UK author Hannah Gold continues to provide middle grade readers with fascinating stories involving adventure, danger, the effects of climate change and most importantly, the connectedness between humans and animals. I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing The Last Bear, The Lost Whale, Finding Bear and Turtle Moon, with this latest release, The Lone Husky, being another highly engaging and empathetic narrative that reconnects April and Bear but also introduces Blaze, a Siberian husky.
April, her father Edmund and his girlfriend Maria are now living in Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard, a group of islands close to the North Pole. It is mid-November and the residents will soon be living through darkness in the polar season for the coming months. During this time polar bears roam the Arctic searching for food and for April, this is a time when she will be unable to connect with her beloved Bear.
After travelling out of Longyearbyen and seeing Bear for last time until the polar season is over, April returns to Hedda’s property and it is there she discovers that Hedda has a new husky that has experienced trauma in the past. Over time, April forms a strong bond with the husky whom she names Blaze, and they intuitively support each other during a dangerous and challenging sled race: The Polar Race.
Over the course of five days this race, which is not for the faint-hearted or underprepared, tests April in many ways but she finds her true self. She has trained hard for this but as the musher she has to singlehandedly race and care for her team of huskies over long hours and make decisions that will keep them all safe. In the final stages the race takes a sudden perilous turn but with April’s bravery and Bear’s unexpected assistance, her team and others make it home safely.
In the beginning pages of the book there is an explanation of the role of each team member with further relatable information in the final pages. Throughout the story the black and white illustrations by Levi Pinfold add valuable visual images for the reader to further connect with the characters and the environment.
Hannah Gold’s website Award Winning Author is worth visiting and the link to Hannah’s Husky Expedition would make a fabulous introduction to the story.
Simon & Schuster, 2025. ISBN: 9781398516403. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
As a child of the foster system, Louisa, about to turn 18, has had a difficult life. She is grieving the death of her best friend, Fish, also a member of the foster system. Louisa’s most treasured possession has been a postcard featuring an image of the sea and a group of people whose identities and stories she has always pondered. When she visits an art exhibition, carrying spray cans in her backpack, one can only begin to imagine a potentially disastrous outcome. Escaping the clutches of a security guard, she meets a man who doesn’t give her up, but instead helps her evade capture. He describes her to his friend as being 'one of us'.
After being gifted with the painting that has been an integral part of her life, Louisa reluctantly embarks on a journey with Ted to discover the origins of the art work. While travelling across the country together, the origins of the painting, its subjects and artist are gradually revealed, the knowledge of their difficult backgrounds assisting Louisa to make connections with each of them. The trips she takes, both physically and emotionally, lead to her development and change as a human, providing her with a future that is not what she’d anticipated.
Just occasionally, there are books that I continue to ration as I read, never completing more than a few chapters in a single sitting. Backman has 'drawn' (pun intended, given the context of the story) the characters so beautifully, I wanted to spend as long as possible with each of them before reaching the last page. This title made me laugh and cry in equal measures, and had me wishing I could keep certain phrases or pieces of wisdom with me forever.
In my search for information about the author, I came across a video of Backman talking about creative anxiety and procrastination. His warmth and self-deprecating sense of humour had me in hysterics. I would highly recommend this book to anyone from teenagers on.
Themes Coming of age, Art, Friendship, Hope, Change, Domestic Violence.
Jo Schenkel
Sundays under the lemon tree by Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Illus. by Myo Yim
Scribble, 2025. ISBN: 9781761381485. (Age:3+)
On Sundays the family works together. Mum is in the kitchen frying onions, Dad in the garden tending the plants and Gran is podding the broad beans. They are getting ready to bake Gran’s apple cake. The ricotta cheese must be cooked in salt water and everyone gets to go to the beach to collect seawater. But our narrator is not yet ready to go by herself. Her sister tells her she is too small and her brothers tell her the stairs are too steep, the walk is too long and the buckets too heavy. But this Sunday as everyone else is busy getting things ready, her father asks her to come with him to the beach.
