July 2009 – Page 3 – Aussie Reviews

Come On Everybody, Time to Play, by Nigel Grey

The sun is up and so is the main character in Come on Everybody, Time to Play. A small girl is revelling in the weekend and not having to get ready for school. She wanders through the house but it seems that everyone is hiding from her. It doesn’t seem to occur to her that everyone is still asleep! Openings alternate between her searching, then finding the other occupants of the house. When she has found all but two, it’s time for a group assault on the final two sleeping bods! Bob Graham’s gentle yet strong character sketches speak loud as the little girl searches her house for company. Backgrounds are minimal allowing the characters to shine. Text is large and round and like hand printing.

Come on Everybody, Time to Play is written in gentle rhyme. The reader (listener) can hear the sound of the words and predict what is to be found under each flap. Of course nothing – no one – is where they should be! The fish is in the cat’s water bowl and socks are all over the place. Come on Everybody, Time to Play is a largish, hardcover, sturdy-paged lift-the-flap book, designed for multiple re-readings. Recommended for pre-schoolers.

Come on Everybody, Time to Play! Nigel Gray Ill Bob Graham
Walker Books 2009
ISBN: 9781921150500

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

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

One Dragon's Dream, by Peter Pavey

One Dragon’s Dreamis a counting book written and illustrated by Peter Pavey. On the surface it illustrates the numbers one to ten, but there is a strong visual narrative that works far beyond the deceptively simple text. The story is bookended by a page with the numbers one to ten arranged in a grid. Each opening then features a sentence and a number. The central story may refer to eg ‘three tigers…’ but there are myriad examples of that number to be found in the detailed illustrations. Illustrations are pen and ink with colour washes.

One Dragon’s Dream was originally published in 1978, and is released in 2009 as part of Walker Book’s Classic Series. The illustration style is reminiscent of Ron Brook’s ‘John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat’ but there is a delightful whimsy in Peter Pavey’s depiction of the dragon and his dream. There is safety for the timid reader in the scenes of dragon going to bed and then at the end of his dream, waking up in that same bed. There is a delightful mix of fantasy and realism in each opening. Readers will enjoy searching out all the collections that relate to the featured number. This is a lovely book, perfect for reading over and over. It’s easy to understand how it was awarded the Children’s Picture Book of the Year in 1980. Highly recommended for 3-5 year olds.

One Dragon’s Dream, Peter Pavey
Walker Books 2009
ISBN: 9781921150746

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

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

The Know it All, by Peter Whitfield

‘Are you coming to lessons today Furball?’ Bruno asked as he hurried past.
‘No Dummo,’ said Furball, ‘I’m too clever to go to lessons.’

Furball, the cat, is sure that she knows it all. There’s no need for her to go to lessons with all the other Zen animals. She’d much prefer to just sit on a rock, soaking up the warmth and being superior. She’s quite unpleasant too, not content to just be superior, but feeling the need to make sure others know it. She knows it all. There’s a lesson she missed out on though, and by the end of the story, Furball knows something new. Illustrations focus on animals stepping into Furball’s world before hurrying on. The final few spreads take the reader to where the other animals have been working, before the final illustration shows Furball after her ‘lesson’. The final openings take a look at the origin of the Zen philosophy and revisit the lesson illustrated here. End papers, front and back covers and all text pages, carry the symbol of the Zen Tails.

Zen Tails The Know It All is one of a series of tales designed to illuminate a message. The text is simple, the message clear. There are consequences for behaviours. If you think you know it all, there is a lesson coming to you to demonstrate that you don’t. Humility and a preparedness to learn may help you to progress through life. Readers can interpret the hints in each illustration which build to the conclusion, with the consequences for know-it-all Furball. Recommended for lower- to mid-primary readers.

Zen Tails The Know It All, Peter Whitfield ill Nancy Bevington
New Frontier Publishing 2009
ISBN: 9781921042331

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

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

I Love My Mum, by Anna Walker

Little zebra, Ollie, takes the reader through a normal sort of day, the sort of day familiar to many mothers and small children. There are everyday tasks like washing and going for a walk. But everyday tasks are new to little people and there is mystery and adventure in the simplest of tasks. The text here is very simple and there is magic in the illustrations. Anna Walker has used watercolours and ensured plenty of white space remains. Ollie is a small stuffed toy, perhaps a zebra, and Mum is a slightly larger version. I Love My Mumis a small format hardback book, perfect for little hands.

