Midnight Possum by Sally Morgan ill Jess Racklyeft

Possum loved the deep dark.

But when Moon rose

high in the sky,

he loved midnight

even more.

At midnight,

Possum went travelling.

Possum loved the deep dark.

But when Moon rose

high in the sky,

he loved midnight

even more.

At midnight,

Possum went travelling.

Possum loves the night, particularly after midnight when he can explore his territory. He encounters other Australian animals then settles in for dinner before hearing a call for help from another possum. Leaving his dinner, he responds to the call to discover that a mother needs help to find one of her babies, who has fallen and is now lost. When they locate the lost baby, there’s rescuing needed and Possum is up to the task. The rescue becomes complicated, and Possum must be brave if he is to safely return baby to waiting mother and sibling. Only then can Possum finally eat his dinner. Illustrations are patchwork-like digital collage with a strong nod to Eric Carle’s art. They include a wide variety of Australian animals. Endpapers feature gum leaves and the gum blossom of Possum’s dinner.

The Midnight Possum explains all those noises in the night experienced by those who share their neighbourhood with possums! In this outing, a male possum is needed to rescue a baby when a mother cannot leave her other baby to effect the rescue herself. Readers may speculate and/or investigate the differing parental roles of possums and other night-dwellers. Illustrations introduce other night animals and also a range of native flora. They also note those non-native animals that can pose a threat to possums when habitats overlap. Recommended for pre- and early schoolers.

The Midnight Possum, Sally Morgan Jess Racklyeft

Omnibus Books 2016 ISBN: 9781742991047

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Incredibilia by Libby Hathorn ill Gaye Chapman

‘Look what I’ve found,’ little Georgie said.

‘It’s a secret message. For us!

It floated down from that tree.’

Incredibilia‘Look what I’ve found,’ little Georgie said.

‘It’s a secret message. For us!

It floated down from that tree.’

Three children are playing outside – or rather two are playing and a third is imagining, and wanting to draw others into her imaginative games. It seems there is no room in the playing of the pair for a third. Day after day, Georgie sees possibility in the world she encounters. Day after day, Max and Harriet become consumed by their own games. Only when Georgie decides to pursue the secret messages on her own, do the other two become curious. Now it is time for ‘Incredibilia to begin. Illustrations are created using graphite, coloured and watercolour pencils, and watercolours. Endpapers are of a coloured garden full of shapes that just might be hiding other things. Cover art shows all three children playing, including Georgie dressed in red, inviting attention. The back cover though, shows only Max and Harriet.

Max and Harriet are full of play, and while they don’t actively exclude Georgie, they are moving faster than her and have little time to give her and her ideas. Georgie begins by wanting to bring them to play with her, but when that proves difficult she decides that she will play by herself. This self-sufficiency gains their interest more than her words. All three children are enjoying free play, but Georgie’s is a play of the mind as well as the body.

Incredibilia is a celebration of quiet and contemplative play as well a reminder of the magic of the outdoors. Illustrations carry the wind, and with them, the joy of childhood. Recommended for pre- and early-primary.

Incredibilia, Libby Hathorn ill Gaye Chapman
Little Hare Books 2016 ISBN: 9781760125257

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Blue & Bertie by Kristyna Litten

Every day Bertie and the giraffes did the same thing at the same time.

Crunchity-crunch – they nibbled sweet leaves from the top of the trees.

Blue and BertieEvery day Bertie and the giraffes did the same thing at the same time.

Crunchity-crunch – they nibbled sweet leaves from the top of the trees.

Bertie is happy with his life. There’s plenty of giraffes and plenty of food and water and company. Then one day, he sleeps in. When he wakes he discovers a whole different world. Without the others to be with and to copy, he doesn’t know what to do, or where to find them. When he is thoroughly lost, he encounters Blue. Blue leads Bertie on a wonderful day of new things and adventure. But at the end, Bertie is happy to rejoin his herd. Now it is Blue’s turn to feel lost and different. Blue and Bertie are friends and together they enrich the lives of the entire herd. Illustrations are stylised, in gentle and welcoming.

Blue & Bertie encounter each other by accident but are happy to play together despite their self-perceptions of being different. Each accepts the other happily into their differing worlds, and in doing so expands and enriches the world of each. Blue and Bertie is a delightful story of friendship and acceptance. Recommended for pre- and early schoolers.

Blue and Bertie, Kristyna Litten
Koala Books 2016 ISBN: 9781742761800

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Precious Things, by Kelly Doust

Thumb and forefinger feeling towards tiny dimpled edges, she grasped another shining glass bead, a glittering silvery grey button of mercury. Separating it from the hundreds of others nestled inside the small wooden work tray, Aimee withdrew the bead, brought it close to her face and peered at the pinprick of light.

In Normandy, in 1891, Aimee sews beads to make a collar for her wedding, a wedding arranged by her father in the hope of saving his estate from ruin. In London in 2015, auctioneer and lover of beautiful things, Maggie, finds the aged collar at the bottom of a box of pieces of lace and fabric she has won cheaply at auction. Wondering at its past, Maggie cleans it, and shows it off during a television appearance, and is soon contacted by a stranger sure that she has a connection to the piece. As Maggie tries to trace the history of the collar and its previous owners, she also struggles with her own past and the way it impacts her present. Is the collar leading her towards making the biggest mistake of her life – or is something more simple at play?

