Austrian Writer and German Illustrator Heinz Janisch, illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch The King and the Sea Gecko Press 2015  $19.99pb 48pp ISBN 978 1 9272 7180 3

Themes: Come-uppance/ Power/ Short (very short) stories

The King thinks he is all-powerful but in these very short stories he finds he has much to learn.

My favourite? 

THE KING AND THE DOG

‘Sit! Lie! Come! shouted the king “I am the king,’

‘Stop! Fetch! Heel!’ he bellowed.

Then he ran off after the dog.

Nice? They are all like this and great discussion starters and encouragements for children to create their own ‘stories’. The illustrations fit the mood of the book perfectly.  

Preschool up/ Age 4 up

Fiction - Age 11 up

UK Writer

Rebecca Westcott

Five Things They Never Told Me

Puffin 2015  $17.99pb 293pp

ISBN 978 0 1413 5864 2

Themes: Family life/ First person narratives/ Friendship/ Old Age/ Separated parents/ Retirement homes

Erin, who I guess to be about twelve going on thirteen, is learning to live with her father after her mother has left the family home to be with the saddest looking man I ever saw and his two sons. It’s not going very well and worse is to come after Erin steals some money and credit cards from her father’s wallet, spends up Big (included is an iPad upon which she has her name engraved  so it can’t be returned). In order to keep an eye on her Erin’s father takes her with him for the six weeks of the summer holidays to his job at a retirement home where he is caretaker and gardener. Here it is Erin meets Martha – wheelchair bound, in her eighties, dying and with a wicked sense of humour and a zest for life.  There is so much to think about and understand here but never at the expense of story which is told with a light but believable touch.

Year 7 up/ Age 11 up

Young Adult - Mature Readers

USA Writer

Arwen Elys Dayton

Seeker

Corgi 2015  $21.99pb 435pp

ISBN 978 0 5525 7055 8

Themes: Fantasy/ Sci-fi/ Time travel

Quin (14), from whose POV the story begins (there are several others) is one of a group of teenagers who are being trained to be ‘Seekers’, an organisation they believe to be worthy, noble and good. But, not so! They are actually being trained to be assassins although they are kept in the dark about this almost as much, if not more, than the reader. This is a story that moves in time and space from Scotland to Hong Kong to London and in the past and future. Some effort is needed on the part of the reader to work out the intricacies of the plot but, believe me, it is worth it for this is an original, fast paced book that, once you are hooked as I was,  (reading ‘into the night’) will leave you longing for the next title in the series - Traveller due early 2016  

Year 9 up/ Age 13 up

Arwen Elys Dayton - Image Lytherus

Fiction - 6 years and up

(Here I am back in business as it were after an unbelievably complicated week of setting up a new computer. Of course it isn’t really set up properly yet as all my files need to be moved including the file for this Blog. Hopefully this won’t cause still more disruptions.  BM)

UK Writer and Illustrator

Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt

The Butterfly Club

Penguin Random House 2015  $34.99pb 372pp

ISBN 978 0 8575 3318 0

Themes: Bullying/ School life/ Survival/ Triplets

Tina, who tells the story, is one of triplets but she is the small and rather sickly one of the group and doesn’t really look like her sisters. Now they have turned seven they have ‘graduated’ to Junior School and all the rough and tumble this entails – especially the attentions of the class bully. Tina, who has never been separated from her sisters, is seated next to the bully but with the establishment of an intriguing and colourful butterfly garden in the school grounds, The Bully turns into her Best Friend.  This is Jacqueline Wilson’s 101^st book and is (understandably as there are only so many plots to explore) the mixture as before.  However, Jacqueline Wilson’s worldwide fans will adore it and will read it to pieces. Note that it is, in spite of its length and size, intended for a younger audience.

Year 2 up/ Age 6 up

More Books Coming!

No I haven't vanished off the planet! I have been having a new computer installed.  More books in the wings. 

Barbara Murison 

Picture Book in Te Reo

NZ Writer and Illustrator Sharon Holt, illustrated by Deborah Hinde Mahi Tahi 
Te Reo Singalong series

The Writing Bug Ltd 2015  $24.99pb 24pp

ISBN 978 0 9941 1710 6

Themes: Books in Te Reo/ Dressing up/ Team work

Here is another valuable production from Sharon Holt and Deborah Hinde with all the features from the previous books that proved so successful – the singalong CD which makes following the text so simple, the guitar chords, the follow up activities and the bright cheerful story. This time it concerns a group of Maori and Pakeha children working together, dressing up as animals and putting on a concert - and now I know how to say ‘elephant’ in Te Reo – I must find an opportunity to use it.

Preschool up/ Age 4 up

Mahi Tahi  = Work Together

Death of Mal Peet, writer

Such sad news with the announcement of the death last Monday of Mal Peet, writer. His agent Peter Cox said His best and most exciting years were still ahead: his premature death is utterly tragic.

He had the gift, once you were engaged in a conversation, of absolutely shutting out the rest of the world and concentrating entirely on what he was saying to you. I met him at a particularly happy lunch party at the home of John and Ruth McIntyre here in Wellington a couple of years ago and it is a memory to treasure.

Explore the tributes on the net – they make sad but inspiring reading. 

Husband and wife team -  Writers Elspeth Graham and Mal Peet  Photo: Kevin
Stent