Tag: working title

Baby Gets Dressed, by Katrina Germein & Sascha Hutchinson

It’s time to get dressed.
But what will Baby wear?

This cute little board book is a simple rhyming story of baby getting dressed for the day, and a seek and find book rolled into one. On each spread the text indicates the next item which baby will wear, while the left hand illustration shows happy baby dressed in previous items and playing. The right hand page shows five of the new item, in different patterns and colours, with the young reader invited to find the correct item for baby to wear.

The rhyming text scans well, making it easy to read and to predict text, whilst the illustrations, using bright collage materials, will engage young viewers.

Baby gest Dressed is suitable for birth to preschool aged children.

Baby Gets Dressed [Board book]

Baby gest Dressed, by Katrina Germein & Sascha Hutchinson
Working Title, 2009

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

Short Stuff, by Mark Stevens

(from Winning the Wink)
Henson Hobecker loved soccer. He was a soccer fanatic. He was a soccer freakoid. He loved it more than chocolate, even. Which is’t to say that Henson Hobecker didn’t like chocolate – he would have thumb-wrestled just about anyone for a handful of chocolate! He just loved soccer more.
Henson’s team was the Highcliff Cove Under 12s, and his bedroom was a shrine to the sport he worshipped. Every centimetre of wall was covered with posters and clippings of his favourite Manchester United players, even the ones who didn’t play that often.

Short Stuff is, as the title suggests, a series of short stories about all sorts of ‘stuff’. Read about amazing soccer games and the dangers inherent in trying to change your appearance…even the tiniest bit. Discover what it is that makes someone special and experience the creepiest of practical jokes. It’s all here. There are stories about good luck and stories about the advantages of honesty. Ten short stories. Ten tall tales. Titles range from the intriguing, ‘$42.10’ to the mysterious, ‘Flathead at Porcupine Beach’. There is also the identifiably gross ‘Tom’s Magic Booger’.

Short Stuff, a collection of ten short stories, is a mix of unbound imagination and outrageous humour. Mark Stevens sets off on a riotous adventure and pulls readers with him into a world often unfettered by reality. It’s a great fun place to visit. Stories are short enough to entice reluctant readers and there is an index at the front so they can skip through to whichever story most takes their fancy. Characters seem to be around 11-13 years old and all exhibit the enthusiasm and physicality of the age group. There are challenges, mysteries and journeys into self-awareness. But more importantly, the stories are fast-paced and laugh-out-loud-funny. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers, and older reluctant readers.

Short Stuff, Mark Stevens
Working Title Press 2008
ISBN:9781876288945

Boom Bah by Phil Cummings & Nina Rycroft

Ting!
Shhh! Listen!
What’s that sound?

A mouse tings a teaspoon against a cup. Then a cat tongs a spoon against a tin. And the show is on. Other animals hear and want to join in. First they listen, then they warm up. Then they play. Out into the farmyard they go. Now everyone’s joining in, including mother hen and her chicks, dancing and making music. They are joined by more and more animal musicians and Boom Bah! the music becomes louder and culminates in a final joyous crescendo. Illustrations show smiling, celebrating animals caught in the joy of music and performance.

Boom Bah! is written for the very young. The story is simple. The illustrations are gentle watercolours. Boom Bah! starts with a single sound and ends with the ‘Tah-Dah!’ following the cacophony of the animals. Beautiful watercolour animals dance through each opening, sharing and spreading joy. Their simple music is reinforced and extended by the arrival of a liveried band, complete with band leader on bike, and a wide variety of instruments. Lock up your kitchen drawers and cupboards – little musicians everywhere are going to be being inspired to create their own sounds! Ideal for 3-5 year olds.

Boom Bah!, Phil Cummings ill Nina Rycroft
Working Title Press 2008
ISBN: 9781876288907

Captain Congo and the Crocodile King, by Ruth Starke

‘If I’m not mistaken, a whiff of Africa on the breeze this morning, Pug.’
‘I thought it was grilled sardines.’
‘Not a cloud on the horizon.’
‘There is something on the horizon, Captain, look!’

