WILSON, Mark The Afghanistan Pup Lothian, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780734415325 SCIS 1651537 This emotionally powerful book is dedicated to Private Greg Sher, an SAS soldier from a Victorian Jewish family, killed in combat in 2009. It tells the story of a young labrador pup, first adopted by an Afghani school girl, then cared for by an Australian combat engineer after the girl’s school was bombed and finally reunited with her mistress, Kinah, when the rebuilt school reopened. The subtext of the story highlights the horror of war but also the common humanity that links us all. The book is…
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SOMERS, Catherine Mary the Hairy Fairy and the Magic of Now Spellwear Pub, 2014 unpaged $29.99 pbk ISBN 9780992294809 This fable shares the story of Mary, a fairy born with long colourful locks into a family of hairless bald, pink and shiny fairies. Mary is teased and outcast for her physical traits which don’t conform to the Unhairy Fairy ways. Whilst the Unhairy Fairies have wings they choose not to fly and instead like to stay within the apparent safe confines of their treetop home. In contrast Mary feels a tingle in her wings and with little reason to stay,…
PIGNATARO, Anna (illus.) Susanne Gervay (text) Elephants Have Wings Ford Street, 2014 unpaged $26.95 ISBN 9781925000399 SCIS 1674011 Two young children plead with their father to hear their favourite story. The story, passed down from grandfather, tells of a group of children searching in the dark to discover a secret. Each believes they have found the secret until grandfather shines a candle and they realise they all hold parts of a bigger truth. Wanting to discover the secret for themselves, the two young children embark on a magical journey, riding on the back of a winged elephant over faraway lands…
MATTHEWS, Tina So Many Wonderfuls Walker, 2014 unpaged $24.95 ISBN 9781922077516 SCIS 1671878 Tina Matthews takes readers on an exploration of a wonderful town, enumerating in great detail all the large and small things which make this small sea-side settlement so wonderfully liveable. The text is set out in verse on the left-hand page, with closely detailed illustrations on the facing page in this well-designed and constructed book. However, this reader found the verse rhythm a little confusing until realising that each verse consists of four couplets spread over two pages, so that the page must be turned before the…
Ciara Molloy Tan shares her favourite books as a child, her journey to Australia, and the story of her first book for children, Hermione Anemone and the Enormous Storm. I’m from Dundrum, a small town in South Dublin, Ireland. I’m a 70’s kid. I was a very shy child so I was quite happy playing on my own or with just one or two friends. I didn’t like big crowds so I didn’t like school. I loved Art and English best. Anything vaguely mathematical was a disaster! My Papa (my Mum’s Dad) used to tell me great stories without a…
Fun kids classic gets a new treatment with a bigger and brighter edition of Look and See Shane Morgan (Magabala $14.95 pbk) Random House The Clementine Rose Busy Day Book ($17.99 pbk); Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend Jacqueline Harvey ($12.99 pbk) Scholastic 10 Clumsy Emus Ed Allen/Wendy Binks, 10 Spooky Bats Ed Allen/Shane McG ($9.99 pbk); Aussie edition Hokey Pokey +CD Ed Allen/Sarah Hardy ($16.99 pbk) Penguin/Viking Little Bug Books Cows Say Moo, Monkeys Live in Trees Graeme Base ($9.99 fold-out) 30th Anniversary Edition The Monster Who Ate Australia Michael Salmon (Ford St $19.95/$12.95) Allen & Unwin/Nosy Crow…
NORSA, Sophie Lisa Absolutely Loves Art New Frontier, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781925059045 SCIS 1670282 Lisa and her cat, Picasso, visit the art gallery but while her back is turned, Picasso runs away. As Lisa searches through the gallery, she becomes engulfed by The Great Wave off Kanagawa and is carried away into the artwork. She journeys through several paintings until she finally reunites with her cat. Although not new, the concept of stepping into an artwork is intriguing. I enjoyed being taken on the journey and comparing the illustrations with the artworks at the back. The hiding cat in…
LEFROY, Mike (text) Liz Anelli (illus.) Howzat! Walker, 2014 unpaged A$24.95 NZ$27.99 ISBN 9781922077646 SCIS 1671868 With the ICC World Cup in Australia, a picture book that celebrates the international character of cricket is a timely release. Howzat! starts with a game of cricket in progress in a little English village with each of the following double page spreads moving the setting to another country where cricket is played and loved. The game flows across the globe and hints within the illustrations suggest to the reader which country the game has reached. Readers can also plot the progress on a…
HIGGINS, Chris (text) Lee Wildish (illus.) My Funny Family Moves House (My Funny Family series #5) Hodder, 2014 140pp $12.99 pbk ISBN 9781444918410 SCIS 1671397 Mattie lives in a house with six rooms, his parents and six siblings so things are quite squashed and often chaotic. After winning the lottery they plan to buy a new two-storied house but as the family realize they will be moving away from their friends and relatives and enrolling in a new school their enthusiasm wanes. This is a delightful story, fast moving and convincing. The narrator, young Mattie, relates a most amusing tale and…
GLEESON, Libby (text) Freya Blackwood (illus.) The Necklace and The Present Allen & Unwin (The Cleo Stories), 2014 unpaged $16.99 ISBN 9781743315279 SCIS 1676273 Two short stories about Cleo McCann, an only child with a vivid imagination, wisdom and empathy beyond her years. These are engaging stories with unexpected endings that tap into the most altruistic of emotions. Illustrations powerfully support the stories, and could carry the book alone. Highly recommended. reviewed by Chris Dayman