GRAHAM, Stacey Garrison (text) Lucy Boulton Smith (illus.) The Bush Jamboree Self Pub, 2013 unpaged $22.95 pbk ISBN 9780987204905 Two brothers, supposed to be tucked up in bed asleep, hear the sound of music ‘cheerful and loud’. They follow it out into the bush where they see Kangaroo calling out to the animals to perform. The striking large illustrations of the jazz duo koalas, followed by a platypus singing at the microphone, lead to another page where an old ring-tail possum is picking a tune on a battered violin (called a fiddle here) and urging the boys to dance. The…
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FERNYHOUGH, Christine & Susan Elijas (text) John Bougen (illus.) Phylys, the Farm Truck Random House, 2013 unpaged NZ$19.99 pbk ISBN 9781775535096 SCIS 1632706 This story captures something of the life and times of Castle Hill in the high country of Canterbury with its dramatic mountains and valleys, rock faces and streams. When a new Toyota Hilux SUV ute is bought by the farmers, the animals despair. How will it cope with the rugged landscape? It is too posh and citified. However Phylys (like her namesake as detailed in the postscript) is a force to be reckoned with and, with heart…
FEINBERG, Anna & Barbara Feinberg (text) Kim Gamble (illus.) Once Tashi Met a Dragon Allen & Unwin, 2013 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781741758870 SCIS 1627391 Tashi is an endearing character whose adventures are well-known to readers through earlier books. In this one, a classic hero tale of leaving home, undertaking the adventure and returning home again, Tashi visits the home of the dragon living far away in a cave on a mountain. The dragon brings the rain but, in this particular year the rain has not come. Crops are dying and animals are thirsty so something needs to be done. Tashi…
EDWARD, Justine (text) Karl Gabriel (illus.) Shine Balboa Press, 2013 25pp $14.95 pbk ISBN 9781452575315 SCIS 1630270 This cheerful small book, with its use of white and bright yellow papers and a child’s drawing of a sun on the cover, has the avowed aim of helping kids to feel good about themselves. Each double page has a four-line verse opposite a naïve illustration. The tone is positive and affirming, the language is simple and the pages uncluttered. The choice of a seven year old (who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder) to illustrate the book should enhance its appeal…
DUBOSARSKY, Ursula (text) Annie White (illus.) Violet Vanishes Lothian, 2013 24pp $9.99 pbk ISBN 9780734413970 SCIS 1631578 Violet wants to go to a real circus, where a magician makes a rabbit vanish. Violet and her mother find a show that is being held at the library, but to Violet’s disappointment, there are no rabbits. Just cards and a pineapple. Then, when the lights come up, it is Violet who has disappeared, and even the magician has to look for her. This simple, easy to read text would be an ideal starting point for the early reader, and the delicately coloured…
DADDO, Andrew (text) Jonathan Bentley (illus.) First Day ABC, 2013 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780733331206 SCIS 1642089 A mother and a daughter are preparing for the daughter’s first day of school. It’s a classic picture book theme, though this one is firmly set in the 21st century as it includes a double-page spread of the mother and daughter taking selfies on a phone! We hear the mother reassuring the daughter as they’re getting ready for school, but at the end of the book it’s the daughter who is reassuring the mother. The scenario is very relatable and familiar for young families. …
CORCORAN, Daniel Mary The Hairy Fairy Characteristix, 2013 unpaged $14.95 ISBN 9780980817973 SCIS 1637231 At its heart Mary The Hairy Fairy is a story of finding your place in the world. Mary is a particularly hirsute fairy with a huge mane of red hair which never stops growing. Despite numerous attempts, the hair will not be tamed. This is only the beginning of the story as Mary lives amongst other fairies who all seem to know what their job is and are pretty good at it. She does not. Trying a succession of jobs, she discovers she isn’t really suited…
COLLINS, Suzanne (text) James Proimos (illus.) Year of the Jungle: Memories from the Home Front Scholastic, 2013 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780545425162 SCIS 1619887 This is a picture-book memoir about what life is like for a little girl whose father has left to fight in the Vietnam war. Suzy finds the situation bewildering; she wonders how long a year is, if her mother will go to the jungle too, why she gets too much Halloween candy from a worried lady, why her father sent her birthday card when it was her sister’s birthday – she begins to learn that the place…
CARTHEW, Mark (text) Matt Stanton (illus) The Moose is Loose! ABC, 2013 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780733331015 SCIS 1621371 Animals for the Kalaboo Zoo are being transported by train when signalman Bruce raises the alarm that the moose has escaped. The problem is compounded when it is realized that many of the other animals have also escaped. Bruce and Mac, the train driver, have to find a way to lure the escapees back onto the train. Written in rhyme this is a wonderful text for young readers who will be fascinated by the array of animals and the havoc they create. …
BUDBURRA BOOKS (text) Cherbourg Community (illus.) Budburra’s Garden: Eating Colours Budburra, 2013 unpaged $22.00 pbk ISBN 9780987134813 Budburra is an Aboriginal word for echidna. Budburra Books is a not-for-profit organisation which involves Cherbourg children and community members in the production of books, art and films. In this case the children have contributed to the vivid art work with Cherbourg Yidding artists Geoff Bonney and Peter Widmer. A number of project officers and health workers have also been instrumental in the publication of this polished looking, fun publication. Sammy is tired and hungry. Red, green, orange, white, and purple foods he…