The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny illustrated by Edward Bettison

Two human children, who have suffered greatly after the deaths of both of their parents, arrive at the doorstep of Rookhaven House which is a huge mansion some distance from the nearest town called Rookhaven. Until now the house and its monstrous inhabitants have been protected by and separated from the nearby village by the Glamour but somehow it has opened. This is how the children get in after their car runs out of petrol but of course if things can come in it also means things can go out. One of the creatures in this house is named Piggie. He lives in a locked basement, and he is fed raw meat through a low flap in the door. One of the human children, a boy named Tom, is curious and somehow the door to Piggie's room is opened. Piggie escapes and viciously attacks a cow belonging to a local farmer because Piggie craves fresh meat. The scene is utterly dreadful but what this also means is that the Covenant between the village of Rookhaven and the monsters has been broken.

Meanwhile a truly evil figure arrives in Rookhaven. He latches onto the family of the local butcher. The butcher, Mr Fletcher, and his son Freddie are two of the people from the village who do visit the monster's house using a special key to open the Glamour. The key is held in trust by the local doctor, Dr Ellenby. Each week, Freddie and his father deliver huge boxes of raw meat for the inhabitants. 

Freddie knows this 'man' is dangerous but his father, who is wracked with grief over the death of his older son on a World War II battlefield, is completely entranced by this smooth-talking fellow who names himself Arnold Pheeps. After Freddie confronts Pheeps he learns the truth. Pheeps is also a monster but he is far more dangerous. He feeds on souls, and he plans to do this at Rookhaven House. He has come because - think about actions and consequences - when Piggie escaped his scent was spread and now this man aptly named The Malice is ready to attack. He is able to incite the village people into a frenzy of anger and they all march up to attack the monsters. This is a battle scene that is sure to linger with you long after reading this book. Oh, and I do need to mention the enormous carnivorous plants that guard the path leading up to the house. In an opening scene we meet Mirabelle, and she is feeding the plants huge bones with flesh still attached. Mirabelle herself is only partly a monster. She does not need to eat and she cannot transform herself into other forms, but she has amazing powers which we discover over the course of the story including her control over these horrid flowers. 

"Mirabelle was in the garden feeding bones to the flowers ... The flowers swayed above her, sniffing the night air. She could hear the creaking of their tree-trunk-thick stalks and the soft wet sibilance of their petals smacking together as they fed. Though they were nursery plants, each one of them was already over six feet tall, their heads moving blindly in the starry night."

You could use this text extract in a book talk with your (not squeamish) students pointing out the key words - feeding bones, sniffing, sibilance, blindly.

Bookseller blurb: Sometimes the monsters take us. Sometimes we become the monsters. Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren't necessarily the ones you can see.

Take a look at the Kirkus review. You can read more plot details by clicking these review quotes:

Three things made this book special: the characters, the post-war setting, and the illustrations. Its cast is a real kaleidoscope of personalities. From the monsters to the humanism, each is significant to the story in a way where there’s an equality at play. The shifting perspectives help this. Just Imagine

As with the best monster stories too, the world he creates and its bizarre inhabitants are so well described that Rookhaven feels like a place we might already know or come across.  It’s a work of astounding imagination, written with a confidence and flair that is definitely out of the ordinary and genuinely thrilling too.  Congratulations to illustrator Edward Bettison whose black and white drawings properly reflect and even add to the drama of the story. Books for Keeps

If the first half of the book was intriguing, the second half was absolutely gripping ... Libraries 4 Schools

If you assign genre labels to fiction then this book is most resoundingly a horror story. There were parts where I just had to stop reading and take a break. Horror is not a genre that I seek out. I picked this book because I enjoyed a previous book by Padraig Kenny:

Tin

Tin did have some horror moments and then I read Stitch - and I now realise both of these books should have prepared me for the violence and bloodthirsty scenes in The Monsters of Rookhaven.

Stitch

Some time ago someone asked for character descriptions - here are a few from The Monsters of Rookhaven.

"Mr Teasdale, the local postmaster, stepped out of one car. He was a short, nervous-looking man dressed in tweed with a high pink colour to his face and round spectacles."

"Reverend Dankworth, a long tall wisp of a man, climbed out of the passenger seat with the slow long-legged grace of a spider emerging from a crack in a skirting board."

"Odd was the same height as her, and like her he looked no more than twelve years old, but he was of course far, far older. He was wearing a bulky seal-skin coat that stretch right down to his ankles, heavy mittens, a cap and goggles."

"Uncle Bertram was very tall and fat. He wore yellow-pinstriped trousers, a red cravat, a mustard-coloured shirt, a purple smoking jacket and a green waistcoat. His large bearded face twitched with excitement."

I now discover there is a sequel to The Monsters of Rookhaven. I am not sure I have the courage right now to re-enter this world but I have added this title to my massive 'to read' list. I think the two book covers are fabulous as are the internal illustrations by Edward Bettison. You can see inside the book here. Readers with courage aged 11+ are sure to enjoy The Monsters of Rookhaven - it might hook in a reluctant but capable (boy) reader who enjoys gruesome scenes and stories filled with edge of your seat tension. 

Companion books:

Curse of the Night Wolf

A Very Unusual Pursuit

Fire Girl

The Graveyard Book

Small Spaces - this is a YA title

The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

Blurb from Bookwagon: The Wild Robot Protects concludes the wonderful series by Peter brown.  Roz the robot has made a welcome home for herself on an idyllic island dense with forests, animals and wildflowers.  She is at the centre of an island community with friendly animal inhabitants – including her own young son Brightbill the gosling. Life on the island however is under threat from the Poison Tide, first reported by a dying seal washed ashore.  He warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing towards the island, bringing new dangers for the animals.   Forced inland, the community will have no choice but to fight over scarce resources. Roz embarks on a perilous and incredible journey across the seas, aiming to protect her beloved island and all who live on it.  Along the way, she makes friends of a host of amazing sea creatures who provide inspiration but also vital information about the source of the poison tide….

Begin with this interview (20 minutes) with Peter Brown talking to Colby Sharp for The Yarn. In this 2023 interview Peter Brown talks with Books for Keeps. And Books for Keeps also talked to Peter after the publication of the first book - The Wild Robot. 

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. Kirkus star review

This might sound strange, but I am very sad that the NSW Department of School Education have 'stolen' this text and made it the focus of one of their English units. Reading the design of the unit of work it sounds to me that any love of this first book - The Wild Robot - will be utterly crushed. I would love young readers to just find and read all three books from this series - not as part of an enforced school unit with a series of micro tasks that, to my eye, destroy any love you could have for this truly heart-warming and inventive series. At their heart these books are about relationships, the expression of emotions, the importance of forming connections with others. There is also a layer of environmental care and as humans, how we find a balance between our own survival, exploitation of the planet and the vital need for conservation of places and creatures.

I read The Wild Robot in 2018 and as I read this latest installment I wondered if it might have been good to re-read the whole series before reading this new book. The Wild Robot Protects does stand alone but I think you will enjoy this book even more if you are familiar with Ros and her island family. 

The New York Times reviewer explores the reaction of his son when he read these books:

To my son, Brown’s books were the first he discovered on his own; the first that swept him up in a lengthy, can’t-put-it-down narrative; the first to wallop him with the mix of tragedy and joy that define great art and also real life. ... The life of a wild robot, in other words, is pretty similar to the life of a kid. That’s what makes Brown’s trilogy so powerful. Readers love Roz, but they also learn from her. Even better, they learn alongside her.

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot escapes

Princess of Dawn by Megan Gilbert

"I hope to be the queen you always wanted me to be."

Bookseller blurb: Galdinia Elderwin, the nineteen-year-old Princess of Crysterra, has lived in the safety of her father’s shadow her whole life. When the king unexpectedly dies, Galdinia is left with the task of becoming queen, but she is missing the key to her ascension to the throne: her gift of elemental power from the Gods. After the king’s death, the capital of Crysterra observes the Week of Mourning, which is full of ceremonies and celebrations in honour of the late king, and on the Seventh Day of Mourning, Princess Galdinia is set to be coronated as queen. In the span of one week, Galdinia must navigate the throes of training for a gift she has not yet been given, gain the respect of the capital’s Syndicate—who still view her as a child—and overcome the heartache of past forbidden love as she is presented with five powerful and charming suitors who could help legitimise her claim to the throne. All the while, she is wary of her enemies on the horizon—her loathsome uncle and aunt, and the exiled Valah Pyrin—who all believe they have a claim to the throne and would do anything to take it from the young princess. Galdinia struggles to deal with the rising pressure and anxieties of becoming queen on her own merit, doing right by the citizens of Crysterra, and having faith in the Gods, and more importantly, herself.

Let's begin with the dedication:

To every woman that has ever been told she isn't enough. You are more than enough. Don't let a broken system stop you from wearing your crown; use you crown to fix the system.

Here are the parts of this story that I enjoyed/appreciated:

• the story pace - this is helped by the story structure where we follow the seven days of events following the death of the King Bartemus.
• the small reveals that made me very suspicious of Bentley such as when he gives her the hair clip and it feels cold and also the scene at the ball when we learn his parents have not attended and Draec Wrynn (father of suitor Evarius) questions Bentley's credentials. (page 197) - from this scene onward I became very suspicious of this smooth operator.
• the hints of political intrigue between the different parts of the realm and even in her own staff.
• does the monarch really hold power or will he/she in fact be a puppet of the Syndicate?
• the strong character descriptions of the contenders for the crown.
• the inclusion of a map.
• the story tension as I desperately waited for Galdinia to be granted her gift - water weaver, fire flourisher or wind wielder. 
• the heroism of the final battle scenes - a princess not afraid to really fight (like a phoenix).
• descriptions of the table setting on day six and the food prepared by Miss Giles.
• I like the inventive names of the five suitors - Kaedric Novus; Lord Evarius Wrynn; Dillian Othid; Kell Ly; and Lord Bentley.
• I also liked the descriptions of the three objects (page 116) during her training sessions.
• Galdinia grows in confidence - especially when she finally confronts Valah.

