A new venture for Angie Thomas, her latest novel is an exciting fantasy adventure, the first in a new series aimed at a middle-grade audience. It is an amazing world of magic-wielding 'Remarkables' living among normal ‘Unremarkable’ human beings, but they are challenged to battle with all kinds of demons, ‘haints’ and monsters. Nic has been protected as much as possible by her ‘Remarkable’ father, but on her twelfth birthday, the day she expects to learn more about her special ‘Gift’, everything starts to fall apart, and she finds herself launched into a strange chaotic world, in a race to find the magical Msaidizi, the weapon they cannot allow to fall into the hands of the Destroyer.
In her ‘Author’s Note’ Thomas says she wanted to create a magical world for kids like her, children who escaped into books to ignore the gunshots in the neighbourhood. Nic is a black American girl, she knows racism, she knows not to wear a backpack in a grocery store (she’ll be suspected of shoplifting), she knows to stay calm and move slowly when accosted by police. But she is also a young girl who has to find her inner power, and stand strong to defend the people she loves.
Thomas’s characters speak the language of the Black ghettos, but as with her other novels, the dialogue is easy to follow and flows naturally, no matter who the reader is. Along the way, there are references to black American history: slavery and the underground railroad, and Emmett Till and the civil rights movement. The alternative world of the Remarkables, however, is a world free of racism, a world where black people are not dehumanised, a fantasy world, a world to dream about and to strive for.
Young readers will enjoy the adventures of Nic and her friends, and at the same time they may gain a better understanding of the world from the viewpoint of a black person, and a better appreciation of how to be a good friend to peers from minority groups. Fantasy is an excellent way to step into another’s shoes, and see the world from another perspective. And Thomas’s use of humour makes it all an easy fun read, that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next in the series.
Themes Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Black Americans, Racism, Empowerment.
Helen Eddy
How to be a kid boss by Larry Hayes
Walker Books, 2023. ISBN: 9781529506631. (Age:6+)
Larry Hayes, the author of How to Survive Time Travel, How to Survive the Future and How to Survive Without Grownups has written another fun and interesting fact book for younger readers. How to be a Kid Boss has a total of 101 secrets and tips for children to outsmart the adults in their lives.
The contents page clearly lists all of the ‘How To…’ statements and the reader can either begin at the beginning or browse through to topics that are of interest. One of the chapters that children will love is ‘How to train your parents (like a performing seal)’ where there are clearly labelled step by step instructions: 1 Choose your goal 2 Choose your reward 3 Ignore them 4 Big Praise. Other chapters sure to be big hits are ‘How to make ice cream so healthy you can eat it for breakfast’, ‘How to scare a grown-up (cheat method)', ‘How to get out of school’, ‘How to stop a grown-up looking at their phone all the time’ and the final chapter 101 ‘How to be a kid millionaire.’
Each chapter is clearly labelled and begins with an ‘Everybody Knows’ segment, then the secret is divulged, this is either followed by further information, with all chapters ending with ‘Put it to the test’. There are fun facts, cheat codes and warnings highlighted throughout the book. The factual content shared is full of humour and the graphic style images cleverly separate and complement the text.
Themes Children, Secrets, Tricks, Facts, Science, General Knowledge.
Empathy is at the heart of this endearing picture book as a bear that is laughed at becomes the focus of people’s sympathy and support. George the big brown bear, lives in a summerhouse belonging to Clementine and her mother. His days are happy. Clementine has taught him to read and he fills in each day with chores around the house and reading books Clementine has borrowed form the library.
