Claire Saxby – Page 80 – Aussie Reviews

Step Up and Dance, by Thalia Kalipsakis

It was the letter of my dreams – a Valentine’s letter, wrapped in a blood-red envelope, leaning against the soy sauce on our kitchen table.

I picked up the envelope, flipped it over and dropped it beside my plate because just then I was more interested in the soy sauce. Mum’s sushi rolls after a late dance class are to die for, like Tim Tams at the right time of the month.

Saph is living her dream life. She’s only sixteen and already dancing professionally in a cheerleading squad for a NBL basketball team. Then a Valentine’s day letter arrives from the NBL player she secretly has a crush on. Now her dream life is perfect. Only it isn’t. The letter is a hoax. Saph can’t believe someone would be so cruel. Then she discovers who sent the letter. She hoaxes the hoaxer and the hoaxer responds. Meanwhile, pressure is on to develop new routines for the cheerleading squad as major sponsors become interested and their television exposure increases. This is the big time and Saph is feeling just a tad overwhelmed. Nothing in her rigorous training has prepared her for this. Add in an overprotective father and a close friend who is enjoying the revenge setups just a little too much and the scene is set.

Step Up and Dance is title six in Allen & Unwin’s Girlfriend series. As with other titles, Step Up and Dance features a plausible storyline and a realistic main character, Saph. Saph loves to dance. Her father is a little overprotective, but until now, Saph has been okay with that. Things are starting to change. She’s keen to stretch her wings, and working with older girls (and boys) has convinced her it’s time. She’s also keen to prove that dancing is her vocation and that she’s as ready for the demands of professional dancing as the older dancers. There are themes here of appearance versus substance, the changing nature of friendships and more. Family dynamics are explored as is the cost of following your passion. The energy and spirit of the characters is well reflected in the design of the front cover. An engaging and entertaining read. Recommended for mid-secondary readers.

Step Up and Dance, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
Allen & Unwin 2008
ISBN: 9781741755558

Milad – The Voyage to Ophir, by Nazam Anhar

‘A storm is coming,’ said the old navigator Hakim.
Milad stood beside him on the deck, feeling the rising wind blow against his face and tousle his hair. The twelve ships of the fleet were drawn out in a long line. Their sails lowered, they rowed slowly through the strait to avoid the treacherous coral reefs below the surface.

Milad has finally convinced his parents to allow him one voyage to sea as a sailor. After that he is to return home to the wheat farm his family run. So begins an adventure greater than anything he has imagined or dreamed about. Milad joins a great Phoenecian fleet about to embark on a great journey to seek treasures to bring to King Solomon. He makes friends with Hakim, an experienced and well-regarded navigator. It is from him that Milad learns many of the skills needed to be a good sailor. They travel towards Ophir in Africa. Renowned sailors though they are, there are others on the ocean. Long before they reach their destination they are attacked by Kallabos, a cunning and tenacious Greek pirate.

Milad: The Voyage to Ophir is set at the time of King Solomon’s reign. Nazam Anhar weaves history and adventure in this exciting novel about a boy’s first journey to sea. Milad, the bright but inexperienced sailor has much to contend with, from a captain who doubts he will ever be of any use, to a stowaway who trusts no one, to Hakim, almost the only one on board who treats him with any dignity. Hakim is teacher, mentor and friend. Battle scenes are detailed, while violence is moderated for the age of the target reader. Along the way, Milad and the reader learn about Phoenician sailors and ships, dangerous coral reefs in the Red Sea, volcanoes in Ethiopia, the power and splendour of the Nile from its dual origins to the wide delta, the building of pyramid, the structure and security of pyramids and much more. There is enough detail to satisfy the curious, enough adventure to excite the explorer and enough detailed skirmishes to satisfy the hungriest of readers. Recommended for mid- to upper primary readers and beyond.

