Here are a couple of books I have bought to read this month:
Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick
The Invention of Hugo Cabret had a huge impact on me so I am excited to dip into this new book by Brian Selznick. It is fun to make the connection with the CBCA slogan Bookaleidoscope from 1997. I well remember buying a few simple kaleidoscopes and spending a lot of time trying to devise huge library displays around this invented word. I also loved Wonder struck by Brian Selznick.
Book blurb: A ship. A garden. A library. A key. In Kaleidoscope, the incomparable Brian Selznick presents the story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the centre of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love, which will look different to each reader. Kaleidoscope is a feat of story telling that illuminates how even the wildest tales can help us in the hardest times.
Even though I have not yet read this book I am sure The Mysteries of Harris Burdick would make the perfect companion read and I am sure this book would be a perfect one to use as a classroom read aloud so I may end up gifting my copy to a friend. Here is a video where Brian talks about his book.
Take off your Brave - Poems just for you by Nadim illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail
This is another book that will make a perfect gift for a young child. Nadim was only four when he wrote these poems but they do contain amazing wisdom. The two covers above are from the UK and US editions.
Book blurb: "The poems in this book beautifully capture how a four-year-old sees the world a a world of rainbows, glitter and magical boxes; a world of nursery, hometime and cuddles with Mum. They make for joyful reading and, (they are) paired with ... wonderful pictures by Yasmeen Ismail."
Here are the books I am reading for Beachside Bookshop:
Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin
I have just finished this complex fantasy which is a new YA title by a debut author and it is also the first in a series. This is a book for readers 13+ who enjoy action and who do not shy away from some violence. Rebel Skies will be released in May 2022. If you love origami this book takes that form into places far beyond your wildest imaginings. Read more plot details in this post from Book Bag.
Publisher blurb Walker Books: "Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami – wild paper spirits sought after by the Princess. But are these creatures just powerful slaves, or are they beings with their own souls? And can a teenage girl be the one to help them find their voice – and change the course of an empire?"
The Magic Faraway Tree: a new adventure by Jacqueline Wilson (due in May 2022)
This is not the first time a famous author (usually from UK) has taken a classic story and added their own twist. I have previously talked about Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb and The Princess and the Suffragette also by Holly Webb. Jacqueline Wilson has done this in the past too with her book The Primrose Railway Children and also Katy based on books by Susan Coolidge. Jacqueline Wilson once visited my school library here in Sydney Australia. It was one of the best and most memorable author visits of my whole 33 year career working in school libraries. Frank Cottrell-Boyce wrote a book in this genre too - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies again.
I confess I will need to read the original Magic Faraway tree by Enid Blyton before I did into this new version.
Blurb: Three kids, Milo, Mia and Birdy, are on a countryside holiday when they wander into an Enchanted Wood. Among the whispering leaves, there is a beautiful tree that stands high above the rest. The Magic Faraway Tree is home to remarkable creatures including a fairy called Silky, her best friend Moonface and more. Birdy is delighted to find that fairies are real. Even her older brother and sister are soon won over by the magic of the Faraway Tree and the extraordinary places they discover above it, including the Land of Unicorns. But not every land is so much fun. Danger looms in the Land of Dragons. Will Moonface's magic work in time to save the children?
The Good times of Pelican Rise: The No Waste Race by Samone Amba
This is book two in a series which began with The Good Times of Pelican Rise: Save the Joeys
Blurb: "A toilet? On the footpath? On the fanciest street in Pelican Rise? When Sunday Moon trips over a toilet that’s been left out for hard rubbish collection, she starts seeing rubbish EVERYWHERE, from plastic bags floating in Yabby Swamp to coffee cups littering the streets. After Pelican Rise Primary pledges to cut out single-use plastics for a month, Sunday and her besties Ockie, Kirra and Lottie are inspired to go even further and launch their very own war on waste. Plastic is OUT! Vintage clothes are IN! And all that hard rubbish on the nature strips could make for fantastic billy cart materials … With the help of the rest of grade six, plenty of secondhand tyres and a LOT of memes, The Good Times crew are going to host the best billy cart race that Pelican Rise has ever seen; a race that says NO to waste!"
The Callers by Kiah Thomas (due May 2022)
Publisher blurb: In the world of Elipsom, the ability to Call, or summon objects, is a coveted skill. And yet despite being born into a family of Callers, Quin doesn't have the gift. But everything changes when instead of summoning an object, Quin makes something disappear. He quickly discovers that the objects Callers bring into their world aren't conjured at all, but are taken from another land, and another people who have had their lives slowly stolen from them. Now Quin must team up with Allie, a girl who's determined to stop this unjust practice, and decide whether he should remain loyal to his family, or betray them-and save the world.
The Ship of Doom by MA Bennett
Greenwich, London, 15th February 1894. Luna thinks that an evening at her aunt's butterfly club sounds deathly boring. But it turns out that the meeting, held in the Butterfly Room at the Greenwich Observatory, is not at all as Luna expects. The Butterfly Club is a society with an unusual secret . . . they use time travel to plunder the future for wonders. Together with her friends, Konstantin and Aidan, and a clockwork cuckoo, Luna boards the Time Train. The gang travel to 1912 and find themselves aboard a great ship travelling from Southampton to New York. They locate a man called Guglielmo Marconi and his new invention: the wireless radio. But as the ship heads into icy waters, they discover its name: The RMS TITANIC Can Luna and the boys save Marconi and his invention from the doomed ship? Can they get the radio back home to the Butterfly Club? And how will their actions change the rest of time?
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