Review: Tashi 25th Anniversary Edition

Twenty-Five years! Can you believe it? Little Tashi has been entertaining and delighting us for 25 years.

Tashi is a fantastic series for junior readers, and this 25th anniversary collection is a beautiful introduction to Tashi’s fantastical world.

With four Tashi stories included, kids will get the full Tashi experience as Tashi’s early years are revealed, Tashi outwits a war lord, Tashi tricks a dragon and Tashi gets kidnapped!

Tashi is a wonderful character for kids to get to know. He is smart, brave and bold. He says what he thinks and he always puts his words into actions. He’s always ready with a story of battles he’s fought, journeys he’s been on and enemies he’s thwarted. I just adore him!

With generous illustrations throughout, the Tashi stories are filled with the sparkly tendrils of imagination that support the experience of story. 

The late Kim Gamble is a true talent in children’s illustration. The Tashi books are filled with his artwork, and it truly brings these stories to life. Black and white, but so detailed and intricate, you’ll take your time in pouring over them, I guarantee.

With large text, lots of illustrations and an easy to read narrative, Tashi is perfect for junior readers starting to read independently. The stories are short, too, so it’s easy for kids to dip in and out of the collection.

With a gorgeous turquoise hard cover and shiny gold embellishments, this is also a keeper for your bookshelf of beautiful books. It makes a stunning gift for all the junior readers in your life.

Thank you Anna Fienberg, Barbara Fienberg and Kim Gamble for giving Tashi to the world!

Title: Tashi 25th Anniversary Edition

Author: Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg

Illustrator: Kim Gamble

Publisher: Allen and Unwin, $16.99 

Publication Date: June 2020

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 9781760525446

For ages: 5 - 8

Type: Junior Fiction

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Meet the Illustrator: Yuke Li

Name: Yuke Li

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Traditional ,watercolor, Asian,

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
I have a Rembrandt 48 watercolors set. I made a tiny color card with it, so I can see each color clearly. It is very convenient to work with a color card. 

My brushes are very important items also. I brought them from China, which were used for Chinese calligraphy. They are cheap, but very handy.

Do you have a favorite artistic medium?
I work both traditionally and digitally, but my favorite medium is watercolor and ink. I like the accident of water-based pigment.

Name three artists whose work inspires you. 

Carl Titolo, Jillian Tamaki, Yokai Senjafuda 

 

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why? 

I am more curious about what will happen in the future, 20 years, 50 years from now on. If artists still like to use traditional material? Are we able to draw with our mind, instead of a physical pencil?

 

 

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator? 

I was inspired by Jillian Tamaki’s works a lot. Her works are all different. I love all her ink works, embroideries and digital works.

 

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it. 

For now my apartment is my studio. As a freelance illustrator who has worked for more than six years, I already got used to working at home. Usually I get up at 8 in the morning.Then start to work about 9. I have two big wood tables. I scatter all the tools on one table, and then draw on the other one. I like listening to electronic music while drawing as it makes me feel energetic. But during this difficult time that everybody is quarantined at home, I listen to the news more often. 

 

What is your favorite part of the illustration process?

Sketching is my favorite part. There is no stupid ideas during sketching, and I can be very relaxed and expressive. Sometimes the sketches look better than the colored version. Then I just go back to sketches. 

 

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator? 

Be honest with yourself and your works, because who you are, what you were thinking, were you happy or anxious, are all written on your works.

 

Yuke Li is an author-illustrator based in New York City. She has illustrated six picture books in China. She enjoyed the positive energy very much from making a children’s book. 

For more information please visit Yuke Li's website

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Review: The Artist

The boy in the boat prefers to paint at least one picture before breakfast. 

Everything is quiet and still then, especially the sea which he loves. There is still enough light and shadow for his brush to copy. 

When the winds are wrong, and his art time is terminated, scribbling over the page is an impulse that has to be checked.

Young Dog, his constant companion, also loves the sea.

His eyes and ears are always alert to anything in the scrub which he can chase. Old Dog prefers to stay curled up in the kitchen and only dry sand will tempt her out.

The rain gives the boy an alternate opportunity. He copies birds from his Bird Book. Later, if the rain stops, he will join his friend the Storyteller for a bike ride. If Grandma comes by, he will play piano for her.

