Wiggle and the whale: A book of funny friends by Roger Priddy
Ill. by Lindsey Sagar. Priddy Books, 2016. ISBN 9781783413522
(Ages: 2-5) Rhyming. Animals. Friendship. Collage. This simple book
in the Alphaprints series is explicit in its purpose, initially
asking 'What makes a perfect animal pair?', and then explaining that
even though friends can be different colours and sizes, all
friendships are special. Then follows shorts rhymes about each of
the pairs of animal friends: what makes them special and how they
are different. The animal pairs are fantastical (including a pink
baby bear and a hedgehog), but the drastic differences between them
make the message even clearer. While the lower end of the target age
may not fully appreciate the message of the story, they will enjoy
the simple rhyming text and the fantastic illustrations, which use
different objects (as well as many fingerprints) to create the
animals and the brightly coloured worlds around them. Photographs of
iced donuts create the bear and his lair, the hedgehog's body is a
pinecone, and the flamingo's neck is a pink feather boa. Children
will love identifying these objects and will enjoy the visual
textures they create on each page. The rhymes about each animal,
while not always masterful, are mostly pleasing when read aloud and
relate accurate information about animal behaviours and habitats.
Preschool and early childhood teachers will find this book useful to
get children thinking about how they are different to their friends
and to discuss diversity. It could also springboard art activities
involving collage and fingerprint printing.
Nicole Nelson
The tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter
Ill. by Quentin Blake. Frederick Warne, 2016. ISBN 9780241247594
By day, Miss Catherine St Quintin appeared to be a very serious,
well-behaved black cat who answered to 'Kitty' whenever the kind old
lady who owned her called her. The old lady saw a 'Kitty' with all
the pleasant connotations that that name brings to mind but Miss
Catherine St Quintin led a double life.
Because by night, when she was supposedly locked in the wash-house,
Kitty was not curled up in her basket dreaming sweet dreams until
morning. She was not the purring, nuzzling, gentle cat her owner
believed her to be. Known to her more common cat friends as 'Q' and
'Squintums', she would leap out the laundry window to be replaced by
Winkiepeeps, another black cat who would wait inside until Kitty
came home just in case the old lady checked her, while she went
hunting dressed in her coat and boots and carrying an air rifle. A
female lookalike of Puss-in-Boots.
This particular night she collects her gun from her friend
Cheesebox, determined to join Slimmy Jimmy and John Stoat-Ferret as
they hunt for rabbits. However, she decides to hunt for mice
instead, but being a rather unreliable and careless shooter, that is
not very fruitful, only managing to shoot Mrs Tiggy-Winkle's
bundle of washing and some sticks and stones that weren't mice at
all. Sheep and crows seem a better target until they send her
scurrying behind a wall in fright and she gets a big surprise when
she fires at something coming out of a hole. Unexpectedly, she has
met up with Slimmy Jimmy and John Stoat-Ferret who take her gun off
her. But she refuses to hand over the pellets and so a rather
adventurous night involving the ferrets, Peter Rabbit, Mr Tod the
Fox and Mrs Tiggy-Winkles begins. Suffice to say, it's enough to put
Miss Catherine St Quintin off hunting for ever.
The story of this story is as interesting as the tale itself. Potter
completed the text in 1914 and created just one illustration but the
outbreak of World War I and other events meant she never completed
the rest. Thus the story went unpublished in her lifetime.
Undiscovered until Penguin Random House editor Jo Hanks found it in
the Potter archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2013 and
with Quentin Blake accepting the invitation to illustrate it, it has
just been published to coincide with what would have been Potter's
150th birthday.
Fans of her works will be thrilled to share just one more adventure
from this prolific creator and delight in the appearance of an
older, more portly Peter Rabbit who has lost none of his smarts and
wily ways as well as other favourite characters from her other
books.
Barbara Braxton
My feelings ill. by Sarah Jennings
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408869048
(Ages: 4-6) Board book, emotions. This is about how to cope with and
talk about emotions. It requires children to have a grasp on
labelling and recognising their emotions already as it does little
to identify what they are or what they look like. Rather than
telling the reader what it looks like to be worried or scared, shy
or happy, it gives practical suggestions for dealing with the
feeling ('When you feel scared . . . Run away fast. Say 'I'm
scared!''; 'When you feel happy . . . Whistle and sing!, Say
hello').