Questions for Megan

• Did you consider including the royal crest - the Elderwin crest on your book cover?
• Why is this book called Princess of Dawn?
• Page 101 you use the word 'okay' - did you consider any other word choices - this word startled me. And the word 'marsupial' on page 341 also surprised me.

This book has terrific character descriptions - the bold words imply so much:

Draven (brother of the King); "He looked much like his brother - olive skin, dark hair and eyes - but his features were far harsher. As the years of animosity wore on him, his face became somehow sharper."

Edana (wife of Draven): "Locks of her dark brown hair had fallen from her usually pristine bun; she was too distracted to notice her hair's disobedience."

Drystan Allard (first love of Galdinia): "The front pieces of his otherwise neatly tamed mop of chestnut brown hair fell in his eyes as he came to a halt before his friends. The sunlight radiated off his onyx armour, somehow making him glow more brilliantly than he already did in Galdinia's eyes ... At the sight of his kind eyes and gentle smile, Galdinia could feel the warmth of summer ... "

Valah (banished daughter of the former ruler and contender for the crown): "Valah had silently approached Galdinia from behind before speaking, her voice hissing her final word."

I really appreciated the way Megan Gilbert tried to break the usual princess/fairy tale tropes. I love that the Princess is a very skilled archer. You need to know the quote below will be overturned - thank goodness.

"And now at nineteen, Galdinia was slapped in the face with the rude awakening that queen could have their husbands chosen for them. And what was worse: she might not be able to be queen without a king."

"Although Galdinia didn't revel in violence, she was fascinated by the strategy of armies ..."

I have been following Megan Gilbert and her progress with her debut book for a year. I am in awe of her energy and promotion (Facebook; Instagram). She also ran a preorder campaign on Pozible! Scroll down to see her supporter offers and also her book publishing budget. Megan has thanked her supporters at the back of the book.  Her book is self-published and print on demand and is also available from Amazon as an e-book. I actually read the e-book and the print book. With an e-book I like to mark passages I want to re-visit or quote on my blog and Megan had a special price offer for her e-book for less than $4. This book is also available from some local Australian booksellers. Megan also made some merchandise to go with her book - a banner for bookfairs and bookmarks with a QR code.

In the interests of disclosure, I need to say the author of this book is the daughter of a friend and she kindly gifted this book for me last Christmas. The story really held my attention and I read it over the course of one day (343 pages). 

I work in the library at Westmead Children's Hospital and I did wonder about adding this book to our collection. The recommended age for this book is 15+ but I think it might better suit a slightly older reader. The main character is aged 19. For myself I did find the references to heavy drinking a little confronting (I was reading as a reviewer of Middle Grade and some YA titles) and there is an indirect and very minor reference to suicide (page 277). The official content warnings are: anxiety and panic attacks, battles and hand-to-hand combat, blood, death, including that of family members, misogyny, and murder.

Megan Gilbert offers her readers lots of extras on her beautifully designed web page - pronunciation guide, playlist, and a media package. She has held a few in-person events with book readings and interviews, and she even offered an annotated version of her book as part of a competition. This book is the first in a planned trilogy but I am happy to say enough is resolved at the end of the first installment so readers can rest easy and wait until later in the year for Book two. Fingers crossed her true love is rescued and by book three I'm sure there will be that all important 'they all lived happily ever after.'

The Counter Clockwise Heart by Brian Farrey

Opening sentence:

"It was the coldest winter morning ever on record in the empire of Rheinvelt when the people of Somber End awoke to find the Onyx Maiden in their tiny village."

And the scene continues:

"As tall as a two-story house, a maiden made entirely of rough, dappled onyx loomed over the roundel. Adorned in armor, she appeared to be in the midst of a battle. Her right arm was thrown backward read to strike with a cat-o'-nine-tails cover in spikes. Her wild hair, blowing in an unseen gale, reached out in all directions, like a demonic compass rose. Most terrifying of all was her face - frozen in a permanent angry scream."

The people of Somber End are simple folk. Their lives have always been a struggle but now life is getting even harder. Naturally the people blame the bad times on the statue which they name the Maiden. The rulers of Rheinvelt - Imperatrix Dagmar and her wife, Empress Sabine, send emissaries far and wide seeking an answer to this mystery. All they learn is that:

"One day, the Maiden would waken and bring a terrible reckoning. Not just to Somber End, but for all throughout the empire."

Then one day a young boy stands at the foot of the statue. In his imagination she is not frightening she is powerful. He begins to talk to the statue telling her his hopes and dreams. He does this for over a decade - every day and over time the fortunes of Somber End change. Fast forward and now the boy, Guntram, has grown into a man and the village people call him their guardian. He is summoned to the castle. 

Many years before this, actually on the night the Maiden appear, a baby also appeared encased in the walls of the castle. The Empress and Imperatrix decide to raise him as the prince of their empire but there are two problems. The Imperatrix dies which causes everyone, especially Prince Alphonsus enormous grief and secondly, the Empress discovers Alphonsus has a clock in his chest and it has begun to run backwards.

Meanwhile on the edge of the village there are the Hinterlands which legend says are filled with monsters. There are also Hexen Woods which are home to a terrible sorceress known as Nachtfrau. 

Alphonsus has one good friend in the castle - the huntress Birgit Freund. Alphonsus orders her to seek the clockmaker responsible for making his clock heart. He is sure there will be terrible events or perhaps even his own death when the clock finally stops. 

Now enter the next important character - Esme. She is a Hierophant - a magical race who are now exiled in the cold north. Esme has been able to pass through the enchantment that holds the Hierophants. Her mission is to destroy Nachtfrau - but she also a Hierophant but more importantly she is Esme's mother.

So, things are all set for the classic clash of monster and hero except monsters come in many forms one of whom is that young boy, Guntram. His desire for power is now out of control and nothing will stop him. Alphonsus has clearly connected with the Maiden, she has now come back to life and Guntram is determined to kill the Prince - his jealousy knows no bounds.

It is interesting the way magic works in this story. Performing magic has consequences - this is called the Balance. There is also a magical box that provides prophecies BUT it tells one truth and one lie each time and so the questioner is left to decide which path to follow or how to interpret the advice.

The well-developed setting lends an otherworldly historical atmosphere. ... Laced with ethical questions and examples, this is a thought-provoking coming-of-age story. Kirkus

Here is a review in the New York Times.

Bookseller blurb: Time is running out in the empire of Rheinvelt. The sudden appearance of a strange and frightening statue foretells darkness. The Hierophants—magic users of the highest order—have fled the land. And the shadowy beasts of the nearby Hinterlands are gathering near the borders, preparing for an attack. Young Prince Alphonsus is sent by his mother, the Empress Sabine, to reassure the people while she works to quell the threat of war. But Alphonsus has other problems on his mind, including a great secret: He has a clock in his chest where his heart should be—and it’s begun to run backwards, counting down to his unknown fate. Searching for answers about the clock, Alphonsus meets Esme, a Hierophant girl who has returned to the empire in search of a sorceress known as the Nachtfrau. When riddles from their shared past threaten the future of the empire, Alphonsus and Esme must learn to trust each other and work together to save it—or see the destruction of everything they both love.

I picked this book at a local bookshop which was sadly closing down. The cover didn't really appeal to me but the endorsements on the back cover lured me in. I am very glad I found this book. Yes, it does contain the usual tropes of fantasy/quest stories with the race to thwart evil and hideous monsters and misunderstandings about who to trust and who might betray our hero and of course magical powers. And we have seen this idea of using a clock to create the story momentum - a literal race against time. But there is also a delicious tension in this story. I truly wanted the 'bad man' to be killed and I kept hoping this would happen much earlier in the story. I just wanted someone to eliminate that dreadful man - Guntram Steinherz later known as the Margrave. He is one of the most loathsome characters I have ever encountered in a middle grade (ages 10+) book. The scenes where he tricks The Empress and also lies to betray Alphonsus made me gasp and there were several times when I had to put this book down and re-enter the real world for a while for respite. I also nearly skipped to the end to check he was finally dead and that Alphonsus and Esme were safe.

I do recommend The Counter Clockwise heart. It is an engrossing story with a clever imagined world and characters that you will really care about. 

Minus the steampunk layer this book reminded me of this:

Cogheart

And these:

The Ogress and the Orphans

The Girl who drank the Moon

The Beasts of Grimheart by Kieran Larwood illustrated by David Wyatt

When I saw this book, number 3, from the Five Realms series in a brand new book shop here in Sydney (Three Sparrows) I was excited to buy it. I adored The Legend of Podkin one ear when I read it in 2018 and a short time later I read the second book - The Gift of Dark Hollow.  

All through this third book I kept hoping this would be the final book in the series. Of course it cannot be the final instalment because there are Five Realms and twelve gifts of the Goddess. Today I finished The Beasts of Grimheart which ends with a huge battle and then I dared to look and see if there are more books. Yes there are - here is a list and I just read that there will eventually be nine books in total. Oddly though Kirkus (this review does contain a spoiler) also thought this book was the final one. 

Here's the list so far:

• The Legend of Podkin One-Ear (2016)
• The Gift of Dark Hollow (2017)
• The Beasts of Grimheart (2018)
• Uki and the Outcasts (2019)
• Uki and the Swamp Spirit (2020)
• Uki and the Ghostburrow (2021)
• Podkin and the Singing Spear (2023)

I had not looked at the back of The Beasts of Grimheart prior to reading The Beasts of Grimheart and so I was pleased to discover Kieran Larwood has provided readers with a character list and a list of the twelve gifts.  I do wish I had seen the character list before I read The Beasts of Grimheart because it is now five years since I read the first book and I have really lost track of many of the important but more minor characters.

In this third book, the Grom have made a huge machine and it is destroying the forest which is home to all the different groups of rabbits. 

"At the front of their line, half hidden by the forest itself, were ten contraptions built from the same rusted, jagged iron as the Gorm's armour. Like some kind of hellish insects, they had an array of blades, spinning teeth and crushing jaws at the front. At the back they had a massive wheel, taller than five rabbits, which spun steadily round powering the cutting equipment before them. ... The blades torn through trunks and roots, iron mandibles crushed and chomped branches into pieces, and teeth crunched wood into splinters. ... the devastation was awful."

Podkin along with his sister Paz and little brother Pook have been collecting the gifts of the goddess. Even though they are children it seems that their destiny is to defeat Scramashank the Gorm Lord and thus stop the terrible destruction of their precious forest. Of course this is not going to be easy. There will be battles, the constant threat of danger, betrayal by someone who they thought was a friend, and sadly the death of a loved member of the Dark Hollow Warren. 

As with the first instalment this book has a parallel story where the bard is actually telling the tale. I won't spoil this but the identity of the bard is sure to both surprise and delight you. Meanwhile, though, the bard has to really tell the best story of his life because if he doesn't do this the bonedancers will take his life.

"We wish to hear this story that has earned you a contract on your life. You will tell it to use as exactly as you told it to the Golden Brook rabbits. We will judge whether it is offensive enough for you to die, and it the Goddess Nixha demands it, then die you shall."

And there is an extra threat:

'Bonedancers have to kill something every day ... it's part of their tradition. They carry pouches of bugs around with them, so it doesn't always have to be a rabbit.'

Bookseller blurb: The bard is captured by the bonedancers and taken to their temple where he has to retell the tale that earned him a contract on his life. The story of Podkin continues . . . The Gorm have started to attack the forest, trying to flush out the Darkhollow rabbits. Podkin and the others leave for Sparrowfast warren, on the other side of the forest, to ask his uncle for help and for the use of his magic bow (one of the 12 Gifts). As they make their way through the forest, Vetch turns traitor and tries to seize the Gifts Podkin and Paz own for his masters, the Gorm. The young rabbits flee into the forest depths, where they discover a lost tribe of rabbits and a another of the sacred Gifts - a crown which lets the wearer speak to animals. With their new allies, Podkin, Paz and Pook emerge, meeting up with the others at Silver Rock warren. His uncle and the Sparrowfast rabbits are already there, as the Gorm have marched round the forest edge and taken their warren. When the two sides meet in battle, who will win? And will the bonedancers let the bard live?

Here is the web site of the illustrator David Wyatt.

You do need to read the five Realms books in order so you can follow all the twists and turns of plot and character connections. Fans of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques will adore these books. OR if you and your young reading companion love The Five Realms be sure to hunt out Redwall. There are 22 books in that series.

Wishyouwas: The Tiny Guardian of Lost Letters by Alexandra Page

Begin here - watch this video where Alexandra Page talks about her book. 

My choice of this book was based on the very cute cover, on the idea of lost letters and the intrigue of tiny creatures working behind the scenes in the London of 1952. Alexandra Page mentions the Postal Museum. I visited this terrific small museum in 2019 and I highly recommend this as a place to take your children if you are able to visit London. Another reason this book interested me comes from my own letter box. One of my former neighbours regularly receives mysterious mail - the new residents throw these letters into the paper recycling but I often retrieve them and post them back with 'return to sender'.  The mail is mysterious because my neighbour was called 'John' and this mail is addressed to 'Jeremy' and, while every letter comes from a different address, all of them relate to archaeological/heritage matters. When I send them back I wonder if they join the piles of lost letters mentioned in this book.

Publisher blurb: It's 1952 in smog-shrouded London. Christmas might be fast approaching, but with her mum away and Uncle Frank busy running the post office, Penny Black is lonelier than ever.  All that changes when Penny discovers a small, fluffy, funny, springy and – most importantly – talking creature in the post office one night, trying to make off with a letter.  But Wishyouwas is no thief. He's a Sorter, and he soon introduces Penny to a fascinating secret world hidden in the tunnels underneath the city's streets. Self-appointed guardians of lost mail, the Sorters have dedicated their lives to rescuing letters that have gone astray and making sure they get delivered to their rightful owners.  Penny is determined to protect the Sorters, but how long will she be able to keep them safe with Stanley Scrawl, the sinister Royal Mail Rat Catcher, on the prowl? Can Penny save the Sorters and deliver a joyful Christmas?

Read an extract here. Here is the website for the illustrator Penny Neville-Lee.

Wishyouwas is longish book with 267 pages but I read it in almost one sitting today. This is a story that might appeal to younger children aged 7+ but it may be a little too challenging for independant reading and so I suggest you could consider this book as a family bedtime read aloud. Christmas is mentioned but this is not really a Christmas story. Here is the trailer from Bloomsbury. And in this video Alexandra reads from Chapter Seven.

The characters in this book have very sweet (and signficant names). Penny Black is the human hero of the story. Read more about the Penny Black stamp here.  Wishyouwas is her new friend. The sorting Bureau is ruled, in a very strict hierarchy, by Dearmadam and Dearsir. The guards are called Fragile and Handlewithcare and the delightful teacher is Felicitations. I especially loved the character named Thiswayup. He is a true hero in the final battle scene. 

Perhaps you are wondering about the small creatures that feature in this book? Wishyouwas is one of them - that's his name. The mail sorters are tarsiers. This is good choice because they have large 'hands' for mail sorting. They are also nocturnal - which is the perfect time for retrieving and processing lost letters.  They have long tails (and Wishyouwas nearly has his tail sliced off early in the story) and they have eyes which can see in dim light which matches with the underground setting of this story.  In reality tarsiers live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. 

Wishyouwas reminded me of Umbrella Mouse - which will appeal to a slightly older audience. 

Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad

 

The title of this book is so important. Little Sasha is living through WWII. He is a very young boy and his mother calls him Little Rabbit.  Sasha lives in a small village in Russia. When the German soldiers march in they brutally destroy his beautiful village. This very young boy is possibly the only survivor because he has been able to run away from, as he describes them, the 'handsome monster princes'. Sasha finds himself lost in the forest but he eventually stumbles on a camp of Red Army soldiers. This group, led by Major Fyodor Gagarin, are on the move desperate to rid their beloved homeland of the scourge of the German army. Sasha is welcomed into the group, given a tiny uniform and some important, non combative duties. And so Little Rabbit begins his march across the land to Stalingrad.

So now you have some idea about the title words Rabbit and Soldier. You will need to read this gripping account to understand Angel and Thief.  

Sasha tells his story, from his hospital bed, as a series of recounted incidents. We are left in suspense as to how he arrived in the hospital and how he survived the horrors of the war. Using objects he 'collects' from his hospital ward, Sasha gradually shares the memories of his journey over the previous three years and, even more importantly, we meet the men and women who kept him safe. Katrina Nannestad has created such real people in her characters. especially Major Fyodor Gagarin who Sasha fondly calls Papa Scruff. 

There is a very appealing structure to this book which has the dual effect of making it easy to read; helping to move the story forward; and working as a device that creates anticipation for the reader as we wait to find out why each object is so important as a memory trigger for Sasha.

One of the aspects of the writing in this book that I really appreciated was the way Katrina Nannestad creates powerful contrasts. For example in the early scenes we read about all the pretty flowers in the village - sunflowers, sun kissed strawberries, larkspur, daffodils and cherry trees covered in blossoms. Then we read about the arrival of the German soldiers and there are words such as hard boots, kicking doors, and stomp, stomp stomp. Then, later, near the end of the book we read about tanks rolling into the city with flowers in their cannons. Such a joyous scene. Another truly special aspect of this book is comes from the way Katrina Nannestad imbues Sasha with deep tenderness and an emotional intelligence well beyond his tender years. I have to say his tiny heart certainly touched mine. 

Katrina explains in her author notes that this while this book is entirely fiction is was inspired by a real boy called Sergi Aleshkov who joined the Red Army when he was between six and eight years of age.

This book will hit the shelves of your favourite bookstore on the 27th October.  I strongly suggest you order your copy now so you can get your hands on this book the day it arrives. If you subscribe to a standing order service this book is sure to be in your October selection for the school library. Huge thanks goes to Beachside Books for my advance copy of Rabbit, Solider, Angel, Thief.

You know I am slightly obsessed with covers - how perfect is this one.  Congratulations to Martina Heiduczek on her beautiful design. Martina also did the cover for We are Wolves which means these two books will look splendid when placed together on your shelves and the published edition will be in hardcover for a really great price. 

Naturally you will want to read We are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad which also explores the experiences of children during a war. I am going to predict we will see Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief short listed for many Australian book awards. Here are some other Katrina Nannestad books I have also read and enjoyed:

We are Wolves

The Girl who bought Mischief

Olive of Groves

The Travelling Bookshop

Rules for Vampires by Alex Foulkes illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Lady Eleonore von Motteberg is a young vampire. She is better known as Leo. This story opens on the night of her one hundred and eleventh birthday. It is the night of the Waxing Moon. On this night Leo must complete her first Hunt, killing a human in order to drink fresh blood. Sorry I know this sounds horrible. There is a huge amount of pressure on Leo from her fearsome mother Sieglinde von Motteberg. Leo must complete her first Hunt tonight. A failed Hunt will not be tolerated. 

