Reviews

Judy Moody, Mood Martian by Megan McDonald

Ill. by Peter H. Reynolds. Judy Moody bk 12. Walker Books, 2015. ISBN 9781406357837
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. Themes: School stories, Family Life, Emotions, Friends. Judy Moody returns in Judy Moody, Mood Martian, and the young girl we know and love, the emotional, messy, quite contrary has disappeared! Just for a short while luckily! It's Backwards Day at school and she double-dares herself to change into the Queen of the Good Mood for just one week.
"Star-spangle bananas," her mother exclaims when a radically transformed Judy appears the next morning. Judy is transformed, red hair slicked back, all her clothes match and she even laughs at little brother Stink's jokes. Her mood ring is painted with purple nail polish to signal she'll be in a good mood all day. Mr. DDOT (Todd backwards) even introduces the class to palindromes. With her success of staying in a positive frame of mind all day, she decides to continue the positive top-secret experiment for a week. She even decides to ask Jessica-A plus-Finch for advice.
With the help of lots of finger-knitting and making the right choices Judy Moody finds the week challenging. Her family thinks she been invaded by an alien! Once again, Peter R. Harvey's cartoons add to the drama and humour of the story, Martian Judy and the rescue of the finger knitting from the toilet bowl are memorable!
This is a wonderful addition to the Judy Moody series, it will delight the fans.
Recommended for 7-9 year olds
Rhyllis Bignell

Assembly of shapes by Danielle Weiler

Ranga Books, 2015. ISBN 9780987546715
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. 'I need a place, just for me, a place to escape, a place to just be. If I could create an assembly of shapes on endless pages I do believe my life would be complete.'
The main character, Chas is an intense character, so skilfully drawn that the reader feels they know him and the suburb he lives in.
Chas is working his way through year 11 and has lots of secrets. He doesn't know who his father is, he's in love with his best friend's girlfriend and he is an 'undercover' artist.
This book is about relationships. Relationship with family, friends, and self are all put under the microscope in this captivating story.
The writing style is compelling and the situations portrayed so realisticly as to be shocking and thought provoking. Chas grows in maturity as he tackles the challenge to achieve his dreams, seemingly against all odds. He has unexpected champions and foes as the story unfolds, culminating in unexpected tragedy.
The power of this book is the reality of the situations the young characters find themselves dealing with. There is much to discuss and explore.
'I've finally done it. They will all be safe. And this is the sole reason for my sacrifice.'
Linda Guthrie

Home by Carson Ellis

Walker, 2015. ISBN 9781406359428
(Age: 4-8) Highly recommended. Housing. Homes. Imagination. Buildings. Carson Ellis is an artist and illustrator whose unique naive style is showcased in her debut picture book Home. She is known for her artistic covers on band albums and backdrops and for her illustrations in the Wildwood series written by her husband, Conor Meloy. Here her pen and ink illustrations use dark tonal colors, with solid lines and small, quirky touches to create mood and interest. There is a fairytale quality to her work, the characters stylishly dressed with princesses and pirates. Each setting and each home waits to be explored, studied and discussed.
She takes us on a journey around the world and even into space; the Moonian's home is in shades of grey, with the colourful Earth, a small ball in the distance viewed through a large circular window. From a home in the country, we are taken on a journey past flats in the city, to Indian palaces with underground lairs. Animals' homes are included as well as spiders' webs and birds' nests. The old woman who lives in the shoe is surrounded by her multicultural family drumming, swinging, climbing, sliding and balancing on a tightrope, having fun. Mythical places - underwater Atlantis, a Norse god home are shown in detail. With contrasting scenes placed side by side we see the a Slovakian duchess and her stately home next to a Kenyan blacksmith's small abode. As the pages are turned, each new painting is a celebration of the imagination. The text is simple, engaging and questioning. Where is your home? Where are you? In the final pages, Carson is peering out the window of her two-story home asking the reader to think about their own place.
Highly recommended for 4-8 years and for Early Years Geography and History lessons.
Rhyllis Bignell

