The humour in Field’s illustrations is matched by Bright’s text, brimming with nods to our acquisitive lifestyle and our dissatisfaction with what we accumulate.
The whale, Humphrey wanders the ocean spying things he thinks he needs to collect. Each new day brings a new want as those collected yesterday loose their shine. One day he comes to a fabulous reef, full of marvellous things and brimming with an array of fish and coral, creatures and a mass of flotsam and jetsam that speak to him.
The reef creatures are too busy bickering to notice the danger overhead even though the tiny crab, Crystal keeps warning them. As Humphrey dives down to take, Crystal calls out loudly for him to stop. She questions his motives in taking what he wants, and he responds after a lot of thought that they make him feel whole. Crystal questions this and suggests that being caring and kind will make him feel whole, and asks him if he has a gift to share. Humphrey thinks long and hard and remembers a gift given him when he was new. He opens his mouth to sing the song and all the creatures join in.
A charming story told in verse, underlines the theme of friendship as Humphrey realises what he has is enough. Friendship, companionship, singing together fills his heart and makes him feel whole.
Children will love reading about Humphrey and his ahah moment, when he stops just taking from his environment but gives back. Kids will see the parallel to their own lives, underscoring that sharing and cooperation is more important than the accumulation of goods.
Kids will love predicting the rhyming words, offering suggestions as to what it might be and pore over the detail given in the glorious illustrations, recognising the corals and seaweeds and fish which inhabit the reef. A multi layered story, kids will talk about what makes them feel whole, as well as the good feeling that friendship and giving gives them. Discussions about reefs, environment, amongst others will evolve as kids take in the layers of this book. This duo has produced several other books, The way home for Wolf being amongst my favourites.
Dreams from many rivers by Margarita Engle. Illus. by Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez
Henry Holt and Co, 2021. ISBN: 9781627795319. (Age:10+) Highly recommended.
Subtitled, A Hispanic history of the United States told in poems, this attractive hard cover book invites the reader to broaden their horizons and question the beginnings of the USA as portrayed in history books and on film and television. Puerto Rico, a territory of the USA has been settled for more than five centuries, preceding The Mayflower and Plymouth Rock, while the Indigenous history of the USA goes back millennia. But their voices are rarely heard. Engle in presenting this book of her poems aims to give readers a few glimpses of this country’s vast and complex past. After reading extensively from diaries, journals, history books and numerous firsthand accounts, she has built up an exciting book of poems reflecting a history often left unheard, and using many perspectives, not just those of the downtrodden. We hear voices from places as diverse as Boriken (Pueto Rico) in 1491, Mexico in 1812, Montana in 1900, Rhode Island in 1962 promoting through the poetry a sympathy for those affected.
And this is done beautifully. Some of the images presented in the poems are breathtaking: the opening poem 'Courage' ends with the line ‘there will be time enough for courage when I grow old’, written for a 1491 Perto Rican man. Or the Mexican view of slavery introduced by the squatters, expressed in Lawbreakers, 1829 as he watches the men, women and children forced to work in ‘fiercely hot, dusty, miserable cotton fields.’ And The Triumph of Children set in Puerto Rica in 1915, when children refused to go to school where they were forced to use English.
Each poem sings with a perspective not often heard, a voice reflecting those often mute, denied by their ethnic background or socio economic status, a place where their voice can be heard.
A well produced book of poems that will enlighten and entertain, beautifully illustrated by Beatriz Hernandez.
Themes Verse novel, Poetry, Indigenous themes, Puerto Rica, USA, Hispanic history.
Jonathon Stroud states, on the front cover of Eli Brown's latest novel Oddity, that the book is "thrillingly original." So it is!
Aesthetically, Oddity is a delight for appreciators of art and design. The cover, by Chicago based Teagan White, features an intricate white and gold on black design incorporating characters and "oddities" threaded through foliage. Linocut works by Scandinavian Karin Rytter are scattered throughout the narrative.
The impressive art suitably accompanies the highly descriptive language and hefty content of this book. Oddity is not a formulaic, smashed out story. This book did not happen over night. It is finely crafted. Open at any page and read any sentence. It will be masterful.
Oddity is not for the faint-hearted or overly sensitive reader. It could be described as an alternate history/fantasy book. It is recognisably set against the backdrop of the 1800s in North America during the time of the Louisiana Purchase but it is also a fantastical other world. Springing loosely from real and sensitive historical events, a subverted world of ordinary objects possessing strange powers accompany the central character, thirteen year old Clover Elkin, as she simultaneously flees from her father's murderous killers and seeks her true identity, an understanding of her past and her true power and vocation.
Scenes are grisly and violent. Characters, even secondary characters are well fleshed out, interesting and often compellingly repulsive. Action is rapid. Clover moves very quickly from being a motherless child accompanying her physician father through the harsh poverty-struck borderlands to becoming a grief stricken orphan having to rely on her own wit for survival.
This is a complex story covering many themes, characters and subplots but no pieces fall away. All is cleverly held together. Clover has to find and destroy evil. She has to find her true power and self, taking on the healing power of her father with what she discovers of her mysterious mother and combining both to find what she is herself. The process of uncovering truths about her parents and about the past will resonate with all readers as maturity and learning uncover misconceptions about the world for all of us.
Oddity, like the Harry Potter series, like Lord of the rings, like Jack and the beanstalk, draws upon the fascination of objects with strange powers and of secret societies of collectors of various things. And these objects have powers that defy the natural order of things: a talking rooster is a brilliant military strategist, a rag doll has superstrength, a magic teapot pours never-ending tea (like our Australian cut-and come-again Magic Pudding) and undead roadkill is cobbled together with wire and junk by a seamstress witch to become malevolent vermin. Clover allies herself with a mixed bag of powerful companions on the way including a venomous Sweetwater Viper, a super-strong rag doll and a teenage confidence trickster.
Oddity is a coming of age story. It is a coming home story. It is a challenging, disquieting powerful read.
Themes Environmental disaster, Identity, Grief, Agency, The Louisiana Purchase, First peoples, Oddities, Warfare.
Wendy Jeffrey
The missing by Dirk Kurbjuweit
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922330444. (Age:Adult) Recommended.
This book is set in Hanover in 1923, with the aftermath of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles casting a shadow over all. This fictional account is based on the life of Fritz Haarmann (also known as ‘The Butcher of Hanover’). Haarmann was convicted for the murders of 24 boys, and believed to be responsible for more. There is a memorial to the 27 known boys in Hanover. This book contains quotations from medical reports and Haarmann’s confession in its entirety. While there will be some readers who know how this story ends, the author has crafted a novel the delves into the thinking and attitudes of the times.
The novel (translated by Imogen Taylor) begins with Inspector Robert Lahnstein searching the archives for information about 10 boys who have gone missing. He has been charged with the responsibility for solving the cases and is struggling to make progress. There is pressure from his superiors and a lack of professionalism in his colleagues.
We are provided raw, uncompromising insight into the characters of Lahnstein and Haarmann. Lahnstein is an introspective man who is full of doubts and it is through his eyes that we have a clearer understanding of the 175ers and the homosexual cultural society in Hanover. The term 175ers was coined due to Paragraph 175 of the German criminal code which made homosexuality a crime. The reader is invited to consider these insights as residing within the complex political instability of the Weimar Republic.
Ethical understandings and responsibilities related to policing and justice are explored through Lahnstein’s interactions with his father (a retired policeman) and the incompetent Muller (Lahnstein’s subordinate). The reader is prompted to evaluate the role of the community in the deaths of the boys. This is a grim, and at times confronting, book. The detail is gruesome and the grief of parents palpable.
Themes Serial Murder; Grief; Historical crime; Aftermath of war.
Linda Guthrie
The Khan by Saima Mir
Point Blank, 2021. ISBN: 9780861540877. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
A Pakistani ‘Godfather’ story set in a Yorkshire town! Jia is a determined and highly successful London lawyer, but she is about to return to her family home, to take up her role as the favoured successor to the Khan, the patriarch of the Pakistani family that runs the drug and prostitution syndicate, according to time-honoured codes of respect and honour. There are family secrets that are gradually revealed as we come to learn how Jia developed her steely resolve, and how it is possible that a Muslim woman could lead up an established crime organisation. But it is the devotion to family, and respect for women and children, which distinguishes the Muslim crime group from the new interlopers from Eastern Europe.
It’s a fascinating story. Mir takes her time to build the layers, the settings, the family relationships, and the secret tragedies, as we come to appreciate the code of honour and religion that binds them all. The Khan and his family look after the Pakistani immigrants who face racism and discrimination; when the law fails them, they take the law into their own hands. Jia has learnt how to use the British legal system to get what she wants. That same cool appraisal of what is needed stands her in good stead as she returns to the Khan family.
