Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781760857479. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
Marlowe 'Lo' Robertson is an aspiring journalist, living in country Australia, a few hours out of Sydney. She is stuck covering the town's annual show for the local paper, taking photos of the whole event. As she makes her way to meet her father, the town's police chief, she stumbles across a body - the reigning showgirl, Lily Williams, Lo's friend. Lo notices strange markings on Lily's back, but when she gets her father and they return to Lily's body, he instructs her not to reveal the information to anyone. She promises, but it doesn't sit right. Lo hides the photos she took when she found Lily, and begins her own investigation. Perhaps things aren't what they seem in Lo's peaceful sleepy home town - and Lo dives right into the mystery.
This gripping story will have you hooked early on - with relatable characters, vivid scenery, mystery and thriller combined to make a novel you can't put down. Short, punchy chapters enable the story to progress quickly, as do the twists and turns that Nicola West has woven through the novel. With a well written, strong female lead, readers will find Lo tenacious in her search for the truth. Fans of Karen M. McManus (One of Us is Lying; Two Can Keep a Secret) and Candice Fox will love this book. There are some issues through the book that are not dealt with in an entirely appropriate manner - particularly revolving around homophobic behaviour and demonising mental illness. Even factoring in that the story takes place seven years ago (the novel is a book within a book), the terms, actions and negativity revolving around some of these issues are dated and not exactly appropriate. This aside, the book has been well written and is quite an addictive book to read really.
Themes Australian Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Relationships, Trust, Power, LGBTQIA+ People.
This is a fun book for any dog lover. Ella Farmoodle is a poodle with a difference. She has her very own farm and she looks after all of the animals on her farm. She spends her day doing jobs around the farm, making sure that all of the animals have food and water. She also ensures that all of the animals are safe.
One terrible day the wind blows the gate open and the sheep are nowhere to be seen. Ella quickly leaps into action and goes looking for her precious sheep. She finally finds them and brings them back to the farm safe and sound.
At the end of the day all of the animals gather together so Ella can do her most important job of the day, protecting all of the animals from the fox. Ella and her animals are happy together on their farm.
This is a lovely story, with the illustrations beautifully supporting the narrative. It captures the hard work that is required on the farm with the friendship that Ella has with the animals.
I highly recommend this book.
Themes Dogs, Farms.
Karen Colliver
Forgotten Fairy Tales of Kindness and Courage by Marie Sebag-Montefiore
Usborne, 2021. ISBN: 9781474989657. (Age:7+)
In Children's literature: A reader's history from Aesop to Harry Potter ( 2008, Chicago, IL., USA: University of Chicago Press) Seth Lerer contends that "Ever since children have learned to read, there has been children's literature" and having children learn lessons about life through literature has been a constant thread. Didacticism has been a hallmark of children's stories from the 18th century moral tale to the modern problem novel as using realism to instruct its readers has always been its central aim. Although this has changed from trying to inculcate better, more mature behaviour to presenting a problem without suggestion of a solution, nevertheless for generations of readers education has always been placed before entertainment.
And that is the central thread of this collection of forgotten fairytales, as common in their time as those of Snow White, Cinderella and their ilk today but lost throughout the years. With their focus on the many ways we can be courageous or kind, they feature both genders as heroes and diverse cultures demonstrating that essentially, children are the same the world over. With their message of being kind to ourselves, having the courage to stand up for what we believe in, and being compassionate towards others, even though the stories themselves are over a century old, their message today is as applicable as ever.
Fairytales remain a part of the study of literature across the age groups and this collection offers some "new" stories to compare to the more well-known ones to investigate whether they have a common structure, theme or message that children in 2021 can learn as well as those in 1821. Have things changed so much?
The collection of Shockingly good stories by R.A.Spratt is shockingly good! Shockingly good is what anyone who is familiar with R.A.Spratt's Nanny Piggins series, Friday Barnes Mysteries series or Peski Kids series has come to expect. Spratt knows how to entertain. There are many gasp, hold your breath and laugh out loud moments in these stories.
In the Shockingly good stories collection, the reader is treated to the beloved but irreverent Nanny Piggins telling her version of well-known fairy tales. Spratt, through Nanny Piggins, manages to shock and turn expected conventions upside down. The children I have read these stories to have been horrified and delighted with Nanny Piggin's naughtiness, the clever vocabulary and the adventures.
