Joshie Lefers (text), Wayne Bryant (illus.), How to Hypnotise a Droid (Hectic Electric #1), Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 July 2017, 128pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760128005 How to Hypnotise a Droid is part of a new series, Hectic Electric, and it is definitely ELECTRIC! This book is awesome and will have readers laughing just exploring the cover. Don’t be fooled by the mesmerising cover illustration though, this series will help children understand their own feelings of loss and empathy while igniting their passion for reading. The story cleverly draws the reader in with emotions that roller coaster between heart-felt moments at the…
Author: Admin
Gareth Hinds, Poe: Stories and Poems, Candlewick Press/Walker Books Australia, 1 August 2017, 120pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780763681128 Gareth Hinds has harnessed the dark and foreboding essence of Poe in this graphic novel. Hind’s adaptation masterfully illustrates the gothic horror in seven of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and poems: The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, Annabel Lee, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-tale Heart, The Bells and The Raven. As my eye moves from frame to frame, exploring each image for every nuance, I am overwhelmed by a deepening sense of horror as I descend…
Roseanne Hawke (text), Marc McBride (illus.), Across the Creek, Stone Table Books, 22 March 2017, 148pp., $19.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9780648030508 Based on Cornish folklore, Across the Creek is a fantasy set in an old Kapunda copper mine in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Originally published in 2004 for 9-12 year old readers by Lothian Books, this new publication from Stone Table Books comes with a new visual interpretation of the Dragaroo by Kylie Leanne and internal illustrations by the ever talented Marc McBride of Deltora Quest fame. 11 year old Aidan Curnow has grown especially troubled on the 12 month…
Jess Black (text), Celeste Hulme (illus.), Eve and the Hidden Giant (Keeper of the Crystals #6), New Frontier Publishing, 1 August 2017, 68pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925594003 Eve and the Hidden Giant is part six in the Keeper of the Crystals series by Jess Black, and it is just as wonderful as its predecessors. In this new fantasy, while hiking to the top of Stingback Mountain, Oscar, Eve and Ingvar the dragon discover a new crystal and are blown through the air to the land of the giants to help heal the rift between the creators and the rogues. A…
Jacqueline Harvey, Alice-Miranda in Hollywood (Alice-Miranda #16), Random House Australia, 28 August 2017, 368pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780143780618 Alice-Miranda and her friends are off on another exciting adventure. They have been chosen to act in Lawrence Ridley’s new western movie in Hollywood. But there is something strangely suspicious going on behind the scenes. Could it be sabotage or is the rumour of an old curse true? Time is running out for one of the characters. Can Alice-Miranda figure out the mystery in time? Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones is no ordinary nine-year old girl. Although, as her name suggests, she is outrageously wealthy,…
Christine Sharp, Bertha and Bear, University of Queensland Press, August 2018, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9780702254062 When a beehive is struck by a falling branch, the Queen bee sends brave Bertha out into the storm to find a new home for the hive. Bertha flies into the woods and finds Bear. She plucks up her courage to ask Bear for help. Bear seems quite amicable and makes a deal to share his home in return for honeycomb. Bertha and Bear is a beautifully designed picture book. The rich, stylised illustrations are a feast for the eyes. Although I found the…
Dee White (text), Tracie Grimwood (illus.), Reena’s Rainbow, EK Books, Sept 2017, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925335491 Reena is different from other children. She cannot hear – sounds are scrambled and make no sense. When she plays hide and seek in the park, her perfect eyes are very good at seeking but when she hides, she cannot hear the children calling her and is left behind. Reena is feeling lonely until she meets Brown Dog, who doesn’t seem to belong either. Together they make a great team and Dog makes sure Reena is never left behind again. This simple, touching…
We asked Allison Tait to write something about her recently released book, The Book of Secrets, and she graciously sent us this thoughtful and insightful post entitled, Why I love Reluctant Heroes. It references her first series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, and digs deep into character portrayal. Thanks Allison! If you’ve read any part of my middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker Chronicles, you’ll know that Quinn Freeman, our hero, is … reluctant. Presented, in book #1, with the idea of leaving home and heading off to mapmaking school, his first response is ‘er, no thanks, I’m good here at home, reading…
Melissa Gijsbers, Lizzy’s Dragon, Stone Table Books, June 2017, 74pp., $12.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9780648118626 Lizzy’s Dragon is a fun book for early readers that combines an Australian rural setting with a bit of fantasy. Lizzy wants a pet lizard, but Mum says they have enough animals. While going for a walk in the paddock to get over her annoyance, Lizzy finds a curious yellow rock. Still feeling unhappy that she can’t have a pet of her own, especially as her unsympathetic younger brother has a puppy, Lizzy keeps her new find safe (and secret) in her room. The “rock” turns out…
Jackie Randall, Emelin, Self-Published, May 2017, 172pp., $14.50 (pbk), ISBN: 9780995379718 This is a first-class historical fiction read for the middle school age group. Emelin is an orphan in medieval England. Having seen first her father, then her mother and still born baby brother, die, Emelin has spent two years with her Uncle Calibor, a kindly if reluctant guardian. Calibor is an illuminator of manuscripts, and a very good one. Finding that his niece shares this special talent, he teaches her the trade, which she learns very quickly. This poor but happy life is disrupted just at the time when prospects…