Jasper McFlea Will Not Eat His Tea, by Lee Fox & Mitch Vane

Jasper McFlea will NOT eat his tea.
His twin sister, Ginger, eats all she can see,
a soup made from parsnips and spinach and peas,
then says when she’s finished,
‘I’d like some more please.’
But Jasper McFlea will NOT eat his tea.

Jasper McFlea is a fussy eater. He rejects most foods, based on smell or appearance and for no apparent reason at all. He won’t eat his tea, neither will he eat his dinner, or any other meal. His excuses are many and varied, his refusal absolute. The only one pleased by all of this is the family dog, Buffy, recipient of all Jasper’s rejected food. Jasper’s family are at a loss to know what to do. Jasper continues to refuse almost every food until his parents have had enough. Something has to change. A canny solution is needed if Jasper is to star on the field at cricket. When a way out is offered, the family hold their breath to see Jasper’s response. The solution is in his hands alone. Mitch Vane has used black outlines and broad, bright watercolour strokes to sympathetically convey the emotions of all family members as they seek a solution to Jasper’s intractability.

Jasper McFlea Will Not Eat His Tea presents a scenario familiar in many households – dinnertime as battlefield. Parents reading this story will recognise many of the strategies they have employed in encouraging children to eat a variety of nutritious food. Children however will read a different story. They will enjoy the rhythm and rhyme of the words and the rollicking text as it moves around the page. They can also follow the visual stories of Jasper and the various family members. For example, Ginger, his sister, has plenty of energy, providing a contrast with Jasper’s increasing lethargy. Her advice that this food refusal will ‘end in disaster’ reinforce their parents’ concerns. Buffy the dog can be seen doing some growing of his own. Good fun. Recommended for 4-7 yo.

Jasper McFlea Will Not Eat His Tea

Jasper McFlea Will Not Eat His Tea, Lee Fox ill Mitch Vane
Lothian 2009
ISBN: HB 9780734410627 PB 9780734410993

Mummies are Amazing, by Catriona Hoy & Annie White

Mummies are for amazing things.

Daddy thinks Mummy is for doing the shopping, and Grandad thinks Mummy is for finding glasses, but the young narrator of this story knows that mummies are for much more important things – mummies are for doing amazing things. From making snakes out of stockings and buses out of boxes, to kissing sore knees better and organising prefect parties, Mummies are amazing – but sometimes they need to FEEL amazing – and then it is up to the people around them to do amazing things for them.

Mummies are Amazing is a delightful book about the wonderful things that mummies do, filled with humour and the joy of families. The mummy in the story and illustrations is lively, lovely and filled with enthusiasm. It seems nothing is too hard for her – from making chicken costumes, to removing splinters and scaring away monsters. The illustrations have lots of cute touches that don’t just bring the text to life, but also provide plenty for children to find and explore.

This gorgeous book is perfect for reading aloud, and would make a lovely gift for Mothers Day.

Mummies are Amazing, by Catriona Hoy & Annie White
Lothian, 2009

Zoltan the Magnificent, by Bob Graham

Jack never saw much of his Dad, who left early for work and got back late at night. Sometimes Jack got up to see his Dad.
‘Never enough time,’ said Dad, and was gone.
Just a cold teabag left behind in the kitchen sink.

Jack doesn’t see much of Dad – and when he does, Dad seems to be impatient and not much fun. So, when the family goes on holiday, Jack think it’s Mum who will be the most fun. But as Dad unwinds, Jack sees an unexpected side of Dad. Perhaps Dad can be fun, after all. Dad, too, learns from Jack and the rest of the family, and learns to take life a little less seriously.

Zoltan the Magnificent is a lovely tale of family togetherness and rediscovery. The events of the family holiday are told in detail, with tricks played, adventures had and lessons learnt all featuring – from peas rolling across the floor of a restaurant, to walks on the beach and family entertainment – with the reader privileged to observe these scenes, through Bob Graham’s delightful word-pictures and his whimsical illustrations. First published in 2004, Zoltan the Magnificent has been reprinted to be available to a new young audience.

Zoltan the Magnificent

Zoltan the Magnificent, by Bob Graham
Lothian, this edition 2008, first published in 1994

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

What Willow Knew, by June Colbert

My name is Sarah Carter, and, when I was sixteen, my aunt disappeared.
Missing presumed dead, was how the police put it. .
My beloved auntie and legal guardian, missing, presumed dead? .
Don’t think so! Not my Willow! .
She was too smart and tough to get killed. She was too paranoid to get killed.