Leo has been preparing for this night. She does not want to disappoint her powerful mother. From the castle up on Mount Moth, Leo has made regular night visits to the town of Otto's End. Leo has decided the local orphanage will be the perfect place to complete her task. For travel, vampires use the GRIMWALK, but sadly Leo had the most terrible accident many years ago. She lost her leg on her first grimwalk and she now relies on a prosthetic one fashioned by her father. 

As the title suggests, there are important rules all Vampires must follow. Most are things you might expect involving garlic, silver, reflections and the consumption of blood.  There is a also a rule that a vampire cannot enter a house uninvited. 

On arrival at the orphanage, Leo finds a young girl sorting papers in a darkened room. Minna short for Wilhelmina, has her own plans. The owner of the orphanage is an evil and cruel man. Minna knows he about to sell of the orphans for a tidy profit. Leo hypnotises Minna in order to be invited into the room. Minna is not alone in this room. A scuffle ensues, a lamp is knocked over, there is a fire, Leo does not succeed in the Hunt and now she is responsible for two ghosts. Minna, now a ghost, will need to team up with Leo to thwart the Orphanmaster who in a short time will rise as a ghost with terrifying power and the girls must be complete this task in just seven days. The girls need to gather some special supplies, track down the Orphanmaster and prepare for the battle.

I picked up an advance reader copy of this book from Beachside Bookshop a couple of weeks ago. I am working my way through the books in my bag and this is one I put towards the end of the pile. Vampires are not really my thing. Today was a rainy day so I pick up Rules for Vampires and I read all 342 in almost one sitting. YES it is good! My copy says this book will be out in September but I just checked with a bookseller and the Australian release date is 17th November, 2021. If you are reading this post from the UK it has already been released into your shops. 

There are vampires in this book and ghosts and gruesome battle scenes but there are also light touches of humour and completely splendid descriptions. This book feels like you are watching a film unfold - the writing is so cinematic. Alex Foulkes creates an amazing world in her story. I also loved all the small details in this story which are left to your imagination. Leo is not really the daughter of Sieglinde and Dietmar, she was once a human child with human parents. Minna's own father lived in the same orphanage and he has a connection with the Orphanmaster's wife which goes part of the way to explain why the Orphanmaster is out for revenge. Most of all I need to know more about the butler/nanny called Marged who wears a full suit of knights armour and is devoted to Leo. Oh and the birthday party foods which feature so many things made from blood would surely make an excellent book talk extract to read to a group of students aged 10+.

In this video Alex talks about her book and she reads an extract. She also shares some of the art from this book which was not included in my Advance copy. 

As I mentioned there are wonderful descriptions in this book. I've marked up some excellent ones in my copy only to discover this book is not due to be published (even though my copy says September) but I can't resist letting you 'see' Leo.

"Leo was rake-thin and six feet tall. Her claw-tipped fingers reached past her knees, her skin was luminous grey. Her eyes were dark caverns that turned into catlike slits in lamplight ... Her smile was full of needles; her teeth, sharp as any blade."

And here is a description of her mum:

"In stepped an arresting figure, pale as marble, and equally as stony. She seemed to glide, graceful as she was gaunt. Her voluminous grey cape was adorned with furs. Her silvery hair was swept back from her pinched face, sloping-nosed and pointy eared, and her black, bottomless eyes ... "

Love Reading4Kids include some reviews by young readers on their page. The publisher likens this book to Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy and I agree. You can read a few pages here.

The writing is slick as blood, with smart turns of phrase that Lemony Snicket aficionados will adore, and cracking whip-smart dialogue that drives the story at bat-out-of-hell pace. Oh, and it’s divinely packed with a cast of top quality, quirky characters Love Reading4Kids

Here is the cover of the US edition due out in late November, 2021.

Companion reads:

A very Unusual Pursuit - City of Orphans

Barnaby Grimes - Curse of the Night Wolf

A most magical girl

Endling Book Two - The First by Katherine Applegate

"We know that Murdano flights for human dominance, even if it means destroying all other species. And we know that if Kazar prevails, he will do no better. Fools, both! Do they not understand that every creature is connected to all others. Do they imagine that annihilating some species and enslaving others will not spread sickness and despair through all living things." Grendwallif (Natite)

"For too long our leaders have rules with lies and deceptions. The people - the common folk who farm and fish and make things with their hands - are never consulted, merely controlled. I would change that, Byx. But nothing is possible without truth. Truth is everything." Khara

How wonderful to re-enter the world of the dairne Byx and her faithful friends especially wobbyk Tobble and felivet Gambler along with their human companions Khara and Renzo.

"My strong, loyal, fierce friends. How I love them all! I've lost count of the times they've kept my spirits high on our quest to find more diarnes."

While I do love and admire Byx my favourite character is Tobble:

"Tobble, you are a wise young wobbyk. In any war, it is good to have someone ask the hard questions, the ones that defy easy answers."

In my post about Endling Book One - The Last I said:

"Byx is convinced she is not the last. There must be other dairnes somewhere. But how will Byx find the others? Who will help her? And can she trust her companions?"

All these questions apply to this second installment. As the story opens the group of friends are heading towards an island called Tarok. The difficulty is that this is a moving island and it will be difficult to locate and difficult to access.  Once again there are so many dangerous places and creatures to navigate - under ground, in caves, through horrible "forest like" places and under the sea. My paperback copies of this series do not contain maps but I suspect there are maps in the hardcover editions. I saw this map on the trailer.

Back in 2018 when I read Endling Book One - The Last this second installment was 130 days away. This is why I often struggle with reading series. Having loved the first book I am keen to read the second but by the time I can obtain it, so much time has passed I feel my memory of book one, along with my enthusiasm to continue the story has often waned. There was no need to worry this time. Katherine Applegate included enough plot details to refresh my memory and she also makes this second story so utterly thrilling I was once again swept up into this amazing world. I especially loved the changes in Byx herself as she grows in confidence and the crafting of relationships between these disparate individuals.  When Byx finally talks to Tobble, acknowledging Tobble has been feeling rejected and unwanted now that Byx has found Maxyn (another Dairn), I sighed with happiness when Byx says to Tobble:

"Don't ever doubt that you are my dearest friend."

In my previous post I mentioned the amazing animals created by the imagination of Katherine Applegate. In this second installment there are more utterly amazing animals but I also loved the way her characters have knowledge of the plant life in this world.

"We spent the night near the beach in a small grove of dendro trees. I went in search for wood for a fire, as the serrated yellow dendro fronds create too much smoke when they burn."

"Those are hotwort elms ... sturdy as they come."

"we'd begun to think about dinner. Tobble, having noticed a scraggly bush whose leaves he claimed would enhance the flavour of our meal, had scrambled to the top of a dune."

Here is an interview with Katherine Applegate by Mr Schu.  Listen to an audio sample from Chapter Two.

Click these review quotes for more plot details OR better yet just grab the first two books in the Endling series and READ them!

Themes of conservation, war, and human trafficking are skillfully interwoven into a world of magic and wonder. This second installment will have readers salivating for a third. … Simply sublime. Kirkus Star review

Applegate delivers an action-packed middle-grade sequel in a uniquely other worldly setting, with characters that are relatable, cute and fuzzy, along with having goals as they learn to hold onto hope. YA Books Central

The Young Vikings by James Moloney

I am reading my way through the twenty CBCA Notable titles (Younger Readers) and I keep being surprised.  Here is a book I would probably not have picked up. I'm not really interested in Vikings and the cover doesn't appeal to me.  It is good to know I was wrong. This is a terrific action packed story filled with fierce battles, friendship and, the part I liked best, a hero who uses his intelligence.

"I was desperate to avenge my father's murder. I heard him cry for blood every night in my dreams. I wanted blood on my sword more than anyone. There in front of the young Vikings, I asked Torsten the only question that really mattered. 'Could we take on Bloodtooth's men in Belvor?"

I will use this quote to explain the plot of The Young Vikings.

Agnor Bloodtooth and his men have attacked the village of Moberg. Hauk and his young friends arrive home after a hunting trip and find all the adult males of the village are dead. The boys decided to avenge their fathers. To do this they begin to train with axes and swords but tempers and rivalries hinder their progress.  Hauk can see their plan will not work. He enlists the help of Torsten, a former warrior whose injuries mean he only has one leg. The boys do grow stronger and more skilled and eventually Hauk, himself becomes their leader, but really it will still be a battle of boys against men. Hauk has a better idea. The group should try to reclaim the village longboat - Sea Wolf.  This plan will take courage, problem solving, teamwork and trust.

The final battle scenes are not for the faint hearted but this is a Viking story so I did expect quite a lot of blood to be spilled before the Young Vikings could proclaim their victory.

You can read an interview with James Moloney here. From what I can discover this book may be the first in a series but this installment does have a satisfying ending. James Moloney has other books that I have enjoyed such as Swashbuckler, Buzzard Breath and Brains, and several Aussie Bite and Nibble titles. I especially enjoyed Disappearing Act and his After Dark title - The Pipe. I also recently read one of his YA titles - A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove.

If the topic of Vikings interests you or your readers look for these titles in your library:

For the youngest children I would begin with The Last Viking and The Last Viking Returns by Norman Jorgensen.

Then I would look for this very old book which is great fun:

For older primary students:

You might also look for the Viking Magic series by Anna Ciddor.