The Worlds we Leave Behind by AF Harrold illustrated by Levi Pinfold

"They hadn't invited her, hadn't forced her, hadn't encouraged her, hadn't wanted her to come, but there she was, a little kid suddenly in their care. 

And now they were in the woods and it had all gone wrong."

Imagine you have hurt another child - you are a child yourself - and you most certainly did not mean for this to happen. Now think about the reaction of the older sibling of this child. Their anger spills over. You already feel so much guilt. But what if you meet someone who offers to remove one of the people from this event? To wipe out all trace of them. 

The little girl is Sascha. The boys are Hex and Thommo. Sascha follows the boys down to the river. The boys are there to ride on a rope swing. Sascha begs them for a turn but she is stuck and accidentally knocks into Hex. He is an impulsive boy who never thinks about consequences. He picks up a lump of mud and hurls it at the little girl. She falls and there is a snap as we hear her arm break. Thommo and Hex (Hector) have been friends forever. When Sacha falls Thommo runs away. Hex thinks he has deserted him but actually he has gone for help. When the older brother and sister of Sacha arrive, Hex leaves quietly knowing an ambulance is coming. That night, though, he feels terrible. On Monday he visits his old friend Thommo but he is turned away. He decides to revisit the rope swing but when he arrives Sacha's sister Maria arrives and in her anger she lashes out at Hex. 

He runs away and finds himself in a strange part of the woods outside a small cottage. He meets an old woman and her dog. She offers him comfort and more:

"How many were there? ... 'Two' he said. 'Yes. And look, you are just one.' ... 'Don't you wish you could do something? ... I can help. I can even the score. I can make it so they never hurt you again."

Revenge. Retribution. The woman offers to make the world forget the kids who caused him harm. 

"Only you would know they'd ever existed at all. And your world will heal, reshape itself around the hole ... No one will miss them or remember them. No one will be hurt by their loss ... "

The woman gives him an acorn. He is told to crush it if he wants these kids removed. What he doesn't know is that Maria, Sascha's sister, has also visited the old woman and she also has an acorn.

And what about Thommo - it seems he has totally forgotten Hex ever existed and yet every now and then he gets a niggling feeling that something is wrong. 

This is one of the strangest, most disturbing, and yet intriguing books I have ever read. And I need to say there is no neat resolution. Older readers might link this story with a fairy tale such as Hansel and Gretel but this tale is way more sinister and it has no happily ever after. 

Blub from publisher page: Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his friend Tommo into the woods. He never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When the finger of blame is pointed at him, Hex runs deep into the woods and his fierce sense of injustice leads him to a strange clearing in the woods – a clearing that has never been there before – where an old lady in a cottage offers him a deal. She'll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn't know is someone else has been offered the same deal. When Hex's best friend Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world but he only has murmurs of memories of the world before. Moments of deja vu that feel like Tommo's lived this day before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?

Compact and disquieting: a horror story with plenty of food for thought. Kirkus

... this isn’t a blood-and-guts-type horror story. Instead, it’s a nuanced story of friendship, social nuances, betrayal and eventually vindication. There’s magic, mystery and things that lurk in the dark. Cracking the Cover

Harrold’s solutions to the alternative worlds that might be produced by the children’s absences are thought provoking, and the explanation he provides for the witch’s intervention in the children’s lives owes as much to a vintage American tv series as to the brothers Grimm. It’s a handsomely produced tale about the darkness that can come to any of us on any day, the decisions that we take or avoid, and the possibilities, for good or ill, that stem from those choices. A perceptive and disturbing book. Books for Keeps

The book is illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold’s beautiful black and white drawings which create a haunting atmosphere, reinforcing the author’s narrative and sometimes reaching even further into a world of horror and the supernatural. Just Imagine

I have a bit of a 'love hate' relationship with books by AF Harrold. I found The Song from Somewhere else difficult to read because of the violent bullying and I shudder whenever I see The Imaginary in a bookstore. That book disturbed me SO much. On the other hand, is earlier books about Fizzlebert Stump were all terrific. 

