Ill. by Van T Rudd. Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9780734416681
(Age: all) Highly (Highly x 2) recommended. Humour. Africa.
Ingenuity. Working together. Families. Village life. On the edge of
the No-Go desert, there is not much to work with to have some fun
with your friends. But this one boy and his brothers find much to
keep themselves occupied, whether it be sliding down the sandhill,
climbing the Fiori tree, or avoiding their fed up mum. But the best
thing is riding the bike he and his brothers made, with its bent
bucket seat, handlebar made from twining branches, tin pot handles
and wood cut out wheels. The boys can go anywhere in their bike,
over the sand hills, or riding through the village or the fields.
Many times they must stop and do some running repairs, but they
always have a lot of fun.
The infectiously funny story of boys and their home-made bike will
invite comment and delight as younger readers marvel at their
ingenuity and will eagerly try to replicate what the boys have done.
The illustrations are wondrous, with their thick black outlines and
block colours rendered on recycled cardboard with intriguing
stickers on each piece. The background of the village with its
mud-for-walls houses, sparse fields, few trees, sand hills and
abandoned car will alert the readers to the paucity of these
children's lives, and perhaps make them reflect on the richness of
their own. The stunning illustrations will provide a talking point
for the reader as they hunt out clues about the lives of these boys,
and perhaps think about why the long suffering mother is fed up. I
love the introduction of speed using a bold brush of colour across
the page and was further intrigued by the use of shadows throughout
the book, underlining the heat of the day. There are very few
picture books available for our students set in Africa and this
makes a welcome addition to any class looking at children outside
their own experience.
Clarke has had many short stories, non fiction and poetry published
in Australia and this is her first picture book. The illustrator,
Rudd, too presents his first picture book for us, and I can only
hope they produce more.
Fran Knight
There may be a castle by Piers Torday
Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9781848668621
(Age: 10+) Recommended. On the wordless turquoise cover, a stylised
path winds its way to a distant castle while the blurb simply
states, 'like I said, kid, it's your story. Are you ready?' There may be a castle is a multilayered story, told through
the eyes of two narrators, Mouse Mouse Mallory a small
eleven-year-old boy, a procrastinator, a thinker whose constant
companion is his stuffed toy donkey Nonky and his older sister
Violet. Her personality is opposite to her brother's: she is
confident and feisty like her hero, a pirate queen. Mouse hates
Christmas, as every year they travel to their grandparents' house on
Christmas Eve. Even with dire weather warnings, Mum bundles the
children out of the house and settles toddler Esme in her car seat.
The car ride is fraught with tension, and in a minute in snowy
dangerous conditions, the car crashes. The SUV rolls down a steep
hill, the windscreen shatters and Mouse who has undone his seatbelt
is catapulted out into the snow. His mother bleeding and unconscious
and his sisters hang upside down in the car, Esme safe in her car
seat while Violet is trapped by her seatbelt.
This is the turning point of Torday's narrative, clearly delineated
by chapters and font styles, the two tales unfold. Mouse wakes up in
a magical land inhabited by strange characters, knights, monsters,
giant dinosaurs and a large talking donkey. He cannot look back;
there is an enemy lurking in the woods. He is constantly encouraged
and cajoled to 'maybe find the castle,' that lies ahead. Meanwhile
Violet has to confront the consequences of the car crash; it is up
to her to save her mother and sister.
Just like Christmas cake that exploded on impact, leaving crumbs in
the car and scattered on the snowy ground outside, Torday leaves
plenty of clues for the astute reader along the way to the
culmination of the story. While each of the main characters shows
great resilience and resourcefulness, the reader also needs to
persevere at times with different storylines and the individual
quests.
This story is challenging, a dark and compelling story, at times
nonsensical with the annoying minstrel's lengthy songs, but most of
all it is confronting. There may be a castle is suited to a
more mature, discerning preteen reader.
