Celebrating 24th November - Happy Birthday (with fairy bread)

Image Source: Sydney Morning Herald

It is Fairy Bread Day!

Make a plate of Fairy Bread and sit down with the young children in your family and 

READ this book - it is simple perfect right to the last sentence!

This one is long out of print but Bob the Builder by Emily Rodda is so much fun to read aloud 

(I almost know parts of the text off by heart) and the illustrations are fabulous by Craig Smith

Check out this post from Kinderbookswitheverything

The Birthday of Frances Hodgson Burnett is 24th November - she wrote one of my favourite books The Secret Garden. She also wrote A Little Princess (I talk about that in this post).

The Secret Garden

The author of Pinocchio Carlo Carllodi was born on 24th November, 1826.

Author Mordecai Gerstein who wrote the Jacob Two Two series also has a birthday.

Jacob Two Two meets the Hooded Fang was one of the very first book I read aloud to my Grade Three class in my first school back in 1984. I also own a cassette tape of the story! I might reread it over the coming weeks. The Book Wrangler posted an image of a calendar with author birthdays. 

Gail Gibbons (1944) is on 24th November. I had not heard of her, but my friend has several of her nonfiction books in the library - she was an early creator of illustrated nonfiction and has produced hundreds of titles. She even has two books from long ago about Birthdays!

Gail Gibbons’s books are particularly accurate because she goes right to the source when researching a topic. She has been on the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper in progress, has spoken with truck drivers about the workings of their rigs, has dismantled every clock in her home, and would have donned scuba diving gear to research a sunken ship had the sea waters not been too turbulent. Gail says "I had a lot of ‘whys’ when I was a child. I guess I still do."

These are her recent Board Books

I think I need to FIND this one!

I have a Pinterest of Birthday picture books and a Pinterest of birthday card images. Here is a previous post about the topic of Happy Birthday and a few of my favourite Happy Birthday books to share:

Happy Birthday Moon

Billy's Bucket

Where does Thursday go?

Sometimes Cake

Hogbert by Briony May Smith

You might like to begin with my Meet the Illustrator post where I introduce Briony May Smith. Her art is so appealing and surely you cannot resist the sweet image of Hogbert on the cover of this latest book.

When you pick up Hogbert twist and turn the cover. It is scattered with gold. Then, when you begin reading this book with your young reading companion you will encounter a truly delightful word - snufflebugs!

Here is a word list (not for a lesson) just to delight you: guzzled, snuffled, snorts and snuffles, let's hop to it, nattered, rumbling and grumbling, fiddlesticks, drizzle, and aroma.

This story is filled with references to fairy tales (some are very subtle). Hopefully all of these will be very familiar to your child or preschool group - Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and The Frog Prince.

Here is a detailed interview with the author filled with art from this story and photographs of her forest adventures.

Publisher blurb: When Mommy Boar sends her little snufflebugs to explore the forest for the first time, she cautions them to stick together. After all, the Big Bad Wolf could be near! But Hogbert’s keen nose has other ideas, and after following a trail too far, he finds himself trembling alone in fear. What’s that rustling in the leaves? Just a little red squirrel on her way to visit her sick granny! What’s that growl coming through the trees? Just a snoring white doe who took a bite of an apple that made her sleepy! With each temporarily scary encounter, Hogbert finds that the world is a less frightening place, and that the same sense of smell that led him into trouble may just lead them all out of it again.

The skilled depiction of the sylvan setting includes lovely flowers, towering trees, and constantly shifting light and shadow. This low-key adventure is a pleasant diversion that effectively capitalizes on the appeal of timeless tales. Kirkus

The Last Egg by Sofie Laguna illustrated by Jess Racklyeft

A mother bird is sitting on her nest. She has three eggs. The father bird is very attentive bringing her fresh worms to eat but then one morning; after hearing distant screeching in the night; the parents wake up to find a fourth egg in their next. The mother bird insists it's okay and that they have a responsibility to hatch this egg too. The problem is the first three eggs hatch on time, the baby chicks are just like the parents, and over time these three grow up and fly away. Meanwhile the fourth egg has not hatched. Should the birds abandon this egg? It is most certainly time they flew away to a warmer climate. In fact the snow is now falling and both are desperately cold.

