Illus. by Faith Erin Hicks. Macmillan, 2019. ISBN: 9781529008630.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Graphic Novel. Themes: Friendship,
Transitions. This graphic novel's initial impression suffers a
little from its American origins as the concept of a pumpkin patch
as a theme park was confusing at first so it took a few pages to get
a feel for the setting. Hick's use of 'pumpkin-tinted' colours in
the book serves to set the scene and Rowell's reputation of
developing believable characters has been built on her other novels,
Eleanor and Park and Fangirl. She has written an
engaging story about friendship, beginnings, endings and taking
chances. This book should resonate with teens and young adults who
are about to embark on their own life changes. While it is exciting
to be starting something new it also often becomes a time of
uncertainty, reluctance and sadness and this book celebrates both
this and the role of friendship in taking these steps.
Josiah and Deja are good friends and are on their last shift at
their holiday jobs at the Pumpkin Patch before heading off to
college. The story follows Deja's attempts to ensure Josiah resolves
his long unrequited crush on another girl who works in the park
before the nights ends. Set against the backdrop of the theme park
we see the friends savouring their memories and saying goodbye to
this stage of their lives as they mentally prepare themselves for
something new.
Rowell's story rejoices in the bonds of friendship while Hick's
charming and expressive panels draw the reader in, building the main
characters and their surroundings. Deja's strength contrasts with
Josiah's uncertainty and this is obvious in the words as well as the
drawings.
In all, the book is non-judgemental and matter of fact with love and
relationships the underlying important theme.
Gaye Howe
Queer heroes by Arabelle Sicardi
Illus. by Sarah Tanat-Jones. Quarto Publishing, 2019. ISBN:
9781786034861.
(Ages: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: LGBTQ, Difference, Heroes
and heroines. Subtitled, Meet 52 LGBTQ heroes from past and
present, this brightly inviting book does just that. Each page
is devoted to one person who has advocated the LGBTQ cause. From
Sappho in Ancient Greece to Krsten Stewart, from Da Vince to Harvey
Milk, from Tchaikovsky to Khalid Abdle-Hadi, the coverage is
amazing, including people from all continents, ethnic backgrounds
and positions in society.
Many will be well known to younger readers, but equally, many will
be unknown, informing the reader about people new to them. Readers
will love reading about people like Freddie Mercury and David Bowie,
Sia and Tim Cook, but will be equally fascinated by stories of
people like Virginia Wolfe, Vikram Seth, Nobuko Yoshiya and
Josephine Baker.
Each of the stories gives an outline of their lives, where and when
they were born (and died) and the journey they took in being
accepted. Sometimes the article is ended with a quote which for some
encapsulates their life's work.
Subhi Nahas for example has a page devoted to him, his portrait
surrounded by many flags and we see that he was born in 1988 in
Idlib in Syria. Pursued by the military for being gay he fled Syria
to Turkey where he became an activist, but as things changed there,
he fled again to the USA. Here he set up a group called Spectra
Project an organisation promoting the cause of LGBTQ refugees around
the world.
Several people like Frida Khalo, for example have two pages devoted
to their story. Frida was an artist born in Mexico in 1907 and her
work as one of the twentieth century's best artists as well as her
work promoting feminism and civil rights have been widely
recognised.
Another person, Lili Elbe, born in 1992 in Denmark has had her story
recognised through the film, The Danish Girl. She was born a
male and fought hard to have her transgender status recognised and
to have gender reassignment surgery. Her story is all the more
astounding when she was having this ground breaking surgery in the
first years of the twentieth century.
A wonderful read, presenting both known and little known activists
in this field, the book will be a hit on the library shelves. I read
it as a dip in, lamenting the publisher's decision not to include
either a contents page or index, limiting its ease of use, but the
content easily outweighs this consideration.
