UQP, 2011. Louis Braille Audio. 2011.
Read by Robert Alexander, 6 Cd's, 7 1/2 hrs.
Tom Downs, a young man born on the banks of the River Murray as his
young mother died, knows the river is rising. It is 1956 in a sleepy
community along South Australia's section of the river, where people
not really accepted into the town live in shacks along the
riverbank, where Aboriginal people are the first to be suspected of
a crime, where Tom is tutored by the mother of his best friend
Hannah as he is unable to decipher words and reading. When Tom's
real father comes back into his life things are on a knife edge, his
parents are unsure of what Tom will do, Hannah's father is suddenly
killed on the road and Tom's Harley disappears. All these incidents
are played out against the rising river, adding to the already
taught tensions within the community.
In a story which reflects a small river town of the 1950's with
humour and compassion, readers will follow Tom's story eagerly. The
setting and characters are drawn with an honesty that is palpable,
and the tale, redolent of the times is evocative, despite a few
anachronisms.
Read by Robert Alexander, the humour is given full reign and his
deliberate voice adds a resonance to the story which suits it well.
Seven hours went along very quickly as I listened to the full story
as it played out along the banks of the Murray River in 1956. For
students wanting to hear an engrossing story, well told, they can
not go past this excellent production, which I assume to be one of
the last of the Louis Braille Audio books, a publisher that
deservedly won many awards, and will be greatly missed. I'm very
glad I now have a small collection of Louis Braille Audio books,
which compliments that of my local library. For adults and students
alike, the ease of putting a CD into the home or car system makes
stories such as this easily accessible. Treasure them.
Fran Knight
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780141340883
(Age 13 +) Highly recommended. Guaranteed to make you want to keep
reading The Power of Six is the second book in the young
adult science fiction series The Lorien Legacies. This novel
has parallel stories of two of the nine Lorien Gardes sent from
their planet at the time of its destruction. Number Seven Marina is
hiding with her adult Cepan, Adelina, in a convent in Spain. When we
meet her she is desperately trying to convince Adelina to reveal
vital information she needs to prepare herself for the mission all
nine Garde have on Earth. The other Garde, John Smith, is on the run
after the events described in the first of the series, I am
Number Four . John is accompanied by his Earth friend Sam, a
chimera (shape shifter), called Bernie Kosar, and another powerful
female Garde, known as Number Six.
The pace is hectic as the alien teenagers develop their unique and
deadly talents and are forced to use these talents to survive
against their planet's arch enemies the Mogodorians and their
terrifying creatures. Fans of Lord of the Rings and Harry
Potter will enjoy these battles against the krauls, piken and
other vicious monsters. The fast paced narrative will have you
wondering many times how the characters are going to make it out
alive from their latest perilous position. The book ending makes it
obvious there are plenty more books to come in the series.
Using a different font for each of the first person narratives means
keeping track of the two story lines is quite simple for readers. An
entertaining thriller with memorable characters, especially Bernie
Kosar . . . There is a film of the first book in the series I am
Number Four that could be used to hook readers into the
series. Highly recommended for boys who have enjoyed Robert
Muchamore, Anthony Horowitz and Charlie Higson, but both genders
will enjoy the fast action and well developed characters.
Chris Lloyd
Fictionalising history by Goldie Alexander
When I write historical fiction I try to portray significant events
as well as keep you interested. I'm careful to only use research as
background where people move about in an everyday way. Convincing
characters, plots and structure keep us reading. Show, don't tell is
important. Characters must move about as if this is their 'today'.
My latest historical novel The Youngest Cameleer is about
one of the lesser known explorations into the Australian interior,
led by William Gosse in 1873.The various members of this exploration
(both European and Afghan) did exist and my story is based on
Gosse's own journal now kept in the State Library of South
Australia. This expedition was the first non-indigenous group to
come across the major icon of Uluru. Without the use of camels and
Afghan cameleers they might not have survived those harsh desert
conditions. Though it is the first time any cameleer was praised for
helping open the interior, these facts are not well known. Nor that
an Australian aboriginal boy was an invaluable member of this party.
Some cameleers even lent their name to landmarks, such as Kamran's
Well and Alannah Hill. My intention was to bring this expedition to
life by creating a fictional character that was part of it. Thus I
came up with Ahmed Ackbar, a fourteen-year-old Afghan and my
'youngest cameleer'.
