My Brother Finch by Kate Gordon

"Tomorrow is going to be amazing. Tomorrow is going to change my life.' If I'd known then - if I'd have even had an inkling of how - I'd have torn my soul apart to protect him, to change the future, to make sure tomorrow never happened. But I had no idea. 

No control. No power. Tomorrow came. And my brother disappeared."

Born just eleven months apart in some ways Wren feels as though Finch is her twin sibling. But in other ways she has always felt displaced. Wren is a quiet girl who does not stand out whereas Finch is a loud boy who everyone immediately warms to. Even their parents seem, to Wren, to treat Finch with more love and attention. 

"We were connected, tied together, linked in a way closer than any of those kids whose siblings are their best friend. We were like twins. Like two halves. But when Finch wanted me to be his friend, I just wanted ... To be seen, by anyone else but him. To be important. To be number one."

"You are normal Wrennie. You're what you're meant to be.' I knew he meant it kindly - as a compliment in fact. But it felt like a slap. Being normal meant I wasn't like him. And everybody loved Finch. Mostly they just ignored me."

The family go on an outing to a disused coal mine. Finch is so excited to explore the ruins. Their mother is slightly overprotective but on this day their father says it is all okay and Finch should be allowed to explore a little further on his own. Within minutes, Wren who has been taking photos of the clouds with her camera, realised something feels wrong. 

These are all events from three years ago. Finch has never been found. The family members, each in their own way, are deeply grieving. There are of course several possibilities - kidnapping, misadventure or that he just wandered away. Knowing this does not help. And Wren is certain all of this is her fault. Nor does the fact that two young children disappeared that day - Finch and another younger child named Ava. 

"Dad cries all the time. He cries loudly and painfully and - I suppose he thinks - in secret behind the bathroom door."

Finch was just nine when he disappeared. Wren is now moving onto Year Seven at a different school. Her old friends, friends from Kindergarten, have drifted way. Wren's grief has also been too much for them to stay connected. On the first day of High School, though, Wren makes a new friend. Freddie is also an outsider but she is not shy or insecure like Wren. She is bold and seemingly fearless. The two girls team up for a school art project and Wren, who constantly hears the voice of Finch, somehow suggests their topic could, in part, be about missing children. Added to this the girls see another new student in the playground. A girl, maybe a year or two older, who also looks lost and alone. 

Publisher blurb: Finch and Wren were as close as a brother and sister can be. When he vanished, when they were nine years old, her world cracked in two. Finch was never found. On the same day that Finch disappeared, another girl was lost, too. Her name was Ava. Her parents were rich tourists, from Sydney. Ava’s story got all the media attention. And Finch was forgotten. But not by Wren. Never by Wren. Three years on, Finch is still with her, whispering in her ear, guiding her through life. As Wren begins high school and forms a new, bewildering friendship with a mysterious girl called Freddie, Finch is there, urging her on. To go bolder. To go braver. To grab life with two hands. When another girl goes missing – a strange girl called Johanna – Wren feels compelled to search for her. To her surprise, Freddie does, too. The two of them try and piece together who Johanna is and why she ran away. Or did she run away? Was the truth more awful? And was it all tied together with what happened to Finch and Ava?

Here are some teaching notes from the publisher. 

I just want to mention one sentence in this book - just to show the power of Kate Gordon and her writing. This description is something all Australian kids and adults will relate to:

"I look up, Ms Jermy is standing over us. ... She has bells on her sleeves, and they play music that reminds me of ice cream trucks. Of how - when we were little - Finch would always scream when he heard one, leap to his feet and run to Mum yelling 'Please! Please!' as if the ice cream from the truck was any better than the ice cream in our freezer. I guess it was. It was a bit more magical. But maybe it was only Finch who made it that way."

This book is for mature readers aged 11+. It does contain difficult themes of grief but it also has a very open ending. Less mature readers may have difficulty with the seemingly unresolved conclusion - this could be their first encounter with a book that does not neatly end with "and they all lived happily ever after." The story is told by Wren but it is interspersed with the voice of Finch presented in free verse. 

I am certain My Brother Finch will be a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Younger Readers Notable title. Kate Gordon's writing just goes from strength to strength. I think this is her best book (of the ones I have read) so far. 

