In her ninetieth year and the author of over fifty books, comes this appealing new story about Mr McGee, one of the most recognisable characters in Australian children’s literature.
Mr McGee is getting out of bed, getting ready to play. He pulls on his trousers, and socks and his shoes. And lastly his hat. Just as he finishes breakfast, a strong wind blows up. It blows and blows. Mr McGee and all his belongings are spinning in the air. When it suddenly stops, everything falls back to earth, the cat falling on the hat. Mr McGee falls through the tree, along with his bed and his chairs and table. But where is his hat? He searches high and he searches low, he asks the cow and peers into the trees, and even the haystack. He looks everywhere. Disheartened he goes to bed without playing for that day.
He takes off his clothes and looks over to the cat as it gets up from its bed. And there is the hat! Everyone gets to bed, the cat on the end of the bed, while Mr McGee wears his hat.
Another endearing book from Pamela Allen, this will be one that children ask for it to be read over and over. They will love predicting the rhyming word at the end of each pair of lines, and join in themselves when the book becomes well known.
They will laugh along with others as Mr McGee gets out of bed his rotund self pulling on his pants and shoes.And again when he is flying through the air, along with the other things from his bedroom. Each of these pages flows from one page to the next, the movement involving the children as they sway with the wind. The search for the hat takes up all of his play time, and when Mr McGee finally gets to bed, the hat suddenly appears from under the cat.
Children will love this tale of the hat, enjoying the symmetry of the story, watching the antics of the cat and Mr McGee, looking at the detail on each page, the things around Mr McGee on his little farm. I loved looking over and over at the images of the tumbling cat. It is a beautiful image. And I loved the peeks at Mr McGee’s ample body,and the restfulness of the last page, when all is quiet and the mystery solved.
Dragon Towers by Pip Bird. Illus. by David O'Connell
Farshore, 2024. ISBN: 9780008641863. (Age:5+)
Ten-year-old Theo LOVES dragons. In fact, he is obsessed by them and he knows every dragon type, has every dragon book there is and has even made his own Dragon Rider jacket. So when he gets his letter inviting him to dragon school it's a dream come true.
At Dragon Towers every child is paired with their very own dragon best friend, and every dragon has their own special magic power, from fire-breathing to going invisible and even making slime. Theo can't wait to find out what type of dragon he has. But when he meets his dragon Wanda she doesn't seem to have any powers at all.
A recent query about books about dragons for a young reader obsessed with dragons revealed that this is a much sought-after topic, particularly among boys in middle primary who are perhaps imagining themselves as the hero that Theo dreams of being at the beginning of the story before he is rudely awakened by his mother. Complete with all the fantastic creatures that one would expect to encounter as well as the adventures and quests as the young students aspire to be First Riders like the famous Ada and Faust, this is one for those transitioning to longer novels but still needing some of the supports of stepping stones.
With the next episode, The Ghostly Surprise, not due until late September this could be one to give to your dragon fanatics to decide whether it is a series worth collecting for the library. As well as feeding their interest, they will have a reason for reading.
‘The spark to write a story can be an event, a character, a setting or a relic that teases my imagination. As a history hunter, my aim is to share stories by reconstructing people and the events that shaped our history.’ Mark Greenwood p 90. The Dragon’s Treasure.
Award-winning Australian author Mark Greenwood whose well-known books includeHistory Mysteries and 2024 CBCA Eve Pownall Shortlisted book Our Country: Where History Happened has written the first in a four book series aimed at younger readers. The Dragon’s Treasure tells the fascinating story of a long ago mystery which came to light after four children discovered silver coins in 1931 on a remote beach in Western Australia. From that early discovery and Mark’s own experience in 1960’s while holidaying in Geraldton and hearing about the unearthing of silver coins, he began a search into what had actually might have happened and where the coins may have come from.
The story of the Edwards children and their discovery is engaging reading and gives readers a glimpse of life in the 1930’s in remote areas. It also shares how the discovery led to further findings as well as fortune hunters and theft. There were rumours of stories abounding about shipwrecks in the area including that of a Dutch ship, The Golden Drake, which was carrying thousands of gold coins in the mid 1600’s. From stories passed down through farming families and First Nations people in the area, the author has been able to piece together what may have happened to the ship, the crew, the passengers and the lost treasure.
