Maggie Jankuloska, The Rat-Catcher’s Apprentice, MidnightSun Publishing, March 2022, 192 pp, RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781252279499 When an innocent mistake causes her family to fall into debt, twelve-year-old Marie is forced to apprentice for a mysterious rat catcher in 1665 France. Longing for adventure, she detests the job (though eventually becomes quite good at it), unaware that the hardship she is yet to face will prove to be her salvation. When plague strikes, Marie must harness her skills and inner strengths to adapt and survive – a seemingly insurmountable challenge in a society characterised by class and gender. Middle grade…
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Philip Bunting, Me, Microbes & I., Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760507923 Published in the middle of 2021 when we were still enduring lockdowns and vaccine mandates, this timely picture book introduces primary-aged readers to the fascinating world of microbiology. Using his unique artistic style and sense of humour, Philip Bunting describes different types of microbes and illustrated them in full colour. As with the humans in the book, he makes them look cute with their expressive eyes and differing shapes. The impact the various types of microbes have on us and our…
Malla Nunn, Sugar Town Queens, Allen & Unwin, August 2021, 312 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), IBSN 9781760526832 Sugar Town Queens is shortlisted for the CBCA’s 2022 Book of the Year Award for Older Readers. It’s the story of Amandla, a 15-year-old teenager of mixed race growing up in the township of Sugar Town, outside Durban with her mother. Amandla’s mother, Annalisa, isn’t your typical mother. She’s a white single woman living in a black township, who ‘refuses to be called mother in any of South Africa’s eleven official languages’ and won’t tell anyone about her past. She also has strange…
Jarvis, The Boy with Flowers in His Hair, Walker Books, March 2022, 32 pp., RRP $27.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781406392517 David is a beautiful, dear and quiet little boy. His vulnerability and uniqueness are reflected in the delicate blossoms in his hair. One day, without warning, the petals in his hair begin to fall, one by one, until finally there is not a single flower remaining. The power of friendship is demonstrated through the efforts of his loyal, best friend and the creative way in which he finds a very colourful solution to replace David’s missing flowers… A heart-warming and inspiring…
Christopher Lloyd, It’s Up to Us, A Children’s Terra Carta for Nature, People & Planet, Walker Books, March 2022, 64 pp., RRP $39.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781913750558 OF THE UNIMAGINABLY LARGE NUMBER OF PLANETS IN OUR UNIVERSE, EARTH IS THE ONLY ONE WE ARE SURE HAS LIFE. THAT MAKES OUR WORLD A TRULY WONDROUS PLACE AND NATURE AN INFINITELY PRECIOUS THING. This stunning book has one simple message: the future of our planet is in our hands. More specifically, the future of our planet is in the hands of our children. The book is based on the Terra Carta – ‘a…
Kate Foster, The Bravest Word, Walker Books Australia, May 2022, 240 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654719 Awareness and understanding of mental health challenges is increasing in mainstream media and society. Many adults today saw anxiety, depression, addiction, narcissism, and other issues as they grew up, but it was never labelled. Many of the rising generation will witness mental health illnesses in those they love or themselves and fortunately will have a greater chance of identifying what it is and how it can be treated because of this awareness. The Bravest Word is a late middle-grade/early YA novel featuring a…
Allison Rushby, The Ghost Locket, Walker Books Australia, March 2022, 256 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654139 This is about a girl named Lolli who reluctantly enters a spooky house in Spitalfields. Inside she meets two spirits – Clara who is a nice spirit and Madame LeNoir who is not so nice. When she spends time in the house Lolli realises the spirits want something from her. She discovers that when Clara was alive, she bound herself to an object in the house. I won’t say what that is because that will spoil the story for you. But Clara does…
Allison Rushby, The Ghost Locket, Walker Books Australia, March 2022, 256 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654139 Eleven-year-old Lolli (Olivia) is absolutely sick at the thought of returning to the family home in Spitalfields, London; however, here she is with Freya, direct from Singapore, to help set up the house next door for the Christmas period and its many potential holiday visitors. For Lolli, the memories of her previous experience with this home border on a combination of fear and a degree of paranoia and she is only spurred on by her deep affection for Freya (her Mum’s best friend…
Maggie Hutchings (text) and Evie Barrow (illustrator), Enough Love?, Affirm Press, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922400833 Enough Love? is a picture book about a child’s blended family. Each time a significant adult in the child’s life re-partners, there are initial difficulties to adapt, then later appreciation for the benefits of gaining additional family members. And so, the story is an ode to seeing the positives in blended families. It is also a subtle endorsement of diversity, depicting same sex parent families, some non-Anglo names and a range of skin colours and diverse facial features. This book…
Emma Bowd (text) and Tania McCartney (illustrator), Wonderful Shoes, Windy Hollow Books, May 2021, 32 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922081988 This is a perfect picture book for pre-schoolers and early primary-aged children. Riffing on the theme of little people in big people’s shoes, Bowd utilises the writer’s toolbox with aplomb. There’s a jaunty rhyme, repetition, alliteration, and lots of onomatopoeia. The fun begins with: Tall shoes love to click and clack, On busy feet which don’t turn back… CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK No doubt children will enjoy singing out the capped sounds that accompany each type of shoe. Meanwhile,…