There are some twists to the story that will surprise readers, and leave them wanting more. Jia is such a complex and intriguing heroine, it really seems like this is only the beginning of the story, there must be sequels to follow, surely. The Khan makes for a highly original, gripping insight into the underworld of migrant groups and their daily confrontations with prejudice, inequality and abuse, a new and impressive debut in the crime genre.
Themes Organised crime, Racism, Muslim community, Honour, Women.
Helen Eddy
The storm keepers' battle by Catherine Doyle
The Storm Keeper Trilogy: Book 3. Bloomsbury, 2021. ISBN: 9781526607966. (Age:12+) Highly recommended.
This is the final episode in the trilogy involving Fionn Boyle – the reluctant hero and Storm Keeper of Arronmore, first introduced in The storm keeper's island. In this final story set in Arronmore, he must rally the islanders to overthrow Morrigan, the evil sorceress that leads the soul stalkers and is keen to take control of all the islanders. She has no idea that the loyalty of the islanders is stronger than her evil power…. But first Fionn must summon all his newfound magic to give them any chance to win the final battle. This is action-packed and steeped in magical forces swirling in and through the young Fionn.
This story has parallels/similarities to a Harry Potter story with the reluctant and brave young hero having to overcome his own personal insecurities and draw on the strength of others – older islanders and his friends, in order to have any hope of overcoming evil. The battle is both sad and intense and yet the smallest hope wins against the hopelessness of evil. Because it is the ultimate part of the story it is assumed that readers have come to the storyline by reading the previous two books in the trilogy. There is not a lot of introduction to the world of the Storm Keeper or Arronmore in this book, but it is a wonderful and inspirational tale when the trilogy is read in total.
Kate Pankhurst, the author of the Fantastically Great Women picture book series, has now written a new series for older readers in a novel format. This first book is a compelling read and shares stories of women who have achieved amazing things in Science from space travel to volcanoes to botany. These women all fought against the odds in a white male-dominated world yet through perseverance and resilience they have been able to leave their mark and become role models for future generations. The story of Mae Jemison, the first Black American woman in space, is one of absolute dedication, racism and persistence. Her brilliant mind and obvious talent in many areas led her to achieve so much. As a young child she was curious about everything which led her to become a medical doctor, an astronaut and finally she started a company that would find ways that science and technology could support ordinary people. The story of Janaki Ammal who was born in 1897 and became a botanist is one of a strong Indian woman overcoming traditional expectations to achieve quite impressive things. During her life journey she was discriminated against, one for being a woman, also from being from the ‘untouchable’ class in India as well as having to travel to other countries at times to fulfil her yearn for research and learning.
As well as providing insightful information about the women discussed in the book, the author has also been able to provide an historical perspective of social conditions of the time. Throughout this book there are black and white graphic-style images, speech bubbles, maps, changes in text style, darkness and size all which add to the engagement for the reader.
This very worthwhile read would be a wonderful addition to any home, classroom, school or public library.
Themes Women, Scientists, History, Biography.
Kathryn Beilby
Fourteen wolves by Catherine Barr and Jenni Desmond
This beautifully illustrated non-fiction book begins with an introduction to Yellowstone National Park USA. A vast wilderness spanning 9000 kilometres, it is home to thousands of different wildlife species and is visited by four million people each year. However over nearly one hundred years ago wolves disappeared from the park through over-hunting and the natural balance of the ecosystem began to break down. Fourteen Wolves is the story of how scientists and conservationists in 1995 began the long project to turn the park back to its once pristine condition by rewilding fourteen wolves from Canada. The story is fascinating to read and while the size of the font is rather small it does not distract from the information as it is complemented by the stunning visual images. Part One tells the journey of the wolves from Canada and the cycle of life. Once the wolves are acclimatised and then released, they move in packs and their survival begins. Their prey are the elk which have grown in number and disrupted the ecosystem. The return of the wolves has now begun to balance the ecosystem. Part Two discusses the Rise of the Wolves beginning with an explanation of the food chain. The results of the wolves’ hunting provides the reader with an understanding of how important the key predator is in maintaining the natural balance for birds, animals, plants and landscapes. Part Three conveys an awareness of How Nature Works and is followed by information about rewilding and conservation.
While this book focuses on a particular place in the USA, it gives the reader a greater understanding of how important it is for humans to carefully consider the impact they have on the environment. This book is would be a perfect addition to a home, school or public library.
Themes Rewilding, Wolves, Yellowstone National Park USA, Conservation, Environmental impacts, Ecosystems, Science, Life Cycles.