One day when he finishes a book, he decides to return it to the library and borrow another. Strolling down the suddenly empty street he notices the library is closed so tries to enquire at several nearby shops about the library’s opening hours. But they have suddenly closed as well. He strolls down to the market but people are no longer serving on their stalls. He inadvertently knocks some stalls over and gets himself caught up in the display racks. He hurtles through the air landing in a fountain and hears the people around him laughing. George realises they are laughing at him and tears fall from is face. Embarrassed and alone he is delighted to hear Emma’s voice as he climbs from the fountain, shedding even more tears. She admonishes the villagers standing and watching George and they try to rectify their actions, bringing him a towel and hanky to wipe himself dry while others come by to apologise for their rudeness. The book he wanted to return to the library also fell in the fountain and he apologetically returns it to the librarian, who gives him another in its place. He opens the book to read and the villagers all stand quietly listening until the finishes the book.
This charming tale of teasing and its consequences even for a big brown bear like George, will encourage readers to treat everyone around them with dignity, standing up for their friends and being loyal to those you hold dear. George is picked on needlessly and in crying shows that he has feelings like everyone else and these feelings should be respected.
This is a gentle story about people’s feelings and how easily these feelings can be upset, so encouraging readers to view everyone with respect.
Beautiful illustrations cover each page, the big eyes of the bear a focal point, especially when full of tears. I loved his eyes peering out from his embarrassed position in the fountain and the disappearing people in the village, while eagle eyes will take in the detail of the garden where he lives and the village square where he ventures.
Themes Bears, Self worth, Teasing, Humour.
Fran Knight
Ratbags: Naughty for good by Tim Harris and Shiloh Gordon
Ratbags – Naughty for good, written by one of Australia’s highly entertaining authors, Tim Harris and illustrators Shiloh Gordon, is a new series that will be undoubtedly be another success. Extremely engaging and fast paced, it has a unique storyline to keep the audience in suspense. This style of novel will be appealing to many, including those less motivated readers, as they follow the life of the most law-abiding young rat, Jigsaw.
Jigsaw loves rules and adores humans! He is very unlike all the other rats; they are all RATBAGS! Jigsaw’s life is all about doing the right thing, that is until he meets Onion and Ripple and he is reluctantly led astray. The smells of delicious, tempting aromas of pizza proves too much for him. Could this be his downfall to all that he has worked so hard to achieve?
Filled with fun, suspense and originality, this story will keep its audience captivated until the very end. Fun and light-hearted, this is an enjoyable read that will tantalise the reading tastebuds of even those reluctant readers. If you like a little adventure and enjoy a good laugh, you won’t be disappointed.
This fabulous short fiction novel has a high energy level, with an engaging storyline. Filled with loads of fun black and white cartoon pictures, speech text and action, and in a style mixed between a graphic novel and standard novel, this targets a wider audience and will appeal to many. Containing short chapters, large print and a really cool layout, this is a great story for all ages.
If you love a little bit of fun and adventure in a fast-past speed, then this novel will undoubtedly meet your entertainment level. Tim Harris is a master at his craft, and always knows how to keep his stories moving and engage his readers to the very end.
Themes Rights and Responsibilities, Problem solving, Teamwork, Humour.
This most astounding of stories takes place in the Indian Ocean as a loggerhead turtle finds her way back home. The loggerhead is considered vulnerable so when a Japanese fishing crew found a young, injured turtle in 1997 in the Indian Ocean, they named it Yoshi and took it to an aquarium in South Africa where they knew it would be helped to recover. Here she stayed (as an adult, her sex could be determined) for twenty years, but the staff knew she wanted to get home. They trained her to swim long distances and forage for herself in preparation for the day of release. With a tracking tag attached to her shell, she was released. Each time she came up for air, her tracker sent a message so the people in South Africa could track her movements. They cheered with her as she avoided the fishing grounds of the Indian Ocean, and wondered where she was going as she circled parts of the Atlantic Ocean, then trailed across the Indian Ocean, finally coming to the beach in Shark Bay off the west coast of Western Australia.
Her breathtaking journey is full of dangers as she avoids fishing lines, larger sea creatures, and heavy seas. The illustrations in this powerful book of one animal’s journey will stay with the reader, as her isolation in the vastness of the oceans is shown in glorious detail. We see other marine animals she encounters along the way, the crashing waves, the height and depth of the ocean she travels through, the night sky and the occasional presence of man.
