Orchard Books, 2018. ISBN 9781408354049
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Amelia and Sam are back with a new
adventure. A poorly puppy is brought into Animal Ark, and
nobody knows who it belongs to. Can Amelia and Sam find the owner
and save the puppy? Amelia and Sam need all the help they can get
but will it be enough?
Amelia and Sam are determined to help this puppy; they are so
determined that they even get the help from a news reporter.
This book is well written with large text and it has interesting
pictures that help make the story. I recommend this book to
animal lovers like Amelia and Sam that want to help out. I also
recommend the rest of the series, Kitten
rescue, Bunny trouble and Fox cub danger.
I recommend these books to 6+
Grace Colliver, Year 7 student
Maudlin Towers: Curse of the werewolf boy by Chris Priestley
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408873083
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Themes: Horror, Werewolves, Teachers,
Time travel. "Mildew and Sponge don't think much of Maudlin Towers,
the blackened, gloom-laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity that is
their school. But when somebody steals the School Spoon and the
teachers threaten to cancel the Christmas holidays until the culprit
is found, our heroes must spring into action and solve the crime!
But what starts out as a classic bit of detectivating quickly
becomes weirder than they could have imagined. Who is the ghost in
the attic? What's their history teacher doing with a time machine?
And why do a crazy bunch of Vikings seem to think Mildew is a
werewolf?" (Publisher)
This is a well written story. When two young boys Mildew and Sponge
find themselves in a school for the not so bright in a gloomy part
of England with strange things happening around them they are forced
to investigate. The main characters are interesting and funny. They
manage to stumble onto a great number of events without meaning to
and see things that they don't understand at first. As the story
progresses you start to piece together all the happenings and how
they fit together. Mildew and Sponge draw you into the story and
keep you wondering what they will get up to next, and how they will
get out of some of the situations they get themselves into.
The boys find out what happens when they learn that there is a time
machine in the school and how time travel is not always what it's
cracked up to be.
I highly recommend this book to boys 8+.
Karen Colliver
Animal Ark: Kitten Rescue by Lucy Daniels
Orchard Books, 2018. ISBN 9781408354148
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Amelia has just moved with her mum into
Welford and she doesn't know anyone except her gran, who they are
living with. Can she overcome her homesickness and help her new
friend Sam to save the kittens with a little help from others in the
village, who they meet throughout their search?
This is a great small book with big text. The pictures add a nice
element to the story, they are well designed and makes the story a
lot more interesting and visual.
I recommend this book for animal lovers just like Amelia and Sam,
age 6+. If you enjoy this book you will enjoy the others
in the series.
(Grace Colliver, Year 7 student)
Moth by Isabel Thomas
Ill. by Daniel Egneus. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408889756
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Themes: Moths. Evolution. Adaptation.
Camouflage. STEM. Industrial Revolution. Survival. Pollution. Hope.
This amazing book shows within easily understood language supported
by the most powerful of illustrations, the ability of an insect to
adapt to the blight of man's impact upon the world. A small moth,
called a peppered moth because of its black and white speckled
appearance, lives near trees where it can hide amongst the patchy
lichen from its predators. During the Industrial Revolution,
factories spurted out coal dust, ash and soot, covering the trees
with black smoke. The peppered moth was no longer able to survive
because it had nowhere to hide, but the darker ones did survive,
and a shift in their numbers occurred, with more dark ones being
born, while lighter ones were rarely seen.
Children reading this book will easily absorb the ideas presented:
evolution, predators, camouflage, adaptation, Industrial Revolution,
pollution, while marveling at the ability of this small insect to
adapt to a rapid change in its environment.
Egneus' illustrations are wonderful, evoking the peace of the
environment in which the moths lived, showing them flitting amongst
the trees, taking shelter on the lichen covered trees, a hungry fox
or owl taking some for their meal. Contrast this with the blacks,
greys and browns of the same area covered with the detritus of the
Industrial Revolution. No reader can be in doubt about the effect
this change had on the moth population.
And within the text, the reader is told about how this little insect
adapted to that change, while the illustrations show the larger
number of black moths filling the pages.
When people realised what damage had been done, efforts were made to
clean up the environment, and so there are many more speckled winged
moths appearing - another change, this time signifying hope.
Isabel's words sing with truth, reflecting her background in
genetics and evolution at Oxford University, while Daniel's
illustrations display a confidence with illustrative techniques
which can be seen across a variety of fields.
Fran Knight
The other wife by Michael Robotham
Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9780733637933
(Ages: Senior secondary-Adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Crime.
