Maddie Ziegler trilogy book 2. Aladdin, 2018, ISBN
9781481486392
(Age: 9-12) Themes: School life, Dance, Friendship, Identity. Teen
Maddie Ziegler, one of the stars on Dance Moms and a judge on So You
Think You Can Dance draws inspiration from her life experiences in
her trilogy. In The Callback she writes about middle school
life, rivalry at the dance studio, friendships, settling in to a new
home and life in a new state.
Twelve-year-old Harper's life is super-busy; her family have just
moved to Florida and she's joined a new dance studio. She's part of
the elite team Dance Starz with five other girls who are very
competitive. Their teacher Vanessa challenges the girls with
individual solo performances in different dance styles and Harper's
is lyrical, a style that she loves. Rival Megan is determined that
the solo will be hers and sets about to cause problems by lying and
sabotaging her team-mates' individual classes.
When Harper accidentally falls asleep in English because she's
stressed about her dancing, her teacher keeps her back after class.
As she explains about all her after-school dance classes, her
teacher asks for her help. She needs a soloist to perform one dance
in the school play of The Little Mermaid because the previous dancer
had to pull out. Harper's life becomes even more busy; she's making
new friends and enjoying helping with the school play's dance
routines. At home, her younger sister Hailey is feeling left out and
Harper tries to assist her with her new video adventure 'Hailey on
the Daily' with some interesting results!
Maddie Ziegler's novel The Callback is a fun read with
plenty of dance moves, school dramas and friendship issues just
right for ages 9 to 12.
Rhyllis Bignell
The caged queen by Kristen Ciccarelli
Gollancz, 2018. ISBN 9781473218161
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy. Love. Loyalty. Roa
and her sister, Essie, share a bond that goes beyond understanding
and even death. Essie's spirit is trapped in the body of a hawk,
living in the limbo between life and freedom. Roa's driving desire
is to release her from this trapped existence, but to do so she must
sacrifice another life, and the victim must be the young King, Dax.
Dax comes from the Dragon people, and grew up with the girls to
escape his own dangerous father. But he is also the one that Essie
saved as she lost her own life. Roa is a strong, capable and feisty
young woman and in order to save the people of her homeland she has
negotiated a marriage with the hapless, Dax. Dax though has his own
solutions to problems, and they are not pleasing to Roa, and his
affections seem to be shared with too many other young women! This
fraught relationship between king and queen swings from open dislike
to something that surprises Queen Roa. With plots to destroy the
allegiance that Roa's marriage has enabled, Roa becomes embroiled in
the complications of her own confusion and in resolving her
connection to her former love interest.
Foremost though, this is an amazing and highly readable fantasy tale
with broken relationships, hidden love, knife fights, political
subterfuge and romance. These are all immersed in the world where
dragons may appear and communities share stories and aspirations,
and sometimes resort to violent solutions to their problems. Even
though this is not the first book in The last Namsara saga,
it is highly readable on its own and can be recommended to lovers of
fantasy and romance alike.
Highly recommended for readers aged 15+.
Carolyn Hull
Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James
Ill. by Paola Escobar. Pages and Co. Book 1. HarperCollins,
2018. ISBN 9780008229863
(Ages 9-12) Recommended. Themes: Literary characters. Booksellers.
Mystery. Missing persons. Anna James introduces a truly wonderful
world where you can step into your favourite books and interact with
much-loved literary characters.
Eleven-year-old Tilly's mother mysteriously disappeared just after
she gave birth to her daughter and ever since Tilly's been living with
her loving grandparents above their bookshop 'Pages and Co.' She
loves to immerse herself in her favourite stories, hidden in in the
nooks and crannies, settled on a bean bag or visiting with Jack who
runs the little cafe. He loves to experiment with food, making
delicious literary inspired treats.
Tilly arrives home from school dripping wet; it's holiday time and
she's prepared for a rather lonely week, with lots of reading and
conversations with Jack. When she discovers a dusty cardboard box
with her mother's name on the label, Tilly's world is turned upside
down. Her favourite book characters Alice in Wonderland and Anne of
Green Gables appear in the bookshop. Tilly discovers an amazing
ability: she can bookwander into any story she chooses.
