Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer and Lili Wilkinson, Danielle Binks (editor), Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology, HarperCollins Australia, 1 May 2017, 336pp., $24.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781460752319 This is a thoughtful selection of ten stories ranges widely across the spectrum of current teen concerns and written in a variety of styles. Each is well crafted as every contributor is adept at creating a believable YA voice and, while the settings, times and circumstances vary, they are all firmly about what it is to be a teenager today. The opening story, One Small…
Author: Admin
Gay Hay (text) Margaret Tolland (illus.) Watch Out, Snail!, Starfish Bay Children’s Books, June 2017 40pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760360320 Few Australians would be familiar with the giant New Zealand snail Powelliphanta. A nocturnal and carnivorous creature, it can grow up to 9-10cm in length and has 6000 teeth. This attractive picture book follows a snail over the course of one night as it comes out looking for prey and is in turn the target of other animals’ hunting. As the story is set at night, the colours of the background are dark blue. The animals hunting the snail are shown from…
Samantha Grover (text), Camille Heisler (illus.) Exploring Soils: a hidden world underground, CSIRO Publishing, June 2017 32pp., $24.95 (hbk) ISBN 9781486305001 This narrative information book follows young James as he digs, gardens, builds sandcastles and makes pottery, exploring and investigating different types of soils as he goes. Despite the opening sentence where he says, “I work on soils”, (which sounds more like an adult speaking rather than a child), the story and illustrations show him doing normal activities like digging holes with his dog, planting sunflower seeds, playing at the beach and doing science and art activities at school. Along the way,…
Jonny Lambert, Tiger Tiger, Little Tiger Press/Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 June 2017, 32pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781848694446 Grumpy old Tiger is looking after little Cub. ‘Bother,’ he growls. ‘I’m too old for cub-sitting’. He wants to sleep, but lively Cub has other ideas and coaxes Tiger into an adventure through the jungle where they encounter monkeys, baby rhinos, pangolin and more. Initially Tiger is unimpressed – he has seen all this before – but Cub’s enthusiasm is infectious, and gradually Tiger begins to see the jungle with fresh eyes. The text is lively and fun with lots of rhythmical rhyming that…
Chris Hadfield (text), The Fan Brothers (illus.), The Darkest Dark, Macmillan Children’s Books Australia, 30 May 2017, 48pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781509824090 Chris loves rockets and planets and pretending that he is an astronaut in space. But Chris is afraid of the dark. His parents have finally had enough of Chris sleeping in their bed and declare it is time he stayed in his own bed. Chris is scared – he sees the ‘worst sort of aliens’ in the shadows. But when he watches the first moon landing with ‘Real, live astronauts. On the actual, far-away Moon,’ he is captivated and…
Lynn Jenkins (text), Kirrili Lonergan (illus.), Ollie’s Treasure, Exisle Publishing, June 2017, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781925335422 Ollie’s Treasure is a tale of mindfulness for children. Knowing he likes treasure hunts, Ollie’s grandma sends him a treasure map promising treasure that will bring him happiness. The map guides him through experiences that involve all the senses – ‘Look up and see the sky’, ‘Find the brightest yellow rose and smell its perfume’, and ‘Wriggle your toes and feel the grass under your feet’. When Ollie reaches the end of the treasure hunt, he is disappointed there is no shiny truck or…
Caleb Krisp (text), John Kelly (illus.), Bring Me the Head of Ivy Pocket (Ivy Pocket #3), Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin, May 2017, 336pp., $14.99 (pbk) ISBN: 9781408858721 Ivy Pocket, who is bonkers, (the author’s words, not mine, although it is a spot on description) is back in the wonderful series finale of her adventures in Bring me the Head of Ivy Pocket. It’s a little hard to describe the Ivy Pocket series: gothic, wacky, peculiar, hilarious are all adjectives that come to mind. It is even harder to describe the plot in this novel because the plots in the series are…
Stephan Pastis, The Cat Stole My Pants (Timmy Failure #6), Walker Books Australia, 27 April 2017, 288pp., $17.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781406377163 Timmy Failure is at it again in book six of the best-selling Timmy Failure series by famed comic strip creator, Stephan Pastis. Timmy’s supposed to be relaxing on vacation, but getting away from it all doesn’t apply to his investigation business, Total Failure, Inc. Mystery, danger and a six-toed cat linger around every corner of Key West, Florida. Together with his unpaid intern, Timmy must solve the case (and finish a book report) all while trying to figure out why his mother thinks she’s…
Liz Pichon, My School Project: family, friends and furry creatures (Tom Gates #12), Scholastic Australia, 1 June 2017, 272pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781743816523 This is an interesting book for newly independent readers – full of drawings, doodling and different fonts, it’s an alternate form of storytelling. The narrator is Tom Gates, and this is his scrapbook and school project. Tom and his classmates are doing an assignment on their family trees and Tom needs to do some research on his, though he’d rather not. But encouraged by his mum and dad, Tom finds out all kinds of things he never…
Anh Do (text), Dan McGuiness (illus.), Party Time! (Hotdog #2), Scholastic Australia, 1 June 2017, 128pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760279011 Here is the second in the new Hotdog series from Anh Do. It’s Kevin the cat’s birthday and Hotdog the dachshund and Lizzie the iguana are throwing him a surprise party. But it’s not easy – they have to distract Kev, set up the party, buy his present and foil the plans of two thieving bullies! Can they give Kev the best birthday ever? This is a fast paced story with plenty of action and physical humour. There are lots…