To get there, they walk through the park, then up a hill and down again, across a busy street, finally getting to the wild, windy beach. The crashing waves sound like thunder. They climb down the stairs, each of Dad’s steps matching four of hers. She finds the waves bigger than she expected, but keeps on trying. When they return to the house, her father tells her about cooking this cake when he was a child, and recalls his father and grandfather telling the same story. The tradition has been part of the fmaily for generations and today the whole family has a role to play.
The work in the kitchen goes on with the children having a part in adding ingredients and stirring the mixture. Eager eyes watch the cake rising in the oven, while outside the families gather under the lemon tree, and share stories. Grandma says she will teach her how to make orange spice biscuits next Sunday.
Wonderful bright, luminous illustrations reflect the sunny warmth of the family, working together to make the Sunday cake. Each page is filled with images of a close multigenerational family, full of humour and togetherness. I love the detail on each page, the kitchens implements, the people on the beach, the table under the lemon tree. The beach scene is a great contrast to the warmth and calmness in the kitchen, where mum is gathering the things she needs to cook.
At the end of the story Julia gives her recipe and instructions for making the apple, lemon and ricotta cake.
Maymoona’s Moon by Razeena Omar Gutta. Illus. by Zayneb Haleem
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 9781761211898. (Age:4+) Highly recommended.
Eid, the Muslim celebration which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, has a special significance for Maymoona. She has always dreamed of being an astronaut, and for her the most exciting part of Eid is seeing the first sliver of the moon revealed, announcing for all the end of Ramadan. She has collected her compasses, has checked her cosmic goggles, and found the best vantage point from which to view the exposure of the smallest part of the moon.
She has decided to roost at the top of the garden’s tallest tree, and there, spurred on by her family, waits for the moment to occur. They cheer her on as she climbs the tree, and now there is a hush as the last rays of the sun disappear. The family is eager to start their feast.
But some clouds pass across the sky and when they too disappear, the moon is exposed, a crescent sliver of light for all to see. Eid Mubarak!
Razeena Omar Gutta is a South Asian Muslim born in Zimbabwe and now living in Australia. She loves telling stories, particularly ones in which Muslim families appear, giving her the opportunity to share their way of life with others. She had few books as a child, and wishes to see kids surrounded by books, telling lively, happy stories. And this book certainly meets those criteria.
Zayneb Haleem is a self-taught digital illustrator based in the UK. Her vibrant illustrations suit the joyful celebrations in this book, revealing strong family connections and celebrations. The images on each page reveal aspects of the family’s beliefs and younger readers will acknowledge these as they read the story.
Themes Islam, Eid, Ramadan, Humour, Moon.
Fran Knight
School of monsters: Bill and Ben love to sing by Sally Rippin. Illus. by Chris Kennett
There are over 20 titles in the School of Monsters series now and a staple on school library and home shelves around the world. Sally Rippin has nailed a series that intentionally engages children with the sounds of words and with written language. Designed to start as shared reading material, they encourage children to first predict the simple rhyming word at the end of each page before moving to an understanding of the way those sounds are represented with letters. The words are mostly decodable and as children develop their phonics knowledge they will be able to read more and more of the story themselves. There are also a scattering of words which are not decodable but frequently taught as red/heart/tricky/surprising/non-decodable words. Large bold writing with the last word of each page in a different colour makes these approachable for young children but they are also chapter-book like so will also appeal to older reluctant readers or those facing reading challenges.
Bill and Ben share a body (two heads, one body) and normally this is great as they like the same things, however, singing time is tricky. They both like to sing different things! Can they solve the problem? Yes they can...both of them can have a turn. As always, there are words to learn in the back, some learn to read tips and a how to draw Bill and Ben instructional.
The new kid protagonist is always a winner but it's a pattern for teenager Denim Davies since losing his stable home – sold to pay for his late mother's medical treatment. The issues of caring for someone palliative, grief and financial hardship is just the start of Denim and Dad’s problems – both strong characters.