There are whimsical moments and interesting encounters with the
Avonlea characters. With the help of her friend Oskar Roux who loves
reading even though he has dyslexia, they venture into Wonderland
and Treasure Island. Mysterious and slightly sinister Enoch Chalk is
the enforcer. He keeps the strict rules of bookwandering, making
sure that that no-one is left in a book or forms relationships with
the characters. Will Tilly uncover the mystery of her mother's
disappearance and find the truth about her birth father?
Anna James' imaginative and magical novel authentically captures the
voices of fictional characters and their worlds. There is a warmth
and cosiness to her bookshop setting and an intriguing and
mysterious darker layer in the 'Underlibrary'. Paola Escobar's black
and white line drawings spring up throughout adding drama and
excitement. This is the first in a trilogy and it does rely on the
reader's prior knowledge of classic children's books. It also sets
up the extensive rules of bookwandering. Tilly and the Bookwanderers is an exciting junior novel just
right for readers who have enjoyed classic children's novels and
love the wonder of being drawn into the magic of books.
Rhyllis Bignell
Island born by Junot Diaz
Ill. by Leo Espinosa. Oneworld, 2018. ISBN 9781786074775
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: Culture. Identity. Lola lives in an
ethnically diverse community and the teacher's instruction to draw a
picture of her 'first home' causes problems for her because she
cannot remember! Interviewing others who have come from her home
island gives her opportunity to 'see' her home through their eyes.
The result for the reader is a beautiful metaphor of what life must
have been like on the tropical island that they left. Not everything
though was perfect on the island, with allusions to the reasons for
Lola's resettlement in her new country. Lola's final picture
includes all the aspects of the island of her birth in brilliant
detail. (A somewhat cryptic reference to a 'monster' might need some
adult help to explain the metaphor for something awful that the
island had to deal with - perhaps political turmoil or conflict. And
another reference to her grandmother's or her abuela's psychic may
also need explanation or caution.)
Leo Espinosa, an award-winning illustrator, from Bogota in Columbia,
illustrates this gentle exploration of identity with wonderful
colour and vibrancy. The language of the island is Spanish (not
everyone in the world speaks English!) and is included naturally and
with references to terms and titles, which gives a reminder of
diversity in the world. The author's background is from the
Dominican Republic and later, New Jersey in USA, and so the book has
an Americas influence which may not be understood by all
readers, but it certainly would open eyes to how others live in the
world and why some may choose to leave their 'home country'.
Recommended as a book to be shared and explained, for younger
readers aged 7-9.
Carolyn Hull
Witch tricks by Sibeal Pounder
Witch Wars book 6. Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2018. ISBN
9781408894125
(Age: 9+) Witch Tricks follows the concurrent and
intersecting antics of the Witches and Fairies of Sinkville. (Ever
wondered what lies beyond the plughole?) While Fran the Fabulous
Fairy schemes to be the star of a TV wrestling show called 'Fairy
Fightz', Tiga Whicabim and Fluffanora Brew are not having much luck
in joining the exclusive secret society of the Points. The girls in
the Points are trying their hand at a spell to bring the Ritzy Six
back to Pearl Mountain so they can be taught how to wreak havoc by
the best in the business. Meanwhile, we are left wondering why
Felicity Bat is laying low and talking to her boots, which are
suddenly very heavy.
The Points are surprisingly successful at conjuring forth the Ritzy
Six who dash off to Pearl Mountain before the reader can blink. If
you don't know where that is, check the illustrator's map. Tiga and
Fluffanora, aided by Peggy Pigwiggle, must somehow beat the both
Ritzy Six and the Points to the top of Pearl mountain to keep
Sinkville on an even keel. The journey to the mountain top is
eventful and takes up a lot of the story. While Fran is
incapacitated, Patricia the TV show Producer, has to be very
inventive to save the next episode of 'Fairy Fightz'. Pounder
manages to keep her reader's in the loop by visiting the set of
'Fairy Fightz' and writing articles for the Ritzy City Post, when
she is not checking in on Felicity and her heavy boots (complete
with a shrunken Panda) at Linden House.
