Justin D’Ath – Aussie Reviews

Three by Justin D’Ath

The explosion that killed my parents happened halfway through Second Lesson. We all heard the dull thump, even though the Presidential Palace was fully two kilometres from school. Mr Chibei, our new teacher, was writing the traditional word for patriot on the chalkboard. He went still for a moment. The rest of us looked up at the windows. I don’t know what we expected to see – mightbe smoke? Mighbe the looping white trails of rebel mortars? – but all we saw were fat-bellied clouds.

Storm clouds.

We continued with our lesson. Mr Chibei wrote thunder, first in English, then in Zantugi, and we all felt relieved.

Storm clouds.

We continued with our lesson. Mr Chibei wrote thunder, first in English, then in Zantugi, and we all felt relieved.

Son of President Balewo, and heir-apparent to the presidency, Sunday Balewo is at school, wondering why Holly (who he has recently kissed for the first time) is not at school today, when a bomb explodes in the Presidential P, killing both his parents. There has been a coup d’etat and General Mbuti has seized control of the country. Now it seems a bomb-carrying baboon is searching for him. Lucky for Sunday, he’s a talented athlete known as ‘Magic Feet’, because his life is about to accelerate out of control. He’s truly on the run. He must keep one step ahead of the bomb-carrying baboon as well as trying to work out who to trust in in the aftermath of the coup. People he has known all his life are suddenly strangers, and strangers become friends.

Three begins with a bomb, then speeds up to missile pace. The relatively naïve and sheltered 16 year-old Sunday takes a little while to realise that his life will ever be the same. He has no time to mourn his parents, or to consider what he will now do, because he has to make split-second decisions to stay alive. This is an abrupt coming of age, where the main character Sunday has not only to navigate the world beyond his palace upbringing, but he also has to establish his own trust parameters. It is no longer relevant to accept the parameters set by his father. Amid the explosive (sorry) action, Sunday faces very real moral dilemmas and a re-assessment of what he wants from his own life. Recommended for upper-primary, early-secondary readers who love thrillers.

Three, Justin D’Ath
Ford Street Publishing 2016
ISBN: 9781925272277

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Panda Chase, by Justin D'Ath

Pingwu was huge and scary. His big yellow teeth were as thick as Jordan’s fingers.

Jordan and Harry have got a lot going on. They’ve got an orphaned possum to hand feed, a bathful of yabbies to rehome and sheep to chase off the highway. If that’s not enough, they’re also the first on the scene when a giant panda escapes from a crashed truck. But really, it’s just another day in the life of Mission Fox: Animal Rescue Service.

Panda Chase is the second title in this series for middle primary aged readers and, in true Justin D’Ath style, raises the stakes for the twins, who in the previous book only had to deal with a giant python, a swarm of wasps and an escaped cockatoo. Their operations don’t always go smoothly, and their mother doesn’t approve of some of their antics, but young readers will.

Good stuff.

Panda Chase (Mission Fox), by Justin D’Ath
Puffin Books, 2011
ISBN 978014330582

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Snake Escape, by Justin D'Ath

The twins looked up…
‘Shishkebab!’ they gasped.
Bella was enormous.

Twins Jordan and Harry are on a mission. With their dog Myrtle they have set up Mission Fox Animal Rescue Service, and now Mrs Seabert wants them to help her find her missing pet – a giant python called Bella.

But catching a scary, and hungry, snake is not easy – especially when you add in a scared cockatoo, an angry cat and a swarm of wasps. This could be Jordan and Harry’s slipperiest mission.

Snake Escape is the first title in a new series for junior readers by Justin D’Ath, author of the extremely popular Extreme Adventures series. Harry and Jake are fairly normal nine year olds – they have fears, illnesses and foibles – who, in their quest to do something special, find themselves in extraordinary situations. Eight to ten year old readers will love this.

Snake Escape (Mission Fox), by Justin D’Ath
Puffin Books, 2011
ISBN 9780143305811

This book can be purchased from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Robbie and the Dolphins, by Justin D'Ath

A swift V-shaped ripple arrowed across the water towards Robbie’s cap. There was a splash, a slice of grey fin, the cap leapt into the air…

Robbie can’t swim or play games, because he is in a wheelchair. He’s only allowed to come to the Sunday School picnic if he promises to be very careful. But Robbie is sick of being careful and being treated like a baby. Maybe he can’t walk, but he still wants to have fun.

When Robbie meets an old fisherman, he wants to get to know him better. And when he joins Alan on the jetty, he comes face to face with a dolphin. When Robbie’s hat blows into the water, the dolphin gets it back for him – but soon it’s Robbie who can help the dolphin.

Robbie and the Dolphin is one of the first four titles in the new Making Tracks series from the National Museum of Australia Press. Each title is set in a significant period of Australian history and also uses an exhibit from the National Museum as a springboard for the story. In Robbie and the Dolphin the chosen exhibit was a Chevrolet Truck, and the truck appears in the story as a means of getting Robbie and his wheelchair about.

With 64 pages and easy to read, yet high-interest text, this title, and the others in the series, are suitable for middle primary students, either as classroom resources or for private reading. Robbie and the Dolphins explores two important topics in Australia’s history – the effects of the polio epidemic, and the after-effects of the second world war, as well as an environmental theme of caring for marine creatures and, of course, the topic of children with disabilities.

Good stuff.

Robbie and the Dolphins, by Justin D’Ath
National Museum of Australia Press, 2006

Shaedow Master, by Justin D'Ath

Quickwater Lake, at the centre of the Kingdom of Folavia, is deadly. Ora is the only person to have survived its pull, and that when she was an infant. Now, as she nears her fifteenth birthday, Ora finds herself drawn to the lake, sensing it calling her.

When her uncle, the king, takes Ora to see the Cloudtouchers – trees which soar to meet the clouds – she is overwhelmed by their beauty and stature. But soon she learns that the trees are in danger and, with them, the future of the whole kingdom.

Ora must overcome her self-doubt and the shock of discovering her true identity if she is to make full use of her emerging powers and ensure the future of Folavia.

Shaedow Master is an absorbing new fantasy title from Justin D’Ath, an author who shows his flexibility and depth of talent in tackling a new genre and age group. Great reading.

Shaedow Master, by Justin D’Ath
Allen & Unwin, 2003

Infamous, by Justin D'Ath

Tim is desperate to put the town of Daffodil on the map. Things aren’t looking good for the future of the town, and if it doesn’t pick up, more people will leave. Especially Tim’s best friend Greer and her mum.

Then Tim has a great idea. If a thylacine was spotted in the town, lots of people would come to see it. So, all he has to do is make one. Tim turns his dog Elvis into a Thylacine. When it is spotted, it looks like Tim’s plan has worked. The town is packed with visitors and bounty-hunters.

Everything looks good, until Tim and Greer realise that Elvis isn’t the only Thylacine in town. Could there be a genuine thylacine? And if there is, how can Tim save it from the bounty-hunters?

Infamous is a fun junior novel from talented children’s author, Just D’Ath. With loads of humour and silliness, it also deals with themes of friendship, honesty and conservation.

A great read.

Astrid Spark, Fixologist, by Justin D'Ath

Despite the regular stream of people wanting Astrid to fix things, her parents try to keep her life as normal as possible. That means no media interviews and definitely no experiments.

Until Doctor Hu visits, seeking Astrid’s help in an experiment so important that even Astrid’s parents can’t say no. Doctor Hu wants Astrid to fix the hole in the ozone layer.

Doctor Hu’s plans involve a bagggoon – a contraption combining a balloon, an old volvo,lots of ginger beer, a pair of rubber gloves and a stack of hair dryers. When the time comes Astrid is accompanied by her friends Lucas and Kia Jane and a very rude galah, on the journey of a life time.

Astrid Spark, Fixologist, is the latest offering from the talented Justin D’Ath, with illustrations by Terry Denton, whose other credits include the Storymaze series and Andy Griffiths’ Just books.

Kids will love the silliness, the inventiveness and the sheer fun of this book.

Astrid Spark, Fixologist, by Justin D’Ath
Allen & Unwin, 2002