When not sitting in his boat to paint, the Artist has a favourite rock on which he leans his palette to mix his colours.

Can he catch the movement of the waves and the wind on the page?

The illustrations in The Artist are exceptional. Fragile watercolour images of the sea sit lightly on the pages. Vivid ones appear when the boy, dog and boat are revealed.

The brilliant birds the boy paints on rainy days are also found in large copies on the end pages. This stunning introduction to the contents impacts on the senses when you open the cover.

There is no denying that this publication is a superior one. The paper is of excellent quality, as if anything less, would not do justice to the art work that author-illustrator Alison Binks has worked on. Dedicated to her son that she depicts in the illustrations; the pages appear to be filled with loving strokes.

This gorgeous title reflects the freedom creativity and imagination can bring to a child. The peaceful atmosphere of this charming book is soothing. In reading it, I felt a strong sense of calm and great satisfaction. The images transported me to the sea, the dock, the rocks and the boat. I loved it for its total beauty.

Title: The Artist

Author/Illustrator: Alison Binks

Publisher: Berbay Books, $26.95

Publication Date: March 2020

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 9780648397380

For ages: 5+

Type: Picture Book

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Review: Starfell: Willow Moss and the Forgotten Tale

12 Curly Questions with author Janeen Brian

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
When I was little, I didn’t like my freckles and tried to get rid of them constantly using the juice of lemons and dandelions. Once I even tried to shave them off! 

2. What is your nickname?
Neen



3. What is your greatest fear?
Home invasion. 

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words
Word-tasty. Poetic. Heartfelt. Pictorial. Humorous. Empathetic. Historical. Sensory. Imaginary. Positive. 

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent. Creative. Hard-working. Resilient. Opportunity-seeker.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Pippi Longstocking. She’s everything I would loved to have been as a child.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
A time when families/communities created their own fun with music, songs around the piano, plays, dances and charades – some time prior to television.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
See how you’ve grown in strength and self-belief. Freckles were nothing.

9. Who is your greatest influence? 
 Dave Brown, a director of children’s theatre in South Australia. He creates wonderful productions that are fun and alive, but that are also deeply moving and respectful of children’s intelligence, emotions and artistic understanding.

10. What/who made you start writing?
My love of words and the desire to see what I could do with them if I had the courage. I had so few books in childhood; it wasn’t a simple, easy jump-off step.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Tranquillity. I love the sound of the word. And it gives me a feeling of peacefulness; not static – more like water in a stream trickling over rocks.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?  
The Harp in the South, by Ruth Park.

Janeen Brian is an award-winning author and poet who writes picture books, fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Many of her books have been translated and distributed worldwide. She now has more than 100 books published and over 200 poems and short stories in children’s magazines. Janeen lives in Glenelg, South Australia. For more information, see www.janeenbrian.com.

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Review: Embrace Your Body

My body is my home, and what it does is magic. It is a vehicle to my dreams.

Embrace Your Body, by Taryn Brumfitt, creator and thought leader behind the Body Image Movement, encourages children of all shapes and sizes to love who they are, no matter what others say.

Full of positive messages in affirmations, Embrace Your Body explores the value and uniqueness of each individual child through the countless differences that make them special.

It teaches acceptance of how they and others, look and are, and encourages gratitude for their abilities, senses, strong heartbeat, and my heart, filling me with kindness. This increases their self-esteem and helps children overcome any demeaning insinuations they might encounter.

Striking illustrations in bold colours and lines are juxtaposed with the energy and excitement for life children’s actions exhibit. Large images visually confirm the short, sharp spurts of power that saying the right words can give. It is inclusive and embracing. Children joined together in absolute solidarity against the invisible monster of insecurity.

This is a happy book. The yellow covers shout that life is full of light!  A concentration on exuberance, play, encouragement, friendship and confidence. Every word is a positive expression connecting to the belief that loving the way you are, will bring joy.

Keynote speaker and director of the documentary Embrace, Taryn Brumfitt is inspired by her own personal battle with body image, to help as many people as she can to overcome the negative image they have of themselves. Her story is documented in her autobiography, Embrace: My Story from Body Loather to Body Lover.

This is a title that will be enjoyed by adults also, as what is experienced by children is also reflected in many grown-ups.

Title: Embrace Your Body

Author: Taryn Brumfitt

Illustrator: Sinead Hanley

Publisher: Penguin Random House, $19.99

Publication Date: 20 June 2020

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 9781760895983

For ages: 4+

Type: Picture Books

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Review: Barkley

Barkley is a wonderfully told story of a loveable puppy, self-discovery and finding ones’ place.

By the side of his owner Max, a puppy named Barkley introduces himself. Confidently, he describes himself as big, fluffy, long and more, but when Barkley sees himself next to other dogs, he realises he is none of these things and self-doubt sets in. In a whirl of emotions, Barkley runs until he finds himself lost and alone. 

After a clever move by Max and a determined expedition, Barkley makes some empowering discoveries, learning about himself, his surroundings and the things that matter most. A heartwarming ending prevails. 

I adore Rebecca Crane’s illustrations; they flow in unity with her text and tell much of the story while showing expression, movement and momentum. The colour palette and textures deliver vast contrast and a fitting, lovable vibe which suits Barkley’s character perfectly.

Barkley would be fun to share with groups or individuals. With a memorable story and minimal text on each page, it would also be great for those learning to read, and of course dog lovers will delight in Barkley’s adorable character and the ample variety of dogs he meets.

Title: Barkley
Author/Illustrator: Rebecca Crane
Publisher: Walker Books, $25.99
Publication Date: 8 July 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760651404
For ages: 2 – 5
Type: Picture Book

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Review: The Good Son: A Story from the First World War, Told in Miniature

The Good Son: A Story from the First World War, Told in Miniature is an evocative story of a 'little soldier' and is based on true events.

Released to coincide with the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, this picture book is suitable for older readers.

Set in the first year of the First World War, it tells the story of a French soldier who sits locked up because he left his post and was gone for two days before returning.

Although he did return, the soldier, Pierre, is charged with desertion. And although he had his reasons for leaving, and for returning, he is alone as he awaits his fate.

In isolation, he is caught up in memories and dreams. He remembers his family and friends, and the battles he has fought, and in particular an unexpected encounter he had with enemy soldiers. He dreams of things he still wants to do with his life.

The Good Son explores the nature of war, and the varied reasons men joined up to fight. It expresses thoughts and emotions created by the experience, and it is a heartrending reminder of the struggles of the ordinary people caught up in terrible events.

The creation of author and modeller, Pierre-Jacques Ober and his wife, photographer Jules Ober, with designer Felicity Coonan, the story of The Good Son is told through text and photographs, rather than illustrations that are drawn, painted or collaged.

The photographs are of miniatures, made by Pierre-Jacques Ober as part of a 'personal project ... developed into an homage to all the men who fulfilled their patriotic duty, unprepared for the horror unleashed upon them.'

The use of miniatures and photography brings to life the landscape and events of the war in a way that other kinds of illustrations cannot, and lends the story an intimate perspective. A note from the author and information about the process used to tell the story in this way are included at the back of the book.

The Good Son is moving and thought provoking. It would make an excellent classroom resource. It's also a great gift for teenagers or adults who have an interest in history, particularly military history.

Visit Litttle Soldier Stories for resources including study notes and a studio tour.

The Good Son is shortlisted for the CBCA's Picture Book of the Year.

Title: The Good Son: A Story from the First World War, Told in Miniature
Author: Pierre-Jacques Ober
Illustrator: Jules Ober and Felicity Coonan
Publisher: Candlewick Studio, $34.99
Publication Date: 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781536204827
For ages: 12+
Type: Picture book for older readers

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Review: Lift-the-Flap Atlas

Lonely Planet Kids does great stuff for younger readers and this Lift-the-Flap Atlas is one such example.

It's colourful, a good size (about A4), and robust (thick board book style pages), with interactive elements. There are more than 100 flaps!

It takes the continents as its focus, with a new one on each double-page spread.

They come full of tiny pictures and labels highlighting features that are well known or unique to the continent or places on it.

For example, you can visit South America and trace the Amazon River, discover the piranhas that live there, and meet the capybaras (giant rodents).

In Europe you can hunt for the place you might eat gelato, the home of the world's biggest snow fort, and a particularly colourful building (St Basil's Cathedral).

