It’s the first day of school and the bunnies are rushing around getting themselves ready.
We’re going to a new school. Come and join the fun!
But first, there are things to find and friends to say hello to on their way and they need the help of our youngest readers to find them.
As with its predecessors, this is another charming book in this series that allows our youngest readers to not only engage with familiar characters doing familiar things, but encourages them to interact with the text through repetitive phrases and predictable rhyme and the illustrations as they lift-the-flaps to help the bunnies find their things.
And even though the bunnies’ new school might be a little different from that to which they are going, nevertheless the fun and excitement are the same and catching!
There’s a hullabaloo about elephant poo —
what can you do with that beasty brew?
A hundred kilos daily from you-know-where. That’s the same body weight as a panda bear!
Where I live, kangaroos are daily visitors and two old bucks, in particular, have made our house their home, obviously relishing the fresh green grass that we maintain as part of our fire management plan because we are surrounded by bushland. So, almost on a daily basis, Hubby has to get the pooper scooper out and collects a small bucketload each time, continually muttering about putting nappies on the culprits.
A couple of our resident roos
But having read the amazing facts about the amount of poo an elephant produces in this clever, funny rhyming book, I think he should be grateful that he is only having to deal with a couple of kangaroos! Together, Dee White and Christopher Nielsen have created one of the most intriguing picture books that is not only going to appeal to many because its subject matter is one that fascinates young readers as anything about bodily functions does, but also demonstrates just what a valuable commodity such waste can be. Who knew that a pile of poo could hold so much value and the uses it can be put to? From nuggets being ground into coffee, to making paper for books and even bricks for houses, its uses seem endless.
The fun in both the rhyme and the illustrations will engage readers endlessly, but the more serious undertones will also entice them to think about the use of poo from all sorts of creatures, including humans, perhaps investigating what happens when they, themselves, flush the loo. More mature readers might want to explore the meaning of the old adage of “One man’s trash is another’s treasure” while everyone will enjoy playing the very clever game that form the back endpages.
Teachers’ notes that span a variety of activities from examining the rhyming structure to creating an advertisement to sell elephant poo to investigating the nature and purpose of narrative non fiction and, indeed, zoos themselves, exploit the value of this book in any library collection.
From their super-secret lily pad in the middle of the ocean, the Frog Squad is ready to leap into action whenever they get a distress call – “these frogs don’t just eat flies, they eat DANGER!” And, in this episode, the second in the series, Captain Tony Rowley and his squad -Dr Jilly Gilly, Agent Quito Gonzalez, Sergeant Nelson Hewitt, and radio operator Roger Rogers must travel to Croakomo Island to face an angry swarm of stink bugs to find out who’s been stealing poisonous jungle plants. Could it be Professor Cain and The Organisation of Amphibious Devious Scoundrels (TOADS).
This is another in the growing collection of fast-paced, action-packed series for newly independent readers that have leap-to-it superheroes ready to fight any foe that threaten the peace, harmony and equilibrium of those who can’t defend themselves. The enemy is usually led by an evil character with world-domination in mind and who is never quite vanquished, enabling there to be several stories in the series to capture young readers who put themselves on the side of the heroes, and keep them reading. There is humour, usually based on puns, and almost a 50/50 split between text and graphics both of which carry the story forward at breakneck speed, as well as a more serious undertone of an emotional or environmental message that is delivered with a light touch.
This series, though, is told from the perspective of a reporter and camera crew of FrogFlix and so it interspersed with the narrator’s comments, brief explanations of who’s who, and even advertisements, as it mimics what the reader is used to seeing on a screen. While each story builds on the previous one and hints at the next, nevertheless they can still be read as a separate entity so that even those who may be reluctant readers can still feel satisfied that there has been a resolution to the immediate problem.
Ten years from now this might not be a series that sticks in the mind of the reader, but it could be the turning point that makes them into dedicated readers as it bridges that gap between screen and print in a unique way.
It was a cold December day in London “where the days end early and forget to start on time” when the Stewart family decided to spend the afternoon at London Zoo and six-year-old Arthur and nine-year-old first connected with Einstein and Arthur tells him, “And you, Mr Penguin, must come and stay with us whenever you like. Penguins are always very welcome at our house.” So they are very surprised when Mr Penguin actually turns up on their doorstep that evening, with a rucksack labelled ‘Einstein’ on its back…
But what is a fairy penguin from Sydney, Australia doing in London in the first place?
In the first adventure in this series, Arthur and Imogen reluctantly send Einstein back to Australia, even though it means they may never see him again, but in the second, he returns to London and once again connects with the children. Now in the third, and perhaps the final, there is another mystery to solve as penguins start disappearing from the South Sandwich Islands, and the children are convinced that there is foul play involved, rather than natural forces. Even though Imogen believes that now she is in Year 7 playing detective is too babyish for her, nevertheless she decides that this is an important issue and decides to help Arthur uncover what is really behind the disappearances -and discovers a lot more than she bargained for.
Best read in order because of the reappearance of previous characters whose backgrounds are assumed to be known, and references to those previous mysteries, this is a series for independent readers who like to solve mysteries and see themselves in the role of the main characters.
As with the original, it also offers opportunities to think about the ethics of keeping animals in captivity, the huge illegal wildlife trade and why it is so profitable, estimated to be worth billions of dollars., as well as its impact on the future of some species.
Imagine if you were a little girl, nine years old, as long as your bunk bed and as kind as a marshmallow, and you lived in a treehouse in the bush with your friends Walter the wombat, who loves to clean but can have an attitude issue Tiny the honey possum, who is so small she travels in your pocket; Odette the pademelon, who is constantly bouncing; and Poky, an echidna who alters colours and shades depending on Hazel’s emotions. What adventures might you have?
For this is the story (or stories) of Hazel who is just such a girl, and this is a collection of short-ish stories that recount their lives together whether it’s staying in bed all day on a Sunday because Wombat doesn’t want to get up or searching for rainbows on rainy days or celebrating a special day even if you don’t know why it’s special.
Whether read alone or read aloud, these are gentle stories about ordinary things but made extraordinary by the characters, each of whom has their special quirks and charm. But despite these differences, each story is woven with the threads of friendship, collaboration, and being in touch with your emotions while embracing and navigating the ups and downs of everyday life, including starting school for the first time which makes the final chapter very relevant for this time of year.
.Judy Watson’s detailed drawings really bring the stories to life offering adventures in themselves and invite the young reader to use their own imagination to put themselves in Hazel’s position and make up their own story. What will she tell her friends when she comes back from that first day?
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… And that’s how they discover Professor O’Brain and her Timebender machine who sent them to the sunny beach they craved but they found themselves sharing it with dinosaurs. In this second episode of the series, they decide to visit Professor O’Brain again to see if she has mended the machine, but both are determined that they will not end up in some weird destination this time, especially as this time they know where the secret hole takes them.
However, instead of finding her in her lab as they expect, they discover the time machine has misbehaved again and this time it is the professor, herself, who has been stranded in the Ice Age. Clearly, Pablo and Splash must help her and so the brave penguin buddies set out on a rescue mission – destination 68,000 years ago! When a Neanderthal man accidentally wanders into their time machine, it’s not just the professor who is stuck in the wrong time period. But luckily a scientific breakthrough for Pablo and Splash’s endlessly upbeat approach to life’s challenges helps save the day!
Graphic novels, time travel and familiar, appealing creatures on a rescue mission are the right ingredients for a story that will engage young readers and with its bright, full-colour illustrations that carry the story along with just speech bubbles as text there will be many who could be enticed to pick up a novel-length book for the first time.
As with the first one, it’s an opportunity for the reader to think of where the next adventure might take place, who or what Pablo and Splash might encounter and perhaps research and write their own story. Perfect for the CBCA Book Week 2025 theme of Book an Adventure.
In 2012, readers around the world were fascinated by the story of Ivan, a silverback gorilla who lived in a cage at Exit 8 Big Top Mall by the Video Arcade- 9,876 days by his own tally. Not recalling any other lifestyle, he is fairly content watching television, eating bananas, and making artwork that is sold by his owner, but his friend Stella the elephant can remember, particularly the circus where she learned the tricks that she now performs daily. But as a chronic leg injury starts to impact her performances, and new elephant, Ruby, is brought to the mall and Ivan starts to see what really happens when wild animals are “tamed”, he has to work out how he can keep his promise to Stella that he won’t let Ruby suffer as she did…
Because it was based on the true story of a gorilla in similar circumstances, not only did it raise awareness that became outrage at animals kept in this sort of captivity and lead to the film, The One and Only Ivan, Applegate also went on to write the stories of both Bob, Ivan’s stray-dog bestie, and that of Ruby. Now, The One and Only Family is the final instalment in the series.
