A fable about being kind to each other is presented within the gloriously funny story of Gloria the chook, going missing from the farm. Gloria is always doing things differently from the other chooks. She eats the food in the dogs’ bowls, howls just like them, is in your face, and is always very bold, doing her own thing. Until one day she just disappears. The family is intent on hunting down their Christmas decorations and do not hear the quiet noise from below. They look at the hawk in the tree outside and conclude that Gloria was just too slow. The other chooks blame each other for her disappearance, saying they were too unkind. They squabble so much they end up in a great melee of noise and feathers. The noise quietens for long enough for the children to hear that noise again, so they all look under the house where they had gone in their search for the decorations and find Gloria, a little dishevelled but alive. She has eaten the occasional bug to keep alive.
She is treated regally by the family, and given a table of food to eat, even a bed by the AGA. Once again out in the yard, in true Gloria fashion, she shares her stories of her exploits with the other chooks. She is surprised that they are so supportive, and Dulcie tells her that they have all decided to be kind, that difference is no reason to reject others.
The stunning illustrations create another level of humour to the story. Kate’s childhood was surrounded by chooks and so she offers a great deal of fun in her depictions of them. The scenes in the farmhouse, henhouse and farm yard are wonderful and her closeups of the hens fighting over who is to blame will cause hoots of laughter from the readers. I especially loved the images under the house, a lone dejected Gloria looking very small in the darkness, and the contrast between the large, healthy chooks and the newly found skinny Gloria is hilarious.
Pan Macmillan, 2023. ISBN: 9781035017775. (Age:16+) Highly recommended.
It is interesting to consider Donoghue’s latest novel Learned by heart within the context of her other works, Room (2010), The wonder (2016), Akin (2019) and Haven (2022) with their recurring themes of captivity, restraint and personal challenge. In Learned by heart, it is the restraining world of the 19th century boarding school, a world bound up in rules, restrictions and punishments. Eliza Raine and Anne Lister are two young girls thrown together by chance when they are made to share the attic room dubbed the Slope. But perhaps it’s not really chance that has led Mrs Tate to house these two less desirable pupils together in their tiny room. Lister is precocious but impoverished, and Raine, though wealthy, is ‘less white’.
Not being familiar with the story of Anne Lister of ‘Gentleman Jack’ fame, I was most intrigued by the depiction of Eliza Raine, a young Anglo-Indian girl, who with her sister Jane, the progeny of their English father’s relationship with his Indian ‘wife’ in Madras, is sent to a prestigious school in Regency era Yorkshire. Raine is very aware of how others see her as 'foreign-looking... tawny... dingy or plain brown'. Lister however regards her as 'the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen' and gradually the example of Lister’s enthusiasm and fearlessness builds Raine’s own self-confidence.
Donoghue presents the story of Lister and Raine’s developing relationship from Raine’s point of view, through her letters and her memories of their time together. For Raine, her love once given, is never taken back. The feeling of loss, when their lives part ways, sends her to the mental asylum, whilst Lister goes on to achieve notoriety as a confident lesbian, writer, and landowner.
As Raine herself says “It is a sad story”, a meeting of hearts for a short time. She hopes to be remembered, their love living on in the ‘brown-blood trail of ink’. Donoghue’s novel beautifully brings to life their forbidden relationship, their free-spirited rebellion against the strictures of the school, and their dream of a marriage with exchanged rings. It is a sad romance.
Where will the sleepy sheep sleep? by David Metzenthen and Jonathan Bentley
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761066160. (Age:2+) Highly recommended.
The very talented duo of David Metzenthen and Jonathan Bentley have collaborated in an outstanding picture book that could well appear on awards lists. Readers are asked in a recurring refrain: 'Where will the sleepy sheep sleep?' The first double page spread asks the reader: 'Do you think the sleepy sheep will sleep on top of this wild and windy hill?' And children will love to examine the illustrations and shout out why the sleepy sheep couldn’t go to sleep there. Bentley has drawn the very woolly sheep just managing to stay stable as the wind pushes against the grass and clouds as well as his ears. The look on his face is priceless – mouth open in dismay, tired eyes drooping.
