Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180378. (Age:Adolescent) Recommended.
What a fun debut novel for young people (especially boys) is To and fro by Anton Clifford Motopi! Writing from his own experience of being mixed race and now raising four children of his own, Clifford Motobi has produced a lively, funny take on coming of age through the first person narration of Sam, a mixed race 12 year old Australian boy, son of a single mother and of mixed Australian and African race.
The novel hinges around the old chestnut school project where students are required to research their identity - basically Who am I and where do I come from? As every teacher knows this research can open a can of worms and in To and fro it certainly does! The children are to present their findings at a parent assembly. In the process they find out about themselves and each other with meaningful, life-changing and equally moving and hilarious consequences.
The reader is immersed in the warm and funny family life of Sam, his mother and his dog Trevor. In addition his nanna, his teacher (Mr Peacock) and his friend Aiden, enemy Lachlan Bott and other students play important roles. Sam is a white boy with an Afro. Into the story enters his father and Sam gains another African family with black skinned siblings. His efforts to understand his identity are both touching and funny. Amongst other things, he goes to extreme lengths to change his skin colour and runs into a great deal of trouble including inadvertently causing great offence through appearing at school in 'black face'.
Nanna holds racist views especially about refugees as she feels that they take Australian jobs and live off welfare. Her views moderate. Sam has the greatest shock to overcome. His dog Trevor is an enormous comfort to him. An example is the occasion when Sam confides in him...' 'It's okay, Trevor. I'm in shock because Mum lied to me about my father for twelve years. That's about seventy dog year's of lying.' Dogs don't know their dads, so the full effect of Mum's lies were lost on Trevor. ' (p.41)
Fresh and thought provoking insights about racial and cultural misunderstandings arise incidentally as the story progresses and are dealt with in a warm hearted manner.
To and fro would be a useful book for boys in particular to read as it deals in a light hearted and casually instructive way with potentially embarrassing things that can happen as boys go through puberty.
In summary, To and fro is not only an entertaining and funny book; it would also be helpful for Middle school children (especially boys) coming to terms with identity, changing friendships and changing bodies.
A nice touch is the photo of Anton Clifford-Motopi at the same age as his intended readers on the back page.
When Jamila Dakhoul’s family need somewhere to live, after their property is destroyed by fire, their friends, Krista and Charlotte are quick to offer them a caravan in their backyard until they can rebuild. The families have been close since Billy Radcliff and Jamila were born 5 hours apart and the mums became friends. Now 18 and in year twelve Jamila is having to deal not only with the trauma of the fire and the humiliation of having to accept charity but also the incessant bullying prevalent at her school, and to make it worse, Billy has become friends with the worst offenders. One of the ways she keeps going is by posting to her YouTube channel called ‘Jam and Scream', sharing everyday events with her many followers, much to the disgust of her younger brother Elijah who can't see the point. Each year the families go to Hamil Bay Holiday Park for a long weekend in April, what used to be Jamila’s 'happy place' where she and Billy with friend Daphne Chen would make lasting memories. But this year Billy is planning on going to a party instead of the camping trip and Daphne hasn’t been in touch. After a series of terrible incidents at school, both Jamila and Billy find themselves under close parental scrutiny, compelled to make the camping trip, Jamila without her phone. When things seem to have reached rock bottom the deep friendships formed over many years are rekindled and, with the help of a polaroid camera, Jamila’s 'happy place' works its magic.
In this fast-paced romance and coming of age story bullying is taken to a whole new level through social media but being connected is also how Jamila deals with her situation and finds support outside the family. All lightened with a fine dusting of humour a nice addition to Australian young adult fiction. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Relationships, Bullying, Coming of age.
