
Hope Is The Thing
Hope Is The Thing
Johanna Bell
Erica Wagner
A&U Children’s, 2023
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781761180026
Hope Is The Thing
Hope Is The Thing
Johanna Bell
Erica Wagner
A&U Children’s, 2023
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781761180026
Little Bat Up All Day
Little Bat Up All Day
Brian Lies
HarperCollins, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9780358269854
Little Bat has never stayed up all day before! He always goes to sleep at the end of the night and so he is very curious about how the world looks when he’s normally asleep. He’s excited to see how everything looks in the sun and so he decides to stay up all day.
It turns out the world is a much different place – it’s hot, bright, and noisy and full of new things. . Luckily, Rusty the Squirrel is willing to show Little Bat around, even though Little Bat struggles to stay awake. But when these new, fast friends separate at the end of the day, how will they stay in touch when one is usually awake while the other is asleep?
With a distinctive illustrative style that has won him a Caldecott Honor award among others for The Rough Patch, this is a charming story to share with young readers who always want to stretch their bedtime because they think that something magical happens to the world after dark. And it does – for all sorts of creatures who have slept during the day emerge when the sun disappears and the shadows take over. So it’s no wonder Little Bat is curious about what happens in the world while he is asleep.
A peek inside…
As well as shining a light, so to speak, on the activities we diurnal creatures tend to take for granted, this is also an opportunity for young readers to learn about nocturnal creatures and consider why that is the best time for them to be awake. Why does Little Bat sleep during the day? It can lead to investigations about why we have day and night, the phases of the moon, and even why all creatures need to sleep at some time.
More than just a bedtime story.
Tarni’s Chance
Tarni’s Chance
Paul Collins
Jules Ober
Ford Street, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.95
9781922696052
When Tarni’s mum says goodbye, all the colour and joy of life seem to go with her. Tarni retreats into her bubble. Her world became smaller and the air seemed thinner. But then Chance steps in . . .
As much as the text in this narrative of family breakdown, self-doubt and anxiety echoes the feelings of loss and loneliness that so many readers will have felt, it is the illustrations that make it so special. Beginning in deep shades of grey as her parents argue, with the only colour being Tarni and her guitar, her bubble of music, a monochromatic scheme that continues as Tarni comes to grip with her loss, finding solace only in solo activities like drawing and reading, gradually being consumed by the grey of her grief. Using handmade miniatures set against black and white photography, the reader is drawn deeper into Tarni’s world, but then Tarni spots a stray, ragged dog, seemingly as lost as she is, and there is a ray of hope. Brief though it is, it shows both the reader and Tarni that there is still a glimmer of colour in the world, and when the dog returns the grey gradually disappears.
While this is not the first book to use colour to depict mood and emotion in this way, and the use of miniatures and photography was a feature of the 2020 CBCA shortlisted The Good Son, nevertheless it is a powerful representation that those who have passed through the grey of grief will relate to, and those who are still in it will be buoyed by the prospect that colour still exists and step by step they will find it.
Finding You
Finding You
Robert Vescio
Hannah Sommerville
New Frontier, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99
9781922326539
In the busy, anonymous concrete jungle that is the city, a little boy spots a stray dog that lives in a cold, discarded cardboard box that no one else even notices. With each seemingly alone as each other, they begin to explore their surroundings, venturing into new areas that reveal hidden delights if you put your imagination on and see what is beyond what is really there, finding new friends in unlikely places – or not.
This is an intriguing story that explores the new doors that new friends can open, opportunities that can be life-changing and unexpected if you’re willing to reach out or be brave enough to accept. It offers an opportunity to not only talk about the bond between humans and their pets, but also to take it deeper and consider those who are homeless or newcomers or different in any way, those who are isolated even in the city and who just need a friend or a kind conversation, or even just a smile so they know they are not invisible. As with Seal Child, Into the Wild and his other stories, this is more than a story about a boy and a lost dog. It’s about stepping out and reaching out beyond your boundaries to discover so much more than you thought was there, both without and within.
For me, Vescio is one of the masters in saying much in so few words, and Hannah Sommerville’s choice of palette, style and layout is the perfect accompaniment to not only interpret the text but also give it so many layers that there is something new to discover and ponder with each reading. It celebrates the acceptance and innocence of children, not yet tarnished and prejudiced by viewing the world through an adult lens.
Romi Sharp says, “Finding You is a book that signifies the true essence of humanity and friendship through the special nature of boy’s best friend. It is just sublime…. Finding You is a picture book for all ages, cultural and social backgrounds, that is literally and figuratively beautiful, heartfelt and just magical. This really is a must-read.” I have to agree.
