Christina’s Matilda

by Edel Wignell, illustrated by Elizabeth Botté

IP Kidz. Australian, History, Children, Picture. Hardcover RRP $26.00

Everyone knows (or should know) who wrote the words to Waltzing Matilda – Banjo Paterson. But who wrote the music?

Christina’s Matilda is the story of Christina Macpherson, a woman born to a wealthy family in Victoria in 1864. Her story is interesting, not only in relation to the famous song but her family were the last people to be held to ransom by Mad Dog Morgan.

When Christina’s mother died, she moved up to Queensland to be with her brothers and father on their large property, Dagworth. In the early 1900’s Christina met up with an old school friend, Sarah Riley who was engaged to Banjo Paterson. They spent many evenings entertaining with songs and poetry and readings.

Over the course of one such evening Christina played a tune by ear that she had heard at a race and Banjo started to write the words. The two spent the evening collaborating and ended up with the first verse of Waltzing Matilda.

But Christina was not recognised as the original composer when the publisher organised for another woman, Mary Cowan, to create a tune to go to the words. It wasn’t until 1983 that Christina Macpherson was acknowledged for her part in the history of the song.

This is a fascinating story where the use of historical photographs brings the story of the swagman to life. Australia has a wonderful and colourful history and Christina’s Matilda is a great book to read, to look at, and to learn from.

The Reading Stack reviewed Elizabeth Botté’s The Giggle Gum Tree in August 2009.

http://www.edelwignell.com.au/
http://www.coroflot.com/minium

Samantha Seagull’s Sandals

by Gordon Winch, illustrated by Tony Oliver

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Children’s Picture book. Soft Cover RRP $14.95, Hardcover RRP $24.95

Samantha is a seagull who wants to be different.

‘Why am I the same as all the other young gulls? she asked.’

She feels that she needs to be different even though Simon, her friend, thinks she is beautiful and is already special. But Samantha still tries very hard to change and the only way to change is to try different human shoes.

Samantha ends up in all sorts of trouble with her high heels, her gum boots, her slippers and her sandals. And every time Simon is there to help her out.

Samantha Seagull’s Sandals is a story that will delight children and teach them some interesting facts about seagulls. Tony Oliver’s quirky but true to life illustrations add a sense of fun to this wonderful story.

This book is a special 25th Anniversary edition of continuous publication.

http://www.gordonwinch.com.au/

Matched

by Ally Condie

Penguin. Futuristic, romance. Paperback RRP $19.95


Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Reading Matched I found myself comparing it to the 1970’s movie Logan’s Run. When we think of the future we think we will go forward or completely back to the dark ages. What happens when we do both?

Cassia is turning 17 and she will be matched to her life partner. Who will that person be? Will he be handsome? They should get on as they have been perfectly matched. But when Cassia stands at the Matching Banquet to see her match up on the screen, something goes wrong and the screen remains blank.

Normally matches live in different Provence’s or sections and have never met, however on very rare occasions some people do know their match. When Cassia finds out her match is her best friend and childhood playmate, Xander, she is relieved (she knows him like a brother) and happy (Xander is the most handsome boy and she will not have to move away from her family).

However when Cassia goes home to look at the statistics and personality of her match another’s face displays. Only briefly, but long enough that Cassia recognises the face, her neighbour Ky. The Officials acknowledge the error and ensure Cassia that all is well, her match is still Xander.

Cassia’s life is dictated by the Officials. Everyone wears the same clothes, eats the same food and there is no difference in anyone’s life. Jobs are designated to what your family does and how well they do it.

Now matched to Xander, Cassia has what others would say is a perfect life. Everything will be happy and she will, if she hasn’t already, fall in love with her perfect man. They will live a disease free existence and die knowingly and happily on their 80th birthday. Perfect.

Except Cassia starts to question the mistake shown to her and everything now doesn’t seem right. What if the other boy was the right one? What if it wasn’t a mistake? Can Cassia do something that no-one has done for hundreds of years – choose?

