The unwinding and other dreamings by Jackie Morris
Unbound, 2021. ISBN: 9781783529353. (Age:Adult - Young adult) Highly recommended.
What a beautiful book! I was intrigued by the wonderful cover illustration of a sleeping woman nestling on a large, white polar bear and expected to find a fairy tale within. Instead, opening the book the author says in her introduction: “This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. It is a book for dreamers. Slight of word, rich of image, its purpose is to ease the soul.” And ease the soul it does. It is intended to be a companion that can sit on the bedside table at night or be carried in a picket or bag during the day to be looked at in times of stress.
It is easy to dip into the book, with each of the fourteen lushly illustrated sections, calling to the imagination, and easing the anxieties of a busy world. Morris took me into a land where there were exotic midnight fish that flew into the sky, a fox who loved the Winter Queen, and a gorgeous white bear. The stunning illustrations are unforgettable, just so beautiful it is difficult to describe their effect on the imagination.
This is book that I will treasure and one that I intend to buy as a gift for family members. It is highly recommended for its beauty and impact.
Themes Imagination, Poetry, Fantasy, Art, Short Stories, Animals.
V.E. Schwab, the author of City of ghosts and Gallant among others, takes her story writing to memorable levels with her adult tale of Addie LaRue, a young woman living in France in 1714. Desperate not to enter a soul-destroying marriage trapped in a small country town, she makes a deal with the Devil – she will live forever, but everyone she meets will forget her. Schwab takes her readers across three centuries and continents as Addie faces many adventures and meets many people, none of whom can remember her name. Her loneliness is devastating. Then in New York Henry, a young bookseller, sees her and remembers her name and she takes desperate measures to remain seen by him.
With Addie’s adventures Schwab delves into history and art. The reader becomes immersed in Addie’s life as she tries to survive on her own, first poverty stricken and later as a muse for artists, but always isolated and lonely. When she meets Henry, she hopes that things will change and their love story resonates on many levels, with hope that this time Addie will not have to repeat the same first meeting over and over again.
This is a very memorable fantasy (Locus Award Nominee, Best Fantasy Novel (2021), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee, Fantasy (2020)) which has been written for an older and more mature audience than her previous books. Readers who enjoyed The Time Traveler’s wife and The night mobile by Audrey Niffenegger may like this as well.
Swickley is a small town with all the features of other American small towns in the 1990s, though it has had its fair share of disasters and incidents over the years. Jess is a typical high school teen, worrying about relationships, school and family issues. She lives with her hyper organised and controlling mother and her rather detached father, and has a close relationship with her bedridden sister, Sarah, who has slowly deteriorating health. Jess’s two best friends, Amber and Kristen are always ready to dissect Jess’s life and especially so when she admits to harbouring feelings for her friend and neighbour Ty who recently seems to have been flirting with her. Music is an important part of Jess’s life; she plays keyboard in the school band and listens to all the latest songs, sharing CDs with Sarah. At one time she pestered her parents into letting her take guitar lessons but after six lessons the teacher asked her if she had ever wondered about the nature of reality and after that she was told he had some sort of breakdown and never came back, foreshadowing other dissonances in Jess’s life. When Jess becomes aware of distant chanting that people around her seem unable to hear and Amber is evasive about a strange shiny object dropped from her bag, the dissonances start to add up, culminating in the replacement of her dog Fuller with one that looks the same.
Suffused with 90’s popular culture references and well-crafted predicable characters, this enjoyable story holds up for us as well as Jess, the narrator, until it doesn’t. The second half shifts our perception and holds a mirror up to our society’s obsession with other people’s lives, influencers and marketing. A clever concept, well executed.
Themes Teen romance, Friendship, Reality TV.
Sue Speck
Sunny the shark by Remy Lai
Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781761065460. (Age:5-9) Recommended.
