To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse by Cristy Burne, illustrated by Amanda Burnett (Fremantle Press) PB $14.99 ISBN 9781925164619

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Junior fiction readers looking for an engaging story about a couple of young adventurers daring each other to push the boundaries while on an island holiday need look no further than To the Lighthouse. It’s a great read from start to finish and children in the six to ten years age group target audience will find it easy to relate to new friends Isaac and Emmy, who arrive at Rottnest Island on the same ferry with their families. 

Isaac is hoping for an awesome holiday adventure but Mum’s need to keep him safe could spoil his chances. Meeting Emmy, who’s allowed to do whatever she wants, presents exciting possibilities for fun at a level he’s never known.

A midnight adventure that doesn’t go according to plan reminds the pair that being daring can also be dangerous.

Burne’s writing is lively and energetic and she has a gift for bringing characters and setting vividly to life on the page. I felt like I was with Isaac and Emmy as they ventured around Rottnest Island, becoming more daring with each passing day.

As a regular visitor to this popular WA holiday destination, I recognised the familiar landmarks, but young readers don’t need to know Rottnest to enjoy this wonderful exploration of friendship, family responsibility and the yen for freedom.

Burne is a past editor of CSIRO’s popular science magazine Scientriffic and regularly writes for publications including Double Helix, The Ultimate Science Guide and Scitech’s news website.

Her first book for children, Takeshita Demons, won the 2009 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Book Award and was selected as part of the 2010 Booktrust Booked Up program.

Teaching notes for To the Lighthouse are available from www.fremantlepress.com.au 

One Thousand Trees

One Thousand Trees by Kyle Hughes-Odgers (Fremantle Press) HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 9781925164725

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Award-winning artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers’ latest release is a deceptively simple picture book that takes readers on a wonderful journey of discovery through its beautifully designed pages.

Hughes-Odgers combines minimal text with stylised illustrations in translucent watercolour. The muted palette brings a gentle dreamlike quality to the images which have strong elements of pattern.

Deep in the heart of the city, Frankie dreams of a thousand trees and how it feels to be beneath them, beside them, above them, atop them…

My favourite illustrations are those for ‘around’ and ‘beside’, with Frankie embracing the trunk of a tree.

Hughes-Odgers has held exhibitions and has created public art throughout Australia and internationally. He won a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Award for his debut picture book, Ten Tiny Things, written by Meg McKinlay, and was shortlisted for the inaugural Frankfurt Book Fair’s Global Illustration Prize in 2016.

Young readers aged two to eight will find plenty to delight them in One Thousand Trees; however its appeal is not limited to children. It is a book that begs rereading and each time I returned to it, the story took me deeper.

It would be a wonderful addition to the home or school library and is sure to inspire discussion about art, nature and this world we share. Teaching notes are available from www.fremantlepress.com.au 

Friends

Friends by Teena Raffa-Mulligan, illustrated by Veronica Rooke (Serenity Press) PB RRP $12.99 ISBN 9780995410411

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Written in rhyming verse that could easily be sung if it had music, this clever, delightful little picture book for a 3+ years age group, reflects on just what friends are. It conveys ways friends care for one another and what they do to show it, regardless of their differences. Ideal for reading and listening to, it can be used as an introduction to poetry for the young.

An interesting collection of Australian wildlife comes together. Koalas and cockatoos, a snake and a kangaroo, a bear, bee, and possum are part of the large menagerie that carries the story. Strong, bold lines and vibrant colours make each page a stage production thanks to Veronica Rooke’s carefree interpretation. The text is free-flowing in large font set out in a thoughtful and child-friendly design. The characters are happy, playful and animated as friends are when they get together.

It’s a picture book for the very young to learn and recognize our Australian creatures while listening to verse. Friends, conveys a strong message about the role friendships play in people’s lives.

Looking Up

Looking Up by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Aska (Fremantle Press) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925164572

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Award-winning WA author Sally Murphy’s latest junior fiction release about a boy who receives an unexpected birthday surprise is sure to become a read-again favourite with young readers.

Pete is desperately hoping for a telescope for his tenth birthday. There’s nothing he wants more. But when a card arrives in the mail from the granddad Pete didn’t know he had, it changes everything.

There are questions Pete wants answered. Mum won’t explain so he decides to find out for himself who this mysterious grandfather is and see if he can become part of their life.

Murphy writes with insight and warmth about family relationships. All her characters are vividly drawn and come to life on the page. From the opening lines I was seeing events unfold through Pete’s eyes, yet also feeling a strong empathy for Mum and her estranged father.

Readers aged six to eight years will have no difficulty connecting with Pete, who loves stargazing and solving mysteries.

Aska’s full-page mono illustrations accompany each chapter and complement the text beautifully. My favourite is Mum and Pete lying hand in hand on the trampoline, deep in discussion about recent events. 

Murphy’s verse novel Pearl Verses the World won an Indie Book of the Year award in 2009, was made a Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour Book in 2010, and won a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award (Best Book for Language Development, Upper Primary) in 2010.

Her book Toppling won a Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award in 2010. It was also shortlisted for a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award in 2010 and was made a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book in 2011.

Looking Up deserves to garner the same level of critical acclaim and reader popularity.

Teaching notes are available from www.fremantlepress.com.au 

The Smuggler’s Curse

The Smuggler’s Curse by Norman Jorgensen (Fremantle Press) PB RRP $16.99 ISBN 9781925164190

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

The Smuggler’s Curse is a swashbuckling adventure that delivers a rollicking good read guaranteed to keep young readers glued to the pages throughout. This not-so-young reader was captivated from the opening lines by the tale of a boy sold to an infamous smuggler in the closing days of the nineteenth century.

The adventure unfolds through the boy’s eyes and Norman Jorgensen captures his young narrator Red Read’s voice beautifully. He also draws a vivid picture of life in colonial times. History comes alive for the reader as Red is caught up in life-threatening encounters with cutthroat pirates, head hunting guerrillas and the forces of nature when he joins the crew of Captain Black Bowen’s ship The Black Dragon as ship’s boy.

Jorgensen has set his gripping tale of smuggling and piracy off the north-west coast of Australia, with the ship sailing from Broome and travelling to South East Asia. Historical detail is woven seamlessly into the story, which has clearly been well researched.

There is some violence in the book but there’s also a liberal sprinkling of humour and a strong element of warmth underpinning the relationships between the Captain, his crew and young Red.

Jorgensen is an award-winning author whose books for young people have won critical and popular acclaim both in Australia and overseas.

He is a consummate tale teller and has delivered this latest release in inimitable style.

The Smuggler’s Curse is sure to be a favourite with 9-14 year olds who enjoy a ripping yarn told well. It would also be a great addition to the classroom for its perspective on life in colonial times. Teaching notes are available from the publisher.    

Lily in the Mirror

Lily in the Mirror by Paula Hayes (Fremantle Press) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925163872

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

From the minute I started reading Lily in the Mirror I was won over. This chapter book for middle readers has heart, humour and charm. It also has magic, mystery and a family secret for Lily to unravel when she goes to stay with her grandfather.

Her paranormal investigation of the ‘Rosy Room’ at Grandad’s house leads to the discovery of a magical mirror and the excitement of finding a new and unusual friend who needs her help.

Lily, who loves words, Grandad’s ganache cake, and all things dark and mysterious, come vividly to life through the pages of her journal. She’s an absolute delight as she documents her family life and her Rosy Room discoveries.

Paula Hayes’ writing is fresh, lively, original and insightful. There’s plenty of humour throughout yet this book also deals sensitively with the impact of a grandparent’s dementia on a child.   

I highly recommend it for mid to upper primary readers and every grownup who is a kid in disguise. I do hope I meet Lily again soon in the pages of a new adventure.

Saving Jazz

Saving Jazz by Kate McCaffrey (Fremantle Press) PB RRP $19.99

ISBN 9781925163582

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Award-winning YA author Kate McCaffrey explores cyber bullying from a new perspective in her latest release that should be essential reading for every young person in this age of widespread social media use.

Saving Jazz is a powerful story about the devastating consequences of a group of teens’ drunken behaviour at a house party. When it goes viral no one’s life will ever be the same.

Told through a series of blog confessions by Jasmine - Jazz - Lovely, I found it at times confronting and disturbing but so compelling I couldn’t put it down.

For Jazz, the choices she and her friends make one night will change the direction of their future. As she writes in her first blog post, ‘The worst thing about regret is there is no way to undo it. No way to go back in time and make better choices.’

The admission at the start of Post 1 sets the scene for a gripping read: ‘I am a rapist.’  From there, Jazz reveals with raw honesty the lead-up to and aftermath of a shocking incident that leads to consequences Jazz and her friends Annie and Jack could never have imagined.

McCaffrey has a gift for capturing an authentic teen voice. Her previous titles -Destroying Avalon, In Ecstasy, Crashing Down and Beautiful Monster - have all garnered awards. Saving Jazz is the follow-up title to Destroying Avalon.

It should have a place on every high school English reading list. Teaching notes are available from the publisher. 

My Silly Mum

My Silly Mum by Monique Mulligan, illustrated by Veronica Rooke (Serenity Press) HB RRP $22.95 ISBN 9780994526557

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

This delightfully warm and funny picture book is guaranteed to add smiles to story time - and quite likely giggles. There's a generous sprinkling of humour throughout this child- and parent-friendly debut title from Monique Mulligan.

Veronica Rooke's fresh, lively cartoon-style illustrations add an extra dimension of fun to Mum's embarrassing antics and introduce a couple of extra characters to amuse young readers.The layout of the hand-drawn text on the pages is an integral part of the book’s design, along with the inclusion of some speech balloons.

My Silly Mum is a wonderfully warm-hearted celebration of the love between a mother and child and is sure to remain a popular choice on the family bedtime reading list. However, its appeal is not limited to a pre-school audience and children in the early years of primary school will also find it entertaining and readily relate to the eye-rolling and face palming a parent’s behaviour can cause.

Colouring sheets, a write-your-own-story activity and finger puppet characters from the book are available from the publisher.

Brobot

Brobot by James Foley (Fremantle Press) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925163919

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Award-winning illustrator James Foley has produced a reader pleaser with his latest release, a junior fiction graphic novel with maximum appeal for children in middle to upper primary.

Brobot is about a girl who believes she can build a better brother than the one she has. Joe is messy, smelly and impossible to control. Sally Tinker, who has the trophy to prove she’s the world’s foremost inventor under 12, eliminates these imperfections in Brobot, which is ‘just as a brother should be’.

The amazing Brobot cleans up messes, fixes broken machines, is never smelly, sticky or wet and as an added bonus has a built-in cupcake machine. Best of all, Sally can control her robot’s every move with the Brobo-remote.

But when the control gets broken and Brobot is out of control Sally reconsiders the merits of young Joe.

Foley’s own inventiveness comes to the fore in Brobot, which lives up to its promise as ‘a hilarious graphic novel for young readers’. He has cast appealing characters in a quirky tale that will resonate with kids who have sometimes frustrating younger siblings.

The level of humour in the drawings is right for the target age group and the comic-style format will draw in young readers who might be reluctant to read a standard novel.

Pandamonia

Pandamonia by Chris Owen, illustrated by Chris Nixon (Fremantle Press) HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 9781925163339

Reviewed by Teena Raffa-Mulligan

One grumpy panda sets off a frenzy of wild partying at the zoo in this fun-filled picture book that is sure to become a family favourite.

There’s a light-hearted playfulness in both text and illustrations that will bring lots of smiles to story time.

The constant reminder not to wake the panda during the zoo visit is a page-turner and there are sure to be some breathless ‘uh ohs’ from young listeners when the final line of this rollicking tale is revealed.

The book is spot on for its target market of children up to eight years of age.

Adults too can’t help but be charmed by the chaotic cavorting of a lively menagerie, as hopping hippos, giggling geckos and jabbering jabirus set off a domino effect that leads to pandemonium.

Owen, whose first book My Superhero was shortlisted for a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award in 2014, has an excellent sense of rhyme and rhythm and makes good use of alliteration.

When the crocodile snaps, the lion will roar!

The bison and buffalo bellow for more.

A frenzy of animals flocks to the floor

and that’s when you know there is trouble in store.

His text is beautifully complemented by Nixon’s distinctive illustrations with their strong focus on pattern and shape.

While younger readers will enjoy sharing Pandamonia with a parent, grandparent or carer, the book would also have a place in the early primary classroom and teacher notes are available from the publisher.