Ill. by Alex T. Smith. Hodder, 2017. ISBN 9781444938401
(Age: 5-8) Recommended. The illustrations in this are fantastic but
the story is needlessly long and lacklustre. When young Emma makes a
dragon out of egg boxes, the local gardener asserts, "That critter's
got magic... put him to sleep under the moon and watch what
happens". Emma heeds his advice and the next morning Egg Box Dragon
is alive and causing mischief with his new fire-breathing ways. It
is soon discovered, however, that Egg Box Dragon has a very helpful
gift of being able to find lost items. When the Queen discovers the
biggest diamond from her crown is missing she sends for Egg Box
Dragon to come at once. After he recovers the diamond, he and Emma
are given the royal treatment and driven home.
The illustrations have a retro 1960s feel (judging by the clothing
and cars) and are ever so intricate. The characters have exaggerated
features to add interest (big hair, big glasses, tall hats, etc.)
and the pictures are funny, lively and fascinating. The narrative
though, comes to a bit of a flat and abrupt end and the whole story
is a bit dull and uninspired. It is a shame because the concept is
interesting, the character of Egg Box Dragon is amusing and the
illustrations are incredibly good. Unfortunately, the book has not
come together as a whole.
Nicole Nelson
Have sword, will travel by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781742374024
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Knights, Chivalry, Swords.
When a reader picks up a book by New York Times bestselling authors,
there is always a treat in store and Have sword, will travel is
certainly that. From New York Times bestselling authors Garth Nix
and Sean Williams, comes this funny adventure story starring a
talking sword and two young friends.
When Odo and Eleanor find a magical sword in a river they are
astounded to discover that not only does it speak but it claims that
Odo is now a knight. Eleanor isn't too happy about this as she had
always wanted to become a knight but Odo is the one that Biter
insists must carry him so she is forced to go along on a quest to
save their village from dragons and villains.
Full of quirky humour and entertaining dialogue this fantasy
adventure story is a joy to read. Odo and Eleanor's epic journey
finds them encountering a group of bandits, meeting Sir Saskia a
real knight, rescuing a young lad from slavery in a village where
arms are forged and discovering river that has been dammed up.
Eleanor is a feisty young girl, courageous and adventurous and comes
into her own in the story. Odo is a steady boy who has no desire to
be a knight, but knows that he must do the right thing. The sword
Hildebrand Shining Foebiter ('call me Biter'), provides much of the
humour in the tale with its funny comments.
This is an easy book to read as the adventures and action keep the
reader fully engrossed in what's going on. In addition, the main
protagonists are very likeable and the villains satisfyingly dastardly.
I look forward to meeting these characters again in book 2, Let
sleeping dragons lie.
Pat Pledger
Where's Wally? Destination: Everywhere! by Martin Handford
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406376241
(Ages: 5-12) Recommended. Picture Puzzles. This special edition
celebrating 30 years of Where's Wally? revisits twelve
classic scenes from Wally's past adventures, each one slightly
altered and with more searches and games than before. On each page
Wally recounts his past adventure and sets a challenge for the
pictured scene, in addition to finding Wally, the four other
characters and five lost items. In addition, there are numerous
other challenges for more advanced searchers and puzzlers.
There is a very good reason why Where's Wally has been so
successful over the last 30 years and probably will be into the
future. The illustrations, even though they come from previous
publications, do not look out-dated, proving the timelessness of the
format. The crazy, busy scenes encourage hours of puzzling fun and
will be enjoyed by new Wally readers as well as those
dedicated fans who have seen each of these scenes before.
Nicole Nelson
The epic city by Kushanava Choudhury
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408888889
(Age: Adult) The subtitle is The world on the streets of
Calcutta and this aptly describes the focus of Choudhury's
book. Although a graduate of Princeton and Yale and thus successful
in the eyes of his proud parents, Indian immigrants who have carved
out a new life in the United States away from the tumultuous world
of Calcutta, it is that life cut off when he was only 12 that draws
Choudhury back again and again - it is there in the streets of
Calcutta that he feels his real self belongs. Nobody can understand
his decision to live and work in Calcuttta, when he has so much
opportunity elsewhere, and it even threatens his relationship with
Durba, the Indian girl who becomes his wife.
