black dog books – Page 2

Forget Me Not by Sue Lawson

Thomas Gilmore

‘Thomas, it’s time to leave.’ Father’s voice echoed up the stairs of the empty house.

Thomas took a last look around his room. Gone was the furniture, his books, cricket bat and model ship. He wondered if he should have talked Father into letting him keep his cricket bat. After all, cricket might be played in America.

Eve Gilmore

Head high, Mother sailed through the jostling crowd. I trailed behind, fighting the sorrow engulfing my heart. Even though the Southampton dock was crowded with passengers and spectators, I felt alone. The excited chatter, clop of horses’ hooves and blast of automobile horns mingled as mournful drone in my head.

Eve and her family are relocating from England to America. Her brother, Thomas, is excited but Eve can only think about the friends she is leaving behind. Not even the news that they are to travel on the Titanic’s maiden voyage is enough to cheer her up. Once aboard however, there is plenty of diversion for Thomas and Eve, even if Eve is left to care for her baby sister more often than she would like. There are new friends to make, other decks to explore and adventures to be had. On a ship so large and fancy, with so much to look forward to, Eve’s apprehension and sadness slowly ease.

Forget Me Not is the story of one family’s journey aboard the ill-fated Titanic. The reader knows at the outset the fate of the ship, but like the pull of the sinking ship, the story moves them inexorably closer to the moment of impact and beyond. By that time, Eve, Thomas, Bea and their friends Huge and Meggie have become the reader’s friends too and every page turn becomes breath-holding as their fates unfold. In addition to being a story about a family emigration, ‘Forget Me Not’ is a window to another time, when middle class girls were expected to behave like ladies at all times, and young men had responsibilities way beyond their years. And despite this, they found ways to just be children and to enjoy the stuff of childhood. Recommended for middle- to upper-primary readers.

Forget Me Not, by Sue Lawson
Black Dog Books 2012 ISBN: 9781742032108

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialble to purchase online from

The Wrong Boy by Suzy Zail

They came at midnight, splintering the silence with their fists, pounding at our door until Father let them in. I tiptoed to my sister’s bed, threw back the covers and slid in beside her. She was already awake.

‘I hate them,’ I whispered. Mother didn’t like us using the word hate but there was not getting around it; I hated them. I hated their perfectly pressed uniforms and the way they pushed past Father, dragging the mud from their boots across Mother’s Persian rug. I hated them for nailing the synagogue doors shut and for burning our books. But mostly I hated them for how they made me feel: scared and small.

Hanna Mendel has her life mapped out. She will wear her yellow dress to the dance on Saturday night and she will be a famous pianist. Just like her hero Clara Schumann. But she assumes a reasonable world. And in the days of WWII, there is a lack of reason. She and her family have been fortunate until now – even when a ghetto is declared in their Budapest street, they do not have to move. But then they are herded into rail cars and sent to Auschwitz. Nothing could have prepared her – or anyone – for the horrors of Auschwitz. Hanna’s growing understanding of the environment she now inhabits leads her to desperation and despair. Throughout, she uses her music as an island of calm in her increasingly turbulent world. And then she sees Karl, handsome son of the cruel camp commandant.

Some teenagers transition from child to adult with only minor hiccups. Others, like Hanna and her sister Erika, have their childhood ripped from them in ways almost too brutal to believe. Except that evidence makes it impossible to refute. Some respond to the brutality by giving up, others by fighting. It’s impossible to imagine which response any individual will form, until they are faced with the unfaceable. Ignorance can be damaging, it can be protective. In The Wrong Boy, there are examples of many survival strategies. There are no longer any simple solutions or simple judgements that can be made. Characters are flawed and changeable, good and evil, and sometimes a mixture of both. Hanna is forged strong by her experiences, by the same characteristics that have enabled her to excel at piano-playing. ‘The Wrong Boy’ draws a compelling picture of life in a prison camp from the point of view of a determined but naïve teenage girl. Recommended for secondary readers.

