Football Legends: Mary Fowler

Football Legends: Mary Fowler by Kit Cross and Leigh Hedstrom (Albert Street Books, Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $12.99 ISBN: 9781761181344

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Do you want to become a trivia whizz when it comes to Australian sports legends? The ‘Legends of Sports’ series is just what you need – and Football Legends: Mary Fowler is perfect for all that essential soccer knowledge about the game and about one of the youngest players to ever join the Matildas.

For example, can you answer these questions about Mary Fowler?

·       Who is Mary Fowler’s role model? (Hint: she’s known as the greatest female footballer of all time.)

·       How old was Mary when she started her professional football career – and which club did she sign with?

·       Which Olympics was Mary selected for?

·       Why does Mary wear black gloves when she’s playing?

·       Which country wanted Mary in their soccer team before she went with the Matilda’s instead?

No? What about these ‘soccer buff’ questions?

·       What is the most popular sport in the world? (I’ve given you an easy one here.)

·       How long ago were the earliest versions of soccer played – and where?

·       In soccer, what is the difference between a ‘pitch’ and a ‘playing field’?

·       What causes a player to get ‘red carded’ and what happens when they do?

·       What does FIFA stand for?

If you can’t answer all the questions – or even if you know most of the answers – you’ll need to check out Football Legends: Mary Fowler for the answers and plenty more.

Once again, author Kit Cross has gone above and beyond with their research, sharing information that will really resonate with a young audience, with Leigh Hedstrom’s illustrations and layout drawing attention to all the fun facts, stories and stats.

Full disclosure: I am not a soccer (football) fan, although my son and daughter both played for a while. However, even I was drawn in and wowed by much of the information. So, if you or your child are football fans – whether you play or spectate – you’ll love Football Legends: Mary Fowler.

Designed for independent readers aged 6–10 years, this series is sure to become a favourite with readers and sports fanatics of all ages.

Basketball Legends: Ben Simmons

Basketball Legends: Ben Simmons by Kit Cross and Leigh Hedstrom (Albert Street Books, Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $12.99 ISBN: 9781761181276

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Think you know a lot about basketball? Basketball Legends: Ben Simmons might have you thinking again. Not only is it jam-packed full of intriguing information about Australian basketball legend, Ben Simmons, but every fact and statistic you’d want to know about the sport in general is contained within a mere 123 pages.

For example, do you know what a double-double is? Or, for that matter, what a triple-double is?

And do you know where the Philadelphia 76ers got their name?

Perhaps – from the title – you can guess who was the first Australian to not only win Rookie of the Year in the NBA, but also receive an All-Star selection?

But, do you know which city has produced the most NBA Number 1 Draft Picks in the world?

No? You’ll need to get yourself a copy of this book then.

Fascinating facts and stats aside, author Kit Cross has done an amazing job of researching information that will really resonate with her audience and presenting it in a way that is accessible to younger readers – but she does not dumb things down. Leigh Hedstrom’s illustrations and the layout go a long way to supplementing the information, making the facts stand out and shine.

Full disclosure – prior to picking up this book, I knew a little about basketball (being a fan of the Canberra Cannons back in the day and, more recently, the UC Capitals), but I’d never heard of Ben Simmons! (Sssh – don’t tell anyone.) Moreover, I wondered whether the information in the book would be engaging enough to hold my interest.

I was pleasantly surprised. The blend of general sport facts and a closer and more personal look at one of the many legendary players means that the book is likely to resonate with a wider audience. Despite my initial hesitancy, I found that I devoured the facts in a very short time and was pleased to discover that there are at least three more books in this series by Kit Cross and Leigh Hedstrom – something for everyone with different sports represented, along with both male and female legends.

If you or your child are basketball fans, you’ll love Basketball Legends: Ben Simmons. If not, you will be by the time you’ve finished this easy but fascinating read. You may even be encouraged to head out and watch a game or sink some hoops. At the very least, you will be a walking factsheet about all things Ben Simmons and basketball.

Designed for independent readers aged 6–10, Basketball Legends: Ben Simmons is sure to be enjoyed by fans of all ages and is an excellent introduction to the world of factual texts. Readers may decide to read the book from cover to cover, or just dip in and out at will, and I fully expect to see some of these facts turn up at school trivia nights.  

