Ramose – Valley of the Tombs, by Carole Wilkinson

Spoilt, selfish Prince Ramose is next in line for the throne. And someone wants him dead.

Ramose is a spoilt young prince, who finds himself the target of a murder plot. For his own safety he is sent to work in the Valley of the Tombs, to work as an apprentice for a scribe. He now has to learn the humble life of a commoner. Along the way he learns much more as he makes new friends and enemies.

Ramose: Valley of the Tombs is a thrilling adventure, set in Ancient Egypt. It can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Lots of excitement and gripping tales await the reader of this book.

A great read from an award-winning author.

Ramose: Valley of the Tombs (bindup)

Ramose: Valley of the Tombs, by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog, 2009

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

The Great Barrier Reef Book, by Dr Mark Normann

The Great Barrier Reef is like a gigantic underwater forest. It is over 2000 kilometres long and every corner is teeming with colourful animals. Everything is alive or made by living creatures.

Coral is made up of millions of tiny star-shaped animals known as polyps. All the polyps in one coral colony work together to make the hard parts of the coral. Different types of corals grow in different ways to make wonderful shapes and sizes.

The Great Barrier Reef is a living treasure, unique to Australia. It’s been there for thousands of years and is home to animals big and small, shy and bold. The Great Barrier Reef Book introduces many of the animals who call the reef home. Millions of individual coral polyps work together to make the coral reef. Without them, none of the other animals could survive. And even they survive only because of even tinier plants that draw energy from the sun. Many animals cooperate to survive, just like the coral and the plants that live on them. For example, clown fish can move safely within the tentacles of the anemone by covering themselves with a thin slime that is not recognised by the anemone as foreign. The illustrations are mostly photos and fact boxes provide further information. There is a guide to the food and predator of animals featured, and a visual guide relates their size to humans.

The Great Barrier Reef Book is not designed to reveal everything about the reef. It wouldn’t be possible. But it is a sampler, offering brief, factual delights to tempt the reader. The photos bring many animals, large and small close enough to have a good luck. Information is specific and meaty while accessible to the target audience. Contents page, index, glossary all offer navigational tools to assist discovery. There are subject headings to entice the reluctant reader, from ‘Sneaky Slugs’, ‘A Fish Carwash’ and ‘A Snot Sleeping Bag’, but enough information for the hungriest of young readers. The first opening indicates that climate change is not good for the reef and a final opening provides some simple changes that every family can make to help. Recommended for junior-primary and beyond.

The Great Barrier Reef Book: Solar Powered

The Great Barrier Reef Book: Solar Powered, Dr Mark Norman
Black Dog Books 2009
ISBN: 9781742030319

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

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

A Book for Kids, by C. J. Dennis

There’s a very funny insect that you do not often spy,
And it isn’t quite a spider, and it isn’t quite a fly:
It is something like a beetle, and a little like a bee,
But nothing like a wooly grub that climbs upon a tree.

Many Australian parents (and grandparents) would remember learning the lines above – from the poem The Triantiwontigongolope. Now the poem, and many others, is available for a new generation of young Aussies to enjoy, with the rerelease of A Book for Kids. First published in 1921, and enjoyed at home and in schools ever since, the book has been reproduced with the original illustrations in black, white and red, and with titles and page headers in red. The addition of a foreword by Andy Griffiths will help draw young readers in, and the stories and poems will do the best.

Although some of the language and subject matter will be unfamiliar to children, the sense of fun is timeless, and the ‘old fashioned’ material will have a novelty value rather than make the text inaccessible.

Along with the aforementioned Triantiwontigongolope, the book includes poems such as The Ant Explorer and Hist and stories including The Little Red House. This is a book for children of every generation, and one which parents and grandparents will enjoy sharing.

A Book for Kids, by C. J. Dennis
This edition black dog, 2009

Magic Mummy, by Caroline Stills

My mummy has magic hands. She can brush my hair without hurting me
She has a magic body. She grew me in her tummy.
My mummy’s hugs are magic too.
They let me know I’m loved.

Just in time for Mother’s Day next weekend, this is a delightful picture book celebration of the bond between mother and child. The young narrator opens by telling the reader that her mummy is magic, then elaborates by sharing the different ways in which her mummy is magic.

The text is simple and gentle, with the ways the mummy is magic being things most children (and parents) will relate to – mum knowing how to make things better, seemingly having eyes in the back of her head, and so on. The pastel colours of the illustrations add to this gentle feel, with the pictures showing mother and daughter engaged in everyday tasks.

This would make a lovely Mother’s Day or new baby gift, making lovely bed time reading.

Magic Mummy, by Caroline Still, illustrated by Christina Miesen
black dog, 2009

Dragon Dawn, by Carole Wilkinson

Danzi walked over to a snow-covered mound. In previous years, the sleepless winters had passed quickly and pleasantly. He’d had the company of his Dragonkeeper, Chen-mo. They had sat around a cheerful fire, composing poetry, playing chess and reading from the one bamboo book that the Dragonkeeper had owned. This year, Danzi would spend the winter alone.

Danzi is nearly 1000 years old – young for a dragon. Once again he is without a keeper, and this time he has decided he does not need a new one. But he must travel, and with soldiers on the march and unrest throughout the provinces, it is a dangerous time for a dragon to be without a keeper. When he meets a trickster called Bingwen on the road, his determination to be alone does not waver.

Dragon Dawn is a delightful prequel to the award winning Dragonkeepr trilogy. Shorter in length than the books in the trilogy, it offers a glimpse of the dragon Danzi’s life which can be read alone, or as an introduction or follow up to the other books.

This is a wonderful fantasy story, allowing fans to enjoy more of Danzi’s adventures and his life.

