Reviews

The place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta

Noodle bear by Mark Gravas

Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781760651022.
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Bears, Noodles, Food, Seasons, Friendship. One the first day of spring, Fox holds a party and invites all the other animals. But Bear does not come. Fox goes to his cave to see if he is alright and finds him snoring loudly, his cave littered with empty noodle bowls and packets. He has spent the whole winter bingeing on Noodle Knockout, a weird TV show, and eating noodles. He has eaten all the noodles he could find and now waking wants more. He searches but cannot find any and the other animals offer him their food. Each is rejected as being too crunchy or too flowery or too splintery. He cannot find anything to eat so decides to go to the city and become a contestant on the show where he can eat all the noodles he could wish for.
The digital illustrations will provoke laughter from the readers as they see the bear in his messy cave, watching TV incessantly, and rejecting the food from the other animals. Readers will recognise themselves in the bear, and empathise with his longing for noodles.
Of course, once in the city he is invited to be a contestant and wins easily, becoming a TV star with his own TV show. As good as this is, he begins to remember his friends in the forest and the good things they did together, and decides to return home. Once there he has enough noodles for everyone, and they find that they are just to their liking.
Fran Knight

The wolf wilder by Katherine Rundell

Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN: 9781408872352.
(Age: 9-13) Highly recommended. Themes: Wolves, Russia, Nineteenth century, Animals, Survival. A totally engrossing adventure story about Feo and her wolves, seeking to survive in the harsh Russian winter while being pursued by those who see wolves as a threat, something to be hunted down and killed.
While a wolf wilder, someone who helps wolves survive in the wild after years of living with humans, may be a fiction, there are many people around the world helping partially domesticated animals return to the wild. Rescue parks exist to return animals to the wild, their natural place rather than be dependent upon humans.
In Russia, the wolf is seen as a sign of strength and power and pups are stolen shortly after birth to be sold for large profits to the idle rich, in whose grand houses the wolves are trained to beg and sit, fed inappropriate food, discarded when they grow too big or become aggressive.
Feo and her mother take these abandoned wolves and show them how to survive in the cold snow covered wilds 1000 miles from St Petersburg, but into their area comes General Rakov, a man obsessed with ridding the woods of these wolves and their benefactors. Feo befriends one of the garrison, a boy her age entranced when he sees a pup born, Ilya, slipping away from his work to help Feo raise the pup.
But one breathless night he comes to warn the women: a cow has been killed and the general is on the rampage, death in his heart.
After seeing her mother bound and taken away by the soldiers, Feo flees, determined to find her and free her.
So she, Ilya, the three wolves and new pup set out on the journey to St Petersburg. They have the most extraordinary of adventures, meeting others, slipping past the soldiers, helping villages with their own survival as the soldiers move against anyone who helps Feo. Staying with others gives her the opportunity to educate them and the readers about wolves, their habits, habitat and lifestyles, and I can assure all readers that they too will come away from this book with a wolf sighting added to their to do list.
Rundell writes with incredible sympathy, engaging the reader in a story so real, you feel the need to brush the snow from your eyelashes, duck beneath the overhanging fir tree boughs and nestle your face in the warm fur of the new pup.
It is the last days of Tsarist Russia, and glimpses of that failed system of government can be seen throughout this amazing story. Teacher's notes are available.
Fran Knight

The flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold

Subterranean, 2019. ISBN 9781596068926. 96pg.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Themes: Science fiction. Lovers of Bujold's Hugo Award winning Miles Vorkosigan series will rejoice to discover a short stand-alone novel starring Ekaterin, Miles' clever wife who is determined to help Vashnoi exclusion zone that was been devastated by radiation when the Centagandans attacked the planet. With the help of scientist Enrique Borgos, she has attempted to use bioengineered insects to regenerate a region but when checking on the experiment finds that some have been stolen. Further investigation from the air uncovers the fact that there are four individuals living in the area. It is up to her to help them leave Vashnoi for medical treatment.
Ekaterin is clever and empathetic and readers will enjoy getting to know her character and her abilities in this short work. She emerges a formidable woman who is equally as compassionate and intelligent as her husband and is very good at problem solving. The unique science behind the bioengineered insects is also fascinating.
Fans who want to know more about the planet Barrayar and Miles' wife will not be disappointed and readers new to Bujold's work will discover a satisfying short stand-alone read that will have them searching for the Miles Vorkosigan series.
Pat Pledger

