Archive | February 2015

Blue Moon

Blue Moon

Blue Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Moon

Tricia Oktober

Ford St, 2015

pbk., 32pp., RRP $A16.95

9781925000887

 

A blue moon is generally regarded as referring to a second full moon in a calendar month.  As well as being rare (the next not being until July 2015), it is also a special occasion for cats for it is the time when they all come together in a fabulous dream that lasts till dawn.  As moonrise draws near Cat climbs into her basket with its mattress of multiple thick cushions and kneads and treads them into an invisible and delicate dream mat.  Then she settles down, closes her eyes and drifts away into the magic of Tricia Oktober’s beautiful paintings, taking the reader on the most wonderful imaginative journey because anything is possible in the place of dreams, even frolicking with the seahorses at the bottom of the sea or becoming queen.  Until the long fingers of dawn begin to creep over the horizon.

 

I have to declare my bias – Tricia Oktober is one of my all-time favourite illustrators.  I adore her work so I was keen to review this new release.  I was surprised to find that it is a departure from those environment-related titles I’m familiar with like Bushfire, Rainforest and Oil Spill but it is still tied very closely to the marvels of nature with all sorts of cat references embedded in the illustrations for the astute reader to find. 

 

My experience is that one of the most common requests from little girls, especially, is for a book “about cats”.  It will be a delight to offer them this one.

 

Stuff Happens: Jack

Stuff Happens: Jack

Stuff Happens: Jack

Stuff Happens: Jack

Tony Wilson

Puffin, 2014

pbk., 96pp., RRP $A9.99

9780143308225

 

It’s recess time and Mr Atherton tells the boys they can stay on the oval to play as long as they play sensibly and behave. He will be back in ten minutes and head back to the school across the road. 

But a lot can happen in ten minutes – especially if you’re a group of Year 5 boys unsupervised on an oval.  As Mr Atherton walks away they realise he has taken all the soccer balls with him and being very aware of the school rule of NO TACKLING the boys wonder what they will play.  Then Jack suggests You Play, You Pay where the boys see who can kick their shoes the longest distance.  The loser then had to run until he’s tagged but boys being boys this soon degenerates into a roughhouse and stacks on game which comes to a sudden end when Jack gets flattened by Fadi and hears his arm crack as he goes down.

Mindful of the consequences if it’s discovered they were playing roughly Jack urges his friends to tell the principal that they were playing a chasing game not a tackling one.  But when he returns to school he finds that this has had dire consequences for Fadi and he has to wrestle with the choice of telling the truth and risking all the boys being excluded from a clinic by their favourite A-league soccer team or let Fadi bear the brunt of the punishment that is really having a massive impact on his mental well-being.

This is an intriguing read that throws up a range of issues that young boys will relate to and empathise with.  We know that “boys being boys” can have accidental consequences but, in this story, it is the unforseen ones that cause the dilemma and set up all sorts of discussions about what Jack should do and whether Principal Davies was fair, and so on.

There are now eight books in the Stuff Happens series, each written by a leading Australian author who has a sound track record of writing stories that boys enjoy.  What appeals most is that each takes a very ordinary situation that everyone can relate to and builds a story from it that is both engaging and entertaining as well as thought-provoking.  Each is also a great demonstration in writing about what you know – taking an ordinary everyday event and building it into a story.

This is a series that really appeals to boys – there is a list of reserves for each one at the local school I know – and getting them enjoying reading with such quality stories is a match made in heaven.

Birrung the Secret Friend

Birrung the Secret Friend

Birrung the Secret Friend

 

Birrung the Secret Friend

Jackie French

HarperCollins, 2015

pbk., 144pp., RRP $A12.99

9780732299439

 

Sydney Cove.  December 1789.  The new colony is 18 months old and Barney Bean is waiting in line for his share of the meagre rations doled out on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  He is so hungry he can taste the maggots in the cheese he is hoping for because they are extra meat.  He’s also hoping that there will be some cheese left because his pannikin was stolen the night his mother died and you can’t boil dried peas or rice without a pannikin.

