Hijabi Girl

Hijabi Girl by Hazel Edwards and Ozge Alkan, illustrated by Serena Geddes (BookPod)

PB RRP $15.00 eBook $5.00

ISBN 9780994358356

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Melek , which means ‘angelic’ in Turkish, is a multi-skilled girl who wears a hijab. She is not what her name claims. She is talkative, quick-thinking, a problem-solver, loves to-do lists, and has a Hijabi Barbi and a great imagination.

Tien, the new girl at school, is Vietnamese. She loves drawing pictures that ‘tell stories faster than words’. Melek knows about standing out and being different, so she helps Tien settle in. She also has a generous and forgiving nature, saving Zac in the pool, who then insists he was just pretending to drown.

Zac makes fun of Melek and her hijab. He’s a show-off, full of excuses and has a pet rat called Rattus Rattus which he frequently smuggles to school. But the possibility of change hovers around him. Lily is keen on dressing up and things from the past.

These are the four characters in this story, set in a mainstream school. Many schools have Book Character Parades. Librarian Ozge Alkan became co-author with Hazel Edwards to create this book after young students’ requests for a book with a character wearing a hijab. There wasn’t one to be found, so Hazel suggested Ozge write her own.

This new title is suitable for the 8+ readership. It’s a chapter book for independent readers finding their stride. It allows children to step into other people’s shoes, and view the world through their eyes. It also has good examples on how to fit in when you are different. It comes with excellent Teacher Resources, Ideas and Activities, cultural resources and What These Words Mean at the back of the book. These can also be accessed at: http://www.hazeledwards.com/files//Hijabi_Girl_/Teachers_Resources_Hijabi_Girl.pdf

http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/hijabi_girl.html

Hijabi Girl

Hijabi Girl by Hazel Edwards and Ozge Alkan, illustrated by Serena Geddes (BookPod)

PB RRP $15.00 eBook $5.00

ISBN 9780994358356

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Melek , which means ‘angelic’ in Turkish, is a multi-skilled girl who wears a hijab. She is not what her name claims. She is talkative, quick-thinking, a problem-solver, loves to-do lists, and has a Hijabi Barbi and a great imagination.

Tien, the new girl at school, is Vietnamese. She loves drawing pictures that ‘tell stories faster than words’. Melek knows about standing out and being different, so she helps Tien settle in. She also has a generous and forgiving nature, saving Zac in the pool, who then insists he was just pretending to drown.

Zac makes fun of Melek and her hijab. He’s a show-off, full of excuses and has a pet rat called Rattus Rattus which he frequently smuggles to school. But the possibility of change hovers around him. Lily is keen on dressing up and things from the past.

These are the four characters in this story, set in a mainstream school. Many schools have Book Character Parades. Librarian Ozge Alkan became co-author with Hazel Edwards to create this book after young students’ requests for a book with a character wearing a hijab. There wasn’t one to be found, so Hazel suggested Ozge write her own.

This new title is suitable for the 8+ readership. It’s a chapter book for independent readers finding their stride. It allows children to step into other people’s shoes, and view the world through their eyes. It also has good examples on how to fit in when you are different. It comes with excellent Teacher Resources, Ideas and Activities, cultural resources and What These Words Mean at the back of the book. These can also be accessed at: http://www.hazeledwards.com/files//Hijabi_Girl_/Teachers_Resources_Hijabi_Girl.pdf

http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/hijabi_girl.html

Lulu Bell and the Magical Garden

Lulu Bell and the Magical Garden by Belinda Murrell, illustrated by Serena Geddes (Random House)

PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 9780857985644

Reviewed by Jaquelyn Muller

I must admit, I have had this book in the review pile for a while (and the pile has been high of late) but I couldn’t forget about it as I knew I would love it.

Belinda Murrell has created such a loving, whimsical character in Lulu Bell that I wish I knew her as a 10 year old. She and I would have been kindred spirits in our search of little adventures and love of animals. This sweet chapter book for younger readers aged 7-10 years truly embraces all that being a kid should be about -- friendship, animals, family, community and creativity.

