Walker Books, 2011.
Highly recommended for 9 to 13 year olds and anyone who loves a
wonderful story.
There are books that are so special that even after you have
finished reading them they stay with you and become a permanent part
of your thoughts. For me, The Un-forgotten Coat is one of
those books.
Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, who won my admiration earlier with
Millions, The Un-forgotten Coat is an intriguing book
for several reasons.
The cover and contents show it is not an ordinary book. It has the
look of a personal journal written on lined paper. The book contains
several photographs and I am old enough to instantly recognise that
they came from a Polaroid camera.
The story is told in the first person by Julie, who is recounting a
particular experience at school. The time two Mongolian immigrants,
Chingis and 'Negrui', joined her class in Bootle, Liverpool.
Their unusual dress and behaviour instantly captivates Julie and
they nominate her their 'Good Guide', to help them learn about
everyday life.
Chingis tells Julie about Mongolia and he has a collection of
Polaroid photos to enhance his fascinating stories. But Chingis and
Negrui worry constantly about a demon that is chasing them and some
of their bizarre behaviour is to keep them out of the demon's way.
This puzzles Julie but it is not until the end of the book that the
identity of the demon becomes clear.
Frank Cottrell Boyce explained that the idea for this story came
from a real experience he had while on an author visit to a school
in Bootle and involved a young Mongolian girl Misheel, who 'lit up
the room'. Her story and that of the fictional Chingis and Negrui is
emotional, touches your heart and can bring you to tears in the last
few pages. Yet there are times when you laugh out loud at some of
the conversations and scenarios.
I was also intrigued by the publication of this book by The Reader
Organisation and the work they do to bring people and books
together. Have a look at the website
for more information and for a link to teacher resources for the
book.
Jane Moore
Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe
Harper Teen, 2010. ISBN 9780061728518.
(15+) The only certainty that teenager, Maya Sorenson, can count on
is that life is unpredictable. The suicide of her mother has left a
haunting sense of abandonment and having a con man for a Dad adds
fuels to her feelings of insecurity. Maya is accustomed to packing
her few possessions and fleeing in the night as her Dad tries to
stay one step ahead of the law. She attempts to impose logic on her
disordered world by applying scientific principles to the challenges
she confronts but this time her father isn't quite fast enough. He
is put in prison and Maya finds herself living on the streets while
trying to trace the only relative who may be able to help.
This is a dark and confronting story that addresses a plethora of
social problems and the harsh reality of street life. Maya is
accompanied by two other vividly drawn characters on her journey.
Nicole is a victim of domestic violence and abuse within her family
and Klondike is a young boy who believes that his Tourette's
Syndrome is evidence of demon possession. Drug and alcohol
abuse, prostitution, violence and death are all issues that make up
the fabric of this novel.
In this third book by Heidi Ayarbe she challenges the reader to see
the sad and hurtful reality behind every story of
homelessness. The random goodness of some people is contrasted
with the mindless cruelty of others. It is not a sugar coated story
and while it is a compelling read it is not for the faint hearted.
Tina Cain
Tin toys by Bruce Whatley
Ill. by Ben Smith Whatley. Random House, 2011. ISBN 978 1 86471 991
8.
This story takes place on Christmas Eve in a toyshop where while the
shop keeper snoozes in his chair the 'older' toys are chatting -
the ones who didn't come with flash poster promotions and gimmicks
to promote sales. They were discussing the Space Ride, a toy that
once was the star attraction but long ago had lost the key to crank
it up to work. The toys had tried many different keys, kindly
donated by other toys but with no success. The new toys,
particularly Megabot, didn't understand the fascination with the
Space Ride however, grudgingly, he agreed to help the toys get the
only key they hadn't tried, the one that hung from a watch chain on
the shopkeeper's waistcoat.
As the mission to retrieve the key began more toys became interested
and involved in what was happening. All was going well until the
shopkeeper stirred and was alarmed by the toys being so close to him
- their mission looking like it had unsuccessful. However all was
not lost and the toys agreed 'it was the best Christmas ever'.
The end papers perfectly capture the three key elements of the
story. The illustrations are bold in colour and reflect the age of
the toys with excellent recreation of the old tin toys that use to
be a treasured possession of young children in times gone by.
The use of shadows in the illustrations helps to create the focus
and suspense of what is taking place and assist the reader,
particularly on pages with little text. This is a lovely
collaboration between a talented author and his son.
Tracy Glover
Evangeline: The Wishkeeper's Helper by Maggie Alderson
Penguin/Viking, 2011. ISBN 9780670075355.
(Age: 7 - 10 years) Recommended. As a big fan of Maggie Alderson's
writing for adults I was interested to see that she had ventured
into the world of children's books. I was not disappointed as she
has written a story that is an ideal read aloud for girls in the
first years of school.