Every child a song by Nicola Davies

Illus. by Marc Martin. Wren and Rook, 2019. ISBN: 9781526361417.
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Themes: Universal rights of the child, Human rights. A unique and moving picture book combines a tender story with information about the rights that children are entitled to under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It begins with the birth of a child: 'When you were born, a song began...' and goes on to show that the child needs to be 'nourished, cherished, celebrated.' Using a song as metaphor, the reader sees the child soaring and exploring and meeting other children 'unique and special', but the short lyrical text also shows what it is like to be exploited, imprisoned or part of war and needing refuge. It exhorts everyone to raise their 'voices for the right of every song to sing out loud, bold and unafraid'. In conclusion Davies has chosen some of the rights of the child to emphasise.
Marc Martin's watercolour illustrations complement the text and give the reader extra information to help understand the needs of the child. Dark colours show the tribulations of child labour and boat people, while bright colours portray the happiness of children when their rights are maintained.
This would be a wonderful book to use to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (30 November) and could be used at any time when discussing human rights and the needs of children everywhere. It is a book that would help children to show compassion and kindness and to stand up for human rights.
Pat Pledger

Inland by Tea Obreht

Hachette, 2019. ISBN: 9780297867074.
(Age: 16+) Highly recommended. Themes: Historical fiction, Survival, Drought, Cameleers, Ghosts, Trust, Relationships. Set in the harsh drought ridden country of 1890's southwest America, Obrecht's Inland tells two stories that gradually draw closer together, both set in harsh inhospitable environments, with people struggling to make an existence, dealing with loneliness and ghosts of people dead.
Outlaw, Lurie, described as a 'hirsute Levantine' on the wanted posters, travels for a while with a band of cameleers attached to a US military expedition into the desert but pursuit by the relentless Marshal Berger sees him once again finding his own way, but this time with a strange companion for whom he feels a growing attachment.
The other story is one day in the life of homesteader Nora. With her husband gone to find water, and her two adult sons disappearing early in the morning, she is left with her anxious child Toby, a wheelchair-bound mother-in-law, and young helpmate, Josie, who communicates with the spirit world. With only the last dregs of water to contend with the scorching heat, Nora has to stand guard against hostile outsiders, and now, a phantom wild beast that has put fear into Josie and Toby.
Both Lurie and Nora are tough individuals each dealing with ghosts of the past. For Lurie it is past companions he continues to see and who infect him with their needs; for Nora it is the ghost of her daughter, dead from heat stroke many years ago. Both have to contend with loneliness, hardship, and distrust of others. Their stories are a journey of self-enlightenment and exploration of the human need for trust and companionship. The reader is drawn into the two stories, wondering how they will eventually come together. The twist at the end makes for an unforgettable ending.
It is a panoramic novel, each chapter written with a different voice, the language rich and poetic, evoking another time and place. It has many of the elements of the American western but is highly original in weaving in the little known history of the U.S. Camel Cavalry Corp, and the mix of Middle Eastern migrants, Mexicans, and Indians. It is a good reminder that America, like Australia, has always been a multicultural mix of people.
Helen Eddy

