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Meerkat Mayhem

Nov11
Meerkat Mayhem

Meerkat Mayhem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meerkat Mayhem

Mem Fox

Judy Horacek

Puffin, 2024

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

 9780143777687

Meerkat loves his food, snacking whenever he finds something he fancies. Until the day he decides to go for a walk and finds himself stuck tight at the entrance to his burrow!!   No problem, though. Surely strong Elephant will be able to pull him out. No? Well, how about the combined strength of Elephant and Giraffe? 

The team that gave our young readers classics like Where is the Green Sheep?  have once again combined to bring them another superb story that will engage and enchant.  Reminiscent of the traditional tale of The Enormous Turnip, they will enjoy predicting which creature will come to help next,  as they follow the patterns of it being one from Africa and one that is smaller than its predecessor, and no matter how often they hear it, the ending will delight.  Using cardboard necklaces depicting each character, my Kindy kids adored acting out the original story as we turned it into a Readers’ Theatre, each clamouring for a role as we just enjoyed the fun of a seemingly simple story, and I predict this will have a similar appeal.  

Mem Fox is THE  master of stories for little ones IMO, and I have attended so many of her presentations and just been mesmerised at her knowledge and understanding of what it is that little children love and need in their books, and, once, again, she has excelled. She is the one who has been saying for decades that if we read our children three stories a night – a first-read, a familiar and a favourite – to our children from birth, not only will they have heard over 1000 stories by the time they get to school and have all the nuances of our language in their DNA, but that such a strategy would solve the illiteracy problem. 

Ms Now-20 is introduced to Possum Magic on her first night home from the hospital.

Ms Now-20 is introduced to Possum Magic on her first night home from the hospital.

 

At the same time as Mem’s carefully chosen words flow across the pages, Judy Horacek’s illustrations carry the narrative along perfectly, so even if you’re not quite able to read the words yet, you can still tell yourself the story and engage in all those pre-reading behaviours that are the foundations of being a ‘real’ reader.  (If you want evidence, look at the photos in my review of Green Sheep. That 2 year-old now reads anything and everything she can find.)

If you or someone you know has just had a little one, then this is a must-have on their bottom shelf so they can reach for it whenever they want it.  

 

For the story behind the story, read this ABC article.

The Boab Tree

Nov6
The Boab Tree

The Boab Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boab Tree

Helen Milroy

Fremantle Press, 2024

40pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760994631

In the desert-like lands of northern Australia stands a huge family of boab trees, witnesses to the scaping and shaping of the land as generations survived and thrived in conditions ideal for them and those that followed as their flowers bloomed, the nuts formed, fell to the ground and a new generation began.  But at the precise moment one little nut fell, an eagle flew beneath it and instead of landing on the ground, it became wedged in the bird’s feathers and carried for hours before it finally rolled off over a forest of very different trees, taller than it had ever seen.

Tumbling through the branches it finally landed in a soft pile of leaves covering the earth, but even though it was safe, nothing was familiar,  There were birds but they looked different and sang a different language, the trees around looked down in disdain, and Boab felt lost and alone.  How was it to survive in this alien place so different from all that was familiar and without the support of those who knew its story and all that it needed to become a grown-up as Nature intended?

Written by the Western Australia 2021 Australian of the Year and descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara Region, this is a story of many layers that is more than a tale about the boab nut and its eventual return home because of the friendships it forms with the hopping mice and their growing interdependence.  Not only does it echo Aesop’s fable of The Lion and the Mouse   and all that can be learned from that, but Boab’s feelings will also resonate with anyone who has been uprooted and finds themselves trying to find their way in a new and unfamiliar place. Most significantly though, is the dedication to “all our Stolen Children” that will take this to a new audience of older readers who are learning about that period in Australia’s history and who, through the personification on Boab, can begin to understand the loss and bewilderment that the children felt and how, deep in their DNA, they knew their real home was elsewhere and there was a need to return. 