The atlas starts with a whole world view, so you can see where each of the continents fit, and familiarise yourself with the simple map key showing mountains, forests, deserts, rivers and lakes, and seas and oceans. There's also a compass.

Then travel through each of the continents and lift the flaps to uncover facts about many different aspects of the countries around our world.

Did you know that Africa is home to four record-breaking animals? The tallest (giraffes), fastest (cheetah), heaviest (the African elephant), and the animal with the strongest bite (the Nile crocodile).

Once you reach the end of the atlas, you can start all over again with a 'Where am I?' quiz and see if you can remember where in the world some things are found.

A great book for young and curious explorers, and as a quick reference tool for home libraries.

Title: Lift-the-Flap Atlas
Author: Kate Baker
Illustrator: Liz Kay
Publisher: Lonely Planet Kids, $24.99
Publication Date: June 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781788689267
For ages: 6+
Type: Junior non-fiction

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News: National Centre for Australian Children's Literature New Free Resource Announcement

The National Centre for Asutralian Children's Literature are truly champions of Australian children’s books. Founded in 1974 by the remarkable, Lu Rees, it houses a unique collection of books, artwork, ephemera and author and illustrator research files, with an aim to collect, document, preserve and share Australian children books and literature.

Now, The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature has produced a new Resource that celebrates children’s books by and about Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Stage 1, funded and supported by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment, offers a range of books for children aged from birth to eight years. These are offered for consideration and selection according to individual needs and interests. Each book is annotated and includes related resources to explore the book in many ways.

Publisher Magabala Books

This Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Peoples Resource database is the freely available, due to launch at the end of this month. Here are some of the highlights and what to expect from the database. You can also access this superb resource via our KBR Resources page under, Friends of KBR and or via our Education and Literacy articles. 

Aim

The United Nations observed 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The aim of this year was to raise awareness of the consequences of the growing loss of Indigenous languages across the world and to establish a link between language, development, peace, and reconciliation. The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) is contributing to this focus by celebrating and promoting children’s books by and about Australia’s Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including books in Indigenous languages.

As Dr Belle Alderman of the NCACL states, 'Our aim has been to discover these books, provide information about them and identify resources that explore and expand them.' 

Expertise

This Resource has been created by a team of knowledgeable people chosen by NCACL including, Aboriginal People and culturally diverse individuals of various ages, sexes, backgrounds and wide-ranging expertise. Individuals included teachers, teacher librarians, public librarians, parents, professionals in early learning and childcare centres, principals, publishers, editors, reviewers, booksellers, authors, illustrators, researchers and academics with knowledge of Australian children’s literature and literacy.

Publisher Walker Books Australia

Searching Resources

This Resource includes books aimed at children from birth through  twelve years, while recognising that some of these books are also accessible to an older age range. Stage 2 of this resource hopes to expand the coverage of books to include those suitable for young people through to secondary school years. 

The NCACL researched and identified over 350 children’s books by and about Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, published between 1974 and 2020 for young people from birth through twelve years of age. Each book in this Resource can be researched using a range of search filters listed below. Free text searching is also available. Collections of related books can be retrieved then shared with colleagues by using a combination of search filters listed below.

· bibliographic details

· subjects for each book

· audience including age range

· annotation highlighting content

· creators’ cultural background

· story location and/or community information

· language(s), as appropriate to individual books

· identification of writing techniques and styles

· artistic media and technique

· curriculum links for the Early Years Learning Framework

· curriculum links for the Australian Curriculum

· teaching and other information resources related to the book

Publisher Fremantle Press

Audience

This Resource will be useful for Indigenous and non-Indigenous parents, caregivers, home schooling groups, teachers, librarians and others working with young people in childcare centres, early learning centres, health, social services and elsewhere. The Resource will be particularly useful to teachers addressing the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Australian Curriculum as well as those adults exploring creative writing and art with young people. Researchers, academics, publishers, authors, illustrators, booksellers, and organisations bringing children and books together will find the Resource useful. Young people too may find this resource useful for locating books for particular interests and school assignments.

Content and Style

The NCACL Resource aims to be comprehensive, provide information about these books and identify resources that explore and expand them. The content of these books varies widely. Different cultural practices are presented, a variety of Aboriginal languages included, and different communities presented with daily lives unique to a particular area.