Friday Barnes appears in other stories. She is a school-girl, the same age as our readers and her detective work occurs within recognisable school and local community settings populated by recognisable characters. She is plucky and intelligent. The switched-on young reader cannot help but try to pick up clues and think logically in an effort to work out "who done it" before Friday does. Good luck to that reader because with Spratt there is always a clever and unpredictable twist!
Other stories about two characters called Mum and Tammy are crazily imaginative and peppered with contemporary sassy dialogue. The stories are far-fetched. Odd things are thrown together like piranhas, grubby boys and ducks. It works.
R.A Spratt does not patronise children or insult their intelligence with simplistic language and predictable stories. She plays with idioms, turns of phrase and with concepts and ideas that encourage questioning and delighted wonder. Her vocabulary is extensive and high impact eg. when referring to ducks waddling across roads... " It's like they've got extremely specific amnesia where they totally forget that they are capable of flying thousands of kilometres with geographic precision." (p.60) Children are inspired to think, imagine and create mental pictures. They learn all sorts of facts and concepts and experience vicariously action, adventure and dilemma without realising because they are so busy laughing. Even reluctant listeners are won over.
Teachers, librarians and parents need to keep Shockingly good stories handy for those moments when engaging, short stories are called for.
Themes Fractured fairy tales, Flights of imagination, Girl detective work.
Wendy Jeffrey
The art of words by Robert Vescio and Joanna Bartel
EK Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781925820843. (Age:5+)
Whether spoken, shouted, murmured or just thought; whether written, read, screened or viewed, we are surrounded by words. Words that are big, little, shortened, extended, kind, hurtful, colourful or ugly. Words that ask questions, shout out loud or tell us to pause - our lives are dependent on our need to communicate and for that we need words.
Vescio, who has proven to be a master in saying so much with so few words, and Bartel, who has interpreted his words with the most exquisitely appropriate illustrations, have crafted a celebration of these most abstract yet concrete necessities. We celebrate a child's first words from just a couple in the first twelve months to an exponential growth by the time they start school. In fact, the NSW Department of Education has declared vocabulary to be "the greatest predictor of success in literacy" so what better tool to inspire the study and development of words than a book about them. The possibilities are endless but if you're stuck there are teachers' notes available.
"Words string together like droplets of dew on a silky web and shape the heart with happiness through stories one word at a time" and on a cold, frosty, foggy morning this book has lifted mine.
Noa loves to watch the elephants play in the water near his small village in East Africa. One day tragedy strikes and the baby is left all alone, his mother killed by poachers. When Noa and his village adopt the lonely orphan, a beautiful friendship is born. Until one stormy night when Noa may need his friend to save him too.
Who doesn't love a story about baby elephants? In this one, in association with Tusk, the African wildlife conservation charity, the plight of elephants is highlighted as, despite the efforts of government rangers and the global ban on trading ivory, their tusks make them prized targets of poachers. Foreman's sensitive text and gentle illustrations make this a compelling story to read and share and give hope that there will still be elephants for our little ones to see in the future.
Imagine being able to walk to the woods at the bottom of your garden where the leaves of the trees whisper to each other that you are there and find yourself at the bottom of a tree that has the most remarkable inhabitants like Moonface, Silky and Dame Washalot living in its branches and a revolving world of magical lands at its top, high in the clouds. That is what Joe, Beth and Frannie (PC'ed from the original Fanny) discover when they move to the countryside and discover that their new house lies next to the Enchanted Wood! And in that wood stands the Magic Faraway Tree where they have so many amazing encounters and adventures.
This collection comprising all three books in the series - The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree and The Folk of the Faraway Tree - is now, once again, on offer to parents, teachers and independent readers to share. Over my 50+ years in teaching, I've lost count of how many children I have shared this magic with. Apart from transporting the children to new worlds of imagination and wonderment, it was my go-to read-aloud when they were ready for a serial that had continuous characters and settings so they were familiar with the background, but still needed a complete story within each session.
