Penguin Random House Australia, 2020. ISBN: 9781760897017. 96pp.
(Age: 6 +) Highly recommended. This small format book is just right
for any child (or indeed adult) who is interested in doing something
about the amount of waste that goes into landfill. How to make
compost is explained in simple, easy to understand language that
will appeal to young children who are becoming independent readers.
It will also appeal to an adult who may be reading to a child as
this book gives great hints about composting that they could do
together.
Commencing with an introduction to what a compost bin is, the book
continues on with information about compost, what can be done with
it, why we should compost and best of all, it gives a detailed way
of making a small compost bin that would fit in a backyard or on a
balcony. This small compost bin consists of a plastic bin with holes
in it and shows children how to make compost themselves, just
requiring a small amount of help from adults, by purchasing the bin
and drilling holes in it.
The simple language, easy to follow instructions and rationale will
provide the newly independent reader with enough information to get
started. A good Contents page, Fast Facts page, Glossary and Quiz
complete this very useful book. Illustrations and the little puffin
that parades throughout the book also add to its appeal.
This would be ideal as a present for young children who wish to help
the planet and will provide children and adults alike enough
information to have a go at composting.
Pat Pledger
Shapes and colours by John Canty
Berbay Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9780648529187. 32pp.
(Age: 0)+) Highly recommended. All the colours of the rainbow and
many different shapes are beautifully illustrated in this lovely
picture book from John Canty, the award-winning author/illustrator
of the Heads
and tails series.
Right from the beginning as the reader turns the cover, bright
shapes appear, with the words, What's red? What's orange? What's
yellow? What's green? and What's blue? Each sentence appears in a
shape that matches the colour, so we see, for example, a green frog
and a yellow banana, all designed for the young child to guess what
the object is. Turning the page, the frontispiece has What's indigo?
and What's Violet, and then the reader will guess that these are the
seven colours that this carefully designed book will contain.
The shapes for each colour are coloured on a double page spread with
the question in one big drawing in the centre. The child needs to
guess what each picture is, and then when the page is turned, finds
a detailed multi-coloured picture of each shape, with the main
colour as the background. I especially liked the colour indigo, with
its vivid picture of a beetle gracing the page.
New words will be introduced to the young child. For example on the
page featuring What's orange, there are a couple of difficult
shapes, and when the page is turned, the reader will find a picture
of a popsicle, orange, safety vest, autumn leaf, pumpkin, traffic
cone and carrot all surrounding a large picture of a goldfish.
This is an imaginative way of introducing different colours and
shapes and is a book that will prove to be a keeper and one that may
well be treasured and handed down to the next generation.
Pat Pledger
The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune
Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9781473693050.
(Age: Adolescent - Adult) This is a story about ordinary people who
can sometimes be extraordinary, inhabiting a world that, for them,
is different. They have powers of observation, movement,
understanding and power that enable them to move in space, to
create situations in which different things can happen. They can be
outside of the world that we normally inhabit, and act in a capacity
that may save people from disaster. While focusing on adolescence,
this narrative is very much about the real world of today, a world
that is somewhat fraught with anxiety, and one in which it is still
important to love and find love, to spend time with family and
friends, and to seek to understand those close to us, as well as the
outside world.
Essentially this story has an 'added reality' that reflects that
which used to be called 'science fiction'. The powers possessed by
the Extraordinaries are much envied by their peers, while actually
often causing the Extraordinaries to experience emotional angst that
causes them to suffer. The narrative takes place in a country that
reflects much of the modern world, that raises issues pertinent to
this current world and that highlights the emotional world of
adolescence, particularly that of the 'queer' world of the text,
that controversial issue of sexual preference for one's own gender.
The protagonist is yearning for love, and is lonely because of his
situation, the loss of his mother, and living with a father who is
yearning for his wife, and desperate to love and care for his son.
Yet the father's job often keeps him at work late and the boy is
left alone, at home.