The book is a love affair with Calcutta and its street life full of
hawkers, fish-sellers, idol-makers, the whole gamut of livelihoods
lining the alleyways. And most interesting of all is the 'adda', the
spontaneous discussions of life and politics that can keep people
engaged for hours. Choudhury's book becomes like a collection of
adda, he tells us the stories of Calcutta, the intricacies of
flat-hunting, the lovers' retreats behind umbrellas in parks, the
long enduring crafts handed from one generation to the next, the
religious celebrations, and most especially the horrific impact of
the 1947 Partition on the lives of the people, divided into Hindu
and Muslim regions by the departing British colonialists. The epic city is a rich revelation of the life and struggles
of the people of Calcutta, and would vividly re-ignite a
kaleidoscope of memories for any reader who has ever travelled to
India.
Helen Eddy
Birthday Boy by David Baddiel
Ill. by Jim Field. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2017. ISBN
9780008200480
(Age: 8 - 12 years) Sam Green is really looking forward to his
birthday and wishes it was every day. His very sensible seven-year
old sister Ruby disagrees and points out that if birthdays were
every day, they wouldn't be special. When Sam's wish comes true,
however, he starts to regret his wish. Funnily enough he blames his
guinea pig Spock, who looks at him with disdain. Sam takes a long
time to decide he just wants things to go back to normal.
For the first six months of repeated birthdays, for at least a third
of the book, the author entertained readers with a ridiculous amount
of descriptions of parties and presents. Sam's character quickly got
on my nerves, particularly when reading about how his family were
completely broke and going without necessities in order to pay for
his birthday celebrations each day and his nonchalance about this.
'I want I want I want'. However, I'm sure kids will really enjoy the
humour in this book.
The illustrations, by Jim Field, added the comic quality to the
story line, and it did aid in allowing the reader to recognize how
farfetched the Groundhog Day idea was. Unfortunately at points, I
felt like the author was sending the wrong message to the 8-12 age
group instead of focusing on building firm relationships with family
and giving less thought to material things.
Mind you, the first novel by this duo, The Parent Agency won
Best Laugh
out loud award in 2016, so maybe I wasn't in the right frame
of mind when I read it.
Clare Thompson
Malala's magic pencil by Malala Yousafzai
Ill. by Kerascoet. Puffin, 2017. ISBN 9780241322567
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: Education. Prejudice. Women's
rights. Taliban. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, has
made her amazing story available to younger readers in this
outstanding picture book, Malala's magic pencil. Malala came
to worldwide attention when a terrorist attempted to kill her in
2012. She had promoted the education of girls in war-torn Pakistan,
writing under an assumed name for BBC Urdu. In this book we see how
girls are imposed upon by the growing threat of the Taliban in her
city.
Malala loves watching a TV show about a boy with a magic pencil, who
when hungry would draw something and eat it. Malala wishes she had
such a pencil, and put a lock on her door, or nullify the terrible
smells from the rubbish dump. But one day taking rubbish to the dump
she sees young children scavenging for rubbish to sell. She talks to
her father and is saddened to hear that some children never go to
school, and girls in particular are kept home to work. She longs for
a magic pencil to make the world a safer place, one in which girls
can all be educated. But then men with guns appear in their streets
and impose more burdens upon women. Malala notices fewer girls
coming to class and so she begins to write. Her voice is heard all
over Pakistan and further, she gives talks around the country,
visiting remote communities and speaking to a television reporter.
She is amazed that people want to hear her story. But some people
are not happy and try to stop her. They fail.
Living now in Birmingham her voice is a constant reminder of what
oppression looks like and how important it is to stand up for
women's education.
She found her magic pencil and is using it for the promotion of
peace in our world.
This magical story is beautifully illustrated by Kerascoet, a
pseudonym for French husband and wife team, Sebastien Cosset and
Marie Pommepuy using pen and watercolour to recreate the life of
Malala. In the detailed background readers will espy lots of
information about living in Pakistan, which will both inform and
delight. Information is included at the end of the book about
Malala's life and work, while a letter from Malala to her readers is
included. I found this a moving and personable story and went back
to the first book she wrote of her experiences, Malala:
the girl who stood up for education and changed the world(Indigo,
2014) as I am sure others will. I was blown away by her understated
reference to what happened to her when she was shot, underlining the
insignificance of the Taliban against the global importance of
education and peace. In a classroom this book would make a study of
its own, involving such themes as life in Pakistan, peace and the
Nobel Peace Prize, the role of the United Nations, extremism,
women's education, amongst others.
