Tag Archives: Courage

Mar12

Last Man Out – Louise Park

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Wild Dog Books

April 2023

  • ISBN13: 9781742036427

RRP: $24.99

Sometimes a book comes along that just has the most profound impact on you, as a reader and, in this case, also as an avid history nerd.

Louise Park’s new publication is just such a book. In the sort of way that makes one tingle – not to mention, well up with tears and feel every emotion as intensely as if one were there with the protagonist, I was unable to put it down once I picked it up.

In an utterly remarkable piece of family history, Louise’s grandfather was in fact the ‘last man out’ of Gallipoli, in that extraordinary and quite astonishing military exercise that saw the evacuation of about 36, 000 troops from the peninsula battleground, and created the stuff of legend, becoming Australia’s turning point as a nation (in my opinion).

Louise’s family, of course, has always known this fact and there have been other accounts of John Alexander Park’s role, from military historians, but this new book represents such an intensely personal labour of love and family pride that it will be hard to go past – particularly for younger readers. I predict that all readers, young or old, will be completely enthralled with each piece of the shared recount.

English-born Park was a veteran of the Afghan War, and the Boxer Uprising before settling in Australia and in 1915, aged 36 and a hardened veteran, signed up for the Australian Army and then arrived at Gallipoli.

Louise has taken her grandfather’s diary entries and letters, and combined with other primary documents, reconstructed the essence, the terror, the pain and the spirit of those last days in one of history’s most ill-fated and ill-conceived military endeavours. It’s not a long book – less than 100 pages – but it is both powerful and moving, and I can assure you that your readers from mid-primary right up to secondary will be transfixed with this.

With ANZAC Day approaching rapidly, this is the new ‘must have’ for your collection. I go as far as recommending that your schools buy a class set. It will never be considered anything but a valuable addition, you can trust me on this point. Narrative non-fiction is always a prime area of interest for young readers and in this context, one of the most iconic events in our collective history, even more so.

Just as children for decades now have been thrilled and moved by the story of Simpson and his donkey, they will now be as moved and impressed with John Park’s history, particularly with the addition of first-hand/primary material (including photos). In addition, the stylish and elegant presentation of this book is absolutely first rate, and the use of the khaki shades a brilliant strategy.

My absolute highest recommendation for this book, which is both a valuable historical record and a testament to a granddaughter’s love. Thank you Louise Park for allowing me to read and share this. It is magnificent!

John Alexander Park – I salute you.

Feb14

Wanderer – Victor Kelleher

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Publisher: Eagle Books Imprint: Christmas Press

August 2022

ISBN: 9780645378818

RRP: $19.99

If I were to use the vernacular, I’d say it’s been a long time between drinks Victor, but it was certainly worth it. Multi-award winner, Victor Kelleher, has crafted his first middle grade novel in fifteen years with this gripping and absorbing post-apocalyptic narrative. If you think Waterworld for kids, you might get a little sense of the setting.

Orphaned Dane, spends most of his life since the devastation of his village, on his kayak. The world has shrunk to few habitable places and even those are not safe from the ravaging horde who call themselves The Clan. These self-styled warriors (more ruthless vigilantes) are determined to remove every last trace of the mythical ‘Golden Years’ a long-ago time when such things as books, knowledge and learning were held in high esteem. 

Dane narrowly escapes an encounter with these dangerous killers and, guarding his sole treasure – a book given to him by his now-murdered mother – needs urgent repairs to his kayak, if he is to remain as safe as is possible. The rumour of an old man who can fix such craft leads him to Garth, and his granddaughter, Lana – a remarkable young girl with extraordinary gifts. Garth is not just a capable craftsman, he is a guardian of the old knowledge and a hoard of books. Knowing that time is limited as The Clan draw ever closer to discovering their hidden location, Garth entrusts the two young people to take the books to the last possible stronghold for such valuable treasures. But their journey is fraught with danger as The Clan pursues them for reasons that are revealed as well as their encounters with other survivors, all of them distrustful of strangers and focused on their own needs, and extremely unpredictable.

