Lucy by Randy Cecil

Here is a book with a difference. It has 144 pages so you might think it would take a little while to read - wrong! It is a story in four acts so you might think there will be a complex plot - wrong! Will you love this book with it's black and white illustrations looking a little like a silent movie. Yes you will!  Open this book. What do you see? Every page has a spotlight style illustration and only one or two or perhaps three lines of text. I have added Junior Fiction, Easy chapter book and Picture Book as tags for this book as it is all of those things and so much more.

Image source with a link to the All the Winders podcast: https://twitter.com/nickpattonillo/status/759078646384627713

There are three characters in this story. Lucy, a stray dog who has memories of a special toy. Eleanor, a lonely girl who longs for a dog, and Lucy's dad who is a skilled juggler but he suffers from terrible stage fright. Each of his evening performances at the Palace Theater end in disaster. Lucy lives alone on the streets of Bloomville. She is a little like Mutt Dog by Stephen Michael King. When she wakes up each morning Lucy sets off to the home of Eleanor who ties a piece of her breakfast sausage on a string and hangs it from her first floor window for Lucy. Each day Eleanor's father practices his juggling and packs objects to take to the theater that evening even though he fails every time. I loved the idea of juggling snow globes. Over the four acts the daily routine of each character is repeated but with slight shifts and of course the street scenes change too. I found myself flipping back and forward comparing each scene. In the final act the lives of these characters come together providing a perfect happy ending.

It is wonderful to find a book that is so different. You will probably think of Hugo Cabret and other books by Brian Selznick when you see this book. This is a five star book - it needs to be added to every Primary school library.

How did I find this book? I was reading a School Library journal post by Elizabeth Bird - one day I hope to meet her!  She was discussing easy books for children aged 6+ and highlighted some new titles to look out for. I added heaps of titles to my 'to read' list and then I spied Douglas by Randy Cecil. The cover just jumped out at me. It is due out in September this year. In her description of Douglas, Betsy mentioned Lucy and when I visited a library this week Lucy had just arrived. How splendid!

Here is a very interesting interview with Randy Cecil where he talks about his original ideas for this story and the processes of planning the text.  I also made the discovery that we had some books illustrated by Randy Cecil in my school library - Gator, Duck and One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab. Lucy is a title on our NSW Premier's Reading Challenge where the review says it's  "a truly original, book for dog (and underdog) lovers of all ages." You should also listen to an interview with Randy on All the Wonders. The publisher site has a full list of review quotes. Read about other books by Randy here at Seven Impossible Things.


Children ready to move beyond early readers will appreciate the pace of the page turns and the chance to discover visual details that characters miss. Kirkus Star Review

Jubilee by Patricia Reilly Giff

When she was very young Jubilee's mother abandoned her baby and from that time onward Jubilee herself stopped speaking.

"I drew a kid with red hair and green eyes, brows a little thick. I used quick lines for a pointy nose, and a squirrely nest of corkscrews for the hair. It was turning out to be a girl like me, Judith Ann Magenis. I tapped the pencil. what was missing? Of course, the mouth. My pencil hovered over the blank space. I tore the paper out of the pad, scrunched it up, and tossed it into the water. Maybe like a mother who'd toss a kid away."

Jubilee sees a man dump a dog off the coast of the island in Maine where she lives. Luckily she is able to rescue the dog and he becomes her confidant. She cannot talk at school so she has spent the last five years in a special class. She cannot speak at home but Aunt Cora (her mother's sister) can understand her drawings and hand signs. The pair have developed a beautiful relationship and Cora is certain one day Jubilee will find her voice.

In this new school year Jubilee will join a main stream Grade 5 class. This will be hard for Jubilee and she is especially worried when the teacher assigns partners for a nature assignment. There is a boy in her class called Mason. He is also an outsider. His long hours spent alone mean, like Jubilee, he has a special affinity with their natural environment. Jubilee has a fascination with turtles and so the pair settle on this as the topic for their project. Even without words their friendship slowly blossoms.

Jubilee longs to find her mother. She sees a card with a mainland address. Filled with hope and anxiety Jubilee sneaks away and catches the ferry hoping to reunite with her mother and find answers to the most burning question - why did her mother abandon her?

Read this review for more plot details. This is a gentle book which will be perfect for sensitive readers. I highly recommend the writing of Patricia Reilly Giff. Pictures of Hollis Woods is one of my top choices for Middle Grade readers. It received a Newbery Honor in 2003.

I would follow Jubilee with Sweeping up the Heart by Kevin Henkes and an older, out of print title -  Rain May and Captain Daniel by Catherine Bateson.

One more thing.  About half way through the story the teacher tells a student about a shell she always looks for:

"It's called a junonia. It loops around itself with brown square markings. Maybe someday I'll find one."  I feel that way too.  Check out my review of Junonia by Kevin Henkes.