Dialogue and first person narrative help create characters, so Ahmed
tells his story in fluent Pashtu, but his English is limited. He is
the only surviving male in his immediate family. In late 1872 he
sails into the prosperous city of Adelaide to help look after four
camels. Yet he has other things on his mind. What if his uncle
Kamran isn't as innocent of his brother's death as he seems? As the
expedition treks into the Australian interior, Ahmed must cope with
Jemma Khan's enmity, his own homesickness, and the difficulties of
exploring unknown territory.
Readers might like to track Ahmed's journey on a map of Australia.
They can delve into how our first people behaved when they came
across these explorers, suggest reasons, and their appearance was
back then. They can research contemporary Uluru, both as an icon and
tourist attraction. They can ask: what route does the Ghan railway
take? What was there before the railway? What is the climate and
terrain around Alice Springs like? What happens to that land when it
rains.
If we don't have Aboriginal ancestors, we are all migrants. My
parents arrived in Australia in the first part of the twentieth
century and settled happily in Melbourne. Our great migrant waves
have occurred at various times: during the gold-rush, straight after
World War Two, and in the seventies when the 'boat people' arrived.
It's good to recall that Afghans have been responsible for opening
up our vast continent and that without their camels the task would
have been harder than it already was.
When I was young I always longed for a machine that would allow me
to become part of a story. I always wanted to befriend some of the
characters I read about. Then I could have had a fresh start with a
whole new set of people. Back then as a somewhat solitary child who
spent her life reading and imagining I was somewhere else with a
'nicer and far more sympathetic' family, I would have given anything
to be assured that my loneliness would surely pass. I hope that
maybe I can interest my readers into thinking the same way. I would
like to help them look beyond the immediate present to see life as
the continuum that it surely is. Goldie Alexander
Meet Letty by Alison Lloyd
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011, ISBN 978 0 14 330540 8
(Ages 9+) Recommended. Australian history. Letty, a young
girl in a stepfamily, is at the docks at Gravesend farewelling her
older sister, Lavinia, who has read that the new colonies have too
few women and so taken the step to migrate to the new land in search
of a better life. But there is a mix up, and Letty finds herself
sailing with her sister. Through the adventures of the two girls and
those they befriend on the ship, we see how new settlers came to
Australia, overcoming the privations aboard ships that were not
built for these voyages, and which offered cramped conditions,
disgusting food, squabbling migrants, rats and disease to those on
board.
We feel for them when they are seasick, or having to clean the
cramped squalid sleeping quarters, or sleeping 2 to a bunk, or only
having one change of clothes going from the cold of the northern
Atlantic to the sweltering heat of the tropics. When Lavinia gets
typhoid, Letty sees her new friends with clearer eyes, as she
struggles to help her sister survive, swapping some of her sister's
linen for medicine. The girls survive all sorts of things buoyed by
having found work in Sydney before they left England, but when they
arrive, this work evaporates leaving them bereft. Luckily a young
man, a sailor Letty met on the ship comes to their rescue.
The first in the quartet of stories about Letty, a young emigrant in
1841, in the series, Our Australian Girl, holds the readers'
attention as Letty nears the place that will be her home. Readers
will absorb snippets of information about Australia in the colonial
era without being aware of it, adding to their knowledge base
reading this foursome. With large clear print, and short chapters,
the story is easy to read and rattles along, adding considerably to
the reader's knowledge of Australia's past. Each of the stories has
several pages of just facts adding again to their knowledge and then
a easer for the next book in the series.
Letty and her adventures have a grim reality which is at once
engaging and informative. Letty is a most interesting young woman,
and the contrast with her sister gives the stories extra zest. The
backround is highly believable and adds a solid credible base to the
four tales.
Fran Knight
Letty and the stranger's lace by Alison Lloyd
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011, ISBN 978 0 14 330541 8.
(Ages 9+). Recommended . Australian history. A charming story of
Sydney Town in the early days unfolds as newly arrived Letty and her
sister, Lavinia try to find work in the struggling colony. Lavinia
is taken on as a seamstress by a wealthy family,but there is not
room for Letty. She remains at Mrs Chisholm's establishment doing
odd chores there. One of her tasks is to fetch the bread from the
local baker, a gruff, lonely man, and Letty finds that a strange
woman resides in his back room. Letty is warned to let her be, and
receives some strong words from the woman when she tries to be
friendly. Eventually through her beautiful lace, Letty develops a
friendship with this woman, the sister of the baker, and it is not
until she is in some distress, that young Letty realises that she is
about to have a baby. All is revealed as to who the woman is and why
she is living where she is.