The Dragon’s Treasure is an engaging read that will appeal to younger readers who enjoy learning about the past. In the final pages there is an excellent timeline of events from 1655 up until 2009. There is a ‘More to Explore’ section with references to books, archives, newspapers and websites plus acknowledgements. A wonderful resource for schools and public libraries.
Themes History, Treasure, Shipwrecks, Western Australia, Investigation.
‘History Hunters collect and analyse evidence in memories, letters, reports, maps and newspaper clippings. Books are sources of inspiration and information – as are declassified government files!’ Mark Greenwood p98. The Vanishing.
Award-winning Australian author Mark Greenwood whose well-known books include History Mysteries and 2024 CBCA Eve Pownall Shortlisted book Our Country: Where History Happened has written the second in a four book series aimed at younger readers. The Vanishing tells the compelling story of pilot Fred Valentich’s flight from Moorabbin to King Island on Saturday October 21, 1978. A flight which never landed and a plane and pilot who vanished. Missing pilot Fred Valentich was a responsible and determined twenty year old man who was fascinated with all aspects of flight and space. He also had a passionate interest in the possibility of UFOs.
UFOs have long been a source of discussion and division in Australian culture. There are those that strongly believe and have experienced a glimpse of the presence of something out of this world and those that are completely sceptical. In the case of Fred Valentich, the lack of any form of physical evidence that he had an accident led to wild speculation as well as numerous UFO sightings on and about the time he disappeared. During Mark Greenwood’s extensive research into the disappearance, he has uncovered many examples of what others have seen and shares this information with the reader.
This book, which details the search for Fred Valentich, leaves the reader with many unanswered questions and perhaps the urge to find out more. In the author’s words: ‘In this History Hunters case file, the facts raise more questions than answers. But without physical proof, will we ever know what happened? How could an entire aircraft disappear and leave no trace? Is there evidence waiting to be discovered?’
In the final pages is a ‘More to Explore’ section with references to books, archives, newspapers and websites plus acknowledgements with a special mention of the family and fiance of Fred Valentich.
The Vanishing is a highly engaging read which may provide an opportunity for intense discussion surrounding the possibility of UFOs as well as Government secrets.
This wonderful rhyming text tells the tale of Jeremy and his dog, Maxwell. Jeremy is besotted with space and watches the night sky with a passion. Maxwell is a dancing dog whose footsteps can be heard hopping over the ceiling, on the bed and even Jeremy’s head. Jeremy is dismayed when he tells his class of his interest, but Maxwell notices an ad in the paper, asking for adventurous people to fly into space. The pair goes along to NASA, but their age is against them. But they pass the tests set by the important man who finds that they are suitable and spins them off into space. Here they fix some of the satellites, discover new rocks and some new flowers.
While jetting to Mars and Venus they notice a comet coming their way. They work out it will hit the earth and its projected point of landing will be Perth, Western Australia. They make suggestions to the NASA base suggesting the comet be turned towards a black hole. Maxwell knows what to do: he stands on the rocket dancing, which spreads space dust out into the night sky, diverting the rocket into the black hole. On arriving back home, they find they are famous, feted by newspapers and cameramen.
People who had underestimated them now have to eat humble pie while Maxwell becomes a celebrity being the first dog to have danced on the moon.
Glorious illustrations cover each page, with lots of images of space to dwell on, with planets and stars, satellites and the moon, trails of space dust, comets and rockets all thrilling the readers, learning some of the words which apply to things in the night sky.
A wonderful exploration of being underestimated, of having skills that are derided by others, this book has huge appeal to all those space nerds out there, anyone who craves adventure and those whose minds are aglow with possibilities. And all told against the wonderfully bright and colour filled background of outer space.
Themes Space, Space exploration, Comets, Adventure, Determination.
Beyond Carousel follows directly on from Carousel. Nox, Izzy and Taylor have escaped the shopping complex and now face the world that Perth has become while they were imprisoned inside. Danger is ever present – wild dogs roam the streets; Loots lurk in alleyways and they now must find food and shelter. It is a post-apocalyptic world, with houses empty, broken roads and no one to repair the energy sources of electricity and gas. They go to the hills where they find a house with solar panels and rest there for a while, meeting Tommy, a photographer who is interviewing survivors and documenting what is happening. The trio know that they must venture out to discover what has happened to their loved ones, so leave the safety of the hills. But their venture is perilous. Will they survive? Will they learn what has happened to all but the artists that they have met?