In front of him in the line is a convict who, even with his arm in a sling, looks as strong as a bullock and Barney mentally dubs him Bullock Man watching him warily him because he knows that he and his rations are at risk the minute he is out of sight of the storehouse.  And he’s right… Bullock Man sees him being slipped some cheese (which he had been denied) and follows him.  Barney scarpers and scampers amongst the huts with Bullock Man in pursuit not knowing that this chase will change the course of his life forever when Bullock Man is stopped in his tracks by a stone thrown from a beautiful yet mysterious Aboriginal girl wearing European clothing. Even the fact that she is an “Indian” is remarkable because it was thought that they had all been wiped out by the plague that hit them so soon after the arrival of the Europeans, but for one to be wearing shoes and “a clean dress, all bright with tiny blue showers on it, not the nothing colour of convicts’ clothes”???

This is Abaroo, or Birrung (meaning ‘star’), as she calls herself, an Aboriginal girl taken under the kindly wing of Mr Richard Johnson, the colony’s first clergyman and this is the story of Birrung, Barney and the enigmatic Elsie who never speaks but whose eyes have clearly seen more than they should have.  Flourishing amongst the squalor and dishevelment that is Sydney in its first year is the oasis of Mr Johnson’s vegetable gardens, tended and nurtured to feed a colony that is virtually on the edge of starvation because none of the promised storeships have arrived from England and the inhabitants, reluctant residents at best, have neither the skills nor the inclination to help themselves by growing their own food. Even Barney doesn’t know that a seed the size of a speck of dust can grow into a magnificent carrot!  Mrs Johnson reads the children stories and Barney’s favourite is that of Jesus and the fishes and the loaves. “We could have used Jesus in the colony.”  Yet all around them are the riches of the bush – bush tucker – some of whose secrets Birrung shows Barney. But because of the times they live in, his friendship and all that he learns has to remain a secret forever.

Although the Second Fleet finally arrives, it brings so many more problems than it solves…

Jackie French is a master of historical fiction for children and she tells fascinating stories of the not-so-well-known parts of our history, putting the reader right in the story so it becomes a personal experience not just a painting that has an historical backdrop. You are there, right alongside the characters with your tummy rumbling but feeling glad that there is a fridge with cheese and other goodies nearby!  While Barney Bean. Elsie and Sally are fictional characters, Mr and Mrs Johnson and Birrung were very real as were the circumstances in which the story is set.  Painted in less than flattering terms by others in Australia’s history such as Elizabeth Macarthur, and only tolerated by Arthur Phillip who had a different agenda, Birrung the Secret Friend shows a different side of Richard Johnson and the good that he did for the establishment of the fledgling colony.  He was revered by the convicts and those who benefited not only from the produce of his gardens but his ministrations in their hours of need. In fact, Jackie writes, “I had always taken the Johnsons at the valuation of most historians have accepted: well-meaning but ineffectual.  But as I read their letters and other writing, I became stunned that such an extraordinary and compassionate couple had been so misremembered,”

This is the first in The Secret Histories series from Jackie to be published by HarperCollins, a series that will reveal many more secrets at many levels.  There is an extensive teaching guide   explicitly linked to the Australian Curriculum, providing an even more compelling reason to have this in your collection – if you needed one!

 

Mouse Mansion

Mouse Mansion: Sam & Julia at the circus

Mouse Mansion: Sam & Julia at the circus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mouse Mansion: Sam & Julia at the circus

Karina Schaapman

Allen & Unwin, 2014

hbk., 60pp., RRP $A24.99

9781743312995

Sam and Julia are two mice who live in Mouse Mansion, but there their similarities stop.  Julia lives in a tiny apartment with her mum with no other relatives and she is super nosy and very naughty. Sam, on the other hand, lives in the middle of the mansion with all his relatives (and there are many) and he is super shy and very obedient.  However when Julia is bored and goes looking for adventures he goes with her and can be quite daring. But they are the best of friends and share everything. 

One day, while out on an errand for Julia’s mum, they spot a man putting up circus posters.  They help him out and discover that the circus is looking for someone to sew and cook for it.  Julia’s mum applies for the job and so begins an adventure that none of them will ever forget.  But despite the fun and excitement of the circus, Julia misses seeing and playing with Sam and their friendship is stretched.  Julia really misses him and even though she has Enrico to get into mischief with, it is Sam that she misses most. 

