Archive | December 2023

Santa’s Trip

Dec15

 

 

 

Santa's Trip

Santa’s Trip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa’s Trip

Mia Cassany

Susie Hammer

Wellbeck, 2022

12pp., board book,  RRP $A14.99

9781914519444

Welcome to the most magical night of the year!
Santa’s house is a hive of activity
As the elves prepare for all the festivity.

Reading the letters is a very big task
Have you been good? Santa will ask.

Santa’s workshop is bursting with toys
All sorts of treasures for girls and for boys.

This is a magical book for young children as it unwraps like a present to form a large mat picture that takes the reader on a journey from Santa’s workshop to their own living room!  Each fold reveals more of the story and builds the anticipation making it something special that they will return to again and again because even without the words they will be able to tell themselves the story.  

Delightful.

Pink Santa

Dec14

 

 

 

Pink Santa

Pink Santa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pink Santa

Tanya Hennessy

Ben Whitehouse

Albert Street, 2023

24pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761180392

‘Twas the night before Christmas and everything in Santa’s workshop was ready to go – work done, lists checked, biscuits baked, gifts wrapped… But then Santa remembers his suit is still in the dirty clothes hamper from when he wore it last year and it desperately needs a wash before he and the reindeer can go.

 Being helpful, Rudolph volunteers to do it but when he takes it out at the end of the cycle, it has turned PINK. Can Santa be Santa in a pink suit? 

With rollicking, rhyming text and hilarious illustrations, this original story touches on being who you are inside rather than what you look like on the outside, even venturing into stereotypes and preconceptions formed on the basis of appearance. Will the colour of Santa’s suit really affect the joy and delight of the children in the morning? Indeed, with Santa’s proposal to make the following Christmas even more radical, older readers might want to trace how the image has changed since the days of St Nicholas in the 3rd century being variously depicted in the long garb of a bishop and particularly the influence of the Haddon Sundblom images of the 1931 Coca Cola campaign.  

But whether it is used as a stepping stone to learn more about the traditions, the man or ourselves, or just for the sheer fun of it, this is one to keep in your collection.  It is thoroughly modern and will cheer up anyone, even The Grinch!

 

Santa’s New Reindeer

Dec13

 

 

 

Santa's New Reindeer

Santa’s New Reindeer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa’s New Reindeer

Caroline Crowe

Jess Pauwels

Faber, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780571375134

One week to go ’till Christmas Day,
The final touches underway,
A ribbon here,
a flourish there,
And presents piled up everywhere.

Santa smiled. ‘What could go wrong?’

It didn’t take long for him to find out.  Suddenly, there is a crash and a bang and Rudolph tumbles through the workroom roof after one of his flying tricks goes disastrously wrong!

And if that’s not bad enough, he has injured himself so now he can’t pull the sleigh!  And, on top of that, no one else has any flying reindeer to spare and using just seven will mean the journey won’t be completed in time!  What will they use instead>  The other reindeer make all sorts of suggestions, but each creature has an issue that makes them unsuitable, proving that only reindeer can pull the sleigh with its precious cargo.  But then Lizzie, the elves’ Head Inventor offers a solution…

For those familiar with the hijinks of Santa’s New Beard and Santa’s New Sleigh, this is another rollicking story that offers young readers an insight into the behind-the-scenes workings of that special place at the North Pole.  It’s a hive of activity all year round and they will have fun exploring all the details in the illustrations as well as suggesting solutions for Santa’s dilemma.

Every year there is a whole new wave of children who begin to appreciate the fun and excitement of Christmas, and their joy is palpable so to feed it with original and entertaining stories of the time is a privilege.  This series is definitely one to bring out during your Christmas Countdown.

 

Bunnies in a Sleigh

Dec12

 

 

 

Bunnies in a Sleigh

Bunnies in a Sleigh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bunnies in a Sleigh

Philip Ardagh

Ben Mantle

Walker Books, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781529507126

Christmas Eve and suddenly Santa’s elves are feeling very unwell because someone has given them sugary candy canes and they have scoffed the lot!  How will Santa finish those last-minute chores and deliver the toys?  But it’s OK.  The Bunnies have arrived, and this time, instead of taking over the bus or the boat, they take over the sleigh, giving Santa delivery ride he will never forget. 

