January 2012 – Page 4 – Aussie Reviews

There's a Hole in my Bucket

There’s a Hole in My Bucket! reprises the well-known circular rhyme, and gives characters to the song. Liza is a duck and Henry a goat. The pair dance and sing their way through the rhyme. Liza’s mood changes are very clear, but at the end, where the bucket remains unfixed and a solution seems unfindable, the pair are to be found dancing together good-humouredly. The illustrations are full of colour and fun. A CD is included to introduce a new generation to an old favourite.

There’s a Hole in My Bucket! accurately details the steps that can be taken to fix a wooden bucket, but it’s charm lies in the repartee between the two characters, Henry and Liza. It’s an easy rhyme to learn and will appeal to children who enjoy hearing as well as reading the words. The illustrations, particularly Liza’s changing demeanour, will have them giggling and the music will have them up and dancing. A classroom could be divided into Henrys and Lizas, each singing their part. Great fun. Recommended for pre- and early-school age children.

There’s a Hole in My Bucket!, sung by The Topp Twins ill Jenny Cooper
Scholastic NZ
ISBN: 9781775430469

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Warambi, by Aleesah Darlison & Andrew Plant

Deep in a forest, hidden in a warm, dark cave, a tiny bat was born.

Warambi, tiny bent-wing bat, is born into a colony of bats and spends her early days there, safe and protected. Her mother and others help her learn the skills she will need to survive. But when their colony is threatened, panic and confusion lead to Warambi losing track of her mother, of everyone. Her place of shelter is warm and dry, but there are dangers everywhere for the young bat. But she at least is lucky. She finds her way back to the wild, and the chance of establishing a new family. Illustrations are realistic and painterly and evoke the darkness and danger of the night

Fiction meets non-fiction in ‘Warambi’ and the reader follows the journey of a tiny bat from birth to maturity. Young readers will empathise with the plight of the little bat and learn about a lesser-known, and infrequently seen Australian native animal. The text is gentle without glossing over the dangers of survival, and Andrew Plant’s illustrations are deliciously detailed from the tiny ears to the gossamer-thin wings of the little bent-wing bat. Story-lovers will enjoy the story and the hopeful outcome, and little naturalists will also enjoy the facts that decorate the endpapers. Recommended for early primary readers.

Warambi, Aleesah Darlison Andrew Plant
Working Title Press 2011
ISBN: 9781921504280

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Pan's Whisper, by Sue Lawson

Sunshine flickers between the trees and soundproof fence that line the freeway, stabbing my eyes. I squeeze them shut to block it out, but the flashes of red remind me of that judge in her crimson suit and glasses, staring down at me. Her voice booms through my head, in time with the flashes.

‘Pandora, a foster home is your best option at the present.’

I open my eyes, the stabling light less painful than the memory.

Beside me in the driver’s seat, Gemma clears her throat. ‘The McMinns have two other foster children, Pan.’ She twitters like a budgie. ‘Livia’s a couple of years older than you. She’s been there for two years, and Nate … gee, he was five when he arrived, so he must be about ten now.’

Pan is placed in foster care with the McMinns as the result of a court order, but while she has little choice about being there, she sure as heck doesn’t have to like it, or make it easy on her foster carers or herself. And she doesn’t. There’s nothing here she recognises, it’s all too ordered and neat. Nothing like home. And home is where she wants to be. But life seems determined to march on, despite all Pan’s stalling. She is enrolled in a new school and is expected to cooperate, both at school and at home. She writes letters to her sister Morgan, but will not send them, will not talk about her. Pan builds protective walls around her and defends them with sharpened words. No one is getting close to her. No one. She’s just pausing here until she goes home. Only Smocker, a childhood toy cat, is privy to her secrets, her memories.

Pan is an echidna, rolled tight, spines out. She is unpleasant and largely uncooperative at home and school. It would be easy to dislike her, but it’s clear from the outset that she is full of pain, unable and unwilling to trust anyone. Like the echidna, Pan’s softness is hidden and protected allowing only short glimpses of her real character, before pain reclaims her. Her older sister, Livia, isn’t sure she’s worth the trouble, although her younger foster brother keeps trying. Foster parents, Rose and Ian are resolutely positive but firm and for the first time in her life, Pan experiences stability and security. From this base, she can begin to unlock and examine the secrets of her past. A powerful and moving novel from a talented writer. Recommended for mid- to upper-secondary readers.

