WON, Brian Hooray for Hat! Koala, 2014 unpaged $14.99 pbk ISBN 9781742761138 SCIS 1675771 Here is a picture book about animals that deal with difficult emotions by giving each other hats. Trying on hats is certainly a very good way of cheering yourself up if you are feeling grumpy, as most children will attest due to their play in the dress up corner. The book is also colourful with very funny pictures: my favourite being the grumpy turtle with a black squiggle over his head to symbolise how rotten he is feeling. I also liked the increased size in font…
Author: Admin
STEPHENSON, Dale L. (text) Craig Boase (illus.) Billy’s Big Day Out Xlibris, 2014 32pp $34.99 pbk+e ISBN 9781493133253 Billy’s Big Day Out is a children’s picture book about a small dog who explores a farm where he can enjoy his hobby of licking (unappreciative) barn yard animals. It is a good book for children who are just learning to read. The words chosen are simple and there are one to two sentences per page with some repetition and alliteration and the story is written, largely, in the simple past tense. Children will also like the gentle humour and the inevitable…
PARTON, Daron Alligator in an Anorak Random House, 2014 unpaged $19.99 ISBN 9780857983091 SCIS 1676370 With a cheeky alligator grin, standing in a yellow anorak, the reader is invited into this quirky alphabet book. He is followed by a bear in a bathtub, crab in a caravan, dodo in a dive, elephant in an eggcup and so on. There are other clever features to be explored and developed, such as why the ‘mole in the middle’ has no object with it but has such a knowing smile. The alliteration works very well and the simplicity, colour and varied placement of…
CRUMBLE, P. (text) Simon Williams (illus.) Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be? +CD Scholastic, 2014 unpaged $19.99 pbk ISBN 9781743622377 SCIS 1676346 This children’s picture book is a combination of the song Oh dear, what can the matter be? Three old ladies locked in the lavatory (although in this case it is ten old ducks), and the song Ten Green Bottles, with each number relating to a different situation. These situations include: ‘Nine mean bulls snorting quite angrily’, ‘eight plump chooks feeling quite motherly’ and ‘four black cats climbing the willow tree’. The pictures are great fun. I particularly liked the chook…
BRASSEY, Richard The Story of World War One Orion, 2014 24pp $12.99 pbk+e ISBN 9781444010855 SCIS 1678982 This publication coincides with the 100 year commemoration of the conflict of 1914-1918, capturing well the events and atmosphere of the times that lead to a war on a scale never seen before and that was to change the notion of warfare. Through text and illustrations Brassey explores the genesis of the war, life in the trenches, weapons and war machines and the role played by women during the conflict, leading to greater equality in its aftermath with the right to vote. He…
KLOESTER, Jennifer The Rapunzel Dilemma Penguin, 2014 328pp $16.99 pbk ISBN 9780143571087 SCIS 1674426 Sixteen year old Lily de Tourney has lead a life of privilege. Nothing has ever been out of reach or too hard but things are about to change at the London Drama Academy. Lily dreams of becoming a great actor but a family secret, hostile roommates and someone who has a vendetta against her might see an end to that. Throw into the mix the mysterious, handsome Ronan Carver, a student at the adjoining art school and Lily finds herself gripped by a whirlwind of pleasure,…
YOUNG, Rebecca (text) Leila Rudge (illus.) The Skunk with No Funk Walker, 2014 unpaged $24.95 ISBN 9781922179012 SCIS 1671790 Baby Woody is a skunk which has thrown his family into a flap. He has no funk – no smell at all! How will he frighten away the foxes and owls and other nasties? Ma turns into a helicopter parent as she tries to follow Woody everywhere to protect him from any risks. But she can’t do that forever. Woody’s great love is music. He gets distracted by the robin’s song and the woodpecker’s bop and the grasshopper hop. In the…
WESTAWAY, Kylie (text) Tom Jellett (illus.) Whale in the Bath Allen & Unwin, 2014 unpaged $19.99 ISBN 9781743318584 SCIS 1675812 Bath time can be dramatic, but when young Bruno finds a whale in the bath, drama turns to turmoil. His sister, mother and father won’t believe him when he protests that he cannot take his bath due to the whale, especially as he had previously seen a bear under his bed and a walrus in the backyard. Despite Bruno’s protestations that he must get out of the bath, the unconcerned whale is more interested in finding krill-smelling bubble bath or…
WALKER, Anna Hurry Up Alfie ISBN 9781742839912 SCIS 1676337; Alfie’s Lost Sharkie ISBN 9781742839929 Scholastic, 2014 unpaged $19.99 Anna Walker has accurately captured the cheerful frustration of trying to get a 3-5 year old dressed and ready to go out in Hurry up Alfie. The ever patient mother dinosaur calmly deals with Alfie’s lack of focus and distracted antics and the cat’s expressions and ears tell their own story. The illustrations are made with ink, watercolours and collage and the background patterns add another dimension to the settings. The ending is a surprise and completes the visual narrative. In Alfie’s…
TREML, Renée The Great Garden Mystery Random House, 2014 unpaged $19.99 ISBN 9780857984166 SCIS 1676350 This picture book relates a small mystery as various animals, including some Australian creatures such as a bilby and koala, try to identify the thief among them who is stealing beetroot from the garden. One by one each is eliminated until the end when there is a big surprise. The tale is told in doggerel and illustrated with large drawings ensuring that very young children will recognize each animal. A strongly bound hardback, set in a large clear typeface. Ages 3-5. reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas