story time books

Until now the very popular Zac Power series have always had missions which were performed within 24 hours, so they were subtitled 24 Hours to Save the World and.... (clean the pool/sweep the drive/some other mundane chore). Now there’s a new series of four books of Mega Missions (“this time it’s going to take more than 24 hours”). The usual excitement, gadgets and gizmos, and each book includes a keyring with pen/compass/something Zac-ish as a bonus. Will be loved by the many Zac Power fans. As with the previous series, good for anyone from 6-year-olds ready for chapter books, to 10- or 11-year-old reluctant readers.

I’ve been talking to people about this in advance, having seen a copy in the original German a while ago, and an English copy last month, and here it is. By Wolf Erlbruch, the illustrator of The Story of the Little Mole who knew it was None of his Business, translated by Catherine Chidgey, this is a quintessential Gecko Press Book. The British and Americans, from whom we get most of our imported books, are somewhat squeamish about things like defecation and death, but many European societies are not, which is why some of the Gecko Press books have been such valuable extenders of the topics discussed in children’s books. This will provoke discussion, with some parents and grandparents feeling that death, or Death in this case, is an unsuitable topic for a children’s book, but with some others who have already reviewed the book, I love it.

Duck notices one day that someone is creeping along behind her. When accosted, the follower says, “Good…you’ve finally noticed me, I am Death.” After a few moments of terror, “and who could blame her?” Duck realises that death is really quite friendly, “if you forgot for a moment who he was,” and she takes him to her beloved pond. “Death had been dreading that,” and when he can’t stand the damp any longer, Duck offers to warm him. “Nobody had ever offered to do that for Death.” When the inevitable end comes, Death lays her on the river. “For a long time he watched her. When she was lost to sight, he was almost a little moved. But that’s life, thought Death.” Beautiful minimalist illustrations which add to the poignancy and humour. On the final page, or endpaper, without words, Death walks away, a very cunning-looking fox chasing a bounding rabbit around his legs. Every word, every picture, every gesture is right, and adds to the story and the feelings evoked. As the blurb says: “elegant, straightforward, and life-affirming.” Wunderbar! Watch for the tulip, important enough to get a mention in the title, but never mentioned in the text.

Lynley Dodd’s latest has nothing to do with Hairy Maclary, or Slinky Malinky, or any of the others she’s written about so wonderfully over the last 25 years. No, this is completely standalone, in some ways more reminiscent of Dr Seuss than Hairy Maclary. The bombazine bear tells the taffeta cat, that “the Dudgeon is coming, he’s shy and polite,” and by the time the news is passed to  the hopalong snoot, then the blue cockatoo, the stickleback twitch, the pineapple pig and finally the pineapple owl, the Dudgeon has become a fearsome beast who may bite, cause fights, and is certainly someone to be feared rather than welcomed. On the last page the Dudgeon is revealed to be very much smaller than the other animals,  very polite, as foretold, and very friendly-looking. Wonderfully exuberant illustrations, another terrific addition to the Dodd collection, with all the trademarks, impeccable rhyme which rejoices in big words like “Regency” and “omnibus” and gentle humour. Sure to be a favourite bedtime story for many.

This is by Lili Wilkinson, another book in Allen & Unwin’s Girlfriend fiction series. I had my doubts about the series at first, partly because I don’t like the genderfication of fiction for teenagers, but have read several of them and been impressed, and this one is very good. Imogen, or Midge, is 16 and to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that she doesn’t have a current, or even a past boyfriend, she invents an English one, even creating emails from and a MySpace page for him. She’s then paired for a school project with the geeky George. When someone with the same name and characteristics as her invented boyfriend arrives at her school life gets complicated. The writer controls the resulting chaos well and the message is ultimately a positive one, but not until things have got scarily out-of-control for a while. A good read for teenagers.

