Ill. by Gumbi. Starfish Bay Children's Books, 2016. ISBN
9781760360412
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Humour, Crabs, Sewing. Zhao Bingbo is a
prominent author working at the Zhejiang College of Liberal Arts. He
is the Vice-President of the Hangzhou Writers Association, and has
many children's literature titles to his name and won many awards.
Some of his titles are published in Australia by Starfish Bay,
including The busy tailor crab.
Young children will laugh out loud at the image on the front cover
of a crab with its oversized claws running material through the
treadle sewing machine.
The tailor crab makes clothes for the animals. He makes a jacket for
the praying mantis and pants for the caterpillar. And he is happy at
his work and charges ten dollars for each garment. But one night he
works out that in making pants for the caterpillar he had to make
many legs, so decides to charge more for many legged pants. Ten
dollars per garment but five for each leg that has to be made is
posted. His notice shocks some animals who cannot afford to pay per
leg, but some animals take advantage of the one cost per garment. An
elephant comes along and wanting a shirt, so the tailor crab works
very hard cutting out the pattern in the material and sewing it for
the animal. Next a boa constrictor has pants made and because it has
no legs, tells the tailor that he cannot charge him, so after three
long days of work the tailor receives nothing for his efforts.
Sitting dejectedly outside his house, the elephant comes back with a
bunch of bananas to thank him for his lovely shirt and the boa does
the same bringing a basket of apples. The tailor crab works out what
makes him happy, and tears down the notice. Since then his house is
full of friends and customers.
This is a lovely tale with a moral which children will love to talk
about. The illustrations are charming, and readers will see lots on
each page to look at and ponder.
Fran Knight
The horse thief by Jane Smith
Tommy Bell Bushranger Boy bk. 2. Big Sky Publishing. ISBN
9781925520064
(Age: 7-9) Recommended. After his first escapade, Tommy now has some
understanding of bushrangers, their lives and the history of the
Australian goldfields. His teacher Mrs O'Grady is certainly
surprised; she has no idea that on a recent holiday to his
grandfather's property, the young boy ventured back in time to 1863.
Here, he had a chance meeting with a bushranger, Captain
Thunderbolt.
In The Horse Thief, Tommy's family travel to the Hamilton
Show for him and Cosmo his horse, to compete in the dressage
competition. Mum encourages him to take his horse for a ride to
settle him down before the event. Of course, with his hat on, his
clothes magically change to moleskin trousers and a cotton shirt and
he lands back in June 1850. Tommy quickly becomes embroiled in a
drama involving stolen horses, rustlers and a bushranger with
several identities. Together with their rightful owner squatter
William Morton they track the thieves down and bring bushranger
Frank Gardiner to justice.
Teacher librarian, archivist and author Jane Smith continues to
weave fact and fiction together in her Tommy Bell Bushranger Boy
series. These short junior novels are suited to young readers
beginning their chapter book journey and are a great read aloud
class novel. They also support the Year 5 History Curriculum and
provide understanding into the era, making them an easy to use
research tool - comparing and contrasting daily life, transport and
the motives behind the bushrangers' actions. Her Australian
Bushrangers factual books provided accurate insights into the lives
of Captain Thunderbolt, Moonlite, Starlight, Ben Hall and Frank
Gardiner.
Rhyllis Bignell
Bush bolts by Soraya Nicholas
Starlight stables series. Puffin Books, 2016. ISBN
9780143308621
(Age: 8-12) Horses, Friendship, Adventure. Twelve years old Poppy is
at her Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mark's property, a riding school
Starlight Stables, with her friends, Milly and Katie, and soon her
best friend, Sarah will be joining them. But Sarah does not share
her friends' passion for horses and is more interested in helping
the animals with their injuries. When a bushfire threatens the
people and the stables, it brings them all closer together to save
what they all love.
An easy to read short novel with much about relationships, family
life and of course lots about caring for horses and horse riding.
Includes 'Handy Horse Tips' as well as information about the author
and the other three books in this series.
Bush bolts is the third in this series, beginning with Pony
detectives, Gymkhana hijinks and lastly, Saving
Starlight. All will appeal to the target audience of mid
primary school girls.
Fran Knight
A snicker of magic by Natalie Lloyd
Scholastic, 2015. ISBN 9780545552738
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Natalie Lloyd's warm-hearted debut novel
celebrates the mystical and magical, families and friendships, the
interconnectedness of village life, the impact of past decisions and
the importance of making things right. She weaves a multitude of
quirky characters into an Appalachian folk tale, like a ballad
handed down over generations. There is a celebration of
super-abilities not disability, a message of philanthropy, of
building character and learning to be resilient.