This was the first of the Lulu Bell books that I had read, however I was not restricted in getting to know the characters. Younger readers will enjoy collecting the book series and identifying with many of the adventures that Lulu Bell has. As a mum of a 10 year old girl I’ve observed that the voice is very strong and could quite easily be one of my daughter’s friends.

In this story Lulu Bell and her school chums charge themselves with repairing the school vegetable garden after a wild, destructive storm. The school cannot afford to fix it immediately, so instead Lulu and her cart-wheeling cohort decipher a plan to fund and repair the garden with the help of their families and local community. It conveys in the idea that making a difference, teamwork and selflessness can actually be fun as well as rewarding.

The setting is very Australian and the mood is bright, cheerful, sunny, loving and nurturing. It wouldn’t surprise me if this story prompted its young readers to take on similar activities. The strong but simple sentences with these familiar settings and characters would also appeal to reluctant readers, particularly those who love animals and nature.

As a parent, I love that there is a lack of modern technology and materialism referenced in the book, and the soft illustrations from Serena Geddes enhance the story to give the full sense of Lulu Bell’s jolly world. It is luminous without being too sugary.  

Belinda Murrell is also the author of the Sun Sword trilogy, The Ruby Talisman, The Locket of Dreams, The Ivory Rose and The Sequin Star. Serena Geddes had previously worked in Disney animation and now illustrates the Lulu Bell series, the Totally Twins series and Why I Love series among many other titles.

Lulu Bell

Lulu Bell - series by Belinda Murrell and Serena Geddes (Random House Australia Children’s)
PB RRP $9.95
Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn
ISBN 9781742758756
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781742758763
Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin
ISBN 9781742758770
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781742758787
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

What a delightful new series by the creative team of Belinda Murrell and Serena Geddes. Each book has eleven short and snappy chapters filled with illustrations that won’t fail to delight six to eight-year-old girls.

Readers will step straight into these stories. If they’ve ever wished for a pony or a penguin, this is the next best thing, as Lulu’s father (Mr Bell) is a vet. Lulu’s family - artist mother, younger sister Rosie and toddler brother, Gus and their umpteen dogs and cats, live behind the vet hospital. It’s a fabulous setting to create stories from, and a loving and quirky family to have adventures with.

Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn – It’s Rosie’s sixth birthday and Lulu and her best friend, Molly, are decorating Rosie’s mermaid birthday cake. There’s an emergency - a pony is running wild and Lulu and Molly head off with Mr Bell to catch it. As they collect their gear from the surgery there’s the ‘smell of disinfectant and animal fur’ and ‘lots of beautiful animals to talk to,’ like sick fish and orphaned possums in boxes. The imagery Murrell creates uses all the senses as she draws on her own childhood growing up in a vet hospital.

The white pony, with its ‘dainty black hooves, liquid brown eyes and breath like the warm scent of hay’ is captured and taken back to Lulu’s place. After a catastrophe with Rosie’s birthday cake, Lulu comes to the rescue and the mermaid-themed party turns into a unicorn party with the white pony decorated with a golden horn and purple ribbons.

Now, what young girl would not want to be at that party! Such is the magic created by Murrell along with the many wonderful illustrations by Geddes.

Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin – Here’s another uplifting story where Lulu and Molly enjoy an after school swim at the nearby beach. They eat ‘sticky, crunchy fruit’ as they dabble their feet in the water. They collect ‘shells, feathers, driftwood, twigs and sea glass’ to decorate their ‘huge fairy house in the sand.’

It’s late afternoon and the time when the fairy penguins return to their rookery under the jetty. But a dog on the loose wants to play and ‘tossed the penguin in the air with its snout.’

Grazed and dazed, the little penguin is rescued by Lulu who calls her father. He gives it antibiotics and the girls release the penguin where it was found. Meanwhile at home, Pickles the cat disappears to have her kittens and is found in the washing machine piled on the dirty clothes. As Dad says, ‘what an action-packed week it’s been … penguin rescue, kittens in the washing machine and a beautiful new mural.’ Oh, that’s another lovely plot line – Lulu’s class has to paint a mural on the town’s newest development site. You guessed it! It had quite a beach theme. Serena Geddes’ drawings throughout  are pure delight.

