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Finding You

Sep6
Finding You

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

Aug30
The House on Pleasant Street

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

Jul8
Tangki Tjuta - Donkeys

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

Jul7
Shine, Star, Shine

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

Jun21
Out of This World: Star-Studded Haiku

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?

May6
Do You Love Exploring?

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...

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

Apr18
We Are Australians

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.  

 

An Artist’s Eyes

Apr7
An Artist's Eyes

An Artist’s Eyes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Artist’s Eyes

Frances Tosdevin

Clémence Monnet

Frances Lincoln Children’s, 2022

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

9780711264830

When Mo looks at the sea, she sees “dazzling duck-egg blue, a swirl of peacocks and the inky indigo of evening” but all Jo sees is blue.  

When Mo looks at the forest, she sees “shiny apple-green, the lime of gooseberries and the springy zinginess of moss” and shadows that make the green go darker.  But all Jo sees is green, making him more and more frustrated because he can’t see what Mo does.  But Mo is patient and gradually Jo begins to use his imagination although instead of seeing the shades and hues that Mo does,  he starts to see something different…

This is a powerful yet gentle story that reminds the reader that two people can look at exactly the same thing and see it differently- that each of us has artist’s eyes that are shaped by our imagination, experience and perceptions and it can take us a while to align them.  Monnet’s watercolour interpretation of Tosdevin’s lyrical text is enchanting and with their shapes, lines and colour choices the reader will view them through Mo’s eyes or Jo’s eyes or their own eyes…

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

At the age where our children are exploring a new independence and making a wider friendship group, they look at those around them and think that being like them is the key to “success:” and they try to change who they are to be like those they admire.  So this familiar message of being comfortable in your own skin, being the unique individual you are, perhaps even being the ‘you’ that others admire and seek to emulate is important and cannot be shared too often.  So this iteration of that truth is not only important but being a completely different interpretation gives it added reach and recognition.  Whether our eyes kiss in the corners or speak to the stars, sees shapes or colours or sparkles, what we see is unique to us and is as valid as what our neighbour sees. 

That Cat

Mar19
That Cat

That Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Cat

Jacqueline Harvey

Kate Isobel Scott

Puffin, 2022

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

9781761040702

All over the country I meet lots of interesting cats

Cats of all shapes and sizes in many different guises…

Using simple rhyming terms but very clever, detailed illustrations to completely engage the reader, this is a brilliant book for all cat-lovers and all ages.  For the Mat Cat is not a modest moggy curled up on a rug in front of the fire as you might expect, but a very fit, energetic yoga expert!  The Rat Cat hasn’t caught something nasty to leave at the front door but an echo of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

While young readers will love being able to read it for themselves because of the simple rhyming pattern, it is drawing the connections between the words and the pictures that adds depth, humour and a storyline that has the most comforting ending. Author and illustrator first met when Harvey taught Scott at school and that relationship shines through this book as though Scott knew that Harvey would never intend for a Fat Cat to be a self-satisfied feline surrounded by dead mice. 

Adorable in itself, and never written to be an instructional text, nevertheless this is one that could be shared with a class focusing on phonics and word families (don’t get me started…) but in a fun way where the children search out other -at words and then use their imaginations to illustrate them in surprising ways.   Or just re-interpret the words in the story.  Either way, they will not only learn a common sound for the -at combination but also start to look at character and how that can be expressed in the details of an illustration.  Can what has happened to Scat Cat be any more obvious even though there are but three words on the page???  The cues and clues offered through the pictures in a picture book are a critical, integral part of the child’s early language and reading development and texts like there that require a focus on both are an essential part of any book collection. 

 

Saving the Butterfly

Mar12
Saving the Butterfly

Saving the Butterfly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saving the Butterfly

Helen Cooper

Gill Smith

Walker, 2022

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

9781406397208

Older sister and younger brother have fled their homeland, the only two to survive the perilous boat trip to safer waters, where helping hands gave them sanctuary. And even though they had nothing from before, except each other, older sister said they were lucky because they could have lost so much more. 

But while younger brother didn’t think about that for long and began to make new friends and learn new things, older sister dwelt in the past – she felt she shouldn’t forget and gradually a shadow fell over her mind, as dark and gloomy as their meagre surrounds.  Until one day, younger brother captures a butterfly and brings it home. “Set it free!” cries the older sister, but in its panic it bashes into the walls… Eventually it tires and settles on her hand and doesn’t leave, as though it senses her pain.  Older sister knows what she must do but does she have the courage…

This is a poignant story, sadly a repeat of so many times when people have had to flee their homes, and even today, it is happening again… It reminds us that there is so much more to starting again than the relief of reaching a safe harbour.  Matching the lyrical text are stunning illustrations whose palette mirrors the mood perfectly, contrasting the darkness of older sister’s thoughts and feelings with the hope offered by the bright butterfly.

With so many of our students having found themselves in the predicament of both older sister and younger brother, this is an insight into that long period of adjustment, the grief and fear that must be worked through, and the changes that must be made so we can be more sensitive to the needs of these children.  It is so much more than just a story about refugees.