Silver Linings by Katrina Nannestad

Nettie (Lynette) Sweeny lives with her three sisters and her dad on a farm. The year is 1952 and in a few months Princess Elizabeth will be crowned queen and shortly after this she will visit Australia and in particular rural Australia - coming to a town near where Nettie lives. Nettie's mum died in childbirth. Nettie longs for the love of a mother and so it is wonderful to read that when Nettie turns five her father remarries. Alice is a perfect mum to all the girls but especially to young Nettie. I think Alice is my favourite character in this story along with young Nettie of course oh and the wise bus driver. Here are some text quotes about Alice:

"Dinner is filled with happy chatter. Every time Alice puts her knife down, I weave my fingers in and out of hers. Eventually overcome by the thrill of having my own real mother, I slip out of my chair and hang off her neck. I spend the rest of the meal running my knuckles along the pearls on her necklace ... and planting kisses on her cheek."

"Alice gives us one more kiss, which makes the skin on my forehead tingle with happiness ... "

"Mum spends heaps of time sitting on the lounge or in bed because Billy's always hungry and needs a lot of feeding. She uses one arm for holding Billy, so there's always a spare one for wrapping around me and plenty of room for Muriel if she wants to snuggle up too. Which she does."

The Australian vernacular in this story is so endearing and I didn't tire of the sweet 'joke' about babies and storks and Nettie's sweet misunderstandings and earnest little letters sent to the stork asking for a baby. 

I wonder what readers from other places in the world will make of expressions like these:

'whacko the diddly-oh!'
'stone the crows'

chooks (chickens)

'ruddy cold'

'that's a porky' (tall tale or a lie)

crook (unwell)

yarn (a story)

duffer (fool)

This story has terrific descriptions of life in a small rural school. I really enjoyed the scenes where the kids are preparing their Christmas play and also getting ready to meet the young Queen Elizabeth. The importance of supporting neighbours during times of hardship and disasters such as floods is also a theme and there are references to the damage done to the minds of returning soldiers - which we now call PTSD. I think Aunty Edith may have had a Victorian upbringing - she has such strict beliefs about the behaviour of children. She is also attached to lace hankies and the importance of eating peas. There are some truly funny moments when Nettie uses her doll Fancy Nancy to voice her frustrations about Aunty Edith. Fancy Nancy can say all the naughty words that the children might think but they would never dare to say!

You will find a link to some very good teacher's notes here. Katrina Nannestead says: "This story is fiction but inspired by family history."

Publisher blurb: A new heartwarming novel set in 1950s Australia from bestselling author Katrina Nannestad. Nettie Sweeney has a dad, three big sisters, a farm full of cows and a cat called Mittens. But it’s not enough. She longs for a mother. One with a gentle touch and sparkles in her eyes. Instead, she has Aunty Edith with slappy hands, a sharp tongue and the disturbing belief that peas are proper food. When Dad marries Alice, all Nettie’s dreams come true. The Sweeney home overflows with laughter, love and, in time, a baby brother. Billy. The love of Nettie’s life. Then tragedy strikes. The Sweeney family crumbles. Nettie tries to make things right, but has she made everything so much worse?

An emotionally rich narrative with big, complex themes, told in a way that’s irresistibly immersive for middle-grade readers. Nettie is a captivating protagonist with a huge heart. While her naive innocence at the beginning of the book makes her immediately endearing, the resilience and courage she develops over the course of the book’s tragic events will earn her a special forever-place in readers’ hearts. Better Reading

I am adding this book to my list of CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) notable and short list predictions. This book will warm your heart, then break your heart and then on the final pages, while the sadness is still there, you will be given a small glimpse of a better future. This book is sure to become a classic in the same way Seven Little Australian's captured our hearts last century.  I recommend this book for readers aged 11+. Note there are some suggestions of domestic violence in the home of their neighbours the Parkes.

Other books by Katrina Nannestad - I have LOVED all of them.

The Girl who Bought mischief

We are Wolves

Rabbit, Solider, Angel, Thief

Waiting for the Storks

Olive of Groves

The Travelling Bookshop

Runt by Craig Silvey illustrated by Sara Acton

"Then for the first time Annie used her magic finger. She held it up, and Runt sat down. There was an invisible energy that seemed to connect them. It was as though a kind of electricity moved from the tip of Annie's finger to the end of Runt's snout."