This collection includes many stories and tales that are representative of the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People’s culture, and their Dreaming and teaching stories, which form an important part of the collection. Included are wide-ranging storytelling techniques and presentation styles to engage and inform the reader. There are picture books, verse, verse novels, short stories, graphic novels, historical works, fantasy, allegories, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, readers and nonfiction. Sometimes a mixture of these is present within a single book. Settings, time periods and cultural practices also feature thus providing additional perspectives on characters’ lives and their culture.

In creating these books, authors and illustrators have used a wide variety of styles and media. These include photographs, postcards, relics, artefacts, artworks, manuscripts, historical records, interviews, posters, diagrams, maps, letters, glossaries of terms and language and other material related to the story. Wide-ranging artistic styles and media also feature.

Invitation

The NCACL invites you to search their Resource and discover the wealth of material available. 

www.ncacl.org.au/

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Review: Mabel and the Mountain

Mabel has big plans. She’s going to climb a mountain. The only problem is, Mabel is a fly.

Her fly family don’t think she can do it, and they try to convince her it’s too hard. 

But Mabel is determined. She says,

Don’t listen to those who say you cannot. Listen to those who say you can.

This is a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant (yes, three brilliants!) picture book. 

It’s so much fun, it’s hilarious and it sends the best message a picture book can send: believe in yourself, and don’t give up when people say you can’t do something.

The illustrations in this book are some of the funkiest I have ever seen, and I love a funky illustration. They are so bright and fun, and filled with hidden funnies.

I love that Mabel is a list writer and her lists feature throughout the story. First, as she dreams big (swimming with sharks is also on her plan list). Second, when she rethinks her big plans and considers quitting. And again when she conquers her fears and proves to herself she can do anything (and then shark swimming is back on the list!).

This is Kim Hillyard’s debut as both an author and illustrator, and she’s really arrived with a bang. I am thoroughly looking forward to her next picture book: Ned and the Great Garden Hamster Race (a story about kindness)

If you love fun and funky stories that spark a smile and ignite a giggle, you’ll love Mabel and the Mountain. I put it up there with books like The Cave by Rob Hodgson and Your Birthday was the Best by Maggie Hutchings and Felicita Sala.

Title: Mabel and the Mountain
Author/Illustrator: Kim Hillyard
Publisher: Ladybird, $14.99
Publication Date: 21 July 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780241407929
For ages: 3 - 6
Type: Picture Book

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Review: Australian Animals: Mothers and Babies

In their usual leading style, Alphaprints presents another delightful board book for babies and early learners. Australian Animals: Mothers and Babies introduce tactile learning with painter fingertips and photographs.

The rhyming text sways and sings. Little ones will enjoy the voice sounds that accompany the ridged feel of the textured images.

Australian animals, birds and sea creatures make up the parade of entries.

Paper, fruit, keys, brushes, knitted hats, light globes, leaves, chocolates, and other daily items including food, have been added to create happy imaginative illustrations. A game of seek and find will entertain and educate, for this book can become a voyage of discovery while learning language.

With embossing on every page, kangaroos wombats, koalas, crocodiles, echidnas, Sugar gliders, yabbies, Great white sharks, quokkas, (such cute little ones) bilbies, turtles, kookaburras and lots more form the collection.

Vibrant colours fill the single and double spreads. The durable board promises a long life. Plasticised for easy wiping, food fingers don’t stand a chance.

This is an ideal learning tool that will work for older children too as an introduction to the concept of family and that of large and small. It can also be used as a starting point for teaching colours, and the various shapes that make up the animals.

Title: Alphaprints: Australian Animals: Mothers and Babies

Author/Illustrator: Roger Priddy

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, $12.99

Publication Date:

Format: Board Book

ISBN: 9781783419418

For ages: 1+

Type: Baby Book

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Review: Funny Kid: Peeking Duck

Meet The Illustrator: Ruha and Minaira Fifita

 

 

Name: 

Ruha Fifita & Minaira Fifita

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less. 

Abstract, Pacific, Celtic, Vibrant, Symbolic,  

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Good source to natural light, a nice fine-tip pen a paper for writing and drawing ideas that pop up while working on other projects. We also like to work in a space where others are doing things around us.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?

