The secret of the stone, written by Western Australian author Kathryn Lefroy and published by Fremantle Press, is an enjoyable and accessible story for readers aged from late primary years through the Middle years.
One might be tired of the old trope of the magic object that grants wishes (think Enid Blyton's Adventures of the wishing chair, think Aladdin and the wonderful lamp) but though this thought may flash through the mind, the reader soon becomes engrossed in the drama of the stone.
Olive Selverston-Myers, during her last year of primary school, discovers a very strange stone in the back of a cave in San Francisco Bay. During Science lesson the next day she manages, on a wish, to make her dead frog revive. She and her friends experiment and learn by trial and error how to harness the power of the stone and each take turn to see their wishes granted. Strangely there is an unforeseen and often disturbing downside to each wish that comes true. Will Olive be able to see her dearest wishes come true? Worryingly there are other increasingly dangerous people after the stone and the adventures of the children start to take on a frightening turn. Using their combined problem solving skills and the strength of their friendships the children must outwit unknown adults who will stop at nothing including bribery, intimidation, threats, manipulation, family and business infiltration and kidnapping. The plot twists and turns with high-energy action making for a page-turning adventure story.
Family, in all its variations, is a powerful theme in The secret of the stone. Olive has two dads, a five-year-old-brother and an ageing, sick grandmother. Theo is the son of a struggling single mother who has to work two jobs. His father was killed overseas on active duty. Jake Webster..." stabber of dead frogs and all-round unpleasant human being" is the son of distant and neglectful parents. Lola tries to impress her sarcastic eighteen-year-old sister Max. Although, this presentation of varied families may seem obligatory for authors these days, somehow the warmth and the importance of family shines through.
This stone that could act..."as a conduit between known and unknown realms, transforming the world as we know it and reshaping reality" is ofcourse a powerful object, desired by all who want power. The interplay of use and misuse of power and of power in the wrong hands is explored in this book. Ultimately the children come to the understanding that such power is just too dangerous and that it is best to understand that in life sometimes thing go wrong and sometimes right. Olive comes to realise that one thing that is sure is that things change and human beings can't control it.
After a very dramatic finale, families are changed for the better and even an unlikely romance is begun. There is a surprise in the epilogue which points to the circularity and repetition of life...
As the subtitle warns: Be careful what you wish for...
Themes Family, Loyalty, Friendship, Being careful what you wish for, Use and misuse of power.
Carbuncle is a land of endless rainbows and sugar-sprinkled doughnuts - until the vile Sir Ogre and his sister unleash their evil army on the happy kingdom. Who can stop his outsized appetite for destruction? Punycorn! A trainee cadet in an elite troop protecting the kingdom of Carbuncle, although he's not taken very seriously because he is the smallest and clumsiest in the brigade and is mostly tasked with cleaning Uni Palace. But even though Punycorn may not look like a hero, aided by a fireless dragon, a feisty dung beetle, and a magic sword with a hidden secret, he might just be Carbuncle's only hope, especially with the hero unicorns off on their own secret mission. Can he bring them together as a team to save the day?
Told from the perspectives of both Punycorn and Sir Ogre, this is a traditional good versus evil, David and Goliath story, presented as a full-colour graphic novel that moves along at a fast pace with plenty of action and humour carrying it forward. While the theme may be familiar and the reader assumes that Punycorn and his cohort will triumph, there are some more complex elements that could lead to deeper discussion such as Punycorn's inability to see his own puny nature and his positive outcome compared to Sir Ogre's inability to recognize his arrogance leading his downfall. Does pride, indeed, come before a fall?
Themes Graphic novel, Heroes, Monsters.