"Remember, it's just like at home. Don't worry about all the sheep outside the fence. Just keep looking at me. You can do it. If we win this, we can go to London and try to pay the overdraft on the overdraft, and I could afford all the MUSH (dog food) you could ever eat."

This is a thoroughly joyous story about a girl and her wonderful dog named Runt. Life could be so good in their small Australian country town but a very, very greedy neighbour has been buying up the land and houses and he has redirected the town water into his own lake. There is a serious drought and the farmers who still live in Upson Downs are rapidly running out of hope and money.

Mum and Dad especially need money because the greedy landowner, appropriately named Earl Robert-Barren, is demanding the family pay him thousands of dollars for damage caused by their runaway sheep. 

Annie's dog Runt though,  has special talents. Annie discovers there is a competition with enormous prize money - enough money to save her family. Runt wins the agility course at the local rural show, then he wins at the National titles. The next stop is the Krumpets Dog Show in London but how will the family ever afford the plane ticket? Oh and there are two other HUGE problems. Firstly, Runt will not compete in front of an audience (the family do solve this in a very creative way). And secondly there is a serious rival - Fergus Fink. He plans to win at Krumpets and nothing will get in his way - nothing!

I usually laugh or dismiss the hyperbole often found on the back cover of books but I totally agree with these words:

"Runt is a heartwarming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, and, above all, being yourself and bringing out the best in others."

Runt would be a terrific class read aloud book for a Grade 3 or 4 class and also a wonderful family read aloud. I almost read the whole book in one sitting and it does have 345 pages so hopefully that shows you that I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling and twists and turns of this story. You will cheer for Annie and Runt and boo and hiss at Fergus Fink (he is a fink).  I do hope this book is selected for the CBCA Younger Readers notables in 2023.  Runt will be published in October, 2022. It would also make a wonderful present if you know an Australian family living overseas.  Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance copy. 

Craig Silvey is the author of the adult titles - Honeybee and Jasper Jones. 

The beautiful community spirit and family unity in this book reminded me of this one:

The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee

And the problem solving and the affect of drought on small rural communities reminded me of this one:

Bungawitta

Christmas Always Comes by Jackie French illustrated by Bruce Whatley

 

No it's okay I have not lost my "blogging" mind (even though I do currently have Covid).  I realise it is not Christmas but this is a new picture book published in 2021 and it is on the CBCA 2022 Picture Book of the Year Notable list.

This is a nostalgic, heart-warming and quintessentially Australian Christmas story by two masters of the picture book genre. I love the way the little boy is so insistent about the ingredients essential for every Christmas celebration and the way these things (pudding, presents, and a tree) are all there on Christmas day. 

It is a strength of this writing that I was so invested emotionally that I just sighed with happiness when all everything came together for Joey. He has unwavering faith and infectious optimism about the magic of Christmas. So many of Australian Christmas stories take a rather “ocker” approach – this one is so much better. Bruce Whatley gives the reader lovely contrasts between the pages from the cool night air to the blistering heat of outback Australia.

Jackie French shares a tiny slice of Australian rural life from the past with her readers. She is such a master wordsmith:

"It was a dusty journey down the drought-bare road verges that Christmas Eve to find water for the cattle."

"Sunrise was a pale pink garland when Joey shook Ellie awake."

"The old man's shirt was frayed. He looked as if he had forgotten how to smile."

"The land was gold, not brown, as Ellie and Joey, and Blossom and Brownie climbed out of the gully. Diamonds glittered from the cobwebs on the barbed wire."

Hopefully this book will lead to a class discussion about the events of 1932 and why this family are droving the long paddock (city kids will need to discover what this means). The time frame of this story is just over two days and yet so much happens for Joey and Ellie and more importantly for old Mr Darcy. And so much is unsaid in the text but implied by the illustrations and tone - I love this layering in the story. 

The sunshine and summer feel of the cover is very appealing but I wonder if Jackie French or Bruce Whatley discussed any other possibilities - my favourite image is the one used on the title page and later on the third double spread which shows a pair of mismatch old socks hanging on a wire fence beside a dusty paddock - I wonder if this might have been considered for the cover? 

When you explore this book with a group of older students you could perhaps compare Bruce Whatley's illustrations with the work of other artists:

This is by Jan Hendrik Scheltema

Hans Heysen An Afternoon in Autumn

Jackie French and Bruce Whately have collaborated on many previous picture books:

If you need a Christmas gift perhaps to send to children living overseas I would like to suggest you should put this title at the top of your shopping list. This book would be a terrific Australian ambassador. It explores rural life in Australia, Christmas in the Summer, our dusty landscape, the way European Christmas customs were/are followed especially in the past, and the joyful surprises that can come on Christmas Day. Christmas does indeed always come!