The House on Pleasant Street
The House on Pleasant Street
Sofie Laguna
Marc McBride
A & U Children’s, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP$A19.99
9781760526450
Alby and his family are new on Pleasant Street. Their house is perfect, with a great tree to climb, and a pool. Their pet, Delia, is still in training, but she’s settling in just fine. So why can’t he make friends? Particularly when tonight is Halloween – Alby’s favourite night of the year – and trick-or-treating is much more fun with other kids…
If ever there was an example of the words saying one thing and the illustrations portraying something very different, then this is it. Award-winning illustrator Marc McBride has really put an unexpected spin on Sofie Laguna’s words but if you know his style through books like Deltora Quest and have taken a peek at his website, then you will have an inkling of what to expect in this new collaboration with his wife. There is so much happening on each page in the exquisite details that this is a book best savoured alone so there is plenty of time to explore the world that has been created and then read again and again with more and more to discover.
It’s funny, it’s entertaining and it’s utterly unique!
Tangki Tjuta – Donkeys
Tangki Tjuta – Donkeys
Tjanpi Desert Weavers
A & U Children’s, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781761180149
Long, long ago, we didn’t have donkeys. We didn’t have a lot of the things we have today. We didn’t know donkeys existed.
Our people used to walk with their camels and donkeys from Areyonga to Ernabella. They brought their donkeys here, and left them.
Donkeys were first introduced to Australia from Africa in 1866 to work as pack animals, and this unique story, told in both Pitjantjatjara and English, describes how donkeys came to be a rich part of life for one Aboriginal community in north-western South Australia.
However, it is the artwork that sets this story apart because the photographed sculptures have been created by seventeen artists of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a social enterprise of Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council which supports 400+ women to create fibre art across the central and western desert regions of Australia. They have been made from minarri, wangunu and intiyanu, desert grasses collected from their Lands, which have been together around wire frames with string, wool or raffia. One of the donkeys was made from buffel grass, which was introduced by Piranpa (white people) and has become a weed. Tjanpi means desert grass in the Western Desert language.
For those who wish to explore the technique themselves, there is a tutorial on the Weavers’ website.
But the final few sentences could also open up a much wider investigation – that of the problem of feral donkeys, and indeed, other feral animals….
These days we all have houses, and we have cars and we wear clothes, We have let the donkeys go now. They are free to roam around.
Released to coincide with NAIDOC Week, it has also been produced as an animated movie which won the Yoram Gross Award and inaugural AFTRS Craft Award at the Sydney Film Festival
Tangki Trailer from Tjanpi Desert Weavers on Vimeo.
Shine, Star, Shine
Shine, Star, Shine
Dom Conlon
Anastasia Izlesou
CSIRO Publishing, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781486316823
Open your eyes.
Someone shook a fizzy universe and a festival of colour sprayed out.
It’s a nebula – gas and dust squeezed ’til it sparks and this is how our Star is born. ..
Our star’s called the Sun and without her there’s be no life on this planet called Earth…
Using lyrical text and stunning illustrations, young readers share the journey around the planet by a boy and his cat to see how all life is touched in some way by the sun. Whether it’s ripening the wheat on farms in Idaho, or providing warmth for Australian children to romp in “whale-blue waters” each day the Sun enables and encourages life to grow in one way or another, as it shines through days, seasons, years, even lifetimes…
There have been many books in library collections that have the sun as their focus for information, but few would be as poetic as this one. while still having so much information packed into it , including some facts that explain the use of some of Conlon’s terminology such as “planet-turner” because of the Sun’s gravitational pull on the planets of the solar system. Indeed, that in itself could spark an activity as students consider some of the things for which the sun is responsible or necessary and then devise their own vocabulary.
As well as the imaginative text, the illustrations carry their own story that could be told without reference to the words as they are so rich in both detail and imagery.
Teachers’ notes exploring the science as well as the language are available.
Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiku
Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiku
Sally M. Walker
Matthew Trueman
Candlewick Press, 2022
48pp., hbk., RRP $A34.99
9781536203561
one minuscule speck
grows into the universe
a mind-boggling birth
Defined as a traditional Japanese three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count which often focuses on images from nature, haiku emphasises simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression making it an effective way to get students to focus on the essence of an object and then use succinct, descriptive vocabulary to portray it so every word has to work hard.