Pan’s Whisper, Sue Lawson Black
Dog Books 2011
ISBN: 9781742032061

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Revenge, by Gabrielle Lord

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice.

I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the envelope.
It was waiting for me on my pillow. A red wax seal marked it like a thick, wet drop of blood.
I ran to the window and looked out, but the front yard was dark and quiet. Cautiously, I pulled the curtains back across and picked up the creamy-coloured envelope.
The front was blank, but the seal on the back was carefully pressed with something feathered. I held it under my lamp.
A chill shuddered through my body.

In Conspiracy 365 Cal Ormond spent a year of his life on the run from a plethora of enemies, all after him for his link to the mysterious Ormond Singularity. With the help of his friends he had to unravel the mystery of the singularity and outwit his enemies, all the while being hunted by the police and the press who believed he was a criminal. Now he is back with his mother, sister and friends, his new inheritance ensuring a comfortable future. Until he finds a note on his pillow and realises someone is still after him.

Now there are just 30 days until something terrible happens – but Cal has no idea what that terrible thing is. And, when he disappears, it is up to his friends to find him and solve the mystery.

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice. There are mysteries to solve and readers will enjoy guessing at these and looking for the clues as they joining the ride which feels somewhat like a junior James Bond, with high-tech devices, larger than life baddies and exciting settings.

Fast paced action for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.

Revenge (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2011
ISBN 9781741699760

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Edsel Grizzler 3: Ghostly Shadows by James Roy

Multi-dimensional

It was silent out on the plain, except for the scratch of the shovel against the sides of the hole. Some time ago, Edsel had heard the distant wail of the train as it headed back, reversing along that pencil-straight track from Widen. The train he and Jacq had planned to be on. The train they’d meant to catch. The train that would have taken them back to Verdada, back to the stagnant place of weary, hungry children held captive by the crazy Ben. but, though no fault of their own, they’d missed that train and now it had gone, leaving them alone out her to dig a hole in the dry earth under the wide, silent sky. Digging for what seemed like hours.

Edsel and his friend Jacq are digging a hold for no reason that they can fathom. Except that a machine they’re calling Andy somehow indicated it was a good idea. Then they’re in a train tunnel deciding which way to go, what to do. They think they’re being led somewhere, but they have no idea why, or what for. And when they get there, things become even more confusing. Trains seem to play a part in their journey, but what part? There are dreams and not-dreams and it’s becoming difficult to tell the difference. Edsel needs to learn more if he is going to be able to rescue the children in Verdada from the despotic Ben. But it’s going to be a wild ride.

Edsel is back in a third adventure, to wrap up this extra-dimensional series. Reality and fantasy combine to bring a time-and-place-shifting adventure. Edsel learns to trust his own judgement, and to understand just what’s important to him. ‘Ghostly Shadows’ reads like the mirror room at a fun fair, where the world stretches and shrinks, distorting all around you. There are themes of friendship, trust, power and betrayal. A wild ride through more worlds than can be imagined. Recommended for upper primary readers.

Edsel Grizzler: Ghostly Shadows, James Roy
UQP 2011
ISBN: 9780702238819

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Ben and Duck, Sarah Acton

A story of friendship

Ben likes to feed the ducks at the park. But today there is only one duck. So Ben feeds him and then decides to return home. Duck follows. No matter whether Ben goes under, over or around on the way home, Duck follows him. Even when he finally thinks he’s escaped the following Duck, Duck turns up at his house. Ben gives in and discovers that his normal activities are more fun when Duck joins in. When it’s bedtime, Duck goes home, but next morning Ben’s preparation for his trip to the park take into account his new friendship. Illustrations are in watercolour, pencil and sepia ink, and set the main protagonists in plenty of white space.

Ben seems content as a solitary figure, but sometimes friends know us better than we know ourselves. Duck is happy initially to eat all that Ben brings, but then follows Ben home as if recognising that the two could be friends. Ben’s initial resistance is overcome and the pair enjoy their time together. Ben and Duck is a gentle tale about the positive yet intangible benefits of friendship. Very few words are needed, just as very few are really needed in establishing and maintaining friendship. Recommended for pre-schoolers and early primary readers.

Ben and Duck, Sara Acton
Scholastic 2011
ISBN: 9781741699142

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book can be purchased from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

All I Ever Wanted, Vikki Wakefield

Rules for life.

It’s easy.