My Brother, Finch brings in themes around sibling relationships and the way we see ourselves in our families, which will be relevant to young people at a time in their lives when they are forming and changing their view of themselves and the world around them. It is a special book with powerful messages and stunning use of language that will stay with you as you get on with your life. Helen Ward Writes

My Brother, Finch is an allegory to grief and loss and the oscillation between hope and hopelessness that people must feel when a loved one goes missing. How can you grieve when you never really know what happened? And how can you move on with your life, how can you let them go, when there’s a chance, however small, that they are still out there somewhere? Helen Ward Writes

This story will keep you curious until the very end. It will also pull on your heart strings. Keep some tissues handy! Buzz Words

It sensitively explores the difficulties in moving on after tragedy and is ultimately a message of hope. The reader is left with the sense that this grief never ends, but it doesn’t preclude experiencing lives of friendship and love. This exquisite, heart-warming story seems destined to win awards and will be enjoyed by readers aged 11 and older. Storylinks

My brother Finch had a big impact on me and my thoughts turned back to it for days after finishing. While reading it, I kept thinking how brilliantly Gordon has created an authentic 12-year-old character and realistic descriptions of her strong emotions, as well as believable family and friend relationships. And cleverly, too, Finch is very much a central character in the story, as part Wren’s imagination and memories. Reading Time

Award-winning author Kate Gordon tells an incredible story through both prose in the form of short sentences and clever verse. This novel will tug at your heart strings and leave you longing for closure. The ending may not be what you are expecting but the incredible use of language to explore the characters, their emotions and their struggles make this story a compelling read.  ReadPlus

Companion books:

Bird

Right as Rain

Telephone of the tree

The Probability of Everything

Picasso and the greatest show on earth

Read my blog posts about these other books by Kate Gordon:

Xavier in the Meantime

Aster's good, right things

The Calling of Jackdaw hollow

The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn

Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell

You need to add this book to your school library. It is a perfect text for all your science units about animals, animal classification and habitats plus it is SO funny. The only question you might have to ask yourself is just where to shelve this book? Is it just a picture book about a crazy turtle who sets out to disprove the theory that turtles live on every continent except antarctica? Well yes. Turtle gathers all his friends, who also apparently do not live in Antarctica, and the team set off to check this out for themselves. So far this could just be a funny romp, a story, but the final pages - eight of them - are filled with animal facts - like a non-fiction book. Oh, and the end papers are world maps and a useful map of Antarctica showing all the research stations.

The swiftly rising, maniacal tone is highlighted by different, boldfaced types assigned to the narrator and the animals. Vivid, wildly imaginative illustrations add wonder and excitement to the proceedings. Readers will laugh out loud at the animals’ recalcitrance and the narrator’s frustrations, all the while absorbing a great deal of information. Delightful and hilarious. Kirkus Star review

This nature-documentary-gone-wrong is a gleefully funny lesson in determination, and includes educational backmatter and lots of animal fun facts! Penguin Books

Now think about the animals that travel with our hero - an owl, a dung beetle, a snake, a mouse, a bee, and a frog. Yes nearly every animal group is covered - birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians. Only one group is missing - can your readers work this out and then can they talk about why.

Here are a few fun facts from the final pages in this book:

• The oldest turtle in the world lived to be 255 and was named Adwaita.
• Burrowing owls love to eat dung beetles.
• Dung beetles navigate using the Milky Way.
• Snakes smell with their tongues.
• Bees love the colour blue.
• Mice eat fifteen to twenty times a day.
• Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords.

Except Antarctica was published in 2021. It is still available and I found a copy for a good price but you might need to act quickly because I imagine their stock might be limited. Here are a set of teaching ideas from the publisher. 

This book is also an example of breaking the fourth wall - you will hear the voice of the off stage narrator trying to advise the turtle his mission is impossible. 

Here are some companion books:

Todd Sturgell is an illustrator, author, and freelance art & creative director. In his previous career as a corporate advertising art director, he worked with national brands including The Home Depot, Hyundai, Red Lobster, and 7-11; in his current role, he focuses on local and regional clients including universities, museums, and music, food, arts, and wine festivals. He lives, hikes, draws, and watches nature documentaries in the North Carolina Mountains with his wife, daughters, and dog Max (named for a certain famous picture book character). He has not yet been to Antarctica.

