Review: Mermaid!

Lena and Luca are back in this marvellous follow up to Unicorn!.

But this time, it’s all about mermaids.

Lena is not too keen on the beach or the ocean. She’s a little bit afraid of the sea. 

Luca tries to find ways to help her friend not be so afraid, but Lena will not get in the water. Until… 

Luca finds a sparkly mermaid friend to help Lena overcome her fears!

Mermaid! is a joyful and magical picture book about friendship. Filled with whimsy and imagination, it’s just plain fun. Maggie Hutchings has a giant talent for creating authentic kid voices. Luca and Lena are so real on the page — their voices and actions so ‘kid’, their adventure one every kid wishes they could have.

Haven’t we all secretly wished mermaids were real and we could meet one?

Cheryl Orsini’s bright and funky illustrations are just divine. Truly, I could stare at her artwork all day, and every page ignites a giant smile on my face. 

Together, the words and illustrations make a delightful creation filled with happiness. Exactly what picture books should be!

First unicorns and now mermaids… I wonder who Lena and Luca will meet next!

Title: Mermaid!

Author: Maggie Hutchings

Illustrator: Cheryl Orsini

Publisher: Affirm Press, $19.99

Publication Date: 14 May 2019

Format: Hard Cover

ISBN: 9781925870282

For ages: 3 - 6

Type: Picture Book

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Review: Is It The Way You Giggle?

Review: Reece Give Me Some Peace!

A rhythmic story of fun sounds, Mum’s curiosity and Reece’s love for music.

Reece Give Me Some Peace! follows Mum and Reece’s day at home focusing on sounds which disrupt Mum, from a Ding dong ding before breakfast to a Cling clang clash after dinner. Each sound travels through the house stemming from a different instrument played by Reece including a trumpet, a cello, a xylophone and more. With a child who loves noise this much, will Mum ever get some peace?

The illustrations and text are wonderfully suited to each other, together they create a homely setting with relatable mother and child characters. I love how a ginger pet cat appears in every scene with an exaggerated expression to suit the story at that point.

Filled with repetition, rhythm, rhyme and interesting sounds, this story is an upbeat journey sure to inspire imagination, singing, and musical play - it would be a great introduction to musical instruments for children aged 3 and over. A fun and engaging story to read aloud, especially in a group, time and time again.

Sonia Besulic and Nancy Bevington are also the author and illustrator team of the recently released and reviewed Kisses in your heart.

Title: Reece Give Me Some Peace!
Author: Sonia Bestulic
Illustrator: Nancy Bevington
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing, $14.99
Publication Date: 28 August 2019
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781925675542
For ages: 6 – 8
Type: Picture Book




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Giveaway: The Hate U Give

Author, Angie Thomas is a provocative powerhouse of thought-provoking young adult fiction.

Her 2017 YA novel, The Hate U Give, is 'charged with powerful truths about hate and race (and) depicts the cycle of poverty, abuse, gangs and limited opportunities for oppressed minorities. It's filled with heartbreaking moments, characters you will love, snappy, sharp dialogue and tension', as reviewed by KBR's Connie Santos.

To celebrate the anniversary of the release of the movie based on this book, the wonderful people at Walker Books Australia have two awesome prize packs to giveaway, each containing a copy of The Hate U Give plus a DVD of the movie by 20th Century Fox!




To enter, simply tell us in 25 words or less what’s your favourite book to movie adaptation.

Email your answer along with your name and postal address to dimity. The two responses we like best will each win a copy of the prize pack. Competition is open to anyone, worldwide, so long as they have an Australian postal address for delivery of the books. Please note, we cannot deliver to PO Boxes. Entries without a name and street address will be ineligible. Winners will be announced right here on our website on 15 July 2019.

Competition runs from 5 pm 6 July 2019 to 5 pm 13 July 2019. Adults can enter for those aged 17 and under. This is a game of skill, not chance. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

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Review: Polly and Buster The Search for the Silver Witch

In the final pages of Polly and Buster #2, the mayor of Blackmoon Coven announces Buster will receive a bravery award. It will be the first time in history a monster is honoured.

Polly dares to hope it's the beginning of peace among witches and monsters.

But then Polly is banned from speaking to Buster and the only witch who supports true peace is dismissed from teaching at Polly's school.

Dastardly Mrs Halloway releases the purple mist of hatred and it seems all is lost.

Our heroes race to find the silver witch they need to save the day. But Polly's Aunt Hilda is not at all what they expect.

Is there any way to save Blackmoon Coven?


Sally Rippin's high-action finale to the Polly and Buster Trilogy packs a punch.  Not only do Polly and Buster face their most dangerous challenge yet, they help children understand issues like discrimination, injustice and inequality amidst their high-octane adventure with life-and-death stakes.

I couldn't put it down.

Title: Polly and Buster: The Search for the Silver Witch
Author/Illustrator: Sally Rippin
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 June 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 97817601129033
For ages: 7 +
Type: Junior Fiction




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Review: Sensitive

Powerful, insightful, gripping. This is Sensitive.

Sensitive is the story of thirteen-year-old Samantha — thirteen-year-old Samantha who has just moved with her family to a new town and wants desperately to reinvent herself. 

It’s a situation many kids go through in life, but for Samantha (or SJ as she would like to be called), things are a little more complicated.

SJ has chronic eczema and allergies, and her illnesses impact on every part of her life: how she looks, what she can eat, what games she can play, where she sits. 

Her life is filled with doctor appointments, restriction diets, medications, ointments and trips to the hospital when things go bad.

But in her new town, at her new school, surrounded by new classmates, SJ doesn’t want to be the ‘sick girl’. She doesn’t want anyone to know the truth of her life, so she does everything she can to hide her illnesses, even when her decisions put her health at serious risk. 

This is a story about courage, friendship and learning to accept who you are. From page one it pulls you in, and chapter after chapter you’ll be captivated by SJ’s story and the struggles she endures to try and have a normal life.

The story screams authenticity from the very start, and at the end you’ll find out why. This is a novel about truth and real, raw life. It will grip your heart and have you looking at your own life a little differently.

Truly, every kid should read this novel, even if it’s not their usual kind of story. It’s a book with real power — a book that forces the reader to think about themselves and those around them, stretch their empathy muscles and put things in perspective.

I highly recommend this book for homes and for classrooms. It would be a fantastic book for students to read and discuss as a group, as well as a special book for a child to read and reflect on alone.

Allayne L. Webster is a gifted author and Sensitive is a book I will never forget.

Title: Sensitive

Author: Allayne L. Webster 

Publisher: University of Queensland Press, $16.95

Publication Date: 4 June 2019

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978 0 7022 6048 3

For ages: 12+

Type: Middle Grade, Young Adult

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Review: A Great Escape

A Great Escape is based on real life events that occurred during the erecting of the Berlin Wall in 1961. 

It was a harrowing time for families that were separated between East and West. Some never saw each other again as they were old and passed away before the Wall came down. 

The children, when reunited with their parents 28 years later, had families of their own.

Peter’s mother, father and sister leave for West Berlin. He is busy playing with friends Hubert and Max, so gets left behind with his grandparents. 

The rumours he hears of a barbed wire fence being put up immediately, are true. A permanent wall follows to stop people from crossing into the democratic part of Berlin. 

The Stasi are eager to kill anyone found trying to get to the other side. That doesn’t stop anyone from trying, even after Hubert’s brother is killed in his attempt.

Peter meets Otto, a boy who offers interest and friendship. When Peter shares his anguish over being separated from his family, Otto agrees to help him escape. He claims to have connections that will facilitate their plans. But the clever and secretive Otto uses the vulnerable Peter as camouflage for his own agenda.

Elke also comes into Peter’s life. Fiery and courageous as a warrior, she is determined to succeed.  Her bow and arrow are hidden away, and in her head, so are secret plans for escape.

Who can Peter trust? He has made mistakes before. What will happen to his elderly grandparents if they have no one to care for them?

This well-crafted story displays the ingenuity of children during desperate times. It is demonstrated in the detailed methods and escape plans they designed and executed. Their strength and courage is palpable on the page; their hope and self-belief armour against the odds.

Inspiring and full of action and suspense, Felice Arena, author of the The Boy and the Spy, has created another gripping tale with children as heroes and leaders.

Title: A Great Escape

Author: Felice Arena

Publisher: PenguinRandomHouse, $16.99

Publication Date: 5 March 2019

Format: Paperback

For ages: 10+

Type: Middle Grade Fiction

 



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Review: Baby Business

Guest Post Interview Lucinda Gifford

So Lucinda…I hear you are of royalty and a princess just like dear Princess Peony. Apparently, you also live among trolls and one dragon?
I'm so happy you want to know about my own princess background. As a little girl, certain teachers and neighbours often referred to me as 'a bit of a madam', so I take that to mean I am actually a princess deep down.

