Augustin and the hot air balloon by David Metzenthen
Ford Street Publishing, 2022. ISBN: 9781925804966. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
Augustin is a poor boy who lives in a barn. Celine is a rich girl who lives in a mighty palace. Together they escape into the sky . . . Only to land in a world of terrible trouble and dangerous secrets!
Augustin is an 11-year-old goatherder who is worried about starving to death during the coming winter, and when he sees the Montgolfier Brother’s hot air balloon ready to fly he decides to become the first person to be in the basket. He hopes to land far away in a warm country with plenty of food and achieve fame as the first person to make that type of flight.
Little does he know that another child has the same thought and is none to pleased to find him along for the journey. Celine lives in the palace with Marie Antoinette as her mother’s close friend. As the journey continues the two become unlikely friends as they use their life skills and unique understanding of their corner of the world to survive.
I first read this two years ago and reread it to complete the review, both times I have been engaged in the story and the history embedded in both the story and the chapter headings. This is a history novel, told from the perspective of children living in very different circumstances but is so much more than that, it is an adventure story about unexpected friendships interwoven with historic fact.
This is a book that would appeal to young readers who enjoy historical novels, adventure stories or just want a fun read about two children. It would work as a read aloud or class novel just as well as an independent read. I would highly recommend this book to teachers and students alike. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Friendship, History, Adventure, French Revolution.
Mhairi Alcorn
Why your parents are hung-up on your phone and what to do about it by Dean Burnett
Penguin, 2024. ISBN: 9780241679593. (Age:11-16)
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett has attempted to provide a fair and honest account for both adults and teenagers in the use and/or overuse of mobile phones. This reasonably weighty paperback is not for the faint-hearted but for those parents/carers/educators and their teenage children to read together.
The text is highly accessible and uses a questioning technique throughout, graphic images, bold headings, speech bubbles plus ample white space. The contents page begins with some basics about the book beginning with information about the author, what the book is about and how to get started.
The chapters include ‘Are phones bad for your health?’, ‘Back in my day, we didn’t have phones’ which may not be quite true for teenagers and their parents these days, ‘Who are you talking to?’, ‘You shouldn’t be looking at that, ‘No Phones in class!’ and ‘Mobile Hotspots’. Within these chapters, consideration is given to such points as the social side of phone use, misinformation, the use of a phone as a listening tool to help focus, instantaneous communication between children and parents as well as the unfortunate and disturbing phenomena of cyberbullying. In the final pages are acknowledgements, resources and an index.
This book may be a beneficial addition to a secondary school or home library but would certainly benefit from a shared read and discussion between a trusted adult and teenager.
Themes Mobile phones, Parents, Teenagers, Screentime.
Kathryn Beilby
(Be smart about) Screen time by Rachel Brian
Little Brown, 2024. ISBN: 9780316575546. (Age:6-10) Mobile phones, Online Safety, Technology, Devices.
Rachel Brian, the creator of Consent (for Kids!) has written another book for children, this time providing advice for younger users of screen time. This graphic-style non-fiction book is presented with eight short chapters in large blue and black accessible text with speech bubbles, bold headings, humorous characters and graphic organisers for visual guidance. Marble the cat also has wise sayings spread throughout.
For young children the excitement of more freedom on screen time sometimes overrides the potential problems that may occur. This book explains many concepts of screen time in simple language including the dangers of trolls, bots, bullies, violence, misinformation and inappropriate images. The book also shares the enjoyable social side on screen time as well connecting with safe people. There is an emphasis on setting boundaries and staying safe.
(Be Smart About) Screen Time! is a worthwhile read between a trusted adult and child. It gives important information about a world of technology that can be quite daunting for inexperienced users.
Themes Mobile phones, Online Safety, Technology, Devices.
Kathryn Beilby
The songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner
Hachette, 2024. ISBN: 9781869715144. (Age:16+ - Adult) Recommended - for lovers of wartime romance.