At its heart, this narrative reflects the issues of adolescents in
the world of today, that of planning a future in a world that often
appears to be unstable to the young, and of a world in which they
are hoping to find a place or a group to which they belong, and to find
a pathway that will be fulfilling. This is essentially a story about
love, particularly in families where it is sometimes forgotten. It
is about the compassion felt for those who struggle for whatever
reason. Klune subtly suggests that we consider 'difference' as
something that exists, that we strive to continue to love and
support those people in our own worlds, offering loving and
compassionate understanding. The novel is suitable for both adult
and adolescent readers.
Elizabeth Bondar
The teeny weeny genie by Julia Donaldson
Illus. by Anna Currey. Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781509843602.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. When Old MacDonald on his farm finds a
genie in his teapot, things happen. He wishes for a new tractor and
it appears, then a wife to help with the farm, and she comes along.
She wishes for tools and wood to make a cupboard to store her
clothes, then has some left over to make a cradle and wishes for a
baby. But he is crying so a rattle is needed to quell him, then he
wants a dog, the dog wants a cat and on and on it goes, getting more
and more complicated and very funny as the wishes come along thick
and fast.
This beautiful read aloud will be a treat for a young audience as
they can call out the noises each of the wishes makes: the noise of
the tractor, the howl of the baby, the woof of the dog and so on.
Each page is a delight of fun and noise.
And the wonderfully lively and colourful illustrations, will have
the readers recognising the animals they see and spotting known
things in the farmyard, asking a myriad of questions about what they
do not know.
The blue genie gets a little annoyed with the wishes on the farm,
and wants it all to go away, but he cannot make his wish come true,
only those for other people. He attempts to get back into the
teapot, but finds a green genie there instead. The two wish for each
other, the teapot grows wings and the two are whisked away to a
lonely beach where all they can hear are the waves while they drink
their tea. Then they climb into the teapot and rest happily.
Be careful what you wish for is the basis of this funny tale,
cautioning readers not to take wishes lightly because the results of
this may be more than they bargained for.
This is a wonderfully funny, noisy tale which will have readers
jumping with joy.
Themes: Farmyard, Cautionary tale, Humour, Animals, Parody, Read
aloud.
Fran Knight
Carly Mills pioneer girl: A new world by Jane Smith
Big Sky Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9781922265074.
(Ages: 8-11 years). Recommended. Carly Mills Pioneer Girl: A New
World by Jane Smith is the first book in a new series which
looks at famous women in History. In this story Carly and her friend
Dora travel back in time to 1841 to meet Caroline Chisholm. Carly
has arrived in Sydney from rural Queensland to spend time with Dora
before she attends boarding school. While they are exploring Sydney
they visit Customs House where two shawls from an exhibition are
dropped and then given to the girls after they try to return them.
When Carly places the shawl around her shoulders she is immediately
transported back to the docks of Sydney Harbor and meets Caroline
Chisholm who is in the process of setting up a home for young female
immigrants who are being taken advantage of by unscrupulous males.
While there Carly endures a night far removed from her modern life
and learns how dangerous life is for young girls travelling alone.
After she returns to the present day, Carly encourages Dora to join
her on the next adventure and they experience life as two new
immigrant girls being placed safely in a caring home in a rural
area. Carly has been experiencing great trepidation about attending
boarding school but on returning to the 21st century, learning Dora
will also be going, and after surviving life in 1841, she realises
she is brave enough to cope with the major schooling change in her
life.
This book is a clever introduction to early Australian History for
middle grade readers. Later books will look at Dr Lillian Cooper,
Dame Nellie Melba, Florence Nightingale, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie
and Miles Franklin. Themes: Women in History, Australian History,
Friendship, Time Travel, Adventure.
Kathryn Beilby
Coco the big city kitty by Laura Bunting
Illus. by Nicky Johnston. Scholastic Australia, 2020. ISBN:
9781743834602.