Fran Knight
The awesome book of animals by Adam Frost
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408885130
(Age: 6-12) Recommended. Themes: Animals. Information book. This
small format book with full-page colour and infographics relates
well-researched facts and anecdotes that will fascinate most people
who open it. All the information is given within a context or as
part of a comparison so each fact is meaningful and relevant. There
are facts of every kind: disgusting, funny, little known and
unbelievable, many related as a short anecdote. There are animal
comparisons (how much water do animals need to drink each day?),
facts related to interaction between humans and animals (examples of
people being eaten alive and surviving) and strange but true facts
(there is a fish that climbs trees and breathes air). The snippets
might even get children curious to research further (as I felt the
need to find out about more about it raining raw meat in Kentucky,
USA!).
This will especially appeal to lovers of The Guinness book of world
records and Ripley's Believe it or not as well as
being great for visual learners and high interest, low ability
readers. Children will love exploring the book alone or as a group,
exclaiming in disbelief and then sharing these (mostly useless)
titbits with all their friends and family. A clever way to get
children excited about reading and learning.
Nicole Nelson
Bitch doctrine: Essays for dissenting adults by Laurie Penny
Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408881613
(Age: 16 - Adult) Recommended. Themes: Feminism. Sexism. Identity.
Gender issues. There are a couple of references to 'bitch' among the
quotes that introduce each section of this book, one from Bette
Davis - "When a man gives his opinion, he's a man, When a woman
gives her opinion, she's a bitch" and one from Madonna - "Sometimes
you have to be a bitch to get things done". Author Laurie Penny is
being a bitch in this sense, she is putting her opinion out there,
she is telling it how it is, and she is demanding change. Bitch doctrine begins with a diary of reflections on the rise
of Donald Trump on a wave of racism and violent popularism, and
declares that "toxic masculinity is killing the world." She goes on
to attack the patriarchal and sexist basis of Western society. Women
are still chasing the illusion of 'work-life balance' whilst finding
they are actually responsible for both work and home life. Penny
actually promotes singledom as the best option for young women -
marriage is not the happy ever after, why not take time to explore
interests, career, life? She writes that women need to get on with
saving the world and "we can't do it one man at a time".
Penny's essays target Barbie doll and James Bond films, and also the
Western fascination with the concept of the oppressed burqa-clad
Muslim woman. The oppression of women is a global phenonema,
"mysogeny knows no colour or creed", and the anger and violence
directed by western society towards the veiled woman is another
hypocrisy. To read more on this last topic, Amal Awad's Beyond
veiled cliches is an enlightenment.
But for me, the most poignant are the chapters on gender. Here,
Penny changes from strident feminist flag-bearer to revealing her
own personal teenage experience trying to understand where she
fitted in the male/female divide. This section of the book provides
an opportunity for empathy and understanding of the personal turmoil
of young people who struggle to find where they belong in a world
that insists on the identifying labels of male or female. This is
particularly relevant in the current context of Australia's vote on
recognition of gay marriage.
Penny's voice is loud and provocative, tough, forthright and also often humorous. She is launching a bitch doctrine. It's worth
reading.
Helen Eddy
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
Hachette, 2017. ISBN 9781444940633
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. What a wonderful book for young women
- one that validates being a woman, takes joy in women's friendships
and speaks strongly of a woman's capacity to thrive in the modern
world.
Jennifer Mathieu has written a story that outlines how girls are
treated as second class to boys in a modern west coast United States
high school. This is a story about bravery in the face of
mistreatment, of girls facing daily damning condemnation and
feelings of isolation. Here we have a young woman in high school who
is exasperated by the constant denigration the girls receive from
the boys, and sick of the licence their society allows boys to
consider themselves superior to girls. This licence, supported by
the school, that will do nothing to redress the hierarchical
structure of boys as heroic, high-achieving sport stars, seems to
give them the right to verbally abuse girls, to demand favours from
girls and to make offensive and derogatory sexual innuendos in
class, in the schoolyard and in the outside world.
