Gary Crew, Voicing the Dead, Ford Street, 1 August 2015, 370pp., $19.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925272055 Voicing the Dead tells the true story of Jack Ireland, a 19th century English teenager, who was a crew boy on the ship the Charles Eaton which was wrecked at sea. Jack was able to escape the sinking ship on a raft, but only reached land to see nearly all his fellow passengers from the raft killed by head hunters. He was finally sold to, then raised by, kindly Torres Strait Islanders on Mer (Murray Island). This should have been a very exciting book. However, the plot which…
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Damean Posner (text), Jules Faber (illus.), Helix and the Arrival, Random House, 1 July 2015, $15.99, 288pp., ISBN 978 0857 986 535 Helix is a cave boy who is about to take part in his clan’s coming of age ritual – the Arrival. This is a time when a young man must pass the spoken test and the hunt. The spoken test won’t be a problem for Helix as he has a good memory for the facts he has been taught, even if he questions their veracity. The hunt is another matter entirely. It involves going into the woods…
Terry Pratchett, The Shepherd’s Crown, Doubleday/Random House, 27 August 2015, 352pp., $45.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9780857534811 This is the final volume in the Tiffany Aching series, the 41st Discworld novel and the last book completed by Terry Pratchett before he died in March this year. I have always enjoyed the Discworld series even though they varied in quality, they were never short on satiric humour, an overarching love of humanity and a pitiless dissection of human failings. As Neil Gaiman said, ‘A Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle’ and in this case particularly so. This is the last of the…
Fiona Wood, Cloudwish, Macmillan, 25 August 2015, 288pp., $19.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781743533123 This is Fiona Wood’s third young adult novel, another companion novel to Six Impossible Things. While Lou, Michael, and Sibylla from Wildlife appear here, they are all minor characters, adding friendship and willing ears, but never intruding or judging. Our main character is Vân Uóc , a first generation Vietnamese Australian, whose parents arrived in 1980. She is a complex character, and her narrative voice radiates wit, charm and whimsy. No one could ever accuse Vân Uóc of being frivolous, as for her entire 17 years, she has been…
Julia Lawrinson, The Flyaway Girls, 26 August 2015, Penguin, 240pp., $14.99 (pbk) ISBN 9780143308652 I found The Flyaway Girls refreshing and innovative. The vast majority of the books that I have reviewed for young people have been about romance, sex, dangerous bullies and family violence. It was a treat to read a book in which none of these played a part. The Flyaway Girls is about life balance and also about learning to accept that although you can be very good at something you will not necessarily be the best. Other themes include nurturing relationships and making amends. Chelsea is…
The next CBCA conference will be held at The Menzies Hotel in Sydney on 20 and 21 May 2016, with the theme READ: myriad possibilities. The theme was chosen to give a visionary direction to the conference and to show how, after 70 years of CBCA existence, there are myriad possibilities for its future and the future of reading. It is creative, open to interpretation, shows potential and inspires hope in the future – all qualities that we wish to underpin the 2016 National Conference. It is kaleidoscopic in nature. It is based on the quote: “Books may not change our…
Aleesah Darlison (text), Sarah Jane Hinder (illus.), Spider Iggy, Wombat Books, 1 August 2015, 32pp., $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781925139334 Spider Iggy lives in the city. Despite his efforts to make friends, no one seems to notice him. Dreaming of a place where there are spiders like him, he decides to set off on an adventure. He encounters many dangers along the way but manages to stay brave until he meets Bert, another spider who leads him to the place of his dreams, where he finally feels at home. This book explores the themes of belonging and persistence and is supported…
Beth Ferry (text), Tom Lichtenheld (illus.), Stick and Stone, Koala Books, 7 April 2015, 48pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781742761671 Stick. Stone. Both alone. Alone is no fun. When Pinecone makes fun of Stone, Stick sticks up for Stone and a friendship is struck. Then they become parted by a storm. Stone searches tirelessly for his friend, finally rescuing him from a sticky situation. They both discover that friendship rocks! The spare, rhyming text and comical illustrations are a perfect pairing in this tongue-in-cheek tale. Fun to read aloud, young readers will enjoy the cheeky puns and humour while identifying with…
Karen Tayleur (ed). The Hush Foundation, The Hush Treasure Book, Allen & Unwin, August 2015, 48pp., $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760112790 For many years now, the Hush Music Foundation, a group of the country’s foremost composers and musicians, has been creating music for use in hospitals across Australia and around the world. The foundation was created by Dr Catherine Crock while she was working with children with cancer at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. This music is used to soothe distress and promote an atmosphere of healing and peace. Now, through the contribution and collaboration of over 30 of Australia’s finest…
Sophie Splatt, Dream, Create, Inspire: easy projects for an amazing bedroom makeover, The Five Mile Press, June 2015, 48pp., $16.95 (pbk), ISBN: 9781760066468 Encouraging kids to follow a creative pursuit a way from the computer and television can sometimes seem like hard work. It requires time, planning and often an adult to direct the show so chaos doesn’t ensue. This is where easy project based books like Dream, Create, Inspire can come in handy. Using largely bits and pieces from around the home; fabric, paints, yarns and bottles, Sophie Splatt has designed a book where kids can take some responsibility…