Samuel’s Kisses

by Karen Collum, illustrated by Serena Geddes

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Picture. Hardcover RRP $24.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Here is a beautiful book to give to a child, a parent, a grandparent or anyone who needs a kiss!

Samuel loves going shopping with his mother and on this particular day Samuel encounters lots of people – in the post office, the supermarket, the bank. When Samuel smiles at the people that are cranky, tired, impatient or have things on their mind, these people don’t smile back.

Samuel’s solution to help these people – as only a toddler can – is to send them a kiss. What happens next is a wonderful thing.

The simple art of sending a kiss can brighten up anyone’s day. In Samuel’s Kisses Collum and Geddes bring this feeling to us all through the wonderful words and simple but beautiful illustrations. Geddes has captured the expressions on each and every face perfectly. It has brightened my day.

http://www.karencollum.com.au/
http://www.reeni.com.au/

SmartyCat Series

Thunder

by Louise Park, illustrated by Jeannette Rowe

ABC Books. Australian, Picture, Learning. Paperback RRP $5.99

Here is a great series for children that will help answer some of the most simplest but difficult to answer questions.

In Thunder, SmartyCat asks Who and How, two brave little owls, the question “What is thunder?”. The two owls then explain how thunder is created and what it is. Young children need never be scared of it again.

With Rowe’s bright coloured flat illustrations and Park’s simple wording it is great to know that a child will easily retain the explanation and the answer and understand it as well. With a joke and an activity at the end of each book, a child can further reiterate what they have learnt. The reader will not even realise they are learning.

With 12 books so far in the series including Rain, Shadows, and Frog I think they would be a wonderful addition to any child’s library and great as an information source for primary schools.

The Reading Stack reviewed Jeannette Rowe’s Whose Dinner? in April 2009.

http://www.jeannetterowe.com.au/smartycat_b.html
http://www.smartycatbooks.com/

Diva Series

Girls Stuff/Girls at Sea

by Sue Lawson

black dog books. Australian, Children’s. Paperback RRP $7.99

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Girls Stuff and Girls at Sea are the fifth and sixth books in the Diva Series originally printed in 2007 and rereleased this year with new eye catching, silver foil jackets.

The Diva Series follows the adventures of teenager Micky Farrell as she pursues her dream to become a singing star. Each book is a complete story on its own and can be enjoyed independent of reading the complete series.

Within the first few paragraphs of Girls Stuff, the reader learns Mickey was previously in the finals of the Diva singing competition and now is embarking on a new job working as the co-host of a television show called “Girls Stuff TV”.

In Girls at Sea Mickey completes her first real assignment for Girls Stuff TV. Mickey and her co-hosts go to the ocean to whale watch and interview people and along the way she learns about keeping secrets and looking out for your friends.

Both books contain unexpected twists and turns to keep the reader intrigued. There are simple, unpatronising life messages for young girls about friendships and trust. At the end of each book is a quick quiz which is fun. You can find out if you are a good friend or a worry wart.

Diva books are a particularly suited to girls aged 8 to 12 years.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Sue Lawson’s Finding Darcy in Issue 9, August 2008, After in September 2009 and Dare You in October 2010.

http://www.suelawson.com.au/

Australian Children’s Classics Series

Mulga Bill’s Bicycle

by AB Paterson. Illustrated by Kilmeny and Deborah Niland

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, Poetry, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Now I will confess to never before reading Banjo Paterson’s Mulga Bill’s Bicycle and to finding the poem funny and entertaining. Kilmeny and Deborah Niland’s illustrations made it all the more hilarious. They have captured the antics of Mulga Bill perfectly and the expressions on the faces of the animals and Mulga Bill’swill keep the children turning the pages and giggling throughout.

A wonderful poem that has been turned into a book that children will want to read again and again.

http://www.kilmenyniland.com/
http://www.deborah-niland.com.au/

Click Go The Shears

Illustrated by Robert Ingpen

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Click Go The Shears is an outback classic and a lot of adults today would know a verse or two, however some children may not know it at all. An important piece of rural Australian history is in this wonderful traditional song of the Australian shearer.

Robert Ingpen has created beautiful illustrations that bring to life the Australian outback in the early 1900’s and compliment the words that lie beneath the story.

A graphic way to introduce children back to the Australian historical culture of the not so distant past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ingpen

Advance Australia Fair

by Peter Dodds McCormick - Illustrated by various Australian artists

Harper Collins. Australian, Picture, History. Paperback RRP $14.99

Originally penned for £100, in 1984 Advance Australia Fair became Australia’s national anthem, 77 years later selected based on a nationwide opinion poll.

This beautiful book is a look at Australia through the words of Dodds McCormick and paintings by Australian artists of the past century from such as Tom Roberts, Margaret Preston, Albert Namatijra and Arthur Boyd.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

by Tom Skinner, illustrated by Annie White, Audio CD read by Antonia Kidman

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Children. Hardback with CD RRP $27.95

Music Box Series is an excellent way to introduce young children to classical music and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is the third book of this series.

Rizwan is a young apprentice at the Wizard Car and Camel Wash. Rizwan is like most children – looking for an easier way out, and when he starts to cast his own magic on the mayor’s camels and long car, you just know it isn’t going to

end well for him.