The secret dragon by Ed Clarke

Puffin, 2019. ISBN: 9780241360514. 239p.
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy. If life is a paradox, then The Secret Dragon is duplicitous to its core. Mari wants to be a palaeontologist like her father, who was tragically struck by lightning when she was a toddler. Her mother, Rhian, is not academically minded but invested in the living animals on their farm. Mari finds the dragon egg after the new vet's son, Dylan, sets off a landslide near her dig on the cliffs. Inside, is the stuff of folklore, a living red Gwiber or Wyvern, which Mari christens 'Gwebe'. The Gwiber is also conflicted - affectionate and troublesome. Mari thinks about making her father proud and naming her momentous find in his honour - Pterodactyl Jonathani. She deceives her mother and wags school in order to discuss the discovery with Professor Griff Griffiths, a palaeontologist working in children's television.
With Dylan as her assistant, Mari learns to connect to her own mammalian wisdom. Yet paradoxically, it is Dylan who is taken in by Ffion's charms, allowing their classmate to steal Gwebe from Dylan's shed. Tension between mum and daughter mounts when Dylan's dad, Gareth asks her mum out on a date. Rhian feels 6 years is long enough for Mari to get used to the idea of replacing her father. But, more lies surface . . .
The book captures the inevitable tension between different types of people and their motivations. Professor Griff turns out to be other than he seems and Dylan helps Mari to choose between the living dragon or her prospective career. When Mari sneers that being popular means both wanting to be like everyone else before being collectively mean to someone different, she echoes the nuances of the human paradox in Clarke's book. This is a novel ideal for group study. It ably demonstrates that very little is what it seems.
Ed Clarke is a film and TV producer versed in adult drama, but we eagerly await his next children's adventure, The Order of the Dragon, due in 2020. The 10 fossil facts appended, are mostly devoted to Clarke's inspiration, Mary Anning - the first person to find a 'sea dragon'(Plesiosaurus) skeleton. It was so strange at the time, it was thought to be fake. You see, in the best novels, the circle closes for the reader's plenitude.
Deborah Robins

The fated sky by Mary Robinette Kowal

Lady Astronaut book 2. Tor Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780765398949.
(Age: Adult - Senior secondary) Recommended. Themes: Science fiction, Women astronauts, Space colonies, Mathematicians, Gender stereotyping, Racism. Fans of the award winning The Calculating Stars will devour The fated sky which is set a couple of years later. Lady Astronaut Elma York is now living on a colony on the Moon and may have the chance to be part of a trip to Mars. After an asteroid devastated Earth it had became imperative for new worlds to be discovered, and Elma is determined to be part of that journey. Along with 13 other astronauts of differing race and nationalities, she is assigned to the Martian mission and sets out into space.
Kowal examines what it would be like to live and work together in a space vehicle, where the Captain doesn't believe that women should be allowed into space, and where a South African man doesn't trust his non-white companions. This examination of gender stereotyping and racist attitudes as well as the dangers of the voyage, make for a breathtaking and thought provoking read in this alternative history. It is fascinating to ponder what would have happened if the NASA space program had continued in the 60s, and what effects the racism and sexism so evident then would have had.
The fated sky, like The calculating stars, is sure to be on many short lists and award lists and readers will hope for a third book, while looking out the short story, The lady astronaut of Mars (2014), which was the catalyst for the series.
Pat Pledger

Run away by Harlan Coben

Cornerstone, 2019. ISBN: 9781784751173.
(Age: 16+) Recommended for lovers of thrillers. Themes: Mystery, Drug addiction, Fathers. An exciting stand-alone thriller, Run away grabs the reader right from the first page and with many twists and hooks, keeps up the momentum until the unexpected end. Simon Greene's daughter Paige has disappeared. A drug addict, she has an abusive partner. Simon continually searches for her and one day he believes that he has spotted her in Central Park. She runs and following her trail leads Simon to danger and things that he could not have imagined.
Harlan Coben is a master at hooking the reader in and keeping the suspense and tension going until the dramatic conclusion. Coben's portrayal of the father who just can't give up on his daughter, even after her abusive boyfriend is found dead, is very effective. Simon's steps to find Paige and to find out who is the murderer, are vividly described and make it very difficult to put the book down. The dark side of the drug world is a dangerous place for him to venture into and this background makes the story even more thrilling.
Run away kept me guessing until the end and although all the clues are there when you know what has happened, they weren't obvious to me while reading. Verdict: An exciting thriller that was hard to put down and easy to read as it was a stand-alone.
Pat Pledger

