Tag Archives: children’s fiction

Jun5

My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester

Posted on by
Standard

mydogbigsycoverMy Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester, hardback picture book, published by Penguin Group in 2015.

Bigsy is an energetic dog that gets up early and runs about the farm visiting all of the animals and making a lot of noise.

My Dog Bigsy is one of my favourite Alison Lester books. It is a delightful and noisy romp about the farm. Bigsy disturbs the cockatoos, Squawk!, chases the sheep, Baa! and says hello to the cat, Flip! Flap! What a loud way to start the day! This is a great story to introduce and have fun with the sounds of different words. My toddlers particularly like it when Bigsy slurps his water and crunches his breakfast.

The illustrations on every page are simple, bold and cute. I like that the background grass and bedspread appear to have been made using some fabric. Bigsy is a pretty cute dog, though Patchy Pig and her piglets are my favourite with their mud splattered tummies.

My Dog Bigsy is suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and lower primary school children. It is best read out loud to make the most of all the sounds that can be heard on the farm.

 

* My Dog Bigsy is shortlisted for the 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Early Childhood Book category.

 

Jun4

Bumbling Bea by Deborah Baldwin

Posted on by
Standard

Bumbling Bea by Deborah Baldwin, fiction e-book, 124 pages, published in 2014.

In a last attempt to get in with the popular kids before high school starts, Beatrice auditions for the lead in the school play. She’s sure she’s a shoe-in, until a new Japanese student interrupts her plans. Michiko is actually a good actor, and suddenly Beatrice finds herself backstage instead of being the centre of the show. Her mean alter ego comes to the fore, with snarky and sarcastic comments, cruel pranks, and behaviour that just isn’t her. Can she overcome Bumbling Bea, befriend Michiko and keep Jerri and Peter on her side?

I liked this story. It reminded me of how awkward it can be growing up and it made me laugh! The theatre can be lots of fun for kids to get involved in, but sometimes it’s taken too seriously ending up with some rather crazy antics.

Bumbling Bea was a humourous story about the awkwardness of growing up. I think every child goes through a period of something similar to Beatrice as they try to discover themselves and their place in the world. Unfortunately for Beatrice, she has a hard time keeping her inner thoughts to herself, which results in her getting herself in all sorts of funny trouble.

The production of the play was very amusing, especially the inclusion of the red balls and the principal. I also laughed when Peter tried to help Bea with her prank against Michiko and it backfired, and when Beatrice tried to give her teacher a nice leaving present. Beatrice’s mum’s cooking sounded pretty atrocious too, but it amused me that her brother would name the meals according to which country’s flag it resembled.

There were a few areas in the story that didn’t flow neatly. I even thought I might have read a chapter out of order at one point, it was a little fragmented at times. I re-read a few bits, which helped me get things clearer. Otherwise, I thought the plot was interesting, and the characters realistic. Bea’s outbursts definitely reminded me of some snarky kids from my own school days! I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Jerri in the story, she is supposed to be Beatrice’s best friend, but it didn’t read quite that way.

Bumbling Bea is suitable for middle and upper primary school children to lower high school students. It is a good book for independent readers, especially those that like to laugh!

 

*I received this book as a digital copy from the author, who asked me for an honest review of this book. I did not receive any other remuneration, and the review is composed entirely of my own opinions.

 

SaveSave

Jun4

My Adventure Island by Timothy Knapman and Sarah Warburton

Posted on by
Standard

adventureislandcoverMy Adventure Island by Timothy Knapman and Sarah Warburton, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Chidlren’s Books in 2012.

“Here on my island I do what I like.” A young boy tells of all the things he gets to do on his adventure island.

My Adventure Island is a beautiful story of imagination and creativity. With gorgeous, bright illustrations on every page, you can get lost in this world where anything can happen. You can play and climb and eat ice-cream, never go to bed or shower and you can even pick your nose! The picture of the boy and his friends picking their noses while poking our their tongues is one of our favourites! I love that there are robots, dinosaurs, and sock seaweed, but I like it best when the cat becomes a tiger for a knight.

The story is lyrical and the text clear. It is wonderful to share aloud, and my kids like it. They play games like this, pretending to be and do all sorts of things. The ending is very sweet too.

My Adventure Island is suitable for toddlers through to lower primary school children, and it is a very nice book to read aloud.

Jun3

New Library Additions May ’16

Posted on by
Standard

Added some books to my home library this month!

IMG_7614 (1)

Physical Books:

E-books:

What new books did you get in May?

