All the Blues in the Sky Renee Watson

"I didn't know

best friends could die"

"You will miss her every day of your life.

Sometimes, the memories will bring tears and sometimes a smile.

The memories won't always overwhelm you,

they will bring comfort too."

You HAVE to let this novel, which is partly told in free verse, unfold slowly. Yes, on the day of Sage's 13th birthday her best friend has died but the when and where and how why are found in the journey you take as a reader.

Sage is grappling with her grief and the adult don't seem to have any answers:

If I live long enough to be an adult

and if I have children when I am an adult

I will tell them.

And I will tell them that sometimes

you go to sleep crying

and wake up crying

and that life after losing someone you love

feels like one big ocean of sorrow

and you might feel like you are

drowning,

but always there is something 

to hold on to 

to keep you afloat.

Sage meets four other students in her school grief group. Ebony's dad died suddenly from a heart attack; Zay's grandmother died in her sleep after a long illness; Ana's twin sister died from leukemia; and DD's brother was murdered by the police. Sage feels that she can relate to Ebony and DD because in both cases the death came suddenly, and these deaths were totally unfair. Sage is sure the death of HER friend is all her fault but how can a car accident be her fault?

There are two rules in the grief group - everyone shares openly and everyone listens with compassion.

DD's brother was murdered:

Now she is a sister familiar with words she's never had to say

so often, know so well; police brutality, death, rage, injustice, press conference

obituary, funeral, casket, hearse, graveyard, protect, indictment, trial, jury, verdict, guilty, sentence,

involuntary manslaughter, memorial, closure?, closure?,

grief, grief.

Sage has her own set of words such as vehicular manslaughter, hit and run, and criminally negligent homicide.

Blue is the empty chair at the desk in the classroom where my best friend used to sit.

Blue is the ache in my heart when I pick up the phone to call her and remember she's gone.

Blue is Aunt Ini's warm hugs.

Blue is a hot mug of cocoa on a cold stormy day.

Blue is all the calm, all the heartbreak,

all the hope

all the tears, all the laughter. ...

For all the blues in the sky,

there are as many blues in the heart.

Just a warning you will be sobbing by the final pages of this book.

Bookseller blurb: Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life -- and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is an important story of a girl's journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

This is a verse novel from 2025 for sensitive mature readers aged 12+ but sadly here in Australia you will need to wait for the paperback edition - the hardcover will be well beyond the budget of most school libraries. 

A heartfelt portrait of the complexities of grief and the indomitable human spirit. Kirkus Star review

The counselling group in All the Blues in the Sky reminded me of this book:

Just Like Jackie

Other books by Renee Watson:

Music Camp by Penny Tangey

This is a brand-new Australian book - published this week. The best part of the story happens very close to the end of the book so readers will need to 'stick with' this book so they can enjoy the emotional scenes of the final chapters.

I learnt recorder as a child and then after I retired I joined an adult class and ensemble group, so I do not need to be convinced that the recorder is a worthy musical instrument. I also attended music camps (playing the viola), and I was in several orchestras as a child and teenager so there were a few parts of this book that did resonate with me. 

This book is told from two perspectives. Miley plays the recorder and Juliet plays the flute. Both of them have complex family issues. Miley wants other people to see value in the recorder and Juliet loudly proclaims the recorder does not belong in an orchestra and even more a recorder player should not be selected to perform a solo at the end of camp concert. Juliet is certain she will be the one who wins the audition for concert soloists. Ollie, who plays the cello - it is almost as big as his ego - is also sure he will be the main star at the concert.

Meanwhile there have been terrible floods in this area and now Miley and her mum live in a caravan having lost everything. Miley's mum cannot pay for this music camp, but Miley is awarded a scholarship. Miley hopes the camp will give her another chance to prove the worth of her tenor recorder:

"I mean I get it. They hear a class of kids playing Pachelbel's Canon on plastic descant recorders and it sounds like ferrets flighting in a cave, so they assume it's the recorder's fault. But really the problem is forcing kids with no musical training to play high-pitched instruments. If the government spent more money on music education and equipment then recorder ensembles would sound better. Recorders can sound as good as any other instrument. And way better than the flute."

