Candle Island Lauren Wolk

"Six mysteries waited for me on Candle Island.

One involved a bird.

The second a hidden room.

A song the third.

A poet the fourth.

A cat fifth.

A fire sixth.

Each of them exciting in its own way.

But none more interesting than the mystery I took there with me."

Begin with the cover - I really like it and after reading this book you will want to go back and see how an important story element has been incorporated into this illustration. 

Here is the quote on the opening page - it is very pertinent to this story:

"As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight." James McNeill Whistler

I think sensitive readers (with some reading stamina) aged 10+ will really enjoy Candle Island. I had no idea this story was set in the 1970s (see the Kirkus review).  I loved the island setting and the way Lucretia and her mum were keeping the identity of the artist of their famous paintings a secret kept me turning the pages knowing that they were sure to be discovered. I was also happy that there was no twist at the end and that the bad things that happened on the island were all down to those awful rich kids as Lucretia, Bastian and Murdock suspected. If you look at the labels I have assigned this post you can see the plot covers a lot of things - Lucretia finds a wounded baby bird (an osprey) and she nurses him back to health; there are three summer kids who are dreadful bullies; there is an art theft; the island is small and suspicious of strangers; Lucretia and her mum are experiencing terrible pain after the death of her father; and each of the three island kids has a special talent. Oh, and I do need to mention two more things - mum cooks delicious food in this book and I adore the town librarian (I think I need to make a list of books that feature very special librarians).

Curious readers might want to know more about osprey birds after reading this book. Also Lucretia is named after Lucretia Mott - a Quaker suffragist and anti-slavery campaigner. You might also want to learn more about the scale of being or the Great Chain of Being. 

Candle Island is set on an island - I know that is obvious - so I was not surprised to read Lauren Wolk lives on Cape Cod. I really enjoy visiting islands and I enjoy books set on islands and even though I have not been there for some reason Maine, USA has a special fascination for me.

Here are some text quotes:

"When I let myself spill onto the canvas like melted wax, I built a world where I felt exactly right, entirely who I really was. Free. Unwatched. Alone."

"He was singing a story. A sad one that suddenly became something else and then something else again, the colour changing as the story did, from a radiant magenta to some kind of violet. And then a gold I rarely heard."

"When I hit the water, my head exploded. Every particle of my body panicked. It was as if I'd been injected with frozen mint. As if my skin was size too small. As if I'd been scoured with a wire brush dipped in acid. All of that, all at once."

The town librarian - notice the placement of the word beautiful: "She was old. Thin. In a black dress with a lace collar. Her hair was a beautiful white, twisted into a crown on top of her head. Her skin was the same deep brown as my eyes. ... At her full height she was smaller than I was, but she seemed much taller."

"The most common form of despair is not being who you are - Soren Kierkegaard"

There are certain authors for children that are capable of the kind of writing that is not merely full of strong character growth and interesting plotting, but legitimately lovely prose as well. On a single page I found lines that end with glimpses of a “bruise-blue sea.” Or, when Lucretia thinks about befriending the prickly Murdock, she is thinking of, “How adding even a little yellow to the coldest gray could warm it toward something altogether new. But Murdock was a girl, not a painting. I would have to remember that.” I mark in my copy of this book the lines I like best. What’s remarkable about them is how seamlessly they’re integrated into the plot. Betsy Bird SLJ

And bottom line, this is a beautiful book set on a beautiful island off the coast of Maine. It will linger in your heart. Sonder Books

Wolk’s latest novel wonderfully portrays new relationships while tackling grief and self-discovery. The characters are well developed, and readers can see parts of themselves and those they know. The book also has several small mysteries that readers will be itching to solve. While a work of historical fiction, the story has the modern feel of a quiet life without current technology and trends. School Library Journal

Here is an interview with Lauren Wolk.