If you love war-based stories involving the participation of women in conflict, this is for you. For many New Zealand servicemen the conflict and pain of serving in Egypt and Europe during the Second World was far removed from their lives in New Zealand. For some there was no return. For the women who volunteered to provide a supportive role in the WAAC there were many times when they wondered what they had done. Nicknamed the Tuis (after a New Zealand songbird), they were often serving in roles to provide emotional and practical support to soldiers when they were away from the frontline. For Margot her service enabled her to be more than a wartime widow and to eventually explore freedom and new love, and for Addy it was a chance to allow her personality to flourish and to be adored. But their service in wartime was not easy or removed from the anguish of war. Their friendship though was a powerful glue that enabled them to stay whole when everything around them was falling apart.
With more than a hint of the horrors of war as well as the romantic ups and downs of life for service personnel, this is also a war story that demonstrates the impact of the struggles for New Zealanders in wartime (removed from their service in combination with Australian service personnel) and also for the women who served in support roles. This romance and war service saga also details how the war shaped women’s independence and their changing roles in society. It also demonstrates the rocky path to romance during wartime conflict. This is a book for romance novel devotees, but with a wartime setting. It is relatively gentle in its approach and the horrible experiences of war are mostly a backdrop and not as confronting as some war-based fiction.
Themes World War II - New Zealand service, historical fiction, romance, WAAC (Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps), World War II - Egypt, World War II - Italy.
Carolyn Hull
The hullabaloo about elephant poo by Dee White & Christopher Nielsen
This story, sure to attract lots of attention with twin themes of elephants and poo, bolstered by its pages of laugh out loud illustrations, will be one that children ask to be read over and over again. Wonderful cheeky rhymes will entice readers to predict the rhyming words and repeat the verses with the reader.
And to be able to talk about bottoms and behinds and poo will strike a chord with all readers. Surprisingly elephant poo has a number of uses. Cleaned and separated, small nuggets can be ground for coffee, while it can be mulched for the garden, and prepared, can be used to make paper, while burning some of it is a good mozzie repellant, concluding that;
There’s really no need for the hullabaloo Elephants are awesome and so is their poo.
Lots of wonderful alliterations will entice the reader to look at all the images of bottoms in the story while watching the uses the poo is used for and kids will be enchanted with the bright images before them, showing the elephant in a pile of different poses. An elephant on the loo will cause much hilarity, prompting children to think of elephants in other unusual places, not necessarily having a poo. And readers will love the use the pairs of words for themselves, adding more as they read.
Great fun for the readers and the listeners, Hullabaloo about elephant poo is a verse story to read often, remarking on all the uses the poo can be made for, while examining the meaning of the word hullabaloo, and listening to all the different words used for behind. Lots of elephants inhabit the first endpaper while the last gives children a snakes and ladders game to play. Teacher's notes are available.
Busy Betty & the perfect Christmas present by Reese Witherspoon. Illus. by Xindi Yan
Penguin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761047527. (Age:4+)
Busy Betty is looking for the perfect Christmas present. She wants to give everyone a gift, even the dog, Frank. She and Moe put their heads together to find ways of making money to buy the presents, after she has discovered that her piggy bank is empty. One suggestion is a lemonade stall, but as it it the middle of winter, they doubt anyone wold like to buy a lemonade, let alone be out on the streets in this cold.
So this idea is knocked on the head. But what about selling cookies at a stall. The two decide that they should make cookies to offer to passersby.
All sounds great and the cookies are made, but where are the customers? No on is in the street on this cold blustery day. They make a family of snow people to make it look like they have customers. But all to no avail.
No one comes by. But suddenly Frank leaps past the stall grabbing the cookies as he goes. Betty is non plussed. If they have no cookies to make some money to but presents, then there will be no gifts.
Suddenly Bo walks up and spies the one cookie left on the ground and picks it up to eat it, saying that this one must be for him. An idea hits Betty. What about a cookie made juts for the right person. That afternoon Betty is in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. When it is time for the opening of their presents, each of her family is delighted with the cookie made jut for them.
A wonderful tale focussing not on money and presents at Christmas, but an idea which many kids will love to follow: making a cookie just for the person.