Wylah the Koorie Warrior

Wylah the Koorie Warrior by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard (Albert Street Books) PB RRP $15.99 ISBN 9871761180798

This adventure story, starring a hero and her mega-funny megafauna friends, is part of a series written by an aboriginal man from Warrnambool, Victoria, who performs Welcome to Country ceremonies at corporate and private events.

In this third book of the series, Wylah has triumphed to become a Koorie Warrior, however, her journey is just beginning. Her family and friends are still prisoners of the cruel Dragon Army, and more animals and children are mysteriously disappearing from other tribes. Face with new responsibilities and a dangerous new adversary, can Wylah rise as the leader and protector that children and animals desperately need?

In this 285-page book for readers aged 10+ years, there are black and white illustrations on every chapter heading, plus frequent illustrations in each chapter. There is also a glossary at the end of the book showing both Aboriginal and English words.

Our Family Dragon: A Lunar New Year Story

Our Family Dragon: A Lunar New Year Story by Rebecca Lim, illustrated by Cai Tse (Albert Street Books) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781761180637

Reviewed by Nikki M Heath

A young boy is bursting with excitement for the coming of the dragon, as his family buzzes with preparations for Lunar New Year. What will happen when the dragon comes?

This is an approachable introduction to Lunar New Year traditions exuding love, life, and joy. The story covers food, red money packets, the Chinese zodiac and family fun, and has a heart-warming twist at the end. There isn’t much in the way of plot, but the reader feels welcomed into the family of the narrator and becomes invested in his dreams for the festivities.

The generous illustrations help to convey the way modern Australian families celebrate. The dragon dancing over the Sydney Harbour Bridge draws the reader in, and the sumptuous, detailed food illustrations are tantalising.

A must-have for any kindergarten or junior primary classroom and a delight for anyone wanting to explore Lunar New Year with the 4- to 8-year-olds in their life.

Custodians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 2

Custodians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 2 by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard. Albert Street Books-an imprint of Allen and Unwin 2023. Paperback RRP $15.99. ISBN 9781761180040

Reviewed by Debra Williams

This is the second MG adventure in the Wylah series, the first being Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 1. The co-authors and illustrator are a creative team. Jordan Gould is a Peek Whurrong man from Warrnambool, Victoria. Richard Pritchard is a New- Zealand born Samoan man. Together they have woven a fast-paced adventure, which focuses on the themes of hope, strength, unity and determination. They have drawn on the history of Aboriginal people and their culture, with a diverse collection of creatures who are the great tribal guardians.  

Young Wylah, the First Nations hero, has united these creatures (from the first book) and she travels through this adventure with other humans Merri, Po and Jayden. Inspired by history, the story features animals from legend and also fantasy, such as drop bears and dragons. Wylah and her guardians must fight and negotiate to save her tribe, including her parents, who have been captured by the Dragon Army, who are forcing the people to dig for gold in caves. Calling on her ancestors and grandmother to help, she bravely takes her team through the dreaded Valley of the Spirits to seek an answer to setting her tribe free.

Along the way, there is treachery from within the ranks, and Wylah and the others must fight with all their strength to attempt the freedom required for the tribe. However, there is extreme danger, and even the mega-fauna friends find themselves under severe attack. The ending leaves the story open for the next book to come in the series.

This will be enjoyed by readers 10+ years of age.

Jawsome

Jawsome by R.J. Timmis (Allen & Unwin imprint Albert Street Books) Paperback, Graphic Novel, Junior Fiction, RRP $15.99 ISBN 9781761068591

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks 

Rebecca Timmis is an award-winning author-illustrator based on the Gold Coast of Australia. She is the clever creator of the popular Mertales series. Her pen name is R.J. Timmis.

Jawsome is about four sharks which by day go to school and by night they’re a famous rock band. Their parents insist that they keep their identities secret. It’s all going swimmingly well until Squidley Whistleblower arrives, he is determined to find and expose Jawsome. Somehow, they all get involved in the mysterious disappearance of chum, a shark’s favourite food. All of this is woven into the main theme about keeping their identity secret.

