Vampyre, by Margaret Wild & Andrew Yeo

Vampyreis an extraordinary picture book for older readers. Whilst it is about a Vampyre, this is not a cloak wearing, coffin-dwelling stereotypical vampire, and is well removed from the modern vampire stories pitched at teens in recent years. Instead, the narrator is a fairly normal looking young teen

I am Vampyre.
I live in darkness.
I long for light.

 

Vampyre lives in darkness, feared and despised. As a child he was free to play and swim in the moonlight, where he befriended the birds and the deer. Now he is fully grown, expected to embrace his role, to attack and to kill. But instead he longs for the light. Finally, he waits for midday and runs away from his family, weeping as he emerges. His old friends, the deer and the birds, welcome him.

Vampyreis an extraordinary picture book for older readers. Whilst it is about a Vampyre, this is not a cloak wearing, coffin-dwelling stereotypical vampire, and is well removed from the modern vampire stories pitched at teens in recent years. Instead, the narrator is a fairly normal looking young teen, with pale hair and skin (he is a creature of the night and must stay out of the light), and with small fangs visible in only a few illustrations. Far from being frightening or intimidating he looks like any lost and confused youngster. And this is the point of the tale – Vampyre could just as well be a teen pressured to conform on issues of sexuality, or career choice, or religion, as a child pressured to live the life of a vampyre. he wants something different than those around him, and his parents – especially his father – struggle to accept that.

Wild’s text tells the tale without trying to moralise or convince. The issue is there for the reader to explore. Illustrator Yeo does a brilliant job of using shadow and minimal light to bring to life a story which is necessarily dark-hued. The final spread, with Vampyre huddled in the morning frost, makes wonderful use of light, with golden sunlight breaking through the trees suggesting hope.

In a classroom setting Vampyrewould offer much fodder for discussion, but individuals will also be moved by it.

Brilliant.

Vampyre

Vampyre, by Margaret Wild & Andrew Yeo
Walker Books, 2011
ISBN 9781921529221

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

The Jewel Fish of Karnak, by Graeme Base

The Jewel Fish of Karnakis a sumptuous hard cover picture puzzle book from bestselling author/illustrator Graeme Base. With Bases’s signature illustrative style – lots of detail, quirky characters and rich colours – and a mystery to solve, there is lots to keep readers interested.

The Cat Pharaoh thought for a moment.
‘Well then, thieves, I have a task for you,’ she said. ‘In distant Karnak lies the Palace of the Crocodile Prince. Go there and bring back the golden Jewel Fish that the Crocodile took from me. If you do this, I will pardon you.”
In Ancient Egypt Jackal and Iris are in trouble. They’ve been caught stealing from the town market. They beg the Pharaoh for mercy and she sets them a task: steal back her stolen Jewel Fish and she will pardon them. But the pair are warned: keep the fish dry, and do not steal anything else. Unfortunately, the pair do not follow instructions, and their greediness lands them in more trouble. Only the reader can help them by locating the Jewel Fish.

The Jewel Fish of Karnakis a sumptuous hard cover picture puzzle book from bestselling author/illustrator Graeme Base. With Bases’s signature illustrative style – lots of detail, quirky characters and rich colours – and a mystery to solve, there is lots to keep readers interested. At the end of the story the reader is invited to become involved by finding the clues to figure out where the missing Jewel Fish is. In the back cover of the book there is a Jewel Fish mechanisim used to solve the msytery and work out what the fish looks like, and the wrap around cover includes a fold out map filled with facts about Ancient Egypt.

Whilst younger children will findt the book visually appealing, it is school aged children who will be likely to be able to decipher the mystery. If unable, they will find clues online on a dedicated website.

Fabulous.

The Jewel Fish of Karnak

The Jewel Fish of Karnak, by Graeme Base
Penguin, 2011
ISBN 9780670074679

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

Tin Toys, by Bruce Whatley & Ben Smith Whatley

As Christmas nears, the toy shop is filled with shiny new toys, which are quickly sold. But on the top shelf sits a wind-up toy, The Space Ride. The newer toys aren’t impressed with the Space Ride, but some of the older toys remember it and long to see it working again.

The older toys had not  forgotten the Space Ride. Buster could remember the first time he saw it in action. It whirred and whizzed, ready for take-off. It was magnificent.

