Clement C Moore (text), Amanda Brack (illus), The Night Before Christmas: a brick story, Hachette Australia, 29 September 2015, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733635045 This is an update on Clement C. Moore’s well-loved poem A Visit from St Nicholas. Amanda Brack is an illustrator and ‘brick specialist’ and she has used her expertise to create every scene of the poem in Lego. Beautifully detailed in its creation, Brack has used Lego pieces that I didn’t even know existed; she has lit and photographed each scene alternatively in yellow light and dark blue to create the warm glow of the house…
Author: Admin
Laine Mitchell (text), Louis Shea (illus), We’re Going On A Santa Hunt, Scholastic Australia, 1 October 2015, 24pp., $19.99 (includes CD), ISBN 9781743626429 A Christmas appropriation of the classic We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, this Australian picture book cheerfully follows five friends as they hunt down the elusive Santa Claus. A young polar bear, reindeer, mouse, penguin and husky dog write their letters to Santa and tell us they are ‘going on a Santa hunt’ and were ‘going to find the jolly one’. They meet all manner of adventure on the Polar Express, jumping on a sled race and getting…
Gabriel Evans, The Mice and the Shoemaker. The Five Mile Press, 1 September 2015, 18pp., $29.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760064273 Gabriel Evans has created a new Christmas pop-up book by rewriting The Elves and the Shoemaker. He has replaced the elves with a family of mice who have lost all their belongings and been driven out of their usual cosy woodland home by a flood. This is why they finish up staying with their Grandpa who lives under the floorboards of a cobbler’s home. Grandpa has been well looked after by the cobbler and his wife but he is too…
Duncan Ball (text), David Allan David (illus), Two Tengu Tales from Japan. Christmas Press, 12 August 2015 32pp., $19.99 (hbk) ISBN 9780992283865 This is a lovely book that clearly demonstrates the careful thought that has gone into every aspect of its production. It is an Australian published text which retells two Japanese folkloric tales about the tengu who can magically grant wishes to those who ask for them. There is only one problem, the wishes do not always turn out as intended. It is within such traditions that so much of the ancient wisdom of different cultures becomes evident, and…
Steffani Raff, The Ravenous Gown and 14 More Tales about Real Beauty. Exisle Publishing, 1 September 2015 184pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781939624593 It is always intriguing to see the choices writers make when they work with different aspects of traditional storytelling to create new versions. Speffani Raff’s collection of ‘tales about real beauty’, The Ravenous Gown and 14 More Tales’, is an interesting example of this process at work. The language and structure of her writing is beautiful and in many ways captures these aspects of the literary fairytale. The stories are quirky, humorous and entertaining, however I would suggest…
Michael Adams, Skyfire (The Seven Signs #1), Scholastic Australia, July 2015, 192pp., $7.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781743628010 Seven talented and driven teenagers from around the world have been selected by trillionaire Internet King Felix Scott to form an elite group of young people committed to help make a difference in the world. They meet at the ceremony announcing their selection, then their lives are bound together on a quest as they come to realise that each of them has been sent part of a code that predicts an unknown disaster. Set in the not-too-distant future, the technology is futuristic yet mostly…
Ros Moriarty (text) Balarinji (illus.) Summer Rain, Allen & Unwin, July 2015, 24pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760112110 Summer Rain is a picture book capturing northern Australia during the wet season and bringing the unique landscape alive through bursts of colour and beautiful indigenous artwork. The picture book unfolds across the period of a day; the reader enters the story to the waking of the land and travels through until sunset falls and the moon arrives. Each phase of the day is highlighted through subtle changes in colour and texture capturing the shifting light and mood. A cast of Australian animals feature across the pages…
Ros Moriarty (text) Balarinji (illus.) Splosh for the Billabong, July 2015, 24pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760112127 Splosh for the Billabong is a vibrant picture book that celebrates the joy of creativity and making art. The imagery throughout the book celebrates a sense of place, bringing animals and landscape together through indigenous artwork. Each turn of the page reveals new surprises with images of the river, insects and flowers. The illustrations explore different elements of the riverbank that are brought together by a child’s illustration at the end. This picture book is a fantastic read aloud with words like ’whoosh’ ‘splosh’ and ‘squelch’ highlighted in…
Renee Price (text) Anil Tortop (illus) Digby’s Moon Mission, Create It Kids, 1 December 2014, (unpaged), $14.95 (pbk), ISBN 9780992345730 When Digby awakes in the night and discovers the moon has been reduced to a thin sliver, he gathers his friends with a plan of action to restore it to its full size. Together they create a banquet of food and catapult it toward the moon and over the next few days Digby is delighted as it begins to grow until it is “as plump and full as pie.” This amusing picture book exudes the naiveté and enthusiasm of…
William Reimer (text) James Moore (illus) A Ferret Named Phil, Liberty Road Publishing, 23 May 2015, 24pp., $26.95 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-9942950-0-2 What began as a school assignment to write a picture book has resulted in this heartfelt self-published text which deals with the issue of bullying. Phil the Ferret and his friend Jane are harassed by Hugo, the big scary hawk. With the help of his friends, Phil constructs a large artificial owl to scare away Hugo and he and Jane can resume their friendship without any threats or intimidation. The cover is attractive and the quality gloss paper adds…