There is a reason that Blyton's stories (over 700 books and about 2,000 short stories) have not dated and have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into other languages more often than any other children's author and remain in print more than 50 years after her death. Apart from being childhood favourites of previous generations and thus handed down through families like fairytales, her imagination gave her readers the wings to fly away from whatever circumstances they were in to a world where anything was possible, anything could happen and usually did. In series like The Magic Faraway Tree, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy, there were no everyday constraints on the characters and they could become heroes in the most mundane of circumstances, resonating with the audience in ways many authors have envied and tried to emulate since.
Visiting a new world every read, this is truly a perfect collection for this year's CBCA Book Week theme of Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds and because my own grandchildren have had this series on their bookshelves for many years, I know just which family needs this copy to start their tradition.
Barbara Braxton
Story doctors by Boori Monty Pryor. Illus. by Rita Sinclair
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526559. (Age:All) Highly recommended.
Let the stories heal is the powerful message in Boori Pryor’s latest book, Story Doctors. He trawls through millennia, the stories told and images left in cathedrals of rock, recording the journeys made by those who live in this nurtured land. Using ochre and spit, the stories are there to heal. He reminds us that the environment will help with the healing, the stories and dance facilitating this process.
In verse form, Pryor has used words which resonate with meaning. Each line will make readers stop and ponder the ramifications of the words: ideas spread out, capturing things half remembered, alluding to a range of themes and impressions gained and sometimes forgotten.
Story doctors will help people recall two hundred years of insecurity, and find the path to use the stories to heal.
Well known and loved First Nations storyteller Boori Monty Pryor, Australian Children’s Laureate in 2011–2013, offers a multi layered account of Australia’s history, aiming to teach his readers and help heal the nation. With a sense of foreboding he had predicted that Australia was going to get very sick – a result of us leaving our past unacknowledged. His impetus is to have everyone share in healing, to have everyone listen to the stories so our country becomes a place where we all belong.
For some time Boori has felt the longest continuous culture in the world would be able to use its medicine through storytelling. To this end he has written this book, a thoughtful message of healing and hope with allusions to a myriad of events and people, places and stores, all encouraging contemplation, thought and discussion. The future is in the past, and this is reiterated by Rita Sinclair with a twirling ribbon leading the way, entwining the black and white hands that recur through the pages.
Sinclair’s naive art encompasses the ideas Boori presents, speaking volumes through the illustrations alluded to in the text. So we see the cathedrals of art, the pharmacies above and below ground, the footprints of time, roots of old and the dancing in the dust with a new found sound. Her images recall thousands of years of history, the bushfires, the damage done to the environment by the recent settlers, the healing that can put things right. She includes details that eager eyes will point out: a stethoscope, a myriad of different animals, kangaroo, echidna, koala and so on, and various Indigenous tools, the dark emu in the night sky, the burnt trees, a history book with a renewed title.
The images and the text coalesce to create a picture book worthy of further study, thought and action. Story Doctors is well-timed for NAIDOC week, 4 –11 July. The theme this year: Heal Country. Downloadable activities are available from the publisher.
This new novel opens our eyes to the glorious beauty of the Tasman Peninsula, located in the southern regions of Australia, Amy Barker re-creating a world where the residents are aware of its violent past, seeking to address the issues that arose in the violence, while being determined to leave behind the ghastly memories of the killings. Twenty five years later, we learn about a 14 year old boy applying for a gun licence, and we learn about Marina, a woman who was at Port Arthur. Despite what she had witnessed, Marina is determined to acknowledge the past, while seeking to find a way to face the new world. She has returned to the Peninsula to clean up her mother’s home after her mother’s death. A meeting of shooters in the wetlands ironically coincides with a number of duck rescuers working in this area to save the local wildlife, as Marina considers her life decisions, Barker challenging us to consider how the local residents had found some level of peace, and were determined to preserve their world from further violence.
Placing the narrative in an area that has had a dramatic impact on the lives of the locals, an area that suffers deeply from the repercussions of the violence of the past, Amy Barker’s vivid narrative opens our eyes to how trauma can go on affecting lives, persuading us to see how that kind of past can be eased in the memory, so that people can begin to find a way to place peace at the heart of their lives, rather than to remain subsumed by trauma. A remarkable feature of Barker’s prose is her ability to take us into the world of contemplation, where nature is so vividly described, so beautiful, peaceful and alluring, that we, as human beings, are absolutely entranced by the natural world. One character, Ruth, states that this place settles ‘her mind, regulate(s) her heartbeat'.