I spied this book some weeks ago and knowing how much I loved every previous book by Lauren Wolk, I added it to my 'to read' and 'to buy' list. Luckily for me this book has appeared in the library where I work as a volunteer, so I borrowed it and read it over one or two days. This is a longish book with 340 pages, but the print size makes it easy to read and of course Lauren Wolk creates a page turning story with characters you really care about. The library has a copy because this book was sold as a Scholastic Australia Book Club title (issue 5, 2025 AUS$12). We are having extreme rain conditions in my city and so today (after some very necessary chores) I snuggled down beside my heater and finished read Candle Island.

Publisher (Scholastic Australia) blurb: Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) with a secret to keep ... and to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick. But Candle Island also has secrets—a hidden room in her new house, a mysterious boy with a beautiful voice—and just like the strong tides that surround the shores, they will catch Lucretia in their wake. With an unforgettable New England setting and a complex web of relationships old and new, this is a powerful story about art, loss and the power of being true to your own voice.

There is a huge error in my Scholastic Australia copy of this book. This book was originally published in hardcover by the Penguin Young Readers Group [9780593698549]. My copy in paperback is a new 'edition' BUT the imprint page does not acknowledge the original publisher or date of publication AND the author's name is spelt incorrectly as Wolke. This is funny but also disturbing. 

Other books I have loved by Lauren Wolk:

Wolf Hollow

My Own Lightning

Beyond the Bright Sea

Echo Mountain

The Frog's First Song by Jazz Money illustrated by Jason Phu

First, the world is all dark. A little bit muddled and confused.

The only sound dripping water and small bubbles gurgling.

In that darkness and quiet, everyone is alone.

This is the world in the well.

This book opens with black pages. We can see a solitary frog sitting at the bottom of a well. He makes a little croak and then discovers he can sing. I am thinking the acoustics in the well would be fabulous. His song is heard by others. It is the first song and now it swells into a chorus of voices. 

"Their song is friendship and family, and with it the frogs feel brave."

Singing together makes the frogs feel so brave that they are able to venture out into the world where they are greeted by the night sky and the moon - "a perfect circle moon". (A great opportunity to talk to a young library group about the significance of the full moon and also the phases of the moon).

Do you love the sound of frogs - especially at night? I do. I sometimes hear them near my house. This book explores a reason why frogs love to sing in the night. You can hear 15 Australian frogs here - this is well worth a listen. 

Here is another text quote:

"That even in dark times, when we come together with song or dance or story, suddenly the world is brighter and no one needs to be alone."

You can see Jazz Money a Wiradjuri poet and her friend artist Jason Phu talking about their book here. This is their debut picture book. And here are some teachers notes from the publisher and a set from Lamont.

Read more about Jason Phu here. He has been a finalist in the Sulman Prize (2023, 2022, 2019, 2018), The Archibald Prize (2023, 2015, 2014), The Wynne Prize (2023), the Ramsay Art Prize and Australia’s premier prize for emerging artists (2017), the NSW Emerging Visual Arts Fellowship (2017), and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (2016). He is clearly a very successful artist.

Jazz Money talks about her story:

A few years ago, Jason asked me to write about an artwork he was making, which was all about singing frogs. We spoke about ancestral frog stories, and at that time I was really obsessed with choirs and the joyful act of singing in groups – I still am obsessed with how special it is to sing with other people! Instead of writing an art essay I decided to write a short story about singing frogs. I wrote the first draft of the story very quickly. I was having so much fun writing. After finishing the story, I thought it would make a good children’s book and asked Jason if he would like to illustrate. In the story the frogs find one another first through song, then by dancing, hopping and moving out of the well into the light of the moon. I think being a part of communities is so important to help us feel safe, nurtured, joyous and supported and I am glad that the frogs reminded me of the power of gathering together.

Thank you to University of Queensland Press for sending me a review copy of The Frog's First Song. On Saturday 12th July you can meet the creators of this book at our city bookstore Kinokinuya and also on 5th July at Gleebooks Kids. 

