Toodle the Cavoodle: Sniffle, Snuffle

Toodle the Cavoodle: Sniffle, Snuffle written by Richard Tulloch and illustrated by Heidi Cooper-Smith (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781922 765772

Toodle the Cavoodle is the new children’s book series from a seriously impressive line-up of Australian talent. Toodle already has his own hit song penned by songwriter to The Wiggles, an Ambassadorship no less, and an animated series in the works.

Toodle the Cavoodle tumbles and bumbles his way through the lively Lillipilly Lane community. The bouncy, boisterous puppy knows his neighbours best from his dog’s-eye view – the grubby gumboots grandma, the smelly sneakers grandpa, the girl with sparkly sandals, and other friends. But since he shares the emotions and understanding of a young child, Toodle’s whoops-a-diddle, let-me-help, getting-underfoot antics often lead to hilarious mini-dramas, before he succeeds in bringing both old and young people together. In the end, everybody loves Toodle! 

In Book one, Sniffle Snuffle, Toodle the Cavoodle loves finding smells in the scritchy, scratchy grass. But the grandparents of Lillipilly Lane love cleaning up and finding fresh uses for junk. They’re about to turn Toodle’s favourite sniffling snuffling patch into a neat and tidy park! Oh no! What will Toodle do?

Toodle’s adventure sees him discover that he is loved no matter what — from Richard Tulloch one of Australia’s best-known storytellers.

Petbarn Foundation will donate $1 for every Toodle the Cavoodle book sold to Story Dogs assisting in the cost of training and placement of more dogs and handlers in more Australian schools.

Visit Toodle at his website for all the information on Story Dogs, Toodle events and giveaways!
Wiggle and jiggle to Toodle the Cavoodle theme song written by John Fields!

The Great Treasure Hunt: Mertales 3

The Great Treasure Hunt: Mertales 3 by Rebecca Timmis (Allen & Unwin) Paperback RRP $14.99 ISBN 978 1 76 0 526573

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Rebecca Timmis is an author illustrator from the sunny Gold Coast. This is her third book in the Mertales series.

It’s the day of the Cockleshell Cove Treasure Hunt and the whole town is brimming with excitement. Coral and Pearl Periwinkle, Shell Shimmerfins and Sandy Starfish think it will be a sea-breeze to win but there’s more at stake than finding the treasure. There’s a bigger mystery to solve with hidden baddies at play.

Rebecca Timmis sets the scene and dives straight into the action. She has taken a treasure hunt adventure into an undersea world and her smart language choices and simple sentences move the story along beautifully. The text immerses the reader with clever puns and verb choices. The sea themed word play is woven throughout every page and makes the story distinctly unique.  The Finns solve mysteries and find clues as they move along each stage of the adventure. To be sure, to be sure you will be entertained. ‘Ladies and gentle-finns!’ said Mer-major Twinklefins. ‘It’s almost time for the Cockleshell Cove Treasure Hunt to begin. But first, please give a warm welcome to our host, Count Frumplesquid the Third Count Frumplesquid has kindly donated all of the treasure for our treasure hunt.”

Her illustrations are cartoon-like and depicted in greys and whites with splashes of pinky red. The characters movements and expressions show personality and individuality. On double page spreads there’s lots of detail with the main character’s in focus and the others gathered around in places in the background. I love the use of bubbles, little crabs and creatures throughout the book. The Mertales are shown working together brilliantly and also individually. I particularly love the image of the ancient ocean queen – Clamopatra lying on a throne with fish servants around her. The illustrations add humour, action and character information. As the story unfolds it becomes much like watching a movie inside your head.

Mertails – The Great Treasure Hunt is a brilliant junior fiction book for children aged 6-9 years who love a great mystery to solve as they dive inside an undersea world. This story has easy to read the text that suits this age group perfectly and the illustrations support the text with characters that are dynamic and fun.

