Bin Chicken and The Christmas Turkey

Bin Chicken and The Christmas Turkey by Kate & Jol Temple. Illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh (Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd) HB RRP $17.99 ISBN 9781761202414

Reviewed by Kerry Gittins

Ibis (affectionately known as Bin Chicken) has had enough of the noise and crowds of the city at Christmas. ‘Bah humbug! Not this again!’ she grumbles. ‘I can’t find my dinner with that racket below – shoppers and carols and all that ho-ho!’ Even the pigeon is wearing a Santa hat! She decides to gather her chicks and head to the beach. But what she doesn’t realise is that many other Australians have the same idea, and when they arrive there are lots of children creating a very loud hullabaloo!

Out from the shadows of the scrub steps a bush turkey, who knows exactly where to get some yummy food. They wait till the children have left for the beach with their ‘. . .boogie boards, beach towels and inflatable toys!’, and ever so quietly (watch out for the dog!) make their way inside the house, where they find a treasure trove of delectable Christmas delights. They poke their noses into everything – including some of the carefully wrapped presents – which is when their plan begins to unravel. They start pulling on the Christmas cracker from opposite ends and BOOOM! Oh no! This wakes the dog, sends the turkey into uncontrolled flight, and bird poo and feathers begin flying around as the Christmas tree tumbles. They manage to escape and luckily for Ibis, the bush turkey knows that if they wait just one more day, there will be tons of Boxing Day leftovers!

This is another hilarious addition to Kate and Jol Temple’s Bin Chicken stories.  The talented duo brilliantly captures the frenetic pace and noise of the holiday season in a city, and the feeling of wanting to get away from it all and head to the coast. The appearance of the bush turkey adds more humour with his ‘in the know’ information about how to get inside the house and start sampling the Christmas Day feast. It is the perfect slap stick companion for the Ibis and the chaos that ensues. The bit about ‘Bird poo flying around!’ will be a winner with readers. The language is also very relatable with words like ‘servo’, ‘hotdog franks’ and ‘boogie boards’ making it very clear that this is an Aussie Christmas.

The illustrations are a joy, with the bright colours and attention to detail a delight. Readers will notice something new each time they turn a page from the Christmas baubles and credit cards on the opening spread, the wonderful snaking lights of the highway, the old-fashioned television, and the last double page spread of a game of beach cricket. Plus, there’s a sneaky little mouse who pops up on almost every page as well! My two absolute favourite details are the hats – Bin Chicken’s tuna tin and Bush Turkey’s crash helmet fit each creature’s personality perfectly!    

 Supporting teaching themes could include Christmas, celebrations, birds, the Ibis, the bush turkey, hats, summer, beach life, friendship, and resilience.

Secret Cooking Club

Secret Cooking Club by Laurel Remington (Chicken House) PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-1-910655-24-5

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Scarlett is sick of being the butt of everyone’s jokes at school. One of the stars of a mummy-blog that her mother writes every week, Scarlett can’t tell her mother how she feels about her personal life being broadcast for all. Rather than being anonymous (as her mother believes this blog to be), everyone knows Scarlett is the blog’s star. Feeling more like a victim than a star, Scarlett retreats into her loneliness until one evening she discovers the neighbour’s deserted kitchen, with ingredients left out just waiting for someone to cook.

Scarlett then begins a magical journey of discovery. Cooking, friendship and family bonds are all explored along the way and Scarlett discovers that some things are worth fighting for, worth the hard work.

This is an absorbing novel for middle grade readers. Cooking, a popular subject currently, takes centre stage as Scarlett learns to create and have confidence in the kitchen. She is an enjoyable character to spend time with, and one who grows and changes throughout the story.

I liked how friendship was portrayed in this story, not just between friends Scarlett and Violet, but also between the old lady and the girls, and between the family members. I particularly enjoyed the different view presented on the ‘mean girls’ clique. It was refreshing to see such a perspective on social interactions without resorting to stereotypes and laying blame.

Scarlett is a girl with inner strength and a heart in the right place. She knows the difference between right and wrong but is not always sure how to go about achieving it.

Although there is a boy in the Secret Cooking Club, this is really a book that girls will enjoy, especially those who love their cooking with a splash of mystery and a dash of romance.

The Big Wish

The Big Wish by Brandon Robshaw (Chicken House for Scholastic)

PB RRP $15.99

ISBN 978-1-908435-89-7

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

When Sam’s wish for a million wishes comes true he thinks all his problems will be solved. But it’s not quite that simple. Sam is an intelligent kid who knows all about side effects - when he wishes to be a giant he’s careful to add that his clothes need to grow too and when he wishes for zero gravity in his room he wishes for only him, not his furniture, to be affected. But even taking this into account things don’t always go to plan.

At first wishing is fun. He helps out his friends and family, closes school for a day, even sorts out the school bully. But then he begins to realise something. What do you give a kid who has it all? Sam soon learns that when you can just wish for something, when it takes no effort at all, life can become pretty boring and meaningless. So Sam starts to go global. But the bigger the wish is, the more complicated the results are.  How can things go so wrong when he is only trying to help out the world!

This is an entertaining and interesting story. It is the ultimate ‘what-if’ scenario which I’m sure most children have run though in their heads. And although it is resolved well for Sam, it leaves plenty of scope for every reader to explore further.

I found it surprising too. It didn’t go in the direction I thought it would which was very refreshing. It was fun and logical and as down to earth as a story about a boy with a millions wishes could be.

Sam was a great character. The story was written in first person, from his perspective, and while Sam came across as solid and real, the others – his family, friend Evan and bully Scorpus – where not as well built and were more cartoonish. But this worked really well within the context of the story. With Sam manipulating events, all other people in the book actually felt like chess pieces being moved around a board and this interesting effect emphasised Sam’s dilemma.

The Big Wish is a fun and imaginative story for 8-12 year olds. It will make them think and wonder, what if...

The Crowfield Demon

The Crowfield Demon by Pat Walsh (Chicken House for Scholastic Aust.)

PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 9781906427634

Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read yet another supernatural themed book, but the second instalment of the ‘Crowfield’ series intrigued me largely because of its unusual setting.

In recent times the relevance of Christian religion has been questioned. Walsh fearlessly throws us into a medieval period when religious belief was a big part of everyday life and the sacred lifelong commitment to seclusion and study was more common. The belief in angels and fallen angels who became demons is absolute. That there was war in Heaven and angels of both persuasions were sent to Earth is likewise considered fact. And there was more than a cursory nod to the ancient rites and beliefs of goddess worship.

Walsh creates an intense world I found easy to identify with.The desperate lives of the villagers and clergy, living on the knife edge of existence due to poverty and poor weather conditions stirred my sympathy and my curiosity.

Will lost his family in a terrible fire in book one, The Crowfield Curse and has been living with the brothers at Crowfield Abbey, tending gardens, running errands and eating very poorly. Times are tough and the brothers have little to eat. The abbey is in poor repair. But things are about to get much, much worse. A demon resides beneath the abbey’s floor, trapped in an enchantment, but with power that grows daily. A crack appears in the abbey walls, then it collapses, killing one of the brothers. The abbey is built upon a much older religious site, one where sacrifices were made to a ‘god’ Raum, the demon now wakening. Will unwittingly releases Raum when he removes a wooden box containing a cup inscribed with warnings about a fallen angel.

Are Will and his faithful friends, kindly Brother Snail, the fox-like ‘hob’, Brother Walter and the fey, Brother Shadlock faced with the rise of The Dark King once more, after defeating him in book one by digging up an angel of light? Or is the creature under the abbey are far greater threat, its dark power formidable? Will follows clues left by a previous abbot in secret messages but battles against the ignorance and fear of the current abbot, Prior Ardo, who wants nothing to do with the witchcraft which bound the demon to the cup last time.

Despite the abbot and his followers’ prayerful vigil in the remains of the abbey chapel, the demon comes into its full power and rampages throughout the countryside, killing and burning. The whole world seems to be at its mercy. What can one young boy do? Believing in the purity and light of the angel he found three months ago in the forest, Will prays and prays for rescue. But will it be enough?

The Crowfield Demon was a great read and I thought the glossary at the back explaining terminology such as: ‘book of hours’, ‘reredorter’, ‘sigils’ and ‘chapter house’ was helpful for enhancing the reader’s understanding. I think this book will encourage children to want to learn more about The Middle Ages, which, for all its dark dangers, was a very intriguing time of history.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains and is a May Gibbs Fellow 2011. You can follow her exploits at www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com

Reckless

Reckless by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House for Scholastic Aust)

HB RRP $2.99

ISBN 978105294855

Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

Cornelia Funke is fast becoming my favourite YA novelist. Writing in her native German, her use of language is poetic and her sense of the extraordinary being flawlessly woven into the ordinary is at times breathtaking.

In this novel Jacob Reckless finally decides to leave his house of dusty memories and follow where his father disappeared many years ago – through the mirror in the study and into a strange and powerfully dangerous land. For twelve years Jacob sneaks behind the mirror, sometimes for weeks at a time. Unfortunately his little brother Will finds out and follows, along with his girlfriend, Clara. With disastrous results. Will is bitten and begins the transformation to become a Goyl – a man made of stone. The green veins spread across his hands and up the side of his neck. Jacob has to use everything he has learned about this world, every trick, every contact, before he loses Will forever.

Jacob’s companion is Fox, a shape shifting red haired girl, fiercely loyal to him and jealous of Clara. As the three of them travel the land looking for a cure they are tracked by the goyl who use the sorcery of the Dark Fairy to turn every human into goyl with a mere scratch from their claws and must trust a dwarf named Valiant who has very little scruples.

This is fairy tales retold, with many disparate elements drawn together to create a fascinating whole. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains and is a May Gibbs Fellow 2011. You can follow her exploits at www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com