July 2013 – Aussie Reviews

The Nim Stories, by Wendy Orr

In a palm tree, on an island, in the middle of the wide blue sea, was a girl.

And what a girl she is. Nim is adventurous, funny, loving, brave – the list goes on. Being bought up on an island with only her father, Jack and animal friends for company doesn’t stop her. In fact, perhaps it is the very thing that makes her so resourceful and such fun to read about.

The Nim Stories brings together two books featuring Nim and her friends Fred (a marine iguana), Selkie (a sea lion) and Chica (a turtle) as well as human friends including Alex Rover, a reclusive author of adventure stories. The first book, Nim’s Island was first published in 1999 and follows Nim’s adventures after she is left alone on the island when her father is trapped at sea. The second Nim at Sea was published in 2007 and once again sees Nim and her father separated, this time when Nim leaves the island to rescue Selkie when she is kidnapped by a smuggler. Both books have now been made into feature films, with this new edition of the books released to coincide with the second film.

Full of fun, adventure and love, The Nim Stories are a suitable for readers of all ages.

The Nim Stories, by Wendy Orr, illustrated by Kerry Millard
ISBN 9781743316498

Available from good bookstores or online.

Joyous & Moonbeam, by Richard Yaxley

Yes, mister, it is. Joyous is indeedy-do my name which I like very much though some people do carry on and ask if Joyous is a hippy-guy. or they say, Joyous? You’re kidding, right? Which is a doopy-doo because Joyous never kids, Joyous is always truesome.

Joyous is, as his name suggests, pretty happy. He has a knack of turning things around so that, no matter how bad it seems, he can find the good in it. Which is good because, it emerges, he’s had quite a lot of need to work things round. When Ashleigh meets Joyous, she doesn’t know what to make of him. He calls her Moonbeam, which she likes, but the circumstances which have lead to them meeting have also left her unable to work things round like Joyous does. This unlikely mentor has a lot to teach her.

Joyous and Moonbeam is an amazing book. The two protagonists are very very different – yet have more in common than perhaps they realise, both having been damaged by their family lives. Their paths cross when Moonbeam/Ashleigh finds herself in trouble at school and is sent to do community work in a sheltered workshop. As their unlikely friendship flourishes, they help each other, and an unusual style of first person narration ensures the reader is taken along for the ride. This narration is first person from both main characters alternating viewpoint, along with some chapters which are told purely through their dialogue, and others in the from of letters from Joyous’ mother. Whilst this narratorial style is at first a little disorienting, it is part of what makes the story so engaging.

Aimed at teen readers, Joyous and Moonbeam is wonderful.

Joyous and Moonbeam, by Richard Yaxley
Omnibus, 2013
ISBN 9781862919877

Available from good bookstores and online.

Three Hours Late, by Nicole Trope

Once, so very long ago, she had watched him like this when he came to pick her up for a date…Her stomach fluttered and burned with infatuation and desire. She would watch him walk up the path and think, ‘This must be love.’

Liz is afraid. She’s taken her son and fled a violent marriage. Now her precious son, Luke, is out on an access visit with his father – and they’re late home. She’s always been sure Alex would never hurt Luke, but today she’s no so sure. Today she’s told him, once and for all, that she isn’t coming back to him. Is this the news that will push him over the edge? As he minutes turn to hours, Liz knows something terrible has happened. The trick is getting anyone else to believe her.

Three Hours Late is a wrenching tale of marriage break up, love and desperation. As Liz waits, we learn the tale of her own marriage as well as those of hers and Alex, building a picture not just of what has happened but, to some extent, why. The story blends suspense with empathy in a mi which keeps the reader guessing right till the end.

Three Hours Late, by Nicole Trope
Allen & Unwin, 2013
ISBN 9781743313152

Available from good bookstores or online.