Also, our family visited my Great Uncle several times a year. He lived in a Scottish castle, which was perfect for exploring, bossing peacocks around and playing hide and seek. I pretended it was MY castle. Look at my castle!

Wouldn’t you be too busy with princess things to illustrate a children’s book? I heard it is a lot of work.

My current castle, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, is rather bijou. But organising the castle and its occupants – including an exceptionally greedy dragon – still takes up a lot of my time. So I'm glad that the 80+ illustrations for Princess Peony were two colour! Working in two colours is not much extra work compared to black and white, whereas full-colour is very time-consuming. And the bright purple makes 'The Second Adventures of Princess Peony' look deservedly royal.

How long all together did the illustrations take you?
The aristocratic illustrator requires many hours on the ottoman sipping tea and thinking deep thoughts. This is, or course, how creative compositions and characters emerge. However, my staff have added up the actual hours and tell me it's about six weeks (200 hours), including admin and phone calls. 

Is there anyone in your life who Princess Peony’s looks are inspired by?
There WAS a little girl with a messy ponytail I used to babysit years ago. Obviously I'm too discreet  to mention her name as she is now a grown-up actor. She was princess of her household and would command me to sing 'goodnight sweet Sarah' lullabies to each of her soft toys (all her toys were called Sarah!).

What do you prefer illustrating – a series or a single standing picture book?
Like Princess Peony, illustrators are SMART. And we know that if you illustrate more than one book in a series, you only have to develop the main characters once. This is preferable and leaves more time for royal pursuits. However, when the author adds a ton of frogs, toads, princes, lions, horses and unicorns we can become a little ruffled and will need to rest on the ottoman more often. 

Your first thoughts when you heard about this project?
At last, a book that solves the centuries-old problem of confusing toads for frogs. Who knows how many problems this has caused?

 'The greatest thing about being a princess is…?'
 Having a pet dragon of course!

What is your favourite medium for illustrating?
Now.... though I am not too posh to pick up pen and pencil, it is time to confess just how immensely useful my computer is. Right now I'm in the royal illustration suite working on hundreds of black and white illustrations – and so PhotoShop and Procreate are my favourite mediums. They're fast, flexible, responsive, no mess, reliable, compact, forgiving, paper-saving and fast (Princesses are allowed to say important words twice). Computers are a wonderful gift to illustrators. If I could knight my computer I would.

How much experience do you have in drawing trolls?
Aha! I'm so glad you asked! Like you, Dame Katrin, I have extensive experience in recreating fairy-tale trolls. 

Lucinda, last but not least can we please delight our readers with a heart to heart confession – in your teeny weeny tiny book of princess mistakes, what will we find??
While absorbed in my important work, I often forget that staff are not in attendance in the kitchen. Today I boiled a leek and zucchini soup down to a globules puddle. Last week I incinerated a stew. But, of course, an actual princess is never perfect.

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Review: The Chocolate War

Review: Small World

Oh, how I adore this picture book.

It’s like a giant hug. The perfect book for reading with little ones snuggled close by your side.

It’s all about the life of a little girl called Nanda.

When Nanda was born, the whole of the world was wrapped in the circle of her mother’s arms: safe, warm, still.

As Nanda grows, the world grows and changes around her. 

Her family expands, she meets friends, she goes to school, she learns and studies. The world continues to change around her, and she takes her knowledge and experience into space as she becomes an astronaut.

What I love about this story is that it isn’t only Nanda’s story. Nanda is me and you, everyone and anyone. We are all born and we all grow. The world changes around all of us as we learn. We all choose futures and achieve things big and small.

The language in this book will spread tendrils of warmth throughout your body. It flows in such lyrical, flowing beauty, with repeated sections throughout that tie the story together wonderfully.

Her ears heard a crackle of voices. She gazed out into ink-black space and saw...

The illustrations, too, are stunning. Bold and bright. Funky and colourful. 

We can all achieve great things, just like Nanda, and Small World is a book to prove to kids that they can too.

Title: Small World

Author: Ishta Mercurio

Illustrator: Jen Corace

Publisher: Abrams, $24.99

Publication Date: 2 July 2019

Format: Hard Cover with Dust Jacket

ISBN: 9781419734076

For ages: 3+

Type: Picture Book

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Review: Mermaid Holidays: The Talent Show

12 Curly Questions with author Andrew Kelly

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I once went to visit the gorillas in Rwanda.