The Wrong Boy, Suzy Zail Black Dog Books 2012 ISBN: 9781742031651

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

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

Preloved, by Shirley Marr

Whenever my mum decided to give me advice, it often sounded like this:

‘Amy, don’t bring an open umbrella into the house, because a ghost might be hiding under it.’

‘Amy, don’t touch the sleep on a cat’s eyes and then touch your own eyes, because you will see ghosts.’

‘Amy, never tweeze the hairs off the tops of your toes, or you will see ghosts.’

If only I had listened to Mum.

Things are looking ordinary for 16 year old Amy Lee. Since her parents split up, she and her mum live in a tiny apartment above Mum’s shop, Buy Gone. Amy’s best friend Rebecca has moods that are almost impossible to fathom, or predict. It seems that boys at her school only want to talk to her if she’ll bring along the magnetic Rebecca. At school, her reputation is tipping the scale from odd to downright weird. And now there’s a ghost, Logan. With a mother who talks constantly about ghosts and how to avoid them, you’d think Amy should have been safe. But sometimes you have to make up your own mind about what is real and what just might not be. Prelovedis a novel about reality and beyond.

What do you do when you have a mother who spouts superstitions all the time? Who puts the prices up on items in her shop so they won’t be bought? And a father who seems very good at dodging his responsibilities? And a friend who seems only to need her as a prop? None of this is good for self-esteem, and therefore to being able to look objectively at what’s going on in your world. Amy is feisty and likeable. She can see a ghost, but she has more trouble seeing what’s going on in her own head, and heart. Preloved is an engaging read about a girl stuck on the precipice of yesterday and today, not sure whether to fall back or leap forward. Recommended for mid-secondary readers.

Preloved, Shirley Marr Black Dog Books 2012 ISBN: 9781742031903

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Love Notes from Vinegar House, by Karen Tayleur

There are three things you should know about me if we’re ever going to be friends. The first thing is my name – Freya Jackson Kramer…The second things is that I don’t believe in ghosts – not the scary white sheet, boogie-woogie type of ghost anyway…And the third thing is that I believe in karma.

Freya does not want to spend her school holidays staying with her grandmother at Vinegar House, but her parents need to race off to visit her other grandmother (Nanna) overseas, and they don’t trust her to stay home alone, so Grandma Vinegar’s house it is. At least it will give her a chance to escape the chaos which a compromising photo of her on Facebook has caused. Vinegar House is filled with secrets – and the presence of her annoying cousin Freya, who is also holidaying there. There’s also the presence of Luke Hart, who Freya used to have a huge crush on, until he had a fling with Rumer. But is there another presence? One that might explain the light in the attic and the taps that run late at night?

Love Notes from Vinegar House is part ghost story, part coming of age tale, managing to be funny, touching and scary. Freya is a likable first person narrator, who shares her experiences in a sometimes self-deprecating, chatty manner, so that we are taken on her journey of discovery where she learns more about herself, her cousin and her extended family. The setting, too, will delight – a Gothic-style house perched on cliffs overlooking an Australian beach, with a mix of characters from contemporary teens to a grumpy, mysterious housekeeper.

A compelling young adult novel.

Love Notes from Vinegar House, by Karen Tayleur
Black Dog Books, 2012
ISBN 9781742032191

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fispond.

Pan's Whisper, by Sue Lawson

Sunshine flickers between the trees and soundproof fence that line the freeway, stabbing my eyes. I squeeze them shut to block it out, but the flashes of red remind me of that judge in her crimson suit and glasses, staring down at me. Her voice booms through my head, in time with the flashes.

‘Pandora, a foster home is your best option at the present.’

I open my eyes, the stabling light less painful than the memory.

Beside me in the driver’s seat, Gemma clears her throat. ‘The McMinns have two other foster children, Pan.’ She twitters like a budgie. ‘Livia’s a couple of years older than you. She’s been there for two years, and Nate … gee, he was five when he arrived, so he must be about ten now.’

