A gripping thriller, One dark night delivers everything that a mystery reader will love – an eerie atmosphere, relatable characters and a very twisty conclusion. There is an old tale about the haunted woods near the small town of Thorncombe, and locals love to relate it to send shivers up tourists’ backs:
He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress …
The atmosphere engendered by the story of Sally in the woods makes the haunted woods the perfect place for teens from the local private school to party and to scare each other with Ouija boards and ghost stories. But events turn nasty when a girl in a white dress is found at the bottom of the old stone folly, and the police are brought in to investigate. Detective Ben Chase must track down what has happened. Has something gone wrong at the party, or is it a ritual killing with a sinister murderer still at large?
I read One dark night in a couple of sittings, engrossed not only in the twists and turns surrounding the investigation of the murder, but in the family relationships that Richell describes so well. She outlines the trauma of Ben’s divorce from Rachel with feelings of anger and grief dominating. While navigating life in a split family their daughter Ellie is experiencing difficulties fitting into an exclusive private school where Rachel is a counsellor. Meanwhile Ben begins to wonder if Ellie is harbouring secrets about Sarah the dead girl and must decide where his loyalty lies – with the police or with his daughter.
Complex relationships, a school setting, haunted woods and red herrings make One dark night a riveting read which was so engaging that I immediately picked up another of Richell’s stories, The search party.
Themes Murder, Thriller, Family relations.
Pat Pledger
Tidemagic: The many faces of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow
This is UK-based actor turned author Clare Harlow's first book and it is an absolutely cracking read that will be devoured by Harry Potter and Nevermoor fans. Like many good fantasy series, it takes a little while to understand the magic and the world of the main character, but the effort to get through the first couple of chapters is worthwhile, as Harlow's writing is rich with imagery and the right blend of both cosiness and discomforting suspense. And, in saying that, once you get a grip on who is who and the world-specific terms, the narrative is rather straightforward. In addition, it's easy to trust Harlow as she leads us, drip feeding small bits of information, on an intriguing journey. Ista Flit has come to Shelwich, a strange town where magic rises and falls with the tide. Most people in Ista's world have a Tide-blessing (a magical power that is strongest when the tide is high) and hers is particularly special; she can take on the appearance of anyone she has ever seen and use their magic. She's there searching for her Pa, but instead of finding him she finds herself doing errands for the mysterious Alexo. There are also some dragon-like beasts called Grilks that leave people in fear and the town deserted after sunset. They sound Harry Potter dementor-like, but is there a more human evil at work and could they be responsible for her father's disappearance? Throughout her observational detective work, Ista makes two allies who have also had family members go missing. Wonderful suspense builds over the course of the story; as the tide magic gets stronger, people's gifts are getting greater and the grilks are getting gamer.
Hallmarks of many good fantasy stories are found in Tidemagic but the story-telling is also refreshingly modern. Shelwich is a ramshackle, rustic seaside town filled with interesting and diverse characters. Ista works and lives at the Fletwin restaurant run by a male-male couple (there is also a non-binary person spoken about with 'they' pronouns). It's a cosy place with delicious, comforting food and drink, narrow cobbled streets and cosy buildings that shelter you from the salt-spray and bitter cold. There are buried tunnels and secret entrances. Short chapters, superb character development and well-written dialogue combined with these comforting touches make this an absolute joy of a world to enter. The next book in the series will be highly anticipated.
Themes Magic, Fantasy, Mystery.
Nicole Nelson
Saturday, Sunday Busy Day, Fun Day by Natalie Kate Forbes. Illus. by Danny Snell
Debut author Natalie Kate Forbes has written an entertaining picture book, Saturday, Sunday: Busy Day Fun Day, telling of the various happenings undertaken by a family over the weekend. The gorgeous cover by well-known South Australian illustrator Danny Snell shares a snapshot of the busyness of a Saturday with the calm pace of a Sunday. The front endpapers list the activities for Saturday with the back endpapers listing Sunday’s actions.
From the very first page, the reader is drawn into the Saturday activities with action aplenty and an abundance of exclamation marks for emphasis!
Wake up! It’s Saturday, jump out of bed! Brush teeth! Get Dressed! Make sure Rufus is fed. There’s so much to do, we mustn’t waste time. Look at the clock-it’s a quarter to nine!
