Winter Morgan, Treasure Hunters In Trouble (An Unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure), Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin, Dec 2015, 112pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781408869673 Winter Morgan, The Endermen Invasion (An Unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure), Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin, Dec 2015, 112pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781408869666 Ruled by the stricture of the online virtual world and its friends and adversaries, these stories attempt to meld stand alone adventure stories, and group dynamics with the tools of the sandbox game. The books will succeed as an aid to problem solving and cooperation because they have a simple uncomplicated text, are well constructed novels and are of immediate interest. The…
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Barbara Beery (text), Lisette Donado (photos), The Space Hero Cookbook, Exisle Publishing, 13 Oct 2015, 80pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781942934004 This is a handsomely presented kids cookbook with a futuristic theme. Spiral binding holds double pages open so that tempting space themed food and crafts can easily be accessed. From chips and dips to drinks and sweets, the ingredients, directions and serving ideas are clearly set out in point form on a double page accompanied by a stunning photographic representation of the finished project. Particularly interesting are the plutoman pizzas, fruit kabobs and stardust pita chips. Craft ideas include supernova soaps,…
The final instalment in The Colours of Madeleine trilogy will be out on 23 February. We asked author Jaclyn Moriarty a few questions about the book, about magic, and about what she’s planning to write next. Welcome, Ms Moriarty. Magic has been evident in most of your books, even the early contemporaries. Was writing a fantasy series inevitable? That’s a great question. It was always my master plan. I thought I was being stealthy, and introducing magic so quietly that nobody would notice, but you’ve seen right through me. Where did you get the inspired idea to combine colours and…
Jaclyn Moriarty, A Tangle of Gold (The Colours of Madeleine #3). Pan Macmillan Australia, 23 Feb 2016. 508 pp., $19.99 (pbk). ISBN: 9781743533239 The third and final instalment of The Colours of Madeleine is finally here. The first two books inspired many Goodreads gifs about grabby hands, and ticking clocks. They were also imaginative, magical, whimsical, enchanting, unique, and complex. So what’s left to say about the third? All of those still apply, but A Tangle of Gold includes another important element. It concludes the series in a highly satisfying and impressive way. I was utterly charmed by the…
Leanne Hall, Iris and the Tiger, Text, 27 Jan 2016, 240pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN:9781925240795 Iris and the Tiger is its own piece of surrealist art. It’s inexplicably wondrous and confusing. It might need twisting around to view it from another angle. It’s confusing if you try to explain it too much. But it resonates, and it offers you a glimpse into a new world. And it defies labels, and challenges preconceptions. So there will be readers who love or hate it. It’s its own thing. Iris Chen-Taylor is twelve years old. On the first page of the book, her parents…
Alan Sunderland, The Incredible Powers of Montague Towers, Scholastic Australia, 1 March 2016, 240pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760153649 We have a new superhero in the making in the unlikely shape of young Montague Towers. He is an orphan at the Home for Lost Children. Because he is now fifteen, Montague is left in charge when the rest of the children and the Sisters go to the seaside for a holiday. All thoughts of a restful life disappear when the Cape of Justice comes into his life, asking him to deal with his pursuers using cryptic messages. The Cape of Justice is…
N J Gemmell, Coco Banjo and the Super Wow Surprise (Coco Banjo #3), Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 192pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857987372 Yippee!! The summer holidays are here and Coco’s mum is away again but she has organised a series of surprises for her daughter. Of course, Coco includes her best friend N in all her adventures. The first box to arrive contains a tiny fluffy bundle and Coco falls in love immediately, naming him Ludo. The next present is a Skip Back Machine, hidden in the house behind a secret door, which sends loving memories to Coco to…
Pauline Deeves, Socks, Sandbags & Leeches: letters to my Anzac Dad, National Library of Australia Publishing, 1 Feb 2016, 96pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780642278845 When their landlord puts up the rent, Ivy and her mother move in with Aunt Hilda, whose flat is so small that Ivy has to sleep under the kitchen table. The text of this book is comprised of Ivy’s letters to her soldier father, recounting what is going on at home. Ivy tells him about what is happening in the family, what they have heard about the war, and what she is doing. The book is in…
Stephen Dando-Collins, Operation Black Shark (Caesar the War Dog #5), Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 271pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857988638 This is number 5 in the Caesar the War Dog series, and as I opened the book I thought ‘Ho, hum, another series with a doggie hero with an intelligence to challenge Einstein’. Well, I was right that it is part of the series, but forget the cynicism. It is a well written and exciting story of a group of South American gangsters who intend to take over a cruise ship. Unfortunately for them, they are up against Ben Fulton,…
Jane Godwin and Michael Wagner (text), Andrew Joyner (illus.), Bear Make Den, Allen & Unwin, Feb 2016, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760110017 Bear works hard to make a den. But as soon as he thinks he’s done, Bear realizes it needs something. After many creative attempts to fill the space, Bear finally realizes what it’s missing. Bear Make Den is the story of a lovable and handy bear who builds his own den. From bare necessities to creative details, Bear furnishes his home. But readers soon feel his despair as each new item doesn’t bring him satisfaction for long. Even though…