Millie's Something Special, by Tania Cox & David Miller

Millie sighed. “How can I be brave? I’m too small to stomp and roar and my feather’s aren’t meant for flying.”

Poor Millie. A small dinosaur with a long feathery tale, she has no means of protecting herself from big, bad Reggie. Each of her friends has something special to make them feel brave. But not Millie. She doesn’t thinks he’ll ever find her something special. Until she comes across Reggie late at night and is surprised when her tail tickles him and makes him laugh. At last it seems she’s found her special skill.

Millie’s Special Something is a delightful tale about unique talents, bravery, friendship – and the fun of tickling, too. Tania Cox’ text is beautifully brought to life by the paper sculpture illustrations for which David Miller is well known, full of detail and quirkiness.

Youngsters will love the dinosaur characters, and the message is gentle. Suitable for early childhood classrooms and at home enjoyment.

Millie's Special Something

Millie’s Special Something, by Tania Cox & David Miller
Working Title Press, 2012
ISBN 9781921504389

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

Sam the Cat, by Sam Bowring & Andrew McLean

‘We never had this problem when you were a kitten,’ Jane told Sam. ‘We agreed to call you Sam right away. It was our favourite name.’
‘That’s right!’ said Ian. ‘We didn’t need to think about it at all. Maybe we should call the baby Sam, and give the cat a new name!’

Sam the cat is very happy living with his owners Jane and Ian – until Jane brings home a baby. Not only do Jae and Ian spend all their time doting on the new addition – but they also give it his name. Now Sam is expected to answer to Jack – and he’s not happy. In disgust, he takes a walk, the longest walk he’s ever taken, and before long he’s lost. Far from home. When Ian finally finds him, Sam doesn’t care wha they call him – as long as he can be home with his family.

Sam the Cat is a picture book based on the true story of how the author got his name. Trues story or not, youngsters will enjoy the idea of a cat facing an identity crisis, with echoes of the familiar story of sibling rivalry between toddlers and new babies. Illustrations, in pen, ink, watercolour and pastel, show a big-eyed ginger and white cat whose expressions evoke both sympathy and smiles.

Very cute.

Sam the Cat

Sam the Cat, by Sam Bowring & Andrew McLean
Working Title Press 2012
ISBN 9781921504297

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

Sister Madge's Book of Nuns, by Doug MacLeod & Craig Smith

Convents are religious places
Peaceful and sublime
Full of nuns with solemn faces
Praying all the time.
Through the arches dark and lofty
Meek as they can be
All the nuns are treading softly –
All except for me.

So begins Sister Madge’s Book of Nuns a book of irreverent verse which has delighted young readers since its first edition in 1986. Sister Madge Mappin and her fellow sisters from the Convent of Our Lady of Immense Proportions are now back in a new hardcover picture book edition, ready to be discovered by a new generation of readers.

The rollicking poems are silly, irreverent and naughty – but they are laugh out loud funny, cleverly crafted by the talented Doug MacLeod, and brought to life in the illustrations of Craig Smith. As well as Sister Madge, there is Sister Stephanie, a diminutive nun who gets her own back on a store manager who teases her for her shortness, Sister Christabel who adds laughter to the convent with a whoopee cushion and Sister Isobel who innocently (or not) feeds the children to the animals on a zoo visit.

Suitable for primary aged readers right through to adults, it is wonderful  to see this old favourite back in print.

Sister Madge's Book of Nuns

Sister Madge’s Book of Nuns, by Doug MacLeod & Craig Smith
This edition Working Title Press, 2012
ISBN 9781921504433

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

Piglet and Granny, by Margaret Wild & Stephen Michael King

Although Granny was soft and squishy, she was a lively as a family of leaping frogs. And she had such good ideas for things to do.
One morning Piglet waited and waited by the gate for Granny to arrive.
She waited and waited.
But Granny didn’t come.

Piglet loves Granny, and the things they do, but waiting for Granny to come and play is hard. Luckily she has her friends – Cow, Horse, Sheep and Duck – to reassure her and keep her company until Granny finally arrives. And with Granny’s arrival, the fun can begin!

Piglet and Granny is the third picture book featuring the delightful Piglet and various of her family members, as well as the other farm animals. Whilst each features Piglet and her farm animal friends, the three tales do manage to be different so that readers find them familiar but not repetitive. Stephen Michael King’s adorable illustrations bring the story to life with deceptively simple watercolour and ink outlines.

Piglet and Granny is an adorable offering, suitable for bedtime reading – or any time reading! First released in 2009, and now rereleased in paperback.

Piglet and Granny

Piglet and Granny, by Margaret Wild & Stephen Michael King
Working Title, 2011
ISBN 9781921504204

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

Can We Lick the Spoon Now? by Carol Goess

Dad and three children are at home sharing an ‘everyday’. Once the washing is hung, the children want to know what they will do next. Dad suggests making a cake. So begins the long wait until the children can lick the spoon. There’s fun to be had first as they mix all the ingredients. The baby sits on the floor and bangs pans, investigates cupboards and generally entertains him/herself. The children regularly chant the refrain that provides the title. Finally, it’s time to lick the spoon, but there’s still waiting to be done before the cake is cool enough and iced and they can eat it. Illustrations are in pencil, gouache and some collage and provide baby with his/her own story, not alluded to in the text. The cover has a very identifiable red-with-white-spots spine and a soft lemon coloured front and back.

The text for Can We Lick the Spoon Now? is simple and the cake-making a gentle activity but many readers will relate to the stages involved before it’s possible to eat the cake. The addition of Baby’s visual story provides a second narrative that may not be seen on first reading, but supports rereading. There is a delightful calmness to the cake-making despite some of the challenges that can come with small children in the kitchen. As well as guiding his three children through the cake-making, Dad is doing the washing, and even a little shopping. There’s a lovely twist at the end that is at once real and surprising. Recommended for pre-school and early-primary aged children. (And anyone who’s ever made a cake with small children!)

Can We Lick the Spoon Now?

Can We Lick the Spoon Now?? Carol Goess, ill Tamsin Ainslie
Working Title Press 2010
ISBN: 9781921504167

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

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

Now I Am Bigger, by Sherryl Clark & Nina Rycroft

look, there’s someone
just like me

hands on head
arms out wide
touch my nose
tickle my ears
that baby does
everything I do

From the moments after birth, to a birthday party, Now I am Bigger captures the big and little moments of a baby’s life. Similar in format to a verse novel, this picture book offering consists of a series of free verse poems each focussing on one of baby’s experiences – being wrapped in a light cocoon after birth, floating in a bath, looking in a mirror, learning to crawl and walk – and brought to life in gentle water colour and pencil illustrations.

The poems can be read separately, but together create a lovely exploration of the world of a baby. Perfect for read aloud to the very young, the gentle rhythm of the text could be used as a bedtime story, but will also appeal to older children who have babies in their lives.

Now I am Bigger

Now I am Bigger, by Sherryl Clark & Nina Rycroft
Working Title, 2010
ISBN 9781921504174

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

Louie the Pirate Chef, by Simon Mitchell & Ben Wood

Louie didn’t want to be a pirate.
He wanted to be a chef.

When Louie’s parents sign him up for Captain Blackheart’s crew, Louie has trouble listening to the Captain and joining in the crew’s escapades – because he is too busy dreaming of cooking delicious dishes. The other pirates laugh at Louie’s dreams, but when their ship leaves them stranded on an island, with nothing to eat, it is Louie who comes to the rescue.

Louie the Pirate Chef is a light hearted story about following your dreams. With lots of pirate silliness, brought to life in the watercolour and ink illustrations of Ben Wood, this is a title which will make kids giggle.

‘Arrrr!’

Louie the Pirate Chef

Louie the Pirate Chef, by Simon Mitchell & Ben Wood
Working Title, 2010
ISBN 9781921504051

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

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant

In a tall house on a hill…there’s a box. Inside the box there’s a towel. And curled up in the towel is Puggle. Puggle is a baby echidna.

Once Puggle lived safe and warm in is mother’s pouch, but one day there was a loud bang and mother stopped swaying. Puggle was picked up and brought to the tall house, where he is cared for with other sick and injured animals. As he grows, other animals in the house recover and return to the wild. Then, finally, the day comes when it is time for Puggle to go back to the forest.

Puggle is the touching story of an orphaned baby echidna (a puggle), based on a true account. It is also the story of the role of wildlife carers in healing and rehabilitating native animals. With bright acrylic illustrations and fact filled endpapers, and enough factual information for classroom use and enough story to entertain, this hard cover picture book is a perfect blend of heart-warming story and educational offering.

Puggle

Puggle, by Catriona Hoy & Andrew Plant
Working Title Press, 2010

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

Crocodile River, by Diana Lawrenson

Cranky escaped swiftly through the muddy water.
‘This river has too many crocodiles,’ she thought.
‘I need a place where there’s plenty of food for me.’

Even before she hatches from the egg, Cranky the crocodile’s life is a constant battle for survival. Predators steal unhatched eggs from the mother crocodile’s nest and, after the eggs have hatched, snatch baby crocodiles, too. Even as she grows, Cranky must avoid being trapped by human hunters, or eaten by bigger crocodiles. What Cranky really needs is a place of her own.

Crocodile River is a fictional story of one crocodile’s journey from egg to adulthood, but it is also the story of both the life cycle of a crocodile, and of the crocodile’s fight for survival.

With rich acrylic illustrations by Danny Snell, and end papers laden with lots of crocodile facts this beautiful picture book is both entertaining and educational. Delightful.

Crocodile River

Crocodile River, by Diana Lawrenson and Danny Snell
Working Title, 2009

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

Piglet and Granny, by Margaret Wild & Stephen Michael King

Although Granny was soft and squishy, she was a lively as a family of leaping frogs. And she had such good ideas for things to do.
One morning Piglet waited and waited by the gate for Granny to arrive.
She waited and waited.
But Granny didn’t come.

Piglet loves Granny, and the things they do, but waiting for Granny to come and play is hard. Luckily she has her friends – Cow, Horse, Sheep and Duck – to reassure her and keep her company until Granny finally arrives. And with Granny’s arrival, the fun can begin!

Piglet and Granny is the third picture book featuring the delightful Piglet and various of her family members, as well as the other farm animals. Whilst each features Piglet and her farm animal friends, the three tales do manage to be different so that readers find them familiar but not repetitive. Stephen Michael King’s adorable illustrations bring the story to life with deceptively simple watercolour and ink outlines.

Piglet and Granny is an adorable offering, suitable for bedtime reading – or any time reading!

Piglet and Granny

Piglet and Granny, by Margaret Wild & Stephen Michael King
Working Title, 2009

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