The Crystal Code (The Billionaire Series) by Richard Newsome
Text Publishing Australia, 2012. ISBN: 1922079030
(Ages 11-14) Recommended. The Crystal Code is the latest novel in
The Billionaire Series by Robert Newsome. Readers who are familiar
with this series of books which originally began with The
Billionaire's Curse (2009) features the slightly more grown-up and
world's youngest billionaire Gerald Wilkins. This instalment in the
series begins with Gerald, his friends and family taking an
ridiculously expensive Christmas holiday at their privately owned ski
resort in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
The extravagant Christmas holiday involved a journey via private
plane to San Francisco followed by flying in a fleet of helicopters
to the resort. On route to the ski resort, Gerald and his friends
happen to come across a dry cleaning docket of the evil Sir Mason
Green, who we also learn has conveniently just been released from
prison. Once collected from the dry cleaners, the contents of Mason
Green's jacket sets the scene for the further problems that the
group of friends, Ruby, Sam, Felicity, and Ox (whose real name is
Oswald) experience for the rest of the novel. Whilst the story line
in The Crystal Code takes a little while to develop, with elements
of jealously being resolved between Ruby and Gerald's new girlfriend
Felicity, once the action begins, the novel becomes addictive to
read. The now older teenagers in this latest edition of the series
have developed new skills, including the ability to fly planes,
which has them literally flying around the world in pursuit of their
kidnapped family and friends. On the other hand, whilst the
characters are older, the appropriateness of age level for which The
Crystal Code is recommended remains for 11 to 14 year olds, as the
violence is moderated.
Adam Fitzgerald
RSPCA Animal Tales series by various authors
Random House, 2012. Dog in danger by Jess Black. ISBN 1742753361 Night fright! by Jess Black. ISBN 1742753388 Race to the finish by David Harding. ISBN 1742753426 Lost in translation by Helen Kelly. ISBN 174275340X
(Age: 8+) Warmly recommended. Animals. Adventure. This new series of
books that numbers eight, with two more due for release in December,
2012, will have instant appeal. All the stories are about 80 pages
long and revolve around families and animals. Written under the
auspices of the RSPCA, they have straight-forward plots, easily
absorbed and recognised characters, and lots to learn about animal
care and responsibility as the story is read. Dog in danger has a family, Cassie, Ben and Dr Joe, going on a
bushwalk and coming across another family whose dog, Snowy, has run
off after a rabbit and become lost. Dr Joe works for the RSPCA and
so is able to direct the group as to the best way to search. One is
sent off to ask their neighbours and alert other people to join the
search. Flyers are made and posted, and the weather checked for
possible changes. Sure enough, the weather does change and as rain
falls, the dog is found stuck on a ledge. In this short story we not
only get an adventure story, engrossing and involving, but learn how
best to search for a missing animal, how to go on a bushwalk and
what the bush offers for walkers.
Similarly Night fright! has Cassie and Ben searching for the ghost
that is making their neighbourhood jumpy. Noises in the night are
spooking everyone until they find out the cause after Cassie and Ben
decide to stay out all night in the hope of trapping the ghost. Race to the finish takes a different turn from the others as it
deals with greyhounds and a race when Ben's new friend's father
trains and races greyhounds, a sport Cassie dislikes. Lost in
translation has a group of vet trainees working with Dr Joe who are
asked by ben and Cassie to help with their fundraising.
Each story has a different take on owning animals and the readers
will certainly learn a great deal about the responsibility of owning
a pet from this easily assimilated series of books.
Fran Knight
Mr Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore by Robin Sloan
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012. ISBN 0374214913.
This novel is written about and perhaps for Gen Y readers.
