A Case of Misfortune is the 2nd book in the series, The Violet Veil Mysteries. It is a mystery/thriller set in Victorian England. Violet is the daughter of an undertaker and is aggrieved that she isn’t being considered for future work in the family business, just because she is a girl. Violet had great success solving a case in the first story, A Case of Grave Danger. So, she decides to quietly set up her own detective business and soon has a very interesting case to solve. This leads her to the Grecian Theatre which is owned by a family of Greek heritage. She and her offsider, Oliver, and dog, Bones, become friendly with the teenage children of the owners. Central to their inquiry is a fortune teller, Lady Athena, who is keeping the theatre afloat with packed audiences. But there is something very fishy about how her predictions come true.
This is a light humorous story with colourful characters and many twists, turns and even a murder. Violet has a 6th sense where she can communicate with ghosts, which enhances her ability to solve the mystery and adds interest. So does Bones' extraordinary ability to find people and places. I liked the choice of a Greek family and the way the author slipped in Greek language and customs. One of the teenagers, Eleni, had to use a wheelchair and the cheeky retorts she made when people asked her what happened to her were laugh out loud funny. Violet gets into a lot of trouble for her determination to be independent. Apart from this strong theme of ‘girls can do anything’ are themes of who can you trust, recognizing when you are wrong and the need for teamwork. It would make a great read-aloud for year 4/5 children.
When a letter arrives for Elizabeth from one of her ex husbands, asking for a safe house to stay for a while, the reader's interest is piqued. We are about to hear more of Elizabeth’s background, the former MI5 operative, the head girl of this group of friends at Coopers Chase retirement village who came together in the Thursday Murder Club, Osman’s stunning debut novel.
The setting in a retirement home gives Osman scope for a great deal of fun with a group of retired people not yet ready to retire from the world, but equally aware of their limitations as they age. The four intrepid sleuths are on the trail again, and readers will laugh with them as their different but complimentary personalities are revealed. Joyce speaks volumes in stories from her own narrow world, each full of common sense but laced with good humour and forbearance. Elizabeth, ex MI5 is a no nonsense sort of person, able to engender fierce loyalty and get her friends to do things outside their experience. Ron the reliable is able to get the resources Elizabeth needs, while Ibrahim the retired psychologist is a calm voice amongst the group. Outside the group but attached is the village caretaker, Bogdin, a brooding deep fellow able to pitch in whenever he is needed, without question.
Douglas turns up one day with a minder, Poppy, expecting a safe haven. He tells Elizabeth of a stolen cache of diamonds worth twenty million pounds, but when a potential killer is killed by the minder, they must leave. Later Elizabeth and Joyce find their dead bodies, and when Elizabeth finds a letter dropped by Douglas for her to find, the chase is on.
Full of exciting twists and turns, copious red herrings and trails that lead somewhere but not quite where expected, the book is a wonderful read. I laughed, particularity at the wonderful portrayal of a group in a retirement village not quite ready to throw in the towel. They are alert, clever and sprightly but in the background we see others not so well.
Firereads, 2022. ISBN: 9781728257587. (Age:15+) Recommended for mature readers.
Set within the Hope Juvenile Treatment Centre, this story is for the forgotten ones in the time of a severe and catastrophic plague, but perhaps also at any time. The haemorrhagic illness (much like the pneumonic plague of the past) is wildly infectious and impacts the wider community rapidly. The incarcerated and troubled teens who are protected by guards are abandoned by their captors without notice and must survive on their own. The gates may be open, but is leaving the best option? Survival is not ensured, and food supplies will run out unless they learn to work together. Because all the young characters come with their own histories of problems, learning to work together and trust each other is a slow process. For Logan, there is the added problem because of her disability, and when her twin, Leah, becomes infected she must deal with added isolation. Emerson is transgender and is learning who they are. Grace and Casey have their own history of abandonment and struggle that led them to this ‘rehabilitation’ home, but they must set the past aside to have any hope for a future for the remnant residents.
