story time books

This is the start of a new series about a character called Alec Devlin. It’s by Philip Caveney, the author of the Sebastian Darke books which I liked. This is quite different. Set in Egypt in 1923, it begins with a prologue which sets the scene at an archaeological dig soon after the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. Chapter one starts with Alec on a steamship on the Nile, heading towards the dig. While the Sebastian Darke books were “pure” fantasy, set in a different world with fantastical characters like talking gruffalopes, half elves and so on, this book is set in the real world. But unusual things keep happening. Alec’s Uncle is mysteriously ill after opening the tomb, and his young assistant has disappeared. Usually harmless animals attack humans, a sand storm appears and disappears as if by command, and there are other things which are very difficult to explain rationally. It becomes apparent that there are some most unusual forces at work, and Alec is determined to work out what is going on. With good writing, interesting characters and fantastic part-lenticular cover, this story will appeal to adventure and fantasy fans from senior primary upwards.

This is the fourth book in the very popular Perky the Pukeko series by Michelle Osment, illustrated by Sunset. I often comment to people in the shop that the pukeko should be our national emblem. Few of us have seen a kiwi other than behind glass, but everyone knows the cheeky pukeko, and most love them. The exceptions are gardeners and others who have had recently planted seedlings pulled out by the birds, and this is pointed out as part of this story. As with the earlier books, the story is in rhyming verse. For those who are already Perky fans this will be a must-have, and others will discover the series through this new book. There’s an environmental message here too as one of the chicks encounters a diesel spill and has to be nursed back to health.

Angie Sage’s younger fans will be delighted to hear that there’s a fifth Araminta Spook book out now. The mayhem and ghostly shenanigans continue in this book. Aunt Tabitha wins a competition in Batty About Bats magazine, and the prize is a trip for four to explore the caves of the giant bats in Transylvania. Brenda and Barry go too, so babysitters are required. Aunt Tabby’s first choice, Great Aunt Emiline is “unavoidably delayed”, so Nurse Watkins arrives. But the next day it’s not Great Aunt Emiline who comes to take over but nearly-grown-up cousin Mathilda, who charms Nurse Watkins into letting her be the babysitter. So far, so good, thinks Araminta, but unfortunately she’s brought with her two teenage poltergeists, Ned and Jed, who make rather a mess of Spook House and terrorise Araminta’s favourite ghost, Sir Horace, who wants to leave. Many twists later Araminta has a birthday party, and as usual there’s a happy ending which I won’t divulge. Araminta fans will love this, and others may discover the series, published in lovely little hardback books at paperback prices. Good reading for anyone ready for a two hundred page book with some illustrations, good font size and clever writing.

“A novel which defies all age categories,” says the blurb, and it wasn’t sold by the publisher as a children’s book, but as a “crossover” title. If that sort of marketing gets more adults to read this Kate De Goldi novel, it’s a good idea. Unlike many New Zealand books, it has a wonderful cover, by Sarah Maxey, and that’s great, because it would be a pity if a novel as good as this had a mediocre appearance. My preference as a reader is for character-driven story rather than books where the characters are manipulated in the service of the plot and this is my kind of novel.  Frankie Parsons is a terrific character, a twelve-year-old with the worries of the world on his young shoulders. The supporting cast are just as interesting: his father, known as Uncle George to his children, his mother who doesn’t leave the house, a brother and a sister, the aunts, three very fat women who enjoy life and dispense wisdom, Frankie’s friends, Gigs and Sydney, one old and one new, Cassino the bus driver and others. All the characters seem real, nothing extraordinary happens, except that all ordinary life is extraordinary, and this book celebrates that in beautiful prose that begs to be read aloud. Funny, real, tender, this is a very good read for anyone interested in good writing about an individual manifestation of the human condition. It’s been a while since Kate De Goldi has published a novel, but this has been worth the wait.

