Trick Number Two

Trick Number Two by Nick Bland Illustrated Stephen Michael King (Scholastic Australia), ISBN  9781760971076 RRP $17.99

Reviewed by Claire Stuckey

Three little wizards have no tricks, so they plead with the wise old wizard to help them. Wizard Blue, Yellow and Red all receive a piece of string.  They are instructed to plant and care for each one then wait until spring; this will become their trick number one.

Impatient Wizard Blue is the first to rip out the string using it as a lace for his shoes. Wizard Yellow follows in autumn; when the wind blows, she decides the string will be great for her kite. While these two wizards play, little Wizard Red, a tiny mouse, cares for his string and waits patiently.  When spring arrives, the Wise Old Wizard returns and as the string breaks through the soil, something magical happens. Trick number one is revealed, a red balloon. Then trick number one becomes number two for Wizard Red.

This is a great read-aloud story with a rhyming narrative and additional sprinklings of alliteration and onomatopoeia. The little wizards are brought to life with expressions and movement in sparse but dynamic illustrations. With a textless final page, trick number two is revealed graphically. The endpapers reflect the story’s development. Families and groups will love this story. This is a modern twist on a traditional fable that praise and reward those who wait. Highly recommend for preschoolers aged 3-6 years.

Monster Chef

Monster Chef by Nick Bland (Scholastic Press)

HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-1-74283-825-0

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Marcel is a monster. It is his job to scare all the neighbourhood children. And although he tries very hard, he is just not very good at his job. To unwind after work he cooks and this is his real passion. Who knew this love of cooking could help with his night job.

Kids will love this light-hearted and fun rhyming story about Marcel. They will giggle at his attempts at giving kids a fright and delight in the grossness of what this monster cooks up in his kitchen.

    He made earthworm spaghetti and hot cactus pies,

    with smelly-sock soup and a cockroach surprise.

The illustrations are bright, bold and suitably icky, starting from the front cover where a huge green monster – Marcel – eats worms with lashings of slime from his lunchbox while a snail escapes, making his way over Marcel’s big toe.

This story has a fabulous twist in the ending and is perfect for preschool kids who delight in the gruesome and (not so) scary.

Nick Bland is the author of well known and popular Very Cranky Bear stories as well as King Pig, which was shortlisted this year for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year.

King Pig

King Pig by Nick Bland (Scholastic Press)
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-495-5
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

King Pig can make his subjects, the flock of sheep, do anything he wants them to do. Except for one thing. He can’t make them like him. He has tried everything he can think of but: ‘They never listened properly, no matter how loudly he shouted.’

Then finally, one little sheep speaks up and suggests King Pig could try being nice. And after sulking for a little while, King Pig does feel a little sorry for his actions and begins to try to make amends.

King Pig behaves like a child might when trying to make friends or impress others; from showing off his fancy clothes to the annoying way he tries to attract the sheep’s attention. He has a lot to learn.

King Pig is a clever story with a simple message children will recognise. It is fun to read and Bland’s illustrations are beautiful, humorous and imaginative, making this a picture book well worth sharing with kinder aged children.

Nick Bland is the author/illustration of the popular The Very Cranky Bear and The Very Hungry Bear and many others.

The Very Brave Bear

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The Very Brave Bear by Nick Bland (Scholastic Press)

HB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-1-74283-800-7

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

The Very Cranky Bear is back in a wonderful new picture book by Nick Bland. In this adventure Bear challenges Boris Buffalo in a battle to see who is bravest. They climb trees, cross raging rivers and chase porcupines. However... when faced with a quiet dark cave, neither feels particularly brave.

Bland’s smooth rhymes and expressive language – they ‘wear a beard of bees’ – is lovely to read. The rhythm jumps along, rolling beautifully off the tongue as it is read aloud.

There is great humour in the interplay between the words and pictures.

Boris wandered up a hill

The steepest he could find

Then tumbled down the other side

...and Bear was right behind.

Bear has landed on top of Boris Buffalo as they both look surprised at the position they have ended up in. They pick themselves up and march, heads held high, on to the next challenge.

The pictures are fabulous. The detail makes them come alive - Boris Buffalo’s tongue out a little when he is concentrating, Bear’s face, nose in the air, as he balances like a butterfly ready to dive, and the frog on nearly every page, unnoticed at first (by the reader) but eventually becoming a very important character.