Fran Knight
At the start of 8th grade in Washington Middle School in Tampa Florida, Jay, who had previously been teased for his ‘porcelain’ skin, has broken out in quite severe acne. The year doesn’t start well as art, his favourite subject, doesn’t fit easily into his schedule. The necessary changes mean he is no longer in the same classes as his friends. The easy social groups he is used to are no longer available and when he sits with the ‘popular jerk boys” at lunch he earns himself a new nickname “Rudolf”. Art class is his happy place, helping him get through the school day, but even there he is confused by a girl who seems to want to be more than friends and Mark, his teaching assistant buddy who seems to be friendly but is a bit stand offish. Devastatingly, his best friend who he gets to see on the bus home, abandons him for his new musical friends. Acne just seems to compound his problems and his first visits to a dermatologist have little effect. A second specialist recommends isoretinoin, known as Accutane, an effective six month treatment but one which can have a lot of side effects. After some setbacks Jay starts to take some control of his life, a clothes and hair makeover not only distracts attention from his acne but helps to build his confidence. He makes new friends and builds some bridges with his old ones learning more about himself on the way. The author’s note tells us that the story is heavily based on his own experiences with acne. He also says that the book is about asexuality as two of Jay’s friends, a girl and a boy both seem to have romantic feelings for him that he does not recognise in himself, a labelling that I found a little premature and forced at this stage in the character’s life. The colourful graphic style similar to Raina Telgemeir’s novels will appeal to the primary to middle school age group especially those experiencing acne, this is one of few books to highlight this subject. Jay is a likeable, relatable character but his story seems a little long and slow paced at times.
Themes Acne, Friendship, Bullying, Asexuality.
Sue Speck
The lovely and the lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020. ISBN: 9781484782415. (Age:12+) Recommended.
As a fan of The inheritance games series, I eagerly picked up The lovely and the lost, a psychological thriller featuring Kira, a teen who had been rescued as a child from the wild by Cady Bennett. Adopted by Cady, she and Cady’s son Jude, and neighbour Free, are all being trained to handle search-and-rescue dogs. When Cady is called by her estranged father, Bales Bennett, to locate a missing child in the Sierra glades National Park, the three teens accompany her in the search for Bella, the little girl. Kira becomes increasingly obsessed with finding her as flashbacks to her own survival in the forest become more frequent.
The story is told in Kira’s voice and it is easy to become totally immersed in this tense story as Kira begins to remember haunting scenes from her desperate fight to stay alive as a child in the forest. She knows what Bella could be experiencing but is frustrated when the search turns from seeking a missing child to trying to find the person who has kidnapped her and the teens are prohibited from searching because of their age. Together with Gabriel, a troubled teenager living with Cady’s father, they begin to research the people who have disappeared in the forest, and Kira is dismayed to uncover family secrets that have been hidden by Cady.
Dog lovers will be thrilled with the descriptions of how search and rescue dogs behave and how important they are in finding missing people. The dogs all have personalities of their own and help to manage Kira’s behaviour when she is overcome by memories of her childhood trauma.
This is a compelling story with Barnes unpeeling the secrets of Kira’s past, uncovering family secrets, while at the same time maintaining the reader’s fear for the little lost child. The conclusion has a surprising and unexpected twist. Lovers of psychological thrillers and dogs will be sure to enjoy The lovely and the lost and may enjoy The woods are always watching by Stephanie Perkins, Be not far from me by Mindy McGinnis and Nowhere on earth by Nick Lake.
Mafiosa: The bloody and compelling history of the Mafia by Colin McLaren
Hachette, 2022. ISBN: 9780733648106.
Colin McLaren presented an interesting case for an alternate explanation for the ‘assassination’ of John F Kennedy in his book JFK: the Smoking Gun, published in 2013. He is considered a fine Australian detective, and respected for his investigative journalism. He has written about many puzzling cases the world over. With this book, Mafioso, he went undercover and became an actual Mafia member for 3 years. His book is considered a definitive history of the criminal organisation, and reads as a well-researched and scholarly summary, supported by an index, photos and comprehensive endnotes (source material). This is a most accessible summary of the Mafia’s beginnings in Sicily, the movements to America and the remnants of the criminal groups across the world. A map in the opening pages details the location of the Mafioso families including those many of us have heard of from movies and television series. The author’s powers of observation are evident; he is honest and realistic. He acknowledges how much he likes the Sicilian people, having been treated with great kindness and warmth, but, he says that ‘they also carry a tribal burden, and it is written all over their faces’. This is a fascinating coverage of how the Mafia have, and continue to have, a hold over world crime. Obviously the subject matter is for a mature reader but the book would be a good addition to any history section of an upper school library, particularly when considering the Australian crime scene and the continued influence of the Mafia here.
