Series: Odditorium (Middle Grade Fic)

AUTHOR: Gregory Funaro (US)
PUBLISHED: Disney Hyperion ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: ~400 pages.
SERIES: Odditorium. Alistair Grimm's Odditorium ; Alistair Grimm's Odd Aquaticum.

PLOT:
12 year old Grubb has been raised as a chimney sweep. Adopted as a baby, he has lived a miserable existence since his mother died when he was six. But everything changes when he stows away in a mysterious carriage and winds up in the Odditorium and under the care of Alistair Grimm.
The Odditorium is fuelled by a strange blue energy, which Prince Nightshade wants for his own evil ends. Grubb finds himself in an adventure of magic, fairies, banshees, and ninjas. When Grubb is captured by the Prince, he'll need all his wit to save not only himself, but his new family, too.

REVIEW:
The premise is interesting and the story keeps you involved, however there was something about the voice, especially towards the end, that didn't quite gel with me. The plot was generally very predictable, and the character's "ah hah" moments felt flat.

I picked up this book because I'd catalogued the second in the series and it looked and sounded interesting. It's not a terrible book, and I can see that Middle Grade-aged children may really enjoy it, but it just didn't live up to expectations. I think the action would appeal to reluctant readers, and although it is quite long, it's a fast read.

AGE: 9+.
GENRE: Steampunk/Fantasy/Adventure.
RATING: 3 stars.

Beyond the Laughing Sky (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Michelle Cuevas (US)
PUBLISHED: Dial Books ; 2014.
PAGES/ILL: ~160 pages.

PLOT:
Ten-year-old Nashville doesn’t feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and has grown into something not quite boy and not quite bird. Despite the support of his loving parents and his adoring sister, Junebug, Nashville wishes more than anything that he could join his fellow birds up in the sky.

Some people in town understand him, but most don't. Children in his class are curious and can be cruel, but gradually they accept Nashville for who he is. Eventually, he builds himself some wings and flies away.

REVIEW:
This is a sweet little story about individual differences. It would be an appropriate read-aloud for a year 1 class.

AGE: 7+.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.

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.

Nuts to You (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Lynne Rae Perkins (US)
PUBLISHED: Greenwillow Books ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: 235 pages ; ill.

PLOT:
When Jed the squirrel get taken by a hawk, his two best friends go on an adventure to rescue him. When Jed manages to escape the hawk's talons, he falls into unfamiliar territory, meets an interesting species of squirrel, and makes a discovery which puts his home in danger. He and his friends must get back home to warn the other squirrels.

REVIEW:
This is a cute story told through an omniscient narrator, who comments and explains elements of the story through the use of end-of-chapter footnotes and interrupting inserts. Most of these work, but some don't. Some comments are unnecessary and don't add anything to the reader's engagement or enjoyment or understanding. The footnotes would have worked better at end-of-page rather than end-of-chapter - it's distracting having to flick pages to find out what is being referenced.

The author also uses a lot of sentence fragments, including those which begin with "because" (e.g. "He did look around to see if there was a wolf. Because he was irritated, but he was not stupid.") While I'll let a fair bit slide, I get annoyed with children's literature which does not model correct grammar and sentence structure.

When Jed meets the red squirrels, they speak differently (which is spelt differently). E.g. "Tell abowt the wolf" "You'll be roight b'fore y'knowit" "Be loik wooter" [Tell about the wolf / You'll be right before you know it / Be like water]. While I think this works well, some children may struggle to understand and decode this.

All-in-all, I liked this story a lot more than I thought I would, and would freely recommend it to most children aged 8-12, and read it to ages 6 and 7 (leaving out the footnotes, which generally just interrupt the story when reading aloud).

AGE: 8-12.
GENRE: Adventure.
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.

Cody and the Fountain of Happiness (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Tricia Springstubb (US)
PUBLISHED: Candlewick ; 2015.
PAGES/ILL: ~150 pages ; ill.

PLOT:
Cody loves talking to ants, her family, and summer vacation. When her summer camp is cancelled, she thinks the summer might have taken a turn for the worse, with a teenage brother who is moping after a girl and a mother who has started a new job. But then she meets a new neighbour - a boy who is staying with his grandmother for the summer - and finds that that friendship and family is the fountain of happiness.

REVIEW:
This is a cute little story about a young girl and her relationships with her family and new friend. It would be an appropriate read-aloud for a year 1 class, or for children who are moving on to reading chapter books on their own.

