In the words of author Helen Edwards, her second middle-grade novel 'Legend of the Lighthouse Moon is a work of magical historical fiction…set in a real time and place…containing elements of true history and fantasy.' The interweaving of fact and fiction allows this engaging and unique story to hold the attention of the reader from start to finish. The powerfully descriptive imagery of people, places and events transports you back to the 1970’s where Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, is the perfect backdrop for a fascinating story about family, tragic loss, secrets, haunting legends, sea lions and selkies. Added to this, we learn about Mona’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis. This is a gentle and thoughtful introduction to diabetes for those with little knowledge or understanding and the reader experiences Mona’s daily struggles and frustrations with her condition.
Now living on Kangaroo Island at Cape Willoughby, Mona and her younger brother Albert are cared for by their maternal grandparents after a terrible tragedy befell the family. Five long years have passed and Mona is still angry and hurt by the fact that her father is missing after trying to save her mother from the fire. Helping her grandparents keep the lighthouse functioning as well as cater for tourists, allows Mona and Albert an amazing amount of freedom to explore and connect with their surroundings. During a time spent wandering on her own, Mona befriends a young sea lion pup. This friendship leads to an incredible journey of discovery about Mona’s parents and about Mona herself. Secrets and legends are unravelled and the broken family begins to heal.
The research behind this story is astonishing and references to the past are enthralling. Those adult readers who remember the 70’s will be reminded of some great iconic moments. Younger readers will love the sense of adventure, mystery and danger that Mona and Albert face. The clever use of lyrical verse spread throughout the narrative adds another dimension to the storytelling and the addition of comparisons of people to local bird life provides an extra layer of interest and a hook for further research and discussion.
This wondrous story will be a welcome addition to all libraries and would make a fabulous class novel for middle primary readers.
It’s the star’s best time of the year, Christmas Eve, when it will shine as brightly as it can. It watches over the families doing things together as Australian families do. As each page is turned, we see children around Australia involved in the customs we all hold dear at this time of the year. The children on the farm have set up some storage bales of hay with fairy lights, children play cricket at the beach with their families, all kitted out in Christmas hats ready for a picnic. In the town’s main street, shops have fairy lights and banners, trees have lights festooned in the branches, people are buying their last-minute presents, children sing for passersby. At school, children make wrapping paper, at home, they bake Christmas biscuits, to wrap for presents, some presents are given to those who do not have one, and all the while the star twinkles overhead.
When the day is over, and all are in bed, the star watches, as it has done for generations. It shines brightly now for the passing reindeer and sleigh, as children dream of what tomorrow may being.
The illustrations show an array of Christmas customs and experiences. Bells, stars, presents, a Christmas tree, wrapping paper, Christmas lights, Christmas stockings, Christmas bon bons and so on, encouraging readers to share those things their family does at Christmas.
This is a happy verse story about the night sky in Australia at Christmas time which encourages children to predict rhyming words and say the lines along with the reader.
Themes Christmas, Family, Stars, Verse.
Fran Knight
Dexter lost his Boo-Woo by Shane Hegarty. Illus. by Ben Mantle
It's a scary sounding beast! It has fiery eyes and floppy ears, and twenty pointy teeth!
Soon the whole town is on the hunt for the Boo-Woo... police officers, firefighters and so many more join in the search, each getting more and more concerned as Dexter describes the Boo-Woo. They are very relieved when they find it, but have they?
At first glance, this is a story written in fast-paced rhyme for very young children about finding something precious that has been lost and the emotions that that engenders, but it has the potential to be so much more because as the locals join the search, Dexter adds more and more information building up the picture of what his Boo-Woo looks like. So much like The Dudgeon is Coming, young students can build group or individual pictures adding features as they are revealed, particularly if the first reading of the story is read aloud without showing the illustrator's interpretation of the words (wrap the cover in brown paper) so the listeners really have to engage with the text as each new detail is revealed.