There are a lot of issues in this book and at times they were a little overwhelming - climate change is one example. The recent floods are most certainly a result of climate change. The camp is also flooded out sorry for the spoiler. The company that sponsors the camp and the scholarships is also contributing to climate change. This creates an interesting tension between the camp leaders. Juliet has her own issues coping with the death of her father who was also a musician and also trying to navigate her mother's own deep grief. And we meet Renee. She is clearly neurodivergent, but this is not directly stated. It is a real strength of this book that readers just need to gradually understand Renee experiences the world in a different way. There are hints in the food she eats, the clothes she wears and the way she needs to keep her hands clean. I really wanted to know more about Renee - she was the character I liked the best. 

If you are book talking Music Camp with a group of Grade Six readers I would begin by playing something 'cool' that shows how terrific a recorder ensemble can sound. Maybe just share the sound not the video of this one. Ask about the instruments and ask if the students enjoy this sound. Or let them hear some tenor recorders. 

Music Camp is a gorgeous story about friendship, music, and finding your voice. Finding a way to fit in when you feel like you don’t, because you’re into something that others might not see as cool. Any interest is cool, because it can connect us with friends and passion to bring out the best in us. It’s a delightful novel, filled with great friendships and the power to encourage people to follow their dreams. The Book Muse

Thank you to UQP (University of Queensland Press) for the advance reader copy. Here is the author webpage. Here are some very detailed teachers notes and questions (I would not use all of these with a class but you could select some to use with a small book discussion group). I think mature readers aged 10+ especially those navigating complex friendships which often happen at the end of Primary school but I do wonder if the cover will appeal to the intended demographic. As an adult reader I am sorry to say it really does not appeal to me perhaps because of the choice of disparate colours. Here are the notes from Lamont Standing orders. 

It would be good to explore the concert program at the back of the book with a music class if you have one in your school. We had an amazing music teacher in a primary school where I worked previously. Read more here. Turn the sound up loud (don't show the video) and listen to this glorious piece from the concert. 

Publisher blurb: Miley and Juliet have nothing in common, apart from a love of music. Miley can’t afford the five-day Music Camp because she lost her home in a flood, but she’s won a scholarship to attend. This is her chance to prove to everyone that the recorder is a serious instrument. Flautist Juliet comes from classical music royalty. Her late father was an esteemed clarinet player and she wants to honour his legacy. She’s also keen to make friends with people who don’t know about her tragic past – though perhaps not with that girl who thinks the recorder is a serious instrument. Over the week, Miley and Juliet don’t always see eye to eye, especially when they both audition for the only woodwind solo at the final night’s concert. But with torrential rain threatening to flood the camp, their dreams might get washed away. How can they put their differences aside and face the music together?

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller

Magnolia was not a trench-coat-wearing, magnifying-glass-holding detective. She wore a simple T-shirt and reasonable sneakers, and her strengths were asking questions and being able to talk to people. Most importantly, for the first time in a long time, she had a friend, 

someone who believed in her before she did, which is a powerful thing.

Magnolia's parents run a laundry in New York City. Her parents are migrants from China and so this means they love living in America but they do work very very hard - seven days a week. Magnolia is not unhappy but she would love her parents to spend more time with her and also she wishes they could take a little time off now and again. 

People often leave things behind at the laundromat. Magnolia collects these strange things and she also collects single socks. She has put these on a display board in the laundromat in the hope that someone will come back and claim their sock but so far no one has done this. 

A new family move into the neighborhood and Magnolia's mum organises a visit hoping Magnolia might make a new friend. Magnolia is very inexperienced with the whole process of friendship but very quickly she and Iris do form a connection. Just before Iris arrives the board of sock crashed onto the floor and Magnolia is so upset by the way a rude customer has just treated her mum that she throws the sock board out with the trash. Iris sees the socks and comes up with a splendid plan. Perhaps Magnolia and Iris could spend their summer holidays tracking down the owners of these socks. AND so a wonder story begins - Magnolia and Iris become great friends, Magnolia makes a series of amazing discoveries about her neighbors and about her parents and their past lives and Magnolia learns that first impressions of the kids from school are not actually even close to correct.

I love the title - yes mum folds the washing but also Magnolia unfolds the sock mystery with the help of her friend and in the process she unfolds herself - opens herself to making new friends and opening herself to a better understanding of her parents. The chapters are named after the socks - that's fun too - The Pink Knitted Sock, The Flamingo Sock, and The Ice Cream Sock

Here are some text quotes - I highlighted so many fabulous passages in this book - that is one great feature of reading on a Kindle.