The next page begins with another refrain, 'Baah!' that children will enjoy, and shows a sleepy sheep sailing through the air, being blown away by the wild wind. And the story continues, will the sleepy sheep sleep in a steep and stony valley, or where the foxes hunt and the dingoes howl, or in a small, dark and damp cave, and so on until the sleepy sheep finds just the perfect spot for sleeping.
The tongue twisting language and repetition make it a perfect book to read aloud, and the refrains will ensure that children will become involved in the story and join in and discuss why the sleepy sheep couldn’t sleep in an uncomfortable spot and begin to guess where the best place might be.
Bentley’s illustrations are eye-catching, with vivid colours and memorable characters. Many emotions are shown on the face of the sleepy sheep, just by changing the expression on its cute mouth and location of its pink toned ears, while the position of its feet signal what is happening. Readers will be aware that the sky, first appearing as a pale blue, gets darker and darker and adds to the sheep’s urgency as it searches for a place to sleep.
The exceptional humour, language and illustrations in Where will the sleepy sheep sleep? will ensure that this becomes a bedtime favourite, and older children just beginning their journey to becoming independent readers will love the repetition that will help them identify the text. This is a keeper! Just gorgeous!
Allen & Unwin, 2023. ISBN: 9781761068935. (Age:9-13) Highly recommended.
The sixth book in the Rise of the Mythix series by Anh Do is titled Prophecy’s End and begins with Stanley dreaming wildly about more from the ‘Prophecies and Portents’ book. He has been guided by strange clues each time a new Mythix was discovered, and now compelling words leave him shaken as he has been dreaming of his lost wife Christine and her possible connection to the Sunken Temple of Tears.
After leaving the shipping container Kelly, Minh, Jimmy and Stanley head to Waveside to search for the temple and the answers it may give. There they encounter two unusual twins, Ralph and Alph, who are not what they appear to be but give them directions to the lost Temple. Along the path heading towards Eagle Rock, the four are trussed up in a net by the twins and lose their possessions. They eventually capture the twins who fear The Collector, William James. Stanley is convinced the twins may be more Mythix reincarnated from The Leprechaun.
At Eagle Rock the wild waves will batter them against the walls of the cliff but the twins show them a tunnel that appears when the waves part. The travel through the ocean tunnel is dangerous and difficult but all finally emerge in a cavern. What will they find? Will the prophecy end? Or are the Mythix in more danger?
This very entertaining series will continue to engage those readers who enjoy adventure, danger, and humour in their stories. The illustrations work well with the text and provide visual prompts to support readers who may struggle with large chunks of writing. Book Seven is coming soon with new heroes and new legends.
Themes Fantasy, Myths, Dystopia, Adventure, Power, Good vs Evil, Friendships, Danger, Humour.
Kathryn Beilby
The pit by Peter Papathanasiou
Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9781529424485. (Age:Adult)
Senior Constable Sparrow is the Aboriginal offsider to Detective Sergeant Georgios Manolis, both of whom we met in Papathansiou’s first crime thriller The Stoning. This time Sparrow is on his own, intrigued by the phone confession of a murderer who invites him on a trip to the crime scene in the Kimberley outback. The snag is, the old man insists on also taking along a young companion from his Perth nursing home, Luke, who is confined to a wheelchair. So the three runaways set out on their long road trip: ‘the old rogue, the young pup, and the undercover blackfella’.
The pit is a gritty ‘outback noir’ exposing all the worst elements of remote Australia: bigotry, racism, corrupt cops, prostitutes, drugs, alcoholism, derelict hotels, asbestos contamination, mining and destruction of Aboriginal lands. Bob, as a homosexual in the 1960s, has experienced the worst of it all. We know that he has serious medical issues; a condition that is most likely terminal. What he hopes to achieve by the trip with these particular companions is a mystery. But the signs are that it will be dangerous.