Traditional fantasy quest meets the digital age, and something more
human than either, the power of friendship, wins out. Hipster Clay
Jannon rarely touches paper until retrenched, despite winning a
design award, and taking a job in a shop selling what seems to be
books. Clay works the night shift catering to borrowers rather than
customers, borrowers who request their volumes by shelf placement in
the Waybacklist rather than author or subject. Clay's friends are
successful digitocrats, Neel who designs pixilated breasts, or 'boob
simulation software', Kat who is a Google worker and uncritical
believer in the power of technology, and Matt, the maker of
artifacts. Clay's employer, Mr Penumbra, forbids him to read the
books on the Waybacklist and so of course Clay starts examining them
to find they are a code linked to their place on the shelves.
Urged on by Kat and using the resources of Google, Clay, a fantasy
reader from childhood, becomes a quester. He builds an online data
visualization of the movements of the borrowers and discovers they
are all members of the Unbroken Spine society funded by the Festina
lente company whose aim is to discover the secret of immortality
recorded somewhere by the medieval philosopher Manutius. The
action shifts to New York where the society meets in secret and is
directed by the sinister Corvina, once friend but now enemy of the
genial Penumbra. Clay builds a paper scanner and secretly digitizes
the key work of Manutius. Kat, now on Google's management team,
Clay's girlfriend and determined to eliminate mortality, throws the
power of all its technology into the task of solving the riddle.
Google fails. Clay turns back to Old Knowledge. He learns that the
author of his favourite fantasy series was once a member of the
Unbroken Spine society but was expelled. When Clay listens to the
series on tape he realizes that he is listening to clues about where
the message is hidden. In a neat twist he finds the message and
delivers it to the society. The answer is a victory for humanity
over the machine. Immortality is a dream; friendship is what should
be sought. Clay loses Kat but gains more friends and establishes a
career with Mr Penumbra in both digital and print publications.
The writing is witty, the plot intriguing. It flags a little
three-quarters through but picks up again to finish triumphantly.
The novel is about balance, about the incredible power of the
digital world, but also about the need for mystery and about the
need for friends.
Jenny Hamilton
Shark attack by Jackie French
Scholastic Australia, 2012. ISBN 1742833845.
(Age 8+) In the fourth book in the Animal Rescue series by Jackie
French, Leo and his friend, Mozz, must rescue a shark colony from a
flood of toxic mud. Aimed at readers 8+, Shark attack is a fast
paced, life threatening mission, which needs to be completed in time
for Leo and Mozz to do their homework.
Mozz is the granddaughter of a wealthy scientist, Dr Drizzsock, who
rescues wild animals and the latest task she gives the two friends
is the hardest of all because Leo cannot communicate with sharks as
he does so easily with other animals.
The sharks are in danger because a dam holding mine tailings, a
sludge of dangerous chemicals, has collapsed in a thunderstorm. As
they speed towards the shark colony in Sky Tiger, a jet made of
recycled plastic bottles, the question they ask is, 'How can
governments let things like this happen?' Jackie French, with her
love of nature and her considerable research, encourages her readers
to think more deeply about issues of conservation.
Despite inclusions such as a guinea pig with attitude and an amazing
watch with satellite navigation which can repair shoelaces, it is
easy to identify with the characters and become involved in the
dilemmas they face. The introduction to the story is overlong but
children will find this adventure as absorbing as the others in the
series.
Thelma Harvey
The last dance by Sally Morgan
Little Hare, 2012. Hbk. ISBN 1921714840.
'Corroboree Frog hidden by the autumn leaves he sleeps and dreams of
his last dance . . . Dugong through the shallow water she dives
escaping the fishermen'.
Through deceptively simple text and the richest of illustrations,
one of Australia's most wonderful authors has brought the plight of
some of our most vulnerable species to our attention in a
spectacular way.
For anyone looking to enhance their environmental awareness
collection, this is an essential addition. Every page is crammed
with illustrations that invite discovery and discussion.
Kindergarten students can be introduced to some of our unique
creatures that are not as iconic as the koala or kangaroo; slightly
older could investigate the concept of habitat and how creatures
adapt to it; while upper primary might investigate what's
threatening each creature and what might be done to halt its
seemingly inevitable decline to extinction.
To kickstart the learning, at the end of the book there are
explanations that focus on how the destruction of habitat is the key
threat. But because this is largely caused by human actions, there
is hope that it can be alleviated by human intervention. Ms Morgan
has cleverly included creatures from a range of habitats and most
states and territories so there is also scope for students to become
actively involved in their conservation.
This is a book, that, in sensitive hands, could bring the glimmer of
hope that these creatures have to reality.
Barbara Braxton
Finding Freia Lockhart by Aimee Said
Walker Books, 2010. ISBN 9781 921529 15 3.
(Ages 12+) Recommended. Schools. Relationships. Friea is the
runt. She did not expect to be accepted by the cool group in her
year
ten cohort at Westside Girls Grammar School, but she finds herself
to
be a member of the Bs, the group of three B named girls, Belinda,
Brianna and Bethanee, with Kate, good old Kate, the wannabe, tagging
along behind. As Freia and Kate knew each other at their last
school,
Freia finds herself aligned to this group, with their scathing
attitudes towards others in the school, and their sometimes grudging
acceptance of her. But Freia's relationship with Kate is crumbling,
as
Kate tries to get closer to the Bs.
With the school play, My Fair Lady, beginning rehearsals,
Freia
has
found herself pushed into the audition, and not winning a stage
part,
has been relegated to help with the lighting. Here she comes across
Daniel, a heavily fringed boy from Parkville Boys High School, the
state school across the way, and finds that she will be his
assistant.
She has already noticed him in the cafe where she meets her tutor,
Nicky, hired by her parents when they found that she was not gaining
the marks they expected her to attain at high school.
Her mother particularly tries to raise Freia by the book, trying to
do
the best as an older parent.
Having to read Pride and Prejudice does not thrill her and
she
finds
herself talking to and working with one of the girls seen as on the
outer by her group. Things are changing for Freia, she has begun to
take notice of the things the Bs say about other people and is
making
choices for herself, rather than to suit them. The theme of not
accepting things as they seem is neatly reiterated with the Jane
Austen book as well as My Fair Lady.
This is a funny, acerbic look at teenage girls, full of humour and
pithy comments about the society in which they mix, their parents'
aspirations, the relationships with each other and those around
them,
their dress, their values and their views on life. It is very
recognisable and will draw a smile and a laugh from its readers,
wanting to follow Freia's journey from being the runt of the group
to
someone standing on her own two feet with the strength to say no.
A wholly satisfying story of growing up, a coming of age story
(Bildungsroman) which could be easily compared with others of its
ilk,
(Will by Maria Boyd, Chasing Charlie Duskin by Cath
Crowley, Finding Grace by Alyssa Brugman and Losing it by
Julia
Lawrinson
and so
on).
Fran Knight
Other brother by Simon French
Walker Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 971720 83 3
(Ages 11+) Highly recommended. Family. Seeing a new book by Simon
French is enough to give me goosebumps as I recall with gratitude
his earlier stories, Change the locks and Cannily
cannily, which gave a sympathetic voice to those children
rarely seen in children's book, the itinerant and neglected. In many
books these children are presented as stereotypes, rarely are they
seen as characters in their own right. The other brother, Bon, in
this superb book, is a neglected child of a mentally unstable woman,
who leaves him with her mother and sister in a small country town,
where everyone knows each other's business.
The story revolves around the boy fitting in to his new family,
especially his cousin, who rejects him out of hand, wanting to keep
cool with his friends at school, and dismissing Bon's oddities as
weird. His parents and sister, as well as his grandmother, are very
sympathetic and supportive of Bon, and the reader feels from the
start, that the adults know more than they are telling the children.
The school yard is most effectively shown, with its gangs of kids,
places where some feel safer than others, kids looking to hurt,
manipulate and undermine, while others show compassion and support.
Bon and Kieran move around each other for a while, until the
bullying by Kieran's friends puts him in a position where he must do
the same to keep his friends. He is instantly sorry and his attempts
to apologise to Bon see him following the boy into the night when he
attempts to run away.