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead illustrated by Nicholas Gannon

When she was just five years old, Livy visited and stayed with her Grandmother in a small town in Victoria, Australia about two hours drive from Melbourne. Livy's mum is from Australia but the family now live in Massachusetts. Livy is now ten and she and her mum have come back to show off the newest member of the family - baby Beth Ann. Strangely Livy has no memories from their previous visit but something niggles at the back of her mind. Then she discovers a surprise in her wardrobe - it is Bob!

But who is Bob? Where did he come from? Why has he been in this wardrobe for five years? How come he can talk? Why is he dressed up like a chicken? How does he know so much about Livvy? Why can't Livy remember her promise to Bob? And why does he love licorice so much?

All of these questions and deeper ones about the devasting drought that is causing great hardship in this country town form the basis of this totally engrossing story which is told by the two alternating voices of Livy and Bob. (Try to find Runt if you want to read another book about this impact of droughts here in Australia). 

Inside the wardrobe Bob has some Lego to play with, comics to read, and a huge dictionary. Some of his favourite words are listed at the back of the book - brunch, eternity, library, solo and serendipity. His definitions are sure to make you smile.

I have resisted reading Bob for nearly six years! I read that it was set in Australia but knowing Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead live in America I feared it would be filled with Aussie cliches - think of Crocodile Dundee which is a movie that makes me cringe. This is absolutely not the case. Rebecca wrote her first part of the story on the plane home from Australia then she and Wendy Mass spent the next seven years creating their story.

The book is imaginative, intriguing and endearing. It is charming and funny in equal measure. It is sweet, in a myriad delightful ways. It truly touches at the same time as it entertains and surprises. It is a story that so beautifully captures aspects of both five and ten-year-old childhood that it chimes with much that is universal too. Magicfictionsincepotter

Mass and Stead’s brilliant collaboration has produced a beautiful tale of friendship, love, and the magic of childhood. Livy and Bob’s points of view alternate chapters, and each character’s personality is wonderfully realized with subtle nuances of emotion and humor. School Library Journal

Watch this video with Colby Sharp (6 minutes) where he shares his delight over reading this terrific book. Here are some teachers notes from the US Publisher Macmillan.

Anyway, I was TOTALLY TOTALLY wrong! Bob is a fabulous book with terrific illustrations and an imaginary friend who you definitely need to meet. Nicholas Gannon also illustrated The Doldrums.

Author blurb: It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house. It turns out she’s right. Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who—or what—he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise. Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever.

Awards:

• Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award
• Mythopoeic Society Book Award
• Golden Cowbell Book Award, Switzerland
• The Cartwheel Book Award for Best Non-human Character
• The Nerdy Bookclub award

If you have read any of my past posts you might know I am a little bit crazy about imaginary friends.  Here are some of my favourite books:

O'Diddy

Tish

Crenshaw

Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House

Leo and Ralph

You also need to hunt out a copy of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - I won't say why just believe me it is important.

I gave five stars to a previous collaborate between Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead:

The Lost Library

Something Somewhere by Richard Yaxley

"From his earliest memory, it had always been just his mum and him. Which was not perfect by any means, but it was okay because there was a pattern to how everything operated. Malt understood the dips and rises. ... 

How to recognise his mother's, her shifts between flashing anger or deep love, 

her wins and losses, her desire for something somewhere."

It has always been just Malt and his mother Bonnie. Their lives are unsettled, chaotic and fragmented.  Then one day she declares they are moving to Pembrook her childhood town and they are moving in with Malt's Grandmother. Malt, aged eleven, has never met his grandmother Zelda Zeglar. She lives alone in an old house with a small cherry orchard. So much is left unsaid in the relationship between this mother and daughter. It is clear Bonnie does not like her mother. There are some obviously heart-wrenching topics that neither will discuss. 

Bonnie decides Malt will not go to school so his days are spent wandering alone in the bush. He is free to roam but he is forbidden to visit a place called Bushman's Valley.

Malt and his dog Banjo enjoy exploring the countryside. Then out of the corner of his eye he thinks he sees someone. A girl appears in front of him.

"He was about to move forward when he glanced slightly to his left and saw her: a girl in a pale dress. She was standing within the trees looking in his direction. She seemed older than him, maybe fourteen or fifteen. ... She was very still and vigilant, like a wild animal checking it's surrounding. Her face was so white and expressionless ..."

