Dusty is young sporty tween boy living with his Mum, his sister Mary and Mum’s partner Marcus. When Marcus leaves unexpectedly, Dusty is bereft. He has lost the person he played sport and had fun with, and even more telling, the person who owned the Xbox. Dusty pesters his Mum about buying a new one and she suggests Dusty earns some pocket money to save up for it. With his mum’s help he meets Diego, a former soccer player, who offers him paid odd jobs around the house. After the relationship break up, Mum’s brother Uncle Rick stays for a weekend and introduces Dusty to surfing. Dusty takes to it straight away, and it begins to overtake his need for an Xbox.
Throughout this enjoyable and refreshing read, Dusty is dealing with his ever-changing complex emotions. Jubilant at times when good things happen, like being in the surf and kicking goals at soccer, but angry and saddened when changes occur such as both Uncle Richard and Marcus leaving. He also deals with racism and bullying but is able to rise above it with support from his friend Wal and wisdom from his uncle who also shares stories about culture and Country.
This book, written in twelve short chapters, is about a family struggling with poverty and a young boy trying to find his place. With a strong, smart, and likeable character in Dusty and an entertaining storyline set in South Australia, this book will appeal to upper middle grade readers. Teacher's notes are available.
Wildlife compendium of the world by Tania McCartney
Hardie Grant Explore, 2023. ISBN: 9781741177473. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
Author and illustrator Tania McCartney has produced another fascinating and beautifully illustrated publication. With the title Wildlife Compendium of the World, this book will take the reader on a journey across all continents and provide a snapshot of many of the wonderful habitats, biomes, ecosystems and environments that sustain the diverse wildlife that exists on Earth.
The striking cover with embossed letters set into a rich coppery-coloured circle surrounded by a variety of creatures, is followed by gorgeous end papers showcasing the star formations seen in the night sky. The contents page is clearly set out beginning with A Global Tour and ending with Animal Rights. This is followed by a concise double page glossary.
The information is divided into continents and the animals profiled range from the more familiar to those less well-known. Each animal is given its Latin name, type, diet, size, weight, conservation status, facts plus the collective noun or baby name. For example, a group of wildebeests is called a confusion and a baby ptarmigan is a cheeper. Did you know a Fire salamander is an acid squirter champ and the world’s most dangerous bird is the Southern Cassowary?
The text is easily accessible for middle primary students but will also appeal to older students and adults. The superb images are clearly labelled, and each has a curious fact highlighted beside it. This book is packed full of interesting information and will entertain young readers for hours. A very worthy addition to a home, school or public library.
Head of Zeus, 2023. ISBN: 9781804544600. (Age:16+) Recommended.
This is an amazing journey! I loved it and yet was baffled by its intensity. It is both a literary masterpiece and a tale of discovery. At heart it is a coming-of-age story set in the world of a Eurasian young girl, Sora, who has returned to live in Japan from Canada, and also an other-world story with ethereal qualities. Meshing science and investigation of time that has been disrupted by the violence of seismic activity, with the mysticism and mythology of ancient Japanese understanding, this story has a unique quality that cannot be compared to other contemporary YA literature. The cultural influence of life in Japan, lived with the repeated turmoil and uncertainty of a ‘rolling earth’ caused by the ‘Catfish’ that lives underneath their feet, are central ingredients in this charming but complex story of a teenager finding her feet when the world around her has been rocked to the core. Losing her mother and her certainty means that the shifts in time that she experiences have confusing qualities that are difficult to navigate. Where will she go, what is her future, and who is she now that her whole world has changed?
For students of Japanese and those who have more than a passing acquaintance with Japanese culture, this will be a book that resonates. For those of us that don’t, it is a wonderful entry into this non-Western culture with its own history, foods, myths, and stories. The investigation of time, memory and grief is also woven poetically through the story of the teen central character who is negotiating her understanding of loss as she faces her own decisions for her future and working out how she must connect with her father as he manages his own path of grief and the slip of time that they live in. The scientific scrutiny of time alterations is a steep contrast to the almost-magical experience for Sora. Because of this dystrophy and discomfort, this book may cause some confusion for some teen readers, but it will also inspire others because of the different ways we can experience the world, our own emotional responses to difficulty and loss, and also our view of time as an absolute. This is a book to get into the hands of mature readers aged 16+. It will stretch their understanding of the world and literary expectations in a powerful way. It is not for those who want a straightforward narrative.
Themes Japan, Time, Memories, Forgetting, Mythology, Earthquakes, Same-sex attraction.