Written almost like a dystopian story or survival tale, this story was written during Covid times so will resonate with current teen readers who have lived through their own times of pandemic. It comes with its own content warning prologue: ‘This book deals with ableism, abuse, death, illness and implied eugenics, imprisonment, and transphobia. In addition, it includes mentions of assault, blood, gunshots, racial profiling, and sexual violence.’ This is not an easy tale, but it is a powerful story of teens on the outer who need to rise above their circumstances and work together. There are moments of great poignancy as they deal with the ever-present risk of death and illness, and the loss of connection with society. I would recommend this to mature readers aged 15+ who can cope with the significant issues that it raises.
Similar in concept to the Ten Minutes to Bed... series, Goodnight, Little Sloth is one in a series of simple bedtime stories designed to send little ones off to sleep. The longish, nonemphatic text is notable for its predictable storyline and calm tone. Sweet, earthy, watercolour art is punctuated with photographic illustrations of a baby sloth watching the world pass him by.
The busy parrots in the forest try to get him moving but he likes to take life slowly and he loves looking around and seeing what he can see. "Have you ever seen any of those things" he asks the parrots after he recounts all the creatures he has seen from his branch. They admit they haven't, but they still want to hurry Little Sloth along. When Little Sloth sees something truly remarkable from right where he is the parrots are busy sleeping after all their flapping and are very disappointed to miss it. "I really think it's time I took a nap after all that excitement" says Little Sloth at the end of the story - and he does. There is a lovely message within the story about having patience and about slowing down and noticing the little things and changes in our environment. This is beautifully illustrated through the sloth being present in the very moment an orchid opened one of its petals.
This is a gentle and soothing story that ends with Little Sloth settling down for a lovely long snooze. This peaceful ending along with simple, flowing language makes it perfect for bedtime or nap time.
Themes Sloths, Bedtime, Patience.
Nicole Nelson
Tomorrow is too late : A Youth Manifesto for Climate Justice by Grace Maddrell ed.
Tomorrow really is too late, as the contributors to this book about Climate Change and Activism highlight through their personal stories of experiencing climate change firsthand, be it environmental impacts or severe weather events, and their stories of their fight to bring awareness to those around them, as well as politicians and those who have the power to make change. Which, in reality, is all of us. Making small changes, as we are encouraged to do by the contributors in this book, making an effort to change and to talk to our friends, colleagues and families, can help in the long run. But greater change is needed to slow down the rapidly approaching disaster that is a total irreversible impact of climate change and its effects.
Written by numerous youth activists from all over the world and edited by Grace Maddrell, herself a young activist, the passion and anxiety these authors feel is conveyed through their stories. While a great book for youth to read, the people who should be reading it are those in power, those who aren't paying attention to the coming disaster that they believe is a future generation's problem. The problems are now, and should be addressed more than currently being done. An interesting fiction book that could be read alongside this is Green Rising by Lauren James (2021), where the youth are trying to be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem. I encourage those interested in Climate Change issues and those who are interested in how to participate in Climate Change activism to read this book full of essays from young people with a great heart for the world.
Themes Climate change, Activism, Youth Activists, Climate Justice, International issues.
When a despot rules, the people suffer, truth suffers, and everyone feels powerless. Toward the end of 1989 the rule of Communist power under the despotic control of Nikolae Ceausescu in Romania led to an awful life for the ordinary folk. Survival was hard and everyone lived with the fear that someone else was spying on them. In this story, 17-year-old teenager, Cristian was still going to school, living with his grandfather, mother and father and his older sister in their tiny apartment, but even within the family it was hard to trust and speak out the truth about the awful regime that ruled their country. When Cristian gets recruited as an informer it is with great reluctance and incredible guilt and uncertainty. The insecurity of life is revealed with profound pathos through the eyes of this young man and the ultimate cry of ‘Freedom’ is so necessary for the whole country. But there is betrayal and violence before a future and hope can come alive.
This is a poignant tale that is compelling and worth recommending. Despite its recent history, the plight of the Romanian people under Ceausescu’s rule is probably relatively unknown for most Australian teenagers, so this engaging and powerful story is a wonderful tribute to those who suffered and spoke out for freedom despite the personal cost, and worthy of sharing to a new generation. The story is raw and painful, but brilliantly written, on the one hand highlighting the disparity between the life of a teenager in the USA (the son of the US Ambassador) and the awful circumstances of the Romanian teen and also revealing the pain of a forgotten country. Australian teenagers will be drawn too to the romance that blossoms amidst the pain of poverty. Highly recommended for mature teens aged 14+ to adult readers.