Milad: The Voyage to Ophir, by Nazam Anhar
Scholastic 2008
ISBN: 9781741691153

The Number One Aussie Counting Book, by Heath McKenzie

Australian animals push from the inside of this new counting book and jostle for space on the front cover. Numbers run down the other side of the front cover, and also spread out across the back cover. There is no doubt that what the reader is offered here is a counting book. But it’s also a public relations exercise for the animals being counted. Wombat, who can sometime suffers an image problem is presented as handsome, dashing, classy and more. As the pages fill with more and more animals, descriptions contract to well known Australianisms. There are ‘dinki-di’ Tasmanian devils and ‘fair dinkum’ fur seals. The final page, full of hatching crocodiles hints that there could more mischief afoot.

The numbers are large on each page. Text curls its way across the page. There is a sense of constant movement as kangaroos leapfrog, cockatoos call. Even the witchetty grubs have personality. The most well-known of Aussie animals are here but so too are bilbies, cuscus and lyrebirds. There is plenty of white space on the cover and on the pages. The Number One Aussie Counting Book is bright, colourful, zany. Young children will enjoy the counting and older children will enjoy reading the descriptions. All will enjoy the antics on each opening. Recommended for pre- and early school age children. Would also be a great gift to send overseas.

The Number One Aussie Counting Book, by Heath McKenzie
Black Dog Books 2007
ISBN: 9781742030098

Pilgrim, by Jo Oliver

Pilgrimis the name of a boat, built by the narrator’s great-grandfather. The narrator, a small boy, tells the reader about his first journey to sea. He and his father rise early and make their preparations for this father and son fishing trip. They pass familiar landmarks seen for the first time from the water. The boat leaves the river or cove and they are at sea. The boy relaxes, safe in his great-grandfather’s boat with his father. Now he can enjoy the sea, feeling ‘brave and peaceful.’

Pilgrim, on the surface, is a story about a small boy overcoming his fear and going to sea with his father. His initial nervousness is transformed as he watches dolphins. This will suffice for most small readers/listeners. But there is more here for the older reader. The reference to the builder of the boat as a returned soldier is expanded upon as they journey past landmarks with the name of well-known war battles. The illustrations in Pilgrim are strong hand-coloured lino cuts. Each image is framed by white and occupies a page or opening. There are also smaller lino cut images showing other images, a feather, war medals and a soldier’s hat. Perhaps the suggestion is that all journeys, no matter how small, require courage and the support of those around us. And some, like the great-grandfather of this story, also make it safely home. Recommended for 5-8 year olds, although it may also be used for older children in classroom discussions around war.

Pilgrim, by Jo Oliver
New Frontier Publishing 2008
ISBN: 9781921042850

Bridget's Book of Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are age old. Some are steeped in symbolism, others tell stories of great historical events. Some teach counting, others are plain nonsense. But children are generally not interested in any of that, they love nursery rhymes for the rhyme and repetition, the absurdity and the familiarity. The collection opens with full page colour for ‘Pat-a-Cake’ and ends with bath, bed and a final ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’. In this last, a smaller image looks through the bedroom window at the night sky as the text diminishes in size (volume? wakefulness?) In between, there are a variety of well-known rhymes.

Bridget’s Book of Nursery Rhymes, released in hardback in 2006, is now in a sturdy, large-format square paperback. Bridget’s illustrations are in bright primary colours with black outlines. Some openings have bright colour backgrounds, others make use of the white space. A young teddy bear features strongly but there are also rabbits, pigs, mice and more. A small mouse is present on each page for a child to find. It is easy to imagine this book being a bedtime favourite with both reader and child. Recommended for preschool children.

Bridget’s Book of Nursery Rhymes, Bridget Strevens-Marzo
Little Hare 2007
ISBN: 9871921272127

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

Little Blue, by Gaye Chapman

Little Blue has been lost for the longest time. Then Will finds her. All she wants to do is go home. Will wants to help her but it’s not easy. Her descriptions of the way home sound similar to Will’s way home, but as he brings her to the hills, the creek, the trees, family, they are not quite right. They cannot find the way to Little Blue’s home. Only when Will takes Little Blue to his home with Grandmother, do they find Little Blue’s home.