Positioned over the road from a doggy day care centre, Lou is an important stop for all the dogs in the neighbourhood. They sniff and twirl, twist and lift, spraying their urine all over this little piece of street furniture. He is a toilet.
But he has always had the feeling deep inside himself that he is destined for better things, that he is full of greatness. In the meantime keen eyes will see another leg of the story being played out in the flat above the doggy day care centre and sure enough smoke billows from the building, and a fire appliance turns up. The fireman looks around for a place where his fire hose will fit and plugs it into Lou. He realises that the pipe underneath is a water pipe and the attached hose will spray water all over the fire, putting it out. The words for the connection of the hose are the same used for the dogs earlier in the day, and kids will laugh at the change of meaning.
A great read aloud, the story will evoke chortles of laughter from the readers and audience as Lou comes to see just how important he is. He is now a superhero, feted by all the dogs, the community and the fire officers.
A wonderful story, I loved the echoes of words and phrases, and the realisation that perhaps he is useful after all. Kids will love the little fire hydrant, and perhaps notice them in the street, but more importantly see that we all have something great to achieve.
When 12-year-old Nina is sent to live with Aunt Bee in London while her scientist parents travel to Antarctica for a year, she is determined to stay angry, withdrawn and uncommunicative. However, living with Aunt Bee on a converted barge on the River Thames turns out to be an experience which Nina could never have envisaged.
Aunt Bee is a passionate mudlarker who belongs to a group of Mud Puddlers who scour the Thames at low tide for hidden treasures. Nina is reluctantly drawn into the excitement of the search and slowly realises, with the help of Molly on the neighbouring barge, she has the ability to travel back in time when focused on an item she has found. Molly has warned Nina that she must not let go of the item and try not to engage with those she meets. Nina returns from her first three visits with relative ease although her experience at a Suffragettes march leaves her shaken.
After finding part of a World War 2 gas mask, Nina travels back to London and finds herself on a platform with children being evacuated to the country. Nina loses her gas mask in the rush and is pulled onto a train bound for an unknown destination. Here she meets the very sullen Tom who is determined to go back to his family. They both run away from their temporary homes and head back towards London. This is a long and difficult journey, but they do receive kindness and help along the way from well-meaning strangers. Nina knows it is imperative that she finds her gas mask to be able to return to the present, but the two children face terrible danger in trying to achieve this.
The Mud Puddlers is a wonderful fast-paced middle-grade read where past and present meet, where historical events are presented in an engaging and exciting story, and where a young girl learns to let go of her unhappiness. The inclusion of further information about the events covered in the story is a very welcome and thoughtful addition.
This well written and very entertaining story would make an excellent class novel.
As always, Nora Roberts, The Sunday Times bestselling author, delivers a thrilling romantic suspense novel that will keep readers glued to the page. Morgan Albright has finally begun to settle down and reach her goals of owning her own home and car after moving around the country as an Army brat. With the help of her friend Nina, she is paying off her mortgage, working two jobs to get ahead. Dating has not been important for her, but while working her bartending job, she meets Luke, an IT worker, and a tentative friendship begins. Then a catastrophe occurs and she is forced to leave town and live with her mother and grandmother, leaving her dreams behind.
Roberts always manages to give the reader a new experience with the research that is put into the backgrounds of her novels. In Identity, she explores what it is like for Morgan to have her identity stolen, her credit cards used, and loans taken out in her name. Not only is the perpetrator frightening, the information about loss of identity is chilling and will have readers checking out computers and passwords and locking passports away securely. Roberts often explores different jobs that women could do, and in Identity she describes the role of a bartender/manager, and readers are sure to find this interesting and informative.
In all of Roberts romantic suspense novels there is a clever mix of chills and romance. Gavin, a serial killer, is cold and frightening and stalks Morgan, the one who got away. Morgan begins to grow in physical strength and regain her confidence and gradually begins to believe that she could have a life with Miles, a dark and brooding but very caring hero.
When writing as Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb, the author invariably delivers a compulsive escapist read, and Identity will have readers sitting up late to finish it.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Dance! Dance! Dance! by Herve Tullet
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781797221465. (Age:3+) Recommended.
Readers are invited into this exuberant book with lines of colour trailling across the pages, invited to use their hands to follow the lines, and dance with the shapes produced.