May31

Sleepy Pendoodle by Malachy Doyle and Julie Vivas

Posted on by
Standard

pendoodlecoverSleepy Pendoodle by Malachy Doyle and illustrated by Julie Vivas, paperback picture book, published by Walker Books Ltd in 2002.

A little girl finds a lost and lonely pup one day and takes him home. She feeds him and pets him, but he doesn’t open his eyes, so she goes to to uncle for some advice.

I first came across Sleepy Pendoodle when my eldest child was a toddler. She fell in love with this story and asked for it at the library almost every visit, until I bought a copy so we could read it whenever she liked. It has remained a favourite, and is now well loved by all of my children. It is one of my favourites too, and I have, so far, not tired of reading it aloud.

The story is funny and engaging, with lyrical text, perfect for reading out loud. My kids love the rhymes she says trying to get the pup to open his eyes! I love how she gets it mixed up, it always makes me smile. I think my favourite bit is when she calls the pup “sloppy popwaddle”.

And the illustrations are lovely; bright, vivacious and unforgettable. The pup is so cute and I love the girl’s hair and outfit. My second daughter often asked for ‘Pendoodle hair’ for preschool!

Sleepy Pendoodle is a gorgeous book that should be in every child’s home library. It is wonderful to share with toddlers, preschoolers and primary school children. My fourth grader still gets her dose of Sleepy Pendoodle reading to her younger siblings!

May30

My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cohen and James Foley

Posted on by
Standard

deadbunnycoverMy Dead Bunny by Sigi Cohen and illustrated by James Foley, hardback picture book, published by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd in 2015.

Brad the Bunny might be dead, but he doesn’t want to leave! A dark zombie picture book, what’s not to love!?

Fun rhyming text complements the wonderful illustrations in My Dead Bunny. The pictures are mostly black and white with green and pink highlights. This works perfectly for the type of story it is. The little worm that pokes out of Brad’s head is orange and so smiley! I liked this touch. In fact, I just really liked Brad. He is adorably freaky, with scary pink eyes pointing off in different directions… just, I don’t want him to wander into my bedroom at night! My favourite picture is where Brad meets his death, it’s so detailed.

The story itself made me laugh. I love the ending. It is the perfect solution! A couple of the rhymes aren’t quite rhymes, but the story still flows. The text is clear and easy to read.

I really enjoy zombie and monster stories and movies, and that has rubbed off on my kids. They have liked films like ‘Frankenweenie’, ‘Paranorman’, and ‘Hotel Transylvania’. So I went ahead and read My Dead Bunny to my preschooler and first grader. They both loved it. My first grader read it again to herself straight away.

Suitable for primary school children, just keep in mind that some kids may be frightened by the zombie bunny. My Dead Bunny is fantastic to share aloud. Try it by torchlight on a dark and stormy night!

 

* My Dead Bunny is shortlisted for the 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Picture Book category.

 

May27

Tovi the Penguin Goes to the Seaside by Janina Rossiter

Posted on by
Standard

Tovi the Penguin - goes to the sea side Cover.inddTovi the Penguin Goes to the Seaside by Janina Rossiter, picture e-book, published in 2016.

Tovi and his two friends have gone to the beach. They set up camp, build sandcastles and swim, but something unexpected happens while they take a nap!

My kids love penguins of all shapes and sizes. They will spend hours watching them at the zoo, and in documentaries, as well as reading about them in both fiction and non-fiction books. So Tovi the Penguin definitely took their fancy!

Tovi the Penguin Goes to the Seaside is a cute story about friendship and fun at the beach. The language is easy to read, and the text is clear. There are little pieces of speech associated with each penguin, aside from the main narration, which we liked.  The story is nice, and I enjoyed reading it aloud to my toddlers.

Bright, simple illustrations adorn every page. Can you spot the ladybird in each picture? I like the sandcastle and the sea creatures that the penguins see when they are snorkelling.

Tovi the Penguin Goes to the Seaside is suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and lower primary school students. It is part of a whole series of Tovi the Penguin stories. We hope to read more about Tovi soon.

 

May25

The Flood at the Zoo by Mr. Baker-Hall

Posted on by
Standard

The_Flood_At_The_Zoo_Cover_for_KindleThe Flood at the Zoo by Mr. Baker-Hall and illustrated by Carlos Brito, picture e-book, published by Baker-Hall Group Limited in 2016.

A flood has hit the zoo and the animals must find a way to beat the rising waters. What will happen to them?