Barbara Braxton
Cheer up blobfish by Julie Murphy
Affirm Press, 2024. ISBN: 9781922863966. (Age:3+)
It is festival time and all the sea creatures are coming together for the Festival of Fish. The perch are hiding in the seaweed, while the sturgeons sing and the wrasse heap up sand to make a sculpture. Every fish is joining in, laughing and playing. But blobfish is looking very unhappy. The fish crowd around wondering how they can cheer him up. The clown fish pushes to the front, eager to please. Then swordfish plays some magic tricks, the crowd is enthusiastic, but not the blobfish. Each fish has a try at turning the blobfish’s gloomy face around, but in the end they all give up and swim back to their festival. As night falls the blobfish swims back to his place deeper down and as he does he changes shape. His downturned lips turn into a smile as he recounts the day he has had to his parents. It was the best day ever, and he enjoyed himself immensely. How surprised the other fish would be if they could see him now. Just because he has a downturned smile, does not mean that he is unhappy. He is different from the others.
The moral of the story is about being judgemental. We should not judge people by the way they look or the person they present. The story encourages young readers to see beyond what is presented to them.
Bright, colourful illustrations of a variety of fish cover each page. Children will take flight in recognising the fish shown and add up all the information given about blobfish. Two pages at the end of the book give images of a blobfish alongside a page of information about these animals.
The front cover invites readers to look more closely with its optical representation of the blobfish, and the end papers will draw lots of interest and recognition.
Written by a zoologist and based on the characteristics of the real blobfish, the story aims to show that every individual is just that: different, and we should not judge a book by its cover.
Themes First impressions, Animals, Sea creatures, Judgement.
Fran Knight
How to draw a dragon by Kate Talbot
Albert Street Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180606. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
Right from the engaging front cover, with its smiling dragon and paper wings, readers will be intrigued enough to open the book and peruse its contents. Turning over the endpapers are a bright collection of scribbles, the sort of scribbles that you might see from a toddler, or from an adult doodling while listening in a meeting. Then comes the question "What are you drawing? A dragon.” And the answer “It doesn’t LOOK like a dragon. A dragon looks more like…” encouraging the reader to inspect the drawing in detail and work out just what they believe a dragon looks like: a joyful use of imagination. The next page shows the original body with a piece of paper and a green cartoon-like head drawn on it, and then the book continues giving wings, fire and the cutest drawing of a baby dragon complete with cap, sucking on a dummy and playing with blocks. Children can guess what an underwater dragon might be called and learn about the Komodo dragon. Finally, there is an exuberant drawing of a dragon with a pirate’s hat, mermaid’s tail and roller skates! And a fire breathing dragon with a surprise!
I loved the originality and humour in How to draw a dragon. It is lots of fun just to start at the beginning and read to the end, but children, and adults, will want to start drawing their own versions of a dragon and pressing them onto the bodies that the talented Kate Talbot has drawn. I can see this becoming a family favourite with caregivers and children joining together to use their imaginations and really enjoy themselves. There would be lots of opportunities for rereading and redrawing too. How to draw a dragon is a keeper!
Themes Dragons, Drawing, Imagination.
Pat Pledger
The sweetness between us by Sarah Winifred Searle
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761181245. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
What do a diabetic and a vampire have in common? Blood, of course! Perley is a recently diagnosed diabetic and has to constantly monitor sugar levels in his blood, and Amandine is a young newly-turned vampire who struggles to maintain energy levels on a vegan diet. After meeting in tutoring sessions after both having had time away from school, they gradually become entwined in a co-dependent relationship, with Amandine taste-testing Perley’s blood sugar levels. Whilst this gives each of them a temporary boost, they reluctantly come to realise that they each have issues they need to work on separately, alone.
Searle’s graphic novel is a winner, with its intriguing initial concept, and with the way she captures facial expressions and inner feelings with her lightly coloured fine line drawings. It is easy to read and follow along, a boon for reluctant readers, but also a great way to present essential information about diabetes to the YA audience. It’s not just health issues that are explored, but the whole teenage world of anxiety and feeling like an outsider. Perley has to negotiate tensions in his school’s knitting club and learn how to be more accepting of different styles and abilities, whilst Amandine deals with harassment and has to find ways to fit in with her schoolmates.