Rhyming text and bright, detailed pictures create to the pace and excitement of this hilarious story of mad bunnies helping Santa, and young children will enjoy the chaos and mayhem as it unfolds.  It is likely to be one they will want to revisit again and again, if only to absorb all that is in the illustrations – in fact, they can start by trying to spot the culprit responsible for the elves being sick!

Something whimsical to add to the hype of the season.  

 

Peekaboo Santa

Dec11

 

 

 

Peekaboo Santa

Peekaboo Santa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peekaboo Santa

Camilla Reid

Ingela P. Arrhenius

Nosy Crow, 2023

10pp., board book., RRP $A15.99

9781839946783

Anyone who has played peekaboo with a young child can still hear the squeals of delight as the hidden is revealed, and so this interactive board book with all sorts of things to discover is going to be greeted with great anticipation.

Start by focusing their thoughts on the season and the sorts of things that might be mentioned – a critical early reading behaviour that develops the ability to predict text – and then use the support of the rhyming structure to narrow their choices.   There are multiple sliders for young fingers to manipulate and a surprise ending that will have them giggling for ages.

An ideal way to build anticipation, context and the joy of reading a book that they can return to again and again, because even if they know the secrets it is the power of being independent that is such a drawcard.

 

Santa’s Stolen Sleigh

Dec10

 

 

 

Santa's Stolen Sleigh

Santa’s Stolen Sleigh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: Santa’s Stolen Sleigh

Tracey Corderoy

Steven Lenton

Nosy Crow, 2022

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

9781788007771

 

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam are two dogs who used to be robbers, but, having seen the error of their ways, now bake delicious treats and solve mysteries and sniff out crimes! In this new adventure, they  are off to Lapland to bake a festive feast for Santa and his elves. But there’s a Christmas crisis – the elves are unwell and can’t finish the toys! Does mysterious stranger and gadget queen, Flo Frost, really want to help? Or could she have her eyes on the most magical gadget of all . . . Santa’s flying sleigh?! It’s up to Shifty and Sam to race across the snowy slopes and save Christmas for everyone!

Written in rhyme, this is a story that will delight young readers with its sense of fun made even better because they can scan a QR code and have it read to them if they can’t manage it for themselves yet.  It is one of the latest in this series which has endured for 10 years, and so, those who are already familiar with Shifty and Sam will delight in seeing them again and putting all they know about them already into continuing their friendship. 

Pow Pow Pig 5: Snow Action

Dec9

 

 

 

Pow Pow Pig 5: Snow Action

Pow Pow Pig 5: Snow Action

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pow Pow Pig 5: Snow Action

Anh Do

Peter Cheong

A & U  Children’s, 2023

240pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9781761068928

It is the year 2050 and the world is in trouble. In 2030 the rich animals of the world voted to stop helping the poor and as they became richer, forever seeking bigger and better while discarding their unwanted things instead of sharing them, creating a huge amount of waste.  And then the fighting started.

But all is not lost and Piccolo Pig (aka Pow Pow Pig) , inspired by his parents’ role model has yearned to join CHOC (Creatures Helping Other Creatures) to help make the world a better place through small acts of kindness. So as soon as he was old enough he joined, and now, after three years of training it’s Graduation Day. But he and his friends Danielle Duck (aka King Fu Duck), Chelsea Chicken (aka Cha Cha Chicken) and Barry the Goat (aka Barry the Goat) are not in the A Team but the Z Team.  So they are the last to be picked when it comes to world-saving missions,

So when a call comes in and they are the only ones left, it is up to them to save the situation.  Although they live in 2050, they have time machine that allows them to travel back in time but sometimes it doesn’t work as it should.

This time, they find themselves at the North Pole, and after being rescued from a giant snowball, find themselves in Santa’s village. But when they meet Santa himself he seems a little distracted… two of his reindeer, Comet and Vixen, are missing. And he’s convinced they have not left of their own accord. 

And so begins another zany adventure perfect for a Christmas read-aloud.  Written for younger independent readers  with all the attributes required to support their transition to novels including a larger font, a light-handed layout and many illustrations, as with his other series,  embedded in the thoroughly modern characters, action, adventure and humour, there is an underlying message that gives the story more than just fleeting entertainment value. By making the heroes creatures often associated with being underdogs and having them as the Z Team , readers can learn that success can take many forms, that not all battles are won with might and power – a tea towel and a broom can be very effective when used cleverly – and that the desire to do well has to come from within. They can also visit other time periods in an exciting adventure, providing a gentle step into the concept of history and offering an insight into life in those times that is much more fun that facts and figures.

