Tansim Lark is a Hollower, a mortal with no magical talent. Instead of using magic to find missing treasure, she must use her intelligence and research skills to keep herself and her brother Cabell alive after their foster father disappeared with no trace. When she learns of a powerful ring relating to King Arthur she joins forces with her rival Emyrs in a desperate quest to be the first to find the treasure that could free Cabell from a deadly curse.
Bracken's narrative is fast paced and action filled as Tamsin and Emrys plunge into danger. Their journey leads them to the legendary land of Avalon and it is here that the author surprises with many twists and unexpected outcomes that will leave the reader breathless.
Tamsin is a valiant heroine who really cares for her brother. After being disappointed in past relationships, she is guarded and aloof, and reluctant to accept friendship, often appearing unlikeable and stubborn. The slow burning romance between her and Emrys will engage readers who enjoy an enemies to lovers trope and some twists here and at the conclusion of the story will ensure that the next in the series is picked up by fans.
Readers who enjoy stories with Arthurian legends may be disappointed in the lack of detail but fans of urban fantasy with strong characters are certain to enjoy Silver in the Bone.
Themes Fantasy, magic, Arthurian legends.
Pat Pledger
Selfie by Allayne L. Webster
Text Publishing, 2023. ISBN: 9781922790194. (Age:12+) Highly recommended.
Year 8 student Tully Sinclair has been picked by new girl Dene Walker to be her bestie. For Tully this is a dream come true as Dene Walker is a social media influencer with thousands of adoring followers. However, for Tully this newfound friendship and all it entails is not an easy one to navigate. Dene is not all that she appears to be and while she offers friendship to Tully she is also very manipulative.
Tully finds herself caught up in a rift with her loyal friend Kira, at loggerheads with her step mum Michelle and brother Luke, while her absent Dad is conveniently working interstate and has little time to be involved in the lives of his family. Running parallel to this is Tully’s angst and grief over her missing artist mother who walked out and left the family.
Throughout this sensitively written story, each character has an important role to play in the often-turbulent relationship developing between Tully and Dene. Tully’s family tries to protect her and encourage her look at other options. Dene exploits Tully’s adoration for her own misguided needs, but the reader will eventually come to realise that Dene is also struggling.
This is a book of complex relationships all beautifully explored by author Allayne L Webster. She shows a genuine understanding of the way social media influences the lives of young people and how so often it can have a devastating impact on relationships. The uplifting ending written for Tully and Dene provides a real sense of hope that relationships in life can be mended. A wonderful read. Teacher's notes are available from the publisher.
Themes Friendship, Social Media, School, Relationships, Bullying, Family.
Kathryn Beilby
Something Broken, Something Fixed by Kathryn England, illus Davilyn Lynch
A seemingly simple tale of two children making something reveals a tale of siblings coming together after a disagreement, making amends, repairing fences, both wanting to fix the gap between them. A broken dinosaur on the front cover could be a clue to the broken relationship, as Amy dons her tool belt over her skirt and rummages around the house to find things to build something special for her brother, Finn.
She finds a wobbly chair and takes the seat, she finds some wheels and grabs them with glee, an old picture frame is just what she needs, a pram, a shoebox in mum’s wardrobe, all are gathered together to create the thing she has in her head.
Meanwhile Finn comes looking for his sister. He has finished his puzzle in his room, and calls out for her. He cannot find her but can see where she has been, so he dons his tool belt and repairs some of the things she has left behind.
When they finally catch up in the garden shed, she presents him with her contraption, a remote controlled flying boat-car. But using the remote control however does not work, so they try to work something out together.
A subtle story of siblings coming together to do something together, the title, Something broken not only refers to the broken things around the house but also their friendship. So fixing up is at the centre of this story as Amy tries to make something special for her brother and he repairs the things she leaves behind.
Kids will love looking at the range of broken things depicted on each page, comparing them with what gets broken at home, reprising stories of how things at home became broken, making up a story of how the objects on the pages become broken. The broken dinosaur on the front cover begs for a story and will prove a start off point for many imaginative tales.
Head of Zeus, 2022. ISBN: 9781804541807. (Age:Young Adult) Recommended.
