Olive of Groves (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Louis Nowra (Aust)
PUBLISHED: HarperCollins ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 262 pages.

PLOT:
When Olive arrives at Mrs Groves' Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers, it is not the boarding school she thought it would be. However, she is determined to make the best of the situation and earn her place. She pretends to be an acrobat, and makes friends with her talking rat roommates.
She eventually earns a place in the heart of other Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus Performers... All except Pig McKenzie, the most Dastardly Fiend who is Up to No Good.
Eventually she foils a Dastardly Plot, and Pig is kicked out of the school. And all ends well.

REVIEW:
This is a rather cute story about acceptance, belonging, friendship, and standing up against bullies. It is quite silly - maybe a little too much at times, and not quite to the sophistication of Roald Dahl's silliness, but young children will love it.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Realistic Fantasy fiction.
RATING: 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

Series: Little Bug Books (PB) (Jnr NF)

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Graeme Base (Aust)
PUBLISHED: Penguin ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 14 unnumbered pages : col. ill.




REVIEW:
This is a new series by author/illustrator Graeme Base. It uses pictures of animals to teach young children language. It starts off with the singular, and the pages pull/fold out to reveal the group. The original picture splits (you can see the fold going through the picture).

• A Heard of Elephants teaches collective nouns (a caravan of camels, a swarm of bees, a pod of whales, etc).
• Starfish are pointy: adjectives.
• Birds fly: animal movement.
• Cows say moo: animal sounds.
• Monkeys live in trees: animal homes/habitats.
• Pigs have piglets: animal babies.

AGE: 2+.
GENRE: Non-fiction.
RATING: 5 stars.

Paper Planes (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Steve Worland (Aust)
PUBLISHED: Puffin ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 196 pages.

PLOT:
Twelve-year-old Dylan Webber lives in outback Western Australia in a small country town. When he discovers he has a talent for folding and flying paper planes, Dylan begins a journey to reach the World Junior Paper Plane Championships in Japan.
Along the way he makes unlikely new friends, clashes with powerful rivals and comes to terms with his family's past before facing his greatest challenge: to create a paper plane that will compete with the best in the world.

REVIEW:
Written in the second person, present tense, this is a quick and easy read. It is based on the screenplay of the movie. I'm sure it will appeal to primary school children who see the movie.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Realistic fiction.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Top Australian Authors

Booktopia ran a poll asking people to vote for their favourite Australian authors. One of the best features of the poll was that you could vote for multiple people (seriously, who can choose only one favourite author?) and then the votes were collated to give us the TOP TEN!

Children's authors in the top ten are Mem Fox (a must for ANY picture book collection), Andy Griffiths (not hard to see how he made the list when you know how his books are gobbled up in primary school), and John Flanagan (author of the popular Ranger's Apprentice series).

Congratulations!

Fox (PB) (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Margaret Wild (AUS); ILLUSTRATOR: Ron Brooks
PUBLISHED: Australia : Kane/Miller, c2000.

PLOT:
A one-eyed dog and an injured magpie form an alliance and a deep friendship, living together in the forest. When a fox comes along, Magpie tries to tell Dog not to trust him, but Dog dismisses his friend. Eventually, the cunning fox convinces Magpie to betray her friend and go for a ride on his back. He abandons her in the forest, telling her now they will know what it means to be alone.

REVIEW:
This is a very dark story; both the words and pictures are foreboding. While this is a picture book, it is NOT for young children. The sociopathic fox, the naive dog, and the magpie who allows herself to be conned into hurting her friend are not themes to share before naptime.
This does not mean it is not a good book, but it is certainly an example of why you should read a story yourself before reading it to a child.

AGE: 7-12.
RATING: 4 stars

The Emu That Laid The Golden Egg (PB)

AUTHOR: Yvonne Morrison ; ILLUSTRATOR: Heath McKenzie
PUBLISHED: 2012

PLOT:
A hungry emu eats what she thinks is some corn...and ends up laying a golden egg! Two scoundrels discover this phenomenon, and thinking to make a quick buck, lock her up and try to make her lay some more. But when the emu eats more than gold, something strange happens - and everyone learns it doesn't pay to be greedy.