Something for the Christmas stocking of both fans of the series and Anh Do fans generally. 

 

 

 

 

Funny Kid Snowballs

Dec8
Funny Kid Snowballs

Funny Kid Snowballs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny Kid Snowballs

Matt Stanton

ABC Books, 2023

288pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9780733342004

Now that his mum’s campaign for mayor has been unsuccessful , Max and his parents, and his friend Hugh have been invited by the well-known (and extremely rich) actor George Khan to have a break in his chalet at the Beauty Peaks Ski Resort (Winter Holiday Destination of the Rich and Famous). Snow and skiing and all that they entail is a new phenomenon for Max, and he is convinced that all you need for happiness is money.  The more money you have, the more happiness you can buy, however fleeting it might be because there is always the means to buy more.  His parents try to persuade him that happiness comes from somewhere deeper, but this is going to be a hard lesson for Max to learn when he and his friends are surrounded by such opulence and indulgence. 

Despite the crazy situations that Max finds himself in, including trying to impress his first love, frozen pyjamas, fast cars, falling gracefully off cliffs, a wild mountain man, impossible chairlifts and a high-end fashion parade from Lost Property, Stanton always weaves a food-for-thought message amongst the hilarity, and this is no exception.  At a time when largesse is at its most prominent, and many parents going without essentials so their kids can “have a good Christmas” this is a particularly topical theme as gifts are opened and often discarded and forgotten as soon as their batteries run out and their appeal wains.  Is biggest and brightest always the best? If not, what is?

This is the 12th in this series whose popularity continues to grow because Stanton knows just what boys of a certain age want to read and see themselves in, and whether this is the first  introduction or the 12th that is read, it is a series that has a deserved place in any collection, home or school.  Because of that serious thread weaving its way through the humour, it can be a conversation starter especially if adult and child are reading it together or even just the opportunity for some reflection and affirmation that who we are as we are is enough.   

 

 

Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas

Dec8

 

 

 

Dasher Can't Wait for Christmas

Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas

Matt Tavares

Walker Books, 2023

40pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781529514193

Ever since Dasher left the travelling circus and went to live with Santa at the North Pole, Christmas has been her favourite time of the year.  Impatiently she waits for the big night to come, counting down the sleeps, but one night, when she hears the sound of Christmas carols she can wait no longer and she takes off on her own.  I’ll be back before they even know I’m gone,” she says with confidence before flying off.

Knowing that the North Star will always guide her home she is not afraid, but when the clouds build and it starts to snow, she loses the sound of the music and the sight of the star and before she knows it she is lost, hungry and tired. Until she sees a little house with a tree covered in lights in the garden…

Young readers will be familiar with the legend of Santa’s sleigh being pulled by magical reindeer. and may even be able to recite their names first given to them by Clement C. Moore. In the original story, they learn the backstory of these creatures and how they came to be Santa’s helpers, and this is a delightful sequel.  The digital illustrations that feature all that you would expect of a northern hemisphere Christmas scene have a lifelike feel to them adding to the magic and consolidating it for just a little bit longer.. 

 

The Blunders

Dec7
The Blunders

The Blunders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Blunders

David Walliams

Adam Stower

HarperCollins, 2023

384pp., pbk., RRP $A22.99

 9780008614393

Blunder: a stupid or careless mistake or to make one

That pretty much sums up the family in this new release from one of the most popular authors for young readers. “The Blunders are the most blundersome family in the blundering history of blunderdom.  They live in a crumbling country house named Blunder Hall.  It has been in the family for hundreds of years in the heart of the English countryside. “

And like so many stately homes of its ilk, it is slowly crumbling and the family is constantly and desperately seeking ways to raise funds to maintain it. For Lord Bertie Blunder (“a classic upper class twit”), this means inventing something that will make the family a fortune but sadly, his inventions tend to be so silly and impractical that they cost more than they raise. But if he is to keep his family together and his home his castle, he needs to do something before The Man from the Bank who has his own plan to seize Blunder Hall can close everything down.

Fans of David Walliams will appreciate finding this either in their Christmas stocking or on the school library shelves, as will those who are just embarking on their independent reading journey because of its easy-to-read text liberally illustrated with line drawings that not only support the story but are also LOL in themselves.  The characters are caricatures, the humour is slapstick and the whole read one that will support the young reader in their belief that they can read, even thick books like this one.