When the World Was Soft: Yindjibarndi Creation Stories
When the World Was Soft: Yindjibarndi Creation Stories
Pablo and Splash
Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury, 2024
240pp., graphic novel, RRP $A17.99
9781526662606
Pablo and Splash are two penguins, and even though they are very different in that Pablo loves his icy home and Splash is sick of the cold, they both agree that a holiday would be a good thing. But it’s tricky when you live at the bottom of the planet in Antarctica and warm places are too far to swim and without wings, you can’t fly.
But Antarctica means there are scientists nearby and surely they have a solution… However on their way to visit them, they fall down a hole in the ice into the clutches of Professor O’Brain and her Timebender machine and before they know it they are on the beach they were dreaming of, but they are sharing it with dinosaurs. Can these accidental explorers find their way home? Or will they be stuck in the past, avoiding becoming the next meal for the locals?
With its classic theme of “be careful what you wish for” as well as the familiar time-travelling theme that takes readers to times past and future, this is a full-colour graphic novel that will delight fans of this genre. Stories about penguins and dinosaurs individually are always favourites so combining the two into a story that engages while it educates will have broad appeal, and its undertones of the enduring friendship between two characters despite their differences will resonate with many.
This is the first in this series that has the potential to not only appeal to its intended audience of young independent readers but also introduce them to times past that might spark an interest in further investigation. I wonder where they will go next… Where would the reader like them to go? If they came to Australia at a particular time in our history, such as the gold rush, what hazards might they encounter? Perhaps an interesting story starter that could show you what the students know…
Ratbags 4: Take Flight
Tom Harris
Shiloh Gordon
Puffin, 2023
192pp., graphic novel, RRP $A14.99
9781761340505
Rats, in general, do not have a good reputation for being friendly and kind, and The Ratbags are no exception. Their goal in life is to make trouble and to look for naughty things to do. They dream of mayhem and believe rules are for losers. Except for one – Jigsaw. He got his name because he does not fit in, like a puzzle piece that won’t squeeze into place no matter how much you twist and turn it. Jigsaw likes both rules and humans so he doesn’t fit in with the other rats and they shun him.
In their fourth adventure in this series, The ratbags are on holiday on the trash-filled Scum Island, where everything is just how the ratbags like it – terrible! Even cats are kept in line by a high-flying falcon, who puts on a show for the ratbags! But when Cracker is carried away to the falcon’s lair, Jigsaw starts to worry… is the pesky falcon a feathery friend or foe? One thing’s for sure, with the ratbags in town, the holiday is packed with action, danger and VERY bad manners.
In previous reviews I have focused on the popularity of characters and subjects that make adults squirm and their power to appeal to reluctant readers as well as the attraction of a format that is text-light, illustration-heavy but has a quality story that focuses on familiar elements of friendship, standing your ground against peer pressure and being yourself , and this has been proven by a request from a young lad asking if I had the latest one yet. Not known for his affinity for reading, this was a surprise and one I took pleasure in satisfying (as did my contact at Penguin Random House). Who knows where this series might take this newly-independent reader as he explores the wide world of stories in print.
Maybe this will be the way forward for one of your students to…
Pebble and Wren
Chris Hallbeck
Clarion, 2023
240pp., pbk., RRP $A19.99
9780358541288
Based on his webcomic of the same name, Pebble and Wren follows human girl Wren and her live-in monster, Pebble, as she teaches them all about how the human world works—from why the moon changes shape to why we don’t eat candy wrappers—while trying to unlock special abilities without which Pebble will have to return to the monster forest.
Pebble, a young monster, must venture out of the hidden forest and into the world of humans as a monster’s rite of passage to unlock their skills but everything seems daunting., until one house seems to be welcoming. Living there is a young girl called Wren ,and her two fathers. The little monster is fond of food or, in fact, anything that can be eaten, including books, rocks, and furniture. Pebble’s special skill seems elusive as the pair become close friends.