An interesting narrative, non-fiction book that tries to convey the important role faeces plays in the world and how scientists are using it to help animals and the environment.
Heather Montgomery is a passionate scientist who takes the reader along with her on field trips and to Zoom meetings as she investigates what can be discovered from faeces (or feces if you are in the USA). She has packed a huge amount of information in this novel-style book in which she uses different scientists to help her to understand aspects of their work in this field. From an inventor of a biogas powered streetlamp that uses “doggie do” as its source of fuel to identifying where poachers are hunting using the DNA found in Elephant scats.
The author injects plenty of humour through her very funny footnotes on each page, which are then fully annotated at the back of the book. It also contains a full index and a glossary of Waste Words. The cover is bright and colourful and is as attractive as her other book written within this theme called Something Rotten: a fresh look at roadkill.
The text is fast paced with a strong sense of the author's voice and is interesting enough for an adult or high school student to read from cover to cover. I am not sure younger children would bother to read it through as I did. So, my worry with this book is who is the audience? I think the form of the book could have been more carefully considered. The illustrations are only small line drawings on a few pages in each chapter. A fully illustrated non-fiction book with photographs, tables, charts etc. may have had a wider audience.
Themes Faeces, Animal droppings, Environment.
Gabrielle Anderson
Do animals fall in love? by Katharina von der Gathen and Anke Kuhl
The author of Tell Me: What Children Really Want To Know About Bodies, Sex, and Emotions (2020) has written another book focused on sexual reproduction but this time it is all about animals. Katharina von der Gathen is a German sex-educator who writes with both honesty and clever humour. This non-fiction book has a very detailed contents section with the chapters divided into three main headings: The Art of Seduction, Mating and The Babies Arrive. Within each chapter are further categories with headings such as Dance with me, When love hurts and Difficult births. The opening introductory page begins with a series of handwritten questions in speech bubbles such as Do Animals have sex too? Can animals be gay? How do elephants have sex? The introduction then continues with an explanation of the book and covers the following topics:
How they find and compete for mates The unusual ways they have sex How animal babies are conceived How they make their way into the world.
The information presented to the reader takes them on a very interesting and wondrous journey with amazing facts shared. The author uses correct terminology throughout so for many readers this may require explanation. For example the male silverfish fertilizes the female by weaving fine gossamer threads over the floor where he deposits his sperm capsule alongside. When the female silverfish detects the threads she opens her ovipositor to take up the waiting sperm.
This book is full of informative material that children will enjoy browsing through and sharing with their peers and adults. The colourful graphic-style illustrations provide an important visual and often humorous connection. This book would be a worthwhile addition to any home, school or public library with the possibility of guidance and support for younger readers.
Three highly eccentric characters, different ages and backgrounds, somehow find their paths come together, and the thing that ultimately unites them is the world of bees. Jake is a trumpet playing teenager with a mohawk haircut, his life shattered by a stupid accident that leaves him paraplegic. Alice is a middle-aged loner, trying to contain her surging grief for her dead husband. And Harry is a young misfit with social anxiety, who is always being conned by the wrong people.
Alice is a beekeeper. A panic attack whilst driving, sees her send Jake and his wheelchair off the side of the road and thousands of honeybees buzzing from upturned hives in her truck. That eventful night is the beginning of an unlikely friendship between the two. Alice comes to provide an escape for Jake from his abusive father. Jake discovers a special talent; his musical ear can recognise the sound of a happy queen in the hive. And it is true! I had to check on Google. The queen bee makes a different sound to the rest of the bees, less of a buzz and more of a piping or tooting sound!
Eventually the outcast Harry also joins their home, despite his fear of insects, and contributes his woodworking and problem solving skills. They work together to care for the bees, expand the hives and fight the corrupt insecticide company that threatens their lives.
The music of bees is a truly heartwarming story of friendship between three unlikely people. And along the way you will painlessly learn all about the lives of bees, the dedicated workers, the queen, and the amazing community that bees make up.
Themes Friendship, Outsiders, Bees, Beekeeping, Caring for the environment.
Helen Eddy
Harry Potter and the half-blood prince by J.K. Rowling
Entering his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter faces greater challenges than ever before. The whole magical world knows that Voldemort is back, and everyone is looking to Harry as 'The Chosen One'. Harry is having private lessons with Dumbledore, and his friends are dealing with their own issues - hormones and feelings! Add on to all of this, Harry's suspicion of Draco Malfoy - is he up to something? Will anyone believe Harry?