The novel explores themes of courage and tenacity, resilience and ingenuity, loyalty and friendship, survival and hope. And it is a celebration and testament to the power of story and books, and the wealth and comfort these provide to us mere mortals.

I highly recommend it for able readers from around Year 6 upwards – though be mindful that there are descriptive episodes of violence throughout.

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Aug7

The Book of Wondrous Possibilities – Deborah Abela

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Penguin Australia

  • 2 August 2022
  • ISBN: 9781761044021
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • RRP: $16.99

From the opening paragraph this brilliant book simply sparkles with magic and adventure – unsurprisingly, for those of us who have followed Deborah Abela’s writing career for years!

My first encounter with this joyful creator was when, as the organiser of an extravaganza showcase at Marrickville Library, way back around 2004, I invited Deborah )who had just hit the kid lit lists with her Max Remy serie) to be our special guest for the kiddos. She was a huge drawcard then – and still is!

Your readers of such books as Inkspell and Pages & Co are going to flip out about this one. It has everything needed to enthrall and excite middle graders: a reluctant and self-doubting hero, a feisty girl to organise things, a sweet guardian, a nasty villain, a dubious pillar of society with a very strong-minded daughter – and a completely endearing pet mouse who will steal everyone’s heart – all tied up in a world of literary magic like no other.

Arlo Goodman has lived with his uncle Avery, in the bookshop, since his mother was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident. When bolshie Lisette, runs into the shop and promptly hides from a particularly intimidating pursuer, Arlo’s quiet – and rather dull – existence is suddenly turned upside down. It appears his mother has left him a grimoire – a mysterious book in which the stories written are magically realised – and his own story is to help understand just how brave he truly is. Lisette’s grandmother has also died, under terrible circumstances, and now the girl’s inherited ability to magically write the stories of the grimoire is being sought by wealthy and sinister business tycoon, Marcellus, via his brutal henchman, Silas.

Mystery and adventure, humour and pathos all mix together to create this abundantly glorious new narrative from one of middle schoolers’ favourite writers. I, for one, would like to see more adventures from Arlo, Lisette and Herbert – just saying!. Congratulations Deborah on another superb read! Highly recommended for your kiddos from around Year 4 to Year 7.

Read more about Deborah’s wondrous writing during lockdown here and if you are a Sydneysider, get thee to the Glee party!

Apr3

The StrangeWorlds Travel Agency : The Edge of the Ocean Book #2 – L. D. Lapinski

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Hachette Australia

APR 13, 2021 | 9781510105959 | RRP $16.99

Now that Flick is officially a member of the StrangeWorlds Travel Agency, and with one exciting adventure already under her belt, in which she demonstrated some unexpected and remarkable powers, she and Jonathan Mercator are summoned to help another world. This time they are joined by Jonathan’s distant cousin, Avery, to whom Flick takes a strange instant dislike.

The urgent request for help has come from Queen Nyfe, who rules as a pirate chief over a motley crew of almost skeletal ships, in a world called The Break. This strange watery flat world is used to ships disappearing over the edge but in recent times, it’s become apparent that the world is breaking up and so the dangers have increased exponentially for Nyfe, her crew as well as the other mariners and the mer-people who also inhabit the once vast ocean.

Flick, Jonathan and Avery face more than just the pressure of saving The Break’s peoples. The various inhabitants are fighting amongst themselves and navigating the subterfuge on all sides is tricky indeed. Added to this is the shocking realisation that Jonathan’s lost father appears to be indeed dead and his grief renders him almost helpless in the struggle to work out how to transport ships, gigantic mer-people and pirates through a suitcase to a new and suitable world – even if they can actually find one that will fit the bill. And then there is the (to Flick’s mind, weird) way her feelings towards Avery and what seems to be a reciprocal feeling change as the quest unfolds.

Once again, this series delivers amazingly rich narrative with characters with whom readers will fall in love. I, for one, will eagerly anticipate the next instalment and your readers from around middle primary upwards will adore this new instalment.