Teddy took the train by Nicki Greenberg

Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781760112134
(Age: 3-5) Recommended. Teddy bears. Poetry. Lost and found. Trains. The market place is bustling as Dot and Teddy are finishing the shopping, they race after Mum to catch the early train. The train is crowded, Dot squeezes in to get the window seat, whilst Mum sits beside her in her wheelchair. They see diggers, skyscrapers and a runaway balloon. Dot's excitement on arrival at the station, dancing and splashing in the puddles is suddenly marred by a realization. Did the train take Teddy, or did teddy take the train? Sitting on her mother's lap whilst the station attendant Peter (a quite dark figure) talks to them, Dot's imagination takes over and she can see Teddy enjoying a picnic with friends at Bear Bend. Ted's journey home is long and tricky, he's caught in a crowd, tumbled down a riverbank and left alone to watch cloud patterns in the sky. After Dot's tea and her bath, she becomes a little teary, Ted is lost, she's missing her her best friend.
The rhyming story builds momentum, like the rhythm of a train on the tracks, until we read the refrain - The train took Teddy... No! Teddy drove the train! Dot's in bed and Mum's reading to her when they hear the whistle blow, it is the seven-oh-two. Someone is there on the doorstep with a very special surprise.
Nicki Greenfield's illustrations combine the use of ink, pencil, acrylic with digital graphics and scanned objects. Cartoon sketches and caricatures fill the train carriage and market, with the backgrounds flooded with darker colours. As the story picks up speed, Dot's hair becomes wilder and more exuberant.
A delightful picture book, asking to be read aloud at home, preschool, kindergarten or school.
Rhyllis Bignell

Bears don't read by Emma Chichester Clark

HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780007425181
Bear is not like the other grizzly bears in the woods. While they are perfectly happy doing bear things like fishing, Bear is bored.
"Oh, life is lovely," he thought. "Tra-la-la and all that! But is this it?" he wondered. "Is this all there is?"
Then one day, Bear discovers a book. And inside it were pictures of bears just like him, but there were also a lot of words and even Bear knew that they meant something, even the tiny ones. But what? So he decides to go into the town to find out, to find someone who will teach him to read. But instead of being greeted by a band of willing helpers, he is met by people fleeing and the police riot squad! Until he meets Clementine.
As well as being a charming story, this book celebrates Bear's determination and acknowledges that reading is not an easy task, something the target audience will be able to empathise with. Clementine's patience mirrors that of the early childhood teacher and the ending is delightful. Even though bears are depicted as fierce and scary, the illustrations are soft and gentle supporting the words to show a different side of this species. Emma Chichester Clark has a distinctive style that has seen her win many awards for her illustrations and this is another superb example.
Barbara Braxton

Big Digger ABC by Margaret Mayo

Fish out of water by Natalie Whipple

Hot Key Books, 2015. ISBN 9781471404306
(Age: 16+) "People like to think fish don't have feelings - it's easier that way - but as I watch the last guppy squirm in his bag, his eyes seem to plead with me. I get the sense that it knows just as well as I do that bad things are on the horizon."
Mika loves fish but her plans for the summer holidays come awry when her estranged grandmother arrives unannounced. This sets the scene for a difficult family reunion as old grievances resurface and conflict ensues. The characters are lightly drawn, yet the reader can relate to the complications life presents them.
The characters in this novel are all fish out of water. Alzheimers, cultural differences, socioeconomic differences, and educational differences are all explored in this novel. While it lacks complexity, and can be predictable at times, this novel does show the power of forgiveness in resolving difficulties in relationships.
While there is, of course, a love interest in this book, the most nuanced relationship is that between Mika and her grandmother. It is these segments that bring the book to life and allow the reader to experience the complexities of Alzheimers.
Linda Guthrie

A bed for Bear by Clive McFarland

HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780062237057
(Age: Preschool - Yr 2) Winter is coming and it is time for bears to hibernate. But Bernard Bear did not want to sleep in the bear cave. It was too noisy, too big and too crowded. But he must find somewhere . . . and soon. So he sets out to find a bed that is just right for him.
Frog's lilypad looks nice but it is not made for a bear and wet is not comfortable. And Bird's bed is too windy and Rabbit's is too small. Will Bear ever find a bed that is just right for bears? And how will a teeny, tiny mouse help a big bear find a bed?
Even though the theme of creatures looking for that which is just right for them and trying all sorts of options is common, this is a charming tale that has a sense of newness and novelty about it. Illustrated with no extraneous detail apart from the focus of the text, the characters take centre stage, each one original and quirky. The text has a repetitive element that young children will join in with and they will delight in trying to find Mouse in the pictures. It could be a great introduction to investigating where animals live as well as challenging them to think of the characteristics that a bear's bed should have before Mouse solves the problem.
There is also the issue of Bear destroying all the beds he tries without apologising or helping to fix them which could set up some discussion about ethical behaviour at the child's level.
An intriguing debut for this author/illustrator that, like good picture books do, offers more than initially meets the eye.
Barbara Braxton

Hooray! It's a new royal baby! by Martha Mumford

Ill. by Ada Grey. Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 97814088 65712
(Age: 4-7) Royal family, Children, Siblings, Humour. The third book in the series of stories following the royal offspring born in the United Kingdom, is full of fun and promise just as the other two, with a parallel theme of how an older child will deal with the birth of a sibling.
The palace is in heightened anticipation, the nursery is being readied, with the mobile being hung, the teddies all put in order and the bassinet rocking horse polished. Royal Baby George helps his aunt and uncle hang balloons on the royal gate but he begins to wonder about the New Royal Baby playing with his toys. He is not so sure that he wants someone else playing with his dinosaur and when the New Royal Baby arrives home, George is a little underwhelmed. His mother gives him a goldfish of his very own, but the changes in the New Royal Baby begin to interest him as well. This book gently leads the readers to see just how the two children will get along, underlining the ways they can play together, and the role of the parents in facilitating this. By the end of the book George is happy to play with the New Royal Baby as it is much more interesting than the goldfish. The last few pages will have parents laughing as well.
Boldly illustrated the fun of being parents is very much apparent with a few side issues being gently dealt with. The euphoria of the birth of a royal baby is infectious and this book will be just as popular in Australia as in the UK, along with the other two, Shhh! Don't wake the royal baby, and Happy birthday, royal baby!
Fran Knight

Any questions? by Marie-Louise Gay

Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781760113179
(Age: 6+) Writing, Imagination. The process of writing is given a wildly funny and unusual outing in this heavily illustrated book by Canadian author, Marie-Louise Gay. She tells of the amazing range of questions asked by a class of children, and leads them through the process of writing a book. From the blank page she adds colour and characters, asking the children for their ideas and suggestions. Each suggestion leads to a page of illustrations suggesting a story, so the white paper and the questions about polar bears may lead to a story of a polar bear in a snowstorm, or the purple paper may lead the children in another direction entirely. The colour of the paper is important in pushing ideas forward. From there different ways of adding words to the paper are exposed. Some write down a series of words, some phrases, these are added to the paper as ideas spawn and the story develops. Illustrations fill the pages adding to the excitement of the developing story as Gay encourages children to write.
This colour filled picture book encourages teachers and students to write, giving them a scaffold to do it, while being an entertaining read as well. The story which this class develops is told at the end with all the additions by each child involved. As a model for use in the classroom, it has merit, and may encourage members in the classroom to try their hand at writing.
Fran Knight

Book of the Dead by Michael Northrop

Tombquest series, Book 1. Scholastic, 2015. ISBN 9781743629246
(Age: 10+) Themes: Egyptology, Adventure stories, Good & Evil, Museums. Another series from Scholastic where the reader has to wait patiently for the next instalment to be published. This is a dark story more suited to readers over 10 than the recommended Year 3 audience. Over five novels the two young protagonists are caught in a dark adventure, as an ancient Egyptian evil is unleashed, mummies are awakened and a plague of scarabs invades the underground tunnels.
Alex Sennefer's suffering from a fatal illness, nothing can help him. He leaves the hospital and very quickly is embroiled in the mysteries at his mother's work place, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is an Egyptologist, involved in a secret society, who carries a powerful magic amulet at all times. She knows that the answers to Alex's getting better is hidden in the Lost Spells of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Alex and his best friend Ren are drawn in to fight a Death Walker, who has 3000 years to plan his revenge. There is a real darkness to this story, as they fight evil, are confronted by a thousands of stinging scarabs killing the animals in Central Park and engage in a battle in abandoned underground railway tunnels.
This a confronting story, the bad guys are violent and scary and Alex and Ren are so caught up in the battle, the reader knows little about their characters and their friendship.
For readers over 10 years.
Rhyllis Bignell

Love and other perishable items by Laura Buzo

Allen & Unwin. 2015. ISBN 9781760112424
(Age: 14-18) Highly recommended. Young adult fiction. Originally this debut novel from Laura Buzo was published as Good oil and commended in the CBC Older Readers offerings of 2011. It was further shortlisted in the 2011 Prime Minister's Literary Awards. Now re-issued with a new title, this is a wonderfully funny, tender and compellingly engaging read. Buzo has a marvellous knack of writing real life with a completely authentic and convincing voice which resonates strongly throughout her novels.
When 16 year old Amelia lands herself her first job - part-time at her local Woolies - as so many young people do, she meets 21 year old Chris, final year uni student. Outwardly a gauche awkward teen and an extroverted 'class clown' with a six-year age gap that seems an insurmountable chasm, these two 'click' with immediacy as they discuss every conceivable topic from quality literature to feminism to pulp movies with gusto and passion. And of course, fall in love - though not without obstacles. Amelia is smitten from the start but despairs of Chris ever regarding her as more than the quirky 'young 'un', while Chris stumbles from fantasy perfect woman to unsuccessful pursuit, all the while falling more and more convincingly for Amelia.
Not only the main characters but those secondary and even on the periphery of this story are drawn so utterly real and the plot unravels with warmth and wit, absorbing the reader who is drawn into this melee of personalities with ease.
There is an intriguing and subtle comparison of the two personalities revealed through their alternate narrations. Apparently 'uncool' Amelia has in fact developed far more sophisticated coping mechanisms to deal with her stresses with family life and school than the generally perceived 'cool' Chris, who resorts to over-indulgence in alcohol and recreational drugs to escape from his own troubles.
The parallels which can be drawn between Amelia's English reading list (and frustrations with the curriculum and her teacher) and the gradually evolving relationship between herself and Chris are also delightful, as the reader is invited to predict the eventual outcome between these two distinctly likeable characters.
Highly recommended for mature readers of around 15 and up, you won't go wrong with this one.
Sue Warren

The Hueys in none the number by Oliver Jeffers

HarperCollins, 2014. ISBN 9780007420698
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. How do you explain the concept of none, nothing, zero? That something that isn't even there is something? This is one of the most difficult mathematical concepts for very young children to understand, given that they are still very much in the concrete stage of development, yet given its importance in maths it is one of the most critical. And in this charming counting book Oliver Jeffers manages it perfectly.
Using his quirky characters The Hueys, he builds up the idea by adding one to none to get a blue telephone and then two beds until the big day building up to a crescendo of items that are suddenly taken away leaving none. Jeffers doesn't confine himself to the usual objects found in counting books - each collection is a story in itself like the seven oranges being balanced on things. Why would you try to balance an orange on something? Or the teddy-shaped parcel that becomes everything from a tennis racquet to a train set. And the nine seagulls that steal Frank's chips just invite the young listeners to share their own stories.
Oliver Jeffers has a knack and a reputation for making the ordinary extraordinary and this third adventure of these lovable characters is no exception.
Barbara Braxton