It’s hard for Denim to anticipate a friendly reception at Driftwood Heights - another seaside caravan park where it’s easier for Dad to find labouring jobs. Our hero may not be able to surf or live in a stable home but he has a cool hobby. Denim flips secondhand goods online for a profit. His prime motivation is to help his father, now a casual laborer, afford house rent to start to rebuild their lives. Dad loves his woodwork and locates the nearest Men’s Shed but it’s hardest for Denim running into yet another school bully.
When Mina strikes up a friendship with Denim at school, he wonders if this town is the turning point. Both are grieving as Mina is concerned for the declining health of her beloved grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Denim is so focused on his dream to settle down that when he spies a valuable collectable watch in a garage sale, he doesn’t hesitate to accept a confused old lady’s asking price of $5. He’s all set for the best Flip ever but is it too good to be true?
Hooking reluctant readers has never been so easy with this not-so purpose written novella by Rebecca Fraser. The dialogue is realistic and with themes like family loss, school and bullying there are shades of crazy-good literature except like all titles in the Rhiza Shorts series, Flip comes in under 120 pages. Regardless, Flip grips the reader and changes them. The bonus is the plenitude of nailing a whole book in a couple of reading sessions. The print version has cream paper and widely spaced lines. With an interest age of 13+ and a reading age of just 10 years, the Rhiza Shorts titles are perfect for the reluctant reader.
Books are available in all standard formats for all preferences. Teachers Notes are available. 128p.
Themes Family loss, Grief, Alzheimer's, School life, Bullying, Easy read.
The Day the Bridge Fell, from the Rhiza Shorts series, is an historical novella centred on the worst construction accident in Australian history. The Westgate Bridge collapse of Oct 15, 1970 is still very close to home for many Melburnians.
In each epistolary chapter we follow Ray, a local 15yr old boy through the days before and weeks after the event. The family dynamics rapidly situates events in time with typical sibling rivalry as Ray’s seniority and bedtime privileges are challenged by his younger brother, Michael. Doug Johnston is lead rigger of his section of the bridge, and his neighbour, George Demetriou, works as an ironworker. As the tension builds towards the climax we understand the rhythm of a bridge worker’s family. Ray, like his mate Tom and all the working class families on their side of town, are fascinated with everything about the man-made wonder in their own back yard.
A high school student with a paper route, Ray is never too busy to visit the construction site daily whether he is on an errand for his mother or not. Overhearing a conversation between engineers about potential structural faults he worries before confiding in his father. Doug's reluctance to listen to rumours reinforces that anyone with neither information nor authority are virtually powerless – most of all children. Dad is not totally dismissive and has his own doubts but is wary of causing panic and asks his son not to spread rumours.
Ray’s maturity, resilience and integrity is established by his nagging premonition for his father and other bridge families they know (many of them migrant workers). These qualities are supercharged on the day of the accident. Bolting from school after the sound of collapse and sirens what he finds and how he resolves the scene of the disaster, comprises the second half of the novel.
Will Ray find his father and is his father’s mate George alive? Author, Coral Vass, uses Ray's community engagement to grasp that there wasn’t a family in the community who did not know someone who lost their life that day.
The novel format with uneven ratio of interest to reading age, along with cream paper and widely spaced lines, places the Rhiza Shorts as a teenage book series for reluctant readers. Teacher notes prepared by the publisher are available on the website for this title. 128p.
A loving homage to family and the way they interact is shown through this depiction of a year of activity. Beginning with the child’s birthday, celebrated on a picnic rug in the woods, the pages move through the year, revealing each new month as the page is turned. Starting with the summer birthday, the pages move through a day at the beach, then in the garden with the approach of the cooler months, the leaves falling all around with blustery winds, followed by the wild rains of winter, and leading to spring and finally back to the same place as the next birthday is celebrated.
Each double page is full of colour and movement, the wonderful illustrations drawing children’s eyes to the detail, while the brief rhyming lines of text point the reader to a specific activity being undertaken by the young girl. She hums while looking at the bugs on the leaves, skips and swirls with the encroaching fog and winds of early autumn, roars in the heavy rain.