Sunny the oceanic white tip shark is just looking for a bit of peace and quiet, away from noisy seagulls, in the depths of the open ocean where it is cooler. It is not long before that peace is shattered when a school of little fish race up asking for help to escape a hungry tuna fish. On seeing Sunny, with her sharp teeth, the tuna turns tail and swims away. The little fish are very grateful and want to stay safely with Sunny saying they can offer something in return. Sunny replies “what could you have to offer? The great gift of noise?” It turns out they can remove parasites from the shark’s gills and clean her teeth. They promise to be quiet but that doesn’t last! Sunny is caught and tagged by a marine research team but then she becomes entangled in a loop of plastic attached to a discarded balloon. As she grows the plastic gets tighter around her fins and Sunny finds it harder and harder to hunt for food. Time passes and she gets weaker and slower but Sunny is encouraged by her constant companions, the noisy, but supportive, little fish and the barnacles living on the ring of plastic. It seems she will never be rid of it in spite of attempts by the researchers and a diver.
There is a happy ending and at the end of the book is the real story of a shark with a plastic ring around her neck and details about the types of shark and little pilot fish that often accompany them. There is also a section about plastic rubbish in the ocean and ways to avoid it. Described as part of an “inspiring series for young readers” the message is not overdone with the emphasis on the story. This colourful and fun graphic novel has plenty of adventures, beautifully drawn and engaging characters, equally suitable for young readers or for storytelling.
Themes Sharks, Plastic pollution.
Sue Speck
A trip to the Moon by Peppa Pig
Penguin, 2022. ISBN: 9780241610664. (Age:2+)
Peppa Pig is back again, this time going on an exciting trip to the moon. There is a show at the Museum that is all about the moon and the family goes to see it. Mr Rabbit shows them around and they blast off when they are all seated in the rocket. Even though Daddy Pig makes some Daddy jokes about the Moon being made of cheese, Mr Rabbit corrects him telling everyone that it is made of rocks and that the tour is a serious one. The children hear about gravity, space vehicles and what it would be like to jump on the Moon. Young children listening to the story will have fun learning about the Moon and space as well.
The illustrations are very familiar with the Pig family featured in their backyard, and then in space suits. All the pages are brightly coloured, with interesting details for children to look for, and the black sky against the grey of the moon is very effective.
Fans of Peppa Pig will have fun with A trip to the Moon, enjoying blasting off and defying gravity.
Themes Moon.
Pat Pledger
Peppa's Australian ocean colouring book by Peppa Pig
Penguin, 2022. ISBN: 9780241552421. (Age:2+)
Peppa's family is visiting the Kangaroo family in Australia and learn much about the Australian ocean. What fun for Peppa Pig and Kylie Kangaroo! They have many adventures as they visit the beach and the Great Barrier Reef, learn how to scuba dive, and watch Daddy Pig windsurf. They have a barbeque on the beach and learn all about sea creatures.
Fans of Peppa Pig will love this colouring in book, which has 64 pages for them to colour. Each page has a separate adventure or event to incite the curiousity of young children. All the figures and creatures are outlined in thick black lines that make it easy for young hands to colour in.
This would be a very useful book to keep a toddler happy and busy while they learn hand-eye coordination.
A wonderful book about the passing of time during one twenty four hour day will have younger readers searching out hidden things on each page as well as learning about what happens in any twenty four hour period and the things which go along with the changing of the hour. Interestingly it also shows how devoted we are to the clock, how it regulates out lives as seven means getting up, eight means going to work or school, twelve means lunchtime and so on. Children will recognise just what the time is at each strike of the hour through the day, and have that time reinforced with the image of what happens. This is shown through the image of a house on each page with a clock on its top.
Within the house are a baker, a clockmaker, a family, a grandmother, a butcher and an artist, all with varying things to do at certain times of the day. It is just wonderful peering into others’ lives to see what time means for them.
For younger readers the sight of things happening as each hour goes by will intrigue and delight as they compare it with their own routines. And more importantly learn about time: how many hours in a day, what a clock face tells us, how life revolves around time, and what happens as each hour ticks away. They will have a great deal of fun learning about time from this offering with its humorous look at the various occupants of the house and seeking out the hidden objects. I loved looking a the progression of each room in the house, noting its changes over the twenty four hours, and I especially loved the night time scene when everyone is asleep, except for some animals and then the baker getting ready for his day.
And curiously a plane is in the sky (I live in Adelaide where there is a 6 o’clock curfew!).
