Buy Me a Monkey

Buy Me a Monkey by Cherelle Flemming, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)

HB RRP $14.95

ISBN: 9781925117554

Reviewed by Anne Hamilton

Ellie Eckles is determined to have a monkey for her sixth birthday! She’s asked her mum a hundred times but the answer is always ‘no’. Ellie won’t give up—she’s devised a scheme with the help of an internet company specialising in free pet monkeys!

In preparation for the monkey’s arrival, she’s saved her lunch bananas and hidden them in a secret place. (Maybe the map to their location wasn’t a good idea but, as it turns out, the monkey wasn’t a real hot one either.)

Millie the monkey arrives in the post. Ellie manages to keep her a secret from Mum and relishes the thought of all the fun they’ll have together. But Ellie has to leave Millie alone while she’s at school. She returns to chaos and destruction. You guessed it—Millie has not been toilet-trained or house-trained…

The moral of this lively story about a cheeky monkey and a cheekier girl: don’t pester your mum for a chimp. There might just be good reasons to choose another pet.

The book is a brightly illustrated soft cover for pre-schoolers and early readers.

Return of the Fox: Further Adventures of a One-Eyed Chook

Return of the Fox: Further Adventures of a One-Eyed Chook by Pat Clarke, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)

HB RRP $24.95

ISBN: 9781925117585

Reviewed by Anne Hamilton

This book is an unusual hyrid: it’s an illustrated chapter book presented in over-sized hardcover format. It’s the size of a picture book for early readers, making it about twice the usual dimensions of a chapter book. It’s of substantial length (76 pages) with a high level of vocabulary but curiously directed at preschoolers.

Compton’s illustrations, particularly of Clancy the goanna (my favourite), are a treat. Despite the title, the fox doesn’t appear until almost half way through the story. The earlier part is taken up with a description of the friendship between Elvis the eagle and Sheila the chook. Elvis is shot by some car thieves while trying to prevent them from setting fire to a stolen car – an action that could start a bushfire and result in huge loss of animal life. Sheila is hurt while getting down from a perch. They both wind up being sheltered and nursed back to health by Ma Taylor, a strange old lady who lives in the forest, and takes care of a menagerie of different birds and animals.

It’s hard to keep up with who’s who in her zoo, though Dulcie, the traumatised hen whose speech is peppered with EGGscellent and EGGxaggerated, mannerisms is a bird memorable for her eccentricity.

Rufus the fox hears a rumour that Elvis has died and, although he promised in an earlier story never to return to Goonoo Forest, decides to advantage of the opportunity. A chook for dinner would go down nicely! Or so he thinks.

Older children may enjoy this barnyard tale with its focus on courage and friendship.

The Bravest Dugong

The Bravest Dugong by Alec Trost, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)

PB RRP $16.95

ISBN: 9781925117370

Reviewed by Anne Hamilton

A dugong leaves the sea and goes dancing, parachuting, surfing, visiting a zoo, painting and cooking Cos Lettuce Pie (a dugong favourite). Charlie D is the dugong and he’s off on an adventure to see the world.

 

The gorgeous, high-energy illustrations are the highlight of this story, which is seeded with environmental facts as it moves through Charlie D’s activities on land.

 

Two final pages on the ‘Gentle Giants of the Sea’ are particularly useful for those interested in more information about dugongs. This section of the book provides handy teacher notes to help early readers negotiate the text.

 

How Santa Arrived at the North Pole

How Santa Arrived at the North Pole by Fred Strassberg, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)

PB RRP $14.95

ISBN: 9781925117271

Reviewed by Anne Hamilton

This is an unusual offering for so early in the year — but ready in time for Christmas in July!

Santa, I learned to my surprise in this illustrated chapter book, had many difficulties as he began his career in delivering Christmas cheer.

After an aromatic disaster involving sleigh-hauling skunks from the Catskills, followed by a major miscalculation with their brown bear replacements, (something to do with winter hibernation), Santa packs up his toys, his elves and Mrs Claus and relocates from the good ole US of A to Africa.

Elephants. Large flappy ears. Good for flying. Tick, tick, tick. Yep, the idea works a treat until they land on the first roof. And there is no more roof. Not much house, either.

