Clever Trevor's stupendous inventions by Andrew Weldon
Puffin, 2016. ISBN 9780143309154
Clever Trevor's name is not really Trevor. It's Stuart. But nothing
rhymes with 'Stuart' and because he is so clever - he invented and
built the Rabbit Brain Booster out of his dad's old computer and a
car battery - his friends have renamed him Trevor. But for all his
cleverness Trevor was still failing at school, especially this year
with Mr Schmedric. Nothing Trevor submitted for his assignments met
Mr Schmedric's expectations - but then Mr Schmedric was one of those
teachers who thought there was only one way to do anything. He won't
accept Trevor's inventions as acceptable solutions for assignments
and bullies him mercilessly. He is the epitome of a nightmare
teacher - and thankfully one that no student will ever meet.
So you can imagine Trevor's shock when he discovers that Mr
Schmedric is not only confiscating his projects but he was selling
them... and making a lot of money, which he makes sure Trevor
knows about. So Trevor and his friends hatch a plot to get their own
back, but Mr Schmedric is smarter than they give him credit for.
When he threatens to make Stuart repeat his class next year, they
have to come up with a new plan...
This is another very funny book-length cartoon from the talented
Andrew Weldon. We first met Clever Trevor as a friend of Steven, in
The Kid with the amazing head, and now he comes into his own.
It is an engaging tale which brings up all sorts of issues about the
ethical use of information and ideas as well as the concept of
power. Can authority be misused? Is it possible for the underdog to
win? Can brains overcome brawn?
Younger readers, particularly the boys and those who are reluctant
readers, will enjoy this story in its very accessible format and
will be eagerly awaiting a new adventure from this talented creator.
And in the meantime they can use the makerspace to create their own
great invention!
Barbara Braxton
Malkin Moonlight by Emma Cox
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408870846
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. I actually finished reading this a
couple of weeks ago and the writing of this review has taken so long
because this is so different and so charming I have found it
difficult to find the right words. I could just say it's an animal
adventure story but it is so much more than that. It really puts me
in mind of such titles as Watership Down or even Mrs
Frisby and the rats of NIMH. Rarely does one read an animal
story which truly projects the protagonists as completely sentient
thinking creatures.
A small kitten loses one of his nine lives when he narrowly escapes
drowning along with the rest of his litter. Little does he know but
he is destined to become a hero. The Moon recognises this and
blesses him with her naming of him 'Malkin Moonlight'. This small
feline with a huge and magnificent tail has an acute sense for the
distress of those in need and quickly loses another life in the
first of many rescues.
On his third life, he is rescued in turn by a Domestic named Roux.
Together these two form an unbreakable bond and fall in love. Roux
chooses to abandon the comforts of domestic living and runs away
with Malkin. As they search for a new home they come across a
recycling centre populated by cats who are divided into two warring
camps: those on the 'good' side of the centre where they have
accommodated themselves comfortably and are cared for by the
workers; and those who lurk on the toxic dump site over 'the wall'.
Only Malkin can unite these two factions and create a peace that
will last forever. The adventures and dramas along the way are
gripping and tense but the love, respect and true compassion of this
singular cat and his friends are a remarkable lesson for all
readers.
This first novel is destined to become a modern classic in my
opinion.
Highly recommended for readers from around 9 years up.
Sue Warren
Fright Club by Ethan Long
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781681190433
This is one of the cutest board books I've seen for ages. Forget
about sweet and pretty - this one is just in time for Halloween and
a fun story for little people.
The local Fright Club led by Vladimir the vampire is busily
practising their 'ghoulish faces, scary moves, chilling sounds' in
their clubhouse when there comes a knock at the door. A sweet fluffy
bunny asks if she can join the club and is promptly rejected. The
monsters continue with their very amateurish spookiness and there is
another knock at the door. This time the cute bunny is accompanied
by her foxy lawyer citing discrimination about being excluded and
pretty soon all the woodland creatures are picketing the Fright
Club. Of course eventually the monsters have to give in and let them
all join - and who knew? Those little animals can be quite scary
when they want to be!
This is just great fun with a load of good devices to talk about if
you did want to share it with older ones; speech bubbles,
onomatopoeia etc but basically it is a just a hoot for Halloween.
Check out the trailer
online.
Sue Warren
The double cross and other skills I learned as a SUPERSPY by Jackson Pearce
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781619634145
(Age: 8-12) Recommended. Smart, intelligent twelve-year-old Hale
Jordan lives with his secret agent parents and younger sister
Kennedy at the SRS Sub Rosa Society, an underground academy for
superspies. Hale struggles to pass the physical test to become a
junior agent, unfortunately his classmates call him Hale the Whale.
When his parents disappear during Operation Groundcover and the
leaders at SRS are unwilling to save them an unlikely hero emerges.
Hale uses all the spy techniques he has learnt to break into the
offices of the League, their rival agency.
Of course, the daring deeds of a young agent like Hale take him into
dangerous situations that require skill and ingenuity. There are
spies and double agents, counterplots and risky missions. When he
secretly opens the SRS files, he discovers that his parents have been
listed as eliminated on sight. The young agent befriends Ben, an
inventor, and his sister Beatrix, a computer whiz from the League
and they work together to foil the SRS plot to kidnap talented kids
and turn them into secret agents.
Pearce's protagonist Hale rises above the bullying from his
classmates and he uses his knowledge and abilities to overcome
difficult situations. The supporting characters are likeable as
well, there's Ben's with his timely and clever inventions, Kennedy's
cheerleading team help with a risky escape and Beatrix's valuable
computer skills. Jackson Pearce's The double cross is an
appealing novel, a funny, action-packed novel that is suitable for
confident readers who enjoy spy stories.
Rhyllis Bignell
Tell the truth, shame the devil by Melina Marchetta
Viking, 2016. ISBN 9780670079100
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Mystery. Marchetta's outstanding
ability as an author stands out in this engrossing and at times,
heart wrenching story. Chief Inspector Bish Ortley has been
suspended from the London Met, and still grieving from the death of
his son and the divorce from his wife. Drinking heavily hasn't
helped, and then he finds out that his daughter on a student trip to
France has been on a bus that was bombed. Desperate to find out what
has happened, Bish races across the Channel and although his
daughter Bee is safe, it turns out that Violette LeBrac, the
granddaughter of a man who bombed a London supermarket, was on
board. Bish had been involved in the arrest of her mother, Noor
LeBrac. As he begins to investigate the bombing, Violette and
another boy, Eddie disappear, and Bish begins to uncover the truth
about what had happened in the past.
Bish is a compelling character who immediately gains the sympathy of
the reader as he tries to cope with his ex-wife's pregnancy and new
husband and a cantankerous teenage daughter while traumatised by his
son's drowning. He has the knack of being able to get people to
confide in him and gradually as he talks to the teens from the bus
and their parents, a picture of what has happened begins to emerge.
His investigative skills are put to the test as he navigates through
a foreign language (French) and the social media that the students
on the bus have used to communicate what has happened. The teens'
different characters come alive on the page, with all the angst,
that comes with coping with hormones and difficult family
backgrounds. Violette is particularly compelling as she confronts
what has happened in the past and Bee's efforts to come to grips
with her brother's death and parents' divorce provide a deeper
background to the reader coming to understand Bish.
The multicultural nature of Europe provides the setting for the
novel. The racism that faces anyone who has a Middle Eastern
background and the treatment that the LeBrac family has been given
is an integral part of the story and is so realistic as to what is
happening in our modern society. Marchetta's writing makes the
reader ponder what tolerance and justice, right and wrong, is all
about as Bish follows the trail of Violetta and Eddie, while
overturning what had been considered the truth in the past.
An outstanding crime novel, Tell the truth, shame the devil
will appeal to adults, but is sure to resonate with older teens as
well.
Pat Pledger
Pattan's pumpkin: an Indian flood story by Chitra Soundar
Ill. by Frane Lessac. Otter-Barry Books (Little Orchard) 2016. ISBN
9781910959442
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Flood stories. Myths and legends. India. Many
cultures have a myth about a great flood destroying part of their
world, and this Indian story will be a wonderful addition to a
library's store of myths and legends, begging to be read and
compared with other stories in other cultures.
Pattan an Indian farmer tends his crops in his valley with his wife,
Kannie and their children. He finds a small plant with large yellow
flowers and takes it home. Here it grows one enormous pumpkin, so
large that it overshadows everything in the vicinity. One day it
begins to rain and does not stop. As the water rises, Pattan and
Kanni fill sacks with grain and rice to be taken to higher ground,
and he dives into the enormous pumpkin and scoops out the flesh. The
animals follow him into the pumpkin and when the pumpkin is cut from
the stalk, it rolls down into the river, with everyone safe inside.
Kanni sings to keep them calm, and when they find the pumpkin has
stopped, they look out to find they are in a lovely valley and the
rain has stopped. They then build their houses and plant their crops
and their families have been there ever since.
This makes a wonderful story of surviving the rain, of keeping your
family together, or thanking your forebears for what they achieved,
all startlingly illustrated by Frane Lessac. Readers will not be
able to take their eyes off her vibrant drawings reflecting the
Indian background and the plants and animals of that region.
Fran Knight
A child of books by Oliver Jeffers
Ill. by Sam Winston. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781406358315
(Age: All) Highly recommended. Books. Classic stories. Every few
years a book comes along which extols the virtues of books and
reading, told in a way which initiates discussion and sharing,
illustrated so beautifully that everyone reading it will look at
the drawings more closely, stopping on each page to breathe in the
images presented. Children and adults alike will read and discuss
this book, taking time to share their reminiscences of books read
long ago or just yesterday, sharing their ideas on what makes a
classic, importuning others to read books they have read and
enjoyed.
Each page has text from a recognised classic story: Alice in
Wonderland, Treasure Island, The secret garden,
Gulliver's travels, Swiss family Robinson, Snow
White and Blood Red, Kidnapped are amongst the forty
or so mentioned. Each endpaper lists all these books, and will make
a wonderful list to begin thinking about what you would add, or discussing
with others what they might have put on the endpaper, or with a
class, brainstorming the sorts of books they would like to see
there. It is all down to personal experience with books, and many
will add a whole range of others they see as classics, and what
discussions will be had as a result!
The girl asks the boy to join her as she sails on a sea of words and
books, taking him on her voyage of the imagination, climbing
mountains, finding treasure in a cave, losing themselves in a
forest, escaping monsters, flying to the stars. All it takes is
imagination, and books hold the key offering this experience to all.
The stunning illustrations parallel the stories reflected by the
text, with mountains or seas of words holding the pair as they have
their adventure. Or the cave is made from a rockfall of words while
the forest overleaf is full of what seem like trees but are really
old fashioned books standing erect. The way Winston has used words
to illustrate the text will have readers turning the book every
which way to discover which book's lines have been used to create
the image. Even the houses on the last four pages turn into a shelf
of books. Just wonderful. This will be a treat for anyone who reads
it, the text and illustrations are beacons, leading to hours of
contemplation and discussion.
Fran Knight
Eleanor, Elizabeth by Libby Gleeson
Ill. by Beattie Alvarez. Second Look, 2016. ISBN 9780994234070.
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended.
This is a new edition of the novel published in 1984, Libby
Gleeson's first novel and Highly Commended in the 1985 Children's
Book Council of Australia awards. Her 2016 introduction explains
that it drew on her experience as a 10 year old moving to a new town
and having to come to terms with a new school, new friends, and a
new culture.
Eleanor is not happy when her family moves from the cool Tablelands
to the hot dry country plains, leaving behind close friends, and
starting a new school with a teacher that likes to crack the ruler
and Danny the bully out to get her in the schoolyard. So it is a relief to
escape into the derelict old family schoolhouse on their property
and then even more interesting when she discovers her grandmother’s
diary hidden in a tea chest. What she reads there leads her to
explore further the unknown areas up the creek and across the
fields. But exploring with her brothers and their friend leads them
all into great danger.
Gleeson's writing weaves together the different worlds of country
life, the children's games and conversations, Eleanor's private
thoughts and fears, and the diary entries of the nineteenth century.
Readers will readily identify with Eleanor's loneliness, her
curiosity and her sense of adventure, and follow along with her as
dramatic circumstances force her to assume a role of great bravery
and courage. The story still holds strong today and this new edition
with line drawing illustrations by Beattie Alvarez should be a
popular read in any school library.
Helen Eddy
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Cycle bk 4. Scholastic Press, 2016. ISBN
9780545424981
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. The fabulous Raven Cycle
comes to a very satisfying conclusion in The Raven King.
Gansey's quest to find Glendower, the ancient Welsh king is
overshadowed by the fear that he will die, and probably from a kiss
that Blue Sargent gives him. The other Raven boys, Ronan, Adam and
Noah have all been drawn into his quest, and each has to find a path
through the magical dreams, tall forests of Cabeswater, predictions
from the women in 300 Fox Way and an assortment of villains out to
grasp the magic power that comes along the ley line.
Stiefvater manages to juggle numerous plot lines and many characters
in this novel with her masterful writing. Chapters begin with the
phrase ("Depending on where you began the story, it was about . . .
") and this gives a different perspective to where the story is
going and more information about the key players. The introduction
of Henry, as a new and trusted friend who plays an important part in
defining what happens to Gansey is handled brilliantly as is the
strange and frightening power of the demon who is trying to unmake
them all.