It not only provides an excellent opportunity to focus on description and descriptors which will enrich their own writing, but also on perception because each drawing will be different and none will be the same as that of Ben Mantle. You can talk about how our experiences shape our mind's eye, and perhaps even introduce the classic poem, The Blind Men and the Elephant by John Godfrey Saxe. Extend the experience by having them draw the king in The King's Breakfast by A. A. Milne, Dahl's BFG as he walks down the street blowing dreams through the windows, or even Gandalf's first meeting with Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. Each has a description that lends itself to be interpreted in a graphic and because each of us interprets what we see and hear differently can lead to discussions about perception, what is truth and how it is shaped by our beliefs, values and even our role in an incident.
But to be able to hang such a series of lessons on a story, you first need an engaging story that appeals to its audience on the surface, and Dexter and his Boo-Woo is certainly that, with the ending lending itself to even more possibilities!
This is an unsettling story centred on the life of a circus performer whose physical peculiarities (perhaps based on a real genetic condition) have made her to be a show highlight in her family’s circus. At a time in the history of USA’s desire for entertainment and titillation, the circus run by Arturo Fortuna, ringmaster extraordinaire, was like fireworks in a dark sky. His family, and the adopted family of clowns, roustabouts, performers, dancers and curiosities, would travel the country seeking new ways to delight or shock their audiences. But it is a competitive business, and they must always be seeking new ways to capture an audience. In this environment we follow Avita, the young girl whose ugliness and physical strangeness has made her draw an audience. Gently evocative and distressing, we follow the pain and the triumph of her place in the spotlight.
This story is hard to read because it is emotionally sharp and uncomfortable. The family relationships are tarred with greasepaint and dysfunction, and they struggle to be seen in healthy ways. The idea that adults could use their own children as ‘bait’ to attract a crowd of paying customers in ways that would almost be considered abusive, is distressing, but surprisingly we sometimes can still see their love behind the tent flaps. But this is set in 1870s circus life and The Greatest Showman reminded us that this was a precursor to our contemporary entertainment industry, and the ‘This is Me’ identity theme resounds in this story too. Avita both honours and struggles with her distorted, shocking, bird-like appearance. She also respects and yet struggles with her relationship with her father, the flamboyant ringmaster and circus director. I don’t know if I love this story; it certainly is confronting in its content, and yet there is something compelling about Avita. Written with the different perspectives of other family members, we get glimpses of the dysfunction of the family from different angles, but as with every travelling circus, their spotlight moves on quickly. This is hard to recommend, but it is darkly compelling. 15+
Themes Circus, Family relationships, Normal and abnormal, Entertainment, Identity, LGBTIQ.
Carolyn Hull
Some families change by Jess Galatola and Jenni Barrand
EK Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781922539670. (Age:4+)
Families do change, some become larger, while others become smaller, some have several children, some may have only one, some have an aunty come to stay while a parent is at work, sometimes a grandparent may die, sometimes other adults join the family.
A whole range of different families is touched upon, making this book almost a list of every sort of family a child may come across.
For children who may not have thought of the families they live in or that their friends are part of, this is a handy book to read and discuss. For those for whom change is occurring at the time, this book could be a good prop for them to realise that although families may change, the adults still love them.
There are families with two dads or two mums, families with lots of cousins, or aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends, families where one parent may not live with them, or there may be two houses, but whatever family the child is in, someone still tucks them into bed at night and cuddles and hugs them. Some parents may split up for reasons not known to the child, but it is important that the child does not feel responsible.
Even though the family changes, the important part of that family, the child is still loved.
Illustrations showcase the text as the book is read, showing the different make-ups of families. Families are multi-faceted, sometimes loud, some quiet, some only two people, others with a large number of people, some with two adults, some with one, sometimes the adults are the same sex, sometime some parent does not live there, sometimes their arrival home is a time of great excitement. But whatever size or shape the family is, the child at its heart is just that, a loved, valued and cared for member.