I loved the artwork, the sand dunes and beaches on the end papers, the heavy seas, images of night, the closeups of Yoshi and her determined swim towards her goal.
At the end of the book are details about her trip, statistics that will astound any reader, and lots of information about loggerhead turtles. Another double page gives more information about sea turtles, and links to sites which will give more rescues.
A bibliography, and information about tracking rounds off a most informative and engrossing book.
Themes Loggerhead turtles, Indian Ocean, Tracking devices, Journeys, Deep sea fishing, Conservation.
Fran Knight
Wildlife compendium of the world by Tania McCartney
Hardie Grant Explore, 2023. ISBN: 9781741177473. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
Author and illustrator Tania McCartney has produced another fascinating and beautifully illustrated publication. With the title Wildlife Compendium of the World, this book will take the reader on a journey across all continents and provide a snapshot of many of the wonderful habitats, biomes, ecosystems and environments that sustain the diverse wildlife that exists on Earth.
The striking cover with embossed letters set into a rich coppery-coloured circle surrounded by a variety of creatures, is followed by gorgeous end papers showcasing the star formations seen in the night sky. The contents page is clearly set out beginning with A Global Tour and ending with Animal Rights. This is followed by a concise double page glossary.
The information is divided into continents and the animals profiled range from the more familiar to those less well-known. Each animal is given its Latin name, type, diet, size, weight, conservation status, facts plus the collective noun or baby name. For example, a group of wildebeests is called a confusion and a baby ptarmigan is a cheeper. Did you know a Fire salamander is an acid squirter champ and the world’s most dangerous bird is the Southern Cassowary?
The text is easily accessible for middle primary students but will also appeal to older students and adults. The superb images are clearly labelled, and each has a curious fact highlighted beside it. This book is packed full of interesting information and will entertain young readers for hours. A very worthy addition to a home, school or public library.
Head of Zeus, 2023. ISBN: 9781804544600. (Age:16+) Recommended.
This is an amazing journey! I loved it and yet was baffled by its intensity. It is both a literary masterpiece and a tale of discovery. At heart it is a coming-of-age story set in the world of a Eurasian young girl, Sora, who has returned to live in Japan from Canada, and also an other-world story with ethereal qualities. Meshing science and investigation of time that has been disrupted by the violence of seismic activity, with the mysticism and mythology of ancient Japanese understanding, this story has a unique quality that cannot be compared to other contemporary YA literature. The cultural influence of life in Japan, lived with the repeated turmoil and uncertainty of a ‘rolling earth’ caused by the ‘Catfish’ that lives underneath their feet, are central ingredients in this charming but complex story of a teenager finding her feet when the world around her has been rocked to the core. Losing her mother and her certainty means that the shifts in time that she experiences have confusing qualities that are difficult to navigate. Where will she go, what is her future, and who is she now that her whole world has changed?
For students of Japanese and those who have more than a passing acquaintance with Japanese culture, this will be a book that resonates. For those of us that don’t, it is a wonderful entry into this non-Western culture with its own history, foods, myths, and stories. The investigation of time, memory and grief is also woven poetically through the story of the teen central character who is negotiating her understanding of loss as she faces her own decisions for her future and working out how she must connect with her father as he manages his own path of grief and the slip of time that they live in. The scientific scrutiny of time alterations is a steep contrast to the almost-magical experience for Sora. Because of this dystrophy and discomfort, this book may cause some confusion for some teen readers, but it will also inspire others because of the different ways we can experience the world, our own emotional responses to difficulty and loss, and also our view of time as an absolute. This is a book to get into the hands of mature readers aged 16+. It will stretch their understanding of the world and literary expectations in a powerful way. It is not for those who want a straightforward narrative.
Themes Japan, Time, Memories, Forgetting, Mythology, Earthquakes, Same-sex attraction.
Positioned over the road from a doggy day care centre, Lou is an important stop for all the dogs in the neighbourhood. They sniff and twirl, twist and lift, spraying their urine all over this little piece of street furniture. He is a toilet.