The plot here will feel familiar, you might think of The Ugly Duckling with a twist - a dragon! The art in this new picture book is very appealing. And when you reach the end of the story, your young reading companion is sure to want to go back to the beginning to find that all important story hint (foreshadowing). 

You can find some teachers notes on the publisher page. 

Jess Racklyeft’s imaginative, evocative, playful illustrations with touches of whimsy, capture the different seasons and passing of time with varied colour palettes to reflect spring, winter and summer. She superbly brings to life the bonds between the characters and the emotions they feel. Jess imaginatively uses colour to create suspense, drama and intrigue.  This is a book for all library collections which offers endless opportunities for discussions about family, acceptance, compassions, the spirt of community and strength in diversity. Reading Opens Doors

The Last Egg is a beautiful story about family and caring, and the sacrifices we make to look after people who don’t look like us, but are still family in many other ways. It is also about community, and coming together to create a loving environment for children, helping people when they need it, and coming together when things get dire to ensure the vulnerable are not left behind. The Book Muse

Companion texts:

This one is very old - I hope you can find it - Fey Mouse by Hazel Edwards

Dragon love penguin

Just plain fancy

And for an art comparison try to find this one:

I talked about the illustrator Jess Racklyeft recently. She has donated this original bird illustration for our IBBY Australia Mini Masterpiece art auction (14th - 28th November 2025).

Jess Racklyeft creates a variety of illustrated things - picture books, paintings, prints, pins and cards - mainly in watercolours. She works from her studio at the beautiful Abbotsford Convent and regularly has picnic lunches watching the neighbouring sheep and horses! Her art often combines collage - either on paper or digitally assembled - experimentation and lots of watercolour. Sometimes she writes the books as well. Jess worked in publishing sales for almost a decade before making the leap to full-time illustration and writing, and since then has won several illustration accolades including CBCA Picture Book of the Year for Iceberg (written by Claire Saxby).

Sofie Laguna is the author of many books including Too Loud Lilly; When You're Older; Our Australian Girl: The Grace stories; The Song of Lewis Carmichael; Stephen's Music; Bird and Sugar Boy; and an Aussie Bite title - The forever house. 

The 113th Assistant Librarian: Lost in a Book by Stuart Wilson

You will jump right into the action at the start of this book as Oliver battles with a giant crab that has escaped from 'The Diving Bell Expeditions of Grace AEthwell'. Page 173 is blank but the caption reads 'mammoth spider crab'. Oliver needs to catch this huge creature and wrangle it back into the book.

"To be fair, being attacked by a giant crab in a library was something he would never have believed before he took up the mantle of librarian. Or rather, assistant librarian, due to the untimely death of the librarian, Hieronymus Finch-Thackeray."

After all this drama things do settle down but only for a short while because a junior lawyer named Phoebe arrives from the firm Wolfsähnlich, Lithic & Lithic. One of their clients has died and left his enormous book collection. 

"A voluminous collection of books, in fact. And now that a grant of probate has been issued to the executor, the time has come to divest the estate and all chattels therein."

I love the word used to describe this type of collecting by the late Phillip Thomas - bibliomania. So Oliver visits the house and he begins to sort and cull the collection with help from his friend Agatha. We met Agatha in the first book but just in case you have forgotten she has a dreadful and potentially fatal illness Garnet Band Fever. To prolong her life she transforms into nine cats but she can only do this within the confines of the library and it is dangerous for her to spend too long in her human form. The cats are named Fennex, Arawn, Grey Reaper, Tailless, Harmony, Sentinel, Clod and two others Oliver has not yet named. 

Agatha is a huge fan of the crime writer Enid B. B. Weathers but when she reads or re-reads a few pages from her book Murder of Masons, she discovers the story has been changed. This sets Oliver and Agatha on a book hunt - and yes they discover other books that seemed to be changed. This might not matter too much, perhaps they are earlier editions, but then they find a very significant book - 'War, A History of the Alpin Conflict' by M.W. Ebberdew.  If this other edition is correct then the border between Hallarum and the Shrouded Alps is in the wrong place - this could lead to anther dreadful war. What can Oliver and Agatha do? And oh no the dreadful Annabel Clowritch, the Member for Upper-Lower Tumbledown Barrows has heard about this book and she is determined to read it and gain control over the remote regions that she is sure now belong to Hallarum. 