This is the sort of story all kids will read and discuss. It is the
tale of an outsider, a neglected child who has looked after himself
for many years, skirting around his mother's moods, then thrust into
a family where even to sit down together is a different experience.
It is the story of being rejected, of fitting in, of changing
attitudes, of things kept beneath the surface. But overall it is the
story of a family, responding to the needs of another member,
helping the child adapt to a calmer environment and helping their
own son accept the new boy for what he is. The parents are
marvellously drawn, so much so that several times, I reread passages
to see how French had made me so involved in their lives. The minor
characters too all have a face and background, each is individual,
while the background of Bon's friend Julia is slowly revealed to the
reader and we learn about it along with Kieran.
Fran Knight
Total recall by Philip K Dick
Gollancz, 2012. ISBN 9780 575 10029 9.
(Ages 12+) Recommended. Science fiction. Published to coincide with
the release of remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film of the
same name, now a cult classic, this book showcases many of Dick's
well known stories. It includes those that have been made into
successful films, We can remember it for you wholesale (Total
recall), Do androids dream of electric sheep (Blade
runner), as well as Minority report, A scanner
darkly, The adjustment bureau and Paycheck.
Dick often plays around with the idea of what is real, and in Total
recall, the idea that a company can sell you fake memories is
the starting point for factory worker Quaid, to question what he is
and why he is there.
Each of the 24 stories included in this volume are questioning and
unlike any other. The book has an introduction by Thomas M Dasch
which is well worth reading, and the notes at the end of the book
allow a peep into the mind of the creator when he wrote the stories.
For students of scifi, interested in where some of the big ideas
first came from, or interested in the chronology of scifi, or simply
interested in these stories, then this is a sound read. My only
quibble is the size of the print. 44 lines to a page makes a dense
text which is not easy to read, and means only the determined scifi
fan will stick to the reading, which is a shame when this book
offers such a breadth of fascinating stories and commentary.
Fran Knight
Possum magic - Numbers by Mem Fox
Ill. by Julie Vivas. Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 9781 86291 972 3.
(Ages: 1+) Recommended. Counting book. Australian animals. For the
very young, this beautifully produced counting book, using never
before seen pictures by Julie Vivas for the award winning Australian
classic, Possum magic, will be a treat for all newly arrived
children. The strong board book will be used over again in the
bedroom, lounge and kitchen, wherever parents and older siblings
treat their child to time out with a book. Eventually the children
will grab hold of it themselves, immersing their faces in the sweep
of recognised characters and the numbers going from 1 to 10.
This does not follow the strict pattern of other counting books,
instead making things a little more interesting, with two numbers on
the one double page being part of the same picture. So with a
picture of nine lamingtons, for example, we also have the number ten
included, with ten bites. So the humour will entreat both the
listener and the reader, looking for the number of items given in
print in the beautifully rendered, familiar illustrations.
Again the well known Australian animals take a bow, adding an extra
level of learning for the younger reader, teaching them not only
their first ten numbers but also a little about the flora and fauna
of this country. Presented are possums, kookaburras, koalas, and an
echidna, amongst the gum blossoms. The one sad thing is that it only
goes to ten, but parents will be able to dig out their old childhood
copy of Possum magic to read and share again with their
children.
Fran Knight
Give us a goal! Football poems by Paul Cookson
Frances Lincoln Children's Books (Harper) 2012. ISBN 978 1 84780 341
2.
(Ages 9+) Football. Poetry. Lifetime football fan and poet in
residence at the National Football Museum in England, Cookson is
well known for his funny poems about football, and this is a
collection of about 50 of them. Begging to be read out loud, they
are often short, pithy and sometimes poignant. These poems are
divided, cunningly, into groups reflecting a football match. So we
have several in Warm up, another bunch in the First half, then
Second half and finally Extra time. Each grouping of poems makes
sense in the division in which it is placed.
