I remember hearing Louise Penny speak at Adelaide Writers’ Week some years back. Her partner of many years had died and she spoke of how Inspector Gamache displays many of her husband’s fine qualities. Chief Inspector Gamache, is the protagonist of 18 books set in Three Pines, a cosy village in Quebec, Canada. Still Life, the first in the series, was published in 2005; it has been followed by some great stories of crime and mystery all with the admirable Gamache at the heart of the story, the same setting, and with Penny’s fans waiting with much anticipation for the publication of the next one. She has a large and enthusiastic readership with her books available in 23 languages.
A World of Curiosities opens with the end of a bitter winter. A young man and woman appear in the village. It seems that as young children they were here and their mother had been murdered.
The case reopened, is tragic and disturbing and new puzzles are there to be discovered and solved now. With a great sense of place, and a satisfying mystery, this book has plenty of appeal for crime/mystery readers. Apparently, it is to be made into a television series.
Isda lives in the Channe Opera House in the city of Vaureille. She has lived here under the care of opera owner Cyril, since he rescued her 17 years ago when, as a newborn she was cast into a well for being a Gravoir. Fendoiras and Gravoirs are disfigured mutants with the ability to access people’s memories. Isda lives a hidden life in the crypt below the opera house, her only task is to manipulate the memories of the opera goers at the end of each performance so they remember it with praise. Isda has everything she needs including a piano, music being her delight, and she uses the memories of opera audiences to mentally venture out into the world. Everything changes when a new employee, 17 year old Emric Rodin enters the opera house and Isda hears his beautiful tenor voice evoking wonderful memories in colour, memories which, for the first time include a girl like her. As their relationship develops and Isda finds out more about her powers and Cyril’s ambition we learn why people fear Gravoirs and their ability to kill. This feminist twist on The Phantom of the Opera has many references to the original story and musical but it is set in a gothic horror world gradually hinted at and slowly revealed as the story progresses with scenes of mass violence and power madness that jarred with the idea of a love story. I found Isda’s character difficult to grasp and the world in which it is set confusing with its many sub plots so when it came to the ending I didn’t care.
Themes Fantasy, Mmemory, Love, Music, Horror.
Sue Speck
Hello Twigs, Surprise! by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
Red is a WILD TWIG – “ I am Twig, hear me roar. ROAR” and he just loves surprising people. He believes that his surprises will make people laugh, but when he hides behind a bush and jumps out at Ziggy, she is scared and drops the snails that she was carrying to make a snail zoo. Noodle is not impressed when he surprises her, and nor is Stump – they don’t laugh but are scared as well. What is Red to do? Can he give his friends a nice surprise instead of scaring them?
The Hello Twigs series is a pleasure to read aloud and will delight beginning readers who are sure to love these unusual little characters, drawn with expressive faces and large eyes. In Hello Twigs, Surprise! readers will be amazed at the idea of a Snail Zoo – or a Snail Party as the snails like to call it and will follow along with the amazing illustrations as Red works on his surprises. Children will learn about happy and scary surprises and be able to relate to surprises from their own experience.
This is a wonderful introduction to the graphic novel genre and great for beginning readers. Teacher’s activities are available. Fans of Real Pigeons and the Elephant and Piggie series and Pigeon series by Mo Willems are sure to enjoy Hello Twigs.
Fans of locked room style murder mystery books will enjoy this modern take on the genre. The plot involves a crime writer’s festival held on the Ghan train on the Darwin to Adelaide route.
The protagonist using first person narrative details (in retrospect) his involvement and solving of the many murders that occur on the journey.
He scaffolds the story on the ‘rules’ used by golden era mystery writers of the genre, with passing references to Agatha Christie, and scattering the narrative with hints related to the rules - supposedly to enable readers to solve the murders. I found these a distraction.
While the story is often witty one needs to suspend disbelief at the denouement. I persevered with the book because I wanted to know ‘who did it’, which one can argue is the point of mystery stories.
I loved the references to South Australia along with the Ghan setting.
The book would be suitable for year 10+ students looking for an Australian setting and a complex mystery story. Adults would more readily appreciate the witticisms. Among other awards, the book won BookPeople’s Fiction Book of the Year 2023.
