Fans of diggers will immediately be captivated when they pull the yellow tab on the front cover and see the digger digging and emptying bricks. Turning the page all the things that you can see on a building site are brought to life with bright illustrations. There is a wrecking ball that can be pushed up and down to break down a wall, workers stride around in hard hats and the reader can search to find a flashing light. A tip truck has a load delivered to it by pushing a tab and a wheelbarrow is full of rubble. Children are asked to find the cones on this double page spread and will be fascinated by the worker breaking up cement. Getting a crane to lift red doors will be sure to intrigue, while a cement mixer churns away. Then searching for three spades will keep readers glued to the illustrations, noticing new things that are happening. The final double page spread shows the finished project – a school – with a tower and cheering children revealed by pulling a tab.
As well as having fun pulling, pushing, and sliding tabs, young children will learn all about the jobs that occur on a building site, and their vocabulary is sure to be improved as they identify all the equipment and the different workers. This is a very well-made strong book that will withstand many readings and would be a perfect gift for a toddler or fan of Lego.
Themes Building sites, Diggers, Cranes, Workers.
Pat Pledger
The woolly bear caterpillar by Julia Donaldson & Yuval Zommer
As the woolly bear caterpillar eats her way through the garden, particularly the dandelion leaves, she wonders what sort of moth she will become. When the gardener pulls up all the dandelions in her part of the green, she is forced to travel further and in doing so meets other caterpillars. The first she sees is a sycamore caterpillar, singing a song about how handsome she is. Rebuffed by her assertions that the woolly bear caterpillar will be plain and ordinary, she moves on and spies a red spotted caterpillar. He is also singing about how handsome he is, inviting people to look at his beauty. Woolly bear tells him that she too will soon be a moth and the red spotted moth tells her dismissively that she will be dull. And on it goes, the woolly bear caterpillar meeting caterpillars all convinced that they are the most beautiful.
But she feels the need to slow down, crawls under a leaf and begins to spin her cocoon. In the garden the others do the same thing, and the sycamore, puss and vapourer moths hatch from their cocoons to reveal a trio of very dull looking moths indeed. They flutter off to see how the woolly bear caterpillar is doing and are amazed to see her emerge as a bright, colourful beautiful moth, the queen of the air.
The vivacious illustrations will attract the readers, encouraging them to scan each page carefully, noting the range of things in the garden, the other animals, leaves and flowers, the gardener’s hand being the only intrusion from the world outside. I loved spying the different things illustrated, and the detailed observation of the ways of caterpillars and their brief lives.
Children will learn lots about caterpillars, and this information is reprised in a booklet in the back of the book, a non fiction summary of the life cycle of caterpillars and moths which will intrigue and educate young readers.
The Helsing family of courageous, if not very clever, pigs have always been vampire hunters; so when Mud Canyon advertises for help with their vampire problem Ham answers the call. The rats running the visitor centre (one of whom carries a thesaurus to enrich his vocabulary) are doubtful that mild mannered Ham is capable of killing a vampire but with no alternative they set out to find one. Soon they are confronted by a Lobos (werewolf), in dog form, which chases them before turning back into a child when darkness is dispelled. They can't leave a child alone so it joins the group. On the way to the vampire castle they meet Ronin a tree pig and Knuckles the bear who has also been engaged by the villagers to hunt the vampire. Ham wishes his brave brother Chad was there to help but like the rest of his family, adventurous Chad is thought to have died in a wingsuit accident. They face many bizarre challenges, like a mechanical armoured chicken and not everyone turns out to be what they seem.
This richly coloured, engaging cartoon book skilfully uses perspective to create a feeling of movement and place with lots of action to propel the story. There are funny visual jokes scattered through the pages and the story is interspersed with flashbacks to Ham’s family’s extreme exploits. The overall message that bravery and courage don’t mean absence of fear and that we achieve more with a group of friends makes this a satisfying read.
Themes Adventure, Friendship, Vampires.
Sue Speck
Sugar Town queens by Malla Nunn
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526832. (Age:13-18) Highly recommended.
Amandla lives with her mother Annalisa in a tin hut in a shanty town outside Durban. Annalisa is strange; for one thing she is white, and for another, she has weird visions and struggles to remember much from their past. Amandla doesn’t know what has happened to her father; she only know he is black, Zulu, and gone. Whilst Amandla and Annalisa live in Sugar Town they are separate from it, because they are different, outsiders. It is only when, in desperation, Amandla has to turn to a neighbour for help that she learns about Ubuntu, the Zulu tradition of neighbours helping each other, a community united by compassion and humanity.
