October in Australia is spring and while some children will "celebrate" Halloween at the end of the month this is actually a month of flowers, two weeks of school holidays and the beginnings of warm weather and longer days. I have a good collection of books to read this month especially some promising Middle Grade novels which I am listing here. But first off a wonderful poetry book.
Tiger, Tiger, burning bright: An animal poem for every day of the year selected by Fiona Waters illustrated by Britta Teckentrup
One of my most treasured books in my own collection is I am the seed that grew the tree: A nature poem for every day of the year selected by Fiona Waters illustrated by Fran Preston-Gannon. I was very excited when Nosy Crow announced the arrival of this new anthology with the bonus of illustrations by the wonderful Britta Teckentrup. Now I have another 366 poems to enjoy over this month and beyond. Watch the trailer. Here is the poem from today (26th September)
At the bottom of the garden by Grace Nicols
No, it isn't an old football
grown all shrunken and prickly
because it was left out so long
at the bottom of the garden.
It's only Miss Hedgehog
who, when she thinks I'm not looking
unballs herself to move ...
like bristling black lightning.
The Someday Birds by Sally J Pla
Blurb: "The Someday Birds is filled with humor, heart, and chicken nuggets. Charlie's perfectly ordinary life has been unravelling every since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travel cross country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. He decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father were hoping to see someday along the way, then everything will turn out okay."
Someplace to call home by Sandra Dallas
Blurb: "In 1933, what's left of the Turner family - twelve-year-old Hallie and her two brothers - finds itself driving the back roads of rural America. The children have been swept up into a new migratory way of life. America is facing two devastating crises: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have lost jobs. Driven by severe economic hardship, thousands of people take to the road to seek whatever work they can find, often splintering fragile families in the process."
Advance Reader Copies - Books that are coming out soon...
Glassheart by Katharine Orton - due for publication on 5th November, 2020
Blurb: "Through the glass, the magic is waiting... Nona and her uncle travel everywhere together, replacing stained-glass windows in war-torn buildings. When a mysterious commission takes them to the lonely moors of Dartmoor, Nona discovers a wild and powerful magic which threatens everything. Can Nona protect those she loves – even if it means fighting darkness itself?"
I am excited to read this because I really enjoyed Katharine's earlier book Nevertell (although I am not sure why I haven't talked about it here).
The Unexplainable disappearance of Mars Patel by Sheela Chari. Due for publication October, 2020
This book is based on a serialised podcast for children.
Blurb: "Mars Patel’s friend Aurora has disappeared! His teachers are clueless. His mom is stressed out about her jobs. But Mars refuses to give up—after all, his own dad disappeared when Mars was a toddler, before he and Ma moved to Puget Sound from India. Luckily, Mars has a group of loyal friends eager to help—smart Toothpick, strong and stylish JP, and maybe-telepathic Caddie. The clues seem to point toward eccentric tech genius (and Mars’s hero) Oliver Pruitt, whose popular podcast now seems to be commenting on their quest! But when the friends investigate Pruitt’s mysterious, elite school, nothing is as it seems—and anyone could be deceiving them. Slick science, corporate conspiracies, and an endearingly nerdy protagonist make this first book in the series a fresh, exciting sci-fi adventure"
The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael Due for publication January 2021
Blurb: "Twelve-year-old Art lives in a small village in Scotland. Her mother has always made potions that cure the sick, but now the townspeople say she is a witch. One cloudless night, Art's mother is accused of Witchcraft, arrested, and taken from Scotland to England. Art mounts her horse, taking a sword, a tightrope, and a herbal recipe book, and begins a journey through wild forests to find her mother before summer solstice, using nature's signs and symbols to guide her. On her journey, Art will discover what sacrifices she will need to make to be reunited with her mother - and to alter the fate of women everywhere. But will she reach her, before it's too late?"
Amari and the night brothers by BB Alston Due for publication late January 2021
Blurb: "Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood City low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal? Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew."
Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for these advance copies.
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