Shine: A story about saying goodbye by Trace Balla

Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781743316344
(Age: Preschool + ) 'Far, far away and long, long ago, on a beautiful planet, amongst the golden stars there lived a young horse. He was so kind and bright, so sparkly and shimmery, that everyone called him Shine.' Shine galloped with the other horses under the smiling moon until one day he met Glitter, the loveliest horse he had ever seen and soon Sparky and Shimmer had come to make a beautiful family. But sadly and too soon, Shine had to return to the stars and Glitter, Sparky and Shimmer are heartbroken, crying an ocean of golden tears and climbing the high mountain of grief until they finally see and understand the overwhelming size of the love they shared. And far above, the brightest star of all shines on them and brings them peace.
Trace Balla wrote this book for her niece and nephew when they lost their dad, suddenly and unexpectedly. Even though it is so difficult to explain the inexplicable to young children, it gave them a moment of peace and beauty and moments are sometimes all you can get at such a difficult time. But it also gave them reassurance that they were still surrounded by love, and hope that, in time, they would see their Shine shining down on them.
We tend to think of death as adult-business but whenever an adult dies there is so often a young child deeply affected and trying to come to terms with the loss, not quite understanding the finality and perhaps blaming themselves for not being good enough. Whatever the circumstances of the death, it is essential that the child knows they were loved deeply and will continue to be so, and this story not only shows that but celebrates it. It acknowledges and allows the sadness of all those left behind, the grieving process is accurately depicted as a huge, steep mountain to climb that will take time but it also shows that it can be conquered and that there is still joy in the world. Little people don't have the vision to see beyond the horizon and so a story like this gives them some comfort that eventually the hurt starts to heal and the love shines through. They have not been abandoned, they are not lost and they are still loved.
Because school is often the one constant in the child's life at this time and particularly if the child is not involved in the final farewell process, it often falls to the teacher to provide the support that is needed and having a story like Shine to share gives them a starting point to share and talk with the child. It is gentle, it is reassuring and based on the belief that 'We all come from the stars, we all go back to the stars' it can be shared without risk of contradicting any religious beliefs.
Sadly, this particular copy will not be added to the collection at my school - it is on its way to a little person who needs it right now and who will get great comfort from it. I thank Carolyn Walsh from Allen & Unwin for making that possible.
Barbara Braxton

The greedy dog by Rosie Dickins and Francesca di Chiara

Usborne Picture Books, 2015. ISBN 9781409584841
(Age: Preschool - Yr 2) Dog is always hungry and his thoughts are always about food. Even though he had already had a slice of steak, half a ham and a whole string of sausages, he was thinking about his dinner. In the market town it is market day and his nose leads him to the butcher's stall where there are all sorts of delicious doggy delights - in particular, a big juicy bone that is irresistible. Carefully, he sneaks up and snatches it, hightailing it out of town before anyone can catch him.
Delighted with his daring and his success, he runs until he comes to a river and the cool water reminds him he is thirsty and needs a drink. But as he bends over the water, he sees another dog with a bone, fat and juicy and bigger than his. He is determined to have it.
This is a retelling of The dog and his reflection, a fable by Aesop that dates back hundreds of years. Written in an entertaining way and brought right up-to-date with lively, colourful illustrations it provides the platform for a discussion about being content with what we have as well as a springboard to other fables, their format and messages. Are stories meant to entertain us or educate us, or is there room for both? It could be the start of having even very young students start looking below the surface for the juicy bones beneath - the message that the writer is trying to help us understand.
But even without the philosophical discussion, it just a lovely story to read aloud to our youngest readers.
Barbara Braxton