Computer coding games for kids by Carol Vorderman

Dorling Kindersley, 2019. ISBN: 9780241317747.
(Age: 8-16) Themes: Computer programming, Programming languages, Computer games - design and construction. Computer coding projects for kids presents a visually appealing step by step guide to computer programming for kids, beginning with the playability components that make a fantastic computer game, characters, mechanics, objects, rules, goals, controls difficulty levels and the game world. Computer games range span across different genres - traditional, combat, role playing or puzzles. By developing understandings of how coding works, the basics of Scratch 3.0 and sourcing the program, we are introduced to the first game Star Hunter. With clear instructions, screen grabs, easy to follow instructions and little pixelated characters providing helpful hints, young programmers will soon achieve success.
Computer coding concepts are also explained from using coordinates, looping, Boolean expressions and writing strings of coding. In the Scratch section, there are progressively longer games to program. Cheese Chase is a maze game where Mimi the Mouse tries to avoid the beetles and ghosts on her journey to find the cheese. Jumpy Monkey's mission is to jump and eat all the bananas. In the second section, the Python language is introduced, utilising the same format while building on the concepts learned in the Scratch chapters.
Dorling Kindersley publications are always visually appealing and realistically written to suit the target audience. Each computer game is precisely broken down into easy to understand steps, with plenty of tips and concepts explained. Computer programming for kids has been revised from the 2015 edition to bring the coding up-to-date with Scratch 3.0. Just right for young techies keen to begin programming and for those who enjoy the challenges of mastering more complex gaming techniques.
Rhyllis Bignell

Zanzibar by Catherina Valckx

Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781776572564. 65p
(Age: 7+) Early Chapter Book. Zanzibar is an ordinary, contented crow who unfortunately begins to believe that he is lacking in some way. Achille LeBlab is to blame. As the special correspondent to the 'Voices of the Forest' newspaper, he is seeking interesting subjects to write about. He tells Zanzibar that apart from his name, there is absolutely nothing special about him.
Without rhyme or reason, Zanzibar reaches the very arbitrary but specific belief that his special talent is the ability to lift a dromedary in the air with one wing.
The quest for an Arabian camel begins and he tells Paulette the mole his intentions. Sidi, the Fennec fox, helps him to find a very thin camel called Cheb. Madam Adelle is a moth yet the postman is a Seagull, named Monsieur Seagull. It seems only animals with jobs have surnames and these describe their species, or their occupation, since the lizard reporter is Monsieur LeBlab.
But will Zanzibar's belief in his ability be justified and will Monsieur LeBlab want to write a story about an incredible feat? Indeed, where is the evidence?
Historically, crows were trouble and not extraordinary. Nearly 200 years ago, the Indian crow was introduced to the island of Zanzibar but spread to the mainland where it very quickly became a pest. Coincidentally, 100 yrs ago, George Bateman translated an East African folktale about a clever crow in his collection, Zanzibar Tales. Science has decided, they are actually extremely good problem solvers.
Thus, the retro look and feel of this children's book hints at the kind of story we will read. But Valckx's Zanzibar is naive, more like the characters in enchanting French classics such as Babar, where animals seem to be concerned with one dimensional circumstances before reaching a simple conclusion. And so . . . we discover that it is never too late to do something incredible.
Learn more about this Dutch author.
Deborah Robins

The agony house by Cherie Priest

Illus. by Tara O'Connor. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780545934299.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Themes: Ghosts, Horror. With a clever graphic/novel hybrid The Agony House provides chills and thrills for the teen reader. Seventeen-year-old Denise Farber, her mom, and her stepfather are trying to renovate the Argonne House, a very old run down house in New Orleans, but ghosts inhabiting the house are not happy. Denise finds an old comic book in the attic, starring feisty Lucida Might, crime fighter and it may have clues to an old crime and the reason that horrifying incidents are happening in the 'Agony' house.
The gripping composition of this combination of types, graphic and novel, make it quite difficult to put down. O'Connor's illustrations from the comic and stand-alone pictures all stand out in blue, while the text from Priest is engrossing and easy to read. Denise is a determined heroine, very able in confronting not only ghosts but opposition to the renovation from her neighbourhood.
The agony house is a memorable ghost story that fans of ghost stories and the supernatural are sure to enjoy.
Pat Pledger

