The 39 Clues Cahill vs Vespers Book 5: Trust No One by Linda Sue Park (Scholastic Inc)

HB RRP $17.99

ISBN 978-0-545–29843-8

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Thirteen year old Dan Cahill and his older sister Amy are in a race against time. Their elusive enemies, the Vespers, have requested an impossible task in return for the lives of Dan and Amy's family and friends whom the Vespers have kidnapped. Now, they also know that there is mole amongst them. And it could be someone very close to Dan and Amy.

What will they have to do to find the missing ancient manuscript and keep Atticus safe from the deadly Isabel Kabra? And who is Vesper One, the leader of the terrifying group who are pulling the strings of the Cahill's life? This time the mission may just be too much for the children to complete.

This is the next instalment in the muti-platformed popular series The 39 Steps. It is an action packed thrilling adventure which begins and ends in the thick of the roller coaster ride. The story line is full of intrigue and feels like a young spy story with likeable, resourceful, brave main characters and their darkly evil nemesis.

The book comes with six clue cards which can help intrepid readers become part of the adventure on line at www.the39clues.com. 

Xander's Panda Party

Xander’s Panda Party written by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Matt Phelan (University of Queensland Press)
HB RRP $19.95
ISBN 978-0-7022-4998-3
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

Park’s latest picture book ticks all the boxes! The writing is simply a joy to read aloud, exquisitely crafted with internal rhymes that flow within a rhythmical structure. The narrative at times consists of delightful tongue twisters (try saying “Amanda Salamander lent a hand to Xander Panda. Xander’s party plans went from grand to even grander!” out loud five times!). Great fun to listen to, but Park never allows the style to over-power the story. The situation remains clear and easily accessible to young listeners.

This beautiful picture book is immediately appealing with the cute roly-poly panda distributing a ribbon of colourful invitations on the cover.  Phelan’s water colour illustrations are simple and bursting with life, sometimes telling little anecdotes in themselves.

The story follows the dilemma of Xander Panda who, as the zoo’s only panda, has nobody to celebrate his birthday with. So he invites all the resident bears to a party, mistakenly including a koala on the guest list. After he understands a koala is not a bear at all, he stresses that other non-bear residents might feel left out. In order to not offend, he expands the guest list to all the mammals. Then finds he has to include all the birds, so that rhino might come with his bird. Then the reptiles, offended that they were left out, receive an invitation too. His party has grown into a mammoth event!

This is a lively story about inclusion and reaching out to others who might seem different to oneself. Xander’s Panda Party is a wonderful addition to any child’s bookshelf. Linda Sue Park is a Newbery award winning author of A Single Shard.

When my name was Keoko

When my name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park (University of Queensland Press)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9 780702 249 747
Reviewed by Jo Antareau

Imagine living in a country that has been invaded by, then taken over by another. All of a sudden, you are no longer allowed to speak your language, tell stories passed down through generations, or even use the name you were born with.  Years before Gangnam Style and K-pop, this was Korea’s reality. A country occupied by the Japanese and its people forced to do whatever Japanese invaders told them to.

Written for children over 9 years, this story is based on events that the author’s parents lived through.  Both sad and funny, Linda Sue Park tells the story of Kim Sun-hee, a girl who never forgot her name even when forced to take on a Japanese name, Keoko. Park details the everyday outrages that were perpetrated on ordinary people, such as when Sun-hee’s brother Tae-yul had to give up the bicycle he painstakingly rebuilt because a Japanese soldier took a fancy to it.

The tone of the novel changes half way, as World War two commences. Koreans were expected to support Japan’s war effort by giving up their valuable possessions. Then Sun-hee’s beloved uncle disappears and although the family suspect he has joined the resistance movement, they have no way of knowing whether he is still alive.