Matched is a book I picked up and read in less than 24 hours. My problem is I want more and luckily it is the first of a trilogy so I can expect to continue on with Cassia’s story, hopefully soon. This is one book I will reread again and soon. The second book Crossed will be released in November 2011 in the US.

http://www.allysoncondie.com/

Henry the Goat

by Ella Watkins

hardiegrant EGMONT. Australian, Children’s Picture Book. Soft cover RRP $16.95

Henry the Goat is a very enthusiastic goat. He lives with his parents and grandpa. The problem with Henry is that he loves to play and he doesn’t realise the mess he makes.

When his friends come over to play, everything goes wrong. But Henry is enjoying himself and doesn’t notice when the garden is upset and the washing gets wet and his friends and he get muddy.

A fun story with wonderful illustrations of Henry – you just have to love Henry.

Ella Watkins is only fifteen years of age and Henry was created when she was eight. She self-published her first book, Henry’s Holiday, when she was twelve.

http://www.henrythegoat.com.au/

FEVER

A Dark Touch Novel

by Amy Meredith

Random House Australia. Young Adult, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fantasy. Paperback RRP $17.95

Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Book three of the Dark Touch Novel series starts with a severe heatwave hitting Deepdene. Along with this heatwave is a plague affecting the citizens of the small coastal holiday village for rich New Yorkers. No-one has died from the plague despite the fever, rash and then skin falling off in chunks.

Eve Evergold is the local Deepdene witch and with the help of her best friend Jess and Luke, the boy that seems to have Eve on his mind and he on hers, they set out to try and figure out if the plague, along with the weather, is caused by a demon or is just a virus that is running rampant throughout their small community.

But Eve has sealed the portal that allows demons to easily come and go and it still is secure. Where and what is this new demon?

With more and more friends getting sick, the school being closed and the whole community locked in from the outside world, Eve, Jess and Luke are going to need every bit of brain, strength and knowledge that they can to outwit and get rid of this demon – who is he? Could he be one of them?

A great read for young adults that like a bit of the occult and are sick of vampires but still like to see a girl kick some bad ass butt!

The Reading Stack reviewed book one Shadows, in June 2010. Book two, The Hunt, was released in late 2010 and book four, Betrayal, will be out soon.

Walker Stories

Walker Books. Australian, Childrens. Paperback RRP $11.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

Move over Aussie Nibbles, you’ve got company.

The Walker Stories have arrived. Three short stories in each book dovetail to make irresistible early readers. Layers of meaning, plenty to smile about and satisfying endings are sure to hook even the most reluctant reader to these pages.

The Lost Treasure

by Jan Stradling, illustrated by Cassandra Allen

Pirate Ruby is happy most of the time and loves to help people, while Pirate Hamish is nearly always cross. He loves taking treasure. Short sentences with lots of action lead to a surprise ending. Of course, there’s a moral to the story, but can you guess where the treasure is? All is not as it seems.

http://www.cassandrallen.com/

Mr Tripp Smells a Rat

by Sandy McKay, illustrated by Ruth Paul

Mr Tripp is round like a teddy bear until he goes on a diet. He’s scared of rats too, but he’s very brave and he’s good at telling jokes. Mr Tripp insists that everyone is good at something and his students don’t let him down. So much is packed into this little chapter book, it left me breathless. There are no less than 10 jokes, advice about nits and head lice as well as plenty of action. Who wouldn’t want to visit this classroom where there is so much fun and so much to learn?

http://www.ruthpaul.co.nz/

The Dead of Winter

by Chris Priestley

Allen and Unwin. Young Adult, Horror. Paperback RRP $22.99


Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

Michael is left orphaned and desolate after his mother’s death, his father having died during the war saving the wealthy Sir Stephen Clarendon of Hawton Mere, who has now become Michael’s legal guardian. The boy reluctantly sets off to spend the Christmas holidays at the distant mansion and meet the man who lives instead of his father.

But Michael’s guardian is of no comfort to the grieving child. The inhuman treatment experienced in his youth at the hands of his father, has left him an emotionally damaged man living in a world of his own suffering.

Hawton Mere is a bleak and isolated place; a dark and foreboding house set alone in an endless moor. Michael already feels he has ‘walked into a fog of mystery and whispers’ when he awakes the day after his arrival, still preoccupied by the ghost of a mysterious woman seen by the road.