Themes Families, Relationships, Love.
Fran Knight
Grandfather Emu by Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt and Jacki Ferro
Book one in the Spirit of the Dreaming series published by Boolarong Press shows a wonderful story redolent of the interconnection between people, animals and the environment. As with many stories, readers are left with an emphasis on life skills, such as respect, kindness, selflessness, environmental protection, and sharing.
In this story, old Grandfather Emu is nearly blind and can barely walk. He is thirsty and hungry. How will Weitj find the creek for food and water? In this amusing Aboriginal Dreaming story, children learn how Mother Yonga kangaroo got her pouch, and the importance of treating others with respect.
The old emu goes up to animals asking them for help. The numbat is busy with her offspring, the goanna needs a sleep after his lunch and other animals give a variety of dubious excuses to not help the emu. Mother Kangaroo comes by and offers help. She takes the old man to the creek so he can drink. She asks him to wait while she hides her baby from the dingoes allowing her to find food for him. When she comes back with food the old emu has changed into the Great Spirit and tells her that from now on, she will have a pouch to put her babies in, so will not have to hide them from dingoes. That is why all marsupials have pouches while the other animals do not. Mother Yonga’s help has rewarded her.
Bold, vivid illustrations roam over every page, drawing the eyes to the detail as well as the main characters of the tale. Beautifully illustrated by Yamatji-Noongar storyteller and artist, Aunty Rhonda Collard-Spratt, Grandfather Emu includes Aboriginal words from the Noongar language of Western Australia, and a bonus song that children will love to sing. This is set down in the last pages of the book, along with a glossary of the Nyoongar language used in the story.
An interview with the authors can be found here and a clip of Rhonda reading her story can be found here. Both clips are full of fun and laughter as the story is shared, and Rhonda’s use of her own language found in the book is powerful.
Themes Aboriginal language, Dreaming stories, Australian marsupials, Respect, Environment,.
Hasib Hourani’s five chapter free-form poem is an anguished plea for recognition of the suffering of the people of Palestine, with recurring images of rocks, confining boxes, suffocation, oil-slicked migratory birds, and surveillance.
Rocks are the rubble of destruction, they are also the most basic weapon, rocks slung against an enemy, even a date stone spat from the mouth. Instructions to create a paper box seem simple, harmless, until the box becomes fingers over nostrils, palm over mouth, lungs not moving; or the box becomes a refrigerated cell made of cement with no windows for air.
The most disturbing section is that on the torture methods employed by the state of Israel: sensory deprivation and psychological pressures, the sloped child-sized chair forcing shackled detainees into prolonged cramped positions, forms of torture that leave less physical evidence of abuse.
There are many images of birds: the cattle egret in the dumpster, the macaw that lick clay to salve the toxins in their bodies, the migratory pfeilstorch with the African arrow through its neck. The images are stark, confronting, and the words are arranged in fragments, sometimes blacked out as if in redaction. Censorship and surveillance are undercurrents.
Hourani advocates for boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS), demanding Israel’s compliance with international law as a bare minimum, but also dreaming of unified Palestinian lands one day where the only bullet is a bullet train.
The writing is sparse and compelling, mental images shock and confront, words resonate and linger after reading. I liked his play with the idea of the Arabic ‘i’ suffix to indicate ethnic or cultural group, e.g. Pakistani, Israeli. He considers ‘Empti’, a land without people, a lie, a concept that has further ramifications for Australian readers. There are many ideas to explore within the deceptively simple words. This is a book you can read as a hard-hitting poem in one sitting, but then return to and read again to explore the many complexities you may have missed first time around.
For senior secondary students, Hourani's poem would make an excellent English text to consider alongside studies of Israel and Palestine in History.
Kai Masters is a Border Guard, keeping Earth safe by battling beasts. The water beast is a huge speedy serpent-like creature and Kai will need underwater equipment to fight it. He chooses the Torpedo Cross Bow as his weapon, hoping that it will kill toxic jellyfish and take on a wave attack.