The supplied notes say this book was inspired by a Chinese parable 'The frog in the well' and First Nations Creation stories. I would like to find a list of First Nations Stories featuring frogs - I can only think of the famous one about Tiddalick but I am sure there are others. If I was sharing The Frog's Song with a group of students I think I would read the text without the illustrations as a first experience and then allow some time for the group to talk about the art used in this book. 

I found this information about the Chinese proverb:

The idiom the frog at the bottom of the well (or “look at the sky from the bottom of a well) is from “Zhuang Zi”, a famous Taoism Book. It means to have a narrow view of the world, to have only superficial knowledge of something, or to be short-sighted.

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything remembered The Peasant Prince - the story of the dancer Li Cunxin - also referred to this Chinese story:

"The story of Li Cunxin’s remarkable life has already reached thousands of readers throughout the world, a story that was first published in 2003 as Mao’s Last Dancer.  But it has always been a story about childhood, and now, with the publication of this picture book version, Li’s story will be enjoyed by very young children as well. Our picture book story begins with Li and his beloved father flying a kite together on the bleak, wind-swept fields around Li’s childhood village.  It is here that Li’s father tells him an old Chinese fable - a  story about a frog who was determined to escape from a deep, dark well. This story of the little frog’s determination touched Li so much that it became a constant reminder to him of his own life and of how, if he was just as determined, he might be able to escape from his life of poverty". Scholastic.  Read more on the NCACL (National Centre for Australian Children's Literature) Picture Books for Older Readers database. You can see a video of The Peasant Prince here.

Here are a couple of other splendid Chinese stories, I have previously discussed, by the Hans Christian Andersen award winner Cao Wenxuan (I am keen to see his new book Flying High):

Lemon Butterfly

The Wooden Fish

Smoke

With older students you could compare The First Frog's song with this famous story from Iran:

The Little Black Fish

Queenie in Seven Moves by Zanni Louise

Let's begin with the title of this book. I thought it would be a book about chess. Yes, that famous game is mentioned, but Queenie is actually the name of the main character and seven moves refers to the way Queenie and her mum keep having to move either to a new house, or a share house and even a run-down caravan.

Homelessness is a VERY serious topic. When we meet Queenie Jean Anderson and her mum we discover they have to leave the home they have rented for many years. Queenie has named this house Peachy but the owner, who is also their neighbour and a friend, has decided to sell it and move on. Mum works in an aged care village and luckily one of the small homes in the village, named Diamonds, will be empty for the next couple of weeks so they can move in there even though this cannot become their home for very long. Once the new owner arrives in the village the mother and daughter move again into a share house with the Elliots.

"The truth is, the Elliots aren't Sarah's friends as such. Sarah's friend's neighbour's cat heard there was a family looking to share for a bit because the dad lost his job during COVID. When I quizzed mum more, she didn't know anything about the Elliots, which seems like a very dicey living arrangement." page 70

The cat heard? I am a bit confused. Also, it turns out the son of the Elliot family is a boy in Queenie's class - why didn't she recognise the surname? It is the end of Year Six so I would expect her to know the names of every student in her class. Queenie is aged eleven or twelve and so is Dory so, sorry to be negative, but I did wonder why her mum would have no concerns about a boy and girl sharing a room? 

"So, I am going from never talking to a guy-who-is- vaguely-good-looking in my life to sharing a bedroom with him."

This arrangement comes to an end quickly when the adults see Dory and Queenie kissing! Next stop - an old run-down caravan.

"Mum jostles the door of Terry's caravan. It takes a few goes, but eventually comes unstuck. True to the description, the caravan is leaky. A stream of water trickles down one wall. A line of mould decorates one of the other walls. The kitchen bench is saggy with moisture ... the place smells of mould and rotting leaf litter."

Remember my comment homelessness is a very serious topic - well I was quite dismayed by the way mum just seemed to accept living in this dreadful caravan. I expected to get some sense of her despair. Especially when all of their possessions are destroyed after the caravan collapses in the wild weather. 