A humorous tale that is sure to delight as children everywhere wait for Christmas to come around. All the trappings of Christmas are shown in the vivacious illustrations, full of life and colour, capturing the excitement felt by the whole family. This day focuses on family and sharing is all there before their eyes. Kids will love pointing out the things which represent Christmas: reindeer ears, Christmas wrapping, Christmas tree, stockings, presents, tinsel, snowmen etc. This northern hemisphere book shows a different landscape to our sun drenched Christmasses, and will excite readers as they see the warm clothes the children are wearing, as well as their activities: snow boarding, building snowmen and playing in the snow.
This smallish sized paperback book is full of questions and activities for true Taylor Swift fans. Beginning with Level 1 which asks simple questions about Taylor, her family and her early life then goes through many levels until Level 13 is reached which is the Mastermind level for true ‘Swiftie’ fans. Fortunately, the answers are in the back of the book!
Throughout the book are word finds, true or false and multiple choice questions, finish the lyric and decode the friendship bracelet. These activities are all completed in the book, so will be a handy Taylor Swift reference when completed.
Themes Taylor Swift, Questions, Activities.
Kathryn Beilby
Mia Megastar: In the spotlight by Ada Nicodemou. Illus. by Serena Geddes
Mia Megastar: In the Spotlight is the third book of a new series for primary-school aged readers. Written by well-known Australian actor and entertainer Ada Nicodemou, this new story focuses on Mia and her friends making a movie.
Set in an old possibly haunted house belonging to Mia’s Uncle Michael, it is the perfect place for the Stage Stars to be themselves and follow the script written by Mia and Seb. Filmed by director Seb, the film is full of action with some very scary moments for the children.
During the filming process, Mia has a number of issues to deal with. The first one being the opportunity of a drama scholarship to a local private school that Petra attends. The second one involves Mia’s secret dream to audition for Sunset Beach and the third and most important one is that Mia and best friend Brina have fallen out. Will Mia be able to sort out these worries?
Mia is a strong and creative character with lots of personality. This book is a busy read with graphic-style images and highlighted key words to add emphasis. The recipe included in this book is for Rizogalo (Greek Rice Pudding).
Themes Drama/Acting, Friendship, Family, Drama Club, Greek culture, Teamwork, Humour.
Nell Buchanan and Ivan, starring in Hammer’s previous books, Treasure & dirt, The Tilt and The Seven are back, this time investigating a crime in a lonely mountain valley. A local entrepreneur, Wolfgang Burnside, has been found murdered and Nell is stunned to discover that he was a close blood relative. The past is fraught with secrets. Nell’s mother must have been in the Valley, but what secrets was she hiding when she fled? Will Nell finally find out who her father is and why she didn’t know him? How is this connected to the murder?
Ivan and Nell are faced with confusing information about the past. Gold is rumoured to be found in the abandoned mine. Meanwhile there was a bank robbery that was never solved and hints of police corruption. Somehow, they must sift through clues from the past and the present, to find the murderer.
As always, Hammer has written a complex and deeply intriguing mystery. Set against a beautiful background of a wooded valley in New South Wales, and a river with a waterfall, the reader is drawn into the gripping story, reading on to try and guess what the connections are from earlier times, and how they fit into the murder. Nell’s has an emotional journey on being told of the DNA results, and Hammer cleverly brings together the threads about her parents that were started in previous books.
Fans of the Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan series will be thrilled with The Valley and will eagerly await the next book from this talented author.
Themes Murder, Detectives, Country life - New South Wales.
Pat Pledger
Over or under? by Pip Harry. Illus. by Hilary Jean Tapper
The beach for many Australians is a place of continuous holiday and the rules about using it wisely are outlined in this seemingly simple tale of dad teaching his daughter to watch each wave and decide whether to swim over it or under it. Many pages are filled with images of the ocean, from the small ripples as they step in, to the deeper parts where she must stand on the ocean floor and learn to dive beneath the waves, to the larger wave which dumps her, causing a mouth load of sea water to startle her.
I love the illustrations giving the feeling that the reader is only a little way away in the ocean, watching Maisie learn to judge each wave and decide how to approach it.
