Alberta

Alberta by Tania Cox, illustrated by Janine Dawson (Working Title Press)

RRP PB $14.99

ISBN 9781921504037

Reviewed by Vicki Thornton

Who can’t help but love Alberta? Nothing she does is small. From snowballs to fish, everything is big, especially her personality. So when her parents tell her that she soon will be a big sister, she is very excited. She waits, impatiently…. only to be quite disappointed when the eggs arrive. They are not big…they are not even large…. they are… little.

When Alberta is left in charge of the eggs, she soon discovers that being a BIG sister is a very important job. ‘Yipppeeeeeee!’ she cheers knowing the eggs are safe after tricking a hungry egg thief.  

When the eggs do hatch, Alberta can’t help but notice that the babies are rather, well, little.

So very, very little that Alberta suddenly felt like a very, very BIG sister!

Her heart skipped two tiny beats.

Then Alberta opened her flippers wide…

and hugged her little sisters...in a very Alberta way.

With delicate and soft pen and ink and watercolour illustrations this lovely story is a great way for parents to introduce a child into the idea of having a baby brother or sister.

Stories for Girls

Stories for Girls a selection of stories by Australian authors, illustrated by J. Yi (Random House Australia Children’s)
PB RRP $14.95
ISBN 9780857980861
Ebook ISBN: 9780857980878
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Who’s up for a story, or 12? This anthology of short stories is perfect for so many people. Young readers aged six to eight will laugh out loud, parents will rejoice at bedtime with the witty selection they can share with their children and teachers will be pestered by their students to read another story.

Jacqueline Harvey, Dianne Bates, Janeen Brian, Tania Cox, Claire Saxby – it’s a galaxy of writers presenting a stellar smorgasbord of stories about ghosts, glamour and games.

In Jess Black’s A Pony for Alice, there’s a wonderful unicorn connection. Maisie Dubosarsky’s short story tells of young Grace who wished so hard for long hair that it grew out the window. Just as well Mrs Finn, the violin teacher, had a great solution.

George Ivanoff is up to his usual funny stuff in his story of Ug the troll who wants to make a fairy pie as he ‘really, really liked eating … even people, when he could catch them.’

For dance enthusiasts, there’s Grace Atwood’s story of Arabella the ballet-dancing giraffe. Her perfect manners forbade her to show her long, blue tongue in company … ‘If she couldn’t reach the leaf with her lips, it was not the leaf for her.’

Challenges abound in David Harding’s Monkey Man. It’s the day of the Dad and Daughter school picnic and the permission note sternly states ‘No animals!’

In Deborah Kelly’s story about a pet rat, secrets abound– with a delightful twist on the theme of sibling rivalry.

There’s even a twist on fairy tales, as Martin Chatterton weaves his magic in The Tale of Handle and Kettle.

There’s so much to recommend this collection of short stories for girls. The stories are a great segue into chapter books with plenty of white space, large type and scatterings of illustrations by the quirky J. Yi (illustrator of the Alice-Miranda, Clementine Rose and Ghost Club series). There’s even a bio on each author at the end of the book with plenty of author goss.

Millie’s Special Something

Millie’s Special Something by Tania Cox, illustrated by David Miller (Working Title Press)
HB RRP $24.95
ISBN 978-1-921504-38-9
Reviewed by Vicki Thornton

Everybody has something special that makes them feel brave when they are scared. Or that’s what Millie’s friends tell her. Don stomps, Gus roars and Lea flies and swoops. But Millie is too small to stomp and roar, and her feathers aren’t meant for flying. So what is Millie’s special something when big bad Reggie comes along?

Tania Cox has written a delightful story about a small dinosaur that discovers, with the help of her friends, what her special something is. The text is full of action and a lovely use of language and noises makes this a great book to be read out loud.

The vibrant paper sculptures by David Miller add an extra depth to the story. Intricate and detailed, they manage to create texture and movement on the page.  Tania Cox and David Miller also worked on Snap! Went Chester, shortlisted for the 2003 CBCA.

This picture book is ideal for pre-schoolers but as it also touches on the topics of self-esteem, fear and bullying, it would also be suitable for lower primary readers.