Duck, Apple, Egg

Duck, Apple, Egg by Glenda Millard, Martina Heiduczek (ABC Books) HB RRP 9780733340185

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Here is a new picture book for the very young from multi-award-winning author Glenda Millard who is known for her Tiskin Silk book series beautifully illustrated here by Martina Heiduczek who also illustrated the covers of the Silk books.

Duck, Apple, Egg has a minimum, poetic text which begins “Duck on the green, sun in the sky, egg in the nest,’ and moves on to the next page to ‘apple on the tree, and me.’

Basically, the book is a simple story about the joys of playing in a garden with a small child dressed in red and blue who observes (and embraces) nature about him. Thus, you see the child hugging the duck, finding a nest, eating an apple, splashing with duck in a pond, and, in the final illustration, eating an apple pie and laying with the duck.

The words ‘duck’, egg’ and ‘apple’ are repeated throughout the book so they could be easily memorised by a small child being read the story by a parent or teacher.

The illustrations are lush with lots of grass and wonderful fly pages in pale blue featuring duck, eggs, apples and flowers.

For All Creatures

For All Creatures by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Rebecca Cool (Walker Books)
PB RRP $ 16.95
ISBN 9781922077066
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Glenda Millard’s extraordinary affinity with the natural world is on display in For All Creatures. She also has a talent for utilising uncommon word forms and concepts. They appear to come easily to her and have served her well in her writing. This talent illuminates the pages of each book she creates. Using alliteration and assonance freely, the repetition of sounds is perfect for reading aloud.

For All Creatures was first published in 2011 and proved extremely popular due to its unique and clever text and Rebecca Cool’s stunning illustrations. Represented are birds and animals, things that sit, fly and crawl, and creatures of all descriptions and size. One could spend hours identifying the natural world involved and still remain excited by what they see.

Glenda collaborated with Rebecca on Isabella’s Garden. Her easily identifiable illustrative style translates the text perfectly using bold colours and lines, and intricately detailed characters, settings and backgrounds. This outstanding book that has several identical end pages that seem to embrace the contents was a CBCA shortlisted book. It comes highly recommended and ‘we are thankful’.

Lightning Jack

 Lightning Jack by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Patricia Mullins (Scholastic Press)
HB RRP $26.99
ISBN 9781741693911
Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

The striking cover of this beautiful book caught my eye immediately.  A rearing black horse, its eye on the viewer, mouth open in terror was like a magnet. The poetic beauty of Glenda Millard’s prose draws the reader deep into the story, imbued with a sense of thrill and challenge.

We travel in the dreams of a young boy, Sam Tully, who falls in love with the big, black, untamed stallion, Lightning Jack. As the horses rush past him, Sam grabs his whip and oilskin to ride the dangerous steed and together they drive five hundred steers. Then freedom beckons and they fly away, up among the storm clouds to Dead Man’s Leap, where Ned Kelly hides in a cave.

A hundred hoof beats on the highway, troopers, three rows deep, 
A hundred metres down, the jagged rocks of Dead Man’s Leap.
A desperate man, a gleam of gold, a pistol aimed and cocked,
‘It takes a man with nerves of steel to take the Leap!’ he mocked.

From here Sam takes Lightning Jack to run in a race, beside Phar Lap.  ‘The thronging thousands cheered as they passed the finish post. All eyes were on the midnight horse, the other was a ghost.’ Until finally, Sam is drawn back to the sound of traffic and the neon lights of a merry-go-round, where his midnight horse stands proudly, waiting for him to ride again.

Being a horse lover and owner myself, I was impressed with Patricia Mullins depictions of these noble animals, their necks proudly arched, their prancing legs fine and well drawn, their faces knowing. It’s so easy for an artist to get it wrong. Patricia uses mixed media with a deft hand, creating unique scenes filled with movement and colour. Among her hobbies she restores old rocking horses and I can see this love of horse in  her depictions of them in this book. My favourite spread accompanies this text by Millard:

In a place like horses’ heaven where the grass grew green and sweet,
Where roses strewed their petals at the passing pageant’s feet,
Came a cavalcade of horses, all keen to seek their fame.
But amongst them was a legend and Phar Lap was his name.
Beside him pranced the midnight horse, the horse called Lightning Jack.

This book would have to be one of my favourites. The quality of the paintings, the sheer ease of the rhyme make it a treasured book to read aloud, to take a small child’s mind on a magnificent journey, not just into a world of horses, but a world in which legends of Australian history provide a glorious backdrop for this stunning horse, Lightning Jack.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains. She was awarded a May Gibbs Writer’s fellowship in 2011. You can follow her exploits here: www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com 

Violet Mackerel's Personal Space

 Violet Mackerel's Personal Space by Anna Branford, illustrated by Sarah Davis (Walker Books Australia)
HB RRP $19.95
ISBN 9781921529207
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

What a joy Violet Mackerel is! This series of books is written straight from the heart of a young girl who in her own unique way makes sense of the world around her. In this title, the fourth in the series, Violet and her family are undergoing some big changes. Mum and Vincent are getting married (good) and the Mackerels must move house (not-so-good). Violet's older brother, Dylan, finds the changes particularly difficult and the tender way that Anna Branford shows the great emotional turmoil in Dylan touched me.