Bright, engaging illustrations cover each page and children will eagerly seek out the differences from one page to the next in the same room in the house.
Chihiro's detailed, paper cut artwork instantly engages readers. With their attention focusing on the hour and what happens at that time of the day, the reader learns about the significance of that hour of each day, learning to tell the time along the way. Berbay’s mantra, ‘Clever books for curious kids’ shines out in this unique picture book.
Themes Time, Clock, Humour, Paper cut-out, Passage of time.
Fran Knight
Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin. Illus. by Astred Hicks
Every now and then, a book is published that is just a gorgeous, warm and beautifully written story - one that you would give to your children or grandchildren. Evie and Rhino, by Neridah McMullan first published in 2022, is one of those books.
Combining history with an imaginative story, McMullan weaves a story around the real-life shipwreck of the steamship SS Bancoora at Breamlea in SW Victoria in 1891. The ship was headed for Melbourne from Calcutta carrying tea, rice, tapioca, jute, sugar and exotic animals bound for Melbourne Zoo. It was wrecked on treacherous reefs during a storm as it rounded Cape Otway. Living in a crumbling once well-loved grand old home near the beach where the ship founded lives ten-year-old Evie and her grandfather. Both are bereft - grieving - and the desolation of their house is symbolic of the inner grief of the two occupants. Roaming on the dunes after a mighty storm, Evie comes upon a rhinoceros that has been washed ashore from the wreck of the SS Bancoora.
And so begins an absolute love story. Evie, so awash with grief at the death of her parents, is mute. Rhino has been wrenched from his natural home and is equally bereft. These two beings - the blonde headed child and the armor plated rhino with the softest, kindest heart recognize each other’s souls. This story is imbued with love. The rambling old house is filled with warm domestic interchanges and the aroma of cook's apple pie (recipe included). The characters are all well developed and very likeable. The stables and outlying farm buildings are populated by friendly cows, hens and dogs - all of them friends of Rhino and of Evie. The surrounding countryside is natural SW Victorian land where Evie and Rhino are free to roam.
There is the question of locking exotic animals up in zoos. There is the impending threat of Rhino being taken away by the Royal Zoological Society who are on their way to collect him and there is the power of friendship that can perhaps restore everything to rights. Written in present tense by an omniscient author, there is a sense of immediacy for the reader. The rawness of emotion, the dialogue and the action are fresh and immediate.The illustrations by Astred Hicks are scattered throughout the book and complement the gentle nature of the story with equally gentle sketches of comforting objects: shells, a bucket of fresh milk, fresh eggs, a pile of books, a hen, a mixing bowl and spoon and of course Evie and Rhino.
McMullin has previously written Drover and Fabish - The horse that braved a bushfire - the latter being shortlisted for CBCA Book of the Year in 2017. It would not be at all surprising if Evie and Rhino is seen on future nomination lists.
The Big Book of Exhibits is a fascinating look at 50 exhibitions and collections of unusual and wondrous objects from around the world. From well-known collections including Madame Tussaud’s (France), Terracotta Soldiers (China), Peace Memorial (Hiroshima, Japan) to Toilet Museums in India and South Korea and an Underwear Museum in Belgium, this colourfully illustrated hardback book will have something to interest everyone.
The book begins with a contents page listing ‘some of the world’s great curiosity cabinets’ followed by an introduction. A wide variety of interesting topics are covered throughout this book including art, technology, medicine, science, history and culture. Each page has a title in colour with two or more paragraphs giving information about the place or exhibition being discussed with an interesting highlight and colourful images surrounding it.
For those of us who live in Australia did you know that in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef is an underwater sculpture, the Coral Greenhouse? It is an underwater building filled with reef gardens growing coral and is overseen by statues of children. On a more sobering note, the British Museum has the Gweagal Shield believed to be one of the few relics left from the earliest First Nation peoples’ contact with European colonists. Also, in Australia is the National Arboretum in Canberra which features the largest collection of the critically endangered Wollemi Pine, a tree which dates back to the time of dinosaurs.
This fabulous book is packed full of information which is easily accessible for middle grade readers and older. A highly recommended addition to a school or public library.
Themes Collections, Museums, Exhibits.