Another novel by a New Zealand author, Elizabeth Pulford, which creates a completely believable alternative society. Alayna is a girl/young woman living in a tribe, the Trahern, which is constantly at war with another tribe, the Doane. The war is characterised by intermittent skirmishes, but each tribe demonises the other. When Alayna’s father dies she is determined not to go and live with her pious uncle and aunt, and escapes into her beloved forest, where she finds making a life for herself much more difficult than she had imagined. She recreates herself as Blackthorn, is helped by other solitaries, captured at one point by the Doane and has to reassess her tribal view of them, and eventually comes to terms with her own somewhat headstrong nature by incorporating remembered wisdom from her father with things she learns for herself. Beautifully written, wonderful characters whose actions and society ring very true. Good readers 10 and up, but will probably be most appreciated by secondary students

Book Two in this series by Nicholas Scott (the first was The Alchemyst, reviewed here 27 June 2007) is again for older readers who like to be scared. Sophie and Josh, the twins, Flamel (the immortal) and Scathatch (the warrior vampire) arrive in Paris to find that two other immortals, John Dee and Nicolo Machiavelli, are hot in pursuit and prepared to do anything to get the last two pages of the codex which will allow them to put an end to the power of humani and restore it to the dark elders. Josh is jealous of his sister’s new powers, becoming more suspicious of Flamel because of what Dee told him in California. On Flamel’s side, his Paris allies include the Comte de Sainte-Germaine and his wife Joan (Of Arc, the Maid of Orleans) apparently snatched from the fire that was meant to kill her by Scatty. And back in the US of A, Perenelle Flamel is escaping fro Alcatraz. Heaps of references to myth and legend, so the more the reader knows of those the more interesting the read. Great writing, terrific narrative and realistic characters, but the struggle between good and evil is even darker than in the Harry Potter books, and less clear-cut, so not for the faint hearted.

“In the Jingle Jangle Jungle on a cold and rainy day,/four little friends found a perfect place to play./ Moose had marvellous antlers and Lion, a golden mane./ Zebra had fantastic stripes and Sheep…well Sheep was plain.” Lovely rhyming text and dramatic pictures, both from Nick Bland, and the story is that the perfect place is the cave of a cranky bear. The three decorated animals decide he must be cranky because he doesn’t have antlers, stripes or mane, but when they provide the bear with these he’s not overly impressed and roars at Sheep that all he really wants is a quiet place to sleep. So thoughtful, plain sheep clips off  half her wool, puts it in a cotton bag and gives it to the bear as a pillow. On the final spread the other animals are back to playing cards beside a peacefully sleeping Bear. Terrific value from Scholastic at $18.00 in hardback.

A novel approach to the book-full-of- facts genre. It’s got more than 200 facts about how much of things happens in a minute. Examples from the back cover (which suggests it might take a minute to read): 6000 lightning strikes, 1000 kg of popcorn eaten, 134 horses born, 21,000 pizzas baked, 954 camera phones sold, the International Space Station will travel 465 km, and the earth will receive 824.5 million tonnes of rainfall!!!! Chapters on Earth, Space, Human Body, Technology, Animals, Food, Pop Culture and Sports. And I’m sure you’ve always wanted to know that a hair grows 0.00069 cm in a minute.

Hilary McKay’s Charlie books are a delight: wonderful real, humorous books in the first chapter book area. In this book, which follows Charlie & the Cheese & Onion Crisps (the most recent), and four others, Charlie needs to make amends for having thrown his brother Max’s football boots through the windscreen of a car parked outside their house. Max generously offers to go with Charlie to own up, and the owner assumes that Max is the culprit, an assumption Max generously allows. When Max has to go to their great-aunt’s haunted house Charlie  is generous in return but can’t resist winding Max up in the night.  Normal chaos (when Charlie’s around) ensues, and it’s just as funny as the other books in the series. They’re great stories for the 6-8-year-olds just ready for chapter books, with  pictures on every second or third page to break up the text.

The sequel to Tunnels, (described on the cover as the underground bestseller, haha) by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, has all the good qualities of the first book. The boys have, as suggested by the title, gone even deeper below topsoil in an attempt to find Will’s father. Meanwhile, his real mother has been persuaded by the Styx, and Will’s sister Rebecca in particular, that Will killed his uncle Tam. Lots of evil, lots of help from good people, another terrific fantasy read. Good readers nine-years-old and up will enjoy. Certainly those who loved the first book won’t be disappointed by this one.