Captain Congo and his offsider, Pug, are off on an African adventure, on behalf of ‘The Agency’. Their mission is to find a missing person, Professor Perky, last seen in Abyssinia. The pair set off, first boarding an African steamer. They are warned the cabin is a little rough. Pug is concerned about his bedding and the food, but Captain Congo takes it all in his stride. They arrive in Soddhu and search for clues and transport for the next stage of their journey. They discover the purpose of Perky’s expedition and set off into the jungle. After an unplanned swim with the crocodiles, they abandon their meandering and begin to search in earnest. It’s not long before they reach a village, and learn the fate of Professor Perky.

Captain Congo and the Crocodile King is a wonderfully exciting tale, in the style of the ‘grand adventure’ made popular by the Tin Tin series and also by the Asterix books. The main characters are clothed animals (gorilla and penguin), but the rest of the cast are human or animals-behaving-as-animals (particularly the mosquitoes. There is a delightfully wicked tongue-in-cheek quality to both the writing and the illustrations. Captain Congo is a wise and canny hero, while Pug does some of the ‘grunt’ work. He makes it clear that he’d prefer an adventure in a colder climate. Captain Congo and the Crocodile is a large format hardback, similar in size to Tin Tin books. Like these stories, ‘Captain Congo and the Crocodile King’ is sure to find a broad readership. The front cover features the heroes battling a very large crocodile and is sure to entice mid-primary readers. It would also suit less confident older readers. Recommended for those who enjoyed Tin Tin and Asterix, and for readers new to the genre.

Captain Congo and the Crocodile King, Ruth Starke ill Greg Holfeld
working title press 2008
ISBN: 9781876288914

Pig Out, by Sascha Hutchinson

Every day, five little pigs eat their fill of a new food. On Monday it’s porridge, on Tuesday it’s parsnips and so on. But whilst four of the pigs eat well and grow bigger, one little pig seems not to be eating. He isn’t growing at all. Why isn’t he eating? All is revealed, when after five days of eating healthy foods, on Saturday the little pig gets his turn and eats pizza.

This is a funny, cute title for the very young with minimal text and unique collage illustrations. It took this adult reader a couple of reads to pick up that the little pig wasn’t growing, but when I read it to my youngster he picked it up straight away!

Popular since its first release in 1999, Pig Out has been re-released in paperback format.

Pig Out, by Sascha Hutchinson
This edition Working Title Press, 2006

Ben the Post-Mouse, by Emily Rodda

Ben the post-mouse spends his days delivering letters to every house in Mouseville. He loves his job, and the people of Mouseville love him – but nobody ever writes to Ben. Ben has a great plan to make sure he gets some letters – he advertises for a Pen Pal. But soon he has more letters coming in than he can handle. Can his Squeak Street friends help him to sort out his problem?

Ben the Post Mouse is part of the Squeak Street series, each focussing on the story of one resident of Squeak Street. Young readers will enjoy the humour of a the situation here – a postman who never gets letters of his own – and will also appreciate the acceptability of the story, which is designed to be read alone by beginning readers making the transition to first chapter books..

Ben the Post-Mouse is a cute offering.

Ben the Post Mouse, by Emily Rodda, illustrated by Andrew McLean
Working Title, 2006

The Smallest Bilby and the Midnight Star, by Nette Hilton and Bruce Whatley

Every night the smallest bilby looks up at the midnight sky and searches for his favourite star – the smallest one that hangs close to the edge of the sky. Every night she shines down on him. But one night, fearful that she may go away and never come back, the smallest bilby decides to give her something that will make her remember him forever and always.

The Littlest Bilby and the Midnight Star is a delightful offering for young children about the beauty of a simple kiss. Created by the talented, award-winning team of author Nette Hilton and illustrator Bruce Whatley, it is sure to please both little Australians and their parents, and would make a perfect bedtime story.

