Reviews

Zombelina school days by Kristyn Crow

Ill. by Molly Idle. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781619636415
(Age: 3-6) Recommended. Themes: School life, Zombies, Dancing, Rhyming stories. Kristyn Crow's fun rhyming story Zombelina School Days is a perfect picture book for sharing with a younger audience. This story is filled with spooky jokes, funny puns and easy to read rhymes. When she scans her body in her daddy's X-ray machine, after her breakfast of lizard eye gruel, her mom calls her drop-dead gorgeous!
Zombelina the gorgeous green zombie loves to dance; she has practised her special moves for show-and-tell. Something interesting happens as she twirls, her body parts go flying, with her arms or hands landing in some funny places. In a class full of human pupils, Zombelina is just one of the team. When Morty a new student arrives, the little zombie and her best friend Lizzie help him settle in, teaching him new dance moves and playing bug detective at recess.
Molly Idle's cute colour pencil illustrations bring Zombelina, her family and class mates to life. Her artistic style with sharp lines and bright colours are a perfect match for Crow's poetry. Where will Zombelina's arm, hand or leg fly off to when she dances? There is a musicality and fluidity of movement here that adds to the fun and excitement of Zombelina School Days. Crow's understated messages of acceptance, encouragement, friendship and having a go promote inclusiveness.
Rhyllis Bignell

Anna by Niccolo Ammaniti

Text, 2017. ISBN 9781925498561
(Age: Middle secondary +) Recommended. Science fiction. Dystopian fiction. A virus has killed the adult population of the world in this future dystopia. The only survivors are children who inevitably die when they reach puberty. All the expected conveniences of contemporary life have gone too, including electricity, transport, medicine, and systems of government. The children who have survived are aged between five and fifteen and increasingly have no knowledge or memory of life before the virus. Anna is a survivor but is approaching adulthood. She lives in Sicily with her young brother whom she hides from gangs of wild children. Her guide is a Book of Important Things written by her dying mother. The Book includes instructions about everyday matters, how to find food, how to store water and a command that Anna teach her brother how to read. They live in a remote farmhouse that is surrounded by corpses of people and their animals, but the children are so used to death that they treat it very matter-of-factly. Their first concern is to eat and they survive on cans of food and bottled soft drink supplemented by pills and alcohol. Looting is an essential skill, and Anna is a skilled and tough forager. On one of her excursions she fights a starving Maremma dog that consequently attaches itself to her. Forced from their home by a marauding gang the three of them, Anna, her brother Astor and the dog, walk to the coast to try to escape to the mainland where Anna hopes there may be adults who have survived the virus. They encounter children who have formed strange religious cults in the hope of being saved, and finally children who live with little knowledge of language or old customs. Anna is aware that time is running out for her as she reaches puberty on the journey. She, Astor and the dog desperately embark on the crossing between Messina in Sicily and Calabria. On arrival they don't at first find any adults but there are several small signs that offer hope for the future. The novel is dystopian; civilization is doomed, and humanity with it, as the children cannot reproduce. However it is not as shocking or bleak as other books in this genre are, for example Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The children are very matter-of-fact about death. Eating is more important than grieving, and the children are practised foragers as well as being innately hopeful. The deterioration of town and cityscapes is realistically described as are the attitudes of the children. Anna is strong and determined, and perhaps a little too resourceful but this is acceptable in a work for young adults. The novel is a thought-provoking addition to the genre of science fiction. It is recommended for middle level readers.
Jenny Hamilton