Harry Potter came out when I was in high school, and the last few came out when I was in my late teens/early twenties. To think I'd ever be reviewing a Harry Potter book is crazy, and I didn't think there'd be much more to it than the original book I got back in the day. I was wrong. The Hogwarts House edition of The Half Blood Prince is stunning. The coloured edges, the dust jacket, the illustrations, the extras in the book. Amazing. Readers can now have house pride while reading the series, learning even more about their particular house - this version is the Gryffindor edition, which has extras that include an introduction to Gryffindor house and quotes from a famous Gryffindor. Readers will be even more immersed in the world of Harry Potter than ever before with these delightful extras, along with the thrilling story, covering everything from friendship and love to war, heartbreak and loss. There's a reason the Harry Potter series has remained popular - the story, the characters, the magic. Potterheads will need to have the house editions in their personal collections, and libraries might like to vary the series by having a selection from each house!
Themes Fantasy, Magic, Friendship, Love, Relationships, War, Loss, Humour.
Such an apt title! Whereabouts brings together little scenes from a woman’s life as though piecing together a picture of who she is and where she belongs. Each short chapter presents a place: on the sidewalk, on the street, in the office, at the trattoria, in the waiting room… each almost a little story in itself. They present insights into other people’s lives, but the connection between them all is the woman herself, her thoughts and feelings. She seems to have many friends, even lovers, but the overall feeling is of a solitary person moving slowly through the world around her. And there is a sense of melancholy, of loneliness, and lost moments, missed relationships.
Originally written in Italian, by a London born daughter of Indian migrants to the United States, the novel reflects Lahiri’s sense of dislocation, and has its nascence in her love of Italy and the Italian language. The setting of Whereabouts is an Italian city, probably Rome, where one can wander from a bar to a trattoria down narrow winding roads, an observer of daily scenes, reminders of moments in one’s own life.
It is a beautifully written novel, poetic in the way that with just a few words it creates scenes, feelings and memories. It is one to pick up and read again and ponder.
Themes Identity, Loneliness.
Helen Eddy
Space detectives by Mark Powers. Illus. by Dapo Adeola
Bloomsbury, 2021. ISBN: 9781526603180. (Age:7-11)
Floating above Earth is the encapsulated space city of Starville. This amazing space station is home to a variety of famous celebrities and wealthy citizens.
Connor and Ethan are spending their summer holidays on Starville, selling ice creams and waiting to solve crimes and mysteries. Edwina Snoddy is the daughter of Starville’s supreme governor and during a mishap at the ice cream stall the two boys are invited by Edwina to a special function for the governor. It is during the function that disaster strikes, a mysterious computer virus affects Starville’s orbit and the whole space city is on track to being destroyed! Ethan and Connor are the space detectives but can they save the space station from crashing into the moon?
This is a fun space story with alien creatures, inventions and interesting plot twists. Readers will enjoy the wacky space creatures, such as the “Tufted Grotsnobbler” who features throughout the story.
A vibrant front cover and black and white illustrations throughout the book add to its appeal.
Mark Powers has written other fun stories such as the “Spy Toys” series and a fantasy series called “Drafted.” This is the first fiction series Dapo Adeloa has illustrated and he is the co-creator of a picture book called “Look Up”. Both author and illustrator live in England.
An amusing book for students 7 to 11 years old. A short book trailer is available here.
Themes Space stations, Holidays, Detectives.
Jane Moore
How to talk to a tiger by Jason Bittel. Illus. by Kelsey Buzzell
The title How to talk to a Tiger and Other Animals and the beautiful cover illustrations instantly draw the reader in. This engaging non-fiction text gives a myriad of information about how animals communicate. The contents page is divided into four sections, Sights, Sounds, Smell and Taste, and Electrosensory and Touch, and discusses many animals and their behaviour. From electric blue flames found in the seas off the islands off Bermuda which are actually Bermuda fire worms, how the jackdaw uses its eyes to engage in a staring competition to keep a nest and to the male lyrebird of the south of Australia that mimics all sounds it hears, this book will continue to provide hours and hours of reading enjoyment. While the font is relatively small it is broken into easy to read and follow chunks and is complemented by wonderful illustrations which draw the reader’s eye to the text. As well as a detailed index, this book also cleverly labels each sense reviewed next to the odd page numbers.
This book is a perfect book to browse as there is so much information to be learnt and shared and would be a perfect addition to a home, school or public library.