Twitcher by Cherise Saywell

My dad loves seabirds. It’s how they can weep that gets him. When there’s no fresh water, they drink from the sea. The salt leaks out a gland near their eyes. It’s thicker than tears. They have to shake their heads to get rid of it. But they can survive a long time doing that. A tern half the size of a cat might live thirty years. …

… I’d like to think the seabirds lead me to Stonehill. But really, it’s the money that takes me there – this lump sum I’ve got coming. It’s been in my head like a slow drip – how I’ll stake my claim, what I’ll do when it comes through. For weeks I’ve thought of it, but done nothing. Then I see the Stonehill place in the estate agents and it all starts there, this Friday in late May.

Kenno, his parents and his sister live in a coastal town. In the summer, it’s full of weekenders. In winter, it’s the twitchers – the bird watchers – who flock to the town and the nearby islands. The town is growing rapidly, and their landlord has decided to sell the house they live in to finance his own building program. Kenno has seen the house he thinks will save his family, and all he needs to do is make a phone call. Then the money to buy the house, the money that will fix them all, will be theirs. Then they can be a family again. Then they can be happy again. Sounds simple, but of course it’s not. His sister Lou keeps falling for the wrong men, their mother has found God, and Dad has his own way of self-medicating. Kenno knows he can make it all right, he just has to keep Dad sorted, and bring Lou home. After all, it’s his fault.

Kenno is sixteen years old. He is determined that he can fix his broken family, fix their sadness if they could just get the money to buy themselves a house. Then Mum wouldn’t have to work so hard, Dad would be able to watch birds again and Lou would come home. Kenno struggles under the burden of guilt he carries, buoyed only by the hope that he can make it all right again. This is a family rent by sorrow, but unable to talk about it or move on. They are trapped in their grief, but cannot support each other. Like the migratory birds making the journey to nest, the family seem destined to circle their world, whether or not they would rather be elsewhere. Themes of responsibility and family, connection and disconnection, and rites of passage provide plenty of material for discussion in book groups.

Twitcher, Cherise Saywell
Vintage Books 2013
ISBN: 9781864711165

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores and online.

Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo: A journey around Canberra by Tania McCartney, ill Kieron Pratt

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Riley was sitting in Parliament when the thumping first began.

Confuddled, he scooped up his friends and dashed outside.

It was a kangaroo! Popping and pinging all over the grassy lawns of Parliament House.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Riley was sitting in Parliament when the thumping first began.

Confuddled, he scooped up his friends and dashed outside.

It was a kangaroo! Popping and pinging all over the grassy lawns of Parliament House.

Riley is back in a new city with a new adventure with his friends and his little red plane. This time, he’s in Canberra, hot on the track of a very jumpy kangaroo. They follow the kangaroo around the sights of Canberra. Although the kangaroo stops at many spots, she seldom lingers, and Riley has to keep alert or he’ll lose her. Illustrations are digital art imposed on photos with yellow sunshine-y page edges.

‘Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo: A journey around Canberra’ is the latest in the ‘Riley’ series from Tania McCartney and Kieron Pratt. They are travel guides for children wrapped up in madcap adventure. The animal featured is generally an icon of the country being explored, and provides a child-friendly entry point for young children. Titles in this series also offer tourists a souvenir of their touring, one that can be shared with young children wherever in the world they might be. Young children will enjoy following the antics visually as Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo is read to them. Recommended for early primary readers and younger tourists.

Riley and the Jumpy Kangaroo: A Journey around Canberra, Tania McCartney, ill Kieron Pratt
Ford St Publishing 2013
ISBN: 9781925000030

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Meet Ned Kelly by Janeen Brian ill Matt Adams

Ned Kelly went to school for a year or two.

He had books and friends and fun.

But that all changed when his father died.

He became a widow’s son.

Ned Kelly went to school for a year or two.

He had books and friends and fun.

But that all changed when his father died.

He became a widow’s son.

The family was poor. They had to move

To a farm that was nothing grand.

Ned soon learnt that those in charge

Took all the good, rich land.

