Jack Brand (text), Tom Jellett (illus) Legend or Loser (Freddy Tangles #1), Allen & Unwin, Oct 2015, 124pp., $9.99 (pbk) ISBN 9781760110345 Jack Brand (text), Tom Jellett (illus) Champ or Chicken (Freddy Tangles #2), Allen & Unwin, Oct 2015, 124pp., $9.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760110352 There is a lot to like about this new junior series in the tradition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates. Freddy is a likable chatterbox, a wimp. He has a gang of quirky friends most notably Blocker – a kid of Russian extraction who comes out with funny sayings such as A fly cannot…
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Tim Miller (text), Matt Stanton (illus.), Dinosaur Dump, HarperCollins, 1 Oct 2015, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780733334634 Dinosaur Dump obeys the cardinal rule of writing: know your audience. This book is about dinosaurs and poo. The tagline on the front cover is “What happened to the dinosaurs is grosser than you think . . .” A queue of dinosaurs are lining up to poo in a volcano. Each character’s toilet habits are detailed, until eventually the volcano explodes, sending a wave of shit down the mountain and wiping out the dinosaurs. The book is published by ABC kids, who have published…
Jackie French (text), Bruce Whatley (illus.), Wombat Wins, HarperCollins, 1 Oct 2015, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780732299576 Wombat’s obsession with obtaining a food bag is effervescently brought to life in a non-stop roller coaster ride of growing, exploring, digging and eventually winning his prize after inadvertently picking up a gold medallion at the school sports day. Bruce Whatley’s fabulous illustrations of wombat and his antics could easily stand alone, carrying the story purely on visuals, but teamed with French’s minimalist and eccentric text that so perfectly communicates Wombat’s whole reason for being, the story romps along in absolute style. A great addition to any…
Anita Heiss, Harry’s Secret, Scholastic Australia, 1 Oct 2015, 96pp., $9.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760152024 The hero of this story set in Cowra, NSW, is Harry, one of a group of indigenous kids who hang out at the skate park, watch the league, go camping and go swimming at the local pool. Harry’s secret is his special ability to sketch and draw. Recognition of his outstanding work is at the climax of this great yarn about kids and their relationships and loyalties. This book is made outstanding by virtue of its sincerity and warmth, its honest portrayal of life in a…
Katrina McKelvey (text), Kirrili Lonergan (illus.), Dandelions, EK Books/Exisle, 1 Oct 2015, unpaged, $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 978 1 921966 82 8 This delightful story about a girl who loves dandelions is told in the first person.The unnamed heroine beseeches her father to leave the lawn full of dandelions but too late she sees they have disappeared under the mower. A sympathetic dad finds one lone dandelion and together they blow the tiny seeds away.They imagine the seeds travelling far and wide and later see neighbouring lawns covered in a carpet of yellow. Visually this is an outstanding book with strong…
Mem Fox (text) Judy Horacek (illus), This & That, Scholastic Australia, 1 Oct 2015, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781743622537 I’m a huge Mem Fox fan. I grew up with Possum Magic, read my twins to sleep with Time for Bed and can recite Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes pretty much by heart. But when I opened Fox’s latest book This & That, I confess, I didn’t really get it. A mother (or father) mouse tells a young mouse a bedtime tale, but it’s not written like a typical story, more like random snippets – a bit of this…
Mark Wilson, The Afghanistan Pup, Lothian/Hachette, March 2014, 32 pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734415325 Mark Wilson, My Mother’s Eyes: the story of an Australian boy soldier, Lothian/Hachette, March 2011, 32 pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 978034411914 (re-release) These two titles are part of the series, Children in War, which explores children’s experiences of, and reactions to, four different wars involving Australians. My Mother’s Eyes is a moving story of duty and sacrifice. A brave young boy looks after his family and the farm they love after his father dies in an accident. Then comes the First World War. Like so many…
P.Crumble (text) Louis Shea (illus.), There was an Old Mozzie who Swallowed a Lady, Scholastic Australia, 1 Nov 2015, 24pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781743623831 There was an Old Mozzie who Swallowed a Lady is the sequel to the popular book, There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Mozzie in the series by P. Crumble and Louis Shea. Following the format of the well-known rhyme, Crumble crafts a comical tale of the mozzie’s revenge. There was an old Mozzie who swallowed a lady I don’t know why he swallowed the lady … That’s just crazy. It is crazy. The mozzie…
Colin Buchanan and Greg Champion (text), Glen Singleton (illus.) Australians, Let Us Barbecue! Scholastic Australia, 1 Nov 2015, 24 pp., $19.99 (hbk with CD), ISBN 9781760151294 Australians, Let us Barbecue is a new brightly-coloured, fun-filled children’s picture book. It’s the collaboration of three clever Australians who have written fresh lyrics for our national anthem – Advance Australia Fair. Musicians, Colin Buchanan and Greg Champion’s upbeat lyrics reflect a child’s view of the Australian summer while illustrator Glen Singleton’s lively cartoon-style Aussie animal characters dance, play, drive and swim across the pages. Australians, let us barbecue For summertime is here! The…
Leigh Hobbs, The Big Book of Mr Badger, Allen & Unwin, Dec 2015, 304pp, $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760112431 The Big Book of Mr Badger collects all four of the popular Mr Badger stories in one volume. Mr Badger and the Big Surprise (2010) Mr Badger and the Missing Ape (2010), Mr Badger and the Difficult Duchess (2011) and Mr Badger and the Magic Mirror (2011) In his important job as the ‘Special Events Manager’ Mr Badger has to ensure that everything runs smoothly at the Boubles (pronounced Boublay) Grand Hotel in London. However, Sylvia Smothers-Curruthers, the dreadfully rich, spoiled seven…