The book is written in the voice of Nox who is easy to relate to. Isolation from Izzy and Taylor forces him to trust himself and by the end of Beyond Carousel he has matured into a leader who is courageous and caring. Ritchie also sensitively writes about gay relationships and conflict with family members. Combined with the character development are breathtaking chases, encounters with pit bulls and peril from exploding gas.
Pervading Beyond Carousel is a theme of Art and the place of artists in society. A wonderful light show brightens Perth every night, a famous film actress works on a monologue and stunning art works are produced. However, without the Patrons, ordinary people, Perth disintegrates into a broken shell.
Ritchie’s rich and thrilling conclusion satisfactorily answers some of the questions posed in the duology but leaves the reader pondering unresolved ones. Other books featuring people trapped in shopping centres include Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight, and Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne.
This is the story of a murder, and a girl gone missing. Christine Gregory provides a teaser with a prologue describing an unnamed woman and a man driving in pouring rain, the woman going into a house to collect clothes and a passport, then joining the man in the car. The reader doesn’t know if this occurs before or after the discovery of the murder: is the woman the body that is discovered, or somebody else, or are they both involved in the murder?
Christine Gregory presents a whole community of characters. It’s a small country town with an alternative community of eco-conscious new-age lifestylers living alongside it. Lars is a former crime investigative journalist living in the alternative community, whilst Davis is the hardened country police sergeant working in the town; and then there are the out-of-town detectives following drug leads. There are a number of townspeople who may hold some clue as to what could have happened. If everybody shared their information together you would probably have the answer to the mystery, but that’s not how things work.
Particularly poignant in this story, is Gregory’s depiction of the barriers that often grow up between teenagers or young people and their parents, and the resentment and frustration that can arise. The characters are all well-rounded and realistic. They all contribute to a puzzle that draws in the reader, without twisted plot devices or obvious red herrings. It’s an absorbing mystery that seems very true to life, and has a satisfying ending without tying up all the ends too neatly.
This first junior novel by author/illustrator Lorena Carrington is a gentle story about independent Hazel and her fascination with nature. She is a keen photographer and has moved on from collecting natural items to take home, to taking photographs which are thoughtfully spread throughout the entire book.
While out in the bushland near her home Hazel meets Cole, a boy who collects things just as she does, but he stores them in his clothing with multiple pockets. He has a treasure trove of useful items to share with Hazel including the amazing ability to find items to replace the words he does not speak.
While they are closely observing an area of the bush, Hazel and Cole discover a hidden box. Inside the box are some small old fashioned toys plus a book with handwritten clues. The clues are for the finders of the box to try to identify the owner. The two children work closely together to try to decode and solve each of the puzzles and in the end there is a surprise for Hazel.
This delightful story is about friendship, the joy of solving challenging problems, and the beauty of natural world. The black and white photographs add another dimension to the story and the answers to the puzzles are a handy inclusion. There is also an opportunity for the reader to add their own treasures to the book.
This is the way we walk along, walk along, walk along, This is the way we walk along on a sunny funny morning. SLIP SLAP TRIP TRAP FAST SLOW! LET'S GO!
All sorts of young children are making their way across town using any means they can - skateboarding, rising the train, on the zipline, even in a wheelchair. But where are they going? Why are they making such an effort? What could be so important?
This is an engaging story for young readers who will have fun identifying all the ways the children are travelling as their tongues wrap themselves around the familiar rhythm, rhyme and patterns of the classic Here we go round the mulberry bush, and joining in, the anticipation building as they predict where the children are going and why.
But as well as being a fun read for little ones, it's also an excellent kickstart for building vocabulary for those slightly older who are beginning to write their own stories and who need to expand their vocabularies beyond the common but boring 'I went...' Using the examples in the book as a launch pad, there could be a fascinating word wall built of alternatives beginning with modes of transport, but then venturing into creating mood and atmosphere with alternatives like I crept or I stomped. Not only does it encourage them to be more adventurous with their words, it demonstrates the impact of using them to build a story.
