Claire Saxby – Page 86 – Aussie Reviews

Summer Tiger, by Wendy Catran

Amber gasped, heart thudding. Stop it, she told herself. It was only a pop-up picture on the park map. She pushed at it with her hands – yes she could make the tiger’s jaws open and close, open and close. Even turn the page to see the serious, funny little meerkats instead. There was no need to worry about Tiger. She could get rid of him any time she liked. She had complete control.

Amber has been sent to stay with her uncle and twin cousins Kyla and Ben at their New Zealand Wildlife Park while her parents holiday in Europe without her. Angry and resentful, she finds that all is not well with her New Zealand family either. Ben and Kyla’s mother has left, Kyla has an animal activist boyfriend and Ben’s dodgy friend Spike seems to be everywhere. Strange things are happening in the Wildlife Park. Amber is captivated by the meerkats but terrified by the Wildlife Park’s main attraction, a Sumatran Tiger.

There are many themes to be explored in Summer Tiger. Animal conservation is one, and more than one approach is explored. Family is another, as Amber worries about her own family and the family of her cousins. Managing fear is yet another. Summer Tiger weaves all these and more into a believable and action-packed story. Main character Amber grows in understanding and compassion across the novel, learning about herself and her family as she simultaneously begins to overcome her fear of animals, big and small, wild and ‘tame’. Recommended for upper primary readers.

Summer Tiger, by Wendy Catran
Hachette Livre Australia 2007
9780734409393

Small Fry, by Susie Cameron & Katrina Crook

We wanted to make the day and what we do a little more fun-filled for our children and their friends. We decided that since they were so keen to help and be involved, particularly in the kitchen, that we would relax and go with it!

Difficulty, preparation time, cooking time are all ingredients of modern cookbooks. Small Fry adds a ‘mess factor’ rating from one to five. ‘Getting Started’ includes information from an Early Childhood Consultant and guidelines for age- and development-appropriate expectations. Chapters are grouped according to ‘Senses’, ‘Concepts’, ‘Everyday’ and more. There are suggestions about how to include children in shopping, unpacking and cleaning up. Recipes introduce children to textures, smells and tastes. ‘Extra Stuff’ provides extension and alternative activities to vary the kitchen experience.

Small Fry is a very attractive book with brightly coloured pages and wonderful photos of children and food. The recipes are mostly difficulty rated ‘one’ or ‘two’ with fish & chips and white bread rated as difficulty ‘three’ and pizza as ‘four’. But this is not just a recipe book. There are suggestions on how to make shopping enjoyable, some gardening tips, play dates, ideas to show children where food comes from and much more. Older children can explore foods that go well together. A section on parties includes food ideas, games and activities. This is much more than a cook book and will be enjoyed by parents, grandparents and anyone who enjoys being with small children (and of course the small children themselves!).

Small Fry – Inspiration for Cooking with Kids, by Susie Cameron & Katrina Crook
ABC Books 2006
ISBN 978073316654

Secrets of Eromanga, by Sheryl Gwyther

Time sure was the weirdest thing. Now, after weeks of crossing off the calendar dates, the day was finally here, and in a strange sort of way it felt as if no time had past at all. Then last night, every time she woke, the clock-radio’s red numbers had only jumped ahead an hour or so. It had been the longest night ever, with less sleep too.

Ellie is excited to be travelling to North-west Queensland for her holidays. She will see Tom again and get to help out on a dinosaur dig. The arrival of blonde-haired, red-shoed, tight-jeaned Peta is the only down side of what promises to be an exciting holiday. Peta is beautiful, assured and everywhere Tom is. In a parallel journey, a young ornithopod hatches from her egg and travels across the same country, countless years before Ellie. Ellie, Tom and Peta visit another fossil site only to encounter fossil smugglers intent on selling their finds to the highest bidder.

Secrets of Eromanga is an Australian outback adventure that includes plenty of factual details about dinosaur fossils and where they might be found. Eromanga was once an inland sea and is fossil-rich. The novel speculates on the life of some of the dinosaurs who lived by the sea as it simultaneously tracks the discovery of the fossils. Ellie is a realistic heroine, who finds the courage she needs when circumstances require it. She also experiences all the jealousy and insecurities of most girls of her age. Tom manages to stay outside the friction between Ellie and Peta but is pleased when they find a way to be friends. Recommended for upper primary readers.

Secrets of Eromanga, by Sheryl Gwyther
Lothian 2006
9780734409215

Lab Rats in Space, by Bruno Bouchet

‘Argh!’ he screamed as he saw a third hand appearing from behind his head. He stared at the hand and gently touched the fingers. He could feel the touch. He turned around as far as he could and saw an arm reaching from over his back. It was coming out of his body, from his own back, just above his bum. ‘No!’ he cried in horror at his third arm. ‘What have they done to me?’

Zed wakes to find he is in a cage in a laboratory. He has no memory of home or family, no memories at all. He, like many others, has been experimented on by the cruel and inventive Dr Xanax and his off-sider, Bumface. Zed has a third arm, Jay’s sneezes are diabolical, XL is a genius (if only he could talk), Dee has a hammer for a hand. Zed hatches a plan to escape, using Bumface’s swipe card. Zed and his new friends discover that escaping from their cages is just the beginning. They hitch a ride on a container transport spaceship to escape Xanax and begin a journey to discover how they came to be experiments for this madman.