Julie Wells
The rising tide by Ann Cleeves
Pan Macmillan, 2022. ISBN: 9781509889624. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
The amazing tidal patterns of Holy Island north of Newcastle in northern England is a focus for this setting rich novel, DCI Vera Stanhope’s tenth outing.
Called to investigate the suicide of a well known but lately dishonoured TV personality, Vera sees reasons to suspect a murder has been committed. With the victim is a small cast of friends all holidaying together on the island, staying at Pilgrim House, a retreat on the island, once peopled by nuns. Their movement is bound by the tide, and secrets lay deeply hidden. The group has been meeting together every five years, celebrating their time at school. Their first stay at Lindisfarne was at a school camp, organised by a with-it young teacher. But their first reunion saw the drowning death of their most attractive member, Isobel, and the acknowledgment of this incident is a topic to be avoided. The five, married couple, Louise and Ken, the latter suffering from dementia, Phillip, now a priest, the dead man Rick, and Annie now running a bakery at Newcastle. All have baggage which Vera’s team unravels for our delight. Other people skirt the edges of the five, Annie was married to Daniel divorced after their baby died some forty years ago, but he is now married to DCC Katherine Whillmore. It is her daughter who initiated the claim of sexual assault against Rick resulting in his sacking. The teacher, Judith is also nearby, while Rick’s ex wife Charlotte enters the scene.
Vera and her team uncover the layers beneath the group’s closeness, finding links between them which point to a greater knowledge about Rick and his interests. Forced to resign after improper advances towards a young girl at the TV station, Rick is now writing a novel, and when Vera finally gets the synopsis and chapter outlines finds it is about Isobel’s death, the veneer of fiction barely obscuring the truth.
With all three of the investigative team sometimes going back to the mainland, sometimes staying overnight on the island, the importance of the tide becomes paramount to their comings and goings. The towers that dot the causeway metres above the roadway are testament to the height and speed at which the tide advances, often trapping people unawares.
Behind the old simmering resentments the present day is set in motion when Rick tells them about his book. Daniel sidelined at his high end holiday resort, Annie struggling to make ends meet at her bakery, Charlotte needing money to bolster up her massage business, Rick’s accuser seeing that she was led on by an ambitious journalist, Judith coming to the island to reenter the group but thinking better of it: all have motives aplenty to be investigated and rejected. When a second murder occurs, Charlotte found dead in he massage room, the investigation becomes urgent, that urgency culminating in the team taking risks with heart in the mouth results.
Themes Murder, Lindisfarne, Northumbria, Vera Stanhope, Cold case.
This is a book that should be read, despite its sadness and melancholy. There is nothing nice or comfortable about hearing of the traumatic experiences of Jews from Germany, Austria and other European countries during the Second World War, but this story is also the story of real people, the Kleinmanns of Vienna who were devastated by the horrors of war, but for a few members it is also their story of survival and the miraculous resilience and love that they demonstrated. Consequently, this is an amazingly uplifting story despite the Holocaust circumstances, and it is a reminder that this part of our world history should never be forgotten in honour of their suffering. Fritz and his father, Gustav, suffer within concentration camp horrors; Kurt is miraculously saved by being sent to America to live with strangers; one sister is able to emigrate to England; and the Kleinmann’s mother and another sister are transported into a certain death. Despite the terrible history that this book relates, the story of Fritz and his father and their resilience in awful circumstances is profoundly moving.
Fritz and Kurt is a child-friendly retelling of the book The Boy who followed his father into Auschwitz. ‘Child-friendly’ means that some of the horrors have been minimised in detail, but a child reader will still feel the burdens and the weight of the Jewish sufferers who were treated so appallingly in Hitler’s regime. The two young brothers give a human face to the history and this account is written in a narrative non-fiction style based on the first hand accounts of the two brothers, and the recorded notes smuggled by their father out of his concentration camp life. That anyone survived to tell their story is a miracle. For readers who have read The Boy in Striped Pyjamas or have been intrigued by World War II history this is a book to recommend. It is very accessible for young readers aged 11-15, but not easy to read because of the distressing story it shares. Older readers will still appreciate the historical revelations.