AGE: 6+.
GENRE: Realistic fiction
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.

100 Books for Primary School Children

Here is a list of 100 fiction books all children should read before leaving primary school, as chosen by teachers.

Rather than specific books, I would just list authors and recommend you read anything by:

 - Roald Dahl. "Danny, champion of the world" would actually be my choice over "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". And "Boy" would be my non-fic pick.

 - Oliver Jeffers. The pop-up version of "Lost and Found" is a favoutite, but I also like The Hueys.

 - Mem Fox. "Wilfrid Gordon Mcdonald Partridge" = thoughtful brilliance. And every child should be read "Possum Magic" at least once in their life. For parents, Mem has written a wonderful little book called "Reading Magic" about the importance of reading from birth. It should be required reading, given out along with pre-natal vitamins.

 - Enid Blyton. Ok, so her writing is a little old, now, but I don't think the Secret Seven, the Famous Five, or her stories of magic and fantasy will ever be completely irrelevant in children's lives.

 - Dr. Seuss. Kids should read him on a train, or in the rain, or on a boat with a goat.


OK, who am I kidding? I would be listing authors for years if I continued this post! There are just so many good books and authors, there is not enough time in the day read them all.

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.

Series: Shoutykid (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Simon Mayle (UK)
PUBLISHED: HarperCollins, c2014.
PAGES/ILL: 397 pages, ill.
SERIES: Shoutykid.
FIRST BOOK: How Harry Riddles Made a Mega-Amazing Zombie Movie.

PLOT:
Told through a series of texts, emails and letters, follow Harry Riddles' ups and downs in life with school, girls and his family.
When his dad looses his job, Harry begins thinking that making a zombie movie might just be his ticket to success (and money).

REVIEW:
This book will appeal to fans of Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Charlie Merrick's Misfits, or Compton Valance. The format will have high appeal with reluctant and struggling readers.

AGE: 7-10.
GENRE: Realistic fiction
RATING: 4 stars (not because it is a literary great, but because of its high appeal to under 10s, especially reluctant readers).

Series: Frankie Fox, Girl Spy (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Yvette Poshoglian (Aust)
PUBLISHED: Lothian Children's, c2014.
PAGES/ILL: 121 pages, ill.
SERIES: Frankie Fox, Girl Spy
FIRST BOOK: Ready, Steady, Spy!

PLOT: (Ready, Steady, Spy!)
Frankie Fox, daughter of millionaire inventor Fergus Fox, is sure there are strange things happening around her house. Someone's been in her room, her new bus driver is suspicious, and why is her science teacher teaching her how to diffuse a bomb?
When her father is kidnapped, she discovers an amazing secret - she is a spy! Along with her next door neighbour, she becomes a member of Griffin, a secret organisation intent on taking down the evil Alliance and protecting the world's freedom.

REVIEW:
This book is sure to appeal to young girls (and boys, but girls will be the main audience) who are just starting to move into longer chapter books. To the book's credit, problems are not resolved within a chapter, and the reader is encouraged to solve the clues along with Frankie.

There are some holes in the story and some parts could use rewording, but overall it's a good story for young girls.

AGE: 6-10.
GENRE: Spy stories
RATING: 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

Series: Princess DisGrace (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Lou Kuenzler (USA)
PUBLISHED: Scholastic, c2014.
PAGES/ILL: 224 pages, illustrations.
SERIES: Princess DisGrace
FIRST BOOK: First term at Tall Towers

PLOT:
When Princess Grace arrives at Tall Towers, she ruffles some feathers. She is not what a "Princess" is "supposed" to be. She is clumsy and bedraggled.
But her heart is in the right place, and she quickly develops strong friendships. Her cousin, Princess Precious, bullies her, picks on her, and is downright nasty - so nasty her behaviour is very "un-princess-like" and a special honour (leading a parade) is taken away from her and given to Grace.
Even then, Precious tries to derail her, but Grace saves the day in the end.

Tall Towers is a boarding school for princesses, where they learn princessy things like walking with books on their heads and looking after their unicorns.

REVIEW:
To be honest, the writing is average and the plot is sappy and predictable, however it will still engage very young girls with a loveable character, while giving a positive message about friendship, trying hard, and taking pride in being yourself and doing your best.
This is one book which won't cross gender lines. You might get one boy in thousands who will read this, but only if he is a voracious reader who reads anything he can get his hands on, including his sister's books.