Magnolia Wu was almost ten. She was eager to turn ten, because the number 9 looked like a sprout coming out of the ground, small and easily stomped. Ten was a strong, two-digit number that looked like a sword and a shield that belonged to someone who was about to conquer the world.

To Magnolia, each sock was a mystery, and she waited for the day that their owners would return to claim them. She wondered where the socks had been, if they’d trekked through mud or snow, climbed a flowering hillside, or danced on Broadway stages. But so far no one had come back, the socks forgotten or replaced by whatever other important things adults were out there doing.

When Magnolia saw the laundromat through a classmate’s eyes, she became self-conscious of the smallest things. The Christmas ornaments dangling from their potted plants year-round. The statue of Guan Gong in his shrine, surrounded by oranges and burning incense set out as offerings. The pile of strangers’ underwear stacked on the counter. The recycled peanut butter jars they used as pencil holders. The way her dad wore a Snoopy sweater and floppy sandals, while other dads strode down the street buttoned up in crisp collars and polished shoes.

So I’m going to help you return each sock to its rightful owner, and you’re going to show me around New York City.” It had never occurred to Magnolia to take action to return the socks herself. She thought of life as something that unfolded around her and happened to her while she was content being an observer.

Suddenly, with a knapsack of socks on her back and a friend by her side, Magnolia felt like anything was going to be possible this summer.

Magnolia had never had a best friend and didn’t know the responsibilities of her new position. How did best friends make up? Did they shake hands or high-five? Did fighting mean the end of things? Did people recover from these kinds of wounds?

Wildly funny, charming, and deeply heartfelt. Kirkus Star review

Today I took a bus ride to the city. If the bus driver gives me a fairly calm trip I can read a book on my Kindle. I started Magnolia Wu Unfolds it all and I was transported. I read half of the book on the way into the city and the other half on the way home. THIS BOOK IS FABULOUS. Sorry to shout. No wonder it won a Newbery honour. Now for the sad news. So far this book is only available as a hardcover edition and so here in Australia it is way too expensive (AUS$40). There is a paperback edition [9780593624531] but it does not seem to have arrived here. I am not a fan of the cover - but please do not let this stop you hunting out this book. 

Here is a quote from the author: Remember, stories can be found everywhere in your life. Pay attention to the details in your day-to-day routines and the people you interact with; build adventures out of them. Celebrate your history and connectedness. I hope you can tell how much I enjoyed writing this whimsical, emotional, slightly nonsensical story, spending time with two girls who are capable of solving the impossible. You can too.

You can read a sample of this book on the publisher page. Here are some teachers notes from the US publisher. I follow a children's book discussion group on Facebook - we used these questions for our discussion.  Here are a few questions and my answers:

1. Iris brings in the sock board from the street, saying she wants to help find the socks’ missing owners. This idea surprises Magnolia because “it had never occurred to Magnolia to take action to return the socks herself. She thought of life as something that unfolded around her and happened to her while she was content being an observer” (p. 24). Do you recall times, as a child, that life unfolded around you? As an adult? Were there times when you took action instead?

I’m probably more of an observer but if someone suggested taking action like Iris I think I’d join in.

2. Magnolia is embarrassed after suggesting the wrong spelling for a word in Lisa’s crossword puzzle. However, Lisa says her error was “a creative act” and evidence of how smart she is (p. 36). How might our mistakes show our imagination and intelligence?

I love authors who create characters with emotional intelligence. Readers of this book will see a “different” way to react. Hooray!

3. While searching for the owner of the flamingo sock, Magnolia and Iris run into Aspen, a boy from school. How does Aspen act toward Magnolia and the laundromat? The story about his stuffed animal Otto and Magnolia’s father explains the reason for his actions but doesn't excuse the racist taunts and bullying. What is Miller trying to show child readers in this scenario?

Everyone has two sides. Humans are complex! I loved discovering his “soft side”.

4. Aspen tells Magnolia and Iris that flamingos are naturally gray but turn pink after eating shrimp. He says, “Flamingos become what they consume,” and Iris writes him a note that says she hopes he stays gray (pp. 86–87). What does she mean by this? What are some things you consume (literally or figuratively), and how have they made you who you are?