Rhyllis Bignell
We found a hat by Jon Klassen
Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406347517
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Sharing. Problem solving. Humour. Two
turtles find a hat. They try on the hat in turns and find that it
looks good on both of them. But there are two of them and only one
hat. They decide that the best thing to do is to leave the hat,
because it would not be right if one has a hat and the other does
not. But their eyes tell a different story. As they watch the sunset
together they find their thoughts and eyes are drawn back to the hat
on the ground behind them. Later going to sleep, their eyes remain
open, watching the hat. When one falls asleep the other creeps
towards the hat, asking the other what he is thinking. He tells his
friend that he is dreaming of them both wearing the hat. Each has a
hat in his dream and the other turtle, satisfied that this solves
the problem, falls asleep beside his friend.
Readers will know that this solution satisfies both turtles, that
the hat which loomed as a problem between them has been reduced in
its significance and they are content. Their eyes are closed and
they sleep.
Divided into three chapters, Finding the Hat, Watching the Sunset
and Going to Sleep, children will love reading each section as the
story unfolds, offering possible solutions to the problem. The
wonderful sepia illustrations with pages of single colour against
which the turtles and hat, are initially shown as small figures
within the panorama of the desert. But as the problem looms, the
figures become larger, almost filling the pages.
But the eyes tell the story of trust, of friendship, of longing, of
teetering on the path of deception, of coming together as friends
again - themes which could be discussed with a group of children
either in a class, group or at home.
The third in a series of books about a hat, I want my
hat back (2011) and This
is not my hat (2012) this book will be equally well
received, its charming style, infectious humour and instantly
recognisable themes making it a book kids and adults will pick up to
read and share.
Fran Knight
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781760290641
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Fantasy. Romance. Emmeline of Ruina, needs
to restore her rightful place in her country and help regain its
independence. But she has been exiled, her mother and father killed
and her sister, Olivia, imprisoned. And unlike them she does not
have the powers of the Ruined, relying instead on her skills at
swordsmanship and her own cleverness.
She plans to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold and help her sister
escape. She kills Princess Mary of Vallos taking her place as the
betrothed of Prince Casimir of Lera (Cas). Following this is a story
of the growing romance between Em and Cas, as the two are now
betrothed. Beautiful and expensive gowns, detailed with relish,
different customs and a growing rift between Cas and his parents
causes some hesitation on Em's part, as the need to free her sister
becomes secondary to her growing love for Cas. She becomes less sure
of herself and the reason she is in this place. In captivity
Olivia's powers have grown and Em's indecision has created a
distrust between the two girls.
A solid fantasy read, the background of the rivalry between the two
kingdoms is nothing new but the writing is fast paced and the
romance enough to impel any reader to turn the pages.
Fran Knight
Dog Zombies rule for now by Liz Pichon
Tom Gates series bk. 11. Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781743812563
(Age: 8-11) Recommended. Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series is
extremely popular; the diary style format includes the creative
doodles, small cartoons, thought bubbles her fans love. The
easy-to-read text includes an array of appealing fonts and styles,
handwriting, bubble writing, emphasized words, block writing and
words made out of patterns. The placement of text and illustrations
along with the large line spacing is great for high interest-lower
reading age students.
Tom has agreed to help his best friend Mark who is moving house and
needs to find a pet-sitter for a few days. Of course, at school
Marcus Meldrew finds out and begins to tease Tom, will it be Mark's
pet snake? Tom begins to worry and doodle, his sister Delilah has
allergies and his parents do not actually know about the promise.
This is just another day in the life of Tom Gates. Marble the
hamster arrives with a long list of instructions and takes up
residence in Tom's room. Yes, he loves to run all night on his
hamster wheel!
Tom has big plans for his band Dog Zombies, to write more songs and
to make spectacular music. Unfortunately getting more sleep proves
difficult with Marble the hamster active all night and the constant
chiming of the cuckoo clock. Annoying Delilah proves to be an easy
task for Tom.
Nothing in Tom's life is dull or boring and he finds trouble
wherever he goes. Filled with family dramas, band rehearsals,
pet-sitting problems and the ups and downs of Tom's school life, Dog
Zombies Rule For Now is another amusing and entertaining
addition to the series. Liz Pichon also includes opportunities for
craft activities and suggestions for story writing.
Rhyllis Bignell
The Call by Peadar O'Guilin
David Fickling Books, 2016. ISBN 9781910989203
(Age: 16+) Centuries after humans drove the Sidhe (fairies) from
Ireland into the dark world of the Grey Land, society struggles to
survive as the supernatural creatures inflict a horrifying revenge.