The high note by Harmony Jones

Girl vs Boy Band book 2. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408878279
(Age: 11-15) Recommended. Themes: Music Industry; Boy bands; Music; Relationships; Fame; Friendship. Lark Campbell is the talented child of a Music Promoter and a Country Music Back-up Musician, who are recently separated and live far apart - one in LA, the other based in Nashville. She lives in the same house as her mother, a bizarre housekeeper and the two British boy band members, Max and Oliver. The boys are more like older brothers, but the third local boy band member, Teddy, stirs her heart and her song-writing. She has also written songs that will propel the Boy Band, Abbey Road, to stardom. Her own talent, although hampered by stage fright, is also worthy of attention by the world, thanks to her friend Mimi whose skills at film-making have caused a You-tube sensation for Lark, aka 'Songbird'. And Lark is only 12 years old!! Most of this book is about the impending Boy Band tour and the growing friendship between Lark and Teddy and the impacts of fame and a music career on the very young.
Anyone who has discovered Nashville - the Country-Music based TV series, will see this book as a Junior version of the 'interesting' world of the Music industry. In a world of Social media pressures, the mindless screaming and attention of a young female fan-base and the strange world of life in the spotlight, we are taken inside this life from the perspective of the performers themselves. They need to negotiate normal teen dramas and moving from 'like to love' in the eyes of a large crowd. Lark stills manages to attend school, submit assignments and avoid the pressure of 'mean' girls, while discovering if a Music career is also what she wants.
This book will be enjoyed by a female reader aged 11 -15. I did feel that the dramas and relationship issues perhaps seemed more likely for a slightly older character, but a Middle School student will connect with the early romance issues in a school environment, as well as the friendship ebbs and flows with a Best Friend. There is nothing unwholesome in this book, and it will be devoured by young readers who will love the romantic journey.
Carolyn Hull

The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale

Mark of the Cyclops: An ancient Greek mystery by Saviour Pirotta

Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781472934147
(Age: 9+) Recommended. 'It seems you have a talent for solving problems. I believe Gaia is innocent. Find the real culprit and I'll pay you in gold...'
Athens, 434 BC.
Nico's new friend Thrax has a strange knack of figuring things out. And when a valuable wedding vase is broken Thrax's special skills might just come in useful. Can the boys prove that slave girl, Gaia, is innocent, and discover what the mark of the cyclops means?
Join Nico and Thrax for a mysterious adventure set in ancient Greece.
I can see this book fitting into a unit of work on an ancient civilisation as it would read aloud beautifully. The children would thrive on the suspense while at the same time continuing to learn about Ancient Greece. I would recommend it for children aged 9 and up for independent reading and 8 and up for a read aloud. The glossary is useful at the end of the book as too is the information about Greek pottery in Corinth. Fingers crossed that this will become a series as it would certainly appeal to children interested in historical fiction.
Kathryn Schumacher

Twinkle, twinkle, little star by David Ellwand

Old Barn Books, 2017. ISBN 9781910646243
(Ages: 1-3) Musical book. Rhyme. Board book. This board book features photographs of David Ellwand's vintage teddies (also seen in previous publications such as Wheels on the bus) and a push-button violin recording of  'Twinkle twinkle little star'. The teddies are shown being serenaded by their father's violin playing as they settle down for sleep and drift into dreams (of dancing on the moon). The first and last pages use the original version of the rhyme, with extra lines added to the middle: 'Hush now, hush now, little teds, Climb into your cosy bed... ' Young ones will love pushing the button and singing along to the recording with the words they already know and pointing out familiar things within the pictures (rockets, stars, moon, etc.). This extended version of the classic rhyme makes for a great bedtime lullaby and the warm, calming illustrations will help to settle young children for sleep.
Nicole Nelson

The Hate U Give (THUG) by Angie Thomas

Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406372151
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Navigating between life as the only person of colour (POC) at a prestigious prep school in the suburbs, and being the only kid in the projects who can afford to go to such a school, Starr Carter doesn't know who she is. The careful balancing act falls apart when Starr witnesses her childhood best friend shot dead at the hands of a police officer during a routine traffic stop. Starr is forced to be the voice of change at a time when she's not sure if she's better off being silent.
The Hate U Give draws on stories most are already familiar with: Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, the list unfortunately goes on. Author Angie Thomas has managed to weave elements of these tragedies throughout the story without disrespecting the communities or persons involved. Readers follow Starr's heartbreaking journey but are constantly reminded that this is the everyday life for POC throughout America. With an emphasis on police brutality and the after-effects, the community coming together while being simultaneously pulled apart, we learn chilling lessons that for some are learned much younger.
If you encounter a police officer, be polite. Even if they're not. Do not make any sudden movements. Keep your hands up. Remain calm.
The Hate U Give is political without trying to be, and readers will be holding on to the edge of their seats as they follow along with Starr. Whether it's friendship, race, or feeling like you don't quite belong, there's something for everyone.
Natalie Campbell

Fenn Halflin and the Seaborn by Francesca Armour-Chelu

Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406366181
(Age; 10 -14) Recommended. Survival. Floods. Future worlds. Good and evil. Fenn Halflin and the seaborn concludes the epic story of Fenn and his mongoose Tikki as they flee from the fierce Terra Firma. This fast-paced novel, starts immediately after the final action in the first novel, Fenn Halflin and the Fearzero, where he set fire to the Punchlock, signalling all the Seaborn tribes that the Resistance is ready for an uprising. Now, he is traipsing across treacherous marshland, hunted by his enemies - Chilstone and his band of evil henchmen.
Fenn's survival skills gained from his grandfather Halflin are vital to his journey: knowing the difference between edible and poisonous plants, swimming underwater with a reed for breathing and how to take cover in the gorse. After a close encounter with Chilstone, a Marsh Sargossan, Gerran, fortuitously rescues him and takes him to a secret place. Here, behind huge piles of debris, the tribe has reclaimed the forest and built a fortress from recycled materials, regenerated the land and grown food supplies. In this wonderfully rich and exotic landscape, the caring folk carry out their mandate to 'graft the land back to life'. The Sargossans were victims of Chilstone's band; he stole their younger generation and sent them to work as slaves for the Terras, as they work to build the great wall and stop the flooding. Fenn's destiny waits as he reunites with his friends and leads them into a battle with the Terras. His friends show courage, determination and a fierce sense of loyalty as they fight together.
This is a fast-paced and thrilling adventure, with plenty to ponder and cliffhangers ending many of the chapters. Fenn Halflin and the Seaborn is a creatively written fantasy adventure story set in a dystopian landscape. Armour-Chelu delivers richly imagined settings in her tensely woven narrative with many surprises, fortuitous encounters, amazing escapes and secrets uncovered. These two novels support and extend students in the Middle Years; they are perfect for textual analysis, with great examples of characterisation, plot development, creative settings and imagery.
Rhyllis Bignell

Out of heart by Ifran Master

Hot Key Books 2017. ISBN 9781471405075
(Age: 12+) Recommended. The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. A heart donation can be a wonderful and generous thing, giving another person another chance at life. When Adam's Dadda passes he leaves a great hole in the family, a hole which seemingly no one can fill. That is until William arrives on their doorstep with seemingly no reason other than curiosity about where his new heart came from. William is all alone in the world, without family or friends to turn to. Thanks to Mr. Shah's donation William isn't just given another chance at life, he is given another chance to live.
As time passes William becomes a familiar figure in the Shah family home, almost like part of the family. Farrah adores him, Adam finally finds a man he can look up to and talk to, and Yasmin gets the kind of support she needs to continue providing for her family. Times are tough. With Dadda's funeral and Yasmin struggling to earn a wage, Adam must get a job to help his mother. But working, at the cost of his education, is something Yasmin frowns on, and so he must struggle his way through school, work, and adolescence on top of his grief for his grandfather. Things only get worse when the local thugs come knocking to call in Mr. Shah's debt, a debt no one in the family knew. Dadda was not a gambler, but Adam knows who is. Can he control the situation or will the situation control him?
With allusions to the story of Icarus, Master presents a YA novel with a focus on family, grief, and relationships, as well as the power of organ donation. This coming-of-age story is recommended for young people twelve and up.
Kayla Gaskell, 21