Thriller. Family relationships. Those familiar with Robotham's
novels will be eager to read his next Professor Joe O'Lloughlin
episode. It certainly does not disappoint! His writing flows and
leads the reader on but does not take the audience for granted.
Joe's life is turned upside down when his father is taken to
hospital after a fall down stairs. He is in an induced coma and his
outlook for recovery is bleak. On his visit to the ICU he discovers
the first of a number of bombshells about his father. The first is
that the person at his bedside is not his mother but his other wife
of twenty years.
In trying to find the 'real' William O'Loughlin, retired eminent
surgeon, distant and disapproving father, possible bigamist and
leader of a double life, Joe delves into lives that he knows nothing
about. His relationship with the police deteriorates as they try to
persuade him to let them investigate without interference.
Ruiz as ever acts as a stabilising influence, gathering information
and providing protection when needed. All his preconceptions about
his family even his childhood memories seem as if they need to be
recast or at least viewed from a different perspective. His own
family is also vulnerable as he charges head on with finding
'truths'. His daughters, especially Emma, are fragile after the death
of his wife six months before and much is left up to Charlie who has
stepped in to take on some of the household duties.
Of course there is his Parkinsons which is beginning to play a
larger role in the life of Joe O'Loughlin.
Joe finds the truth eventually, but not before family memories are
reviewed and found wanting, old friendships are lost and his
father's image is changed and tarnished, but for the better or worse
he is not sure. He discovers that his father was at least human not
a distant and perfect icon.
Mark Knight
The mapmakers' race by Eirlys Hunter
Gecko Press, 2018. ISBN 9781776572038
(Age: 8-11) Themes: Perseverance. Adventure. Map drawing. Eirlys
Hunter's The mapmakers' race is set in a harsh mountainous
environment where a new railway line needs to be built. The
alternate world has mechanical horses and luggage-carrying clouds
and nefarious characters who will use any means to win the 28 day
race and the prize money of five hundred gold guineas.
The Santander family are desperately poor; their father, an explorer
and trail finder, has disappeared and mapmaker Ma and their children
desperately need to win the prize-money. Unfortunately on their
train trip to Grand Prospect where the race starts, Ma leaves the
rail carriage to search for Joe who's filling the water flasks and
she misses the train. Sal, Joe, Francie and little Humphrey decide
to enter the race anyway. All their possessions are on board, and
they believe Ma will catch up along the way. With Carrot the parrot
along for comic relief, this arduous undertaking that will test
their skills of survival and their support of each other. Sal is a
skilled mathematician great at calculating, Francie's special skill
is her ability to project into the upcoming environment and map the
upcoming route. Fortunately, they meet a knowledgeable local lad,
Beckett, who helps the family; he's skilled with animals, a great
cook and has wilderness experience.
In this fast-paced adventure the children overcome many natural
forces, fighting tough conditions, encounters with bear, bees, a
bat-filled cave, dangerous river crossings and cliff falls.
Ingenuity, inventiveness, dogged determination, bravery and support
of each other are qualities that assist the family to push through.
Francie's maps with places named by the children are key elements
that illustrate their twenty-eight day journey.
Eirlys Fowler's descriptive and exciting narrative is suitable for
middle primary students. Her world-building adds depth and interest,
what can a mechanical horse do, what advantages are there to clouds
carrying luggage? Complemented by Kirsten Slade's pen and ink
sketches and maps, this story is a great adventure, with strong
non-stereotypical characters.
Rhyllis Bignell
Sleep by Kate Prendergast
Old Barn Books, 2018. ISBN 9781910646229
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. Themes: Animals. Sleep. Kate Prendergast's
non-fiction picture book uses vivid illustrations to show where animals
rest and sleep. Her bright close-up paintings use a colour palette
reminiscent of 1960's children's books with swirls, dark shading and
patterns of oranges, reds, yellows and greens. Each animal is shown
asleep, some at home, in the barn, in the field or nests. Whilst
creating this engaging book, Kate discovered the plight of most of
these animals facing destruction of their habitat by humans. As you
share this story with a young audience, take time to discuss the
different ways animals rest or sleep, how and where this occurs and
why sleep is important to both animals and humans.
