Reviews

Truthers by Geoffrey Girard

Carolrhoda Lab, 2017. ISBN 9781512427790
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. Themes: Conspiracy; Terrorism - 9/11; Truth and Lies; Foster children; Identity; Mental health. Katie's Dad has been forced into a mental institution because he claims to know something about the 9/11 terrorism plot that could imply there was government complicity in what happened. Is he being silenced because he has spoken out? Is his former service in Afghanistan in some way involved? Conspiracy or truth? Is he just a victim of drug use and PTSD because of his former service or does he really know something that would upset the world's perception of what actually happened on 9/11? Katie is plunged into the drama as she tries to find a way to free her war-hero father from this 'imprisonment' that seems to be more than just mental health treatment. Plunged into the "Truthers" world (conspiracy theorists acting within cyberspace and beyond, with hackers working to uncover hidden 'truths'), she becomes twisted and challenged by what is truth for her father and for her own personal history.
This is a brilliantly compelling and slightly disturbing story - but one that you won't want to stop reading. The teenaged characters are intelligent and very likeable (and there are hints of a blossoming romance and 'coming-of-age' drama). The plot is begging to be made into a movie script. This author has delved deeply into the conspiracy world and has revealed the dilemma in the cyber-world of determining truth and of hiding information. And for Katie, there is added mystery about her own existence and identity.
Highly recommended for ages 16 - Adult readers.
Carolyn Hull

Let's go ABC! Things that go, from A to Z by Rhonda Gowler Greene

Illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9780802735096
(Age: 3-6) Alphabet. Vehicles. Rhyming book. Each page of this alphabet book contains a short rhyme about a vehicle for each letter of the alphabet, e.g., "I pick up speed. I'm gaining height. I catch the wind, ascend-in flight! I'm an... Airplane!" Each letter is hidden within the illustration or placed somewhere on the vehicle, eg. the L is the seat within the limousine. This feature, along with the large capital alphabet spread on the endpapers, will help children develop a visual understanding of letters. Exclamation marks are everywhere but they do help to add to the energy of the book. Putting the name of the vehicle at the end of the rhyme is clever as it prompts the child to name the vehicle after the predictive cue "I'm a... ". There is a good mix of familiar (bus, motorcycle) and unfamiliar (iceboat, zeppelin) vehicles and features animals as well as some other characters (santa, snowman) beloved by children. There is lots of action within each page and the text reads well at a fast pace, which will keep the young listener engaged. This is noticeably American, as is always the case with books featuring emergency vehicles, but will still appeal greatly to little vehicle lovers, despite things looking a little different. Children will enjoy finding the letter hidden within the picture as well as other things that start with that letter. The illustrations are crisp, bold and easy on the eye. This is a fun book for those developing visual letter awareness and initial sound knowledge.
Nicole Nelson

Max Champion and the great race car robbery by Alexander McCall Smith

Ill. by Kate Hindley. Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2018. ISBN 9781408886137
(Age: 6-8) Recommended. Themes: Motor car racing. Criminals. Values. Good versus evil. When Max discovers that his grandfather was the inventor of the Champion motor cars he is stunned to discover that the greedy Mr Grabber had stolen his ideas and his car, Arabella, many years ago. Max decides to try and find a way to get back what his grandfather had lost.
Even though the Champions are poor they are very happy and always honest. Grandfather Gus is philosophical about the loss of his inventions, his mother works hard at her sandwich making business and Max mows lawns to help out. When his mother has to make a mountain of sandwiches for Mr Grabber, Max helps out and it is in the Grabber's mansion that Max uncovers some of the secrets that the Grabbers have been keeping.
This is feel good story of the poor but honest Champion family overcoming the rich and dishonest Grabber family, as Max manages to overcome all the difficulties he faces, and in a wild car race, finally wins out. Kate Hindley's illustrations bring the story to life and add an element of humour that children will delight in.
Permeating the story are the values of decency and honesty, working hard doing the right thing. Grandfather Gus has some very pertinent advice to give Gus amidst the excitement of his hiding from the villains, a thrilling car chase and winning out in the end.
This would make a great read aloud story and give rise to much discussion when values are being examined in the classroom.
Pat Pledger