Precious Things is a novel about family and about love, spanning three centuries and touching on multiple owners of the mysterious collar. Maggie’s’ contemporary tale is interspersed with glimpses of the collar’s past, and the lives of the women who have worn it, though it is chiefly Maggie’s’ story. Maggie is trying to balance a demanding job in an auction house with a marriage which has always been steady, but is now under pressure as her husband Tim copes with an equally stressful job. The couple’s young daughter Pearl and Tim’s troubled teen daughter Stella add to the mix, as do Maggie’s difficult mother and her old friend Kate.

The collar’s past is gradually unravelled, but it seems that Kate’s marriage is in danger of going the same way.

Precious Things, by Kelly Doust
Harper Collins, 2016
ISBN 9781460750971

The Beekeeper's Secret, by Josephine Moon

Maria knew about guilt. It was a stubborn, pervasive and toxic emotion, and incredibly difficult to shake. Especially if really, deep down, you didn’t think you deserved to let it go.

Maria Lindsay lives a quiet, but productive life, and that is how she likes it. She lives simply, managing a retreat and raising funds for an orphanage, largely through the products she makes from honey and beeswax, gifts from the bees she tends. But when she receives two letters, her peaceful, orderly existence is threatened. One letter is from a niece she has never met, who wants to reestablish connection between Maria and the family she left behind many years ago. The other is from an investigator, looking into events which Maria has tried to put behind her.

Tansy Butterfield is Maria’s niece. She has long known about her aunt, but has only just tracked her down, and is delighted that she lives so close. But as Tansy’s fledgling relationship with her aunt grows, the rest of her life seems ind anger of falling apart. Her mother has arrived on her doorstep, having ‘a break’ from her previously rock-solid marriage, her husband has been asked to relocate to Canada for work, and Tansy’s agreement not to have children is weighing heavily on her.

The Beekeeper’s Secret explores the complexities of extended families, and the relationships which can span generations. Tansy and Maria form a strong bond, in spite of Maria’s long estrangement from Tansy’s mother, and Maria passes her learning on to Tansy and her stepson, Leo. Their family includes Tansy’s devout Catholic parents, her sister Rose who has four children, her hippy Aunt and Uncle, and her cousin and his wife, as well as Tansy’s husband Dougal and his adult son Leo. Each family member is navigating change as well as looking back at promises and mistakes of the past.

From the author of the much loved The Tea Chest and The Chocolate Promise, The Beekeeper’s Secret continues the strong, warm tradition, although also dealing with some uncomfortable (yet important) topics including the effects of child abuse.

The Beekeeper’s Secret, by Josephine Moon
Allen & Unwin, 2016
ISBN 9781925266139

Middle School: Going Bush, by James Patterson & Martin Chatterton

All in all, life in Hills Village with the regular people wasn’t too bad.
But here’s the kicker: if life among the regular people wasn’t so bad, why did it feel like there wa
s a great big something hovering just out of reach? Why did I keep checking my email for messages from “out t

here”? Why did I have itchy feet?

Why wasn’t I happy?

Rafe Khatchadorian’s life is going okay, so he should be happy. – but he finds himself wishing for something interesting to happen. So when a letter turns up unexpectedly, inviting him to an art camp in Australia, he jumps at the chance. Soon he’s Down Under learning all kinds of things, including how awesome it is to be on so

lid ground, why you should never trust a bearded bushman, and that you should never EVER play fetch with a crocodile.

Part of the best selling Middle School series, Going Bush is the second title in the series set in Australia. and coauthored by James Patterson and Australian author Martin Chatterton. In this adventure Rafe experiences the outback as part of a young artist camp where he and his friends come up against an angry croc, the ravages of outback camping, and a mystery surrounding a blue diamond.
Young readers will enjoy the blend of humour and adventure.

Middle School: Going Bush, by James Patterson and Martin Chatterton
Random House, 2016
ISBN 9780143781219

Gary, by Leila Rudge

Most of the time,
Gary was just like
the other racing pigeons.

He ate the same seeds.
Slept in the same loft.
And dreamt of adventure.

Gary is just like the other racing pigeons – except that he can’t fly. So, on race days, when the other pigeons head off on adventures, Gary stays home and dreams. And, when they come home, he collects souvenirs and information which he records in his scrapbook. When Gary accidentally finds himself in the travel basket one raceday, he wonders if he’ll ever find his way home. But his scrapbook provides the clues he needs to plot a route home.

Gary is a gently whimsical picture book about daring to take risks and follow dreams, no matter the obstacle. Readers will love the idea of a flightless bird using ingenuity – and public transport – to overcome his perceived handicap, and the way the other birds try Gary’s way, too. They will also adore the mixed media illustrations, with pastel hues and lots of detail to explore, especially in the maps and souvenirs which Gary collects for his scrapbook.

A beautiful picture book, Gary is suitable for all ages.

Gary, by Leila Rudge
Walker Books, 2016
ISBN 9781925081695