This is not an easy read, but it is a fascinating one that is very
difficult to put down. Fans of the fantasy genre will love it and I
wish I had the time to start at the beginning again and read through
all four books in this complex, imaginative and unpredictable
series.
Pat Pledger
Mr Chicken arriva a Roma by Leigh Hobbs
Allen & Unwin, 2016. ISBN 9781925266771
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Travel. Rome. Tourism. After his
successful trips to Paris and London, Mr Chicken now heads for Rome.
As a child he had always been interested in Ancient Rome, and now
learning the language from his beginner's book of Italian, means to
see as much as he can. He has written a list of the sights he wishes
to see, including the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Forum and the
Spanish Steps, and he also wishes to meet some real Romans. On the
first endpaper is his list alongside many images of the places he
wishes to see and a list of words he has learnt. For readers the
first endpaper introduces them to Rome before Mr Chicken takes to
the air.
Business Class suits him with its superior food and greater leg
room, although his neighbour still looks uncomfortable. Landing he
is met by his guide, Federica, who takes him to her Vespa to tour the
city. His day in Rome is eventful as he sees all the sights he has
dreamed about as a child, but then when Federica leaves him at the
Mouth of Truth he falls into a deep sleep and dreams that he is back
in Ancient Rome. Here he finds his face on all the coins, and
statues of him are placed around the city, but when he lands in the
Colosseum, facing a ferocious lion, they both run from the other.
Federica returns, waking him and taking him for his big surprise,
dinner with her family. He gets to meet some real Romans just
as he dreamed.
Throughout the story Mr Chicken tastes a range of food, particularly
gelato and pasta and readers will laugh out loud at his efforts to
steal other people's icecream.
The wonderfully funny illustrations of Mr Chicken on the Vespa, and
stealing a lick of others' gelato, will enthrall younger readers.
And they will learn a few Italian words along the way.
Fran Knight
Dark room by Tom Becker
Red Eye series. Stripes Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781847154576
(Age: 14+) Horror. Warning on back cover: Not for younger readers.
Darla hopes that she will have a new life when she and her alcoholic
father move to Saffron Hills. But life is not easy at the local high
school where the students are obsessed with beauty and image. Then
Darla begins to have terrifying visions of people being murdered. It
seems that there is a serial killer on the loose. Nicknamed the
Selfie Slayer, the killer likes to display the selfies and other
pictures of his victims.
This has all the hallmarks of an engrossing if gory, read for teens
- a girl who can see into the future, a serial killer who takes
photos, gorgeous girls and handsome boys and many red herrings
leaving false trails about the identity of the killer. Graphic
descriptions of the murders are not for the faint-hearted, but the
suspense keeps the reader on the edge of the seat until the mostly
surprise conclusion - although there were a few clues tossed about
on the way.
Darla and her father are well fleshed out as characters, and the
supporting cast of Sasha and her sidekick Frank are interesting
characters, but the action and suspense as Darla's visions become
gruesome reality are the most important and vivid aspects of Dark
room.
This is a story that may appeal to reluctant readers as well as to
fans of the horror genre since the narrative makes for a relatively
easy but scary read. The use of social media, cyberbullying, and
selfies make it relevant and contemporary as well.
Pat Pledger
Guinness World Records 2017
Guinness World Records, 2016. ISBN 9781910561324
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. The Guinness World Records
book needs no introduction to its many fans, who will eagerly pore
over the Guinness World Records 2017 with the new and
strange, fascinating, weird and horrible 4,000 world records ranging
from facts about the moon, music, movies, animals, sports, social
media and lego-ology. The contents page directs the reader off to
the different sections that may be of most interest and allows for
individual interests to be followed. But it is equally of interest
to start at the beginning and read snippets about records that jump
out - like the most times to be made homeless by hurricanes (Five)
and the largest tropical rainforest (Amazon).
Fast facts sections can be found on every double page spread and
each section is highly illustrated with beautiful and interesting
photographs. A detailed index will also help readers to find their
favourite records and The Stop Press has records that were
added to the database after the official closing date.
A section that is sure to appeal to children is the is the Toys
and Games which includes a record for the most views for a
Minecraft video channel as well as a Lego-ology chapter that gives
the largest Lego sets, the largest life-size house made from Lego
bricks and so on. The Sports section is another that will
enthrall readers while the Do try this at home contents will
give readers the chance to see if they could break a record. The Don't
try this at home contents will also fascinate and horrify with
its graphic pictures.
This is a well-produced, easy to read and fascinating book that will
appeal to people of all ages.