Recommended for girls who are looking for something a step up from Rainbow Magic.

AGE: 6-9. Interest age is 6+, but most 6 year olds won't have the ability to read at this level yet. The recommended age on the back of the book is 8+, but the storyline is unlikely to capture much interest beyond 9 (depending on the child, of course. Some girls stay happily in light fantasy about fairies and unicorns for most of primary school. There is nothing wrong with this, but this book will be scorned by girls who are starting to look for meatier reading).

GENRE: Fantasy fiction
RATING: A solid 3 stars.

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

Heap House (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Edward Carey
PUBLISHED: London : Hot Key Books, 2013.

PLOT: (spoiler alert)
In an alternate England, all of London's garbage is owned by one family (the Iremongers), and has been for generations. All the garbage is shipped to one location - the Heaps, which spread for miles in enormous mounds. In the middle of the heaps is a mansion, put together from bits and pieces of houses that have been acquired over the years by the Iremonger forefathers. Here live the Iremongers - generations of them. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. They also intermarry by pre-arrangement (the fact that this leads to genetic abnormalities is not addressed directly, but is hinted at). The 'pure blood' Iremongers live in the top part of the house, and the non-pure bloods, distant relations, are their servants. Because the family's wealth is built from what is scavenged from the heaps, objects are treasured. In fact, they have a bizarre ritual that every Iremonger (pure-blood and servants alike) are given a birth object at birth. (We find that they mix a piece of the object with the Iremonger's blood and then inject it back into the Iremonger, which causes the object and Iremonger to be bound to each other - the Iremonger will die without their birth object).

Clod, a pure-blood, has the unusual gift that he can hear the birth objects talking. They call out names; their own names. Clod's birth object, a bath plug, says 'James Henry Haywood'.
We discover that there in a strange disease around which causes people to turn into objects, and in fact that is what all the birth objects are - people. If a birth object and Iremonger are separated for too long, the object will turn back into a person (with no memory), and the Iremonger will turn into an object.

Trouble starts when a non-Iremonger, Lucy, is accidentally bought into the house as a servant and given a birth object. This is such a terrible trespass that the objects take on a life of their own beyond simply saying their names; they being to move of their own accord and revolt, joining together to form a Gathering (they become sort of robotic, the objects becoming one Being intent on destruction and growing larger with every object that joins it). If it escapes the house into the heaps, it will become a monster, gathering all the objects from the massive heaps of garbage surrounding the house.

Lucy, being a non-Iremonger, can't understand their way of life, but she strikes up a friendship with Clod, who, predictably, falls in love with her. Any relationship between the servants and the upper house is forbidden, so their friendship is secret, until the chaos starts and it comes out that a servant has been mixing (even kissing! oh the horror!) an upper house Iremonger. This sin is, of course, part of the reason why the objects are in revolt, and the servant Iremongers are out for Lucy's blood (literally).

As chaos rages through the house, Lucy escapes and hides about the house, and Clod is chased by the Gathering. Eventually, they meet up again, with plans to escape the house (another thing that is forbidden) and live together happily ever after. Just as the Gathering is about to let all hell break lose, the Grandfather comes in and destroys it. Clod and Lucy are then turned into objects, their birth objects turn back into people. and here the story ends, presumably with life for the Iremongers returning to how it has been - uninterrupted by Iremongers, servants, and objects which don't know their place.

Woven throughout the story are themes of dysfunctional families, friendship, bullying, death, and social taboos.

REVIEW:
I have to say, I found it really hard to get into this book. The story struggled and dragged in many parts. Everything was predictable. The author failed to draw the reader in, and I had little empathy for anyone other than Clod and his friend, Tummis (a bullied and misunderstood teen who eventually commits suicide).

The story is slightly enhanced by portraits of the different Iremonger family and servant members and  illustrations of the cross sections of the upper and lower house on the front and back pages, but these illustrations are not enough to pull it up a notch.
Apparently, the book is the first in what will be a trilogy, but I will be avoiding it. It's not the most rubbish book I've ever picked up (it was a struggle, but I did finish), but I found it a waste of my time and I would not recommend it to anyone. For children who like quirky ideas, there are FAR FAR better titles (such a Lemony Snicket, Skulduggery Pleasant, or The Graveyard Book - comparing The Graveyard Book to Heap House is like comparing chocolate mousse to a mud pie).