What the ladybird heard on holiday by Julia Donaldson

Ill. by Lydia Monks. Macmillan Children's Books, 2017. ISBN 9781509837328
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Crime. Ladybirds. Zoos. London. With the two previous books What the ladybird heard and What the ladybird heard next, warmly praised, our hero, the ladybird going on holiday and stopping another crime will be equally well received.
Ladybird is taking a well deserved holiday. She is in London, and readers will be able to point out the well-known features of this city as she flies overhead. But her destination is London Zoo, and while there she overhears the two crooks, Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh, plotting a new plan of thievery. They intend to steal a monkey from the zoo and train him to get into the Queen's bedroom and steal her crown. But the ladybird hatches an even craftier plan to foil them. She rounds up support from many of the zoo animals, a tiger, elephant, monkeys, crocodile and camel, along with the two corgis who live at the Palace, to foil the plan being executed by these two scoundrels.
Told in wonderful rhyming pairs of lines, the book begs to be read aloud, with encouragement given to the reader to emulate the animals in the verse. Readers will love predicting the next rhyming word, and learning some of the lines to read along or read themselves. The illustrations too will delight and intrigue as children will recognise the attractions of this city, as well as the animals placed in the zoo, amongst the colourful range of things shown on each adventure filled page. Finding the ladybird will also be a source of enquiry for younger readers.
Glitter is used on each page enhancing the tactile experience for younger readers already excited by the verse, colour and adventure filled pages.
Fran Knight

Saints for all occasions by Courtney Sullivan

Fleet, 2017. ISBN 9781844089383
(Age: Senior secondary - Adults) Immigration. Families. Siblings. Irish/Americans. Catholic faith. Nuns. This family saga opens in 2009 with Nora Rafferty rushing to hospital to find her 50 year old eldest son Patrick has died in a car accident. One of the first things she does is to phone her estranged sister to let her share the grief. Nora and her sister Teresa left their small Irish village in the mid-1950s to join Nora's fiance Charlie in Boston. Nora is quiet, careful and protective of her younger, more outgoing sister and they settle in with other catholic Irish from their area. They find work and Teresa is also able to study to become a teacher. Teresa loves the new life, especially the freedom to go to dances and meet boys but she soon falls pregnant to a married man. Nora devises a plan where she and Charlie marry and pretend she is pregnant while Teresa goes to a Catholic home for unwed mothers. Instead of having to give up the baby, Patrick, to strangers, Nora and Charlie adopt him as their own and allow Teresa to live with them and have contact with her baby. It doesn't work out and Teresa leaves, goes to New York and gets a job teaching then eventually joins a cloistered order of nuns. Nora and Charlie go on to have three more children; she is strict with them but always has a soft spot for Patrick whose adoption is kept a secret, as is the existence of Teresa. The story switches between the preparations for the funeral, as the siblings reflect on their relationship with their brother and mother, interleaved with chapters going back looking at the family and convent life in the 60s and 70s.
Books about immigrant Irish in America are not new and there are echoes of Brooklyn to be found; but this is carefully constructed without melodrama looking at the interplay of culture and religion in generational change with people doing their best to live with the decisions they have made, never sure if they were right or wrong. Nora and Teresa make very different decisions in their lives but religion has helped sustain them both. It starts well but develops at a slower pace, more a book for adults but senior students could compare it with other Irish immigrant experiences like Angela's ashes or Brooklyn.
Sue Speck

Chase by Linwood Barclay

Hachette, 2017. ISBN 9781510102194
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Chase, written by famous adult crime author, Linwood Barclay, is a thrilling adventure full of secrets, danger and of course running. The book is action-packed with loads of suspense and a major plot twist, which meant it was impossible to put down as the tension built up. An on-edge novel, it was exciting from the start when Chipper, an experimental cyborg-like dog, escapes 'The Institute' before he is run over by Jeff, who is driving underage. Jeff, an orphan, and his friend Emily, nurse Chipper back to health in the woods. But when they plug Chipper into a computer, it becomes apparent that this is not a random meeting and the new friends are in a world of trouble.
At the beginning you get to know the characters and become one with them as they face life or death. The friends launch into an endless adventure of cat and mouse, always looking behind them. The newborn friendship will be put to the test. Chase keeps you guessing what will happen to the strong friendship between man and dog. The author's words captivate you until you turn the last page and will leave you breathless and wanting more till the very end. Overall, everyone can enjoy this, not just kids and teens - adults too!
Cara F. (Student)

