The Children’s Book Council of Australia is pleased to present our current vehicle for presenting reviews of Australian children’s books – Reading Time Online. The CBCA has a strong commitment and a long history of reviewing Australian children’s books. For many of our seventy years reviews were presented in our print journal Reading Time. Reading Time Online replaces Reading Time in print and includes all the old favourites such as reviews, interviews with established and emerging authors and illustrators and reports from CBCA judges. It will also include booklists, articles on topics of interest to the children’s book world, guest…
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WERRY, Philippa (text) Bob Kerr (illus.) Best Mates: Three Lads Who Went to War Together New Holland, 2014 unpaged NZ$19.99 pbk ISBN 9781869664114 The author here has told a carefully crafted story of three mates who go off to war in search of adventure. Indeed, the ‘Boys Own Adventure’ story was a popular genre at the time and no doubt was a strong motivator for many lads (as my own father would testify). However, trench war in Gallipoli was no adventure but a daily grind of disease and death. As the text here puts it, ‘Back home it was winter…
Peter Millett (text) Trish Bowles (illus.) The Anzac Puppy Scholastic (NZ), 2014, 32pp., NZ$19.50 A$17.99 pbk ISBN 9781775430971 SCIS 1651150 Based on a true story, this is a moving tale about the impact of a dog mascot on men at war. War time is economically difficult and here, a young girl Lucy, has to abandon her young puppy Freda by the side of the road in a box. Her parents struggle to make ends meet. A young soldier Sam, on the way to war, sees the box and decides to take this lovely Great Dane puppy with him, but promises…
HARPER, Glyn (text) Jenny Cooper (illus.) Jim’s Letters Penguin, 2014 unpaged NZ$25.00 ISBN 9780143505907 The cover illustration is a powerful introduction to this moving story of two brothers and the impact of war. In the top third there is an image (non-glossy) of a young blond lad writing letters with an image of a farm cottage in the background. Below this is a glossy image of a landing (possibly Gallipoli) where, in the central foreground, there is a young dark-haired soldier, holding his bayonet mounted gun, looking upwards though moving forwards. Though we may guess who is writing to whom,…
BECK, Jennifer (text) Robyn Belton (illus.) The Bantam and the Soldier Scholastic (NZ), 2014 (1996) unpaged NZ$19.50 pbk ISBN 9781775432074 SCIS 1655180 This classic picture book has been reformatted and reprinted. It is now in a larger format with a small, but significant addition – an inner flap as part of the cover where both author and illustrator signify the personal memories of those family members who lost their lives in both the first and second world wars and dedicate the book to them. Based on a post card from family and a photograph found during research, Jennifer Beck has…
GUO-QIANG, Cai (text) Alex Allen (illus.) Let’s Create an Exhibition with a Boy Named Cai Qld Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, 2013 unpaged $19.95 pbk ISBN 9781921503689 Cai is a young Chinese boy who loves making art. He travels the world; meeting children who help him produce extraordinary artworks. Together with their friends from beyond… (yes, there are aliens!) they create an exhibition. This unusual semi-autobiographical story is inspired by the Chinese fairytale Peach Blossom Spring and written by an international artist. It is a blend of fiction and fact. It begins with an introduction to the artist. Cai’s adventures…
PIGNATARO, Anna How I Love You Scholastic, 2014 unpaged $16.99 ISBN 9781742838182 SCIS 1651756 This is a special book in that the artwork not only captures the unique nature of Australian wild life, but also very subtly the text integrates a range of evocative verbs, not necessarily part of a pre-schooler’s vocabulary, in a completely meaningful manner. Such words as nestled, nuzzled, cradled, cuddled capture the essence of the emotions at play in this text. The signature artwork of Anna Pignataro is beautifully suited to the mood and focus of this story, about the love that exists between mother and…
MITCHELL, Laine (text) Kim Fleming (illus.) Mummy, You’re Special to Me Scholastic, 2014 unpaged $16.99 ISBN 9781742839813 The key character in this text is a baby giraffe, and although many other animal babies are depicted with their mums, the little giraffe is always present trying out and experiencing different things. The narrative visits many animals and moves across varied landscapes such as, underwater, in the jungle, on the beach, in the desert, in the Antarctic, all offering the possibility for a wide range of verbal interactions with young children. They will also relate to the circular structure of the narrative…
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