It's always time for a nursery rhyme illustrated by Emma Stuart
Lothian, 2012. ISBN 978 0 7344 1269 0.
(Ages: 6+) Picture book. Nursery Rhymes.
This is a strange book, full of old nursery rhymes, with no credited
author, and illustrations that lack distinction. Purporting to be
Australian themed, the illustrations are similar to those spied
years ago in the Little Golden Books series, and although some have
an Australian theme, which may encourage readers, most do not,
simply following the age old dictum of 'Medieval' costumed figures
drawn to accompany old folk's tales and rhymes such as these.
I am always intrigued by uncredited rhymes and stories, because a
little search allows the reader to find where these are from, adding
to the richness of the story. Round and Round the Garden,
for example is one of those fingerplay rhymes, this collected in the
1920's and finally catalogued in the 1950's. It is a very late poem,
as teddy bears were not invented until early in the 20th century.
For me, this adds a richness to be shared with a class, and I am
sorry not to see it thus authenticated. Many of course, are from Mother
Goose Nursery Rhymes and I feel should be authenticated with
this information if nothing else.
Counting rhymes, repetitive rhymes, old country rhymes, finger play
and body parts rhymes all have a huge role to play in a child's
development, the affinity with words and rhymes, and, not
insignificantly, the closeness and richness of reading something
together, should be supported with a rich and varied diet of rhyming
stories and this book just does not hold up to a close inspection.
Fran Knight.
Into that forest by Louis Nowra
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 9781743311646
(Ages 13+) Recommended. Children raised by animals. Two young girls,
lost in the Tasmanian bush after a boating accident, form the basis
of
this rivetting tale. Hannah has some knowledge of the bush, but the
other, Becky, has none, coming from a sheep farm where her father
and
the local bounty hunter kill all the wild dogs they can. But Hannah
is
more respectful of the tiger with the stripes and dog like features.
Her father, a whaler, has told her stories about wild animals and
she
hates the visits of the bounty hunter to their house.
The girls, about five and six years old are taken in by a pair of
Tasmanian Tigers. The girls become part of their den, learning to
hunt
with their tiger family, suckling, snuggling in with the he and she
dogs, Hannah calls Dave and Corinna, for warmth. The girls become
attuned to sleeping through the daylight hours, waking at night for
hunting and feeding, they learn to hunt in a pack, tearing at
uncooked
flesh and eating it down, lapping the water with their tongues. They
begin to lose the trappings of the life they once lead, abandoning
their clothes, forgetting their language, taking on the growls and
coughs of the animals as the form of communication.
One winter, desperately cold and starving, Hannah leads her family
to
the bounty hunter's shack, where she remembered there were sheep. It
saves their lives, but the bounty hunter now knows a pack of tigers
is
around. He kills the two new cubs, but spots the naked girls in the
bush trying to warn the mother.
An engrossing tale of family and togetherness, of familial loyalty
as
the two girls become part of the tigers' family, running with them
in
the wild, then turning to killing sheep, the one thing sure to focus
the eye of the bounty hunter on them. All the while the reader knows
a
climax is coming, one where all their loyalties will be tested.
Nowra gets into the nitty gritty of a child learning to live with
animals, which raises questions about our society and the trappings
of
civilisation which have glossed over the fundamental issues of
family
life, the basic stuff of survival, closeness, food and shelter.
This astonishing book could be compared with others like it, Dog
boy
by
Eva Hornung (2010) and the much earlier Dogboy by Victor
Kelleher
(1990) along with the stories and fables of old, Romulus and
Remus,
Mowgli, Tarzan and so on, which all have their bases
in
children being
raised in the wild. This would make an amazing text to study for
secondary readers, as the question of what is civilisation is
tantamount to any discussion of what happens in the book. The
environment, the extinction of the thylacine, the treatment of the
Aborigines in Tasmania, are all issues which could have a sound
airing
through the study of this story. Fran Knight
Miss Understood by James Roy
Woolshed Press, 2012. ISBN 9781864718607.
(Ages: 10 +) Recommended. Family and humour. Poor Lizzie. No one
understands her, she sometimes speaks in riddles, often takes people
literally, and tries to help where help is not needed. On one such
day, one in a long line of such days, she ends up setting fire to
the headmaster's portrait and so is asked to leave her school, Our
Lady of the Sacred Wimple. In this winning first person narrative
story, Lizzie becomes home schooled by her mother, and through her
eyes we see that things at home are not as she would like them to
be. Dad is a food writer and some of his reviews have almost ended
in litigation, and Lizzie has found him in tears in his study. The
arguments are becoming more frequent and things are happening to
upset the household.
Their house is one in a cul-de-sac, where display homes are often open
for people to look through. As theirs was once one, they often have
people peering through their windows or just walking in, increasing
Dad's temper outbursts. The empty house next door intrigues Lizzie
as she has discovered that sometimes there is a light left on and
she hears noises. There are pizza boxes in their bin, and the older
woman across the road asks odd questions. Lizzie is working at the
Helping Hand Centre with Miss Huntley and so hears tales of people
helping others through her community service, being done to increase
the possibility of returning to her school.
All of these combine to make a sharply observed inviting story about
a young girl noticing things in her environment, but unsure what
they all mean. The neat parallel of the model homes with the
example of these less than model families, is a strong theme in this
wonderful story as Elizabeth comes to realise that her father is
depressed, and that the man living next door has a similar condition
following his marriage break down. Of course, she tries to help both
men, and the pamphlet given to her father, she passes on to the man
next door. But in the end, the greatest help she gives her father is
being herself.
It is always good to see a novel where families are represented with
all their faults, and trying hard to retain its equilibrium. James
Roy has a knack of presenting families truthfully, and could easily
be compared with those books from the pen of Simon French,
Jacqueline Wilson and others.
Fran Knight
Louis beside himself by Anna Fienberg
Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN: 9781742379944.
Louis loves words! Whilst his mates spend their time on more active
pursuits, Louis would prefer to sit at home with the dictionary. It
seems that he is a disappointment to his father who constantly tries
to
challenge Louis to try out his new or 'tried and true' arm wrestling
techniques. When a burglar breaks into the house, Louis fails to use
his skills to protect himself and somehow ends up providing a refuge
for the interloper instead. This leads to a spate of fabricated
stories, as Cordelia busies herself around the house and changes the
entire way in which Louis operates. Not only does Louis' normal
articulate nature disappear when Cordelia is involved but he also
begins to question his place in the family. With his dad suddenly
going
out more often, losing some of his normal concerns and worries and
instead becoming relaxed and happy, things seem to be changing in
ways
Louis doesn't understand. How will he make sense of what is
happening
around him?
Fienberg writes in a humorous and entertaining manner. Including
themes
of family, friendship, acceptance of others despite their
differences,
change and overcoming one's own fears and weaknesses, this novel has
a
lot to offer. With its other main focus being on the power of words,
this could be used as a class novel to read aloud.
Jo Schenkel
The emu that laid the golden egg by Yvonne Morrison
Ill. Heath McKenzie. Little Hare, 2012. ISBN 978
(Ages 5+) Warmly recommended. Picture book. Rhyming text. Based
loosely on the fable, The goose that laid the golden egg, this
picture book shows an emu inadvertently coming into the range of two
rotten scoundrels. The emu is one of several foraging for food in an
increasingly difficult environment, the end of the town, grabbing
what they can from the roadside and rubbish bins, but our hapless
emu follows a beetle. She looks everywhere, finally spying some
golden grains of corn at the bottom of the creek. She scoops these
up and the very next day lays a golden egg. In finding this amazing
egg the scoundrels plot to kidnap the bird, thinking that she may
produce more golden eggs and so enact their plan. Incarcerated by
the men, the emu eats what she can find, an old boot, a cushion,
part of the chandelier and the knobs form the old bed. Next day the
men find she has laid eggs that closely resemble the things she has
eaten. She returns to her flock content now to forage for her food
along with the others.
In rhyming stanzas, the humour of the words will add to the glee of
the listeners as they hear of the emu and her efforts to gain food,
and the scoundrels in trying to get another golden egg from her.
Read a loud or read in a small group the stanzas add to the fun of
the story with readers predicting what the next words will be.
And all along the story is reiterated in the glorious illustrations,
helping the readers gain a larger helping of humour and wit. Readers
will have great fun with this story, contemplating why the emus have
moved into town and what the illustrator is representing in his
drawings of what the emus are forced to eat. The comparison with the
fable will add another level of meaning to the tale as it is read.
Fran Knight
Ghost Buddy: Zero to Hero by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 9781407132280.
Recommended 8-12years. Henry Winkler (yes The Fonz from Happy Days!)
and Lin Oliver have collaborated on the Hank Zipzer series since
2003. This book begins a new series starring eleven year old Billy
Broccoli.
Billy has just gained a new stepfather, stepsister Breeze, and moved
into an old house in a new neighbourhood. He is reluctantly about to
start at Moorepark Middle School where his Mother is Head Teacher.
After a less than welcoming meeting with neighbour Rod Brownstone,
the last thing Billy expects to find in his pink bedroom is a ghost
coming from his wardrobe wearing his baseball top and smelling of
oranges. Enter Hoover Porterhouse the Third, aka 'The Hoove', a 14
year old boy who for ninety nine years has been haunting the
property and is invisible to all but Billy.
The Hoove helps a far from confident Billy navigate his issues
around starting in a new school and making friends and together they
manage to handle the bullying of neighbour Rod, with more
sensitivity than Hoove had planned.
Readers will relate to Billy's struggle to be accepted by his peers
and enjoy the humorous situations and witty dialogue as Hoove does
his best to help Billy become cool. There are echoes of The Fonz in
the voice of Hoove, not that the targeted audience will recognise
it.
With a sneek peek chapter of the next Ghost Buddy book included to
whet the appetite, Billy and The Hoove are destined to become
popular characters as we see if Hoove can achieve a passing grade in
Helping Others.
Sue Keane
The Taliban Cricket Club by T. N. Murari
Allen and Unwin, 2012. Pbk. 325p. ISBN 978-1-74237-804-6.
Under the Taliban, Kabul is a dangerous place for Rukhsana, a
23-year old journalist, sacked from her newspaper by the
Minister for the propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of
Vice. Like all her countrywomen, she is trapped in her house
unless her Mahram, younger brother Jahan, accompanies her. She is
also completely hidden by her Burka and she is trapped in
Afghanistan, unable to leave to marry her fiance in America until
her beloved mother's fatal illness plays out.
Her subversion takes the form of news items published in the foreign
press about many of the human rights violations she witnesses -
mostly against women. The feisty young journalist becomes the
obsession of Zorak Wahidi himself after a press conference
announcing a national cricket tournament. The winning team will be
sent to Pakistan for training so that Afghanistan may succeed in
their membership bid to the International Cricket Council. Jahan and
his cousins view the tournament as their chance to flee tyranny, yet
nobody in Kabul can play cricket - except Rukhsana who played at
University in Dehli. Cricket becomes a metaphor for responsible
citizenship - something lacking in the government. Rukhsana begins
coaching with philosophy:
'Think of cricket as theatre . . . It's dramatic. It's about
individual conflict . . . It's a relationship between the one
and the many. The individual and the social, the leader and the
follower, the individual and the universal.'
In order to teach her family, Rukhsana assumes the masculine
disguise of Babur. She uses it to avoid Zorak's marriage proposal
too but becomes conflicted by news of her American beau's
marriage. Now she is free to marry her Dehli sweetheart
but in reality, in more danger of becoming one of Zorak's wives.
Will they win the tournament and escape? The Taliban Cricket Club has a lovely tempo and purpose. The dutiful
daughter, sister, friend, lover and citizen attempts to be true to
herself in a brutal, sexist homeland. Young adults aware of their
multicultural landscape would find this novel engaging. In
Bollywood style, Rukhsana and the other characters are lacking
in depth but this undemanding writing is delightful. Like
Cricket, this is an unassuming narrative of worthy themes with
the power to become legend in the style of Slum Dog Millionaire.
Deborah Robins
Fizzlebert Stump - The boy who ran away from the circus (and joined a library) by A.F Harrold
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 3003 1.
This is a quirky story with an unusual storyline.
Fizzlebert had grown up in a circus. His father was the circus
strongman and his mother a circus clown. His days were spent
engaging with the variety of people who live and work in the circus.
After an unexpected meeting with a group of local school children
Fizzlebert finds a book. The advice from his circus friends is to
return it to the library. But Fizzlebert doesn't know what a library
is so he sets off one morning to try and locate it in the local
town. Locate it he does however in his enthusiasm to join the
library he is deceived by a couple whose intentions are not good.
The remaining story has us following Fizzlebert through some
adventures until his parents realise he is missing and come to find
him. The format of the text and storyline will not appeal to
everyone however good triumphs over evil in the end.
Tracy Glover
Alphabet town by Bryan Evans
Ill. by Kimberley Moon. New Frontier Publishing, 2012. ISBN 192192
827
7.
(Ages 4+) Picture book. Maths themes. On the town where the numbers
zero to nine live, each number is quite pleased with itself. But
poor
Zero feels neglected and so wanders over the hill to the town where
the
letters live. There are far more people living here, and Zero is
invited to join them. She asks how many letters there are but as
they
cannot count, they do not know. So a cute idea is born, the Zero
teaching the letters to count and the letters teaching Zero the
alphabet. But counting to nine is not enough, so Zero puts herself
with
other numbers so that they can count more than nine, and the letters
align themselves together to make words.
This is an interesting way to introduce the number system and
letters
of the alphabet to young children. The bright, busy illustrations
will
intrigue younger readers as they search for all the numbers and
letters
shown on each page.
Fran Knight
Ned Kelly's Secret by Sophie Masson
Scholastic Australia, 2012. ISBN 9781742830322.
Highly recommended. Ned Kelly's Secret is the second of Sophie
Masson's novels to
focus on Ned Kelly. The first, The Hunt for Ned Kelly, concerns
itself with the more familiar Kelly Gang period; Ned's last stand
at Glenrowan and his all too familiar demise. While Masson's
assured writing and careful research make the first book a worthwhile
read, it is this second book, a prequel that for me holds much greater
promise. Ned Kelly's Secret explores the teenage Ned Kelly's
family life and his seemingly inevitable slide into crime in a
believable and engaging way.
Masson uses a twist on a now tried and tested formula, the teenage
spy (Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider, Charlie Higson's young James
Bond, Robert Muchamore's Cherub bunch or Eoin Colfer's juvenile
super villain Artemis Fowl) which is sure to delight. She employs
historical figures and events from the Kelly history to weave a
narrative that explores the factors that led Ned into the life of an
outlaw. We gain an insight into the tensions between squatters and
selectors, police and citizens, the English and the Irish in colonial
Australia. Well-paced and extremely readable, Ned Kelly's Secret
is
a welcome addition to this prolific and consistent author's
collection.
Stephen Bull
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4088-3233-2.
(Age: Teenage - Adult) Recommended. If, as a reader, you're tired of
the frequently male heroes of typical
fantasy novels, then Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, is the
choice
new
publication for you; its main character Celaena Sardothien is ardently
feminine and yet strong, capable, intelligent and feisty. In a world
torn
apart by the selfish, power-hungry desires of the King of Adarlan,
Celaena
is nothing but unusual: a former captive and a trained assassin, she
alone
seems uncowed by the brutal, awesome displays of power the king uses to
crush all opposition against him in Erilea.
Orphaned at eight and trained by Arobynn Hamel, the King of the
Assassins,
the eighteen year old Celaena is known as the Adarlan's most notorious
assassin, until she makes a fatal mistake and is caught. Her
punishment,
like all those who openly defy the invading King of Adarlan, is to be
sent
to work in the salt-mines of Endovier, where the average
life-expectancy for
prisoners is one month; after surviving a whole year, including a
foiled
escape attempt in which she kills twenty-four guards, Celaena is
offered a
chance she cannot refuse, even though she would like to.
The Crown Prince of Adarlan, Dorian Havillard, selects her to be his
competitor in a series of trials designed to choose a Champion to fight
for
his father as the official Assassin of Adarlan. Not only must Celaena
defeat warriors and criminals double her size, using her skills and her
wits, but then she will be required to serve the King of Adarlan for
six
years to earn her freedom. However, with her only other option an
almost
certain death in the Endovien salt-mines, Celaena must overcome her
adverse
hatred of all the king stands for - death and destruction - to win her
only
chance for a free life.
Written in a descriptive style reminiscent of Australia's own Juliet
Marillier and the legendary Terry Brooks, Throne of Glass
follows the
enigmatic character introduced in Sarah J. Maas' four e-novels
(available
for download from Amazon) and is well-worth the weekend it takes to
read.
True fantasy lovers will find all they are looking for in this
excellent
novel.
Kate Hall
Baby bilby's question by Sally Morgan
Ill. by Adele Jaunn. Little Hare, 2012. ISBN 978 1 92174 85 6.
(Ages 3-5) Recommended. Picture book. Animals. Family. Baby bilby has
just one question of his father, 'How long will you love me?'After that
each double page shows one of his responses, each beginning with the
word, 'until'. Smaller children will simply love to hear Dad's
responses to the baby's question as they turn each page, nestled warmly
in the arms of a parent or sibling. Each response underlines the
fact that love between a father and his young is forever, the days are
beyond counting, it is infinite. Each response will elicit other
comparisons form the audience as they too try to formulate the time of
a father's love.
Each line is alliterative, adding to the fun of reading it aloud, and
eliciting other words from the readers which begin with the same
letter. Each page's illustrations are wonderful, full of colour and
humour as the animal in question is shown doing the fantastical thing
stated in the text. I love the lazy lizard lying back on the rainbow,
legs crossed, arm behind his head, watching the sky above. Adele
Jaunn's illustrations are understated and will hold the readers'
attention as they seek out the small things in the landscape.
The reassurance the father's words bring to the baby will add to the
feeling of contentment the book brings to its readers, the words used
will add to the vocabulary of the younger readers, encouraging them to
add to the words used in the book, while the illustrations will amuse
and delight as well as inform. A charming book for early readers to
listen and read and talk over with their family members.
Fran Knight
Dads - A field guide by Justin Ractliffe and Cathie Glassby
Random House Australia, 2012. Hardcover, full colour illustrations. ISBN 978
1 74275 549 6.
Recommended. Picture book. Find out what kind of Dad you have with this
handy field guide, which is a celebration of the many and varied types
of Dad. There are sporty Dads, scruffy Dads, work Dads and holiday
Dads, and more besides.
Written and illustrated in a manner which gives as much to the young
audience as it does to the adult reader, this book is a quirky hit in
my book. The author, a Dad himself, got the idea for the book after
watching the different Dads at school drop off. Although the concept is
simple, the clever illustrations of Cathie Glassby add so much to the
field guide.
There is the perennial child favourite gag (a Dad in undies! UNDIES!),
as well as more subtle nods to the different sterotypes of Dad we grown
ups recognise (like nerdy Dad in his skivvy, throwing up the Star Trek
salute, or clumsy Dad, trying to put together furniture, while his
young observer looks on, Ikea manual in hand), which makes the book,
simple though it may be, relateable on so many levels.
The book includes all ethnicities of Dad, which is nice to see, as well
as Dads with and without facial hair, which is also a nice touch. All
too often, Dad is depecited as Anglo saxon, slightly balding and clean
shaven.
All in all, a book with something for everyone who has had a Dad, been
a Dad, or notices Dads out in the world.
Freya Lucas
The Mystery of Wickworth Manor by Elen Caldecott
Bloomsbury, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4088 204803.
On a school camp to Wickworth Manor students from a variety of schools
are thrown together.
Paige is a bright student with leadership qualities who arrives on a
bus load of children and Curtis is a shy reclusive student whose mother
drops him off at the manor . As their surnames end in the same letter
they are roomed on the same floor. On the first night Curtis seeking
some solitude stumbles across a small room in which an old painting is
stored. Paige follows Curtis and in continuing to explore the room
locates a mysterious letter that seems to link the painting to some
tragic event many years before. So begins an adventure that sees both
students nearly removed from the camp and also uncovers untold stories
from the past.
The manor becomes a trove of secrets and mysteries and much of the
sleuthing that Paige and Curtis do takes place under the cover of
darkness.
Tracy Glover
Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake
Orchard, 2012. ISBN 978-1-40832-072-3.
(Age: Teens) Recommended. Anna Dressed in Blood is a
brilliantly
written novel, the author, Kendare Blake, has combined spine tingling
thriller and horror, sweet romance and delicious mystery into one
excellent novel. The quote 'Get ready to sleep with the lights on
because this book has teeth, sharp ones,' made by author Stacey Kade
describes this book to the last page: it keeps you hooked and you can't
put it down.
The book bases on Theseus Cassio Lowood, (also known as Cas) a teen
ghost hunter who lives with his mum (a white witch, the nice kind) and
their black cat, Tybalt. This family travel around America looking for
ghosts, sending the harmful ones into the unknown and leaving the
harmless ones to spook their domain harmlessly. The story begins with
Cas in mid hunt, after this hunt he moves far away with his family to
Thunder Bay, residential small city to a reasonable quantity of
ghosties, but one of them Cas is really here to take, Anna Korlov, or
as the locals call her, Anna dressed in blood. The battle against Anna
begins after the Edge of the World party that the Teens hold before the
next school year. Cas has a run in with a pretty girl called Carmel,
nerdy boy Thomas and the Trojan Army, Mike, Will and Chase. They go to
Anna's old house, trying to spook Cas, not knowing that he has seen so
much more than they could ever imagine.
The way this book is written stops you from putting it down and
grabbing another, it has been beautifully written and just keeps you
reading. It is by far the best action book I have ever read.
Sarah Filkin (Student)
