Aaron Blabey, Episode One (The Bad Guys #1), Scholastic Australia, 1 July 2015, 144pp., $9.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760150426 This graphic novel for primary school children, by the always entertaining Aaron Blabey, is an absolute joy to read. Mr Wolf – dressed Reservoir Dogs style in a nod to gangster villains – wants you to know that even though he occasionally dresses like an old lady, it does not mean that he’s always a ‘bad guy’. He’s just misunderstood. Just like Mr Snake and Mr Piranha, who submit their rap sheets for the reader to peruse, but set out to show…
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Elizabeth Pulford (text), Kate Wilkinson (illus), Finding Monkey Moon, Walker Books, 1 July 2015, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781921720734 Michael best friend, soft toy ‘Monkey Moon’, is not in the play room when Michael gets ready for bed: Monkey Moon has been left in the park. Michael sets out with his father into the snowy night, calling out with more and more urgency for his Monkey Moon, who he fears will be scared and lonely without his owner. With ‘their breath fluttering like moths in the air’ Michael and his dad move through the quiet streets, lit only by…
Peter Gouldthorpe, The White Mouse: the story of Nancy Wake, Omnibus Books, 1 August 2015, 40pp., $26.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781742990910 Listed as suitable for readers ten and up, this title has some war time illustrations and content that develop the narrative, but may be considered confronting for younger readers. The information about Nancy Wake is very comprehensive and it is impressive and nerve wracking to read about the extent of her operations with the French Resistance during World War II. Every page is fully illustrated, graphically using black line work with some black line hatching and fairly muted ink wash.…
Sue Whiting (text), Mark Jackson (illus), Platypus (Nature Storybooks), Walker Books, 1 August 2015, 32pp., $27.95 (hbk), ISBN: 9781922077448 The story of the platypus is lyrical, highly descriptive and articulate. It conveys a knowledge of and love for these animals, with a level of passion so deep you can almost hear the author speak. In the main it is a story of a single male – exploring his environment, hunting for food, grooming and keeping himself safe from predators. It appears to follow his movements across the span of a day; beginning as he emerges from his burrow and concluding as…
Fiona Katauskas The Amazing True Story of How Babies are Made, ABC Books, 20 July 2015, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733333880 When Fiona wanted to buy a book for her son to explain where he came from, all she could find was the 1973 classic by Peter Mayle called, Where Did I Come From? As good as that was for making those tricky conversations with kids easier, there were some aspects of having babies that were missing, like IVF and sperm donation. Fiona has created an equally bright and easy book that has a wonderfully conversational tone while not shirking away…
George Ivanoff, Night of the Creepy Carnival (You Choose #5), Random House, 1 May 2015, 160pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780857986696 Alien Invaders from Beyond the Stars (You Choose #6), Random House, 1 May 2015, 160pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780 857986719 When I was a kid, Choose Your Own Adventure books were a big hit. They were short, sharp and fast and not nearly as daunting as reading a ‘whole novel’. George has taken the format he loved as a kid and written his own version in a series called You Choose. Written in the second person, the reader is invited into the story…
Colin Thompson Out to Launch (Watch This Space #1),, Random House, 1 May 2015, 256pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781742756202 Colin Thompson, author and illustrator, has brought us many irreverent, funny and touching books and for this one he has ventured into outer space. The moon, specifically. Radius Limpfast is a grotesquely rich man. There doesn’t seem to be very much he wouldn’t do to add to his vast wealth and this time he has concocted a brilliant plan to send a family into outer space as part of a new reality TV program called, Watch This Space. He knows the…
Hayley Long (text); Gemma Correll (illus), Being a Girl, Hot Key Books, 1 June 2015, 192pp., $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781783420001 Playfully written and illustrated, this book is a guide to moving through the teenage years. It’s broken into chapters from being a girl and proud of it, to periods, hair, heart matters, sex and finally being a woman. Although written by an adult (a Year 12 teacher and a YA author), it also integrates the advice of a bunch of Year 12 girls, helping to deliver some do’s and don’ts, and hints on surviving in the Western world. The trouble…
Nova Weetman, Frankie and Joely, University of Queensland Press, 1 July 2015, 256pp., $19.95 (pbk), ISBN 9780702253638 Best-friends-forever Frankie and Joely go for a summer holiday on Joely’s relatives’ farm. Although the country is a strange place for Frankie, Joely seems more at home with her cousins and their parents than she is with her own mum. Last time she was there, Joely fell for Rory and he’s still lounging around and making trouble. For best friends, though, Frankie and Joely have a lot of secrets they aren’t willing to share and more brew along the way. Rory wants Frankie,…
Rebecca Lim, Afterlight, Text Publishing, 24 June 2015, 240pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925240498 Sophie (Storkie) lives at The Star Hotel with her Gran. Shortly after her parents die, she changes schools ‘to mark a clean start’, finding herself amongst bullies but also in the gorgeous company of the tattooed and aloof Jordan Haigh. Then the ghostly Eve starts visiting, urging Sophie, through visions, to go on rescue missions that seem to Sophie like Eve is tying up the loose ends of a life gone. The media might think Sophie’s an amazing psychic but the school bullies think she’s a freak.…