'And I like words; I collect them. I like poems, songs, stories...
everything. But words never sound right when I try to string them
together and say them out loud. They're just for me to keep. I've
always seen words. I see them as clearly as I see you.'
Sixth grader Felicity Pickle is a word-collector, a 'logophile'. As
she travels across the country with her Mama, younger sister Frannie
Jo and her dog Biscuit, she captures and records 'spindiddly' words
in her blue notebook. Thousands of words swirl around Felicity
filled with love, loss, pain and happiness, and she is able to
express herself in written, not spoken words. When her mother's
restless spirit is finally drawn back to her childhood home magical
Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, Felicity comes to understand her family's
own snicker of magic.
Felicity's friendship with Jonah Pickett, whose life is not bound by
his wheelchair, leads her to uncover the truth behind the curse of
the Threadbare brothers and how their story has impacted the town
over many years. Magical icecream, the power of invisibility,
dancing shadows, duelling music, disappearing hot air balloons,
there is an abundance of imagery conjured up in Natalie Lloyd's
whimsical prose.
A snicker of magic is a special story to challenge the lover
of magical realism. Felicity's motivational quotes encourage the
reader to see the value of words, poetry and creative writing.
Rhyllis Bignell
Me and Moo and Roar too by P. Crumble
Scholastic, 2016. ISBN 9781760156930
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Me and Moo and Roar too is a
beautifully illustrated picture book. The main characters are Me, a
young boy, and Moo, a cow. They are the best of friends and have had
a book written about the two of them already. In this new story,
they have a new friend, Roar. Roar is a lion who loves to wear mum's
sun hat! He also loves her hairbrush. Unfortunately, Roar's loud
snoring meant he had to move to the zoo. Imagine everyone's surprise
when other friends had to take their animal pals back to the zoo.
Thankfully, Roar likes it at the zoo. Me and Moo and Roar too is a lovely story of friendship and
make believe. It would make a great read aloud book for younger
classes, especially as the Science curriculum has them looking at
how to take care of pets. Children could listen to the story and
create their own zoo, draw their own pet or a pet they would like.
Older students could use the book as a model and write stories for
younger students to read, creating positive peer relationships.
Younger classes could also help their teacher create a new Me
and Moo story by adding animals they are looking at in
Science. Highly recommended for readers aged 3+.
Kylie Kempster
Made you up by Francesca Zappia
Greenwillow Books, 2015. ISBN 9780062670328
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Mental illness (Schizophrenia). High school.
Friendship. Relationships. YA books can deal with tough issues, Made
you up addresses the difficult world of schizophrenia. In this
book Alex deals with the struggle of working out what is real, and
what can't be trusted. Is everything in her life a true
representation, or is it the result of a hallucination storm that
glides into her reality creating a slippery slope of uncertainty?
You can't help but like Alex as she battles to control her delusions
and her reality, and her relationships with her new classmates after
being forced to change schools. Into this new uncertainty, changing
schools is always difficult, come friends Tucker and Miles, two
young men who are incredibly accepting as Alex negotiates her mental
illness roller coaster. As readers we are given Alex's view of the
world and understanding her struggles to keep everything in place
creates empathy for those who have to live with a mental illness.
The complexities of school life, romance, family dynamics, dealing
with psychological support and medication weave in and out of this
dramatic tale, and Zappia has also knitted in other mental illness
manifestations among the narrative. This just adds to the drama!
Zappia has written a great book to add to the YA library of books
dealing with Big Issues. The mental illness aspects are also
represented through the conversations with the Magic 8-ball
scattered amongst the chapters, and although this sounds eccentric,
it helps us understand Alex's distress as she deals with life in all
its manifestations. The author has cleverly created tension leading
to the final chapters, and because it is Alex's world we inhabit,
there is work for the reader in making sense of the action. I was
even led to research signs and symptoms of schizophrenia to make
sure that I understood what was happening. The winners in this book
though are the friends who accept Alex, despite her illness and the
wonderful sense of normality that pervades even the most difficult
of her symptoms.
Carolyn Hull
The Ogglies: A dragon party for Firebottom by Erhard Dietl
Starfish Bay Publishing 2016. ISBN 9781760360016
(Ages 7-10) Recommended. Join the Ogglies of Smelliville as they
organize a birthday party to cheer up their pet dragon, Firebottom.
Written and illustrated by Erhard Dietl, The Ogglies: A dragon
party for Firebottom is one of three in the series following a
very interesting family. With gruesome but hilarious descriptive
language, The Ogglies series are sure to have boys hooked.
In addition to words such as slimy sludge and cheesefeet, Dietl's
illustrations are bright and detailed with whacky things to find on
every page.
In addition, The Ogglies may be used as a tool for visual
arts, allowing readers to create their own Ogglie character and
describe its unique features similar to what can be seen on the
opening page.
This beautifully illustrated picture book is filled with quirky
characters including a special sing-along birthday song, sure to
keep children giggling for hours.
Keely Coard
Life hacks by Girlfriend Magazine
Hachette, 2016. ISBN 9780733635755
(Age: Teens) Highly recommended for all school libraries. Themes:
teenagers, puberty, love, friendship, sex, gender identity,
depression, bullying, health. 'All of the answers, none of the awks'
claims this teen guide. Based on the Australian teen magazine's
advice column and drawing on advice from an impressive number of
named experts and commentators the information is attractively
presented in a simple yet accessible format. The content unfolds
logically in a chatty style with clear headings, diagrams,
strategies and checklists, working through changes every teen will
experience both physical and mental, then body image and
friendships. The next chapter on Identity may challenge some school
libraries celebrating, as it does, the whole spectrum of sexual
identity. 'So if you're bi, trans, gay, sexual, cisgendered, or not
quite sure yet, read on. There's something for everyone.' ('If you
were born a girl and identify as a girl (or born a guy and identify
as a guy), you are cisgendered'). The following chapters on love,
sex, mental and medical awareness as well as how to help someone
with problems and get help yourself are less controversial and very
well presented. Chapter nine outlines where in Australia to get help
and the acknowledgements and references might suggest sources for
further study.
Overall it is a modern life guide all teens should read presented in
a format they are likely to read and share. This guide would be a
useful tool for teachers of health courses or for discussion topics
in pastoral care sessions. It is supported by the magazine's website.
Sue Speck
Applesauce weather by Helen Frost
Candlewick Press, 2016. ISBN 9780763675769
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Applesauce Weather is a
beautifully illustrated story told through poetry. Faith and Peter
know Uncle Arthur will arrive when the first apple falls and the
first two poems introduce this brother and sister duo. The poems are
a stark contrast between the younger sister - who eagerly awaits the
uncle's arrival - and the older brother who now doubts the magic of
a far away uncle even knowing when the first apple will fall. Uncle
Arthur is mourning the loss of his beloved wife and memories of her
are reflected in each poem. Each poem is a small story; building up
to Faith worrying Uncle Arthur has no more stories to Faith finally
seeing the signs of her fun loving uncle again. The poems are simply
named according to the person's perspective - Faith, Peter, Uncle
Arthur. It is beautiful and melodic storytelling, creating a sense
of togetherness while also allowing our characters to be
independent. The vocabulary is as simple as it is descriptive,
explaining the love story between Arthur and his wife, Peter's
feelings for his first crush and Faith's joy at spending time with
Uncle Arthur. This book is highly recommended for readers aged 10+.
It would be a great read aloud in the classroom as students
investigate different points of view and would also be good to help
build character profiles.
Kylie Kempster
Growing together by Taro Gomi
Phaidon Press 2016. ISBN 9780714871264
(Age: 2-5) Recommended. Written by internationally bestselling
author, Taro Gomi, Growing Together is a four book box set designed
to share. Neatly backed in a sturdy display box, readers will find
four small books titled Growing, Imagining, Sharing
and Exploring all of which are nicely connected.
Throughout all four books, pictures reflect Taro Gomi's and Phaidon
Press's Japanese culture. Additionally, the stories include short
simple sentences, ideal for a young and growing family. Growing
Together is strongly family oriented and features real-life
scenarios.
Overall, the Growing Together set is about childhood and
families in all its honesty, unexpectedness and charm.
Keely Coard
The grabbem getaway by Adrian C. Bott
Ill. by Andy Isaac. Axel and BEAST series. Hardie Grant Egmont,
2016. ISBN 9781760127800
(Age: 7+) Recommended. What happens when a giant shape-shifting
robot BEAST crash-lands in Axel's garage? Twelve-year old gamer
Axel's life changes dramatically. One minute, he is battling
BAGGER_63 in the Tankinator Arena using his skill, stealth and
knowledge and the next he is off on an amazing action-adventure with
his new friend BEAST. The young gamer lives with his single mother
Nedra a motor mechanic, who home schools Axel because of the
bullying he suffered previously. When Axel, Nedra and BEAST sit down
to discuss the robot's fate, a holographic projection - a 3D image
of Agent Omega appears on the robot's chest. With his wise guidance
and some technological transformations, Axel and BEAST are ready to
fight the enemy.
Axel climbs inside the clear panel on the robot's chest and steps
into a clear, magnified world. Everything the BEAST senses, Axel can
sense, the words appear in front of him and describe the object,
material, history and the robot's abilities to utilise them. Flying,
accelerating, dodging missiles launched by the Grabbem pilots in
their flying ships, Axel is in his element, employing his gaming
strengths. Ingenuity and creative problem solving allow Axel to best
use BEAST's shape-shifting abilities to outwit the enemy.
Themes of having a go, standing up to bullying, courage,
resourcefulness, friendship and loyalty are included in this
action-packed chapter book just right for tech-savvy readers. Both
Axel and BEAST are well rounded characters: the robot has a gentle
nature, is fearful at times although he is really built to destroy
others. Rusty Rosie, the junkyard owner is also a key character
whose crane-driving skills play a vital role as well. Andy Isaac's
graphic cartoons bring the action to life - the shape shifting as
BEAST's SKYHAWK shoots into the sky like a rocket and the junkyard
scenes with the enemy ships tied up in cables. Axel and BEAST is a great junior novel to read to children
who enjoy robots, technology and gaming. This book is captivating
for readers with a high-interest and low reading level and is a
great read-aloud class novel. Challenge the class to write their
next adventure, develop and publish a short graphic novel or utilise
a graphics program to design a similar range of robots.
Rhyllis Bignell
Danny Best : Never wrong by Jen Storer
Ill. by Mitch Vane. Danny Best series bk. 2. ABC Books, 2016. ISBN
9780733333347
(Age: 6-8) Recommended. Diary narratives are an extremely popular
genre for young readers. Now author Jen Storer's Danny Best is a
larger than life character who believes he is a total legend, best
by name and best by nature. Danny shares four over-exaggerated
humourous short stories about his family, his friends and his school
life. Each story is told through Danny's eyes, in Chapter 1 'Bella
did it', he continually tests his mother's patience, playing with a
little wooden doll that sit above the sink. He plays tricks on his
mum until one day the arms fall off the doll. Of course, his dog
Pugsley disappears with one of the arms and Danny's race around the
back yard is truly frenetic. Finally, with his sister Bella's
interference and a little grunt glue and paint, his creative problem
solving pays off. Each story ends with a fun multiple-choice test,
how much did you remember?
Danny is a great friend inventing wonderful obstacle courses for his
gang, this time it is 'The Master's Challenge', and even Pugsley's
Dog Poo Desert is a feature. Danny proves himself a caring and fun
friend with an amazing creative ability to find the fun side of
life. When Danny's class are challenged to write stories - boys for
the girls and girls for the boys, Danny is up for the contest. His
lizard ballerina and killer slug tale is truly unique and of course,
he believes that his is a winner.
Mitch Vane's cartoon illustrations, dirty smudged backgrounds, fun
maps and crazy diagrams combined with the emphatic fonts, different
text sizes and styles make this a fast-paced story. Danny Best :
Never Wrong is perfect for independent readers who are ready
for chapter books. Read these humorous stories aloud to Year 2-Year
4 classes and challenge them to develop their own cartoon characters
and creative adventures.
Rhyllis Bignell
You are oh so horribly handsome! by Eva Dax
Ill. by Sabine Dully. Starfish Bay, 2016. ISBN 9781760360139
(Age: 3-7) Recommended. Gregor, the little green monster has all the
right attributes, he loves to shout ear-splittingly loud, he is also
horrendously strong, and frighteningly fast. Unfortunately, one day
a nasty thought enters his mind and he ponders the question 'Am I
handsome?' He seeks reassurance from his loving family, his old
neighbor and his best friend and each one focuses on a special part
of his character and gives a supportive response.
Mommy loves his handsome squint, Daddy loves his stinkiest,
cheesiest feet and even his little brother loves his 'fattest,
flabbiest, softest, squashiest, wibbly-wobbliest tummy!' Each one
then gives him a kiss, a hug, a cuddle or a pinch on the cheek and
Gregor's spirits are lifted with each encouragement.
