Catherine Bauer, Len Waters: Boundless and Born to Fly (Australia Remembers #3), Big Sky Publishing, September 2021, 60 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922488602 Len Waters (1924-1993) was a proud Kamilaroi man, raised in far northern New South Wales. He grew up at a time when Aboriginal people were barred from most public places, struggled to be educated, and were deprived of their lands and culture, often by Christian missionaries alongside government welfare departments. For most of Len’s life, Aboriginal families were under threat of having their children removed permanently, with all contact cut off. Despite these dispiriting conditions, Len…
Author: Admin
June Yu, Miscreation? (The Genetico Chronicles #1), Facet Media, November 2021, 466 pp., RRP $31.65 (pbk), ISBN 9780645248821 After the devastating Cyclone Years brought humanity to its knees the secret to survival was found in the perfection of genes, and hence the Genome Age began. By 2077 everything in life is genetically modified to be as efficient as possible, from food, to furniture, to people, and society appears to be thriving. However, on the fringes of society live the Miscreations, genetic experiments gone wrong. With questionable ethics around this genetic revolution, strangling societal roles, and prejudice growing ever stronger, the…
Sally Sutton (text) and Brian Lovelock (illustrator), Tractor, Walker Books, February 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760653385 Farm life is busy! Ploughing, churning, and harvesting crops are some of the back breaking tasks that comprise farm life. But with a tractor heavy work is made easy, especially when shared on a family farm. Sally Sutton places the family tractor amidst a busy corn harvest and creates a backdrop of farm life we don’t often see. Tractor is colourful, and the working farm is brought to life by Brian Lovelock’s richly detailed illustrations. Young readers will be fascinated by the many tasks a…
Logan Macx, Cyberspies (Swift and Hawk #1), Walker Books, March 2022, 352 pp., RRP $18.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781406394931 Edward Docx bestselling adult novelist and journalist, joined with highly regarded historical adult author Matthew Plampin, to co-write a teen high-tech thriller under the pseudonym Logan Macx. It is the beginning of a new teen series grounded in high tech, spy adventures, high concept action, in a novel called ‘Swift and Hawk Cyberspies.’ Swift and Hawk, real names Caleb Quinn a brilliant coder and Zenobia ‘Zen’ Rafiq also brilliant but at advanced robotics, attend a school in London for teens gifted in…
Alice Zaslavsky, Alice’s Food A to Z, Walker Books Australia, November 2021, 148 pp., RRP $24.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760654856 Alice’s Food A to Z is a reprint of a 2016 CBCA Notable in the Eve Pownall category (for Information Books). I have not read the original book, however, this reprint has been beautifully repackaged with quirky illustrations and excellent layout. Written by Alice Zaslavsky a Masterchef contestant, the book provides a fun and interesting look at foods, mostly fruit and vegetables, from A to Z. For each entry there is a variety of information including fun facts; what to look…
Amelia McInerney, author of Who Fed Zed?, chats to Reading Time reviewer, Maura Pierlot about their book, published by Allen & Unwin. Why Zed? Why now? On the surface, Who Fed Zed? is a funny story about a goldfish-feeding mix-up, but on a deeper level it’s about food allergy and the importance of reading food labels. I think it bubbled up from my subconscious because my eldest child has anaphylactic allergies to several nuts, and once when she was four, I made a mistake and gave her a muesli bar that contained peanut (yes, there was a mix-up and no,…
Matt Stanton, Run, Odds, Run (The Odds #2), HarperCollins Publishers, October 2021, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733340642 This is the second book in the graphic novel trilogy about the Odds. In the first book, Kip’s imaginary friends have come to life and now they take over the small 2-bedroom flat while Dad is trying to develop ideas for his new graphic novel. Chaos continues to rule as the characters fight amongst and with each other. Dad books a cabin in the woods to find some peace and stimulation. The Woman in the Suit wants to know all about…
Jamar J. Perry, Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms, Bloomsbury, February 2022, 240 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781526646859 Jamar Perry is an African-American author who qualified and worked as a teacher before enrolling in a PhD program at the University of Maryland. His research focused on “Black boys, the history of traditional and Black masculinity in America, and racial literacy.” He began writing stories for the reluctant readers he had come across in the classroom, especially Black boys who needed to see themselves as the heroes in books. In what appears to be the first in a series, Cameron…
Amelia McInerney (text) and Adam Nickel (illustrator), Who Fed Zed?, Allen and Unwin, July 2021, 32 pp, RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760524432 Friends Ned, Ted, and Fred are looking after Fred’s fish, Zed (who can’t eat bread), while flea-ridden Jed (the dog of Fred) has been banished to the shed. So starts a hilarious mix-up amongst a motley group of friends that also touches on the importance of food allergies and reading labels. I love everything about this book: the inventive mono-rhyme, the eye-popping design, the appealing typography, the colour palette, the nuanced illustrations (the eyes say it all!). The…
James, Candy, I Really Dig Pizza! (An Archie & Reddie Book, # 1), HarperCollins Publishers, December 2021, 80 pp., $16.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781460760802 James, Candy, We Will Find Your Hat! (An Archie & Reddie Book, # 2), HarperCollins Publishers, December 2021, 80 pp., $16.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781460760819 These are the first two books in a series created by husband and wife team Candy (illustrator) and James (author), inspired by their daughter’s favourite soft toys and the adventures she shares with them. They are a perfect transition from picture books to chapter books, using graphic novel…