Michael Wagner (text) Adam Nickel (illus) Pig Dude: he can do anything!, Billy Goat Books, august 2015, 64pp., $11.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780994251718 Pig Dude is a boy with a pig’s snout for a nose. In all other ways he’s a normal boy with the usual dreams and wishes. We don’t know where he came from, but we do know he has a mama who loves him and that makes all the difference. The endpapers provide the back story of how he appeared in a basket one night with a note saying “Please take care of Pig Dude,” and a caring…
Author: Admin
Peter Carnavas, Blue Whale Blues, New Frontier, 1 Sept 2015, 32pp., $24.99, (hbk), ISBN: 9781925059410 Whale has the “Blue Whale Blues”: his bike is wet and upside down, he doesn’t know where to put his helmet and overall he feels miserable. Luckily his friend Penguin is around to help with all these puzzles. It’s hard to stop a Blue Whale feeing depressed, but helpful Penguin manages it. When Turtle arrives on a real bike Whale realises his shopping trolley isn’t a bike and he would need legs to ride one. This revelation makes Whale laugh as he understands he doesn’t…
David Harding and Izzy Folau, Standing Tall (Izzy Folau #4), Random House Australia, 1 Sept 2015, 176pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780857986672 Standing Tall is the fourth book in the Izzy Folau series, written by David Harding and Rugby star Israel Folau. The idea of a sportsperson as a literary role-model for children is not new but it’s a terrific idea and these stories will resonate with kids keen on football or interested in sportsmanship. There are morals aplenty here, with simple yet strong messages about training hard, being a team player, the ethics of playing fairly, the importance of honesty and…
Tania McCartney (text) Tina Snarling (illus) An English Year: twelve months in the life of England’s kids, EK Books/Exisle, Sept 2015, 32pp., $19.99, ISBN 9781921966866 Victoria, Aman, Tandi, George, and Amelia are introduced immediately after the title page which is illustrated with a scene setting double decker red bus. Each moth of the year shows these children being engaged in a fairly typical event or activity for their family of origin, or most children, or the nation in general. Even though up to about ten separate illustrated segments appear on every month’s double spread there is very good use of white space…
Aunty Ruth Hegarty (text) Sandi Harrold (illus) Pip and Pim Scholastic Australia, 1 Oct 2015, 24pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760151973 Narrative and illustrations work together vividly to introduce the creatures of the Australian bush that come out at night. It is the story of Pip and Pim, ringtail possums, setting out, down from the tree where they live, for their first exploration of the forest floor. They meet an echidna and bandicoots and upset a nesting plover that flies at them screeching. Children looking at the pictures and hearing the story will feel as though they are out in the…
Rohan Cleave (text), Coral Tulloch (illus), Phasmid: saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, CSIRO Publishing, Sept 2015, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781486301126 This picture book tells the story of the Lord Howe Island phasmid (stick insect) in three parts. The first is from the view of the endangered phasmid who were decimated when rats from a shipwreck washed ashore and ate them. A few escaped to Balls Pyramid, a rock island sticking out of the sea a short distance away, and were discovered alive in 2001 by enthusiastic entomologists. The second part is a repeat of the information in third person…
Rachel McIntyre, Me & Mr J, Hardie Grant Egmont (Electric Monkey), 1 August 2015, 313pp., $19.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781405273442 Lara is red-headed. That fact alone seems to have initiated the intense bullying she receives at school. Name-calling, physical abuse and cyber-bullying are regular parts of Lara’s day. At home, things are awful as well, with money tight and her parents fighting all the time. Enter Mr Jagger, the new English teacher, and suddenly Lara has someone who understands her, values her and – wait a minute – really likes her. Likes her so much that, even as the bullying gets worse, he…
Alex Campbell, Cloud 9, Hot Key Books, 1 Sept 2015, 325pp., $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781471403545 Leata is the pill that guarantees your happiness so everyone, say the makers, should take it. Hope knows Leata helps to block those life events that you don’t want to face and she swallows at least one a day, blogging its beautiful effects to her nearly 2 million followers on livelifewithhope. It’s hard to understand why anyone would protest against taking this happy pill because it’s completely harmless, as everyone (except Tom’s dad) would say. Now he’s dead but Hope isn’t friends with Tom anymore…
Karen Wood, Under the Flame Tree, Allen & Unwin, September 2015, 304pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760112462 Under the Flame Tree is a modern day love story set in regional Australia. The heroine is sixteen year old Kirra, a high school student who has withdrawn from her secondary schooling to follow her dream of breaking-in horses. As the daughter of the foreman, Kirra expects few favours and knows she has to work hard to keep her position. She is a tough and determined rider with the stamina to remain aboard even the toughest of horses to bring out their best qualities. Also…
Clement C Moore (text), Amanda Brack (illus), The Night Before Christmas: a brick story, Hachette Australia, 29 September 2015, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733635045 This is an update on Clement C. Moore’s well-loved poem A Visit from St Nicholas. Amanda Brack is an illustrator and ‘brick specialist’ and she has used her expertise to create every scene of the poem in Lego. Beautifully detailed in its creation, Brack has used Lego pieces that I didn’t even know existed; she has lit and photographed each scene alternatively in yellow light and dark blue to create the warm glow of the house…