Booking in September

Picture Books

Liarbird, by Laura and Philip Bunting – I totally loved this one!! The illustrations and book design are superb (some of the best endpapers I’ve ever seen), everything appears simple and clean, which really means every detail of the images is restrained and deliberate. The story is also wonderful, giving the readers an opportunity to think about truth and honesty.

I did an Instagram post about this book and the author, Laura Bunting, has commented on that post describing the intention of the book.

Ivy Bird, by Tania McCartney and Jess Racklyeft – This is a treasure. My preschoolers straight away wanted to start the book again and look for all the bird imagery we had missed on our first read. Sometimes I think that I ought to show my kids more non-fiction books with accurate photos of things in nature. Surely that’s the most educational thing I can do? Then we read a book like this and I realise that educating their little imaginations, with more abstract but beautiful images, is just as important.

Pig the Tourist, by Aaron Blabey – We all love Aaron Blabey and we all love Pig the Pug. Scholastic has a real talent of finding a winning combination and squeezing everything they can out of it. For those who haven’t read one of the Pig the Pug books yet, I wouldn’t start with this one. But for those who are already familiar with Pig’s personality and antics, you’ll get more of the same just on a global scale.

Giant Tess, by Dan Yaccarino – This is a fairly simple story, girl gets adopted, as she grows it’s very evident that she is very different from everyone else, which leads to her feelings of loneliness and a desire for isolation – in short, it’s all about feeling left out. Don’t we all remember feeling like we were the only one who didn’t fit in, not realising that everyone else felt the same way?

What makes this book stand out is the awesome style of the illustrations which I would describe as ‘retro mythology’. The bold colors and mid-centruy fashion give the book a distinctive feel that the events happened in the 50’s. The dragons, cyclops’, dwarves, fairies, and centaurs make you ask: the 50s? but which century?

If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen – I heard Jordan reading this aloud to one of the kids from a different room and my first thought was: that sounds like Dr. Suess, in particular, If I Ran The Zoo. That is not a criticism of this book in any way, because when you see the illustrations along with the text you can see that no two books have more different styles. Dr. Suess uses uncomplicated line drawings with a handful of colours which are fun, funny and familiar. Chris Van Dusen creates complex scenes with lots of detail and all the colours of the spectrum. One particularly impressive feature is the chrome finishes on the Car Jack envisions, Van Dusen has it mirroring the scenes. It’s genius.

The Good Egg, by Jory John and Pete Oswald – This is the follow up to The Bad Seed, which the kids really liked. The main character is the only egg in the carton to behave well. He wants to help others and make sure things run smoothly. The pressure this puts on him causes him to begin to crack. This leads to a journey of self repair and care. It’s a great little message that I think (or I hope) is more suited to adults.

Chalk Boy, by Margaret Wild and Mandy Ord – While this was not my favorite book, the kids really liked it. Perhaps it’s because of the unique subject matter, chalk pavement art, is something they can easily relate to. For Melbournians, it is fun to see the iconic Flinders Street Station feature as the setting in a kids picture book.

The Doorbell Rang, by Pat Hutchins – I think I must have experienced Pat Hutchins’ books in my childhood because every time we get a whiff of 1990. My kids seem to love them too. This was a fun one that my kids had read before at school for maths class.

Middle-Grade Books

Daisy and the Trouble With Coconuts and Daisy and the Trouble with Piggy Banks, by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt – I had forgotten about these books. A few years ago Jude read as many of the series as our library had in circulation. And now Freya is at a stage where they are just right for her. The main character, Daisy, is a feisty, self-assured girl who speaks her truth. The books are funny and interesting with the right amount of illustrations, just right for the newly fluent reader.

Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth, by Lisa Nicol – This is a book for the kid with the big imagination. It’s a little like Charlie and the chocolate factory; a down and out boy gets the chance of a lifetime to experience opulence, luxury, extravagance, and grand-ness. Although in this book the boy, Vincent, is a little less passive than Charlie and has to take decisive action to right his mistakes.