Sue Speck
How to solve your own murder by Kristen Perrin
Quercus Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781529430066. (Age:Adult, young adult)
When 16 year-old Frances Adams got her fortune told in 1965 she took it seriously to the disbelief of her friends, Emily and Rose. When the fortune teller predicted 'Your future contains dry bones' and 'All signs point toward your murder', Frances’ life changed; despite the ridicule of her friends the prophecy would haunt her and within a year, one of the friends is dead. The narrative shifts to sixty years later when Frances is a great aunt living in Dorset while her niece, Laura, and Annie, Laura’s daughter are living in an eight bedroom house in Chelsea owned by Frances. Laura is a well known artist and she wants to clear the basement for a studio. When Annie sends some of the stored trunks to her great Aunt’s place in Dorset she gets back a request from Frances’ solicitor to attend a meeting there to discuss Annie becoming her beneficiary, even though they have never met. In much the same way as in Emily Barr’s This Summer’s Secrets the narrative switches back and forth between the past and present as Annie, an aspiring author of murder fiction tries to piece together the clues her great aunt left before she was murdered. It is a nice concept to use the ‘murderboard' set of notes Frances left as she imagined who might want to kill her, with the murder fiction aspect and the actual murder but it does sometimes make it hard to remember who the many characters are and where they fit in. At some points Annie and her mother in 1965 are indistinguishable. However, the double timeline does take the reader on the journey and Annie’s conversations with her friend Jenny help to keep the reader on track. Lovers of Midsummer Murders will enjoy the multiple threads of this entertaining read.
Birungi does not want to go to school. Getting up and having breakfast is nothing compared to getting her hair ready for school. After brushing and combing she announces to the kitchen, ‘I hate my hair’. Her unflappable parents take her outside for a walk to school, looking at everyone’s hair along the wy.
They see a vast range of hair styles, colours and lengths. They see people like Dad with no hair, some with hair that almost touches the ground, one with hair shaped into the pointers of a star, grey hair and red hair, hair cut into a bob shape, plaited hair, and frizzy hair. Mum tells her to listen to her hair, just with a sniff she can tell it is due for a wash.
Entering the school she calls out to her parents that she thinks that good hair is what is on her head, and goes into class happily. Every day is a good hair day.
This is a lovely positive book about image, chasing down the array of different hair types which are presented everyday. At odds with her own hair, Birungi walks to school with the parents, amazed at all the different hair types, colours, styles and lengths they see.
And I do so like the illustrations, showing Birungi and her almost impossible hair, having to comb and brush it each morning. But she finds she is not alone; there are many others who have to spend a lot of time with their hair, just as many who spend lots of time at the hairdressers getting it just right. I love the images of Birungi having a hissy fit about her hair and not wanting to go to school. How many kids do not want to go to school because of a something which they think is not acceptable, only to find their concern is negligible. I love Dad and Mum, walking beside their daughter, unfazed by her tantrum, ready to help her find her own way through the problem. The images of her parents are adorable.
These days young children are very aware of the importance of plants and bees, the deadly potential of climate change and the concept of 'green' being more than just a colour in the paint palette. But what is the connection between them?
It is all explained in this beautifully illustrated picture book. In accessible text, the young reader learns that a tree isn't just a tree standing green and shady but that it is really busy purifying the air through photosynthesis as it does, and from there they are led naturally through a timeline of the development of plants on the planet, the impact of using the remains of the ancient forests as fossil fuels, and the interaction and interdependence of plants on the planet's health and function, as they begin to understand why 'GREEN is the most important colour in the world.'
This really is the most remarkable book that explains really complex concepts in such a simple way that it should be the starting point for any study into the environment and why we need to protect what we have. It is the basic WHY of all the what, where, who, how and all the other questions that students have that will provide context and purpose for any investigation, encapsulating and explaining such a big idea in a way that just gives sense to so much else. No matter what the topic under investigation, if it is about the natural world, it will stem back to plants and their health and prevalence.
Research shows that the eye distinguishes more shades of green than any other colour and certainly the view from my window has more hues than I could count, but it never ceases to suggest a sense of calm and peace, which is why so many medical facilities are painted in shades of green. This book is the beginning of understanding why this is so, and why it is so important to our lives and well-being.
A must-have in any collection.
