In the Shadow of an Elephant by Georgie Donaghey

After losing my mother a couple of years ago to Lewey Body Dementia and Cancer, I wanted to write about death.  Rather than focus on death more a celebration of life.

While researching, I came across the beautiful Lualeni. Her story inspired me.

In the Shadow of an Elephant (Little Pink Dogs) is a gentle story about sorrow and determination, of friendship between boy and elephant set on the African Savanna. Through life’s challenges, they will embrace the joys of dancing in the shadow of an elephant.

Within 24 hours of submitting my manuscript to a publisher, it had been accepted. As you know this is rare in the Australian children’s writing industry. To further celebrate this story’s success, the book sold out before going to print. In the Shadow of an Elephant will be released in April at the Creative Kids Tales Writers’ Festival.

From the moment I read about Lualeni, I felt a connection to her. I particularly enjoyed reading about the recent birth of Lualeni’s calf. My excitement grew upon discovering the young one had been named Lulu. My first book released in 2016 was called Lulu.

So, drawn to Lualeni after this discovery, I decided to foster her through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. I hope In the Shadow of an Elephant can educate and help raise awareness about poaching with the Australian reading public.

In the Shadow of an Elephant is illustrated by Sandra Severgnini.

Olivia Stone and the Dread of the Dreamers (Book 2)

The Guardians of St. Giles: Olivia Stone and the Dread of the Dreamers (Book 2) by Jeffery E. Doherty (IFWG Publishing) PB RRP $24.95
ISBN 9781925759136

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Olivia is a twelve-year-old girl who was left with a limp and an ineffective arm after a giant grotesque statue fell from the roof of her school, St. Giles. However, all is not what it seems. The accident did leave Olivia with some disabilities, but it also left her with a lot more…a secret identity! The grotesques on the school roof were magical protectors of the city and Olivia inherited some special powers from the fallen grotesque. After the accident, all the grotesques were taken down from the roof and it’s now up to Olivia and Yip, the tiny grotesque she rescued, to rid the city of any evil.

Yip senses that something strange is happening in the city and he needs Olivia’s help to sort out what’s causing it. After much speculation, they discover that dreamweavers are infiltrating the town. Dreamweavers are supernatural spiders whose venom forces victims into having ‘mind destroying nightmares’. Olivia learns that a friend of hers is in trouble and they must do everything they can to save him. The only complications are… Olivia’s fear of spiders, the ignorance of the town’s doctors and the overwhelming number of dreamweavers!

Olivia Stone and the Dread of the Dreamers is a middle grade fiction book suitable for children aged 10+ years. The dark and gloomy book cover sets the tone for this dark adventure. It is not for the faint-hearted or those prone to nightmares. This novel, written in the third person, would appeal to those who enjoy magic and fantasy as well as hero vs villain action stories. While it’s not a necessity, I would recommend you read Book 1: Olivia Stone and the Trouble with Trixies prior to reading Book 2, as there are references to it throughout.

Cinnamon Stevens Ghost Light

Cinnamon Stevens Ghost Light by Pauline Hosking illustrated by Kat Chadwick

(Lilly Pilly Publishing) PB RRP $16.95

ISBN 978-0-646-98111-6

Reviewed by Stacey Gladman

Cinnamon Stevens Ghost Light is the second book by Pauline Hosking introducing young detective Cinnamon and her two best friends Cossy and Meera.

The three young girls attend school together in Mount Dandenong. The story follows a number of directions which all end in a ghostly connection with a once great actress Adelaide Glendenning from Walhalla.

Cossy, a young actress gains a role in a performance of Macbeth which begins the story and the links with Adelaide, when she thinks she sees the ghostly apparition of Adelaide in the theatre.

A change of school excursion to the home and resting place of Adelaide sees Cinnamon’s thirst for figuring out crime surface when classmate Snowy is attacked while on a nighttime - walk through the cemetery.

A second mystery emerges as ghosts continue to be seen at the theatre where Cossy’s play will be performed and then things take a turn for the more dramatic when damage to sets and costumes. The girls attempt to get to the bottom of the situation, but it appears both mysteries could be linked.

Will Cinnamon find out who attacked Snowy, or will the mystery go unsolved? Will Cossy get her big break on the stage? They were questions which kept me reading, I guess you will have to read the book to find out for yourself.