I loved this book, but I may have been more easily drawn into it, having recently attended some Pakistani weddings and been given a little insight into Desi culture. Saman Shad’s descriptions are so on key, they had me laughing many times. This is an absolutely brilliant multicultural rom-com. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
Saima and Kal are both ‘third culture’ Australians, forging different values from their migrant parents, but still not feeling like they truly belong in the Australian culture in which they’ve grown up. Saima is a matchmaker by profession, but unlike the traditional version, she is in her thirties, single, and preferring to match people not by their status and wealth but by how they get along together. She wants to find each person’s soulmate. Kal, a Dev Patel look-alike, is a highly eligible bachelor whose parents scheme with Saima to find him a good young Pakistani girl. Of course, the plot is predictable: against parental expectations, the slightly disreputable matchmaker and the career driven bachelor start to fall for each other, despite having arguments every time they meet. It’s all good fun; the usual enemies to lovers trope, with cultural misadventures thrown in.
There is a serious element however: both Saima and Kal have personal issues to deal with, and it is good to see such a wonderful portrayal of the value of friendships. They each have friends that stand by them and give good advice. Saima’s friends are always there for her, full of jokes but also prepared to give honest feedback when it’s needed. Particularly notable is the depiction of the kind of caring support that Kal’s friends Tom and Lachie provide: his mates repeatedly check in on his depressive state, and are available for support.
All of this is delivered in a novel that sparkles with warmth and humour. It is wonderful to see such an uplifting and colourful depiction of multicultural Australia, at the same time providing insight into the dilemmas that ‘third culture’ Australians face. For those who enjoy this book, another book with humorous treatment of South Asian – Australian cultural conflict is Elephants with headlights by Bem Le Hunte (2020).
American history is not always neat, and this book weaves the tale of the ‘ghosts’ – the long-dead ancestors whose journey as chattels of the slave trade gets remembered and honoured in a modern-day literary exploration and a legal fight. After a horrendous journey, and a shipwreck the survivors wash up on a small island off the Florida coast – Dark Isle. The island is cursed by the formerly African inhabitants and their survival is a miracle, and they are joined by escapees from slavery. In the present day, Lovely Jackson, an elderly woman who was born on the island many generations after the slaves arrived, is keen to have the story of her forbears raised to public attention and writes a self-published account of Dark Isle’s history which comes to the attention of a bookshop owner, a noted author - Mercer Mann, and a pro-bono environmental lawyer. The timing of the interest in this elderly woman’s account coincides with a land grab by a wealthy developer wanting the island for big scale development and Casino construction. Will the history of the island be lost, or can one woman’s retrospective memoir and her legal fight protect the ghosts from the ambush of progress?
Grisham has created a captivating story that almost has a non-fiction quality – an unfolding of history, woven with the fiction threads of intriguing characters, a disquieting setting, and the mystical possibility of curses and danger. The fight for the rights of a woman to protect her ancestral burial grounds feels a little like an indigenous land fight, but in a southern USA and slavery context. The twists and turns of a legal contest are part of Grisham’s literary armoury, and this book reveals how complex the law can be. In addition, the author Mercer’s role in bringing the story to national attention uncovers the complexities of publishing a marketable story. The star of the book though is the character Lovely Jackson, a formidable and forthright advocate for her history, and a reminder that rights are not always easy to argue and sometimes wily activists are needed to enable protection.
Themes Afro-American history, Slave trade, Legal rights, Authors and authorship.
The Run Team, Ghost, Patina, Sunny and Lu have been chosen for their particular abilities and they all know Sunny can’t be beaten in long distance running events. It is coming up for Sunny’s thirteenth birthday but that is also his mother’s death day, the day she died giving birth to him, a difficult day to remember. She was a runner too and Sunny’s father always tells him he must run for his mother and how proud she would have been of his success. When Sunny stops running in the middle of a race it is because winning doesn’t feel right anymore but he can’t explain it. He tells the coach he would rather dance. Aurelia, Sunny’s home-school teacher, had suggested Sunny put his feelings down in a diary rather than yelling and so now, with feelings going 'boing boing in my brain' he starts again. Through the diary Sunny teases out his feelings; his relationship with his father, his reliance on his teammates, the only friends he has. The diary helps examine big feelings which supports big conversations with loved ones with humour and fun wordplay. When the coach comes up with a way for Sunny to make new moves and stay in the team it is the team support that helps Sunny find his way forward. This, the third in the Track series is a great addition, dedicated ‘To the weirdos'.
Themes Athletics, Friendship, Family relationships, Death of a parent, Teamwork.