Mertales: The Best Friend Promise

Mertales: The Best Friend Promise by Rebecca Timmis (Albert Street Books) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN9781760526528

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

This is book one in a new adventure series set underwater. Packed with illustrations, the story is about Pearl Periwinkle the mermaid who is celebrating her ninth birthday. She plans to spend time with her best friends, but when she takes a shortcut on the way to merschool, things begin to drift off. When Pearl sees a shooting star fall into the ocean, everything changes. Her mermaid tail shimmers, and sparkles, and she can now talk to animals. This is the start of an adventure in Cockleshell Cover.

A hungry reef dragon enters the cover waters and presents a danger to Pearl’s friends. The question is -- will her new magical powers be enough to save her friends?

As the market for this series is primarily for girls, the chapter book (with chapter names as well as numbers) has pink and white pages and pink, grey, and black illustrations. The pink is in various grades and there are words in the text (such as ‘Brainiac’, ‘Smarty-fins’ and ‘flipper-riffic’) which are highlighted. When Pearl’s best friend Coral enters the story, the words ‘smart’, ‘funny’ and ‘a little bit boss’ are used as labels for her. The illustrations are highly imaginative: you see underwater houses made of seashells, and ‘roads’ along which are a line of shell-houses.

At the end of the book there are some ‘Fin Facts’ such as dolphin babies drink milk like human babies and some sea animals, such as squids and cuttlefish, squirt ink when threatened. Also, amazingly, an octopus the size of a pony, can squeeze through a hole no bigger than a fifty-cent coin.

The second mermazing adventure is The Daring Reef Rescue.

Derek Dool Supercool: Run for Your Life

 Derek Dool Supercool: Run for Your Life by Adrian Beck, illustrated by Scott Edgar (Puffin) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 978 1760892975

Here is yet another book in the Derek Dool series which is targeted at readers aged 9+ years. It is a humorous series in the vein of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Timmy Failure being highly illustrated in a fun and energetic style.

Derek is far from being a natural athlete but he’s willing to have a go. The school’s cross-country is coming up and Derek aims to win it. However, all his plans fall apart when the race begins, especially as there are rumours of a witch lurking in the bush. Are the rumours true?

Featuring breakout chapters and jokes, this series is perfect for both confident and reluctant readers. Underneath the bravado, the antics and the sometimes laugh-out-loud humour, themes of hobbies, friendship, family, self-confidence, resilience, and staying true to yourself resound.

Geek Girls: Making Magic

Geek Girls: Making Magic by Alex Miles (Puffin) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 978 0143795087

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Here is a new series about a gang where four girls about ten years old design, make, game, hack and code. The series was developed in partnership with Girl Geek Academy, an Australian global movement teaching one million women to learn technology by 2025 through programs for parents, teachers, corporate and community.

The publicity which came with the book points out that only 12 percent of engineers are women and that the current internet was built primarily by men so in this first book one would assume the content is directed at girls in the hope of encouraging them to work in technology. However, Making Magic is basically about Eve, Maggie, Hamsa and Niki working for their aptly named teacher Ms Atlas to put on a school play. Admittedly, they do work with a 3-D printer at one stage.

The second book in the series – Perfect Holidays – centres on the geek girls planning a birthday party. It is difficult to see how this relates to technology and how it might inspire girls to participate in the industry. Having said that, the relationships between the girls are important in the books, as is cooperation and leadership.

Written in third person past tense, the prose in the book is straightforward, and it must be said, pedestrian. Nonetheless, the books are likely to appeal to certain girls aged eight years who are into series.

Nursery Crimes: The Fleeced Fleece

Nursery Crimes: Case 1 by John Barwick, illustrated by Dave Atze (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP ISBN 9781925675993

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Here’s a book for children aged 7 to 11 which is a re-imagining of the favourite nursery rhyme, ‘Baa Ba Black Sheep’. Its narrator is pompous and rather unpleasant as he/she first conducts a long-winded conversation with a reader who wants the narrator to get on with the story, implying that it’s ‘much more sinister’ than can be imagined.

