Jonathan Stroud, The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co #3), Corgi Children’s/Random House, 1 Oct 2015, 436pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 978 0 552 57314 6 If you know the difference between a poltergeist, a wisp, a wraith, a stone-knocker, a stalker, a shade or a solitary, this is the book for you. It is the third in the Lockwood & Co. series, well written and edge-of-the-seat exciting. Lucy, George and Lockwood are joined by Holly to attend to a nasty outbreak of hauntings in Chelsea, London – some of them fatal. There are many strands to unravel: an examination of Lucy’s…
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John Boyne, The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, Corgi Children’s/Random House Australia, 1 Oct 2015, 224pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780552573542 John Boyne had a big success with his earlier novel The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and here he is again writing about a young boy growing up in Europe during the difficult years before, during and immediately after WWII. When we first meet Pierrot he is living happily in Paris with his German father and French mother. His best friend Anshel, is Jewish, deaf and a born storyteller. Times are tough and things get worse when Pierrot is…
Samantha Wheeler, Mister Cassowary, University of Queensland Press, 23 Sept 2015, 170pp., $14.95 (pbk), ISBN 978-0-7022-5388-1 Flynn and his dad set off to Grandad Barney’s farm. Grandad Barney died about a year ago and the neglected property needs fixing up so it can be sold. Flynn doesn’t know very much about Grandad Barney and Flynn’s family refuse to tell him. As Flynn wanders around the deserted farmhouse looking for clues about his grandfather’s life, he notices a framed certificate that says: To Mister Cassowary. From your feathered friends at the Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre. In Appreciation. Flynn is determined to find…
Susannah McFarlane, True Light (EJ12 Girl Hero #20). Scholastic Australia, 1 Sept 2015, 192pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925206036 This is the 20th book in the EJ12: Girl Hero series. Emma has received some terrible news – Farmor, her Swedish grandmother, has died and Emma is devastated. She and her mother are called away on a mission though, and EJ needs to put thoughts of Farmor aside to concentrate on the job at hand. Or does she? This is a flashback book in which a prior mission in Sweden holds the clue to defeating SHADOW’s evil plan. Although there are references…
Patrick Ness, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Walker Books, 27 August 2015, 352pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN: 9781406331165 Like those scenes from Austin Powers where we see the home lives of henchmen killed on the job, this book is the story of the rest of us – not the chosen few, not the demon/vampire/alien/zombie slayers, just those trying to live their lives and deal with growing up. Mikey, his sister Mel, and their friends Henna and Jared are in their final year of high school. All around them, strange things are happening – lights from the sky, people with…
Kate Forsyth, Battle of the Heroes (The Impossible Quest #5). Scholastic Australia, 1 Sept 2015, 192pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781743624104 This is the fifth and final book in The Impossible Quest series. Quinn, Sebastian, Elanor and Tom have found all four magical beasts, and have collected the last item they need to fulfil the prophesy and free Wolfhaven Castle from Lord Mortlake and his evil wife. But the castle is overrun with bog men and enemy soldiers – how will they find the sleepers and wake them before night falls on the dark of the moon? Like the previous books in…
Nicki Greenberg, The Naughtiest Reindeer at the Zoo, Allen & Unwin, 1 Oct 2015, 32pp., $15.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760112141 Ruby the reindeer is back for another misadventure, this time housed at the zoo while the family enjoy a quiet Christmas with relatives. Greenberg’s story opens the readers’ eyes to how the season might not be so festive for everyone and what it is feels like to be left out. She also neatly picks up on the dilemma of thinking you are doing the right thing, just to have it end in disaster. Punchy black crayon line jauntily sets off flat…
Louis Shea, Where’s Santa? in Australia, Scholastic Australia, 1 Oct 2015, 24pp., $16.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781743626351 If you are looking to keep primary aged children entertained for long periods of time with some hide and seek fun this might for you. Possibly one to slip into the back seat for long holiday car journeys, this activity picture book is peppered with over 700 specifically ‘Australian things’ to look for and find. A follow up to Where’s Santa? Shea sets the scene with an opening comic-book style narrative and previous characters are re-introduced. Santa is squeezing in a visit Down-Under to…
Longy Han (text), Elinor Hagg (illus.), Gusto & Gecko Travel to Kenya, Self-Published, Oct 2015, 36pp., $22.95 (hbk), ISBN 8780994341303 Han’s crowd-funded self-published picture book follows a simple story of adventure that will keep young readers occupied throughout, and maybe a little scared. Gusto and Gecko are two young dinosaurs who spend their Sunday afternoon finding out where their time machine can take them. Today it is to the wildlife of Africa and they immediately land (literally) in trouble, right onto the back of a grumpy lion. Great descriptive writing that readers will want to dance along to, my favourite is…
Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina (text), Dub Leffler (illus.) Frog Finds a Place, Omnibus Books/Scholastic, Nov 2015, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 978 1 74299 023 1 Since Frog was a tadpole he has loved Moon and wanted to live in the skies with Moon and the stars. When he becomes a frog he asks several animals how he might get to the moon. All offer possible solutions, which Frog tries without success. It is owl that has the answer. Although the concept of this picture book is not a new one, a character trying to reach the moon, the delivery,…