December 2011 – Aussie Reviews

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, illustrated by Robert Ingpen

Dorothy and her friends were at first dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful City. The streets were lined with beautiful houses all built of green marble and studded everywhere with sparkling emeralds.

When a storm carries Dorothy and her dog Toto away, all she wants is to get home to Kansas. But that isn’t going to be easy – because she has landed in the mystical world of Oz, and nobody there has even heard of Kansas. But Dorothy is determined to get home and so she journey across Oz to find the wizard who might help her. Along the way she makes friends with a scarecrow who yearns or brains, a tin man who wants a heart and a lion in search of courage. Together the friends have an action-packed adventure.

First published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been loved by generations. This new edition holds special delight, being illustrated by award-winning Australian artist Robert Ingpen.

As with other classic titles produced by Ingpen and Walker Books, the illustrations are filled with detail and coloured with washes that highlight the classic feel of the tale and the series. Endpapers feature sepia toned line drawings and sketches of the characters and the hardback volume is wrapped in a slipcover and printed on sturdy paper, giving a feeling of quality that make this a collector’s item.

Wonderful as a gift for a reader of any age.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank baum, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Walker Books, 2011
ISBN 9781921720444

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

Captain Blunderbolt, by Carol Ann Martin

We shouldn’t have wagged school, I know.
Not when our lessons were costing Mother threepence a week. But the whingeing started the minute the door of our slab hut fell off behind us. (Father was not very good at building huts.)
‘I don’t like it! I’m not going!’ That was Maudie. She had started school only four days ago. Already she’d decided that it wasn’t for her.
Tully was just plain cranky. He was missing Father, who had probably got himself lost again. Getting lost was something Father was good at.

Alberta is the oldest of three children in a family struggling for survival in the early days of white settlement in Australia. Father seems to be a bit of a dud in the providing-for-his-family department and Mother is the one who picks up the pieces. Alberta’s role is looking after her two younger siblings. On the day they decide to skip school they witness a failed coach raid by the famous Captain Blunderbolt. The occupants of the coach are initially frightened, but on witnessing Blunderbolt’s incompetence are moved sufficiently to offer donations. Meanwhile, the school bully is up to his usual tricks. Now he’s spreading a rumour that Alberta’s Father isn’t off trying to find gold, but is actually Blunderbolt. Each page includes colour illustrations often with headers and footers to break up the text.

The Mates series from Omnibus delivers short chapter books for newly independent readers. Each includes an iconic Australian story. All include a delightful dose of Aussie humour. Captain Blunderbolt introduces a new generation to our colonial history in a light-handed and informative manner. History can be dry and dull, but in the Mates format, it is anything but. Each offering opens the way for discussion about life in Australia, with all its joys and challenges. In Captain Blunderbolt the reader discovers that life was tough for settler families, with fathers needing to go away from home to find work. It also opens the discussion about the rich and the not-so-rich, and the inherent inequalities that can come with it. A particularly welcome aspect is the reference to Mother’s practical capabilities. As with all the offerings in the Mates series, readers will come for the humour, stay for the story and come away with more understanding of the rich Australian culture we all share. Recommended for newly emergent readers.

Captain Blunderbolt , Carol Ann Martin & Loren Morris
Omnibus Books 2011
ISBN: 9781862918238

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

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

Sexpectations, by Leissa Pitts & Craig Murray

Sexpectations is careful not to preach or talk down to the readers. It varies the pace of delivery, the approach and uses repetition to ensure core principles like respect, choice, safety and health remain front and central. Teenagers may get much of their sex information from other teenagers…

Welcome to Sexpectations Girl. This book has been written for you, a girl who has expectations, or may not know what to expect, about sex.
Despite how much our society has changed over the years, ‘sex’ still causes a lot of debate because of the many meanings and ideas people attaché to that simple three-lettered word, making it hard to wade through all there is to know about sex.