What’s Lulu up to next? Two more books will be out in August.

Gracie and Josh

Gracie and Josh by Susanne Gervay, illustrated by Serena Geddes (Ford StreetPublishing)

HB RRP $26.95; PB RRP $16.95

ISBN 978-1921665851

Reviewed by Francine Sculli

I remember exactly how and why I fell in love with the last book I read of Susanne Gervay, Ships in the Field. It was poignant, simple (but by no means simplified), effortlessly poetic and deep. So when Gracie and Josh, the latest released from this award-winning author, arrived in my mailbox I had high expectations of the story it would tell.

I was not disappointed. Not one single bit.

Gracie and Josh, is the touching tale of sister Gracie and brother Josh. They are just like any other brother and sister. They share tales, make each other laugh, poke fun at one another and spur each other on with Gracie, a budding actress, dressing up as a sausage legged spider for Josh’s film. Except for one difference – Josh is terminally ill and Gracie sits by her brother’s side hoping each day that it will be one of Josh’s good days, not a bad one. We experience the pain of the situation, but also the undivided love, comfort and support of this family as Gracie and her mother accompany Josh to the hospital, the subtleness in the anger Gracie feels when the doctors ask Josh to remove his favourite green striped beanie and in the hardness of their mother’s hand squeeze. It is subtleness that Gervay has absolutely mastered and her ability to write a story so painful and heartbreaking with such hope and love is truly incredible, making it an accessible read for primary school-aged children.

Gervay’s perfectly carved words are matched with the beautiful watercolour illustrations from Serena Geddes. The illustrations are full of character and truly capture the strength of the relationship between Gracie and Josh and her skill in harnessing the character’s facial expressions and emotions is striking and powerful. One of the most noteworthy illustrations sees Gracie by Josh’s bedside. Gracie’s mouth is agape, her face slightly panicked as she tries to show a ghostly looking Josh all the spiders she has found for him in books. The words are so sharp they cut through your heart: ‘Look Josh, the spider fell down sick times. But the spider didn’t give up. You have to try, try and try again.’ It is heart wrenching.

Gracie and Josh is a book about sticking together – through good and bad. It is about unconditional love and support, about resilience and about never giving up. It is a book that will make you turn to your family members and hug them. It is a book that you won’t easily forget.

Lily's Wish

Lily's Wish by Barbara Pyett and Serena Geddes (New Frontier Publishing)
PB RRP $9.95
ISBN 978192104289
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Lily writes to Santa with just one wish: wings to fly. She has a gift that needs to be delivered to the other side of the world. Santa ponders the request. On Christmas Eve, he drops by Lily's house and takes her on a sleigh ride across the world  and Lily delivers a kiss to her grandmother in London. Lily wakes the next morning and wonders if it's all a dream until Grandma rings to tell Lily she has company-Lily's toy rabbit.

Lily's Wish explores the meaning of Christmas without being didactic or ignoring the excitement Santa brings to children. Gorgeous water colour illustrations bring the minimal text to life and extends it. Throughout the story there is no mention of the rabbit though it appears as Lily's constant companion in the illustrations. The illustration of Lily blowing the kiss is perfect. 

Lily's Wish is a book that will certainly feature under many Christmas trees.

Model Mania: the fabulous diary of Persephone Pinchgut

Model Mania: the fabulous diary of Persephone Pinchgut by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Serena Geddes (New Frontier Publishing)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781921042409
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Book two of Aleesah Darlison's series about ten-year-old identical twins Persephone and Portia Pinchgut has Portia aspiring to fame and fortune as a model. Unfortunately, as we see in Perse's diary entries, it all goes to Portia's head and she forgets about the importance of true friends. Portia is indeed lucky to have such understanding and supportive people around her who are prepared to forgive her foibles. In the end, however, she realises that an actor's seemed fabulousness in public can sometimes hide a totally different (and mean) personality, and that true friendship is more than skin deep.