Barbara Braxton
Magic counting: Explore the world of numbers through the shapes and patterns around us by Nabeel Khan. Illus. by Tete Garcia
At first glance, Magic counting is a book for toddlers, with its board book format and bright colours, but once the book is opened and the flaps turned back, information about numbers is revealed that will intrigue adults and older readers.
The book opens onto the number One and on the left-hand side show the number, the world, a hand with one finger showing. On the opposite page is a globe with the words: 'One Earth turning, where countless creatures live’, and some information about Earth, all suitable for a young child. Turn the flap and magical knowledge awaits the reader regardless of age. The geometric shape of a circle and its properties are explained and then the reader learns about the ouroboros, a serpent that eats its own tail, the wheel with spokes of the same length and the enso, a Japanese Zen Buddhist symbol. The book continues in this way, with the numbers going to ten, the first two pages ideal for a young child, and then geometrical shapes and symbols that will expand the knowledge of all who read it. I was fascinated to learn about yin and yang for the number 2, the triskelion made of three interlocking spirals and used by ancient Greeks and Celts, and the wombat who makes square poo, made of four sides. I know that I will be looking at flowers in my garden to see if they have five petals and counting the segments in an orange to see if there are ten segments. And the illustrations in clear, bright colours complement the text and will help readers remember symbols and shapes.
Magic counting is an excellent way of linking numbers to everyday objects and expanding knowledge about shapes and symbols. Any person who is given this book or has access to it in a classroom or library is in for a treat. It is a keeper for me – just wonderful.
Themes Counting, Shapes, Symbols.
Pat Pledger
Sharkman and Blowfish world domination by David Woodland
When baby blowfish hatches out of his egg on the reef he is entirely alone. Small for his age, he is bullied at the Kraken Elementary school but always remains optimistic, enjoying the view when hanging from the basketball hoop and feeling clean after being put in the washing machine. His passion is learning about sharks and so when the new kid, a young great white shark, big for his age, befriends him they make a formidable team. Blowfish’s can-do attitude and amazing creativity combined with Sharkman’s big ideas and powerful family empire make world domination a real possibility.
The detailed drawings throughout the book are stylishly presented in monochrome with some wonderfully imagined machines in a variety of landscapes around the world. I particularly liked the fishy pops, displayed on the endpapers, that feature throughout the book. Some of the text seemed a bit clunky and poorly integrated with the graphics and sudden jumps in the timeline at the beginning were a bit confusing. The spoilt, egotistical Sharkman is not very likeable and the page where he has an axe for cutting down trees is a bit too nasty. Overall the story is fun and quirky, the graphics engaging and the characters consistent and well developed. Despite many attempts they don’t quite achieve world domination, leaving their story open to be continued.
Stitch by Padraig Kenny is a captivating and thought-provoking fiction novel that intricately weaves themes of friendship, loyalty, and the essence of humanity. The story revolves around two central characters, Stitch and Henry, who share an extraordinary bond. However, what sets their friendship apart is not just their unwavering connection between each other, but the fact that they are not ordinary beings. They are the result of scientific experiments conducted by the eccentric Professor Hardacre in his secluded castle.
Stitch is someone every reader is sure to love. He epitomises all the qualities of a true friend - kindness, acceptance, devotion and honesty, and that of a good person. He has a wonderful outlook on life, seeing each day as a special gift, appreciating the little things and accepting everyone for whoever they are. Stitch displays a level of humanity that challenges the natural order and raises questions about what it means to be truly human.
Stitch and Henry’s life is turned upside down with the arrival of Professor Hardacre's nephew and his young friend, Alice. Their presence in the castle serves as a catalyst for unforeseen events, and Stitch is left confused and unsure about what to do. As the story unfolds, Stitch and Alice must put their differences aside to find Henry. However, when the two find themselves confronted with the ignorance of the town’s people, will they be able to overcome the fear and prejudice that they face?
Kenny masterfully crafts a narrative that is both heart-warming and morally challenging. His portrayal of the characters' emotional connections and sensitivities enables the reader to see things through a different lens. With complex themes to explore, such as the ethics of scientific experimentation, the nature of identity and the power of friendship, this would work brilliantly as a class novel.