Chatty like all their adventures, you'll have to listen carefully to
know how the witches and fairies deal with the infamous Ritzy Six.
One high point is Aggie Hoof's joke about what Felicity should name
her Panda. Illustrations by Laura Ellen Anderson help new readers to
place the numerous characters - be they witches or fairies. The book
finishes with sample chapters from Pounder's latest Bad Mermaids
series and a letter about her childhood writing inspirations to
likewise inspire young writers. Witch Tricks is definitely a
spin-out if you are a pre-teen who likes erratic, plot driven
escapism.
Deborah Robins
The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408896884
(Age: 11-14) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy; Magic; Fear and
Bravery; Memory. Eleven year old Fionn and his older sister, Tara,
are returned to the ancestral home of their mother and late father
on Arronmore Island off the Irish coast. Their mother's depression
means they must learn to survive in the isolated community with
their grandfather, the mysterious Island Storm Keeper. From the
moment the scared Fionn steps off the ferry it seems that the
Island's magic rises up to meet him. Will he be the one to save the
Island? Slowly he discovers his Grandfather's secrets as Candlemaker
and Storm Keeper, but his bravery is sorely tested when Tara's
friendship with another boy on the Island prompts him to find
answers to the Island's secrets - perhaps to his peril. And the
mysterious candles store memories and provide opportunity to travel
back to other times, testing the bravery of the young Fionn, but
giving him opportunity to understand the Island's secrets.
With mystery and magic circling in amazing ways and with an
undercurrent of trapped sinister magic ready to unleash itself, this
book will entrance young readers that love fantasy tales. At times
it is a little bit scary, funny, enigmatic, sad and yet
hope-charged. It is written in a delightful way, rich with metaphor
and with wonderful descriptive passages and endearing character
descriptions. The wonderful Grandfather is an absolute delight.
Highly recommended for readers aged 11-14
Note: this appears to be the first book in the series.
Carolyn Hull
Marvel Fearless and Fantastic! Female Super Heroes Save the World by Sam Maggs, Emma Grange and Ruth Amos
DK, 2018. ISBN 9780241357491
(Age: 8+) Themes: Superheroes; Women. Characters from the Marvel
world encourage people to be determined, daring, compassionate and
curious. Under each of these headings are described superheroes who
embody these qualities. So under the heading 'Determined' the reader
will be inspired by Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman and Jessica Jones
among others. Superheroes described as being daring are Hawkeye,
Misty Knight, Mary Jane Watson and many more. The endearing Squirrel
Girl leads the list of compassionate superheroes, mingling with
Medusa, Singularity and Pepper Potts. Among the curious are
She-Hulk, Kitty Pryde and Spider-Girl.
Each superhero is given a full page of text describing how she
developed her superpowers and who she has worked with and on the
opposite page is a full page coloured illustration, which gives a
glimpse into her character as well as the costume that she might don
when on rescue missions.
There is a diverse range of women from many backgrounds including
Black Widow, a former Russian assassin, Ms Marvel a 16 year old
Pakistan-American Muslim girl, Korean American Silk, and Nico
Minoru, of Japanese-American parents. Some of the superheroes like
Dr Toni Ho and Ironheart, rely on their intelligence to get things
done and would make great role models for young readers.
This is a fun book to dip into and readers are sure to find a number
of superheroes whose stories they would like to pursue.
Pat Pledger
Stories for boys who dare to be different by Ben Brooks
Ill. by Quinton Winter. Quercus, 2018. ISBN 9781787471986
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Themes: Men - Biographies. Boys -
Biographies. Masculinity. Inspirational author Ben Brooks continues
his motivating series with Stories for boys who dare to be
different. The subtitle captures his rationale for sharing
these one-hundred stories of courageous boys, teenagers and men - True
tales of amazing boys who changed the world without killing
dragons.
Brooks has gathered information from across the globe, showcasing
famous male role models and introducing less well-known ones from
many fields, including sports, science, music and social activism.
He champions the power of positivity, the importance of inclusivity,
explores gender and social identity and shows how individuals can
rise above their circumstances and make a difference. His material
is gathered from across the globe, from historical figures, with
different professions, socio-economic backgrounds, beliefs and
ethnicities.