If you’ve seen The ANZAC Biscuit Man and other Classic Kiwi Tales (reviewed here last year on May 4), you will probably guess that this is a follow-up. Same author: Peter Millet, different illustrator: Eddie Booth, similar result: great fun. The original book gave a kiwi slant to classic stories, this one takes classic rhymes and adapts them to our country. “Mary, Mary, from Jackson’s dairy,/ how does your garden grow?/ With kowhai bells and paua shells,/ and painted white tyres in a row.” Or “Rub-a-dub-dub,/ three grubs in a tub,/ and who will eat them for tea?/ The tui, the gecko, the plucky pukeko?/ No, it’s the cheeky kiwi.” The first book has been very popular as a gift for children (and adults) living overseas, and this will be the same. It’s one of those things where you wonder why no-one has done it before.

This is a New Zealand novel by Tania Roxborogh, and it’s a very good read. Carl and his father love practical jokes, and play them on each other. However, Carl’s mother does not see the funny side. One day when he has overstepped the mark again his mother asks his father to take him away for a while, and Dad takes him to visit an old friend who was earlier a NASA scientist, hoping to interest Carl in something more productive. The professor gives him a box of books, but in one of the books is a small page of equations which begins to make life interesting. It appears some people will be quite ruthless to get their hands on the formula, and Carl has some problem-solving to do to work out just what is going on. Not much more can be said about the plot without spoiling it for the reader, but it is fun and exciting, with a feel of reality about it in spite of some unusual happenings. This should appeal to readers above about eight who enjoy the combination of humour and excitement. Just don’t let those with a taste for practical jokes read it: it may give them ideas.

Denis Wright has written a novel about a very troubled, very violent 14-year-old boy called Hamish. The novel is partly in the form of the story of Hamish’s effect on the staff of the institution he is in, and partly in the form of Hamish’s journal which he has been told to write by one of the staff. The form makes for some very interesting differences between the official stories the staff have been told, and Hamish’s telling of the same incidents. Hamish is very intelligent as well as very violent, and his arrogance is not endearing. He is obsessed with heroes who share some of his own traits: Alexander the Great, Te Rauparaha, and Charles Upham. He wonders if the PE instructor in the institution is another hero, but can’t work out why Toko has left the army to work where he is. By the end of the book he has solved that mystery, come across a few people who recognize the good parts of his character, and come to a more reasonable position on the rest of the world, but without any saccharine conversion to good. Very powerful stuff, and a very impressive first novel from someone who has obviously known a few tearaway characters himself. Recommended for secondary students.

My Favourite Places, by Martin Bailey, is new from Mallinson Rendel, a hardback picture book in the horizontal format in which the Lynley Dodd books have been published. In twenty-nine words (yes, I did count them) it’s the story of a boy’s adventures in one day. The first page, with no words, shows him pulling on his gumboots. After that, each double page spread shows him in a New Zealand situation, e.g in a bush stream, then the spread is repeated showing the imagined world he creates for himself. A rope becomes a snake,  a pukeko a tiger, a gecko a crocodile, etc. A jungle scene, a cowboy one, an African safari, a mountain climb, skiing, a pirate ship, and home for dinner, where he becomes a prince on a golden throne. My pick for the best value per word of any book I’ve seen this year. Clever idea, brilliant execution, a wonderful evocation of the experience of an imaginative child.

This is another book that’s by no means new, having been first published in 1996, but this is a new paperback edition. It’s a Preston Pig story, by Colin McNaughton, and is another “fractured fairy tale”, told partly from Preston Pig’s perspective, and partly the big bad wolf’s. Very funny, hugely expressive illustrations, a very enjoyable romp for those who already know the story of the three little pigs and little red riding hood.

This picture book by David Macauley appears to have had a previous life in the USA, but has now been published in Britain. It’s a beautiful story with beautiful illustrations, so it will appeal to those who like either or both of those things, and the words and pictures work wonderfully together. The book tells of Angelo, an elderly man who is repairing the stucco exterior of a church (in Italy). As he sweeps away the old sticks and feathers of the pigeons’ nests he comes across a sick pigeon which he takes home and nurses back to health. As the book progresses the pigeon is able to return the favour as Angelo becomes weaker. And just before Angelo dies, he creates a permanent nest for Sylvia (the pigeon) far above the street between some cherubs. Tony Ross, no slouch in the picture book world himself said, “A beautiful book that I just could not stop thinking about.” Not for everyone, but for people who like a touch of reality with their picture books, e.g. Gecko Press fans, and those who enjoy gorgeous illustrations, this will be a lovely addition.