Here are some text fragments that will give all Teacher-Librarians and librarians in general a smile moment:

"Oliver glanced at the spies closest to him, quickly surmising that there was little in the way of a system. He spotted fiction next to poetry, plays rubbing shoulders with cookbooks."

"even the patrons couldn't sour his mood when they interrupted him ... to say things like, 'Must be nice to have a job where you can sit around all day and read.'"

"Trying to appear nonchalant, he slid a book onto the shelf (despite the fact it was in the wrong section, doing an injury to his librarian soul)."

"The brilliance of a book was that it was always there, waiting to be read, at a time that was convenient."

"He removed his satchel and jacket before slipping the bandolier on over his shirt. He checked that the two stamps and the bookmark were in their pouches and that they were closed securely. He was, after all, going on official librarian business."

I talked about the inventive book titles created by Stuart Wilson in the first book and also the way his writing employs such a rich vocabulary - this book has these same wonderful qualities. I learnt the word 'lambrequins' for example. Also, I loved the care and concern Oliver shows for his friend Agatha. AND it was wonderful to meet Oliver's sisters once again - a couple of them play very important roles in this latest adventure. 

Publisher blurb: Oliver has settled into his life as the 113th assistant librarian. He loves his job – even though it sometimes includes battling giant crabs or fending off firedrakes – and his new friend, the mostly-human Agatha, is always on hand to help. But when he discovers a rare edition of a history book with unique wording, he realises the slightest misinterpretation could endanger the entire kingdom. Determined to solve this mystery, he and Agatha leave the library – with the help of an unpredictable transporting book – to establish the truth. But can they prevent Annabel Clowritch, the esteemed Member for Upper-Lower Tumbledown Barrows, from using the text to her own advantage . . . and stop a war?

Once again, it’s an adventure like no other and filled with humour, surprises, and the successful victory of the underdogs. AND it’s all to do with libraries and books, and the librarians who take their guardianship with all due seriousness. Just so Stories

This is a mystery adventure full of whimsy and risky moments. ... It does assume a reasonable reading skill and enjoyment of fantasy and references to library organisation and some historical, geographical or scientific detail may stretch some younger readers, but will thrill adept readers. ...  I loved the first book in this series, and the second is equally enthralling. Read Plus

Wilson has lots of fun with book titles, the worlds to be found within books and the power of the written word, all of which makes this a not just another ordinary adventure but a story with some thought provoking themes. He certainly gets very creative and inventive with the magic of books. It is great to see Oliver outside the library but still engaged in serious book business. Storylinks

Lost in a Book is the second title in the series the 113th Assistant Librarian. You do need to read the first book to understand the world of this book and to meet the two main characters - Oliver Wormwood and his best friend Agatha. I don't usually read sequels or continue a series unless I really loved the first installment - and yes I did love it  - five stars from me. 

The 113th Assistant Librarian

I am still wondering why oh why the first book didn't make the 2025 CBCA Younger Readers Book of the Year notables. And sadly I know this second one - Lost in a Book - is not eligible because it does not stand alone (although this rule seems to be quite flexible because seven of the 2025 notables were from a series!).

Readers aged 10+ are sure to enjoy Lost in a Book (you could gift the two books from this series as Christmas presents) but at the end they might feel a little bereft and in need of another similarly adventurous story so I would suggest these:

The Phantom Tollbooth

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's library

The Lost History (second book in a series)

The Strange Worlds Travel Agency

The Lost Library

Thinking about reading with children from Grade 3 and 4

On a social media platform this week a university lecturer posed this important question. She is involved with a course for trainee teachers. I really took this question to heart, BUT I have to say SO many of the 'answers' left me in despair.

