story time books

This is Book 3 in The Specialists series by Shannon Greenland.The Specialists take teenagers with particular skills and use them for undercover work. GiGi, the main character, finds out in this book what happened to her parents, that they were murdered by a chemical smuggler. She immediately wants to go after him, but has to lead a Specialists mission to do that. GiGi’s speciality is computer hacking, but for this mission she needs a chemist, and Beaker is on hand. Unfortunately, their cover has to be as cheerleaders trying out for a team, and Beaker’s Goth-girl image doesn’t quite fit. So there are challenges to be faced. Although Gigi is sixteen, and very interested in David, another agent, there’s no content to stop these being read by anyone over the age of ten or eleven. Girls who love action stories will enjoy this, as will any boys who don’t have that infuriating determination not to read anything with a girl protagonist.

I’ve had several people ask me for a picture book about a horse, or horses, and here’s one such. By Malachy Doyle, with illustrations by Angelo Rinaldi, it’s a simple story about a mare waiting, the birth of a colt, his first introduction to people, and a girl’s vision for him, riding him “over the hill and all the way to the sea.” Beautiful oil illustrations. This will be much appreciated by young horse fans.

This is a sequel to The Promised One, by David Alric. Lucy, the “promised one” of the earlier book and her family and another family, go back to the Amazon rainforest to try to get to the Valley of the Ancients, where they believe there may be living dinosaurs. Unfortunately their visit coincides with one from a nasty lot of criminals determined to become filthy rich by exploiting a mineral from the next valley. I have some  reservations about the characterisation and style of these, but the plots rattle along, and those who enjoyed the first one will like this as well. As with the first book, Alric uses big words, but provides a glossary, so for nine-year-olds and up who are good readers.

By Kaye Umansky, with illustrations by Nick Price, this is a funny magical read. Clover Twig is the eldest child in a chaotic loving family, and when she reads a sign offering a job to someone “to cleen” she decides to apply, although Mrs Eckles, offering the job, is rumoured to be a witch, the talking gate is very rude, and things seem rather strange. Not as strange as they turn out to be when she gets the job and decides to live in. Apparently the cottage can fly, and Mrs Eckles’s sister Mesmeranza, also a witch, wants it badly. Wonderful over-the-top characters, excitement galore, and the evil is much funnier and less dark than Harry Potter, so this will appeal to a younger audience wanting magic that is not as scary as the Hogwarts variety. Good reading for anyone who can handle the length – it’s over 300 pages long.

OK, I only review books here if I like them so they’re all pretty positive, and sometimes I really like a book and get a bit excited, but here’s a real rave review. This novel is by Lene Kaaberbol, a Dane, and she has translated it into English herself, and it reads better than most books written by native English speakers. It has everything I want in a good book, a setting which feels as real as my world, characters who seem as real as the people around me, a story which rattles along so that I want to keep reading to find out what happens, ideas to make me think, and a style that helps me see the world I’m reading about. Kat is the main character, a wonderful feisty 12-year-old girl in a world where women are in control and men are not allowed to own businesses or land, so most of them are itinerant. Kat’s stepfather resents this, as do many men, and takes out some of his frustration on Kat, whose anger always makes things worse. The old cliche about being her own worst enemy was meant for Kat. When a woman on a silver horse arrives at her mother’s inn, Kat is drawn to both horse and rider, and her real adventures begin. There are messages about gender, power, belonging, education, and more, none of which detract in any way from the story, as they are part of it. I like it so much I’ve bought the first copy myself, and have reordered it immediately. Good readers of 11 and over who can cope with ideas will love this, and rumour has it there’s another adventure to come. The afterword makes it clear that this world is in the future, and how it came about. Some readers may find this part a little political, as it suggests that women are in control in this future because men destroyed our world. Don’t let that put you off; it’s a terrific read, with lots of shades of gray in its treatment of people and issues. Good and evil are nowhere near as simple as in Harry Potter, for example. Wonderful stuff. I’ll be very impatient for the next.

By Katherine Ayres and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, this is a deceptively simple picture book about the pleasure of growing things to eat. The text is simple, rhyming, and points out that some things grow up, some down, and some, like cucumbers, pumpkins, beans and tomatoes grow in winding fashion. And the illustrations show not only the things the text mentions, but the busy life of birds, insects, above and below ground, and pets, so that there are lots of things to point out and look for in the pictures. The connection is made at the end between the growing and the eating: “Fresh and tasty, get a bunch. Pick some. Pull some. LET’S HAVE LUNCH!” Great idea, great execution.

This is a hardback novel by Linda Newbery. Her last book was Set in Stone, which I reviewed here in March last year. This is very different, but similarly well written. Flightsend is a cottage Charlie’s mother buys in an attempt to start a new life after giving birth to a dead baby. She leaves her teaching career and goes into growing things for sale. Charlie pines for Sean, her mother’s partner, who has been shoved off in the aftermath of their personal tragedy. With that in the past, the present is mainly very ordinary everyday stuff, beautifully described, and Charlie’s character is particularly well drawn. Her growing sense of herself, and recognition of the imperfections of some of the adults around her is beautifully done. The book will be too slow for some, but the detail in the observation and character development make it a very satisfying read. Teenage/young adult.

Rhymes from around the world collected by Danielle Wright, beautifully illustrated by Mique Moriuchi and published by Gecko Press. This is a wonderful selection from different cultures, each rhyme in translation as well as in its original language. Often these sorts of anthologies have bias towards cultures which are more like the English speakers they are designed for, but this has rhymes from New Zealand (Maori), China, Australia (Kaurna language), Norway, Ireland, Tonga, Jamaica, Japan, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Denmark, Iran, Germany, Samoa, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, France, Holland, Iceland and India, so it’s a fairly diverse lot. Another terrific Gecko production which begs to be read out loud. I hope many parents and other adults will attempt to read the rhymes in their original language as well. It’s also a lovely warm book to look at, and has an introduction by Michael Rosen.

Mo Willem’s pigeon is back, and up to its usual tricks of emotional blackmail. As the title suggests, the pigeon wants a puppy, promises to water it once a month (well, everyone knows puppies need plenty of sunshine and water). Then there’s a woof from off page, the pigeon’s wish comes true and…. “It’s huge! The teeth! The hair! That wet nose! The slobber! The claws!” and the pigeon changes its mind. At the end of the book Pigeon has decided another animal would be preferable – a walrus! Great fun, and fans of the other Pigeon books will love this one too.

Did humans exist, or are they just make-believe? Thelonius Chipmunk has a postcard showing a building made of glass and concrete which he thinks is proof. Then one day he’s carried away by a flash flood and finds real evidence. He’s in the city on his postcard, but now it’s falling down. He meets other animals who can do things that amaze him: some read, one can fly a machine. Then the adventure really begins. Some chapters are graphic novel-like, others are mainly text with a few pictures. A terrific story which rattles along, great animal characters (bear, porcupine, lizard and more), this is a book which should appeal to anyone over about eight who is a good reader, but mainly upper primary and intermediate age readers. A series to watch out for, written and illustrated by Susan Schade and Jon Buller.