There are numerous characters in the story, not the least of whom is Baa Ba, a black sheep owned by wealthy Farmer Fred. Baa Ba is shorn twice a year but this year Fred is ‘not his usual cheerful self’: he’s just returned from a cruise and is pre-occupied,. Baa Ba and Shaun Gently (his shearer) observe Fred giving bags of wool to the usual suspects – the headmaster, Stern Teaser, the dame, Dame Horrida Longbottom, and Theodore Thumpnose, who lives down the lane. All three people are depicted as unsavoury characters.

What happens next is the entrance of other nursery rhyme characters (Little Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep) and some house breaking. A potential crime is averted and the story ends.

This is a clever twist in the story of Baa Ba Black Sheep, notwithstanding the now and again back-and-forth dialogue between the narrator and reader which can be irritating as it disturbs the flow of story action.

The book’s illustrations, in black and white, feature cartoonish characters and add to the humour of the book.

At the end of the book under the line ‘Every Rhyme Masks a Crime!’ there are indications that there are more of these books in a series based on other nursery rhyme characters such as Little Bo Peep and Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat.

Forever Friends

Forever Friends by Tabitha J Page and Alexander Kulieshov (Ingram Spark)

PB ISBN 9780648270430

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Forever Friends is the first book in a new series by Tabitha J Page. It is an older children’s picture book that is based upon friendship, new beginnings and overcoming challenges.

No matter what age we are, we all want to belong and fit in. Claire is in a wheelchair and starting at a new school. She is worried making friends. Yet we all have things about us that we feel insecure about, and she discovers that Tia is uncomfortable about her new glasses. The girls are drawn together after being teased and discover that they have more in common than they have differences. A warm and supportive friendship develops.

What I particularly like about this book is the author’s dialogue and voice. The characters are real and inviting to the reader. The story line develops the girls’ friendship. The stronger their friendship becomes, the less they worry about what others think.

This book celebrates friendship and diversity.  It would be a lovely book to use in classrooms, or to help with understanding differences.

River Stone – Book One of The Burning Days

River Stone – Book One of The Burning Days by Rachel Hennessy

(Midnight Sun) YA Science Fiction  PB RRP $19.99  SBN: 9781925227499

Reviewed by Jeffery E Doherty

Disaster comes to the River People on the day of Pandora’s Blossoming. Most of the adults are struck down with a sickness and the only chance to save them lays in finding a cure inside a city, mostly destroyed in The Burning. Pandora believes in her heart that she is destined for more than her inevitable pairing with her life-long friend Matthew, so she volunteers to find the cure.   

Joined by Matthew and several other young people from the village, she sets out for the city. The group do not realise how unprepared they are until they meet, Bayat, a young hunter from the Mountain People. Bayat decides to accompany them and help the group prepare for the dangers they will face.

River Stone is a post-apocalyptic story set after an event called The Burning. It explores the conflicted feelings of Pandora, while being paired with Matthew by the village elders, develops a deep connection with the confident young hunter. Although there are moments of struggle and high action in this book, it is essentially a quiet, character based, coming of age story of a group of sheltered young people discovering a big and dangerous world.

River Stone is the first book in The Burning Days and is a great lead into the series. Rachel Hennessy has created an appealing cast of characters and left several threads to be explored in the next book. There are questions to be answered about the city and the strange once human creatures inhabiting it. There is a missing friend who Pandora has vowed to find, and will Pandora fulfil her duty to the village by pairing with Matthew or will she choose Bayat.

This is a book I would recommend to readers 12+ years and fans of character driven dystopian fiction.

  

Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables: On the Lookout

Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables: On the Lookout by Tim Harris, illustrated by James Hart (PenguinRandom House) PP RRP $14.99 ISBN9780143793144

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

This is the fourth book in Australia Harris’ book series about Australia’s favourite literary teacher, Mr Bambuckle who oversees students of room 12 B. The book begins with a roll call of those 14 students, which includes their names, pictures of them and their likes and dislikes. One of the students is Vex Vron who likes cars and dislikes almost everything apart from cars.

The story begins at camp which has Mr Bambuckle and the stern assistant principal Miss Frost, both very different. Mr Bambuckle values learning, individuality and fun while Miss Frost is far more concerned with discipline, procedures and efficiency. Student Vex has left a note to indicate he is running away so the hunt is on to find him before his parents and school realise he is missing. This involves everyone, including new twin sisters, Grace and Gabby Wu.