Read more about this book:

Paperbark Words - Joy Lawn shares the plot and some of the illustrations

Reading Time review

Just so Stories review

Here are a few other special Australian Christmas stories with similar themes:

Tea and Sugar Christmas

All I want for Christmas is Rain

Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle

Moving on by Penny Matthews illustrated by Penny Walton

Tuesday Treasure

In Moving On we meet our young narrator who attends a tiny rural school. It is the same school attended by his father and grandfather. The walls of the classroom are covered with graffiti. The students today can see the names of students from past years. When you open the book you can see the initials of former students and the dates they attended the school.  In 1927 William Sinclair, Grandfather to our narrator, carved his initials into the plaster wall.

"Mrs Chapman told us yesterday that our school is going to close next year."

"I asked Mum, she told me it had to close because there were't enough kids in the district to keep it going. She said too many families were selling up and going to the city to live."

Today there are only twelve kids at the school. This links with a friend of mine who teaches in a small rural school with just four children!

Grandpa Bill talks about walking to school or riding  ponies, about milking the cows, feeding the chooks and chopping wood.  These were daily chores in the 1930s before walking or riding to school. Grandpa Bill also remembers ink pens, spilling the ink and fancy cursive writing.  Oddly I am not the same generation as Grandpa Bill, but at my primary school we used ink and pens with nibs in the 1960s. I still have mine and I well remember those blue ink stains.

There is so much you can talk about when you read this book - and it would be an even better experience if you could invite a grand or great grand parent to share their childhood and school days memories too.

This book is based on the real school attended by Penny Matthews. On her web site she says:

"This was my first proper picture book. I was so excited when I heard that it had been accepted for publication! It's about a boy learning that his school is about to be closed down, and it's based on memories of the little two-roomed country school I went to. It was my father's old school too, and he told me lots of things about his own experiences there. He remembered riding his pony to school, and kids coming to school with bare feet, and how he had to drink water from the rainwater tank with wrigglers in it. Sadly, like so many country schools, it closed many years ago."

Moving on was first published in 1993.  I am fairly sure you will find it in most Primary school libraries here in Australia.   Here are some other books by Penny Matthews:

On this blog I have talked about Crusher Kevin (Aussie Nibble), Show Day and The Gift.

Ella and the Ocean by Lian Tanner illustrated by Jonathan Bentley

Ella lived in the red-dirt country where the earth was as dry as old bones 

and it hadn't rained for years and years and years and years.

One night Ella dreamt of the ocean.

Dad have you ever seen the ocean? Mum have you ever seen the ocean? Ben have you ever seen the ocean? Gran have you ever seen the ocean? Does it crack open? Does it get tangled? Can you catch and tame it?

"I've dreamt about the ocean twice,' said Ella. 

'Now I want to see it."

Dad, Mum and Ben don't see the point of bothering but Gran knows dreams are important. The family make the long journey by car and plane over our wide Australian landscape. When they arrive at the ocean they see it is big, it is blue and it is beautiful. Everyone dives into the cool water for a delicious swim.

"and all their broken dreams were washed away."

The family then make the long journey back to their farm.  Everything is still in drought. The land is red and dry, the animals will still need hand feeding but the family look at their familiar environment with fresh eyes. They see the colours of the hills, they look up at the enormous sky and they hear the song of the birds. They have HOPE.

At its heart this is a book about pessimism and optimism. About the way we view the world. It shows how a small experience, like seeing the ocean for the first time, lead to an important change which helps everyone move forward.

When you pick up this book begin by comparing the end papers. They are the perfect way to introduce this book - orange, dry, dusty at the beginning and blue, green, watery at the end. I am going to predict this book will be included in the 2020 CBCA Notable titles (usually about 20 books) but I also hope it makes the short list of six in the Early Childhood picture book category.

Take a look here to see more picture books illustrated by Jonathan Bentley.

Image source: Booktopia

Ella and the Ocean is a powerful picture book about the harsh reality of farming in the Australian outback yet it is also a quiet reminder of the importance of hope, following your dreams and the importance of a supportive network of people. Educate Empower

When the family see the ocean for the first time it reminded me of the wonderful Margaret Mahy book The Man whose Mother was a Pirate. Take a look at my review where you can read some beautiful words about this experience. It would be good to compare these with the words used by Lian Tanner in Ella and the Ocean.