Here are two other books illustrated by Levi Pinfold who now lives in Queensland. His book Paradise Sands is truly spectacular.

Paradise Sands

The Secret Horse of Briar Hill

The House Trap by Emma Read

Claude and his sister Amity are moving to a new part of the country. Claude was Deliah's best friend but over the last year while they were both in Grade seven things have changed. This is so confusing for Deliah. Now Claude seems to be friends with an awful bratty boy named Sam. 

On the day the story begins the four kids are sent out of the house to 'play' but with the added warning not to go into Badwell Woods. Of course anyone who has read a book with a premise like this will expect the kids will ignore this warning and go into the woods. Somewhere deep in the forest they find an old mansion. It looks neglected on the outside but the inside is very strange. There is even a container of ice which holds drinks but clearly no one is home. Then the door slams shut and the four of them are trapped. This house is full of tricks, puzzles and danger. These four children have to find a way to mend their relationships and solve a series of puzzles and yes, at times, it feels like their lives are really in danger. Along the way they meet a young ghost named Hypatia. It was her father who made all the traps and puzzles back in 1930. In subsequent years other kids have also been trapped in this house. Claude, Deliah, Amity and Sam meet two of them who have been stuck in the house for twenty years. The other kids have all disappeared.

Read an extract on the Chicken House webpage. Here is the very brief blurb: Deliah, Sam and Claude follow little sister Amity inside a mysterious mansion. But no sooner have they found her than the floor beneath their feet starts to twist and turn: the house rearranges itself like a giant Rubik's cube. To escape, they must solve the puzzle and the century-old mystery of a girl who disappeared ...

Reviewers liken this book to Jumanji and in fact that famous book is mentioned at one point. I did know all the kids would be safe but there are moments in this story where the dangers they encounter are truly terrifying. I suggest this book for readers aged 10+. Oh and these are modern kids from 2020 but conveniently they all have to leave their mobile phones at home. Sam smuggles his in his pocket but mysteriously it does not work in this strange house. 

A fabulous twist on a timeless haunted house adventure ... (It's) Scooby-Doo meets The Mysterious Benedict Society via Escape Room. Full of friendship, teamwork and logic versus instinct - all wrapped up in a book with thrills, heart and bags of atmosphere. Perfect for readers aged 9 and up. GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY AND UTTERLY SPLENDID.' Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables. Reading Zone

Emma Read's no holds barred use of descriptive language allows the reader to see, hear and even smell the malevolence of Manvers Hall. Many female readers will relate to the main character, Deliah; she loves maths and riddles but is often mocked and considered 'nerdy'. It's wonderful, therefore, that Deliah's penchant for puzzles is the group's salvation; a powerful embodiment of feminism and a strong reminder to be happy in the skin that you are in. Reading Zone

Here is the website for Emma Read.

Companion books:

Floors

Her Perilous Mansion

Small Change for Stuart

Out of the Wild Night

The Parker Inheritance

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Great Fox Illusion

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky illustrated by Erwin Madrid

My parents changed. "I can't describe it exactly. It's like all the lights in the house won't turn on anymore and it's always dark, and they can't see me. Like I don't even exist."

Juniper Berry lives a lonely life. Her parents are famous actors and they have made their home into a fortress. Juniper has no friends only a series of tutors and she lives behind a high wall removed from the real world. Her parents love and fear the paparazzi. Sure the house is filled with anything she might want but things are not friends. She used to have a good relationship with her mum and dad but recently that has changed. They no longer talk to Juniper. All they care about is their fame.

"One of these days her parents would come home from work and be thrilled to see her. The rest of the day would be spent in each other's company, not a minute wasted, not even a single second, just like it was years ago."

"She had grown accustomed to her isolation, carrying her binoculars everywhere, spying from afar, searching for what she was missing. ... Discovery and exploration were her salvation; if she couldn't go out into the world, she could bring the world to her; the stars, the insects, the unsuspecting distance. Everything but her parents."

