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The Thylacine and the Time Machine

Jun19
The Thylacine and the Time Machine

The Thylacine and the Time Machine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Thylacine and the Time Machine

Renée Treml

A & U Children’s, 2025

164pp., graphic novel, RRP  $A17.99

9781761181184

As part of a school assignment, Violet is researching the Tasmanian Tiger, now more correctly known as the thylacine,  when she is visited by Thyla, the ghost of the last Thylacine, who takes her and her dog Tassie on an amazing trip in a time machine to investigate the origins of this enigmatic creature, what happened to it and why, and what the possibilities for its future, if any, might be.   As she discovers the quest to bring the thylacine back to life, particularly through the work of Melbourne University’s TGRRR lab Violet not only learns about the importance of conservation, she also has to consider the ethical implications of such de-extinction. How would the creature survive and what impact would it have on existing ecosystems?

Through Violet as a realistic and relatable character, and the graphic novel format, Treml has used her own professional background to provide younger readers with both an insight into this creature with lots of embedded factual information, and a springboard for thinking about the bigger picture. 

When I first discovered Michael Salmon’s book, The Great Tasmanian Tiger Hunt, and asked my students, “What should Colonel Horsfeld-Smythe have learned about the Tasmanian Tiger before he set out to find it?” it provoked one of the most interesting and enduring units of work that I produced in my teaching career. and it has continued to fascinate me, including building a collection of stories and a trove of memorabilia when I visited Tasmania.  This may have the power to do the same thing for a new generation, but as well as being an informative text having the power to provoke a lot of big picture questions.  What if the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the upcoming Jurassic World: Rebirth really did come back to life through the hands of modern science and technology?

 

Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time

Jan9
Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time

Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time

Sheena Dempsey

Bloomsbury, 2024

240pp., graphic novel, RRP $A17.99

9781526662804

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. 

 

Pow Pow Pig 6: Forest Secrets

Oct14
Pow Pow Pig 6: Forest Secrets

Pow Pow Pig 6: Forest Secrets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pow Pow Pig 6: Forest Secrets

Anh Do

Peter Cheong

A&U Children’s,  2022

224pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781761069833

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 so instead of ending back in 2030 as they want, they land in a variety of different time periods of the past. In this, their sixth adventure, they are in the forests of Ancient Japan caught in a chaotic fruit fight between two rival groups, the foxes and the monkeys, the once-peaceful forest is now divided and the team is determined to investigate how the conflict started so perhaps the issue can be resolved and harmony restored. 

The series is designed 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, But, 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. With their real world in such a tumultuous state with overseas situations touching those in Australia daily, this is a story whose underlying themes of getting combatants to recognise, understand and forgive long-held grievances, build bridges, work together and build a brighter future is very relevant and gives it substance that it relevant and thought-provoking so that there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.   

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. Perhaps they might even be inspired to stretch a hand across the desk to someone with whom they haven’t been seeing eye to eye and begin the peace process.   If Pow Pow Pig can do it, so can they. 

Murray The Knight

Aug27
Murray The Knight

Murray The Knight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murray The Knight

Adam Stower

HarperCollins, 2024

192pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9780008561277

Murray the cat enjoys living the good life with Fumblethumb the wizard, a life made even better when Fumblethumb accidentally turns one of Murray’s favourite buns into a bunny, complete with a cherry for a tail.  But when he messes up again and turns the cat flap into a gateway to adventure, instead of just the garden, then the fun really starts…

In this new series for newly independent readers consolidating their skills, the cat flap takes Murray and Bun back to medieval times when knights did daring deeds and they find themselves on a mission to defeat Sir Nasty in a jousting competition, rescue Princess Rubytoes… and try not to get lost in the maze.