Harvest mice sleep curled up in their nests, whilst snails sleep in
their shells atop a resting tortoise. Bats sleep during the day and
fish sleep with their eyes open. Take time to wonder about the
places, physical conditions as you share the easy to read facts,
sometimes with added notes that accompany the close-up
illustrations. Prendergast includes 'Some Amazing Animal Facts' just
right for starting to engage with scientific facts and for
researching. Discover facts about cathemeral harvest-mice, mobs of
meerkats sleep in heaps, giraffes that sleep for only 20 minutes a
day and hibernating bears. Sleep by Kate Prendergast is a factual picture book, a great
resource for pre-schoolers and junior primary classes developing an
awareness of the needs of living things and beginning to investigate
how the environment supports life.
Rhyllis Bignell
The strange fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold
Random House, 2018. ISBN 9780451480477
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Noah Oakman, is the classic anti-hero
if ever there was one. To avoid the labour of time-consuming
choices, he wears his own daily "uniform" - a t-shirt emblazoned
with the name,"Bowie". He spends much of the book making the most of
a back injury to avoid swimming training, which to his parents
equates to a college scholarship.
Being a concise history, the book begins by reconnecting with his
two best friends, twins Alan and Val, who drag him along to a party.
After meeting Circuit, who attempts to hypnotize him, things get
surreal and the central quest begins. Genuinely trying to find
explanations for the changes and coincidences he experiences over
the coming weeks, he doesn't know whether he is suffering from
paranoid delusions or is onto something revelatory. Allusions to The
Matrix foreshadow the answer.
Noah takes his readers on a comical and poignant mission to confront
his obsessions and coincidences and discover how they are related.
What happened to youtube's Fading Girl? Who is OMG (Old Man Goiter)?
Hypocritically, Noah resists watching the film, "Breakfast at
Tiffany's with his younger sister Penelope, who has her own
obsession with Audrey Hepburn.
Noah's complex frustrations reach fever pitch until Alan is
seriously injured and Noah gets a grip on reality. Paramount is
already busy turning Noah's adventure into a film as evidenced by
the official trailer.
"The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik" is compelling reading,
written by an edgy YA writer who knows how to keep us turning pages.
Deborah Robins
Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste
Century, 2018. ISBN 9781780897776
(Age: Teens) Bianca (the main character) is never one to plan ahead:
she, like most people nowadays is 'act now deal with consciences
later,' but on top of that she's a bit of a scatterbrain so most of
the time it's 'act now have someone else deal with consequences'.
When Bianca and her best friend Lonnie are in a car accident that
Bianca might have caused she is incapacitated. After gaining full
consciousness, she is introduced to a VR version of Minecraft and
finds new friends and finding Lonnie in an apparently broken skin
while attempting an 'End dimension run'.
This book is the 2nd in a series, and the first one is a good read
as well. I will tell you that both books are not related apart from
being the first Minecraft series to be sponsored by Mojang and being
in the same series. They are part of a Mojang sponsored program to
get people of all ages reading.
The whole idea of the 'End dimension run' is Bianca trying to run
into her past, to before the car crash happened and it is also seen
through flashbacks that Bianca really depends on Lonnie to help her
with everything, plus that the car accident is a result of her being
a scatter brain. Bianca tries to slip into her past with Lonnie
(whose skin is glitching and has her stuck as a villager) but you
cannot run into your own past.
Bianca feels guilty about causing the crash and tries to complete
Lonnie's plan for the 'End run.' However, thanks to this new VR
version of Minecraft you can control your skin with your mind, but
it also means your deepest darkest insecurities will spawn mob's
most of which will try to kill you. Her guilt about causing the
crash and her obsession about completing the 'End-run' manifests
into an Enderman with a white scar which is the same as the other
car she crashed with. This Enderman will postpone the 'End run' and
attempts to stop the 'End run'.
One more thing, the ending is too obvious. I mean a good book hints
at a spoiler, but this book does it excessively. So much that ANYONE
can guess what it is. This is a HUGE spoiler and that is just not
okay!
Dante C. (Student, Year 7)
White rabbit red wolf by Tom Pollock
Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406378177
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Twins, Mental illness, Bullying,
Genetic engineering, Spies, Murder Revenge, Deception. What starts
off as a book about a boy with extreme anxiety issues quickly
develops into a rollercoaster thriller. Peter Blankman must overcome
his terror and panic attacks to solve the near-fatal stabbing of his
mother and find his missing sister. He uses mathematics (his mild
super power), to suppress his anxiety and to solve the issues at
hand. Who wanted his mother dead? And why has his twin sister
disappeared leaving him on his own? There are murders, torture,
missing persons, spies and highly questionable genetic engineering
involved in this fast-paced story. Peter must unravel the past to
come to terms with what is happening in the present. There are
twists and turns and deceptions that shock and leave you questioning
what is real.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was a page turner, dark and
disturbing and left my pondering the life of the mentally ill and
our understanding and treatment of them.