But something more threatening than the ghostly woman soon makes contact with the boy. It has a presence and a breath, but no body, and carries horror incorporated with it. The countless secrets that Hawton Mere and its inhabitants harbour magnify Michael’s fears. Even the actual building seems to pulse with a life of its own. Learning that he has inherited his father’s abilities to see and hear the dead makes things worse. Michael is determined to find answers to his questions and the reasons for the existence of the terrors housed within the mansion.

Priestley has created another dark, riveting read to follow the outstanding Tales of Terror from the Tunnel’s Mouth. The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The book is suitable for mature teenage readers that prefer edgy prose accompanied by a fast heartbeat, and who are not afraid of the dark.

The Reading Stack reviewed Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth in May 2010.

http://chrispriestley.blogspot.com/

the body in the clouds

by Ashley Hay

Allen and Unwin. Australian, Fiction, History. Paperback RRP $29.99


Three men, three different times, one thing in common – Dawes Point in Sydney and what they all see from that one special spot.

Second Lieutenant William Dawes arrives in New South Wales in the late 1700s ready to explore the sky from a world away from the cultured life in England. Here in Sydney Cove there are tales of savages and animals that are larger than alligators. But Dawes sits on an outcrop and dreams of his observatory where he can lie and watch the magnificent and beautiful bright blue and white sky so different from the dreary grey colours on the other side of the globe.

Ted Parker, a young man looking for work in the 1930s, dreaming of becoming a part of the construction of the magnificent structure that will soon become the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ted sits near Dawes Point and watches with envy as the workers climbing all over the metal curves. Ted soon finds a job on the barge underneath the workers – he is happy, he is part of the ‘team’. But he still dreams of sitting on top of the world.

Dan Kopek is an expat from Australia working as a banker in London. He hasn’t been home for over ten years. It is the 21st century and the other side of the world isn’t that far anymore but Dan finds it hard to get home – to see his mother, his neighbour, best friend Charlie and Charlie’s grandfather who was Charlie’s only living relative and who also took Dan in as well. Charlie is a famous photographer and she has a special spot for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, because that’s where her grandfather flew, the only man to survive falling from the bridge whilst it was being constructed. Dan sees Charlie’s photograph advertising Sydney in the London Tube and feels it may be time to go home.

All three men are attached to Dawes Point. And what they all see - is something or someone falling from the sky. Is it part of their belief in what is real and what isn’t or is it that all three men have a bond with each other through time.

The body in the clouds is a wonderful story, a little bit of history, a little bit of a love story - with a surprising twist at the end.

http://www.ashleyhay.com.au/

Give Me a Chance

(My eight days with John and Yoko)

by Gail Renard

Walker Books. Biographical. Paperback RRP $29.99

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

Gail Renard was 16 years old and a huge Beatle fan since she first heard them in the early sixties.

When she discovered John and Yoko would be coming to her home city of Montreal for their famous Bed Sit In she knew she had to see them.

After having climbed the fire escape, climbing in through the window on the floor where the Lennon’s were holed up, she ended up knocking on their door. To her amazement, Yoko asked her to come in.

The next eight days she spent with the Lennon’s would be the most amazing experience of her life. Not only did she get to meet people like Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, she ended up playing on the recording of Give Peace a Chance.

This book is her story of those few magical days. It’s an interesting account of John Lennon’s life just prior to the end of the Beatles.

http://www.gailrenard.com/

Dreaming of Chanel

by Charlotte Smith. Illustrated by Grant Cowan

Harper Collins. Australian, Adult Biographical, Adult Other. Hardback RRP $35.00

Australian Charlotte Smith inherited thousands of dresses from her American godmother. What she did with these priceless treasures was to create Dreaming of Dior, published in 2009. I fell in love with that book and was so pleased to find that Smith has created a second book, this time focusing on my favourite designer Coco Chanel.

Just like in Dreaming of Dior, the cover of the book is an attention grabber. Dreaming of Chanel is red hard covered with an illustration of a model in Chanel’s famous black suit with a puppy. But the best part is the suit, the hat, the handbag, the shoes and even the dog’s jacket are in velvet so you feel like you have just a little of that Chanel style in front of you.

Over 140 of Chanel’s designs are in this neat book and with each design there is a brief story of the outfit and when and where it was worn. Each one has been beautifully recreated by Grant Cowan and the feel of the era of the design shows through.

