BOYNE, John Stay Where You Are & Then Leave Doubleday, 2013 248pp $21.95 pbk ISBN 9780857532947 SCIS 1626741 Alfie Summerfield had his fifth birthday party on the day the First World War broke out making it a rather sombre occasion. The war was about to change the life of everyone who lived in Darnley Road in East London as we find when we turn to 1918 when Alfie is now nine. Georgie, Alfie’s father, the local milkman, joined up straight away, regularly writing to his wife Margie, until after a time letters stopped coming. Margie herself found a position as…
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TOWNER, Rob (text) St Dominic’ Centre for Hearing Impaired Children (illus.) Animal Friends: Floating Orange Cubes Self Pub, 2013 189pp $12.95 pbk ISBN 9780992316105 Rob Towner is a teacher at a centre for hearing-impaired children, some of whom have illustrated this story. The characters are birds and insects that are antagonistic to each other, and the story begins in 2016, but the bulk of it is set in 1956, and there is a coda again in 2016. With its messages of cooperation, trust and self-sacrifice it is a moral tale, and whilst the text is overlong, it does possess a…
STELZER, Cameron Pie Rats: The Forgotten Map Daydream Press, 2013 285pp $16.95 pbk ISBN 9780987461506 SCIS 1610079 Wisker and his circus family are sailing on the Cyclone Sea when a huge wave washes him overboard. Wisker is on the verge of drowning when he is rescued by a band of Pie Rats. He becomes their pirate apprentice, learning how to shoot mouldy pies from cannons and to sword fight with scissor blades. The Pie Rat’s adventure is to acquire a map and locate a mythical treasure. Wisker’s resourcefulness and courage is utilised by his fellow rats to overcome any obstacles…
SMITH, Leesa The Earth Protectors Goanna Tales Pub, 2013 85pp $10.95 pbk ISBN 9780980626360 This is Book 1 in the SwArM series. Young Sam has always had an affinity for insects and for the earth. He has stood up to bullies to stop them from torturing bugs, and feels more comfortable on his own exploring the natural world. One day Sam is investigating an insect hole beneath a tree in his backyard when he is sucked down the hole and into a world beneath the earth. There he discovers he has been chosen to receive a special gift, and for…
PRINCE, Scott (text) Dave Hartley (text and illus.) Deadly D & Justice Jones Book 1: Making the Team Magabala, 2013 127pp $12.95 pbk ISBN 9781922142184 SCIS 1626729 This is the first book in a planned series by Broncos Rugby League star Scott Prince (a Kalkadoon man from Mt. Isa) and award-winning Queensland teacher Dave Hartley, of the Barunggam people from the Darling Downs/Chinchilla region). It was developed through State Library of Queensland’s black&write! indigenous Writing Fellowship Competition. Dylan is eleven, aboriginal, and a talented Rugby League player. When he and his widowed mother move to Brisbane from Mt. Isa, he…
McCALLUM, Mary Dappled Annie and the Tigrish Gecko Press, 2014 140pp NZ$19.99 pbk ISBN 9781877579912 There are faces etched in the hedge that borders the cottage home with the open spaces of the coastal landscape. In the distance, on the border of sea and land, is the lighthouse and Annie’s father is the keeper. These hedging faces and voices are barely perceptible to most of us, but when heard, they give voice to nature. Indeed, the real and the fantastic are here interwoven in a deeply mystical eco-utopian story whereby, for those gifted to hear, smell, see and feel the…
JUDD, Susan Broken World RMD, 2013 88pp $20.00 pbk ISBN 9780987602404 Broken World is a two act play which looks at the issues of sustainability, greed, injustice, pesticides, drought and famine in the style of the traditional fairy tale. It is set in the kingdom of Viridian and has a cast of 18, including a prophet, an evil prince, two princesses, guards and the civilians. The action takes place in the castle including the private chambers of the royal family, the prison, the exterior to the castle, Hope River and the open land where the civilians attempt to survive. The…
FERGUSON, Mike (text) Steph Ryan (illus.) Wombatman and the Veggie Patch Vandals Little Steps, 2013 64pp $14.95 pbk ISBN 9781921928628 SCIS 1628697 Three school friends find an ally in Wombatman as they try to discover who is vandalising and stealing from the garden patch at Noseville Public School. After being blamed as culprits, Wombatman and wife ‘Wonda’ devise a costume for his role as environmental defender, and subsequently the villains are exposed. This beaut little story is seamlessly integrated with generous illustrations. Sixteen succinct chapters, a flowing text with much wry humour make this book a sheer pleasure to read…
DO, Anh (text) Jules Faber (illus.) WeirDo (WeirDo #1), Scholastic, 2013 136pp $12.99 pbk ISBN 9781742837581 SCIS 1627572 Imagine being the new kid in class and having to tell everyone that your name is ‘Weir Do’ and try and explain to them that it is a combination of your parent’s last names; that’s if they are listening and not laughing. Then to make things worse your mother makes you wear your older sister’s shoes to school which you trip over just as you’re about to introduce yourself to the beautiful Bella Alan. Anh Do, popular personality, actor, comedian and author…
COOMBE, E. Guardian of the Tomb Lothian (Arky Steele), 2013 230pp $14.99 pbk ISBN 9780734411587 SCIS 1621400 This is the first in a series of adventures featuring Arky (Archibald) Steele, a 12-year old with a mountaineer for mum and an archeologist for a dad. These parents are his passport to travel, treasure and adventure. Arky is a resilient, unstoppable character, and in this novel he will take you to the lawless yurts and yaks of Mongolia in search of the lost treasure of Genghis Khan. Also there is the matter of the evil millionaire Goran Rulec, and his well placed…