Aussie Kid Heroes

Aussie Kid Heroes by Dianne Bates, illustrated by Marjorie Gardner (Interactive Publications) PB RRP $18.00 Available at sales@ipox.biz 

This book, in Guinness Book of Records style, tells the remarkable true stories of some of Australia’s youngest heroes. At different times and in different ways, these brave, clever, adventurous, creative, athletic, caring or enterprising young Australians have done something amazing. The stories are accompanied by quirky cartoon illustrations that will amuse children.

The book includes a range of incredible stories from the 18th century to the present day under chapter headings such as Brave Adventurers, Inventors and Designers, Performers, Sports Stars, Enterprising Kids, Caring Kids, Writers, Clever Kids and Ambassadors. Here are some examples of those stories:

Three-year-old Monique Christie saved her 18-month-old sister from their burning house by dragging her to safety.

16-year-old Grace Bussell and young Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs saved 40 out of 48 people in 1876 after the Georgette was shipwrecked off the Western Australia coast…

At the age of 14, Melinda Tubolec won a trip to the United States to spend five days in an astronaut-training program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During the program Melinda won awards for her innovative space station designs and simulated space shuttle missions…

On his first try to scale Mount Everest (the world’s highest mountain), Christopher Harris,8, became the youngest person to climb above 7,000 metres. Christopher started mountaineering with his dad Richard. Since then, Christopher won the Australian Geographic’s Young Adventurer of the Year award…

Justin Kroh has been blind since he was five years old. However, he entered and won the UNICEF Art Award when he was 11. Justin’s collage, titled How the Crocodile Got to Like Fish, was judged the best overall entry from a total of 4,890 entries from 254 schools.

Cassie Martin, 11, raised over $18,000 in two years for the Junior Diabetes Relief Fund.

Dianne Bates has published three books about the incredible lives of children all around the world. These children serve as role models to those who learn of their stories. This is an ideal gift for the special child in your life!

We Children and The Narrow Road to the Deep North

We Children and The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Sadami Konchi (Interactive Publications) HB RRP $27.00 ISBN: 9781922332684

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

In seventeenth-century Japan, three children excitedly await a visitor to their village: the great poet Matsuo Bashō. He has walked a long way, so he can ‘look and look and look’ at the world. When he arrives, he promises to give the children presents the next day. But the gifts begin that night, when he entertains the villagers with stories and haikus about his journey. The next morning, before he leaves the village, Bashō makes good on his promise. He gives each child a drawing and a small brush so they can add their own touches to the paper.

Libby Hathorn’s gentle tale is aimed at children aged eight to twelve years who are beginning to learn about history, geography and poetry. Based on the real life of Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), the story immerses the reader in the exquisite beauty of nature and the seasons that forms the focus of Bashō’s famous haikus. Libby draws on a wealth of imagery to bring the poems to life, ensuring that her words – like Bashō’s – ‘will last forever’.

The pages are awash with heavenly hues thanks to Sadami Konchi’s wonderful watercolour illustrations. Jewel-like greens and blues glorify the landscape, while touches of red, orange and yellow add joyous warmth to the pages. The fluidity of the watercolour medium creates eye-catching movement across the spreads, propelling the reader forward on a visual pilgrimage that reflects Bashō’s northern walk. 

A sweet and sensitive ode to poetry, mindfulness and respect for nature, We Children and The Narrow Road to the Deep North offers new insights with every reading. It will inspire pre-teens to observe the world around them and to take time to enjoy their own passage through it.