MATIC, Mia Ocean Blue: Delphi Island Balboa Press, 2012/13 67pp $12.99 pbk +e ISBN 9781452506401 William Taylor is a lucky boy. It is summer holiday time and he lives with his parents in beautiful Allymera Bay where he swims and surfs every day. Unfortunately, like many places of natural beauty, Allymora Bay and nearby magical Delphi Island are suffering. The lovely area is awash with plastic and other forms of flotsam that pollute the sea and beaches and endanger the animals that live there. The sea animals recognise their crisis and agree that action is necessary, but what can they…
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LAING, David Forest Secrets: Ghosts come in many guises JoJo Pub, 2013 200pp 18.99 pbk ISBN 9780987358561 SCIS 1641298 Millions of years ago a rhotosaurus flees for safety from the destructive searing asteroid, which was to destroy all dinosaur life, to a waterhole in a deep gorge. This provides the opening chapter of a new spooky adventure by David Laing to complete a trilogy featuring Jars (Jacinta) Kelly, a part Aboriginal girl from the Northern Territory who has lost her parents and brother, and is now 15, living with her aunt, uncle, her cousin Snook and faithful German Shepherd dog…
KLEIN, Lizbeth Firelight of Heaven: Bethloria Book 1 Wombat, 2013 182pp $16.95 pbk ISBN 9781921632471 SCIS 1632919 This might be Lizbeth Klein’s first foray into a fantasy novel series, but she is an experienced writer who understands the form. The manuscripts of the first and second novels have already won prizes, and Lizbeth Klein is a long time educational writer for the early primary years. Wombat are on a winner. This novel introduces Dougray and Robbie, two teenagers thrown into a dark endgame, where a tyrant king, his dark magic, and a series of precious magic crystals might mean the…
BLACKADDER, Jesse Paruku: The Desert Brumby ABC, 2014 218pp $14.99 pbk +e ISBN 9780733331794 SCIS 1641755 Horse-lovers, and there are many of them among, will love this book and treasure it. The author herself claims to have been a ‘horse-mad kid’ and she has not lost that enthusiasm in her latest book which is based on a real life adventure. In following up all the details of an article the author read in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2009, she was able to make it into a well-organised and dramatic story. Twelve-year old Rachel lives in a rich horsey environment in Glen Innes…
MORGAN, Sally & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (text) Craig Smith (illus.) Going Bush with Grandpa Omnibus, 2014 55pp $9.99 pbk ISBN 9781742990262 SCIS 1641854 Little Pete relishes the prospect of a school vacation camping trip with Grandpa, heading out in the LandCruiser for a few days of gold prospecting with the metal detector. His excitement and affection for his Grandpa is palpable as he relates novel camping experiences, such as Grandpa’s bush cooking, his fireside crooning and reminisences about his youth. However, the greatest excitement lies in the chance of finding gold nuggets, the little fellow spurred on by Grandpa’s anecdotes about…
KIPLING, Rudyard (text) Robert Ingpen (illus.) Just So Stories Walker, 2013 191pp $39.95 ISBN 9781922077493 SCIS 1630807 This hardback edition of the Just So Stories provides a lavishly illustrated introduction to these charming and humorous tales about the origins of various animals and their unique qualities. Generations of readers have been drawn into these stories by Kipling’s masterful use of language and rhythm; his fanciful word play and rollicking prose dance and stomp across the page, bringing characters and scenes vividly to life. And so we learn, among other things, how the curious Elephant’s Child gained his trunk, how the…
James O’Loghlin tells Reading Time how he comes up with story ideas. He shares his ‘torch on a dark night’ method of story development, and gives us all the detail on how he develops a story that will delight and entertain young readers – even if it does involve being mean to his characters! I’ve always been jealous of those who have come up with a wonderful premise for a book. For example, 10 people come to an uninhabited island and one by one start to get murdered (And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie) or, a 16 year…
O’LOGHLIN James The Adventures of Sir Roderick the Not-Very Brave Pan, 2014 378pp $16.99 ISBN 9781742614038 SCIS 1660743 What makes us brave? Are we born with it or is it something that we only use when faced with the opportunity. This book is set in the times of knights and ruling Queens. Roderick, a shy farm boy, saves the Queen’s life and is rewarded with a knighthood and the opportunity to train and live with the other knights in the castle. When war threatens, Roderick must be bold and go in search of a man the Queen believes can bring…
FINCH, Kate (text) John Steven Gurney (illus.) Calling All Pets! Scholastic, (Pet Hotel) 2014 77pp $7.99 pbk +e ISBN 9781743621844 SCIS 1643457 Meg and Charlie are twins, and, with their parents, have moved into their great, great aunt’s Diamond Hotel in bustling Gazebo Square. Unfortunately, the hotel proves to be very run down, and has no guests. It is, however, a fascinating building with a basement pool, a quaint lift, interestingly decorated rooms, a wonderful roof garden and Aunt Saffron who is a delight. A solution to the hotel’s problems comes when the twins puppy-sit Paco, a neighbour’s pup, and…
DOHERTY, Jeffery E. Paper Magic IFWG Pub, 2013 89pp $15.99 pbk ISBN 9780992302016 Marina’s nimble fingers fold the magic paper that Nana gave her and soon a beautiful butterfly ‘pulses with life.’ She is clever with her hands and her arms are strong but how she wishes her useless legs could run and jump like other kids. When Nana arrives and takes Marina on an adventure in her wheel chair to the local park she realizes that if she is to overcome the fear of rejection and become the person she wants to be, she must push beyond her comfort…