With food and goods scarce, the families of Koreans who enlist with the Japanese army are rewarded with larger rations, older brother Tae-yul (who dreamed of being a pilot) joins up, to the outrage of the family. However Sun-hee never loses faith in him, believing he had a plan to sabotage any mission he took part in. Written in alternating viewpoints, tension mounts as Park drops hints about what Tae-yul feels he must do, and the final twist caught me by surprise.

I found this story well written and engrossing to read. American author, Linda Sue Park won the Newbery prize with her previous novel, A Single Shard.

A Single Shard

 A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (UQP)

PB RRP $16.95

ISBN 9780702239373
Reviewed by Jo Burnell

A Single Shard won the Newbery Award for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children in 2002. Fancy words for a simple tale that will touch the hearts of all who hear or read it.

Linda Sue Park has woven historical facts from 12th century Korea and Korean Celadon pottery with unlikely heroes. The result is a warm, enticing tale for all.

Tree Ear was orphaned as a toddler. Monks asked Crane Man, homeless, disabled and living under a bridge, to mind the child as they searched unsuccessfully for relatives. When they return ready to take the child to a nearby monastery, Tree Ear would not be parted from Crane Man.

So began the pair's happy struggle for survival under the bridge. Together they eked out a simple but honourable existence on the edge of starvation, adhering to Crane Man's philosophy: 'there are many ways to garner a meal, but stealing and begging make a man no better than a dog'.

A Single Shard is the tale of how, amid this fight for survival, ten year old Tree Ear's hopes and dreams of being a Celadon Potter rise and fall in a village filled with potters. Tree Ear's longing collides with the cantankerous Min, Master Potter, and his kind-hearted wife.

Join Tree Ear as his efforts to be a trustworthy assistant are met with obstacles and resistance. I could't put the book down as I cheered him on, only to find him fall once more. Tree Ear is not the sort to give up easily, but the peaks of tiny triumphs wrestled time and again with difficulties and tragedy.

Will Tree Ear ever reach his dream? A Single Shard touched me to my core, revealing my own real life fears and hopes. Sometimes life blocks us on our journey to fulfilment, or does it?

A Long Walk to Water

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (UQP)

PB RRP $16.95

ISBN: 9780702238703

Reviewed by Jo Burnell

How do you let children experience the devastation of war without overwhelming them? Is it possible to be immersed in the realities of desert life when you’ve never had to go thirsty? Linda Sue Park masterfully combines facts with a spellbinding yarn to achieve both these goals. Although her two main characters are fictional, their stories are a blend of many real life experiences.

Salva and Nya live in the same land, 23 years apart. Their stories are carefully juxtaposed, with moments of high drama triggering the switch between stories. It takes a unique skill to draw the reader on at such critical points, rather than put them off reading altogether. Linda Sue Park is such a master.

Salva is told to run as war visits his homeland in 1985. Being a boy forces his flight. It’s the only way he can avoid being enlisted as a child soldier. However, Salva doesn’t know what has happened to his family and he can’t return to find out. His journey takes him from Southern Sudan across desert, over a great river to Ethiopia and, years later, back through the same lands and into Kenya. Starvation and exhaustion hem him in on one side, while strangers with guns threaten on the other.

Because she is a girl, Nya’s fate in 2008 is to fetch water every day. Her daily journey across thorns and rocky paths takes hours each way. There is no chance for learning other skills. The family needs her water to survive.

Page by page, Salva’s and Nya’s worlds draw closer until they finally meet in real time. Salva returns to his homeland with an amazing gift, thus freeing Nya to dream of a different world.

A Long Walk to Water is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. The dramatic story structure melds difficult facts and horrific details into a palatable, easy read for children. A Long Walk to Water is sure to find a permanent place in school and home libraries alike. If there is only one book you read this year, let it be A Long Walk to Water.

  

Jo Burnell is passionate about hooking reluctant and struggling readers into the world of books. Her current project looks at Juveniles in Jail today which aims to open doors to the Juvenile Justice System through a combination of Facts, Fictional Play Scripts and Faction.