Eva Dax's text is rich with descriptive phrases; she builds on each
response with more and more colourful responses, using fun words
that will amuse the youngster sharing this story. With phrases like
'bumpiest, muckiest, yuckiest' these are just right for reading
aloud to a young audience. Eva Dax brings out the many facets of
Gregor's character; each scene has fun detailed backgrounds and each
of the family and friends are caring and loving monsters. The
close-up of his rotten, crooked, yellow teeth with little monsters
peeking out of the cavities, a dangling spider and a worm wrapped
around one tooth is humorous. You are oh so horribly handsome, is an excellent picture book
for Health and Wellbeing, for lessons on family relationships,
self-esteem and valuing each other's differences and abilities. For
English, this is a fun way to introduce descriptive writing and
adjectival phrases.
Rhyllis Bignell
Signal loss by Garry Disher
Hal Challis series. Text Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9781925355260
(Age: secondary to adult) Highly recommended. Crime fiction,
Victoria. When a bushfire erupts over Mornington Peninsula a burnt
out Mercedes is found with two charred bodies, and the remains of a
rifle. DNA is the only way to identify them and this leads Challis
to Sydney. Just why two professional hit men are sent to his patch
is a major cause for concern. Investigating this coincides with the
disappearance of a known meth user and dealer, and interviewing his
partner they find that her daughter is missing, collateral for a
drug debt. But it is schoolies week and with a serial rapist on the
move, Ellen Destry leading the sex crimes unit has her work cut out
for her. The manager of the local surf shop has been raped by this
person the previous year and it is one of Ellen's officers who is
able to use her skills to perfection.
Drug dealers, no mobile coverage, professional killers from Sydney,
local businessmen using the sadness of meth users to feather their
own nests, and a bushfire are beautifully crafted to come together
at the end, the reader all the while entranced and wondering how the
crimes are linked. And combined with a new drugs unit being imposed
upon the station, friction between investigating groups is bound to
have ramifications. Destry has her own problem with her sister and
her new man, one who she can see is simply out to fleece her.
Readers of this excellent series will know and love Inspector Hal
Challis and his interaction with lover, Ellen Destry forms a neat
romantic interest but when their boss finds out about their
relationship this could jeopardise both their jobs.
The background of the story is amazingly real, described in rich
detail: the farms and small towns, huge sheds with lots to hide,
moneyed properties owned by weekenders from the city, cheaply built
forests of satellite suburbs, the wealthiest and the strugglers are
all here, making this a read that gets under your skin. Disher
handles the theme of ice and its impact upon small rural communities
with fascinating insight, one which will inform and sadden all of
his readers, but cheer as Hallis and co are able to stamp out a
small part of the syndicate causing chaos for those least able to
cope.
Fran Knight
Alice Springs: From singing wire to iconic outback town by Stuart Traynor
Wakefield Press, 2016. ISBN 9781743054499
(Age: Secondary) Recommended. Stuart Traynor spent 8 years
researching the history of central Australia for this book, and it
shows in the meticulous detailed recording of the lives spent in the
outback - from the explorers who tried to find a path through the
middle of Australia, to the linesmen who worked against the clock to
string a telegraph wire from Adelaide to Darwin, to the men, women
and children who carved out a life on that lonely frontier, not to
mention the Arrernte Aboriginal people whose lives were changed
forever. Traynor presents an impartial account that draws on
historical records to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of
interconnecting lives. He tells of the brutality and the massacres
within the context of the prevailing mindset of the time. Other
writers, e.g. Nettelbeck and Foster (2007) in their book In
the name of the law, have delved deeper to reveal a
darker heart of Australia, but while Traynor describes the trial of
William Willshire for the murder of Aboriginal men, it is but one
incident in the wider picture of the good men and bad who all
struggled to make a life in very demanding circumstances. However
his account of the stolen generation housed, if you can call it
that, in the appalling conditions of the 'Bungalow Half-caste
Institution' is not glossed over in any way and the story of the
desperate plea of the 16 year-old girl 'longing to have someone to
help her' escape the sexual demands of the Superintendent is
particularly poignant. In his postscript 'An iconic town' Traynor
writes that he hopes that we can learn from our past and weave
together 'a new life-giving culture' that can be shared by all.
The book is supplemented by a collection of historical photographs,
a detailed timeline 1860-1960, reference notes for each chapter, and
a bibliography and index. There are some maps at the beginning of
the book, showing the path of the submarine cable from England to
Australia, and the main towns on the cable line from Darwin to
Adelaide - my only quibble would be to wish for a more detailed map
showing the many smaller places described in the book. However the
book as a whole is an amazing feat of research and would be an
excellent reference for students studying this era in Australian
history.
Helen Eddy