The story is a funny tale that has some lessons gently embedded in it. The narration will help young readers follow the words with Paul Abraham Dukas’ music playing in the background – perfect for car travel. The tension rises as the magic and Rizwan’s mistakes reach a crescendo. The illustrations by Annie White tie the story together into a wonderful package. Readers and listeners will want to repeat the experience. Fantastic!

The Reading Stack reviewed Flight of the Bumblebee in March 2009 and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in August 2009.

Bobo, My Superdog

by Michael Salmon

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Picture, Children. Hardback RRP $19.95

Bobo is a typical dog. He burys his bones in the garden, has his own doggy kennel in the backyard and barks at the possums at night but Bobo has a secret and only his young human owner knows it. Bobo is Super-Bo, a dog with super powers that spends his days fighting to save princesses from dragons, explorers from ferocious snakes and the city from a slimy monster.

Bobo and his owner have to keep his secret hidden from the boy’s parents and everyone else so Super-Bo wears a mask and an old striped beach towel for a cape. When the parents think Bobo is sleeping all day in his kennel, he is being a super dog.

When the mayor wants to reward this super dog with a medal, how will Bobo ever hide his secret?

A funny story of one super dog and his master with wonderfully detailed illustrations.

http://www.michaelsalmon.com.au/

Barry

by Colin Thompson

Random House. Australian, Picture Book. Hardcover RRP $24.95

In 1952 Barry came to Earth to save the world. But Barry fell down the back of a sofa and his creators couldn’t get him out again. So he stays in the back of the sofa, controlling the world with his brain back on his home planet, far away.

Barry receives messages to create floods or bring butterflies to the South Pole. He doesn’t question his commands, he just does them.

One day, Barry is discovered and he sees what he has done to the world. Barry realises his mistakes and starts to fix things. Is it too late?

A very entertaining book which will inspire discussion of many environmental issues that are relevant to today’s world. With Thompson’s quirky and fun illustrations this is a great book to have to read and look at.

The Reading Stack has reviewed Colin Thompson’s Free to a Good Home  in July 2009 and Fearless in February 2010.

http://www.colinthompson.com/

thyla

by Kate Gordon

Random House. Australian, Supernatural, Mystery, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $17.95


Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Tessa has no memory. She remembers her first name but that is all. She was found in the woods near Hobart, naked, alone, with strange horrible scars across her back and no memory.

Policewoman, Connolly, helps Tessa to adjust and enrols her into an elite boarding school where Connolly’s daughter, Cat, once attended … until she went missing.

Are Cat and Tessa connected somehow? There is more to the two girls than just Connolly, their age and the school. The mountains behind Hobart have many hidden secrets and Tessa starts to learn more as she tries to remember her past. Her dreams show Tessa glimpses of a past that doesn’t seem to be from the present but over a hundred years ago.


When Tessa’s roommate finds a book with a photograph of Tessa, her world starts to make less sense than ever before. And when it couldn’t get any worse, her scars start to cause incredible problems.

thyla is a book that will appeal to readers who are over the vampires and werewolves but still like that supernatural genre. vulpi is the awaited sequel which will be out soon. I can’t wait.

http://www.kategordon.com.au/

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

by Lauren Kate

Random House. Young Adult. Paperback RRP $24.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Natalie Hargrove has fought her way to the top of the high school social ladder and there isn’t anything she won’t do to ensure she stays there.

Natalie has everything now, the most influential, gorgeous boyfriend who will be Prom King to her Prom Queen; the beauty and looks that others try to emulate; and a past that has quietly been hidden from everyone.

But before Natalie and Mike are crowned as the Palmetto Prince and Princess there are a few things to be fixed. Like J.B. Mike’s friend and Natalie’s forgotten past.

Natalie and Mike play a little prank on J.B., but then things turn out horribly wrong. What’s a girl got to do to keep her reputation clean? Obviously go back to her feral past and get the assistance she needs.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove was Lauren Kate’s first novel before her best-selling books, Fallen, Torment and Passion. I didn’t find it had the same pull as her later books however the ending was one of the biggest shocks I’ve read for a while. There is something about a not-so-happily-ever-after ending that I like and Lauren Kate has done it well. Great story just for the ending.

The Reading Stack reviewed Fallen, Torment and Passion in February 2010, February 2011 and June 2011 respectively.

http://www.fallenbooks.com/

Star League

by H J Harper

Random House Australia. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $9.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Star League is a new, easy-to-read, series of books best suited to independent readers aged 7-10 years or reluctant upper primary readers.

The Star League consists of a movie star, werewolf, ninja, robot, zombie and animancer. Together they fight crime and solve problems. Each book is a Secret File based on one of the characters.

In Secret File 1: Lights, Camera, Action hero, movie star Jake must lead the Star League to rescue his friend Jefferson. In Secret File 2: Curse of the Werewolf, Connor Lowe (the werewolf member of the team) is having trouble when the criminal appears to be a werewolf. In Secret File 3: Raising the Dead, zombie Roger Romero’s magic potion is stolen. Without his Loosification Juice he falls apart! In Secret File 4: The Ninja Code, Asuka discovers a ninja threat to the Star League.

These books successfully target their audience with a mix of humour, worry, action and mystery. They are sure to prove popular with Zac Power and Space Scout fans.

http://hjharper.blogspot.com/