walker books – Page 4 – Aussie Reviews

My Name is Lizzie Flynn, by Claire Saxby & Lizzy Newcomb

All I own in this world is my name: Lizzie Flynn.
It’s all I take with me as we are hustled aboard the Rajah, a cargo of convict women.

Convict Lizzie Flynn is leaving London, bound for Van Diemen’s Land. All she owns is her name. When the women on the boat are given sewing materials to make a quilt, she is reluctant. She doesn’t know how to sew. But Molly encourages and teaches her, and soon Lizzie a part of the sewing group. By the time the boat reaches Australia, the women of the Rajah, have completed a beautiful quilt and Lizzie has new skills and new friends, though sadly her friend Molly has not survived the journey.

My Name is Lizzie Flynn: A Story of the Rajah Quilt is a beautiful historical picture book, fictionalising the story of the Rajah Quilt, made by convict women in 1841 and now housed in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.

Saxby has a skill for creative nonfiction, and her text manages to convey both the emotions of Lizzie and her fellow travellers, and the essence of the era of convict transportation. The acrylic illustrations again capture the mood, with the drab colours onboard the ship in contrast with the e blues of the seas and sky beyond. In the scenes of land a clever contrast is created by portraying England in grey tones as the women leave it behind and Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) with rolling green hills, and gently colourful houses suggesting a level of hope.

A beautiful book, suitable for school and home

My Name is Lizzie Flynn: A Story of the Rajah Quilt, by Claire Saxby & Lizzy Newcomb
Walker Books, 2015
ISBN

Available from good bookstores and online.

A Single Stone, by Meg McKinlay

First the fingertips and then the hand. Choose your angle wisely, girl; there’s no forgiveness in bone. Rotate the shoulder, let the head and hips follow … there.

The Mothers’ words echoed in Jena’s mind as she eased into the crevice, flattening herself against the rock. When she was through, she paused, waiting for the next girl. They were deep now, in the heart of the mountain. Around her, the earth pressed so tightly it was hard to tell where her body ended and the stone began.

Every girls dreams of being part of the line, the seven young girls chosen to crawl deep into the mountain to collect the precious mica which will ensure the village’s survival. Jena is the leader fo the line, and believes passionately in all the Mothers tell her. She doesn’t question, doesn’t doubt. Until a baby is born early, a girl dies and a single, impossible stone is found. These three seemingly separate incidents make Jena question all that she has believed, and bring back memories of losing her parents. COuld it be that all she has believed is wrong?

A Single Stone is a disarming yet beautiful novel set in a dystopian world. Jena’s village has been cut off from the outside world by a massive rockfall following an unnamed disaster which has also affected the world beyond their valley. With no way out, and no help from outside, the villagers have adapted to their isolation and to the vagaries of cold and lack of resources through evolving a society where everything revolves around the need for girls to collect the mica which can generate heat through cold winters. Girls, especially fine boned girls, are precious. Men are to blame for the rockfall, and so lesser, and boy children undesirable, except to ensure the conception of more girls.

Jena is a strong lead character, who comes to question her own determination to do the work she was raised to do. McKinlay’s writing is superb: thoughtful, deliberate and breathtaking. Readers will feel squeezed by the mountain, shocked along with Jena at the discoveries she makes, and warmed by the hope of the resolution.

Wonderful.

A Single Stone, by Meg McKinlay
Walker Books, 2015
ISBN 9781925081701

Available from good bookstores and online.

Violet Mackerel's Formal Occasion, by Anna Branford & Sarah Davis

“This is the best small thing we’ve ever found,” says Rose.
“By far,” agrees Violet.

When Violet Mackerel and her friend Rose find a beautiful locket buried in the dirt at the park, they are very excited, although they worry whether someone is missing the locket. Then, when Mum loses a basket of precious knitted toys on the train, they realise just how sad and worried somebody can be when they lose something. They hatch a plan to give Mum a lovely surprise – a formal occasion. In the meantime, Violet tries to cheer Mum up by writing stories about what might have happened to the missing toys.

The eighth in Violet Mackerel’s ongoing adventures, Violet Mackerel’s Formal Occasion is also a beautiful stand alone story. Violet is a likeable main character, who is caring, resourceful and funny, a combination sure to appeal to young readers. The gentleness of the series means they are just as perfect for sharing as they are for individual reading, and the soft, grey-scale illustrations are a beautiful complement.

With acts of kindness, friendship, and cupcakes, and in a delightful hardcover format, Violet Mackerel’s Formal Occasion is delightful.

Violet Mackerel’s Formal Occasion, by Anna Branford, illustrated by Sarah Davis
Walker Books, 2015
ISBN 9781925081091

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Lost Girl, by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Leanne Tobin

The girl had lost her way.
She had wandered away from the Mothers,
the Aunties and the Grandmothers,
from the Fathers and the Uncles
and the Grandfathers.