Gaye Chapman is both author and illustrator of Little Blue. From the four seasons of the front ‘end papers’ showing us how long Little Blue has been lost to the final endpaper detailing her return home, this is a beautiful book. The story is a simple one of a boy trying to help a lost girl find her way home. A small blue bird is on every page, guiding or accompanying the travelling pair. The girl’s way home and her home are by her account much grander than Will’s simple existence, yet he is the one who brings her home. She describes mountains, he describes hills. The reader is left to wonder at the accuracy of her description – perhaps she is exaggerating? On alternate pages Little Blue (in words and image) draws for Will a growing picture of her way home, The sketches provide clues for the reader as to the ending. These alternate openings have blue borders, as if to differentiate the world from the differing points of view. Will and Little Blue progress their way across the pages, emerging from a tunnel of trees near Will’s home. At the conclusion, both Little Blue and Will are safely home again. Recommended for 4+.

Little Blue, by Gaye Chapman
Little Hare 2008
ISBN: 9781921049989

Blood of the Incas, by David Harris

Intrepid adventurer Hiram Bingham has been missing in the Andes for over a month. ‘The Cuzco Herald’ investigates Hiram’s journey and disappearance.
Earlier this month he disappeared into the uncharted mountains of Peru. His quest – to find and follow ancient Inca Trails…What drives a man to risk his life among mile-high precipices, glaciers, raging rivers and deep valleys ruled by cannibal head-hunters?

Hiram Bingham, adventurer, is following his passion. He’s in the Andes looking for clues to the ancient Incas. His initial trip, during which outsiders speculate on his motivation and his whereabouts, is full of danger and excitement as Bingham and his guide Callisto traverse cliff tops, narrow mountain paths and waterfalls in search of ancient fortresses. But the dangers of this first trip are nothing to those of the return journey. Bingham follows in the footsteps of Spaniards and Indians as he searches for a lost city high in the mountains. But he must first overcome superstition, an inhospitable terrain, a man-eating panther.

Blood of the Incas is chock-a-block full of adventure, danger, ancient and not-so-ancient South America. Hiram Bingham was an American Archaeologist credited with the ‘discovery’ of the mountaintop ruins of Machu Picchu. Harris has blended fact, legend and action-packed fiction as he takes Bingham and his rag-tag crew across some of the most rugged terrain in the world. There are numerous historical references to the Spanish Conquistadors, the Incas themselves. For the reader keen on adventure, Blood of the Incas can be read as pure fiction, but there are plenty of titbits for the budding adventurer or historian to explore further. Recommended for 9-12 year old readers.

Blood of the Incas, by David Harris
ABC Books 2008
ISBN: 9780733320972

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

I'm Glad You're My Mum, by Cathy Phelan

Most Mums enjoy hearing they are valued, and I’m Glad You’re My Mumis designed to help children say just that. This small 24 page paperback from Black Dog Books encourages and supports children in expressing their love and appreciation for Mum. Affirmations sit side-by-side with pictures to be coloured, blank pages for masterpieces and lined pages for stories. Cathy Phelan’s words offer examples on one side of the opening, and the other side is available for a child to express their personal experience. Danielle McDonald’s pastel illustrations are simple, colourful and appealing.

Very young children may need assistance (from Dad or a grandparent?) to complete the pages in I’m Glad Your Mum, but older children will manage easily on their own. Mums will treasure this gift particularly when children grow and may be less overt in expressing their love and appreciation! Recommended for 3+ aged children.