Yes, Natural dyes and barkcloth (used for ngatu-making)  

                              

Name three artists whose work inspires you. 

It is really hard to name just three – artists perhaps that inspire us on many levels are: Robin White, Akesa Fifita (our grandmother), and Meletonga Tukuafu.

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
Perhaps, an artistic period in the Pacific during the 1700s because we both engage in tapa making practices and are curious about the role this had practiced in society and the way the practice has evolved overtime since then. 

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
Drawing and painting have always been a natural part of our lives as we grew up in a family and community that really encouraged creativity as an important aspect of everyday life and avenue for learning and reflection. We painted and drew a lot with our siblings growing up and it has just continued to evolve as we seek out opportunities to collaborate with growing number of like-minded individuals.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
Our work is usually just a setup in our room or in the livening room or garage of our home depending on what stage we are at. We also like to work outside as much as possible. Public spaces provide quite a productive workspace for us when we are just doing small scale drawings. 

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
It is so exciting to see the end product, When all the different components come together as one coherent work. We are always in awe of the way that effective collaboration between the author, designers and illustrators can allows things to evolve and really get refined into something that far exceeds what you were able to imagine at the beginning. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Find opportunities to work with many different people and remain detached and open to learning and growing as much as possible through the process. The bonds of friendship and learning you gain from working closely with others can be the most valuable part of any collaboration.

Ruha Fifita has spent most of her life immersed in the culture and vibrancy of life in the Pacific. Her love for visual and performative forms of expression have been nurtured through the support and encouragement of her extended family and study of the writings of the Bahá’i Faith.

Minaira Fifita is an artist whose work aspires to reflect her love of creation and faith in the unity of humanity. Her style of creativity blends together her Polynesian and Celtic roots and experiences of vibrancy, balance and harmony within the Pacific and her spiritual beliefs as a Bahá’i.

For more information, please follow Ruha and Minaira on facebook

For more information on Illuminations please visit this website

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Review: Cities

Cities is a new, educational board book from Lonely Planet Kids which explores cities.

Filled with captivating visual details in 26 sturdy pages, Cities starts by welcoming readers then journeys through a big city while prompting conversation between readers and listeners with pictures, simple statements, questions and comments. 

From quacking ducks to questions about people travelling, there’s plenty to discuss. Some places and topics explored include coffee shops, subways, stadiums, homes, buildings, parks, modes of transport, events and emergency services.

I love the modern illustration style with line drawings and use of flat solid colour; it suits the city theme and young audience perfectly. 

Cities is a great book for educating young children in groups or during one-on-one reading time. Lots of detailed illustrations mean new things can be found on repeat reads and the board pages are perfect for little hands.

Also available in this series are Airports and Trains. Other Lonely Planet Kids books include Dinosaur Atlas, First Words - French, Cardboard Box Creations and Sticker World - Airport.

Title: Cities
Author: Lonely Planet Books
Illustrator: James Gulliver Hancock
Publisher: Lonely Planet Kids, $12.99
Publication Date: 8 June 2020
Format: Board Book
ISBN:  9781838690526
For ages: 0 – 2
Type: Picture Book

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Review: Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur

Another charming bedtime tale from Rhiannon Fielding and Chris Chatterton, Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur follows a baby stegosaurus as he counts down to bed.

A jungle jaunt, splashes in mud and a sprint from a lava-flowing volcano — it’s all in an evening’s fun before the ten minutes before bed are up.

These are delighting rhyming stories just perfect for bedtime with little ones. 

With a repeated flow throughout, older youngsters will love joining in on the countdown, and the littlest of littlies will adore the vibrant colours and funky dinosaurs that romp through The Land of Nod.

There is a beautiful map that appears at the start and end of each of these books. Before the story, the map shows daytime, and after, night. Featuring a range of fun and mystical creatures (including those from the books), my children found much joy in exploring these maps and discovering the differences between the characters during day and night. It’s a lovely added engagement opportunity for kids to explore the story in a different way.

A beautiful bedtime story to get kids ready for bed, Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur is a lovely tale for sleepy (and maybe not so sleepy) kidlets.

And if the kidlets aren’t into dinosaurs, they might like Ten Minutes to Bed Little Unicorn, Ten Minutes to Bed Little Monster or Ten Minutes to Bed Little Mermaid.