One evening, after another unsuccessful attempt to reconnect with her parents, Juniper spies a boy in her garden. He seems interested in the trees in her garden. He is small and very skinny and he is doing something very strange. Giles is running his hands up and down the bark of various trees.

"Up close, she noticed he had a sweet smell about him and that his eyes captured a pattern she had never seen before, the brown and gold of his iris constantly swirling. He gave a soft smile and she liked the way one corner of his mouth ran up the other side of his face while the other remained level."

Giles is also alone. His parents are also ignoring him. Juniper and Giles have a common problem and it all seems to be connected to one specific tree. And then one night the parents disappear 

There are lots of hints in the description of the tree:

"It was an ugly tree. If any were to be chopped down, it should have been this monstrosity. Its branches were bare and sharp, reaching out as if to pierce the sky, although the sky did nothing to instigate such an assault. The tree, not incredibly thick, not incredibly thin, was riddled with knots and twists, roots that ripped the ground, killing the grass and welcoming the weeds. Nothing else grew from the base all the way to the top."

This tree is hiding a portal to a terrible underground place. That is where the parents have been going. But why? The children are about to meet a very sinister man.

"He was extremely tall, taller than any man Juniper had ever seen. In fact, almost everything about him had length. Each body part was extended: long legs, long arms, long neck, long fingers. He was enveloped in a ratty hooded cloak, his elongated face concealed in shadow. His bony pale fingers wrapped around a wood staff, and Juniper noticed his nails were long as well, and dark, as if painted midnight blue. As the shroud pulled tight against his body with each movement and gesture ... There seemed to be no fat whatsoever and little muscle - a fragile, lank, and stretched frame."

His name is Skeksyl and he want to make a bargain with the children - a bargain. 

"I have the ability to hand you everything you could ever want but believed to be unattainable."

"All you have to do is sign your name on my balloon and blow it up with the fresh, youthful breath from your lungs."

An astute reader will know this offer is sure to have a dreadful cost. And again, we need to ask why this creature is making this offer and how this is connected with the changes to their parents.

I am not a huge fan of Halloween - it actually seems like a strange event here in Australia where because it is Spring leading into Summer not Autumn leading in to Winter. The crazy huge pumpkins that appear in shops look totally out of place. Having said that, though, I know lots of readers ask for an enjoy 'horror' stories. Juniper Berry has just the right level of fright along with a glorious celebration of team work. The subtitle for this book is engraved on the tree - "A tale of terror and temptation'.

Publisher blurb: Juniper Berry's parents are the most beloved actor and actress in the world—but Juniper can't help but feel they haven't been quite right lately. And she and her friend Giles are determined to find out why. On a cold and rainy night, Juniper follows her parents as they sneak out of the house and enter the woods. What she discovers is an underworld filled with contradictions: one that is terrifying and enticing, lorded over by a creature both sinister and seductive, who can sell you all the world's secrets bound in a balloon. For the first time, Juniper and Giles have a choice to make. And it will be up to them to confront their own fears in order to save the ones who couldn't.

There are some terrific descriptions in this book. This is the library:

"Matching the themes of the room were a plush leather sofa and armchair as well as an unbelievably comfortable rocking chair and cushioned ottoman in one corner, a classically ornate fireplace, expensive modern and abstract artwork, and, in the center of the room, an oversized desk craftily designed with various drawers and compartments. ... But for Juniper, the very best thing about the study was the smell."

In conclusion, this book was really, really good and definitely one that will haunt me for awhile. And not just because of the balloons. If you enjoyed Coraline by Neil Gaiman even a little bit, you ought to read this book. CSI Librarian

The trope of taking the soul of individuals by an evil being intent on either the 'fountain of youth' or an immortality is one we have seen before in books like The Book without Words by Avi; Momo by Michael Ende; and Stitch by Padraig Kenny.

You could also take a look at this award winning picture book after reading Juniper Berry:

Paradise Sands

Games by Robin Klein

Kirsty invites Patricia to come along for a weekend in an old country home owned by her Aunt Maude. Kirsty and her best friend Genevieve are 'cool kids' who wield their power over quiet shy girls like Patricia. The three girls catch a train and then walk along undefined paths to reach this remote house. Kirsty has a plan to invite a group of boys who go to the school next door to their posh girl's academy. To fill in time (and later we discover) to scare innocent Patricia, Kirsty and Genevieve hold a seance. They tell Patricia about a woman who was murdered in the house years ago and then they weave all sort of mischief into the seance and place things around the home such as a solitary candle at the bottom of the stairs to try to spook Patricial. BUT while they are playing their game a young boy arrives. Kirsty is utterly obnoxious towards him and he flees. But did he really leave. And who replaced the fresh wildflowers Patricia picked and had placed in a vase in the kitchen with dead weeds? Who left a single white glove on the windowsill in the upstairs room where she was trying to sleep? How did the music box suddenly started playing? Why is there no one there when the phone rings? And what about the piece of paper in the typewriter which has the words "Polly put the kettle on". Oh and there is that awful lingering smell of lavender. 

There are lots of mysterious and frightening noises around the house and there is a wild rainstorm raging outside which all adds to the atmosphere of this 'ghost' story but it is also a story about these three girls - one vicious, one cool and calculating and one a gentle girl who feels out of place in the school as a scholarship student. Patricia starts out weak and compliant happy to have been invited to this weekend but as the night progresses, she gains confidence and finally enough strength to confront the cruelty of Kirsty and Genevieve. Patricia is a strong girl and way more mature - she has been caring for her mum ever since her dad died. Her mum clearly has serious mental health issues.

The chapter titles in this book add to the mystery - "This is the house that Jack built"; "Here comes a candle to light you to bed"; "Simon says"; "Hush a bye baby"; "Polly put the kettle on"; "Three blind mice see how they run"; and "I spy with my little eye."

"There is a fine build-up of suspense, and the supernatural element is created with skill. There are three levels of games played: the malicious games of Kirsty and Genevieve, which are played on Patricia; the menacing game that Darcy plays on the girls; and the fame the author plays on the reader." The Oxford Companion to Australian Children's Literature by Stella Lees and Pam Macintyre.

I have a box of older books collected from charity bookfairs, street libraries, and library discards. I found Games at the bottom of the box last week and thought I would revisit this having first read this book in 1986. 

Has this book stood the test of time? Yes, even though there are no mobile phones which modern readers might find curious. And there is a reference to AIDS. What I did discover is that this book is very much a Young Adult title - for ages 13+. It contains very strong language - oddly I had no memory of this. In fact, I had this book in my former Primary School library but after this reading I would certainly pull this book off my shelves and pass it on to a local High School. It is interesting to look at the range of covers above. The first one is the hardcover from 1986 and this is the one I had in several Primary School libraries. 

I took at The Proof of the Puddin': Australian Children's Literature 1970-1990 by Maurice Saxby to see what he thought of Games. He used these words in his descriptions:

• "cruelly repulsive Kirsty and Genevieve"
• "two obnoxious teenagers in the skillfully plotted and adeptly narrated thriller, Games."
• "a cat and mouse game."
• "Patricia is led to take stock of her life and reassess her sense of social values."
• "vicious"

Take a look at my previous post about Robin Klein. 

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

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

The Oath of Bad Brown Bill by Stephen Axelsen

 

Tuesday Treasure

A few days ago I talked about previous winners of our Australian Children's Book of the Year awards. I mentioned The Oath of Bad Brown Bill (1978 CBCA Commended title 1979). I found my copy so I thought I might talk about this funny, scary, horror, bushranger story today. Sadly this book is long out of print but I am sure many Australian Primary school libraries will still have their copy.