Kathryn Beilby
Swifty: The super-fast parrot by Stephanie Owen Reeder. Illus. by Astrid Hicks
Critically endangered Swift parrots, of which there may be only 750 left in the wild, are the focus of this striking new factual fiction release written by Stephanie Owen Reeder. Told in a simple, yet informative story, the reader is drawn to the fledgling named Swifty as they follow her journey from birth to maturity.
Born during spring and summer in the hollow of an ancient Tasmanian blue gum tree, Swifty begins her life alone with her mum after the other two hatchlings have been taken by an introduced predator, the sugar glider. Swifty grows and prepares to follow the blossom trail on the migration from Tasmania to mainland Australia. The journey is over 250 kilometres non-stop over the Bass Strait. This migration is dangerous for the swift parrots as they may encounter high winds that can blow them off course as well as when arriving on land in danger from predators including domestic cats, feral animals and other more aggressive birds.
Swift parrots fly at almost 80 kilometres per hour making them one of the fastest parrots in the world. However, as Swifty quickly learns, glass doors and windows can be highly dangerous! Fortunately, Swifty is rescued, rehabilitated, and released into the wild to continue on her journey.
In the final pages, there are facts about the swift parrot, how they can be helped, and a glossary explaining the words in bold used throughout the text. Swifty is another wonderful book that provides younger readers with the opportunity to learn about one of Australia’s critically endangered birds through an engaging story. The stunning endpapers and glossy illustrations by Astrid Hicks perfectly complement the text and offer the reader so much to explore on each page.
Forestfall is the second novel in Lyndall Clipstone’s World at the Lake’s Edge duology. The story once again revolves around Leta and Rowan and the forces that both draw them together and force them apart. At the end Clipstone’s first book, Lakesedge, Leta has sacrificed herself to the Lord Under, a mysterious being who lives in a realm of mist and darkness, to save both Rowan and her beloved brother, Arien. She is now living uneasily alongside the Lord Under while those she left behind try to come to terms with her disappearance. That is until, one night, Leta and Rowan discover that they still have a connection to each other that spans worlds. Leta is determined to find a way home and Rowan will stop at nothing to get her back.
Clipstone is a former librarian turned author from the Barossa Ranges in South Australia. Forestfall is her second novel and her confidence as a writer is growing. The novel provides a satisfactory ending, with plenty of mystery, conflict and romance experienced along the way. Like it’s predecessor, Forestfall does at times take gothic tropes and angsty teenage romance to an extreme. However, this is a haunting story set in an evocative world, and will no doubt satisfy readers.
Sunny is a young girl who loves constructing jigsaws. She loves the way the pieces connect together, but she feels that jigsaws are the only things that help her to be happy. Her wise Grandmother though, suggests to Sunny that there are other things that will bring her happiness. She gives Sunny an enormous jigsaw to complete but disappointingly one piece is missing. Sunny is determined to track down the missing piece and goes from house to house searching for it. Along the way, Sunny discovers some new friends and realises in the end that it is not just jigsaws that bring happiness.
This beautiful story with bold and engaging illustrations will delight both children and adults. A perfect read for those struggling and feeling low, and one to be shared time and time again.
The Colourful World of Poppy Starr Olsen is an unusual book to categorise. It is non-fiction, a real-life story, told as if through Poppy's voice by the author Jess Black. Black is an established Australian author. Her books including the Mr Walker, Peppercreek Ponies and Little Paws series are well known to children everywhere. In The Colourful World of Poppy Starr Olsen, Walker becomes the voice of the Australian regular-footed professional skateboarder Poppy Starr Olsen. Poppy's voice is captured so authentically that one is sure that Poppy is sitting right next to her and that Black has spent a lot of time with Poppy's family. Poppy has collaborated with Walker by illustrating the book all the way through with her cute little drawings.
From the get-go, the reader is given a first hand invitation into the heart of the Olsen family. The story unfolds through Poppy's voice. We begin as the family cliff jump into the ocean somewhere along the coast near Bondi where they live. The whole family is into adventure and action. Competition is in their veins - everything is a competition. They never sit still. They are an active together family. The family live near the Bondi skate park. Poppy loves skating but it's overwhelmingly a boy's sport. Poppy skates because she loves it. She works constantly to improve her skills. The edgy narrative is full of lists, advice and explanations as Poppy tells us about her life with accompanying illustrations.