Lab Rats in Space is a wild romp through outer space. Zed, although stunned to find he is sporting an extra arm, rallies quickly and begins to marshal his fellow lab rats. He’s impetuous and fallible, but rouses the others to action. Each of them has a special skill, some only partly realised in this novel. None know just what this skill is, or what it is for. With a central character who has snot powerful enough to destroy space invaders and another with tools for hands, there are laughs aplenty. The pace is fast and furious, sure to engage upper primary boys in particular. I suspect we’ve not seen the last of Zed and his mates.

Lab Rats in Space, by Bruno Bouchet
ABC Books 2007
ISBN: 9780733319655

Edwina Sparrow Girl of Destiny, by Carol Chataway

If you are reading this journal, then chances are I am already dead. My name is Edwina Sparrow. I am fifteen years old and my mother is trying to kill me. My mother has always been odd, but since Gran’s accident, things gave got far worse. I have decided to start keeping a journal to document the progress of my deranged mother because there may be a murder inquiry. Someone needs to leave a line of evidence.

Edwina Sparrow’s mother has put the whole family (Edwina, brother Julian and Gran) on a cabbage-only diet. Edwina’s father is in Antarctica and not expected home anytime soon. Gran had a nasty incident with a pressure cooker and is now convinced she’s living through the Second World War. At school, Edwina and others are targets of bully Krystal Shard and her cronies. And this is only the beginning. Julian’s on-screen romance flounders, Mum moves from the Cabbage Diet to the Fruit Diet and beyond, Gran thinks Edwina is her younger sister Emily and at school girls are falling like ninepins to diet-related conditions. Even her best friend McKenzie seems to be avoiding her. Edwina knows she could fix everything, if only people would listen to her sensible suggestions.

Edwina Sparrow Girl of Destiny is a wonderfully idiosyncratic example of the unreliable narrator inherent in first person narrative. Edwina thunders through her life, unaware of any viewpoint other than her own. She is a likeable character with the subtlety of a bulldozer. The journal allows us to get very close to this main character and to read between her lines to some of the challenges she’s facing. McKenzie is a great foil, with his search for his place in his family of all boys. Julian copes with the vagaries of their family in a much quieter way, but it is Edwina who solves the mystery that occupies all his thoughts. Krystal Shard is a nasty piece of work, manipulating her so-called friends with disastrous consequences.

Carol Chataway provides the reader with a warm and affectionate look into the mind of an ostensibly prickly teenager and subtly urges them to look beyond the obvious.

Highly recommended for Year 7-9 readers. Readers who enjoy this novel might also enjoy works by Jaclyn Moriarty and Melina Marchetta.

Edwina Sparrow Girl of Destiny, by Carol Chataway
Lothian Books 2007
ISBN 9780734409874

The Boy Who Disappeared, by Wendy Milton

Twelve-year-old Rodney lived in Frogmore, an ordinary country town in northern New South Wales. He lived in a modest, two-storey house in Cane Toad Crescent. He had his own room, a stereo, a TV, a DVD player, piles of books and a computer with Internet access. He was in his final year at Frogmore Primary , an ordinary school. He had two ordinary parents, lived in an ordinary house in an ordinary street. Why, then, was something extraordinary happening to him?

Rodney Rowbottom is being bullied. Ben and his cohorts chase him to school and make his life miserable. His father ignores him, his mother babies him. Then Rodney begins to fade. He meets Mrs Strangeways who teaches him how to become invisible. Now he can travel to alternate worlds, Llandringodd and Llondieval. Both are terrifying. One world shows the perils of science unchecked with walking weeds and soul-less clones, while the other is a primitive and barbaric (and very smelly) place where cruelty is a spectator sport. Rodney discovers others affected by bullying of small and much larger scale. Travelling between these two worlds and his own, Rodney meets friends and foes and almost inadvertently discovers the solution to his own bullying experience.

The Boy Who Disappeared gives away little in its title. The front cover shows Rodney being pursued by weeds in an otherwise desolate landscape. Immediately, the reader is asked to speculate on the fate of this twelve-year-old boy. Rodney learns skills that help him find his own way. Around every corner is another corner as Wendy Milton’s story twists and turns back on itself. Each time the outcome seems inevitable, the story goes off on another tangent, building tension further. There are parallels between Rodney’s ‘home’ world and Llandringodd, showing the effect when science and commercial interests are not moderated by ethics. The other world, Llondieval, shows the peasants fearful and starving, while the rich feast. Rodney’s adventures in both worlds contribute to solving his problems in his own world. A rich and satisfying read, recommended for upper primary readers.

The Boy Who Disappeared, by Wendy Milton
Lothian Books 2006
ISBN 9780734408921

Strictly Stars, by Josie Montana

To cut a long story short, we won the national pop starlet auditions and here we are today. A little bit more than famous – the nation’s most well-known pop starlet group.