2. What is your nickname?
Ned. For obvious reasons but I like the association. It is very Australian.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Running out of air while scuba diving.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Getting the words down and then chipping away.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Curious, observant, rhythmic, crisp, playful.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
A young Gerald Durrell in My Family and Other Animals as his family were so endlessly entertaining.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
July 1835 to see the site of Melbourne when it was bush and before it became a place of pavements and tall buildings.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Why didn’t you become a vet – that’s what I wanted?

9. Who is your greatest influence?
Gerald Durrell, because of his love of life and nature.

10. What/who made you start writing?
I have always loved reading and I wanted to start telling my own stories. My mother stayed up late one night to type up my first story at my request. The story was about a dragon and was rather like the song Puff the Magic Dragon, which I had heard on the radio. It was such a thrill to see my words in print. I did my own illustrations.

11. What is your favourite word and why?
Sesquipedalian, because it has lovely rhythmic ups and downs and it means what it says: it is about long words. Originally it meant something ‘a foot-and-a-half long’.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A history of philosophy because I could read a bit and then think a bit and then read a bit more, which would make it last a long time.

Andrew Kelly is the Yarra Riverkeeper; part of an international organisation of Riverkeepers. He has written numerous books for children and adults. For more information, see www.walkerbooks.com.au.

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Review: Kindness Makes Us Strong

Kindness Makes Us Strong is bright, bold and bounding with retro coloured happiness, it’s a gorgeous board book which explores and celebrates the value of kindness.

The story looks at some of the many ways to be kind, each double page spread shows a beautifully illustrated scene, and the repeated text kindness is… followed by an example relatable to children, such as saying hello at the park, cheering at a race, swapping snacks and sharing crayons.

The retro styled illustrations shine with diversity; showing community based scenes filled with kind interactions between people of differing race and ability. A scene featuring a child in a wheelchair happily playing clarinet alongside a howling puppy is one of the many images which made my heart beam.

Australian author/illustrator Sophie Beer the creator of Love Makes A Family, brings us this equally uplifting book with consistent design and format. It delivers an important message about being kind and how collaboratively, it makes us strong. It’s perfect for preschool-age children, great for reading in a group and  as a basis for discussion about community and kindness. With a thick board cover and card pages it’s strong and ready for repeated use by tiny hands.

For more of Sophie's creations, see Arthur the Tiger, Wren and Amazing Australian Women.

Title: Kindness Makes Us Strong
Author/Illustrator: Sophie Beer
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont, $16.99
Publication Date: 1 April 2019
Format: Board Book
ISBN: 9781760504144
For ages: 1+
Type: Picture Book




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Review: Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd

What do you know about Isaac Newton?

In this narrative non-fiction book, Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd, you'll learn a whole lot more about how he began his journey to becoming one of the world's greatest scientists.

In the mid-1600s, aged just twelve, as a boarder in the house (and workshop) of an apothecary, Isaac was full of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.

He had an affinity for colours, and in his notebook he documented his recipes for creating them out of materials including egg yolk, chalk and berries.

He also loved stars, and observed and wrote about them in his notebook.

As Isaac's story, and secrets, are revealed through Isaac the Alchemist, you'll read about his schooling, ancient mathematics and mechanics and his hands-on experimentation (such as building a water clock).

However, it was Isaac's home at the apothecary's house that exposed him to the wonders of alchemy and chemistry (or chymistry as it was then known). And this eventually led to his exploring the idea of perpetual motion.

Kites and farming finally give way to university (Trinity College at Cambridge) and adulthood, as Isaac goes on to further his understanding and exploration of the world's mysteries.

The importance of Isaac Newton's discoveries and achievements is quite staggering, and this book is a small window into what it might have been like to be Isaac Newton at a time when much we take for granted was still unknown.

At the back of the book are lots of historical, scientific and source notes, as well as a bibliography and index. These will all help anyone who wants to do further research of their own, or simply explore the factual side of the story.

Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd is easy to read, informative and inspiring. There is a strong sense of time and place which makes you feel transported to Isaac Newton's world.

Author Mary Losure has resources for teachers available on her website.

Title: Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd
Author: Mary Losure 
Publisher: Candlewick, $16.99
Publication Date: November 2018
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781536203639
For ages: 10+
Type: Junior non-fiction



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