Sep26

Hollowpox: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. Nevermoor #3 – Jessica Townsend

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Hachette

SEP 29, 2020 | 9780734418241 | RRP $17.99

Huzzah! It has finally arrived! We’ve all been waiting with great impatience but at last the next instalment is here. And what a corker it is! Not only is it gripping and full of new revelations but has most uncanny parallels to our current parlous circumstances.

Morrigan is looking forward to her new studies at Wunsoc and the delicious anticipation of her second Christmas in Nevermoor as well as many other delights but there is a dread development overtaking her adopted home.

As Morrigan is introduced to deeper studies as part of her Wondersmith training by virtue of insights into long-gone but carefully preserved lessons, a bizarre and deadly illness is infecting Nevermoor’s Wunimals. Normally peaceable and productive members of society, the affected Wunimals are becoming wild and vicious unnimals attacking without reason anything and anyone in their path and eventually succumbing into a sort of ‘hollow’ torpor losing all traces of their unique ‘wunimal-ness’.

As the mystery virus takes hold with more and more Wunimals becoming infected and causing grievous bodily harm and even deaths, the residents of Nevermoor become violently divided in their reactions. Some vociferous in their protests that the Wunimals one and all are a menace to society, some in complete denial that the illness exists while others work as hard as possible to find a cure and save all lives – sound familiar?

Morrigan begins to see that it is going to be up to her to find a cure for the Hollowpox but doesn’t quite bargain on her arch-enemy Ezra, the disgraced and feared Wondersmith, being the one who will lead her to it – though by very convoluted and mysterious ways.

As the young Wondersmith grows in her mastery of the Wretched Arts she is able to see more, do more, achieve more and manipulate the world around her more and while she still faces dire challenges and dangers, as she weaves her wundrous way through each new obstacle until she attains success, she is able to attain success, despite all odds.

This is not simply a new adventure filled with thrilling and and tense episodes but a very revealing insight into human nature and an ‘en pointe’ comparison to much of the disparate, and often extreme, responses we have all witnessed in recent times.

Fans, young and old, will relish this latest in the lives and events of Nevermoor and Morrigan and, like me, will be unable to put it down until they are done. And immediately, we will all be waiting with bated breath until we are able to re-visit Nevermoor, Morrigan, Jupiter and Fen – along with all the other marvellous and rich characters we have all grown to love so much.

Naturally it needs no recommendation – most of those I know have had their copy on pre-order forever!!

May16

Starfell: Willow Moss and the Forgotten Tale [Starfell #2]- Dominique Valente

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Harper Collins Australia

April 2020

  • ISBN: 9780008308445
  • ISBN 10: 0008308446
  • Imprint: HarperCollins – GB
  • List Price: 16.99 AUD

Being the youngest in the family is often a reason for feeling overlooked and somehow lesser and for Willow Moss this is especially true. She is both the youngest and the least magical in her family of witches. Even though in her most recent (first) adventure she actually saved the entire world which no one remembers at all, it seems her magic has gone rather skewiff and instead of her usual magical ability of being able to find missing things, she is inadvertently making things disappear. Obviously this is causing some disquiet not only with her family but the entire village.

This is particularly upsetting when her friend Sometimes is kidnapped. At least Sometimes, who can see ten minutes into the future, had time to send Willow a note asking for help before he disappeared. Not that it has helped that much as Willow has really no idea where to look for him. Still she sets out along with her faithful kobold Oswin and thus embarks on one of the strangest and most dangerous missions ever, one that will take her right to the very edges of Starfell and into the most terrifying of situations. Fortunately along the way through a series of misadventures and weird circumstances Willow acquires some friends who prove to be staunch in the face of danger.

Your young readers who love exciting magical stories mixed with some nasty villains, just enough creepy danger and loads of humour will lap this series up without doubt.  As well as that, they will gain much from the themes of loyalty, friendship, courage and self-belief.

Highly recommended for readers from around 8 years upwards.

Apr14

What Stars Are Made Of – Sarah Allen

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9780241427965

Penguin Random House

April 2020

ISBN: 9780241427965

Imprint: Puffin

RRP: $14.99

This is just a wonderful heart-warming book on many levels and has introduced me to not only a new author but new information.