(Age: 5-10) Recommended. Coco is a born to the city kitty cat who
just loves the hustle and bustle of the world around her. Her
favourite colour is pink, she loves ballet, she is always dressed in
a tutu and she hates bugs (even butterflies). We learn so much about
Coco and her big city life in the first instalment of this new
series that she quickly becomes a vivid character. She loves
crafting and creating, is polite and enthusiastic and is super
organised (a list-maker). Her life in the city is full of action,
noise and excitement but everything is orderly and controlled. A
perfectly, perfect life. So, how will Coco react when her parents
break the news that they are moving to the country? Coco is
distraught; she loves her life in the city and the countryside will
be full of bugs! But pack up they do, and 'as they drove out of the
city, Coco looked back and felt a pang in her chest, like someone
was pulling her heart with a rubber band'. She has so many questions
and so many worries about her new life, but when the countryside
greets them with a beautiful rainbow Coco can't help but be hopeful
- 'just so long as there were no bugs.'
In Coco, Laura Bunting has created a rich and endearing character
and Nicky Johnston's sweet, charming and warm illustrations help to
bring her and her beautiful world to life. This is a gorgeous new
series that perfectly bridges the gap between picture book and early
reader. It will be adored by lovers of Ruby Red Shoes,
ballet, fluffy kitty cats and the colour pink. Themes: City and
Country, Moving House.
Nicole Nelson
Tashi by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg
Illus. by Kim Gamble. 25th Anniversary Edition. Allen & Unwin,
2020. ISBN: 9781760525446.
(Age: 5-9) Since the first Tashi book was published in 1995, the
series has sold over one million copies around the world. This
special edition of the original Tashi book celebrates
Tashi's 25th anniversary, and includes Tashi and the Silver Cup,
and Kidnapped! from Tashi's Storybook. There are
four stories included here: Tashi and the Silver Cup, Tashi,
Dragon Breath and Kidnapped!Tashi and the Silver
Cup details Tashi's birth and first birthday in the old
country and introduces us to his family. The original stories Tashi
and Dragon Breath tell of how Tashi came to Jack's world, was
nearly taken back by a War Lord and how he tricked the last dragon
of all. Kidnapped! is about the time Tashi's uncle sold him
to General Zeng. These illustrated stories provide a nice
introduction to Tashi and Jack but the four stories don't flow on to
one another particularly well. In fact, young readers may become
confused because of the unclear timeline. Perhaps as an introduction
to Tashi the original books may be preferable. Regardless Tashi is a
great fantasy adventure series for newly independent readers or for
reading aloud to children that still has a valid place on every
library shelf. What keeps these stories so enchanting is that good
and evil are not portrayed as black and white; there are good people
who do horrible things (his parents sell him), family members who
are despicable but still part of the family and Tashi just takes it
all in his stride. Tashi's out of this world adventures are sure to
enchant a new generation of fans. Themes: Fantasy.
Nicole Nelson
The Martian by Andy Weir
Crown, 2014. ISBN: 9780091956141.
(Age: Secondary/Adult) Highly recommended. Astronaut Mark Watney, one
of the team sent to Mars, is abandoned when a storm forces the leader
to make an instant decision. They see Mark being swept away by the
storm and their data shows he is no longer alive.
But, he is alive and busting to keep alive until he can be rescued
in four years time when the next Mars landing occurs. Trouble is
that there is only so much food and water in the Hab, the tent-like
construction built for the team of six. He assesses his chances
objectively, deciding to eat part meals to conserve food, designing
a way to reuse all the water he can and make some more using parts
from the abandoned module. He devises a way to grow potatoes using
those sent with them for Thanksgiving, using his own waste as soil.
He sets himself up well, and because he is such a likeable narrator,
the reader accepts all the science. This wonderful read, science
fiction at its best, a survival story that defies the imagination
will keep everyone reading to the last page. Full of NASA speak,
acronyms abound, but we learn a little of the minutiae of the life
of an astronaut and marvel at Watney's adaptability.