Readers will love seeing what the child does throughout the year, comparing them with the things they do. All of the activities occur out of doors, only one, where the girl is playing in the water in the gutter, shows their house.
The family involves itself in a range of activities; flying a kite, playing at the beach, imagining a mermaid, working in the garden, picking fruit, playing in the fallen leaves, feeding the chooks, having a birthday celebration in the woods. All are activities attainable by children and discussions in the classroom or at home will see plans made by for them all to leave their devices at home as they venture outside. A lovely way to celebrate the passing of time.
A wonderfully brilliant look at Divali through the eyes of a bin chicken will raise lots of laughs from readers and listeners alike.
Flying high, the ibis is tired out, but is suddenly revived when she smells the most wonderful of scents. She can smell curries and rice, and spices and lassi, but in deciding to drink the lassi, turns it upside down on the customer’s head. Not a good way to start. She lunges at the bandar laddu, made up of an array of colourful sweets, then spots the tikka masala, making a mess of someone’s dinner, but by then she is ejected from the festival. Outside she dances to the music she hears from inside, but is startled when the fireworks start. Suddenly her skinny legs are wrapped around some of the lights and as she flies skyward she tips over a bowl of vindaloo. She lands on the stage and sees a group of dancers, and joins in still trying to get the lights from her legs. Instead of being cross with the ibis for all the problems she has caused, people are thrilled with her dancing, cheering her on. She has certainly lit up the night sky and celebrated divali with pleasure.
This wonderfully bright, colourful picture book will have kids follow the misadventures of the ibis as she causes havoc amongst the guests at the festival. Each page shows the problems she causes, and younger readers will love predicting the mayhem she initiates. The Indian festival is wonderfully shown with all of its colour and costumes, dances and fireworks, food and celebrations.
I love the way words for Indian food are included, prompting the reader to find out for themselves, and the customs included as part of the story, again prompting readers to talk about what they mean, and how Divali is celebrated.
The story unfolds in rhyming stanzas, again, prompting readers to use their imaginations in predicting the rhyming words.
A wholly pleasing look at the festival of Divali through the eyes of the much maligned bin chicken, here doing something positive for the community.
Themes Bin chicken, Ibis, Divali, Humour, Celebrations, Indian food.
Big Aussie Animal Bush Bash is a clever and highly engaging search and find book. In the trademark style and pastel colours of previous books by Brentos including Australian Animals From Beach to Bush, Wild Australia: Our Marine and National Parks and Australia From Dawn to Dusk, this new release is both an amazing book for children to learn the collective nouns for various Australian animals while they are searching each page, and for adults to appreciate the headline acts at the music festival.
Snags, the coolest koala is organising a bush doof. He sends out invitations for all of the animals to bring items to get the festival going. These include a bask of crocodiles bringing the drinks, colony of koalas bringing the rides, troop of kangaroos bringing the bass, wisdom of wombats bringing the doof sticks, mob of emus bringing the snacks, pack of devils bringing the security and a parliament of owls bringing the sparkles.
Some of the activities for the festival goers include eski racing, wave pool, floatie hire and thong toss There is so much humour throughout and young readers will be quick to point things out - the kangaroos lined up outside the dunny, the octopus playing the drums for the band Sticky Flippers, the Slippery Snag slide, the chill tent. The twist on famous musicians names will provide a treat for adults of all ages - Tkay Magpaidza, Hilltop Woods, Midnight Owl, John Furrnham, Crowded Pouch, Natalie Imbrolga, RooDoo Gurus, Missy Hoppins, Kylie Minnow, Silverbear, Savage Gumnut and Jimmy Barnowl lead singer for Cold Lizzel.
On each gloriously busy double page spread is eight items for readers to find. As with all search and finds it is not always easy. But it does provide an opportunity to really delve deeply into what has been intricately drawn on each page. Thoughtfully provided also is a QR code for a custom playlist with ‘You’re the Voice’ first off the rank.
This entertaining book would be an excellent gift for children and adults.
Themes Music, Music Festival, Australian Animals, Australian Bush, Humour, Collective Nouns, Search & Find.