Libby Malone is 12 years old and passionate about science so much so that she wants to be a scientist when she grows up. Her favourite scientist is the over-looked Cecilia Payne – first woman Astronomy Chair at Harvard and the first person to postulate the theories on what stars are made of – work which was discounted but then appropriated by men in the field.

Libby also has Turner Syndrome – a condition of birth that has affected her physical development in many ways – but about which she is pretty pragmatic although she does sometimes wish she had a friend other than the school library.

Her older sister  Nonny, whom she adores, is now married and living away from the family but returns when her husband has to go away to work and she is pregnant and needs to have a safe haven. Libby worries over Nonny’s baby and the fact that Nonny and Thomas are struggling financially. Her mind races with ‘what ifs’ and so she inspired to take up a challenge that could change their lives and help them secure a home of their own. She determines to enter a new Women in STEM competition initiated by the Smithsonian  and of course she has the perfect subject in her much revered Cecilia.

At the same time new girl Talia arrives at the school and like Libby she also stands out from the crowd mostly because she is Samoan. The pair forms a tentative but increasingly stronger friendship which sees them both encourage and support each other through crises and challenges, and ultimately rejoice together.

This has much of the same deep ‘feels’ as books such as Wonder and will appeal to upper primary/early secondary students in just the same way. Libby encounters and triumphs over the petty meanness of both the ubiquitous school bully boy and an even more odious adult, editor of her school history textbook. She and Talia both pursue their goals with determination and singular focus and both have the measure of success they both need to affirm their chosen paths.  And of course, the arrival of baby Cecilia, though not without its dramas, is the magical icing on Libby’s cake.

The warmth and love of family and special friendship, self-pride and identity are all well teased out concepts in this novel and the reader feels immense connection with the characters.

I would recommend it highly for readers from around 10 years upwards and certainly if you have kiddos who have loved Wonder then this would be a natural to add to their ‘If you liked…’ list.

Apr10

Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz

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1574636428062

Walker Books Australia

March 2020

ISBN: 9781406388589
Imprint: Walker
Australian RRP: $16.99

By chance, when I found out that the new 20th anniversary edition of Stormbreaker was being released I was ‘re-reading’ it on audio during my commute and relishing the pure adrenalin rush that is the hallmark of the series.

Frankly I’d be happy to read Anthony’s shopping list – the man just oozes talent in whichever field he pursues but let’s face it there is something super special about young Alex. It remains one of those series which I can inveigle a reader to pick up for a first read and have that reader come back for a bulk borrow of the rest of the series.

And how extra exciting is it that this anniversary edition heralds another new episode in Alex’ thrilling adventures – Nightshade is coming!

If for some reason you’ve never accompanied Alex on any of his adventures (seriously??) you should know he is a 14 year old schoolboy who is recruited unwillingly by the powers that be following the suspicious death of his guardian Ian Rider to undertake dangerous and potentially deadly missions. In reality the man he always knew as an international banker was in fact a highly skilled secret agent and has trained Alex all his life to be as competent an operative as himself. Now Alex is sent to investigate one Herod Sayle, to all appearances a wealthy and generous benefactor, but in fact one with not only a streak of insanity but a vindictive killer.

Sayle’s plot to unleash a deadly virus on every single one of Britain’s schools via the gift of his new and technologically unsurpassed computer, the Stormbreaker, is what Alex must put a stop to – succeeding in fact where his uncle had failed.

The action doesn’t stop for a second in this roller-coaster introduction to a world into which Alex finds himself so reluctantly dragged but due to the management of his many ‘hobbies’ instigated by his guardian he actually finds himself surprisingly well-prepared.

This is  a series that both boys and girls will grab hold of with gusto, fully immersing them in the non-stop action. Thank you Anthony for 20 years of thrilling adventures with the boy-spy who beats them all!

Highly recommended for readers from around ten years upwards and why not pre-order the newest volume now!

Apr9

Beyond Belief (Heroes of the Holocaust) – Dee White

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beyond-belief

Scholastic

March 2020

Publisher: Scholastic/Omnibus Books

ISBN: 9781760662516

RRP $17.99

It may be the holidays and I don’t need to be up at the crack of dawn to get to school but even so for me to read a book cover to cover in one night when I go to bed is pretty much indicative of a great read.