Ivan has been happily living in a wildlife sanctuary, with his friend Ruby next door in the elephant enclosure, frequent visits from his canine friend Bob who lives with one of the keepers,, and his mate Kinyani by his side. And in the happiest turn of all, Ivan and Kinyani have welcomed a set of twins to their family! Ivan loves being a papa, even though it can be hard sometimes because the babies can be a handful with their energy and curiosity. But as he navigates the joys and challenges of parenthood, he can’t help but recall his life before the glass walls of the mall circus, his own childhood in the jungle. the killing of his parents by poachers, the treatment of both his twin sister and himself when they are shipped to the US, and the life lessons he wants his own family to know so they can survive and thrive in an imperfect world where they might not have the freedom of the jungle but they do have the protection of the zoo.
Best read in sequence so that the stories and their events have the most impact, there is a strong message about family, friendship, finding silver linings in dark clouds, but because of its references to the violence he has experienced in his past, this is a series for more mature independent readers who can cope with what is, sadly, the reality for many species still. Common Sense Media recommends for those 10+ but discretion is recommended.
It’s been a little over two years since we first met eight-year-old Willa Jane Tait and her best friend Woof, a four-legged albino wolfhound, her same-age best friend Tae Jin whose name means “person of greatness” in Korean; and her old-age best friend Frank Pickles who lives next door in the retirement village and is very old and very grumpy with crinkly skin and bags under his eyes.
Told by Willa herself with that typical young-person humour, there have been a series of adventures that have not only engaged young independent readers but demystified old age so that they feel more comfortable building relationships with those beyond their immediate family and school-based friendship circle. And in this final story in the collection, when Willa accidentally learns that Sunset Views Retirement Village, and Frank’s only home, is about to be sold, she has a feeling something isn’t right. Trouble is she’s super busy with Clubs and soccer matches, and there’s a fete to prepare for so will she have the time to investigate further, and then come up with a plan to save it?
Saying goodbye to a series, particularly one where the releases have been regular enough for it to be an almost continuous read and the characters can seem like real-life friends, can be tough, but Jacqueline Harvey has written several others including Clementine Rose, Alice-Miranda, and Kensy and Max so it could be an opportunity to introduce fans to one of those as they wait for whatever will come next.
Far away in the middle of the sea there is an island shaped like a giraffe. Nine-year-old Vega lives there with her father and Grandad Hector—a gardener and former ringmaster. Their shed—the Paraphenalium—is filled with every possible thing you didn’t know you needed.
Although her dad is attentive, he always seems distracted and cannot see the extraordinary animals that inhabit Vega’s life and keep her company. Her bathroom is home to a grey bear with shampoo-lathered fur, and every day she talks with the asphalt beaver and crosswalk zebra on the way to school. However, Grandad Hector can see them and he even has some weird and wonderful creatures of his own that live in his garden which is a magical place.
Vega has never met her mother and when she asks about her, both her father and grandfather answer her in riddles so she really has no idea what has happened to her, although she longs to know. But she is worried about the changes that she is seeing in her dad as he becomes more distant and forgetful. When he introduces a woman called Viola to her, things start to get colder in the flat. There is a coating of ice everywhere, snow starts to fall and all the food that Dad prepares is cold. When Dad’s heart becomes coated in ice Vega decides to run away and find help. Along with her new BFF Nelson and Hector, transported by the magnificent Muffinmobile, (an invention of her grandfather), they go off to the mainland to seek Vega’s mother. They are convinced that she is living in the travelling circus and will be able to melt Dad’s heart and return life to normal. Using clues from Hector’s garden and a penpal’s letters from a school project, they set out to find answers and find not only a unique circus but also some unexpected answers.
For independent readers who enjoy ‘magical realist mystery adventures” , this won the 2022 Finlandia Junior Prize awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation for books in either Swedish or Finnish to “celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature” as well as being nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize. Detailed illustrations boost the reader’s imagination, and for all that it has the fantasy elements, it is deeply rooted in the need to belong to a family that we all have.
Snow Bunny and her friends Mouse, Fox and Bear, live in the forest, and as Christmas draws near, they decide to put on a show. As they build a stage, and put up lights and curtains, each thinks about what their act might be. Snow Bunny has ideas for each of them, but just as she begins to think of what she might do, the audience begins to arrive. There is no time for her to do anything but introduce the other performers.
At the end, while Mouse, Fox and Bear are receiving the accolades, Snow Bunny feels a bit left out but then…
As school concerts and other performances are in full swing, there are going to be those who are disappointed that they might not have the spotlight they desired, so this is an excellent (and original) opportunity to show them that it takes a team on the stage and behind it to put on a show, and one can’t happen without the other. It’s also a timely reminder to acknowledge the back-stage folk who work so hard as well as remembering that there are those who prefer to be back-stage and respecting those feelings. Ask me how I know…