Set out in alphabetical order of first names, we begin with South
African teenager Achmat Hassiem who survived a shark attack, had his
leg amputated and then went on to race in the Paralympics. Bill
Gates, Galileo Galilei, Nelson Mandela, Louis Braille, Daniel
Radcliffe all have encouraging messages. The boys from Isca School
protested about the unfair uniform rules having to wear trousers in
summer. They all protested by wearing the girls' uniform skirts for
a day and their message was heard. Moviemaker Tanka Waititi created
his own films and comic book universe to champion his Maori culture
and history.
Quinton Winter's creative, bold graphics are visually engaging. Bold
backgrounds and easy to read stories make this an exciting book to
dip into with a family, on your own or with a class.
Brooks continues to empower his readers, with messages of staying
true to yourself, believing in your own capabilities and being
caring and compassionate with both people and the environment.
Rhyllis Bignell
The Boneless Mercies by April Tucholke
Simon and Schuster, 2018. ISBN 9781471170003
(Age: Mature 14+) Highly recommended. Themes: High Fantasy, Death.
Certain to appeal to young adult fans of medieval epics, this
macabre group of heroines will attract an even wider audience. In
the male dominated Vorseland, orphaned girls who want escape life in
a brothel could be apprenticed to black-cloaked mercy killers. A
band of nomadic Boneless Mercies may be hired specifically to carry
out assisted suicide for the terminally ill - with the exception of
the occasional abusive husband or revenge kill. Aging Siggy's last
apprentices: Frey, Ovie, Runa and Jupiter are skilled in both
stealth and homicide. With Siggy gone, Frey leads the Mercies and
one by one their pasts are revealed to their 17 yr old leader.
Trigve is a tolerated travelling companion, but as a male he can
never be a Mercy, a job for women only. 'Men will not do this sad,
dark work.'
Without Siggy's guidance, the girls survive but despair of mercy
killing - murdering children in particular. Alternatively, they seek
glorious battles for their considerable skills and Frey leads her
willing band on a series of noble quests. They renounce their trade
with an initial goal to slay the Blue Vee monster and end the
giant's carnage in Jarl Roth's northern kingdom. The reward money
will give them all future security. On route to Blue Vee, they are
side-tracked by further adventures; liberating the victims of evil
Jarls, making deals with self-serving Sea witches and ending the
malevolent reign of the powerful Cut-Queen.
Unlike other Mercy bands or the insular Sea Witches, Frey's group
occasionally accept the comradery of worthy males who become
embroiled in their battles. Inspired by the saga of Beowulf, these
adolescent girls are clearly in charge. Frey's first-hand narration
with an undercurrent of free love and extreme violence makes this a
novel for mature readers. But a wise woman's universe has no
absolutes - Frey never compromises her understanding of the
complexity of the human condition, where destructive cycles are
broken only by acknowledging all victims - including the monsters
themselves.
Deborah Robins
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
Macmillan, 2018. ISBN 9781509876495
(Age: 12+) Despite having read the previous books in the series, Three
dark crowns and One
dark throne I personally wasn't a fan of Two Dark Reigns.
The addition to the series felt unnecessary.
The third book in the series, Two Dark Reigns follows the
three queens of Fennbirn in their new lives. After Katherine's
ascension, the island is filled with unease. Without the bodies of
Arsinoe and Mirabella it is hard to prove their deaths, particularly
when rumours of the legion-cursed Jules Milone resurface from the
warrior city of Bastian. As the island revolts in the face of The
Undead Queen and Katherine is increasingly forced to rely on the
powers of the dead queens, whispers emerge of a revolution led by a
new queen, a legion-cursed Naturalist with the strength of a
Fennbirn queen.
Meanwhile, away from the island, Arsinoe and Mirabella struggle to
reconcile themselves to their new lives. Each day is a challenge for
Arsinoe as she continues to wear trousers and flaunt her scared
face. Mirabella, by comparison, has an easier time blending in, her
queenly grace finally being useful. However, things start to go arwy
when Arsinoe is contacted by the spirit of the Blue Queen, an island
legend who haunts her and demands they return to Fennbirn to save
the island from Katherine.