Dee White I thank you for introducing me firstly to a history of which I had no idea and secondly for transforming that into a narrative that is at once fraught with tension and filled with hope.

Based on true events of the Muslims in Paris who rescued Jewish children at the risk of their own safety, this is the story of eleven year old Ruben and his perilous journey to evade the evils perpetrated by the Nazi occupiers of France. Left by his parents at the Grand Mosque in Paris so that he will be safe while they go in search of Ruben’s older sister and her husband, Ruben has been promised that a saviour known as ‘The Fox’ will come for him before long. In the meantime, he must become as ‘Muslim’ as is possible for a Jewish boy in order to protect his identity – as well as the mosque inhabitants.

However when the mosque and its faithful protectors are targeted by the Nazi regime a flight into danger ensues and Ruben plus other at-risk friends Hana and her little brother Momo are in the hands of the network of resistance fighters/rescuers.

Their escape is dangerous for all concerned but there is light at the end of the tunnel and when they finally reach a safe haven there is an astonishing revelation in store for young Ruben.

The pace and intensity of this narrative leaves the reader almost breathless as we feel ourselves to be right in the danger with the children. Such histories of the Holocaust – and the story of both survivors and those who so selflessly helped them – are testaments to the enduring and inherent goodness and courage of so many. How truly wonderful that Dee White has shed light on this chapter in this narrative to inform readers – and incidentally proven the true character of Islam to a wider public. These are the books that will empower our young people to grow in acceptance, compassion and empathy.

I cannot recommend this highly enough particularly for readers from around 12 years upwards and as a ‘read-around-your-topic’ for students of the Holocaust and World War II.

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Click here to read more about Dee’s journey to bring this story to life.

Jan27

The Kid Who Came From Space – Ross Welford

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Harper Collins Australia

January 2020

ISBN: 9780008333782

ISBN 10: 0008333785

Imprint: HarperCollins – GB

List Price: 14.99 AUD

This is the second Ross Welford book I have read and reviewed [The 1, 000 Year Old Boy] and once again I am tremendously impressed in his story-telling which takes something unbelievable and makes it completely feasible.

A small village in Northumberland is shocked and in turmoil after the mysterious disappearance of 12 year old Tammy especially of course her parents and her twin brother Ethan. Despite vigorous and thorough searching there seem to be no clues. That is until Ethan reluctantly accompanies relative newcomer and definitely odd Iggy for a spot of fishing to ‘take his mind off’ the situation. The boys don’t have any luck with the fishing but they do ‘catch’ something – the realisation of an invisible spacecraft and the appearance of a definitely visible fur-covered tailed humanoid called Hellyann – who indicates that she not only knows where Tammy is but how to rescue her.

Imagine a civilisation that keeps animals in a zoo for the edification of its own species – oh that’s right – but imagine if that civilisation is located on a remote planet in another galaxy and the animals kept are actually humans. That’s where Tammy has been taken by one of the ‘Hunters’ of the planet Anthalla. This race has become so uniform and so controlled in its past 500 years of history that no member of it dares to disagree with any of the strict protocols in place. There may be order and peace but it’s at a price – with no individuality or emotions allowed. The flaw in that is that there are just a few Anthallans whose ancestors were of ‘mixed’ DNA so that their descendants retain some human traits – such as emotional responses. And Hellyann is one of these ‘Hearters’ and knows that there is something inherently wrong with abducting a human, removing it from its family and keeping it sedated and contained. Hence she sets out on a mission to rescue Tammy but enlisting Ethan and Iggy.

There is much humour to be had in this narrative but also a great deal of thought-provoking concepts to consider. Once again Welford has crafted a story which demonstrates the unerring ability of children to bridge the sometimes vast gap between others and forge unlikely friendships as well as rising to challenges which reveal their inner reserves of determination, resilience, courage and compassion.

Another truly worthwhile book to share with your readers from around 8ish upwards, I highly recommend it for Middle Primary to Lower Secondary students.