While the characters don’t seem particularly likeable at the start, even the ambiguous Sparrow, and especially the ill-tempered and demanding Luke, Papathanasiou does succeed in engaging our empathy as the story progresses. And amidst the grime, there are moments of appreciation of the beauty of the wild outback. This is a book that will appeal to readers of the increasingly rugged genre of Australian crime novels.
From the time a small feathered animal launched itself into the air 150 million years ago, the planet's skies have been populated with birds and now more than 10 000 species have evolved from that first archaeopteryx, being the only creatures of the dinosaur era to survive the impact of the asteroid that hit the earth 66 million years ago.
Using minimum text and many many illustrations of examples, the reader is taken on an exploration of the species that explains what a bird is, how the species evolved, and the features that have made them so successful including the power of flight, their senses, their adaptations to their habitats, migration and all the other facets of life that one would expect to discover. The only drawback that it may have for the younger reader is the small, handwriting like font that may prove tricky for them to read without help. Overall, though, this is an intriguing and informative book that really provides an 'all-you-need-to-know' introduction to a creature that varies from the bee hummingbird that weighs less than a ping pong ball to the wandering albatross with its wingspan of over three metres to the ostrich which is the largest living bird on the planet these days, outstripped by the extinct giant moa, endemic to New Zealand.
Steve Jenkins has given young readers some fascinating insights into the animal world such as The Animal Toolkit and Animal Facts by the Numbers, and this is just as fascinating.
Themes Birds.
Barbara Braxton
Lots of things to know about weather by Emily Bone and Katia Gaigalova
Because it often determines what they can or cannot do, young children are aware of the impact of the weather on their lives, And many, once they have learned the various weather conditions and how they form, have further questions that they want answers to such as how fast do the fastest winds blow; how heavy is a cloud and where are the driest and wettest places on Earth?
Using the format of a child asking the questions and a parent answering them, this new book from Usborne explores some of those questions that curious kids ask, such as the ubiquitous "why is the sky blue?" and including raising topics that they don't know they don't know like who the weather gods of various civilisations believed in and why spiders are bigger in warm weather!
As usual the text is accessible for the target audience, the format is appealing and there is extra support through the provision of a glossary and index so the book is easy to navigate. Quicklinks to vetted internet sites add extra information and explanations so curiosity can be satisfied at the point of need and, there is even a lot the parent can learn if they are exploring the book together with their child. Who knew that beetroot juice, the whey left from cheese making and even the juice in the pickle jar were environmentally more friendly ways of keeping roads free of ice than the more commonly used salt?
Themes Weather.
Barbara Braxton
The ghost ship by Kate Mosse
Pan Macmillan, 2023. ISBN: 9781509806928. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
The ghost ship is the third in the series The Joubert family chronicles but absolutely can stand on its own as a fascinating story of two unique women carving out their lives in the 1620s, the story travelling from France to the Dutch Republic to the Canary Islands off North Africa. It is the time of the persecution of the Huguenots, or French Protestants, by the Catholic nobility, leading to an exodus of refugees to South Africa. Louise Reydon-Joubert is a determined young woman, in love with ships and the sea, who takes command of the merchant ship ‘Old Moon’, first as the owner, then as the captain.
There are many well-researched books of historical fiction that recount the adventures of headstrong independent women. The thing that sets this one apart is the interesting juxtaposition of the two main characters. Louise is a woman who confronts male prejudices and asserts her intelligence and determination, speaking and behaving in ways that society is reluctant to countenance. On the other hand, there is a young girl who is forced to step into the shoes of her dead brother, and become a boy in order to secure his inheritance. She becomes the quietly spoken, and cautious Gilles, a man who avoids attention and keeps to himself as much as possible, always in fear of being found out. When the paths of these two meet they become gradually drawn to each other. They are both assuming roles outside of societal norms. Their relationship becomes something forbidden and dangerous, in the times of conservative religion and the Inquisition.