Sarah is seventeen and has lived with her unconventional aunt Willow since her mother died five years ago. Willow used to be a hippy and is still slightly less than conventional. But with her disappearance, Sarah has to move in with her father, his second wife and their family. Sarah still blames Sandy, her stepmother, for the break-up of her parents’ marriage. Moving in with them, sharing a room with ‘the baby’, just makes Sarah more determined to find her aunt and to get her life back. With the help of two friends, the mysterious ‘Hawk’ and an old diary, Sarah discovers more about her aunt’s past. She also hopes to find clues that might lead her to Willow.

What Willow Knew is an intriguing title and this is an intriguing read. The central story question is very clear. What did Willow know and does it have anything to do with her disappearance? Sarah’s childhood has moved in roughly five year stages. First she lives with her parents, then with her mother after her parents’ divorce, then with Willow until her disappearance. When What Willow Knew begins, Sarah is entering a new stage – post-Willow’s disappearance. As well as searching for her aunt, Sarah has a lot of adjusting to do. She has little understanding of, or empathy for, the effect the changes to her life have on others around her. Only as she learns more about her aunt, and realises that she may not come back, does she slowly develop new relationships with her ‘new’ family. Themes of loss, adjustment and family structures sit next to power, corruption, conspiracy theories and long-kept secrets. The reader moves back and forth from the present to the 30-years-ago world of the university student Willow, until the two worlds connect across time. Recommended for upper-primary to mid-secondary students.

What Willow Knew

What Willow Knew, June Colbert
Lothian 2007
ISBN: 9780734409973

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

Daddies, by Catriona Hoy

Mummy thinks that daddies are for washing dishes.
That’s NOT what daddies are for!

It seems that lots of people have the wrong idea about daddies. Mum has an idea, sister Charlotte has an idea. Even Grandma has an idea. But they are wrong, wrong, wrong! Daddies are for wild things. Daddies are for the fun things, the push-the-boundaries things, the exciting things. Catriona Hoy takes the reader on a wild journey through the wonderful things that make daddies so very special. Daddy sometimes looks like he’s on a roller coaster journey, destination unknown. This doesn’t for a minute diminish his energy or enthusiasm.

Children develop different relationships with all the people in their lives, and that includes family. Parents may stand together to present a united front on some matters, but still the father-child relationship will be a different one to the mother-child one. Catriona Hoy provides a joyous and loving look at the strengths of the wonderful relationship between father and child. Mal Webster’s humourous illustrations show a range of perspectives and angles as father and children romp through the pages. Text tips and tumbles around the action. Rooms distort to contain the characters and their exuberance. Daddies is a portrait-format, paper back with an informal text type that hints at the story tone within. Recommended for 3-7 year olds.

Daddies, Catriona Hoy and Mal Webster
Lothian Books 2008
ISBN: 9780734410849

Scribble Sunset, by Ann Shenfield

I’m going to follow the sun.
I’m going to keep walking
until I get to where it sets.
One thing about clouds
is that you can
breathe them.

A small girl is determined to follow the sun to discover just where it sets. Scribble Sunset meanders its way from this beginning through the nature of clouds and more, to the different ways that people see. The main character is a dreamy child, seeing faces and possibility everywhere. The one person she wishes to avoid, seemingly because of his lack of imagination, is Jones. Jones deals in facts. His mother might think ‘he is such a sweet pea’ but this small girl is unconvinced. But of course, she does encounter Jones. He joins her quest whether he is welcome or not.

Scribble Sunset is a picture story book for slightly older children. It is as much about life and philosophy as it is about the pursuit of a particular goal. There is a plot, where Jones is the antagonist, the obstacle to a small girl reaching her goal. But there is much more. There are insights into the connected/unconnected nature of daydreaming and how this can lead to unexpected discoveries. There are suggestions about letting go of expectations in order to see clearly. The illustrations are in watercolour, full of scribbles and almost abstract images. The colours are beautiful. They wander through the pages much as the character wanders through her journey. Recommended for early- to mid-primary readers, philosophers, lovers of drawing, daydreaming and watercolours.

Scribble Sunset, written and illustrated Ann Shenfield
Lothian Children’s Books 2008
ISBN: 9780734410634

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

The Pumpkin Eater from Pondicherry, by Bruce Atherton

One night when I was lying in my
warm and cosy bed,
a shadow at the window stood
the hair up on my head.

I grabbed my biggest teddy bear
and lifted up the blind,
and what I saw was so unreal
it nearly blew my mind.