There are a couple more moves after the caravan is wrecked and then finally, we reach the happy ending. I won't spoil this except to say Queenie and her mum do find a proper place to live. Can you count seven moves? Diamonds; Elliots; Caravan; Ruthie's house (the owner of the Caravan); and Dimitri's place equals five. Briefly they move to a tent so Queenie can enter a singing contest - that is move six. Then the happy ending is move seven.

I had a small problem with the Christmas scene in this book. Queenie and her mum head to a market on Christmas Day and there are lots of other people there. Here in Australia Christmas is in the Summer so a market at the beach makes sense but I am fairly sure there are no towns where a market would be held on the 25th December. Yes, there are plenty of Christmas markets, but these happen over the days leading up to big day. I guess you just need to go with the flow - the market does sound like fun with food and rides and Santa. 

"The beachside Christmas market is every year on Christmas Day. It's like an orphans' Christmas, for people who don't have big families to spend Christmas with. There are lots of tourists and young people."

I am not sure I entirely agree with these four reviewers, but I suspect this book might be a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) 2024 Younger Readers Notable title and so to balance my review comments I am sharing these links. I read Queenie in Seven Moves quite quickly and it did hold my attention, but I cannot give it five or even four stars.

Mother and daughter are enriched by the diversity of the characters they encounter with each of their moves. Their homelessness exposes them to the many definitions of homelessness. Both reassess their understanding of friendship. Queenie in Seven Moves is a compassionate tale filled with images of human kindness, and the acceptance and change that seems to surface frequently in times of crisis. Beautifully written. A great read! Kids' Book Review

Queenie in Seven Moves is such a gorgeous story and twelve-year-old Queenie is a treat with her moods and possessiveness of her mother. It's all so relatable! Little Squirrels Bookshelf

This is a book about resilience, family, friendships and self-belief. Readers will enjoy this modern-day tale of urban adventure and quiet heroism. Georgina Gye

This is a well-paced, engaging and emotionally satisfying book, that hits all the right notes (excuse the pun). But if Zanni ever gets bored with writing books, she could easily move on to song writing. The song lyrics included in the book are a clever reflection of Queenie’s experiences and emotions and add to the tenor of the story (sorry, another pun). Storylinks

Here are some other books that explore this complex topic of homelessness. You can pop each title into my side bar to read more or click this link to a post which refers to nearly all of these:

Here are some picture books about homelessness - I highly recommend you share some of these with your students:

If you are in Australia you are sure to know some of these picture books by Zanni Louise. 

And here is her new junior book series:

I read her website and a few interviews with this author and I had one question - is this her real name?  I now discover her first name is Suzannah but is Louise really her surname?  Here are some interviews with Zanni Louise - I was surprised no one asked her about the name Zanni?

Reading With a Chance of Tacos

Your Kid's Next Read episode 81

Australian Writers Centre episode 169

Positive Parenting

Just Dance by Patricia MacLachlan

If you want to find the love of your life, go to the Hideaway Cafe in Cheyenne, Wyoming. When a tall cowboy with a ponytail comes up to you and takes your hand, you don't have to speak. It's better not to speak, actually. 
Just dance.

Mum was an opera singer (see music list below) but then she fell in love with a cowboy who loves Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison. The family live on a farm in Wyoming. There are two kids - Sylvie and her brother Nate. Now mum sings to the chickens and cows and she sings every day in the shower. Sylvie worries her mum is missing her stage career. This has become especially concerning as her mum's old opera partner James is coming to perform and he has invited Sylvie's mum Melinda to come to the show. Sylvie worries her mum might want to leave and return to her stage career leaving them all behind.

Sylvie loves to write. It is the summer holidays so her teacher, who is married to the town sheriff, suggests Sylvie could write a column for the town newspaper. It is called Ludolf's Log and is usually written by Sheriff Ludolf. Spelling and writing are not his forte.

Here are parts of their conversation:

"This is a contract to hire you to write Ludolf's Log this summer."
"You're going to pay me? For writing?"
"Yes. You'll cover the town, like a reporter. You can ride your horse sometimes. Or ride with me."
"You can write the log any way you want."
"Could I write poetry?
"You can do whatever you want. Do it your way. Maybe we can call it Sylvie's Summer Log. All righty then!"