Title: Ten Minutes to Bed Little Dinosaur

Author: Rhiannon Fielding

Illustrator: Chris Chatterton

Publisher: Ladybird, $14.99

Publication Date: 21 July 2020

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9780241386736

For ages: 1 - 5

Type: Picture Book

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Review: The Twin

I see this book as Lotte and Lisa’s (also known as The Parent Trap) evil twin. It starts with the identical premise of twin daughters of divorced parents reuniting – but diverges from then on.

Ivy lives with her dad and when her mother dies, her twin sister Iris returns to live in their house. Ivy is a straight-A student, star of the school’s swim team, with a nice bunch of friends and an adoring boyfriend. She works hard, hoping to make it to Stanford University.

When Iris comes to live with them and attend Ivy’s school, Ivy is welcoming but also strains to manage the grief of losing their mother and adjusting her life to accommodate Iris.

Everybody is super nice to Iris, of course, as the child who lived with the mother at the time of her death.

But Ivy gradually notices a few inconsistencies between what Iris says, and what she does. Such as not appearing to grieve. And gradually inveigling her way into Ivy’s friendship group, despite initially dismissing Ivy and her crowd as being too serious and instead wanting to party her way through school.

I generally enjoy psychological thrillers: the main character wonders if they’re going crazy – or whether somebody is out to get them by playing subtle mind games. Daphne du Maurier did it perfectly with My Cousin Rachel. And The Twin follows this pattern.

Ivy gets wrong footed and undermined. Cracks start to appear in her peer group. Her doubts and constant second guessing distract her from studying. She gets blamed for some serious misdeeds. Her perfect life starts to unravel. Is Iris behind it? And if so – why?

As a reader, my experience was that suppressing my analytical tendencies greatly enhanced my enjoyment of it, in a veging-out-in-front-of-a-telemovie type of way. There were a few 'it’s not what it looks like' moments. And Ivy’s friends incorporated (and eventually favoured) Iris into their social sphere a bit too quickly. I also rolled my eyes at how rapidly some brief angry outbursts altered Ivy’s reputation from 'reliable' to 'unstable' (has the author never seen the dramatics that happen daily in a typical high school?).

Nevertheless, the reader is firmly allied with Ivy and the betrayals hit an emotional chord in the reader. Preston raises the stakes and maintains the intrigue and I was able to read it quickly. Plus there was a clever twist on the final page I did not see coming and that is to Preston’s credit.

This book will appeal to fans of teen soap operas.

Title: The Twin
Author: Natasha Preston
Publisher: Penguin Random House, $19.95  
Publication Date: 3 March 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780593124963
For ages: 12+
Type: Young Adult Fiction

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10 Quirky Questions with author Sue Whiting

1. What's your hidden talent? 

My daughter tells me I’m a party starter – whatever that means – and that was a talent that was hidden even from me!

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why? 

The wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. He didn’t have to pose as Grandma to kill Little Red; he could have killed her in the woods. Oh no, he went for the more sinister option of 'removing' Grandma, dressing and posing as her, in order to lure Little Red closer and closer … what an evil dude.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead) 

Ernest Hemingway, Agatha Christie, Kate diCamillo, Elizabeth Gilbert, Charles Dickens.

4. Which literary invention do you wish was real? 

Teleportation – who wouldn’t want to travel to another place in a blink? (Maybe not right now, but in 2021 …)

5. What are five words that describe your writing process? 

Varied. Circuitous. Slow. Doubt-filled. Disciplined. (Doesn’t that sound like fun?)

6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?

Inspiring. Thought-provoking. Versatile. Original. Page-turner.

7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there? 

Pillows. Doona. Bedside table. Book stack. Coffee cup.

8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!) 

'Heading' from Missing. Heading back home, she leant into the wind with a heavy heart, but steely resolve.

9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask? 

I would love to ask Agatha Christie what she actually did during those 10 days when she went missing in 1926.

10. Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'? 

Never write another story. (You can always tell yourself your own stories in your head, but the only way to reach the stories of others is through their books.) 