Bad Brown Bill and his horse Mudpie travel around the country of Western NSW and Northern Victoria looking for people to rob. 

"Gruff and tough, rude and shrewd,

A scoundrel to the cor,

He plundered, stole, robbed and thieved

And still went out for more."

Bill is a bragger. He constantly boasts and one day Mudpie has had enough. Mudpie sets Bill a challenge to rob the ghostly dead?

Bill is affronted. He accepts the challenge and swears his oath:

"Pure and simple, straight and neat

I vow I'll rob the folk I meet.

Be they live or dead and dry

I swear I'll rob the folk I spy,

And if I ever break this oath

I'll eat my boot! I'll eat them both!"

Late the night Bad Brown Bill encounters a creature - a gibbous ghoul. The ghost invites Bill back to his lair. It is a cavern filled with vile creatures:

"Gross and gruesome monster ghosts

Loathsome and befouled,

Begrimed, beslimed and horrible,

They howled and scowled and growled."

The monstrous creatures plan to turn Bill and Mudpie into bushranger stew. It's all so terrifying that Bill eats his boots and they gallop away. Bill has had such a dreadful shock he changes his ways and invites others to hear his tale. 

"Yes, everyone who heard the tale

Turned grey and shook with dread

And swore they'd change their wicked ways

And settle down instead."

In the final illustration you can see some other famous bushrangers including Ned Kelly!

Our Grade Five students complete a history unit of study each year about the Australian Goldrush. In our library I liked to extend this to a study of the bushrangers who took advantage of the situation robbing stage coaches and gold prospectors. In NSW alone there were over 100 bushrangers. Famous names include Ned Kelly; Ben Hall; Captain Moonlite(Andrew Scott); Frank Gardiner; Captain Thunderbolt (Fredrick Ward); and Mad Dan Morgan.

The Oath of Bad Brown Bill is so much fun to read aloud. The vocabulary is rich but it does need some scaffolding prior to reading with words such as oath; shrewd; plundered; bailed up; bragged; and malodorous.

Here are some of the other bushranger picture books I have used for this topic:

If this topic of Australian Bushrangers interests you or your middle grade child take a look at this new book from Jackie French - Night Ride into Danger.

The Improbable Cat by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Peter Bailey

A kitten appears in the garden on the day of younger sister Josie's seventh birthday party. Everyone welcomes the little bundle of joy. Everyone except the family dog Billy, baby Luke because he is too young and our narrator twelve year old David. Luckily, well we don't know this at the time, but luckily David is allergic to cats. 

Right from the earliest days with this kitten David suspects some thing is not quite right:

"Food. I didn't notice at first, but mum wasn't buying any of the usual brands of cat food. No, it was more like sardines and pilchards, salmon even. Salmon for a cat."

"Even from the start I must have sensed something was wrong. I mean, take that first evening: a limping kitten, which once it got into the house never limped again, and after a day or so never miaowed again either. Or purred. Or, as far as I could see, (never) even washed itself."

David watches in horror as his family disintegrate around him.  His once organised mum becomes disorganised and distracted. His neat and tidy librarian dad is dishevelled and also distracted and his sister is mesmerised. The cat grows larger each day spending all its time inside in darkened rooms watching mindless television surrounded by dirty food bowls. The cat seems to be controlling their minds.

What can David and his friend George do? The family need to be rescued but how?

I had not seen or heard of this book published in 2002 (still in print) by the wonderful UK writer Allan Ahlberg. I was in for a huge shock. This is NOT a little junior chapter book even though it is short (108 pages), contains lots of pencil illustrations and has an inviting cover.  This is a book for fans of Paul Jennings titles such as A different Dog; A different Boy; and A different land. The Improbable Cat will appeal to readers aged 10+.  There is some very strong language in this book - some of it made me gasp. This story also reminded me of an older Australia series called After Dark published by Lothian (all sadly out of print). Books like The Spirited Boy by Libby Hathorn illustrated by Chris Lynch; The Puppet by Ian Bone illustrated by Shaun Tan and The Playground by Shaun Tan.

Back to The Improbable Cat.

Kirkus "Do not be deceived by the diminutive trim size and aloofly posed but pettable-looking feline on the cover: there’s nothing warm or fuzzy about this eerie tale of a family enslaved by an adopted stray."

If you can cope with the strong language I mentioned previously then this book would make an interesting read aloud title for an older Primary group. 

You can see some other work by Peter Bailey here. 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

"Atmospheric horror at its best. 

Chillingly tender."  Kirkus

School is torture for Olivia. She has an intelligence well beyond her classmates in Grade Seven. This is not, however, the cause of her sadness. She has a desperate need to keep away from sympathy, from those knowing looks. Her dad is sad too. His way of coping is to cook. He makes delicious treats for Ollie as a way to show his love but Ollie cannot cope with this either.

"Now he was going to be understanding. She hated understanding voice as much as she hated sympathy face."

Ollie seeks solace down at the swimming hole. The autumn colours are bright and the sunshine is warm. She is surprised to find someone is already there. A woman holding a book which she appears to be intending to throw into the creek. Ollie is horrified. She reaches out and grabs the book.

"Listen to me ... I'm going to tell you one thing, because I'm not a bad person. I just didn't have a choice. I'll give you some advice, and you give me the book. ... 'Avoid large places at night,' the woman said. 'Keep to small."

When Ollie gets home she begins to read this strange book. It recounts events of the past when two brothers made a deal with the Smiling Man.  These events are connected with a local farm and in the coming days the whole class will visit this farm and Ollie will have to think fast, remember the advice about small spaces and rely on new friends in order to survive the ordeal that awaits her.

Just one more thing - you may never look at a scarecrow in quite the same way ever again after you read this book!

Image source: Instructions to make this scarecrow Instructables Craft

I think we all love a scary book - don't we? Nothing too frightening but a story that gives you a shiver or too can be good. I didn't know anything about Small Spaces except I had seen the cover on a few book lists. When I picked it up in a book store the comment on the back cover made me laugh out loud:

"This book scared the snot out of me. Fast-paced and spinetinglingly delightful." Jonathan Auxier.

I really loved Ollie's dad. He has filled their house with colours and he cooks the most delicious food. Luckily for Ollie, on the day of the excursion, he fills her lunch box. I sighed a huge sigh of relief when, the midst of all the terror, Ollie had food to share with Coco and Brian.

"He reached into the back seat and thrust her lunch box out the window. Ollie undid the clasps and peered into the depths. Carrot sticks and peanut butter cookies - way too many of both - and a very large turkey sandwich, cut in quarters on home made bread. Maple granola, with sugared walnuts. A chocolate chip muffin. Dad really must have baked all night."

Good news this is a fairly new book - well newish here in Australia. It was published in 2018. My paperback copy arrived in the bookshop in July 2019. Did you know you can discover this from the price sticker in some shops - I like to think about books sitting on a shelf waiting for a reader - like me! I highly recommend this book for 11+.  It reminded me of His Name was Walter in the way both books contain a book within a book.

 In her review below Betsy Bird talks about the brilliance of the first page in this book. You can hear that page in this audio sample.

A good horror novel for kids shouldn’t just feel increasingly creepy. There has to be something truly terrible at its core that is going to get you and do something unspeakable to you. If the threat isn’t real, the tension isn’t going to work. But don’t worry. In this book the threat is real, the bad guy is terrifying, and the tension . . . well, let’s just say you could cut it with a knife hanging off of a smiling scarecrow’s arm.  Elizabeth Bird School Library Journal

When she finds a graveyard with headstones matching the names of the characters in her book, Ollie knows something strange is afoot ---not to mention the strangely menacing scarecrows that fill the cornfields and seem to move on their own. With the help of her friends, Ollie must discover the old farm’s secrets and set free the souls that have been trapped there for generations. KidsReads