While the comprehensive teachers’ notes examine vocabulary, science and the mice’s message that ‘We are all important’, for me it is that clarification of connection to Country that so many non-Indigenous people find hard to comprehend and which is such a prominent part of school life now, that is important.  Using the displacement of the boab nut and its inherent and intrinsic instinct to survive as an allegory, puts those feelings into a context that can be more readily understood. The power of that connection underpinning and driving the resilience and determination to return to their roots, to that which has sustained endless generations over thousands of years, now has an almost tangible setting that they can relate to, acknowledge and appreciate.

With strong, vibrant illustrations this is one that needs to be promoted, particularly to those for whom this period of history is in their curriculum and even moreso, to those who still believe that picture books are for the very young who are not yet independent readers. 

Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

Nov4
Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

Are We There Yet? 20th Anniversary Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are We There Yet?  20th Anniversary Edition

Alison Lester

Puffin, 2024

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

9781761620416

The year I turned eight, Mum and Dad took us on a trip around Australia. Luke, Billy and I missed school for the whole winter term….

So begins the story of Grace and her family as they begin a journey around Australia in a fold-out camper van – a journey  that began a little west of Melbourne, took them to all sorts of places as they explored the coast, the bush and the outback, and which became an instant classic when it was first published 20 years ago because it opened up this country to children who didn’t know much of what was beyond their immediate environment.  

Along with Possum Magic, this was a story that could be used to initiate so many lessons and learnings about the diverse landscapes, lives, and livelihoods in the days when the internet was not as accessible and affordable to all – for many dial-up connections  for the family computer were all they had, and the first iPhone was three years in the future.  While television was a staple, travelogues were not the choice of little ones so here was a story that featured a relatable family taking off on an adventure that was told with engaging characters, story-telling and illustrations and the familiar refrain of, “Are we there yet?”  Grace’s journey was tracked on large wall maps and young readers would delight in declaring that they were familiar with a particular place and relating their adventures.  

Now, in a different gold-foiled livery and a different world, parents can share this story that delighted them with their own children and plan and plot their own journeys as many take to the roads post-pandemic, particularly as taking children out of formal schooling is not as drop-jaw now.  

And it hasn’t lost its relevance for the classroom as students could explore their own neighbourhood and identify the places, people and events that make it a unique attraction for visitors even if they take them for granted, or they could set up a challenge based on the family’s adventures for others to identify significant places around Australia based on clues such as this on from Backpack Bear, (an online quiz about Australia and Australians that I developed over 20 years ago and which is still available for free), encouraging a variety of research and presentation skills.  

I am at the top of a mountain, first climbed by a European in 1840 and named by Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki. He named it after one of his country’s heroes because he thought it looked like his tomb. While it stands in Ngarigo land, it is yet to be given an official indigenous name although Kunama Namadgi has been proposed.

The climb to the top was quite easy – a 6.5 kilometre walk along a raised walkway after I got off the chairlift from Thredbo and a short stop at Australia’s highest public toilet at Rawson’s Pass. The walkway protects the fragile alpine environment.

The summit is 2228 metres above sea level, making it Australia’s highest mainland mountain and from it I can see other mountains of the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, including Mt Townsend which is the second highest mountain, Mt Carruthers and Mt Twynam. They are all part of a national park which shares the name of this mountain.

If you wish to follow in my footsteps, you need to come here between November and April, although if you are skier you can come during the winter..

Where am I?

Because it is a classic and so well-known, winning many awards, including being selected as a key focus book for the National Year of Reading 2012, there is a plethora of resources available online to support other activities including this one from Reading Australia. Our world may be smaller and different from that of Grace and her family, because although the book is 20 years old and its foundations began 10 years before that, it is still as relevant and refreshing now as it was then.  And I can hear parents saying, “I remember this” as they see it on shop shelves and pick it up to share with their own little ones and make more memories. 