Off to Australia. Kangaroos. A little ripper of an idea. With a bound, they are off. And all is well until that long hop to England. Santa feels a little green, instead of red, and throws up indelicately in a fireplace while delivering gifts.

Back to Africa. It doesn’t take long to decide that crocodiles from the Nile are a bad idea for hauling sleighs. Camels sound perfect -- until they get upset, and spit all over Santa.

Finally, Santa lets Mrs Claus loose with a globe. She plunks down her finger - and the rest, as we all know, is history.

The bright cartoon-like illustrations in this fast-read chapter book lift the storyline. With a light, deft touch in the grossness stakes, it will appeal to boys still at the age to enjoy all the farts, vomits and spitting.

The Healthy Harvest

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The Healthy Harvest by Emma Martin, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN: 9781925117431
Reviewed by Anne Hamilton

I’d have said it was Mission: Impossible.

The task, should anyone have been foolish enough to accept it: write a children’s picture book in rhyming verse about the five food groups. Combine educational imperatives with an appealing story.

Ok, the mission was not without its minor hiccups. Intrepid rhymester Emma Stuart stumbled over occasional rhythm—but that it worked at all seemed almost miraculous. There were a couple of awkward sentence constructions to accommodate the rhyme scheme. And Harry Harvester’s friends were mostly male.

But these minor quibbles aside, The Healthy Harvest is admirable in all the right ways.

A fresh, zesty look complements a simple storyline.

Harry Harvester introduces the reader to the five food groups with the help of his friends—Alfie Apple, Carly Carrot, Charlie Cheese, Wally Wheat, Sammy Salmon and Tommy Takeaway. In the course of the story, the reader learns about the five different food groups, food sources, what nutrients are and how they benefit health.

Graeme Compton’s graphics enhance

A fun but firmly factual foray
Into the five food types we need each day.  

 

A One-Eyed Chook Called Sheila

A One- Eyed Chook Called Sheila by Pat Clarke, illustrated by Graeme Compton (Little Steps Publishing)
HB RRP A$24.95
ISBN 9781925059014
Reviewed by Rose Davies

A chapter book for the 5 to 12 age group, this hard back has very expressive almost cartoon-like drawings of the personalities and key scenes by Graeme Compton. Graeme is an award winning wildlife and portrait artist with a passion for illustration and cartoons and it shows. 

Sheila, a white chook, wears a black eye patch over her right eye because one day on the farm she just managed to escape a hovering eagle, who unfortunately took her right eye. Sheila’s friend Carol the Christmas turkey, has just been gobbled up by a greedy fox, before Christmas! Is chicken his next course, she wonders, now there is no turkey? 

Sheila is worried because her eye laying days are long gone, so she may be next for the chopping block. Along with chook friends Zelma and Louise, the trio hatch a plan to escape from the farm and run away before there are any other dramas or they are some one’s dinner. Their white cockatoo friend will distract Rex the rooster while the three make their escape.

Unfortunately all does not go well. Rufus the fox sees them and comes after them, just as he is about to pounce an eagle swoops from the sky and picks up Shelia from behind and soars into the sky towards his nest. He does not eat her but instead has a polite chat, tells her he is very lonely interested in eating her but rather. would she come and live with him. He apologises for pecking out her eye by accident and chasing her chicks then introduces himself- Elvis, the wedge-tailed eagle. Meanwhile Shelia’s two friends have run for their lives from the fox, flapped their wings  and flown off a cliff, swum in a river and are now in a forest where they meet all sorts of new friends including an owl, koalas, goanna, kookaburras and a Mallee fowl. 

Sheila tells Elvis she’s very worried about her chook friends.  He takes her in his claws and flies out over the forests to find Shelia’s two friends. The chooks are eventually reunited. While they are chatting, the old fox coming up behind Sheila and just as Rufus the fox is about to pounce on Shelia for the second time, Elvis swoops from the sky and picks up the fox, rather than Sheila in his claws.  Elvis takes the fox far, far away so he cannot get back to chase the farm and forest creatures again, or is it going to be far enough???? 

This is a fast-paced gripping story with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Friendships are built, there’s team work, respect, fun, adventure, excitement and a happy ending!

Rose Davies is an established non-fiction author of environment and nature books for adults. She also writes freelance for several publications, runs a consultancy business focussed on community nature and environment education. She’s also been writing reviews for a variety of publications for over 25 years.