Several I loved and laughed out loud, knowing how a class might
respond when read to them. 'When the wasp flew up my brother's
shorts' is one such poem. The title says it all, and the poem goes
on to show how the others ignored his plight, thinking his behaviour
resulted from his kicking a goal. Read out loud this would cause
hilarity in the classroom and with all listeners.
Many more are just as funny, poking fun at Mum who has volunteered
as the trainer for Dad's team so that she can rub down one of the
men, or the things that Dad has said in the past about playing
football. Several display the way some men change once they are at a
football match, and so 'Werewolf Dad', and 'Dad don't shout at the
ref!' are presented. There are a number about the poor referee, and
more about the audience that go to the games, while the whole is
rounded off with the final poem,'We believe in football'.
All the poems display different poetic techniques so may be useful
int he classroom to model things like haiku, picture poems, list
poems and the like. The illustrations add to the fun of the small
volume of poems.
Fran Knight
Alice-Miranda shows the way by Jacqueline Harvey
Random House, 2012. ISBN: 9781742751177.
Highly recommended for ages 8 and up. As the delightful Alice-Miranda celebrates her eighth birthday, excitement is building for
both the girls and the staff of Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale
Academy. The village show is about to occur, complete with events
for everyone, as well as providing an extra day off of school.
Whilst Alice-Miranda and Millie are practicing their horse riding
skills, others are completing needle work pieces and perfecting
their baking skills. When Evelyn Pepper, the trainer of Rockstar,
the Queen's favourite horse, is admitted to hospital, Alice-Miranda
becomes involved. Her pony, Bonaparte, is the only thing which can
calm Rockstar and encourage him to race, thereby leaving open the
Aunty Gee's chances of winning the Queen's Cup. Into the mix, add
the carnival people, who are much maligned by the locals and held
accountable for anything which goes wrong or missing during their
time in the Village.
Harvey has created some eminently likeable characters, almost
certainly too good to be true, yet whom one would be happy to class
as friends. Similarly, any child reading these books would
undoubtedly fall in love with the idea of attending Alice-Miranda's
school. The girls seem spend little time in class but many hours on
pursuing their own interests. They appear to have a great deal of
freedom, allowing them to visit various other people and locations,
seemingly without restrictions. As with the other titles in this
series, there are some predictable turns of events for older
readers, yet younger children may not find this to be the case. The
key characters are believable and demonstrate the ability to change
and grow. There is the inevitable 'baddie' as well, yet,
thanks to the ingenuity of Alice-Miranda, the reader knows that
there will always be a happy ending.
Jo Schenkel
The twelve days of Aussie Christmas by Colin Buchanan
Ill. by Glen Singleton. Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 9781 74283 367
5.
(Ages 4+) Picture book, Christmas. The familiar Christmas Carol, The
twelve days of Christmas, is here reprised with an Australian
flavour, using iconic characters and animals to build up the fun of
the twelve days. Children familiar with the carol will get the point
immediately, but others may have to have it played a few times, and
perhaps compared with the original to understand it more completely.
All in all, though, it is good fun and enticing to small children
who love rhyme, reading aloud, learning new songs and reading along
with others. The repetition of the song builds as it goes along and
makes it an easy one to learn. The accompanying CD will be put to
good use in the classroom and at home.
Each day is represented by a different Australian image, starting
with one platypus up the gum tree, then two jackaroos, three meat
trays, four footy fans, five rusty utes, six snags, seven chooks,
eight jumbucks, nine dingoes, ten swaggies, eleven cricket legends
and twelve surfing Santas. Alliteration is used profusely helping
the words to stay in the mind, and the stress on Australian slang,
makes this a useful tool to talk about words and their meanings. For
an overseas audience a different level of language education can be
pursued.
On each page is hidden, well almost, a number of Australian animals
for the children to look for, so that by the end of the book, there
are 150 items to be found, adding yet another level of fun at
Christmas time.