I love how Searly presents all her characters, going against stereotypes. Perley is long-haired, thin and girlish looking, and shorter than Amandine, whilst Amandine is a solid black girl. Their tutor, Mx Bythesea, is non gender-specific and referred to as ‘they’. Perley’s best friend Lexy is also ‘they’. And then there is a whole cast of unusual characters in the bizarre world of the vampires, talking about how to obtain their blood requirements via volunteer blood donations or the newly cultivated bloodroot plants. It’s fun and serious at the same time.
There is a strong emphasis on family support and peer-group support. Before Perley and Amandine become too intensely involved with each other, they each need to work out their personal issues. Friends are there to help them. The humour that runs throughout helps to put that essential message across in a very positive way.
A masterfully written crime story, Witness 8 is a page turner which will keep you up way past your bedtime and remain with you giving you the creeps! The front cover tells us that the witness is more twisted than the killer so there is no secret about that right from the beginning. Ruby Johnson is a chameleon; wealthy people trust her as nanny to their most precious possessions-their children - but ..."There's something wrong with Ruby Johnson." Cavanagh makes this clear from the get-go. The reader is given access to the cold, brutal, heartless and manipulative workings of Ruby's mind. She is clever and she has no remorse. What she will do keeps the reader in horrified suspense as it is clear that she is capable of anything. Two older women see through Ruby. There is a surprising twist in the Epilogue when she is recognised by someone else but most people see her as a sweet, pretty, reliable young 22- year-old girl - a lovely nanny for their children.
Witness 8 is the eighth book in the Eddie Flynn series. It can be read as a stand alone. Eddie (the main character) was a conman in the past, brought up street savvy and with many useful contacts on the street. Now a trial lawyer, he has to defend an innocent man accused of murder. Eddie has an unconventional approach to working his cases. He is blisteringly brave and whip-smart and heavy prices are put on his head by both the underworld and corrupt police. Hitmen abound, danger lurks at all moments and Eddie must stay one-step ahead to save his own life and to clear the name of the accused.
The plot is full of unseen twists and the end - though right in most ways is also wrong but strangely satisfying in its wrongness. The characters are rounded. Even the most unpleasant possess flaws, ambiguities and complexities that build sympathy and empathy in the reader. This reader for one will be waiting to see if any of the characters (beside Eddie) in Witness 8 reappear in a subsequent novel in the Eddie Flynn series. Two of these characters in particular could well have much further misadventure and rotten work to get on with in the fertile world of crime and corruption where they operate. Is it possible to ask an author to keep on working with certain characters? What better commendation could be given to a book than a request for a sequel.
Ultimately Witness 8 could be about brokenness and belonging. It could be a meditation on the horrors created by violence and trauma and lack of acceptance- of how a mind can be broken and what that brokenness can lead to. Hope and restoration is also a theme.
Steven Cavanagh is a critically acclaimed Sunday Times best-selling author of the Eddie Flynn series. A million copies have been sold in the UK. Addictive reading!
Gucci is a rescue dog, saved from a Singapore shelter when his new Korean-born owner sees his profile and has him brought to Australia, believing he is a reincarnation of her dog from a previous life.
In my Name is Gucci, Jung deftly blends the dog’s account of his rehoming and several previous lives, with various literary references, and many aspects of Korean philosophy, religion, and cultural beliefs. Central to the novel is the belief in destiny, and the concept of inyeon, a Buddhist term for the connection between two beings in their previous lives. Gucci recounts how he was connected to his current owner in several previous incarnations, where they both encountered difficult situations. Gucci was once a loved pet but also involved in puppy farming and dog fighting. His past-life-owner learned, as a young girl, to navigate a rocky relationship with her mother, step mother and villainous grandmother.