Themes Romanian history, Nikolae Ceausescu, Betrayal, Fear, Communism.
Carolyn Hull
What's new, Harper Drew? by Kathy Weeks
Hodder Children's Books, 2022. ISBN: 9781444961775. (Age:9-11) Highly recommended - Just for fun!.
The Drew family have taken ‘catastrophe’ and ‘disaster’ to award-winning levels. Every member of the family (except perhaps young James, aka Prune) manages to rate highly on the disaster rating at every step. Harper’s mother is a compulsive Supermarket shopper, and hopelessly disorganised; her father seems to have no idea about how to avoid life-threatening situations in his attempts to entertain and solve problems; Harper’s older brother Troy is just insanely focussed on his hair, and his latest attempt at avoiding anything that resembles work. Harper herself seems to be a great friend, a great organiser and perhaps the most useful family member, however even she can slip-up often. This very funny journal recounting Harper’s family life, her catastrophic family holiday to France, her attempts to win favour of the ‘cool’ girl at school and her endeavours to raise money to support her good friend Edward are all documented with a disarming candour.
This is just a very funny story with lots of eccentric characters, bizarre happenings, accidents and extremely wacky events. Children aged 9+ will chuckle all the way through. This is the kind of story where if something can go wrong… it will. And it is all child-friendly and easy to recommend to all children. Harper is loveable and her family are cringe-worthy in their attempts to live life to the full! She is a good friend to her neighbour Priya and wheelchair-bound, Edward. This is not unlike Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries, catering specifically for 9-11 year olds.
Reluctant readers, fans of Captain Underpants, Dog Man and Bad Guys will be instantly hooked on this hillariously witty, fast-paced graphic novel. Unlike some other comic strip style novels, these black and white panels are large with big text. The book is also separated into two main stories (as well as a brief intermission story) as well as into short chapters, making it perfect for those who struggle to read for longer bursts.
Fans of Rob Harrell's previous book Winkmay recognise the main character Garry Yorkshire. He's a perfectly average pink pig who loves eating sandwiches, playing video games and hanging out with his mates Carl the fish and Brooklyn the bat. But as we see in the first and self-proclaimed 'origin story' Garry develops super powers after being bitten by Brooklyn. Suddenly he is giving himself wedgies with his super strength, floating in air, eating ten sandwiches in one sitting and seeing through walls (pity it's Mrs. Hawley's giant collection of cat hairballs he can see!). Some fun adventures follow, from defeating giant lizards to bringing down an evil butcher with a curious list of demands.
There are witty little details thrown into every panel and the trio of friends have wonderfully well-drawn personalities with diaglogue that absolutely explodes off the page. Admittedly there is a lot of icky toilet humour but there are also clever one-liners and a funny interplay between dialogue and narration. The story also touches a lot on friendship and appreciating each others unique qualities. This is super-readable and brilliantly executed. The ending refers to 'the next book' so hopefully there is another installment to follow.
Ruby’s Worry is a brightly coloured board book that discusses childhood worries in a perceptive and thoughtful manner. Ruby is a happy child who loves to live life. However, one day she notices a worry. It is very small at first, but then it grows bigger and is aways hovering around Ruby; whether she is at home, at school, in the playground, wherever she goes. Ruby feels as though it will stay with her forever. Until one day she sees a boy sitting by himself and she notices something hovering about him. It’s a worry! She is not alone. Other children have worries too. She begins to talk with the boy about what is bothering him and as he talks, she notices his worry begin to shrink. Ruby learns that by talking about her worry she can cause it to shrink.
This charming story is the first board book from author Tom Percival’s bestselling Big Bright Feelings series. The diverse characters and appealing illustrations with the worries represented by yellow and blue splodges will attract its young audience. It is an excellent book to share at home, in a childcare or early learning centre as well as kindergarten and junior primary classrooms.
