April 2016 – Aussie Reviews

Forward March, by Christobel Mattingley & David Kennett

In towns and cities across Australia bells ring,
drums beat, bagpipes keen, kilts swing, medals jingle,
proud battalion banners flutter and for a moment
the music of the bands is swallowed by the scream
of jets in formation flypast…

On Anzac Day every year Australians gather at war memorials and line streets to commemorate the men and women who fought and served not only in World War 1, but in conflicts before and since, including the Boer War, World War 11, Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf and more. Forward March explores what happens at the Anzac Day marches, and the events they commemorate.

Simple text highlights who we are remembering, and why, and the many illustrations, using techniques including acrylic paint, pencils and ink say so very much. Most spreads have multiple smaller illustrations, in rectangles reminiscent of photographs or postcards. The contemporary scenes of parades and ceremonies are in full colour while those of older scenes are in sepia or duller tones, visually delineating past and present. There are seemingly endless opportunities to discover details and explore what is happening in the illustrations, and the sparse text allows room for this to happen, in a perfect complement.

Suitable for classroom use near ANZAC Day or at any time of year, but also great for home reading and discussion.

Forward March, by Christobel Mattingley & David Kennett
Omnibus Books, 2016
ISBN 9781742990804

One Thousand Hills, by James Roy & Noel Zihabamwe

This story starts with a bell.
There’s also the slanting sun, and the hawks overhead. The rooster and the goat and the town and the mist and the church above the clouds. There’s the radio, with its message that chilled the boy to the bone.
It is April 1994. In Agabande, Rwanda, Pascal’s life is good. He has a friend called Henry who he loves to play with, a mother and father who love him. They are not wealthy, but there is food on the table and they work hard. His biggest problem is his pesky older brother, who shirks work whenever he can and plays tricks on Pascal too. But things have started to change. There is strange talk on the radio about ‘cockroaches’ and people around town are looking at each other strangely. The neighbours have left town without saying goodbye. Pascal’s parents tell him not to worry, but in one terrible night everything changes forever.

One Thousand Hills tells the story of the terrible events of 1994, where eight hundred thousand Rwandans were slaughtered in just 100 days, and many more were forced to flee the country. Told in third person from the perspective of young Pascal, but broken with interviews between Pascal and a school counsellor five years after the events, the reader is given the opportunity to witness the trauma of the events and their long term aftermath.

Pascal’s experiences – and those of the people around him – are heart-breaking, and as a child character readers are given the opportunity to see the innocence of childhood being shockingly eroded. This is an important insight into both the events of Rwanda and to the experiences which bring refuges to our shores.

One Thousand Hills, by James Roy & Noel Zihabamwe
Omnibus Books, 2016
ISBN 9781742990750

Matty's Comeback, by Anita Heiss

There’s only two minutes left but the ball is back in play and then the entire Burrow breaks into a slow song that gathers pace. Matty is leading the way and he is proud, until he hears his mother singing completely off-key, and then he’s just a little bit embarrassed, but he keeps going…
Botany Road, take me home
To the place, I belong
Back to Redfern, South of Sydney
Take me home, Botany Road.

Matty loves footy, and he loves his team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He’s pretty sure he’s their number 1 fan – and his friends and family agree. He’s even chosen the team he plays for because they have the same colours as South Sydney. When he’s not cheering for the Rabbitohs, Matty is scoring tries for his team, and soon they’ll be playing in the grand final. But when he is injured, it looks like Matty won’t be able to help his team out at all.

Matty’s Comeback is a sports-filled junior novel. Matty is a determined, likeable kid – though he isn’t perfect, especially when it comes to the way he teases his little sister. He is surrounded by a loving Koori family, works hard for what he wants and is loyal to his friends – and his team.

Perfect for any kid who loves rugby, Matty’s Comeback is also a great story about family, friends and overcoming obstacles.

Matty’s Comeback, by Anita Heiss
Scholastic, 2016
ISBN 9781760152031

A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty

When Elliot Baranski came to Cambridge, England, he only stayed for just over two weeks.

Which was preposterous.

He was from the Kingdom of Cello, he had stumbled into the World when he fell into a ravine and landed in a BP petrol station, he’d walked from this petrol station to Cambridge, so as to find his friend Madeline Tully but, unexpectedly – a real bonus – the first person he’d run into was Abel Baranski, who was only Elliot’s long-lost dad.

All of which was perfectly reasonable.

Brilliant, even.

But this! Leaving after just over two weeks!

Well, it was preposterous. It was so preposterous it was making Madeleine’s nose bleed.

When Elliot Baranski came to Cambridge, England, he only stayed for just over two weeks.

Which was preposterous.

All of which was perfectly reasonable.

Brilliant, even.

But this! Leaving after just over two weeks!

Well, it was preposterous. It was so preposterous it was making Madeleine’s nose bleed.

Things are not going well in the Kingdom of Cello. There’s a bit of chaos in the World as well. Madeleine is trying to make sense of it, but there seems there is little sense to be found. Not that Madeleine knows much about what’s happening in Cello. All she knows is that she’s in the World and Elliot is back in Cello and they may never speak to each other again. Their worlds are no longer connected. Until they are. Madeleine, Elliot and their friends are whirled into the troubles of the Kingdom, into the wild and ever-increasing colour attacks, the dangers and the mysteries. The trick is to work out what’s going on, who is who they say they are, who they are working for.

A Tangle of Gold is the third and final instalment in ‘The Colours of Madeline’ trilogy, the first two being ‘A Corner of White’ and ‘The Cracks in the Kingdom’. The series explores the connections between the World and the Kingdom of Cello. In A Tangle of Gold tensions between the Royalists and other groups have escalated until war seems inevitable. Cello, a nation of diverse provinces, needs to sort out its internal problems to prevent war with the neighbouring country of Aldhibah. Tangle is right – everything is a mess! As with the first two novels, A Tangle of Gold is full of twisting, turning challenges which test the mettle of the main characters, forcing them to put aside their personal issues and find ways to save their world. It is full of danger, wonder and doses of humour. Poetry, physics, arts and science tangle in this rich and rewarding series set across two worlds. Highly recommended for upper-primary and early-secondary readers.

A Tangle of Gold: The Colours of Madeleine 3, Jaclyn Moriarty

Pan Macmillan 2016 ISBN: 9781743533239

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Scream: The Squid Slayer by Jack Heath

‘I really don’t think we’re supposed to be here,’ Yvette said.

Sarah sighed. When had her best friend become so obsessed with rules? Didn’t she know how to have fun?

‘Relax,’ she said. ‘if we get caught, I can talk our way out of it. “Oh, I’m so sorry, we got totally lost. We’re just kids, we don’t know our way around.”’

‘I’m not so worried about getting caught. No-one ever comes down here,’ Yvette said. ‘I’m more concerned about that.’

‘I really don’t think we’re supposed to be here,’ Yvette said.

Sarah sighed. When had her best friend become so obsessed with rules? Didn’t she know how to have fun?

‘Relax,’ she said. ‘if we get caught, I can talk our way out of it. “Oh, I’m so sorry, we got totally lost. We’re just kids, we don’t know our way around.”’

‘I’m not so worried about getting caught. No-one ever comes down here,’ Yvette said. ‘I’m more concerned about that.’

Sarah and her friend, Yvette live in a coastal town. Water-loving Sarah lives on a houseboat with her mother. Yvette lives in town. Yvette is a mostly-willing companion/accomplice in Sarah’s sometimes wild schemes. Sarah loves ghosts and is determined to prove their existence. Where better to find one than deep inside a cave system? They have only just begun their search when a ocean monster on the beach pulls them and almost everyone in town to the water’s edge. It’s an impossible thing, and Sarah wonders where it came from? Later, she finds far more than she expects as she starts to explore an old sunken ship. Her discoveries leave her with many, many more questions. The cover features an evil-looking squid and the tentacles of many more. The back cover warns ‘read at your own risk’. Pages are surrounded by dark borders adding to the claustrophobia.

The Squid Slayer is mystery, fantasy and horror combined, pitched at newly-independent readers, one of four titles in the new Scream series from Scholastic. Sarah is an outsider, at least partly because of her reputation for tall tales and her belief in ghosts. Yvette is a mostly-willing assistant, trying to keep her friend safe. The Squid Slayer is not for the faint-hearted. Hold on to your wetsuit, and ready your fins for an ocean-based thriller. Recommended for independent readers who like a frisson of danger in their fiction.

Scream: The Squid Slayer , Jack Heath
Scholastic 2016
ISBN: 9781760152116

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Goblin Mafia Wars by DC Green

War cries echoed behind us. The goblin army!