Evangeline is a toy elephant that has been abandoned by her owner
and lies under a bed wishing that something will happen so she can
be useful again. Then she is transported 'Upstairs' a magical world
where children's dreams are granted. During her induction she meets
the Easter Bunny, Santa and the Tooth Fairy and learns a lot about
friendship. There are eleven chapters and the illustrations by
Claire Fletcher are delightful.
The themes of friendship, hope, and making choices are sensitively
explored and Evangeline is an engaging character. Recommended for
girls who need to move beyond the formulaic writing of the many
fairy series available.
Chris Lloyd
Stego-Snottysaurus by Kyle Mewburn
Ill. Donovan Bixley. Dinosaur Rescue Series. Scholastic, 2011. ISBN:
9781775430209.
Arg is back - the smart cave boy living in Neanderthal times.
His task this time is to save the dinosaurs from people flu.
When dad is sick with the flu, Arg sets out to help find a
cure. Along the way he stumbles into an angry cave bear and
his friend Skeet. Skeet is a T-Rex with an equally intelligent
brain. T-Rex is also sick and asks his friend Arg for
help. They go in search of a group of Stegosaurs who have a
cold, but not a bad strain to see what it is about them that makes
them better. With the answer at hand, a misplaced sneeze sees
Arg become the hero again.
Being the second book in the series, it is nice to have small
snippets of information given to tie it into the first book, this
allows readers to begin at any stage of the series, and still have a
sense of character and plot so far.
Full of gross snotty and stinky situations, this book is likely to
appeal to reluctant boy readers and those who love toilet and bodily
function humour.
Zana Thiele
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy
HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN: 978 0 00 732604 4.
In this book, the sixth adventure of Skulduggery and Valkyrie, the
heroes' quest to overcome evil and defeat the Necromancers
continues. A new candidate has arisen for the title of Death
Bringer, freeing Valkyrie from this responsibility. Melancholia St
Clair has been chosen to fulfill this role instead. Vandameer Craven
has begun to experiment on her with the aim of creating his own
Death Bringer. The scars and symbols which he has carved all over
her body in the preceding months are designed to assist her during
The Surge, as her powers are developed. Unfortunately, Valkyrie and
Skulduggery cannot escape being dangerously involved, as several new
secrets, with serious consequences, are revealed. A significant
event is the meeting with the Jitter Girls, leading to the emergence
of Darquesse, the part of Valkyrie which seems to emerge as a
defence mechanism when she is being threatened.
Landy has created a fascinating bunch of characters, many of whom
have two sides, with good and evil existing as distinctive parts
within them. These facets do battle with one another as situations
arise and demand resolution. Throughout the series, the characters
grow, change and develop. The suave and confident nature of
Skulduggery Pleasant seems to be adopted by his charge, Stephanie,
as she changes into the more mature and independent Valkyrie. She
takes her responsibilities seriously and learns to predict the
consequences of events and actions as she battles to save the world.
Despite the dark characters and plot, Landy injects many humorous
comments into this series to lighten events. Comparisons between the
characters from Twilight and those in Landy's own books would appeal
to the readers who would never be caught reading such titles! With
the double spaced print, this is an accessible title for more mature
readers from upper primary through to those in secondary school.
Jo Schenkel
Miiku and Tinta: A story from Umpila Country by Liz Thompson
Pearson Education, 2011. ISBN 9781442546936.
Miiku and Tinta comes from the Sharing Our Stories series of 14
books on indigenous culture. Each book shares a traditional story
from a different indigenous community. These stories describe in
detail the different traditions, cultural practices and creation
beliefs of each community.
Miiku and Tinta is a creation story shared by the Umpila community
in Lockhart River, located north of Cairns in Queensland. Along with
the story, the book includes information about the Lockhart River
community, information about the story from two storytellers as well
as perspectives and information shared by children and elders in the
community. Photographs of the contributors help the reader to
connect more readily with the people and the culture from which the
story of Miiku and Tinta originates. The story itself is illustrated
with pictures drawn by children from the community which really
helps to bring the story into a context that students in my year 5
class could relate to. At the bottom of most of the pages is a
glossary which helps with understanding as you read.
As a Read aloud, this book provides the opportunity for rich
discussion about the traditions, beliefs and customs from
Umpila Country. At the back of the book, the inclusion of the story
written in Umpila language adds a worthwhile point of interest. I
would recommend this book as a good tool for teaching research
skills incorporating visual literacies as part of units centred on
indigenous culture.
Matt Eldridge
Vampire Academy: a graphic novel text by Richelle Mead
Adapted by Leigh Dragoon. Ill. by Emma Vieceli. Penguin, 2011.