Dragon Dawn, by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog, 2008

A Story of Natural Numbers, by David Demant

What is a natural number? We can’t pick it up. We can’t see it. It cannot be felt, touched, smelled or looked at. A number is an idea…

Whilst mathematics is often regarded as a very logical subject, the development of the language of counting was not necessarily logical. Systems of counting developed over time, arising in response to new needs as societies evolved. The system which we use today is a result of this evolution, an evolution which has a fascinating history.

A Story of Natural Numbers is a nonfiction offering which explores and explains how numbers came to be, where they came from, and what they mean. As well as this explanation, the book offers a wide range of facts, anecdotes and even jokes, with the text spread out in a design which is both colourful and nonthreatening. There is plenty of graphical support and interest, with rocket ships, silly sheep and more on every page.

Aimed at upper primary and lower secondary readers, A Story of Natural Numbers is suitable both for individual reading and classroom use.

A Story of Natural Numbers

A Story of Natural Numbers, by David Demant
Black Dog, 2008

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

A Bush Christmas, by CJ Dennis, ill by Dee Huxley

The sun burns hotly thro’ the gums
As down the road old Rogan comes –
The hatter from the lonely hut
Beside the track to Woollybutt.
He likes to spend his Christmas with us here.
He says a man gets sort of strange
Living alone without a change,
Gets sort of settled in his way;
And so he comes each Christmas day
To share a bite of tucker and a beer.

Whilst in recent years there have a wonderful range of children’s book offerings which attempt to reflect what Christmas is like in Australia, in 1931, when CJ Dennis wrote A Bush Christmas, Christmas traditions were still largely influenced by Northern Hemisphere practises. Dennis attempted, through his humorous poem, to paint a picture of an Outback Christmas, with families struggling with heat, and the hardships of rural life. The family in the poem share Christmas with a lonely neighbour, and enjoy his tales of Christmas in colder climes, which seem so far removed from what they have.

In this delightful picture book offering, illustrator Dee Huxley brings the classic poem to life with beautiful, whimsical pastel illustrations, capturing the humour of the tale and the rustic quality of the location.

This is a wonderful offering, combining a classic poem with the illustrative work of a popular contemporary illustrator and would make a great Christmas gift for any age.

A Bush Christmas, by C.J. Dennis, illustrated by Dee Huxley
Black Dog, 2008

Dragon Moon, by Carole Wilkinson

Everything was bathed in orange blight. The breeze rippled the grass. There were bushes covered with yellow blossom. The grass was speckled with purple bells and spikes of blue flowers. A stream cut its way across the plateau before it plunged over the edge and became the Serpent’s Tail. Long Gao Yuan was just as Ping had imagined.
A sorrowful sound broke the silence. It was Kai. It made Ping’s heart ache.

For more than a year Ping and Kai have sheltered at Beibai Palace, but now Ping knows they must continue their journey. Ping is the last dragon keeper, charged with the care of Kai, the last dragon. She must take Kai to safety, but where this safety lies is not yet clear. All she has is a message from Danzi, Kai’s now dead father.

Together the pair cross China, searching for the haven Danzi has instructed them to find. Along the way they encounter old friends, and many perils, but gradually Ping unravels the clues Danzi has given,. When they reach the dragon haven, Kai will be safe and there might even be other dragons to help raise him. Or are they in for more heartbreak?

Dragon Moon is the brilliant third and final instalment in the Dragonkeeper trilogy, by award winning author Carole Wilkinson. This superb fantasy offering will have readers from ten to adult enthralled, turning pages eagerly to keep up with Ping and Kai’s journey. The ancient Chinese setting and the wonderful rendering of the dragon characters carries the reader into the fantasy world that Wilkinson has created, suspending disbelief with ease.

The only negative about this book is that it marks the end of such an awe-inspiring trilogy.

Dragon Moon, by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog Books, 2007

Ramose and the Tomb Robbers, by Carole Wilkinson

Prince Ramose, once the spoilt son of the Pharaoh, is in exile. His father and all the royal court think he is dead. Ramose is determined to rejoin his father and claim his rightful position. But when he is captured by Tomb-Robbers and made to conspire in stripping ancient tombs of their riches, the situation seems hopeless.

Ramose and the Tomb Raiders is the second book in the Ramose series by Carole Wilkinson. Ramose continues his journey with his unlikely friends, the apprentice painter, Hapu and the slave girl, Karoya. Along the way they make more surprising friends and meet up with old enemies.

Wilkinson combines her knowledge of Egyptian history with her creative flair to produce a book which will delight young readers aged 10 to 13, especially those with an interest in the time of the Pharaohs and the Pyramids.

The series is well suited both to private reading and to classroom or library collections. First released in 2001, it has just been re-released with a new cover and design.

Ramose and the Tomb Robbers, by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog Books, 2001, this edition 2006

Open Wide Tooth School Inside, by Laurie Keller

Dental hygiene is an important topic for children, both in the classroom and at home. In this offering the author attempts to use a humorous approach to teaching important facts. Using a blend of fact and fiction (faction), she presents a day in the school life of a class of teeth and their teacher, Dr Flossman. The good Doctor guides the class through lessons in tooth structure, tooth roles, tooth care and more. The importance of baby teeth, the realities of a trip to the dentist and interesting facts about the teeth through history are all discussed.

This is a hard one to judge. There are a lot of humorous asides and one liners which are there to entertain rather than inform, but there are also many important facts. The book was written for the US market and, whilst the spelling and grammar have been adapted, this does show through in places, including the scene of the teeth beginning the day with a Pledge of Allegiance to the mouth. This aside, kids will enjoy the cartoon illustrations and the jokes, and may even learn something.

Open Wide: Tooth School Inside, by Laurie Keller
Black Dog Books, 2005 (First published by Henry Holt, 2000)

This review first appeared in Reading Time magazine.