Stone begins with great emotional impact. Through the voice of Sam, we learn that his soldier father has recently died in Afghanistan as a result of an explosion. Despite the imminent funeral Sam goes to a party to escape this grim reality and meets a girl called Oona, who he is instantly infatuated by. The funeral is realistic and heart wrenching as he becomes overwhelmed and needs to escape the people at the wake. He takes the dog for a walk and in the process finds a strange stone which has supernatural powers. The stone seems to give him unnatural strength and he has frightening visions from the past, wolves and owls appear and so does his father. Sam becomes very aggressive and he is goaded into violence by an old enemy. He is also jealous of his best friend Chad because Sam believes Chad will win over Oona. Oona has extensive knowledge about the occult and teaches Sam what she knows. The story builds to a climax at Samhain/Halloween when the local young people have an outdoor celebration.
Hawkins very successfully creates a flawed and sometimes unlikable character in Sam. He is jealous and violently reactionary in his grief. At the same time these are believable traits, especially when he feels so guilty about the way he ended his last conversation with his father. However, we also know that he loves his mother and sister and feels a strong need to care for them. Luckily his sister is a foil for his impulsivity and she has great emotional intelligence. The supernatural connections to this ancient rural part of England and mythology are likely to be intriguing for many young adult readers. Yet it is the complex human relationships which drive the story. The support he gets from the psychologist, Oona and a kind older man guide him to make more positive choices. The addition of Hawkins illustrations, Tarot card art and the lists of Sam’s memories about his father, add extra layers to this insightful novel.
When a parcel arrives for Penguin, all the animals are excited. Living where they do, they are icy cold and would love the parcel to contain something to keep them warm. The parcel is a present from Gorilla so readers will have a great deal of fun guessing what might be inside. Penguin guesses it may be a cosy scarf, but the parcel is too heavy to be a soft scarf. So could it be a hot water bottle, but this too is rejected as the parcel is too cold. Several guesses later, the parcel is ripped open by all the animals to reveal something quite unexpected.
And what Penguin does with his gift will keep him very warm.
A very cute story eliciting a guessing game from the readers, Parcel for Penguin will appeal to young readers for whom learning about other animals is very new. These animals, situated in the colder regions of the world will help young readers learn about places in their environment, as well as the traits of these animals adapted to living in hostile conditions. But they will love Penguin, especially the detailed illustrations of this little creature on the endpapers.
The guessing book behoves the question about just what is an appropriate present for a penguin or its friends? Living in such a cold climate and will lead on to much discussion about the animals’ adaptations. Much more complicated ideas about weather and climate could ensue.
Life in a Hollow is the perfect introduction for Early – Primary Years students to one aspect of the Australian bush that is perhaps not frequently discussed. From the smallest of creatures, the Longhorn beetles, which are often responsible for beginning a hollow, to the largest of the creatures, the Brushtail possum, this book takes the reader of a journey of discovery to the different inhabitants of a tree hollow and how they make it their home.
The appealing rhyming text beautifully describes each of the species of bush creatures who live in the hollow.
It didn’t take long for some three-toed skin To see the hole, and with barely a blink Head for the hollow, leaving their stone. Now the shimmering skinks call this hollow a home.
Each time a new species relocates to the hollow, it is widened to suit their size and they remain there for as long as necessary. Once empty a new creature moves in. The author, David Gullan, gives important information about tree hollows in the final pages and how we can help to protect trees that provide a source of shelter for these Australian creatures. Further details are given about the animals in the story and there is an accessible glossary for young readers. The vibrant full-page illustrations in bush colours by Suzanne Houghton show great detail and will engage the audience.
The first of a new series from Larrikin House promises lots of laughs as Dad’s plans predictably go awry. The front cover provokes laughter as kids pick up the book, seeing a snake hanging from the tree, lots of eyes peering out at the family, while the girl clutches a significantly placed first aid box. Imaginations will kick into gear as holidays with the family are recalled.
The book opens with the plan of the camping holiday on the endpaper, a few hills and lakes are to be explored as Dad makes his hopes known. His kids need nature, he assumes, but his daughter would prefer glamping. Rhyming pairs of lines follow the disasters that befall Dad on their rustic holiday. From pitching the tent on a mountain of ants to disturbing a bee hive, Dad’s back to nature trip is sure to come unstuck. When he falls into the swamp and comes back up with leeches on his ears, a rat taking a bite from his chin and a crab snapping at this skin, the laughs come thick and fast at poor Dad’s expense. Others would give up, pack up the gear and head for home but not this dad. He walks into a tree and is stunned, so begins walking in circles, taking his kids with him. Just when things could not get any worse, a savage boar butts Dad on his bum. Some of his wounds are becoming infected and when the fire is lit to cook, the fox runs off with the steak. And then a snake appears. What else could go wrong? Well his many bites are now blowing up his head. Asking for the calamine lotion to cool himself down he sees the fire escape from the campfire and burn down the tent. A night spent in the car sees a black spider crawl up Dad’s leg, but after all this the children suggest they stay another night!