I’m not a fan of this book, though I liked it better than Dinner at the Zoo. The text is mostly rhyming with some tongue twister type material. It all felt forced, like it was trying too hard to be silly and funny, but didn’t make it. I really disliked the part with the seahorse, it was annoying. There was some effort made to engage the reader, asking questions that would get the kids involved.  I did like the ending, it was the best bit of the story.

The picture of the ape falling to the ground was funny, though the style of illustration generally didn’t suit me.

The Flood at the Zoo is suitable for lower primary school students. There are also colouring books available in this series.

 

*I received this book as a digital copy from the author, who asked me for an honest review of this book. I did not receive any other remuneration, and the review is composed entirely of my own opinions.

May25

Dinner at the Zoo by Mr. Baker-Hall

Posted on by
Standard

dinneratthezoocoverDinner at the Zoo by Mr. Baker-Hall and illustrated by Carlos Brito, picture e-book, published by Baker-Hall Group Limited in 2016.

Join the zoo animals as they enjoy their dinner. See what the bear, monkeys and big cats are eating tonight.

Overall I didn’t really like this book. It was more a string of related rhymes than a story, and some of it didn’t even make sense. A few of the rhymes were really terrible. I hated the one about the tick and Rick the chick. It was forced, and I don’t really think of ticks and chicks as zoo animals anyway. And why is there a star-nosed mole at the zoo? I also disliked the rhyme with the wolf and rhino. It was nonsense, but not in the good silly and funny way. Not all of the rhymes were bad though, I quite liked the one about the sloth and her milkshake, as well as the cheetahs eating fajitas. If more of them had been like that, the book would have been much more fun!

The illustrations are colourful and bright, but the style wasn’t really for me. I did like the cheetahs and the spotted cats.

Dinner at the Zoo is suitable for lower primary school children. There is a second book in this series, Flood at the Zoo, I will give it a go and see what it’s like. There are also a couple of colouring books availbale.

 

*I received this book as a digital copy from the author, who asked me for an honest review of this book. I did not receive any other remuneration, and the review is composed entirely of my own opinions.

 

May23

CBCA Shortlist for 2016

Posted on by
Standard

The Children’s Book Council of Australia announced their Book of the Year shortlist for 2016 on Friday. I get so excited waiting for this every year!

Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators of these wonderful books!

I am looking forward to reading as many as I can. Unfortunately there never seems enough time to get through all of them.

 

In the early childhood category;

  • Piranha’s Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey
  • The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Tony Wilson and illustrated by Laura Wood
  • My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester
  • Mr Huff by Anna Walker
  • Perfect by Danny Parker and illustrated by Freya Blackwood
  • Ollie and the Wind by Ghosh Ronojoy

 

In the picture book category;

  • My Dead Bunny by James Foley with text by Sigi Cohen
  • Suri’s Wall by Matt Ottley  with text by Lucy Estela
  • And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Bruce Whatley with text by Eric Bogle
  • One Step at a Time by Sally Heinrich with text by Jane Jolly
  • Ride, Ricardo, Ride! by Shane Devries with text by Phil Cummings
  • Flight by Armin Greder with text by Nadia Wheatley

 

In the younger readers category;

  • Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray
  • Soon by Morris Gleitzman
  • Run, Pip, Run by J. C. Jones
  • Star of Deltora: Shadows of the Master by Emily Rodda
  • Sister Heart by Sally Morgan
  • The Cleo Stories: A Friend and a Pet by Libby Gleeson and illustrated by Freya Blackwood

 

In the older readers category;

  • The Flywheel by Erin Gough
  • Cloudwish by Fiona Wood
  • The Pause by John Larkin
  • Inbetween Days by Vikki Wakefield
  • Freedom Ride by Sue Lawson
  • A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay

 

Information books;

  • Phasmid: Saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect by Rohan Cleave and illustrated by Coral Tulloch
  • The Amazing True Story of how Babies are Made by Fiona Katauskas
  • Ancestry: Stories of Multicultural Anzacs by Robyn Siers and illustrated by Carlie Walker
  • Lennie The Legend: Solo to Sydney by Pony by Stephanie Owen Reeder
  • We are the Rebels: the Women and Men who made Eureka by Clare Wright
  • The White Mouse: The Story of Nancy Wake by Peter Gouldthorpe

 

I am quite keen to read The Flywheel, it sounds interesting. I’m also looking forward to sharing the early childhood and picture books with my kids, they are always worth a read. We already love The Cow Tripped Over the Moon and Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas, so now I am excited to discover the others.

Which of these books have you read? Which ones do you think will be Book of the Year?