The Lorikeet Tree

The Lorikeet Tree by Paul Jennings (Allen & Unwin) PB RRP $19.99 ISBN 9781761180095

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Emily lives with her father and her twin brother, Alex, on a rural property in south western Victoria. The reforested land is now covered in native bush providing a sanctuary for a myriad of wildlife. One giant manna gum tree, which avoided clearing decades earlier, is now home to a flock of lorikeets and Alex’s beloved tree cottage, his place of refuge.

Devastating news of their father’s terminal illness brings emotional chaos as the twins try to process the diagnosis and comprehend life without both of their parents. Amid the heartache and the confusion, Emily tries to hold the family together as Alex withdraws emotionally and physically, spending much of his time in the lorikeet tree. Emily and Alex’s differing personalities, opinions, and coping strategies add to the unease within the house and form a rift in the twin’s relationship.

The Lorikeet Tree is an emotionally moving novel suitable for a lower secondary school audience. It is written in the first person by fifteen year old Emily, as a personal memoir for a school assignment. Its themes include family, siblings, love, terminal illness, superstitions, wildlife, and the environment.

The Unforgettable What’s His Name

The Unforgettable What’s His Name written by Paul Jennings and illustrated by Craig Smith (Allen and Unwin)  PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781760290856

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Imagine a boy so terrified of being noticed, that he has the chameleon-like ability to blend in with his surroundings. Imagine his fear escalating so greatly, that he can change how he looks entirely. Now, imagine that you have Paul Jennings’ imagination … and send that boy on a two-day series of madcap adventures.

When our narrator, ‘What’s His Name’, finds himself running from thirty, angry, tough-looking bikies, his fear generates a physiological response that allows him to camouflage. Throughout the story, the boy’s pursuers constantly change and he constantly tries to evade them. For every chase, the reader is treated to an interactive ‘look-and-find’ double-paged colour spread by the talented Craig Smith (who teamed up with Jennings for The Cabbage Patch Fib series). Jennings cleverly connects these drawings to the story using language to create smooth segues. For example:

They started to laugh … They fell about wetting themselves. What? What? What? What did they see?

At that point, the reader turns the page and searches for the boy in the picture. The illustrations are cleverly drawn, in Smith’s award-winning, recognisable style. Readers will enjoy the challenge of spotting the boy in the pictures and can use the clues in the text to help them. Also appealing to the age group (7–12 years) is the large font, and the numerous black-and-white sketches complementing the story throughout. (Almost every double page features a picture.)

It’s a highly amusing story that is lots of fun to read. The zany tale includes a couple of new friends called Fearless and Banana Boy. There’s an altercation with the leader of a pack of escaped monkeys, The Big Pee. There’s a charming girl called Gertag. And a huntsman spider quite possibly saves the day. But, in amidst the craziness, it really is a heartwarming story of a lonely boy who just wants his dad back. Jennings has written it for children who shy away from the spotlight, stating that the story:

‘… tells the quiet people that their lives can be exciting and successful without having to ceaselessly promote themselves.’

Oh, and we do learn the boy’s name eventually … and it’s much nicer than Gertag!

Stories for 8 Year Olds

Stories for 8 Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781742756608
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Andy Griffiths, R.A. Spratt, Paul Jennings, Tristan Bancks, Belinda Murrell. This is just a smattering of the all-star line-up of authors for the last of the four collections, Stories for 8 Year Olds.

Editor of the series, Linsay Knight shares her thoughts on the stories chosen for the eight-year-old readership. ‘With burgeoning confidence and feeling increasingly comfortable with fewer illustrations and smaller type, these readers are eager to try out their skills on a range of different genres.’

Once again, 11 stories have been chosen from a smorgasbord of Australian authors, and they’re not all prose. Gruesome Grandads and Nasty Nans, with its shades of Roald Dahl, is a story written in verse.

There are many weird and wacky stories, none so different as the UFD - the Unidentified Flying Dog. Colin Thompson’s, A Giant called Norman Mary, is written with delicious exaggeration where giants roamed the land eating bicycle seats and haystacks as they ‘reached up into the sky and pulled down a star and by its light they picked their way across the world.’ Exaggeration is also the tool used in Toe, where Tom’s cruel sister Tanya could let saliva ‘drip right down to her bellybutton and still manage to vacuum it back up.’ It’s laugh-out-loud wicked humour.