I really do not enjoy books that are overly didactic but this scene does not feel like that at all. I loved the quiet wisdom of this idea. And he way Magnolia and Iris have to take a journey to find this reflects in a small way the enormity of the journey to understanding taken by Aspen.

I have two favourite picture books about visiting Laundromats - A pocket for Corduroy; and Knuffle Bunny. Small confession - I am slightly crazy about socks and I do have quite a large collection including some special ones from Japan and some I bought in Paris! Last year I visited a wonderful Laundromat in Portsmouth Laundrycare (145 Albert Rd, Southsea, Portsmouth, Southsea PO4 0JW, United Kingdom). I highly recommend them if you are in the area.

Here is a poem about missing socks:

The Missing Sock by Angela Wybrow

This afternoon, I had quite a big shock: 
I discovered that I have a missing sock! 
I put my socks inside the washing machine, 
But now one sock is nowhere to be seen.

I started my hunt earlier - had a scout around, 
But, as yet, the missing sock is still to be found.
It's not hung on the line or the clothes airer.
It needs to be reunited with me: its wearer.

The socks were one of my favourite pairs: 
Light blue with a snowy white polar bear.
They also had stars sewn with silvery thread.
I've looked on the floor and inside my bed.

With a missing sock, I've no peace of mind; 
That missing sock, I simply need to find.
It has to be somewhere within the house -
Or maybe it has been stolen by a mouse! 

That poor little sock is all lonely and lost; 
I'll do anything to retrieve it: whatever the cost.
I'm feeling quite upset, as I really do hate
The thought of it coping without its mate.

With the missing sock, I am quite obsessed, 
And, until I have found it, I will not rest.
That missing sock, I will keep looking for
Until it's safe and sound back in its drawer. 

Saskia Spark-Lee Trading Trouble by Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg

I picked this book up by mistake. The second book from this series is a CBCA Younger Readers Notable title but anyway I did enjoy this first installment (published 2023). In fact this easy chapter book was a total surprise. I expected it would be a fairly light weight story, but this story explores deeper themes of honesty, jealousy, problem solving and remorse.

Saskia is a collector especially of things that sparkle (think about her name). She lives with her two dads. One is a great cook. Saskia has a wonderful friend at school and each day the pair of them have fun guessing what might be in their lunch boxes and then swapping the different treats and sandwiches. At lunch time one day Saskia sees a girl from her class with a wonderful large piece of sparkling quartz. It would be a fabulous addition to her collection. Without thinking about the consequences Saskia tells Athena about the real diamond she has at home. Saskia offers to swap her tiny diamond for the lovely piece of quartz. Does Saskia really have a diamond? No. But how can she undo this terrible lie.

I love the role adults play in this story. Dad (Da) has a great idea about how to tell the truth but also smooth over this relationship. At the same time, unknown to Saskia, Athena's mum also has a solution which means as readers we can all enjoy the resolution to this problem and it feels realistic, kind and very satisfying. 

Here are the Scholastic Standing Order teachers notes. 

I have been reading my way through the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Notable titles. Saskia Spark-Lee Trading trouble is the first book in this series featuring Saskia Spark-Lee. The second book Fundraiser Fail is a CBCA Notable and tomorrow the short-listed books will be announced. There are 14 books in this category I have not read (although I did browse through a few of the pop titles - reading just their first few pages until the word 'fart' was mentioned then I thought I should really spend my time on books that I think meet the CBCA criteria because this is a literary award not a pop one). I will need to hunt out this book because it is an important part of the CBCA judging that books from a series must stand alone. Here is the webpage for Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg. 

Here is the notable title from the CBCA 2025 Younger Readers list:

Publisher blurb: Saskia Spark-Lee loves animals – she’s almost adopted a whole zoo-worth! But when Da and Dee say they can’t add another to the collection, she must come up with a new plan to continue supporting her furry friends. With some help from Nanna, and the amazing fundraising skills of her friends, Saskia may find where there's a will there's a way!