Pan is placed in foster care with the McMinns as the result of a court order, but while she has little choice about being there, she sure as heck doesn’t have to like it, or make it easy on her foster carers or herself. And she doesn’t. There’s nothing here she recognises, it’s all too ordered and neat. Nothing like home. And home is where she wants to be. But life seems determined to march on, despite all Pan’s stalling. She is enrolled in a new school and is expected to cooperate, both at school and at home. She writes letters to her sister Morgan, but will not send them, will not talk about her. Pan builds protective walls around her and defends them with sharpened words. No one is getting close to her. No one. She’s just pausing here until she goes home. Only Smocker, a childhood toy cat, is privy to her secrets, her memories.

Pan is an echidna, rolled tight, spines out. She is unpleasant and largely uncooperative at home and school. It would be easy to dislike her, but it’s clear from the outset that she is full of pain, unable and unwilling to trust anyone. Like the echidna, Pan’s softness is hidden and protected allowing only short glimpses of her real character, before pain reclaims her. Her older sister, Livia, isn’t sure she’s worth the trouble, although her younger foster brother keeps trying. Foster parents, Rose and Ian are resolutely positive but firm and for the first time in her life, Pan experiences stability and security. From this base, she can begin to unlock and examine the secrets of her past. A powerful and moving novel from a talented writer. Recommended for mid- to upper-secondary readers.

Pan’s Whisper, Sue Lawson Black
Dog Books 2011
ISBN: 9781742032061

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 Boy Without a Soul, by Michael Panckridge

Gabrielle (Gabby) has no memory beyond waking up in hospital not knowing who she is or where she came from. The one things she does know is a Voice that tells her she is different, and that she is destined to help people. When she meets Michael and his little brother Jack, she knows she must help them…

Gabby’s nose twitched as the faint scent of burning timber reached her. A sudden thought flitted across her consciousness, then vanished just as quickly. She closed her eyes, and, despite the warning she’d received from the Voice, tried to will the memory back. It had been the smell of fire – but what? Nothing. Gabby’s mind was blank.
Amnesia. That’s what the people at the hospital said.

The Boy without a Soul , the second book in the Book of Gabrielle series is an exciting story of mystery and adventure, with a supernatural element. The mystery of who Gabrielle is, and where she comes from, is developed, and Jack’s story is also intriguing.

Best read by those who have read the first title, this one could also stand alone.

The Boy without a Soul (Book of Gabrielle), by Michael Panckridge
Black Dog, 2011
ISBN 978174203183

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

The Boy Who Wasn't There, by Michael Panckridge

‘When it’s time, you will know. You are going to help people, Gabrielle. More than that, you are going to save people. People just like you. Don’t seek them. When the time is right, they will find you. If everything proceeds as it should, order will be restored. Redemption will be yours…’

As she drifts in and out of consciousness, Gabrielle hears a vice telling her she is special, not like anyone else. She is, it tells her, on a quest to help others. When she wakes up, she is hospital, not sure how she got there or where she came from before that. With no past, and no known family, she is sent to a foster family. In her new house, though, scary things start to happen. Her room is filled with hundreds of moths, she is attacked by spiders, and lights turn themselves on an off. What – or who – is causing all this – and why are they after Gabby?

The Boy Who Wasn’t There is the first book is a new supernaturally themed series from author Michael Panckridge and Black Dog Books, The Book of Gabrielle. Whilst the story stands well alone, readers will be intrigued by the bigger mystery of who Gabrielle is, and want to keep reading the series to find out.

Suitable for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.

The Boy Who Wasn’t There (Book of Gabrielle), by Michael Panckridge
Black Dog, 2011
ISBN 9781742031828

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

The Tsunami Book, by Dr Gill Jolly

A tsunami is a water-wave caused by a sudden large movement of the sea floor, or by something like a meteorite disturbing the water surface.
The words tsunami comes from the Japanese words ‘tsu’, meaning ‘harbour’ and ‘nami’, meaning ‘wave’. They are also known as ‘seismic sea waves’, because many are caused by earthquakes. Tsunamis are incorrectly called tidal waves, but they are not caused by tides, which are controlled by the pull of the moon on the sea.