This is essentially a novel for young readers presented in picture book format and when you see the stunning pictures you understand why.  Creator Karina Schaapman created a real mouse mansion standing three metres high and two metres wide with over 100 rooms to be the setting for her books. The mansion is made from cardboard boxes and papier-mache, and it has more than a hundred rooms, corridors and outdoor spaces. For the interior, Karina used vintage fabrics from the fifties, sixties and seventies plus various types of waste material.   For this, the third in the series, she also created a complete miniature circus based on posters, photos and letters she had of the Circus Roberti, the circus in the story.  Placed amongst these models are exquisitely created little mice and the whole has been photographed by Japp Vliegenthart.  From the enticing endpapers to the magnificent central three-page spreads, the illustrations are just breathtaking in their detail and take the enraptured reader into the world of Sam and Julia and the circus.  Even without the text it would be a masterpiece. You can find out more about the mansion and even get some tips for building your own.

While the story itself is a great read-aloud about the power of friendship and what we can learn from others for the very young, or an endearing read-alone for the emerging independent reader, it has endless scope for those looking at how books are illustrated and how illustrations add context, depth and understanding to words.

 

Emily Eases Her Wheezes

Emily Eases Her Wheezes

Emily Eases Her Wheezes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily Eases Her Wheezes

Katrina Roe

Leigh Hedstrom

Wombat Books, 2015

hbk., 32pp., RRP $A19.99

9781925139129

Emily the Elephant is so full of energy that she scarcely stopped.  She would whizz around on her scooter, leap and twirl like a ballerina and bounce on her trampoline for hours.  She loved to be active.  But every now and then she had to sit still and look on because her asthma made her chest tight and her breathing difficult.  At first her friends were frightened of her coughing and wheezing but she reassured them that they couldn’t catch what she had.  But it really irked her to sit and watch but when she disobeyed her mum and jined in, she ended up in strife and needed her puffer.  Until one day she discovered a sport that she could join in, one which really helped her strengthen her lungs and improve her breathing.

As the school year gets underway, there are going to be many like Emily in classrooms – kids who can’t join in because of this disease and for whom all teachers must have training in how to deal with it if they are presented with a child having an attack.  Because 1 in 10 Australian children suffer from it and it is a common reason for children needing emergency medical care, it is essential that we all understand the potential seriousness of an asthma attack and that students and teachers alike know that it is something that cannot be ignored.  In this picture book written for younger readers, everyone learns something.  Emily learns that even when she thinks she’s okay she still needs to take it easy; her friends learn that it’s not something to be frightened of and they can help Emily; and the reader learns that while this is a treatable and manageable disease, a person suffering an attack needs to be taken seriously.

Children, particularly those in their first year of school who have not had exposure to large groups of children where there is likely to be an asthmatic need to know that while it might be scary it’s not catchy, and those who are sufferers will enjoy reading about themselves in a book just like other “normal” children and will feel less marginalised. Liegh Hedstrom’s charming illustrtions lighten the message somewhat – can you imagine an elephant using her bed as a trampoline?  There is a also comprehensive overview of asthma provided by a leading paediatrician that the parent reading the story aloud will find enlightening and reassuring

Wombat Books have a history of publishing books that need to be written and shared (Marty’s Nut Free Party ; Happy Pants; Coming Home) but which might not make the mainstream, big publishers’ lists and Emily Eases Her Wheezes is an important contribution to this.  

Rescue on Nim’s Island

Rescue on Nim's Island

Rescue on Nim’s Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rescue on Nim’s Island

Wendy Orr

Allen & Unwin, 2014

pbk., 168pp., RRP $A14.99

9781743316788

 

Nim lives with her scientist father Jack and an adventure writer Alex Rover on a remote tropical island kept almost secret from the rest of the world in order to protect its pristine beauty and its wildlife.  Her constant companions are a marine iguana she calls Fred and a sea lion called Selkie.  It’s an idyllic lifestyle which Nim wouldn’t swap for the world.  It’s a lifestyle many would like to have and because she has email and the Internet it does not get lonely.  In this episode Jack invites some scientists to the island to try to work out how algae can be converted into a planet-friendly fuel source but all is not well from the beginning.  While Nim does not shun the outside world, she prefers the peace and solitude of her island home knowing that the fewer people who know about it the more likely its heritage is to be preserved. Even though her friend Edmund returns, one of the couples has two children who are not used to the isolation of such an environment and who do not understand its uniqueness so there is friction from the start. And the scientists don’t seem to be what they purport to be so when Nim discovers an opalised fossil, all is not smooth sailing. Everyone is in grave danger and Nim has to make some tough choices to try to keep everyone safe..