Nunn’s novel is one of racism and racial divides that persist despite Mandela’s supposedly united rainbow nation of white, brown and black together. Life in Sugar Town is one of poverty, it is harsh and dangerous, especially for a young girl like Amandla. Just a short distance away is a whole other world, of gated mansions, with servants and guards, the world that her mother came from. Yet that world of wealth and power is also a trap, dominated by the cold and ruthless. As Amandla gradually uncovers the secrets of her mother’s past, she has to draw on her inner strength, and with the loyal support of her friends Lil Bit and Goodness, face up to the dangers that threaten from both sides.
This is Malla Nunn’s second book for young adults. It is just as captivating as her first 'When the ground is hard', winner of the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. Sugar Town queens is another story about a strong and resilient central character, the power of female friendship, and the hunger for justice. The chapters fly by quickly as the reader is caught up in the mystery at the heart of the story.
Themes Racism, Class divisions, Male power, Female independence, Friendship, Love.
Chloe's life was on track - in her last year of high school, headed towards one of the top colleges - when she collapses during track practice. Rushed to hospital, she learns that her heart isn't working correctly and she needs a transplant, or she won't make it to college. After months waiting for someone to die so she can live, her family gets the call and they rush to the hospital for the surgery. Having recovered from the transplant, Chloe is behind in her life plans while all her friends have graduated. She's stuck at summer school in order to be able to graduate and finds herself lacking her normal drive and her punctuality. She even takes up surfing - which had never been on her radar. And... she has memories that she doesn't recognise. Vivid and recurring memories that make no sense, Chloe needs answers, and will look wherever possible to find them.
This surprisingly delightful contemporary novel has an incredibly relatable protagonist, whose everyday life is disrupted by the need for surgery, at a very young age. The description of the fear leading up to surgery and the post-surgery lethargy is extremely accurate, as well as the monotony of taking daily medications. The aftermath of life saving surgery includes Chloe's search for meaning - in life and in the memories that have filled her mind. The whole story has a simple narrative, focusing on changing relationships, life choices and motivation. You will notice your own heart beating as you read this book, which is ideal for fans of Not if I see you first by Eric Lindstrom, The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting and John Green books.
Themes Contemporary; Human Relationships; Heart Transplants; Cellular Memory; Surfing; Love Stories.
Melanie Pages
Our world out of balance by Andrea Minoglio and Laura Fanelli
Blue Dot Kids Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781735000534. (Age:8-13) Recommended.
Climate change continues to be highly topical in newly released non-fiction texts for middle grade and early YA readers. These savvy young readers are becoming increasingly passionate about the changing environment and the need for immediate action. Our World Out of Balance is another well written and easy to understand book presenting the facts about the issues and how positive change can be achieved. The contents page includes headings such as, When the World Gets Warmer, Melting Ice, Corals in Crisis, Fire!, Too Much Trash, Feeding the World plus many more. While the information may appear complex, it is written for children which allows it to be readable and easy to comprehend. The author has cleverly used recognizable examples to explain the more complicated aspects of each topic. The text is broken into clear segments which appeals to younger readers and is surrounded by colourful and detailed illustrations. There are highlighted words such as cryosphere, xeriscaping and permafrost which are explained further in the glossary at the end of the book. Each chapter contains introductory information, before and after segments as well as ‘How You Can Help?’ and ‘How People are Helping’. The final pages include a ‘Spread the Word’ section as well as ‘You can Be a Part of the Solution’ with a list of online organisations. There is also a detailed index.
Another great addition to a school or public library.
Themes Climate Change, The World, Children, Global Environmental Issues, Global Warming.
The Queen Bee and Me by Gillian McDunn is a book that will walk out of the library into the hands of girls. I will certainly be directing the attention of our upper primary girls to this book because comfort can be found in stories that depict the real-life social issues that they face.
The Queen Bee and Me describes in the first person voice of Meg, the unwritten social rules of Middle and High School girls' cliques. Anyone familiar with Queenbees and Wannabees, Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 self-help book on which the film Mean Girls is largely based, might think that the subject of the aggressive behaviour of teenage girls towards each other may have been already done. However Gillian McDunn takes an additional refreshing, incisive and "Pitch Perfect" (Publisher's Weekly) approach to the subject.