Sex! What a cool topic … but why call a book Sexpectations?
Well, sometimes we can be expected to know everything there is to know about sex, but rarely get a chance to talk about it in an open, healthy way, or to ask questions like ‘What do I do?’, What’s normal? And that’s just a few of those tricky questions we all have …

Sexpectations is two books for the price of one, one aimed at girls, the other at boys. But that doesn’t mean they are intended to be read separately. Each can be read first, but where a topic has been tackled in one, the other might just reference that topic then direct readers to ‘flip’ for more information. The approaches are different but both authors present a broad range of factual information in a variety of ways. There are frequently asked questions and debunking of myths. There are resources listed so readers can research further. The text is presented in different colours on coloured paper and illustrations are mixed with photos. Some information is presented in point form or lists, while other information is presented in a more conversational style.

Sexpectations is not a puberty book although hormonal changes are certainly discussed. It’s for readers who want to be informed before they make decisions about sex. All sorts of decisions, even if it’s a decision NOT to make a decision. Having the ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ sections back to back with cross-references in certain topics encourages each to learn more about the other and perhaps the way each approaches sex. Sexpectations is careful not to preach or talk down to the readers. It varies the pace of delivery, the approach and uses repetition to ensure core principles like respect, choice, safety and health remain front and central. Teenagers may get much of their sex information from other teenagers, but if they get it from teenagers who have access to this book, they are going to get good information.

Sexpectations, Leissa Pitts & Craig Murray
Allen & Unwin 2011
ISBN: 9781741751437

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

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

Springman Brothers’ Reality Repair, by Joshua Wright

Jim Springman saw himself as a perfectly normal boy. He wasn’t brilliant, but he was no fool either. A bit on the small side, yes, but all his family looked young for their age. And though he had about as much muscle as a garden rake, he was still a fair athlete. His eyes were slightly less green than his brother’s, but they still retained the same half-mad sparkle.
Right now, they were closed.
Jim yawned. He rubbed his face. It was a bright, sunny morning at 10 Rambling Avenue, and time to get out of bed. After a short, pleasant snooze, Jim just that, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

‘Tis an odd world Jim finds himself in! Somehow an explosion of Fletcher’s (Jim’s grownup brother)’s and Ingrid (his grownup sister)’s making has resulted in a fifth dimension. And now his town is part of his sister’s imagination. His sister is the famous author of ‘Realm of Glory’ and after the explosion, their town becomes the world of the story, inhabited by its strange landscape and fearsome monsters. Confusing? You betcha! There are only a few locals, assisted by Fletcher’s science who are still part of the old townscape. Jim and his two neighbours must try to make sense of it all, if Jim is going to be able to save his sister. And it seems that everyone, including his brother are determined to make life difficult.

Springman Brothers’ Reality Repair is the second in this series, but can easily be read as a standalone title. Where knowledge of the first instalment is needed, enough information is slipped in to allow the narrative to continue without confusion. Well, almost. There’s plenty of confusion to be found when your world is totally unlike your world, except when it is the same as always. There’s plenty of humour with characters from fairy-tales, megamonsters, and human beings who just might be animals in disguise. And the crazy scientist is about the craziest you’re ever likely to encounter! It seems very likely that there will be more instalments in this adventure before Jim and his friends can return to normal life… Wild, wacky and way, way out! Recommended for mid- upper-primary readers.

Springman Brothers’ Reality Repair, Joshua Wright
Scholastic 2011
ISBN: 978174169758 review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

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

Lily's Wish, by Barbara Pyett & Serena Geddes

Lily is writing her Christmas list, and it’s quite short. All she wants is to be able to fly. Santa responds, but with no promise that he can fulfil her wish. Lily explains a little more and Santa promises to do what he can. So begins a memorable Christmas. Illustrations are in pencil and watercolour, alive with the spirit of the season.

Christmas can be a fraught time with all media screaming Buy! Buy! Buy! and families trying to balance budgets and joy of the festive season. Lily’s wish reminds readers that not all wishes are about objects, and that in this wide world there are other important wishes. Lily’s Wish offers magic and wonder mixed with an exhilaratingly wild ride through the sky. Recommended for pre-school and beyond.