We first met Nim when Nim’s Island was first published in 1999 and were reacquainted with her in 2007 in Nim at Sea, the stories being made into a movie starring Jodie Foster in 2008.  Now 15 years later Nim is back to delight us again, testament to the quality of the writing and the power of the story that Wendy Orr sets before us.  The adventurous Nim is a likeable character and many would like to swap places with her. The story moves along quickly and while the message about the need to value and protect the environment drives the series and is strong, it does not overpower the action and the plot.  

While this is a stand-alone book and it doesn’t take the reader too long to place the essential elements together, this is an ideal opportunity to introduce a new generation of readers to the series as a whole.  Despite the timespan between episodes it does not date and would be a refreshing and absorbing read for the child looking for something a little bit different.  Nim’s Island would be a great class read-aloud to support a sustainability theme and if students know there are others in the series there will be a queue.  An internet search for teaching notes will turn up several options. 

 

Once Upon an Alphabet

Once Upon An Alphabet

Once Upon An Alphabet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once Upon an Alphabet

Oliver Jeffers

HarperCollins, 2014

hbk., 112pp., RRP $A29.99

9780007514274

 

“If words make up stories and letters make up words, then stories are made up of letters.  In this menagerie we have stories, made of words, made for all the letters.”

 

And that’s just what this fabulous book by Oliver Jeffers is all about. He has taken the concept of a picture book and viewed with through a new lens.  So instead of the traditional 26 letters accompanied by pictures of words starting with the letter, heretThere are 26 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet, each short, succinct, imaginative and complete. Here’s an example…

“Bernard and Bob lived on either side of a bridge and for years had been battling each other for reasons neither could remember.  One day Bob decided to fix thing so Bernard couldn’t bother him anymore, by burning the bridge between them.  But Bob learned an important lesson that day. He needed the bridge to get back.”  Characters like Owl and Octopus appear and reappear throughout the stories adding continuity especially as Z returns us to Edward the astronaut’s problem of the first page!  The cartoon-like illustrations that are Jeffers’ trademark are more about illustrating the story than emphasising the sound of the letter, another departure from the more traditional format of an alphabet book and the whole has a wonderful mix of humour and quirkiness that it will appeal to all ages..

This is so much more than an alphabet book to entertain littlies, although it does that very well.  There is the opportunity to introduce the concept of alliteration – Danger Delilah is a daredevil who laughs in the face of Death and dances at the door of Disaster – and explore how it can be used to add meaning and depth to a story. Students could also be challenged to create similar short stories – telling a tale in two or three sentences that still contain a traditional story structure. 

Every time I dip into this book I find more to delight me – adults and children alike will love this one.

 

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Mix It Up

Mix It Up

Mix It Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix It Up

Hervé Tullet

Allen & Unwin, 2014

hbk., 32pp., RRP $A19.99

9781760110956

 

It was well past bedtime and definitely past “Lights Out!”  and “Quieten Down!” and even past “Don’t wake up, Grandad!” But still there were giggles coming from a certain bedroom where Miss 8 and Miss 3 were supposed to be sound asleep, dreaming little girl dreams.  So I had to investigate.  And there they were, snuggled in together sharing this latest book from the imaginative Hervé Tullet.  Miss 8 was reading it and Miss 3 was following the instructions.  And both were delighted with the results of their power as they turned the pages.

This book starts with grey, bursts into a rainbow and goes back to grey all from just tapping a dot and using a magic hand that shakes, rattles and rolls. No wonder there were two little girls having so much fun and demanding that the next day was to be a painting day.

The simple concept of Tullet’s books like Press Here, Doodle Cook, Mix It Up, and 10 times 10 (mentioned on many Best-of lists for 2014) and their interactivity make them great learning tools as well as great fun! 