Anna Walker’s illustrations are just beautfiul. Her gentle watercolours set in white space allow plenty of room for the reader to bring their own story. It’s easy to imagine sharing I Love My Mum with a small child and revisiting their day or their way of doing things. Walker’s use of an androgynous toy as main character allows wide appeal, although with the pink detail on the cover, it’s most likely this will be a treasured book for a small girl. A lovely book. Recommended for 3-5 yo children.

I Love My Mum, Anna Walker
Scholastic 2009
ISBN:9781741693331

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com. This book can be purchased online at Fishpond.

Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

My Aussie Mum, by Yvonne Morrison

From the snapshots of Aussie Mums in the endpapers, My Aussie Mumis a celebration of mothers in general, and Aussie Mums in particular. This Aussie Mum loves to be a part of everything. She plays sports, supports whales, battles peak hour traffic, does the washing and makes lunches, loves lollies and can pick a fake sickie from ten paces. The illustrations from Nicola Bright are bright and colourful and full of family humour. There is plenty of white space to keep the focus on Mum and her antics. This Aussie Mum is perfect in her imperfection and is well-loved by her children.

My Aussie Mum is full of Aussie vernacular like ‘My Aussie Mum’s a ripper, yep, she’s as tough as nails’. This is not a stuffy Mum at all. She’s down to earth and fallible, but always passionate. She has three children and each of them celebrate and endure her various enthusiasms. The illustrations are somewhat at odds with the text, adding humour to the simple affirmations. Young readers will soon pick the gap between the words and text and are sure to provide examples of their own. The second-last opening shows a wide range of Aussie Mums, different ages, sizes and cultures. All are smiling, all look loved. Easy to imagine this being a Mother’s Day favourite. Recommended for 4-6 year olds.

My Aussie Mum, Yvonne Morrison, ill Nicola Bright
Scholastic Australia 2009
ISBN: 9781741692297

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

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

Great Aussie Inventions, by Amy Hunter

Have you heard the saying ‘Necessity is the mother of all invention’? It means that when a solution can’t be found one must be made.
When the early settlers arrived they found a very different country to anything they knew. They had to be clever if they were to survive.

Aussies are great inventors. Visit any Aussie town, any Aussie farm and inventions can be found. Where there was a need, there was an inventor, trying to find an easier or better way to do things. Great Aussie Inventions is a large, portrait format paperback full of Aussie inventions. Some of the inventions are well-known to Aussies, but others have achieved wider prominence. The Hills Hoist is uniquely Aussie, but others like the inflatable slide raft used on planes, have gone global. There are inventions from 1856, all the way through to 2001 when Dr Fiona Wood invented spray on skin to help heal burns. Extras include a contents page, an index, glossary, timeline and resource page.

Great Aussie Inventions is pitched at middle primary readers. The cover features a wild-eyed inventor child whose head is overflowing, almost exploding with great Aussie ideas. There’s a suggestion that from the wildest ideas come useful inventions. Some inventions were almost accidental, like the discovery of penicillin, while others were designed to meet an unmet need. The inventors are scientists, farmers, shearers, horseracing fans, water conservationists. The message is clear – anyone can be an inventor. The text style is light and humorous, the illustrations even more so. Great Aussie Inventions provides a taster of Aussie inventors and their creations as well as dipping into Australian history. Sure to find an avid readership.

Great Aussie Inventions, by Amy Hunter, ill David Rowe
Black Dog Books 2009
ISBN: 9781742030760

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

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

Sting, by Raymond Huber

“Come to your question, Ziggy,” Zenova said.
I swallowed hard and tried not to sound so nervous. “Why do they call me Oddbee?”
The Queen paused for a moment, then said, “There are thousands of different bees in the world. It’s time you met some of them.”

Ziggy is different from the other bees. He likes to explore and to try different things, rather than sticking to one job like the others. But Ziggy doesn’t understand why his hivemates are so mean to him. They don’t like him at all. He really is the Oddbee out. When he leaves the hive to find out why he is different, he discovers that differences can sometimes be an advantage.

Sting is an action packed bee’s-eye view of the world, told from Ziggy’s first person (first bee?) perspective. As well as exploring life inside a bee hive, it also explores the issues of using bees for sniffing explosives and of the worldwide disappearance of bees. Mostly, though, it is an absorbing tale of mystery and action, as Ziggy has adventures, makes new friends, and finds a family.