Every child is suddenly seized without warning at some stage of
their adolescence. They are transported in a single moment to the
hideously terrifying world of the Sidhe where they are hunted and
most often captured and tortured to death for the amusement of their
tormentors.
All are returned to Ireland, however approximately nine out of ten
are killed and the survivors bear terrible wounds and disfigurements
from their ordeal. The corpses are mutilated and deformed by fairies
as an example to those who have not yet been 'called', as a warning
of the unspeakable pain and suffering which they will be subjected
to when caught.
Unable to escape their land, the dwindling Irish population faces
societal collapse and survival dominates every aspect of life. From
the age of ten, children attend special colleges where they are
subjected to gruelling physical exercise to develop strength and
stamina whilst engaging in high level self defence techniques. Their
entire education centres upon being as prepared as they possibly can
when they are called, finding themselves naked and alone in an alien
world where they will be sadistically hunted.
Having survived polio, central character Nessa has a walking
disability. She knows that surviving her call is made monumentally
difficult by being unable to flee as swiftly as most. Despite this,
she feels that she must survive and devotes her life to
accomplishing every aspect of her training as well as she can. If
the prospect of indescribable violence and pain in a nether world is
not enough, Nessa and her peers suffer vicious bullying from fellow
students who seek to dominate in a real world where normal teen
relationships and hormones remain. With students trained to survive
by killing before being killed, fights in the survival college can
maim and to be called when injured invites almost certain death.
Strong female characters exist in this story and they are shown to
be self-reliant and capable of defending themselves. Threats and
acts of violence perpetrated by male characters upon females makes
for uncomfortable reading however.
The linear progression of Nessa's experience is interspersed with
chapters describing what happens to other students from the school's
various year levels when they are called to the Grey Land.
The author describes this tale as grim which is a significant
understatement. Some scenes are nightmarish but what disturbed me
most was the degrading, unending pain and misery endured by humans
who were enslaved and grossly disfigured to provide service to
captors. Descriptions of clothing made from human parts was
sickening. Whilst many teenagers enjoy horror themes, aspects of
this novel could be described as extreme.
Suggested minimum 16 years.
Rob Welsh
Leave me by Gayle Forman
Simon and Schuster, 2016. ISBN 9781471156786
(Age: Adult) Themes: Identity; Family; Responsibility; Illness;
Stress; Adoption. Adult Novel. Every working woman who also bears
the burdens of family life will resonate with the emotional
struggles of the central character in this story for adult readers.
Maribeth is a 44-year-old juggling many things - stressful career in
an industry with unforgiving deadlines; two dearly loved twin
pre-schoolers and their busy schedules; finding time for intimacy
with a husband she loves; negotiating friendship changes and the
busyness of life in a big city. This juggling act falls apart
completely when she experiences a heart attack and a subsequent
bypass. Suddenly her world freefalls into unfamiliar territory and
her sense of self and her emotional needs cartwheel into places that
she is unprepared for and unwilling to address. So she leaves! With
no warning, and little thought for those around her, she transplants
her life into a different city, reconstructing herself little by
little as she explores her history and her reason for being. With no
identity, she manufactures something from nothing and connects to
people around her who slowly help her to rebuild her sense of self
and allow her to uncover the secrets that she has wound tightly
under her new façade. As an adopted child, the story also weaves her
search for her biological history into her search for identity and
emotional security.
Although there would be few people who would consider Maribeth's
abandonment of her family as a solution to their problems, the
mid-life emotional journey that she travels as a mature working
mother and career woman is certainly a 21st Century voyage into the
complications of stress, achievement, desire and responsibility. I
am past her stage of life, but I certainly felt and remembered some
of her angst as she attempted to keep everyone and everything afloat
around her, while feeling that she was drowning under the weight of
it all. Maribeth's reinvention of herself, was perhaps necessary as
she dealt with her own mortality, the physical consequences of Heart
surgery and the emotional trauma that created her selfish
introspection. Not happy reading, but well written; and she doesn't
drown, but there is hope as she learns to swim in a new and healthy
way.