Stitch is a remarkable story that combines adventure, emotional depth, and moral questions in a seamless narrative. Entwining the true power of friendship, acceptance and living without bias, this is certainly a memorable and impactful read for all.
In the fourth inspiring book in the series about Ming and her to timeslips back to the past, author Jackie French has once again shown the reader an exhaustive look at life in another time. Her attention to detail and her ability to share fascinating facts about the period of history in question alongside a well-constructed story, allows this series to offer an engaging read for those who love history.
Ming & Ada Spark the Digital Age is an intriguing look at early ideas and developments around the area of Mathematics, though this does not become apparent until later in the story. Ming has been taken by Herstory to an English mansion in Notting Hill. She is to become a scullery maid in a home where Ada Byron, the daughter of Lord Byron, is convalescing after contracting measles. She has been desperately ill, suffering from temporary blindness and medical cures of the time are not improving her condition.
Ming in her new subservient role, befriends Hepzibah, an African servant who is subject to the prejudices of the times. Through a series of unfortunate occurrences, Hepzibah is accused of theft and it is up to Ming to try to find the culprit. Alongside the drama with servants, Ming has also moved on to become a personal maid to the ailing Ada and with Ming’s knowledge of modern medicine she is able to nurse Ada back to reasonable health. While Ming is spending so much time with Ada, she is also learning that Ada has advanced knowledge of Mathematical theories and is a visionary genius. It is not until the end that the reader finds out the Ada indeed is an amazing woman of History who without Ming’s intervention, may not have survived to become the famous person she does.
Throughout this book, there are times when Ming begins to question her own family and her absent mother. She is resentful about the situation and questions Herstory about where her mother may be. Herstory throws in an unexpected connection to a new friend and an enticing offer to find out more…Hopefully the fifth book in the series is not too far away!
Themes Women & Girls in History, Timeslip, Prejudice, Servants, Measles Epidemic, England 1829, Mathematics, Family, Secrets.
Kathryn Beilby
Plantabulous! More A to Z of Australian plants by Catherine Clowes. Illus. by Rachel Gyan
Plantabulous! More A to Z of Australian Plants is the companion book to Plantastic: A to Z of Australian Plants published in 2021. In this latest release 26 more unique Australian native plants are introduced in alphabetical order. As with the first book, the gorgeous cover by Rachel Gyan will entice middle grade readers to explore this engaging publication.
The author gives the reader a brief introduction to Australian plants and their distinctive, often unknown qualities in the beginning of the book. There is a detailed contents page naming the 26 plants discussed followed by information about ‘How to Use this Book’ and a gentle reminder to avoid going off track to minimise plant damage.
The plants begin with ‘A for Ant Plant’ and end with ‘Z for Zostera’. Each plant has its own double page spread with information, colourful illustrations and some labelled diagrams. Included is a Genus name with its pronunciation, the common name and where possible an Indigenous name. For example, the Burrawang plant is the name used by the Dharuk people from the Sydney area. This plant has been around from the time of dinosaurs and is a type of cycad.
Each of the 26 plants has an interesting plantabulous fact and an activity which provides the reader with an idea of what to look for if searching for the plant. By using the map and plant ecoregions guide at the back of the book, it is possible to find plants in each state of Australia. The glossary and acknowledgments complete the back section. The front endpapers show alphabet letters and the back endpapers show clearly labelled plant sections.
Plantabulous! More A to Z of Australian Plants is another wonderful resource to add to a home, school or public library. Young botanists will learn so many fascinating facts about our Australian flora in this beautifully presented book. There are free Teacher Notes available.
A most unusual and tempting book about the friendship between a bear and a leaf will intrigue younger readers as they recognise the bear’s loneliness and wish for a friend. He is alone in the forest, his siblings all gone. A leaf falls onto Bear’s head and Bear, catching the leaf and hugging it to himself, calls the leaf Greaf as he is a green leaf. But the puns on the leaf are becomes obvious later in the story.
