Picture Book

NZ Writer and Illustrator

James Thorpe, illustrated by Angus Mackinnon

The Weasel Puffin Unicorn Baboon Pig Lobster Race

Beatnik Publishing NZ   2013   $29.99hb          48pp

ISBN 978 0 9922 4931 1

Themes:         Cheating/ Justice/ Races/ Stories in rhyme

The Weasel, Puffin, Baboon, Pig and Lobster are determined to win the race that has attracted international support and is set off with a pop from the gun by the Queen herself.  But their determination includes cheating in any way they can. The Unicorn who would rather lose fair and square than beat them as a cheat is very surprised when a snail speaks up for him and he is declared the winner.  I have to say this book had migrated to the bottom of the pile because I wasn’t totally sure what it was about  - yes, it was published in May last year. It took a 17-year-old college student over the weekend to steer me in the right direction. This is BRILLIANT he said – look at the paper/ look at the rhyme/ look at the artwork/ it says something without being preachy. And of course James is right! It is a handsomely produced book from a publisher with a small but intriguing list which includes books by Mark Sommerset. Have a look at www.beatnikpublishing.com. The illustrations are in solid colours of pink, black, rose and brown, the lines scan in such a way to make it easy and fun to read aloud and it is certainly more than just a little bit of nonsense. I’ll be looking out for more books from Beatnik. 

Year 2 up/ Age 6 up

Picture Books - Preschool

Australian Writer and Illustrator

Anna Branford, illustrated by Linda Catchlove

Lilli-Pilli’s Sister

Walker Books, Australia 2014 27.99hb         24pp

ISBN 978 1 9219 7758 9

Themes:         Babies/ Birth/ Fairies/ Families

Lilli-Pilli’s mother is about to have a baby and Lilli Pilli is convinced it will be a small sister. She tries hard to find out for sure by consulting the (Australian) birds in the forest.  She knows, of course, that boy or girl, she will love it dearly. By now Mum’s belly is so large she can no longer fly and Dad is putting the finishing touches on the crib - and then... Many children will guess the final surprise and they should enjoy such a gentle story of a happy birth in a perfect family. I think the illustrations JUST avoid being ‘cute’.  

Preschool – Age 3-4

Fiction - Age 10 and up

NZ Writer

Desna Wallace

Canterbury Quake Christchurch 2010-2011

Scholastic NZ 2014  18.50pb  174pp

My New Zealand Story series

ISBN 978 1 7754 3182 4

Published February 1^st 2014

Themes:         Christchurch earthquakes/ Diaries/ Human resilience

  

      A cell phone would keep Maddy, who is just turning 11, in touch with all her friends and this is all she wants for her birthday and practically all she can think about. Her parents are adamant she will not have one until she is 13 just like her older sister. The old adage says ‘be careful what you wish for’ because Maddy IS about get a cell phone – but not for chattering to friends – it is for keeping in touch with family and receiving instructions about what to do and where to go after the devastation wrought by the two big earthquakes in Christchurch. This is a story of true human resilience and could only have been written by someone like Desna who has lived through the whole chilling experience as well as being a librarian in a Christchurch school working with the age group portrayed in the story. The reality of life in Christchurch at this time is written in such a way as to sometimes make it almost unbearably real. One of the most telling moments for me was when Maddy saw, just after the second big quake, that her teacher and some of the parents were crying in terror.

This is a great addition to the My New Zealand Story series and one that will be picked up not only for its historical value but because it is such a readable story about 11 and 12-year-olds and because Maddy is such an appealing heroine. There are some moments of real humour in the story too!

Year 6 up/ Age 10 up

Mature Readers (Young Adult)

USA Writer

Lauren Baratz-Logsted

The Twin’s Daughter

Bloomsbury 2014  $15.99pb  390pp

ISBN 978 1 5999 0661 4

Themes: Gothic tales/ Murder/ Victorian London

Published February 1^st 2014

One morning Lucy, a sprightly 13-year-old, opens the door of her elegant London home and sees who she thinks at first is her mother standing on the doorstep. It is however, her mother’s identical twin sister who has been brought up in very different circumstances and so begins a long and involved story of intrigue and sometimes, very chilling happenings.  Some readers will find the complicated plot a bit too much but others will enjoy the elements of creepiness, teenage life in Victorian London and the general atmosphere of having to guess what is really going on and find they make for an unputdownable read.