Compared to the big and boisterous city of Biggerborough, Charlie's home town of Little Import is very staid and sedate, which is extremely embarrassing for someone who is supposed to slay monsters and keep people safe. But in reality, Charlie had never even seen a monster, let alone fought one, and she spent her days reading about them in her Big Book of Beastly Brutes and imagining them.
But what she didn't realise was that the slow demise wasn't being caused by the brashness of Biggerborough and the knights there fighting mile-high monsters and ogres, but by a host of little monsters that were hiding in plain sight in her own town. It starts with her helping the baker get rid of the Triple-Tier Hungerbeak who has been eating his pastries every night for a week and the word of her knowledge and bravery spreading...
This is one of the most original stories I've read and reviewed for a long time, one that will have readers of all ages engaged in Charlie's adventures. As each character presents Charlie with their problem, there is a description of the monster in a separate box and so astute readers will want to use the clues to see if they spot it before Charlie does.
A peek inside...
The ending is a delightful surprise demonstrating that solving small problems can lead to big changes, not only in Little Import but also in life itself, offering a subtle message that having the courage to confront small issues when they arise can prevent bigger problems. The old adage 'A stitch in time saves nine' comes to mind and older readers might want to probe the meaning of that.
Themes Knights, Monsters, Courage.
Barbara Braxton
This is Skateboarding by Hannah Wilson and Peter Phobia
Farshore, 2024. ISBN: 9780008614102. (Age:9-12)
While the name Tony Hawk may be familiar to some, the name Arisa Trew will be well-known to many of our students as this young Australian has just been named the action sportsperson of the year at the prestigious Laureues Awards, up there alongside the likes of tennis player Novak Djokovic and footballer Aitana Bonmatí. At the age of 13, Arisa became the first female to land the notorious 720 trick in skateboarding competition, a feat first performed by skating great Tony Hawk in 1985.
And with the Paris Olympics in view, she will be among the topline skaters displaying their craft for a generation of young athletes who are embracing those non-traditional sports and inspired by them, setting their own goals to make their dreams come true. So this new book that is a guide to all things skateboarding celebrating celebrate the rise of the global skateboarding scene, from the streets of LA to its first Olympic Games and including iconic skateparks, gravity-defying tricks, trailblazers, activists and medal-winning champions, and how skateboarding has influenced everything from shoes to art and urban design will be a perfectly timed addition to the collection.
With bite-sized pieces of information in amongst the many illustrations, the text speaks directly to the reader encouraging them to express their individuality in so many ways.
With COVID restrictions keeping us indoors in 2020-2021, many were introduced to skateboarding as an Olympic sport as we watched it at the Tokyo Olympics, and marvelled at how young some of the leading competitors were, as well as their athletic ability. Since then the sport has grown in both stature and followers, particularly for women, and with Australian names sure to be at the forefront in the Paris competition, skateboarding is going to be an in-demand subject as studies of the Olympics generally, step up.
The Other Shadow is a stunning read; full of intense emotion, broken children and finally, hope and healing.
Ten year old Thomas and his two year old sister Tilly have just lost their beloved dad to cancer. Their mother is bereft. Her grief is incomprehensible and life as Thomas and Tilly once knew it is about to change dramatically. When their mother does not come back from the shops, the children are taken into foster care while their mother heals in hospital. On returning back to their mum, life settles down for a while until it unravels and foster care is again sought. This is not an ideal placement and the children are moved once more to a new family, the Henare’s, where they find acceptance, stability, security and love.
Running parallel to the struggle Thomas and Tilly have coping with their mum’s mental illness and the foster family roundabout, is Thomas’s Other Shadow. Appearing after his dad passed away, this shadow is there for Thomas always but is it friend or foe? At times Thomas feels it is a guide and something to rely on but at other times it causes Thomas angst and leads him into some challenging situations. In the final dramatic scene in the story, the Other Shadow’s true purpose becomes evident.
South Australian author of The Other Shadow, Tania Ingram, is a former clinical psychologist who is well qualified to write about the deep and lasting effects parental mental illness can have on children. In the final pages of this compelling story Tania explains bipolar disorder, briefly shares her experiences of children whose parents were struggling and provides contact details for children who may need support.
For those adults who educate, care and work with children in any capacity, The Other Shadow may open conversations for more understanding and support for these children whose own personal stories may not be quite what they appear to be.