At home, Bonnie declares Malt will now meet his father. Willo is the name of Malt's father. Bonnie tells Malt his father in in Greece, Alaska and other wildly fanciful places:  "his mother would spin the world globe, she'd been given as a gift on her last day of being a cleaner. when the globe stopped spinning she'd point to a country. 'There.' ... 'Don't tell anyone, but he's fighting a secret war ... "

Thinking about this book - How do you create a memorable character? 

• Give him an interesting name - as I have already said - in this book the main character is a boy named Malt. (I love the way Emily calls him Malteser).
• Give him a problem or worries or some difficulty in his life - in this case throughout his whole life Malt has tried to please his mother. He has learnt to read her moods and he knows how to carefully answer her questions. He endures her bad television and movie taste and worse, he somehow copes when they constantly have to pack up and move on in the hope of finding something somewhere. Malt has had to become a loner because they move way too often for him to form friendships. He also has no compass that might allow him to check the validity of the tales his mother spins especially about his absent father. 
• Give your readers reasons to feel deeply compassionate about, in this case, Malts welfare and awful live circumstances.

Add this this a wonderful, loving and wise grandmother and, as is often the case in books like this, add that she is able to cook delicious food which goes beyond just nourishment.

This is a thoroughly engrossing story with a plot line that you may have encountered before but that does not take away from this wonderful reading experience.

Familiar pieces of the plot that I am sure I have read in other stories:

• A lonely child encounters another child in a remote location - probably in a place he has been forbidden to visit
• The lonely child does not tell any adults about this new friend - there is strong sense this should all be kept a secret
• The new friend is somewhat mysterious. There are small pointers that something is not quite right but this is usually knowledge reserved for the reader and not the main character of the story
• The clothes of the other child are often slightly strange or old-fashioned or perhaps their manner of speaking is different (other worldly)
• The new friend is often braver and more fearless - the sense of danger is strong
• Through the course of their friendship the main character changes, growing more confident or gaining a stronger identity
• The lost child (the new friend) needs to complete a tasks or tasks to be 'set free'
• There can be themes of grief, mental health, missing children, mystery, and the setting is usually a forbidden bush land or forest

I did put the label 'ghost' on this post but please do not think of it as a lighthearted simple 'ghost' story. In fact Emily herself says she is not a ghost:

"Are you a ghost?' he whispered. 'Not in the way that you're thinking. Ghosts like that are a human invention. Believe me, there are no ghosts, not like people imagine them. None of that silly haunting stuff, like eerie noises and clanking chains ... I'm in between.  ... Ever since I left, I've been stuck in the middle."

"I'm a Middle ... which means my body isn't alive anymore, but my other part is. The trouble being, it hasn't been released to wherever the other parts go. Certain things need to happen, and until they do, I'm stuck."

After reading Something Somewhere please go back and read the first chapter 'Before'. 

One of the powerful parts of the writing in this book come from the descriptions of Bonnie and her driving. I was so sure on many occasions that Bonnie would have a major car accident. Her driving filled me with real terror. And if you need a scene for a book talk read the Christmas scene in the chapter entitled 'Puppets'. 

Another strength of this book is the way a fragment of an idea or a few words in phrase resonate with meaning. Look at these sentences:

This is the scene in his grandmother's kitchen - you can feel the possibility of kindness and comfort: "Inside the vase was a single flower, its pink petals basking within a final ray of sunlight."

And these words confirm her kindness: "she put her hand on Malt's shoulder ... It felt odd to be touched  in that way by someone else, but good because his grandmother's hand was light, like having a tiny friend perched there."

These words hint at the transience of their lives: "his mother was leaving ... Only the faint smell of her perfume lingered, and then not for long."

This is beyond my expertise, but I think Richard Yaxley included the owl as a visitor to Malt because in some mythologies such as Celtic mythology the owl "is a messenger from the otherworld, bringing knowledge and insight to humans." (Source). I also read this: "In Greek mythology, owls are associated with the goddess Athena, who is often depicted with an owl on her shoulder. Owls are seen as symbols of wisdom, knowledge, and protection in Greek mythology."

I am certain Something Somewhere will be a 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Notable title, and I do hope it is also shortlisted. In some ways this book made me think of the famous Australian movie Picnic at Hanging Rock.