Google the author’s name for details of her other books – she has written many. She is a new writer for me and I will be following her up.   

Year 10 up/ Age 14 up (this will be read with enjoyment by many adults as well).

David Elliot - NZ writer and illustrator

DAVID ELLIOT

   Many congratulations to David Elliot, illustrator and writer from Dunedin who is the Storylines Children’s Literature Trust winner of the 2014 Margaret Mahy Award. This award is presented annually to mark a lifetime achievement in either writing, illustration, publishing or academic fields in the world of children’s literature (or all of these items). David will receive it at the Margaret Mahy Day to be held in Auckland on Saturday March 29^th.

  One of the many distinctive things about David’s work is that there is a feeling in all of his books that although the work is aimed at children, adults are also going to find real substance there as well. 
 In an interview I did with him in 2009, in answer to a question about his advice to children and young people who wanted to write/illustrate, David said

Take your imagination seriously. 

    I also see in the interview that David told me it was his time, many years before, while living in the gatekeeper’s cottage at the Edinburgh Zoo that he felt was the key experience that led him to his career in illustrating. Wandering around the zoo at night, even going into the leopard’s lair to scratch the animal’s back, he began to draw the animals. As he said ‘playing around on the edges of illustration’.  And then…

                                                                                        Image: Booksellers NZ

 David and the late Margaret Mahy at the New Zealand Post Book awards in Auckland in 2011.  They are holding  The Moon & Farmer McPhee which won the  Picture Book Category Award Winner and New Zealand Post Book of the Year.

On a personal level and on a totally different subject (!) :

I was so sad to miss out on being at the launch of the 2014 Writers and Readers Week held at the Embassy Theatre on Thursday this week. Two back-to-back funerals and another evening event meant driving down the coast from Waikanae where I now live, three times in 48 hours. While the spirit was more than willing the flesh, now slightly older than it used to be, decided it would rather just stay home and finish reading The Twin’s Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logstead** and marking in the programme who I will go to hear in the actual Writers’ Week.

I could have spent time putting my books in alphabetical order but alas while they remain in a reasonably tidy state as far as looks are concerned as for logical sequence – it is chaos.

 

** I will try to put up a review about this book tomorrow.   

Picture Book

NZ Writer & Illustrator

Maria Gill, illustrated by Bruce Potter

The Last of Maui’s Dolphins

New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd 2014  $19.99pb  32pp

ISBN 978 1 8696 6410 7

Themes:  Endangered species/ North Island Maui’s Dolphins/ Set nets 

High above, on the surface of the water, the dark shapes of the fishing boats hover, spelling disaster and death for a pod of dolphins and other marine life in the area. Told in the form of a story aimed at younger children, a young dolphin, Hiriwa, is called into a rescue situation when many of his friends become caught in a set net from a fishing trawler. The book opens up many spin offs into this truly hot topic.  It could also be used by older readers who will find the concepts and the excellent list of websites to explore helpful. To open the book and find Bruce Potter’s illustrations is to enter a watery undersea world of such believable images you need to blink to clear the salt from your eyes. Maria Gill, a true conservationist, has written over 30 children’s books for the book trade and the education markets and is a regular visitor to schools and libraries to talk to children and young adults.    

Year 1 up/ Age 5 up

Picture Books (for all ages)

Australian Writer & Illustrator

Mark Greenwood, illustrated by Frane Lessac

Midnight

Walker Books  2014  $29.99hb  32pp

ISBN 978 1 9219 7771 8

Themes:         ANZACS/ Charge at Beersheba/ Horses in wartime/ World War 1 1914-1918

 

Lieutenant Guy Haydon  loved his mare, Midnight from the time she was born. Together they went off to join one of the Australian Light Horse Regiments – regiments destined to take part in one of the last great cavalry charges at Beersheba in the Middle East in 1917.  Short, tense text  (sometimes reflecting the beating of the horses’ hooves) makes for dramatic reading aloud and the orange and brown illustrations mirror the desert sands.

This story is based on memories of the Haydon family who have bred horses, including Midnight, in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales since 1830.   

A poignant (hard to read aloud for horse lovers) and useful resource to add to the growing collection of books for ANZAC Day. Remember when we really had to scratch around to find anything on the topic? 

Year 2 up/ Age 6 up