Carolyn Hull
Amazing Abby : Drama Queen by Emma Moss
Girls can vlog bk 2. Macmillan Childrens' Books, 2016. ISBN
9781509817382
(Age: 11+) Recommended. Pink cover, glittery lettering and cute
polaroids didn't bode well. As expected, the stereotypical tween
love triangle between protagonist, hot boy and narcissistic school
bully; results in Abby being continually set-up and looking foolish.
In this sequel to Lucy Locket: Online Disaster (Girls
Can Vlog bk 1) Abby's good times vlogging outweighs the
hijinks of Dakota, who is the ultimate mean girl.
Abby shines in the company of her loyal group of friends who are
members of the youtube channel she founded: Girls Can Vlog, but is
she neglecting her school work? Readers will delight in the
different genres used to re-create the girls' youtube videos. Text
messages, scripts, viewer counts, photos and comment feeds enable us
to experience each fun-filled vlog on paper. It takes initial
adjustment, but we quickly adapt and are thoroughly engaged.
Despite a predictable plot, readers cannot help developing an
interest in creating vlogs collaboratively, and learning about the
techniques and content via the featured video scripts. To be fair,
there are also lessons to be learned. Author, Emma Moss, touches on:
school pressures, cheating, bullying and friendship. Girls can
Vlog's strength lies in its innovative style. Macmillan
produced cute youtube trailers
for this series, which will no doubt attract equally cute youtube
responses. Recommended for junior high girls.
Deborah Robins
The magic show book: a performance in a book by Gemma Westing
ed. by Fleur Star. Dorling Kindersley, 2016. ISBN 9780241251133
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Magic, Illusion, Paper craft, Pop up book.
This amazingly designed book will intrigue and delight any reader
who takes an interest in design or magic, illusion or paper crafts.
Opening the book is magical in itself as the pages are brilliantly
enticing with their panorama of colour and invention. A contents
page on the inside cover shows the range of things to read and do:
abracadabra, wand tricks, rope tricks, coin tricks and disappearing
acts to the less well known tricky chicken and the slicer trick.
Even this list of contents is enticing. The first page tells the
budding magician what he or she will need to do these tricks, and
then over the page is the first trick Abracadabra, with an inserted
black page on which to write. This is followed by several pages of
wand tricks, and then numerology and the slicer. Each page has full
instructions and the double thickness pages make a solid base on
which to play out these tricks with the audience.
The book will be a wonderful addition to a class of kids wanting to
play some magic tricks, and is one of several published by DK: Magic,
Optical Illusions, Mind Benders, Colour Illusions
and More Illusions. Each is designed to intrigue and delight,
enticing readers to try these out with friends and families.
Fran Knight
A very Cheeky Monkey Christmas by Lisa Kerr
Five Mile Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760404086
(Age: 2-5) Recommended. Board book. Christmas. Cheeky Monkey is
determined to be good so that Santa will give him his presents. But
Cheeky Monkey has some problems when he tries to be helpful. He gets
tangled up in the Christmas lights when he is stringing them up; he
leads the Christmas band astray, destroys the gingerbread house,
grabs the largest stocking and has other misadventures until finally
it is time to go to bed.
This is a welcome addition to the Cheeky Monkey series that children
will love. It is a sturdy board book, with a cut out Christmas star
embellished with silver glitter. Cheeky Monkey has sparkly red
antlers that also give out the feeling of Christmas. Each page has a
short narrative and the reader must then look at the accompanying
humorous illustrations to find out just what Cheeky Monkey has
managed to do. The text flows along beautifully and will be lots of
fun to read aloud, and the illustrations are not only very funny but
contain lots of small details that children will love to find,
especially the tiny mice hiding in different places. The book is
worth a second visit to find all the funny things that may have been
missed in the first reading. This also could provide a springboard
for children to discuss Christmas rituals like putting up lights
outside, baking Christmas goodies, singing carols and so on.
A truly delightful book, the irrepressible Cheeky Monkey never fails
to delight the reader.