The book is divided into 26 chapters, most of which are the log
written by Watney as he charts his days, telling whoever finds his
body exactly what he has done to survive, but hopeful, of course,
that he will be rescued. Between these chapters are those set in
NASA as one of the technicians notices that tents have moved on
Mars' surface. She alerts those in charge and this unleashes a crowd
of experts all vying for their voice to be heard. The questions
asked within this room are mesmerising: should they tell the press,
should they tell his parents, or tell the other five now returning
to Earth, all the while having all of their expertise concentrated
on finding a way to bring him home. It is a riveting read, we listen
to the arguments made by those at NASA, and their attempts at
communicating with him, while working with Watney on the planet Mars
in his efforts to survive. A stunning science fiction novel in the
tradition of the Robinson Crusoe novels, (Robinsonade)
where someone is marooned and must survive, this book is a stunner,
made into a film in 2015 starring Matt Damon.
I listened to this as an audio book. Themes: STEM, Science fiction,
Survival, Robinsonade, Communication.
Fran Knight
Fierce, fearless and free: Girls in myths and legends from around the world by Lari Don
Illus. by Eilidh Muldoon. Bloomsbury, 2020. ISBN: 9781472967138.
158pp.
(Ages: 8-10) Recommended. This enjoyable, diverse anthology of
thirteen myths and folktales, stars young women from different times
and across different continents. There is a 4000 year old Sumerian
myth about the Goddess Innana who outwitted a mountain god intent on
destroying the world. In another folk tale, with a Chinese origin,
Sister Lace is able to make lace creatures and bring them to life in
order to escape marriage to an evil emperor. We are introduced to
the notion of feetwater in an Irish folk tale about getting rid of
witches from your cottage and in a Nigerian legend Nana Miriam
successfully uses her magic to defeat a monster hippo.
These stories are very concise and simply told with touches of
humour. The author, Lari Don, makes them very approachable for
young, newly independent readers but they will also work well read
aloud. The collection is a good resource for teachers to use with
their students to study myths and folktales and the common links
that folk tales around the world have. For example the Italian story
of Petrosinella could be compared to the more well-known Rapunzel.
In addition Lari Don provides interesting notes on the derivation of
each of the stories and lets us know that such tales of strong and
smart girls are genuinely old and important. The cover is modern and
inviting and each story has a one page black and white illustration.
Jo Marshall
Little White Fish and his Daddy by Guido Van Genechten
Catch a Star, 2020. ISBN 9781922326034.
(Age: 2-5) Recommended. Brightly illustrated, this board book will
engage young readers as Little White Fish learns about the daddies
that other animals have. Swimming under the sea, he encounters
little octopus whose daddy has the longest arms of all; Little
Turtle's daddy is super strong and Little Goldfish's father has more
shells than anyone and so on until the final double page spread
where Little White Fish tells the reader that his daddy 'is just
very sweet. We play together he reads me a story every night.'
Set against a black background the underwater creatures are all
vividly coloured and stand out on the page. All the faces are
individual and very happy. I loved the golden seahorse whose father
is the fastest of all and the blue starfish will bring a smile to
the faces of little children.
This board book is very sturdy and small, suitable for little hands
and a lot of handling. It is a lovely tribute to fathers everywhere
and would be a good choice to read for Father's Day.
Pat Pledger
Partition voices by Kavita Puri
Bloomsbury, 2019. ISBN: 9781408899083.
(Age: secondary/adult) Highly recommended. The partition of India
along religious lines in 1947 will be remembered as a monumental
disaster as 10 million people tried to get to the country of their
religious majority with about 2 million losing their lives. Many
fled the place they were born, and of these, thousands came to
England where they buried what had happened and made a new life for
themselves. Until recently their voices had not been heard. Two
years ago award-winning journalist and broadcaster Kavita Puri
produced a three-part series, Partition Voices for BBC Radio
4, winning the Royal Historical Society's Radio and Podcast Award
and its overall Public History Prize. This has now been made into a
book, "to remember the time before separation, so future generations
understand that there were Hindus in Lahore, and Muslims in
Amritsar".
