Kesta Fleming (text) and Marjory Gardner (illustrator), Marlow Brown: Scientist in the Making, Celapene Press, October 2019, 72 pp., ISBN 9781925572186 Society’s growing awareness of gender stereotyping and equal opportunity has been filtering through the children’s literature scene for several decades. While there are still more male characters in books for children the scales do seem to be balancing out. And because of the awareness of the historical imbalance the, female characters that are being written are often carefully thought out by their creators and are determined, talented, brave, and they succeed (on their own merits), in traditionally male endeavours.…
Author: Admin
Emily Rodda (text) and Marc McBride (illustrator), The Glimme, Scholastic Australia, October 2019, 384 pp., RRP $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781862919570 Young Finn lives with his grandparents in Wichant, an old fishing town. He is a gifted drawer and loves to draw dragons and giants, but his overbearing grandfather disapproves of his drawing. When the strange housekeeper of a mysterious mansion offers to buy Finn for his talents, his grandfather agrees. Finn is taken to the mansion and is told to copy a series of huge paintings, to perfect them. He practices day after day, then one day he falls through…
Gregg Dreise, Cunning Crow, Magabala Books, October 2019, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925768862 This is the story of Waan the crow and his cunning plan. When the animals discover that the rainbow gives them colour, Waan wants to be the most beautiful, even more beautiful than Dinewah. But Waan’s plan fails, he cannot recreate the Dreaming Magic and so the cunning crow reminds us to be proud of our differences and that beauty comes from within. This traditional story, beautifully illustrated and retold is based on the words of the author’s grandmother. It is one of a series…
Lisa Harvey-Smith (text) and Mel Matthews (illustrator), Under the Stars: Astrophysics for Bedtime, Melbourne University Press, October 2019, 182 pp., RRP $39.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780522876086 Lisa Harvey-Smith is a British-Australian astrophysicist, Australia’s first Women in STEM Ambassador and Professor of Practice in Science Communication at the University of NSW. She has also been awarded the Eureka Prize and has worked for the CSIRO. In addition, she has been a commentator and broadcaster, so she is eminently qualified to write about the fascinating topics of astronomy and astrophysics. Not all scientists can write about their area of expertise so that young…
Peppa Pig, Peppa’s Christmas Jumper Day, Penguin Books Ltd., November 2019, 16 pp., RRP $9.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780241371589 It’s Christmas jumper day at pre-school and Peppa Pig discovers her jumper from last year is too small — and not sparkly enough. Daddy Pig to the rescue! Through some ingenuity Daddy Pig turns an ordinary jumper into a sparkly Christmas outfit. Peppa’s Christmas Jumper Day is the latest Christmas themed board book from the Peppa Pig franchise. It delivers everything you would expect from this beloved franchise — a sweet story, some creative thinking and cute piggy pictures. The fact that…
Roald Dahl (text) and Quentin Blake (illustrator), Roald Dahl’s Beastly Brute and Heroic Human Beans, Puffin Books, August 2019, 64 pp., RRP $32.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760891589 Roald Dahl’s Beastly Brutes and Heroic Human Beans delves into four of Dahl’s most-loved books to give readers a new perspective on the characters and stories. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie takes the reader through the story in his own words, as does Sophie in her retelling of The BFG and Matilda in her story. With The Twits we hear bits of the story from several perspectives. Having the characters retell their…
Jack Heath, Armageddon (Liars #5), Scholastic Australia, September 2019, 240 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781742993430 This time villainous Viper’s ultimatum to the town of Kelton is simple: This is not a threat. I have no demands. This is a statement of fact. Leave…or die. Jarli and his friends are in a race against time to stop Viper from destroying their town. But although Jarli and his friends are close to unmasking Viper, Jarli’s missing memories have him questioning what he really knows and with Doug trapped in a hidden prison, he needs to make some decisions fast. With the…
Michelle Aung Thin, Through My Eyes: Hasina, Allen and Unwin, September 2019, 224 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760637286 The men come at night. The first Hasina knows of it is her aunt’s voice, urgent, full of fear. ‘Up, up. Get up!’ The second thing is smoke. Then there is a scream. ‘Run,’ her father shouts. ‘And don’t stop!’ This is the seventh book in the Through My Eyes conflict zone series in which stories of war are told through the eyes of children. Fourteen year old Hasina her family are Rohingyas- a persecuted racial minority in Myanmar (formerly known…
Paul Jennings (text) and Geoff Kelly (illustrator), A Different Land, Allen and Unwin, September 2019, 128 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760528720 A Different Land is the third in a trio of companion books (A Different Dog, A Different Boy) by master storyteller and Round the Twist creator Paul Jennings. Loosely based on Paul’s own experiences of being a ‘ten pound pom’, it tells the story of three new arrivals to Australia: Christopher, his mother Pat and Anton his little adopted brother. The trio are thrown together by grief and circumstance to travel twelve thousand miles from England on the…
Peter Millet (text) and Myles Lawford (illustrator), Power Up! (The Invincibles #1), Scholastic New Zealand, July 2019, 144 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781775435990 The Invincibles is a new series featuring ever-perennial super-heroes. In this case, the heroes are kids, brought together for a rugby team try-out, who receive their powers when they’re simultaneously struck by lightning. Three boys and two girls are on the field when the lightning strikes and the group become aware of their powers after nearby sheep jump the goalposts. They have the usual kind of powers, super speed, super hearing and long vision (one boy…