Lily’s Wish, Barbara Pyett & Serena Geddes
New Frontier Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781921042829

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

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

Heroes of the Year, by Frances Watt

Ernie Eggers strode down High Street on Monday afternoon, his long green cape swishing behind him and the heels of his tall black boots echoing loudly as they struck the pavement. Usually the serious sound his footsteps made when he was wearing his big boots filled Ernie with pleasure, but not today. He’d just come from his school sports carnival, and as usual he hadn’t won a single ribbon. Today his footsteps tapped out the word ‘lo-ser, lo-ser.’

Ernie and his side-kick Maud (a sheep) are superheros in training, and this is the fourth instalment in their adventures. Each works well as a stand-alone title too. The Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society wants to win the ‘Heroes of the Year’ competition, and add a lovely bright trophy to their collection. Of one. The trophy is awarded to the best trainee superhero for the year, judged secretly. But the Branch is torn: do they try to discover when the judges will be in town, or do they try to find who is drawing moustaches on photos all around the town. Ernie is dazzled by the trophy and Maud is keen to master the splits. They will have to concentrate their energies if they are to catch the moustache-drawer and win the competition.

This is a delightful series for middle-primary readers. It would work well also as a read-to adventure. Extraordinary Ernie, with the help of the gymnastic-honed Marvellous Maud can do anything. All they need to do is believe in themselves. They rely on the advice of flawed superhero adults who seem to do very little in the superhero department. But Ernie and Maud are gradually winning the confidence of the street traders and other members of the general public. And when people believe in you, it’s easier to rise to their expectations and achieve. That aside, it’s hilarious. Recommended for mid-primary readers and anyone who ever wanted to be a superhero (or who still does).

Heroes of the Year, Frances Watt & Judy Watson
ABC Books 2011
ISBN: 9780733328732

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

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

The Truth About Verity Sparks, by Susan Green

My name is Verity Sparks, and I’ve got itchy fingers. The professor calls it teleagtivism. Sounds more like a disease, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s more like a talent. A gift. I’ve always had it, but I didn’t know I had it until the summer of 1878. It happened the day I finished the yellow hat.

The hat was mostly feathers, with one poor little bird left whole and stuck onto the brim. ‘Like a dead duck on a plate, ain’t it?’ I said as I held it up.
Madame sighed. ‘Yes , it is. But it’s what she asked for. Oh, dear!’ She fussed around on the work bench for a few seconds, and then sighed again. ‘My spectacles, dear – have you seen my spectacles?’

Verity Sparks worked as a trimmer for a fashionable milliner until a devious scheme by others sees her turned into the street. Verity plans to return to her aunt and uncle’s house but when she reaches there, her horrible uncle quickly assures her she will never be welcome there. She is alone, homeless and jobless, with only her talent for finding things, and a few precious trinkets from her dead mother. But it seems her luck is about to change. She joins a Confidential Inquiry Agency, proves very good at her job and finds some new friends. But there is mystery around Verity’s beginnings. The closer she comes to discovering the secrets of her birth, the greater becomes the threat to her life and the lives of those around her.

Verity hasn’t ever expected a great deal from her life. She had loving parents until illness took them. Life at the milliner’s is as good as she could expect. She works long hours for little money and even smaller thanks from the wealthy clients. But she is grateful for work and a roof over her head. She has never questioned her talent for finding things. She adjusts well though to a new life where she is respected and valued, although occasionally questions her luck. She learns to trust her judgement about people and the gift she has. The Truth About Verity Sparks is a fascinating trip through Victorian London at a time when men and women were questioning their own truths and investigating the physical and the metaphysical. It is also a story about a girl finding her place in the world with the help and hindrance of those around her. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

The Truth About Verity Sparks, Susan Green
Walker Books 2011
ISBN: 9781921720277

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

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

The Not-So-Goblin Boy, by Ezekiel Kwaymullina

I stood in my room and stared at my reflection in the mirror, fidgeting with my clothes for the tenth time in the last two minutes. I just didn’t look right. I looked like a stupid, ugly human! I glared at my features. My hair was a dark gritty brown colour. No matter how many disgusting liquids I washed it with, it never looked quite like oily black goblin hair. Oh sure, it was so putrid that it stood up at gravity-defying angles all by itself, but that didn’t matter if the colour wasn’t right.
As for my body, it was a mass of disappointment. Goblins had pot bellies, wonderfully long arms for stealing things and short legs for quick getaways. Nothing like my long legs and stupidly proportioned arms.
And don’t even get me started on my face.