Themes World War II, Holocaust, Jews, Survival, Resilience, Hope.
Carolyn Hull
Super Sidekicks: Ocean's revenge by Gavin Aung Than
Junior Justice, Flygirl, Dinomite and Goo, return in their second Super Sidekicks adventure. The Prologue page reacquaints us with these resourceful assistants and Captain Perfect, one of their former bosses. Fittingly, all nine celebrity superheroes are sidelined in chapter one - kidnapped one by one, by an ancient Babylonian sea goddess, Tiamata.
By chapter two, we see the Super Sidekicks step up as a destructive ocean monster approaches Sydney unchallenged. The Mother of the Seas, sick of humans using the oceans as a junkyard, has animated the Trash Titan, but has Tiamata underestimated the Sidekicks' powers? Will the Sidekicks be capable of wisdom and compromise, unlike their obnoxious superhero mentors and the various international leaders? Does the politicians' reluctance to give and take in order to save humankind from the Trash Titan menace, draws clear parallels to the real-world struggles of climate activists against the current world order?
Taking young readers beyond perceived comic book entertainment, this black and white graphic novel alludes to our collective assault on the environment and science, with a timely message. The lovely thing is that the meek appear to have the answers, not the entitled demigods of culture or politics. The endpapers contain a drawing lesson as Than, a talented cartoonist responsible for the syndicated Zen Pencils creations, shares his creative process with his fans. Download free posters and more @ aungthan.com
No Adults Allowedis the first adventure in the Super SideKicks series and Book Three, Trial of Heroes is due in 2023. Collect all Super SideKicks if you're a fan of classic comic books. Teacher's notes are available.
Australian actor, writer, illustrator and animator Sam Cotton has taken his chippy thief seagull from TikTok and written him into a wonderful graphic novel that will be adored by fans of Real Pigeons and Bad Guys. Bluey fans may also recognise Sam's work from the episode Tradies, in which he voiced the character 'Chippy'.
While putting the grandgulls to bed one night, Steven Seagull is urged to tell them a bedtime story and what a great story he has. It all revolves around Brock's Chips, the best hot chips in the world. Stacey and Stanley are desperate to get their hands on some but to be successful they'll need the help of the legendary chippy thief Steve-O. But Steve-O's gone underground after a terrible incident in which he chose chips over his best mate. Can they find Steve-O, help him redeem himself and get some of Brock's delicious chippies?
This is a super fun book with simple but effective illustrations and short blocks of text narration and dialogue. Young fans of graphic novels will devour this quickly and with a permanent grin. Those already familiar with some of Sam Cotton's other work will be particularly pleased.
Themes Graphic Novel, Humorous Stories, Seagulls.
Nicole Nelson
Six days in Rome by Francesca Giacco
Hachette, 2022. ISBN: 9781472295842. (Age:16+)
This story follows in the footsteps of many before it; those tales of setting off for a time in another city or country to forget past disappointments and spend time rediscovering oneself. This time we read about Emilia, who has left the United States to holiday alone, after her planned trip with her partner has fallen apart, when he decides to give his marriage another chance. She is in Rome for six days, and she promptly begins exploring the city sights, indulging in food, wine and music. A chance meeting in a park with another American, John, brings her delight as there is an instant connection between them. As the two become more absorbed in each other’s lives, Emilia comes to terms with her former relationships with family and partner. John understands why she has left her home to reconsider life’s choices; he has done the same.
This is Giacco’s debut novel; it reads well and includes a perceptive look at this ancient city with numerous references to its historical characters, especially its strong women. Emilia is self-absorbed, as would be expected, and the novel style is not groundbreaking, but it makes for an interesting read as we follow her time in Rome, read of the memories she has of her time in New York, and anticipate the choices that she is going to make.