The central character, Meg, is a highly likeable seventh grade girl. We see events unfolding through her eyes. She is anxious, nervous and frightened of things. Ever since sandpit days, she has lived in the shadow of her "friend", the strong and overpowering Beatrix. Meg's lack of self-confidence has led to dependence on Beatrix. Meg is scared of the consequences of leaving the safe haven of protection that she finds being Beatrix's "bestie". With a friend like Beatrix she is protected from loneliness and the stigmatisation of being out of the cool group. She dances carefully to Beatrix's drum because she has had experience of the freeze that happens if she steps out of line with Beatrix in any way. The arrival of a new girl in town together with the development of Meg's individual interests that don't match Beatrix's interests changes the status quo. Meg's eyes slowly and reluctantly open to the social cruelties inflicted by Beatrix on others and she has to make a choice.
The intertwining theme running throughout this story is the behaviour of bees. The bees, their individual roles within the hive, their collective work and the fight that Meg and her friends and family have in order to save them, shines a mirror on the behaviour of the students at school and members of the town community.
This book is complex. It is bitter and it is sweet. Gillian McDunn is shrewd and has no illusions about the dynamics of girls' groups in Middle School. Girls who are feeling the rough edge of this phenomenon will find great encouragement reading about Meg. Place this book in the hands of the girls who might need it.
Highly recommended.
Themes Girls' friendships+cliques, Middle school, Bees, Being true to yourself.
Hattie and Olaf by Swedish writer Frida Nilsson has been translated into English by Gecko Press, a small New Zealand-based independent publisher that specialises in publishing books chosen from the best writers and illustrators in the world. Thus Hattie and Olaf has already been through a rigorous selection process before its distribution in Australia by Walker Books. It is not difficult to see why Hattie and Olaf passed that discerning screen. It is a delightful chapter book for young readers.
The central character is six-year-old Hattie who is navigating her first year in school. Hattie is feisty. Through the third person narrator, the reader has access to Hattie's thoughts and reactions to the goings-on around her, both at school and at home. The action and dialogue in the classroom and playground would be very easy for junior primary children to relate to. There are shifting friendships, rejections, bullying and put-downs. Family strength and togetherness remains stalwart.
Central to the story is Hattie's desire to have a beautiful horse. Hattie's Papa cannot afford a horse but he procures Olaf, an unprepossessing donkey with bad attitude from a neighbour. Hattie is shattered and doesn't know how to let her parents know because she doesn't want to disappoint her father. She creates an unstoppable lie that grows out of control at school. Events proceed from there.
Hattie and Olaf takes readers to a snowy village in Sweden where there is a forest on the edge of town and frozen lakes to skate on. Hattie is a bold and brave heroine, not unlike Pippi Longstocking in her "bull at a gate" approach to life's problems. It is not surprising that Nilsson has been awarded the Astrid Lindgren prize. Stina Wirsen's illustrations complement the book perfectly.
Warm and funny, Hattie and Olaf is a follow-up to Hattie.
Five renown ‘Black’ YA authors have collaborated to put together this interlinked collection of short stories that take place during a massive power failure in New York City. When I came to the end of the first chapter ‘The long walk, Act 1’ I was so disappointed because I wanted to know more about the two young people, Tammi and Kareem, former girlfriend and boyfriend, crossing paths at a job orientation session. Flicking through the rest of the book, I realised that their story continued so I must confess, I cheated, I read the chapters out of order, jumping to the next section about their relationship. But I think that is a mistake. The book is cleverly constructed with interleaving stories that add to each other as you read along, all linked by a connection to an unmissable block party to be held by someone called Twig; they all want to get there.
They are all stories with interesting characters and situations, taking place over one eventful night, similar to the night of the New York City blackout of 1977, where different people around the city find themselves in an unpredictable situation. Dhonielle Clayton says the initial inspiration came from the question posed by her young niece after COVID marathon movie watching; asking why Black girls didn’t get big love stories. Clayton brought together her friends, fellow Black authors, to workshop a book full of Black love stories.
The authors are Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, and Ashley Woodfolk. For writers like Angie Thomas and Tiffany D Jackson, whose novels are particularly gritty insights into ghettos with black gangs, drugs, and corrupt police, it must have been a challenge to write a romantic love story. But that is exactly what the group has achieved with this book, a charming collection of stories about young love in all its variations: girl and boy, boy and boy, girl and girl, old exes and new friends. I particularly liked Thomas’s story of a girl trying to negotiate her attraction to two different boys, and the advice of the observant school bus driver to ‘choose yourself’, there is no rush to be in a relationship.
This book is a refreshing addition to the YA romance genre, not only for its representation of diversity, but because they are all really lovely stories to read.
Themes Love, Teenage relationships, LGBQTI+, Black Americans, Diversity.