Yet this is modern America and we would think that this couldn't
happen. But it does, Poehler clearly tells us, and Vivian is
absolutely fed up with the constant abuse, verbal slights, and
denigration of girls. So she makes a 'moxie', paper slips of words
and images spread throughout the school, and the outcome is
explosive. We are so drawn in to her anger that we can't help but
hope that she can sustain the rage and build it in the other girls,
and stay safe. Good men are in evidence, and decent boys, so this is
not a man-hating novel.
What a wonderful achievement for Mathieu, in composing a
well-written modern novel that faces reality, that depicts
adolescence as school teachers know what it is like, and fearlessly
tackles that which is not only unrecognised, but ignored. Highly
recommended for high school students of all year levels, and
particularly of interest in its informative capacity for parents and
school teachers. Brilliant!
Liz Bondar
Busy builders: Airport, awesome airport action by Timothy Knapman
Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781925381443
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Airports, Building and construction,
STEM. A sturdy box containing a plastic bag of pieces to put
together to build an airplane, a book which explains all the facets
of life in an airport, and a group of jigsaw pieces to make the
runway, will fill in a wet afternoon for kids indoors or a small
group in a classroom. I enjoyed reading the book, which gives
information about what passengers need to do when they arrive at an
airport, then going on to security, baggage handling and getting
onto the plane through the air bridge. The book shows readers behind
the scenes, what happens to the luggage, how the plane is readied,
take off and flying then landing. It makes for an informative
read and will add to the group's knowledge about what happens in an
airport. A glossary at the end of the information pages recounts
some of the more unusual and specialised words with their meanings.
When the book is finished, instructions cover the next four pages
detail how the box and the pieces in the plastic bag can be used to
construct an airport and a helicopter and several planes.
I love the way the box becomes the airport building and the pieces
extend the runway in front of and behind the box. The sturdy pieces
in the box certainly spoke to me and I itched to take it all out and
give it a go, but will be equally delighted helping someone much
younger than me have fun with it.
Fran Knight
Unicorn princesses: Sunbeam's shine by Emily Bliss
Bloomsbury Children's books, 2017. ISBN 9781681193267
(Age: 5-10) Recommended. Cressida Jenkins' favourite thing is
unicorns. Cressida's dreams come true when she finds a real live
unicorn. Can she do as the unicorn princesses ask?
The characters in the story are the unicorn princesses, Cressida and
wizard-lizard. The characters in this book are interesting and some
of them are funny.
I think the plot makes sense and it is very interesting. The big
idea of this book is finding a human girl who believes in unicorns
to find the missing gem.
The settings of this book are in the woods behind Cressida house and
rainbow realm. The settings are creative and are described well in
the story as well as the pictures.
The style of the story in imaginary, the text is big and easy to
read. I like the style of this book.
I recommend this book for 5 to 10 year olds. If you like the series
of Rainbow magic by Daisy Meadows you will enjoy these
books.
Grace, Year 6
Unicorn princesses: Flash's dash by Emily Bliss
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2017. ISBN 9781681193304
(Age: 5-10) Recommended. Cressida is back in rainbow realm for
Flash's race the thunder dash. She is going to be the first human
girl in the thunder dash. But the silly wizard-lizard spell goes
wrong and the race track is covered in sticky pink goo.
The characters in this book are the unicorn princesses, Cressida and
the wizard-lizard. The characters are interesting and some are
funny.
The plot makes sense and is engaging.
The big idea was Cressida to run in the thunder dash and help clean
the track.
The settings are in the woods behind Cressida house and in the
rainbow realm. The setting isn't described as much as the first book
but is still really good.
The style of the book is fantasy and the text is big and easy to
read.
I recommend this book for 5 to 10 years old. If you like the series
of Rainbow magic by Daisy Meadows you will enjoy these
books.
Grace, Year 6
Dork diaries: Crush catastrophe by Rachel Renee Russell
Simon & Schuster, 2017. ISBN 9781471168017
(Age: 9+) This is the 12th instalment of Dork Diaries. In
this book we see Nikki Maxwell and her BFFs counting down until the
end of the school year. Nikki thinks she has her summer all figured
out, with lots of fun plans to hang out with her friends and her
crush, Brandon. It's going to be perfect! Squeee!
But then a new boy turns up at school and shows an interest in Nikki
and things become confusing super-quickly! The last thing Nikki
wants to do is hurt Brandon... What do you do when you
accidently crush your crush?! Crush catastrophe will be another much-loved addition to the
Dork Diaries series. It is lighthearted and as usual Nikki
is dragged through embarrassment after embarrassment so the young
reader does not have to experience it herself! It also opens the
door to experiences the girls may encounter as they approach middle
school. The cartoonish illustrations interspersed throughout the
text allow for the less confident reader to tackle the novel.
Although some children younger than 9 may be able to decode the
book, I think the content is really appropriate for children older
than this. Another must-have book to add to the collection of Dork Diaries.
Kathryn Schumacher
My side of the diamond by Sally Gardner
Hot Keys books, 2017. ISBN 9781471406430
(Age: 11+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy, Science fiction,
Friendship, Anorexia, Artificial intelligence. A lone girl at
school, Becky writes in her journal constantly, so much so that
Jazmin grabs the book and reads it. She comes across an amazing
story, one she insists the girl should share online. But when
Becky's mother, Ruth reads it she gives it to a publisher and it is
published, selling millions of copies, making the family well off,
Becky retreats. Becky and Jazmin no longer see each other so when
Ruth invites Jazmin to spend the holidays at the beach with her
daughter, she is at first reluctant, but on seeing the state of
Becky relents and goes, adamant that she will make her eat.
This very unusual story takes many turns, inviting the reader to
think they are perhaps reading a supernatural novel, a mystery,
science fiction, a story about UFO's, a romance, or tale of
anorexia. It is none of these, and yet contains elements of each. So
be prepared for the unexpected.
The story centres around sessions between several of the
protagonists and a researcher, Mr Jones, who listens to each of
their stories in turn, Gardner putting us in the place of the
researcher; listening to, weighing up and judging each of the
stories, sifting through each of their perspectives on what really
happened.
Becky is transfixed by the story of Skye and Lazarus who disappeared
after jumping from the dome of St Paul's Cathedral some years
before. Their bodies never hit the ground and yet a man, Icarus, is
in prison for their murders. It is he that Becky wants to interview
while they are on holiday in Suffolk. And she does, becoming
involved with him in the oddest of ways. She and Jazmin become
involved with his story and when letting a stranger out of the
locked cupboard, must run for their lives.
Icarus must leap into the unknown and wants Becky to go with him,
and in so doing, relegates Jazmin to a life of suspicion and
rejection by her peers. The reader is hooked into reading to the end
to find out just what is going on.
Fran Knight
Katinka's tail by Judith Kerr
HarperCollins, 2017. ISBN 9780008255299
(Age: 4+) Cats, Difference, Fantasy. An older woman and her cat live
an uneventful life. Each morning the cat climbs the creeper on the
outside of the house so that when the woman opens the curtains,
there she is. They play together, then cat follows the woman to the
shops and waits for her to return, helping her unpack the groceries.
At night Katinka goes out into the forest and in the morning the
woman must clean up the dead mice on the kitchen floor. As they walk
people often stop to admire the cat, commenting on its tail. Some
are even rude about the cat.
But the two are fond of each other and do all sorts of things
together. One night the woman wakes and looks out of the window to
see her cat being chased by a number of other animals. She follows
the throng to find that Katinka's tail has become a golden beacon,
and they fly up into the clouds.
The woman eventually lands back in bed and when she wakes the next
morning, Katinka is there, outside her window with the same golden
tail that she saw during the night.
This magical tale will enchant younger readers for whom magic is
simply a part of their world. The ordinary cat becomes something
more when during the night the tail takes on magical qualities and
the group flies into the sky. The woman is easily recognised by
readers as an archetype Grandma, in her sensible shoes, fluffy
slippers, and teapot on the table. Children will be enchanted by her
as they appreciate the attributes of the woman and her companion.
Fran Knight
