Michael Panckridge (text), James Fosdike (illus.) Switch-Hit Showdown (Big Bash League #1), Random House Australia, 31 Oct 2016, 156pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780143782193 Michael Panchridge (text), James fosdike (illus.), Captains’ Clash (Big Bash League #2), Random House Australia, 164pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780143782216 Cricket is not my thing but these books are Fabulous – yes, with a capital ‘F’! Incorporating both Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and the men’s BBL, these stories draw you in with the passion of the characters (both male and female), the effort to overcome adversity and the suspense of the final match. The characters are engaging…
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Patrick Ness (text), Siobhan Dowd (author), Jim Kay (illus.), A Monster Calls: Special Collector’s Edition (Movie Tie-in), Walker Books Australia, Nov 2016, 357pp., $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781406365771 This hardback special collector’s edition of A Monster Calls is graphic and captivating; comprising of the illustrated story as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, illuminating sketches by illustrator Jim Kay, and other content about its development and film-inspirations. Author Patrick Ness took inspiration from the late writer Siobhan Dowd’s early ideas, creating this emotionally-charged, fantastical and honest story following her death from breast cancer in 2007. Thirteen-year-old, Conor, is navigating his way through…
Mem Fox (text), Judy Horacek (illus.), Ducks Away!, Scholastic Australia, Nov 2016, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760158514 Ducks Away!, another classic bedtime tale from legendary duo, Mem Fox and Judy Horacek (Where is the Green Sheep?) is a gorgeously-written and illustrated spin-off of the ‘Five Little Ducks’ rhyme. Captivating audiences from toddlers to young preschoolers, this picture book is vibrant, playful and utterly delightful. Fox cleverly reinforces counting forward and back to and from five, in simple addition and subtraction sequences, through her energetic story of a mother duck losing her ducklings, one at a time, to the river below…
Guillermo Del Toro (text), Daniel Kraus (text), Sean Murray (illus.), Trollhunters, Hotkey/Allen & Unwin, Dec 2016, 336pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781471405181 Trollhunters centres around Jim Sturges, an American teen who is having a hard time at school, while also trying to manage an overprotective father who is convinced danger lurks in every shadow and under ever bridge. When Jim and his best friend Tub find themselves pulled into an ancient war against an evil troll whose favourite meal is kid-sausage, it suddenly seems his father might have a point. It came as no surprise that both the authors of this book…
Aura Parker, Twig, Scholastic Australia, Nov 2016, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760157067 This is an absolutely enchanting picture book about finding oneself in a busy and often fast-paced world. The illustrations are simply adorable with so many fine details, particularly suitable for this ‘minuscule’, insect-inhabiting setting. Preschoolers and early primary children will take pleasure in, and even relate to, the nuances and adjustments that go with starting school, feeling confident and making friends. And especially for bug loving kids, Parker has beautifully tapped in to individual insect characteristics whilst being relevant to us humans, too. When Heidi the stick insect enters…
Michael Panckridge (text), James Fosdike (illus.) Double Delivery (Big Bash League #3), Random House Australia, 31 Oct 2016, 160pp., $14.99 (pbk) IBSN: 9780143782230 Michael Panckridge (text), James Fosdike (illus.) Bowling Blitz (Big Bash League #4), Random House, Australia, 31 Oct 2016, 160pp., $14.99 (pbk) ISBN: 9780143782254 In Double Delivery (Big Bash League #3) cricket-crazed twins Maggie and Millie bring their fielding and sleuthing skills to Queensland. Quick to make friends with the local kids, the girls are surprised to find out that it’s boys-only at this cricket club. Even more shocking, there’s a thief among the residents at their uncle’s caravan park…
Liz Pichon, Dog Zombies Rule (For Now) (Tom Gates #11), Scholastic Australia, 1 Nov 2016, 240pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781743812563 Dog Zombies Rule (For Now) is the 11th book in the very popular and award winning Tom Gates series about a fun loving, creative boy. He loves drawing, doodling, playing in the Dog Zombies band with his friends, riling his grumpy sister and eating snacks. What he doesn’t like is maths, homework, spelling tests and his classmate Marcus’s put downs. Similarly to previous books in the series, this one is filled with humorous accounts of Tom’s mischievous antics and his mishaps,…
Electric Confetti, Neon Baby Numbers, Hardie Grant Egmont, 1 Nov 2016, 20pp., $14.99 (board book) ISBN: 9781760129316 Neon Baby Numbers is a large, sturdy board book containing brightly coloured pages in a range of colours. On each left hand page there is a large number from 1-10. The right hand pages have outline drawings of a specific object to count. What distinguishes this book from the many other counting books for babies is that the luminously coloured outline drawings mimic the appearance of neon lights. The numerals are bold, bright and clear introducing baby to a clear graphic representation of numbers.…
Richard Roxburgh, Artie and the Grime Wave, Allen & Unwin, Oct 2016, 240pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760292140 Better known as an accomplished actor, Richard Roxburgh has now delved into writing children’s literature with his first children’s book Artie and the Grime Wave. This book felt to me like the plot of an Enid Blyton novel combined with the sometimes slapstick, sometimes tongue in cheek humour, and often gross appeal, of so many contemporary children’s novels. Artie is a hapless child – his home life is miserable and he is badly bullied. When he and his friend, Bumshoe, stumble upon “The Cave…
Tania Ingram (text), Christina Miesen (illus.), The Great Barbie Disaster (Mates: Great Australian Yarns), Scholastic Australia, Nov 2016, 64pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781782991245 Another in Scholastic’s Mates: Great Australian Yarns series; this junior novel for 7-plus focuses on an eccentric Dad who loves to make things – in this instance a barbecue. I love the format of these little books; colour illustrations, short chapters with cliff-hanger endings and gorgeous design – in this book the bottom of the page is underlined with mustard, the top with tomato sauce. There’s also an All About Us section at the end of each book,…