Whatley has used pen and ink wash on watercolour paper to create subdued, gentle illustrations appropriate to the night time setting of the story. The huge ears and the pink-tipped noses of the bilbies are very cute.

This beautiful offering is the first in of a trilogy featuring the Smallest Bilby and dedicated to Rose-Marie Dusting, who is recognised as the creator of the Easter Bilby concept.

The Smallest Bilby and the Midnight Star, by Nette Hilton and Bruce Whatley
Working Title Press, 2006

Bobbie Dazzler, by Margaret Wild & Janine Dawson

Bobbie the wallaby can hop and skip and bounce. But she cannot do the splits. Her friends tell her not to mind, but she does mind – a lot. Then when Bobbie finally manages to do the splits, she gets stuck and her friends have to help her out. But Bobby doesn’t mind – because now she knows that she cando the splits.

Bobbie Dazzler is a beautiful new picture book from the talented pairing of author Margaret Wild and illustrator Janine Dawson. Wild’s text is simple and joyful, celebrating a small achievement and a lovely friendship, with humour and an innate understanding of the pride children take in developing new skills. The illustrations, in pen and ink and watercolour, are a delight, featuring four warm and lively Australian animal characters. While all the illustrations are gorgeous, a special favourite is the final one, without text, showing the four friends having a group hug, contented smiles on their faces. The endpapers, too, featuring Bobbie’s happy friends and pictures of Australian flora, are also superb.

This is a truly dazzling offering for young Australians.

Bobby Dazzler, by Margaret Wild & Janine Dawson
Working Title, 2006

Lucky Clive, by Emily Rodda

Lucky Clive lives at Number Five Squeak Street. Every morning he gets up early to bake cakes for his shop and every day customers queue up to buy them. He loves his job. But on a late-night dash to buy a missing ingredient he runs into two old friends from school. Roly has written a book and Daisy is a film star. Both are rich and have very exciting lives. Poor Clive realises he hasn’t changed a bit since school and decides it is time to do something different.

Soon Clive is sitting at the Loads of Jobs agency, keen to try a new career. The agency has plenty of jobs – Clive can be a broom salesman, or a clown, or even a mouse-eating-fish feeder. But what will the other residents of Squeak Street think when they can no longer buy Clive’s delicious cakes?

Lucky Clive is the fifth book in the Squeak Street series, a chapter book spin-off from the popular Squeak Street picture book. At just 2000 words in length, with a high ratio of illustration to text, these are aimed at beginning readers making the transition from early readers and picture books to novels.

Lucky Clive is a fun tale.

Lucky Clive, by Emily Rodda, illustrated by Andrew McLean
Working Title, 2005

Leon Stumble's Book of Stupid Fairytales, by Doug MacLeod

Come back when you’ve written more fairytales. But I’m warning you, they’d better be very stupid. I have the reputation of the Honeybump Publishing Company to consider. I can’t risk publishing a book that isn’t stupid. I’ll look ridiculous.

Leon Stumble is a frustrated children’s writer. Every book he has written has been rejected for being too boring. But his girlfriend Cassie has a suggestion which could change all that: she tells him to rewrite well-known fairytales with a silly twist. Soon, Leon has written five new fairytales – including Jack and the Branstalk about a vegetarian Jack who cures the giant’s constipation and Puss in Blots who diagnoses the King’s unhappiness by reading ink blots. When Leon and Cassie, who has some pretty special abilities herself, take the manuscript to Una Spooner, the publisher who has rejected all of Leon’s earlier efforts, she decides the stories are so stupid they will probably sell.

Leon Stumble’s Book of Stupid Fairytales is a hilarious offering which will appeal to kids aged 9 to 12 for its pure silliness. There are ten of Leon’s stupid tales and, of course, the interspersed story of Leon’s quest for publication, and Cassie’s quest to win Leon’s hand. Every spread has at least one illustration, with the talented Craig Smith bringing the stories to life with laugh aloud interpretations.

Lots of fun.

Leon Stumbles Book of Stupid Fairytales, by Doug MacLeod, illustrated by Craig Smith
Working Title Press, 2005