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Nov2
Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giinagay Juluum, Hello Mountains

Melissa Greenwood

ABC Books, 2024

24pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780733343025

The juluum (mountain) watches over us as we walk proudly on Country.
Me, Jinda, Miimi and Gami take note of all the subtle changes in nature
as we walk up, up the rocky path towards the peaks…

As the mountains and their ancestors watch over them, the family under the guidance of Aunty make their way through the oft-trodden pathways to the mountain peaks for the corroboree acknowledging and respecting the land and it inhabitants  as they go.  It is Spring and there is fresh, green growth on the trees (jaliigirrin). birds are singing, and the bandicoots (duura), kangaroos (nunguu), koalas (dunggiirr),  snakes (dungguuny) and goannas (wirriiga) are calling, moving and mating while the bindarray (river) rises and falls with the snow melt, threading through the land connecting everything and bringing life to all.

And as they walk barefoot through the landscape, the children learn its stories, how it was made and how to walk it respectfully and pay homage to those who have gone before and those who will come after.

Much as I love the ocean and its endless motion soothes my soul, my home now is in Australia’s mountains, and, while so different from the mountains of my homeland in the south of New Zealand’s South Island, there is nothing quite like the silence, solitude  and  size of this land, such as is spread before me as I write this.  I can see much of what is described in the story – all except the river although the Murrumbidgee is only 200 metres at the bottom of the valley – and while we are not blessed with duura or dunggiirr we do have kangaroos, wallabies, possums, echidnas, wombats aplenty and the most amazing parade of native birdlife.  For now it is the season of the crimson rosella and the magpie, but soon it will be the cockatoos, galahs, gang gangs and kookaburras as the new Spring growth turns to flowers and seeds as the warmth spreads.  

So while Giinagay Gaagal, Hello Ocean took me back to my roots of growing up on the seashore of Bluff, this one brings me into the here and now revitalising the senses that drew me here originally. 

As with its predecessor, the text is woven together by stunning artwork that tells its own story and the full text is included in both English and Gumbaynggir in the final pages, adding to the resources for preserving and revitalising First Nations languages.  But most significantly, as again they thank the land for its protection and it awaits their return, there is that inner feeling of being in the moment, taking note of surroundings and what is going on in them, seeing through eyes not a camera lens and being connected that gives meaning to the now-familiar Acknowledgement of Country so that it more than a collection of words, encouraging readers to see with new eyes and listen with new ears.   

Days of Warmth

Oct5
Days of Warmth

Days of Warmth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days of Warmth

Gregg Dreise

Puffin, 2024

16oo., board book., RRP $A14.99

 9781761340567

On Monday, Little Goanna woke up feeling cold…

But Daddy was there to give warmth.

Combining  early learning concepts such as days of the week, Australian animals and family, this is another of the beautiful books for our youngest learners created by Kamilaroi author Gregg Dreise, particularly celebrating the special relationship between parent and child. No matter how the child is feeling, the parent is there to provide support either physically or emotionally, and always with a cuddle.  

Although the colours change slightly, the background itself remains the same underlining the universal and unending cycle of love and little readers will enjoy identifying those creatures that are familiar, learning new ones, and using their facial expressions to predict how each might be feeling – all of which help develop those early concepts of print and story that are the foundations of reading.  They might also draw on their own experiences to consider why each creature might be in the predicament it is, offering scope for them to recognise and articulate their own emotions. 

There is also scope to compare Dreise’s illustrative style with other story books that they are familiar with, not only offering scope to introduce the distinctive style of First Nations, but also encouraging them to look more closely at artwork in particular, and its role in carrying the story, again building those early reading behaviours.  

Something special to share with your own little ones, or gift to new parents to share with theirs. 

Nightlife

Sep30
Nightlife

Nightlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightlife

Sandra Kendell

Windy Hollow, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781922081117

“As daylight fades and twilight reaches, here creep and flutter hidden creatures. Nightlife!”

For many young children, once night falls across their part of the planet, and it is time for them to shut their eyes, they don’t realise that for many of Australia’s creatures, it is time to open theirs, and a whole new world comes to life. 