As in the previous books in this series, Harris makes use of visual page ‘tricks’ such as phone calls, conversations (with cranky canteen Carol), notes (passed from students to one another) and ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’. The book, also like the others, is full of witty asides, jokes and sparkling dialogue. Sentences are generally short and there are snappy, fast-paced actions that lead to a happy conclusion. All of these devices make this book another to be enjoyed by readers aged 9 to 12 years.

Max Booth Future Sleuth: Stamp Safari

Max Booth Future Sleuth: Stamp Safari by Cameron Macintosh, illustrated by Dave Atze (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $12.99 ISBN 9781925675368

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Max Booth and his trusty robo-dog Oscar are back for another sleuthing adventure. Stamp Safari is the third book in this futuristic series for young readers.

The year is 2424 and the world is a very different place. There are floating skyburbs as well as the usual ground level suburbs and zoom tubes with aircells that transport people back and forth. Zip coasters move people around the city by looping over buildings and underneath bridges. Max Booth lives on Skyburb 6. Since his escape from the Home for Unclaimed Urchins, he secretly lives in the storeroom of the Bluggsville Museum. Max helps his friend Jessie to identify ancient objects for display in the museum, to earn a little cash.

Max and Jessie become intrigued by a tiny rectangular piece of paper that has a pattern cut into its edges. It has a picture on one side and is sticky on the other.   Unfortunately, the Great Solar Flare of 2037 destroyed the old Internet and its contents, and this patch of paper is too old to easily identify. So, Max sets off with his resourceful beagle-bot Oscar in search of clues to find the origin of this rare and fragile piece of paper.

It isn’t long before Max and Oscar get themselves into trouble and hopes fade for identifying the piece of paper. Max gets captured by Captain Selby (the leader of the Unclaimed Urchins Recapture Squad) and is separated from his beloved Oscar. Max needs to try every trick in the book if he is to safely return to the museum with his dog and the patch of paper.

This humorous book would appeal to children 7+ years old who are beginning their chapter book journey. Atze’s monochrome cartoon vignettes are scattered throughout the book to help young minds visualise the futuristic world that Macintosh has created. If you’re keen for more sleuthing fun after you’ve read this book, make sure you check out the other two books in this series: Tape Escape and Selfie Search.

The Royal Ranger - The Red Fox Clan

The Royal Ranger - The Red Fox Clan by John Flanagan (Random House Australia) PB RRP $18.99 ISBN: 9780143785903

Reviewed by Jeffery E Doherty

Maddie is a secret Ranger's Apprentice under the guidance of the legendary Will Treaty. However, for one month each year she must return home and resume her identity as Princess Madelyn. At the best of times Maddie finds castle life dull but to make matters worse, she will be stuck there while her father, Horace, and Gilan, the Commandant of the Ranger Corps, are taking half the garrison of Castle Araluen to put a stop to a group called the Red Fox Clan, which wants to restore the old law of male rulers for the kingdom.

This year's visit to the castle is anything but dull. Maddie uncovers long-kept secrets and a devastating plot against the crown. She must discover the identity of the man in the red fox mask or the peace her family have worked for could be in terrible danger.

Having read John Flanagan's original Ranger's Apprentice books some years ago, I found returning to the world of Araluen comfortable and familiar. It is good to see a new generation of Rangers’ books appearing to entertain a new generation of readers.

Maddie is confident, yet still has moments of vulnerability and self-doubt that make her character more likable. The book is full of adventure, treachery and action. It has a wonderful cast of interesting characters and the pace of the action and easy flow of the writing keep the reader turning the pages. I did find some parts of the book a little predictable. It may have been a lucky guess, but I picked the leader of the Red Fox Clan as soon as he was introduced into the story. The book was a thoroughly enjoyably read with a satisfying ending and leaves the way open for book three in the series which is coming later in 2018.

The Royal Ranger - The Red Fox Clan is the second book in the Royal Ranger series of middle grade fiction. It would suit readers 8-12 years old or readers who enjoy stories of fantasy and adventure with a confident young female hero. If you haven't already, readers are encouraged to read The Royal Ranger (Book 1) although this book can be read as a stand-alone story.

When I’m Shining with Peace by Wendy Mason and Lisa Maravelis, illustrated by Kayleen West (Kids Light Up) PB   RRP $12.99   ISBN 780648206514

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Both Australian authors are founders of the Kids Light Up© project, a forum for educational information, which teaches resilience as its foundation. Their picture book series, When I’m Shining with Light, of which this book is a part, emphasises positive values and qualities to help children (aged three plus years) to thrive. Mason is Director of early learning at an independent school in Melbourne and Maravelis is a youth worker and counsellor. Both women are passionate about empowering children to be the best they can be.

When I’m Shining with Peace features an (unnamed) cuddly, clothed girl bear who talks about the role of peace in her life and how it affects her and her relationships with others. The book starts by referring to a ‘PEACE light’ which ‘we all have’, which, when switched on, has positive effects. It’s not stated how to ‘switch on’ the PEACE light but, the story continues, ‘When I’m shining with PEACE/ I’m still and steady.’

The story is related in rhyming text and continues to show readers ways in which inner peace is rewarding, such as having clear thinking, readiness to learn, calm breathing and so on. This allows the small reader to come to an understanding of what peace is. The book also shows the negative: when the ‘PEACE light goes out’, it makes the bear ‘scream and shout’ and want her own way.

One would assume that the child’s carer (parent or teacher, for example) would explain to the child how to create inner peace as sadly the book doesn’t do this.

While the book’s main benefit is in extolling the virtues of having peace so that one can live harmoniously, one of the stanzas is problematic. It reads: ‘When I’m shining with PEACE/ I choose to obey/Whatever you say/ I’ll do right away.’ Who is the ‘you’ to whom this stanza is addressed? One would assume the ‘you’ referred to is a parent, but it could be anyone, including a stranger. Despite this misgiving, one must admire the authors for investing their time and money into a project designed to help youngsters.

The illustrations are clear and attractive with lots of white space allowing focus on the bear character. And, too, the book is typeset in OpenDyslexic font, created to increase readability for readers with dyslexia. The font includes regular, bold, italic and bold italic styles, but it can easily be read by anyone who doesn’t have dyslexia.

There will be 10 books in the series, each of them covering a range of skills, qualities and values important for all children (and adults). The first four books dealing with Joy, Peace, Love and Kindness, were released in March 2018. All books are available through Denis Jones www.dennisjones.com.au  and www.kidslightup.com.au There are teachers notes and parents’ tips and notes available through the kidslightup site.

Little Witch: Hauntings & Hexes

Little Witch: Hauntings & Hexes by Aleesah Darlison (Big Sky Publishing)

PB RRP $14.99  IBSN 9781925520576

Reviewed by Kate Simpson

Hauntings & Hexes is the second book in Aleesah Darlison’s Little Witch series, following on from Secrets & Spells. While some children may prefer to read the books in order, Hauntings and Hexes also sits well as a stand-alone novel.

Courtney is a novice witch, learning magic in her attic with the help of her late grandmother’s spell book, a talking cat and the occasional whispered message from the spirit world. When she starts high school as the new kid in town, she’s trying to fly under the radar, but the temptation to do just a little bit of magic is too strong to resist. Of course, it doesn’t help when your magic isn’t always completely reliable.

To make matters worse, Courtney’s deceased grandmother had a (well-deserved) reputation in town as a witch, and not everybody was happy about it. Will Courtney have enemies from the outset?

Growing up is all about making mistakes, but when you’re a witch in training, your mistakes can have some pretty serious consequences and Courtney has accidentally unleashed a mischievous spirit on her village. Will she be able to save her new home or could the consequences be more serious?

The Little Witch series, with its themes of magic, friendship and adventure is sure to appeal to the tween crowd, and independent readers aged 8 to 11 will likely make short work of this easy-to-read, 144-page novel. Hopefully Aleesah Darlison will magic up a few more installments in this fun new series. 

