This is a mixed-up collection of weird, zany, funny stories by the amazing Terry Pratchett. Terry died in 2015 but these stories were published in newspapers, Bucks Free Press and Western Daily Press when he was a young 17-year-old. This is the last publication of his work, with some of his earliest stories. The book is thoughtfully dedicated to 17-year-old Terry himself.
There are 17 different short stories and they cover such crazy topics as “The Time-Travelling Caveman”, the title of this collection to “Lemonade on the Moon” about a group of children who have invented a machine to travel in space and must return to the moon to retrieve a discarded lemonade bottle before the first astronaut is to step onto the moon’s surface and discover its existence. As the reader, you can never really predict where any of the stories are going to take you and the wonderful illustrations by Mark Beech just add to the craziness. They do reflect their time and place with several references to Great Britain, but this does not detract from the stories in anyway. I particularly enjoyed “The Mark One Computer” story where an out-of-date computer finds a happy ending. A lot of the stories end abruptly and some are very short but they would make a great quick read aloud when you have 5 or 10 minutes to spare.
The appealing dust jacket, with the time travelling caveman cheerfully spinning in time, covers another wonderful vivid illustration of “Mr Trapcheese and his Ark”. Mark Beech’s illustrations remind me of Quentin Blake, for they have a similar quirky, energetic feel about them.
This book would be a great read for students aged 7 to 11 years old. A book trailer can be found here.
Positively Izzy by Terri Libensonis a hybrid book - a combination of graphic novel and illustrated diary.
The story follows two middle school aged girls (Brianna - the brain and Izzy - the dreamer) who are both navigating complex family dynamics, shifting friendship groups, boys, school and other concerns of tween/teenage life.Their lives converge on one day.
Each girl narrates their story in alternating chapters so it would be possible to read each continuous story by skipping alternate chapters. Brinna's story is comic book style; Izzy's is diary style text accompanied by illustrations and occasional speech bubbles. The pictures are delightful and convey humour and warmth.
Positively Izzy is the second book in the world of Emmie and Friends but both books can stand alone. Libenson has managed to capture the concerns and angst of young people in an engaging, humorous manner. The story is light but larger social themes stand behind it in an almost sub liminal way - sometimes as background illustrations eg. a poster on a wall, dress or skin colour detail. Izzy and Brianna are white girls but they are surrounded by a multi-racial cast of characters.The dominant theme is of searching, finding and accepting one's own identity and of the understanding that all people are multi faceted and can't be pigeon-holed.
Positively Izzie is sure to be enjoyed by young people especially those who have already discovered Raina Telgemeier, Jennifer Holm and Victoria Jamieson.
Themes Identity, Labels, Middle School issues, Shifting friendship groups, Family dynamics.
“My name is Emmie Douglas I’m thirteen and in seventh grade” p. 6. Emmie describes herself as 'pretty quiet'. While she claims to be just invisible, not like outcast characters in other books who are bullied, she is subject to occasional bullying at school which makes her anxious. Emmie is good at drawing and finds it helps her to relax, her cartoon self is small, in shades of pastel, documenting embarrassing moments in her life. Emmie’s best friend is Brianna, an outgoing ‘gifted’ student, good at making friends. Then we meet Katie, big, colourful illustrations reflect her personality, “How my friends describe me: smiley, friendly, athletic (I’d go on but I’d start blushing)” p. 14. Everything about Katie is larger than life, she is everything Emmie is not, school is her element and she sails through each day that to Emmie seems like an eternity. Alternating colourful Katie and pastel Emmie panels emphasise the girls’ differing perspectives. Brianna and Emmie have long had crushes on friends Anthony Randell and Tyler Ross and one day “Brianna suggests we write really gushy, sappy love notes to our crushes. Not that we would give the notes to them or anything.” p. 78. But when one of the notes goes astray Emmie feels she has become the laughing stock of the school and in danger of losing her best friend. Help comes from an unexpected quarter and things work out in the end.
I was put off at the prologue about weird kids and found the inclusion of the fat kid and the smelly kid unpleasant and unnecessary but on the whole the observations of daily life of an introverted middle schooler hit the spot and the story was funny and engaging. The mix of graphics and text make it an easy read. It captures the courage needed to face stressful social situations and the rewards for doing so.
The Wanderer illustrated by Peter Van Den Ende is a wordless picture book with dramatic and complex black and white illustrations. In this incredibly detailed visual narrative the story begins with the simple construction of a paper boat by two characters who will appear and reappear along the way. The fragile boat takes a path around the world and travels into places and lands not always familiar to the reader. The reader is offered the chance to let one’s imagination run wild and bask in the joy of creating one’s own story to fit the page. There is danger throughout the journey but the paper boat manages to gently meander along its path.