But he has always had the feeling deep inside himself that he is destined for better things, that he is full of greatness. In the meantime keen eyes will see another leg of the story being played out in the flat above the doggy day care centre and sure enough smoke billows from the building, and a fire appliance turns up. The fireman looks around for a place where his fire hose will fit and plugs it into Lou. He realises that the pipe underneath is a water pipe and the attached hose will spray water all over the fire, putting it out. The words for the connection of the hose are the same used for the dogs earlier in the day, and kids will laugh at the change of meaning.
A great read aloud, the story will evoke chortles of laughter from the readers and audience as Lou comes to see just how important he is. He is now a superhero, feted by all the dogs, the community and the fire officers.
A wonderful story, I loved the echoes of words and phrases, and the realisation that perhaps he is useful after all. Kids will love the little fire hydrant, and perhaps notice them in the street, but more importantly see that we all have something great to achieve.
When 12-year-old Nina is sent to live with Aunt Bee in London while her scientist parents travel to Antarctica for a year, she is determined to stay angry, withdrawn and uncommunicative. However, living with Aunt Bee on a converted barge on the River Thames turns out to be an experience which Nina could never have envisaged.
Aunt Bee is a passionate mudlarker who belongs to a group of Mud Puddlers who scour the Thames at low tide for hidden treasures. Nina is reluctantly drawn into the excitement of the search and slowly realises, with the help of Molly on the neighbouring barge, she has the ability to travel back in time when focused on an item she has found. Molly has warned Nina that she must not let go of the item and try not to engage with those she meets. Nina returns from her first three visits with relative ease although her experience at a Suffragettes march leaves her shaken.
After finding part of a World War 2 gas mask, Nina travels back to London and finds herself on a platform with children being evacuated to the country. Nina loses her gas mask in the rush and is pulled onto a train bound for an unknown destination. Here she meets the very sullen Tom who is determined to go back to his family. They both run away from their temporary homes and head back towards London. This is a long and difficult journey, but they do receive kindness and help along the way from well-meaning strangers. Nina knows it is imperative that she finds her gas mask to be able to return to the present, but the two children face terrible danger in trying to achieve this.
The Mud Puddlers is a wonderful fast-paced middle-grade read where past and present meet, where historical events are presented in an engaging and exciting story, and where a young girl learns to let go of her unhappiness. The inclusion of further information about the events covered in the story is a very welcome and thoughtful addition.
This well written and very entertaining story would make an excellent class novel.
As always, Nora Roberts, The Sunday Times bestselling author, delivers a thrilling romantic suspense novel that will keep readers glued to the page. Morgan Albright has finally begun to settle down and reach her goals of owning her own home and car after moving around the country as an Army brat. With the help of her friend Nina, she is paying off her mortgage, working two jobs to get ahead. Dating has not been important for her, but while working her bartending job, she meets Luke, an IT worker, and a tentative friendship begins. Then a catastrophe occurs and she is forced to leave town and live with her mother and grandmother, leaving her dreams behind.
Roberts always manages to give the reader a new experience with the research that is put into the backgrounds of her novels. In Identity, she explores what it is like for Morgan to have her identity stolen, her credit cards used, and loans taken out in her name. Not only is the perpetrator frightening, the information about loss of identity is chilling and will have readers checking out computers and passwords and locking passports away securely. Roberts often explores different jobs that women could do, and in Identity she describes the role of a bartender/manager, and readers are sure to find this interesting and informative.
In all of Roberts romantic suspense novels there is a clever mix of chills and romance. Gavin, a serial killer, is cold and frightening and stalks Morgan, the one who got away. Morgan begins to grow in physical strength and regain her confidence and gradually begins to believe that she could have a life with Miles, a dark and brooding but very caring hero.
When writing as Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb, the author invariably delivers a compulsive escapist read, and Identity will have readers sitting up late to finish it.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Dance! Dance! Dance! by Herve Tullet
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781797221465. (Age:3+) Recommended.
Readers are invited into this exuberant book with lines of colour trailling across the pages, invited to use their hands to follow the lines, and dance with the shapes produced.
Kids will love following the colours, using their hands to explore, following the instructions in this handsomely produced over-sized book. We are asked to tap our fingers on the buttons, follow the lines around the outside of the page, press all the big dots, leap like a baby goat around the edge of another page. Each page offers a different direction, a wash of colour, movement and humour as our fingers itch to see what is next. Younger readers will love following the lines of colour with their hands, seeing where they are going, what different paths they will be taken. Sometimes they will find a rectangle to use as a leaping frame, asked to jump, nicely, from one corner to the other, sometimes they will find a set of stepping stones and be asked to lightly step on each like a butterfly, sometimes or skip across the page softly.
Many words are given to entreat readers to be involved, to try different ways of moving, to dance with the colours on the pages.
Some words will be unfamiliar, stretching their imaginations and vocabulary. I love the inclusion of spirals and curlicues, and not just any curlicues, but those that are acrobatic and elegant.
Big and small, fast and slow, round and round, accompany the exhortations to jump, be wild, be elegant, to freeze, be slow, dropping and leaping. Lots of different moves encourage little bodies to be active and involved with colour and text.
Kids will love the build up of movement from the slow and serious to the frenetic and wild, while teachers and parents will be just as enthused joining in with the younger readers.
Sometimes called the ‘prince of pre school books’ Herve Tillet is an award wining author with a comment on Youtube (in French with subtitles) about not being bored, and small page on wikipedia. A sturdy book to read aloud with groups and be borrowed by toe tapping individuals.
Phyll is an 11-year-old girl who is in trouble for fighting at school. Through her chats with a counsellor, we soon learn that there are problems at home. Her mother is going through a bad patch of depression. Phyllis’ parents decide that a move to the seaside might help her mother’s mental health. Once they move Phyll goes to a summer school (like vacation care) and makes friends and enemies. A class trip to an old folk’s home leads to an ongoing friendship with Mr Djinn who tells great stories and claims to be a genie. Are the stories real and do wishes really come true? Due to family circumstances, she is unable to have a much yearned for dog. However, she advertises free dog walking and gets a job walking a dog called Dog! Later this gets her involved in some excitement uncovering petty crime.
Phyllis is delightfully self-aware and grows more confident as she faces various testy situations. You empathize with her as she feels responsibility for keeping her mother’s depression at bay. You are also happy for her with the romantic friendship she develops with Clark. Mr Djinn is a wonderful wise character and mentor for Phyll.
Wishes Come in Threes deals with some serious issues with great delicacy. Andy Jones balances out themes of mental health, animal cruelty, friendship and ageing in a well-paced plot with humour and hope. From the outset, while Phyll is awkwardly talking to the counsellor, you can also be amused by Phyll’s observations about the counsellor’s mild speech impediment. The counsellor can’t say th, so she calls herself Hevva (Heather) and the diary she gives Phyll to write her daily thoughts in she calls forts. The ‘forts’ are written as separate chapter headings throughout the book and give the reader a further insight into Phyll’s mature thinking. All in all, this is a wonderful, poignant read. I appreciated the way the author didn’t gloss over the realities in a way which is totally suitable for a younger audience. It reminded me of Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon.
Mama's chickens by Michelle Worthington and Nicky Johnston
EK Books, 2023. ISBN: 9781922539458. (Age:3+) Highly recommended.
A mum with early signs of dementia struggles to find the right words but the backyard chickens give her a link with her children. Initially unhappy at having the chickens, she is instantly attracted when they arrive, giving them names, feeding them, encouraging them to come up to her, putting them away at night. She loves Chooky La La following her around, but things are beginning to change. She forgets where she is in the supermarket, cannot remember how to use the mobile phone, finds everyday things difficult. But she loves the chickens, making sure she puts them away at night, watching out for them, loving watching them, just like she does with her children. Sometimes she is cross for no reason and Chooky La La and her daughter forgive her, knowing that she does not mean it. Later even when she cannot speak, she loves her chickens and her family and it is this love which overcomes all adversity.