And the text is equally informative, telling the readers how to approach the sea as they venture further away from the shore. Dad is there to help and guide Maisie to an understanding of the strength of the waves coming in. By judging which are the ones to jump over and which to dive under, Maisie is practising water safety, and this is naturally passed on to the readers, giving the adult a chance to reiterate the rules, and discuss beach safety.
Dad is loving, teaching his daughter the basic rules of swimming in the ocean, making sure she is comfortable with the rules of under and over, showing her how to predict the size of the wave coming towards her. When she falters, he is there to rescue her, and happy to let her to keep away from the water for a little while, until it comes to the last day of tier holiday, encouraging her to try again.
Trying again sees her using the skills she has learnt, and she succeeds.
The illustrations take all readers to the beach, reminding them of time they have spent at the beach and revising rules they have learnt in using the beach. I just love the illustrations, giving the reader the impression that they are there with Maisie, the water lapping over her body.
Themes Beach, Water safety, Swimming lessons, Humour, Family.
Fran Knight
The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
Three sisters living in a town that is dedicated to etiquette schools and Bichon Frise dogs. Three sisters who don’t fit in with their adopted family where all the children are named Lavina, and their names are Gertrude, Eugenia and Dee-Dee. Three sisters who have just been kicked out of the last etiquette school that would take them who receive a mysterious invitation in the form of a letter to a new school that none of them have heard of.
This is the story of the Porch sisters in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. Millicent Quibb is an outcast in the town, a legend but not in a good way and a very eccentric teacher and principal.
The girls all love science and are very adept in their field of interest so when the town is threatened by a group of mad scientists, they must embrace what they know and love to save their town, before it is too late.
This book, written by Kate McKinnon, weird Barbie from the Barbie Movie, is an excellent example of how a celebrity can write a great story that will engage a reader. The book has been compared to Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket and while I understand the comparison it isn’t of that calibre, this is only the first book that needs to introduce the characters, set the scene and ensure that the reader wants to see where the sisters end up. McKinnon does this brilliantly through the use of footnotes, diagrams and her characters. Although the story at times seems to labour a point or miss an opportunity to move the story forward, I can see this being shared by readers.
This is definitely a read alone book, as the reader needs to be able to follow the footnotes and diagrams without losing the flow of the text. I would recommend this to students and children who are looking for something different but who like quirky stories with some monsters and madness thrown in.
You Like It Darker is a masterclass in suspense and psychological horror, showcasing Stephen King’s ability to weave complex characters with unnerving plots. The title echoes Canadian singer songwriter Leonard Cohen’s haunting 2016 song, ‘You Want It Darker’. King delivers narratives that are uniquely his own – dark and introspective tales of fear, regret, and the thin line between reality and nightmare.
The better stories include ‘Rattlesnakes’ which is a sequel to King’s 1981 novel, Cujo. Forty years after their deaths from rattlesnake bites, elderly woman Alita Bell insists that she can still hear and see her twin sons. King masterfully balances tension and raw emotion, creating a tale that blends supernatural horror with themes of grief and resilience.
‘Willie the Weirdo’ is a poignant and unsettling tale about an eccentric boy named Willie and his bond with his equally strange grandfather. The story explores themes of isolation, familial connection, and the darkness within human nature. It leaves the reader with a feeling of unease only an author as accomplished as King can successfully create.
In the novella ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream’, a school janitor is haunted by a prophetic dream of a buried body that proves disturbingly real. As he becomes entangled in a murder investigation, the story explores themes of innocence and fate asks questions what we know as reality.
You Like It Darker may not resonate with readers seeking fast-paced action. Many of the stories are slow-burn and psychological in nature, rather than conventional horror. However, for those who particularly appreciate King’s ability to unsettle, this book is a chilling addition to his extensive body of work.
Waiting for Santa by Lucy Cochran. Illus. by Heidi McKinnon
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781760526719. (Age:3-6)
Harry and Ren have written their letters to Santa and now they are off to the shopping centre to see him and share what's on their wishlist, Harry wants to take his pet cat Moloko, but Mum says no, so he sneaks him in his backpack anyway... and it's just as well he does.