Daniel finds a poem by Micha Archer

A vividly illustrated, inventively told opportunity for early readers to grasp the power of language to observe, entertain, and mystify.  Kirkus

Daniel sees a poster advertising a poetry event in the park. Over the next seven days Daniel asks "What is poetry?"  Each answer is, in itself, poetic. Daniel gathers the answers and discovers he has made a poem.  Here is an extract:

Morning dew glistens,
Crisp leaves crunch,
There's a home with many windows
in the old stone wall.

These wise words come from a spider, squirrel and a chipmunk. Daniel also talks to a frog, a turtle, a cricket and an owl.

The words and accompanying illustration on the final page are - well I have to say it - poetic!

I highly recommend you find this book to use with a young class. Yes is it about poetry but it also a simple way to talk about days of the week and will give you a wonderful stimulus for experimenting with collage.

You can see the author/illustrator Micha Archer reading her book here. Here is an audio interview with Micha Archer. Take a look at Micha's web site. There is a video where she shows her a range of art techniques. There are some good discussion ideas here.

The sequel to Daniel finds a poem - Daniel's good day - was published this year. You could also take a look at this book by Laura Purdie Salas - Snowman - Cold = Puddle. You can see the fabulous illustrations by Micha Archer and as a bonus add another book to your 'to read' pile. I love the idea of this equations poetry book.

I would pair Daniel finds a poem with Stanza by Jill Esbaum. I have Stanza on my shopping list but it is sadly out of print and hope to include a review on my blog sometime soon. It is another truly special book.

Almost Anything by Sophy Henn

I take huge delight in reading picture books like Almost Anything. The premise seems almost obvious. Has any other picture book author thought of this idea? Belief in special magic, shared by a wise elder, can give you the courage to try new things.

Little George the rabbit has huge doubts. He thinks he is a failure or he has fear of failure so he declines every invitation by his forest friends. No he won't try kite flying. He won't dance or roller skate. He is certain he cannot paint or even play a game of skittles. While everyone is busy with "this and that" George did nothing.

A wise old bear observes the scene. The bear takes a piece of paper and folds it:

"For you,' said Bear as she handed him a small paper hat. 'It's magic.' 
'Really?' asked George.
'Really,' said Bear. 'If you wear this hat, I'm quite sure you will be able to do almost anything, even roller skating."

George puts the hat on and tries roller skating but he is just too wobbly. Bear reassures George that he can ride those skates he just needs to give the magic a little more time to work. This is all the encouragement he needs. George preservers and after a little more practice he finds he can roller skate. This gives him the courage to try other things like dancing, painting, reading, knitting and even a game of chess. Keen eyes will notice something though. The hat is gone!  What will George do now? Can Bear step in and offer more gentle wisdom - of course she can.

This is the first time I have encountered Sophy Henn but I now discover she has an impressive body of work including board books and other titles for preschool children.  Take a look at this review where you can see inside this book.  Almost Anything has been short listed (see image below for all the shot listed titles) for Oscar's Book Prize (2019) which is a UK prize awarded to the best preschool book of the year. The winner for 2019 was How to be a Lion by Ed Vere. Click the title to see a video of the book and watch out for the word meandering - how wonderful to see this use of vocabulary in a book designed for the youngest readers. I am keen to check out more of these short listed titles.

A dog's tale by Michael Rosen illustrated by Tony Ross

"... perfect for sharing with anxious pups everywhere ... "

When I saw the creators were - Michael Rosen and Tony Ross - I knew this would be a terrific book. The full title is A Dog's Tale: life lessons for a young pup. The lessons, applicable to all of us not just pups, are told with gentle humour in a personal direct conversational style:

"Hey, what's with the frown? Let's go for a walk
You know what they say: it's helpful to talk.
I've been round the block
and on trains once or twice;
there's no harm in haring an old dog's advice."

And so our wise older dog takes his young pup companion on a walk all the while providing practical advice.

"So tail up, get ready! Be wide-open-hearted!
The world is there waiting for you to get started."

What will they do? Catch, chase, run, listen and taste. Where will they go? Up over the hills and down to the beach.

The rhymes are perfect, as you would expect from master poet Michael Rosen, and the illustrations are joyful and energetic with wonderful and very funny facial expressions as our pup navigates each new experience.

I love this advice:

"And sometimes it rains! You might have to take it.

Your fur will get wet - don't worry: just shake it!"

This is simply a perfect book to share with a young child and of course it is also a book that begs to be read aloud with heaps of expression!