It is both compelling and poignant, and the mystery unravels in a hugely satisfying way. Most of all, the reader will feel like cheering when realising that Malt will stay with his grandmother, safe and loved and nurtured, while his mother flits off into the sunset. I know I did. Just so Stories

Yaxley’s voice is compelling, you feel like you are experiencing what Malt does. ... Yaxley has a way with words that creates a world that is both believable and immersive. He knows and understands the dynamics of relationships between people and how their own life experiences and circumstances determine how they interact with others. His language choices and dialogue are strong and placed expertly in the right place at the right time. Malt has learnt to act small and knows how to react to his mother and her actions. As the story unfolds, and more characters are woven into the story little pieces of the puzzle slowly unfold. The reader is left asking the same questions as Malt. ... It is a gripping read that will not disappoint its young readers. Buzz Words

Companion books:

Sunshine

Waiting for Normal

Small as an elephant

The Midnight Children

Pieces of Georgia

Being Jimmy Baxter

The Book of Chance

Who is Richard Yaxley?

Richard Yaxley lives in Queensland. His main writing is for Young Adults. WriteLinks have an event with Richard Yaxley in February 2025. 

• Leonardo Forever (Scholastic 2023)
• Harmony (Scholastic 2021; Long-listed for the ARA Historical Prize – CYA Section)
• A New Kind of Everything (Scholastic 2020)
• The Happiness Quest (Scholastic 2018; CBCA Notable Book for Older Readers 2019)
• This Is My Song (Scholastic 2017; ACU Book Of The Year 2019; Winner of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Literature; Finalist in the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards; also published in the Czech Republic by Albatros Media)
• Joyous and Moonbeam (Scholastic 2013; Finalist in the 2014 West Australian Premier’s Awards for Young Adult Literature)
• Spring Rain (Self-published 2011)
• Drink the Air (Strictly Literary: Winner of the 2010 Queensland Premier’s Award for Young Adult Fiction)
• Bloodlines (Strictly Literary 2009)
• The Rose Leopard (University of Queensland Press 2003)

Awards

• Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2011 for services to education, literature and performing arts
• Winner of the 2024 StoryLinks Short Story Competition for Fly High
• Recipient of the 2022 Queensland Writers Centre – Varuna Fellowship for Established Writers
• Judge for the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards (Children’s and Young Adult Literature)
• Recipient of a 2015 May Gibbs Literature Trust Creative Time Fellowship for the creation of This Is My Song
• Winner of the 2016 FAW NSW Walter Stone Award for Life Writing for Homecoming

Meet the illustrator Barbara Reid

Image from I love you More

I am excited to be attending the IBBY Congress in Ottawa, Canada in 2026. I think Barbara Reid will be one of the presenters because she was included in their promotional video. 

Each Barbara Reid illustration starts as a pencil drawing. Then Barbara moulds out her drawing using Plasticine. You might think that her illustrations would be delicate, but they’re actually rather heavy. Some of her final pictures weigh up to three kilograms! ... Barbara even describes her artwork as being “like a pizza” because her images are created by adding layer upon layer of Plasticine and detail after detail to construct the completed work. She uses her fingers and fingernails as well as sticks, pins, combs, wires, cloth and other items to help shape and build each part of the picture. If she makes a mistake, she just peels off the offending piece and starts again! She also mixes her own colours and adds materials such as silver paint or glitter to create special effects. Scholastic.ca

Meet Barbara Reid in this video of her book Perfect Snow. Here is her website with all her books and lots of extras. You can read Quill and Quire reviews of many of Barbara Reid's books here. 

Awards: She has won the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, The Governor General’s Award for Illustration and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award. In 2013 she became a member of the Order of Canada, and in 2015 she was named Honorary Chair of Family Literacy Day. Her book Picture the Sky won the 2018 CBC Fan Choice Award and was shortlisted for the 2018 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

Kirkus comments - The Subway Mouse "Bits of real litter and found bric-a-brac in Reid’s plasticine subterranean scenes add an air of authenticity to this grand tale of a mouse who leaves his cozy subway station nest to find the fabled “Tunnel’s End. ... Seen from mouse-eye level, the grimy, wonderfully detailed setting adds a tongue-in-cheek air, as well as making a properly vivid backdrop for this intrepid venture into the unknown."

Kirkus comments - Picture a Tree "The Plasticine is expressive, detailed and gestural, with emotions showing on each face and careful craft in even the tiniest leaf and twig. The background of each spread has been smoothed and textured, colored and filled with birds, leaves and airplanes. Readers will marvel at the amazing details she includes on each human and animal form—earrings, straw hats, melting ice cream—even eye-rolling teenage boys!"  Also read this review.