Each double page spread has the family moving from one activity to the other, often represented in delightful vignettes showing movement and humour. The clever inclusion of the closed sign lets the reader know the children are asleep finally on Saturday night. Sunday morning arrives and the pace is more relaxed but the children still have plenty of time for fun and family.
This is an enjoyable book to read aloud and will resonate with many children and families. The rhyming text flows beautifully and the detailed softly toned illustrations are a perfect complement. Educators of Early Years classes will be thrilled to use this book as in introduction to the writing of a weekend recount.
With a glamping site as an unusual setting for a mystery, Richell has written a complex, gripping tale of university friends and their families stranded during a storm, with one child missing and the disappearance of another participant. Max and Annie, successful architects, have left London to set up a glamping business in Cornwall, believing that it will benefit their adopted son Kip who had been traumatised as a very young child. Before opening their new business, they are eager to try out their facilities and invite three of their friends from university, with their families, to stay for the weekend. But what a weekend – secrets are revealed, friendships are stretched to the limit and a powerful storm makes it impossible to get help or find the missing child.
What a cliff-hanger the opening chapter is! The story begins with someone being urged to go over the cliff. Then the story is told in two strands, one with the police interviewing each of the adults, and the other giving the individual’s perspective of what had happened over the weekend. The reader is left perplexed – never being told who is being urged over the cliff, what adult is missing, who could harm Phoebe the missing child and who is in hospital. There are red herrings galore, shocking family secrets are revealed, some characters are very nasty and the ending is spellbinding.
MOOKI, Cindy and Ralph are best friends who in this first book about their adventures discover an amazing toy store.The toys in this store fall into two categories, friendly and helpful or mean, scary and evil!While searching for COG, a robot MOOKI sees advertised on a billboard, Ralph is taken by some evil drones, and the friends must rescue him.MOOKI who can fly his spaceship alone must conquer the escalator from hell, join forces with a mega-brave tiny velociraptor and teach the evil boss a lesson.
This new series by Scotty James, a medal winning Australian snowboarder, is a visual delight and the story moves quickly and is truly enjoyable for parents and children alike.I can see it appealing to newly independent readers who are enjoying the move to novels without too much text to bog down their fluency and older children who like the graphic novel format of books.
I love the addition of humour and modern toys, while the story borrows from the Toy Story ideas of toys coming to life when humans aren’t around, Cindy seems to be an exception.I love the simplicity of the drawings and the way the story flows, I can’t wait for the second book.I know this will be a popular title in the school library and I am sure it will be a favourite among all readers too, as the main characters are likeable and relatable.
Serpent Sea is the second in the Arabian-inspired series that began with Spice Road and picks up where the first book finished. The early chapters include dialogue about past events, as a reminder to the returning reader, and it takes a little while before the story really takes off. This book continues Imani’s first person perspective but also includes alternate chapters with a third person narration of the events befalling Taha, a fellow warrior from their homeland of Sahir. It is a fantasy world of magical beings and monsters, with a quest to retrieve the stolen jewels that will restore the magical powers of Qayn, the djinni, who could be either a saviour or a dangerous foe. Imani gradually comes to trust him, but Taha and others are not so sure.
This second instalment is not as focussed as the first but it is good to see the growing maturity of Imani, her gradual reliance on her intuition, and a developing wisdom and kindness. Taha, although a valiant soldier, is shown to be deeply scarred by his father’s treatment of him, and often seems trapped in memories of his childhood. He seems more of a boy than a young man. Whilst the other love interest, Qayn, is most definitely a sophisticated manipulator.
Readers are sure to enjoy this latest book, with many gripping adventures that keep the pages turning. But there is definitely more to come, Imani’s quest is fulfilled but her home is still in danger, more monsters are arising, and she has yet to test out how her conjoined magical powers with Qayn will work. Let's see what the third book brings.
Novelist, Nick Harkaway has taken an amazing step, to write another Smiley book, detailing what happened in the years between The spy who came in from the cold and Tinker tailor, soldier spy, two of the nine novels about this fictional spy, written by his father John le Carré.
For the reader, too, it is a step into the unknown. The image of Smiley is so well known, whether it be Sir Alec Guiness, or any other of the readers and actors we are familiar with, readers cannot help but have an image of Smiley in their minds as they read or listen.