But when they get to the mall they discover that many others have the same idea and the queue is very long.
7000 more elf-steps until Santa?' says Ren. 'I need a coffee,' says Mum. 'I need a phone charger,' says Dad. 'I need the bathroom!' says Harry.
Can the children remain patient? Or is there another way to the front of the line?
This is a modern take on what has become a tradition in many families - having the children's photo taken with Santa - and both author and illustrator have included both reality and humour into the story, much of which will be familiar to anyone who has waited in such a queue. How are the children feeling? What are the adults thinking? Is it worth it? Is Santa even there?
The wait for Christmas Eve can seem as long as the wait in the queue but there are lots of things to do that help the time pass - family traditions that build up the anticipation, and many of which are included in the illustrations - and children will delight in sharing those that are on their countdown calendar, as well as learning about others that other families have. And if that includes waiting in a seemingly never-ending line for a couple of minutes on Santa's knee and the click of a camera to maintain the magic, then so be it. I'm not the only grandmother with an album of photos to treasure because kids and grandkids are too big for Santa's knee now.
Don't let the forest in is a macabre and twisted tale which fits a genre which could be described as queer dark academia /YA thriller. Written by CG Drews, Don't let the forest in, like Drew's 2020 CBCA Honour Book of the Year for Older Readers The Boy who steals houses, traces two broken boys. The question is...Can the boys keep the forest out? and for the reader a further question...is this forest a real physical living forest beyond the walls of the wealthy and elite Wickwood school or is it a forest of imagination descending into madness? Is keeping madness at bay another way of saying 'Don't let the forest in'?
Don't let the forest in leaves an ongoing organic, visceral, rotting, mouldering, throat-catching feeling in the reader. Tendrils, roots and stems springing from monstrous beings penetrate frail young people and the walls of the boarding school buildings with an unstoppable, unassailable power. Andrew and Thomas (the main protagonists) try to fight monstrous creatures that seem to emerge from the very earth and the forest, clutching for the vital organs of humans. Are the boys descending into some kind of shared madness of twisted perception? Is this all the result of trauma where the supernatural becomes entangled with the psyche and the characters grow increasingly lost and bewildered? The reader, consequently, struggles with finding reality. What is real? What happened? The descent into a world of tension and fear exhausts Andrew in particular. Physically and mentally he wastes away. Occasionally counsellors, teachers and other students provide contact with reality. Even the bully Bryce Kane, seems like light relief compared to the psychological warfare that the boys are contending with. Every night Andrew and Thomas leave the walls of the school and venture into the forest. This is forbidden on pain of suspension because something terrible has happened in the forest previously - something unmentionable.
The central characters have complex inner lives and motivations. There is much psychological intricacy within and between them for the reader to try to understand. Thomas Rye is wild and damaged. His parents have been killed or have they...and who did it? Andrew is gentle, delicate and broken. He has a twin sister Dove...' glittering ice, beautiful and dangerous and impossible to reshape'...'while Andrew was more like a collection of skeleton leaves, fragile and crumbling.' The central focus is the growing and dangerous obsession between the two boys. Andrew writes the twisted fairy tales and Thomas illustrates them. Are the stories coming to life? What must be destroyed? What has already been destroyed? Drew's depiction of coming of age and queer sexuality is perceptive and naturally contextual. As in all good psychological thrillers, the reader develops questions about the characters; about their past, their beliefs,who they really are and what they are capable of.
Tension is built where snatches of the past are interwoven with the present. The plot is complex and the storyline is unpredictable as the reader travels with the boys into their dark, twisted world where they become more and more socially withdrawn and unmoored from reality. Suspicions, projections and disorientation increase especially for Andrew who on the surface develops panic attacks and is labelled with an anxiety disorder. The toilet scene is just one of many that illustrate overwhelming fear. Drews draws out the interiority of character and through foreshadowing, withholding, misdirecting, revealing and twisting, the reader, with an increasing sense of impending doom, is led through chaotic and grisly physical and psychological horror. Having to view the action through the cracked filters of our protagonists leaves the reader grasping for sanity. To stop the monsters the fear is that something has to be destroyed.
