Animal Rescue #4: Shark Attack

 Shark Attack (Animal Rescue) by Jackie French, illustrated by Terry Whidborne (Scholastic Press)
PB RRP $9.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-384-2
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Leo and Mozz are taking their jet, SkyTiger, out for a ride inside a volcano when they get an emergency call from Gran. An old mining dam has collapsed in a storm and a wall of toxic mud is heading towards the breeding grounds of the endangered Grey Nurse sharks.

It is up to Leo and Mozz to get there before the mud to warn the sharks to swim to safety. There are a few obstacles in the way. Firstly, the savage storm which wrecked the dam, is between them and the sharks and may prove to be a test for the SkyTiger (which Mozz invented in Year 3 and built out of recycled plastic bottles). Secondly, saving the sharks means going underwater and Leo is afraid of the water and cannot swim. Then thirdly, although he is fluent in all animal languages, Leo doesn’t speak Shark, or fish for that matter. This rescue looks a little more complicated than the previous ones.

Shark Attack is a great adventure. Mozz has a scientific brain and is a genius inventor. She has made Leo a watch which can do everything from homework to putting new laces into Leo’s sneakers whenever he needs them. Leo has the enviable ability to speak to all animals and he has the cutest, coolest pet - a guinea pig named Alan Nesbit Kirk who is keen to join in on all the adventures. The banter between guinea pig and Leo is especially fun.

Shark Attack is well written. It is light hearted and enjoyable, yet beyond the fanciful plot, inventive gadgets and dramatic chapter headings lurk the more serious undercurrents of animal conservation, pollution damage, responsibility and personal growth which give the book solidity.

Animal Rescue is a fabulous adventure series for middle grade readers. The stories are all centred on rescuing endangered animals and would appeal to both boys and girls. All written by Jackie French, a popular and prolific children’s writer, the other titles so far are Elephant Alert (Animal Rescue), Gorilla Grab (Animal Rescue) and Tiger Tangle (Animal Rescue).

Picture Book Review: Cloth From the Clouds

Cloth from the Clouds by Michael Catchpool, illustrated by Alison Jay (Walker Books)

HB RRP $29.95

ISBN 9781862337992

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

A boy spins thread from the clouds – gold in the morning, white in the afternoon and crimson at evening – to weave cloth on his loom, but only as much as needed. His mother’s words are always foremost in his mind as he works, ‘Enough is enough and not one stitch more.’ He weaves two scarves, one to protect his head when it is hot and another to wrap around his neck when it is cold.

The King notices the uniqueness of the cloth and orders the boy to make a longer scarf for him. The child tries to explain that the king doesn’t need it. This angers the royal who commands the boy to do what he’s told. The finished item is breathtaking. So much so, he then commands clothing for his wife and daughter.

Slowly the precious resource is exhausted.  There are no clouds, therefore no rain for the farmers and their flocks and crops. It is not until the princess, believing ‘there is still time’, rolls up the garments and returns them to their source, that the clouds and a natural balance is restored once again.

Awareness between need and want, greed and excess, is the theme of this poignant, and delicately illustrated book. The illustrations throughout are created to identify with cracked china, symbolic of the fragile state of nature, and the outcome of misuse by humankind. The joyous fact that children have the wisdom to see things clearer than the adults projects hope and optimism for the future.

This is definitely a book that will be shared and discussed by adult and child readers because of the significant messages it carries.