Clara Vulliamy, author of the delightful Dotty Detective and Marshmallow Pie series brings readers a new series featuring Eva and her friends Simone and Ash who are budding journalists, writing The Newshound, with ‘Top local stories, news and reviews'. When Eva finds a stray dog, she brings him home and names him Wafer. She is determined to find out where he came from. Of course, she would really love to keep him but the family’s landlord is adamant that no pets are allowed in the building and the trio have a deadline to find out Wafer’s origins. On the trail of the mystery the girls follow clues, interviewing the shopkeeper near where Wafer was found, talking to a vet to see if he was microchipped, and listening carefully to an old man in the café where Eva’s mother works, who says that there had been an incident of puppy farming in the news.
This story is sure to be a hit with its target audience. On every page engaging black and white illustrations bring to life the characters and the drawings of Wafer are a delight. He gradually changes from a very nervous dog to a wonderful lively animal who saves the day at the apartments. Children will have fun following the clues and helping to uncover the mystery of Wafer’s origins, while learning much about looking after a pet, puppy farming and creating a newspaper. The inclusion of a non-binary character Ash and a loving single parent family life for Eva also give this a story an extra dimension. And dog lovers will not be able to put it down.
Another winner from this talented author and illustrator The newshound will have readers waiting for the next episode in the life of this lively trio of mystery solvers.
Themes Mysteries, Dogs, Newspapers.
Pat Pledger
Mr Clownfish, Miss Anemone and the hermit crab by Sean E Avery
The interconnectedness of living creatures underlines the main thrust of this loving romp under the waves. Miss Anemone and Mr Clownfish rely on each other. Mr Clownfish hides amongst her poisonous tentacles when larger fish try to eat him. And in return, Mr Clownfish scares off anemone eating fish that happen to come by. Twice a day, Mr Clownfish cleans her tentacles and together they eat the very small sea morsels. But sometimes there are few around so Mr Clownfish must swim further away to find them a meal. Miss Anemone would love to go with him, but she is firmly stuck to the rock where she lives. She is lonely without him but happy when he returns with enough small sea morsels for them both. On her birthday he brings in a shell for her before setting out to catch more sea morsels, but when he returns, she is not there. He is dumbfounded because she cannot move by herself as she is stuck to the rock. He concludes she has been kidnapped. He becomes very angry and sets off to find her. He follows the kidnapper’s tracks across the ocean floor.
Catching up he is amazed to find that Miss Anemone is pleased as the Hermit Crab helps her move so she will no longer need the clownfish to find food for her. Mr Clownfish is devastated and begins to swim away. She calls after him to say that the three of them can collect the sea morsels together. So the three remain together, each collecting sea morsels and scaring off the larger anemone eating fish.
The illustrations are filled with colour and interest, young readers will love finding all the sea creatures of the sea, seeing their interconnection and struggle for survival.They will be intrigued with the array of life to be found on the ocean floor, and like me pour over the different ways Sean Avery presents his material. From full pages to small boxes of images, the search for Miss Anemone is laid out like an old treasure map, Miss Anemone looking like a hand knitted tea pot cover, and chidlren will find lots to like in pouring over the illustrations, soaking up the premise that we are all dependent upon each other.
Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society by Spohie Green
Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9780733649424. (Age:Adult - Young adult)
When Cynthia returns to Noosa in 1987 after being overseas for 14 years she is in need of solace after her second marriage failure. She regrets not returning before her mother died, five months earlier and is now staying with her father, Wilfred, and coming to terms with the fact that her daughter, Odette, is pregnant at 19 years old, the same age Cynthia herself fell pregnant. Lorraine, an old friend of Cynthia’s, has never left the district. Now married to Mike, who has a busy garden maintenance business, they have two boys, Terry and Simon; Cora, Mike’s disapproving mother, lives with them. The story shifts to newly widowed Elizabeth, a condition she is having difficulty coming to terms with. Her husband Jon, died after a long illness leaving her with her young son Charlie and a large garden, Jon’s pride and joy. When volunteer gardeners turn up, sent by the reverend at her church, Elizabeth can’t deny that the garden needs attention. So develops a relationship where the healing power of losing oneself in gardening tasks results in her gaining strength from the support and friendship of other women in the Sunshine Gardening Society. Cynthia persuades Lorraine to participate in the group and they are joined by another newcomer to the district, 54-year-old Kathy, whose humiliating failed relationship with Jemima has shaken her self-confidence. The group grows and thrives as they discover more about its history and links to the past while working through their own situations in a supportive environment. This story certainly fits the description of heartfelt, but I found the constant analyzing of every thought and interaction tiresome. The list of women’s woes was so stereotypical; they don’t understand their own mothers, their to-do list never ends, their skills are unappreciated, they judge and torment themselves with self-judgement and have to look after each other because men don’t understand. The ending was abrupt and arbitrary. That said, the cover was bright and sunshiny like the book and I particularly liked the small sketches of Australian native plants done by the author in the chapter headings. Readers of women’s fiction and Sophie Green's other books will love this one.
The disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester
Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9780733647246. (Age:Mature teens to Adult) Highly recommended.
As a long term reader of Natasha Lester’s novels, I am constantly in awe of her ability to weave strong female characters into deeply complex and engaging narratives. The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is no exception.
In this latest release the stories of three generations of fabulously talented fashion designers are shared. The Bricard women are treated disparagingly by the male-dominated fashion industry in France and even more appallingly in America. The stories of Mizza, Astrid and Blythe will both anger and intrigue the reader; anger directed at the relentless shocking verbal and emotional abuse by men involved in both the fashion industry and print media at the time; and intrigue in the layers beneath what the world has been influenced to see and hear versus what the real truth is.
The story begins with a short prologue set in 1973 at the Palace of Versailles fashion extravaganza between America and France where Astrid Bricard has disappeared. This leads into Chapter One set in 1970 and the beginning of Astrid’s story. She is a talented but unorthodox and provocative fashion student struggling to make a name for herself as she is seen only as the abandoned daughter of notorious Mizza Bricard, supposedly the muse of Christian Dior. Astrid’s story and struggle for recognition is incredibly hard and unjust, and her eventual disappearance remains an unsolved mystery. Her daughter Blythe Bricard, also suffering the effects of abandonment in many aspects of her life, is trying hard to hold her family together and establish her place in the world of fashion. Running parallel to her daughter and granddaughter’s stories is the underlying story of Mizza Bricard; her talent, her struggles and secrets, and her ultimate sacrifice.
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a powerful story that will hold the interest of the reader until the dramatic ending. The information regarding the famous fashion houses of Europe is fascinating, the social history explored across the decades is both frustrating and enlightening. The clever cameo appearances of popular characters, Remy from The Riviera House and Alix from The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre, are a stroke of genius and briefly continue their journeys.
This book is not just only about the raw astonishing stories of the Bricard women, it is stories of all those women across all generations who have been misrepresented, ultimately broken, and courageously picked themselves back up again.
How many girls ruined with words are strewn across the world? How many women caught in the middle of a song? In a dress? In a painting? In black type on white paper? Frozen in oil, in thread, in a C-major chord? But nobody, no woman, is one note, one colour – one fine strand of silk. p384.
In this the second book of the Emblem Island series, Tor and his friends, Melda and Engle, must combine abilities and powers to protect their home community from the threat of the cursed and evil Calavera pirates. In the first book of this series Tor became cursed with powers that he did not seek, but powers that can be harnessed and used in a positive way against the pirates who have threatened to destroy his home and community. The threat has been communicated by the mysterious Vesper, a waterbreather whose own emblematic powers are critical to defeat the pirate assault, but can she be trusted? Together, they join a rapscallion pirate, with a tendency to refer to himself with the plural ‘we’, on a quest that is on board ship and under the waves. An omen is shared that implies that someone must die and leadership is tested. Fear must be tamed, friendship is stretched and survival is in peril as they set out on this action-filled journey with impossible sea-creatures and magical permutations that distract and distort their intentions. Will they be able to do the impossible?
Reading the second book in a series as a stand-alone adventure is not recommended, but Alex Aster manages to weave enough of the history and character details to enable the reader to join the series at this point. The charmed and cursed world of emblem-wearing individuals is somewhat unique and complex and may present some difficulties for some readers who are not prepared for the alt-magical world and its vagaries . This is really for lovers of magical fantasy and quest sagas who are prepared to delve into depths of alternative magical possibilities. It is not Tolkien-esque in its quality or depth, but it has enough eccentricity and intrigue to engage readers who have fortitude (and fantasy leanings), aged 14+. This book did initially confuse me, so I would recommend starting the reading expedition by consuming a large ‘chunk’ in order to engage with the Emblem Island world and therefore understand the nuances of the journey.
Themes Fantasy, Quests, Magical powers.