Quickly we arrive at the crux of the story. After achieving entrance for girls in the boys only skateboarding competition as a result of a letter of petition, Poppy is faced with the imminent threatened council closure of the skateboard park because of apparent disreputable people and activities associated with skateboard parks. Poppy is a natural activist and so she gears up with the determination that she brings to everything.
Not only is Poppy a skateboarder; she is also an artist. At a young age she began to sell her paintings at the Bondi market so she could fund her skateboarding world. She is an absolute self starter of a character. A civics and citizenship project at school is just the thing for a girl like Poppy to get her teeth into as she becomes an active and contributing citizen at an early age.
It is quite a rare opportunity for children to read a book by and about a real life role model Australian Olympiad - a girl not much older than them. Her high octane, completely fair approach to life, her concerns and her battles may be inspiring for young people. Her gutsiness, determination and resilience are a marvel.
Poppy featured in the documentary Tall Poppy, currently screening on ABC iview, has done a TedX talk and has been interviewed for many television shows. She is mentored by Layne Beachley and sponsored by Vans and Visa.
Primary to Middle Years readers will find The Colourful World of Poppy Starr Olsen an interesting, engaging and inspiring read.
Themes Skateboarding, Activism, Family life, Resilience, Art.
This second book by Tobias Madden has similar gay romance themes to his highly praised first novel Anything but fine but instead of the ballet world, Noah Mitchell is thrust into the world of musical theatre in Ballarat, in an endeavour to get to know his secret gaming partner MagePants69. Noah, aka RcticFOx, only knows his fellow combatant online, but a subtle slip gives him the clue that maybe MagePants69 is performing in the same musical that his mother, Rose, is starring in. Noah, going against all his normal inclinations, decides to join the theatre too, in order to secretly find out more about the person he has become so enamoured of online. Reading those first few chapters, every reader knows that something is going to go terribly wrong. How can he be sure that MagePants69 is Eli, and how will it all pan out?
Although issues of catfishing and online ensnarement are duly raised, these are not the central focus of Madden’s novel. It is more about the deception that Noah becomes involved in, and the betrayal of trust that Eli experiences. There are also issues of school-time bullying, friendship betrayal and loss, and difficult parent-child relationships. But this is ultimately a rom-com, and it is the relationships within the theatre group, the budding friendships, and the slowly developing romance that Noah gradually finds, that are at the heart of the novel.
While there are some shared issues with the more confronting The brink by Holden Sheppard, Madden’s novel has more in common with more gentle love stories such as Golden boys by Phil Stamper, Here’s to us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, and Date me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye . Take a bow, Noah Mitchell is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging romantic comedy of errors that deals with real issues of youthful self doubt and tentative attraction, in a way that every young reader can relate to.
Themes LGBQTI+, Romance, Deception, Trust, Self confidence, Video games.
Helen Eddy
How we came to be: Surprising sea creatures by Sami Bayley
Join author/illustrator Sami Bayly on a fantastic diving journey deep down into the ocean and be introduced to some of the amazing creatures that reside in each zone. This cleverly presented and strikingly illustrated book begins with a personal welcome from Sami who shares her love of unusual animals and an explanation of evolution.
This is followed by an introduction to each of the five ocean zones: Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight, the Abyss and finally the Trenches. The reader is then able to join Sami, easily identifiable by her yellow diving suit, as she swims through each zone offering information and humorous conversation. In the twilight zone she accidentally steps on a spotted deepsea flounder who chats to Sami giving details about itself. As well as conversation bubbles there are brightly coloured circles giving varied and interesting facts. For example, ‘a creature that doesn’t have to swim to catch its food is the vampire squid, as it feeds on marine snow-microscopic dead organism that drift down from above.’ In the final pages are more surprising sea creatures including the Blobfish, Cockatoo Squid, Wolf Eel and the Faceless Fish.
This fabulous book has a place in all libraries and would also be a wonderful gift for children of all ages. Teacher's resources are available.
