Connellan, Nicole (text) and Chuo, Selina (illustrations), The story of 2020, Elephant Imprints, September 2020, RRP $20.35 (pbk), ISBN 9780648859901 This is the first book from Nicole Connellan, a former primary school teacher and mother of two. Connellan wrote this picture book to help families have conversations about all the changes 2020 has brought. It focuses on how the global pandemic impacted on the life that children had known up until then. Although there are many things we couldn’t do, there were some positive outcomes as well, such as families spending more time together and getting outside to exercise more. The focus is on the day to day minutiae, and how even though we may feel unhappy, we…
Author: Admin
Sue Lawson and Karen Tayleur, Show Me the Money, Wild Dog Books, October 2020, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742035895 Money is interesting stuff. It’s nice to have some, worrying to have none, and greedy to have too much. This A4 sized book shows you how to recognise it, and to make sure that what you have is the real thing. We start with what preceded money: barter, which was the currency of the first peoples, then move on to the invasion of the Europeans, with their holey dollars and dumps. Then it became more complicated, with banks and mints being established and promissory notes…
Kate Gordon, The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn. University of Queensland Press, September 2020, 184 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 978070226282 Wonder Quinn lives in a school called Direleafe Hall. Every year she longs to make friends and each year she is disappointed. No-one ever seems to see her and even the teachers ignore her. Then a new student arrives and immediately sits next to Wonder and asks to be her friend. Why is it that Mabel can see Wonder when no-one else can? Wonder also has a companion called Hollowbeak, a raven, which no-one can see except Mabel. The raven acts as a kind of alter ego for Wonder – he…
Jessica Love, Julian at the Wedding, Walker Books, October 2020, 40 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781406397482 We were first introduced to Julian and his nan in Julian is a Mermaid, and in this follow up story they attend a wedding in the park with his cousin Marisol. They greet the brides and their dog Gloria, participate in the ceremony then are seated at a table with their grandmothers and family. Eventually they get bored and sneak away. Julian wants to play fairy house under the willow tree, but Marisol prefers to wrestle on the ground with Gloria the dog. Unfortunately, this messes up Marisol’s special dress, but luckily Julian has a solution. Their grandmothers come to find them and…
Michel Streich, Scary Bird, Scholastic Australia, October 2020, 32 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743838594 When a new bird arrives in the aviary, he upsets the status quo. This bird is very different from the rest. He looks different. He chirps a different language. The other birds are afraid and angry. However, one curious bird takes the time to get to know Scary Bird and the flock eventually discover that he has interesting qualities to share. He is not so scary anymore. The bold, bright cover instantly intrigued me. The fabulous retro illustrations and spare text tell a witty story about intolerant birds, yet subtly deliver powerful social comment. This allegorical tale shines a…
Issa Watanabe, Migrants, Gecko Press Wellington, September 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9782776573134 A large group of animals all have to leave the forest – a forest that has become bare-leafed and inhospitable. The animals refers to the current international concerns over large groups of people being displaced and trying to find new safe havens. The bare forest suggests the increasing concerns about the climate crisis facing the world, a crisis which might well mean that parts of the Earth will no longer be habitable. This is not an amorphous group as the illustrations show the individuality of each animal and their care and companionship for each other. The group is accompanied by a…
Kate O’Donnell, This One is Ours, University of Queensland Press, September 2020, 312 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780702260285 It’s hard to remember it was only last year the world was forced to acknowledge the concerns of young people over the climate crisis. Protests were held in every major city, and not just small-scale wannabes either – these were massive, demonstrative, and long lasting. The future generations carried their hearts on their placards, shouted their anger in their chants, and we all watched, some of us oldies with hope, and some of us with scorn and arrogance. It was a sweeping movement with people…
Terry Denton, Terry Denton’s Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything, Penguin, November 2020, 272pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760898922 What a great book for anyone, regardless of age and educational background, to dip in and out of or to read it from cover to cover. It’s a book that every reader will find something to marvel in, whether it be the zany and inventive cartoon illustrations and diagrams or the factual information. This is a quick overview of the history and science of the universe, life on Earth, geology, geography and the weather, evolution, our bodies, and time. The chapter titled The World We Made focuses on inventions…
Nicholas J. Johnson, Tricky Nick, Pan MacMillan Australia, August 2020, 256 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760787363 The second I picked up this book I thought the title sounded familiar. A few pages in and I realised why. The author, Nicholas J Johnson (aka Tricky Nick) was a children’s entertainer – and a very good one at that! – years ago in Canberra. In fact, he performed at my son’s fifth birthday party, somehow keeping 20+ sugared up kids glued to the edges of their seats in wonder and amazement. And he hasn’t lost his touch. I loved this Completely true not-at-all-made-up story by the greatest…
Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern (text) and Tania McCartney (illustrator), Aussie Kids: Meet Matilda at the Festival, Penguin, September 2020, 64 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760894511 Aussie Kids is a new series for readers who are ready for their first chapter books. Each of the eight books features a child from somewhere in Australia, giving children a peek into the lives of other kids’ homes and neighbourhoods. Aussie Kids: Meet Matilda at the Festival is a recent addition to this wonderful series. Matilda lives in Canberra where she spends a lot of time with her friend Hansuke at the Japanese Embassy where he lives. Matilda’s dad works for…