Added to this is adventure on the high seas, with merchant ships and slaving ships, and pirates! The ‘Ghost Ship’ is a strange phantom ship enveloped in clouds of noxious air, with no living crew, only dead figures slumped at the oars. Stories of the ship become embellished with superstition: the vessel is crewed by the undead, it is a thousand feet long, and it is commanded by a red-horned she-devil!
Mystery, adventure, murder and romance; this book has it all. And at the heart is an interesting interrogation of the role of women, of religious conservatism and intolerance, and the recurring and ongoing persecution of refugees. Readers who enjoy intelligent historical fiction, will no doubt eagerly await the promised sequel.
Themes 17th century, Huguenots, Women, Gender, Sailing ships, Pirates.
Danny is bored. He would have liked to have been playing with his brother Mick but he's off with his mates so, instead, he takes his dog Scruff for a walk on the beach. Even though Danny thinks it's a vast, boring nothingness, especially on a cool wintry day. Scruff loves it and it's not too long before they are having a game of fetch as Scruff continually chases a stick into the water and brings it back. But it's when they see a crowd of people shouting and laughing and waving to someone in the water, that Danny's afternoon takes a remarkable turn...
As usual, master storyteller Browne offers a visual feast as he combines fairly straight-forward text with his rich illustrations and, just as Danny' mother suggests he use his eyes closely because "you never know what you might see", so too should the reader. But, for me, as much as I love the sea in all its changing moods and colours, and the treasures found along its shore, it is the dedication that underpins this story. "In loving memory of my big brother Michael" suggests there is a poignant undertone of loss and longing that there could have been a different ending to his brother's real-life story and this is echoed in the muted palette and flat, almost featureless seascape with just the odd break on the horizon.
So, as well as offering young readers the opportunity to think about what Danny's mother suggests about finding hidden treasures and sharing their stories of seaside adventures, it is also an opportunity to think about friends and things lost forever and the emotions attached to this. Given this is the third book about loss and grief that I have read and reviewed in the last three days, perhaps I am overthinking what might seem a simple story but my experience of Browne's writing is that like, the beach, there are always hidden treasures to discover. You just have to look.
Themes Dogs, Sea, Imagination.
Barbara Braxton
Consumed by Greg Buchanan
Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9781398712720. (Age:Adult) Recommended for fans of dark mystery.
I picked up Consumed because Greg Buchanan’s first book about Forensic veterinarian Cooper Allen, Sixteen horses, was described as a literary crime sensation. I was intrigued to read about a new field in the crime genre, as well as read a literary thriller. I have not read Sixteen horses but was able to follow the motivation and character of Cooper as she investigated the horrific scene that she had been called to. Famous photographer Sophia Bertilak had fallen outside her house and been consumed by her two pigs. Although it seems like an awful accident, photographs have been removed from inside the house. Cooper becomes absorbed in the life of Sophie and her children, Matthew and Lucy, especially as Sophie’s most famous photograph had been of a pipe sticking up out of the ground, which was discovered to have been the burial place of a lost child. As Cooper delves deeper into Sophie’s life, long unsolved mysteries emerge, and these secrets begin to take over her life and her sanity.
Although the writing is wonderful, and the chapters short, I did not find Consumed easy to read. The title Consumed is very apt – not only do the pigs consume a body, but Cooper is consumed with what has happened both in the past and the present. It is dark and terrifying, more a tale of horror than a mystery. However, as often as I put it aside, I found myself returning - the suspense and tension, the secrets and the unlikeable characters, kept drawing me back to the pages.
This is not for readers who enjoy cosy mysteries, or prefer a clever detective, but may appeal to those who enjoy a dark, complex plot with an unsettling mystery within a mystery. An unforgettable read.
Themes Mystery, Crime, Forensic veterinarian.