Boy Vs Beast: Water Beast will appeal to newly independent readers especially boys. The print is large, each book has 8 chapters and many pages are illustrated, with the final battle drawn in a four-page comic. There is an introduction at the beginning which sets the scene for the adventure that Kai Masters will undergo. And what an adventure he has! There are plenty of thrills, spills, and action galore to engage the attention of the intended audience as Kai battles the mutant beast.
The Boy vs Beast series is a good introduction to first chapter novels and Water beast is sure to appeal to its intended audience.
Themes Science fiction, Monsters.
Pat Pledger
Love like chocolate by Tracy Banghart. Illus. by Alina Chau
As a family welcomes an adopted little girl to their home, her brother takes it upon himself to teach his new sister their traditions. For good days and bad, for birthdays, holidays, and everything in between, their family always celebrates with chocolate. They make super chewy chocolate chip cookies in the spring, very-berry chocolate-cherry mousse in the summer, chocolate banana pancakes in the fall, and warm chocolate sauce in the winter. But the boy soon realizes that his sister might have favourite treats of her own, and that if they work together, they can create new traditions and memories together.
The author's note at the back says that this book was, in part, inspired by her family's experiences in welcoming a child from Thailand into their family, and so this is a story that will allow adoptees to see themselves in a story, but I believe its broader appeal will be because of the subject matter because one of the truisms of this world is that chocolate makes everything better.
And just as the children share and make recipes, it provides an opportunity to be the centrepiece of a display that encourages children from throughout the school to share their special chocolate recipes (focusing on procedural texts), perhaps even sparking new friendships, as well as investigating all other things chocolate. Often the most unexpected storybooks can lead to all sorts of discoveries and this has the potential to do that.
Themes Adoption, Chocolate, Celebrations.
Barbara Braxton
Bin chicken, feeding time at the zoo by Kate and Jol Temple. Illus. Ronojoy Ghosh
In verse form, the ibis at the centre of the story is aware from her rumbly stomach that it is lunch time. She flies past a bunch of children on an excursion, frazzled teachers in tow, and looks in at the giraffe eating its lunch. He offers shoots and leaves which the ibis rejects, flying on to the elephant. But all he has is a bale of hay, which does not appeal. Nearby she spots a bucket of fish, but is warned by the children, pointing out the sign which says, ‘Don’t feed the ibis.’ She is appalled, this is lunchtime after all, and grabs a fish in her beak ready to fly off, but a seal whips around and takes the fish from the ibis. Reeling away from the seal, the ibis lands in a cloud of pink fairy floss. She hears some cheering and sees a bunch of birds, each flying to catch the treats thrown by the keeper. She joins in and in return she shows the birds how to open a lunch box, and of course is berated by the hassled teacher. She gets away with an array of food and is applauded for her dexterity and cleverness.
A very funny look at the bin chickens which have adapted easily to life in the city, this story will have younger readers laughing out loud, prompting them to predict the rhyming word, and act out the noises made while the ibis eats.
Wonderful illustrations cover each page, and impressions of the zoo and its creatures can be seen. The ibis twists and turns on each page as she tries to get some lunch.
A worthy successor to Bin chicken, and Winner, winner bin chicken dinner, Feeding time at the zoo is a funny and easy to digest story about the invasive bin chicken, which most children will have seen in parks and gardens of the cities.
Themes Humour, Zoos, Persistence.
Fran Knight
Girl falling by Hayley Scrivenor
Pan Macmillan, 2024. ISBN: 9781760987206. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
‘Why would my best friend want to destroy my life?’ This is the opening line of Scrivenor’s mystery thriller about a toxic friendship between two teenagers, Finn and Daphne, both with secrets to hide. While Finn believes that Daphne’s friendship has helped her move on from guilt over her younger sister’s death, it becomes apparent that Daphne is a psychopathic personality who will always use what she knows to wilfully manipulate others. This is most obvious when Finn eventually meets Magda, the love of her life. When Magda raises doubts about Daphne’s motives, the dynamics between the three of them is bound to explode.