An assassin comes to the office of library agent, Banati to kill him, but has a change of heart and wishes to defect. The young woman who also works in the office, Hungarian refugee Szusanna, has been worried that her boss was not there when she arrived ready to read manuscripts, and must now deal with a defector who may or may not have killed. She goes to her boss’ apartment where she finds no clues but takes a small bundle of letters. His disappearance raises concerns at the Circus, MI6 headquarters.
Taken in by MI6 Szusanna is schooled to return to Europe and play a part in the seducing of an agent to defect to England. Banati, now revealed as Roker, a spy, has to be found and returned to England using the bait of seeing his son, Leo once again.
Winding through the background of this story is that of Smiley, seemingly content with his retirement, feeling closer to his wife, Anne, but dragged back into the service with the possibility of coming closer to Karla, his closest antagonist. His touches are recognised by Smiley, and all is seemingly going well, but novice Szusanna, given a role in the game, takes a leap into the unknown, drawing Smiley into Europe, a most unusual step by this spy master.
The background is wonderfully drawn, evoking the novels of le Carré set in the Cold War, with many of the protagonists known to readers. Harkway takes us further into Smiley’s character giving him a vulnerability when he thinks of Anne and Szusanna, but focussed when he is trying to expose Karla.
Tension builds slowly, taking the reader across places in Europe where fake passports and identities are necessary for survival, and towards the end of the book, a heart stopping shoot out and escape.
This novel, thought by some to be the first in a series, is masterful in its depiction of the times and will bring people to reread the Smiley books, and hope there is more by Harkaway to come.
Themes Spying, George Smiley, John le Carre, MI6, Cold War.
Fran Knight
Encyclopedia of birds for young readers by Tomas Tuma
The Encyclopedia of Birds is a tall hardcover book with an appealing cover. The contents page is clearly set out with the first chapter being ‘Not all of us fly’. This double page spread looks at birds such as the emu, Southern cassowary and the Common ostrich. They are all fast runners and make their nests on the ground.
Throughout this engaging book each bird is beautifully drawn and clearly labelled with its own brief paragraph of information. For example, the Pied Harrier a bird of prey, flies low over the ground and catches small mammals, frogs and insects. A songbird, Great Kiskadee has a yellow breast and can be heard in South and Central America. The African pygmy kingfisher is just five inches (12.7 cms) in length and nests in the riverbank or termite holes. There is an interesting double page spread of relatives of the chicken. Some of these relatives include the Helmeted guinea fowl, Golden pheasant, Indian peafowl and Wild turkey.
Bird books are very popular for young children and this easily accessible book with well-spaced out text will no doubt have a place in a school or public library.
The Aussie Christmas is revealed in all its glory in this funny book by Wagner, and illustrated by Jellett giving his wonderfully warm-hearted, family oriented images of Christmas in the suburbs. From the endpapers showing a myriad of Christmas lights, to kids playing instruments for money from passers by, to the community sharing their displays and a meal, all the tropes of Christmas are presented, both in text and illustrations, making it a wonderful source of inspiration for some and a reminder to others of the fun filled days ahead.
Readers will be jumping for joy as the family celebrate Christmas through the eyes of this family. The receiving of the Advent Calendar is the start with the children warned to only open one flap at a time. Then the decorations begin appearing along with Christmas songs sung everywhere. The tree is then put up with the whole family helping with decorating it. Outside, lights festoon the house, and a street party sees all the neighbours coming out to chat and eat together. At night, families walk down local streets to view other people’s light displays. The cousins get together to make a gingerbread house. And this family makes cards and presents for each other, while remembering those who do not get much by putting a present under the Giving Tree. Once the school holidays begin, things start to happen, as the countdown starts. A Father Christmas on the bus gives out candy canes, families go to the park for Christmas Carol singing, and on Christmas Eve, food is put out for Santa while the children struggle to sleep. Christmas Day sees the family rising early and presents unwrapped while everyone gets ready for the traditional Christmas lunch at Nana’s. Crackers are pulled and the lamest of jokes shared, while those no longer there are remembered. A wonderful day is spent by all with family, food and frivolity, and it will all happen again in 12 months.
Jellett’s illustrations always set a family oriented mood to the story and this one is no different: Dad in his thongs dons a Viking helmet, the kids play with each other and their dogs, Mum looks harassed helping to organise them all. I love the look on Mum’s face at the Christmas lunch, cheeks a little red, hair akimbo, looking on as Dad toasts the absent Grandfather. Jellett’s families are wonderful, inclusive, full of life, and fun.
Readers will love the lead up to Christmas reading this family’s journey to Christmas Day. And the readers will recall two other books by the same duo, Why I love footy, and Why I love summer.
Themes Christmas, Family, Fun, Humour.
Fran Knight
Tatty Mouse Christmas by Hilary Robinson. Illus. by Mandy Stanley
New Frontier, 2024. ISBN: 9781922326898. (Age:3+) Recommended.
Tatty Mouse, the little mend-it, make-it mouse is back after the first book in the series, Tatty Mouse Rock Star, to entrall readers with her innovative ways of recycling. This time she is preparing for Christmas. Armed with her tool kit, displayed beautifully on the front cover as well as inside the sturdy board book, Tatty Mouse collects things that she can use while she is making gifts for her friends.
Children will enjoy lifting the flaps as the story is read trying to guess what Tatty is making. What will she use discarded cans for? How will her Christmas decorations turn out? And what big surprise is she planning for her friends?
Tatty is a very clever little mouse and her ideas for making Christmas presents and decorations will give young readers lots of ideas that they can try for themselves. The illustrations are gorgeous and there are many little details that astute children will find and follow thoughout the book.
Tatty Mouse Christmas is a lovely story that emphasises not only the importance of recycling and remaking, but the joy of giving gifts to friends.
Themes Christmas, Gifts, Recycling, Board books.
Pat Pledger
Once upon a silent night by Dawn Casey and Katie Hickey
A retelling of the nativity story is an apt reminder that its core is about love, the love of the family, of the mother for her child, of the animals that helped with the shelter they were given. A family finding no rooms or even beds left at the inn, retire to the stable to await the birth of their child. The cow offers her manger as a bed, the donkey his hay to keep him warm, the doves in the rafters will coo him to sleep, the sheep will give him some wool to keep him warm, even the stones will make a path for people to come and see. All the elements of the environment are there to help bring the baby into the world.
The love that is shown him is overarching, a concentration of support and care that sings with the real meaning of Christmas as people come together to share their love.
This rhyming text will delight younger readers as they predict the rhyming words and learn the line to be able to repeat them as the book is read. The luminous illustrations retell the story with a modern vein, the couple struggling to find a place to stay, their donkey loaded with their possessions, hinting of the journey they are making. The cold, snowy night looms up as the snow covered branches surround the stable, framing it as the angels sing on high. Others come to see the family, children singing and adults bringing light.
A Christmas story, the basis is love, that of the family, and the animals that helped revealing their compassion for this homeless family in need. But it is not only a Christmas story, the story of the nativity impels us to think outside our own family at this time of the year, to reach out to others to offer love and compassion just as the animals have in this tale, offering what they have to the new born child.
Themes Christmas, Love, Animals, Nativity.
Fran Knight
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Don Daily
Running Press Kids, 2024. ISBN: 9780762486700.
On the first day of Christmas...
Beginning on Christmas Day, the twelve days of Christmas traditionally embrace the days following up until January 5, the day before the Epiphany which commemorates the arrival of the Magi and this song marks each of those days. Given that it dates back to at least the late 18th century when it was first published in an illustrated children's book, Mirth Without Mischief, it has evolved over generations with the current version attributed to Frederic Austin in 1909. And with such a long history, it has been published, adapted and presented many, many times so one wonders what could make yet another version stand out.
The answer lies in the illustrations. While the text is that of the familiar song, Daily has interpreted them in his iconic, detailed style that brings a whole new magic.
Its board book format is ideal for small hands as families share this classic and they begin to learn the words of a song that they will hear again and again. The perfect finale to this Christmas Countdown.
Themes Christmas.
Barbara Braxton
The completely chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby
A low-key family Christmas is in the offering until all the 'rellies' invite themselves to Lottie Brooks’ house. Lottie loves presents and the festive season but will she be disappointed this year? What about the strain it will be on her poor mum – the family workhorse. Will Lottie Brooks’ new diary, Volume 6 in this hilarious epistolary series, prove her mettle?
Like most of Lottie’s close friendship group, the popular tween queen is obliged to hold her entire family in contempt for their corny Christmas traditions like “Elf on the Shelf” and her siblings embarrassing smells and gaffs. When her aunts and uncles arrive with 3yr old cousin, Frankie, exhibiting dark behaviours, she has bigger worries, like what gift to buy her classmate for 'secret santa' or her failure to inform her family that she has inadvertently invited an entire French family to Christmas dinner. Despite the allure of handsome Antoine (her new love interest), she is unable to rescind the Christmas holiday offer due to their language barrier. Does she prefer good old Daniel afterall? What a mess!
Katie Kirby’s final book narrated by Lottie Brooks reads like a multimodal diary including dates, times, text messages, thought balloons, lists - even stick figure embellishments. The negative spaces for easy reading, and the quirky hilarious characters make this a quickly digested chapter book to add to the reading log.
Baby Bella shouting 'BUM' in public and Toby convincing Lottie that she had drunk his wee – thankfully a sibling prank, may take the shine off two weeks of no school! But Christmastime for Lottie is guaranteed her most chaotic and amusing diary to complete the series: The extremely embarrassing life, The catastrophic friendship fails, The mega complicated crushes, The totally disastrous school trip and The majorly awkward BFF dramas. Readers particularly 9-13yrs, anybody with a family really, will find this chaotic Christmas instantly relatable.
Elvin Melvin and Emma Memma are getting ready for Christmas. The pair appears throughout the book, signing significant words for children to learn and practise: Christmas, lights, look, friends and where. Each of these words is displayed in the book, showcasing the customs and rituals of this important time in kids’ lives. So we see a Christmas tree, lights, baubles, reindeer, tree decorations, and this book weaves a story around the tree with Emma and Elvin as they seek out their friends and their displays.
Christmas lights are going up all over the town. Everything is sparkling now that the sun has gone down. Emma and Melvin invite the readers to see what is close by. In the twinkling lights they will be able to find BB Butterfly. They all get into a little colourful car to see what else they can find. They will see many many shapes of different Christmas lights, and amongst them a kangaroo hops along. The Butterfly bus keeps going, and is there to welcome a friend who has arrived from a different town. And Waffles the Wombat greets them as well. Emma asks him where his Christmas lights are.
He looks up into the night sky, and tells them that his lights are there every night for all to see. They all sit together on the hillside, watching the night display, waiting for Christmas.
Younger readers will enjoy this journey through Emma Memma’s town with her friends, searching out the images of Christmas and learning some signs as they read.
Emma Memma’s infectious illustrations will bring joy to the readers, as they too celebrate Christmas and wait impatiently for the day to come around. While each section of the town is decorated, it is a neat ploy to have the group look at the stars, a nightly show of bright twinkling lights.
Waiting for Santa by Lucy Cochran & Heidi McKinnon
Albert Street Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781760526719. (Age:3+) Recommended.
The letters have been written, Ren and Harry have made lists of things they want, Christmas is in the air and Mum and Dad take the children to the store to see Santa. Moloko the cat is in Harry’s backpack. The family joins the queue, and the children see the sign telling them that they have 7000 elf steps to go. The children are dismayed at the length of the queue, wondering if Santa is really there. Harry lets Moloko go in search of Santa. Mayhem is sure to happen.
Moloko leaps through the lattes, crashes through the crockery, and bounds through the books. At last, he makes it to the very top of the store to see Santa arriving in his sleigh. Happily, the children come down the escalator with Santa and find their parents unsure of where they are. All ends happily with Santa having his photo with the family. Another Christmas custom is accomplished.
A charming tale of the magic of Christas and the customs we all participate in at that time for the year, Waiting for Santa underlines the expectations children have in waiting for the special day. It always seems so far away, with weeks to go, with customs to be worked through. Santa is the special person they are waiting for, and again it seems an interminable length of time for him to arrive. In this cute tale Moloko the cat does a spectacular turn in hurrying Santa up.
The image of Santa’s legs sticking out of the chimney will amuse all readers, and the mayhem caused by the cat will tickle their funny bones. All the trappings of Christmas are shown, Christmas lights, Christmas tree, Santa and the sleigh, Father Christmas in the store, queueing for Father Christmas, wrapping paper, presents, candy cane, decorations, Christmas letters and lists. Kids will love reiterating the sort of customs their family has for Christmas and rejoice in the way Christmas is celebrated around the world.