Fran Knight
Pearlie and the flamenco fairy by Wendy Harmer
Random House, 2012. ISBN 9781 74275 540 3
(Ages: 5+) Early chapter book. Pearlie series. Another in this
series which has now grown to 14, sees Pearlie traveling on a
ladybird to Spain, where her friend, Florentina is throwing her a
flamenco party. Going to the Royal Botanic Gardens where her
friend lives, she is amazed to be able to learn the flamenco, and
many Spanish words while preparing for the party. Spanishisma abound
as the girls try on their new clothes, learn their steps, eat
Spanish food and put on the flamenco for the guests. But Pearlie
falls over her wand, and a neat resolution makes her win even more
friends.
Easy to read with the bright bold coloured illustrations as
with all the stories in this series this book continues the
tales of Pearlie and her friends. For early primary people setting
out reading chapter books, this will not cause much difficulties as
the print is reasonably large, and there is not much print to each
page. Sometimes I felt the colour interfered with the print, and
some chapter breaks may help early readers, but all in all this
series is an easy introduction to more strenuous chapter books.
Fran Knight
Blood Brothers by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog Books, 2012. ISBN: 9781742031897.
Highly recommended for ages 10 and up. Tao, happily ensconced as a
novice Buddhist monk in the Yinmi Monastery, is intent on
translating ancient scrolls and working diligently to ensure that he
and his much loved brother will gain grace and favour in their
future lives. When he is confronted by a dragon whilst carrying out
his labours, Tao decides not to tell anyone of what he has seen and
soon becomes involved in helping and healing Kai. The dragon, Kai,
now 465 years of age, is merely a teenager, set on finding his new
dragon keeper. Despite Tao's disbelief that it is he who has been
chosen to fulfil this role, Kai seems determined that he is correct
and demands that the young man take on the task. Against his better
judgement, Tao temporarily leaves the Monastery and heads off on an
adventure with the dragon.
Despite Wilkinson having previously sworn that she would not be
writing any future books in this series, she will undoubtedly have
created a very happy bunch of fans by continuing the story of Kai's
adventures. Due to Kai being a familiar character, with distinctive
methods of communication and behaviour, it was very easy to pick up
this new tale and feel I'd almost read parts of it before.
Nonetheless, it is very much a new story and I enjoyed meeting Tao
and his family. I revelled in seeing him squirm as he began to
question his calling as a monk, or become less able to follow their
demands strictly. For example, the loss of the special cloth which
had been used for straining his water to ensure he could avoid
consuming any small living creatures saw a loosening of his beliefs
or practices. Through such instances, the author has made this into
something of a coming of age novel as well as an enjoyable fantasy.
Death, family relationships, duty, responsibility and the following
of one's calling are all themes which appear in this most enjoyable story.
Jo Schenkel
Tree: A little story about big things by Danny Parker
Ill. by Matt Ottley. Little Hare Books, 2012. ISBN 9781921714412.
(Ages: 5+) Recommended. Picture book. Environment. Subtitled 'a
little story about big things', this tale will be a boon for those
teachers wanting to introduce the topic of environment and
sustainability in their classrooms, as it depicts a tree growing
within the protective roots of another, which when the older tree is
blown down, grows on its own, despite the encroaching city, then
nurtures another seedling within its roots. The themes of
sustainability, caring for the environment, nurturing the young, sit
well with this tree, its rings on the back cover elucidating more of
the themes possible in this book. The development of the sapling,
growing as each season passes, will intrigue younger readers as they
watch its progress to a mighty tree, under which people and animals
shelter.
The illustrations are breathtaking. Ottley's tree on the front cover
invites the reader into its dense foliage, benignly calls the young
reader to climb its roots, and its life as more than a tree is
replicated on the back cover's rings. Each page offers a different
perspective using Ottley's incredible eye. The front cover shows a
tree from a child's point of view, later from that of the animals
which hide in its roots, then the sky as the wind blows the tree
savagely and again from on high as we see the city taking over the
area in which the tree stands. The city seems to appear very
suddenly, but just as quickly changes from a stark, smoke belching
environment to one which seems calmer and is surrounded by trees.
Readers will look at trees differently after falling into this
worthy book.
Fran Knight