Butterfly House is written and illustrated by Waterstones Prize-winning author, Harry Woodgate. It tells the story of a young girl, Holly, who is fascinated by an old overgrown house at the end of her street. In her words… “It was wild and green, and mist curled around it like the fingers of a ghost.” She goes there one day as she thought the house looked empty but she discovers that someone does indeed live there - Miss Brown who may look frightening but has her own story. Holly is told not to go back and bother her, but she cannot stop thinking about Miss Brown and sends her the most delightful letter.
Miss Brown responds to Holly’s letter and shares with her about how her brain has been ill and the garden has become too much for her. Holly then decides to find out about making a butterfly garden and spends time over the next few weeks researching and learning about these gardens and working on the school allotment. She shares what she has learnt with Miss Brown through letters until finally Holly asks if she and her brother Arlo could help to bring butterflies back to Miss Brown’s garden. It seems like a huge task for two young children and after trying their best, Holly decides to reach out to her street community. On the Saturday it seems the whole street has turned up to help bring the garden back to life and eventually provide Miss Brown with a safe place for her head and her heart.
This beautiful book is a joy to read. It shows how a small act of kindness can grow and change someone’s life. The striking crayon/pencil illustrations that provide so much depth to the narrative are a visual treat as are the glossy images on the front cover and the clever endpapers. Highly recommended for all libraries.
The glorious peach cover of The Peach King will entice readers to engage with this contemporary fable written as a picture book. It is a striking narrative that will resonate with readers both young and old, and tells the story of the Araluen Peach King, standing tall, proud and gnarled overlooking and protecting the orchard of mature trees and young saplings. This story is based on a true happening during the Black Summer Bushfires of 2019-2020 experienced by author Inga Simpson.
As the Little Peach Tree grows they notice the changes in the seasons. The hot dry winds, the grasshoppers, the rain, the blossoms budding on their branches, the fruit so red and fuzzy, the autumn leaves, the bare branches feeling the cold until spring arrives again. The young sapling growing taller and stronger notices how the rain is less, the air is hotter, the ground is drier. When fire comes, who will survive, the mighty Peach King or the Little Peach Tree?
The illustrations in this book are a visual delight from start to finish and leave the reader with incredible images of the trees before and after the devastating fire. Of the community picking each peach before the trees were overcome. Of the birds and animals fleeing, and the Peach King trying to still the wind. All was seemingly lost until the Little Peach Tree encouraged the other peach trees to find their voices and sing the wind around. While The Peach King did not survive, the Little Peach Tree did and the cycle of new growth will begin again.
This is a powerful story that provides hope that not all is lost when fire ravages the land. That the flora and fauna will live on. A special book for all school and public libraries. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Peach Trees, Fire, Black Summer Bushfires, Australian Bush, Seasons, Cycles in Nature, Fables.
Kathryn Beilby
The Warrumbar by William J. Byrne
UWA Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 9781760803117. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
At the heart of Byrne’s novel is a moral dilemma. If you are witness to something really bad, something wrong, what do you do if you know that the consequences of reporting it will have serious repercussions for yourself and your family? Robbie Brennan is a ‘black kid’, he’s experienced the harshness of a boys’ home, and he knows that if he tells what he saw, he’s not likely to be believed. He’ll probably be sent away again, and his mother would lose her job, because the person he accuses carries all the power and credibility in the community. His rational mind tells him to stay silent, stay safe, but his conscience torments him with recurring nightmares. He wants to do the right thing.
The setting is a country town in the 1960s, the Warrumbar is the river where the tragic incident occurs. Robbie’s family are poor, his Aboriginal mother grew up on a Mission, his father is a heavy drinker with unpredictable moods and discipline is heavy-handed when he is angry. Despite this Robbie loves his father and seeks to earn his affection and respect.