Van Den Ende has been able to capture the essence of worldly environments and at times alludes to the damage done by humankind. Some of the images appear Escher-like in their construction especially the white birds against a black background. The front end papers show the little paper construction against a tall fortress-like ship. The back endpapers clearly map the journey of the paper boat and the sights and perils encountered along the way.
It is simply quite stunning in its presentation and is a book that readers of all ages will pore over time and time again.
Cat Kid Comic Club is the new and latest creation of master graphic novel series writer and illustrator Dav Pilkey. Even in the hands of a graphic novel sceptic it is obvious that consummate skill and command of the genre stands behind this book and every book that Pilkey writes.
Cat Kid is a spin off from the ever popular Dogman series that every librarian, parent and teacher knows about. Dog man follows Captain Underpants and who doesn't know of Captain Underpants?
These books are beloved by many children and reluctant readers have learned to love reading with these heavily illustrated series.There is no reason to think that Cat Kid will be any less popular than its predecessors.
There is a good plot, there is good art and there is good action. And there is discussion and inclusion of values like integrity and virtue, of concern for audience, of coping with failure, embracing it and moving on. This book could act as a basis for teaching comic making in school and/or even setting up a Comic Club. A variety of styles, topics and approaches are presented. Even Haiku is presented in a beautifully integrated way. Notes and fun facts at the back explain and make suggestions about how some of the comic creations in Cat Kid Comic Club were made.
Cat Kid Comic Club encourages and supports students and teachers to think about creating their own graphic novels. Cat Kid Comic Club is light and humorous but there is considerable depth. It is a book that can be simply enjoyed on one level or one that might inspire future graphic novelists or at least provide ideas for alternative student presentation responses across the curriculum.
Inspirational, international and sure to be bestselling.
Themes Comic book instruction, Resilience, Integrity.
Wendy Jeffrey
Roald Dahl, how to avoid witches by Roald Dahl. Illus. by Quentin Blake
Penguin, 2020. ISBN: 9780241461792. (Age:Primary school age) Highly recommended.
Roald Dahl, How to Avoid Witches is a perfect companion guide book to be read/presented alongside Roald Dahl's The Witches. What a lot of fun for the parent, teacher or librarian to capture student imagination with the host of possible spin off activities this book presents.
The original book, The Witches was first published in 1983. In Roald Dahl, How to Avoid Witches, Quentin Blake's illustrations appear again but this book is written by Kay Woodward, published in 2020 and the copyright is held by The Roald Dahl Story Company Ltd. This book is a guide, speaking directly and instructively to children, about how to save their lives if they ever meet a witch!
It is such a FUN book. It's funny - HIGHLY engaging! Font, illustrations, diagrams and typesetting is varied throughout. There are multiple activities including choice quizzes, motto-making guides, "witchograms", bad witch jokes, word searches, witch world flight paths, witchy recipes, fact files, mazes, ratings, flip book guides and much more.
Extracts from The Witches and Boy are included in just such a way that children may well be enticed to go and find the original stories and read more. Bonus material including links to apps and audiobooks read by some..." very FAMOUS voices" are included at the end with the reminder that Roald Dahl Day is every year on the 13th September.
Teachers, Librarians, if you want to mystify the children - keep them guessing - this book is an instruction book that will tell you how. A must for the school library if librarians are able to part with it to share with teachers and children.
Themes Witches, childhood initiative and resilience.
Friday Barnes’ life is complicated. After a wrongful arrest and time in the juvenile correction facility she is convinced that she will never again be involved in solving mysteries. But it does not take long before she finds herself in Italy solving Art and historical heists from right under the noses of police. With her friend Melanie and her ex-boyfriend Ian she puts her great powers of observation and her logic to work to solve the mystery. Friday Barnes is no longer a child and romance is also a mystery to be solved.
Lovers of this series have grown up with Friday and will enjoy her growing maturity and the refinement of her skills and intelligence.
The notorious pamphlet, Arcadian Adelaide, published in 1905, made scathing remarks about the ‘Village’ of Adelaide, the place, the people, the manners and customs. Author Thistle Anderson, a nom-de-plume for Scottish born, world traveller, Mrs Herbert Fisher, declared her motive to be that ‘Adelaide has crushed my youthful ambitions and possibly narrowed my ideas.’ She found the City of Churches to be less holy, a place of drinkers, prostitutes and opium dens; the society shallow, the men boring and the women stupid. It was a place of terrible wine and food, with cruelty to animals evidenced in the suffering of the horses pulling the city trams. The few redeeming features did not belie that the best thing about the Village was leaving it.