Kids will love following the colours, using their hands to explore, following the instructions in this handsomely produced over-sized book. We are asked to tap our fingers on the buttons, follow the lines around the outside of the page, press all the big dots, leap like a baby goat around the edge of another page. Each page offers a different direction, a wash of colour, movement and humour as our fingers itch to see what is next. Younger readers will love following the lines of colour with their hands, seeing where they are going, what different paths they will be taken. Sometimes they will find a rectangle to use as a leaping frame, asked to jump, nicely, from one corner to the other, sometimes they will find a set of stepping stones and be asked to lightly step on each like a butterfly, sometimes or skip across the page softly.
Many words are given to entreat readers to be involved, to try different ways of moving, to dance with the colours on the pages.
Some words will be unfamiliar, stretching their imaginations and vocabulary. I love the inclusion of spirals and curlicues, and not just any curlicues, but those that are acrobatic and elegant.
Big and small, fast and slow, round and round, accompany the exhortations to jump, be wild, be elegant, to freeze, be slow, dropping and leaping. Lots of different moves encourage little bodies to be active and involved with colour and text.
Kids will love the build up of movement from the slow and serious to the frenetic and wild, while teachers and parents will be just as enthused joining in with the younger readers.
Sometimes called the ‘prince of pre school books’ Herve Tillet is an award wining author with a comment on Youtube (in French with subtitles) about not being bored, and small page on wikipedia. A sturdy book to read aloud with groups and be borrowed by toe tapping individuals.
Phyll is an 11-year-old girl who is in trouble for fighting at school. Through her chats with a counsellor, we soon learn that there are problems at home. Her mother is going through a bad patch of depression. Phyllis’ parents decide that a move to the seaside might help her mother’s mental health. Once they move Phyll goes to a summer school (like vacation care) and makes friends and enemies. A class trip to an old folk’s home leads to an ongoing friendship with Mr Djinn who tells great stories and claims to be a genie. Are the stories real and do wishes really come true? Due to family circumstances, she is unable to have a much yearned for dog. However, she advertises free dog walking and gets a job walking a dog called Dog! Later this gets her involved in some excitement uncovering petty crime.
Phyllis is delightfully self-aware and grows more confident as she faces various testy situations. You empathize with her as she feels responsibility for keeping her mother’s depression at bay. You are also happy for her with the romantic friendship she develops with Clark. Mr Djinn is a wonderful wise character and mentor for Phyll.
Wishes Come in Threes deals with some serious issues with great delicacy. Andy Jones balances out themes of mental health, animal cruelty, friendship and ageing in a well-paced plot with humour and hope. From the outset, while Phyll is awkwardly talking to the counsellor, you can also be amused by Phyll’s observations about the counsellor’s mild speech impediment. The counsellor can’t say th, so she calls herself Hevva (Heather) and the diary she gives Phyll to write her daily thoughts in she calls forts. The ‘forts’ are written as separate chapter headings throughout the book and give the reader a further insight into Phyll’s mature thinking. All in all, this is a wonderful, poignant read. I appreciated the way the author didn’t gloss over the realities in a way which is totally suitable for a younger audience. It reminded me of Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon.
Mama's chickens by Michelle Worthington and Nicky Johnston
EK Books, 2023. ISBN: 9781922539458. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
A mum with early signs of dementia struggles to find the right words but the backyard chickens give her a link with her children. Initially unhappy at having the chickens, she is instantly attracted when they arrive, giving them names, feeding them, encouraging them to come up to her, putting them away at night. She loves Chooky La La following her around, but things are beginning to change. She forgets where she is in the supermarket, cannot remember how to use the mobile phone, finds everyday things difficult. But she loves the chickens, making sure she puts them away at night, watching out for them, loving watching them, just like she does with her children. Sometimes she is cross for no reason and Chooky La La and her daughter forgive her, knowing that she does not mean it. Later even when she cannot speak, she loves her chickens and her family and it is this love which overcomes all adversity.
She never forgets those who love her and is aware of their love and support. This gentle story from EK Books, a publishing house that promotes ‘books with heart on issues that matter’ will inform readers about forms of dementia that afflict some families. In this story the chickens are a source of keeping alive memories for the woman and a bridge between her and her children, a common activity that they can share.
Love and support are a constant in this warm hearted story, as the family comes to recognise the restrictions the dementia has on all their lives. Patience is needed to accept the changes that are happening, and the chickens are a common thread for the family. This love and care is never forgotten.
The illustrations by Nicky Johnston are warm and endearing, showing a family slowly recognising that things will change but accepting and making changes to help mum. The pencil and watercolour illustrations are muted to allow the chickens to stand out. Children will love the detail of the hose and backyard, the chicken coop and the chickens themselves. They will appreciate the touches of a family showing support and love for their mum as the changes occur and will be reminded of the signs to watch out for, as this affects many Australians and their families.