Let me lie by Clare Mackintosh

Hachette, 2018. ISBN 9780751564877
(Age: Adult - Older adolescent) Themes: Mystery and suspense. Suicide. Grief. The dedication at the start of the narrative positions us perfectly to be led into a complex story of love, loyalty and betrayal, with Clare Mackintosh's choice of Benjamin Franklin's wise words to precede the narrative: "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead". Indeed the use of "lie" in the title of the book itself is enigmatic, as we begin to realize what has happened.
Single mother, Anna, has an eight-week old child, Ella, with her partner, Mark, the psychologist she had been seeing since the disastrous disappearance of her parents, in what appears to have been separate suicides. Prior to the opening of the narrative, we learn, Anna's parents appeared to have run a successful car sales business for many years, apparently making money and in a successful personal relationship. However, the manner of their deaths, apparently suicide, and the things that Anna begins to discover suggest that all was indeed not well. This is where Murray, the retired policeman who is fascinated by the mystery, decides to investigate privately, both to help Anna, who is dismayed, afraid and angry, and to answer the questions that puzzle him.
Apart from the obvious lack of care of their daughter, having been somewhat venomous and not particularly loving parents, Anna had thought her life to be predictable and normal. She discovers, gradually, that all had not been well, that her parents had cared little for her and for each other, and she has been devastated by the lies that had filled her life and the dreadful events that appear to have occurred.
This book is imbued with a sense of decency, in how we should treat one another, how we should respond to tragedy, how indeed we should live in today's complex and often difficult world by caring for, and recognizing, the humanity and goodness of others. Tense, disturbing and at times shocking, this new novel tells a good story and leaves us understanding the terrible nature of some people, and of the hidden secrets and venom of some people's lives. Mackintosh elicits strong emotions in the reader as we begin to understand what others find the strength to do, not only to survive, but to approach life with love, hope, loyalty and respect so that they, and we, can live justly, if we are lucky, in this sometimes very daunting and dark world.
This book is suitable for adults and older adolescents, as it does deal with admirable and honourable attributes of humanity, tainted by the presence of betrayal, cruelty and violence.
Elizabeth Bondar

Tropical Terry by Jarvis

Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406378627
(Ages: 3-6) Themes: Fish, Appearance. Coral Reef City is filled with some of the most colourful and fabulous fish of the ocean. A flurry of action words ("dashing, flashing, swirled") echo the movement of the sea seen in the illustrations, which feature minimal background detail comprised of white line drawings and speckled shades of matte blue, making the fish and colourful coral stand out. All of the pages are double page spreads to give the full panoramic experience of the sea. Poor Terry . . . in the midst of such a vibrant world he is plain blue and a very average fishy shape. He does have two great friends, Cilla the crab and Steve the sea snail, but as much as he loves playing with them (he is really good at hide-a-fish), he longs to be part of the tropical fish crew (they call him "Terry the DULL fish" and are definitely not interested in his silly games). After fancying himself up with colourful bits and bobs, Terry is finally able to join the popular gang, but when they run into a spot of bother, it's Terry's hiding skills that save the day. After this Terry realises that standing out isn't always great and starts to take pride in what makes him unique and special. The illustrations are beautiful but as a whole the book is let down a little by the text which lacks suspense and drama, especially when read aloud. In addition, while the story attempts to show that brains are superior to beauty it doesn't do this in a way that will be obvious to a very young audience.
Nicole Nelson

I Love You Dino-Daddy by Mark Sperring

Ill. by Sam Lloyd. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408893449
(Ages: 3-6) Themes: Fathers, Rhyming book. As a republication of a 2015 title, initially published as "Dino-Daddy", this puffy hardcover book has a shiny foil title that somehow makes it seem cheap at first glance. However, on opening it contains first-rate illustrations (the cover illustration is overshadowed by the glittery text and stars) and a rather lovely rhyming text. The dinosaur family are a beautiful vibrant green with rich facial expressions and oodles of energy. The pictures are imbued with a sense of fun, chaos and craziness that many kids will identify with as how it feels to hang out with dad. Hands-on, rough and tumble play, silly magic tricks and jokes on dad when he falls asleep on the couch are all accounted for. This is gender stereotypical, with dad being the fun, slightly irresponsible parent, but entertaining nonetheless (and you could always swap Daddy for Mummy when reading). The simple, rhyming text reads aloud well ("And though he has a list of jobs he has to dino-do, he always seems to find the time to play a game . . . or two!") and the humorous illustrations do a lot of the talking. A great Father's Day gift or read aloud that celebrates time spent together.
Nicole Nelson