I found this to be one of the better stories in this series. The
feeling of Sydney Town is evident in every word, but the information
given is not forced upon the reader, as it appears in some of the
others in the series. The story is slight but real and involving and
gives a fascinating account of what life must have been like in this
place where women were few and work scant. The image of women in the
colony too is given a fresh approach in this fine tale.
One of the quartet of stories about Letty, newly arrived in Sydney
in 1841, this group of stories fills out life at that time. Within
the series, Our Australian Girl, this particular group of stories
will certainly add to the reader's knowledge of how life was led by
a young girl in the new colony.
Fran Knight
Letty on the land by Alison Lloyd
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series). Penguin,
2011, ISBN 978 0 14 330542 8
(Ages 9+). Recommended. Australian history. Letty accompanies the
baker's sister, Mary and her new born babe back to their farm. Many
days ride in a coach sees them being picked up by Mary's
husband Clem, and her taciturn son, Harry and taken back to the farm
another few days away. Through Letty we are shown what a
squatter's farm is like in early Australia, their distance from
civilisation, reliance on convict labour, and the scurge of the
unknown seasons. Letty is mistrusted by Clem and disliked openly by
Harry, and must work hard to gain their acceptance, especially after
making several mistakes upon arrival.
One of the quartet about Letty and her new life in Australia, after
coming out on the ship with her sister, Lavinia, in the series, Our
Australian Girl, this as with the others in this foursome, has a lot
going for it. Letty and the other characters are realistically drawn
and the background is firmly part of the setting, it never seems
imposed for the sake of the telling. Students reading of Letty's
life will learn a lot about the developing colony and the pepple who
came here risking much to start afresh.
Fran Knight
Letty's Christmas by Alison Lloyd
Ill. by Lucia Masciullo. Our Australian Girl (series).
Penguin, 2011, ISBN 978 0 14 330543 8
(Ages 9+). Recommended. Australian history. Again, Letty is working
on the Grey's farm, helping Mary with the housework and farm chores
and looking after the unlikeable Harry. But when the drought
continues, Clem and Abner must take the flock to Goulburn, where,
unable to be sold as they are, sell them cheaply and boiled down for
tallow. The two return, Clem breaking the news that they have
decided to go back to Sydney where they can stay with George and
find work. Letty and Abner no longer have work on their farm. The
group makes a forlorn trek across the Blue Mountains, the wool bales
loaded up onto a bullock wagon. The difficulties of the trip are
underscored with Harry's truculence and the worry of what lies
ahead. When Harry slides down the mountain, Letty follows him,
trying to save him.
When they get to Sydney, they find things no better there. A
depression has set in, with Lavinia losing her job as well, but not
to be down long, the girls find a way to use their skills to create
employment and all ends happily as the Greys, Abner, George and the
two girls share Christmas.
The books in this quartet of books within the Our Australian
Girl series are really impressive. The feeling of living in
1841 is very real, with the background never being imposed upon the
reader, but there all the time, adding much to the readers knowledge
and understanding of what life must have been like for our
forebears.
Fran Knight
Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
Simon and Schuster, 2011. ISBN 9780857071958.
(Age 13+) A lighthearted thriller. Lila has a secret that she has
hidden from all eyes. She can move things just by looking at them.
When she manages to escape a mugging by using her power she knows
that she has leave before she is exposed. She runs back to
California, to the only people that she can trust, her brother and
his friend, Alex, whom she has been in love with forever. Jack and
Alex work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and are trying
to hunt down the men who had murdered her mother five years before.
As Lila tries to discover who killed her mother she uncovers secrets
that put her and those she loves in danger.
A quick read, I devoured this escapist book in one sitting. There
was plenty of action to keep me interested as Lila begins to unravel
the mystery surrounding the missions that Jack and Alex are going
undercover to do. It was necessary to suspend disbelief as the story
unfolded but the book was so fast paced that it was easy to do that.
Lila's big crush on Alex takes up quite a bit of the dialogue
because he has many swoon worthy characteristics: he is handsome,
strong, understanding, gorgeous, and girls will enjoy the romance as
well as the action. In fact he is so much more mature than
Lila, I was waiting for her to grow up so that he would even notice
her!
This is a book that allows the reader to relax and escape into a
world where you don't have to think too hard, just sit back and
enjoy the romance, humour and action.