A very funny rhyming text is wonderfully supported with funny illustrations that remind all readers of the dangers lurking outside when someone wants to go back to nature. A laugh on every page, the images of the kids and their dog and dad coping with a mountain of calamities underlines the impact of trying something new, despite things going wrong. A discussion could be had after the laughter has died down around change and trying different things, of being adaptable, of preparing for change.
Australian author and illustrator Andrew Cranna (The Bloodhound Boys) has created this super fun graphic novel with a bit more of a text focus than other similar series such as Bad Guys or Dog Man. This presents a great way for fans of graphic novels to start engaging with longer chunks of narrative and dialogue. The black and white illustrations are character-driven and intricate, with a particular focus on facial expression.
Moon Mayhem is set 101 years in the future and Lunar Park, an amusement park, is being built on the moon, complete with crazy rollercoaster. There's a team of specially trained kids about to launch off to the moon and test out the new rides before other kids can start visiting, but they never get there. Why? Because their space shuttle is accidentally hijacked by the AstroNaughties, a bunch of misfit kids who attend the Astro Academy but have zero idea about how to navigate a shuttle in space (or what to do once they get there). Is it just a coincidence or were they lured onto the shuttle by their parents who are working on the moon? Is something else going on and can the AstroNaughties possibly save the day?
The AstroNaughties along with their octopug and robot minder are endearing, humorous characters, each with their own individual personalities and despite their moniker they are more naive than naughty. Their simple-thinking antics and commentary make for lots of fun and the fast-pace makes it a rip-through read, especially because there are no chapter breaks. Mission control back on Earth are simply useless and even the villain is funny. Most of the story is told through dialogue as well as some narration from the robot minder to give background information. This is a fun read that ends with the hint of a sequel.
Willa loves the Branagh (1993) film interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado about Nothing’; the feelings the opening scenes of the movie stir up in her become the touchstone in her job as publishing editor of romance novels, and also in her relationships with men. A romance novel is not going to make it if it doesn’t inspire that excited response for her, and neither will a relationship.
This is not so much a modern adaptation of Much Ado about Nothing, though there is a similar shared plot-line, but is more a reflection of the values and relationships within the play. Willa herself recognises the overlap of stories, and wonders if she can realistically reach the same happy outcome. But she doesn’t know who her partner is. And she is very wary because she rebels against the usual expectations of marriage and babies. She just wants the true passion, The Feeling.
Dettmann’s novel moves along at a sparkling pace and is full of witty and very funny dialogue, especially coming from Willa. She is somebody who can always make people laugh, and people love her for it. But it becomes increasingly apparent that her jokes can sometimes be a barrier to better understanding and can even turn hurtful when she reacts too quickly without reflection.
‘Without further ado’ is a humorous reworking of Shakespeare’s play – it could be a rewarding exercise to read the two works alongside each other. But even without knowing too much about the play, there is a lot of fun to be had in reading this delightful rom-com, one that explores issues of love, marriage, parenting, morals, trust and self-assertion.
Themes Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Romance, Women’s roles, Humour.
Helen Eddy
Two Dogs by Ian Falconer
HarperCollins, 2022. ISBN: 9780008399863.
Two dogs, dachshunds Dignified, slightly imperious with aquiline noses and noble profiles. Indeed, they look like Roman emperors...
Everyone loved Augie and Perry when they were puppies and played with them all the time, but as the years passed and the children went to school and the adults were at work, the dogs were left to their own devices during the day. Most days they were fine but one day they found a way to get through the screen door and outside and soon they're diving into the swimming pool, digging an enormous hole in the lawn, and causing all kinds of chaos... But then they hear the family car pull up...
Many of our young readers will have got a pet for Christmas and while that's all well and good during this long summer break, just what will those pets get up to when school goes back? This is an hilarious story that will entertain young readers but plant seeds of doubt as to what might be really happening when they are not there.