Happy pills. At best you’re a dancing queen with a direct line to God; at worst you can fry your brain.

Thirty bucks each, retail. they come wrapped in a brown-paper package that fits in your bike basket. Plain view is good because a backpack on a Dodd is asking for an illegal search by a cop.

I pick up the package from Feeny Tucker, a small man with a face like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces have been pushed together to make them fit. He has a caveman’s brow and a cute, flared Barbie-doll nose. His lashes are long and pretty, his mouth thin and cruel. A thick neck, a pianist’s elegant hands and a strange floating grace like a cartoon maitre d’. Dr Frankenstein could have put him together out of spare parts.

Mim’s mother and older brothers are drug dealers. She lives in a tough part of town, with ferocious dogs, angry men and grumpy old women. Her brothers are in trouble with the police, and her mother seldom shifts from the couch. Her relationship with her mother is extremely adversarial. As Mim approaches her 17^th birthday she fervently wants to avoid being sucked into the same life. But perversely, the closer she gets, the harder it seems to be. Her best friend is changing, new friends are not what they seem and the rules she had drawn up for keeping her life on track seem to be the ones she now can’t help but break. She’s in trouble and it’s getting worse. It seems inevitable that she’s going to be stuck in this life forever.

All I Ever Wanted is an un-put-downable novel. From the beginning, Mim is so likeable but scratchy that it’s impossible not to cheer her on, particularly when it seems like she must fail. Everything seems to be stacked against her, but she never gives up trying. Along the way, she discovers that impressions can be misleading, whether first or second or more. The more her carefully-constructed world begins to crack and tumble, the more she realises that her judgements of people and events have been limited or just plain wrong. It’s difficult to imagine feeling empathy for the prickly daughter of a drug-dealer from the wrong side of town, but Vikki Wakefield does a tremendous job of presenting a likeable character and forcing the reader to put aside any preconceptions…much as she forces Mim to put aside hers. Highly recommended for mid- to upper-secondary readers.

All I Ever Wanted, Vikki Wakefield
Text Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781921758300

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

366 Books – First Update

It’s 20 days since I woke up on New Years Day and decided (a little impulsively) to set myself a challenge – to read 366 books this year (you can read my initial post on this here). So I thought it might be time for an update.

So far, I’m right on track – I’ve managed 20 books in 20 days. This is my list so far:

1. Straight Line to My Heart	Bill Condon	Allen & Unwin	Young Adult
2. Only Ever Always	Penni Russon	Allen & Unwin	Young Adult
3. Harry’s War	John Heffernan	Omnibus	Children’s
4. Just Like That	Janet Poole	Mountain View	Self Help
5. Shadrach	Meindert Dejong	Harper Trophy	Children’s
6. Nanberry	Jackie French	Angus&Robertson	Young Adult
7. Extinction 2	Lizzie Wilcock	Scholastic	Young Adult
8. The Fitlh Licker	Cristy Burne	Frances Lincoln	Children’s
9. Crow Country	Kate Constable	Allen & Unwin	Young Adult
10. Note on the Door	Lorraine Marwood	Walker	Children’s/Poetry
11. The Golden Door	Emily Rodda	Scholastic	Children’s
12. Lily Gets Her Wings	Elizabeth Pulford	Scholastic	Children’s
13. Animal People	Charlotte Wood	Allen & Unwin	Contemporary Adult
14. Lily Has a Secret	Elizabeth Pulford	Scholastic	Children’s
15. Button Boy	Rebecca Young & Sue deGennaro	Scholastic	Picture Book
16. I Heart You, You Haunt Me	Lisa Schroeder	Simon Pulse	YA Verse Novel
17. Froi of the Exiles	Melina Marchetta	Penguin	Young Adult
18. The Red Bridge	Kylie Dunstan	Windy Hollow	Picture Book
19. Nog and the Land of Noses	Bruce Whatley	Scholastic	Picture Book
20. How Now Brown Frau	Merridy Eastman	Allen & Unwin	NonFiction – Memoir

I am really enjoying keeping track of my reading in this way, and seeing just what the spread is of age groups, genres, formats etc. Of the 20 so far, 18 are Australian, 7 are young adult, 7 are children’s/younger readers, 3 picture books, thee for adults (one fiction, two non fiction). There is one collection of poetry, and one verse novel. Allen & Unwin and Scholastic are well represented in the list of publishers – which is a reflection both of the number of books those two produce and the number they send me to review. Another interesting statistic is in the gender balance – four books by male authors and sixteen by women. Interesting because there has been no conscious decision there, it’s just how it’s fallen.

