Katie Abey, Basket Cat, The Five Mile Press, June 2016, 18pp., $12.95 (board book), ISBN: 9781760402303 Katie Abey, Dog House, The Five Mile Press, June 2016, 18pp., $12.95 (board book), ISBN: 9781760402310 Katie Abey’s books, Basket Cat and Dog House are two colourful and lively easy-care books to be enjoyed by small children and the adults who read them. In Basket Cat, we meet a friendly feline who, like most cats, loves baskets and spends a lot of time trying out numerous ones for comfort. But the one difference between other cats and Basket Cat is that she dreams of having a basket…
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John Flanagan, The Ghostfaces (Brotherband #6), Random House Australia, 16 May 2016, 386pp., $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857980113 I have never read speculative fiction, or science fiction, so when The Ghostfaces arrived – and it was no.6 in the popular Brotherband series – I did feel somewhat tentative about the enjoyment level this book would deliver. But deliver it did in what is an action-packed, adventure-driven quest. The Herons, so-called because of the type of ship in which they sail, make up the Brotherband. Each of them possess particular skills which gives them the capacity to rise to any occasion that…
Bill Condon (text), Lucinda Gifford (illus.), One More Friend (Mates: Great Australian Yarns), Scholastic Australia, June 2016, 64pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781742991184 A recent addition to Scholastic’s Mates*series, One More Friend is a fully illustrated chapter book for readers 7+. The story follows Jack’s first day at a new primary school, during which he is faced with the challenges of making new friends and finding a way to deal with the resident bully, Mark. Fortunately, Jack’s gift – the ability to make people laugh – comes in handy when making friends. However, dealing with Mark is another matter entirely. The story’s…
Roland Harvey, On the River, Allen & Unwin, July 2016, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781760112455 This next installment of Roland Harvey’s At the Beach series is On the River – a picture book about the Murray River, from its beginning in the high country to its end at the sea. The first thing that struck me on opening this book was the extensive research that has gone into it. The endpapers alone could keep a reader happily busy for an hour or two! As with the other books in this series, On the River has something for all ages. As the…
Fleur Ferris, Black, Random House Australia, 27 June 2016, 288pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925324976 Black isn’t Ebony Marshall’s true name, but the moniker has stuck. Seventeen-year-old Black is in her final year of high school, and can’t wait to escape the small country town of Dainsfield after graduation – but not for the usual reasons. Everyone in Dainsfield knows that Black is cursed. Three of her friends have died in tragic accidents. Enter Aiden, a newcomer to the school, who asks her to the school formal. Will Aiden be the next victim? Fleur Ferris, author of Risk, skilfully combines mystery, romance…
Jules Verne, Stephanie Smee (translator), David Allan (illus.), Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff, Eagle Books/Christmas Press, April 2016, 337pp., $55.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9780994234001 Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff is a classic adventure story set in nineteenth century Tsarist Russia at a time of great turbulence as foreign armies threaten to invade the Empire. Only one man, Mikhail Strogoff, has the skill and fortitude to traverse the vast countryside and warn of the invasion—but will he make it in time? The story, by celebrated French writer Jules Verne, is a rollercoaster of good versus evil, man versus nature, and overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.…
Naomi Hunter (text), Karen Erasmus (illus.), A Secret Safe to Tell, Empowering Resources, April 2014, 32pp., $17.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780994501004 Tackling a rarely discussed issue, A Secret Safe to Tell is a gently told story about a girl who finds freedom after sharing her deepest secret. With evocative language, readers are drawn into the life of a young girl experiencing abuse. Each page brings readers down the same path as this child who is trying to understand what is happening to her. Eventually, the emotions become more than she can handle alone. And in a sweet, satisfying conclusion, she finds help…
Jack Heath, Shockwave (Countdown to Danger #2), Scholastic Australia, May 2016, 144pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760159634 Get ready for adventure when readers choose their fate in this new action series from best-selling author, Jack Heath. With 30 danger-filled paths and only 30 minutes to survive, Shockwave keeps young readers guessing as they pick from various scenarios deciding their fate. Do you trust the woman who just landed on the beach with a gun in her hand? Do you lead her to or away from your friends at camp? Do you try to help or run away when you come face-to-face with…
Bajo & Hex, Dig World (Pixel Raiders #1), Scholastic Australia, May 2016, 192pp., $9.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760159252 Rip and Mei, the best gamers at school, turn from competitors to collaborators when they unwittingly become part of INREAL GAMES newest video game. They find themselves in a world that seems all to real with no obvious way of escaping. Can they find their way back to the real world or will they be trapped forever battling lava lizards and sombrero-wearing spiders? Doesn’t every gamer wonder what it would be like to actually be in the video game they are playing? Written by…
David Solomons, My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord, Nosy Crow/Allen & Unwin, July 2016, 320pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857637338 My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord is the sequel to My Brother is a Superhero. I haven’t read the first book, but if the second is any indication, it must have been absolutely hilarious. The second book is all about Luke and his resentment towards his superhero brother, Zack, and his superhero BFF, Lara. You can understand why he resents them. After they got their superpowers, they barely have time for him. Luke feels alone, neglected and ignored. Plus, they…