Diary of an AFL Legend

Diary of an AFL Legend written by Shamini Flint and illustrated by Sally Heinrich (Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $9.99 ISBN 9781760295141

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Nine-year-old maths extraordinaire, Marcus Atkinson, is (shall we say) a good sport. (Not to be confused with the phrase ‘good at sport’.) He has so far bitterly sucked at cricket, track and field, basketball, tennis, soccer, swimming, taekwondo, golf and rugby. Yet there he is, at the opening of the tenth novel in this popular series, buried ‘under an AFL pack’. Oh Marcus. 

Let’s blame his perfect cousin (Spencer) who should really know better by now, right? Marcus progressively messes up the rules of the game in his special, flawlessly uncoordinated way. Despite his father (the self-help book novelist) having a philosophical conversation with him about the pursuit of happiness, he stubbornly refuses to give up. There’s no way he’s going to let Spencer down. When Spencer and his father secretly come up with a way to help Marcus miss an important game, believing they are doing him a favour, Marcus finds a way to turn up anyway … and puts on quite a show.

This latest installment in the (non) sporting series for 7–11-year-olds is chock full of hilarious, face palm moments that we’ve come to love and appreciate from Shamini Flint. The format of the book matches the others. The story is told via diary entries, each highly illustrated with the amusing black and white cartoons of Sally Heinrich. (The majority of the text actually appears in speech bubbles within the illustrations.) The narrative in the diary entries connects to the text in the speech bubbles, so there is perfect flow between the two. For example, Marcus writes ‘I asked Dad …’ and then we see a cartoon of Marcus and his father with the question in the speech bubbles. The diary entries also feature the odd ‘post-it note’ from his sister, supposedly reading and annotating without his permission.

The ending was great – very credible and totally in line with Marcus’ character and, er, his sporting prowess. Shamini Flint has once again provided an entertaining read with a clever way of inadvertently teaching her readers the rules of a sport.

Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile

Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile (Book 1) by Jo Sandhu (Puffin Books) PB RRP $16.99  ISBN 9780143309376

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

Jo Sandhu has triumphed with her debut book, Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile, the first novel in an upcoming series. Set during the Stone Age, this is a gripping fictional tale of adventure.

We are introduced to the main character Tarin in the prologue, where he declares his desire to hunt mammoth, bison and reindeer, just like those he admires. He longs to tell stories of hunting and bravery, but instead he describes his lack of strength, his leg that twists when he runs and the disheartening names he is called by his Mammoth Clan.

When an unfortunate accident sees a hunt go wrong, and Tarin’s clan facing starvation during the long dark winter, he is outcast by those he loves. ‘I ruined the mammoth hunt. I have brought shame to my family, and that will never leave me...’ With a heavy heart and little sense of belonging, Tarin decides to escape the pity and contempt from others and sets out alone on a quest to save the Mammoth Clan.

Tarin has overcome many obstacles in his life just to be alive, but this mission is by far his greatest challenge. He faces a long and treacherous journey ‘across the frozen tundar, across many rivers, through forests and over mountains…’ Now, more than ever, he must believe in himself and ignore the naysayers, as there are plenty more moments to test him! During his trek Tarin meets Kaija and Luuka who have also fled their home and face an uncertain journey of their own. But does this potential friendship help or hinder Tarin’s quest?

This is an engaging story, told in the third person, with themes of family, friendship, strength, persistence, resilience and belief. This middle fiction novel would suit children aged 10+ and is sure to appeal to those with a sense of adventure. No doubt they’ll soon be looking forward to the release of Book 2!

Henrietta and the Perfect Night

Henrietta and the Perfect Night by Martine Murray (Allen and Unwin)

HB RRP $16.99   ISBN 9781760290245

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Fans of Henrietta the Great Go-Getter will be pleased to discover this hardcover book by Martine Murray, featuring five new Henrietta stories.

Henrietta is just as spirited and adventurous as ever: ‘I’m an explorer of life, and that includes trees, bugs, animals and all mysteries.’ In this collection, she practices how to be patient and be a good big sister (‘The Waiting Game’), how to rescue somebody and make a friend at school (‘The First Day’), how to survive a sleepover with the pesky older brother of her best friend (‘The Sleepover’), how to save the school play when the lead gets stage fright (‘The School Play’) and how to adjust to life with a new baby brother (‘The Arrival’). The stories need to be read in sequence to be properly enjoyed, with the title alluding to the final story’s conclusion.

The book is illustrated in full colour by Martine Murray, award-winning author of How to Make a Bird and Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars. Each double page features an illustration to break up the text, making this a great novel for readers aged 5 years and older who are starting to read chapter books. The design is likely to appeal to the age group too, with key phrases appearing in an alternate font of different size or colour.

Henrietta is ‘a Big Thinker’ and her thoughts and observations are highly amusing! The stories are told in first-person perspective, allowing the author to offer fantastic examples of friendship, courage and kindness without seeming to preach these values to her readers. (‘You only need one friend in a room full of strangers to feel perfectly happy.’) Henrietta is, at times, bold and sassy, at other times quiet and afraid, but the range of emotions she feels gives scope to her situations and makes her very real and lovable.

Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie

Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie written by Maria Isabella Sanchez Vegara and illustrated by Frau Isa (Quarto Group UK)

HB RRP $18.99   ISBN 9781847809612

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

‘When Marie was a little girl, she made a vow to herself … she was going to be a scientist, not a princess.’

The ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series showcases high-achieving women in history, all of whom acted on their childhood dreams. They are beautifully presented, hardcover, biographical picture books that target readers aged 5 – 8 years.

This title, about the gifted Marie Curie, explains how she was not allowed to study at university in her home country of Poland because she was a woman. Fortunately for the rest of the world (who would one day benefit from her scientific discoveries) she packed her bags and moved to France where she ‘soon became the best maths and science student in Paris’.

The book goes on to talk about her husband, Pierre, and their Nobel Prize winning discovery of radium and polonium. It also applauds her strength after Pierre’s sudden death, and the hard work that lead her to her second Nobel Prize. The text ends on an uplifting note, showing the many other girls whom she inspired, queuing up to study at the Radium Institute at the University of Paris.

Marie Curie’s story is conveyed in simple text, with only 1–3 sentences featuring across each double page. There is a longer biography included at the end of the book, featuring four black and white photographs.

Frau Isa’s illustrations are lightly textured, in a gentle watercolour palette. They offer deeper meaning to the text, both informatively and emotionally. For example, the text never mentions Marie’s connection to the development of x-rays, but the pictures show an injured soldier being x-rayed.  And when Marie accepts her second Nobel Prize award, the illustrations reflect her grief in both her facial expression and in a silhouetted empty chair in the first row.

The final picture, showing a full-colour Marie Curie sitting on a pile of books amongst a row of bemused (rather drab-looking) gentlemen, is a definite feminist celebration of Marie’s achievements in a male-dominated field.

Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie

Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie written by Maria Isabella Sanchez Vegara and illustrated by Elisa Munsó (Quarto Group UK)

HB RRP $18.99  ISBN 9781847809599

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

When Agatha Christie was a young girl, she would read lots of books with her mum … and she always offered ‘a better idea for how the story should end’! It seems she was always destined to be a writer, as showcased in this title in the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series that highlights successes of high-achieving women in history.

Agatha’s wartime nursing experience taught her much about poisonous concoctions, and her imagination ‘wouldn’t stay quiet’. After the war, she began to write her own stories – great, murderous thrillers that hooked her readers immediately. She invented the great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and many of her books became stage productions.

This hardcover picture book conveys Agatha’s story in simple text targeting readers aged 5–8 years. Each double-page spread features no more than 1–3 sentences. A longer biography appears at the back of the book, featuring four black and white photographs. It mentions the success of And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, detailing how her particular writing style made her ‘the queen of mystery’. It also mentions her baffling disappearance in 1925 – a personal mystery that sparked a nationwide search!