Sometimes the point of view is that on an animal, as in Anita Bell’s Marom. A challenge is set up in Michael Pryor’s Say Cheese, where Phil builds a Santa display out of bits of junk that he declares, ‘the finest piece of engineering since the Pyramids.’

There’s great imagery in The Lachatim Dragon, where Lachie ‘could smell the distinctive rotting reek of bats’ as he and his friend explore a cavern for treasure.

Nanny Piggins is at her best in the Holistic Cake Healer as she gives free advice at the doctor’s surgery; after all, she has taken ‘the Hippopigic oath.’

And don’t forget to read about your favourite storytellers at the back of the book. You’ll be amazed when you find out how many other books they have written. Enough to keep you reading until the cows come home!

Stories for 7 Year Olds

Stories for 7 Year Olds edited by Linsay Knight, illustrated by Tom Jellett (Random House Australia)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781742756622
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

This is the third instalment in the Stories for … anthology series. For seven-year-old readers, editor Linsay Knight says, ‘these stories take readers into worlds beyond the familiar – particularly into fantastical and humorous worlds.’

The lime green cover is the colour of grass and the great outdoors, and I can imagine a young reader sitting under a tree or spread out on a rug, laughing and turning the pages of this selection of stories.

With more words to the page and three black-line illustrations per story, the seven-year-olds are eased into a more grown-up style of reading. The 11 stories have slightly more complicated language and layered plots, rather than single-line plots.

There are sub-headings, dot points and pieces of poetry scattered throughout the stories. Some are short stories and some are written in chapters. There’s lots of colloquial language to connect with, such as ‘Mum’s gone mental about food,’ in Morris Gleitzman’s, Think Big.

The concept of allusion is found in Mr Jonah’s Whale by Vashti Farrer, and a sense of irony is gleaned in Paul Jennings’ Snookle, where readers will find they should be careful what they wish for!

There are new genres introduced, like Deb Abela’s sci-fi story, My Friend Wilbur, and the understanding of legend comes across in JB Thomas’ How the Crow’s Feathers turned Black.

We meet Alice-Miranda’s new friend, Millie, which provides an introduction to Jacqueline Harvey’s series of the same name.

There are lots of laughs as Derek learns to ride a surfboard in a swimming pool and African Itching Ants run amok as a guest author plays one too many practical jokes on the kids at assembly. One lovely touch is the main character Daisy, who, as a shy girl finds her voice and saves the day.

As with the rest of the series of Stories for …, you can read about each of the authors at the back of the book and see where else your favourite stories have been published such is the quality of the inclusions.

My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up

My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up by Tristan Bancks and illustrated by Gus Gordon (Random House)

PB RRP $15.95

ISBN 978-1-8647-1817-1  

Reviewed by Oliver Phommavanh

My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up is a collection of short stories for younger readers. These bite-sized bursts of fun are inspired by Paul Jennings, Andrew Daddo and Andy Griffiths, the sort of stories that will keep kids enthralled and wondering if it really happened or not.

Tom Weekly is just your normal kid with a wacky life. This collection kicks off with his pet dog that is constantly getting kissed by a weird dog lover. Bancks just keeps upping the zaniness and laughs from there. Tom takes part in a hot dog competition, dared to eat vegemite off his sister’s toe and gets attacked by magpies. Kids will be able to relate to that for sure! In fact, kids will find a part of themselves in Tom, who always finds himself in all sort of weird situations. My personal favourite is to see who has the toughest nan. When his nan and his mate’s nan battle, it reads like a wrestling match.   

Bancks is joined by Gus Gordon, who provides some illustrations to flesh out Bancks’ out-there descriptions. They’re a reliable combination to deliver laughs on each page. The notebook layout will inspire kids to write out their own fantastic tales.

My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up has been tried and tested by Bancks. There are some amusing lists and answers from kids on his school visits. He has tapped into a kid’s curiosity and runaway imagination with these short stories. They’re easy to devour and perfect for reading out loud.      

My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up is highly recommended for ages 9 and up.