R.J. Timmis is spot on with her junior fiction writing, not only is her topic choice - sharks perfect but her action-packed story is well written. Her humour and wit shine on every page and the page turns have such engaging hooks. The vocabulary is super clever, Timmis has created her own shark puns which are woven into every page. They are funny, clever, and not overdone. The main characters are sharks which is kid appealing and beautifully lends to the humour. But it’s cool- Hunter promised not to eat us. She’s really somefin’ else. Timmis has masterfully woven sub plots into the text that support the main problem of Jawsome keeping their identity a secret. Her humour is really appealing and age appropriate. 8pm: Watch twenty horror films back-to-back on Netfins.

The cartoon-like illustrations enhance the text and ham up the humour. The shark world is convincing and believable. The characters are engaging, and the setting creates such eye candy for the reader. I laughed out loud at the Chumville Chopera House image because we all know which famous icon it looks like. The facial expressions of the characters are loads of fun and the black pages with white fins that break the chapters are great. I like that kids can copy the illustrations and create their own shark and sea characters. The illustrations and words are a winning mix in this action-packed book.

Jawsome is an awesome graphic novel for children six and older. Friendship and humour are important to this age group and this story celebrates both. It’s engaging from start to finish with gripping page turns. Parents and teachers will love this book as much as the children. After all, who doesn’t love a good laugh with sharks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Pet Monster: Smidgen

How to Make a Pet Monster: Smidgen by Lili Wilkinson and Alex Patrick (Albert Street Books, Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN: 9781761067433

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Come on, who doesn’t want to have their very own pet monster?

Actually, Artie isn’t so fussed about making pet monsters (even though his monster, Hodgepodge, is now his best friend) but he tends to get dragged along in the monster-making game with his stepsister, Willow, and their neighbour, Arabella-Rose. Together, they make up the three members (plus monsters) of The Monster Club.

Smidgen is the third book in the fun How to Make a Pet Monster series, following on from Hodgepodge (book 1) and Flummox (book 2). Artie and Willow stumbled upon ‘The Bigge Boke of Fetching Monsters’ – a spell book for making monsters – and accidentally created their first monster. So far, the monsters haven’t turned out exactly like the monsters in the Bigge Boke – it happens when you don’t quite have the right ingredients – but they are cute, mischievous, not-at-all-scary and, as it turns out, often rather useful.

In Smidgen, Willow decides she wants to make another monster for herself and settles on a dragon, somewhat larger than their previous two monsters. Before they can get started, a surprise visitor – Zayn Osman – bursts in through their door in a big sloshy mess.

Trying to hide their monster-making activities from Zayn, Willow tells him that The Monster Club is a band – and now Zayn, who is one of the sporty, cool kids at school, thinks they are all pretty cool as well.

They manage to get rid of Zayn but, as usual, their monster making doesn’t go quite to plan – although they do end up with what looks like a chicken egg for their troubles. They’ll just have to wait to see what hatches from it.  

In the meantime, Willow’s father (Artie’s stepfather) is trying to prepare for a cooking show, Whole Lotta Loaf, where the recipe of the day is souffle. Of course, a souffle contains a number of … you guessed … eggs.

Can you see where this is going?

Somehow, the trio, with Zayn in tow, end up on the set of Whole Lotta Loaf and, with the help of Hodgepodge’s farts and Flummox’s ability to mimic any sound, they have to rescue the dragon egg, which is mixed up with all the chicken eggs for the souffles.

Lili Wilkinson’s sense of fun ‘what-if’ scenarios combine beautifully with Alex Patrick’s humorous, cartoon-like pictures to bring the adventures of Artie, Willow, Arabella-Rose and Zayn – along with Hodgepodge and Flummox (and eventually, Smidgen) – to life in a fast-paced story you’ll want to read in one go.

Perfect for independent readers, aged 7–10, or a wonderful read-aloud that can be enjoyed by parents and their younger children.

Flipper and Finnegan: The True Story of How Tiny Jumpers Saved Little Penguins

Flipper and Finnegan: The True Story of How Tiny Jumpers Saved Little Penguins by Sophie Cunningham, illustrated by Anil Tortop (Albert Street Books) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781761180071

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

‘Flipper and Finnegan live on a beautiful island.’ The two Little Penguins love to somersault and fly underwater. People come to watch them return to land. But one day, the water turns dark. Flipper, Finnegan, and many of their friends become coated in sticky, smelly oil; if they try to clean themselves, the oil will make them sick. Human rangers save the cold and frightened penguins by placing warm jumpers on them until they can be cleaned gently with soap and water.