All righty then is a trade-mark saying of the Sheriff. I love it! His real name is Rudolph Ludoff. His mother called him Luddy Buddy. Sylvie decides the best name is Bud and there are smiles all round. And yes Sylvie does write poetry. One day doing their rounds of the area she and the Sheriff come across some boys lighting a fire:

Boys too young to say
Build a fire on windswept day
Sent home, ponder deeds


Have you ever thought to look for threads in the books by Patricia MacLachlan?

Music - Just Dance; Fly Away; The Truth of Me; Sarah Plain and Tall
Dogs - The Poet's Dog; White fur flying; The Truth of Me; Waiting for the Magic; Just Dance
Poetry - The Poet's Dog; Just Dance; Fly Away
Farms and rural communities - Fly Away; Just Dance; Sarah Plain and Tall
Seeking answers to questions - Just Dance; The Truth of Me; Sarah Plain and Tall
Family relationships - Sarah Plain and Tall; Just Dance; The Truth of Me; Fly Away

It is truly special to have a book that deals with small and very personal concerns in an honest way.
In this book, as with all her titles, you will find the lyrical language we've come to expect from Patricia MacLachlan. Here is an example. One of the people Sylvie meets is Tinker. He has a pet coyote and he also writes haiku. They become instant friends.

Tinker: "His eyes were sharp and steady. And a blue I had no name for."
Bernie the coyote: "I slowly turned my head and looked into the very close, yellow eyes ... There were black spots like marbles in the middle of the yellow. He was so close."

The family and community relationships in Just Dance are warm and reassuring. There are no big plot moments or catastrophes. This is just a beautiful quiet book. Sylvie observes her community, makes new and surprising friends and discovers something important about her mother and about love.

Music in this book:
Un bel di by Puccini  Page 7
Caro Nome by Verdi  Page 16
Casta diva by Bellini  Page 22
Plaisir d'amour  Page 86
Con te partino  Page 97

A quiet tale about finding your own voice. Kirkus

A mouse called Wolf by Dick King-Smith

Last week as I was heading home I quickly browsed my library shelves looking for some weekend reading.  I picked up a few books including A mouse called Wolf.  Why did I pick up this book which was first published in 1997?  I always enjoy books by Dick King-Smith, author of The Sheep pig later turned into the movie called Babe.  I really liked the cover of our copy but now I have discovered new editions have even better covers.  This looked like a short book for a quick read and it was a book I had not read.

I sat down for a little while this morning and read the whole book right through in one short sitting. What a delight.  Here we have a charming story about music, mice, chocolate and one very special older lady who with patience and care befriends a little mouse called Wolf.  Actually his real name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse but this has been shortened to Wolf.  He is a mouse with a special musical talent as befits his prestigious name.  He is also a mouse with courage and perseverance.

I think the publisher is missing a terrific marketing opportunity here.  I am planning to recommend this to my Grade Three teachers as a read-a-loud title. This book should come with a CD containing all the music that Wolf and Mrs Honeybee (I love that name) enjoy together.

Here is a partial list of some of their favourites:

• Mendelssohn Song without words
• Just a song at Twilight
• Food glorious food from Oliver
• Climb every mountain
• Help by the Beatles

The best scene comes at the end of the book when Wolf sings his own composition entitled Swallow Sonata to Mrs Honeybee :

"I never taught him this, she thought, I've never heard this piece of music before.  Never in all my concert playing days did I hear this, and yet it must be by one of the great classical composers.  How light it is, how airy, how wonderfully joyful!"

If you enjoy this book follow it up with Walter which is also about a very special rodent.

Here is the web site for the author.

Readers will quickly fall in love with Wolf and his human admirer, and it is hard not to laugh when we see how the Wolf, who cannot speak human, and Mrs. Honeybee, who cannot speak mouse, somehow manage to understand one another. It probably helps that music is truly an international language.