Young children often have difficulty dealing with emotions, even
positive ones, so this is a fantastic way to give them practical
outlets. The pictures clearly illustrate the suggestions, giving
children visual as well as verbal cues. This is a great book for
parents to read through in its entirety, but also to pull out during
emotional times to help young children find a way to deal with a
specific emotion. It is appropriately short, and the bright
illustrations and tab cutouts will keep young children engaged.
Nicole Nelson
The loneliness of distant beings by Kate Ling
Hodder and Stoughton, 2016. ISBN 9781510200166
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Multi-generational space exploration
leaves no room for love. With a eugenical system in place to provide
mission security, the people of Ventura live a life of structure and
control. They are carriers for the next generation and the
generation after, who may discover a life-supporting planet.
As part the third generation of a seven hundred year round trip, the
children of Ventura are responsible with continuing to produce
optimal offspring for the completion of the mission. On her
graduation, Seren's worst dream is realised when she learns that her
life partner will be Ezra, Captain Kat's more arrogant son. Seren's
discomfort and reluctance for the partnership is attributed to
hereditary mental illness, and so she finds herself with even less
decision-making power than ever before. As the son of Captain Kat,
Ezra, and his future bride, must share in her limelight - any wrong
doing open for public scrutiny. As if things couldn't be worse for
Seren and her precarious mental state, she meets Domenigo, one of
the fish-boys in production. Just a year age gap, the two are drawn
to one another and things quickly heat up. Facing a future of
persecution on discovery, Seren knows she must make the right
decision. She must marry her life partner. But can she after she has
experienced the pure love of Domenigo?
Having thoroughly enjoyed this novel, I would highly recommend it
for teenagers fourteen and up. While primarily a sci-fi romance, the
novel's focus is on Seren's feeling of powerlessness in the face of
societal expectations, and the disadvantages of eugenic systems.
Kayla Gaskell, 20
Animalium by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom
Five Mile Press, 2016. ISBN 9781760404307
(Age: 8+) Museums, Evolution. A museum to visit any time you like is
presented in this comfortably hand sized compendium of plants and
animals from around the world.
First published in Britain by Big Picture Press, the books that I
have read (Historium, Botanicum and Animalium)
are part of a series of non fiction books, entreating young readers
to look more closely at the plants and animals presented. Their
website tells us 'Big Picture Press is a new list of highly
illustrated books launched in September 2013, publishing as an
imprint of the Templar Company Limited (UK and Australia) and
Candlewick Press (US and Canada). We believe that books should be
visually intelligent, surprising, and accessible to readers of all
ages, abilities, and nationalities.'
And they have certainly striven to achieve that aim. Historium
(2015) is a highly illustrated and fascinating offering of
historical objects found in the British Museum. Animalium is another in the same milieu, offering incredibly
detailed illustrations of plants and animals across the world. The
large version of this book was chosen as the Sunday Times Children's
Book of the Year in 2014. Opening any page offers a plate of
illustrations on one side with information and a guide to the
illustrations on the verso.
Most pages are animals of the European, Asian and African continents
with a few showing animals our students would know, although the
galah may elicit a few laughs.
Presented in evolutionary order, the first pages deal with Porifera
or sponges, which developed some 540 million years ago, followed by
the Cephalopods and Fish leading up to the Primates and Hooved
Animals. Each page offers highly sophisticated illustrations by
Katie Scott, reminiscent of woodblock prints used in such books in
the past. On the other page, details are given about these animals
and plants, and interspersed with these pages are those detailing
habitats like Woodland, Mangroves and Rainforest. I can imagine some
children encouraged to dip in and out of this book, and see it more
of a library tome to be used by a class. A fascinating read.
Fran Knight
Smart about sharks by Owen Davey
Flying Eye Books, 2016. ISBN 9781909263918
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Sharks. Non fiction. A finely detailed
and fascinating look at sharks around the world is offered in this
enthralling hard cover book. Like the diver on the front cover we
are invited to dive down and look at what lurks in the waters
beneath. And no one will be disappointed. I can imagine readers,
particularly boys, poring over the information, the detailed
illustrations and comparisons to educate and then trick each other
with their vastly enhanced knowledge.
Sharks are fish and there are over five hundred different species of
shark. And many of these are detailed on the pages before us. Each
double page with its punning title, offers a different field of
information, along with a host of interesting diagrams. One that
fascinated me is entitled, 'Congratulations, it's a shark',
concerning the offspring of these creatures. The shark has three
methods of birth, I read, one is live birth, the second is eggs and
the third is eggs inside the mother which hatch, the baby shark
eating the rest of the yolk and sometimes its siblings to survive.