Pat Pledger
Hotel for the lost by Suzanne Young
Simon Pulse, 2016. ISBN 9781481423014
(Age: 15+) Ghosts. Horror. Audrey Casella is on her way with her
father and brother Daniel to stay with her grandmother, someone she
doesn't know. Her mother has just died, and her father can't cope
with his grief so he is dumping Audrey and Daniel. On the way, they
make an unplanned stop at the Hotel Ruby, where Audrey meets the
handsome Elias and goes uninvited to a party in the hotel's
ballroom. There are strange happenings in the hotel and Audrey will
have to make up her mind whether she can face a future without her
mother, or remain in an in-between place that is very strange.
The author builds up mounting suspense as the reader gets a picture
of the hotel, with its beautiful guests, the weird 13th floor and
strange occurrences. Audrey is attempting to deal with her grief and
getting together with Elias helps with that. She doesn't understand
why she is the only person without an invitation to the dances in
the ball room, and can't figure out the mystery behind the 13th
floor.
Readers who love ghost stories, the thought of life after death and
like a fabulous setting like the Hotel Ruby will enjoy this story.
Pat Pledger
Three dark crowns by Kendare Blake
Macmillan Children's Books, 2016. ISBN 9781509804559
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Like any good fantasy novel, this one
begins with a children's rhyme: 'Three dark Queens are born in a
glen... ' The song, sung by mainlander children while skipping
rope is haunting and hints at what is to come - or what should be to
come.
The much anticipated Three dark crowns sets the stage for a
violent battle to the death between three royal sisters on a
backwaters island in Fennbirn. Katherine the poisoner, Arsinoe the
naturalist, and Mirabella the elemental have been pitted against one
another since they were six years old. The triplets of the old
queen, they are destined to destroy one another in order to reign
over the island of Fennbirn. Seeded in tradition, they are separated
and raised to meet their bloody destiny with one of the three most
prominent gifted families; the Arrons, the Milone's, and the
Westwood's. However, it seems that more than one sister is without a
gift. Could Rho's claim that it is the sacrificial year be true?
Could Mirabella, the most talented of the sisters, ascend to the
throne without spilling blood and become the next White-Handed
Queen? She is already the only queen in history to remember her
sisters - the only to refuse to harm them.
I would highly recommend for fantasy lovers twelve and up. Blake's
world building brings you into the Queen's positions, making you
love, hate, and fear with them as the temple's power grows. Can they
survive the Ascension year? Or will their Island home rise up
against them before it is all over?
Kayla Gaskell, 20
The adventures of Pipi the pink monkey by Carlo Collodi
Retold and expanded by Alessandro Gallenzi and ill. by Axel
Scheffler. Alma Books, Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781847495594
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. What's that I hear you ask? Carlo
Collodi? You mean the Italian guy who wrote Pinocchio? Yep, that's
the one I mean. And no, I didn't know he wrote anything else either!
By the way, if you have never read the original story but
are only familiar with the contemporarised versions (like Disney)
you should!
For the first time ever Collodi's 'other' story for children has
been translated into English and has also been tweaked by Alessandro
Gallenzi. Alessandro is the co-founder of Alma Books (Alma
being the Spanish for 'soul'). This independent publishing company
produces around seventy titles a year, many of them translations of
classics in languages other than English.
Aside from the fascination of all of this (and I do mean
fascination) the story of Pipi is quite charming. With definite
overtones of the world's most famous marionette, Pipi is very
different to his brothers not only in his silky pink fur but also
because he is the naughty one.
From stealing a peasant's pipe to losing his tail while tormenting
an old blind crocodile to meeting a little boy named Alfred and then
being captured by an infamous brigand, Pipi adventure's are
thrilling.
And just as the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair (you know D's Blue
Fairy) promised Pinocchio that he could become a real boy, the
rabbit with the turquoise fur makes good on the promise that Pipi
will regain his beautiful tail, if only he keeps his word.
I truly love that I can hear Collodi's turn of phrase and expression
in this translation. The story is followed by a wealth of extra
material for readers with a glossary of monkey language,
biographical information about the author including a letter to his
child readers, details of the characters and even other 'literary'
apes/monkeys.
All in all this is a delightfully different addition to any primary
library collection. Not least of all because the message it provides
to young readers holds just as true today as it did in 19th century
Italy.