In present-day Sydney, Gucci and his owner becomes the target of a resident’s hostility in the high-rise apartment they live in, and move to a housesit where they have a running battle with an entitled cat. In an interview, Jung says that like her, Gucci had to learn new tricks in foreign environments. My Name is Gucci has the air of a fable in which characters attempt to reduce the impact of the past on the present, while accepting that destiny will influence the degree to which they can make a fresh start.
The plotline is not straightforward as the narration switches between generations, countries and reincarnations, but is generally engaging as we see the world from the viewpoint of a wise but slightly bewildered dog, trying to find his way in the strange world of humans.
Themes Dogs, Korea, Reincarnation.
Margaret Crohn
Ethel the penguin by Ursula Dubosarsky and Christopher Nielsen
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180880. (Age:3+) Recommended.
Ethel the Penguin is a brightly presented picture book that will appeal to young readers especially because Ethel is extremely mischievous and strong-willed. She lives in a semi-detached iceberg next door to her best friend who is telling this rhyming verse story.
Ethel gets up to mischief in the classroom, on the school crossing, and on this particular evening she runs away from her home to ride on a Ferris wheel. Her family and friends are terribly upset and try to find her before she gets herself into a dangerous situation. But she is a determined penguin and does exactly what she set out to do. Her parents plead with her to get off and after some thought she does exactly that – forgetting that penguins cannot fly. Fortunately, she lands somewhat safely and promises not to worry them again. However, can we believe Ethel?
The bold and colourful illustration are spread throughout the book, from the cover to the delightful endpapers and the large full page drawings. The use of highlighted words for reading aloud emphasis adds to the dramatic appeal of the story. The rhyming text is cleverly constructed but the use of the word ‘span’ in context of the spinning Ferris wheel led this reviewer to do some research and discover that ‘span’ is an older strong past tense form of spin used long ago.
For newly independent readers or those a little older who like a laugh, or younger who need help to read and are happy to ask, then this graphic novel with laugh out loud content will suit many young readers. One of the Tater Tales series, the novel is full of interest as it has text and graphic sequences, lists, cartoons, a host of comic illustrations and several pages of fun facts and quizzes, including a page on how to draw Tot.
The story is told in five chapters each of a dozen or so pages making it most accessible for early readers and those who do not like a lot of text.
Rot the mutant potato is ready or another adventure in this wholly amusing, laugh out loud story of a family of potatoes. Laden with lots of puns (bootiful boots, for example) we see an excited Rot the Tater on a spudlunking trip. Spudlunkig in the world of potatoes means you dig a hole, or just find one to explore. So Rot goes hard at it. He digs and digs, hoping his friends will join him, but their interest lies elsewhere. Rot keeps digging and eventually finds a shiny golden crown. He is excited and puts it on, wanting to show his friends just who he is. The story then goes through the misgivings held by the potato folk, questioning the right of Rot to declare himself king. Some very funny episodes ensue as the potato people learn about friendship and power.
Themes Humour, Potatoes, Friendship.
Fran Knight
The dentist by Tim Sullivan
Head of Zeus, 2021. ISBN: 9781801107716. (Age:Adult - Senior secondary) Recommended.
The first in a series, The DS Cross Mysteries, introduces the reader to DS George Cross, who is investigating the murder of a homeless man who has been strangled. Cross’s investigations lead him to look at a cold case, the murder of the homeless man’s wife many years before. He is convinced the two are linked and with his special set of skills, his obsession with detail, logic and patterns sets about to prove that the man initially charged for murder was innocent and that the police made some fundamental errors. This does not make him popular but his record of solving cases ensures that his boss Carson, leaves him to investigate the cases.
Cross is on the spectrum with poor social skills, and this makes it difficult for his colleagues to relate to him. DS Josie Ottey has been assigned to him and now knows his way of proceeding with an investigation, and tries to help Alice Mackenzie, a recruit who is given menial tasks by Cross. His background is gradually revealed. He experienced bullying in the Police Force particularly while under the supervision of a retired Superintendent who Cross is convinced did not examine every avenue at the time, but this does not deter him from pursuing the case.