Julie Wells
The recorder racket by Anna Battese. Illus. by Ruth-Mary Smith
This is the first in a new early chapter book series about PD McPem and her problem solving (another already published is The Puzzling Pet Parade). It's the school holidays and Penelope Delores (PD for short) is spending the day with her grandparents, who are busy doing their annual clean out. When her recorder mysteriously vanishes, PD is worried she will never 'fweet' again but luckily her and grandpa had already decided to start a detective agency so it's fortuitous that there is a mystery to solve! Some beautiful imagery sees clues 'itching' PD and the relationships between PD, Grandma and Grandpa are rich and laden with wonderful dialogue. The theme of memory is strong, both with Grandma seeming to forget things and Grandpa's reminiscing about the past as he sorts through old mementos. There are wonderful inside jokes about the dreaded recorder that parents will enjoy and the hint of a secret that Grandma might just be keeping! Super short paragraphs (maximum of about 5 lines), oodles of white space and a smattering of black and white illustrations make this perfect for newly independent readers, especially those having trouble making the transition to mostly text chapter books but it's also a fabulous read aloud. This is a cleverly put together story, with multiple layers of meaning making it great for inference. Children will have great fun trying to put together the clues themselves to solve the mystery and with a second read they might pick up on some new meanings. There is also a wonderful freedom of childhood depicted here, as PD enjoys her day at her grandparents as they go about daily tasks like cooking, cleaning and gardening while she potters alongside them and makes her own fun.
Themes Mystery Stories, Family, Memory.
Nicole Nelson
Far away Granny by Harriet Cuming. Illus. by Angela Perrini
Little Steps, 2022. ISBN: 9781922358417. (Age:4+) Recommended.
In these times of Covid, many Grans and Grandads are far away, if not in the literal sense, then behind masks and regulations, unable to visit their grandchildren. But in this story, the child and her gran become adept at using their iPads to stay in touch, an electronic device that brings many together, even those for whom the machine was once a mystery.
But sometimes the girl slips through the screen and sends time with Far Away Granny, eats ice cream, particularly chocolate and mint green.
This charming picture book underscores the value of grandparents in children’s lives, concentrating on the communication between them even though far distant from each other. They are pictured using the computer, iPad, mobile phone and postcards, but now and again imagination reigns supreme as she slips through the screen and into Granny’s life.
The rich illustrations take us to the heart of the connection with grandparents, doing things together: visiting art galleries, flying in hot air ballooning, playing together in the playground and on a roller coaster, swimming, going to the theatre and cinema. But in this story many of these activities are done using social media, with Far Away Granny just too far away to do things together. Readers will enjoy deciding which are events done together or in the fantasy world the girl creates.
When they cannot visit each other they can do some facetime on their iPad, showing each other what they are eating or drawing or doing. In this way they keep in touch, but best of all is when the girl slips through the screen.
Readers will love the image of the child slipping through the screen, seeing her Granny and being with her, knowing the her Gran is never really far away.
Courage is an essential skill, and who knew it had so many facets! Magnolia Moon shares all, in the most wonderful adventures ever!
The Courage of Magnolia Moon by Edwina Wyatt is the third book in the Magnolia Moon novels. A heart-warming tale that shares bravery, tenacity, reflection and love. It is a delight to have Magnolia Moon back again sharing her vulnerabilities, and observations of life through her eyes.
Magnolia Moon is a ten (well, almost eleven) year old girl who is sweet, kind and thoughtful. Throughout the novel she explores the courage required to admit mistakes, stand up to bullies and work through many other situations in everyday life, and show how to build and develop the courage required. The reader feels a strong sense of connection and understanding as to how Magnolia is feeling, while she tackles day to day life in a seemingly almost magical, yet completely realistic world.
Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of courage, but they are each interwoven as the reader meanders through life with Magnolia. The whimsical tales, almost melodical in their gentleness, are a calming and soothing read, with metaphors and similes easily conjuring pictures and emotions in a most refreshing and entertaining manner.
Edwina Wyatt has cleverly created another beautiful story to keep her audience captivated and enchanted by sweet Magnolia Moon. The novel gives the audience the opportunity to see the world through Magnolia’s eyes and make endearing connections. Delving into emotions and situations that are real and refreshing, readers are given the opportunity to reflect and gain strength in their own interactions with family and friends. A captivating novel that gives the audience the opportunities to reflect on the courage and bravery they display in their own life or aspire to do so next time.
A truly beautiful, comforting yet thought-provoking read. Magnolia Moon is a little gem!
Themes Courage, Feelings, Relationships.
Michelle O'Connell
Koko and the coconut by Turia Pitt and Celestine Vaite. Illus. by Emilie Tavaearii
A story of guts and determination follows the trials of Koko, newly emerged from his shell, looking for his first coconut to eat. Koko is nervous, the world outside his shell looks formidable, he must eat the meat on the inside of the coconut if he is to survive but the palm trees are very tall. All around him others support and encourage him, but all he cam hear is the boom boom beating of his heart. But his fear is squashed as he climbs that tree, thinking of the coconut meat waiting for him. At the top he must cut the coconut from its moorings and allow it to fall to the ground. He holds onto a leaf with one claw while he snips through the stalk with the other claw. Scooting down the tree he has another problem, getting the coconut open to eat its meat. He tries several methods over a few days until he finds that throwing stones at it forms a crack in the shell. (Coconut Crabs usually use their very sharp pincers.) Success at last.
A wonderful read about never giving up, the story tells a lot about the author, Turia Pitt, who when competing in an Ironman competition in 2011, was caught in a grassfire causing burns to most of her body. It is a testament to her fortitude and courage that she made it back to inspire others with her determination. Co-authored with her mother, Celesine Vaite, both women are of Tahitian heritage which is celebrated in this wonderful tale. Illustrations by Emilie reflect the beautiful island where she was born. Spending many years in France she returned to Tahiti developing her skills as an illustrator before returning to France where she now lives and works. Her stunning images reflect the island of Tahiti and all of its splendour, and the images of the little crab will endear it to younger readers. How she is able to get Koko’s expressions and feelings with his eyes out on stalks is amazing, and I love the point of view illustrations where the reader sees the height of the tree from Koko’s vantage point, and they are scared with him as he hangs onto a leaf while chopping at the stalk.
More information about the coconut crab can be found here. (Wikipedia and others had pages of information, but the Australian Geographic site is brief and to the point with some photographs paralleling the illustrations in the book). And there are some amazing images on Google, one crab almost covering a black plastic rubbish bin. A YouTube clip can be found here. But watch it yourself before showing to younger children.
Did you watch the six o'clock news last week? There were stories and pictures of people ravaged by a cyclone in Burma and rescued from an earthquake in China. There was a policeman shot, a motorcyclist killed and a young lady who did not know CFCs were banned 20 years ago, crowned as the Australian entrant for the Miss Universe pageant. For most of us, the news will remain just what it was - a regular bulletin of the events of the world in the last 24 hours. Few, unless they are personally involved, will give many of the items a second thought and we will move on to tomorrow after a good night's sleep.
But what of our children who saw the same news? To them, the images can be very confronting and powerful and they don't yet have the experience and maturity to let them go, or to see them in their historical or geographical context. They linger on, forming fears, causing nightmares and starting what-ifs. There are many stories of children afraid to go to their own school because they have seen images of a school massacre on the news, or who won't fly in a plane after seeing the footage of an aircraft crash.
Mark Macleod wrote Tomorrow to counteract the world of gloom and doom that our children can see every evening. He wanted them to know that the world will keep spinning, the sun will keep rising, the birds will keep singing and the plants will keep growing despite all these horrific events.
And so we have what appears to be a simple story with simple line drawings about a child going to sleep at night after sharing a bedtime story, and waking in the morning and getting all the way through the next day with none of those terrible fears eventuating. But it is not just a story for the next day, it is a story for life - of hope and affirmation and inspiration that each of us will be strong enough to survive whatever might befall us. "Tomorrow" becomes "today" and even "yesterday" without our scarcely realising it.
This is a book that deserves a place on library shelves. Parents can share it with their little ones in the comfort and security of the bedtime story, and the astute teacher can use it to begin a conversation about fears and how we can confront them - "Turn, look them in the eye and say you're off to find tomorrow."