AGE: it is marketed at ages 9-12, but I would hesitate to recommend it to under 11's.
RATING: 2 stars

Series: Extreme Adventures (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Justin D'Aith ((NZ/Aust)
PUBLISHED: ~2005
SERIES: Extreme Adventures
FIRST BOOK: Shark Bait

REVIEW: Each short novel (~130pgs) revolves around one major obstacle/mission, with several smaller obstacles impeding success.
The main character, Sam Fox, faces various difficulties (fighting animals, a runaway hot air balloon, struggling to save his life, or the lives of his younger brothers, etc) which he must overcome.

AGES: 7-10
GENRE: Adventure
RATING: 4 - 4 1/2 stars

Series: The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Dav Pilkey (Aust) PUBLISHED: 1997+

PLOT: Two fourth-grade boys hypnotise their principal and get him to believe that he is the hero of their own made-up comic book.

AGES: 7-8
GENRE: Humor, mild Adventure
RATING: 4 stars.

Much Ado About Nothing (retold)

AUTHOR: retold by Andrew Matthews (UK/Aust) PUBLISHED: 2006
PAGES/ILL: ~ 55 pages, large font with sporadic pictures. SERIES: A Shakespeare Story by Orchard Classics

PLOT: Hero and Claudio are in love and plan to marry. At the same time, they plot to have Hero's friend Beatrice and Claudio's friend, Benedick, fall in love with each other.

REVIEW: A lovely introduction to Shakespeare; easy to understand, but keeping to the original in an engaging way.

AGES: 6+
GENRE: Humor, Historical, Classic.
RATING: 5 stars

Series: The Magic School Bus (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (USA)

PLOT: A class of school children learn in unusual ways thanks to their unusual teacher and a bus which can take them anywhere.

NOTES: The original books have been adapted into Scholastic Readers. The Scholastic website also links to classroom and home activities. Some books can be read online as Google Books.
This brilliant series will help children learn and encourage interest in a large variety of topics.
There are also tv series and films based on the books.

AGES: 5+.
GENRE: Fantasy, Adventure.
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Ace Detectives (Kids Inc series) (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Geoff Patton (AUST) (2007)

PLOT: A group of teenagers join together to create a detective agency, solving crimes in their town.
NOTES: A 4-book series. Well-written. Children will enjoy following the clues along with the characters. Part of the Kids Inc series'.
Good follow-up books would be Encyclopaedia Brown, etc.

AGES: 7-10.
GENRE: Realistic Fiction, Adventure.
RATING: 4 - 4 1/2 stars.

Series: Fairy Realm (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Emily Rodda (AUST) (2000)
PAGES: >100.

PLOT: A young girl discovers a door to a magic realm of fairies, unicorns, elves, etc at the bottom of her grandmother's garden. In each book she must show courage and solve problems to save the realm.

NOTES: Previously published as the Storytelling Charms series under the name Mary-Anne Dickinson. Multiple sub-series: 6 books in series 1; 4 in series 2.

AGES: Girls aged 6-9.
GENRE: Fantasy.
RATING: 4 stars.

Series: Scream Street (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Tommy Bonbavand (UK) (2008)
PAGES: ~150 pages, 13 chapters.

PLOT: A young boy who has recently transformed into a werewolf and his family are 'banished' to Scream Street. He befriends a wannabe-vampire and a young mummy, as well as a surfer-dude-zombie and witch, who help him in his quest to find a way for his 'normal' parents to go home.

REVIEW: Similar to Freak Street series, but more advanced in plot and language.
This is an 8-book series. Linked to a website.
Well-written.

AGES: 7+. Focus age would be about 8-9.
GENRE: Horror, Humor.
RATING: 5 stars.

Series: Ghost Hunters (Jnr Fic)

AUTHOR: Cornelia Funke (UK)
PUBLISHED: Originally written and published in Germany by Loewe Verlag (2003) ; in the UK (2006+)
PAGES/ILL: ~15 chapters/100+pgs (short chapter books)

REVIEW: Currently a 4-book series about Tom and his grandmother's friend who help friendly ghosts, and hunt and capture/destroy/get rid of nasty ghosts. With each ghost having its own personality and likes and dislikes that can be used to help or hunt them, Hetty, a seasoned ghost hunter, begins to train Tom in the art of ghost hunting. Mixes horror and humour for a bit of a fun scare.
Not as scary or serious as Goosebumps.

AGE: 7+.
GENRE: Horror, Humour
RATING: 4 1/2 stars.