Phillip Walleystack & Raewyn Caisley (text) and Dub Leffler (illustrator), Rocky and Louie, Puffin Books, April 2020, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780143786528 Louie and his big brother Rocky have a special relationship. Rocky teaches Louie about kicking goals in footy, looking after country, and their profound connection to culture. But Rocky has big dreams and has to move away to chase them, so how can Louie show him how much he will miss him? Raewyn Caisley and Phil Walleystack have collaborated with illustrator Dub Leffler to produce a gentle, warm story of brotherly love. As readers we are not only presented with the brothers’ relationship but also with a portrait of Aboriginal connection to Country and their expression of culture. We learn about fire…
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Paul Collins, James Gong: The Big Hit, Hybrid Publishing, April 2020, 160 pp., RRP $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781925736441 Frenetic, self-absorbed, and dazzled by the idea of fame, fourteen-year-old antagonist James Gong is every boy’s dream persona. Rather like a James Bond wannabe in training, James kick boxes his way through this story packing a punch with every plot twist and turn. James is training for his black belt in taekwondo. When a camera crew from Hollywood Productions turns up to his training, they witness James’ jumping spinning sidekick. Cast in a low-budget movie, he sees it as his chance for fame and fortune. What could go wrong? Told in first person present tense, the momentum of…
Puffin Little, Little Environmentalist: Composting, Puffin Books, July 2020, 96 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760897017 Little Environmentalist: Composting is a “how to do” guide on composting, with explanations that are child friendly and easy to understand. It has been published by “Puffin Little” which is an 80 year old, highly regarded brand in the children’s publishing industry. I was surprised at how enjoyable I found this book, despite its quite bland topic and its plain presentation. In the voice of the “Little Puffin” cartoon character, the book is a clear and hands on explanation of why and how to set up and maintain a compost heap. The instructions are not only easy to understand but…
Lili Wilkison, The Erasure Initiative, Allen & Unwin, August 2020, 336 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781760525057 A girl, whose name tag reads ‘CECILY’, and six other people, seemingly from all different walks of life wake up on a self-driving bus with no memory of who they are or how they got there. They work together to find answers to the seemingly endless questions, while their seat back displays give them instructions and make them vote on the outcome of different scenarios. As deadly secrets are revealed Cecily must decide who she can trust, while she tries to piece together who she is. The Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson is a gripping thriller that had me hooked…
Helena Fox, How it Feels to Float, PanMacmillan Australia, April 2019, 384 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781760783303 You’ll learn not to float completely away…you’ll be able to bring yourself back when you need. Biz has a best friend she laughs with beside the pool. She has a gang of friends she laughs with at her local high school. And she has her mum and the twins, her brother and sister to laugh with at home. Biz presents as a typical teenage girl with typical teenage girl problems, like discovering her sexuality and dealing with the aftermath of lies told by ignorant, self-serving boys. Biz is all of this and none of this. What lies beneath her surface is hidden from all those she laughs…
Kate & Jol Temple (text) and Ronojoy Ghosh (illustrator), Bin Chicken, Scholastic Australia, May 2020, 24 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781743830048 Bin Chicken is an absolute gem of a picture book on so many levels. Written by award-winning authors Kate and Jol Temple, with exquisite illustrations by Ronojoy Ghosh, this book is a brilliant ode to the much-misunderstood ibis bird. In an ancient land, many moons ago, Where Pharaohs rule and palm trees grow, Lived a sacred bird with feathers all white, an elegant beak and wings of a kite. She sunned herself on the banks of the Nile… But today she sits… on a rubbish pile. This clever, rhyming tale explores the origins of the elegant African sacred ibis and how this long-legged wading bird came to be in playgrounds, parks, and rubbish bins everywhere today. As the story…
Melina Marchetta (text) and Deb Hudson (illustrator), What Zola did on Monday, Puffin Books, June 2020, 96pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760895150 Zola is a young girl who tries but doesn’t always get things right. Although her nonna enjoys gardening, Zola doesn’t much care for it – she thinks Nonna has too many rules. But when a series of mistakes leads to Nonna’s special garden patch being ruined, Zola finds a way to make things better again. What Zola did on Monday is the first book in an early-reader series by Melina Marchetta, author of Looking for Alibrandi. Throughout the book, Marchetta ties in themes of family, sustainability, and community. She also gently touches on grief and loss. And although there is a simplicity to the writing, it is full of warmth and feeling. The text is clear and well-spaced with…
Ashling Kwok (text) and Cara King (illustrator), The Battle, EK Books, June 2020, 32pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925820409 Edward is worried about his first day at knight-school. He puts on his armour, ready to hunt dragons and chase ogres. It takes all his courage to whisper an answer in class, and at lunch he creeps outside, hoping no one notices him. But when Edward decides to take a chance and takes off his armour, he begins to see the schoolyard for what it really is. There are no monsters or giants or ogres, instead there are children. Just like him. The Battle is a wonderful book about dealing with anxiety in new situations. The themes of worry and courage are…
Laura Bunting (text) and Nicky Johnston (illustrator), Coco: Big City Kitty, Scholastic, June 2020, 48 pp., RRP $17.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743834602 Coco loves living in her small apartment in the top of a tall building in a big city. She also loves dancing, the colour pink, writing lists and making things. She does not like bugs. Coco is happy with her life in the city and every day she plans city adventures with her mother –sipping kittyccinos, strolling through art galleries and window shopping. But one day her parents tell her (a little too excitedly) that they are moving to the country. Coco doesn’t want to go, after all the countryside is full of bugs. But maybe, just maybe, things will be okay. Coco:…
Aleesah Darlison (text) and Simon Griener (illustrator), Undercover Llamas (League of Llamas #3) and Rogue Llama (League of Llamas #4), Penguin, July 2020, 144 pp., RRP $9.99, ISBN 9781760894191 and 9781760894207 https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/aqx9jhttps://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/A9y1R Welcome to the LOL – The League of Llamas, the world’s best crusading, crime-stopping secret agents. Ruled by the stern paw of Mama Llama, Phillipe, Lloyd and Elloise are some of LOLs crack agents… even though that doesn’t stop trouble tracking them down wherever they go. In Undercover Llamas, the team disguise themselves as band members for the singing sensation, Bruno Llamars, as a way of sneaking into Chickenlovakia to apprehend fiendish chickens guilty of foul play. In Rogue Llama, Phillipe is desperate to clear his name after he’s been blamed for the destruction of the Eyeful of Llama…