They do things together, Bear carrying Greaf wherever he goes. They walk through the woods and forests, up and down hills, across rivers and lakes. When the wind begins to blow more strongly, Bear clutches Greaf tightly to his chest. He takes Greaf to his home when the rain comes down, and they sit together in the still and the dark. Bear cannot think of a time without Greaf until one day he notices that the leaf is changing. Greaf is no longer green and soft, but brown and brittle.
When the wind hows through the cave, Greaf is torn to pieces and these pieces swirl around Bear. And then disappear.
But then Bear sits again under the huge tree, seemingly not quite as large as it was before, and he recalls his friend Greaf, a friend forever in his heart.
A story about loneliness and friendship, and about grief and loss as Bear finds a friend in an unexpected place and when that friend is gone, has the memory of him forever in his heart.
This book introduces younger children to the concept of grief, as the season changes in the story, initiating the change in Greaf and his eventual demise. They will empathise with the story of Bear and Greaf, and recognise that although Greaf has gone, he is remembered.
The illustrations are amazing, swirls of colour cross each page giving impressions of forest and hills, of the cold wind and warmth of the sun. Pages will provoke interest in readers as they recognise different ways of representing the forests, the seasons, the flora and fauna around the bear. And the intriguing way in which Canby draws the bear on each page will promote thought and lots of discussion.
And children will look for things amongst the wonderful washy greens of the endpapers.
Published across the globe, Kelly Canby was born in London, but moved to Australia at the age of three, when she began using pencils and crayons, eventually developing her original and quirky style. She is the author illustrator of Timeless, Rodney, The hole story and Littlelight, all wonderfully unusual and fascinatingly illustrated books.
A book to read last thing at night, encouraging sleepy heads, especially those dressed in their dragon pyjamas, that it is time for bed.
Told from the child’s perspective, the little dragon simply will not go to bed, the young child asking for help from the reading audience. They have put the sheep away and swatted all the questions to one side. The next step is to yawn and encourage Little Dragon to yawn as well. In bed at last, but Little Dragon’s tummy needs to be scratched. His flame is tickling his throat and so a glass of water is required, but Little Dragon is sent to the bathroom instead to use the tap. But he uses something else to get his drink! Toilet paper being great fun. Next Little Dragon’s dinosaur is missing and must be found. At last they are in bed, Little Dragon snuggling down with his dinosaur. But no, a story must be read. Well, off to sleep, but it is too light, and reaching up to turn off the light the room becomes too dark. The child kisses the Little Dragon goodnight and someone’s eyes spring open. This delightfully entertaining book about the perils of getting a child to sleep, is told from a child’s perspective, trying to get his dragon to sleep. All attention is on the Little Dragon who tries every trick to remain awake and avoid sleeping.
Told with lots of humour, encouraging children to see what their parents do each night, the fresh perspective will be highly amusing to those whose bedtime is a nightly trial. Excuses are trotted out, causing exasperation from the child, reminiscent of that felt by adults.
Lovely illustrations by newcomer, Rae Tan add another level of humour to the tale, while at the same time endearing the child and the dragon to the readers. I love the endpapers with their sketches of the animals, and I love the way Tan has used several sketches of the dragon, tumbling over themselves as it avoids sleep. Kids will love the images of a perplexed child, wondering what else can be done to get the dragon to sleep, and the images of the child in bed with the dragon are simply wonderful. Younger readers will love seeing the Little Dragon and its machinations at avoiding bed and sympathise with its attempts to remain out of bed. And they will love looking at the detail in the bedroom.
Helen Comerford’s debut YA novel is a lot of fun. 2024 is the year that a prophesied superhero is supposed to save the town of Nine Trees from disaster. So when romantic superhero Blaze saves Jenna Ray from the explosive fire at the Culture Centre the news is all over the networks. Will Jenna be the hero’s preordained ‘Love Interest’? Independent minded heroine, Jenna, decides she’s not having any of it.