Barbara Braxton
Quickly! quickly! by T.M. Clark. Illus. by Helene Magisson
Wombat Books promotes ‘stories that connect us all’ and with this in mind, their books have an overarching positive theme of the importance of family and relationships in different parts of the world. Quickly! quickly! does just that.
Bongani’s job, as he is too young for school, is keeping the animals away from the all important crops. Monkeys love the mangoes and the crows love the seed. Bongani tells his grandmother that he will catch a crow and sit it on a scarecrow to watch over the crops, but grandma is dubious. She tells him that he will need to be clever, and quick and cunning to catch a crow, and they set out to do this, the older woman making a basket under which they place seed to catch the crow. But crows are cunning and when one is caught it feigns an injury, thus escaping the trap.
This is a warm and endearing look at life in an African village: the roles of the villagers shown as they till the soil and sow and harvest their crops, aware of the animals that will try to steal their efforts. Each person has a role to play and Bongani in keeping away the animals, tries to do more for his family. He and his grandmother work together to achieve their goals and together with the crow manage to keep away some of the pesky animals. But a twist in the tale on the last page will have readers laughing. And watch out for the play on words; scared crow and scarecrow.
Beautifully illustrated, the pages show a village and all the work done by the families. Readers are given a wonderful insight into the life in this village, and learn that children the world over have smaller tasks to do to help the family grow and prosper. The background tells us about how people live in this village, how they are dependent on each other and the work they all do. I loved the vistas of the African landscape with boab and palm trees, small mountains and the parade of animals that the villagers have to contend with.
Zimbabwe born T. M. Clark, now living in Australia, loves the wild world, including different cultures in her writing. And read more about T. M. Clark and her work here.
Themes Africa, Village life, Families, Grandparents, Crops.
Fran Knight
Mini & Milo: The teeny-tiny voice by Venita Dimos & Natashia Curtin
A story that leads readers to think about keeping themselves safe, defying the negative voice in their head which seeks to undermine and belittle. The book will find a willing audience as many children are more aware of their mental health, of needing to be positive and resilient, and this book is one which will encourage individual readers and a classroom or group to be positive.
Mini the elephant lives in a tiny house with a tiny bedroom and a tiny bed. Her best friend, Milo is practising to be a magician. Usually the voice in Mini’s head is supportive and encouraging, but now and again it goes the other way. Instead of saying ‘you can do it’ it says ‘everyone’s mean’ and ‘its not fair’.
The negative thoughts keep appearing, undermining everything she does. Try as she might, the voice is still there.
She tried various ways of getting the voice to keep quiet, all to no avail. But one day she has an idea. The teeny tiny voice in her head should follow her rules, just like Mini follows Mum’s rules. She and Milo write up a list of rules for the voice and tells it it must stick to them, reminding the voice of the rules whenever it strays. 'I’ve got this’ is the response that Mini uses whenever the voice begins its negative thoughts and together they follow the rules; kind words only, no whining, no telling me to do naughty stuff and no breaking the rules.
Children will love the ideas put forward in this humorous tale: that you can do something about the negative voice in your head, that you can be resilient and positive. The story encourages them to reject negative thoughts, to use positive and kind words only, to stop any whining and look to their friends for support.
Family dispute specialist, Venita Dimos has written a tale full of support for those living under a cloud, showing them a way to grapple that negative encumbrance and turn it into something positive.
Supported by very funny illustrations by Natashia Curtin, readers will love following Mini’s antics through the story as she tries to conquer the unkind thoughts in her head, succeeding when she plots a set of rules to guide the voice’s interruptions. I have never thought of an elephant being agile, but Curtin manages to show Mini in the most physical of activities, all of which seem most feasible. I loved following Mini through this story, seeing how she reacts to all that is imposed upon her until she takes stock and turns the voice around.
This is the third in a four-book junior fiction series developed with Football Australia (Half-time Heroes and The Kick Off are also available now) and written by broadcast journalist Kristin Darrell. There are two feature characters, Kat and Crabbie, with alternating chapters picking up the perspective of each. Their soccer team, the Under 11s Merridale Fever are off to a two-day talent camp at the National Academy of Ball Sports. Normally only one or two players from each club around Australia make the cut, but Kat and Crabbie's whole team have been invited and everyone is hoping to be selected to take part in the Game of Stars. Kat is totally excited but the girls and boys have been separated and it feels strange playing without her brother by her side. Not only that, there are some girls with bad attitudes saying that she doesn't even deserve to be there and trying to make her look bad. Crabbie is nervous and unfocussed; he is hiding a secret personal challenge - his parents have recently told him they are separating and he can't bring himself to tell anyone, not even his best friend. His problems are showing on the soccer pitch. Can they both learn from their football heroes and solve their problems both on and off the field?
