 For most of her short life, Lillian Velvet has lived with her stern, uncompromising and decidedly unaffectionate grandmother. Her days are regimented and she must follow the routine set for her otherwise there is the sting of a sharp reprimand. But things change dramatically on the day of her tenth birthday. Grandmother gives Lillian a jar of gold coins and tells her, ‘Don’t go out, don’t open the door to anyone – and don’t spend all your coins at once,’ which seems odd to Lillian as she’s not allowed to go out so how could she spend her coins? Just when she thinks things cannot get stranger, she feels an almighty shove and finds herself somewhere very different to her home in Bomaderry.
Lillian has begun her adventures in the Kingdoms and Empires series where magic, intrigue and a certain spurious character called Mr Turtlehaze follow her everywhere. Each time she experiences the shove she finds herself in another kingdom that costs her more of her gold coins, and where it falls upon Lillian to save someone from danger. Throughout her seemingly disconnected forays she encounters Shadow Mages, True Mages, Sparks, Hurtlings, Spellbinders and even a Queen – all creatures and people she has never met but who are somehow familiar. Lillian also meets the various members of the Mettlestone family who are brave, courageous, and kind. They will all play a key role in helping Lillian discover who – and what - she really is. This intriguing, character driven plot is like a puzzle, with each chapter disclosing another piece about Lillian and her time travels. Readers will be captivated from the very beginning by a fast paced, compelling, and intricate storyline that will have them on the edge of their seats anticipating the final, monumental revelation of Lillian’s secret. Kelly Canby’s colourful cover design and delightful black and white chapter illustrations with their Picasso-esque faces are the perfect complement to a wonderfully quirky and endearing story. Although this is Book 5 and I read it as a stand-alone, it only left me wanting to find out more about the wonderful worlds that came before this one, created by the talented Jaclyn Moriarty. This was my first venture into the Kingdoms and Empires series but it won’t be my last. Teaching themes could include magic, fantasy, quests, spells, humour, courage, resourcefulness, family, friends, belonging and love. Find out more about Jaclyn Moriarty Find out more about Kelly Canby Published by Allen & Unwin Release date: 31 October 2023 ISBN: 9781761067570 (HB) Highly recommended for ages 10 - 14
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This fourth installment in the Cat Kid Comic Club series from Dav Pilkey is another triumph, not only because of its trademark graphic format, but for the inspiration within for young writers and illustrators. Join Li'l Petey, Molly, Flippy and the baby frogs, as they share their successes and failures in story creation with the world. They also provide an insight into the process of writing, with each chapter using either a slightly different graphic format and/or a different writing technique. In Wendy and Raine’s chapter about their dad’s life story, they use a traditional comic format in the illustrations, but have incorporated A LOT of exaggeration in the actual story. Gilbert and Curly learn about copyright and parody in their creation of Frogzilla. Summer and Starla use photography and the art of Haiku for their story.
There are chapters highlighting storyboarding, recycling toys to create completely different characters, using real life sequential images instead of illustrations, 3-D modelling, being an agent, getting published, and all the while learning to be respectful, resilient, creative and collaborative. My favourite chapter is Billie and Corky’s story Run Little Baby, Run!!! because it incorporates mondegreens – the misinterpretation or mishearing of phrases to create totally new meanings – and an order of two large French fries and a supa-sized shake becomes two large French flies and a supa-sized snake with hilarious consequences. The thing I love about the Cat Kid stories is that readers won’t even know they are absorbing and learning all of these creative insights because of the very clever and thoughtful way Dav Pilkey writes and presents the books. Bright, colourful, humorous illustrations with large, colourful fonts, and funny, engaging stories that are quick and easy to read, are what capture the children’s imaginations. And the graphic novel format has been such a drawcard for reluctant readers. Many children who found chapter books a struggle are now avid readers, thanks to authors and illustrators like Dav Pilkey who make reading accessible, appealing and most of all - fun! Watch the trailer for Melvin and Naomi's comic creation Chubbs McSpiderbutt: Easy Spider below Supporting teaching themes include family, persistence, resilience, collaboration, respect, copyright, graphic novels, photography, recycling, storyboarding, story writing and publishing. Find out more about the Cat Kid Comic Club series. Find out more about Dav Pilkey. Published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Release date November 29th, 2022. ISBN: 9781338846621 (HB) Highly recommended for ages 7 - 10.  How do you grow your heart? With gratitude. Jack, Lila, Mina, Li Wei and Rosie are back again and this time each reveal how they learn to focus on what they have rather than what they don't have, to say thank you and to be grateful. Each child takes us on their own journey of discovery to find out what gratitude means to them, and how it inspires them to try and make the world a better place. We learn about the many ways we can show our gratitude and not only help other peoples hearts grow and become filled with joy and happiness, but our own as well. One of my favourite lines from this gentle and thought provoking story is 'Gratitude is like opening a door, and seeing the world in a new way.' What a simple but beautiful message, and such a wonderful way of encouraging our youngest humans to look after the world, and to connect with and understand each other. Each page is full of bright and intuitive images that perfectly capture the meaning of the text. The smiles on the faces of the children as they experience the joy of being grateful are truly heart warming.
Back matter includes 'big people' talking about what they are grateful for, discussion questions for children, notes for parents and carers, and tips for nurturing gratitude in children. This is the latest in series of books about values by this superb author/illustrator duo entitled 'Human Kind: A Little Good in a Big World' and would make a wonderful addition to any library collection. Wellbeing, mindfulness, being thankful, values, diversity, kindness and cultural understanding are all topics that can be linked as teaching ideas for the classroom from this delightful picture book. Find out more about Zanni Louise here. Find out more about Missy Turner here. Find out more about the Human Kind series here. Published in 2021 by Five Mile Press ISBN 9781922514455 (HB) Recommended for ages 3 - 8 |
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