Pat Pledger
A very dinosaur birthday by Adam Wallace. Illus. by Christopher Nielsen
A verse story about a dinosaur will always be a hit. But add in the attributes that this dinosaur brings to a party will have the listening audience laughing out loud. Through the book readers will get an idea of what happens at a birthday party. The opening page tells us that a dinosaur should never be invited to a birthday party because he is too farty. Over the page more reasons are given: they bring old presents that are mouldy, or broken or stinky. When it comes to the games, they cause mayhem as well. Hiding a dinosaur in hide and seek is problematic, pass the parcel causes concern, and pin the tail on the donkey could mean a wall falling down. The pool sounds cool but not when the dinosaur jumps in, offering food means none is left for the kids, blowing out the candles sees everyone covered with icing, while going up to bed at the end of such an upsetting day causes more surprises as the dinosaurs have opened all the presents, messily.
Rollicking rhymes showcase a very funny tale of how various dinosaurs can upset a party, and accompanied by the bright, zany illustrations will be read and reread by younger kids. Laugh out loud while being read aloud, kids will love looking at the different types of dinosaurs and how their names are intertwined with the rhyming structure. They will love predicting the rhyming word and learn some of the lines for themselves, particularly the ones involving bums and farts.
The endpapers contain images of various dinosaurs with their names, while at the end of the book are activities that readers could be involved with at a dinosaur birthday party.
Imagine opening a picture book and being confronted with the talons of a bird, talons that are bigger than your own hand! And then discovering that they belong to a real bird, the harpy eagle!
This new book in this series, this time, compares some of world's smallest and largest deadly animals and invites children to think about how they compare with these amazing creatures. And as well as discovering that many of the deadliest creatures are not necessarily the largest - the most successful predator is actually the common dragonfly - they also discover that just because something may not be deadly to humans, nevertheless it deserves its place in the book because of its impact on its own environment.
Every second double-page spread features a lifesize portion of a creature including caimans, snakes and lions, and the following spread explains why it is deadly and so effective within its own habitat. So while the Bengal slow loris releases a deadly, flesh-rotting venom to kill, it only uses it on its own kind.
Unlike Lifesize Baby Animals, which lent itself to children comparing their own size to that of the featured creatures, this one takes the reader into a different sort of investigation as they consider food chains and how species satisfy their basic need to eat. Sometimes the biggest or scariest are not always the ones to fear the most.
One of my enduring memories of my 50+ years of teaching in both classroom and library, is seeing groups of young boys, often not the best readers, poring over books like these excitedly discussing their discoveries, trying to outdo each other in the WOW stakes, and I am convinced that the provision of books like this contributes much more to their learning (and reading development) than the content presented within. For that alone, this is a series worth having and sharing (although I am glad that Lifesize Creepy Crawlies is only available as an ebook!)
Themes Animals.
Barbara Braxton
Love, Clancy by W. Bruce Cameron
Pan Macmillan, 2023. ISBN: 9781529010077. (Age:15+)
Clancy is a good boy. Clancy listens to his human, JayB, and does what he asks. They go for walks, sometimes picking up Odin, their neighbours dog. They go to the park and they walk there. Recently, they've started meeting other people, and more dogs, including Phoebe, the most beautiful dog Clancy's ever met. Meanwhile, JayB has lots of people in his life - there's Maddy, who appears to be JayB's girlfriend, though Clancy hears JayB saying things about them not being a couple? There's Rodney, who is JayB's friend from school, though if he's anything like his dog, Spartan, there's something a bit off about him. Walter, JayB's dad, who seems to have won something called the lottery? And then there's the cat. Kelsey. JayB doesn't understand the contempt that the cat has for him. But Clancy does. And then there are new people who have come into their lives and Clancy is excited to meet them, but where do they fit?
