The Voyage

The Voyage by Robert Vescio, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (EK Books) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781925820034

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

The Voyage is a wonderful, thought-provoking picture book about a young family forced to escaped the perils of their homeland and take a risk to seek a better life in another country.

The story is told in only 14 words, but each word is perfect, poignant and powerful. The accompanying pictures, created with pencil and watercolour, beautifully depict the challenges, risks, fears and sadness that come with escaping your homeland and the hope of seeking safety and protection elsewhere.

The Voyage is a highly engaging story with short text that allows careful consideration to be given to every word and each illustration. The adult reader and the young listener are free to delve into the words, pictures and themes as much or as little as they see appropriate. This narrative does evoke a sense of sadness, but it also has a happy ending.

The book is visually appealing with a large gold foil title on the cover, contrasting with a dark blue background, as well as lovely illustrations and endpapers. The Voyage has themes of family, refugees, courage, empathy and hope and is highly recommended for all primary school students.

Ava Ann Appleton: Catching a Wave

Ava Ann Appleton: Catching a Wave by Wendy Harmer, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)

PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 978-1-74362-235-3

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Ava Ann Appleton and her family are travelling around Australia. In Catching a Wave, the third book in the series, the Adventurer has stopped in the seaside town of Crescent Cove. Here Ava makes new friends, learns to surf and helps clean plastic bags from the beach to make the ocean safer for the local seals.

The Ava Ann Appleton series is a highly enjoyable Australian series for seven-year-olds and up. Full of travel, exploration of new places, amazing adventures and new friendships, there is much to hold the attention of young readers. Ava is a lovely character. She has some fears to overcome along her way, but is full of life and open to new experiences and people. There is always a problem to ponder and this time it’s a universal one - the use of plastic bags in our society.

This is a well written story, simple but not shying away from the occasional larger words when they are needed. The text is evocative and the sweet illustrations add wonderfully to it, breaking up the words in the short chapters. This is perfect for readers who are just beginning to build their confidence in chapter books.

These stories are always warm and gentle. Ava would make a great friend and the Appleton family is one children will enjoy spending time with.

Ava Anne Appleton: Up and Away

Ava Anne Appleton: Up and Away by Wendy Harmer, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)

PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 978-1-74362-181-3

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Ava Anne Appleton and her family, including dog Angus, are on an adventure. They have packed their belongings into a motor home, The Adventurer, and are off to explore Australia. And although Ava was slightly anxious about the whole idea she is settling into the journey and beginning to be more open to the adventures she encounters.

In Up and Away, ‘The Adventurer’ stops at Kardinya, an historical homestead. Here Ava discovers how people lived in the pioneering days, learns that Kardinya means sunrise in local Aboriginal language and sees that there is always a new friend around the corner.

This is a charming series. The story is infused with Harmer’s lovely gentle humour and Ava is very easy to love. She faces her fears and is learning to see life through different perspectives. There is a fabulous scene when Ava and Bonnie fly kites as a storm approaches:

  ‘I love the flat country the best!’ shouted Bonnie. ‘It’s where you see the biggest sky, ever!

  It takes up almost all of the view.’

  Ava had never thought of it like that before, but it was true. Out here the sky really was  

  tremendous!

While the words are easy for young readers, the text is well written, evocative and not simplistic. The attractive soft illustrations which appear at least every couple of pages break up the text and make the reading lighter. This will be read by girls from seven years and up. It is a great chapter book to extend beginner readers but may also entice older reluctant readers. It could even be a bedtime book, read aloud to younger children.

This is a series where the main character is an engaging one, easy to relate to and entertaining. The concepts of family, friendship and a sense of adventure shine strongly through in every chapter. This is the second in the series which is sure to continue. Jump on board with The Adventurer and join Ava on her journey. 

10 Funny Sheep

10 Funny Sheep by Ed Allen, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $13.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-637-9
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Some people count sheep to go to sleep but not the sheep in this book! Counting backwards – to the tune of 10 green bottles – these sheep start by singing silly songs which get sillier as one sheep at a time disappears until they are all gone.


This is fun to read aloud:
Four funny sheep trying to win the game.
Four funny sheep trying to win the game.
And if one funny sheep should get all the blame, 
There’ll be three funny sheep trying to win the game.

The accompanying picture shows four sheep playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey who happily munches apples, oblivious to their game. But when one sheep pins the tail on the donkey’s forehead, the donkey looks up and the other three sheep run. The illustrations are entertaining. All the sheep are individuals and it’s fun to guess which one will be next to leave the pages. Hidden in each scene is a number to find as well.

10 Funny Sheep joins other titles in this series including 10 Silly Wombats also by this author/illustrator team and is a light, amusing and entertaining way for young children to practise their counting – forwards and backwards.

Ava Anne Appleton: Accidental Adventurer

Ava Anne Appleton: Accidental Adventurer by Wendy Harmer, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $9.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-875-5
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Ava Anne Appleton is at the beginning of the alphabet and that is just how she likes it. Life is ordered and predictable. She lives with her mother, father and dog Angus at 3A Australia Avenue. Then one day her life is turned upside down.

Her parents buy a motor home. They plan to travel around Australia for a year, to have a grand adventure. Ava is sure she’ll hate adventures. On their travels, Ava meets Zander, who prefers being on the end of the alphabet (it gives her time to think before her name is called). Through Zander, Ava gains a new perspective on her travels.

Wendy Harmer’s dry humour is perfectly at home in this delightful story about change:

“But where will we go?” asked Ava.
“Anywhere we want!” declared her Dad. “We’ll just look on the map, point a finger and that’s where we’ll drive. Everything we need is here inside the Adventurer. The world is our oyster.”
Oyster? Ava didn’t like oysters, or any other strange, smelly foods come to that.

The black and white illustrations are an important part of the story. Like in picture books, these charming, soft paintings add so much character to the people and emotions. These pictures accompany twelve short chapters, with large print, making it great for extending beginner readers in the 7-8 year old age reader range.

Ava Anne Appleton is not a story about the alphabet. It is about family and friendships and explores how people live different lives, have different views, outlooks and personalities. Change may be scary, but adventure can open your eyes to much more than you anticipate. This is the start of a new series which will be loved by many young girls.

Ten Silly Wombats

Ten Silly Wombats by Ed Allen, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $13.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-638-6
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Ten Silly Wombats is a charming backwards counting book read to the rhythm of Ten Green Bottles. The ten wombats start off boarding a bus to Sillyville and, one by one, they drop out of the action until only one remains, walking home by himself.

The rhyme is a little awkward in places but this is mainly because, as a reader, I’m trying to squish the words into the bottle song. A few read-throughs would smooth this out. And the text is great with some inventive ways for the wombats to fall out of the count such as the silly wombat who ‘should fly a little wide’ as they all go down the waterslide.

The illustrations are fabulous. Each wombat has his/her own distinctive style and personality and the reader can track which ones have disappeared from the story. Also, the relevant number is hidden somewhere within every picture for children to find.

Ten Silly Wombats has a wonderful ending. After a few readings, preschool aged children will be singing along with the story and maybe making even up a few verses of their own.