When a young girl is lost in the bush, she is at first scared. But she stays calm, sheltering for the night to keep warm, finding water and bush food to fill her stomach and eventually following a crow that leaves her back to the camp-site, where she is warmly welcomed by her family. When her younger brother asks her how she coped, she acknowledges the help she was given by nature, ‘my mother.’

The Lost Girl is a lavish book celebrating indigenous culture and Australia’s natural environment, as well as the bond between the two. The story is gently told – young readers will fear for the girl, but visual clues form the start make it clear that she is no in danger. instead, she is surrounded by animals and plants which offer her company and protection.

The illustrations, painted in acrylic, use rich natural colours – ochres, greens, golds and silvery greys. The beauty of the scenery is well captured, as is the joy of both girl and family when they are reunited.

A beautiful offering for home or classroom.

The Lost Girl, by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Leanne Tobin
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781921529634

Available from good bookstores or online.

Lilli-Pilli's Sister, by Anna Branford, illustrated by Linda Catchlove

“I’m definitely going to have a sister. I can feel it in my wings.”

Lilli-Pilli is very excited. Mum is going to have a new baby, and Lilli-Pilli is sure it will be a sister. But as she helps to collect soft things for the baby’s cradle, her friends and family remind her that the baby could actually be a brother. Lilli-Pilli says she doesn’t mind, but could her senses be wrong? When she returns home, there is a surprise waiting for he r- in fact two surprises. She has a baby sister and a baby brother.

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister is a delightful story about new siblings, friendship and family. Lilli-Pilli and her parents are beautifully contemporary fairies, living in an Australian bush setting. Illustrations are whimsical but not saccharine, in watercolour suitable for the gentle nature of the story.

Suitable for any fairy-loving youngster.

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister, by Anna Branford & Linda Catchlove
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781921977589

Available from good bookstores and online.

Cinnamon Rain, by Emma Cameron

A cave on Pebble Beach,
a bike ride from home,
where the sting of salt air
tears away the built-up wondering
of what to do –
on the last day of holidays,
about Casey,
with my life.

Luke is drifting through the final years of high school, unsure of where he’s heading< he works at the local supermarket to save up money, but doesn’t really know what he wants to do after school. The only thing he is sure of is his feelings for Casey. His mate Bongo is drifting too, but in a different way. He’s often drifting in a dope-filled haze as he struggles to see a way forward. He has a violent stepdad and an addicted mother, as well as a little brother who’s been taken away by welfare, meaning Bongo hardly gets to see him. He likes Casey too, but isn’t sure he has anything to offer her. Casey meanwhile, is stuck, unsure what she wants but pretty sure of what she doesn’t want: to be in this town, being told everything she can and can’t do by her controlling father. She wants to move on and be free, and neither boy can have a place in those plans.

Cinnamon Rain is a verse novel which packs a punch. The story is told from the first person viewpoint of each of the three characters in turn – so that we first hear from Luke, then Casey and finally Bongo. While in places the story overlaps so that we get two versions of the same event, the result is cumulative rather than repetitive, and the time lines of each narrative stretch differently so that we come in and leave at different times, meaning that in each section we get more of the total story, with the three stories, and characters, coming together in the final pages. This differs from the more common use of alternating viewpoints in multi-viewpoint novels, and works well.

Dealing with a range of issues which confront both the viewpoint characters and their other schoolmates, including drug and alcohol use, family breakdown, reckless driving, death and bereavement, teen pregnancy and more, the story could have become issue-heavy, but Cameron handles it skilfully, using the verse from to deftly weave together the different elements.

Beautiful.

Cinnamon Rain

Cinnamon Rain, by Emma Cameron
Walker Books, 2012
ISBN 9781921720451

Available from good bookstores and online .

A House for Donfinkle, by Choechoe Brereton & Wayne Harris

Up high in the grasslands
where Wooble Beasts roam,
Donfinkle Vonkrinkle
is building his home.

Donfinkle Vonkrinkle is happily building his perfect home, with the walls door, windows and porch all just the way he likes them. Everything is fine – until first a Flooble, then a Mooble, a Gooble and finally a Blooble all arrive to tell him what is wrong with his house. Donfinkle quickly gets to work fixing and changing his house – till he realises that his house is no longer perfect. Fortunately, his contrite friends help him to set it to rights.

A House for Donfinkle is a delightful rhyming picture book by début author Choechoe Brereton. The text has a simple message about self-belief, told in a joyful, whimsical way. The rhyming text scans beautifully, making it perfect for reading aloud and for multiple rereadings. The digital illustrations, by seasoned illustrator Wayne Harris are filled with whimsical detail and rendered in a pastel palette which serves as a wonderful complement to the gentle message of the text.

Lovely.