As Christmas nears, the toy shop is filled with shiny new toys, which are quickly sold. But on the top shelf sits a wind-up toy, The Space Ride. The newer toys aren’t impressed with the Space Ride, but some of the older toys remember it and long to see it working again. They set out o find the missing key which will start the Space Ride, and to prove to the newer toys just how exciting an old toy can be. Finding the key to wind Space Ride up is difficult, but finally they do it – in spite of disturbing the poor Shopkeeper. When they do wind the ride up there is surprise in store. Although the Space Ride isn’t quite as exciting as the old toys had remembered, everyone has the best Christmas Eve ever.

Tin Toys is fabulous picture book for Christmas or any time of the year, about friendship, adventure and fun. A collaboration between author/illustrator Bruce Whatley and his adult son, the digital illustrations have a three dimensional feel similar to animation in films such as Toy Story. Particularly pleasing is the use of different perspectives so that scenes which could have been visually repetitive given the small setting of a toy shop, are viewed from different angles.

A delight.

Tin Toys

Tin Toys, by Bruce Whatley & Ben Smith Whatley
Random House, 2011
ISBN 9781864719918

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

The Bicycle, by Colin Thompson & Various Artists

This is a picture book with a difference – and what a wonderful difference it is. Rather than containing a storyline, it contains several stories, each rendered in a double page spread, with or without a quote , all around the theme of the bicycle.

In a perfect world, this book would not exist. But we do not live in a perfect world. Even if we all learn to live in peace, there will still be millions of people who need our help.

This is a picture book with a difference – and what a wonderful difference it is. Rather than containing a storyline, it contains several stories, each rendered in a double page spread, with or without a quote , all around the theme of the bicycle. Created as an inspirational fundraiser for the Save the Children fund, the book explores all aspects of the magic of the bicycle, chosen as the central motif because it symbolises fun and adventure for children.

Contributing artists, including Quentin Blake, Shaun Tan and Freya Blackwood have each created a double page spread, each in their own style. Some are whimsical , such as David Miller’s wonderful paper sculpture of an elephant riding a unicycle, others more serious, such as Jan Bowman’s night scene where two cyclists ride through the darkened streets of London, their bike lights illuminating their way. Some have no words, others a quote from literature or famous figures, and others quotes from children whose lives have been made better through the donation of bicycles, such as 14 year old Dany from Cambodia who says: I promise to study harder and take good care of my bicycle as my best friend. We will go to the upper grade together.

Introductory notes from author/illustrator Colin Thompson and from Suzanne Dvorak, CEP of Save the Children Australia explain the concept of the book and the important work that the fund does.

The Bicycle is a celebration of the bicycle, and of the wonderful impact of acts of charity.

The Bicycle

The Bicycle, by Colin Thompson

ABC Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2011
ISBN 9780733329876

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond.

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees, by Odo Hirsch

When the bees start to disappear from the Belle state, Darius worries that his favourite honey will run out. It takes him a while to realise that much more than the honey supply is at stake.

Darius frowned. ‘Is it really so bad, Mr Fisher? Will there really be nothing?’
‘No bees – no fruit, no vegetables,’ murmured the gardener, as he had said before. ‘Nothing.’
Mr Beale had been right, thought Darius. For a moment he tried to imagine what the world would be like if there were no bees anywhere….Humans depended on bees to an extent he hadn’t understood.

When the bees start to disappear from the Belle state, Darius worries that his favourite honey will run out. It takes him a while to realise that much more than the honey supply is at stake. Without bees there will be no fruit or vegetables, and his friends the Fishers, who run the estate’s gardens, will have to leave the estate. Darius is determined this won’t happen.

Darius tries to investigate why the bees have gone and how he can save the food crops – but he’ll have to outsmart his old adversary, the Mayor, who loves it when things go wrong for the Bells. He’ll also need to keep the school principal, Mrs Lightman, off his case.

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees is the wonderful sequel to the award-winning. Darius manages to once again save the day,with the help of his friends and in spite of his family’s seeming dysfunction. His father, a writer who is never published, has some lessons for Darius this time, and while there are similarities with the first title, there is also enough difference to avoid being reptitive or overly predictable.

Darius’ world if full of whimsy and a bit larger than life, but this is what makes it so very appealing.

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees, by Odo Hirsch
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742376837

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

Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck, by Michelle Gillespie & Sonia Martinez

In a fictionalised retelling of the events, Gillespie shares the story in accessible language and detail, capturing both the excitement and the terror of the day.

The kitchen door bursts open. A gust of wind lashes about the room and Sam enters, panting….
‘A ship’s hit the rocks down Calgardup, Mrs Bussell. The swell’s all strong there today, an’ people in the water – I can take the horse to help.’
‘Sam, saddle Smiler for me.’ Grace shakes the cake mixture from her hands. ‘I’ll ride with him,’ she says to her mother.

In 1876, sixteen year old Grace Bussell helped to rescue the passengers of the shipwrecked Georgette and was rightly labelled a hero. But her fellow rescuer, Sam Isaacs, an Aboriginal stockman, was all but forgotten in spite of his important role in saving the lives of passengers and crew. Now, in Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck, new author Michelle Gillespie hopes to right that wrong by celebrating the role both rescuers, and their horses, played in saving those aboard the Georgettefrom drowning.

In a fictionalised retelling of the events, Gillespie shares the story in accessible language and detail, capturing both the excitement and the terror of the day. The dark tone of the illustrations, by Sonia Martinez, provide an excellent complement to the dramatic nature, and seriousness, of the text. the endpapers are especially stunning – the opening one showing the ship steaming ahead of foreboding storm clouds, and the back of book showing the hip sinking beneath the waves. Back of book notes provide information about the sinking and rescue.

Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck, provides a wonderful glimpse at this little known piece of Western Australia’s maritime history.

Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck

Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck, by Michelle Gillespie, illustrated by Sonia Martinez
Fremantle Press, 2011
ISBN 9781921696008

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

The Coming of the Whirlpool, by Andrew McGahan

The Coming of the Whirlpool is the first in an outstanding new fantasy series from Andrew McGahan, better known for his literary novels for adults. But what a punch he packs in his debut for teens.

Dow didn’t dare speak. He had never disagreed with his father before – but how could anyone prefer the gloom of the forest and the slow drip from the branches to this, the shrieking wind, and the cliff, and the tumbling grey ocean?
‘It’s no place for the likes of us,’ Howard Amber concluded, and shook his head. ‘We’ll leave it to the Ship Kings, you and I.’ And with that he turned and began to descend again into the forest.

Dow Amber was born and has grown up high in the mountains of New Island, his destiny – to be a timber cutter – determined by his place as first born son. But he doesn’t mind too much, until the day he first glimpses the ocean. From a clifftop in the mountains he glimpses the sea, and a ship upon it, and a longing to sail is born in him. He must fight to be allowed to leave the mountains and move to a grim fishing village to be trained as a fisherman.

In his new home, in the village of Stromner, Dow finally learns to sail, but what he is most excited by is the spectacle of the big ships, sailed by the Ship Kings, and forbidden to New Islanders such as himself. Dow longs to sail like these people. Not only is it impossible, but he must not come to the attention of the Ship Kings – because if they find out who he really is, they will kill him.

The Coming of the Whirlpool is the first in an outstanding new fantasy series from Andrew McGahan, better known for his literary novels for adults. But what a punch he packs in his debut for teens. Dow must battle nature, foreign rulers, his townspeople and even history, in order to make his way in the world, follow his dreams and stay alive. He becomes the unwitting figurehead for the hopes of his people, and makes friends and enemies along the way. There are the dangerous forces of nature – with a hint of magic – and lots of battles against the elements.

Perfect for those who love sea-faring adventures, or fantasy, or just a ripping yarn, The Coming of the Whirlpool is suitable for readers aged 12 through to adult.

The Coming of the Whirlpool (Ship Kings)

The Coming of the Whirlpool (Ship Kings), by Andrew McGahan
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742376479

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

HipsterMattic, by Matt Granfield

Matt Granfield’s girlfriend has just broken up with him, telling him ‘I can’t be with someone who doesn’t know who they are.’. Broken hearted, he decides that she’s right – he doesn’t know who he is – and that it’s time he figured it out. In a moment of clarity he decides that the best way to figure out who he is is to become someone else.

Luckily I didn’t own a bath. If I’d had a bath I would have been crying in it, and there were so many tears and so much snot the thing would have started overflowing and I would have floated out and broken a rib on the floor.

Matt Granfield’s girlfriend has just broken up with him, telling him ‘I can’t be with someone  who doesn’t know who they are.’. Broken hearted, he decides that she’s right – he doesn’t know who he is – and that it’s time he figured it out. In a moment of clarity he decides that the best way to figure out who he is is to become someone else. He’s always been a bit of a hipster – but now he embarks on a quest to become the hippest person there is – the ultimate hipster.