When Jays fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson illustrated by Victor G Ambrus

"The whole of Continental Europe was now in the hands of the Germans. Little Denmark had been completely over-run. The Dutch army had surrendered. France had collapsed. Now only Britain remained as the last block against Hitler's dreams to complete European conquest. It left little scope for optimism. We realized that we were a small nation of relatively few people. How could we fight back against the powerful monster that had overtaken us?"


Several years ago a friend mentioned When Jays fly to Barbmo was one of her all time favourite books. I was curious. Then I made some discoveries.  This book was the 1969 CBCA Book of the Year. I was in Primary school when it won and this was a time I devoured books set in Northern countries such as Avalanche by A Rutgers van der Loeff. Why had I never heard of this book? Luckily I found a mint condition second hand copy a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend I sat down and read the whole book in two sessions.

Let's begin with the title.  Here is a jay in the snow in Norway.

Jays fly (migrate) - no as you can see this bird species does not migrate - well as far as I can discover. You can see it here in this photo in the snow. I guess in a simple way the title means "when pigs might fly".  The place Barbmo is explained in a glossary at the back of this book "In north Lapp this word has two meanings (i) the place where migratory birds live in winter and (ii) a place of fictitious delights."

The little bird is also a gift given to Ingeborg by a reclusive man who works for her father.  He loves to carve and he gives her a little wooden jay. She keeps it safe through all the twists and turns of these confusing times.

The setting for this book is Norway World War II. Norway is invaded by Hitler and Ingeborg's life is in turmoil. Adding to this terror are the seasonal hardships of living in this remote location. Living so far north means there are months of 24 hour darkness and months of 24 hours daylight.

"Morning was no different from night. ... if the weather continued to show a cloudless face all morning, we were at least assured of a period of struggling grey dawn round about noon. ... Then everybody would give thanks and we would all, little by little, start airing our summer personalities again."

"One morning I chanced upon a small yellow flower thrusting its head bravely above the snow. I plucked the bloom gently and turned it over again and again in my hand marvelling as I always did, at how a life so infinitely fragile could have survived the cruel grip of our Arctic winter and be born a thing of such exquisite perfection."

Ingeborg needs to understand her heritage, understand the complex relationships of the people in her life and move from her childhood into the beginning of adulthood. Here is a detailed review where you can read more plot details. This is a book for an older/junior high school, sensitive reader with stamina. The print size is small and the historical setting, while beautifully described, will be unfamiliar to most Australian children. The illustrations by the famous Victor G Ambrus are wonderful. Here is a copy of the original review in the Canberra Times from July 1969.  If you are looking for a similar title you could take a look at Belle and Sebastien. The relationship between Ingeborg and her Aunt reminded me of Inge Maria in The Girl who Bought Mischief.

Letters from the lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Following on from books such as Goodnight Mister Tom, Carrie's War, Vinnie's War and The War that saved my life we now have Letters from the Lighthouse.

Olive and her brother Cliff are living in London. The bombs are falling. Their father has died while serving with the air-force and then their older sister goes missing. Sukie had taken the younger children to the movies. She leaves them on a pretense of needing the toilet then the air raid sirens sound. Olive rushes outside looking for her sister but she sees her with a young man.

"It didn't look like a normal chat about the weather either, because their heads were close together and the man kept glancing behind him. He gave Sukie a piece of paper before taking her hand and squeezing it in both of his."

Olive grabs hold of Sukie's coat and at that moment a bomb falls nearby. When Olive wakes up she finds herself in hospital. Lying in a box under her bed is the coat - actually it was her mum's coat, that Sukie had mysteriously chosen to wear for their outing. Sukie is now missing and things have become very dangerous so mum decides to send Olive and Cliff to Devon. The children are set to stay with Sukie's pen pal and Olive imagines Queenie will be waiting for them with a warm welcome, delicious food and a comfortable home. Their reception is completely the opposite. The two children climb the stairs to their attic room feel sad, displaced and very hungry. Cliff falls asleep but Olive is restless and cold so she puts on her coat and reaches into the pocket only to discover a note in the lining. It is coded message. It is important. Now Olive just has to discover the truth.