Wow! readers, like me, will be entranced. Another page, entiscale,
shows the various sharks drawn in relation to each other. The whale
shark stretches across the whole page, while others are so small
only their name gives their position away. And another, 'A bite
to eat', of course shows us the teeth sharks are known for.
Their rows of teeth can be replaced and one shark may get through
thirty thousand teeth in its lifetime. Each page has a host of
information and facts, and will keep the readers entertained for a
long time. The illustrations beg to be perused with close attention
and will not disappoint the most urbane of readers.
The book is rounded off with an index which points readers to pages
with specific sharks, using both their common and scientific names.
I loved this so much that I will now seek out Davey's other book, Mad
about monkeys.
Fran Knight
Lift and look school ill. by Simon Abbott
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408864012
(Age: Preschool) Highly recommended. Do you have little ones eagerly
anticipating starting school? If so, this is a perfect gift
especially as it has 'lift the flaps' which we all know are always
such a delight!
Very simple text, a sweet board book format and gorgeously vibrant
and extremely cute illustrations, this will surely be a winner with
any little people from around 3 to 5 years.
Find out what the children are playing, how they get to school,
where they go on a school trip and what they do in their classroom.
Others in this series include: Dinosaurs, Space and
Garden.
This will be perfect for our early childhood centre as our little
people countdown till starting Prep in 2017!
Highly recommended for small humans - pop it into a Santa sack for
your favourite teeny!!
Sue Warren
Oi dog! by Kes and Clare Gray and Jim Field
Hodder, 2016. ISBN 9781444919585
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Dogs, Verse, Word play. After the successful
Oi frog!, this trio has written another picture book
concerning a dog sitting on a frog. Frog is not too pleased so
offers alternatives to the dog sitting on a frog. He thinks the dog
should be sitting on a log, and wants change to occur. Dog is a
little perplexed and so asks what bears will sit on. Bears sit on
stairs is the response, and children will laugh out loud as they
predict what that word might be. Each time a new animals is spoken
of, readers will respond quickly with a rhyming word, adding to the
fun of the story. Crickets, moths, slugs, leopards, cheetahs and
pigs, boars, gnus, whales, kittens, dragons and puppies are amongst
the array of animals presented for the readers' amusement, and
combined with the natty illustrations, splashing colour and vibrancy
across the pages, the whole is a snortingly good tale to keep
children amused and engaged.
The huge list of animals and what they will sit upon is repeated at
the end of the book, with the dog then asking the one questions
still to be asked, where will frog sit? This is a funny interactive
book designed to keep readers' interest to the last page, following
on from their successful Oi Frog! (2015)
Fran Knight
The Crown's game by Evelyn Skye
Balzer and Bray, 2016. ISBN 9780062560605
Highly recommended. Similar in nature to Erin Morginstien's The
Night Circus, The Crown's Game follows a competition
between two enchanters in which only one may survive. I would highly
recommend to anyone interested in fantasy or historic fiction.
Vika has been raised to become the Imperial Enchanter, her entire
life has been devoted to that goal. But little does she know there
is another enchanter who has also been raised not only to become the
Imperial Enchanter, but to win the Crown's Game. The borders are
under threat and there is a whisper about a rebellion, Yuliana, the
Tsar's daughter, convinces the Tsar that the time is ripe for a new
Imperial Enchanter and entreats him to start the Crown's Game to
protect her brother, the Tsaravitch. Pasha, the Tsaravitch, is soft
and unlike his father the Tsar. He defies the royal pomp and as a
result his best friend is an orphan, Nikolai. But Nikolai is more
than just an orphan - he has been brought up an enchanter, and
thrust unwillingly into a game where he must kill or be killed.
Things only grow more intense as a love triangle emerges between
Vika and the two boys and they are all forced to think on who must
die. There is no way out of this game.
Set in imperial Russia during the years 1801-1825, the story focuses
on Alexander I and his Tsarina Elizabeth's two fictional children
Pasha and Yuliana. By adding layers of mysticism, Skye produces a
wonderfully rich fantasy filled with magic, drama, and Russian
curses.
Kayla Gaskell (University student)
The good people by Hannah Kent
Picador, 2016. ISBN 9781743534908
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended.