HipsterMattic, subtitled One Man’s Quest to Become the Ultimate Hipster recounts Granfield’s adventures in his quest to figure out what the ultimate is – and how he can become one. In his wryly witty first person narration Granfield takes us along as he learns to knit, sets up a market school, starts the ultimate hipster band, acquires a fixie (a fixed wheel bike) and overdoses on coffee, all in a slightly mad quest to become more hipster.

This is laugh out loud funny, with Granfield’s self-deprecating, open style making it the sort of book you want to share bits with other people. I found myself reading bits aloud regularly. But along with the humour there’s some self-discovery, with Granfield perhaps coming closer to discovering who he is – or, at the least, who he’s not.

If you’ve ever tried to be cool, or ever searched for who you really are, or perhaps just want a laugh, HipsterMattic: One Man’s Quest to Become the Ultimate Hipster is highly recommended.

HipsterMattic: One Man's Quest to Become the Ultimate Hipster

HipsterMattic: One Man’s Quest to Become the Ultimate Hipster, by Matt Granfield
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742377858

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

Last Summer, by Kylie Ladd

Rory Buchanan is popular with everyone. He’s good looking, he captains his cricket side, and is surrounded by friends. So when he collapses and dies suddenly, his friends and family struggle to cope with their loss.

When they got to the hospital and she gave her name at the emergency department desk and she gave her name at the emergency department desk the staff reacted so quickly that Nick knew Rory wasn’t suffering from a stomach ulcer.
‘Mrs Buchanan?’ asked a doctor, materialising almost immediately by her side. Nick couldn’t help but notice the red streaks splashed across the front of his coat. ‘We have your husband in a separate area…If you’ll follow me.’

Rory Buchanan is popular with everyone. He’s good looking, he captains his cricket side, and is surrounded by friends. So when he collapses and dies suddenly, his friends and family struggle to cope with their loss. Rory was the glue that seemed to hold them all together, and now that he’s gone friendships are under stress, marriages are being tested and individuals are facing where they are at – and where they want to be.

Last Summer is a clever examination of loss, and what it can mean to people. Told from the varied viewpoints of nine different people – all friends and family of the dead man – it explores not just the immediate aftermath of a death, but also how it can alter lives and relationships. The characters are a blend of male ad female and come from a range of backgrounds. What they have in common is their membership of the cricket club, and their friendship/connection with Rory. Without Rory there, those connections become more tenuous, and even strained.

Handling nine different viewpoint characters – plus several other characters – could prove too much for a writer, but Ladd does it well. Over the course of the novel the reader gets to know each character intimately, with cause for crying with the, cheering for them, and even being angry at them, as if they were real people – which they are, because Ladd makes them so.

The only downfall of the book is that ends, leaving you wanting to know what happens next to the characters.

Last Summer
Last Summer, by Kylie Ladd
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742375014

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

Hal Junior The Secret Signal, by Simon Haynes

Hal Junior is always in trouble. He is late for school, doesn’t do his homework and tends to stick his nose in where it isn’t wanted. But he can’t seem to help himself – life on board the space station means there’s always interesting things to look at and explore.

Hal’s blood froze as realised the danger he was in. Stinky couldn’t hold on forever, and if Hal stayed in the chute much longer he was going to fall all the way to the bottom. ‘Don’t mess about. Pull me up!’
‘I can’t do it on my own. You’ll have to help.’

Hal Junior is always in trouble. He is late for school, doesn’t do his homework and tends to stick his nose in where it isn’t wanted. But he can’t seem to help himself – life on board the space station means there’s always interesting things to look at and explore. And Hal is always having crazy ideas – some of which might actually work. But when his whole class gets into trouble on an excursion Hal’s ingenuity might just be the thing that saves the day.

Hal Junior the Secret Signal is the first in a new series by the author of the Hal Spacejock series. Making use of the formula which has worked in the Spacejock series, author Simon Haynes aims to entertain a younger audience. And it works. There is lots of action, silliness, and a main character who is at times bumbling but, when it matters most, is also brave and inventive.

Haynes says he wants to fill a gap in providing science fiction stories to children. Hal Junior the Secret Signal is likely to appeal to readers aged from 8 to 10, and reluctant readers perhaps a little older.

Hal Junior the Secret Signal

Hal Junior the Secret Signal, by Simon Haynes
Bowman Press, 2011
ISBN 9781877034077

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