Dorrie, the family’s name for Dorothy Wall, moved to Australia from New Zealand in 1914 to work as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator in Sydney. She arrived with her art and craft gear and her trusty sewing machine and set up house on the Harbour. But her favourite hand made koala, was stolen by a real koala after she found some of her things were in a mess from the intruder. But she opined that perhaps the koala was lonely and attempted to befriend it. It blinked a lot at her and so she named it Blinky Bill. Often moving she gathered a group of animals that she also named and wrote short stories about them all. Eventually these were published by Angus & Robertson.
The picture book gives a warm and affectionate look at Dorrie’s life as an artist: sketching, sewing and writing in New Zealand and Australia.
The charming digital illustrations will inspire all readers to look at the Blinky Bill books afresh, reading them with her life in mind. The illustrations show us a determined young woman, making use of her surroundings, working with the koala to develop her stories. That she was ultimately successful is wonderful, but as the short biography at the end of the book tells us, success was not enough to keep her solvent and well, and she died in 1942, leaving behind characters and stories that are read by successive generations of admirers.
Readers will look at the detail on each page: the range of Australian native flora and fauna, the things she made, the damage Blinky Bill caused in her home, the differences between the views of Australia and New Zealand. I loved looking closely at the small details included by McCartney, giving this story a richness, adding to its authenticity.
Wikipedia has a short biography of Wall, not to be confused with the rugby player of the same name. But the best thing kids can do is borrow a Blinky Bill book from the library and read them for themselves or share them with the class. There will be many adults volunteering to read them aloud.
Dorrie’s short life is celebrated in this book and her tenacity is worth recalling and applauding.
Themes Dorothy Wall, Blinky Bill, Australian classics.
Fran Knight
The rush by Michelle Prak
Simon & Schuster, 2023. ISBN: 9781761108204. (Age:16+) Recommended.
The tension hits in from the very beginning – a lone woman is driving in outback Australia, trying to reach home before a freak storm hits. Ahead of her on the road, she sees a body. When she pulls up to investigate, the man reaches out and grabs her arm!
Meanwhile, four young travellers, sharing a road trip from Adelaide to Darwin, start to get on each other’s nerves. Hayley and Scott have selected two random companions to help share the costs of the trip. While they joke that this is Wolf Creek country, a country where serial killers can roam, the laughs start to pall as the storm moves in, and things start to go wrong.
And then there is a group of bikies, for whom intimidating the lonely pub owner threatens to become more than just a bit of fun.
The stories interweave, told from different points of view, each chapter building pace, as the threat of violence seems about to explode. This book has it all: the wild and lonely outback, the threatening natural elements, sinister characters, and young naïve people unaware of what they are getting into. It is a Wolf Creek story, with a twist. The tension builds until the last pages – readers who enjoy mystery thrillers won’t be able to put it down.
Ten blocks to the Big Wok: A Mandarin counting book by Ying-Hwa Hu
University of Queensland Press, 2023. ISBN: 9780702266072. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
Subtitled A Mandarin counting book, this colourful walk through Chinatown in New York will encourage all readers to say the numbers out loud in both English and Mandarin, with the Chinese character and its pronunciation prominently displayed on each successive page. Mia and uncle Eddie are off to their favourite restaurant, the Big Wok to have dim sum. As they pass various shops in Chinatown, they see one panda, two lions, three turtles, four miniature trees and so on until they spy the ten red lanterns that signify the Big Wok. Each page is similarly designed with a fan on which is placed the number, the calligraphy of the number and the number in Mandarin. Each number has a sweeping illustration covering two pages, and reflecting something often seen in Chinese restaurants and in Chinatown. So Mia sees a fish tank, a stall which sells Chinese fruits, people practising Tai Chi, a cluster of beautiful fans, a shelf of fortune kittens, and finally dim sum, with an array of treats.
Dim sum is laid out in numbers one to ten encouraging the reader to practise the words they have learnt. There are ten dumplings, nine wontons, eight shumai, three spring rolls, two egg tarts and one bowl of steamed anchovies which Mia takes to the cat outside. By now the reader will have noticed the cat which appears on each page following Mia expecting a feed as well.
The illustrations are a delight, reflecting the vistas of Chinatown and the things children will see there. Detail on each page is enticing, especially the images of food which children will recall eating.
And some teachers may bring in some of the food for them to try out.
At the end of this exciting book is a list of the numbers, and a glossary of some of the things seen in the book: panda, goldfish, paper lanterns and so on, to further inform the readers, encouraging them to read the book again. A wonderful book to read aloud and encourage children to join in to learn numbers in Mandarin.