A reason for reprinting it? Derek Whitelock (1985) says he found ‘its wit and polemics a bracing and informative diversion from the masses of self-congratulatory civic and state publications.’ Certainly the original pamphlet upset many Adelaideans, the controversy ensuring high sales. With Adelaide now long known as both a City of Churches and a City of Corpses, perhaps modern day residents are more impervious to its barbs, confident now in the quality of Adelaide food and wine, its arts scene, and universities. Why, Adelaide can now proudly boast it ranks as Australia’s most liveable city in the 2020 Ipsos survey, and is listed in the top ten most liveable cities in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2019 Global Liveability Index . . . though still behind Melbourne and Sydney.
This new publication by Wakefield Press provides another perspective to the historical image of South Australia as the progressive state unblemished by convict origins. Thistle’s witticisms are a delight to read, and the pen drawings and old photographs add to the enjoyment.
Themes Adelaide, History, Social life and customs.
This non-fiction book is full of (mostly) positive stories and starts out with an introduction by Lady Gaga. Each story is from someone new, with different themes in each story. They include anything from heartbreak to poverty, harassment to art or self discovery to love. And each story has a form of kindness – such as inclusivity, protection or self kindness. The individual story tellers have either experienced great kindness that inspired them, or saw a need and filled it with their own kindness. There are some truly sad and rough stories in the book, but the overall message is of hope and kindness.
While the stories are universal in their message of hope and kindness, it’s worth noting that the book is American and the listed suggestions for helpful groups are American groups. That’s not to say there aren’t Australian equivalents, or even that readers in Australia might see a need for a particular group in their own hometown, and be challenged to create one. There are calls to action throughout the book and comments on each story by Lady Gaga. While reading this book, you’ll laugh, cry, be inspired and challenged.
The reader needs to be familiar with Pullmans’ fantasy series, The Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, in order to read Serpentine. This is set in a short period of time when Lyra is working in the Northern Lands. Prior to this story, in The Amber Spyglass, Lyra was on the shores of the World of the Dead and she had to separate from her Daemon, Pantalaimon. This was highly traumatic and since then they have mistrusted each other and been unhappy. During her time up north Lyra goes to get advice from Dr Lanselius who is Consul to the Witches. She wants to know how the witches and their daemons cope with separation. This leads to a better relationship between Lyra and Pantalaimon, but not directly as a result of Lanselius’ advice.
This is a handsome novella and Duxbury’s lino cuts add to the feel and design of the book beautifully. There is a lot of conversation which engages your attention. However, you really need to be familiar with the characters and events for the story to make sense. If you are a fan of Pullman’s series then Serpentine is a short read and effectively transports you back to his wonderful, deeply intelligent and creative series.
Themes Fantasy, Relationships, Trust.
Jo Marshall
Derek Dool supercool : Run for your life by Adrian Beck. Illus. by Scott Edgar
Derek Dool supercool : Run for your life is the third book in a series starring Derek Dilbert Dool, a highly likeable rascal.
Derek's wish is to be supercool and famous. He thinks there is an opportunity to achieve this by winning a school cross country event. The lead up to the event is action packed with much mischief, plenty of hilarious, laugh-out-loud mishaps and mayhem.
The third person narrative is active, buoyant and observant. The narrative is laced with cool vocabulary, popular lingo, idioms and jokes. The situations that Derek finds himself in are often awkward and embarrassing, difficult at times and mostly always hilarious. Descriptions of situations prior to the race like the parent interview, the conversation with his father in the shower and the performance in the town centre are hilarious. There is much toilet humour; many fart/diarrhea instances. "Dad-jokes" abound and are integrated well within the plot.
Derek Dool supercool : Run for your life is highly illustrated in the vein of Diary of a wimpy kid. The font is similar and typesetting is varied with pictures and text arranged to produce exciting page layouts."Bonus chapters" are included. This might be quite a surprise to the reluctant reader! This book (and series) is perfect for both the confident and the reluctant reader. It is naughty and rude - just what kids love.
Despite the loss of storyline coherence during the race, this book (and series) will be an enjoyable addition to any humorous, highly illustrated collection. It is certain to be greeted with hilarity by students - especially primary years boys. It is ideal for read aloud in the classroom especially if children are in need of some lighthearted fun. It is very important to bring back fun into children's lives and particularly important that it is done through the medium of books. Books like Derek Dool supercool : Run for your life will help entice another generation of children back to reading for sheer enjoyment.
The rock starts with a rant; it is meant to shock, shake people up. It demands that people open their eyes, open their minds, to recognise the dark heart of Australia, its harsh history, and the ongoing schism between the privileged whites and the First Nations custodians of this Country. Smith’s book is a memoir of his six years as editor of the ‘Torres News’ whose primary readership were Torres Strait Islanders, a people he became determined to know better, as mates, as community.
The Rock is the familiar name for Thursday Island drawing connections with Alcatraz prison, and the Earth as the third rock from the sun. The Torres Strait Islands are a focal point for so many of the widespread struggles between Indigenous people and oppressive bureaucracy, issues of identity and culture, native title, stolen wages, climate change, Closing the Gap, and racism. It was Australia’s failure to address these issues that led to poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal returning her MBE, highlighting the ongoing suffering of her people.
Smith is blunt, in your face, but the issues he exposes are important and should have more exposure in our media. How could a Sydney airport, in a ‘sky-high moment’ be named after an aviation icon, Nancy Bird Walton, yet her family be denied Australian citizenship? How could Aboriginal Australians be told they were ‘aliens’ under Dutton’s revised citizenship laws and be threatened with deportation?
These are just a few of the many anomalies, and injustices, that Smith turns a spotlight to; his articles winning him the Indigenous Issues Reporting mantle at the 2014 Queensland Clarion Awards. I would recommend his book to senior secondary students for a critical perspective on serious issues that do not get attention in mainstream media. Also worth a listen, is the Good Reading interview with Smith on Australia’s cultural and moral divide. Highly recommended.
Themes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Australian citizenship, Aboriginal culture, Indigenous issues.
Helen Eddy
Into the wild by Robert Vescio and Mel Armstrong
New Frontier, 2020. ISBN: 9781925760651. (Age:4+) Highly recommended.
Into the Wild is a thoughtfully written story that will bring a sense of a calmness and peace to its reader. With stunning illustrations, this picture book shares the story of Roman who wanders alone enjoying and discovering amazing things among nature. At times he would love to share his findings with someone special and one day comes across a surprise. He investigates and follows, and then stumbles upon something that will change his way of looking at things.He realises that he does not have to be alone to enjoy his nature wandering and wonder of the world.
This is a perfect book to encourage both children and adults to observe the natural environment around them and see how the simple things in life can bring great joy and contentment.
Continuing on from the end of the first book, Ulla and Pan set out on a journey to find the kidnapped Eliana, as well as continue the quest for Ulla’s birth parents. Their expedition reveals a possible long-lost father for Ulla, and a Troll secret society. Joined by their colleagues, Dagny and Elof, they continue their journey to learn more about this secret society, Eliana’s kidnapping and Ulla’s heritage.
The Morning Flower is the second book in The Omte Origins, and is a contemporary urban fantasy, where Trolls live hidden among humans, as well as having Troll only towns (think Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter series). This novel is filled with descriptive writing and delves deeper into Troll society, which was detailed thoroughly in the first book. Following Ulla’s lifelong quest to learn more about her heritage after being abandoned as a baby, readers will enjoy a few twists and turns as she learns more about herself along the way, and develops connections with new friends and even a possible romance. Several mysteries emerge through the book, which may be connected to the secret society, or Ulla's heritage. While learning more about her past, more questions arise, leaving readers wanting to know more. At the end of the book, there is an extensive glossary for Troll terms used in the book.
Themes Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Self Discovery, Relationships, Folklore/Myths and Legends.
Melanie Pages
Mind the gap, Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn
Allen & Unwin, 2020. ISBN: 9781760526214. (Age:Young Adult)
New Yorkers Dash and Lily are looking forward to pursuing their individual goals while maintaining a healthy relationship. For Dash, this means becoming a student at Oxford University while 18 year old Lily is not so sure of her pathway. She has a successful dog walking business which has expanded to include online sales of dog merchandise but there is family pressure for her to take up the offer of a position at a prestigious university. While the couple are prepared for a long distance relationship, after six months apart Lily is upset to learn that Dash is not coming home for Christmas. She decides to surprise him by flying to London where she hopes to sort out her future and reassure herself that Dash is ok. This is the third in the series and reprises the theme of puzzles and books in an Advent calendar Lily has made for Dash and some great literary references. The characters are relatable, but the plot is contrived and stilted, relying on a series of unlikely coincidences as the characters’ internal struggles take centre stage in the alternating first person narratives. The London setting is explained for a US audience; Barbican, 'an arts place like Lincoln Centre' p. 126, and a Twickenham thatched house is 'an ordinary English house' p. 91. There is the feel of a film script which suggests it might follow the recent Netflix series adaptation of the first book.
It might have been helpful to have read the previous books, Dash and Lily's book of dares and The twelve days of Dash and Lily but while Dash and Lily say they are a couple, there is little sense of it in this story. They are both wrestling with issues of identity and the conflict arising from making personal choices while maintaining important connections. These characters come from privileged backgrounds and their affluence makes the whole angst seem self-indulgent but young adults who have seen the Netflix series or read the previous books and Sam and Ilsa’s Last Hurrah by the same authors will hopefully find that 'what a great book does, right? It traps you into feeling something important. Whether it’s about yourself, or society or ideally both' p. 222, and that has to be a good thing.