Here is an interview with Emma Carroll. If you use this book with a class the chapter headings would make interesting discussion and research points:

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
DO YOUR DUTY
KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT
WHEN IN DOUBT, LIGHTS OUT
V FOR VICTORY

I do love the cover of this book and when you pick it up you will discover the title is embossed.

Illustration by Julian De Narvaez http://www.juliandenarvaez.com/read-me-3/

You probably know I do love lighthouses too and this one is quite perfect.

"It was perhaps the nicest room I'd ever seen. For one thing, there was so much light. I counted at least six windows - little ones, arched at the top and set deep into the walls. Everything was painted white, even the floor. On either side of the room two bed hugged the curved lighthouse walls. Above each was a shelf of books from which hung beautiful, sea-blue lanterns."

I would recommend this book for readers 10+. Pages 190-194 could be used as an extract especially if you are discussing the plight of refugees both in WWII and in our modern context. Click these review quotes to read plot details. Here are a set of chapter by chapter questions. Listen to an audio sample which begins part way through Chapter One. The comments below from Just Imagine are especially good.

This is historical fiction at its best and would sit nicely alongside wartime study including the subjects of evacuation, rationing, use of animals, spies, codebreaking and even military tactics alongside ill-treatment of the Jewish population.   Just Imagine

This book should be in every school library and shared with as many children as possible. If children are to understand the world around them, it is books like Letters From The Lighthouse that will set them on the way. I really cannot recommend this book enough! Mr Davies Reads

As Olive's story unfolds, Carroll also provides the reader with a window though which to see and understand just what it means to be a child and live in a country at war and under siege, realistically depicting the fears and the privations, as well as the importance of family. the value of friends and neighbors, and need to learn trust and tolerance. Heading each chapter with expressions, warnings, and advice that were common during the war also helps give the novel a sense of authenticity. The Children's War


I did enjoy another book by Emma Carroll - In Darkling Wood.  You might also look for Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett and The Amazing Mind of Alice Makin.

The curious world of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

"I thought about it and realized that I, too was an explorer.  Hadn't I crossed the wide ocean to England with Mr Dickens? Hadn't I drifted down the great Mississippi with Huck? Didn't I travel in time and space every time I opened a book?"

I adored The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate so I waited a little while before beginning this second installment.  I was worried it might not be as good as the first.  There was no need to worry at all. The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate is just as good as the first book.  You could actually read this one without reference to the first because Jacqueline Kelly includes just the right amount of recapping and back story but because I loved the first book I recommend you try to start from the beginning.

In some ways Calpurnia (Callie Vee) has a small life.  She has never traveled beyond the nearby town, she has not been to the ocean and she is expected to learn the ways of a lady.  Luckily Callie is a curious girl who sees so much potential and wonder in her world.  With the support of her very well read Grandfather, Callie is able to ask lots of questions and receive guidance in how to explore the answers.  Her grandfather has an extensive library which Callie is able to use and in this second installment she is also able to explore the wonderful book collection owned by a local veterinarian  Dr Pritzker.  We see Callie make an astrolabe, a barometer and begin a series of animal dissections beginning with a grasshopper then a frog.

Callie has learned to observe her world in a scientific way but sadly she is also living at a time when girls are not given any credit for their intellect.  Callie, for example, is given only $5 when her father returns from assisting with the Galveston Hurricane while her brothers are given $10.  Worse though, is the way her expectations of university study are totally crushed.

"I suddenly realized that the moment and the stage were mine.  ... 'Well, Calpurnia, we might be able to, uh, send you to college for a year. That should be long enough for you to  earn your teaching certificate, I should think.'  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. One year. Not two. .... the injustice of it overwhelmed me.  Then what popped into my head was the question that ... I'd be waiting to ask my whole life.  ... 'How is that fair?"

The year is 1900.  There is change in the air.  Callie discovers the wonders of the typewriter thanks to her older cousin who has come to stay with the family following the hurricane.  Travis is still obsessed by animals and so Callie is able to learn more about armadillos, a blue jay, a black-spotted newt and a dog named Scruffy that is half coyote.  Callie also opens her first bank account and in this scene her father redeems himself.

"Everything is fine, Father. ... I have come to open an account.' ... 'Why on earth do you need that?' I thought quickly.  'You're always telling us to save our money, so I thought this would be the best place to do it' ... 'it's an excellent idea, and you shall set a good example for them (the boys). Come, I'll introduce you to the president, and we'll get you started."

