September 2011 – Aussie Reviews

The Paradise Trap, by Catherine Jinks

Marcus’s dream holiday involves staying at home and playing his favourite computer game. But when his Mum buys a musty old caravan and drags him off to the beach, Marcus finds himself wandering into OTHER people’s dream holidays – which, in addition to being bizarre, soon turn out to have a dangerous side! Accompanied by his Mum and some new family friends (including a prototype robot), Marcus unwillingly embarks on an adventure that’s more exciting than any computer game.

‘Oh, wow…’ Edison breathed.

Together he and Marcus stepped through the door onto a smooth stretch of green lawn. To their right, an enormous carousel was spinning on its mirrored axis, pumping a cheerful, chiming song. To their left, a row of painted clown heads swung from side to side in front of a wall hung with alluring prizes: plush toys, kewpie dolls, inflatable aliens…

‘Hello, Edison!’ They chorused. ‘Do you want to win a stuffed blue gorilla?’

The Paradise Trap engrosses the reader in a surreal fantasy world that, surprisingly, is almost believable. With vivid imagery and a cast of relatable characters, Catherine Jinks takes the reader on an enjoyable romp through a succession of wacky settings. An exciting read for upper-primary, teenagers, and adults alike.

The Paradise Trap, by Catherine Jinks
Allen & Unwin 2011
ISBN 978174237574

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

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat, by Tania McCartney

Riley was making mud pies when he first saw the hole.
Curious, he poked his head inside and this is what he saw…
Riley didn’t know what it was. But he knew that it was grumpy.
Grrrowl…

Riley is a small boy with an amazing array of gizmos and gadgets. So when he discovers a grumpy wombat in Nanny’s back yard and it flees, he’s able to follow it in his little red plane. Using a combination of black and white photos of inner city Melbourne and computer images, Riley and his friends search the city for the grumpy wombat. He zooms high and low, in the city and the gardens. He even digs burrows along St Kilda Beach. But there’s no sign of the wombat. When he does eventually find her, the wombat is no longer grumpy, but happy and ready for a snooze.

Tania McCartney began this series while she and her young family were living overseas. The books link images of iconic landmarks in Beijing, Hong Kong and Sydney with Riley and his adventures. The use of a similarly iconic animal in each story helps small children relate to the familiar and unfamiliar in their worlds. This new title is published by Melbourne-based Ford Street Publishing. Recommended for pre-school and early primary children and children living in/or visiting a new country or city (or visiting interstate/international family or friends).

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat, Tania McCartney Kieron Pratt
Ford Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781921665486

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

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

Get a Grip, Cooper Jones, by Sue Whiting

Mum’s words clunk around inside my brain. It’s the third day in a row where the temperature is expected to tip forty degrees, and my head feels thick from lack of sleep and from breathing all this stinky hot air.
“Come on,” she says, “get a wriggle on. It’s after five. Don’t want to be late.”

Cooper’s life is okay until the day Skye tells him she’s seen his dad. That’s not possible – Cooper doesn’t have a dad – not one he knows anything about. Suddenly he’s plagued with thoughts about this mysterious figure. At the same time, he’s frustrated by his fear of the beach, and by his mother’s strange behaviour.

The new girl next door, Abeba, also seems to have a complicated life. As Cooper gets to know her, life gets even more complicated.

Get a Grip, Cooper Jones is fast paced, lightly humorous look at growing up and taking control. Set in a hot summer with bushfires looming, the story is a mixture of action and self-exploration, as Cooper tries to work through his various dilemmas.

A wonderful read for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.

Get a Grip, Cooper Jones, by Sue Whiting
Walker Books, 2010

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

Blood Money, by J. E. Fison

I have always wanted to be rich. Richer than the Queen? No, not that rich – just to have loads of money, that’s all I ask. To have the cash for every new gadget invented, to buy the coolest new phone. That would be enough. I’m not saying I’m greedy. I’m just a bit needy. But when you’re on holidays at Hazard River you have to be careful what you wish for. It might just come true…

10-year-old Jack Wilde is keen to make some money and selling coconuts is not doing it fast enough. So when his brother Ben finds a bag of money, Jack is very interested. He thinks they can share. Then Lachlan and Mimi get in on the act and it seems everyone has a plan for the cash. But the owner of the cash, and the other contents of the bag, is keen to retrieve it. Actually he’s more than keen: he’s determined, desperate and he’s not going to let four nosy kids get in his way. Finding so much cash should be a recipe for fun, excitement and a big shopping spree. But Jack discovers while there’s plenty of excitement, it’s not the excitement he was planning. Cover art is by Mark McBride. There’s a map inside to show where all the action takes place.

This is the sixth instalment in the Hazard River series from J. E. Fison. The stories are set in a Queensland beach and riverside town. The children have a freedom that is reminiscent of earlier generations and sadly not so available to children today. Jack, his brother and their friends find there is plenty of adventure to be had during these holidays. Adults are very much on the periphery of the action, unless they are the baddies integral to the plot. The story proceeds at break neck pace, with more twists and turns than any bush track. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Blood Money, J. E Fison
Ford St Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781921665462

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

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

Toad's Revenge, by J. E. Fison

There’s a good reason I call my neighbour, Lachlan Master, the Master of Disaster. All of his plans end in disaster. Always. So when a celebrity moved to Hazard River and Lachlan decided we should meet him, I should have known our expedition could only end one way …
‘I heard Just Orsum is working on his most dangerous and daring mission ever,’ I say to Lachlan as we climb over a fence and into the backyard of Australia’s most famous adventurer, ‘Maybe he’s planning a trip to Mars.’

Jack and his friend, Lachlan are always on the lookout for adventure and excitement. And they are sure the arrival of Just Orsum is going to make life interesting. And it does. Just not quite in the way they’d imagined. Together with Jack’s brother Ben and their friend Mimi, Jack and Lachlan find themselves facing the biggest toads they’ve ever seen in an environment they hardly recognise. It takes all their combined skills and some help from some locals to find their way home.

Toads Revenge is the fifth story from J. E. Fison, set in a seaside/riverside holiday area of southern Queensland. Jack and his friends manage to get themselves into, and out of, plenty of trouble. The stories are told from Jack’s point of view but each of the four main characters contributes to both the trouble and the solutions they must find. There’s hardly time for the characters – or the reader – to catch their breath before another complication has them again on the run. Think updated and Australian-set Blyton adventures. Perfect for safe adventuring and hopefully too wild for copying! Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Toads Revenge, J. E. Fison
Ford Street Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781921665455

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