Next month Miss 3 will be Miss 4 (already) and I know exactly which author will be among her gifts! If laughter is an indicator of success, Tullet has found the formula and Mix It Up is the best.

Silver Shoes (series)

Silver Shoes

Silver Shoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Silver Shoes (series)

And All That Jazz

9780857982627

Hit the Streets

9780857982641

Samantha-Ellen Bound

Random House, 2014

pbk., 144pp., RRP $A14.99

 

Silver Shoes Dance Studio is a dance academy where 10 year-old Eleanor Irvin and her friends go three or four times a week to learn to dance.  Jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, ballroom, lyrical – whatever the style it’s on offer and each girl has her favourite genre.  For Eleanor it’s jazz and in the first in this new series And All That Jazz, the focus is on an up-coming competition where the studio not only competes against other studios but the girls also compete against each other in the individual section.  Eleanor is very passionate about dance – “Sure, a dance can only go for a few minutes but you create bit of magic in that time.  The dance has these little fingers that go reaching out to find all the little happys that make one big happy- one tiny moment that’s somehow full of all these good things” – and at times her intensity gets in the way of her relationships, particularly with newcomer Ashley who has joined Silver Shoes from its arch rival Dance Art.

Hit the Streets focuses on Ashley’s desire to learn hip-hop but as she gradually convinces the Silver Shoes girls that she’s not a spy for Dance Art, she hits some personal problems that threaten to crush her dreams.  There was a hint of there being more to Ashley’s story than meets the eye in And All That Jazz and readers now learn what that is.

This is a great new series for this age group that loves to dance and Miss 8 enjoyed these first two episodes immensely.  With each girl having their particular passion (in Breaking Pointe Riley loves ballet and in ballroom dancing is the focus of Paige’s story in Dance till you Drop –both out in April) the series has a broader appeal. The characters are very real – they could be any little 10-year-old girl you know and they’re not always likeable.  Eleanor makes a point of trying to paint Jasmine (Jas-mean) black but there were times when she could have been holding a mirror to herself – and that’s the nature of this age group as they dart to negotiate independent friendships and relationships. It is also made clear that dancing is not all glitter and glam and pretty costumes – the thing that often attracts in the first place – and that it involves hard work and long hours and learning that you’re not always going to win.  There are insights and lessons here that aren’t necessarily dance-focused.  Not only does the author’s expertise in dance show through but also her knowledge of this age group.

Each book has a bio of its main character as well as instructions for how to perform a particular move and a full glossary.  Even though dance of some sort is the second most popular sport in Australia with over 4 000 000 participants, not all who would like to get the opportunity to dance, so this series will at least fuel their dreams.  

 

silver_shoes2

Click here for a review of the next two in the series.

The Unexpected Crocodile

The Unexpected Crocodile

The Unexpected Crocodile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Unexpected Crocodile

Kim Kane

Sara Acton

Allen & Unwin, 2014

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

9781760111731

 

It’s been raining for days and days and days and everything is wet and soggy.  Nowhere is not – there is even rain in the chops for the barbecue and the Dawsons are coming to dinner!!  But when Peggy answers the door, it is not the Dawsons standing there but a crocodile, smartly presented with a red bow tie and umbrella.  No one seems surprised at his presence, not even the Dawsons who arrive with a croc-embouche for dessert.  In fact, the parents are so engaged in their one-upmanship about their children’s merits that they don’t even flinch when the crocodile shows he has an appetite for things other than coleslaw.

There is something appealing about this book that is told in such a matter-of-fact manner even though the words, actions and illustrations are the very opposite of matter-of-fact. Acton’s illustrations bring those of Quentin Blake to mind and there is as much in them as in the words, a hallmark of a well-constructed picture book.  Her two images of Peggy with a book before and after the crocodile’s visit suggest that it all might have been a hopeful dream but then her mother does go an buy her some sky-blue gumboots, just like the Dawsons had…

While the guide audience is 3-5 and such young readers are unlikely to see beyond the literal layer of the story, there is scope for this to be used with older students as an introduction to farce as a genre which depends on the central characters carrying on as normal while all around them the most improbable is happening.  Kane’s clever word-play adds humour that maintains interest for the adult reader and the whole thing opens up a discussion about whether such things could really happen, whether adults can really go along with such events, much like Dahl’s The BFG