As I said with my earlier review for Dreaming of Dior, I am so envious of Charlotte Smith and her dresses. But I have a wonderful coffee table book that will transport many of my friends back to times when fashion was an experience.

The Reading Stack reviewed Dreaming of Dior in November 2009.

Mademoiselle Lisa

by Delphine Perret

black dog books. All ages, picture. Hardcover RRP $14.99

Anybody that loves art will have a giggle and everybody else will also enjoy Mademoiselle Lisa. The famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci created comes to life in this quirky tale.

Lisa gets bored so she decides to disappear and taste the world that awaits outside the walls of the Parisian Louvre. What she discovers makes her want to go further afield and she ends up on the other side of the world in Las Vegas. But everyone misses the Mona Lisa and there are many fanciful theories about where the famous painting has gone.

Finally Lisa meets Sally and a wonderful plan is hatched which seems to work out well for all.

Mademoiselle Lisa may appear to be a children’s book but I think adults will enjoy it just as much if not more. The plain black and white illustrations with a touch of colour create a sense of artistic detail. We all dream of being famous – Perret has shown us another side of the celebrity life. Well done.

http://www.chezdelphine.net/

Out for Blood

by Alyxandra Harvey

Bloomsbury. Fantasy, Romance, Crime, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $14.99

Reviewer - Barbara Brown


Hunter Wild is a teenage girl that attends a special school, the Helios-Ra Academy. This academy trains students on how to hunt and kill vampires. Hunter Wild is their star pupil and her grandfather, a famous vampire hunter, has high hopes for her. That is until she meets one of the famous Drake brothers, Quinn, and falls in love with him. The problem with Quinn is he is a vampire.

But the world is changing and vampires and humans are trying to help each other rid the world of the Hel-Blar, a factional vampire community who are hell bent in overcoming the Drakes and the vampires who side with them. They also like to kill for sport and fun – vampires included. Vampires are ruled by a matriarch who just happens to be Quinn’s mother and his sister, Solange, is next in line. The Drakes are trying to co-exist with humans but the Hel-Blar are trying hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Hunter is realising that the Drakes are good and without them the world will be even more dangerous. But when students start getting sick within the Helios-Ra Academy, there seems to be a darker force at work that is more evil than Hel-Blar. Can Hunter save her friends and herself?

Out for Blood is the third book in the Drake Chronicles but Harvey has written each book about a specific Drake. All three books can be read individually but the stories do intertwine together and give you some insider knowledge of the Drake family and their friends and enemies. As always there is a twist that you really don’t see coming at the end. Book four is due out later this year and I look forward to more of the Drake family.

The Reading Stack reviewed the first two Alyxandra Harvey’s books on the Drake family, My Love Lies Bleeding in February 2010 and Blood Feud in August 2010.

http://www.alyxandraharvey.com/
http://www.thedrakechronicles.com/

The House at Sea’s End

A Ruth Galloway Investigation

by Elly Griffiths

Macmillan Publishers. Crime. Paperback RRP $ 32.99

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

In this enthralling crime thriller full of secrets, revenge, and romance, forensic archaeologist and single mother Ruth Galloway is battling the pleasures and pain of motherhood when she is called back to work. Ruth is an intelligent and questioning examiner whose opinion is greatly valued by Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, two leaders that share a mutual respect. But mutual respect is not all that ties Ruth and Harry together. They share a secret that can destroy both their professional and personal lives if set free.

Ruth joins the team to help solve a complex mystery surrounding six bodies found at the bottom of the cliff at Sea’s End, the home of the Hastings family, by a team of archaeologists examining coastal erosion.

Two elderly men connected somehow to the six dead, die within a week or so of one another. The initial finding of death by natural causes evolves into another murder investigation. This casts a shadow on the lives of the Hastings and light on secrets they’ve protected for years.

The investigation takes on a dramatic twist when a German journalist appears in response to a letter he’d received from one of the two elderly men. He too, is hiding secrets. But when he joins the recently dead, things heat up and Ruth and Harry must pass all the evidence through a fine sieve before they discover the startling truth.

This book has a strong narrative voice and its outstanding cast of characters which enter and exit the scenes, each bring with them new knotted mysteries to unravel, and additional secrets within stories and sub stories that are crocheted together into a lacework of suspense, intrigue, murder.