Highly recommended for readers from around 8 years upwards.
Sue Warren
An eagle in the snow by Michael Morpurgo
Harper Collins, 2016. ISBN 9780008134150
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. War, Historical fiction, Blitz, War
at home, World War One, World War Two. On the train traveling from
bombed out Coventry to London where Barney and his mother will catch
the train to Cornwall to stay with her sister, they are dogged by
German planes and take shelter in a tunnel. Here their companion in
the carriage tells them a story about a friend, one who showed great
courage during World War One, a man he calls Billy.
Thus Morpurgo, an iconic story teller relates the story of a real
decorated soldier, Henry Tandey, through a fictional tale fleshing
out the details and making it accessible to a younger audience.
Through Barney, Morpurgo tells his story from a distance, wanting
the listener to make up their own minds about this person, but at
the same time, using the eyes of a frightened ten year old, having
witnessed the horrors of Coventry when it was flattened in 1940. He
saw his whole street demolished, his neighbours scrabbling at the
rubble in the hope that someone was still alive, and was with his
grandfather when he found his working companion, his horse, dead.
The man in the carriage tells the story in the dark of the tunnel,
interrupted spasmodically by guards checking the passengers, and
Barney is entranced.
Billy was heroic, receiving awards for his bravery and in 1918,
leading two other men in an attack on a German post, overcoming and
taking twelve men prisoner. Billy's bravery was pushed by one
thought, to get the war over as soon as possible. He hated the
killing and waste of life, so when one German soldier refused to put
down his gun, Billy told the others not to shoot him, but let him go
home. But years later, when sitting watching the news footage in a
cinema, Billy sees who that soldier became: the new Fascist leader
of Germany, Hitler.
Morpurgo's story follows that of Henry Tandey in the main, showing
why this man was so brave but also showing the results of his good
turn which had dire consequences. In Morpurgo's hands the bare bones
of Tandey's life, becomes engrossing and rich, enabling young
readers to look at the idea of bravery, of the choices people make,
of the long term effects of war.
This is historical fiction at its very best.
Fran Knight
Replica by Lauren Oliver
Hodder and Stoughton, 2016. ISBN 9781473614963
(Age: Young adult) Recommended for lovers of Sci-fi fantasy
adventure (with a dose of romance). Themes: Cloning, Science
Fiction, Power and Corruption, Friendship, Identity. On cover: Two
girls, Two stories, One Epic Novel. Lauren Oliver has created
a back-to-back Sci-Fi fantasy story told from the perspective of the
female protagonists and presented as 2 separate books, inverted in
the same cover. Rather than an integrated story with both
perspectives interspersed into the narrative, it is two distinct and
separate stories telling about the same events, but giving the
different slants and histories of those involved. Lyra lives as a
scientific test subject in a facility hidden from the world because
of the unscrupulous scientific investigations into cloning and
biological warfare. Her status in this environment is only a little
higher than a lab rat. Her personal attempts to make sense of her
world reveal her as more than a test animal. Gemma is her rescuer,
but her own history implicates her family in the inappropriately
named facility, 'Haven', which is far from a haven! Set in the
Florida swamplands, the environment itself adds to the mire of the
circumstances of the Replicas.
Although the stories could be read in any order, Lyra's story gives
the reader a contextual understanding of the scientific world at
Haven and the horror of living life as a disposable 'Replica'. Power
and a moral vacuum pervade the story with corruption reaching
fatally into many lives. Gemma's life is almost easy in comparison,
even though she deals with daily bullying and problems with the
all-too-perfect mean girl 'clones' that seem to be a part of every
high school experience and has suffered major health issues all her
life, and lives in an overly protective parental environment as a
consequence. However, her attempts to make sense of who she is,
links her to Lyra. Into this amazing Science Fiction adventure and
mystery is woven friendship and romantic interests, with first
kisses and awakening interests in the opposite gender, as well as
murder and corruption. Other teen issues involving peer
relationships, parent-child concerns, friendship and the American
'Spring Break' expectations also appear.
Those who enjoyed Lauren Oliver's other books, and also Scott
Westerfeld's Uglies series will enjoy this book.
Carolyn Hull