Puri has divided the book into three sections, End of Empire in
which she summarises the British Raj and its place in India along
with the growing resentment of British rule, Partition, and Legacy.
Each story is unique, from Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Christian, all
keeping silent for seventy years about what they had been involved
in or had witnessed, many wanting to forget.
Ken from an English family which owned a jute mill, now living in
Dundee, recalls seeing body parts blocking the waterways, and twelve
year old Ramen, a Hindu living in Dhaka calling out 'hunt the
British' with others in the streets, Muslim Bashir having to leave
his house in the Punjab, knowing it would be looted as soon as they
left, but after seeing the train carriages full of dead bodies in
Lahore Railway Station, he knew he could not stay.
Story after story crowd around the reader, and anger about partition
increases, but I was surprised to find that some of the interviewees
thought it a good thing.
Some girls were killed by their male relatives saving them from rape
and murder but also forced marriage. It was estimated that some
30,0000 women and girls were removed by Hindu and Muslim men, many
ending up in the Ashrams set up across Northern India for destitute
women, those whose families would not longer accept them, and those
orphaned by the violence.
In the midst of the violence and mayhem some acts stand out as
beacons of humanity. A Muslim family, the Begums, took weeks to get
to the refugee camp at Behram there to be helped by a friend, a
Hindu teacher, to get across to Pakistan.
Mohindra Dhall recalls his father rushing in to get them packed and
away. He had opted to stay in Pakistan but seeing violence escalate,
they headed for the railway station. There the train was crowded so
they waited for the next, realising in a few days that they would
all be dead if they had taken that first train.
Getting to the basics of why these people chose to emigrate to
Britain after Partition is difficult; some hate Britain for what it
did, dividing the country, but still chose to live there, some
thought Partition a bad idea, some a good idea, some want to return,
while others have returned often to the place of their birth. The
book is enthralling in showing such a range of stories and
experiences, a range of opinions and points of view about an event
put into effect with little planning and unforeseen, far reaching
consequences. Themes: India, Partition, Religious conflict,
Massacre, British Raj, Migration.
Fran Knight
Hot Dog 8 : Art time! by Anh Do
Illus. by Dan McGuiness. Scholastic, 2020. ISBN: 9781743836521.
121pp.
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. The target audience for this series,
is clearly early chapter book readers for a whole host of reasons
but none moreso than the existence of a world of talking animals
named for their own species - with the exception of Kev (the cat).
Kev, Hot Dog and Lizzie are of one mind - to foil Rooster and Donkey
who have stolen the Llama Lisa from the art gallery. Yes, even
famous artworks reverse anthropomorphize into identifiable animal
parodies.
Anh Do has successfully projected his speech and humour into another
fictional narrator. Whilst description is thin around the active
events, Hot Dog's wordplay and dialogue make him thoroughly and
ingeniously credible to children. The three friends support each
other with their growth mindsets and do the things they haven't been
able to do "yet" - overcoming fears, building confidence and problem
solving to locate the bad guys, and rescue the famous painting in
the less familiar setting of the Creepy Castle Fun Park.
The bold words and phrases and Dan McGuiness' cartoons will add to
the visual provocation of the retro pink monochrome design. Modern
Junior school readers will lap up Australia's answer to their
grandparent's favourite books made so exciting by a dash of colour.
Another successful collaboration with a new artist is telling, given
this author's grasp of artistic skills is not restricted to theory,
colour and passionate language surrounding art. This is a
collaborative author worthy of our children. Read 2 or 3 chapters to
a class and be prepared for endless requests and reservations for
this series.
Deborah Robins
Inventors : Incredible stories of the world's most ingenious inventions by Robert Winston
Illus. by Jessamy Hawke. Dorling Kindersley, 2020. ISBN:
9780241412466.
(Age: 8-12) Highly recommended. Inventors looks at
over 100 inventors and the wonderful things they have brought to
society to improve our lives. Each page details one inventor and
tells a little about their lives and how they came to invent what
they did to help improve our world. Written a little as short
stories, each page contains facts and illustrations to really show
the inventions and the impact they had on people's lives.