This story makes me think of the primary school playground and the casualness of the challenges thrown around – who can climb highest, run fastest or be the best. The Very Brave Bear is a fantastically engaging picture book for all preschool and early primary children to have on their bookshelves. They will laugh at the antics and love the adventures of Bear and Boris Buffalo. And they will relate to rising to the challenge of wanting to be the bravest.

The Magnificent Tree

 The Magnificent Tree by Nick Bland, illustrated by Stephen Michael King (Scholastic Press)
HB RRP  $24.99
ISBN 978 174283 295 1
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop


Bonny and her Pop have many ideas. Bonny’s ideas are simple and clever. Pop's are brave and brilliant. And when the birds they are trying to attract keep flying away they each have their own ideas about how to solve this. Although they approach the problem in their individual ways, it is together that they create a magnificent solution.


This is a story about ideas, big and small. The text is alive, beautiful and strong. It is not a rhyming text, yet still captures a lovely rhythm that makes it a joy to read aloud: 'They tinkered through summer, and toiled through autumn.'


The repetition of Bonny’s ideas being 'simple, clever and properly made' while Pop's are 'big, brave and brilliant' is subtle and runs through the story emphasising the differences between their approaches to ideas.


This is mirrored in the wonderful and clever illustrations. They do not merely accompany the words but tell as much of the story as the text does. The spaciousness and simplicity of the illustrations hold the text and the reader really sees how Pop's ideas are so big that they do not fit in his head. We see how Bonny nurtures her simple idea. The emotions and personalities of these two characters are conveyed beautifully. The expression on Pop's face when his brilliantly made wings fail, says it all. These qualities play a large part in the appeal of this gorgeous book.


I loved this quirky, comical and fresh look at a close, comfortable and fun relationship between a girl and her grandfather. I think it will become a favourite for many young children. Bonny and Pop feel like real people and I hope they have more magnificent ideas together.


Nick Bland is a bestselling author and illustrator. His books include The Very Cranky Bear (2008), the wonderfully funny The Aunties Three (2011), and The Wrong Book which was named an Honour Book by the CBCA in 2010.


Stephen Michael King has illustrated more than 15 books for Scholastic. His books include The Man Who Loved Boxes which won the Family Award for Children's Books in 1996 and was shortlisted in the Crichton Award for Children's Book Illustration, Mutt Dog! (2004), Leaf (2008) and You (2010).

The Very Itchy Bear

The Very Itchy Bear by Nick Bland (Scholastic Press)

HB RRP $15.99
ISBN 978-1-74169-651-6
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton
http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com/

The Very Itchy Bear is a simply told story of friendship and how we shouldn’t let first impressions cloud our judgement about someone else or their intentions. Bear is minding his own business, sitting on a log reading a book, when Flea arrives and says ‘Hello!’ However, Flea does this by ‘biting high and biting low’.

Understandably, Bear itches like crazy. He jumps about and rolls around, ending up in the sea. Eventually, Bear dislodges Flea but finds that now he is alone, he is frightened. More than this, he becomes concerned for the welfare of Flea and rescues him from a hungry bird. The book ends with the two safely back on dry land and Bear reading to Flea.

The text is rhyming and somewhat reminded me of the classic Dr Seuss’ stories with very simple short sentences which tell the tale succinctly and with humour. The illustrations are bold and colourful, perfectly portraying Bear’s personality. The reader feels Bear’s surprise at being bitten, sympathises with his itchiness and then Bland skilfully switches from the humour to Bear’s uncertainty as the two float out to sea. The final illustration of the two friends reading together as the sunsets is a powerful and satisfying conclusion.

This book is perfect to encourage young children to discuss friendship and how we may misconstrue people’s actions towards us just as Bear misconstrued Flea’s bite as an attack rather than the greeting that was intended. The Very Itchy Bear encourages us to evaluate our relationships. Bear’s feeling of loneliness outweighed his annoyance at Flea, and Flea recognised that Bear does not like being bitten. The two come to work out their differences and their friendship develops.

I highly recommend The Very Itchy Bear and it is exceptional value at $15.99 for a hardback copy.