The astonishing chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere by Jaclyn Moriarty. Illus. by Kelly Canby
Allen & Unwin, 2021. ISBN: 9781760526368. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere is the fourth book in the Kingdoms and Empires series. Although the novels are linked together with related or repeated characters, they can be read as stand-alone stories.
The opening chapter introduces Oscar, a boy not from the Magical Kingdoms, who is in the principal’s office explaining why he has been absent from school for the past week. This novel is his and Imogen’s account (alternate chapters) of everything that happened in the past 5 days.
Skateboarding Oscar found himself transported into a magical world where he joined a quest with Imogen and five other children to save the elf kingdom of Dun-sorey-lo-vay-lo-hey and all its inhabitants from being crushed under a silver covering. To fulfill this quest, the children must find nine pieces of a key by the deadline of Friday 12:00 pm to protect all the elves and allow Oscar to return to his own world.
This is a charming novel with plenty of action and detailed storylines. Some of the characters have appeared before such as the Radish Gnomes, Silver Foxes and witches but Jaclyn has introduced many new characters as well.
Oscar and the ‘Kingdom’ children are from different worlds but they’re able to work together and help each other in their mission and they develop into a strong friendship group. Oscar as the outsider, has to deal with an unusual old-fashioned magical world. He grows as a character and it is often his insights and perspectives that help solve many of the problems.
The ending has a few surprises and solves many of the puzzles attentive readers would have discovered throughout the story. I totally missed the Gruffudd the elf twist so that was a fun reveal for me.
Kelly Canby has illustrated all the ‘Kingdom’ books and her wonderful images are scattered throughout the novel.
The ’Kingdom and Empires’ books are not a short read and The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere is over 400 pages long. Fantasy fans will love these longer texts full of adventure and magical action.
I highly recommend this novel to children 10 years and over.
Jane Moore
I am hungry by Michael Rosen. Illus. by Robert Starling
A note to adults appears on the publication page, hunting at the topsy turvey things which may be inside. A suggestion that dreaming about being hungry does not always mean dreaming about food will set minds racing with possibilities. In rhyming pairs of lines, the squirrel tells us what he eats when hungry. A bread roll, pop corn in a bowl, slices of cheese and a hundred peas. Just when the reader is becoming accustomed to predicting a rhyming phrase that is about food, the story changes and some fried fish is rhymed with a birthday wish. Children will be intrigued as a birthday wish is always associated with cake, and the illustrations support this. And after the birthday cake, he gets a tummy ache. From then on the dreams are about an array of things which will delight the audience, amusing them with subtle humour. Vanilla ice cream and a very sad dream, a nasty fright and a dark and stormy night will encourage readers to talk about their dreams, and ponder about why we have dreams.
The funny ending will draw laughter from the audience, as will the wonderful page filled illustrations of one hungry squirrel.
No doubt fans of the Practical magic series by Alice Hoffman will be thrilled to read this final book about the family of witches, each person in the family cursed to have the ones they love perish immediately they admit their love. There are four books in the series, with the novel Practical magic written first, then two prequels, and now the dramatic conclusion.
Not having read the other books, I found The book of magic laborious to begin with. I seemed to be reading many pages without anything really happening, and I started to wonder about the point of it all. The plot does pick up about half way through as the younger generation, Kylie and Antonia, begin their struggle with the curse, a loved one in a critical coma following an accident, and Kylie unwittingly led down the path of evil. Sally, their mother, is desperate to ensure the safety of her daughters. There are secrets to unravel, and magic to be embraced.
There are strong themes of sisterhood and mother-daughter relationships, trust and distrust, and of personal sacrifice; the female characters are convincingly drawn; and the writing is rich in description. Perhaps it all works much better in previous books. A ReadPlus reviewer recommended The rules of magic, one of its predecessors.
Readers who have fallen in love with the characters in the previous volumes, are certain to welcome this last chapter to discover how the curse is finally overcome. For readers new to the series, I would recommend starting with one of the other books.
Themes Fantasy, Magic, Sisters, Mother-daughter relationship, Love, Good and evil.