The illustrations by Elisa Munsó are black and white, with selected splashes of red – especially striking and appropriate for a writer of murder mysteries! (I particularly loved the page showing a black and white cemetery, featuring the headstones of some of her murder victims, with an elderly Agatha looking on in her bright red coat.)

Other women featured in the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series include Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Coco Chanel Maya Angelou and Marie Curie. This terrific series of books is definitely aiming to empower children (particularly girls) to follow their childhood dreams and make a difference in the world.

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 7: Scavengers

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 7: Scavengers by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin)

PB RRP $12.99   ISBN 9781760295615

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

‘“We will destroy you for rejecting our invitation, but not with bruises or black eyes …”

“It’s your legacy we’re after,” the boy said.’

Chase doesn’t think his enemies can get much worse than pirates, red ninjas and wolf packs. Then he meets a new breed of kids operating behind the scenes at Buchanan School: the ‘Scavengers’.

Sebastian lost his title of President at the end of the sixth book so … guess what? It’s election week! Chase is super proud of his cousin, Zoe, and best friend, Brayden, for running in the campaign. Then he gets ordered by the elusive Scavengers to join their clan as well as run in the election himself. They want to assert their control over the school by ensuring a Scavenger wins the presidency, and they plan to help him win. Chase is annoyed. Who do they think they are? When he angrily tells them he would never run against his cousin, nor join their ‘creepy little gang of rubbish pickers’, they furiously tell him to prepare for ‘a whirlwind of disaster’. And they’re not wrong.

To get revenge, they enter Chase into the presidency campaign themselves. They then create a stealthy, ‘smear’ campaign that first angers Zoe and Brayden, then the whole school. Chase has never felt so hated, but the Scavengers have threatened to turn on his friends if he tells people who is behind the campaign. In true ninja style, there’s no way Chase is going to let them threaten his honour: ‘Things have got better, and I’ve changed. I didn’t want to get lost in the crowd anymore.’

Fans of the series will love this latest installment, which definitely shows some character growth and maturity. The story is action-packed and fast-paced. There are new characters to meet – Naomi, one of Chase’s ninja sidekicks, and Melvin, the school reporter. There are plot twists and betrayals, and there are discoveries … for not only will readers learn who the leader of the Scavengers is, but they’ll also find out who the mysterious white ninja is!

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 6: Buchanan Bandits

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 6: Buchanan Bandits by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $12.99  ISBN 9781760295608

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Forget the pirate slang from the second book in this series.  Chase Cooper is about to become annoyed with an entirely new sound: chewing. Well, the chewing of gum to be exact. Someone is running around stealing everybody’s chewing gum. It’s all a bit strange to Chase, and, true to style, he’s not particularly sure he cares. Then Wyatt approaches him and suggests they team up to find the mysterious gum-stealing bandit. Wyatt? His enemy?

Zoe once again takes on the voice of reason: ‘“It’s easier to get dragged down by someone than it is to pull them up.”’ Chase is suspicious about Wyatt’s motivations, but his curiosity wins out and he agrees to help. So begins another crazy week at Buchanan School, where Chase has to figure out who the bandit is. Is it Jake, leader of the ‘wolf pack’? Sebastian? The white ninja? Wyatt? Or the so-called ‘scavengers’ his new friend, Naomi, tells him about? Chase is also trying to deal with ‘Career Week’ at school, and an embarrassing mentor. And why on earth is everybody going nuts over the erasers Sebastian has started selling? It’s all a bit much, but Chase manages to put the pieces together in a hilarious dream featuring James Buchanan himself. (Plus a kitten howling at the moon.)

Fans of this series will again appreciate the whimsical characters and storylines, along with social issues concerning this age group (7–12):

‘As a sixth grader, I feel like my entire life is sometimes controlled by what’s cool and what’s not.’

Chase learns a serious lesson about what he thinks is cool, and what is actually cool, from none other than a clown. Themes of bullying are once again addressed in a hilarious scene where Chase learns that clowns can do more than make people laugh – they can also scare your enemies senseless!