Carolyn Hull
The elf on the shelf's Night before Christmas by Chandra A. Bell
The elf on the shelf; a Christmas tradition was published in 2005 by Carol Aebersold, and her daughter Chanda Bell. The story explains how Father Christmas knows which children are naughty or nice, ready to receive a present on the day. This new story shows how the family has prepared for Christmas, and so reiterates all the customs and traditions common to many western countries that celebrate Christmas. Using the framework of Clement C. Moore’s ’Twas the night before Christmas, Bell’s storyline is of an elf getting the place ready for Father Christmas’ visit. The family has set everything out, there are decorations and a beautiful tree, food for the reindeer and St Nick, stockings ready to be filled and so on. The dog and cat of the house have been left to their own devices and chase each other, pulling down some of the decorations, leaving quite a mess. But Father Christmas does not mind. In a twinkle he eats his food and leaves the house just as it was, all cleaned up ready for Christmas Day. And a click of his fingers takes him back to the roof where the reindeer are waiting.
What could have been an upsetting Christmas was put back in place by the elf and St Nick, ready for the children in the morning.
Children knowing the Moore poem will have fun with this version, as the elf hurries around the place cleaning up after the mischievous animals. It will remind them of Christmas events and trappings, and how they celebrate Christmas in their own homes.
Themes Christmas, Elves, Father Christmas, Clement C. Moore.
Fran Knight
Emma Memma craft book by Emma Memma
Penguin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761341823. (Age:3+)
Former Wiggle, Emma Watkins, has created a new character Emma Memma. With a focus on communication with dancing, singing, crafting and continuing her advocacy for sign language, her new range of children’s activities are sure to appeal to many preschool and early years students.
The Emma Memma Craft Book has an appealing cover in orange tones, the trademark colour of Emma Memma. Inside there are quite a range of activities including an accordion-fold flutter and fly butterflies, paper-plate Waffles the wombat, rainbow collage, butterfly clips and a whirling wheel. In the middle of the book in thicker cardboard is Elvin Melvin’s flying green plane.
Each activity has a simple introduction and there is a bubble telling the reader what materials and items they need. The instructions are set out in easy to follow steps. On many of the pages are love hearts with reminders, including one on the page where Emma Memma and friends can be cut out to make figurines. On the back of this page are very interesting fun facts about goats, wombats and butterflies.
There are some creative and fun crafts to make in this book and all will need an adult or older child to explain and assist.
The story behind Tress of the Emerald Sea is almost as interesting as the story itself. In early 2022, epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson surprised fans by starting a campaign on global crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. The campaign was to help publish four secret novels and was named ‘A Year of Sanderson’. The author wanted one million dollars from his readers. He received more than 41 million. In the end, it was the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of the secret books to be released and slots into the Cosmere universe of stories, made famous by Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Saga series. Each series is set on different worlds in the Cosmere but share the same creation myth and underlying rules of magic. Tress of the Emerald Sea is a standalone novel that combines cosy fantasy and rollicking adventure.
Tress lives on the island of Diggen’s Point where she earns money by washing the windows of the duke’s mansion. Here she meets Charlie, a boy pretending to be a groundskeeper but who is really the duke’s son. When the duke becomes aware of their blossoming romance, he spirits Charlie off the island. When he returns a year later, Charlie is not with him. All Tress knows is that something is very wrong, and that Charlie needs her help. She has no choice but to adventure out into the world and find him. There is only one problem. Ordinary citizens like her are banned from leaving Diggen’s Point and travelling across the Emerald Sea to other lands. It is going to take a lot of ingenuity and more luck for Tress just to get off the island, let alone reunite with the person she loves.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is an utterly charming novel with likeable characters, interesting fantastical elements and a clever plot. It is suitable for a much younger audience than many of Sanderson’s other novels and will be enjoyed by young and old alike.
Electric Monkey, 2023. ISBN: 9780008540968. (Age:14+) Recommended.
Kerry is perfectly content staying home, would prefer it in fact, but her BFF, Annie, would love for them to be more social and be more popular. The opportunity arises when the school's most popular person, Heather, enlists Kerry and Annie to help her work out who is cyber-bullying her. To do this, Kerry and Annie are going to their first sixth-form party. Everyone is at the party, including Scott, Kerry's crush, and just as things are heating up, and Kerry might just be about to get her first kiss, they discover the body of Heather's second in command, suffocated with a menstrual cup. Sadly, the police investigating seem ... a little incompetent (and a touch sexist). Within days, another body is found, this time with a sanitary pad across the eyes. Now Kerry and Annie are on the case officially to catch a killer.