Here is the question:

If you were choosing one Australian middle-grade novel (around Grades 3–4 level) to share with a group of young adults who are preparing to be primary teachers—many of whom haven’t read children’s novels for a while—what book would you pick that they simply won’t be able to put down? We’ll be reading part of the book aloud together each week, and they’ll read the rest between classes. I’d love a story that reminds them of the joy and magic of reading and shows the power of a great book in the classroom. What Australian page-turner would you choose?

Before I share my 'long' reply let's just look at some key aspects of this question - things we know and things that lead to more questions:

• The question comes from someone involved in tertiary education here in Australia so that explains the emphasis on 'Australian' - this is okay but I hope the lecturer will also expose these adult students to other books. We speak English here in Australia and so have access to some of the best books from UK, Canada, USA, New Zealand and South Africa.
• Grade 3 and 4 - Is this for a book to read at the beginning of the year when the Grade 3 kids have just moved out of an infants grade. These readers could be aged between 7 and 10 depending on when this project happens. I would argue there is a huge difference between books I would share with a Grade 3 reader aged 7 turning 8 and a Grade 4 reader aged 9 turning 10.
• "Won't be able to put down" - that is actually impossible to predict but it is a worthy goal. These University students may not be 'readers' or they may be avid adult readers, they may have preferred genres, and I have to say finding ONE book feels like a huge responsibility. Perhaps it might be better to use one text for this 'book club' model but also give the students a wide reading list and set a requirement to read a set number of these too.
• "I’d love a story that reminds them of the joy and magic of reading and shows the power of a great book in the classroom" - this is a lofty goal - I do hope a book that fulfils this can be found. If we weren't limited to Australian I would have suggested Wishtree by Katherine Applegate or One Dog and his Boy by Eva Ibbotson.

POST UPDATE - here is a reply from the author of this question. (I would prefer not to name the Facebook group):

• Thank you for your thoughtful post and for sharing it with me. Since I’m the lecturer who posed the original question, I thought it might be helpful to offer a little context.
• Teaching future primary teachers about thoughtful, intentional book selection is just one small part of what they explore in this subject with the teaching team. Over the semester, students look closely at a range of considerations—developmental suitability, reader experience, literary quality, diversity of texts, and how we support children to engage with longer works of fiction in purposeful ways.
• For many pre-service teachers, it has been quite a long time since they’ve read junior–middle fiction, and for some, a long time since they’ve read any long-form fiction at all. Before they can meaningfully evaluate and select texts for children, they need structured opportunities to re-engage with children’s literature as readers.
• As experienced teachers, we know that you cannot “teach” a book unless you have lived with it—read it multiple times, considered it from different angles, and explored its possibilities. Asking the cohort to read one shared text over time allows us to model this process deliberately and to help rebuild reading stamina in a manageable, supportive way.
• I also asked specifically for Australian titles—not because I’m opposed to international literature (far from it), but because we have such exceptional Australian authors and I enjoy highlighting their work. It’s important for future teachers to be familiar with a strong range of local stories as part of their wider reading diet.
• And as for choosing the Year 3–4 range—there was no special reason beyond instinct. I imagined the books might be shorter, and my experience is that while they may be shorter, they are certainly not less mighty or less worth reading. It also meant there was a good chance we would get through the book in the time we have scheduled.

Now back to my response to the original question. This particular forum/Facebook Group does not allow contributors to link to personal blog posts but all of the books I offered as choices (see image below) are discussed here on my blog of course. Here is my reply:

I think it would be good to have a book (if you’re in NSW) that’s not one of the “set” English texts. It would be good to “expand their knowledge. Also grade 3 and 4 kids are very different. If this is now, late in the year, then the grade 3 kids are aged 9 and grade 4 kids are ten but if it’s for term one next year the grade 3 kids are still quite young. 

Also, if I was doing this, I’d seek out a book that doesn’t have existing teachers notes or discussion questions, so these trainee teachers have to think deeply about the text. I also think a shorter book would be good, so the task is not too daunting. And perhaps you could use a verse novel because some of these students may not have encountered that form and they often have very powerful stories. Someone already suggested The Little wave for example. 

Here’s some novels to investigate. 

Pop each title into my search bar for me details

Hopefully you’re able to read a few for yourself so you can give these lucky students a fabulous reading experience. I’ll post a few verse novels too. 