She never forgets those who love her and is aware of their love and support. This gentle story from EK Books, a publishing house that promotes ‘books with heart on issues that matter’ will inform readers about forms of dementia that afflict some families. In this story the chickens are a source of keeping alive memories for the woman and a bridge between her and her children, a common activity that they can share.
Love and support are a constant in this warm hearted story, as the family comes to recognise the restrictions the dementia has on all their lives. Patience is needed to accept the changes that are happening, and the chickens are a common thread for the family. This love and care is never forgotten.
The illustrations by Nicky Johnston are warm and endearing, showing a family slowly recognising that things will change but accepting and making changes to help mum. The pencil and watercolour illustrations are muted to allow the chickens to stand out. Children will love the detail of the hose and backyard, the chicken coop and the chickens themselves. They will appreciate the touches of a family showing support and love for their mum as the changes occur and will be reminded of the signs to watch out for, as this affects many Australians and their families.
Dorrie, the family’s name for Dorothy Wall, moved to Australia from New Zealand in 1914 to work as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator in Sydney. She arrived with her art and craft gear and her trusty sewing machine and set up house on the Harbour. But her favourite hand made koala, was stolen by a real koala after she found some of her things were in a mess from the intruder. But she opined that perhaps the koala was lonely and attempted to befriend it. It blinked a lot at her and so she named it Blinky Bill. Often moving she gathered a group of animals that she also named and wrote short stories about them all. Eventually these were published by Angus & Robertson.
The picture book gives a warm and affectionate look at Dorrie’s life as an artist: sketching, sewing and writing in New Zealand and Australia.
The charming digital illustrations will inspire all readers to look at the Blinky Bill books afresh, reading them with her life in mind. The illustrations show us a determined young woman, making use of her surroundings, working with the koala to develop her stories. That she was ultimately successful is wonderful, but as the short biography at the end of the book tells us, success was not enough to keep her solvent and well, and she died in 1942, leaving behind characters and stories that are read by successive generations of admirers.
Readers will look at the detail on each page: the range of Australian native flora and fauna, the things she made, the damage Blinky Bill caused in her home, the differences between the views of Australia and New Zealand. I loved looking closely at the small details included by McCartney, giving this story a richness, adding to its authenticity.
Wikipedia has a short biography of Wall, not to be confused with the rugby player of the same name. But the best thing kids can do is borrow a Blinky Bill book from the library and read them for themselves or share them with the class. There will be many adults volunteering to read them aloud.
Dorrie’s short life is celebrated in this book and her tenacity is worth recalling and applauding.
Themes Dorothy Wall, Blinky Bill, Australian classics.
Fran Knight
The rush by Michelle Prak
Simon & Schuster, 2023. ISBN: 9781761108204. (Age:16+) Recommended.
The tension hits in from the very beginning – a lone woman is driving in outback Australia, trying to reach home before a freak storm hits. Ahead of her on the road, she sees a body. When she pulls up to investigate, the man reaches out and grabs her arm!
Meanwhile, four young travellers, sharing a road trip from Adelaide to Darwin, start to get on each other’s nerves. Hayley and Scott have selected two random companions to help share the costs of the trip. While they joke that this is Wolf Creek country, a country where serial killers can roam, the laughs start to pall as the storm moves in, and things start to go wrong.
And then there is a group of bikies, for whom intimidating the lonely pub owner threatens to become more than just a bit of fun.
The stories interweave, told from different points of view, each chapter building pace, as the threat of violence seems about to explode. This book has it all: the wild and lonely outback, the threatening natural elements, sinister characters, and young naïve people unaware of what they are getting into. It is a Wolf Creek story, with a twist. The tension builds until the last pages – readers who enjoy mystery thrillers won’t be able to put it down.