We all know those kids. They're smart, street savvy and up with all of the latest idioms. Ever ready with gobsmackingly clever answers to everything, they are quick witted and funny... and sometimes annoying. They get into trouble with their big mouths. They hurt people. Often they go onto great careers where being articulate and having a ready arsenal of "quick on your feet" responses is important.
Something I Said is narrated in the first person by Carmichael. Carmichael is one of those kids. The book begins as thirteen year old Carmichael is told off AGAIN at school for seeing life as just a joke. We as readers have access to Carmichael's thoughts as he ponders life. He is a wordsmith - a lover of the mechanics and origins of words. On page three, he cogitates on the two words that he has missed taking on board as a younger child - karma and context. The fact that he has missed the importance of acting according to these two words leads him into a lot of trouble and life lessons. Carmichael has a quirky, loving family. He has a quirky best friend and he has great teachers at school.
At a school talent show Carmichael's standup performance is filmed and it goes viral across global social media. He is spotted by the producer of an American television show and flown to New York for a stand-up performance. A potential life of wealth and glamour is ahead. But where will Carmichael get his comic material from? What price is he prepared to pay? Who is he going to burn with his rapier wit in order to get laughs? What is important in life?
Tantalised by becoming world famous, growing to understand the origins of his cutting style of humour and the truth of his upbringing and after experiencing many dramatic situations, Carmichael makes a decision about his life direction.
The author, Ben Bailey Smith is a comedian, actor and screenwriter himself and so Carmichael jumps off the page as a very authentic character. This book is very funny. We know that when teachers and parents try to be cool with their idiomatic language when attempting to relate to teenagers the results are often awkward. Ben Bailey Smith knows how to hilariously depict how teenage non-compliance and obtuseness challenges and changes against the backdrop of steadfast family, school life and friendship.
A heart-warming, big-hearted book for ages 10+
Themes The love of words, Comedy, Family, School, Identity.
Wendy Jeffrey
Rumble, rumble, dinosaur by Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt
Lured by the statement on the cover that the reader can sing along to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, I attempted this and was amazed at how rhythmic the narrative was and how Charman managed to fit the names of dinosaurs like pterodactyls into wonderful sounding rhymes:
Pterodactyls flying high Watch them as they zoom on by Laughing, playing with their friends Dino fun-time never ends Pterodactyls flying high, Soaring, swooping through the sky.
This is a perfect read aloud, or sing along as the case may be, and will be welcomed by youngsters. Emerging readers too will find the bold print and repetition fun to try as they begin to attempt to read. Children will also enjoy all the action words in the text and could have fun matching actions to the words: 'soaring, swooping', 'stomping, stamping', 'splishing, splashing'. At the same time, they will learn the names and appearance of these dinosaurs: Pterodactyl, stegosaurus, kronosaurus, triceratops, velociraptors, diplodocus, and t-rex.
The illustrations are vividly coloured and really complement the text. Each of the dinosaurs has a happy expression and the illustrations clearly show some of the main features of the dinosaurs in a fun way. I loved the diplodocus with a long neck eating the topmost leaves of a tree, while his large feet stomped along, and his long tail swished around the text. The dinosaurs coloured in blue against a yellow background on the endpapers beg for the young reader to find different ones too.
There is much to like in this energetic and fun book, and I believe it will be a firm favourite will young children and their caregivers alike.
Themes Dinosaurs, Sing along, Read aloud.
Pat Pledger
The Underdogs by Tracey West. Illus. by Kyla May
Scholastic, 2021. ISBN: 9781761126253. (Age:7-10)
The Underdogs live in Barksdale and as a group they feel the pressure of being the poorest achievers in the Barksdale Academy’s “Best in Show”. Nova is keen for the group to practise together and she sets up training exercises for the Underdogs to help them pass their Agility Exam. Each dog in the Underdog’s group has their own individual issues. Nova gets over excited and becomes clumsy, Duke has height issues and doesn’t want to climb, Harley is a squirrel chaser and Peanut refuses do anything that might get him dirty. To make matters worse other dogs from Barksdale Academy mock their training attempts and Nova finds it difficult accepting that her sisters have all won awards while she hasn’t won anything.
Can Nova help the group pass the Agility Exam or will they always be known as the Underdogs?
This middle grade novel will appeal to newly independent readers. The text is strongly supported by Kyla May’s black and white cartoon style illustrations. The opening pages have a visual representation of both the main doggy gang in “Meet the Underdogs” as well as the other dogs in the story in “The Best of Barksdale”. This is helpful in establishing the different characters and gives some information on the town of Barksdale.