Based on a real-life event, Sophie Cunningham’s thoughtful tale will appeal to kids aged three to six who adore birds and animals. By focusing on two characters in particular, Sophie scales down the immense environmental disaster story to a level that children can understand and engage with. Simple vocabulary allows the action to take centre stage; youngsters clearly see how even small acts of kindness can have a huge impact.

Anil Tortop’s cute and colourful illustrations catch the eye and capture the heart. This extends to the endpapers, which feature bright balls of wool at the beginning, and a jumble of jolly jumpers at the end. Anil’s charming characterisation of Flipper and Finnegan ensures that young readers develop an emotional attachment to the penguins and a desire to see them safe from harm. 

Sweet and uplifting, Flipper and Finnegan: The True Story of How Tiny Jumpers Saved Little Penguins will bring a smile to small faces. It will encourage kids to consider the world around them and what they can do to help others.

MerTales: The Great Treasure Hunt

MerTales: The Great Treasure Hunt by Rebecca Timms (Albert Street Books) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781760526573

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

This is the third book in the MerTales series, which is junior fiction for children aged 6 to 9 years, with a diverse cast of characters based on the author’s own best friends. Timms says of this book, ‘It’s been incredibly fun to write something pink and sparkly that’s also bursting with girl-power – there are definitely no damsels in distress in these books!’

In this latest book, it’s the day of the Great Cockleshell Cove Treasure Hunt and everyone is joining in. Coral Clearwater is excited to lead her team of best friends Pearl, Sandy, and Shell to the treasure before the others. Each of the mermaids has superpowers. Coral can control water currents, Pearl can talk to animals, Sandy can create forcefields, and Shell can transport from one place to another.

Count Frumplesquid the Third has donated all the treasures for the hunt and clue, in the form of riddles are contained on a scroll. The mermaid’s first clue takes them to the Mer-Seum where they meet Rocky’s Rock Stars, a merman group comprised of Rocky Ravine, Nate Nautilus, and Brian Barnacle. It is about this time that Coral and the others discover there is a bigger mystery to be solved other than simply finding the treasure. The question now is can Coral and her crew work together to uncover the truth and keep the precious treasure safe? And what about Rocky and his mer-men. And Count Frumplesquid: how are they involved?

This adventure story of friendship is fun and vibrant. Every page is illustrated in black, red, and pink with words frequently highlighted in different sizes and colours. There is a continual play on sea words (such as ‘re-mer-kable’, ‘flippity fishtails’, and ‘clam-tastic.’)

The book will particularly appeal to girl readers.

Mertales: The Best Friend Promise

Mertales: The Best Friend Promise by Rebecca Timmis (Albert Street Books) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN9781760526528

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

This is book one in a new adventure series set underwater. Packed with illustrations, the story is about Pearl Periwinkle the mermaid who is celebrating her ninth birthday. She plans to spend time with her best friends, but when she takes a shortcut on the way to merschool, things begin to drift off. When Pearl sees a shooting star fall into the ocean, everything changes. Her mermaid tail shimmers, and sparkles, and she can now talk to animals. This is the start of an adventure in Cockleshell Cover.

A hungry reef dragon enters the cover waters and presents a danger to Pearl’s friends. The question is -- will her new magical powers be enough to save her friends?

As the market for this series is primarily for girls, the chapter book (with chapter names as well as numbers) has pink and white pages and pink, grey, and black illustrations. The pink is in various grades and there are words in the text (such as ‘Brainiac’, ‘Smarty-fins’ and ‘flipper-riffic’) which are highlighted. When Pearl’s best friend Coral enters the story, the words ‘smart’, ‘funny’ and ‘a little bit boss’ are used as labels for her. The illustrations are highly imaginative: you see underwater houses made of seashells, and ‘roads’ along which are a line of shell-houses.

At the end of the book there are some ‘Fin Facts’ such as dolphin babies drink milk like human babies and some sea animals, such as squids and cuttlefish, squirt ink when threatened. Also, amazingly, an octopus the size of a pony, can squeeze through a hole no bigger than a fifty-cent coin.

The second mermazing adventure is The Daring Reef Rescue.