Byrne presents the wide disparity between the white townspeople and the Aboriginal people living on the fringe. Racist attitudes are entrenched. Life is a struggle for Robbie’s family, with lots of physical hard work, but it is a loving family and the bonds are strong. Robbie’s childhood is free and happy, hanging out with his mate Leon, rabbiting and catching yabbies. He meets the elderly Moses, a returned Aboriginal soldier, accepted in his regiment but rejected on his return home. Robbie loves to hear his stories and learns from him the importance of making peace with your past and maintaining personal integrity.
Byrne has created a quiet and thoughtful novel, exploring the tentativeness of the relationship between the boy and his father, and between the boy and the elderly relative. In its expose of racism the tone is not one of anger and blame, but of working towards better understanding. The moral dilemma is a powerful one and is worked through in a way that has some surprises, with an unpredictable but probably very realistic conclusion. This is a debut novel from William J Byrne; here’s hoping there will be more.
Themes Guilt, Conscience, Trauma, Truth-telling, Racism, Aboriginal history.
Pandora is the ‘beautiful evil’ sent by the gods to unleash misery on mankind. Most would know the story of Pandora, the foolish woman overcome by curiosity to open the forbidden box, and who releases all the evils to befall the world, with only ‘hope’ the last good thing that might offer some relief. Bea Fitzgerald takes this tale and turns it on its head. What if this is just the story that has been passed down the generations, always blaming the woman? Perhaps there is another side to it. Just as she wrote in The end crowns all, history is the story of the victors; there may be a different story that has been conveniently dropped from memory. Pandora may be a scapegoat for the gods’ malevolence and man’s weakness.
In Fitzgerald’s story, Pandora has the intelligence to question her purpose and fight her destiny. She understands that she has been created as the first human woman, to be beautiful and desired by Epimatheos, but the curiosity she has been endowed with leads her to ponder why Zeus has ordered her creation, and why he wants her to captivate the brother of Prometheus, the man he perpetually tortures. She continually questions the reasons she is both ‘all-gifted’ and ‘all giving’, and turns over every impulse in her mind. How much of her nature is preordained, and how much is something of ‘herself’, if there is such a thing.
In Fitzgerald’s story curiosity is not a bad thing, it’s a kind of intelligence, that continually explores the meaning of things, and how everything works. Pandora endeavours to understand herself and outwit the gods. It’s an intelligence that wins the respect and adoration of her husband Epimatheos, just as much as her shapely beauty.
For romance lovers, this novel has it all, the barbed wit of their prickly conversations, to the passion of their all-consuming physical attraction. It is a positive that Epimatheos loves Pandora for all her qualities, despite their bickering quarrels, and comes to appreciate and trust her intelligence above all. And for readers of Greek mythology, Bea Fitzgerald offers a very different and truly fascinating interpretation of an old story, one that even includes an authentic depiction of neurodivergence as well as non-binary gender.
“Four girls share a cabin on their school retreat – in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack is known to haunt the isolated campers.”
Set in the 1990s, the story features 3 characters, Mack, Raffi, and Priya who head off to the Year 11 school camp, looking forward to a taste of freedom, time with friends, boys, and time away from families. The inclusion of Shelley, the odd new girl, to their cabin doesn’t fill them with excitement though, especially when she has immediately become the target of some of the boys.
When Raffi insists they all take part in a séance, things begin to get out of hand and the story quickly develops a sense of tension and eeriness. Assumptions are made by the characters about the issues that arise, and the reader is swept along as events unfold, the ghost story becoming intertwined with current day experiences.
Although I love mysteries and thrillers, I’ve never personally been a great fan of horror films or novels. Because I have frequently had middle school students (mainly female) begging me to purchase more of this genre, I was keen to read this. After reading the first couple of chapters, this story had me on the edge of my seat, completely engaged. I powered through the pages, trying to work out how the book would be resolved.
The chapters alternate between the perspectives of the four different characters, gradually revealing the secret thoughts, fears, and prior experiences of each. Despite their differences, a bond is formed, supporting one another becomes paramount and “the sisterhood” reigns supreme.
I’d certainly recommend this title to teenage readers who love the horror genre, but would point out that both violence and sexual assault are part of the story.
Themes Teen Relationships, Violence, Sexual Assault, Feminism.