This is the second book from Hannah Kent, whose award winning first
novel 'Burial rites' received great acclaim. That novel, based on a
true story, was set in the cold bleak environment of northern
Iceland in 1829 and told the story of Agnes Magnusdottir condemned
to death for murder. This latest book 'The good people' is about
another 'dark happening in a cold place' and is set in 1825 in
south-west Ireland at a time of poverty and hunger and fearful
superstition. Kent immerses us completely in the hard frugal lives
of the people trying to eke out a living with potatoes and the milk
from the cows when available, living in windowless cabins under
thatch rooves with dirt floors and soot stained walls from the
hearth fire.
We are drawn into the lives of three women gathered around a strange
child - they are Nora, the distraught widow left to struggle on her own with
the care of her grandchild; Mary, the young girl who has left a home
with too many mouths to feed, taking on chores with Nora for the
sake of food and shelter; and Nance, the mysterious old woman at the
edge of the village, she who consorts with the 'good people', the
fairies who wreck havoc with people's lives.
Nance knows the special herbs and cures. People furtively seek out
her help with their troubles, careful to avoid the anger of the
disapproving local priest. But when one misfortune follows another,
and there are signs that the fairies have been about, fear and
distrust leads to rumours about her. Is there an evil spirit amongst
them, is it the child, or is it Nance, or are all three women
involved in something bad?
The world of Nora, Mary and Nance and the surrounding villagers is
very real. Kent has thoroughly researched every detail, and she
brings it all alive - the austere lives, the dirt, the smells, the
struggles and fears, the bitterness and spite, even the language of
the time. The book held me to the very end - it is an intriguing
story that leaves us, like the villagers, with still a few questions
lingering in the mind.
Helen Eddy
Sunset shadows by Bronwyn Parry
Goodabri bk. 3. Hachette Australia, 2016. ISBN 9780733633317
(Age: 15+) Recommended for fans of romantic suspense. This is the
third book in the Goodabri series, following Dead heat
and Storm
clouds, but could be read as a stand-alone although as
with all series, some background is given in the previous books.
Steve Fraser and Tess Ballard, both police officers, save the lives
of 50 cult members but put their careers on the line when it appears
that one of them may have killed the cult leader. One of the cult
members is Steve's sister who has two children, and he finds himself
having to deal with long buried family issues while trying to
protect them. Tess, too, is hiding secrets from her past and has to
confront the feelings and the danger that she is facing because of
the cult.
Readers will enjoy the vivid descriptions of the Australian bush and
the small country towns of northern New South Wales, as Parry brings
to life what it is like to live in outback Australia. Her
descriptions of cult life and the effect that it has on its members,
even when they have managed to escape the confines of that system,
are quite harrowing and bring a depth to the story that elevates it
above the average romantic suspense story. There is much tension and
excitement as the pair trail the cult leaders and drug dealers
through the bush.
Readers who have read the first two in the series will be happy to
follow the story of Steve Fraser and the unexpected conclusion to
his troubles, and Tess is a gritty heroine, whose determination to
overcome her past is engaging.
Bronwyn Parry has won awards for her romantic suspense stories and Sunset
shadows will not disappoint her fans.
Pat Pledger
Geis: A matter of life and death by Alexis Deacon
Walker Books Australia, 2016. ISBN 9781910620038
(Age: Upper primary + ) Highly recommended. Geis: (genitive singular geise,
nominative plural geasa)
1. a solemn
injunction , especially of a magical kind, the infringement of
which led to misfortune or even death
2. a tabu , spell or prohibition
This is going to tick a lot of boxes for quite a number of your
readers. Firstly, it is yet another sumptuous graphic novel I have
had the pleasure of receiving recently. Secondly, it is supernatural
AND historical AND fantasy. Finally, it is the first in a trilogy so
readers who love the continuation of a saga will really go for it.
The matriarch chief/ruler of an island lies dying and has no natural
heir. She summons her strongest magic ever. One of you I will spare. For the rest I claim you all! Your
hearts will beat to feed my magic, your bodies will be shells for
my puppets and my slaves, your minds will be shattered and broken.
Fifty souls are called in the night for a contest that will
determine the one worthy of taking her place. This is a trial like
no other and begins the first task.
This is another first novel and I predict the start of an amazing
career for Alexis who graduated in 2001 from the University of
Brighton with a first class Honours in Illustration.
Definitely a name to watch - this is highly recommended for readers
from Upper Primary onwards.