Pat Pledger
The famishing vanishing mahoosive mammoth by Hollie Hughes
Ill. by Leigh Hodgkinson. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408862780
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Mammoths, Appetite, Verse, Friendship.
When Mammoth wakes one morning he finds that he is so hungry that he
is vanishing. Bug tells him not to worry as he will find food for
him, and pulls a banana out of his backpack. The two go off to a
restaurant where he easily demolishes a meal, but feels hungry again
after. A tree is eaten on the way to the promenade, where he spies
an ice cream van. He eats some doughnuts and popcorn and chips,
fairy floss, rock and then a ship!
But even after this he feels like he is vanishing from too little
food.
The hairy mammoth's story told in rhyming verse, will elicit gales
of laughter from the readers as they follow his day filling his
tummy with food. Bug tried very hard to fill his friend's tummy but
calls a halt, when he tells the mammoth that he is thinking about
food too much and works out ways to distract him. They play on the
swings, go in a rocket, slide down the slippery dip, dig in the sand
for buried treasure. Mammoth realises that he has not thought about
food all day long, thanks to his friend, Bug, who has distracted
him. And his friendship is all Mammoth needs.
A delightful rhyming picture book about friendship, also lists food
that is found at the seaside for children to recognise. Readers will
love following the pair during their day at the beach, fabulously
illustrated in bold bright colours, and reading about all the things
that can be done when there. But over all it is Mammoth and his tum
that will intrigue the reader as he tries to allay his hunger and
the efforts of his friend at helping him do just that.
Fran Knight
Elmer and the race by David McKee
Andersen Press, 2016. ISBN 9781783444557
(Age: 4-7) Recommended. Elephants. Competition. Elmer the patchwork
elephant is back and this time he organises a race when all the
young elephants decided that they wanted to find out who was the
fastest runner. Each had a different colour and there was great
excitement as they set off on the course that Elmer and Wilbur had
designed. On the way they face some obstacles - the cheeky monkeys
confuse the racers by throwing fruit and pointing in the wrong
direction and Yellow is naughty and trips up Green who is injured.
Readers who enjoyed the adventures of Elmer in Elmer, Elmer
and Rose and Elmer and Wilbur will be delighted to see
more of the characters in Elmer and the Race. The colourful,
eye-catching illustrations make this a stand out story book. Each
elephant has a different face and distinctive characteristics, but
Elmer with his gorgeous patchwork coat and Wilbur with his black and
white squares stand out amongst the colours of the young elephants.
The narrative flows along beautifully, making it a lovely story to
read aloud. There are lessons to be learnt on the way. Yellow cheats
but finds out that he is good at saying sorry. White is very kind
and helps Green, even though it means that he doesn't win the race
and Pink and Violet are funny, and even though Blue wins the race
and Orange comes in second, all of the young elephants win a medal.
Pat Pledger
The Ghostfaces by John Flanagan
Brotherband bk 6. Random House, 2016. ISBN 9780857980113
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. I have read a number of books in this
series (but not all) and each of them is thrilling, dramatic and
full of action, and worthy of setting aside time to read and
definitely worth recommending to young male readers who will love
the life-threatening action and combat skills on display. (Note,
young female readers will also enjoy the adventurous spirit and the
fellowship of the band of 'brothers'.) Flanagan has mastered the art
of the historical adventure for teen readers.
In this latest saga we read of the exploits of the Brotherband, led
by the wise-beyond-his-years Hal, who together with a motley
collection of friends with unique skills combine to master their
sailing vessel and battle the elements and any human (or wild
animal) opposition. Their history is well documented in previous
books, but even if this was the first of the series that was read,
Flanagan gives enough detail of their personalities and individual
skills for it to be read as a stand-alone adventure.
Firstly, they have to survive the intense storm that threatens to
blow them far from home and into dangerous and unknown territory.
And then they must face a whole new way of life in a place that
leaves them marvelling and gives them a new sense of home, until
their existence is threatened by 'The Ghostfaces'. Although Flanagan
has created a fantasy world, there are parallels with Viking-like
and North American Indigenous cultures, and this too adds an
intrigue for the reader. A comprehensive sailing vocabulary is
included at the beginning to allow an understanding of the detailed
sailing scenarios that are described in detail. It doesn't take long
to feel like you too have been whipped by the storm in the opening
chapters. But beyond the sailing detail is a story of friendship
that binds these brothers together and allows them to overcome
adversity and loss, and to demonstrate how to esteem individual
strengths and forgive weaknesses.
Carolyn Hull