The strangest things appear at night. One night, outside the window of the small child main character, a shadow appears. The shadow belongs to a pumpkin eater from Pondicherry. But this greedy guts is a gourmand and will eat just about anything in Grandad’s garden on his way to the pumpkins. The small child decides that will not do. He/she challenges the pumpkin eater, but the pumpkin eater is determined to eat pumpkin, even if that means eating the child first. Undaunted, the child hatches a plan to beat the pumpkin eater at his greedy game. There are bios on the back page with the imprint details.

The Pumpkin Eater from Pondicherry is a delightful piece of nonsense. Small children often experience fears about strange and mysterious night noises. Atherton gives the mystery a shape and a purpose and the child some tools to banish the monster. The monster is ghoulishly grotesque and the child brave and resourceful. The rhyming text keeps the tone light, balancing Ben Redlich’s sometimes dark images. Spreads are saturated with colour with text in red, white or black to ensure ease of reading. The monster grows larger and more ugly until the child’s solution reduces him back to manageable size. Romping good fun. Recommended for early primary aged readers.

The Pumpkin Eater from Pondicherry, by Bruce Atherton, Ill Ben Redlich
Lothian 2008
ISBN: 9780734410238

Vampires of Quentaris, by Paul Collins

Rad held his breath as a squad of tall humanoids passed by within yards of his hiding place. Vampires. The creatures had long, flowing hair, inhuman faces with jaws like those of snakes and jutting razor-sharp fangs. They were exquisitely dressed in black and maroon garments. Cloaks with strange hieroglyphs inscribed upon them hung from their shoulders as they strode purposefully down a trail. Their elegance seemed incongruous in this underworld.

When Rad de La’rel returns from a trip into the rift caves, he is shocked to find Quentaris unguarded. Quentaris is at war with neighbouring Tolrush, and every able-bodied fighter has gone. Taking advantage of the lack of security, vampires have come through the rift cave and are ready to take control of the city. Rad must fight this scourge, but he can’t do it alone and willing helpers are hard to find in the face of such a formidable foe.

Vampires of Quentaris is one of the final two titles in the Quentaris Chronicles series produced by Lothian books. The city of Quentaris is built near rift caves which open into countless worlds, and make Quentaris both a place of adventure and the site of diverse troubles. The arrival of vampires in the city makes for an exciting adventure which young fantasy fans will enjoy.

Exciting stuff.

Vampires of Quentaris, by Paul Collins
Lothian, 2008

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

Lofty's Mission, by Krista Bell

When Harley’s dad takes his young pigeon, Lofty, to donate for the war effort, Harley cries, sure that he’ll never see Lofty again. In Queensland, Lofty is trained by army officers to carry important messages, before being sent to New Guinea. There he flies hundreds of miles carrying messages from the field back to headquarters. When his platoon is ambushed, Lofty is injured as he carries a message, but survives. No longer able to fly, he is awarded a bravery medal and sent home to a relieved Harley.

Lofty’s Mission is a beautiful picture book telling a side of Australia’s wartime history that few children (or adults) would know about . Whilst Lofty’s tale is fictional, Australian breeders donated more than 13, 000 baby messengers to the army during 1942 and 1943, to be trained as messenger pigeons.

The text is wonderfully brought to life by the paper sculpture artwork of David Miller, an art form which will delight young readers. Released in time for ANZAC Day 2008, this superb book is suitable both for classroom use and private enjoyment.

Lofty’s Mission, by Krista Bell & David Miller
Lothian, 2008

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

My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day, by Catriona Hoy

I sit on Daddy’s shoulders.
It’s a very long wait, but my grandad will come.
My grandad marches on Anzac Day.

Anzac Day is an important remembrance of the men and women who have fought and died for our country throughout our history. Whilst few would refute the import of the day, it is not always an easy concept to share with young children.

In My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day, talented new author Catriona Hoy, makes the story of Anzac Day accessible to children through a telling of one Anzac Day through the eyes of a granddaughter who goes to the Anzac Day parade to watch her grandfather march. She shares her observations of the day very realistically – from the observation of how cold it is at dawn, to the way Grandad smiles at her as he proudly marches past. She explains why her grandad marches – and what Anzac Day means – in very simple terms.

The illustrations, painted in acrylic and mixed media by Benjamin Johnson, are richly textured and present the scenes of the parade and of war in a way which does not gloss over the reality, but is still appropriate for young viewers.

This is an outstanding introduction to an important ceremony and will be invaluable as a classroom resource, but should also find a home in every family library.

First published in hardcover in 2006, My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day has been released in paperback in time for Anzac Day.

Brilliant.

My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day

My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day, by Catriona Hoy and Benjamin Johnson Lothian, 2006, 2008

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