From the screaming moment in an abseiling adventure when a flailing body hurtles, no longer attached, down a ravine, Scrivenor has the reader hooked into a psychological drama that has more than one twist. The account flips from present to past and back again repeatedly, gradually building a picture of complex characters whose lives have become entwined through trauma.
This is a fascinating and engaging thriller that holds that reader until the end. Although the final twist may come as a surprise to some, I found a re-reading led to a better appreciation of Scrivenor’s depiction of a co-dependent relationship, and the ending absolutely makes sense. This is a masterful psychological thriller that explores friendships, secrets, and manipulative control.
Picador, 2024. ISBN: 9781761561825. (Age:Adult - Young adult) Recommended.
In this very personal memoir, Markus Zusak takes us on a journey with his family as they invite a succession of tough personalities into their home. Starting with two cats and progressing to two, pound dogs, Reuben a 'big bad brindle' followed by Archie, 'pretty boy assassin (Reuben’s hitman)'. The third dog of the title, Frosty, ADHD on legs, comes later. It seems the family have a knack for choosing difficult pets; the cats, a warrior and a rat eating urinator, are followed by Reuben, a forty-kilo formidable mongrel who once knocked Markus out cold. Then came Archer, a beautiful golden street dog with a name out of one of Zusak’s books, something that was surely good luck; what better criteria for choosing a pet! The two dogs were wild and troublesome but loved. As the family grew and moved, so the dogs became just part of the chaos of family life, challenging but oh so rewarding. In telling the story, Zusak gives us a peek into the writing process, the nuts and bolts of wordsmithing. Foreshadowing and anticipation, wonderful descriptions and robust dialogue, building drama and then giving the dogs dialogue for comic effect; a generous invitation from the author to step inside the writing process.
This is an intimate family memoir through the lens of dog ownership, the tone is light, candid and self-deprecatory but the genuine relationships shine through as we are taken on an emotional rollercoaster. The book is beautifully produced with striking cover and chapter illustrations by Daniel New. There is a centre section with photos of the family with the animals that have given them so much life and caused them so much trouble. A must for lovers of Zusak’s writing and all pet owners.
Themes Family, Dogs and cats.
Sue Speck
Aussie native plants A-Z by Joey Farrell, Jocelyn Gibson (illus.)
A compilation of Australian plants and flowers is shown in this book. B, for example is for Boab tree and we are presented with a one-page summary of this tree. An illustration takes up most of the page which shows the plant in question in its environment. On one side is a close up of its flower and fruit. Boab trees are numerous across the Northern part of Australia, an area which has extremes of temperature and rainfall, which suits this plant well. A paragraph of information is given under the illustration. The text hints about a Dreaming story about the Boab tree, which will be interesting to follow up.
D is for Desert Pea, and the page gives information about the plant under an illustration showing the pea in flower. In South Australia, this is known at Sturt’s Desert Pea, and again the information hints at Aboriginal stories written about this plant.
E is for Emu bush, another plant seen across arid Australia, and it has a range of types and colours, and medicinal uses are again hinted at.
I really enjoyed reading this book but found it did not go far enough. Hints about Dreaming stories need to be more specific as there are many of these stories and for the classroom teacher, it would be difficult to find these out to present to the class. Similarly with the hints at medicinal use, I would have preferred to see specific information about this.
But the range of native plants is wonderful, and children will get a basic understanding of these plants and the environments in which they grow. I can imagine classes going out to collect examples, drawing, photographing, and collecting flowers and seeds, if possible. It is worthwhile seeing if there is remnant vegetation in your area to see what plants were in the area before European settlement. Or visit a native plant nursery or find out that native plants were growing in your area and perhaps set up a native garden in your school or home, showcasing the plants that were there.
Themes Native plants, Environment, Australia flora and fauna.