(Senior students) This is a graphic adaptation of the first of six
books in the popular young adult Vampire Academy series
introducing Lissa, the blonde Moroi vampire princess with special
powers and Rose, her Dhampir best friend and guardian. The story
opens with the two runaways from the academy for young vampires
being captured and returned to school where most of the action is
centred. Evil forces there are trying to capture Lissa to use her
special powers and turn her into one of the Strigoi, vampires that
never die. Not being familiar with the original series I had some
difficulty following some parts of the story and recognising some of
the characters, but it is clear that friendship, loyalty, intimacy
and sexual tension are at its heart. I was surprised by the language
in the episode where some boys claim to have had sex with Rose who
they describe as a 'blood whore' and by the graphic almost-sex scene
between Rose and Dimitri. This manga style graphic adaptation,
featuring many close-ups, suits the moody characters and the story
moves along at a good pace while text, mainly direct speech, is kept
to a minimum.
'As an introduction to the series, or an extra dimension for those
already addicted, this is bound to be a popular choice but the
content, (including Lissa's self-harming) puts this book firmly in
the older reader category.
Sue Speck
Rose on wheels by Sherryl Clark
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330537 1
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. Rose is still in a quandary.
Her mother insists that she be tutored at home. While Rose would
love to go to school to learn about the wider world, her mother is
certain that the art of needlework, good manners and deportment are
all that a young girl needs, but daily, Rose has the example of her
Aunt Alice, a modern young woman, voicing her rights as a woman in
the year of the Federation of Australia, wanting change and the
right to vote. Now at school, she is learning just how far behind
she is compared to the other girls in her class, and if it wasn't
for her new friend, Abigail and her aunt, she would have fallen even
further behind. The subjects are all new and exciting, the freedom
exquisite, and she also wants to play cricket.
The second in the quartet of stories making up those about Rose, in
the series, Our Australian Girl, sees Rose, a young girl at the time
of Federation in 1901, striving to be heard. It is the old against
the new, as she learns lots about the nation when going with her
aunt to her place of work, a poor school nearby as well as the Votes
for Women campaign meetings in the city.
The young girl is well drawn and will garner fans as they read of
her challenges in this time of change.
Fran Knight
Rose's challenge by Sherryl Clark
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330538 1
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. In this the third book in the
four about Rose, a Federation girl in the midst of the celebrations
for the new Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, Rose is practicing
her skills learnt at school, particularly writing with a pen and ink
(not, I might add a later twentieth century fountain pen featured on
the cover). Rose has excelled herself at her beloved cricket. Able
to bowl out many of the more experienced players at school, she is
picked for the school team to play another girl's school later in
the term. But her mother is seriously ill, showing the prevalence of
disease at this time, and she cannot tell her. At the same
time, women are expecting that the new parliament will grant votes
for women as one of its first bills, and so tensions mount as Aunt
Alice and the campaigners get into full swing with debates about
voting. Clark cleverly shows both sides of the argument put forward
at the time and Rose and her father and Aunt Alice are involved in a
riot at one of the debates.
One of the stories about the engaging Rose in the series, Our
Australian Girl, like the others in this informative series, gives
the reader a neat overview of the times and the issues prevalent at
the moment our nation became one.
A great introduction to the history of the period, these will give
an informative background to the work being done in the classroom to
satisfy the new History curriculum.
Fran Knight
Rose in bloom by Sherryl Clark
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series).
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330539 1.
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. In this the last in the quartet
of books concerning Rose, a young girl struggling to be free of the
restrictions on young women of her age at the time of Federation
in 1901, she has secured a place in the school cricket team. But she
cannot tell her parents, and so hides the invitation that the school
sends out to the parents of the girls in the team, to watch their
team's efforts against another girl's school. Rose, unused to the
longer skirt her mother makes her wear, tumbles down the stairs
injuring her ankle only weeks before the big match. A likeable
character, Rose will have the sympathy of the readership behind her
as they too struggle with her dilemma. Readers will understand from
these short, easy to read series just how different the lives of
girls were at the turn of the twentieth century, and marvel at just
how our society has progressed since then.
The Rose series of books within the series, Our Australian Girl,
will like the others attract a wide and loyal readership as the mid
primary people read of girls their age in various dates in our past.
All books are supported by a website that
the readers will love to explore.
Fran Knight
Meet Rose by Sherryl Clark
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011. ISBN 978 0 14 330536 1.