Switching between diary entries and the 'real time' perspective of Clancy, the book follows the story of Clancy and his owner, JayB. Full of complicated relationships and real world dramas, the story follows JayB's life and those around him. Realistic characters, many that readers would find relatable, some annoying, a good balance for the majority of readers. Very much a contemporary story with family and friendships, plenty of cute dog and cat cliches, though cat fans will struggle with the attitude of Clancy towards cats in the book. While the diary entry format is a sweet addition, as the entire story is from Clancy's perspective, it doesn't add that much to the overall story.
Themes Contemporary; Family & Relationships; Animals; Romance.
Melanie Pages
Fireflies in flight by Mette Jakobsen
Angus & Robertson, 2023. ISBN: 9781460762097. (Age:14+) Highly recommended for lovers of dystopian fiction.
For lovers of dystopian fiction, this is another gem! The follow-up story to The Snow Laundry which left readers on a knife-edge at the conclusion of the book, this sequel follows Ally who has managed to escape the Towers, the ‘workhouse’ environment where her friends continue their servile drudgery for those in power. She is desperate to liberate them, but the regime in power is doing everything to get in the way and make life difficult; there is even a possible coup on the horizon. Her former survival skills as a homeless ‘Tunnel kid’ stand her in good stead as she makes her way back to a city that has almost changed beyond recognition. Linking up with another group of young, orphaned teens who are also defying authority, Ally tries to share some information that might give hope to her friends still stuck in their hopeless existence, but is she too late? Will they become fodder for the destructive administration that cares nothing for their existence? Will they ever know freedom?
This is part 2 of Mette Jakobsen's dystopian series and yet again she leads the reader on a fast-paced action story that is intense and deadly in equal measure. For readers who have loved Divergent and The Hunger Games this is another book to excite them. Realistically this book should not be read as a stand-alone novel as it is the conclusion to the story of Ally, originally living in poverty and as a virtual tunnel-rat, who finds herself as a possible lab-rat and experimental pawn in a regime that cares nothing for its citizens. (Indications of a Nazi-like totalitarian rule). The appeal of this book for YA readers is that it also includes the potential for romance for the central characters, even though they are also fighting for survival. This series is best read by 14+ readers as there is violence and distress at every turn. It will certainly keep readers absorbed to the last page.
Everyone except Gerald loves Mr Impoppable. Gerald hates balloons and has become the world champion balloon popper, so Mr Impoppable becomes his target; but this balloon is different. He makes fabulous chocolates for all the kids. And they love him for it but Gerald hates chocolates and warns Mr Impoppable that he will pop him. So one quiet afternoon, Gerald uses his pin to try and pop Mr Impoppable. He fails.
The chocolatier sends him off to sharpen his pin. This sharpened pin does not work either, and Mr Impoppable invites Gerald to stay for lunch. Gerald is surprised, no one has ever asked him to stay for lunch before But Gerald carries on with his quest. He uses a sword and this fails, so Mr Impoppable bakes him a birthday cake. Gerald trains a bunch of ninja kittens who hiss and spat and hack and when this fails the pair sit down to afternoon tea. Gerald brings in a cannon, once the property of a fearsome pirate, and a slingshot and when these also fail, they sit down to a game of chess. Gerald continues on with his quest. He has a bunch of scientists create a steamroller, the likes of which has never been seen before. Gerald rides the Popatron 3000 to mow down Mr Impoppable and something does go pop, but not what Gerald expects.
This very funny story of two people at odds coming together. Gerald is convinced that he will succeed but the chocolatier knows he will not. He offers the hand of friendship to Gerald and the two become close. Gerald seems to be a friendless boy intent on doing negative things to fill his time. So the hand of friendship that is offered from his victim takes him aback, and he accepts what is offered.
The wonderful illustrations are mesmerising: I was entranced that a few seemingly simple lines could get across the feelings of the two characters. A small change in the way the mouth curls, or the eyebrows on the face sit, allow the reader to be aware of the feelings of the two as they come to some understanding of each other. The story and its images will serve to encourage readers to look again at difference and how to bridge that gap.