Strictly Stars is told from the point of view of Kiara, who with her friends Sam, Gardenia and Britney won a national pop starlet competition. Now they are back at school with their song ‘Wannabe’ at the top of the pop charts. Life is good, everyone wants to know them. Everyone except disgraced former Strictly Stars member Alithia, who tells them they will soon be has-beens, yesterday’s news. A mysterious new singer, Thailia appears and her song races up the charts. As Thailia’s song heads to Number One, the Strictly Stars are struggling to maintain their place. If they fall too far, their planned tour will be cancelled. Someone is sending the girls emails, nasty ones designed to cause trouble. After resolving their misunderstandings, the Strictly Stars girls work together to discover who is trying to destroy them.

Strictly Stars is the sequel to Pop Starlets. While Strictly Stars reads well as a stand alone, readers who enjoy this book might well be tempted to look out for Pop Starlets. Kiara and her friends are a diverse bunch, living the dream of many young girls. Alithia and her mother are nasty villains, yet they do help to highlight the transience of fame and the lengths some will go to in achieving it. There is also a message about the work involved in being a pop star. This is a quickly moving story, suitable for 8-11 year old girls.

Strictly Stars, by Josie Montana
Lothian Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780734404466

This book is available online at Fishpond.

Peril Space Tours, by Richard Morden

My name is Captain Peril. When touring with us you’ll encounter many strange and possible dangerous puzzles.

Peril Space Tours offers a tour around the galaxy and is chock-a-block with unusual creatures on even more unusual planets. There are ‘flappadons’, ‘null masters’ and ‘wuffers’ for readers to meet as they complete mazes, number, pattern and visual puzzles. Not even the crew are safe as the space tour flips from planet to planet.

Space travel should be this much fun! Humour and maths blend in outrageous colours across the universe we have never known. Puzzle books have ceased to just be a collection of activities and have become a genre of their own. Another high quality puzzle book from Little Hare Books, Peril Space Tours is certain to find new space fans. Fun for early-mid primary readers.

Peril Space Tours by Richard Morden
Little Hare Books 2006
ISBN: 9781921049545

This book is available online at Fishpond.

Finding Heroes, by Dr Jon Carnegie and Jim Stynes

Whenever you fail a test you can bury your head in the sand and pretend it never happened. Or you can get up and try to do something about it.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and from all around us. Finding Heroes begins with the ordinary world and explores the notion of its safety in both positive and negative aspects. The authors encourage young people to venture beyond their ordinary world to see what they can discover about themselves and their world. Along the way, they discuss failure and mistakes and encourage readers to see the opportunities in their situation. This book facilitates considered decision-making and personal growth. Carnegie and Stynes have drawn examples of heroic behaviour from history, politics, sport, fiction and movies.

Finding Heroes is a magazine-styled book which intersperses information with anecdotes and first person reports. Information is in manageable bites and is reinforced using a wide range of examples. There are quotes from current sporting heroes like netballer Liz Ellis and swimmer Ian Thorpe and well-known international figures like Nelson Mandela, Anne Frank and Martin Luther King. There are personal stories from real people who share their mistakes as well as their triumphs. But what gives this book something extra is the use of fictional heroes like Charlie from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, Simba from ‘The Lion King’ and Frodo from ‘The Lord of the Rings’. They allow the serious subject of building resilience in our youth to be explored in an entertaining, accessible way. Each chapter is summarised at its end, reaffirming the messages throughout. Finding Heroes has wide application for 9-14 year olds. A wonderful resource.

Finding Heroes, by Dr Jon Carnegie and Jim Stynes
Allen & Unwin 2006
ISBN: 9780741147575

Al Dentay and the Incredible Spaghetti Machine, by Bruce Atherton

Something bad’s going to happen. I can smell it in the air like a whiff of rotten garbage. I’m washing the dishes as fast as I can but the plates are piling up so high I’m surrounded by the great wall of china.

Al Dentay washes dishes in his uncle’s famous pasta restaurant. Then Al and his uncle. Lorenzo, are injured in a freak kitchen accident. In the ambulance on the way to hospital, Lorenzo gives Al his ring and pleads with him to destroy the spaghetti machine. Al and his friends Tubsy and Snotty are pursued by the evil Gorgonzola and his thugs as they race to find Lorenzo’s secret machine. They discover that wonder-chef Lorenzo was also a scientific genius who has built the most incredible machine…so mind-blowingly valuable to Gorgonzola’s bosses that the boys’ lives are in danger.

Al Dentay and the Incredible Spaghetti Machine is super-paced and action-packed. There are plenty of puns along the way and some truly awful nicknames. Al is browbeaten by his father and the restaurant manager Gorgonzola. Tubsy has more techno-gizmos than 007, and Snotty is as tough as anyone called ‘snotty’ needs to be. The stakes are high and keep getting higher as Gorgonzola pursues Al and his mates. Most of the adult characters are unpleasant and deserve the misfortunes that they encounter. Upper-primary readers, especially boys, will revel in the action and the technology.

Al Dentay and the Incredible Spaghetti Machine, by Bruce Atherton
Lothian Books, 2007
ISBN: 9780734409829