(Ages: 9+) Australian history. Rose, a young girl who lives
well in Melbourne at the turn of the twentieth century, longs to go
to school. She has been tutored at home by a succession of
governesses in needlecraft, etiquette and manners. And she would
love to play cricket, having practised a little with her brother
when mother was not at home. When her aunt Alice comes to stay, she
has some very forward thinking ideas about how a young woman should
live, espousing the ideas of the Suffragists, and votes for woman
campaign. Rose's mother is appalled. She baulks at the idea
that Rose be tutored by Alice, preferring instead a horrendous
governess who wields a whip. Rose seizes the opportunity when mother
is in town, to don her brother's clothes, and ride into Bourke
Street to talk to her father. While her excursion does not play out
exactly as she had hoped, her father supports her aim, skillfully
allowing his wife to think it her idea that Rose be enrolled at the
local Girls' School.
The first in the quartet of books about Rose, living in Melbourne in
1900, the story reveals much about the clash between the old and the
new that was apparent at the time. Many women were demanding change,
South Australia had already granted votes for women, and other
states pushed for change in line with Federation.
The set is part of the series, Our Australian Girl, putting young
women in various dates in our history, so showing through the eyes
of these young girls what life was like in Australia at the time.
And all in time for the new Australian Curriculum with its emphasis
on Australian History, these will be well used in primary schools.
Fran Knight
Popular by Gareth Russell
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780141334530.
(Age 14+) I think the book Popular by Gareth Russell was a great
book. The main characters in the book are Meredith Harper, Imogen
Dawson, Cameron Matthews, Kerry Davison and there was another girl,
Catherine O'Rourke but she wasn't in the story as much as the
others. The story I think is focusing on bullying, peer pressure and
many other things! The book is mainly about Meredith, Imogen,
Cameron and Kerry being the most popular and most gorgeous people in
the school. They go around being mean and cold towards pretty much
everybody, even poor Catherine who is in their group. Only the
'A-listers' are worth talking to, but even the most popular people
in the school have problems and secrets. The age group for this book
I think would be 14+.
Stacey Lamps (Student)
From Kinglake to Kabul edited by Neil Grant and David Williams
Allen and Unwin, 2011. ISBN 9781742375304.
(Age: 12+) Neil Grant was a writer in residence at a small secondary
school when devastating bushfires swept through Kinglake and many
towns in regional Victoria. In the aftermath of the Black Saturday
tragedy contact was established with the International School of
Kabul and students were invited to share their stories. Suffering is
universal and Grant compiles the experiences of students connected
by the tragedy of war and bushfires.
The book is an interactive experience. Students from Kinglake and
Kabul respond to the experiences of each other. Loss,
grief, fear and insecurity are themes explored by the children who
contribute their personal stories. There is a juxtaposition. The
children of Kinglake have endured a one off unanticipated horrifying
trauma. There has been loss of life and property but there is a
great sense of community support. By contrast, the students in
Kabul have endured long term warfare and chaos. Trust and friendship
are variable.
Containing many short stories, this book is ideal for classroom
discussion. It does not need to be read sequentially. This book has
relevance from many perspectives including historical, social, moral
and personal.
Grant's voice is interspersed between the stories of students and
sometimes it is hard to distinguish where one voice ends and his
begins. A little more editing may have been in order. Despite
this, the book is a wonderful stimulus for class discussion of these
contemporary issues.
Tina Cain
A bus called Heaven by Bob Graham
Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 1 4063 3419 7
(Ages 5+) Highly recommended. Picture book. Finding a bus called
Heaven left in their street is the impetus for many of the
neighbourhood to come together to make it into a community centre.
People who have rarely spoken, club together to clean it out and add
carpets, games and furniture for all to use. Boys found using spray
cans on the bus at night are invited back the next day to paint the
bus. One family shows their slides while others set up market stalls
in the busy street nearby. All is cooperative and neighbourly until
one day a council worker comes long with his tow truck and takes the
bus away to a place where it will be recycled.
The community is distraught, but one young girl, Stella, points out
the baby birds about to hatch in a nest in the engine, and
challenges the council worker to a game of table football.
With another story of people taking matters into their own hands,
Bob Graham masterly lets us think this is a simple story, but it is
much more. There are overlays of city life, of the mix of cultures
in cities, living side by side. There are hints of loneliness and
isolation, of communities coming together, of people taking action
where they see a wrong, of idealism and hope for the future. Bob
Graham's books make me smile, sometimes even laugh out loud, but
always make me hold a thought about the future of our world being
safe in the hands of children.
And of course, his recognisable illustrations give a marvellous
recreation of a city with its telegraph lines and endless traffic,
with isolated pockets of people living in small houses sandwiched
between factories and office towers. The strong colours of the
people and the bus stand out against the grey blue wash of the
buildings that surround their lives.
Never didactic or preachy, Bob Graham's stories revolve around the
ordinary, the everyday. The people who inhabit his stories are
instantly recognised by the reader as most like themselves, going
about their lives as best they can.
Fran Knight