Samuel. What sort of name is that for a goblin? A name guaranteed to get him into trouble with the school and other bullies. All Sam wants is to be like everyone else. Except when everyone is a goblin, with awesome magical skills, that’s no easy thing. Even his loving adoptive parents are goblins. Sam hopes that things will change once he is accepted into the Goblin Academy. Then he can make his parents truly proud of him. But success at the Academy is not in his destiny. However, he is recruited by a band of pirates-who-deny-being-pirates. And he discovers that there are much bigger things to worry about than just being the only normal human being left in the world.

Thank goodness The Not-so-goblin Boy doesn’t have and scratch-and-sniff pages, because with all the farts that goblins delight in releasing, readers would be passing out and never reading beyond the second page! And that would be a shame, because The Not-so-goblin Boy is a swashbuckling read, full of goblins, gnomes, explosions (including mega-farts) and wild adventure. There are gadgets and mysteries, secrets and illusions. And beneath it all is a tale about learning to accept yourself for who you are, not who you think you want to be. While this adventure is complete in itself, there are enough threads to suspect that a sequel is planned. Great fun for mid- to upper-primary readers, boys particularly.

The Not-so-goblin Boy, Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Walker Books 2011
ISBN:9781921720154

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

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

Parrot Carrot, by Jol & Kate Temple

Parrot Carrot is not the only unlikely creature the reader will encounter in Parrot Carrot. Animals and more with similar-sounding names combine to create new ‘creatures’. There’s a cork that looks like a hawk, a goose that looks like a moose, and many more.

There is little that’s serious here, even the characters seem aware of the absurdity of their new forms. Illustrations are almost naïve in style, with few colours on each opening, mostly in pastels. Covers and end papers are soft blue with bright orange and yellow titles.

One third introduction to rhyme, one third parlour game, and one third nonsense, Parrot Carrot will tickle the funny bone and stimulate the imagination. Combine any two rhyming words to make a new animal. A fun game to play with toddlers, Parrot Carrot could also easily be used in the classroom to extend vocabulary, combine literacy and art activities and generate some new creatures . There is also an App for the iPhone, taking the book into the e-realm. Recommended for reading with young children, or for playing with any age.

Parrot Carrot, Jol & Kate Temple and Jon Foye Allen & Unwin 2011
ISBN: 9781742376868

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

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

Mr Darcy, by Alex Field and Peter Carnavas

Mr Darcy, as most readers will know, was one of the main characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story has been popular for many, many years appearing on television and in film. It has even been treated to a zombie makeover in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. And here is a picture book version of the story, with Darcy as a duck. He is a pleasant enough character, but distant and a bit proud. He ignores an invitation to tea from Lizzy, because living as she does in a quite small park, she is unlikely to provide much company. Why then does he keep tripping and falling and crashing when she is near? He is polite but quite contained. But something changes his mind. Illustrations are Peter Carnavas’ trademark pencil-outlined gentle watercolours set in lots of white space.

Mr Darcy might seem an odd subject for a picture book, but it is really a story about learning not to judge by appearances. Lizzy’s manners initially fail to break through Darcy’s reserve, but she persists rather than giving up. Darcy’s friends Bingley and Caroline step in when Darcy’s insistence that he’s fine threatens to cause him harm, but only after Lizzy has come up with a plan. Lizzy is resolute but not pushy and Darcy eventually has to overcome his prejudices. This is a sweet picture book, that will also introduce new readers to a classic story. Recommended for pre-school and early school-age children.

Mr Darcy, Alex Field & Peter Carnavas
New Frontier Publishing 2011
ISBN: 978921042836

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