Simple text,  humour and full of illustrations that carry the story along at a rapid pace, and using the popular trope of a portal to travel through time,  this is a great stepping stone between instructional readers and novels that will have wide appeal because of its outlandish characters and original adventures, as well as introducing the reader to historical fiction, perhaps sparking an interest in the time period and piquing their interest to find out more..  Something new to offer those moving forward on their reading journey as they go through their own cat flap of adventure to the world of stories.

Stacey Casey and the Lost City

Apr9
Stacey Casey and the Lost City

Stacey Casey and the Lost City

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stacey Casey and the Lost City

Michael C. Madden

Nancy Bevington

Big Sky, 2024

164pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781922896667

Stacey Casey’s father is a terrible inventor. But now, despite years of failed inventions, he has created a functioning time machine.  But instead of sending him back in time, he turns their entire house into a time machine, transporting everyone and everything in it back into history, although they still have access to parts of 2022 like mobile phones and the internet.

In this, the third episode, while Stacey, her dad and the baby dinosaur have escaped back to 2022 after robbing a bank with Ned Kelly, Oliver was captured by the evil Isla Palmer. But now he has turned up at their home but as an old man…  Travelling back to 1964 to rescue him, and to stop an evil woman from stealing a powerful artifact and taking over the world, Stacey and her friends  take on a dangerous quest that takes them to a place outside of all time and space as they team up with the world’s most famous philosopher, Plato, to explore the lost city of Atlantis. And somehow, they have a dinosaur to return to its mum…

This is a series best read in order so there is continuity of the narrative but it is one that will appeal to those who prefer to go back in time rather than forward for their reading matter.  Atlantis, a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean born in the imagination of Plato has always held intrigue for many, and this story may even inspire young readers to delve deeper into its origins, opening up new reading horizons.

Murray the Viking

Feb16
Murray the Viking

Murray the Viking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murray the Viking

Adam Stower

HarperCollins, 2024

192pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9780008561246

Murray the cat enjoys living the good life with Fumblethumb the wizard, a life made even better when Fumblethumb accidentally turns one of Murray’s favourite buns into a bunny, complete with a cherry for a tail.  But when he messes up again and turns the cat flap into a gateway to adventure, instead of just the garden, then the fun really starts…

In this new series for newly independent readers consolidating their skills, the cat flap takes Murray and Bun back to the times of the Vikings.  where they are given an important mission  to travel to Troll Island to rescue Eggrik the Viking… if he hasn’t already been gobbled up by the trolls, that is. 

Simple text,  humour and full of illustrations that carry the story along at a rapid pace, this is a great stepping stone between everyday readers and novels that will have wide appeal because of its outlandish characters and original adventures, as well as introducing them to historical fiction, perhaps sparking an interest in the time period.  Something new to offer those moving forward on their reading journey as they go through their own cat flap of adventure to the world of stories.

Meanwhile Back on Earth

Nov5
Meanwhile Back on Earth

Meanwhile Back on Earth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile Back on Earth

Oliver Jeffers

HarperCollins, 2022

64pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9780008555450

“In all the cosmos, this one place in our solar system is where all of the people have lived for the whole time we’ve been people. We have always thought that Earth is so big that it’s best to divide it into smaller bits/ It seems we humans have always fought each other over space.”

And so, taking the well-known quote from Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 14 in February 1971, who said, ” From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, “Look at that…” as inspiration, Oliver Jeffers has created  this intriguing book in which a father takes his two children on a thrilling out-of-this-world adventure into space and invites them to look back at Earth and the conflicts that have taken place since the beginning of time.  

Calculating time using the speed that most people drive at (37mph or 60kph),  he drives the children to the various planets and then takes them back a similar amount of time in Earth’s history to show the conflict that was occurring at the time. So driving to the Moon would take a year and then a left turn would be a 78 year drive to Venus which would take them back to the middle of the 20th century and World War II. Each destination is tied to something catastrophic happening on Earth. 