Tracey West is an American writer who is known for her Dragon Master series and Kyla May is an Australian illustrator.
A book for 7- to 10-year-olds to enjoy.
Themes Dogs, Success, Failure, Examinations.
Jane Moore
The bench by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Illus. by Christian Robinson
A celebrity aspiring to write a picture book is sure to gain many people’s opprobrium, but this will not stop the book being bought. The usual critical evaluation taken over a book purchase for home and library will be suspended because the author is well known.
The theme of this book has merit: a father and son sit on the bench together, making up games, dressing up, riding a bicycle, watching for the bus, waiting for dad to return home. Each new page reveals a moment on a bench, and the story lauds the presence of a father in a child’s orbit promoting mental wellness as father and son connect.
The unfussy, simple verse structure reiterate the relationship between father and son, stressing the positive influences one has on the other.
You’ll love him. You’ll listen. You’ll be his supporter.
Are the lines on one page and over the page finish with:
When life feels in shambles You’ll help him find order.
The illustrations by Caldecott winner Christian Robinson, are lovely. They show the early years in a boy’s life from birth to primary age. The baby is held by dad, marvelling at the child in his arms. We see the child growing - learning to ride a bike, dad tying his son’s shoelaces, dressing up, having a picnic in the park. When the boy goes off to school dad comforts him. All the while dad tells his son that he is loved and we spy mum on the last pages reflecting a strong family unit where each member supports the other, and no one is ever alone.
Readers will think about their own experiences. They will enjoy predicting the rhyming word in each couplet, perhaps providing ideas of their own, accepting the sometimes unusual word combinations. And overall will enjoy seeing the relationship between fathers and sons taking centre stage.
The Good Wife of Bath is an absolute delight. Karen Brooks has created a riveting and highly entertaining feminist reimagining of the story of Alyson, from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ is one of the most famous of Chaucer’s stories, highlighting and at times critiquing the misogyny present in medieval English society. In The Good Wife of Bath we meet Eleanor, later known as Alyson, who has just been married off at the age of twelve to an elderly farmer with a reputation for killing wives and driving off servants. The deal was brokered by her distant cousin ‘The Poet’ (Geoffrey Chaucer) against her will, after she was found in a compromising position with a member of the clergy. Eleanor’s situation is not helped by the filthy living conditions she finds herself enduring or the animosity from her new husband’s daughter.
However, what follows is an enjoyable tale of Eleanor’s growing maturity, understanding and agency. Over an extremely eventful life we witness her triumphs and failures, as she takes husbands and lovers, survives difficult times, creates successful businesses, and goes on the pilgrimages made so famous by The Canterbury Tales. The Good Wife of Bath is not always an easy read, the time period alone ensures that Eleanor is a regular victim of violence, injustice and hardship common to women of the era. However, her strong willpower, intelligence and resilience result in a mostly triumphant story. Eleanor is an extremely likeable and well-developed character and it is easy to cheer her on as the novel unfolds. The Good Wife of Bath also presents a positive representation of female friendship and sisterhood and the insertion of Chaucer into the story as a character in his own right is extremely clever. Brooks has created a brilliant and entertaining piece of historical fiction.
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330925. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
If you are after a complex, dark, dystopian novel, with the world devastated by fly flu and swarms of flies devouring all living things, then this may be the novel for you. It is one that left me wondering just what happened, trying to work out the complicated plot and wishing that I had time to reread slowly and carefully to find clues to what has happened.
It is told by three narrators, Nico, an 18 year old young woman who has been sent on a quest to find a portal by her father who will ring a mysterious bell when she arrives on the 8th day; Kit a young boy who has been brought up by Dakota in an abandoned cinema and carries a key in remembrance of her, and the Deliverer, who lives life after life, bring essential supplies to a few survivors. All the surrounding characters are fully developed. Nico is accompanied by her dog Harry, while Kit leaves the cinema with Monty and Lakie on a trip to try and find a colony of survivors on an island. They meet up with Loretta, Pringles, and Lennon on a quest to get to Boston and decide to go part of the way together. There are hopeful moments as love develops, and heart wrenching ones as the flies attack.
It was very easy to become invested with each of the characters as their circumstances and trials, loves and hopes are described, and I was left hoping that each would survive in such terrible times. The plot is intricate, the writing lyrical and the themes of storytelling, eternal life, art, survival, and love are ones to ponder. Teaching notes are available from the publisher.
I will be sure to pick up other books by David Arnold after reading this highly original book.