The Younger Readers 2025 CBCA judges said: This book is ideal for the younger end of the category. Although only 64 pages, it’s packed with substance – excellent plotting with tension maintained throughout, and good authentic characterisation with a strong voice. The topics are appealing to the age level, and the book is accessible with illustrations in halftone and line. The themes of prioritising competing values, animal conservation, advocacy and charity are explored in a way that is accessible to the intended audience and this series does not talk down to readers. Similarly, it includes some vocabulary that will challenge readers such as ‘solemn’ and ‘dilemma’. There is also a diverse representation of characters including Saskia’s two dads and her multicultural classmates. This book will entice but not intimidate younger readers.

We are the Wibbly! A Tadpole's Tale by Sarah Tagholm illustrated by Jane McGuiness

This book just begs to be read aloud. Our young narrator always seems to come last. Youngest siblings are sure to relate to this and other children will sympathise with his feelings of being slow to catch up with the group. As Kirkus says: While some life cycle books feel dry, this one is enlivened by humor and the modest but compelling narrative, which follows a distinctive pink-cheeked tadpole who’s decidedly ambivalent about this whole metamorphosis business.

I love his individual voice and the way he uses invented words. This is an absolutely perfect book to consider for any preschool library or bookshelf. It is a terrific way to talk about the lifecycle of frogs and the art in this book is just so very appealing. It reminds me of a preschool art technique blowing bubbles through paint. See more books illustrated by Jane McGuiness here. 

Image source: Jane McGuiness

Invented words and fun phrases: water-flying; hunger-muncher; 'you will not do believing this'; juiceable dinners; I am the fasterest; 'oh my crikeys'; air-swimming.

Look at this diagram and you can see the changes he goes through:

Publisher blurb: OH MY CRIKEYS! Doesn't life move fast? One moment you're in the Wibbly, relaxing with your Wibbly friends. The next, they've all grown tails and turned into tadpoles! And what's more, they are bursting OUT of the Wibbly ... AND you've got to keep up! Some tadpoles don't feel ready to become frogs. And some never wanted to become tadpoles in the first place.

Frequent exclamation points propel the springy narrative, and sprinkles of quirky invented words and unconventional grammar feel very froglike indeed. ...  Splashy illustrations in ink, mixed-media, and Photoshop leap with energy, while the gently rounded, big-eyed frogs are cute yet still accurately rendered. A page of backmatter nicely summarizes the frog’s life cycle. A hopping good book perfect for budding biologists. Kirkus Star review

Here is a very extensive Pinterest collection of books about frogs and toads from my friend Kinderbookswitheverything. 

I would pair We are Wibbly with this book:

One Tiny Tree Frog

The Six Swans - a fairy tale by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

I borrowed a copy of The Six Swans (illustrations by Dorothee Duntze) from a school library last week. Now I am so confused. As a child my favourite fairy tale was The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. I had this amazing copy with puppet photos and a 'hologram' cover (see below). Now I discover another fairy tale called The Six Swans by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  The two stories are SO similar. 

Using Wikipedia here is my comparison:

The Wild Swans

In a faraway kingdom, there lives a widowed king with his twelve children: eleven princes and one princess. One day, he decides to remarry, but marries a wicked queen who is a witch. Out of spite, the queen turns her eleven stepsons into magnificent swans who are allowed to temporarily become human only at night and forced to fly by day.

The Six Swans

A King gets lost in a forest while hunting for game. An old witch promises to help the lost King get back home, on the condition that he marry her beautiful daughter. The King suspects the mysterious maiden to be wicked but agrees to marry her. He has six sons and a daughter from his first marriage, however, and fears that the children will be abused by his new wife. So, before the wedding, the King sends his children to a hidden castle in the forest, secretly visiting them by following a magical reel of thread given to him by a wise woman. The Queen, who is also a witch, then sews seven magical white shirts. When the King leaves for an errand one day, the Queen follows the reel to the hidden castle. Mistaking her for their father, the six princes rush out to greet their stepmother who then throws the shirts over her stepsons, transforming them into swans.

In both stories, the young daughter of the King is left to save her brothers. In both stories the young girl is not allowed to speak, and she must make shirts for her brothers. This is painful and difficult work which takes years to complete. Also, in both stories the boys only appear in human form briefly. 

The Wild Swans

Elisa is guided by the queen of the fairies to gather stinging nettles in graveyards to knit into shirts that will eventually help her brothers regain their human shapes. Elisa endures painfully blistered hands from nettle stings, and she must also take a vow of silence for the duration of her task, for speaking one word will kill herself and her brothers.

The Six Swans

The princes can only take their human forms for fifteen minutes every evening. They tell their sister that they have heard of a way to lift the curse: she must not speak for six years while sewing six star-flower shirts for her brothers.

In both stories one shirt is incomplete and in both the girl is accused of witchcraft. 

The Wild Swans

When Elisa finishes the last shirt, she throws the shirts over the swans, and her brothers return to their human forms. The youngest brother has a swan's wing instead of an arm, as Elisa did not have time to finish one sleeve of his shirt.

The Six Swans

In this story the young girl marries a king and so she is now a queen but she cannot speak until the six years have passed. Even though the young Queen has sewn all six star-flower shirts, the last one lacks a left sleeve. When the girl is brought to the stake, she takes the shirts with her. Just as she is about to be burned, the six swans come flying through the air. She throws the shirts over her brothers and they regain their human form, but the youngest retains a left wing instead of an arm.

I now discover the there are lots of variations on this fairy tale. In this article the author compares three - the two I have talked about and The seven ravens. Read more here. Goodreads identify forty titles that are based around this fairy tale. 

I also read this: The tale “The Wild Swans” was written by 33-year-old Andersen in 1838 and was included in the collection “Fairy Tales Told for Children.” When creating the tale, Andersen relied on the tales of the Brothers Grimm and the Irish legend of a sister and two brothers turned by a stepmother into swans. Source

I previously talked about this book which feels very similar to The Wild Swans.

The Children of Nuala

And our Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year for 2024 also has overtones of The Wild Swans - Paradise Sands.

Norman didn't do it! (yes he did) by Ryan T Higgins

"Norman was a porcupine. Norman's best friend was Mildred. Mildred was a tree."

Norman has always done everything with Mildred - games, reading bedtime stories and talking. BUT one day another tree pops up out of the ground. 

"Suddenly, it was no longer just Norman and Mildred. Now it was Norman and Mildred and the other tree. This did not sit well with Norman."

Over time we watch as the other tree grows taller and seemingly closer until one day their leaves touch. For Norman this is the last straw! (Even though in this case there were no straws. Just branches.)

Norman is desperate so he makes a plan. He needs to get rid of this other tree - can you guess what he does? He digs it up and transplants it very very very far away on a tiny island in the middle of the river. BUT now Norman feels dreadful. He feels guilty. And should he think about how Mildred might be feeling. And what about the other tree all alone so far away. Oh and what if someone saw him move the little tree. They might tell Mildred!

"What if digging up your friend's friend in the middle of the night and taking that friend very very far away was NOT the right thing to do? What if it was the WRONG thing to do?"

The library I am lucky enough to visit each week adds a little sticker to the front cover of books they especially love - the sticker says "Our Picks" and Norman Didn't do it (yes he did) has very appropriately earned one of these stickers. This book should be added to your school library and preschool bookshelf and you should also borrow it from your local library or badger them to purchase it. I do have to add, though, that very sadly this book costs over AUS$35 here in Australia so you might need to wait for the paperback edition. My copy was published in September, 2021 so hopefully the paperback is not too far away. This book could also be one to read aloud in your library or as a discussion starter about friendship, jealousy, and fixing our mistakes. And of course you will talk about the issue of 'twos company - threes a crowd' and how best to navigate changes in friendship groups. 

Ryan T. Higgins' signature wit, whimsy, and humor brilliantly explore the depths and complexities of friendship. Publisher comment

Here are some other books by Ryan T Higgins:

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 Children of Nuala by Malachy Doyle

Blurb: A long time ago, before you were born, or your grandmother was born, or your grandmother's mother before her, in a land far away, lived Olan. Olan's evil father is a magician and Olan has been born with a heart of ice. When he marries a beautiful woman called Nuala, Olan casts a terrible spell upon her children. But as his icy heart starts to melt, he realizes what he has done and he sets out to bring his family back together.

Olan marries Nuala who has lost her young husband - he has drowned and she is left with her four children - Connor, Cormac, Liam and Fionnuala. His jealousy of the love their mother shows the children allows his magician father to send a dreadful curse from far away:

"Three years you must spend under the cruel spell of my father. One year as swans, a second as blackbirds and third as ducks. Only then will you regain your human form."

Olan decides he and Nuala cannot stay on the island of Inchageela but with every move to a new place the birds - either swans, blackbirds or ducks, follow them. Each move is motivated by jealousy until finally Nuala is able to explain she can love Olan and at the same time also love her children - who now are able to return to her in human form and joy of joys there is a new baby in the family too.

I have been helping a friend in her two school libraries with stocktake (inventory) and also weeding (culling) her collections especially the fiction, picture books and lately the short chapter books. That is where I found this strange book. It is an old book published in 1998 but it is in really good condition mainly because Faber and Faber used really good paper. This is a slim book with only 47 illustrated pages but I think it would better suit an older audience of readers aged 10+. 

This story is based on an Irish folk tale and it also has strong links to one of my most favourite fairy tales - The Wild swans.

With a group of older students, you could seek out the original Irish tale - The Children of Lir and also it would be interesting to compare this story with Paradise Sands which won an award from our Children's Book Council of Australia in 2023.

Paradise Sands

Here are the details of this edition

Picture Book Month Day 23

The book I am sharing today is a very obscure one and yes it is out of print because it was published in 1986 but I wanted to include it here because this book is such a terrific read aloud. It just begs to have you use your different voices for Herbert Binns himself - a kind, creative and wise mouse - and his enemies - McTabbity, Zip and Measly. I love those names and the name of the community of Field Edge.

I wrote about Herbert Binns and the Flying Tricycle in 2010. It is interesting to see the way my posts have become longer and more detailed over time. My blog started in 2008 and here I am still going strong 23 years later. 

These days I always check to see if the author and illustrator have web pages, I read reviews, and I look for additional materials such as videos; teacher notes; and interviews. You can see the whole story here. The music track is a little distracting but you will be able to see the text and art. I suggest viewing full screen without sound. I do like the pace of this recording. 

Caroline Castle is also the author of these terrific titles which are absolutely perfect for preschoolers. There are four and again I am sad to say they are all out of print - Happy, Gorgeous, Funny, and Naughty.

Her work is also showcased in this book which should be in EVERY school library:

I now discover Caroline Castle and Peter Weeves collaborated on another title too:

Weird Little Robots by Carolyn Crimi illustrated by Corinna Luyken

 

Penny Rose loves creating things from found and recycled materials. Her latest project is the creation of five robots. 

"She had made them with odd items that pleased her, like a meat thermometer, a cell phone, a calculator, a pair of old dentures. One robot had a marble eye that Penny Rose had found in the town graveyard."

The robots have cute names: iPam, Fraction, Clunk, Sharpie and Data. On the night of her birthday something happens to her robots - something magical:

"And maybe it was the force of her determination, or a few stray whiskers from her cat, Arvid, or that northerly wind blowing in through the window that changed every single item in that shed on that cool September afternoon. Or maybe it was simply a desperate wish from a lonely girl."

Her family have just moved to this new town and Penny Rose would like a friend. Her robots are her friends but there is a girl right across the road called Lark. Perhaps there is a way Lark might become her friend. Sure, this can happen but there will be complications along the way along with some special discoveries about those quirky robots who now seem to have their own agenda. 

This is a sweet little story about the importance of friendship and the wonderful things that can happen if you believe in magic and there is just the right amount of tension to keep you turning the pages. I think readers aged 8+ will enjoy this book. I do like the subtitle: Two science geeks, five robots. One incredible adventure.

Penguin Random House blurb: Eleven-year-old Penny Rose has just moved to a new town, and so far the robots she builds herself are her only company. But with just a bit of magic, everything changes: she becomes best friends with Lark, has the chance to join a secret science club, and discovers that her robots are alive. Penny Rose hardly remembers how lonely she used to feel. But then a fateful misstep forces her to choose between the best friend she’s always hoped for and the club she’s always dreamed of, and in the end it may be her beloved little robots that pay the price.

Here is a set of teaching notes and questions from the US publisher Candlewick. The US copy has a different cover:

There are so many things to love about this charming little tale of friendship and creativity, science and magic. The girls are interesting and interested in the world around them. But it's the robots who steal the show. Reading Style

Carolyn Crimi’s prose is crisp and inviting. Believable dialogue helps move the story forward as does the overall paragraph/chapter structure. Corinna Luyeken’s sweet illustration have an earnestness to them that adds emotion and light throughout. Cracking the Cover

You can see books by Caroline Crimi on her web site. Here are some other books illustrated by Corinna Luyken:

John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Wagner illustrated by Ron Brooks

Rose and her dog John Brown have a comfortable life together but this is disturbed by the arrival of a cat. Rose likes the cat. John Brown does not. Does this all seem very simple?  It is not. As you read this book, and I have read it many many times, more and more layers are revealed about these complex relationships. 

Every now and then I think it is surely time for me to talk about John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat here on this blog and then I decide no - it's just too hard. Why? I have such strong feelings about this book. I love it SO much. Anything I say here will surely not do this exquisite text, and equally poignant and skilful illustrations, justice.

If you are a student studying the art of picture books, John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat is one you will want to study carefully. It is picture book perfection. Here are some things to think about:

Illustrations:

• Hunt for the tiny details - the clock, the paintings on the wall, the photo of Rose's husband, her slippers which later John Brown uses as a comfort when he is pondering the problem of how to get Rose up and out of bed.
• Think about the fine details of cross hatching - all done by hand. Each one would have taken hours and hours of work.
• Think about inside and outside views.
• The eyes of the cat are important. Compare them over the pages of the book.
• Notice all the patterns - wall paper, quilt, wire fence (chook pen), and wooden fences.
• How does Ron show this is a cosy home? Notice the fire place, the tea pot, the indoor plants and flowers in vases and even the old crockery in glass cabinets. 
• Think about the way this book invites you to use all your senses - the ticking clock, the smell of old furniture, the chill of the night air, the heat from the fire and the warmth of  holding John Brown close.

Book Design:

• Look at the text placement at the bottom of each page presented as a long white strip
• Compare the pages where some have one illustration in a white, slightly undefined frame and others are full spreads which bleed into the edges.
• Take a close look at the frame shape used around the title and creator details on the cover.
• Think about the way John Brown and Rose are moving forward - left to right. 
• Take a look at this blog post which explores various features of illustrations in famous picture books including John Brown. 

Text:

• How will you read lines such as "John Brown would not look."; "I don't see any cat";  "There's nobody there"; and "We don't need you, cat." Think about how emphasis can change meaning and tone.
• Think about the pacing used by Jenny Wagner. You simply have to read the lines "John Brown shut his eyes" slowly and then pause. 
• Notice the page turns. 
• Jenny Wagner is not afraid to repeat words. This is a powerful tool - "No!' said John Brown, and he pulled the curtains shut. 'No, I won't let him in."
• Consider the magical implications of the circle John Brown draws around the house and the way this is a midnight cat, a black cat. Warding off evil?
• Rose puts out the milk and "every night, when Rose was not looking, John Brown tipped it out." How does this make you feel? What is going on here? 
• Word placement is so important - "he woke her gently"; "He watched as she dozed by the fire"; "His eyes were like lamps, and his fur shone against the ragged sky."

If you can find a copy of Drawn from the Heart: a memoir by Ron Brooks read chapter five (page 105). In this essay Ron explains his own difficulties with this wonderful book and all of the work he did over and over again to get it right. 

"I came to see that the story had a lot to say about many things - about different kinds of love, about conflicting loyalties, about possessiveness. It was perhaps not so much about jealousy as about the wish to protect what one has, or to regain what has been lost."

"A great deal of the imagery in John Brown is drawn from my grandparents house ... an old Victoria weatherboard, with a verandah across the front and down one side ... There were flower beds all around the house, leading out through the fruit trees to the clothesline and the chook-yard... "

"I make suggestions in the illustrations, provide starting points, things to fiddle with and speculate about, but leave open possibilities so that each viewer can find their own connections, and use them in their own way."

John Brown was first published in 1977 and I rejoice to see it is still in print especially when you consider that so many very fine Australian children's picture books have disappeared. Take a look here to see a video of the whole book.

In 1996 Australia Post released a set of stamps to celebrate the Children's Book Council of Australia one of which featured an image from John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat which won Picture Book of the Year in 1978.

Further reading:

Here is a detailed analysis of the text

Here is the Kirkus review (spoiler alert the reviewer in 1978 did not like this book)

I found this alternate cover which I think might be from the UK edition - what do you think of this?