This a strong police procedural with an interesting detective showing the reader how important even minor details can be. The mystery of the two murders was gripping and there were enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing about who the murderer could be – a surprise for me!
I enjoyed The dentist and intend to read more in the series. People who liked the TV dramas Professor T and MacDonald and Dodds, are likely to want to read this well written book.
Themes Murder, Detectives, Dentists.
Pat Pledger
Ultra Violet: Down to business by Cristy Burne and Rebel Challenger
Scientist and journalist Cristy Burne works hard to provide young children with engaging, meaningful stories, often throwing in a science twist. Her other books include the Takeshita Demons series and Into the Blue. Ultra Violet is a graphic novel aimed at the reluctant reader crowd but also anyone over 7 who still finds toilet humour amusing. The first page sets this precedent really, as we are introduced to Violet, second name Butt. Violet is a scientist who works for Butt Laboratories, the only problem being that she frequently takes her experiments too far...
Varied text, humurous dialogue and oblivious parents make for a riotous and fun read. Violet is pampered with everything she wants but her parents are largely absent or glued to a screen, ignorant of her dangerous scientific escapades and close shaves with death. Her favourite things are her cheese-eating, talking hermit crab Leo and her best friend Izzy Kelly, believer of aliens, UFOs and conspiracy theories. Trying to solve the problem of the broken toilet on the day of the school bean-eating contest is definitely a job for these three, the self-named Butt Squad. An alien interloper, fun facts, great puns, an invention called a Butt Sucker and an unplanned sewer adventure make this a rollicking read.
Cleverly separated into Chapters named Intro, Methodology, Results, Discussion and Conclusion and lots of science vocabulary make this a sciency book without it feeling like you're learning anything at all. Although if you're not a plumber, you might learn about fatbergs for the first time! This is very clever and the illustrations are fabulously full of life.
Thankfully, there's a reference to a book number two, so we can have more ridiculous science adventures with Violet, Leo and Izzy soon.
The story weaves around the painting on the front cover by Marda Pitt, a Tjungudju woman from Cape Took Peninsula. In her painting, two hands are clasped together at its centre, one black, one white, the basic motif of reconciliation. In the story, Kerr outlines the history of colonisation as the ghosts came first in one ship, then thirteen, then countless more, taking the land from its original inhabitants. The First Nations’ land, their animals and water were all denied them and they became sad.
It took a long time before the intruders looked around to see what they had done, leading to saying sorry and setting out on a path where the two could come together.
In a very positive story, Marda and Anne roll out a practical journey for all Australians, drawing a journey map, and encouraging younger readers to do the same. In this way all the features of a child’s life can be included: the families, grandparents, friends, kids at school, the shops, the library, parks, family pets, the environment, home, swimming lessons. All the things kids do can be included in their journey map, and coloured just like Marda’s is on the front cover. Everyone’s map might be different or look different, have different colours and motifs, but there are many more similar features. At the end of the book are several pages of discussion starters and ideas for use in the classroom, including a journey map template.
We do not welcome our ten-year-old overlord by Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180491. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
I am a fan of Garth Nix’s writing and couldn’t wait to read his latest middle school book with the intriguing title We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord. Set in Canberra in 1975, Kim, his younger sister Eila, Bennie and her younger sister Madir are on a bicycle ride to the lake. Suddenly the world goes dark for a second and they spot an orb amongst weeds in the water. Kim takes it out and it unsuccessfully tries to take over his mind, and he warns the others to stay away from it. But Eila, a know-all prodigy, grabs it, names it Aster and is happy for her to come into her mind. Kim is convinced that it is dangerous, but Eila disguises it as a basketball and takes it out at night, where they experiment on ants, thousands of which die the next day. They also reduce an injured kangaroo to pulp. Eila is convinced that she is doing good when she manipulates her parents, living an alternative lifestyle on an Experimental Farm, persuading them to buy a colour television. Bennie and Madir’s neglectful parents suddenly become caring and Mrs Benison’s pain is stopped. But what will Aster do next? Why is she going out alone at night? Are Kim’s fears justified?