Helen Eddy
The tale of the tiny man by Barbro Lindgren and Eva Eriksson
The Tale of the Tiny Man is a classic story written by well-known Swedish author Barbro Lindgren. It was originally called The Story of the Little Old Man and was first published in 1992. The story focuses on a tiny man who longs for a friend. He is treated very badly by the local townspeople who “thought he was too small and possibly a bit slow. They also thought his hat was ugly.” The tiny man cried alone in his house and wondered why no one liked him as he was always kind to those he met. He decides to place a sign on a tree saying FRIEND WANTED. He waits and waits for ten days but no one responds. He is so despondent, but fortunately a stray dog makes a surprise visit and over the next few days the tiny man provides it with treats when it appears each day at his house. Eventually the dog moves into his home and shares the tiny man’s life. The dog is protective of the tiny man and stands up to the town bullies. When a happy child strikes up a friendship with the dog, the tiny man withdraws into himself and goes away leaving them both. He wanders sadly through the forest for days and eventually returns to find the dog and the girl waiting.
This beautiful story is one in which many emotions are brought to the surface. Friendships need to be navigated and sharing this book with children as a read aloud will provide the perfect opportunity to discuss a range of friendship issues that can arise.
Author Jamar J Perry started writing “for Black boys who needed to understand that they were magic, that they could also have joy, that they could be vulnerable and emotional, that they could be the hero in their own stories” (quote from Perry’s website).
This book, based on Igbo and West African mythology, is Perry’s first and has so many great aspects to explore. It features three 12-year-olds as the protagonists: two boys and a girl. All three children are dark-skinned, mentioned in a matter-of-fact way rather than overemphasized. Their ties to traditional stories, responsibilities and relationships are very important to them.
This is especially true of title character Cameron. He was orphaned two years ago and is desperate to feel connection to his parents. They left a special book for him in the attic, but his grandmother has forbidden access to it. Of course, where tweens are concerned, rules are meant to be broken so during a sleepover the book is soon back in Cameron’s hands.
This sets off a magical chain of events where Cameron and his friends Zion and Aliyah are transported to another world. Cameron is given a great responsibility and the three children must work together to survive various challenges and save the day. They are supportive of each other’s weaknesses and use each other’s strengths to full advantage.
There is a lot of necessary world-building and character introduction throughout this book - I did end up skimming over some to get to the action (and still felt that I had enough context to keep up). There are strong themes of friendship, responsibility, family bonds, cultural values and good vs evil.
The relationship between Cameron and Zion is worth a separate mention. The boys are very close - they are comfortable with their love for each other, sharing a bed and finding solace in physical touch. There are no labels put on this relationship and no explicit acts. It raises an interesting talking point about young men being able to openly express their feelings as well as being able to give and receive comfort and support without embarrassment.
Themes Igbo/West African mythology, Friendship, Adventure, Magic, Cultural values, Diversity, Good vs evil.
Kylie Grant
Amazing animals: 100+ creatures that will boggle your mind by Sabrina Weiss & Paul Daviz
What on Earth Books, 2022. ISBN: 9781912920358. (Age:7+) Highly recommended.
The popularity of animal non-fiction books for children will be further enhanced by this new release, Amazing Animals: 100+ Creatures That Will Boggle Your Mind. This is the fourth book in this factual series following on from Amazing Islands, Amazing Rivers and Amazing Treasures. The attractive cover with its polar animals’ illustration and silver foil title will draw readers to it immediately. The contents page is clearly presented, set in a beautiful underwater scene with an acknowledgement from the author. Each topic is set out on a colourful double page spread with stunning illustrations and segments of information. The title for each page and a further explanation is placed in a lightly coloured text box to enable the reader to immediately focus on the topic. The information shared is both interesting and entertaining. For example, the 2.5cm Boxer Crab found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean carries a pair of sea anemones, one in each claw, to ward off predators. And another fact, the African Cichlid carries their eggs in their mouths until they hatch and once hatched, they are released into the sea but can swim back in if there is danger. This book discusses creatures from all over the world - there is even a two-page spread devoted to Down Under and includes both Australian and New Zealand creatures. Maps are included throughout and in the centre of the book is a fold out double page world map showing the continents and each of the 100 creatures mentioned in the book. At the end of the book there is a glossary, index and sources page.
This book would make a wonderful gift as well as being a great addition for home, school and public libraries.