While the sisters must decide what is best for the island, the
people, and themselves, Jules must also decide who she wants to be
and whether or not she can lead a revolution, breaking free of all
the island is and leading it into a new age. I would recommend to
fans of the previous books. The novel touches on feelings of
otherness and loss of control.
Kayla Gaskell
Light Years by Kass Morgan
Hodder and Stoughton 2018. ISBN 9781473663398
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Themes: Science fiction, Space
stations, Bullying, Discrimination. When the exclusive Quatra Fleet
Academy changes its policy on admitting students from other planets,
the best and brightest of Chetire, Loos, and Deva can finally hope
for a better life. Known as Settlers and dealing with horrendous
conditions and low life expectancy on their home planets, the
students from Chetire, Loos, and Deva are eager to prove they are
just as smart, if not smarter, than the Tridians.
Cormak, a black-market water-runner from the toxic planet of Deva,
arrives at the Academy by accident, taking the place of his deceased
brother, Rex. Together with being one of the first Deva people to
attend the academy, Cormak wins the place of Captain on his team,
drawing the attention of the Tridians and the disdain of his fellow
classmates. For Cormak, this is all made easier by the rivalry with
his pilot, Vesper, a Tridian and the daughter of their headmistress.
Along with Aaran, a boy from Chetire, their team is completed by
Orelia, a girl who claims to be from Loos but is hiding a dark
secret.
Joining the Quatra Fleet is the dream of any Tridian and the
admittance of Settlers into the highly competitive program is like a
slap in the face. While the Tridian cadets try to maintain their
superiority, they forget their common enemy and the reason the
Quatra Fleet was formed in the first place. Can they overcome their
petty rivalry to face the greater enemy in time?
Playing with issues such as bullying and discrimination, Light
Years presents this space academy as a coming of age story. I
would highly recommend to people struggling with issues regarding
discrimination, bullying, or relationships aged twelve and up.
Despite being set in space, the novel doesn't read much like a
science fiction piece, rather a school drama.
Kayla Gaskell
First Children's Dictionary ed. by Marie Greenwood
Australian Edition. Dorling Kindersley, 2018. ISBN 9780143794981
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Subjects: English dictionary. Dorling
Kindersley's First Children's Dictionary is an excellent
resource and reference guide for children, students and families to
use. Introductory sections assist in understanding alphabetical
order, sentence construction and how to use the dictionary. Labels,
diagrams, photos, bold text and whole pages focussed on one topic
make this visually appealing. We view a city scene with a cyclist,
street musician and traffic surrounded by descriptive words filling
the sky in a range of fun fonts, just right to investigate.
Fireworks blast and flash across the Entertainment page and
industrial robots, surveillance drones and high-tech humanoid robots
are surrounded by descriptive nouns, verbs and phrases in the 'R'
section.
The editors have included a broad range of words including both
familiar language and new topics to extend the reader's vocabulary.
This dictionary is clearly set out for younger children with a
simple definition and explanation included in a sentence. Colourful
images, half page photo spreads and three columns per page, bold
guide words and alphabetical order on the page edges make this an
interesting reference tool. Spelling tips, Writing and punctuation
tools, Maths facts and figures, Animal Families and a world map are
included as additional points of interest.
With more than 400 entries and 800 illustrations this First
Children's Dictionary is a constructive guide for families and
students in the early years. A beneficial introduction to grammar,
spelling tips and a useful resource for creative writing.
Rhyllis Bignell
Uncle Gobb and the plot plot by Michael Rosen
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2018. ISBN 9781408873946
(Age: 8+) Recommended. Themes: Nonsense. Malcolm's new problem
presents itself immediately - in the middle of the night in fact.
Mum and Malcolm, aided to a small degree by his nose genie, discover
Uncle Gobb gearing up to turn his Dread Shed into a school for
'important facts and rich knowledge'.