The girl who drank the moon by Kelly Barnhill

Algonquin Young Readers, 2016. ISBN 9781616205676 (hardback) ISBN 9781848126473 (Paperback)
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Fantasy. Locus Awards 2017. Newbery Medal (2017), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2018), Andre Norton Award Nominee for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (2016). Every year a tiny baby is left in the forest as an offering to the witch. The people of the Protectorate believe that this is the only way to keep the witch from terrorizing their town. But the reader soon discovers that the witch Xan, is not evil, instead she collects up the abandoned baby, fills it with some starlight and takes it to the other side of the forest where as a Star Child it is loved and wanted. One year Xan takes a baby and instead of the little girl being filled with starlight, she accidentally is fed with moonlight and becomes enmagicked. Xan decides to keep Luna the baby and together with her friends, Glerk from the Bog and Fyrian, a tiny dragon, brings her up, but as her magic grows wild, Xan is forced to lock it away until her 13th birthday. As Luna approaches her 13th birthday, she finds that she must protect her friends.
This is a beautifully woven story with fully realised characters, from the witch Zan, who is loving and wise, to the sinister Sisters in the tower and the elders of the town. I loved the little dragon Fyrian whose personality brought many smiles to my face and worried along side Luna's mother as she went mad with grief at the loss of her daughter. The rich descriptions and the intrigue of the Elders and the Tower will leave the reader breathless as they follow the many characters who have been affected by the ghastly practice of leaving a baby as a sacrifice.
As the many awards testify, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is an outstanding fantasy and a must for every library. It would also be a stunning read aloud in the classroom.
Pat Pledger

The hired girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

Candlewick Press, 2015. ISBN 9781406361407 (hardback) ISBN 9781406365931 (paperback)
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. A beautiful tale of adventure, love, courage and religion. Set in 1911, Joan decides to begin a diary documenting her life at Steeple Farm where she lives with her abusive father and three unsympathetic brothers. Fourteen and motherless, Joan is expected to do 'women's work' - cleaning, cooking and washing the boys' clothes, day in and day out. A lover of literature, her only friends are the strong female protagonists of the books given to her by Miss Chandler, a teacher that Joan greatly admires. Inspired by these women, Joan stands up to her father, only for him to retaliate by burning the books she holds so dear. Upon losing her most precious possessions, Joan decides that she has had enough of this miserable life and, with all of the inner strength she can muster, packs up her remaining few belongings, and takes off on an adventure; determined to reinvent herself. She heads to Baltimore, where she seeks work as a hired girl. Along the way she finds hope, love, and a new meaning of family; and discovers more about herself and the world as each day passes. Relatable, empowering and beautifully written; this is not a novel that you will easily forget. Joan's determination and perseverance makes her a heroine whose heart-warming tale inspires all who read it. A stunning story for book lovers everywhere - the type of novel that makes you want to curl up with a cup of tea and let yourself be transported into another world.
Daniella Chiarolli (university student)
Editor's note : Boston Globe-Horn Book Award fiction honor book, 2016 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, YALSA Best fiction for young adults 2016

When the world is full of friends by Gillian Shields

Ill. by Anna Currey. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408849668
(Age: 1-4) Recommended. Themes: Friendship, Working together 'When the world is full of friends, the fun and laughter never ends'. Author Gillian Shields and illustrator Anna Currey celebrate friendship and creativity in this gentle story When the World is full of friends. From a pastel yellow background, little Albert the rabbit hops across the grass to begin the tale. Tom, Flossie and Pipkin love to escape from their little thatched cottage into the green meadow ready to play. Each one has special characteristics, Albert the oldest is the most active, he loves to run and race. Young Tom enjoys dressing up, in his pirate, monster and Prince costumes he acts out plays for his whole family. Sister Flossie is creative, she loves to be inventive, making and painting windmills, forts and pretty umbrellas. Baby Flossie loves playing on his blankie in the sunshine.
When a family of squirrels appear on the opposite side of the riverbank, each of the rabbit's special abilities are needed to work together and find a way across the river to meet their new friends. Currey's delightful ink and watercolour paintings add liveliness to this easy to read story celebrating family and friends.
Rhyllis Bignell