The diary format will suit reluctant readers. Serena Geddes' black-and-white humorous illustrations are sprinkled liberally throughout the book, breaking up the text and adding that extra dash of quirkiness. The cover will appeal to the targeted readership with its diary look, stars and 'girl stuff'.

In book 3, Persephone and Portia head to Fiji with Gran. Fans of the series can also check out Perse's blog at www.totally-twins.blogspot.com

Row, Row, Row Your Boat. What Can You See?

Row, Row, Row Your Boat. What Can You See? by Angie Lionetto-Civa, illustrated by Serena Geddes (New Frontier Publishing)

PB RRP $14.95

ISBN 9781921042539

Reviewed by Vicki Stanton and guest reviewer Daniel (7)

This delightful picture is written in rhyming text based on the familiar song Row, Row Your Boat. The text is perfect to be read or even sung out loud to children as they travel along 'gently down the stream' with two young boys in a boat. Along the way they encounter animals which then join them on their journey until they come upon one, a crocodile, that they must flee. The book ends on a joyous note when they all disembark to 'dance and play'. Lift-the-flap books are always a winner with children and any book that can lure my two-year-old nephew away from tractors and wheelbarrows to sit quietly and in anticipation to reveal the next animal has my vote. (In fact, to review this book I had to chase him around the backyard to, briefly, get it back off him.)

Serena Geddes' watercolour illustrations cover the double spread and show the anticipation and delight of the whole band of travellers as they encounter each new animal. My favourite picture is that of the giraffe with her calf.

Daniel (7) I like this book because there is a lion and a monkey and the words rhyme. My favourite picture is the otter swimming on his back.

Samuel's Kisses

Samuel's Kisses by Karen Collum, illustrated by Serena Geddes (New Frontier Publishing)
HB RRP $24.95
ISBN 9781921042157
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Samuel is a little boy who loves to go shopping with his mum. However, it seems that many others at the shops are not enjoying themselves. Samuel sends them a kiss which brightens their day and those around them. Karen Collum has written an inspirational story about love and joy, perfect for the Christmas season.  Samuel reminds us all that a simple act of reaching out to others can make the world a better place. Samuel's Kisses is also a story of family. The bond between mother and son is evident and further reinforced with the ending which young children will find very satisfying and comforting.

Read out loud, the text is rhythmic (as all good picture book texts are) and Serena Geddes' large and colourful illustrations complements it perfectly. I love how the trail of kisses leads the eye across the double spread. Both children and adults will find Samuel's Kisses a highly enjoyable book that is sure to be read over and over again.

Musical Mayhem: The Fabulous Diary of Persephone Pinchgut

Musical Mayhem: The Fabulous Diary of Persephone Pinchgut by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Serena Geddes (New Frontier Publishing)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9781921042348
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton
www.buzzwordsmagazine.com  


Musical Mayhem is the first in the Totally Twins series for younger readers by new author Aleesah Darlison. Twins Persephone and Portia Pinchgut are friends as well as sisters. However, Portia is the one who is good at everything (except being tidy) and Perse often feels inferior. This is heightened when the girls' teacher insists EVERYONE must audition for the school musical and Perse's singing is 'R.O.T.T.T.E.N.' Perse must find a way to not totally embarrass herself and still be included in the musical.The way Perse solves this dilemma is ingenious and the sisters resolve their differences to go back to being 'totally together twins'.

The writing is light-hearted and humorous and written straight from the head of a ten-year-old. Mum is kooky and Portia is annoying and exasperating as only sisters can. Perse has predilection for lists and I especially loved the 'Top Five Totally Trying Twin Questions People Ask'. It gave me a whole new insight into 'twin-ness'.

Serena Geddes' black-and white illustrations are sprinkled throughout and appear on nearly every page, breaking up the text and adding to the quirkiness of the book. The purple cover scattered with flowers and a picture of the twins provides instant appeal.

Musical Mayhem is a reminder about believing in yourself and your own abilities and not being too eager to compare yourself to others, even those whom you love.