I spun, but the heat haze from the lava lake drowned my distance vision and watered my eyes. But we could all hear the fang-grinding, the rasping of metal on rock, the crunching of weaponised bolts.

Specks sparkled as if the red-orange lava was creating fireworks. Nah, not fireworks. The specks enlarged – heading right at us!

‘Arrows!’ I yelped. Most burned up above the gaseous lake. Dozens more angled towards our position.

War cries echoed behind us. The goblin army!

I spun, but the heat haze from the lava lake drowned my distance vision and watered my eyes. But we could all hear the fang-grinding, the rasping of metal on rock, the crunching of weaponised bolts.

Specks sparkled as if the red-orange lava was creating fireworks. Nah, not fireworks. The specks enlarged – heading right at us!

‘Arrows!’ I yelped. Most burned up above the gaseous lake. Dozens more angled towards our position.

PT is a sixteen-year-old human and king of Monstro City. Well, sort of. He and the Dead Gang (his monster mates include a giant spider, a mummy, a goblin and a shapeshifting vampire) have completed their first quest and survived. (in ‘Monster School’). Now they are in Dead Zone trying to find their way out. If they can avoid being consumed by dead things. Then it’s off to find and protect dragon eggs. No big deal. All that’s at stake is the survival of the world. The misfit crew have to find a way to work together and repel all manner of enemies from goblins, ogres, zombies and even family. Each new chapter is accompanied by full page black and white monsters.

Goblin Mafia Wars is punny and funny, wild and raucous. Every friendship group encompasses a range of skills, appearances and passions, but nothing you’ve experienced will prepare you for this gang – but perhaps that’s what people think about your friendship group. The best ‘gangs’ include a range of skills and attributes. This is no quest for the queasy – PT and his mates will encounter danger after danger in their search for the dragon’s eggs. They’ll also encounter plenty of craziness. Goblin Mafia Warsis a rollicking read and will be enjoyed by upper-primary and early-secondary readers.

Goblin Mafia Wars, DC Green
Ford Street Publishing 2016 ISBN: 9781925272208

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

The Light on the Water, by Olga Lorenzo

In the first few minutes of her stay in Ravenhall, she’s still able to kid herself. After all, no one is scraping tin mugs against the bars.
Prison initially seems a quitter, more subdued place than she’d expected. More like a hospital ward at eleven in the morning, but with patients who have been misdiagnosed, with galling consequences. Injustices that leave them pondering gloomily, nursing their outrage.

Almost two years after her daughter Aida’s disappearance, Anne Baxter is resigned to the fact that she is going to be arrested for her murder. Aida’s body has never been found, but nobody can understand why Anne would have taken her autistic daughter bushwalking on Wilsons Promontory, or how she could have lost sight of her. Unable to prove her innocence, Anne waits, in limbo, as the media stalks her, her neighbours shun her and complete strangers attack her.

The Light on the Water is a masterful exploration of loss in various forms – not only has Anne lost her daughter, but the disappearance came in the wake of the collapse of her marriage. She has also lost sight of who was and of any sense of normalcy in her life. At times it seems that the obstacles preventing her recovery are too high – her barrister ex-husband seems unsupportive, her remaining daughter seems self-absorbed, and her sister and mother are terrible. Most of her friends have drifted away, and with no real leads as to what happened to Aida, the circumstantial evidence mounts. Yet Anne finds ways to keep going, to keep functioning, even managing to find new friends and allies in unlikely places.

At times really troubling, The Light on the Water is nonetheless absorbing and deeply satisfying.

The Light on the Water, by Olga Lorenzo
Allen & Unwin, 2016
ISBN 9781925266542

Countdown to Danger: Bullet Train Disaster by Jack Heath

It doesn’t look like any train you’ve ever seen.

It has the usual parts – sliding doors, plastic windows, massive grinding wheels – but it’s facing up. The mountain is so steep that the rails are almost vertical. How is that supposed to work? It’s only one carriage long, but still. Can trains even go uphill?

Despite the strangeness, it seems familiar. As if you have taken a ride on it before. Unsettled, you glance at your watch. Wasn’t the train supposed to depart an hour ago?

It doesn’t look like any train you’ve ever seen.