Sting, by Raymond Huber
Walker Books, 2009

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

Witches Incorporated, by K. E. Mills

That’s it. I’ve done it. I’m a real live janitor.
He wasn’t ready. He didn’t know nearly enough. The international law, the restricted incants, the seventeen volumes of case files that didn’t even scratch the surface of the Department’s work over the past ten years. He’d barely absorbed any of it. All was chaos in his head, facts and figures tumbling like leaves in a windstorm. He didn’t know enough yet to be let loose on the world.

Gerald Dunwoody is now officially a janitor, and off on his first assignment – a case of espionage with international consequences. His friends Melissande and Bibbie are on a case of their own. They have started a new witching agency, and they, too, have their first big job. Unfortunately, it seems Witches incorporated and Gerald’s assignment may be about to step into each other’s territory. Soon, though, stepping on their friends’ toes might be the least of their worries.

Witches Incorporated is an exciting fantasy novel set in a fantasy world where witches and wizards play key roles. Gerald is a wizard who has newly discovered powers, and must learn how to use and control them. His friends have problems of their own. Melissande is a princess who has turned her back on royal life and both she and her partner, Bibbie, must battle the restrictions of being female (or ‘gels’) in a male-dominated society. Reg, the third in the Witches Incorporated agency is a bird who not only talks but was also once a human queen.

Aimed at an adult readership, this series is especially likely to appeal to the crossover market of older teens and slightly older, with its blend of characters and issues common to members of that age group. The second in the Rogue Agent series, the title can also stand alone.

Witches Incorporated, by K. E. Mills
Harper Voyager, 2009

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

Letters to Leonardo, by Dee White

Dear Leonardo
Talk about serendipity. Just found out it would have been your birthday today too.
And that’s not all we have in common.
Your dad took you away from your mum. How weird is that?
How did you deal with the missing bits in your life?
Matt

On his fifteenth birthday, Matt gets a book from his dad, and a card from his mother. The only problem with that is that he has long believed his mother is dead. Now he needs to find out why his dad has lied to him for the past ten years and why his mother hasn’t contacted him before now.

At the same time, Matt has been given a school assignment involving writing a series of letters to a historical character. Because of his love of art, he has chosen Leonardo da Vinci, but as he learns more about the artist he discovers they have more in common than a love of art. Writing letters to Leonardo gives him a chance to lay bare his feelings as he searches for sense and truth.

Letters to Leonardo is a stunning debut novel from Victorian author Dee White. The blend of first person narrative with letters gives the reader a wonderful insight into Matt’s thought processes and emotions. Matt’s journey is full of action, emotion and twists and turns which keep the reader riveted from chapter to chapter, wanting everything to turn out okay. In a story dealing with the effects of mental illness on a family, it is soon obvious that it won’t be all happy endings, but White manages to offer hope and understanding, as well as a wonderful dose of realism.

Aimed at teen readers, this is powerful tale.

Letters to Leonardo, by Dee White
Walker Books, 2009

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

The Big Dig, by Meg McKinlay

Ronnie’s head shakes. “You can’t be serious,” he says.
But I am.
So serious I’m already heading to the shed for the shovels.
With Weasel right behind me.
While we pull the shovels down from their hooks, Ronnie hangs around near the door.
“This is stupid,” he says. “Maybe the stupidest idea ever. Seriously, Nath. You can’t just dig a pool.”

When the Newton Community Pool is closed until further notice, Nathan and his mates are unimpressed. The alternative, the BayView Leisure Centre, might be modern and flashy, but it is steamy, crowded and no fun. But Nathan has an idea – an idea brilliant in its simplicity. They can dig themselves a pool in the backyard. What could possibly go wrong with their great plan?

The Big Dig is a funny tale of mateship and enterprise, with a tinge of daftness. Nathan and Weasel’s plan – Dig. Dig some more. Put water in. Swim. – seems to the reader to be doomed to fail, but it is hilarious to watch them try – and the resolution is fun.

With silliness, action and a little tension, The Big Dig will keep primary aged readers turning pages. Part of the wonderful Lightning Strikes series from Walker Books and featuring the same trio of characters from McKinley’s earlier title in the same series, Going for Broke, The Big Dig is an entertaining offering.

The Big Dig, by Meg McKinlay
Walker Books, 2009

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