Pat Pledger
Banana skin chaos by Lilli L'Arronge
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 978 1 4088 0939 6.
(Ages 5+) Recommended. Picture book. When a young boy throws
his banana skin onto the footpath in the town square, momentum
builds as one after another of passers by, people in the street and
workmen, are affected. Like the felling of a stack of dominoes
falling after the first is pushed, the pictures build up the story
with an expectation that is infectious. The readers know mayhem will
erupt and eagerly turn the page with expectation and delight.
Brimming with humour, a knockout in simplicity and subtlety, the
book will create opportunities to talk about consequences without
being obvious and sentimental.
The seemingly simple action of throwing the banana skin is shown on
the title page, introducing the reader to the initial action. Over
the page, Hubert is chided by his sister for doing this, and then
each following page outlines the series of consequences which result
from that simple action. The illustration of the consequences get
bigger and bigger on each page until it fills the whole double page
spread. Like a Where's Wally book, readers will love finding the
myriad of detail on each page, following the action which develops,
eventually affecting everyone in the town square.
A list of questions at the end may be a starting point for a class
discussion, or just a quiz amongst friends when they read the book,
but whatever it is used for, kids will have fun with this book, and
teachers may be able to use it when talking about consequences of
their behaviour.
Fran Knight
Mammon by J. B. Thomas
Random House, 2011. ISBN 978 1 74275 074 3.
Grace and Joe are brother and sister who live with their parents in
Border City. Joe is having anger problems and when he does a
dark cloud forms. Grace is able to communicate with him
telepathically. In the city is the very rich and charismatic
Mammon Jones who also happens to be a demon.
After their parents are killed Joe and Grace discover their true
heritage. Their parents were part of the sarsareh, mercenaries
who hunt demons. Joe is considered extremely important to the
Order as he can summon rifts which are used to dispose of demons.
He is known as a Ferryman. Grace is a gifted telepath and can
control people by implanting suggestions. Together they join
the Order where Grace is strongly attracted to Ivan one of the
leaders of the Order.Joe becomes increasingly alienated and
falls under the spell of Mammon who is trying to win him over to
open a rift that will allow a demon army to invade earth and take
over.
There are plots within plots, plenty of action and a blossoming
romance between Ivan and Grace.
All of this should appeal to older teenagers as the ending leads on
to a sequel.
David Rayner
Fetlocks Hall: The Curse of the Pony Vampires by Babette Cole
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN: 978-0747599333.
Suitable for ages 11+ . This book is part of a series and unless you
have read the previous book you will find it a bit tricky to
understand part of the story. Fetlocks Hall is a special
school, a magical pony school. It is also an important place
to the S.U.S. (Secret Unicorn Society). Especially
gifted equichildren go there to develop their magical pony
skills. But King Despot Dragontail, King of the Devlipeds,
hates the school and will do all he can to get it closed down or at
least stop it running in its usual way. King Despot Dragontail
has sent a letter to the organization in charge of inspecting
schools and complained how students were wasting their time, playing
with the ponies instead of doing schoolwork and that the
headmistress lied about test results. All untrue, of
course. Unicorn Princess Penny has a difficult task ahead of
her . . .& to save Fetlock Hall from closure.
King Despot has sent evil pony vampires to start his evil
plan.These creatures are just plain disgusting, leaving
horrible, foul smelling orange droppings everywhere.
Yuk! Penny enlists the help of Uncle Faustus and his
family.Will she succeed in defeating the Devlipeds' plot and
overturn the curse of the pony vampires in time to save the school?
Janet Cassidy
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Allen and Unwin, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-74237-447-5.
(Age 16+) Highly recommended. Written in alternating persons Sara
Gruen has divided up into the re-telling of Jacob's earlier life and
his golden years in this historically accurate novel. Water for
Elephants is set in the nineteen thirties and follows the
splendid story of a travelling circus as it makes its way through
the American countryside.
Cornell educated, Jacob Jankowski joins The Benzini Brothers Most
Spectacular Show on Earth as their much needed vet. Being the
menagerie man Jacob is one of the first to meet their new arrival, a
bull elephant daubed Rosie. 'She's fifty-three, and she's perfectly
brilliant,' or so says Uncle Al, the owner of the Benzini Brothers
Most Spectacular Show on Earth.
Jacob Jankowski is ninety or is it ninety three? His mind is playing
tricks on him again but there is one thing he knows. He was part of
a circus, and not just any circus. The Benzini Brothers Most
Spectacular Show on Earth!
