, historical and scientific
events are highlighted, some of which include: 1962: All indigenous
Australians are given the right to vote; 1964: The Beatles tour
Australia; 1965-1973: Australian soldiers fight in the Vietnam War;
1966: some 200 Indigenous people protest against poor working
conditions in the Gurindji Walk Off; 1966: TV news reports are
received via satellite; 1967: Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears
during a morning swim. This book will be a rewarding read for people
who are seriously interested in well researched, past events or
those who just like flicking through looking at intriguing fragments
of our history. For example when opening up a random page I found
out that Vegemite was first produced in Australia in 1923. As an
adult, I found it fascinating to look through the decades during the time that I
have been alive and find events that I could remember and others
that had passed me by.
Tania McCartney's text is concise and very interesting to read. The
accompanying pictures and captions are also fascinating and provide
a wealth of information. There is a Captions section at the back of
the book, which provides information about the source of the
pictures, photos etc and could be used as a lesson in the use of
primary sources. The production team has done a wonderful job in the
arrangement of this book.
The book will also prove invaluable for teachers when introducing
topics in the Australian national curriculum. Tania has provided
teaching notes for Key
Stage 1 and Key stage
2 during her blog tour. Scroll down the pages for these. Australian Story is a must for all libraries and a great
addition for a family to peruse.
Pat Pledger
Wild Things! series by Lisa Regan
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
Emu on the loose. ISBN 9781408142479.
Giraffe on a sleepover. ISBN 9781408142462.
(Ages: 3-6) Highly recommended. Wild things! is a series of four
books written by Lisa Regan, and charmingly illustrated by Kelly
Byrne. Sales proceeds support the Zoological Society of London in
their charitable care of wild animals around the world. Emu on the loose, and Giraffe on a sleepover are the
first two lively and colorful books in this series where emus and
giraffes are unquestionably the topics of conversation.
The Wild things! books have been written to a formula in a buoyant
and entertaining manner; and while Emu on the loose, and Giraffe
on a sleepover both mimic storybook telling, and some
Australian readers may not understand the references to miles, these
books absolutely provide the small child with loads of facts about
emus and giraffes. The page layout and graphics are clear and
energetic and for little ones with inquiring minds, each book
includes a glossary.
The books begin with the emu and giraffe ringing a doorbell and
waiting to be invited inside. Children will laugh at the emu in the
bath, and the long giraffe peeping in the window, and they will
groan when the giraffe visits the bathroom. Both animals have been
creatively brought to life through Kelly Byrne's cheerful artistry.
Beautifully told and illustrated, and exquisitely bound, these two
books are a delight to read and would be especially suitable for
resource centre and classroom use at kindergarten or pre-school
level. I recommend them most highly.
Colleen Tuovinen
Left neglected by Lisa Genova
Simon and Schuster, 2012.
(Age: Adult) Recommended. Compellingly told, this story, as we read
in the prologue, is about a 'traumatic smack to the head'.
After a brief prologue, we are plunged into the frenetic life of
Sarah Nickerson, a super-high-achiever, a woman who appears to have
everything in place: important, well-paid job; large family house;
good, loving (equally high-achieving) husband; and three much loved
children. With one mishap, albeit one that springs from
something simple, but which we all know is absolutely risky, her
world collapses.
Interestingly, Lisa Genova does not present Sarah as initially
appealing, and it is impossible not to feel exhausted as she unfolds
her story of fully-timetabled days, where she dashes from one
important task to another. We feel somewhat unnerved by her
apparent, if somewhat cliched, racing headlong to disaster. Yet her
incisively detailed story, told in the present tense, in spare
prose, is so seductive that it is almost impossible to put the book
down. It would be hard to not be captivated by her narrative
of deep personal struggle, trying to come to terms with her puzzling
condition, of her early resistance and refusal to adapt, and by her
grudging acceptance that she has to live every day in an entirely
new way, mentally and physically.
Forced to come to terms with her 'left neglected' mind, Sarah has to
let go of her old life as she can be no longer the performer, whose
children were expected to fit into her rigid timetable, who
timetabled her demanding work schedule into her day, and her
relationship with her husband into clearly defined blocks, for
talking, eating, relaxing and loving. Acceptance does not
happen without the help of others, and we are led through a
beguiling story of the arrival back into her life of her mother, of
hospital staff who challenge her to respond positively to her new
world, of her understanding of the real needs of her children and
husband. As Genova subtly alters her protagonist's view of
life and disability, she constructs a new, gentler woman, who not
only finds her soul, but who also finds a way to choose to live
differently.
An adult book and it is outstanding.
Elizabeth Bondar
