Breanna Humes (Text) Ambelin Kwaymullina (illustrations), I Want to be a Superhero, Magabala Books, November 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925360400 I Want to be a Superhero is the beautifully told tale of a little girl (Breanna) in a homemade cape who dreamt of becoming a superhero. Talented first-time author, Breanna Humes wrote this story when she was eight years of age and is well on the way to realising her own dream of becoming a storytelling superhero. I asked Pop, ‘Can you wish on a shooting star to become a superhero?’ ‘You never know unless you try,’ said Pop. Pop took us for a ride in his car to look for a shooting star. Little Breanna asks her family members…
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Alison Hart, School Rules are Optional (The Grade Six Survival Guide #1), Allen & Unwin, November 2020, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760525712 It’s the first day of grade six and Jesse already has three problems. One, he’s got Mrs Leeman as a teacher; two, he might have been voted school captain; and three, he has no idea where his Grade Six jumper is. Then, a few days later the school toilets blow up. And we haven’t even talked about school camp, or his super annoying Prep buddy. School Rules are Optional by Alison Hart is a super funny, highly witty, and fantastically authentic look at grade six life in Australia. Told from…
Jeff Kinney, Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure, Penguin Australia, August 2020, 224pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760897888 Rowley Jefferson is the kindest boy around and when he decides to write an awesome adventure story not even his feisty friend, Greg can take the kindness out of it. Rowley is writing a story about Roland and Garg, two heroes setting off to save Roland’s mum from the White Warlock. With the catch phrase, ‘my parent’s raised me right’, Roland is equipped with the finest tools to face the deceitful pixies, the gross trolls, the harsh-shampoo-using Medusa, the boulder-throwing ogres, the vampire/werewolf…
Peter Goes, Timeline: Science and Technology, Walker Books, October 2020, 80 pp., RRP $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781776573004 This large format (A3) illustrated book appears to have been originally published in the Netherlands, translated into English by Bill Nagelkirke, then published in New Zealand by Gecko Press before Walker Books brought it to Australia. Despite its dull title, it is an interesting approach to the history of mankind, beginning with the Stone Ages and concluding with an account of the 21st century – to 2020. The text seems less important than the pictures, which are on double-page spreads with quirky figures building Stonehenge or printing presses, or whatever happened then. Tucked away in its…
Kerry Rosser (text) and Nicky Johnston (illustrator), Searching for Seashells, Empowering Resources, September 2020, 32 pp., RRP $17.00 (pbk), ISBN 9781925592276 Told in the first person, a young boy works through his grief at the loss of his baby brother. He remembers the way Jimmy used to giggle and the fun they would have playing together building sandcastles at the beach. Talking with mum helps when he is feeling angry, sad, lonely, or guilty; should he have enjoyed playing with a friend without Jimmy there? He sends a train to Jimmy so he can play too. Blowing bubbles by the beach to remember his brother collecting seashells,…
Gabriel Evans, Norton and the Bear, Berbay Publishing, October 2020, 32 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780648785132 Norton is an individual, unique, and special. He longs to show this in his dress sense, never feeling better than when he is clothed unlike everyone else. But Bear longs to be his friend and Norton just looks so good. What better way to show Norton that he wants to be friends than to copy his style! This is an endearing story about the contradictory need to be different, yet to belong. The desire to be unique is a relatable concept to young children, who…
Meg Rosoff, The Great Godden, Bloomsbury, August 2020, 245pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781526620538 The blurb from Bloomsbury for this book describes Meg Rosoff as incomparable, and I have to agree. I was a big fan before reading The Great Godden and I think I am more in awe of her craft now. Narrated by the oldest member of the family, this is the story of a summer holiday like no other. The family of six spend every summer at their family beach house. Their close friends Mal and Hope are there also, in their own house. They all spend time together, eating and celebrating the summer, each with their…
Sophy Henn, Pizazz: Book 1, Simon & Schuster, July 2020, 208pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781471193989 While it may sound great to be a superhero, it has its drawbacks dashing around all the time, being expected to save the world and wearing the same outfit every day are just some of the annoying things that nine year old Pizazz has to accommodate; as well as being good every day. All she really wants is to make friends at her new school and do normal fun kid stuff. There are two groups of people in Pizazz’s life—Her somewhat irritating family who are a rather embarrassing bunch of superheroes and normal everyday people with whom she is desperate to…
Neal Layton, A climate in chaos and how you can help, Wren & Rook, August 2020, 32 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781526362315 This non-fiction picture book clearly explains climate change for the young reader. After outlining the creation of the planet and various systems developing, Layton explains the carbon and oxygen cycles and the equilibrium that existed before humans began upsetting this balance. The fact that a layer of greenhouse gases is needed to keep some warmth for the survival of living things on the planet is pointed out before the consequence of human’s activities over the last 200 years. Since the industrial revolution, this layer of…
Shivaun Plozza, The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars, Penguin Random House Publishing, October 2020, 384 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), 9781760893453 The Boy, The Wolf, and the Stars is the kind of adventure that will take young readers on a journey through an imaginative world, filled with myths that will capture their attention. Let’s not forget a healthy dose of humour, and a diverse trio out to save the land of Ulv. When Mads, Bo’s guardian, is attacked by a wolf, Bo finds the myths he learned about the land of Ulv, and the disappearance of the stars in the sky just might be true –a wolf did eat them! Mads asks Bo to stop the Shadow…