While Pebble is a shape-shifter, Wren has talents of her own. She enjoys explaining things and instructing Pebble on a variety of topics: moon phases, humans’ inner ear structure and skeletal anatomy, and the thermodynamics of refrigeration and gradually the pair begin to understand each other and share adventures that help Pebble gradually realise that their special skill has been discovered.
Although each page of this graphic novel has only uncomplicated frames, and the nine chapters seem to be connected as a developing story, this is very much driven by the development of the characters rather than a series of adventures or quests so it’s appropriate for independent readers who enjoy this format and like to delve into the lives of the personalities.
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.
Ratbags 3: Best of Pests
Tim Harris
Shiloh Gordon
Puffin, 2023
192pp., graphic novel, RRP $A14.99
9780143777472
Rats, in general, do not have a good reputation for being friendly and kind, and The Ratbags are no exception. Their goal in life is to make trouble and to look for naughty things to do. They ream of mayhem and believe rules are for losers. Except for one – Jigsaw. He got his name because he does not fit in, like a puzzle piece that won’t squeeze into place no matter how much you twist and turn it. Jigsaw likes both rules and humans so he doesn’t fit in with the other rats and they shun him.
Now, after their antics in the second in this series by the author of the Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables series, the humans have had enough of rats and their ratbag ways. Even Mr Pecky has stopped giving them pizza. But things get taken to a whole new level when robot minks with laser eyes roam the streets, ready to destroy all ratbags, stray cats and jazz musicians! How are the ratbags to survive the humans’ latest pest control? By joining forces with their enemy, naturally! With Cracker and the ratbags on the same team, things are about to get really hairy!
Way back when, about 25 years ago, authors like Paul Jennings, Andy Griffiths and Christopher Milne brought a new style of writing to the children’s literature available at the time – a style that featured what became known as “toilet humour” in which bodily functions and similar subjects became normal and regular rather than the taboo territory they had dwelt in, and these stories, which immediately appealed to boys of a certain age, became a challenge for some adults to share – which, in turn, gave them even more appeal but, in the process, also turned a generation of lads into readers as they were determined to read the stories themselves.
Now, in a similar fashion, the availability and accessibility of the graphic novel format combined with characters and situations that make a lot of adults squeamish, is having the same impact. Both author and illustrator have a sound understanding of what their target audience is looking for and its method of delivery, so that they are drawn away from the screen and into the world of print where books can be shared and passed around and available on demand. They also know that kids are impatient and so this series has delivered a new episode every two months (the fourth due in September) so there is no interminable wait in between to see what happens next or have other distractions overtake the anticipation.
So regardless of what teachers and parents might think of this as that subjective, elusive concept of “quality literature”- and I would argue that the strong threads of friendship, standing your ground against peer pressure and being yourself take it into that realm anyway – if you have reluctant readers or those who just haven’t found a reason to read yet, then this is a must-have series.
Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures
Jason Pamment
A & U Children’s, 2023
288pp., graphic novel, RRP $A19.99
9781761067488
Speak Up!
Rebecca Burgess
HarperCollins, 2022
272pp., graphic novel, RRP $A39.99
9780063081208
Twelve-year-old Mia is just trying to navigate a world that doesn’t understand her true autistic self. Mia would be happy to just be herself, stims and all, but the other students have trouble understanding her and even bully her, while her mother is full of strategies to help her attempt to mask her autism. Although she wishes she could stand up to her bullies, she’s always been able to express her feelings through singing and songwriting, even more so with her best friend, Charlie, who is nonbinary, putting together the best beats for her.
Together, they’ve taken the internet by storm; little do Mia’s classmates know that she’s the viral singer Elle-Q! Ironically, one of her biggest fans is also one of her biggest real-life bullies, Laura. But while the chance to perform live for a local talent show has Charlie excited, Mia isn’t so sure.