But in this beautiful book with its intricate and accurate illustrations  and lyrical text combined with brief bursts of information , readers are taken on a journey across this country to discover the incredible diversity of creatures that make the night time their time to shine. thrive and survive.  The night doesn’t just belong to the bats and owls – there are mammals,. birds, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, insects, molluscs, worms and aquatic animals living in habitats as  varied as their species from the deserts and shrublands of the Red Centre to the cool alpine regions of the Snowy Mountains to the rainforests of tropics, and all stops in between.  

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

For them the darkness of night is their haven and as well as learning a little about some of them so  that young readers become aware of their existence and the threats they face, thus being more likely to protect them, there are also new words to learn like nocturnal, diurnal and crepiscular. Each double page spread focuses on one particular habitat –  – the author says her biggest challenge in its creation was choosing which to feature – and just a few of the creatures that call it home; while the last two have a powerful message…

Nightlife in danger from cat, fox and spark – explaining the impact of introduced creatures, deliberate habitat clearing, and bushfires through dramatic artwork; and then the reminder that there are nocturnal creatures even in the urban environment that can be seen by taking a torch outside, so this is a phenomenon that city kids can appreciate too.  

In her bio on her website, Sandra describes herself as “an artist and author based in Darwin, Australia. She works with oils, watercolour, mixed media and words [drawing]. inspiration from the local environment and ecology revealing some of its more elusive inhabitants and portraying their unique personalities in images and stories embellished with a dose of whimsy.” and that is certainly apparent in this book.  She has a number of other books, all published by Windy Hollow and each bringing a lesser-known native creature to life for young readers, especially those of her native Northern Territory, with Saltie Mumma being nominated for a number of popular children’s literature awards. .  

The Kelly Gang Kids

Sep20
The Kelly Gang Kids

The Kelly Gang Kids

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kelly Gang Kids

Coral Vass

Deb Hudson

MidnightSun, 2024

32oo., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781922858375

School’s out and four rambunctious boys chase each other through the streets of Avenel. a tiny town in Central Victoria, causing havoc as they run through clotheslines, accidentally let Peterson’s sheep out of their paddock, and are oblivious to the chaos they cause at the blacksmith’s where they temporarily seek shelter.  But their escapade is cut short when they get to the old billabong and they spy a young boy in trouble in the water, clearly unable to swim and in danger of drowning.  Without thinking, the eldest, Ned, dives in and saves the boy, and suddenly the town’s rascal becomes the town’s hero, awarded a green silk sash by the boy’s family as thanks…

For many, such a story might make the local nightly news and then be forgotten by those not directly involved, but this one is different – perhaps there is a clue in the title – because it is 1865 and Ned is Ned Kelly who grew up to the THAT Ned Kelly who is such a prominent figure in Australia’s folklore, and the other three are his brother Dan, and his friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, all of whom also have their place in the stories of the infamous Kelly Gang.  And the green sash  is still on display at the Costume and Kelly Museum, retrieved from beneath the famous metal armour worn during his last battle with police at Glenrowan in 1888.

The green sash on display in Benalla, Victoria

The green sash on display in Benalla, Victoria

Author Coral Vass has a number of children’s books including Sorry Day and Jørn’s Magnificent Imagination that help young readers understand the people, places and events that have shaped this country and this one is no different.  With its rhyme and rhythm that rollicks along like the four boys themselves, the story brings to life another side of Ned Kelly, one that shows a boy pretty much like so many others of his generation but who did an extraordinary thing, both then and later.  It might spark questions, not only about Kelly himself, but what life was like in those days of no internet, social media, television, organised sport or cultural pursuits, and where attending school wasn’t even compulsory until years later. How would today’s kids entertain themselves?

The illustrations bring the text to life as the boys go on their merry way adding humour and drama as their exuberance leaves a trail of destruction, but through the repetitive refrain of the victims, the reader gets the impression that their antics are not uncommon. 