Sarah Davis's black and white illustrations fill the pages, expanding and interweaving with the text to further bring Violet's world to life.

Gentleness and tolerance triumphs in Violet's world and brings to mind those other great books of a beautiful family, The Kingdom of Silk series by Glenda Millard.

I cannot recommend this book and series highly enough and if, like me, you want more Violet she has her own website of activities. You can read the Buzz Words Books review of Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat here.

Children's Book Council of Australia Awards 2012

The 2012 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards Notables and Shortlist have just been announced. The lists include some new faces and some old favourites and congratulations to all nominees who have produced world class literature for our children.

I'll stick out my neck and have a go at predicting who will win in each category come August.

Older Readers:
A Straight Line to My Heart by Bill Condon (Allen & Unwin)
Brilliant characters, witty dialogue and perceptions about life, death, friendship and family. Bill Condon gets better and better and this absolute gem of a story proves it.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.



Younger Readers:
Crow Country by Kate Constable (Allen and Unwin)

A compelling time slip novel set in the town of Boort, Victoria combining history, Indigenous lore and tackling bigger issues of power and racism. Unique and very Australian. Loved it and have already bought it for half my family.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.


Early Childhood:
My pick is The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen, illustrated by James Foley (Fremantle Press)
Bravery and imagination, the perfect combination for any child or for any one of us. Beautifully detailed and colourful illustrations delight.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.

Picture Book:
This one was tricky, a close call between For All Creatures by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Rebecca Cool (Walker Books Australia) and A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham (Walker Books).

I have to give the nod to For All Creatures with its message of gratitude for the gifts of nature. In my review at the time, I said that this beautifully lyrical text accompanied by the visual treat of the bold, naive-like illustrations would win a swag of awards.


Eve Pownall Award for Information Books:
Carole Wilkinson's Fromelles: Australia's Bloodiest Day at War (black dog books) is one that all Australians should read. It is heart-breaking and inspirational at the same time and a reminder of the sacrifice war demands from not only 'our side' and 'our troops' but from all.

Read the Buzz Words Books review here.

Chrichton Award:
Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby (University of Queensland Press)
Exquisitely simple and effective illustrations tell this story about friendship for young children.


Read the Buzz Words Books review here.


You can read the full lists here: Notables, Shortlist , Chrichton Shortlist

My predictions are, of course, my personal choice for the best books for children in Australia over the past year. I know I lean towards historical books.

I'd love to hear your predictions.

For All Creatures

 For All Creatures by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Rebecca Cool (Walker Books)

HB RRP $29.95

ISBN 9781921529818

Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

For All Creatures is an outstanding book of gratitude for the gifts of nature. The vibrant cover, filled with Rebecca Cool’s distinctive illustrations in her bold, naïve style, compelled me to select it first from the pile to be reviewed. Open the book and endpapers burst with colour and images of animals, people, and flowers. It bursts with joy. I was in love with For All Creatures before I even reached the title page.

Glenda Millard’s mastery of the English language is unsurpassed. Her text is lyrical, yet her word choices are also challenging with such inclusions as metamorphosis, nonchalance and quagmire. This is definitely a story to be read with children, perfect to be shared, and one that will become a classic.

I loved how Millard began For All Creatures with one of the non-favourites of the animal kingdom – spiders. She shows us the beauty in all animals.

For weavers and wisps.

For silk spinners and spiderlings,

lace and loveliness

and for webs, we are thankful.

Each double spread finishes with the phrase ‘we are thankful’. Animals from throughout the world and Australia are included; there are amphibians and snails (with their ‘scribbled silver secrets’), birds and insects, mammals small and large. Millard always surprises with her use of language. We are thankful for the ‘upsidedownness’ of bats and the ‘fleas and fingers’ of monkeys.

There are also people, young and old. Textually, this double spread is my favourite. On the left is the young family who ‘wish and wonder and wait’ for their new child, while on the right, we read of the love and tenderness that comes with age.

Cool’s illustrations lift the text to an even higher plane. Each spread is a work of art. My personal favourite is the butterflies, with the contrasting greens and oranges.

Glenda Millard and Rebecca Cool previously collaborated on the award-winning Isabella’s Garden. This new offering must surely reap a swag of awards, too.

For All Creatures reminds us that our world is a wonderful tapestry. Share this book of joy and wonderment with the children in your life.