Callie deposits $7.58 - her life savings but there is a promise of more money to come.  She is now working for the vet and he his paying her to type is labels and accounts, she has her weekly allowance and some of the farmers give her small payments when she makes deliveries for Dr Pritzker.


Instead of giving up, Callie Vee comes up with a plan to prevail, teaching the readers that, no matter the circumstance, you can achieve more; try harder and let those nay-sayings fall on deaf ears.  Kinderlit

But not to worry….Callie, the witty and sincere narrator, is “smart as a tree full of owls” and won’t be denied her dreams of being a veterinarian or anything else she puts her mind to.   Kirkus

Kelly seeds the story with enough small, stinging incidents of gender discrimination that when eventually Callie stops weeping over “the hard fact of being a half citizen in my own home” and determines to find a way to fulfill her ambition, it’s both believable and cheer-worthy.   Horn Book

The truth of me by Patricia MacLachlan

The truth of me

About a boy, his grandmother,

and

a very good dog

There are so many aspects of this story that I loved. The boy, his dog, the grandmother, her neighbor, the music, the woods, the food and most off the powerful emotions which are explored here.  I just sighed with happiness when I was reading this slim (114pages) volume.  It was an easy decision to feature this book as my 1000 post.

Robbie is a young boy who possesses amazing wisdom especially about the adults in his life.  His mother is the leader of a string group called the Allegro Quartet.  I imagine they might look like this group who you will see here playing Schubert String Quartet 14 - Death and the Maiden.  This music is very well known by Robbie - it is a piece his mother regularly performs.

"My parents are musicians. My mother, I think, likes her violin better than she likes me. At least she spends more time with her violin than with me."

Robbie is really named Robert.  In his family all the men have been named Robert.  Thank goodness for his precious grandmother who calls him Robbie and her friend Henry who calls him Kiddo.  With his grandmother, Robbie finds the love he needs for himself and for his dog.  His mother seems cold and distant as though Robert is a issue or a nuisance to be dealt with and perhaps less important than replacing musicians in her quartet.

Robbie and his dog Ellie are sent to stay with Maddy (his grandmother) while his mother and father travel for a concert tour.

"Maddy's house is like the house in Little Bear, one of my favorite books when I was little. It is a cottage with whitewashed plaster walls, big colorful braided rugs, lots of bookshelves, a fireplace and overstuffed chairs."

Henry, the local doctor, lives nearby.  Henry watches over Maddy because she is becoming a little forgetful.  Henry seems to have taken over the cooking for Maddy.  Robbie knows she also tells stories about her relationship with the wild animals of the forest but he is wise enough not to share this with his parents.

"There are many things I don't tell my parents. Many things I don't say out loud. That means there are many things rolling around inside my head."

Henry explains to Robbie about small truths.  He tells Robbie he will have his own small truth by the end of the summer. "He reaches over to tap my hand.  It's only a small tap, but it's comforting."  This beautiful image will linger with me a long time.  The truth Robbie discovers is not small - it is important and it gives him a way to understand his mother.  In the final scene Robbie can finally tell his mother, out loud, that he loves her.

You can and should read a chapter sample here.  I don't usually talk about this but if you cannot find a print copy of The truth of me it is available on iTunes.

You might like to read other books by Patricia MacLachlan - I highly recommend all of them.

• Sarah, Plain and Tall
• Waiting for the Magic
• White Fur flying
• Fly Away
• The Poet's Dog

I would follow The truth of me with The boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech and Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

Robbie’s quietly affecting observations will feel like truth  Kirkus

This poignant story celebrates how our unique “small truths” make each of us magical and brave in our own ways.  Kids Reads

Wisher and the runaway piglet Georgie Adams

I have just spent the last week listening to the audio book of Wisher and the Runaway piglet the first book in the series Railway Rabbits.  It was such a delight to listen to this story briefly each day. Kate O'Sullivan does an excellent narration and seems to easily change so many character voices. Listen to an audio sample here.

Last year one of our students read Wisher and the Runaway piglet and she recommended it to me. I love it when this happens.  The young reader wondered if there were more books in the series. Together we looked inside the back cover and discovered there are eight more books so we have now added them to our library.

As this first story opens Barley is anxiously waiting for the arrival of his new babies.  Mellow has sent him off and while he waits looking at the river various animals from the woodland community pass by and offer their advice and good wishes.  Barley returns home to the news five babies (3 boys and 2 girls) have arrived.  They name them Bramble, Bracken, Berry, Fern and Wisher.

Close to their burrow there is a terrifying beast - the Red Dragon.  It "roared along the valley every day - up and down, up and down - whistling loudly and belching clouds of smoke.  Although it looked a terrifying beast Barley had never once seen it stray from its tracks."  Have you guessed what this really is?

After several weeks spent in the safety of their burrow the five little rabbits are allowed to explore the world outside - but not stray to far.  Wisher keeps hearing a little song in her head :

I whisper a song like the wind in your ear

Wisher, beware. Wisher take care.

While she does take care, Wisher somehow manages to become caught up in a race to find a tiny runaway piglet. Luckily she has made a good friend Parsley the mole.  Together they find Foster the piglet and restore him to his family.  One fun aspect of this is watching the spread of rumours about the fate of Foster.  First it is one dog, then two or three, then a pack of wild dogs - five or six.  This aspect of the story would make for an interesting class discussion.

I have included the new and old covers.  Read an interview with the author here.  I am sure younger readers will eagerly seek out this whole series which would also make a good family read-aloud.

All I want for Christmas is Rain by Cori Brooke illustrated by Megan Forward

All I want for Christmas is Rain is so obviously an Australian story.  We have Christmas in the Summer. Australia is one of the driest continents. Our farmers have to cope with such weather extremes - drought, flood, fire but eventually rain does come and the landscape revives.  This book is a celebration of the renewal and relief rain can bring.  The CBCA have selected this book for the Early Childhood award short list.

The text is told as a rhyme :

My mission was clear - I had hatched a great plan:
I would ask for help from the great bearded man.

I love the perspective in the illustration where we see Jane talking with Santa.  She looks so small yet so self assured.  Santa looks huge but somehow also soft like a pillow.  Make sure you show a class the end papers. Brown at the beginning and green at the end - a celebration of the change wrought by rain.  The illustrations are the real strength of this book.

When rain does come on Christmas morning the presents can wait. It is time for the whole family to run outside and dance.

Cori Brooke and Megan Forward both have web sites worth exploring. Perhaps not coincidentally they both live in Queensland.  Cori has had two books published and Megan has three.  You can watch a video of Megan and Cori talking about the way they approached this book.  You might like to read this review.

We will also look at some other fabulous books about rain.

When you read this book with a class it would be good to compare the illustrations and story line with two other Australian books on the same theme of rain at Christmas time.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

New York Times : The book’s narrative builds suspensefully toward an ending that’s wrenching and true, and in its final pages, Annabelle learns to abide by life’s complexities.

Kids Book Review : Gripping, heart-breaking, thought-provoking, profoundly moving and ultimately uplifting, Wolf Hollow is a book that I know I will read again.

Early in Wolf Hollow there are two scenes that will linger with me for a long time.

"Betty picked up a stick from along the path. It was dead wood, but I could tell from how she held it that it was still heavy. 'Tomorrow you bring me something or I'm going to beat you with this stick."

I rarely do this but after reading about Annabelle's first encounter with the bully Betty I just had to skip to the last chapter to make sure everything 'turned out okay'. I am happy to report the reviewer from the School Library Journal Elizabeth Bird did the same thing. I recommend reading the SLJ review now as it makes all the points I planed to raise but far more eloquently.

Back to the bully and her actions.  I knew there would be several possibilities for the ending of this book. The bully could be reformed and even make friends, the bully could leave, someone might die or worse - there might be no resolution. I won't spoil the ending but having glanced at the last few pages I then had the 'strength' to keep reading.

The other scene that worried me, enough to make me stop reading yesterday, was when I read that Annabelle had decided not to tell her mother, or any other adults about her vicious tormentor, at least at first.

"If I told her she'd have to go to her friends, the Glengarrys, and tell them their granddaughter was a hooligan ... And despite the face that she'd been able to fix nearly every broken thing in our lives, mother could not promise me that Betty would not come again, even angrier - or, worse, go after my brothers - if I tattled on her."

The time is 1943.  Fear of others bought about by the war has begun to permeate this remote rural community.  Annabelle is eleven and her carefree childhood is about to be shattered.  Her family are loving, hardworking and compassionate people. Toby is a loner - wounded in body and mind by his experience of the First War.  Annabelle sees beyond the scars and shyness.  She follows the example of her mother offering kindness to this man.  This will be both lucky for Annabelle but have devastating consequences for Toby who quietly observes the serious harm inflicted by Betty.  This is a story about betrayal, hidden lives, truth and lies.  Listen here to the first ten minutes of the story.