The pure feminist energy is fierce in this very humourous, very unexpected murder novel. Weston has combined a bold feminist and an introvert with anxiety for the main characters for this clever story, essentially best friends who are opposites. Readers will relate to one or the other, and there are many contemporary references (social media, music, movies), while keeping it removed from being too dated. The pacing is even, with the story easy to immerse in, the mystery looks solvable, but readers will be wrong. Really well written, fans of Karen M. McManus will enjoy this book along with fans of the Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens, albeit once they are older (must be older though!), as it has references that will make readers recall the TV series 'Sex Education' that shows on Netflix (including references to female body parts in greeting to village locals!).
Themes Mystery, Suspense, Contemporary, High School, Crime, Revenge, Relationships, Humour.
In an extra large block of apartments children have hibernated during the long cold winter and weeks of lockdown. Today they take the lift from the fifteenth floor to the ground floor and rush outside while Amanda trails behind with a box of crayons.
Once outside the children watch as Amanda draws a large circle. Then Jackson takes a chalk and turns it into a dandelion, then Janet adds a mushroom and the twins draw flowers. Lovejoy adds a very large snail to the mushroom and Luke’s dog smudges the flowers. Indira uses the large quantity of green chalk to add foliage and a palm tree, rivalling the tall dandelion. Each of the children adds another part of the garden, the twins add a cloud, Cecelia adds an alien and Arthur puts a bird of paradise on the palm tree. When these are finished, Rosie stands in the cloud and after much thought she adds a Queen of Swirls. More things are added: butterflies, a bumblebee and caterpillar, making an exotic colourful garden on the cement outside the apartment block.
Nasrin looking out from her balcony, spies the garden. She takes a photo and immediately sends it to her mother far away in Isfahan, telling her how much she misses her. With a teary face, the woman forwards the message to everyone she knows and the photo wends its way back to the apartment block. Soon everyone in the block is leaning over their balconies looking at the beauty below. They cheer and take photos and the children bow.
The garden and its queen remain there for three days but the next day it rains, washing the garden away. The children play in the water, and when Amanda comes down with the empty box, she pulls it apart for the children to make boats to sail in the gutters. The cardboard boats sail down rainbow filled gutters as the last of the chalk is washed away.
The community of children coming together to make something beautiful for them all to enjoy, relishing the togetherness that unfolds is powerful. Their camaraderie is transported to all the members of the building as they all share in what the children have created. Bob Graham depicts the lives of a group of people stuck indoors for some time. As they bundle out of the lift, the adults are all masked, a nod to the pandemic which has recently restricted out lives. But the children just want to be outside, picking up the simplest of activities with gusto and imagination, creating a garden like no other, working together to shrug off the lonely months they have endured.
Graham includes a wonderful dog nosing through the garden, weeing on the twins’ flowers, scratching his fleas. The endpapers are intriguing, reminding me of all the graphs we saw on the interminable nightly news showing us how the pandemic was progressing, while undeterred, Amanda keeps her chalk on the page.
A wonderful positive story replete with overtones of diversity, companionship, community togetherness and creativity, this book is a perfect salve for the days of lockdown and social distancing. Children will be eager to replicate the drawing of the garden, turning their cement areas into oases of colour and interest, limited only by their imaginations.
As the festive season drew closer in days long past, it was exciting to see the arrival of the Christmas Beetle. With its sparkling metallic-looking body, it was a sure sign for excited children that Christmas was edging closer. Sighting the Christmas Beetle now is no longer as easy as it once was, and thankfully talented author and illustrator Suzanne Houghton has introduced this fascinating but slowly disappearing insect to a new generation of readers. With a delightful cover and gorgeous endpapers, rhyming prose and stunning illustrations, Where are all the Christmas Beetles? is a wonderful factual narrative to share with young children.
Their glistening little bodies look like baubles on a tree. When they cluster altogether, it’s a wondrous sight to see.
The cleverly constructed text gives factual information about physical characteristics of the Christmas Beetle, their diet, habitat and the life cycle, which is skilfully illustrated across a double page spread. The book showcases other beetles; chafer, lawn, stag and dung that are similar but not quite the same. There are also important ideas shared about what might be happening to cause the decline in Christmas Beetle numbers.
Each year, bushfires burn the trees the beetles like to eat. And surviving through tough times of drought can be quite a tricky feat
In the final pages there is a glossary and further detailed information about the Christmas Beetle with highlighted key words. This book is another valuable resource from CSIRO Publishing that will be a welcome addition to a home, school or public library.