It has the usual parts – sliding doors, plastic windows, massive grinding wheels – but it’s facing up. The mountain is so steep that the rails are almost vertical. How is that supposed to work? It’s only one carriage long, but still. Can trains even go uphill?

Despite the strangeness, it seems familiar. As if you have taken a ride on it before. Unsettled, you glance at your watch. Wasn’t the train supposed to depart an hour ago?

‘Countdown to Danger: Bullet Train Disaster ’ happens over the space of 30 minutes. A 30 minutes that stretches and contracts depending on the actions of the viewpoint ‘You’. ‘You’ are taking a ride on a prototype almost vertical bullet train in an unnamed but obviously mountainous location. Your friend Pigeon is there, and as the train takes off, a boy named Taylor comes hurtling down the central aisle, headed for injury or death. Like a puzzle, your decisions may lead to survival, but other paths may lead you to very different (and less pleasant) outcomes. In total there are 30 paths that you can take.

‘Countdown to Danger: Bullet Train Disaster ’ is the first title in a new series from Jack Heath and Scholastic. It is told in the second person so that even the gender of the main character is not fixed. Readers can choose to follow different paths – and predict which way to proceed. Instructions at the end of each chapter direct the reader, or offer them options. With thirty paths – only ten of them leading to survival – and a digital clock countdown as chapter heading, the pace accelerates, no matter which option you follow. The chapters also become shorter as time ticks away. Great for critical thinking, also ideal for reluctant readers and those wanting to control their progress through a story. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Countdown to Danger: Bullet Train Disaster , Jack Heath
Scholastic 2016
ISBN: 9781760159627

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Barney and the Secret of the Whales by Jackie French

Sydney Town, October 1791

The snake raised its head three feet from where I stood, turning the roosters on the spit above the fire.

Brown snake. Deadly.

I froze.

A boy can run faster than a snake can slither. A brown snake can strike faster than a boy can move.

Birrung had taught me that snakes sleep in the winter. This one must have just woken up. Hungry. Ready to bite.

Sydney Town, October 1791

The snake raised its head three feet from where I stood, turning the roosters on the spit above the fire.

Brown snake. Deadly.

I froze.

A boy can run faster than a snake can slither. A brown snake can strike faster than a boy can move.

Birrung had taught me that snakes sleep in the winter. This one must have just woken up. Hungry. Ready to bite.

It’s early days for Sydney Town. Supplies are still short and the townspeople are still adjusting to life in Australia. Barney Bean is excited by the possibilities offered by the new colony but to take advantage of them, he needs money. An unexpected opportunity presents itself and he signs on as crew on one of the Third Fleet vessels, the Brittania. He is ready to make his fortune. Nothing could have prepared him for the realities of living at sea, hunting whales. He calls on everything he has learned from his friends, Elsie and Birrung, and from his mother so he can survive his three year contract. Author notes include information about the Third Fleet, about whaling and its role in the survival of the fledgling colony.

Barney and the Secret of the Whales is a second title in a new series from Jackie French about the very early days of Sydney Town. Readers first met Barney in ‘Birrung the Secret Friend’. The idea of ‘secrets’ is connected to stories that are untold, or less told and which form an integral part in the development of the colony. Barney has held his secret about whaling for a long time and only now has he decided to tell his story. Barney is bright and passionate and despite a tough start to his life, is determined to achieve independence and to look after his friend, Elsie. Barney and the Secret of the Whales offers a glimpse of childhood circa 1791 – it was a very different experience to contemporary childhood. Barney’s connection with the absent Birrung gives him a connection to Australia that few of the early residents shared. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Barney and the Secret of the Whales , Jackie French

Angus & Robertson 2016 ISBN: 9780732299446

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

I Love Me, by Sally Morgan & Ambelin Kwaymullina

I love me!
I love my eyes.
I love my nose.
I love the way my curly hair grows.

From mother-daughter dup Sally Morgan (author) and Ambelin Kwaymullina (illustrator), I Love Me is a lively celebration of being yourself – and loving yourself. From physical features, inside and out, to emotions and personality, text and illustrations show indigenous children loving being who they are.

The book aims to build self-esteem in indigenous and non-indigenous children and the bright illustrations and bouncy, prose, which uses rhyme, rhythm and repetition will engage youngsters and encourage them to join in the reading.

I Love Me, by Sally Morgan & Ambelin Kwaymullina
Fremantle Press, 2016
ISBN 9781925163490