I’m Glad You’re My Mum, by Cathy Phelan ill Danielle McDonald
Black Dog Books 2008
ISBN: 9781742030364

A Brief History of the Island of Dipsquittie

What an honour and a pleasure it is for me to write this book.
For thirty years I have been a Professor of Places Nobody Heard Of. I have written a great many books on unheard-of places. But, strangely, nobody seems to have heard of my books. That was really starting to pip me off and I was seriously thinking of becoming a Professor of Books Nobody Has Read. But then the most amazing thing happened.

Poor Professor Loder-Bull. He holidays in Scotland only to get lost in a blizzard. But just when all seems lost, he is rescued by a pink-and-purple tartaned Scot named Fergus. And finally, it seems that Professor Loder-Bull has found a place-nobody-has-heard-of that he can tell the world about. Dipsquittie is an island visited only by those blown off course by the elements. Once there, visitors discover a peaceful, happy settlement with a King and Queen whose main role is to hold parties. There was a battle with the occupants of the northern part of the island many, many years ago, but that is so long ago as to be almost forgotten. Then two Moo Coos arrive followed by Samuel B Gliblip. He has plans. And the Moo Coos are just the start of it.

A Brief History of the Island of Dipsquittie is a delightful romp through the history of an island happily lost beyond the rainclouds and wind of storms. Fortunately, Brother Bedsoc kept an account of the war, how it came to start and how it turned out. King Eggberga and Queen Syllia both played a part, as did Will Winkle/Tinkle, the undercover spy and a ten year-old boy, Flub. It was a most unusual war. The text is enhanced by illustrations scattered throughout and around the text (reminiscent of Terry Denton’s illustrations in the margins of the ‘Just’ series). A Brief History of the Island of Dipsquittie begs to be read aloud, allowing the listener to savour all the sookie eggs and stuffed blurtfish on offer.

Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

A Brief History of the Island of Dipsquittie, by Prof Walter Loder-Bull, ill Janine Dawson
Omnibus Books 2008
ISBN: 9781862917620

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

Horse Mad Western, by Kathy Helidoniotis

‘It’s on again, people!’ Gary Cho stood on his dusty blue milk crate and beamed at the members of the Shady Creek Riding Club. Gary is the most awesome Riding Club instructor anywhere in the world. ‘The fourteenth annual Pinebark Ridge Western Riding Club Show is on in eight weeks.’
‘Cool!’ I murmured, rubbing my fingers in my gorgeous chestnut mare’s soft copper-coloured mane. I’d never done any Western riding. But I never let details like that stop me. Once I knew there was a show on I wanted in.

Ash, as the title suggests, is mad about horses and riding. In this fifth instalment of the ‘Horse Mad’ series, Ash is learning about ‘Western’ riding. Even for someone who eats, sleeps and breathes horses and riding, there is a lot to learn. And there’s only eight short weeks to learn it before the competition. Ash may be horse mad, but there are plenty of other things going on in her life. Her parents are opening a bed & breakfast business, her best friend’s father has a secret, her employer’s English granddaughters are in town, and Jenna, her moved-to-Italy best friend is not answering emails. As the Western riding competition and her 12th birthday approach, Ash also has to worry about whether she’ll be offered a chance to go to Linley Heights ‘horsey’ boarding school or whether she should stay at home and go to the local high school with her friends.

Horse Mad Western may be No 5 in a series but it also stands alone quite comfortably. There are references to other adventures, but it is not necessary to have read previous offerings to enjoy this one. Horse-lovers will enjoy the detail of different riding experiences, but there’s plenty of action for the general reader. Ash, the main character, is at the end of primary school and much in her life is changing. She’s duelling with her parents, her friends are changing, as are her foes. She’s on the brink of adolescence, swinging between impulse and responsibility. Her determination and devotion to friends and to riding help her find a way through the most testing of times. Recommended for 9-12 yo, particularly horse-lovers.

Horse Mad Western, by Kathy Helidoniotis
Angus & Robertson 2008
ISBN: 9780732284244