Jack Heath, Bullet Train Disaster (Countdown to Danger #1), Scholastic Australia, 1 Feb 2016, 144pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760159627 So, how would you choose to die? Choked to death by thick black smoke and ash from an erupting volcano? Smothered by an avalanche? Bitten to death by deadly ticks? Eaten alive by a bear? And would you prefer to be alone on a mountain, hijacked in a crowded train carriage or in the company of royalty? These and many more choices are yours to make, and if you don’t like how things turn out the first time, try and try again.…
Author: Admin
Samantha-Ellen Bound, Rhythm and Blues (Silver Shoes #7), Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 136pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857989079 Samantha-Ellen Bound, Studio Showdown (Silver Shoes #8), Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 136pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857989093 Silver Shoes is a dance school for girls ranging from ‘tinies’ upwards. This junior series revolves around four girls, about 10 years old, their friendships, frenemies and dance dreams. I found some of the conflict in these books surprisingly bitchy – but sadly I guess this is how girls can be – surprisingly bitchy! There are some life lessons to be learned however…
Christopher Cheng (text), Di Wu (illus.), New Year Surprise!, National Library of Australia Publishing, 1 Feb 2016, 40pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780642278838 In a rural village in northern China, everyone is preparing for Chinese New Year. One little boy in the village is particularly excited. His father has told him that there will be a special job for him on New Year’s Day. But this little boy has no idea what the job might be so he sets out to find out if his extensive family might have a job for him. After a lot of enquiry, his father gives…
Aleesah Darlison (text), James Hart (illus.), Awesome Animal Stories for Kids, Random House Australia, 1 Dec 2015, 178pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857989680 Everyone loves an animal story, especially young children, and even more so when there is an element of fun. Awesome Animal Stories for Kids is a book full of the adventures and misadventures of numerous imaginary critters and real-life family pets. Within the thirteen stand-alone stories, the animals – domesticated as well as ‘other worldly’ – come to life. Some stories focus on the everyday of animals and the families who love and care for their pets. This…
Patrick Loughlin (text), James Hart (illus.), Super Sports Stories for Kids, Random House Australia, 1 Dec 2015, 189pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857989666 If anyone had told me I was going to read, let alone enjoy a book about sport, I would never have believed them. But enjoy it I did. I fact, I absolutely loved this lively, engaging book about a whole lot of kids having a whole lot of fun doing a whole lot of sports activities. I was with them on every adventure. Comprised of twelve short stories, Super Sports Stories for Kids can be read in one…
Lauren Kate, Unforgiven (Fallen #5), Corgi/Random House Australia, 10 Nov 2015, 368pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780552566100 This is the 5th book in the Fallen series. Cam is a fallen angel whose sole purpose these last six millennia has been to follow a pair of doomed lovers throughout their various incarnations, and try to sway Lucinda to the devil. But now the curse is broken and the lovers are free, and Cam is at a loss. His thoughts return to a mortal girl he loved and left three millennia ago, and he asks one of the angels he knows how things are…
Jackie French, The Ghost by the Billabong (Matilda Saga #5), HarperCollins, 1 Dec 2015, 544pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780732295295 This is the fifth book in the Matilda Saga series. It’s 1968 and sixteen year old Jed Kelly has hitchhiked alone to Drinkwater Station to meet Tommy Thompson. She is claiming to be his great-granddaughter, but has no evidence and won’t even tell them her real name. However, the Thompsons take pity on her and arrange for her to live with their son and daughter-in-law, and work at their rehabilitation centre for kids with physical disabilities. Jed soon becomes part of…
Michael Pryor (text), Jules Fabers (illus.), Leo da Vinci vs. the Furniture Overlord (Leo da Vinci #2). Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 192pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857988393 This is the second Leo da Vinci book from Michael Pryor. Ten year old Leo, of the town of Vinci, is a genius and an inventor. His laboratory and workshop is in the shed in the backyard, which is much larger than it seems at first glance. With his friend Mina, Ragnar the talking pig and Isaac the wood-burning robot, Leo is out to save the world from supervillains. The town of…
Armin Greder, Australia to Z, Allen & Unwin, Jan 2016, 32pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9781760113186 Armin Greder’s Australia to Z uses the form of an alphabet book to represent problematic aspects of Australian culture and identity. Each letter has a full page illustration in muted, minimalistic colours. The book is dark and disturbing, even grotesque. While the book is intended to offer cultural criticism, its extreme minimalism means it is open to misinterpretation. For instance, the pages “Aborigine” and “Boat People” are on the same double spread, which I assume is intended to criticise contemporary refugee policies, but the stark reproduction…
Rebecca Sparrow, Ask Me Anything: heartfelt answers to 65 anonymous questions from teenage girls, Penguin, 18 Nov 2015, 192pp., $14.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9780702253874 Rebecca Sparrow’s book is neatly summed up in its title; it answers 65 questions about teenage life. The book is divided into sections on Friendship, Life, Love and Family. Each question and answer takes about two pages. Sparrow’s answers are written in a friendly, casual style, and all her advice centres around open communication, and being nice to yourself and others. For example, she begins her answer to the question “How do you overcome issues with friends?” with…