The book is divided into four major topics - "Making things go";
which covers inventions that impacted transport and travel; "Caring
for people" is the next section which includes inventions that help
people, cure diseases, help communications and improve lives
overall. The next section is all about "Helping at home", inventions
which assist us with household tasks or just entertainment. The last
chapter is called "Bang! Whizz! Whirr!" and covers a myriad of other
inventions that have helped human beings to live in our complex
world and made our live easier and safer.
This book is a great resource because it brings the inventors to
life for the reader. A class could use the information in this book
as a springboard for further investigation into some of the
inventors and the lives they led. It contains information about
contemporary inventors that are still living, and this is something
not done by many other books on this topic in recent years. There is
also a list of inventors that were not covered at the back of the
book. The glossary and index are well executed. A great resource for
every school library. Themes: Inventors, Technology.
Gabrielle Anderson
Happiness is a cloud by Robert Vescio
Illus. by Nancy Bevington. Big Sky Publishing, 2020. ISBN:
9781922265715.
(Ages: 4-8) Harry and his Dad are having a day at the beach with
their dog Jasper. It's a beautiful sunny day and Harry starts
pointing out some things he can see in the clouds. 'Clouds make me
hip-hip happy', he says. 'When we're happy everyone around us is
happy', says his dad. Harry spends time blissfully observing the
clouds, spotting sheep, flowers, birds and cats; but soon the clouds
start to build and change colour. The darker clouds bring things
that make him shiver: dragons and fierce rhinos. We see how Harry's
mood reflects the clouds and he points out that happiness is like a
cloud. Some moments are rainy and stormy and then these feelings
roll on and we are floating along in the sunshine again. Harry
doesn't like the rain and the unhappy dark clouds. 'Ah, but the dark
ones carry a belly full of rain and hope' says Dad, pointing out the
happiness rain brings to the natural world.
There is some beautiful imagery throughout the text ('Harry felt the
happiness of the afternoon leak out of him like rain from the
rhinoceros rain cloud') and the illustrations are an interesting
combination of photographs and drawings that provide a realistic
landscape. The clouds have been drawn in so we see what Harry sees
in the sky, but they seem a little too overt, not leaving much to
the imagination or encouraging children to stretch their own when
looking for shapes in clouds. Happiness is a Cloud provides a great visual representation
of emotion and is lovely reminder for children that moods are not
permanent and that we, as well as the people and world around us,
can help bring happiness back. Themes: Emotions, Clouds.
Nicole Nelson
Magnificent mistakes and fantastic failures: Finding the good when things seem bad by Josh Langley
Big Sky Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9781922265692.
(Age: 5-12) Recommended. Award-winning author Josh Langley (Being
You is Enough, It's
OK to Feel the Way you Do) is back with another title
that aims to help kids feel good about who they are. This one is all
about resilience and looking on the bright side when things don't
seem so great. He tackles a serious subject in a fun and
non-threatening way, offering hope and strategies for kids to build
their resilience and see mistakes as opportunities for learning. The
book is really a series of illustrated messages, similar perhaps to
Todd Parr's books, although this is more suitable for older
children. The structure is also reminiscent of Parr's books, with
illustrations and a small amount of text on each page flowing on to
the next. Although it reads well as a whole, each section (Mistakes
can be magnificent, Failing can be fantastic!, Maybe problems aren't
really problems at all, Good friends are good to have around, Every
'body' is OK just the way they are, Feeling weird and awkward is
normal too, Be the star and director of your own life, and Talking
to someone always makes you feel better) could be read
independently. The final message is 'You are important to the world.
Now go and be amazing in your own unique way.'
This is a gem of a book to read with all children in the hope that
some of this will stick in their mind as well as to put into their
hands when they are having a rough day. It will also provide a
really good conversation starter about how they feel about
themselves, what worries them and how they can reframe their
self-talk. Perfect for primary school classrooms and homes. Themes:
Resilience, Positivity, Confidence.
Nicole Nelson