Ned Kelly was born in the Victorian countryside, and grew up there much as many other boys of his time. He attended school, lived with his family. Then his father died. Ned was given a green sash when he rescued a boy from a swift-running creek. Already though, the police were often not far away. They pursued him when they thought him guilty of committing crimes, and sometimes even when they knew he hadn’t. He went to gaol at the age of sixteen for three years. Life was, he said, unfair. The police were corrupt, or drunk, or both and they were definitely not on the side of the poor. He retreated into the bush, wandering with his gang for a year, evading capture. The reward on his head eventually became too tempting and he was betrayed. In his final stand, at Glenrowan, he was injured and finally taken into custody. He was tried, convicted and hung. He was 25 years old. Illustrations are painterly and naïve, and accompanied by text set in an old-style newspaper type. Text size also varies throughout.

The ‘Meet the … ‘ series from Random House is non-fiction, where real characters from Australia’s history have their stories told in a narrative style. Ned Kelly was born into a poor Irish immigrant family, but life was fairly normal until his father was killed. Ned found himself living the life of an outlaw, partly by bad luck, then because he was angry with those who made and enforced the laws. He saw the inequality of life and of rules for the rich and for the poor. His story has become legend, but Meet Ned Kelly doesn’t set out to render him a saint, only to provide some of the background for the choices he makes. Ned’s story is told in rhyme that references bush ballads and takes the reader back to a time when stories were often told in ballad form – making them easier to share with others. Ned Kelly’s story is an iconic one, and readers will enjoy this introduction to his short and eventful life. Recommended for younger primary readers.

Meet Ned Kelly, Janeen Brian ill Matt Adams
Random House Australia 2013
ISBN: 9781742757186

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Between the Pages by Joan van Loon ill Chantal Stewart

The wind blew, the rain swept.

Two brave boys crept into the forest. Their names were Billy and Jack.

Palms stretched like huge umbrellas over their heads.

Trees, taller than giants, rose beside them.

The wind blew, the rain swept.

Two brave boys crept into the forest. Their names were Billy and Jack.

Palms stretched like huge umbrellas over their heads.

Trees, taller than giants, rose beside them.

Two young boys, Billy and Jack, inhabit a book. They encounter Australian animals large and small and all seem as fascinated by the boys as the boys are with what they see. The pace escalates with each page-turn, each new animal-type. The boys encounter bats, pythons, spiders and more in their journey through the bush. Excitement and fear in equal measure accompany each ‘page turn’, until the boys fall through a cloud of butterflies into their beds, where they are reading the book of their adventure. Immediately they want to begin again. Illustrations are watercolour and a combination of vignettes and full colour spreads. The bush is dense and lush, the landscape rich, the animals curious and surprised.

Between the Pages imagines an exciting life, if the reader could actually, rather than metaphorically, be immersed in a story. The two young characters are wide-eyed and enthusiastic as they discover the animals who inhabit the pages. They don’t know all about each animal, and decide that observing from a distance is safer than staying in any one opening. They carry with them a book, which only at the end is revealed as being the book they have entered. As the pace increases, text becomes more spare, until they explode back into ‘reality’ via butterflies. Although they seem to be in pajamas, it may be that this is a morning book, encouraging flights of fancy rather than a bedtime book! Recommended for pre- and early-schoolers.

Between the Pages, Joan van Loon ill Chantal Stewart
New Frontier Publishing 2013
ISBN: 9781921928444

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Ducky’s Nest by Gillian Rubinstein ill Terry Denton

When Claudie’s mum went to hospital to have the new baby, Nana came to stay with Claudie.

Nana looked after Claudie very well but she didn’t know much about Ducky. Ducky was Claudie’s special toy. She carried him around all day and at bedtime she made a little nest with her arms and Ducky slept in it.

When Claudie’s mum went to hospital to have the new baby, Nana came to stay with Claudie.

Ducky’s Nest tells the story of what happens when Ducky is inadvertently left at the park after a walk with Claudie and Nana. But it begins before that, with Mum going off to hospital to have a baby. Nana can do most things, but because she’s not Mum, Ducky spends a night in the park. While Claudie and Nana go home, Ducky is cared for by the residents of the park. They try their best to find his home, but his descriptions evoke other houses, other homes, other nests, other locations around the city. Finally, he sleeps in a nest made by the wild ducks at the park. It is there he is found next morning by Claudie. By this time, the family has altered forever with the arrival of the new baby. Illustrations are in pen, ink and watercolour.