In this stunning union of poetry, art and science, haiku is used to explore the universe through a lunar eclipse, beyond the orbiting planets, and into glowing galaxies and twinkling constellations out to Ultima Thule, the most extreme limit of the journey which “longs for a visitor with coal and a carrot”, and all accompanied by the most imaginative illustrations that are almost photo-like so that not only does the reader learn about the vast beauty of space but they are left in wonder and awe of its magnificence. The minimal text structure of haiku means just the nucleus of the phenomenon is offered as a teaser, leaving the reader with a tempting taste to learn more…
the Eagle landed
one giant leap for mankind
footprints in the dust
Some of this is offered in the comprehensive, well-researched final pages which explore such topics as constellations and astronomers, the birth of the universe, stars, the solar system, moons and eclipses, asteroids, meteors, and comets, but the whole offers an opportunity for students to engage in their own interest-driven investigation with the challenge of summarising their findings in their own haiku and artwork.
Do You Love Exploring?
Do You Love Exploring?
Matt Robertson
Bloomsbury, 2022
32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99
9781526639622
Whether they live in the tallest mountains, the deepest oceans , the hottest deserts or the iciest places on the planets, animals have evolved so they can survive and thrive in every environment and this joyful book is the perfect introduction to species familiar and not-so for young readers.
Each double page spread features a different habitat – grasslands, mountains, rainforests, islands, woodlands, ice worlds, deserts, oceans -as well as those who are nocturnal, endangered or just plain strange and provides a brief description that whets the appetite. But unlike formal books that can be somewhat daunting, the cartoon-like nature of this one makes it appealing and accessible to even the youngest readers.
A peek inside…
At the beginning of the book there is a double-page spread of many of the featured animals, and readers will delight in choosing one and then spotting it in the body of the book. Look for the bear with the burger or the alpaca in the woolly hat! If Robertson, who both wrote and illustrated the book, is also the designer of the layout, then he certainly knows how to capture the attention (and attention span) of young readers.
As well as introducing the diversity of creatures, the book also teaches the reader about the different regions of the planet encouraging them to think about what would be needed to survive there and how the various creatures have actually adapted so they can, prompting possible investigations into how particular species have changed over time. It brings in new vocabulary to explore and explain such as adaptation and evolution, endangered and extinct, as well as concepts such as climate change and human impact, raising awareness of the fragility of the environment from a very young age.
This is the third book in the award-winning series by Matt Robertson that includes Do You Love Bugs? and Do You Love Dinosaurs? and is just as interesting and intriguing as its predecessors.
We Are Australians
We Are Australians
Duncan Smith & Nicole Godwin
Jandamarra Cadd
Wild Dog Books, 2022
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781742036328
“We are Australians. We are citizens of our family, classroom, school, community, church, street, suburb, team, town, state, country, world.”
“As citizens of Australia, we have rights, And we have responsibilities.”
There, in those few stark words alone, is so much food for thought and discussion with our students, particularly as we head into another federal election. What does it mean to be a ‘citizen’? And what are the “rights” and “responsibilities”? But team those words with the illustrations which accompany them and there is a whole new dimension to consider.
Rather than the focus being on individual rights and responsibilities, what do those words mean when it comes to the bigger picture – the looking after each other, the caring for the land? And not just for those who have gone through the formal citizenship ceremony, but also for those born here? And not just for now, but also into the future?
Over the last two years, our students would have heard the phrase “for the greater good” often, particularly in relation to the safety procedures related to COVID-19, but what do they mean when it comes to living with each other despite our diverse heritages and histories, so that the present does have a future? What do we, as individuals, need to know, understand, do, appreciate and value about our own culture and that of others so that we can contribute to move forward positively, collectively? In particular, what do we need to know, acknowledge and embrace about those who have gone before, who have lived here for thousands of generations so we can connect and continue their legacy so we leave our children a deep attachment to the country they walk on that is more than the comings and goings of political parties, politicians and policies? For all that we have heard the voices of those with the power to access the microphone, whose voices have been silenced? And now that those who were once silent are now being heard, what are they saying that we must listen to? What do they know that we must learn if we are to survive as a cohesive whole?
From the vivid cover illustration of a young face vibrantly sporting a rainbow of colours to the more grizzled, aged face in its traditional hues, Jandamarra Cadd’s illustrations add a depth to the text that goes beyond his blending of contemporary portraiture with traditional techniques, suggesting that ultimately the way forward has to become a blend of the two – those First Nations peoples who have been here for 50 000 years and those “who’ve come across the seas”. The timeline at the end of the book suggests that there is a merging of the journeys but what more can be done to make them fully intertwined in the future?
This is a stunning and provocative book that has a place in every classroom to promote and grow that concept of “the greater good’ – from Kinder Kids making new friends and learning what it means to be a citizen “of the classroom” to those facing voting and having to consider the national, and even global aspects of both their rights and responsibilities.