So, how do I choose my books. Usually from the top of my review pile (which is actually not a pile but a shelving system in my office. I shelve them in the order I receive them and generally read them in that order. But this year I am trying to read more books not from my review pile, and have started a little pile of books I want to read for the first time or re-explore. Also, I do occasionally move books up my review pile if I’m simply hanging out to review them or f I need a shorter read. For example, whilst I was ploughing my way through Froi (almost 600 pages), which happened over four days, each day I also read something shorter.

Am I still enjoying the challenge? Yes. No regrets at having set it for myself at all.
Will keep you updated as it expands

Hope you, too, are having fun reading whatever you can during this National Year of Reading.

Oh, BTW – where I’ve reviewed a title in the list above, I have linked to that review!

Nog and the Land of Noses, by Bruce Whatley

Nog has a pretty fine looking nose, reader’s will note, if size has any bearing. But Nog’s nose doesn’t do anything special. Everybody else in the land of Nog has a special nose which does something special – whether it’s a fat nose for sheltering others from rain, or a long nose for picking fruit, or even a nose for balancing things on. But Nog’s nose does nothing – it just sits there on his face.

In the land of noses everyboydy’s nose was different and everybody had a nose that did something special.
Except for Nog.

Nog has a pretty fine looking nose, reader’s will note, if size has any bearing. But Nog’s nose doesn’t do anything special. Everybody else in the land of noses has a special nose which does something special – whether it’s a fat nose for sheltering others from rain, or a long nose for picking fruit, or even a nose for balancing things on. But Nog’s nose does nothing – it just sits there on his face. Nog’s grandmother has been saying since he was a baby that he has a ‘nose for trouble’ but nobody understands what that means – until Nog smells an approaching pepper storm one day, and saves the whole land from being exposed – because in a land of spectacular noses, nothing could be worse than a pepper storm!

Nog and the Land of Noses is recognisably a Bruce Whatley offering – whimsical, funny, yet subtly ‘right’ in its message that everyone has a purpose or talent. Whilst Nog hasn’t discovered his nose’s specialness, it seems more to worry him than it does those around him, so this is not so much a story of being accepted as it is a tale of self-acceptance and discovering one’s self worth.

Whatley’s illustrations are, as always, a delight, with the whimsy of fantastically shaped noses complemented by fantastically shaped owners of those noses – some are bird like, others more like moles or elephants, but all beautifully rendered so that each character is distinct. The colour palette is a kind of gentle fruit salad , with lots of white space so the focus is on those characters.

This is laugh out loud funny and will bear repeated readings.

Nog and the Land of Noses, by Bruce Whatley
Scholastic Press, 2011
ISBN 978174169809

This book can be purchased in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Red Bridge, by Kylie Dunstan

Claire had said goodbye to all her favourite people
and flown a long way from home.

Everything was different, the smells, the sky, the sounds.
Everything seemed difficult.

Claire and her family have moved overseas, to a city where everything seems terribly different to her home in Australia. Claire worries about lots of things – the language, the traffic, the food – but most of all she wonders how she will make new friends. Maybe, her mother suggests, the friends will find her. And that is exactly what happens. Claire is waved to by a little girl on the back of a bike, and smiled at by a boy in a restaurant. When she meets the girl again in the markets, she knows she has a new friend. But it is when Claire finds herself lost on a walk that her new friend, Kieu, actually finds her, and shows her the way home.

The Red Bridge is a sumptuous picture book about friendship and about change. Claire moves across the world, but the fears she feels are just as real for children going through any move, or even other changes in their lives. How will I make friends? How will I know how to do things? How will I get around? Claire is guided by her mother, who doesn’t express her own fears at the same changes, yet perhaps best shows them in her triumphant cheer when they manage to get across a busy road together. But Mum also has the courage to let Claire explore her new neighbourhood after they’ve become familiar, a nice touch which is perhaps a gentle reminder for nervous parents to let go.

Illustrated in generously rich reds, browns and golden tones using Dunstan’s delightful mixed media collage, The Red Bridge is a beautiful offering suitable for early childhood readers.

The Red Bridge, by Kylie Dunstan
Windy Hollow Books, 2011
ISBN 9781921136726

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.