Themes Mandarin, Chinese food, Chinatown, Dim sum, Read aloud.
Fran Knight
Kirra the koala by Beverly Jatwani. Illus. by Sarah Demontererde
New Frontier, 2023. ISBN: 9781915167354. (Age:4+) Recommended.
The fifth book in the Together We Can Change The World series, Kirra the Koala is a gentle story highlighting the core virtue of Integrity. Each of the seven stories focuses on an important virtue, is centred in one of the seven continents, and encourages children to look after Planet Earth.
Ling loves her volunteer position at the Koala Sanctuary and during the summer holidays she rides her bike to help look after sick, injured or orphaned koalas. Following a bushfire, Ling and other volunteers are called in to help search an area of bush which was burnt out. Working in pairs, Sam and Ling stumble upon a distressed joey, named Kirra by Ling, who has become separated from her mother. Sam wants to take Kirra home and tries to bribe Ling with a bike to not tell anyone. Ling easily decides to make the right choice and refuses to let Sam take the joey. Kirra is taken back to the sanctuary where she is eventually reunited with her mother.
Younger readers will enjoy the connection between Ling and Kirra and appreciate her choice to do the right thing. The koala facts at the end of the book are an added bonus and would support information report writing in the lower years. Comprehensive teacher notes are available.
A sense of finding a place to belong pervades this quietly optimistic story of a young girls’ questioning of where home is. Clicking her Doc Marten’s together and asking three times ‘Where is my home?’ she searches for an answer just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. The parallel will not be lost on younger people reading this book, as the film is readily available on streaming services, and this modern version will have an instant appeal.
The disarming story sees the young girl asking questions that relate to her idea of self and where she belongs. She scrolls through the physical, hot or cold, here or there, sea and sand, but she feels like she is one piece of a jigsaw puzzle that simply does not fit. But in all her voyages she has come to see that home is not one thing or one place; home is a warm embrace, or could be a person, a sunset, a constellation of stars. Sometimes it is not the place but the getting there, the space between the departure and arrival, sometimes it is just you, breathing deeply, feeling your ribcage, your beating heart. Dorothy comes to see that home is within her, home is her feeling at one with herself, accepting herself for what she is, accepting that home is where she feels safe and at peace. The need to keep searching is over as she learns to be herself, to accept who she is.
This is a subtle and charming story of self discovery, of acceptance, of realisation, as Dorothy stops questioning and searching, settling to a new sense of self, one she now is at home with.
The soft illustrations gently guide the reader along the path taken by Dorothy in her search for where she belongs. Myo uses a variety of techniques for her other worldly drawings, and I came across a short film made by her at https://www.lonegoatgallery.com/artists/myo-yim/biography
Jordan Collins hails from Chicago and, with Afro-American and Greek-Australian heritage, found it hard to know where they fitted in when moving to Australia. They came to an understanding that home and a sense of belonging is from within.
I loved the fleeting images of the rainbow, a nod to the old Dorothy, and the wonderful environments illustrated by Myo and was captivated by the dreamy ending, with Dorothy striding out, confident and at home with herself. A wonderful model for all readers.
Author and illustrator Matt Robinson has written another fun filled fact book to complement his first three Do you LOVE books about bugs, dinosaurs and exploring. This latest release is all about oceans and begins with a vibrant double page showcasing many ocean creatures. The book does not have a contents or index page but is set out clearly with a labelled double page spread covering the following topics: Coral reefs, Sharks, Ocean giants, Shipwrecks, Mangrove & Kelp forests, The Deep, Frozen oceans, Seashore, Weird fish, Oceans and finally Protect Our Oceans!
Each page has facts galore with changes in text and spacing, as well as brightly coloured, labelled images. Two of the double pages are cleverly presented in a vertical format: the first one being the Ocean giants page, which looks at ten top oceans giants beginning with the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray measuring 7 metres and ending with the Blue Whale measuring 33 metres and the second is The Deep, highlighting depths measuring from 200 metres to 11,000 metres and the creatures that inhabit those depths. One interesting creature that lives at about 4439m is Siphonophore which is extremely long but is made up of many creatures forming a straight line. The final double page shares hopeful stories about how people are trying to protect our oceans.
Throughout the book are simple questions to engage the young reader in deeper thinking as well as speech bubbles with comments, facts and humourous conversations. This will be a popular read for primary school aged children as well as a shared read at home or school for younger children with an adult to guide them.