You can read more about vicious bullies and the reactions of children who are forced to cope with their violence in books such as Fearless by Tim Lott and The Present takers by Aidan Chambers.   I would also link this book with The Crazy Man by Pamela Porter.

Read more review comments here.  Horn Book have published an interview with the author.

"If life was to be just a single note in an endless symphony, how I could I not sound it out for as long and as loudly as I could?"

The girl who bought mischief by Katrina Nannestad

This book has been in our school library for nearly two years and the cover has intrigued me but it has taken me until this weekend to pick it up.  Have you guessed what I am going to say?  Yes it is another of those amazing books that I just devoured in one sitting.

I am not sure how to express this with out offending the author or publisher but reading this book you will have no idea it is Australian or associate the author with her other books Red Dirt Diaries.  This books feels so European.

Inge Maria goes to live with her stern grandmother on a remote island in Denmark.  Her father has died and while we are not told until the end, Inge has also suffered another huge loss.  Life in Bornholm is completely different to the one she loved in Copenhagen.  Living with her grandmother Inge has to learn farm duties such as milking cows, tending pigs and collecting eggs.  Bath time involves so much vigorous scrubbing Inge thinks she has lost a layer of skin. She also has to help with enormous quantities of hand washing and wringing.

"Saturday is washing day.  We build a blazing fire in the kitchen and boil post of laundry as though we are going to make stocking soup, bed-linen stew and bonnet broth.  I have never done laundry before.  Mama always sent ours away ... It would return in brown paper parcels tied up with string, clean and pressed like magic. 
...When it is time to wring the water out of the bed linen we go outside into the chilly morning air.  Grabbing opposite ends of a sheet, we twist it around and around until it is a short thick rope and all of the water has been squeezed out onto the ground."

But the most heart-breaking thing is she has to cope with the little rural school and its archaic rules about silence, spelling and a segregated playground. Luckily in this same school Inge makes a truly special friend - a boy called Klaus.

Through all of this Inge must try hard to stay out of mischief but it seems no matter how hard she tries mischief catches her unawares.

Now we come to why I loved this book.  The story here is about reactions.  There were so many times during this story that I just gasped - how would her grandmother or another adult react to each catastrophe?

Inge - Half her hair is eaten off by the goat who is also on the little boat taking her to Bornholm
Grandmother could:
1.  Scold
2.  Cut off the rest of her hair
3.  Knit Inge a new hat

The answer is 3.  "Grandmother surprises me by pulling a red woollen hat down on my head. I run to the mirror by the door and laugh at the thick, floppy folds topped by the biggest pom-pom I have ever seen."

Inge - is given a tiny slither of cake so thin you can almost see through it.  She is starving hours later when they finally leave Angelina's house
Grandmother could:
1.  Scold Inge for her ungrateful attitude
2.  Ignore Inge and briskly walk home
3.  Reach into her pocket and pull out ...

The answer is 3.  "Grandmother pulls a parcel from her pocket.  She unwraps brown paper and hands me a thick wedge of cheese and an apple."

I also loved the way little Inge's personality shone through in the writing.  When she sees a beautiful spoon or a pretty teapot she thanks them for giving her pleasure.  I truly want to meet Inge and be her friend.

You might like to read this review.  Here is a video interview with the author filmed in the office of Harper Collins - make sure you look at the view from their office.  I was surprised to see I had missed this book when it was listed by the CBCA as a notable book for 2014.  If I had read it back then I would have predicted this book would reach the short-list (and receive a prize) but just like another fabulous book from that year The view from the 32nd floor, The girl who bought mischief didn't make the final six but it did win the NSW Premiers Award in 2014 thank goodness!  I heartily agree with the judges report.

After reading this book an older student might enjoy West of the Moon by Margi Preus (not suitable for Middle Primary).  This book also reminded me of Waffle Hearts.  You can read more about Katrina Nannestad here.

Before reading this book, which I guarantee you will enjoy, take a little time to reacquaint yourself with some of the classic Hans Christian Andersen stories which Inge reads such as The Princess and the Pea and The Emperors New Clothes.  You can read a sample of The girl who bought mischief if I have not yet convinced you to rush into a library and borrow this terrific book.   It is also available as an ebook.

Here is the US cover with a different title which will be released early in 2016.