The setting evokes memories of fairy tales where the forests become sinister players, of Lanny by Max Porter where Dead Papa Toothwort, the all-knowing ancient spirit stirs in hedgerows. Don't let the forest in is written, like these stories, with an eco-psychological perspective. The mental and social impact of Wickwood school and the forest beyond its walls is crucial to the story. Being a campus novel too, it is reminiscent of novels such as Donna Tartt's The Secret History in its depiction of the cloistered hothouse world of elite boarding schools/frat houses.
Black and white droplets (suggestive of blood) are scattered throughout the book, along with some full page gruesome illustrations. At regular intervals Andrew's stories are reproduced in spidery writing on a grey background. These are very hard to read and in future editions it would be nice if this could be rectified.
Don't let the forest in is not a nice story with a happy ending. It's a dark, horrible thriller but compulsive reading and if you don't mind feeling haunted then it is recommended.
Worst.Superhero.Ever. is the latest novel for younger readers by English actor, comedian and author Charlie Higson. Previously Higson has written for adults and the young adult cohort producing the post-apocalyptic series The Enemy and the first five novels of the Young Bond series. Worst.Superhero.Ever. (26 Nov 2024) is the hilarious sequel to Worst.Holiday.Ever. (4May 2021) suitable for primary years readers. Worst.Superhero.Ever. is also moving, thought-provoking and troubling because the reader lives through all the worries, catastrophes and triumphs through the first person narrative of Stan himself.
Twelve-year-old Stan sees himself as a 'shy little nerd'. After returning from his holiday in Italy he ends up auditioning for a role as Ollie, a shy nerd who turns into a Superhero called 'The Nerd' in a TV series called Teen team. He doesn't want the part but ends up being perfect for it and leaving school for a period of time in order to take part in the filming. At school he has good nerdy friends who hang out in the library taking part in Library Club. This group is planning to save the library by producing a film about a Superhero called Library Boy starring none other than Stan himself. The reader travels with Stan as he juggles school and life on a TV set.
Stan is gutsy and true to himself as he negotiates challenging social situations and workload. Of all the labels that people can have at school: geeks, freaks, dweebs, jocks, goths, preppies, hipsters, skaters, steampunks, drags, emos etc, he decides that he's a nerd. He is a nerd in real life and plays two other nerd characters on the film and TV series simultaneously. He navigates this with the help of his parents, friends, his girlfriend and film crew.Through Stan's eyes the reader learns a bit about what it takes to be in a film; about the hard work that happens behind the scenes and about navigating the social scene as well. One can tell that Higson is not a fan of social media. The premise of this story is based on a boy who falls foul of the internet. Because he (Charlie Chadwick) misuses social media, he is dismissed from starring in the series and hapless, innocent, nerdy Stan takes his place. Stan has to deal with fame and ultimately decides what he will do with his future and what he values.
Stan is a friendly, energetic and chatty first person narrator. At times he speaks directly to the reader suggesting that they try things like... 'You could look at it too (The fellowship of the ring), if you want to see what I'm talking about.' He invites the reader to find it on Youtube and count the number of shots in The Council of Elrond scene so they can see how many shots (close-up, wide etc) it takes to make a tiny bit of film. The young reader is encouraged to interact and engage in other ways besides reading and would feel that they are being taken on an adventure with a warm, funny and interesting friend.
Worst.Superhero.Ever. is structured and type-set to engage a reader who is progressing from graphic novels like Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid to extended prose novels. Warwick Johnson-Cadwell's illustrations head every chapter. The font is attractive and highly legible. There are many pages dedicated to Stan's lists and conversations are at times written as scripts with very wide spacing that adds interest for young readers.
Worst.Superhero.Ever. is a fun book where likeable, nerdy Stan engages readers and takes them on an adventure through school problems, to his lovely family, onto film sets and with his friends whilst all the time sharing his innermost thoughts and actions. There are some good messages in the book in relation to use of the internet and social media, true friendship, fame, wealth, schoolwork, the value of libraries and reading and family.
Themes Film making, Fame, Social media, Friendship, Being true to yourself, Family.