Sue Warren
A dog called Bear by Diane and Christyan Fox
Faber, 2016. ISBN 9780571329434
Lucy has always wanted a dog and has read all the books about them
and saved her pocket money to buy all the stuff that a dog needs.
And so she begins her search... not at a pet shop but in her
neighbourhood. First she encounters a frog who pleads his case but
he does not meet Lucy's requirements. Neither does the fox. But Bear
seems to and because it's late and she's tired, she decides he will
be fine.
It's an unlikely partnership but it works until Bear did what bears
do in winter - hibernate. Lucy was not pleased. She not only wanted
a full-time dog but also one that lived up to her expectations, not
one that was messy, dug a lot and and ate so much porridge. Bear
wasn't happy either - carrying sticks, repeatedly fetching a ball
and being woken up were not his ideals. And so he runs away...
This is a charming story about what it means to have a pet and what
our expectations of them are. It would be ideal for starting a
discussion with very young children about the sorts of creatures
that make a suitable pet and what is required to take care of them -
it's more than lots of cuddles and snuggles.
One for the little ones in our lives.
Barbara Braxton
Den of wolves by Juliet Marillier
A Blackthorn and Grim novel. Macmillan, 2016. ISBN
9781743535738
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Another stunning read from
Juliet Marillier is sure to delight fans and new readers alike.
Blackthorn has been asked to help Lady Flidais look after a young
woman, Cara, who has been sent to her by her father. Meanwhile Grim
has been given the task of working with Bardan, a wild strange man,
to rebuild a heartwood house deep in the forest belonging to Cara's
father. Both soon realise that all is not well. Blackthorn's past
begins to catch up with her when her old enemy Mathuin attacks the
holdings of Lady Flidais' parents and it is difficult for her to
remember that she has taken a vow to seek no vengeance. Grim is
troubled by the way that Bardan is treated and suspects that there
are many secrets being kept at Wolf Glen. Grim and Blackthorn both
have to make a heart wrenching choice: to stand together or to fight
their battles alone. And what they decide could really influence the
fate and happiness of the young woman, Cara.
Told in alternating chapters by Blackthorn and Grim, each story
builds up suspense as a sense of doom spreads. For Grim, there is
mystery surrounding Bardan's background and where he has been hidden
for many years. It is strange that Cara is sent away so soon after
his arrival at Wolf Glen, and the reader is left wondering about the
significance of the heartwood house, which is made of different
woods in a certain order. Blackthorn finds that she misses Grim's
patience and solid support when he is away, but knows that both have
responsibilities that must be fulfilled. The reader hopes that
Blackthorn can keep her bond but it is obviously so very difficult
for her to do that as she wrestles with stopping the evil Mathuin or
helping Cara and Grim.
With her trade mark mix of fairy tale and historical fantasy,
Marillier brings to a very satisfying conclusion the dilemmas that
both Blackthorn and Grim face. Their complex relationship also
grows in a rewarding and fulfilling way and the reader is left
feeling content with the series, but hopeful that they will solve
more mysteries together in the future.
This was an outstanding story and I hope that there will be more
Blackthorn and Grim adventures in further books.
Pat Pledger
Little lunch: Triple snack pack by Danny Katz
Ill. by Mitch Vane. Little lunch series. Black Dog Books,
2016. ISBN 9781925381276
(Age: 7+) Highly recommended. Humour. Schools. Three stories are
combined in one volume in this offering from Katz, the stories of
the fifteen interval in the school's morning session making
wonderful reading for the newly independent reader. His stories are
always recognisable, they concern things that all kids can relate
to, their backgrounds and the interplay between students are something most
readers will have experienced. The familiarity of the tree in the
school yard evoking different responses from several groups of kids
is given full reign in the first story 'The old climbing tree', where
some children love the old tree, talking of things they have done
with it over the years, while one student in particular wants it
knocked down because it forms a hazard. How will the two opposing
points of view be resolved?
The second is just as engrossing as the twins leave school without
anyone knowing why. The corridor outside class 6E becomes a whodunit
as the kids try to work out what has happened to their friends,
using the flimsiest of details to form the most exciting of stories,
revealing how gossip begins.
And the third, 'The relationship', will intrigue and surprise
the readers as the group so well known now from the television
series is in turmoil as a grade six girl asks Rory out.
The stories are short and with funny illustrations, larger print and
some words emphasised with a different font, all adding to an easy
to read snack pack of tales to absorb.
Fran Knight