What will I do when I grow up? by Margherita Borin

Berbay Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9780994384157
What will I do when I grow up by Margherita Borin is a picture book that as the title suggests, discusses a variety of careers people can do when they grow up. It centres around the high street of a town (or the Main Street as we know it in Australia) and focusses on a Chef, Builder, Scientist, Teacher and an Artist.
Each vocation is explained in a simple way, in respect to what the person may do, what instruments or equipment they may use and other things that may be involved with the job. Each section also ends with the question 'Would you like to be a... when you grow up" leaving it open for discussion with the reader.
Each of the jobs also has multiple pages of illustrations showing areas within the workplace and the actual equipment that may be used. For example - the chef section shows a kitchen, chef's uniform, utensils (knives, pots and pans, scales, blenders, mixers and graters to name a few), and a whole page of raw and cooked ingredients. The builder shows a work site, machinery and building equipment.
When reading this with my kids it was a good tool to talk about what they knew about these jobs and if they liked any of them. We also spent a lot of time looking at all the different pictures, naming them and how they can be used. Obviously there are a lot more jobs in the world than these 5 but it is a good introduction to the idea of a career and also an understanding of what adults do and who is behind many of the things we love i.e. How was our house built? Who cooks our dinner at a restaurant? How can we cure diseases and learn about the world? Who will we meet at school? We give it 3.5 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain

The coldest girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

From Twinkle with love by Sandhya Menon

Hodder, 2018. ISBN 9781473678736
(Age 13+) Highly recommended. Twinkle, a 16 year old high school student, dreams of being a movie director. When she hears about an up and coming film festival, she is determined to make her mark on the industry and direct an amazing movie for everyone to see. When Sahil Roy asks her to be his partner for the festival, she eagerly accepts his offer, knowing it will bring her closer to Sahil's twin brother Neil, who she has a crush on. But little does she realise that Sahil has liked her since they were 11 and is hoping she will notice him instead. As Sahil and Twinkle start to work together, Twinkle realises they have more in common that she first thought and finds herself conflicted in her feelings for the wrong brother. What will she do, which brother will show her their true colours?
The book is written in the form of a diary, with each entry being a letter to one of Twinkle's favourite movie directors. This format was different to your average chapter book and easy to follow. The characters have an authentic feel to their personality, each one I found I could relate to in their feelings and the choices they were faced with as teenagers. The story touches on themes of friendship, conflict, loyalty and the trials we all encounter as we are growing up. Twinkle makes many choices in her attempt to define who she really is and learns a big lesson along the way.
"From Twinkle with love" is an inspiring and engaging read, full of humour, at times sadness and the emotional ups and downs of growing up. I highly recommend this read.
Mia Rice (Student)

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

Penguin Books, 2018. ISBN 9780141375397
(Age: 12+) Recommended. A princess, a soldier, a hunter, a traitor, and a thief. Following the paths of Princess Catherine, Ambrose, March, Edyon, and Tash; these five people will soon come to find their futures are connected by a mysterious bottle of demon smoke. Who will unlock its secrets? These five young people are trying to survive as much as everyone else is but with their kingdoms at war, they are all facing their own demons. Unwanted marriages, revenge, crossroad decisions and literal demons, they will have to have all of these problems and more.
Sally Green has crafted a character-driven story with the themes of war, social classes, forbidden love, mystery and a dash of the fantasy. Her characters are fleshed out, and uniquely expressive and driven in their own ways, each so different from the other. With it being a lengthy story, the plot is somewhat slow but pulls the reader back in with its action, suspense and surprising plot twists. And with that, it kicked off a series of events that kept me clinging to the book wanting more. Green spares no detail in this encapturing story of kings and kingdoms, love and loss, and demon smoke. I would recommend this to young and young adult readers.
Kayla Raphael

Let's visit the Olobobs by Leigh Hodgkinson and Steve Smith

Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408897621
(Age: 1-4) Board book, Lift-the-flaps, Shapes. Based on the English children's television show "Olobob Top", as seen on ABC, this early learning book about shape has been created by Leigh Hodgkinson ("Are You Sitting Comfortably?") and Steve Smith. There are four Olobob Top titles planned for release this year and another four in 2019: some sticker activity books and some board books. Olobob Top is about the adventures of three friends, Tib, Lalloo and Boble, who live in the biggest and best tree in Olobob Forest. Their world is made up of all sorts of shapes and in each television episode they build new characters who come to life. "Let's Visit the Olobobs" begins by introducing the Olobob characters and each page features a shape that the reader is asked to find within the accompanying picture (e.g., "Can you spot a triangle?"). There is more than one of the shape within each picture but the target shape can be identified because of its colour, pattern, or other specifics. The reader is spoken to directly ("Yes! It's Lalloo's dress. It's a very spotty dress Lalloo"), making it sound like the television narration on shows like Tellytubbies.
Young children will like pointing out all the other shapes they can see within the illustrations, with varying levels of entry depending on children's shape knowledge and vocabulary. Other concepts are also scattered throughout, including counting (numbers), size (long, big) and position (around). What is especially great about this is how there are shapes within shapes and sometimes the shapes are even obstructed or overlapping, requiring children to understand layering and position (e.g. the semi-circle of Gurdy's shell is partly hidden behind his head) in order to correctly locate the shapes. Bright colours and interesting smiley characters make this easy on the eye and will appeal to young ones even if they haven't seen the show.
Nicole Nelson

Can I touch your hair? by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Peg + Cat : The lemonade problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson

Candlewick Entertainment, 2018. ISBN 9781536200614
(Age: 3-6) Themes: Problem Solving, STEM, Mathematics, Cats. Lemonade stands outside one's house is harking back to a time when neighbours knew each other, when they supported their kids' endeavours and there were no worries about drinking from an offered cup.
Still, that aside, the idea that Peg and Cat set up a stall to try and sell drinks of lemonade to the local teens in exchange for marbles, is a step to teaching younger readers about problem solving, negotiation and maths. This picture book version taken from the very popular television series, will please younger readers. It is brightly illustrated, invitingly told, and features numbers and mathematical symbols throughout the text and pictures. Humour underlines the simple story of negotiating your way through a problem, while the illustrations cleverly support the text using laugh out loud situations that children will recognise.
This will appeal to younger readers wanting a simple introduction to the numbers from one to ten.
Fran Knight

Under my bed by John Dickson

Berbay Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9780994384133
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Under my bed is a fun picture book all about those monsters hiding in the dark places of a child's bedroom. What if the monsters had a party? Would you be invited? It is your room after all. Imagine lying in your bed while monsters move around your room. Our main character is doing just that! He can hear them making sandwiches and crushing snails. He can see the shapes of their bodies in the dark but enough is enough. If he has to lay here listening then he may as well join in! Will the monsters let him?
Under my bed is all about overcoming your fears because those fears might actually be a lot of fun. The illustrations are cast in shadows, making them seem scary in the dark. The white monster eyes add to this but they aren't scary, they are fun, especially as you read about what is going on. The story also rhymes, reading like a poem but with the elements of a story. It is descriptive and engaging, making it a great read aloud story for parents and in classrooms. The rhyming element is great for older children learning to write their own rhymes or if writing about their fears and changing them to seem fun and harmless.
Under my bed would also be good for the Child Protection Curriculum, supporting children to talk about and identifying feelings. This story is highly recommended for readers aged 7+.
Kylie Kempster

The way back from broken by Amber J. Keyser

Carolrhoda Lab, 2018. ISBN 9781541514881
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Themes: Sibling death. Grief. Wilderness. Survival. Rakmen's baby sister died and the family is working through the tragedy in their own ways. He and his mother attend weekly meetings at Promise House, a support group where the mothers cry and the children do art therapy downstairs. His father won't go, like others he goes to the bar and bottles up the grief. Rakmen helps out with the other damaged kids, including some his age, Molly, who survived a car crash that killed her sister, D'Veray and D'Mareay, identical twins whose brother D'Shawn died of cancer. Their shared experiences help them to understand each other, unlike Rakmen's best friend Juan, who can't understand why he has lost interest in sport, girls and the excitement of finishing school. When his Biology teacher, Mrs Tatlas, turns up at the support group consumed with grief over her stillborn son, Rakmen's mother befriends her and he is thrust together with her young daughter Jacey. His own parents are going through troubled times and so when he is invited to spend the summer at a remote Canadian lake they ask him to go, not only to look after Jacey and her mum but to give them space to find a way forward. The lake is very remote and the family's cabin run down but it is very beautiful and Mrs Tatlas, Leah, decides on a canoe camping trip 'au large' in the wilderness. The trip is very challenging but they gradually find a rhythm to their days, paddling, carrying the canoe and setting up camp to collapse exhausted at the end of the day, an escape from the exhaustion of grief. When Leah breaks her ankle four days away from anywhere Rakmen and Jacey have to go for help. Loaded with responsibility Rakmen exceeds his own expectations and dramatically opts for survival and the living, moving on from blaming himself for his sister's loss.
This sensitive exploration of grief and healing acknowledges the complexity of the issue; the triggers, the depression and volatile behaviour, the self-blame, family breakdown and damage to relationships caused by the death of a child. The finely drawn description of the beautiful, scary and dangerous wilderness is a real strength, powerfully asserting that life is larger than grief, allowing the characters to discover resilience counteracting the hopelessness at the start of the book. Recommended for students looking for a serious read to engage the emotions or anyone dealing with, or wishing to understand, aspects of grieving.
Sue Speck