A House for Donfinkle, by Choechoe Brereton & Wayne Harris
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781921720536

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Croc and the Platypus, by Jackie Hosking & Marjorie Crosby-Fairall

The croc and the platypus trundled off
In a rusty Holden ute.
They took some damper and tea in a hamper
And bundled it up in the boot.

When the croc and platypus head outback in their dinky-di Aussie ute, they – and readers – are guaranteed an adventure.
Using the rhythm of Edward Lear’s The Owl and The Pussycat, The Croc and the Platypus offers an Australian version which takes in many iconic Aussie images – including the ute, Uluru, lamingtons and, of course, the animals.

This is a lively, humorous take on the original, though it isn’t necessary for children to know the Lear version in order to enjoy the fun of this new. The mismatched couple, the ochre and aqua landscapes and the fun of the word choices all make for loads of fun. Debut author Jackie Hosking makes rhyme look easy, and illustrator Marjorie Crosby-Fairall’s acrylic and pencil illustrations are a perfect complement.

Delightful fun for Aussies of all ages.

The Croc and the Platypus, by Jackie Hosking & Marjorie Crosby-Fairall
Walker Books, 2014
ISBN 9781922077608

You can see an interview with the author and illustrator here

Available from good bookstores and online.

Shadow Sister, by Carole Wilkinson

They retraced their steps, but before they had gone more than a few chang, there was a disturbance in the forest. It was the same sound that they had heard near Shenchi village – branches breaking, undergrowth being flattened, the thud of large feet. There was also an unholy screech that made Tao’s insides turn to water. Below them, the nomads had also heard the noise and were picking up their weapons. Whatever was causing this disturbance was getting closer. Tao’s instinct was to run, but Kai stopped him.
“Wait.”

Since he left the monastery to travel with Kai, Tao has tried hard to learn the skills of the dragonkeeper, but it is not easy. He has no-one to teach him what to do, and he is yet to discover his special qi power. His journey with Kai is long and complex – he has to trust Kai that they are heading in the right direction. There are also many perils – a gang of violent nomads who will stop at nothing to get what they want, a ferocious seven-headed snake-beast, and a ghost who wants to freeze Tao’s blood.

Shadow Sister is the fifth book in the stunning Dragonkeeper series, and maintains the quality of its predecessors. Wilkinson’s characters are endearing – or frightful, in the case of enemies including Fo Tu Deng and Filong – and the settings well-painted. The action is finely paced, keeping the reader engrossed from beginning to end.

As with other books in the series, Shadow Sister could be read alone, but readers who have read the other titles will be glad they have, and those who haven’t will find themselves drawn to seek them out.

Just brilliant.

Shadow Sister , by Carole Wilkinson
Black Dog Books, 2014
ISBN 9781922179579

Available from good bookstores or online.

Alexander Altmann A10567 by Suzy Zail

Alexander Altmann stood in the dusty grey square, sweating. He looked up at the sun and guessed it was midday. His stomach growled. If he was home, his mother would be calling him to come in for lunch.

He felt his eyes start to well. “Stop it,” he said under his breath. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” He wiped his nose on his sleeve and waited for his number to be called. He didn’t need to look down at his arm at the number tattooed onto his skin. He knew it by heart. A10567.

The last time he’d heard his name was five weeks ago, maybe six. He hadn’t recognised his mother when she’d called out to him. Her head had been shaved and she wore mismatched shoes and a tattered dress that gaped at the neck and, for the first time since he’d stepped off the train, Alexander realised what he must look like.

Alexander Altmann is a fourteen-year-old boy and he’s in Buchenwald concentration camp. Every certainty, every connection he ever relied on has been stripped away. Even his name has been replaced by the number tattooed on his forearm. All that remains is memories and the need to survive. He cannot – will not – rely on anyone. He has to toughen up and forget his parents, his little sister Lili, his farm, his life, his beloved horses. To trust no one but himself. Not even Isidor who seems determined to be his friend, despite Alexander’s rejections. A job in the stables gives him a chance to work with horses, but it’s still a very dangerous place where a wrong word or action can mean beatings or death. The stakes intensify when Alexander is charged with breaking in the Commander’s wild new horse. Failure will mean death for them both.

Alexander Altmann’s life was comfortable and happy until Hitler began stripping Jews of all their rights and possessions. Their farm is given to others, his horses seized by the Nazis, his father taken away. All his notions of fairness, equity and justice are stripped away as he and fellow prisoners are dehumanised, starved and executed. Survival is an individual experience, even in a crowded prison camp. Alexander Altmann A10567 explores themes of loss, trust, survival, friendship and more. Alexander’s work with the scared horse he calls Midnight, reveals as much about Alexander and those around him as it does about horses. Alexander Altmann A10567 is a moving story about survival and integrity in the most brutal of circumstances. Recommended for upper-primary readers.

Alexander Altmann A10567, Suzy Zail Black Dog Books 2014 ISBN: 9781922179999

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller