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Where’s Little Koala?

Where's Little Koala?

Where’s Little Koala?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where’s Little Koala?

Rhiannon Fielding

Chris Chatterton

Ladybird, 2023, 

10pp., board book., RRP $A16.99

9780241620427

It is ten minutes to bedtime and Little Koala is nowhere to be seen.  Where is she hiding?

Little ones will love lifting the flaps and finding all their favourite, familiar creatures from the Land of Nod – but where is Little Koala?

This continues to be one of my favourite series for early readers, perfect for sharing and pulling the curtains on the day.  With the addition of the lift-the-flap format, they can enjoy exploring the forest and discovering all their friends are sleeping, just as they should be. Astute readers will notice the slowly darkening sky and the subtle clues of just who might be snoozing already, so all in all it is good fun as well as helping consolidate those early reading behaviours. 

Lily Halfmoon: The Magic Gems

Lily Halfmoon: The Magic Gems

Lily Halfmoon: The Magic Gems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily Halfmoon: The Magic Gems

Xavier Bonet

A & U Children’s, 2023

80pp., graphic novel, RRP $A16.99

9781761180354

It’s Lily’s birthday and she has moved to a new village, a new house and now it’s time for her to start a new school. She has all the same trepidations about it as other children do but when she gets there she finds things are a bit different from her previous school because this one is especially for witches to learn their craft!  Lily had no idea she had magical powers but now a lot of things in her life start to make sense. 

And now, in The Royal Academy and Library of Magic Studies, Creatures,  Potions and Spells (aka The Library) she must learn magic, and find her animal guardian and gemstone, while keeping her new identity a secret -even her family can’t be told. With her friends Gigi and Mai  she is part of a group of witches who have to protect the people of Piedraville from evil, tricky when there is a dangerous creature on the loose. And she’s found a rare and unique gem that no witch has ever had before – what does it all mean?

There are so many stories in this vein for emerging independent readers to choose from, and this one appeals because it can be both a stepping stone to more complex reads like Harry Potter as well as to the graphic novel format because it combines the new-to-some format with elements of a traditional layout. There are the familiar panels and speech bubbles of the former, although the text is written in the usual way with capital letters, lower case and punctuation, as well as the conventions of the latter for introductions, instructions, maps and other diagrams.  

Those readers who are verging on independence often view “real readers” as those who can read thick books or graphic novels and that is the yardstick by which they measure their success, so this is the ideal bridge for them capturing their imaginations through a popular theme but putting it in a setting that they can relate to.  Genius. 

Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

 Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

Sarah Coyle

Adam Walker-Parker

Farshore, 2023

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781405299053

Gwen was very excited about having a fancy-dress birthday party,  the decorations are up and the food set out.  But suddenly the birthday cake that Dad has made disappears!  Who has taken it?

Well, that depends on what the reader decides because depending on whether they choose the unicorn, robot or dinosaur they are taken on a different adventure, each time being able to choose the next chapter in their story.

While choose-your-own adventures have been in novel format for years and been immensely popular because of all the possibilities they open up, a picture book format is unusual. Young readers will love the interactivity that takes them beyond the more familiar lift-the-flap and gives them the power to decide the direction of the story.  And when one is told, they can return to the beginning and start another…  The power of choice.

There are three in this series now – a pirate/alien/jungle/adventure already available and a dragon/mermaid/superhero adventure to be released in time for Christmas – so all those characters that young readers love are covered and they can follow all sorts of paths and trails through the stories. Putting the reader in the writer’s seat is empowering and they might even be able to suggest a new combination or adventure, teaching them that they can not only be readers but writers too.  

 

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Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Dinosaur’s Big Race

Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Dinosaur's Big Race

Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Dinosaur’s Big Race

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Dinosaur’s Big Race

Rhiannon Fielding

Chris Chatterton

Ladybird, 2023

32pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9780241545638

Midsummer’s Eve in the Land of Nod, and one of the biggest nights of the year for the dinosaurs for tonight is the night they hold their competition to discover who has the best all-round team.  With just ten minutes to complete the course, will Rumble and his remarkable team come in first or ???

With its rhyme which flows naturally, stunning illustrations and the countdown, this is perfect to share to settle even the most un-sleep-ready child as they learn that even the creatures they love to dream about have to sleep sometime. For those who are already familiar with the series, they will be delighted to see all the characters coming together in one story to help Rumble, while for those for whom it is new, it will be an introduction to a charming set of stories that help them not only understand the continuity of characters so it’s easy to apply their existing knowledge, but they will also enjoy exploring The Land of Nod as they compare and contrast the day and night time maps on the endpages.  

If you have a little one or know one, this is an excellent series to start them on their reading journeys.

Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures

Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures

Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures

Jason Pamment

A & U Children’s, 2023

288pp., graphic novel, RRP $A19.99

9781761067488

Fitting in can be hard, especially when you’re as small as Ember. He can’t remember anything from before he lived in an attic in a city where everything was giant-sized. He longed for friendship, but when he ventured out to try to make a connection, he was accidentally swept into a storm drain and out to a beach. He hopes his his luck will change when Lua, a kindly sea turtle, escorts him across the ocean to a school for little creatures on a wondrous island, and he meets creatures like Ana, a salamander, and Viggo, a stroppy blue-tongued lizard.   Ember learns that first days can also be hard – especially when your friends read your journal and mock you.  Lessons at school involve intriguing discussions of camouflage and mimicry and introductions to the unique denizens of the island and surrounding sea but it his adventures involving  fantastical cave-dwellers, ferocious storms and classmates that aren’t interested in making friends that teach him the most.
As he struggles to adapt to his school, Ember finds himself at the heart of an otherworldly mystery, facing a strange monster from the deep. And though Ember’s classmates may seem of little help, any good student knows appearances can be deceiving – and friendship can come from the most unexpected of places.
For those independent readers who like the graphic novel format, this is an intriguing story with clear, detailed pictures that in a lot of cases carry the story without speech, that reinforces the message of being and accepting yourself, building friendships with unlikely folk, persevering to get to know them better, and being open to new ideas and perspectives. 

Temora and the Wordsnatcher

Temora and the Wordsnatcher

Temora and the Wordsnatcher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temora and the Wordsnatcher

Kate Gordon

Wombat Books, 2023

300pp., pbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761110122

Temora Murphy is eleven years old. She lives in a world where she never really fits. The other girls make fun of her. She’s not the “right” sort of girl for anyone – least of all her mother. On the candles of her birthday cake, she wishes for escape. Like magic, in a black pearl box at the bottom of her garden, books begin to appear. The books help her to leave her world and find another where she belongs.

On her twelfth birthday, Temora makes another wish, a wish that alters her life forever. Temora Tempest is welcomed into a world within a book, where everyone else has been waiting for her. But when some of the other apprentices fall victim to a magical disease that could only be caused by one person – a monster thought long dead – Temora realises that there can be darkness in every story. And that it might be her job to save everyone.

Described by the publisher as “a literary children’s story; a portal fantasy work, featuring a diverse cast of characters and a protagonist who marches to the beat of her own drum” this is a story for all those girls like my now-Ms 17 who go through primary school more in touch with the characters in stories than the luminaries of social media and who can not only transport themselves deep into a story but have a solid conversation as though they were a real part of it. Although S grew up in a loving family with a loving mother, and did not have the same adventures as Temora, she certainly had the confidence to march to the beat of her own drum because of her reading (and still does), and would have loved this book when she was in her late primary years. 

A complex read for independent readers who would like to find themselves in their favourite stories  it is one to snuggle up with on cold winter nights, particularly as the next in this Wordspinner series – Temora and the Dreamers – will be out in September. 

Tumbleglass

Tumbleglass

Tumbleglass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tumbleglass

Kate Constable

A & U Children’s, 2023

288pp., pbk., RRP $A17.99

9781760526962

Thirteen-year-old Rowan is helping her older sister Ash paint her bedroom when she discovers a mysterious silver ring  and when she slips it on it transports them both back in time 20 years to 1999. To a party being held in the very same house!

While Ash dances, Rowan unwittingly disrupts the laws of time, and when she wakes up back in the present day, her sister is missing, and – even worse – everyone in their family seems to have forgotten she ever existed.

With the help of her magical neighbour Verity, Rowan must find the courage to travel back through the history of the house. But can she find everything she needs to rescue Ash before her sister disappears forever?

This is one for older independent readers who enjoy time-slip novels with a fantasy twist.  

A Girl Called Corpse

A Girl Called Corpse

A Girl Called Corpse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Girl Called Corpse

Reece Carter

Simon Howe

Allen & Unwin, 2022

352pp., pbk., RRP $A17.99

9781761066788

Find the thing the Witches call a treasure,’ says Old Man, ‘and you’ll get back all those memories you’re missing.’