Although Blaze is championed by the Heroics and Power Authority (HPA) as the latest hero to overcome the Villains, the more Jenna becomes involved with him, the more uncertain she is about the purpose of the HPA, and who the Villains really are. There is also the question of what happened to her brilliant engineer mother; why has she disappeared?
It’s a twisty plot with mystery, adventure, and quirky situations that will make you laugh. While completely engaging as a superhero story it also comes across as an enjoyable and irreverent send-up of the genre. Blaze reminds me so much of the hot but slightly dumb Weston in Sophie Gonzales’ The perfect guy doesn’t exist. Comerford’s superhero Blaze is cute, and good intentioned, but needs Jenna’s prodding to stop and question some of the too easily accepted rhetoric of supposed authority figures.
The other interesting element is Jenna’s own insecurity – the panic attacks where she needs to mindfully relax and breathe her way out. Her family and her friend Joy help her through those episodes, and gradually she discovers her inner strength and special power.
Walking the rock country in Kakadu: Karrire kundenge karribolknan kunwarddehwardde by Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761067860. (Age:5+) Highly recommended.
In 2021, authors Diane Lucas and Ben Tyler along with illustrator Emma Long, combined their creative talents and produced the 2022 CBCA Eve Pownall Shortlisted book Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest. They have now written a second book in the same style and format, Walking the Rock Country in Kakadu: Karrire kundenge karribolknan kunwarddehwardde, that will once again engage the reader from cover to cover.
The vibrant glossy front cover depicting the rock country and the detailed endpapers showing aspects and creatures of the eco system are visually stunning. Throughout the book, the reader is drawn to the striking full page illustrations, and the text that cleverly uses Kundjeyhmi language translated by smaller images to add visual interest and learning to the story.
Walking the Rock Country in Kakadu is set in the early dry season and the group is setting off to walk through the rock country which is in the Arnhem Land plateau that extends into Kakudu National Park.
‘Karrire kundenge karribolknan kunwarddehwardde: Lets walk, lets look at the rock country.’
Along the way they explore many different habitats and meet all kinds of animals of the land, air and water. The children learn to listen to the adults as they share stories about Country, the use of fire and when it is the right time to burn. They learn about survival and safety, and the danger and damage caused by cane toads and European bees.
This is an astonishing read, the second in a series of three with the final book focusing on the floodplains. Alongside its beautiful illustrations there is so much learning to be gained and First Nations knowledge to be shared. A comprehensive glossary using words and images is at the back of the book and in the front introductory page is a QR code to listen to the story being read by the authors.
A fabulous resource for home, school or public library.
Themes Arnhem Land Plateau, Kakadu National Park, Nature, Plants, Animals, Kundjeyhmi Culture & Language, First Nations.
Kathryn Beilby
How to move a zoo by Kate Simpson and Owen Swan
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180309. (Age:5+) Highly recommended.
This incredible true story shows how the Taronga Zoo came to be where it is today. Originally at Moore Park, it was obviously running out of room, so a plan had to be devised to transfer all the animals across the harbour to the new site. In 1916 the bridge had not been built, so all sorts of coaches, cars and trucks were used to transfer the animals, using the ferries across the harbour as the means of getting to the new zoo.
Months later, there was only one animal left, Jessie, the elephant. There was nothing big enough for her to be transported in, so the decision was made to walk her.
Swan’s gentle form of illustration is just right for this story of Jessie. The soft edges, light colours, and the way of presenting each page will speak to the reader, taking them back to a time when Sydney Harbour was a very different place. The Opera House and bridge do not clutter the image of the harbour, just hills and ferries. Readers will enjoy seeing the old vehicles (see also the splendid endpapers) and clothes, as well as looking at the different ferries used more than a century ago.
Early in the book a map of the Sydney Harbour will engage young readers, looking at the path Jessie took to get to her new home.
At the height of World War One, this parade of vehicles driving an array of animals through the streets, followed months later with Jessie walking the same route, drew crowds of people, a respite from news of the war in Europe.
At the end this wonderful story are several paragraphs of information about the transfer as well as two photos taken at the time. More information can be found here.