Perhaps because this is a post fact world, for which Uncle Derek
Gobb is not equipped, his plot (both his plan and the name of the
land near the school) do not gain traction even with the help of his
own genie, disguised as Fred Shed. Will Malcolm's disenchanted and
grumpy Uncle Gobb succeed in opening the Dread Shed School next to
Malcolm's school?
The anachronistic Uncle Gobb makes an hilarious comeback in this
series that began with The Dread Shed and The Green Heads.
Neal Layton's charcoal comics and key words complement Michael
Rosen's narrative anarchy in that familiar way of a father
constructing a nonsensical story off the cuff to delight a child at
bed time.
In this manner, sometimes Rosen makes sense and sometimes not. There
is no fourth wall to suspend disbelief and no apologies made when
events or motives are incredible. All's well, because Malcolm's
mental meanderings and two witty weasels commenting on Rosen's text,
teach young readers a great deal about the art of constructing a
narrative.
As with much of Michael Rosen's work, Uncle Gobb and the Plot
Plot is partially recorded on his youtube channel. Visit https://youtu.be/pRxi6_XBaNk
to hear those early chapters read by the oddball author himself -
plus flashbacks of Spike Milligan for unwitting grandparents.
Deborah Robins
The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 13. Penguin, 2018. ISBN
9780143309352
(Age: 8-12) Themes: Friendship, Competition, Community Life, Climate
Change. Jeff Kinney's popular series returns in the thirteenth
instalment The Meltdown. Greg Heffley's diary focuses on the
huge winter storm that results in heavy snow falls and school
closures. When Greg's mom forces him to play outside, it's time for
epic snowball fights, neighbourhood battles and plenty of fun.
Greg's self-deprecating diary entries help the reader see the world
through his eyes, with humorous asides and plenty of family and
school drama. Greg's imagination is fun to read, thinking about how
cold his ancestors were because they didn't have thermal underwear
and even sheltering in his Gramma's basement and having to wear her
clothes. Kinney's cartoon illustrations add to the fun as well,
there's snow boots melted to the fireplace, epic snowball battles
and pizza box snowshoes. The diary contains comments about the
effects of climate change, the final cartoon shows cyborg Greg
playing cards with a robot as an atom bomb explodes outside the
window.
Greg's diary begins in January, which is unseasonably warm. His
brain is fried and he's forgotten to write his International
Showcase country project owing to the heat from the school furnace
frying his brain! At home things are always interesting: mom's no
screens on the weekends force Greg out into his neighbourhood to
play. Surrey Street is fraught with danger, problems with neighbours
and the upper and lower sections constantly at war with each other.
February brings heavy snowfalls and school closures that sees an
epic snowball fight complete with snow forts, flags and kids who
collaborate to bring the other side down. There's even an
entrepreneurial neighbour, Mitchell Pickett, who's selling pre-made
snowballs, icicles, snowball launchers and sloppy specials to all
the participants. Fortification and castle building add interest to
Greg's diary entries.
Fans of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will enjoy The
Meltdown; it delivers all the wry humour, funny situations and
social commentary they enjoy.
Rhyllis Bignell
We are together by Britta Teckentrup
Little Tiger, 2018. ISBN 9781848576582
'On our own we're special, And we can chase our dream.
But when we join up, hand in hand, Together we're a team.'
This is the message of this story - the power of one, but the
even greater power of many. Starting with being content with
one's own company flying a kite, it grows to embrace others in our
lives, known or not-yet, so whether it's being caught in a storm or
being passionate about a cause, the support and strength found in
the love and friendship of others alongside us is cause for joy and
celebration.
If ever we're lonely, we'll just say out loud: Let's all stand
together, one big happy crowd!
The cover is intriguing with cutouts peeking through to just two of
the children on the stunning endpapers showing children of all
nationalities and ethnicities, and as each page is turned the
cutouts increase revealing an ever-widening circle of children
capturing the innate way they have of making friends regardless of
any external differences.
It provides an opportunity to talk about not only receiving a
helping hand but also extending one, valuing and sharing the things
we do well personally while respecting and trying the things others
can do. It emphasises that while we are individuals, humans are also
dependent on others - no man is an island - and that co-operation,
collaboration and company are essential elements of our well-being.
Barbara Braxton