REVIEW:
Very cute story, with lovely pictures. Young children will love knowing the secret of the golden egg before the thieves do.

AGE: 3-5
RATING: 4 stars

Rules of Summer (PB)

AUTHOR: Shaun Tan
PUBLISHED: 2013

PLOT/REVIEW:
A deceptively simple story about two boys, one older and one younger, and the kind of rules that might govern any relationship between close friends or siblings. Rules that are often so strange or arbitrary, they seem impossible to understand from the outside.
Yet through each exquisite illustration of this nearly wordless narrative, we can understand the story of friendship that is so familiar - something friendship is easy, and sometimes it is hard. As you venture deep into the story, the images and the story line become darker, more mysterious and unsettling, but it draws together at the end to affirm the bond of deep friendship.

AGE: 6-10
RATING: 4 stars

Tales From Outer Suburbia (short stories) (YA Fic)

AUTHOR: Shaun Tan (Aust)
PUBLISHED: 2013

Fifteen illustrated short stories set in the Australian suburbs. Stories include: The water buffalo -- Eric -- Broken toys -- Distant rain -- Undertow -- Grandpa's story -- No other country -- Stick figures -- The nameless holiday -- The amnesia machine -- Alert but not alarmed -- Wake -- Make your own pet -- Our expedition -- Night of the turtle rescue

PLOT (Eric): Eric is a foreign exchange student (the pictures make him seem alien-esque) comes to stay. Some of his behaviour seems very strange, but Mum just says "Maybe it's a cultural thing." But they're not really sure if he's happy or not. It's only when he mysteriously leaves that they find his thank-you gift.

REVIEW: Quite a charming collection of short stories, some humorous, some haunting and thought-provoking.

AGE: middle primary school to junior highschool.
GENRE: various
REVIEW: 5 stars

Just a Dog (Fic)

AUTHOR: Michael Gerard Bauer (Aust)
PUBLISHED: 2010

PLOT:
An ultimately sad little book about a dog and his family as told through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy. It is a collection of stories about the dog's antics, and how a dog can truly be a member of the family.

REVIEW:
It made me laugh, and brought a tear to my eye, and reminded me of the dogs I've had in my life.

One criticism I have is the grammar and the over-misuse of the word "but" instead of "though" at the end of sentences ("It was good but."; "I didn't mind but.") Yes, it is supposed to be how the boy is talking, but it actually gets distracting and quite annoying. I'll go through my copy and edit it properly before I give it or read it to a child.
I wouldn't give the book to children under 10, or to sensitive children, as there are some themes (financial and marital problems, fighting, suggestions of infidelity, animals being scared and eventually dying) that will be confusing and/or confronting to some children.

AGE: Ages 10/11-15 (take maturity into account when suggesting this book)
GENRE: Realistic fiction
RATING: 4 1/2 stars

Diary of a Wombat (PB)

AUTHOR: Jackie French; Bruce Whatley (illustrator) (Aust)
PUBLISHED: 2003

Now published in a series, this delightful set of picture books looks at life through the eyes of a cuddly and lazy wombat as he goes about eating, sleeping, digging holes, and training its humans to produce treats.

Other titles in the series include
Christmas wombat
Diary of a baby wombat
How to scratch a wombat

AGE: 3+ (enjoyable for all ages)
GENRE: Humorous fiction
RATING: 5 stars

Where the Forest Meets the Sea (PB)

AUTHOR: Jeannie Baker (Aust)
PUBLISHED: 1988

REVEIW: In a combination of realism and fantasy, WTFMTS tells the story of a young boy visiting a Nth Queensland island with his grandfather.  Through his eyes we see the past, present, and possible future of pristine rainforest.
The book has strong environmentalist themes.

AGE: 5-10
RATING: 5 stars