Encyclopedia of grannies by Eric Veille

Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781776572434.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Humour, Grandmothers, Diversity, Expectations. With a tongue placed firmly in the cheek, this overview of what to expect from a grandmother will encourage howls of recognition alongside surprises for the unwary as a huge array of behaviours are attributed to the grandmothers of the world.
The board book type of publication will be able to ward off rough wear and tear as many young children will want to read of their exploits and share what their grannies do. From the front hard cover showing a grannie in her tights springing across the page her two grandchildren hanging onto a leg each, readers will respond with smiles and lots of laughter. This is not what a grandmother is expected to do.
Opening the book, a page is devoted to the general sort of grandmother, then their ages, and what to call them. And over the pages, more unusual behaviour is shown: knitting, flexibility, vocabulary, their cats, the way they use buses, how they travel and so on, each different page alive with humorous comments about how they live and expounds the idea that they are knowledgable, clever, fond of cats, certainly fond of their grandchildren and live lives full of interest and variety. Not to be underestimated, and certainly not ignored.
Funny illustrations serve to highlight the text, and readers will have fun reading the small boxes of text on each page to see how it fits with the theme. This book will serve to be a great starting off point for discussions about grandparents as part of the family.
Fran Knight

Becoming Dinah by Kit de Waal

Orion Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781510105706. 243p., pbk.
(Age guide: 13+) Highly recommended. Who doesn't love a road trip novel? This is not a standard coming of age story but a fresh take on a much-loved classic. Kit de Waal uses the road trip to chart the journey from one state of being to another, using flashbacks to explain the main characters' pasts and how they came to be where they are. The author takes Melville's Moby Dick and brings it into the current age, casting Ishmael as a girl and Ahab as the former leader of the defunct New Bedford Fellowship. Both are in pain and both are obsessed - Ishmael/Dinah struggling with sexual identity and coming of age; Ahab with the pain of a life he cherished in ruins. We join Dinah and Ahab as they traverse the countryside in The Pequod, an old VW camper, in an attempt to retrieve Ahab's stolen van, and we feel the darkness and confusion that has taken over their lives. Their obsessions define the story and are quite heartbreakingly relatable and tragic. This is a novel about love and loss and isolation; about looking back and the process of rebirth in moving forward. It is about finding out who you are . . . finding your tribe. Given the variety of themes - obsession, sexual identity, isolation, personal growth as well as being a retelling of Moby Dick, this book could be used in the classroom as a class text or as an independent reading novel to explore a number of ideas.
Gaye Howe

The runaways by Ulf Stark

Illus. by Kitty Crowther. Gecko, 2019. ISBN: 9781776572342. 129p
(Age: 9+) Recommended. Kitty Crowther's colour pencil illustrations create low expectations of an outwardly self-published title, but it wasn't long before this reader was teary eyed. Indeed, fan's of Fredrik Backman's A man called Ove will appreciate the humour and pathos behind every grumpy old man.
Grandpa is retired. A ship's engineer, he built his wife a white house, high on an island. The Runaways is a typical inter-generational story where the patriarch and his grandson share a close bond. Of course Grandpa is a blue collar worker while Dad is a white collar type. Dad never makes time to visit his father who broke his leg in a fall, after Grandma's death. To make matters worse, Grandpa makes the hospital staff as miserable as he feels.
But Grandpa remains a strong influence on Gottfried Jnr and the two plan an escape with the help of Adam. Adam is really Ronnie, the freckled baker, but everyone calls him Adam because of his prominent Adam's apple. Adam, a worthy adversary for Grandpa, agrees to help the runaways to catch the ferry and spend one last night in Grandpa's old house. Gottfried conceived a football camp and Grandpa claimed to be visiting Gottfried's father - just so Grandpa can sit in Grandma's chair by the window and understand what she saw.
Metaphysical questions arise about memory and what we each perceive, given our separate memories, experiences and imaginations. Figurative language enchants the reader: 'I held Grandpa's hand and after a while he went to sleep. I looked at him and thought about all the things we'd done together. He looked happy. He snored quietly. It sounded like a ship starting its engines, about to depart.'
Grandma's lingonberry jam, retrieved from his own cellar on the island, inspires Grandpa to live to finish the jar, but the sublime Gottfried has his own quest - convincing Grandpa that there is an afterlife.
Deborah Robins