I would recommend this for senior high school students (14+) who
enjoy a somewhat dark story.
Joyce Crawford
Stink: Hamlet and Cheese by Megan McDonald
Ill. by Peter H. Reynolds. Candlewick Press, 2018. ISBN 9780763691639
(Age: 8+) Themes: Humour, Shakespeare themes. Given the choice of
staying home with his sister Judy, or going to Shakespeare camp,
Stink takes the camp with his friend, Sophie of the Elves. She tells
him that it will not be anything like what he imagines, and seduces
him with tales of swordplay and cursing, enough to whet his appetite
for him to take on the role of a sprite. But his arch enemy, Riley
Rottenberger is being a Sprite, too, so things are about to happen
that not even Stink could have predicted.
All good fun with lots of puns and mock speeches, and lots of
information about Shakespeare and his plays to engage younger
readers.
This is the eleventh novel about Stink and his adventures all of
which are humorous, engaging and very readable.
Fran Knight
The boy at the back of the class by Onjali Q. Rauf
Orion, 2018. ISBN 9781510105010
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Friendship. Refugees.
Bullying. Resilience. Tolerance. This is a really enjoyable story
about 4 young friends at school who are intrigued by the mystery
surrounding the new boy in the chair at the back of the class. They
have many questions, but it is hard to find the answers; the boy
Ahmet goes into 'Seclusion' in break times, and after school he is
collected by a woman who doesn't seem to be his mother. He doesn't
even seem to speak English. He is unlike anyone they've had in class
before, a strange brave boy with the eyes of a lion. The friends
gradually discover that Ahmet is a refugee child from war-torn
Syria, and in his long trek across sea and land to find safety he
has lost all family.
Learning that Britain is about to close its gates to refugees from
Calais, the four children hatch plans to help Ahmet find his family
before it is too late for him ever to be reunited with any of them.
They come up with 'The Greatest Idea in the World'. But nothing ever
goes smoothly, there are school bullies to contend with, and a bid
to get help from the Queen leads to an amazing escapade which gets
the attention of all the newspapers.
The story is narrated by a nine year old, and because the author
does not give away whether it is a girl or boy speaking, each reader
will identify in a way that suits them. And although the underlying
subject matter is serious, the story has a lot of humour,
particularly in revealing the thoughts and ideas of the nine year old
friends. Drawings of their plans by illustrator Pippa Curnick add
another element of fun.
Author Onjali Q Rauf is the person behind the 'Making Herstory'
campaign for women's rights and prevention of abuse and slavery of
women. She is also involved in delivering emergency aid packages to
refugee families. The boy at the back of the class is her first
novel, and is a wonderful way to draw in the interest of a young
audience, helping them to understand issues that they can't help but
overhear in the news and in adult conversations. The story is a
great adventure, with themes of friendship, tolerance and
understanding towards others.
Helen Eddy
It looks like this by Rafi Mittlefehldt
Candlewick Press, 2018. ISBN 9781536200430
(Age: 15+) Recommended. The cover reflects LGTBQ+ themes in one
glance - rainbow silhouettes of two youths. Thankfully, neither the
title nor the writing defines the narrator and main character. Fifteen
year old Mike has a gentle temperament. He has three friends,
counting his sister, Toby, and two burgeoning geeks, Jared and
Ronald. He is not into sports until a basketball player at his new
school invites him to hang out. His father would like to see him on
a sports team, but he likes to draw. Interestingly, Mike is largely
responsible for the daily well-being of his younger sister and the
family dog, all of whom are less enthusiastic about church than
their devout parents.
Even though he likes going to church on Sundays about as much as his
unruly sister, Mike is resilient and grateful - he doesn't sweat the
small stuff, and is just trying to make it through adolescence in
the Bible belt, reasonably unscathed. He's an artist - observant of
details and mindful. There is a genuine naivety, at least on Mike's
part, about his burgeoning friendship with Sean Rossini, the jock,
whose parents are members of the same church as his own family.
Mittlefehldt draws out Mike's self-discovery so slowly that we could
mistake his debut novel to be autobiographical, but in the
acknowledgement to his family, we learn that the author was by
contrast, tremendously supported by his family.
So what does it look like for Mike and Sean? For one brief moment it
looks like the novel's opening sunrise, written by a boy in love for
the first time. But very quickly a dysfunctional bully named Victor,
uploads a film of the boys making out to YouTube and tips off both
dads. Not merely unsupportive, one father is physically abusive and
the other sends his son away to a Christian camp where "conversion
therapy" is considered a treatment for homosexuality. Thus for the
most part, it looks like: secrecy, cyberbullying, public shaming,
ostracism and inevitable tragedy. Whose choices were responsible?
Not the choice to love and be loved. Indeed, Mrs Pilsner, Ronald's
mother, assures Mike, "You did nothing wrong. Ever, in any of this..."
Readers will be drawn to Mike and his inner circle of friends, more
so than Sean whose character is not fully developed, making him
ostensibly a ghost from the beginning. Despite the modern format and
the omission of speech marks, the book will seem anachronistic to
those who are savvy about LGTBQ issues, but for those young adults
and parents living in peevish backwaters, It looks like this will
be serve as both a cautionary tale and a strong indictment of
Christian hypocrisy.
Deborah Robins
The magic spell by Linda Chapman
My secret unicorn series. Penguin, 2018. ISBN 9780241354223
(Age: 6-8) Themes: Horses. Pets. Fantasy. Linda Chapman's My secret
unicorn series has been republished for a new generation of girls
who love horses, unicorns and magic. These simple, easy to read
stories are great beginning chapter books with realistic pencil
sketches by Biz Hull. They capture the imagination and show that
special relationship between a young girl and her first pony.
When young Lauren Foster moves to Granger's farm in the Blue Ridge
Mountains she finally knows her dreams will come true. Her parents
have promised her a pony and she can barely wait to pick one out at
the horse and pony sale. He brother Max has his own ten-week old
bundle of energy, a Bernese mountain dog, now it is Lauren's turn.
She has a favourite story written especially for her when she was
three, "My Little Pony" all about a beautiful snow-white pony
looking for a perfect owner. Now she's nine it's time for a real
pony!
A scruffy, grey pony captures her heart at the sale, and with the
help of her Mum they purchase everything they need to look after
Twilight. A chance encounter at the local bookshop opens Lauren's
eyes to the fantasy world of unicorns and she starts to wonder if
her new pony is something extra-special.
Linda Chapman's quick-paced story, delightfully weaves the fantasy
world into Lauren's everyday life. My secret unicorn is just right
for young horse and unicorn enthusiasts.
Rhyllis Bignell
Unofficial Minecraft STEM lab for kids by John Miller and Chris Fornell Scott
Quarry Books, 2018. ISBN 9781631594830
Apparently, 74 million people play Minecraft each month, one of
those is Miss 12 who is now hooked on coding, and many of whom are
in schools where the game is being used in many scenarios as part of
the everyday learning experience. For some time, the teacher
librarian networks I belong to have been peppered with queries about
how it can best be used and so a book that specifically focuses on
its use in the science, technology, maths and engineering strands
will be of great value to teachers whose students are clamouring for
these sorts of experiences but whose personal knowledge and skills
of the game are not as developed as those of those they teach.
Beginning with a thorough explanation of what Minecraft is, how it
works, how it can be used and played and purchased so that parents
and teachers understand its value both in school and beyond - the
book's focus is 'to connect the Minecraft player(s) in their life
with STEM learning... to help bridge the gap between game-play
and engaging STEM concepts" - it moves on to six themed quests, each
of which presents four labs, which, in turn, have two parts - an
out-of-game activity that requires hands-on exploration and an
in-game building and crafting activity.
Quest 1: Pistons, Rails, and Redstone
Quest 2: Construction Zone
Quest 3: The Sky is Not Your Limit
Quest 4: Rocks, Minerals, and Gems
Quest 5: Cycles in Science
Quest 6: Engineering Challenge
In terms of the quality of content, Miss 12 would probably be a
better reviewer than I, but in her absence, this review
by a Minecraft expert suggests that it is "outstanding" and gives a
comprehensive tour of the contents and layout. The credentials of
the authors also convince me of its authority. However, as a
non-Minecraft person who wears a teacher's hat, it would seem to me
to be the perfect tool to not only capture an audience who prefer
gaming to reading but also to use its user-friendliness to explore
things not necessarily intellectually or physically in the teacher's
toolbox. Added to that is this
article which shows that onscreen adventures are leading
children to discover their origins in print.
I'm beginning to see what all the conversations have been about and
why there is such excitement about this game that demands so much
more of the student than pressing buttons or manipulating levers.
Barbara Braxton