Kim has always been in the shadow of his younger sister, Eila, who speaks many different languages and is very smart. Eila is stubborn and believes that she is always right and their parents usually take her side in any argument. However Kim knows that he has common sense and that the orb’s attempt to take over his mind was not a good thing. He is determined to save Eila from manipulating more people and he may have to save the world as well. There is danger to face and complex decisions to make as Kim and his friends battle Aster’s influence.
Nix brings in some of his own background to the novel. The group love to play Dungeons and Dragons, as Nix did in his teenage years; many families do not have colour TVs, and children were free to cycle miles without parental supervision.
The theme of a 10-year-old becoming an overlord is fascinating, raising questions about the maturity of children to make decisions. The possible outcomes of such decisions will leave readers thinking long after they finish the book. Older readers may want to move onto Nix’s Abhorsen series, starting with Sabriel.
Themes Aliens, Canberra, Science fiction.
Pat Pledger
Helping Little Star by Blaze Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan
Walker Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781760658700. (Age:3+)
Moon warned Little Star not to go near the edge of the Night Sky but Little Star didn't listen. Down he fell, right into a creek! Now how is he going to get back into the sky again? Luckily, Python, Dingo and Kangaroo are there to help but neither can do it on their own.
This is a wonderful story for our youngest readers who are probably already aware of what can happen if you don't listen to the wiser, more experienced grown-ups around them as they begin to push the boundaries to explore the wider world around them. But it is also one of working together to solve a problem as Mother Kangaroo comes up with a solution that involves the help of Python and Dingo.
Well-known Aboriginal writer and illustrator Sally Morgan, a Palyku woman from the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia, has teamed up with her son to create this story, and indeed, it is the vibrant illustrations in her iconic style that bring it to life, deserving its reprint after 11 years since its first publication. Littlies will enjoy this, perhaps even going outside to see it they can spot Little Star in the night sky, while parents can use it as a reminder if their little one goes too close to the edge.
The ‘glass girl’ is Bella, a 15 year-old struggling to cope with her parents’ bitter separation, continually swapping houses between them, dealing with her younger sister’s neediness, feeling invisible at school, mourning the recent death of her beloved grandmother, and devastated by the break-up with her boyfriend Dylan. The only relief is that which comes with the Sprodka, vodka mixed in a bottle of Sprite, vodka scored from a person willing to take the money and buy it for the hooded teenager waiting outside.
Scoring grog is a group thing that she and her friends do after school. But for Bella, it becomes the release that she can’t do without. After all, adults use alcohol to wind down after a tough day at work, why not kids? Without ever acknowledging it, Bella descends deeper and deeper into addiction until the day her mother finds her, unconscious with a smashed face from falling drunk onto the doorstep, after being dumped there after a party gone wrong.
The narration is Bella’s internal voice, her thoughts and fears, her self-justifications and anxieties. It is a very convincing account of the lived world of a teenage alcoholic. In the author’s note, Glasgow describes how as a teenager she ‘really, really, really, really liked drinking’. And there are many kids that do. She draws on real cases as we enter the world of rehabilitation with Bella. Recovery is not easy, things don’t all magically get better, happy ever after. It is a very tough path, and there are frequent relapses. Glasgow presents it all.
The glass girl is a very powerful exploration of many teenage issues: all kinds of addiction, peer pressure, cyberbullying, anxiety and loneliness. Glasgow’s writing style draws the reader in, and we live through Bella’s experience. This is an important book for young people which helps to create empathy both for those with addictions and those who need to step up and be the real friend that is needed, one who is prepared to call things out. It would make a worthwhile addition to the school library.