Sue Whiting is a children’s and young adult author and editor who lives and works in a small coastal village south of Sydney. She has written numerous books in a variety of genres: fiction and nonfiction, picture books through to YA, including the best-selling Missing, and the CBCA 2019 Notable Book, Beware the Deep Dark Forest. Sue is passionate about storytelling and the power of story to transform lives, and aims to write stories that are thought-provoking, page-turning and full of heart. The Book of Chance is her 68th published book, and her third novel for upper primary / lower secondary readers. Join her on her adventures in story at www.suewhiting.com.

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Review: Hilda and the Great Parade

Created by Luke Pearson and based on his Hildafolk series of graphic novels, we again meet the inventive and adventurous Hilda with her blue hair and an exploratory nature. She has moved to the new town of Trolberg with her mother from their magical wilderness after a giant crushed their cabin. She brings her pet deer-fox Twig, an invisible elf, plus adjustment problems.

In Trolberg she finds everything boring. Her mother wants her to make human friends, but she is ridiculed by the class bully Trevor.

The Great Parade is looming and Hilda’s class has been chosen to decorate a float. This includes scouring the countryside for plants for the Trolberg Exhibition.

Translated, this means that Hilda sets out on adventures that will fill her life with the magic that is missing.

She saves a wounded talking raven stoned by Trevor and his gang. The bird is added to her list of magic friends.

Hilda encounters Bartel Braga, elf and leader of the Lost Clan of the Northern Countries. To help Bartel, Hilda sets out on a quest to the dangerous and deadly Cauldron Island in search of the lindworm, the only thing that can resolve the conflict between Bartel’s and the Aldrics clans.

But the devious Trevor has taken the raven by stealth from its hiding place. Can Hilda and her two friends get it back from the bully’s deadly clutches in time for the parade? Will the black raven, symbol of a good harvest that everyone is waiting for, fly over the town of Trolberg again?

This magical adventure full of challenge, excitement and daring, is part of a Netflix TV Tie-in series. There are quite a few other books to be sought after about Hilda’s adventures.

The illustrations are superb and are likened to the style of Manga artists. Mustard-coloured pages separate the chapters. Brown, mustard, lemon and white are the only colours used throughout the artwork.

Title: Hilda and the Great Parade

Author: Stephan Davies

Illustrator: Seaerra Miller

Publisher: Penguin Random House, $19.99

Publication Date: April 2019

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 9781912497799

For ages: 6+

Type: Illustrated Middle Grade Novel

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Winner: The Mummy Smugglers and The Promise Horse

Our lucky winner is...

Joseph Spagnolo, NSW

Congratulations!

You have won a copy each of The Mummy Smugglers by Pamela Rushby and The Pony Question by Jackie Merchant. We hope you enjoy it.

Thank you to ALL who entered.

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Review: When the Ground is Hard

In When the Ground is Hard, a novel set in Swaziland, author Malla Nunn draws on her understanding of life there, in the country where she was born and raised.

Adele attends boarding school, paid for by her mostly absent father. He's not married to her mother, who is of Zulu heritage, and lives in a different city with his white family.

Money and propriety talk, and often determines who is friends with whom, and who holds the most influence.

Sixteen-year-old Adele discovers this more than ever when she returns to school.

Having a 'sometimes' father, a part-time father, is not the same as an 'always' father, even if he does pay for everything, and particularly when there's a new girl.

Adele is dumped by those she thought were her friends, and forced into company with Lottie, who has only a mother who cannot pay the school fees in full.

She's not at all thrilled at sharing a room with Lottie, and retreats into the book her father gave her, a copy of Jane Eyre.

As the school term progresses, Adele and Lottie slowly, tentatively get to know each other.

And as unexpected events unfold, Adele and Lottie push the boundaries of the spoken and unspoken rules of their society, and Adele learns about herself, her family, and who her true friends are.

Although the setting is one that might be unfamiliar, this is a story that includes themes like relationships, identity, social class and systems, and race.

When the Ground is Hard will transport you to Swaziland, and it will make you think about those universal themes.

Highly recommended reading.

Shortlisted for the 2020 Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers. When the Ground is Hard won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature, and the Josette Frank Award for Children's Literature. It was highly commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.

Title: When the Ground is Hard
Author: Malla Nunn  
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $19.99
Publication Date: June 2019
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760524814
For ages: 12+
Type: Young adult fiction




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