With a body made of wax, seaweed for hair and polished abalone shells for eyes, Corpse is bound to haunt the Witches’ sea shack forever. She has no memory of the kid she was before she was snatched and ended up on the rock-that-doesn’t-exist, using magic to hold herself together so she doesn’t cross over the Death Proper. Her dearest wish is to escape the rock, find her family and live. But she appears to be bound on the rock off the coast of the tiny forgotten town of Elston-Fright forever, until the delivery of an unexpected message sets her off on a surprising quest, searching for answers to the old and familiar questions that have filled her not-brain since the day she first woke up a ghost. Questions about her name. Questions about her family. With only her eight-legged friend Simon for company, Corpse heads into the unknown. There will be danger – cruel witches, a silver-eyed sea monster and a cunning merchant with a hungry grin – but Corpse is not afraid. She’ll stop at nothing to uncover the truth about her past. Only some answers, it turns out, are much closer than she thinks.

Shortlisted for the ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children (7-12 years) this is a debut novel that has a strong message about the power of family, friendship, trust and believing  and trusting in yourself and what you stand for.  For older, independent readers who can let reality go and cope with twists and turns in the plot, this is a new series that will captivate those who like the Nevermoor series, with a sequel The Lonely Lighthouse of Elston-Fright being released in October 2023.

Super Sloth: The Shar-Wolf of New York City

Super Sloth: The Shar-Wolf of New York City

Super Sloth: The Shar-Wolf of New York City

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super Sloth: The Shar-Wolf of New York City

Aleesah Darlison

Cheri Hughes

Big Sky, 2023

140pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781922896537

On a remote itty-bitty island off the coast of Panama there is an itty-bitty community of itty-bitty creatures. And while the rest of these pygmy sloths are content to dwell in the trees and move around “as slow as a rainy winter weekend”, Romeo Fortez, is different.  At his naming ceremony, the heavens do spectacular and amazing things and  Romeo is imbibed with powers of speed, intelligence, and irresistibly hypnotic good looks. As he grows up, Romeo craves speed and adventure and even his parents know that Escudo Island would never be big enough for him. But then he overhears a reference to New York – the city that never sleeps – and he knows that that is where he must be…

But when Romeo eventually gets there after a journey involving a boat, a bus, a rusted bicycle, a logging truck, two trains and a plane,  he discovers that Professor Ian Weird-Warp, a geneticist obsessed with splicing animal genes together, has unleashed a gigantic mutant shar-wolf on the city. With the help of some new human and animal friends, Romeo forms a team of crime fighters to save the city from the evil Professor Weird-Warp and his mutant creation.

This is a new action-packed series for newly independent readers which combines the author’s love of sloths and superheroes with fast-paced adventures and humour underpinned by friendship and teamwork and the opportunity to learn a little more about one of the planet’s more curious species.. Darlison says, “My goal was to craft an engaging read that allows kids to escape from reality and enter an exciting and intriguing world where animals and humans can accomplish amazing things together,” and she has done this well. 

Garlic and the Witch

Garlic and the Witch

Garlic and the Witch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garlic and the Witch

Bree Paulsen

HarperCollins, 2023

160pp., graphic novel, RRP $A24.99

 9780062995124

Brave little Garlic is back in this standalone companion to Garlic and the Vampire, with another tale of friendship, magic, and self-discovery. 

Garlic loves spending time with Witch Agnes, Carrot, and her new friend, the Count, who has proven to be a delightful neighbour to the village of vegetable people rather than the scary vampire the village feared in the first story,. But despite Agnes’s best attempts to home-brew a vegetarian blood substitute for Count, the ingredient she needs most can only be found at the Magic Market, far from the valley.

Before she knows it, with a broomstick in hand, Garlic is nervously preparing for a journey.

But Garlic is experiencing another change too—finger by finger, she appears to be turning human. Witch Agnes assures her that this is normal for her garden magic, but Garlic isn’t so sure that she’s ready for such a big change. After all, changes are scary…and what if she doesn’t want to be human after all…

As with the first one, this is not a complex read,- cheerful rather than chilling – with a subtle message about believing in stereotypes and rumours, readers will still need to have the reading skills necessary to interpret a graphic novel, seamlessly integrating the illustrations with the plot because there are many passages where there is no speech.  That said, with its warm colours, and faces which are friendly rather than frightening, this is a gentle introduction into both the format and fantasy. 

A fresh, new series to entertain readers who are looking for something a bit different.