She’ll have to decide whether she’ll let her worries about what other people think get in the way of not only her friendship with Charlie, but also showing everyone, including the bullies, who she is and what she has to say. Though she may struggle with some of her emotions, Mia does not suffer because of her autism. Rather than a cure as though there is something about her that needs to be fixed, she just wants acceptance, understanding and tolerance, just like the other characters who have other issues that drive their behaviour.
For older, independent readers this is a graphic novel by an autistic author/illustrator offering a sympathetic depiction of one young person’s experience of autism, and because it is by one on the spectrum it is an authentic voice giving an insight into what it is like to be different at a time when peer acceptance is so important to who we are.
The Cool Code
Deidre Langeland
Sarah Mai
HarperCollins, 2023
224pp., graphic novel, $A22.99
9780358549314
When 12-year-old coding whiz Zoey goes from homeschooled by her software-programmer parents to real school where there are teachers and other students, in an attempt to fit in, she develops an app called the Cool Code with a cute pink llama avatar called C.C. that she hopes will tell her everything from what to say to what to wear based on pop culture algorithms she’s uploaded. But although C.C. may be cute, it’s also bossy and starts to give her ridiculous advice, such as running against her new friend Daniel in the school election, things get awkward. With a few upgrades and a bit of debugging from the coding club, the app actually works—Zoey gets really popular . . . and gets her pulled in all kinds of directions, including away from her real friends.
Even though the new school year is some months away, nevertheless enrolments are open and for many students about to make the transition from primary to high school. the anxiety is starting to grow as they grapple with the changes involved, particularly the aspect of meeting and making new friends at a time in their lives when social acceptance and peer pressure is starting to dominate relationships. So while this is a path well-trod in many stories by numerous authors, nevertheless each one has a place to help reassure those about to embark on a similar journey. It’s graphic novel format means it is one to be read individually, but that same format could be the hook that gets the reluctant reader in.
One to add to a display on the theme, including the CBCA shortlisted August and Jones, that might allay the fears of some and also spark conversations about what is concerning them most and how to prepare to overcome that. At the very least, it will demonstrate that their worries are common and shared, and that, in itself, can help.
Midnight Mischief
Tim Harris
Shiloh Gordon
Puffin, 2023
192pp.,graphic novel, RRP $A14.99
9780143777458
Rats, in general, do not have a good reputation for being friendly and kind, and The Ratbags are no exception. Their goal in life is to make trouble and to look for naughty things to do. They ream of mayhem and believe rules are for losers. Except for one – Jigsaw. He got his name because he does not fit in, like a puzzle piece that won’t squeeze into place no matter how much you twist and turn it. Jigsaw likes both rules and humans so he doesn’t fit in with the other rats and they shun him.
But things might change when a new pizza shop opens in town…
This is the second in this new series from the author of titles like Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables and this time he has joined with illustrator Shiloh Gordon to create a series that is likely to appeal to young boys, particularly those who don’t choose reading as their first choice for free time. With minimal text, cartoon-like illustrations, and lots of laughs, the story moves along at a fast clip more like an animated television program than a print resource, driven by the characters rather than events.
This time, having gained a reputation for being good because of rule-loving, leaf-collecting, piano-playing Jigsaw’s actions in the first book, the other Ratbags need to change this immediately and Ripple and Onion are the best ratbags for the job. But while performing some ratty mayhem, they fall into Cracker the cat’s claws… Will their midnight mischief turn them into a midnight snack? Or will Jigsaw find a way to save them? Again!
Despite the fun and naughtiness, just below the surface there are subtle messages about friendship, peer pressure and having the courage to stand your ground. ‘It’s not preached at all, but there’s a nice subtle message that we can be friends with other people, no matter what our belief system or no matter how different we are to them,’ says Tim Harris.
If the first one in the series captured your reluctant readers, they will be glad that this one is hot on its heels and there are at least two more to come… Best of Pets in July and Take Flight in September.