Detention by Tristan Bancks

I hardly know where to begin with this utterly splendid book. The story line still haunts me hours after I finished it. Reading this book yesterday consumed me. I started on my morning train, spent my day working as a library volunteer and finished the book on the train coming home. I was desperate to see how things turned out but, as with all the best books, I felt bereft once it ended. Not because the ending was sad (although there are still things to be resolved) but because the glorious experience of reading such a beautifully told and finely nuanced story was over.

Dan has a very difficult life. His home is in a run down caravan in a park filled with lost, lonely, poor and displaced people. Some are former criminals. Dan's mum is rarely home and Dad is struggling at school. He has been placed in a special class for reading. I found his description of the class so poignant and powerful:

"Miss Aston calls the class 'Reading Superstars' to try and make them feel like they're the Avengers ... Dan's embarrassed to be in a 'special class'. She can call him a superstar all she likes but he doesn't see illiteracy or dyslexia or whatever as a superpower."

Being in this class feels like detention every Thursday morning for the small group of students but for the second voice in this story detention truly is a reality. Sima and her family have been living in an Australian immigration detention facility on the mainland for over six months and this has come after their frightening escape from Afghanistan, long months in a camp in Indonesia, a frightening boat trip across the open ocean to Australia and over a year of being detained on Christmas Island. Today is the day Sima and others will attempt an escape. The detention centre is near Dan's school. The escape goes badly wrong, Sima is separated from her family and she finds herself on the run. The police are looking for Sima and Dan's school is put into lock down. Sima takes refuge in the boy's toilet. Tristan Bancks made me feel I was really there with Sima. I could smell the awful stench and feel her utter terror as she tries to prevent boys entering her cubicle.

Earlier in the day, Dan has found a dog that has been abused. He is desperate to help the dog but he has to spend the morning in class. He plans to run back to the dog as soon as this class is over but then the school alarm rings for the lock down. Dan becomes quite desperate to get away because he needs to get water to this dog. He convinces the teacher to let him go to the toilets. He hears a noise and finds Sima. Police are patrolling the school. Here is a true moral dilemma. Will Dan expose or hide Sima? Should he tell his teacher? Who is telling the truth about asylum seekers? Is it the authorities? Is it the media? Or should he believe Sima herself who explains the dangers if her family are sent back to Afghanistan.

The tension in this book is so palpable. The plot just races along and the individual voices of both characters demand to be heard. For me this is certainly a five star book. I should also mention the chapters are oragnised as alternate voices. This is a form I really enjoy and Tristan is able to give Ben and Sima distinct voices which resonate with honesty. The device of time as chapter headings also drives the story which begins at 5.28am as Sima prepares to escape through the detention centre fence. The next chapter is just 3 minutes later. Dan joins the story at 7.32am and his next chapter it 7.37am. By page 203 the time is just 12.01pm on the same day.

I suggest age 11+ for this book which means it can be an addition to a Primary School library and in fact I would like to say it should be an added to every Primary and High School library. I will make a bold prediction that Detention will be short listed for several awards in future months including the CBCA 2020 awards. Detention was published on 2nd July this year. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my Advanced Reader Copy.

You can listen to an interview with Tristan here. This is a brilliant way to gain insights into his writing process. Also take a look at Tristan's web site.

Megan Daley said this book is OUTSTANDING and I thoroughly agree. Click here to read her review: Tristan’s writing is gripping, insightful and compassionate.

Lizard's Tale by Weng Wai Chan

Singapore in the 1940s and a Japanese attack is close. Lizard has become a city kid who survives through small crimes and cunning. A local gangster called Boss Man Beng asks Lizard to steal a teak box belonging to the business man Sebastian Whitford Jones from the famous Raffles Hotel. He offers more money that Lizard has ever seen in his life.

Lizard finds the room and the box but:

"Something nagged at him, telling him things weren't quite right. Best to get out quick, then, he thought. He shoved the box into his satchel and closed the secret drawer. As he slipped out from under the desk and moved towards the open window, he realised what was wrong. The ceiling fans in the bedroom. Why would they be on if no one was in?"

Georgina Amelia Whitford Jones confronts Lizard. Her parents arrive home and Lizard escapes but not before Georgina tells Lizard he must return tomorrow night.

Lizard is living in a cubicle above a tailor shop. Lily lives in the tailor shop with her father. But there is much more to Lily - she is not just an ordinary school girl living in Singapore. She is training to work in espionage with Maximum Operations Enterprise.

These three - Lizard, Lily and Georgina, need to discover the truth about the code book they find in the teak box. Boss Man Beng is dead and our three heroes are in danger as is the whole city if a Japanese invasion is successful. The tension in this story is brilliant and is sure to keep you reading from the beginning to the end in one sitting.

You can hear Weng Wai Chan, who lives in Auckland, talking about her book here in an interview with Radio New Zealand. Here is Q&A where she talks about her inspiration and childhood.

I would follow Lizard's tale with a very old book - Duck for Danger by Ann Grocott.