Ducky’s Nest was first published in 1999 and is reproduced here in paperback with end notes by original publisher Mark McLeod. Also here are bios and comments from Gillian Rubenstein and Terry Denton. Ducky’s Nest is a story within a story. Claudie has been an only child and now is to have a new sibling, with all the changes that entails. Ducky, who has nested nightly in Claudie’s arm spends a night with the caring wild ducks, seeing for the first time, a much bigger world than he’s previously known. The link is the nest. Melbourne-dwellers will recognise much of the landscape Ducky experiences. Very subtly, the reader is introduced and supported through the changes that a new baby can bring. The trauma of separation is ameliorated by the support of other ‘family’, until they are reunited in their new configuration. Along the way, there are lovely interpretations of the way others may see what we describe. A lovely picture book, back in print. Recommended for pre-school and early years readers.

Ducky’s Nest , Gillian Rubinstein ill Terry Denton Walker Books Australia 2013 ISBN: 9781922077721

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Vullah Vunnah Nah, written, illustrated and performed by Patricia Clarke

‘Vullah Vunnah Nah’ is a Gunditjmara lullaby, translated into English by Patricia Clarke.

Vullah Vunnah Nah is a Gunditjmara lullaby, translated into English by Patricia Clarke. She has included both English and Gunditjmara words in the text and illustrated them with bright rainbows. This simple song could be mastered in the classroom quickly and shared with others. It also reminds that to have a rainbow, there must be rain, providing an opportunity for classroom discussion (on many levels). One spread, that with the English words is removable, providing the option of just presenting the text in the Gunditjamara language. Included is a CD.

A colourful and useful title for early primary classrooms.

Vullah Vunnah Nah, Patricia Clarke One Tree Hill, 2012 ISBN: 9780987313904

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

Busy Wheels by Mandy Archer ill Martha Lightfoot

The sun rises over the fire station.

Fire Engine waits behind the big red doors.

It is very quiet. Upstairs, the crew are sleeping.

Only Fox keeps one eye open.

Fire Engine is Flashing, Digger to the Rescue, Tractor Saves the Day, Racing Car is Roaring

The sun rises over the fire station.

Fire Engine waits behind the big red doors.

It is very quiet. Upstairs, the crew are sleeping.

Only Fox keeps one eye open.

Each of these four titles offers a day in the life of a wheeled machine. In Fire Engine is Flashing , the day begins quietly then escalates as the truck and crew are called to a fire. They rescue trapped residents and douse the fire. In Digger to the Rescue a day of routine work is interrupted so digger can rescue a stranded neighbour. Tractor Saves the Day begins with farm tasks and ends with a less-common farm job. Racing Car is Roaring takes a trip around the racetrack and beyond with a sleek blue racing car. The final spread of all titles contains images of other related machines. Illustrations are bright and colourful, black-outlined and full page.

‘Busy Wheels’ is a new series from Scholastic about wheeled machines. In each, the machine becomes the main character and each story features different animals rather than humans at the wheel. Fox, Bear, Dog and Rabbit drive their machines and complete daily and unexpected tasks. These sturdy paperbacks will appeal to young lovers of machines and the work they do. Expect many imitations of roaring race cars, tractors, diggers and possibly a fire engine siren or two. There is much here that will initiate constructive play in young children. Recommended for pre-schoolers and early primary readers.

Fire Engine is Flashing , Mandy Archer ill Martha Lightfoot Scholastic 2013 ISBN: 9781742835105

Digger to the Rescue , Mandy Archer ill Martha Lightfoot Scholastic 2013 ISBN: 9781742835099

Tractor Saves the Day, Mandy Archer ill Martha Lightfoot Scholastic 2013 ISBN: 9781742835129

Racing Car is Roaring , Mandy Archer ill Martha Lightfoot Scholastic 2013 ISBN: 981742835112

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author