I loved the themes of friendship and determination to find the truth from the three protagonists that really shone through in this story. Faced with a mystery, they showed strength and courage - traits to be admired by young readers.

There were also more serious themes to the book which I felt were introduced and dealt with quite well - including racism against Meera who is half Indian descent and bullying. The girls stuck together as friends and found a way to help Meera overcome the difficulties she faced at school.

The writing style through out is relatable to the intended reader age of nine and above and was an easy read that draws in the reader. The pictures, which were drawn in a  style which made you feel like you were reading a young girls diary really helped add to the scene and I think would add to the appeal for the intended age group as well.

The Blue Cat

The Blue Cat by Ursula Dubosarsky (Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 9781760292294

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

‘“If that cat could speak,” she said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling, “imagine the stories he would tell.”

Personally, I felt I would rather not know.’

The blue cat appeared around town about the same time as Ellery did, according to the narrator, Columba. Ellery is a new child at her school, a European refugee who doesn’t (or doesn’t want to) speak. The blue cat is thought to have come from one of the navy ships at the wharf. Was it tossed overboard, or did it flee? Columba and her next-door-neighbours, who have befriended the cat, can only guess at the cat’s background as they quietly contemplate the atrocities it has probably seen. (‘… His body shakes when he’s asleep with secret anger dark and deep.’)

The mysterious blue cat disappears after hearing the blast of noisy sirens for the practice air raid. Columba bands together with Ellery, and her resourceful classmate Hilda, to search the streets of Sydney. But as the story transcends into a haunting alter-reality, we are left to ponder whether Columba is searching for a blue cat … or whether she’s searching inside herself for the answers to the meaning of the war.

Award-winning Dubosarsky combines her lyrical style with historical documents to tell this fascinating, fairy-tale like story of the friendship between a boy and a girl in Sydney, 1942. Her writing beautifully captures the innocence of children caught up in a war, starkly contrasted, for example, against a documented government order for ‘Enemy Aliens’ or a black and white photograph of Hitler at the Eiffel Tower.

The story targets 10–14 year-olds but will likely appeal to a wider readership, especially lovers of literary historical fiction. This powerful reflection on war will settle quietly in your heart and linger, long after the final page.

Mr Romanov’s Garden in the Sky

Mr Romanov’s Garden in the Sky by Robert Newton (Penguin Books) PB RRP $17.99 ISBN 9780143309307

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Robert Newton came to public attention when he won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for his children’s novel When we Were Two. This is his eighth book for children.

The prologue of this latest novel for readers aged 10 to 13 years ends with the words, ‘…on the cold September I turned thirteen and met the Creeper everything changed.’ Someone throws a Jack Russell belonging to Creeper off the top of the commission tower where Lexie lives which puts things into motion. Life is indeed bleak for Lexie whose single mother is a heroin addict and there are bullies in her high rise grey apartment block.

Lexie and her bung-eyed friend Davey befriend the Creeper, an elderly isolated Russian named Sergei Romanov. After cleaning his grotty apartment, they help him establish a garden on the tower top (Mr Romanov’s garden). Lexie’s life dream is to go to Surfers’ Paradise which her deceased father used to talk about. Eventually this happens, but much more does, too.

There are many dramatic and unpredictable moments in this novel with a few laugh-aloud scenes as well. It’s fast-paced and the three main characters are vividly depicted as are some secondary characters such as the Indian grocer Ramesh. Being alone so often, Lexie has created an imaginary friend, Miranda, who is pasted on her fridge and to whom she speaks quite often. This didn’t ring true for this reader. Sometimes, too,  especially at the beginning of the book, there’s a lot of bleakness and unsavouriness: the grey surroundings of the tower, a woman fries a placenta and then eats it, Mr Romanov carries away the dead dog’s mushy remains and Lexie fishes for its collar in the rest of the remains.

Eventually, after an exciting trip towards Surfers’ Paradise with Davey and Mr Romanov with lots of twists and turns, there’s an unexpected change in travel plans. This section involving a police officer didn’t seem feasible to me, and the tail end of the book seemed rushed, but there’s no doubt many young readers will enjoy this mostly well written book.