War Is Over, by David Almond and David Litchfield – This is a short novel (no chapters) aimed at 9 yrs+ that deals with the tricky emotions and moral ramifications of war. Set in England as WW2 is coming to a close, we see the effects of the war from the perspective of a primary schooler who can’t understand why the war is going on and why no one knows when it will end. I’m a big fan of David Litchfield’s illustrations in general and he has done a great job and supporting the text of this book with black and white, age-appropriate artwork.

My Life As An Alphabet, by Barry Jonsberg – This is an older book and is probably for high schoolers, but I still really enjoyed it. I wish I had read it 20 years ago. The main character, Candice Phee, seems to have some level of autism or Asperger’s syndrome. She is (too) honest, (too) determined and (too) different. With no friends, a dysfunctional family and a penpal who doesn’t respond and she is justified in feeling lonely, despondent, and hopeless. Yet she finds something inside her that drives her to begin making changes with the goal of making her life happier.

Books Jude Read

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• Frankie Fish Series, by Peter Hellier
• Lupo Series, by Aby King
• Toffle Towers: Fully Booked, by Tim Harris and James Foley
• Stinkbomb and Ketchup-face and the Badness of Badgers, by Joh Dougherty and Sam Ricks
• Ninja Kid #4: Amazing Ninja, by Anh Do and Jeremy Ley
• The World’s Worst Teachers, by David Walliams – I didn’t get to read this, but Jude read out a few paragraphs and it was very funny.
• The Elephant, by Peter Carnavas

Booking for Mum

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom – It has been about 15 years since I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven. So, after contracting baby-brain 4 times I have completely lost the plot, plus I remember nothing about the storyline and characters of the book. I only remember that at the time it really affected me. I wouldn’t say that I loved it, but that it influenced me and encouraged me to think.

I would give similar comments about The Next Person You Meet in Heaven. While it’s not a book that gives you warm fuzzies all the way through, the character development, the plot and the build-up ensure that the ending certainly does. The main character, Annie, for most of her life is a sad, lonely, emotional mess and we get glimpses into why that is. Eventually, we are shown the full puzzle and we see the greater purpose and teaching occurring for Annie. And if it is so for Annie, I think Albom wants the reader to consider that, such is the case for all of us.

It was a great read for a time-poor mum. Albom contains so much story into such a short book. He is so skillful and articulate, a wonderful curator of words.

Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe (Borrow Box, read by Bruce Pascoe) – This read was long overdue. I had the privilege of seeing Bruce Pascoe speak about this book and the ideas presented in it at the CBCA National Conference in early June. He presentation was an eye-opening experience for me regarding the education I had received about the history of Australia’s First People.

Bruce presents evidence not just of the long history of Aboriginal people, but of the complexity of their communities, their knowledge of the land, and their many achievements and accomplishments as they thrived in the various climates of the vast Australian continent. Bruce also points out that the atrocities committed against Aboriginal people in the early days of European invasion has a lot to do with the misconceptions and incorrect assumptions promoted in more recent times; that the arrogance of the white men of the 1800s has lead to a great deal of ignorance in the 1900s and 2000s.

This is a must for all those still suffering from an Australian history education based on government created curriculum.

9 Ways To A Resilient Child, by Dr. Justin Coulson, Ph.D. (Borrow Box, read by Justin Coulson) – I think I started listening to this book on an emotional day. I was really thrown by the first few chapters. I have tried really hard to be a diligent parent, only to be shown how flawed some of my actions have been. This was compounded by the realisation that I’ll never be able to go back in time and change. All I can do is try better from now on.

This book has some great insights into many areas of the parent-child relationship and is not just for those trying to address resilience.

Working Stiff, by Dr. Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell – After thoroughly enjoying Unnatural Causes a few months ago I thought I’d enjoy another memoir from a forensic pathologist. I was right, this was also tremendously eye-opening and enthralling. Dr. Melinek is very open about the challenges she faced in childhood and with the path she took to become trained in her profession. Her experiences are so real and honest. Of particular interest was the work she did in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in NYC in 2001. It’s really fascinating stuff if you have a strong stomach.