Poetic, unique but most of all I found that Water for Elephants
was an enthralling romance novel and I could barely tear my eyes
away. I love stories that switch between different periods in time
and Water for Elephants is a perfect example of this as Sara
Gruen has blended two stories into one to create a finely wrought
text. A compelling story and I would highly recommend it for anyone
over the age of sixteen.
Kayla Gaskell, (Student, aged 15)
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. A group of beauty queens competing
for Miss Teen Dream are thrown into danger when their plane crashes
on a beautiful and deserted tropical island. With the film crew and
the pilot dead and only a handful of beauty queen contestants
surviving, they must learn how to battle the elements and survive.
As if that wasn't enough, they must also deal with jealousy, love,
and a few truly strange beauty queens.
And a group of reality TV pirates.
And also a massive conspiracy involving The Corporation, a company
that sort-of owns the world and has thousands of reality TV shows,
including one about the beauty queens. Their whole ideal is
perfection, and their motto is: Because Your Life Can Always Be
Better.
The really fantastic books are the ones that change the way you view
or think about the world, and this is definitely one of them. It's
highly original and spectacularly amusing at the same time. Some
people may find it slightly surprising because of some of the things
that are mentioned or happen in the book. These include death,
lesbian love, feminism, a few sudden sexual scenes, swearing, some
violence, conspiracy theories, and also The Corporation, a very
interesting company that insists everyone has to be perfect, and
apparently, it's impossible to be perfect without makeup, surgery, a
fake tan, hair extensions and saying anything that would be
considered 'individual'.
The writer has done a fantastic job of mimicking the way the world
is in real life, by exaggerating some of the themes that actually do
take place.
However, towards the end this book began to be a little too crazy,
what with the ridiculous conspiracy, perfect coincidences and
strangely TV/movie-like ending.
Stunningly original and very funny in parts, but definitely for over
15 because of some surprisingly adult themes, and definitely for
girls.
I highly recommend this book.
Rebecca Adams (Student)
Baby Wombat's Week by Jackie French
Ill. by Bruce Whatley. Angus and Robertson, 2011. ISBN
9780732293185.
(Age 2+) Highly recommended. Board book. The sequel to Diary of
a wombat as a board book format is another winner for the
French and Whatley duo. This time the main character is Baby Wombat,
whose mother Mothball featured in the first book. Baby Wombat leaves
a trail of destruction behind him as he plays with a ball, has a
snack from the baby's bottle and breaks the water pipe when he digs
a huge hole.
Bruce Whatley's delightful illustrations perfectly augment Jackie
French's sparse prose. The book is divided up into days, with Baby
Wombat having an adventure each day. He sleeps a lot and Whatley's
pictures of Mum and baby are so very heart warming, illustrating
love and devotion perfectly. Children will giggle out loud at the
pictures of the Baby Wombat stealing the tiny tot's ball and
drinking out of his bottle. They can easily imagine the fun it would
be to have a wombat knocking over a fence to smell the flowers in
the garden, and then causing havoc by eating them; as well as
digging a huge hole in a sandpit. And imagine the joy of showing a
baby wombat their house.
This sturdy board book is perfect for young children who will
greatly enjoy the adventures of Baby Wombat and if they haven't been
introduced to Diary of a wombat, they will certainly want
that one as well.
Pat Pledger
Freckleface Strawberry best friends forever by Julianne Moore
Ill. by LeUyen Pham. Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9781 599990 782 6.
(Ages: 6+) Picture book. Freckleface Strawberry and Windy Pants
Stanley are best friends. They hang out together, do things
together, are happy in each other's company. Neither really likes
sports or games but they love to read, go to the museum and play
together. But at school, the boys tell Stanley that he should be
playing with them and ask why he needs to be with Freckleface all
the time. Similarly Freckleface is pestered by the girls, who tell
her that she should be playing with them. So a few miserable months
go by with the two playing with those they are told to play with
until one day they get back together.
An obvious tale of friendship, the moral of the story is flagged in
the sub title, Best friends forever, and so any reader knows
before they begin to read where the story is headed. The obvious
inclusivity within the story and its illustrations too I found
bordered on overkill, with Stanley having two moms, and there being
a smattering of non white children in the background. But it will
have its uses as one of a group of books dealing with friendship and
standing up for your friends in the school year.
Fran Knight