This book would be suitable for adolescent and adult readers. Barker’s determination is to address the violence of the past, and its aftermath, while describing how we would recreate our world to be peaceful, to be preserved. Brilliantly composed, this narrative captivates the reader, challenging us to reflect on the way that humans sometimes choose to break away from decency and cause dreadful harm to others, yet, despite these characteristics, she assures us that many people find a way to work together to live good lives and to care for our much-endangered planet.
Themes Homecoming, Port Arthur (Tasmania),Trauma.
Elizabeth Bondar
The map trap by Cameron Macintosh and Dave Atze
Big Sky Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922265906. (Age:Age 7+) Recommended.
Max Booth returns for another adventure in the sixth book of the series Max Booth Future Sleuth, written by Cameron MacIntosh and illustrated by Dave Atze. The year is 2424, and this sci-fi novel reminds me of The Jetsons cartoon that I watched as a young child; with flying cars and hover scooters. Once again Max and his intelligent beagle-bot Oscar are off on another adventure, trying to help Jessie identify museum artefacts. The funny part is that these objects are regular everyday pieces to us today but being in the future they are very confused and intrigued to find out more. While investigating the origins and functions of another newly found museum piece, Max and Oscar adventure around Bluggsville City and beyond. They discover information to identify the piece as being a GPS navigation device. Naturally intrigued, they charge it up and follow its home tracking system to discover the original owner. While travelling through streets that are now renamed or no longer exist, Max and Oscar stumble upon a dangerous art heist. What will they do? Will Max and Oscar be able to get themselves out of a potentially dangerous situation or will they finally be caught and sent back to Skyburb 7…. the Home for Unclaimed Urchins that they horribly dread?
Map Trap is an easy to read novel, with short chapters and a well-spaced print layout. The black and white illustrations are intertwined carefully and creatively within the novel to generate great visuals to support what is happening in the narrative. This gives further opportunities for engagement and interest by the reader. This is a series that would appeal to any person who likes futuristic stories, adventure and action. The text is captivating and exciting, and the reader is easily transported to the 25th Century. The reader is continually wanting to read on to find out what will happen next.
Love Monster is going on an exciting adventure with his friends to the beach! He can't wait to be THE BEST SURFER IN THE WORLD! But as Love Monster gets closer to the extremely big waves, the less sure he is. Will he even have the courage to dip a toe in the ocean? Of course he does - after a bit of trepidation and consideration. But that first wave dumps him so does he have the courage to try again?
This is a story featuring a character who now has his own series on CBeebies, thus making him familiar to many young readers and encouraging them to read. It has a familiar theme of being afraid to try something new but having the courage to eventually have a go, perhaps inspiring those same young people to tackle something that has seemed like a mountain to them so they too, can feel the thrill and empowerment of achievement.
From the author of The Adventures of Pug series comes this new doggy series perfect for young readers. Short chapters, lots of bright, full-colour, adorable illustrations and large font (as well as a simple, yet engaging storyline) will keep independent readers turning the pages.
In this first instalment Gizmo the sausage dog has just moved from the big city to the country with his journalist human...and he isn't too impressed with what he finds: fresh air, mud, bugs and big dogs! When he meets his new next door neighbour Jilly, he is sad to learn that her puppies are about to be sold off and sent far away. Gizmo just has to help, and using his superb writing skills (and his human's typewriter and photocopier) he manages to do just that. At the end of the story the town pups decide to start up a newspaper, with Gizmo at the helm as editor. This sets up the context for the ensuing books in the series, hence the News Hounds series name. The Puppy Problem contains lots of character development for each of the pups and the inside of the cover also profiles each one, their personality traits and their role in the newspaper crew: stylish Bruno lives at the hair salon, Bob is the station master's dog and loves to travel, Lola is sports mad and Bunty has a nose for rain.
This is a charming new series, complete with dashes of humour and doggy mischief, perfect for Pug fans and animal lovers in general.
Themes Problem solving, Dogs, Friendship.
Nicole Nelson
Eyes that kiss in the corners by Joanna Ho. Illus. by Dung Ho
"Some people have eyes like sapphire lagoons with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns, sweeping their cheeks as they twirl. Not me. I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea."
This is the stunning story of a young Asian girl who notices that her eyes are a different shape from those of her friends, but they are the same shape as her Mama's, her Amah's and her little sister's, All their eyes " crinkle into crescent moons and sparkle like stars. Gold flecks dance and twirl while stories whirl in their oolong pools, carrying tales of the past and hope for the future." And her own eyes "find mountains that rise ahead and look up when others shut down". Through her lashes which "curve like the swords of warriors" she sees kingdoms in the clouds and because they are just like those of the most important women in her life, they are hers and they are beautiful.
It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul and nowhere is that made more explicit in the exquisite language and beautiful illustrations of this story of discovery, revelation and self-empowerment. While we are familiar with mapping the differences in eye colour amongst students, seldom do we ask them to look at shape; while we are familiar with examining the mechanics of how the eyes work, seldom do we consider their origins, their legacy and their vision.
This is such an original story, with such exotic, poetic language that it scarcely needs the illustrations, yet one that will resonate with so many of our students. While there are activities available, this is one that can be so easily enriched with the use of just a mirror and one that will be remembered for so much more.
Barbara Braxton
Upside-Down Friday by Lana Spasevski and Nicky Johnston
EK Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781925820850.
Hugo the monkey doesn't like Upside-Down Fridays. To be able to fit in sport, lunch time and morning tea time have been swapped on Fridays and Hugo's routine is the wrong way round. So school has become a scary place full of uncertainty and despite his mother's explanation and reassurance, Hugo is full of anxiety about what the day will bring. However, with just a small gesture of friendship and understanding from Maddie the giraffe, Hugo begins to feel braver.
Many children depend on the familiar routine of the school day to be able to manage the busy-ness, noise and movement of an environment so much bigger than their home, which is why many teachers now display each day's timetable clearly so that those dependent on routine can adapt and adjust if they have to. For those who can adapt easily to change, it is often difficult to understand the anxiety of those who can't so as well as supporting the routine-dependent by acknowledging their problem, this gentle story helps the others understand.
Using a common device of depicting Hugo as a monkey and his classmates as familiar jungle animals, the story remains one step removed from any particular child in the classroom enabling anonymity so further anxiety is not caused. It also offers the opportunity to discuss how normal and natural it is to be concerned about big changes such as going to school or hospital for everyone - we all feel anxious at times - and how to develop strategies to help ourselves and others to build confidence. How did Maddie know that giving Hugo a balloon would distract him?
Comprehensive teachers' notes linked to the early years of the Australian Curriculum are available to make the most of this delightful story and its perfect illustrations.
When Bella sets out one night on a trip into the ocean in her house, wanting to retrieve the little statue that fell overboard some years ago, she did not bargain on her house taking a stand. On its pink legs it walks into the ocean using its toes to find the statue, grandfather’s link to his wife. But her parents have always warned her to be back by morning, but on waking, find they are all stuck in the ocean, the house refusing to move.
This wonderful invention had me hooked in Bella and the wandering house (2015) where excited readers were first introduced to this amazing house, where Bella’s room is an attic built from the remains of her grandfather’s boat giving the house its extraordinary powers. Imaginations will soar reading the sequel where the family finds itself marooned far from home. A cruise ship hovers by offering help, but grandfather has been using his Twitter account and has seen the predicament they are in. He finishes building his kite and, rescuing the family, works with Bella to find a solution to their problem.
Hilarious sequences will enthral readers as they sympathise with Bella dealing with her predictable parents and laugh out loud at dad’s sayings, while loving grandfather to bits with his inventions and focus on Bella, and scoff at the thumb nail sketches of some of the passengers on the cruise.
All ends well, of course, as the parents try their own hand at steering the house/boat and Bella and her grandfather fly off in the kite, adventure on their minds.
A wonderful story with the warmth of home at its heart, Bella and her voyaging house will win over legions of readers, loving the idea of a house that can walk about and have adventures with the young girl who steers it. Who would not want a bedroom like Bella’s, made from the old boat, its prow pointing out into the sky around. Lots of nautical words will attract the attention of the reader, particularly in the expressions dad loves to use. Illustrations by Nicholas Schafer form a wonderful backdrop to the story, making the impossible seem quite possible. Teacher's notes are available.