Fran Knight
The day the Moon came to stay by Gary Eck. Illus. by Nick O'Sullivan
Billy looks out of his round window and notices the Moon looks sad. He makes a paper plane letter and throws it into the sky, offering help and a place to stay. That night, Moon is on his doorstep, surprising Billy’s Mum and Dad. But they chip in and make Moon a tremendous breakfast using every plate in the house it seems. Moon tells Billy that he will need to return to the sky as the sun sets. They go off to have fun and Billy wants to make Moon smile. At the beach, the waves seem to be never-ending, so they go to the playground. Here he sits on the seesaw and the pair is surrounded by all the neighbourhood dogs, howling for all they are worth. But when a rocket lands and two astronauts climb onto Moon and plant flags, causing Moon to shout out in pain, they move on to the country. Here all the cows jump over Moon, saying Moo as they do so. Moon is a bit put out, telling them his name is Moon. But Billy notices the sun is about to set, and they go back home. Here, Moon tells Billy that he does not want to go back to his place in the sky, because everyone on Earth seems so happy. Billy tells him all the things that Earth relies on him doing, telling him that Earth will be topsy-turvey, just like their night together has been, if he is not in his place. He returns to his place in the sky and Billy is thrilled to receive a letter from Moon, thanking him for being his friend.
This disarming story of friendship will captivate younger readers as they follow Moon’s attempts to be happy and Billy’s role as his friend. Moon and Billy’s travels will cause laughter as readers recognise the places Moon has in society, in nursery rhymes and in space exploration. The fun in the text will lead to discussions about how the moon affects tides and time. And ideas and research about space exploration will be shared.
Wonderful illustrations by Nick O’Sullivan will captivate the readers as they look at all the funny situations Moon finds himself in: Moon on the top bunk, Moon on a seesaw, Moon eating breakfast with the family.
I love all the idiotic normality of Moon being with Billy, displayed both in the text and on the pages full of eye boggling images. Author, Gary Eck is a comedian, while Nick O’Sullivan is an animator, having worked on Happy Feet. Two special minds working together have created a memorable book, one that will be shared and talked about by kids with their parents, or kids in classes or in libraries with a teacher librarian.
Ying has been chosen as the bride for the Emperor’s son, but it seems that the path to love is not smooth. She soon discovers that their partnership contains mythological import and that her chosen role is more than just to be a bride to the Prince. Ying is not a passive chattel, and struggles with the man who will be her husband. Her story though experiences a twist when she discovers the parallel existence of the reflection world, where her own Ying-reflection and the Prince’s reflection throw a different slant on her life. The reflection-Prince seems to be more lovable than his real counterpart and their connection takes Ying to new and sensual heights. Learning who to trust and where her true place is in the world becomes Ying’s challenge. Should she return beyond the mirror to the real world and its challenges or is there a new way of living? Can the real Prince ever replace the reflection-Prince in her affections? And will her fated destiny as healer of the world ever come to fruition?
This is a complex story with an interesting premise - that a parallel world and doppelgänger existence lies behind reflective surfaces. The power struggles between the two ‘worlds’ hinges on a mythical history with an Asian flavour, and the central character has to discern her place in the mythology and her own feelings about her ‘identical’ but different suitors. Mythical fantasy with an Asian flavour (including some Chinese language references) always has some surprising features for non-Asian readers, but this story also has a romantic element. This sensual expression of the connection between the central characters becomes quite intensely steamy at times, but does not quite head to R-rated territory. But this is still a significant aspect and therefore the book is best read by older teens, 15+. This Asian-influenced fantasy is not as complex as some, but it always has an ‘other-world’ feel. It also has a feminist-inspired journey with a strong female character who is unwilling to be a passive love interest. I quite enjoyed the journey into this parallel world with its power struggles and mythical history.
Recommended for readers of Asian fantasy .
Themes Fantasy, Asian fantasy, Romance, Power, Destiny, Battle.
