Colin Buchanan (text), Roland Harvey (illus.), Little Barry Bilby had a Fly upon his Nose, Scholastic, 1 March 2015, 24pp, $19.99, (comes with CD), ISBN 9781743621899 An Aussie version of the classic ‘Little Peter Rabbit’ song, crafted by award-winning author/musician, Colin Buchanan, with adorable illustrations by Roland Harvey; Little Barry Bilby had a Fly upon his Nose is sure to have preschoolers twitching and bouncing along to the rhythm from start to end. With friends including Barry Bilby, Peter Possum and Colly Cocky, their respective fly, mozzie and beetle pesterers just won’t go away. Common Australian native animals, each with…
Author: Admin
Bingbo (text), Huangying (illus.), The Moving House, Starfish Bay Children’s Books, 1 March 2015, 32pp $14.99 (pbk) , ISBN 9780994100252 From award-winning Chinese author, Bingbo, The Moving House is a story that aims to entertain, first and foremost, but also serves as a resource for assisting children cope with the potentially traumatic experience of relocating house. Having been translated, the language and story structure is simple, modest and nicely paced for young listeners to easily comprehend. The tale tells of a fickle squirrel in search of a new home out of his usual tree habitat. After being shunted by the…
Katrina Germein (text), Judy Watson (illus.), Thunderstorm Dancing, Allen & Unwin, 25 March 2015, $24.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781743314593 Thunderstorm Dancing is a wildly energetic story of a girl and her family rhythmically expressing their interpretation of a swirling thunderstorm while it rages outside. With Katrina Germein’s rollicking onomatopoeia and exuberant lyrical verse, the little girl’s family whizz up an indoor storm whilst she takes cover. The house becomes a romping, rumbling orchestra of stamping feet, roars, claps, and clanging spoons on pots and pans. When the riot finally ceases, Granny smiles and her piano music emanates the gleaming sun. The…
Sean Ferrell (text), Charles Santoso (illus.), I Don’t Like Koala, Scholastic, 1 April 2015, 40pp, $24.99 (hbk) ISBN 9781742761497 When he receives Koala as a gift, Adam is outraged. Koala is the most terrible terrible; with his slightly askew, following eyes and mysterious appearances at every turn. To his parents’ dismay, Adam tries everything to rid himself of this stalker-toy, including taking him to the most imaginative, far away places (or so Adam thinks). But his evil-genius plan fails. In the end, guess who’s watching out for Adam when he needs a helping paw? The linguistic idiosyncrasies, like “terrible terrible”…
Anna Pignataro, Our Love Grows, Scholastic, 1 March 2015, $16.99, 24pp., ISBN: 9781743626269 Our Love Grows is a picture book perfect to read aloud to young children. The story looks at growth, change and the bonds that exist between a mother and their child. Like all children Pip is curious about the world and how things work. The story starts with Pip asking the question, ‘Mama, when will I be big?’ Mama tells Pip about growing up, using examples that Pip can relate to and compare with such as, Pip’s blanket and favourite toy ‘birdy’. She tells Pip about the stars…
Caleb Krisp, Anyone But Ivy Pocket, Bloomsbury, 9 April 2015, 313pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781408858639 Anyone But Ivy Pocket has been recommended for fans of Lemony Snicket books, but I, being of a different vintage, also find her similar to the children’s picture book character Amelia Bedelia, who was a housekeeper who took everything literally. Both characters demonstrate a British type of wackiness and both are servants who unintentionally make life very difficult, even dangerous, for their ‘betters’. This leads to lots of very enjoyable slapstick moments. There is a major difference between Ivy and Amelia though; Ivy has an…
Peter Millett (text) Trish Bowles (illus.) The Anzac Puppy Scholastic (NZ), 1 March 2015, 32pp. NZ$19.50 A$17.99 pbk ISBN 9781775430971 SCIS 1651150 The Anzac Puppy is a book set during the Great War of 1914-1918 and tells the story of a young soldier, Sam, and his relationship with Freda the faithful dog and war mascot. This book is inspired by the true story of a Great Dane called Freda who became the official mascot of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade during WWI. Exploring the role animals played in war days has become a popular way for authors to tell war stories,…
Phil Cummings (text), Shane Devries (illus.), Ride, Ricardo, Ride!, Omnibus/Scholastic, 1 March 2015, $24.99 (hbk), 32pp., ISBN 9781742990736 Ride, Ricardo, Ride! is set in a European village during war time. Ricardo is the hero of the story and the heart of the narrative explores the impact war has on his hometown and family. Ricardo is first introduced to the reader riding around his village on his bike, free to do all of the things children love doing, without any concerns or worries. Ricardo’s world is safe and he receives encouragement and protection from his Father. The situation changes as the soldiers…
Erhard Dietl, The Ogglies go to School, Starfish Bay Publishing, April 2015, 28pp., $14.99 (hbk) ISBN 9780994100719 The German originated Ogglies are green creatures that live on a rubbish dump, love all things smelly and eat rusty tin cans as snacks. Translated here for the Australian market, this picture book describes their children starting school. Mum is too busy so grandma gives them a lift on Firebottom, the family dragon. They arrive just as the teacher finds out she needs to dash home and grandma takes over the lessons. Being an Oggly, she has them weight lifting and jumping in…
Janeen Brian (text), Ann James (illus.), I’m a Hungry Dinosaur, Penguin, 22 April 2015, 24pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780670078103 I’ve never grown out of the simple pleasures of an afternoon making cakes and here are some characters who agree. Janeen Brian and Ann James’ award-winning dinosaur (and bird) are back for more creative adventures, this time in the kitchen. With quick paced text that puts one in mind of the nursery rhyme ‘Pat a cake, pat a cake’ this storybook puts the fun back into baking. It doesn’t matter how messy and chaotic the kitchen becomes, the reader is reassured by…