“You rascals! What mess!”
the old Blacksmith said,
chasing behind
and shaking his head. 

But WHIZ out of sight
and swift on their way,
the Kelly Gang kids
skedaddled away.

An entertaining and engaging story that could well send the budding historian down many rabbit holes as they seek to find out more about this larger-than-life character and decide, as in this story, whether he is hero or villain.

For those wanting to know more, they might be able to track down Ned Kelly and the Green Sash by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac from 2014.

 

 

Dragon Folding

Sep12
Dragon Folding

Dragon Folding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon Folding

Christopher Cheng

Lucia Masciullo

Puffin, 2024

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

9781761340949

In a fractured old house with a wiggly sign lived a bent old man, alone. He was grumpy. He was crochety. He never smiled …  and he was always talking to himself. He ate the same lunch. He wore the same clothes, and he hadn’t shaved for a very long time.  He even had hairs growing out his nose. 

But it wasn’t always this way…

Not so long ago, before Mrs Singer went away, the old man baked delicious cakes, had an outstanding collection of dragons that sparkled in the sun and had a magnificent dragon tree in his front yard.  All the locals called his house Dragon Hall and they loved to visit – but now no one came because nothing they did helped and he shunned them with his crankiness.  That is, until one day, Evan knocked on his door.  

As much as this is a story about “the magic that can come from the innocence of a child”, it is also a story about the path we travel when our lives are touched by unimaginable grief as nothing has any meaning or relevance any more, despite the best intentions and endeavours of those who love us and surround us.  It is a journey we travel alone and at our own pace, but ,as novelist Victor Hugo said, “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise”.  For Mr Singer, the first glimmer of dawn is a little boy wanting help to fold a paper dragon, something Mr Singer was an expert at, but for each person it is different and the power of this book, which I suspect reflects the author’s own recent devastating loss, is two-fold.  Not only does it teach the young reader that if someone they love is grumpy and crochety and stuck in their ways, it is not something that they have said or done, but just the impact of the loss on the person themselves.  And that if they, themselves, are impacted by such loss, as sadly so many are, then all those grumpy, crochety, stay-in-bed feelings are natural and part of the process of grieving.  But just as the illustrations of Mr Singer move from shades of grey to colour as he gradually finds his purpose again, so too will their lives.  One day, they too, will find the joy in folding dragons again.

There are often requests to teacher librarian forums for books to help little ones deal with death and grieving, and for my money, this one that is so personal for the author, and whose timing was so personal for me, is one of the best.  A must-have in the collection to share when the time is right.  

 

Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons

Sep11
Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons

Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons

Ebony Froome

Leanne Zilm

Fremantle Press, 2024

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

9781760994211

In some parts of Australia, the yellow of wattles and daffodils, fierce winds and can’t-make-up-their-mind temperatures are heralding Spring, one of four distinct seasons that our littlies learn about.  In other parts, the heat and humidity are starting to build as the monotonous dry season ends and the Wet comes in with its tumultuous times: and in others First Nations peoples are seeing other signs as they move through their traditional cycles.  For the Noongar in south-west region of Western Australia, this is the time of Djilba, the season of conception when the “koolbardi is swooping to protect his nest, when the dark emu is high in the kedalak sky, when the balgga stems emerge tall and strong, when the yonga and the koomool carry their babies.”

For generations, so many children have been taught that during this planet’s annual journey around the sun, we experience just four seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter – but now perspectives are widening and beautiful books like this show that different peoples in different places have entirely different timeframes and different names for the patterns of Nature and its phenomena.  For those on Noongar boodja there are six seasons, each with its own distinct signs and times…

  • Birak—season of the young. First summer: December-January. …
  • Bunuru—season of adolescence. Second summer: February-March. …
  • Djeran—season of adulthood. Autumn: April-May. …
  • Makuru—season of fertility. Winter: June-July. …
  • Djilba—season of conception. First spring: August-September. …
  • Kambarang—season of birth.

Written in a mix of English and Noongar but with indigenous words easily distinguishable by looking at the beautiful illustrations (with a glossary for clarification), the reader is taken on a journey through the calendar that, unlike the “English” version which has changes in weather at its heart. focuses on the subtle but significant changes that happen in the life of the local flora and fauna and form the patterns and cycles of life.

But even children on the East Coast, or those for whom Noongar is not their first language can appreciate the beauty and value of this book because it encourages them to look beyond those most obvious signs of change (many of which involve introduced species anyway) and examine the changes in the original, natural environment, and, indeed, their connections and interdependence.  “On Noongar boodja, we know the season is Kambarang when… the kaaril [blue swimmer crab]  is spawning and it’s best not take them.”  It could also inspire an investigation into the indigenous weather knowledge of their own country  as they not only learn to appreciate the knowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have developed over thousands and thousands of years, but also better understand that connection to Country that is at the heart of their culture.

South With the Seabirds

Sep5
South With the Seabirds

South With the Seabirds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South With the Seabirds

Jess McGeachin

A & U Children’s, 2024

40pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781761068645

Far to the southeast of Tasmania, halfway to Antarctica, where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate, a tiny island pokes its head above the windswept Southern Ocean, pounded by waves on their relentless westward journey.  Two hundred years ago, it was discovered and named by a sealer to impress the Governor of New South Wales and for another century it was known only to the sealers and whalers who prowled the southern seas in search of prey rich in the blubber that kept them warm and made oil for humans; one hundred years ago Sir Douglas Mawson established the first scientific station to study its unique flora and fauna; and fifty years ago it was added to the World Heritage List. 

Just  34 kilometres long and 5.5 kilometres wide at its broadest point, nestled amongst its peaks, unique in themselves because  it is only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle are being actively exposed above sea level are four lakes – Gillham, Bennett, Macpherson and Ingham – each commemorating the women who are the subject of this new book from Jess McGeachin.

Just a generation ago, just being a female scientist was cause for comment if not concern,  but being one who wanted to break the “petticoat ban” imposed on the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic by the male-dominated thinking of the time was unheard of and so it took many letters and much patience for Mary Gillham, Isobel Bennett, Hope Macpherson and Susan Ingham  to independently campaign and then collectively be successful in getting permission to join the 1959 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) – now the Australian Antarctic Program -expedition south on the MV Thala Dan, one of four ships especially built for the program to navigate and survive the conditions but offering little creature comforts.  (My mum also broke the petticoat ban going south to the Antarctic mainland itself in 1968 in the  MV Magga Dan.)

MV Thala Dan (left) and MV Magga Dan, ships specially built for ANARE to withstand the Antarctic conditions.

MV Thala Dan (left) and MV Magga Dan, ships specially built for ANARE to withstand the Antarctic conditions.

Each with a common but specialised interest in the wildlife that abounds on the island, they explored the cliffs, beaches and rockpools as they studied the seals, seabirds and other creatures, particularly the hundreds of thousands of penguins, that sought refuge there. Yet, even though they would contribute significantly to the knowledge of the wildlife, including the eradication of introduced rabbits that were creating so much destruction (a project that took another 50 years to get started), their return to Australia was more about their being women in a man’s world.

However, they paved the way for other women to follow, and in this book, McGeachin has not only introduced the reader to four remarkable women whose stories need to be known, but also laid the groundwork to inspire today’s young girls to aspire to similar heights starting by being curious, having a keen eye, and simple tools.  Even more importantly though, it reinforces that gender should not be a barrier to following your dreams, wherever they may take you.  

Perfect for the 2025 CBCA Book Week theme of Book An Adventure! 

For those wanting to know more about Macquarie Island itself, seek out the award- winning One Small Island by Alison Lester and for those wanting to know more about my mum’s own ground-breaking trip you might be able to find a copy of her book The Abominable Snow-Women.

Find out more...

Find out more…