While this is an interesting way of looking at history, the ultimate futility of conflict and encouraging young readers to strive for peace in the future, the concept is quite abstract, almost esoteric and thus more suited to older readers who have the maturity and ability to look at things from beyond their realm of personal experience. Although the text appears simple, and Jeffers has added some wit to lighten the load, and a timeline on the endpapers encapsulates both the time and space aspects of the journey, this is one best shared in a situation where discussion and clarification can take place. 

 

The Pharaoh of Asco Express

Oct9
The Pharaoh of Asco Express

The Pharaoh of Asco Express

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pharaoh of Asco Express

Jake R. Wilson

New Frontier, 2022

138pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9781922326522

Whatever happens, no matter what, DO NOT step into Asco Express because you might just end up leaving with more than you bargained for…
When eleven-year-old Wesley stops by at a mysterious local shop to buy a drink, he does not realise the trouble he is getting himself into. CURSED by the fiendish Pharaoh AKAHTEN IX, Wesley and his friends, Marishana and Aiden, must solve the evil spell quickly or be trapped for all ETERNITY!

This is a new series for younger readers that not only introduces them to past times but also the mystery genre  Using modern children and time travel is a familiar hook to capture a new audience, and this story has the added bonus of a mystery set in Ancient Egypt, a time and place that fascinates many.  It includes a glossary of some of the people and objects encountered in the story so the reader can quickly check for anything they’re not sure of. With the ending setting the scene for the next adventure, this is a series that will appeal to those younger, independent readers who are looking for something different. 

As well as the story itself offering an opportunity to travel an historical path to explore life in Ancient Egypt, teacher’s notes  promote an exploration of the mystery genre generally, with explanations of the key elements of a strong hook, a crime, an investigator, a villain, clues, a twist and a conclusion which, in itself, invites readers to add other mysteries they have read to a list which could broaden others’ reading horizons.  

 

Stacey Casey (series)

Sep11
Stacey Casey (series)

Stacey Casey (series)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stacey Casey (series)

The House that Time Remembers

9781922615886

The Cheeky Outlaw

9781922615848

Michael C. Madden

Nancy Bevington

Big Sky, 2022

164pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

Stacey Casey’s father is a terrible inventor. But now, despite years of failed inventions, he has created a functioning time machine.  But instead of sending him back in time, he turns their entire house into a time machine, transporting everyone and everything in it back into history, although they still have access to parts of 2022 like mobile phones and the internet.

In the first episode, Stacey and her friend Oliver find themselves in 1964 faced with a series of extraordinary events. They find a bizarre artifact and encounter strange man who seems to know Stacey … but why is he chasing them? Who set the school on fire? And what’s with all the famous people they keep meeting? Can the friends solve the string of unanswered questions and find their way home?

In the second in the series, Stacey, Oliver and Mr Casey are 100 million years in the past looking at dinosaurs. Suddenly they find themselves chased by an angry lightning claw and escape by an emergency jump back to 2022. Now they have two problems: a stowaway baby cooperensis dinosaur and a damaged time machine. To try and fix things they travel back in time to 1880s Australia where they find themselves faced with more challenges – outlaws, explorers and a mystery that could destroy the universe!

Historical fiction is a valuable way to take students back to previous times so they can immerse themselves in the way of life then and thus get a better understanding of the events that occurred and the decisions that were made, some of which may still be impacting them today.  This new series for independent readers who have developed that concept of times and lives  past being real, as opposed to the futuristic, imaginary world that much of contemporary literature places itself in, is another opportunity to broaden horizons.  For example, in the first story they find themselves still in their home town but in 1964 so students might like to investigate what their own town was like in 1964, perhaps interviewing residents who were there then or investigating how it has changed over 60 years and the causes for those changes, thus developing an understanding of how the past can reach out to shape the present. 

Teachers’ notes  linked to Australian Curriculum outcomes offer suggestions for implementing these sorts of investigations with a strong theme of linking today’s students’ lives to the events in the story, such as being accused of something they haven’t done, ensuring that the series is more than just a fictional recount of past events.