Kids who love soccer will adore this, as it is heavy on detail about soccer history, their training drills, soccer skills and gameplay description. It also drops big names and even characters from the world of soccer, such as Lydia Williams and Andrew Redmayne. It cleverly uses both girl and boy main characters to keep it relevant to all and introduces a mixed playing field where everyone plays alongside each other and are of equal value. Cultural diversity is also valued, with Kat showing great pride in her Croatian heritage. The soccer heroes the children look up to are also both women and men. This is a lovely story that shows how sporting clubs and teams can be like family and provide a real sense of belonging. The players look out for one another and support each other in both word and deed.
Themes Socceroos, Matildas, Competition.
Nicole Nelson
The odd fish by Naomi Jones. Illus. by James Jones
An amusing story of a fish trying to find its school has a hidden message of pollution and the despoiling of our seas as younger readers becoming increasingly aware of the damage that plastic is having on our oceans and those that call it home.
A little fish sees what he calls an odd fish. It is nothing like he has seen before and being helpful tries to help it find its way to its own school of fish. Together they travel through the seas, through the reef and out to the ocean, along the way seeing how plastic is destroying the environment. The seahorse has a straw attached to its tail, an octopus has its legs entangled in netting, a turtle is eating a plastic bag, and the number of plastic debris increases the further out from the shore they get. Finally they spy the place the odd fish belongs, with thousands of other plastic bottles and rubbish swirling around the ocean. Readers will see the huge mess of plastic that now inhabits our oceans, reefs, and shores. All children will be able to give stories of how they have found plastic rubbish as they walk along the beach and see the point of the book they have just read.
Stunning illustrations by James Jones underlines the impact of plastic upon our wildlife in the sea. Readers will love picking out the detail he includes in his pages, the different inhabitants, the increasing amount of rubbish, nets, the odd ship and so on. Information on the last two pages underline the story of the book, giving detail which will interest them further. A list of websites encourages further investigation, and I am sure they will notice the amount of litter on the beaches they visit, helping collect it to put it in a bin.
Themes Oceans, Seas, Fish, Pollution.
Fran Knight
Song in the city by Daniel Bernstrom. Illus. by Jenin Mohammed
This exuberant story full of the noises heard in a city will impel readers to stop and listen for themselves. Emmalene and her Grandmother walk through the city, the young blind girl listening to the cacophony of sounds around her. The yip yap of the dog, tap of her mobility stick, screech of brakes, sizzles from the street food stall. She runs for the bus telling her Grandmother about the pretty ditty she can hear. Grandma is unimpressed, telling her it's not a song but a commotion of sound coming from the traffic.
But Emmalene persists. Telling Grandma Jean of the drumming, humming, clap clap clapping, toot tooting sounds that she hears. But the singing and ringing are not music to Grandma’s ears. Emmmalene sits her down and she listens. She hears the crying cat, the buzzing of the mobile phone, the shrieking of a siren. Emmalene puts her hands over Grandma’s eyes and in the dark she hears the sounds the city makes beyond the wrecking and the sirens, above the peck pecking of the birds. She hears the clapping, the rollicky romping, bopping, tippety tapping that the city makes.
Emmalene is thrilled that Grandma Jean can hear what she hears, the two experience something together, a joyous reminder of the link between generations. This is a meditative work, encouraging people to take time and listen. Just sitting and breathing deeply will cause the other senses to come into play, hearing the sounds around you with more clarity. A wonderful exercise to do in the classroom.
Readers will love taking up the rhythm of the story, intrigued by the rhymes offered, and the array of onomatopoeic words which exude fun and excitement.
The bright illustrations present a disabled child in a positive light. She teaches her Grandmother to hear the things she can hear and impels readers to take more notice of what is around them. With her mobility stick and Grandma she is about to navigate the city she knows well. More about Jenin’s work can be found hereand more about Daniel and his aim to bring joy filled books to readers, can be found here.
Themes Africa, Village life, Families, Grandparents, Crops.