Until a few years ago, most people were unaware that tsunamis existed. If there was a super wave hitting shore, it was mostly known as a tidal wave, even though it was often clear that tides were not responsible. But since 2004, tsunamis and the terrible events that accompany them have become much more familiar in the world. But tsunamis are not new. The Tsunami Book: Killer Waves looks at just what a tsunami is and what causes it. Then it describes tsunamis around the world and the effects they have had on the populations where they occur. The Tsunami Book: Killer Waves includes photos of the aftermath of tsunamis and diagrams of their relative sizes. There is information about volcanoes and speculation about the truth behind the Atlantis stories.

The Wild Planet series of books from Black Dog Books presents factual information in beautifully photographed paperback books. They are generally authored by experts in their field. The Tsunami Book: Killer Waves is no exception. It’s a glossy large format paperback of picture book size, and full of facts and figures presented in engaging bites. It’s both an introduction to non fiction and an alternative choice for readers wanting something different from their reading. Contents, index and glossary are included, and topics are clustered under headings. The photos are dramatic and exciting and present readers with a global perspective on tsunamis.

Vampires, by Tony Thompson

It glowed in the dark. In 1975, there was a minor rage in my neighbourhood for small plastic models of classic horror characters.
They came in lavishly illustrated boxes and stood about 20 centimetres high. My first was Dracula. I put the model together and spent a lot of time staring at it.
I remember that I was interested in his clothes; the cape in particular inspired me to wander around the house with an orange blanket on my shoulders.

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series has introduced a new generation of readers to vampires, but vampires are anything but new. In ‘Vampires’, Tony Thompson trawls through history in search of literary (and later other media) references to vampires. As far back as the twelfth century, vampires were described, and they were not pretty. Or nice. More like ‘giant leeches’ engorged with blood. Hmm. History is divided on the actual existence of vampires, most dismissing them as fantasy, but others suggesting that there is too much written about them for there not to be some truth. Many writers, comic-book makers and filmmakers have described vampires and vampire personalities and motivations are as varied as the stories. Evil, horrific, romantic, tortured – vampires have been portrayed as all of these.

Vampires introduces the reader to many vampires, but also to the very many story traditions around some of the more famous vampires. Thompson looks at the origins of some of the more famous ways to overcome vampires and also where they developed their dress sense. Vampires is a very readable ‘un-history’. The tone is conversational and engaging. Readers fascinated by the literary genre of vampires will find information about many classic texts. Those who prefer to see the movie can do that too, with links to well-known and lesser-known films and television series. Comic-book fans can also search out stories told in this form. However you like your vampires – from romantic through comedic to horrific – you’ll learn more about them here. Recommended for all vampire fans.

Vampires, Tony Thompson
Black Dog Books 2010
ISBN: 9781742031316

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

Mademoiselle Lisa, by Delphine Perret

Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait known as Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It lives in the Louvre in Paris and is visited by millions of people. But what if Lisa was bored? What if she was sick of being looked at and having to stay still all the time? ‘Mademoiselle Lisa’ asks that question and then follows Lisa as she takes some time out. Initially her post-frame plans are modest, but flushed with success, she sets her sights overseas. She finds happiness and contentment in a new world. Illustrations are a mix of Mona Lisa’s face and loose line drawings set in an abundance of white space. Endpapers reflect formal wallpaper patterns featuring a number of still life configurations.

Mademoiselle Lisa takes the story of The Prince and the Pauper and reshapes it as a both modern and ageless fable. ‘Lisa’ is sick of just being an object of adoration, sick of the endless staring. She just wants a normal life, doing normal things. One day she decides that rather than sitting around, she needs to go out and seek this life she desires. Mademoiselle Lisa is both absurd and serious, suggesting that the world is there for the taking, no matter who you are. You just have to go out and get it. A small hardback, ‘Mademoiselle Lisa’ has wide appeal. Younger readers will enjoy the absurdity, while older readers will enjoy the reminder that anything is possible, if you will it so.

Mademoiselle Lisa, Delphine Perret
Black Dog Books 2010
ISBN: 9781742031620

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