Verse Novels - Pop each title into my search bar for more details

I’m also guessing as well as Australian it needs to be in print. My most favourite book for a project like this would be The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey but it’s long out of print. I also love another very old book Angie’s ankles by Gary Hurle but that disappeared a long time ago. Can you let the group know which book you do use? Thanks. (Sorry for this long answer but I think this is a very very important topic). AND I would add that the best books we share with students are books we have loved reading ourselves - not texts imposed by curriculum experts or even grade requirements etc. 

Of course, I have no way of knowing about the expertise of the people who shared their own answers to the question I quoted. 

I have organised the books that were listed under my own headings - 

The Good

Leo and Ralph by Peter Carnavas

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

The Kindness Project by Deb Abela

Katrina Nannestad - I would say yes to some of her books but not the World War II titles. The Travelling Bookshop

Polly and Buster by Sally Rippin

The Book of Wondrous possibilities by Deb Abela

The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (but this one is very long)

Wandi by Favel Parrett

Mina and the whole wide world by Sherryl Clark (might be out of print)

Song of a Thousand Seas by Zana Fraillon

Brindabella by Ursula Dubosarsky

Too mainstream - I would love these students to be exposed to 'other books' not the latest 'top of the pops books' even though I did enjoy some of these:

Runt by Craig Silvey (I have four other posts about this book and the sequel)

Blueback by Tim Winton - here in NSW this is a prescribed text

How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda (1993)

The Naming of Tishkin silk by Glenda Millard (I am a huge fan of this series of seven titles, and I own the whole set but in the first one the baby has died - younger readers might find this distressing). 

Childish by Morris Gleitzman (Take a look at one his less well known titles that I loved)

The Strange choices (in my view) 
YES, these are great books, but I wouldn't suggest them for this project

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (this has 450 pages)

The extremely inconvenient adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty (494 pages)

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead illustrated by Nicholas Gannon - this is a fantastic book with an Australian setting BUT the authors are from the US. 

Books I would not read with or to children aged 7-10

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (distressing scenes and the main character is a teenager)

Once by Morris Gleitzman (Holocaust setting)

August and Jones by Pip Harry

Books by Tristan Bancks - I love his work - Scar Town; Two Wolves; Detention; and Cop and Robber

The Shop at Hoopers Bend by Emily Rodda

Sick Bay by Nova Weetman

Laugher is the best ending by Mariam Master

A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr

Harp in the South by Ruth Park (adult title)

His name was Walter Emily Rodda (the characters in this book are teenagers)

Dragon Skin Karen Foxlee (contains domestic violence)

Lenny's book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

Any of the James Aldridge (he died in 2015 and his books are Young Adult titles) I loved The Story of Lilli Stubeck from 1984.

Childstone Cycle by Kerry Greenwood (adult title)

Jackie French Matilda series (Young Adult/Adult series)

Queenie in Seven Moves by Zanni Louise

Does my head look big in this by Randa Abdel Fattah

Out of Print

45 and 47 Stella Street by Elizabeth Honey

The Cabbage Patch Fib by Paul Jennings

The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling bee by Deborah Abela

Benjamin in Blink Beyond by Oona Roach (1983) 

Not Australian

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein

The Miraculous journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster

Books I need to find and read:

Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong

This Camp is Doomed by Anna Zobel

Losing the Plot and Down the Plot Hole by Annaleise Byrd

A Clue for Clara by Lian Tanner

The sugarcane kids and the red-bottom boat by Charlie Archbold

The last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd (not Australian)

Kip of the Karoo and Kip of the Mountain by Emma Gourlay

SOS: Big Splash: School of Scallywags (SOS) by Cameron Stelzer (there are ten titles in this series)

Samantha Wheeler titles - Turtle Trackers; Wombat Warriors; Devils in Danger

This would be SO perfect - I wish it was still in print.

Reassemble by Tatsuya Tamaka

Begin with this video where you can see Tatsuya Tamaka at work and marvel at his studio. This will be the best two minutes of your day! Now click here to see more of his work.

Publisher blurb for Reassemble: Miniature workers are busy at work, disassembling and reassembling familiar everyday objects. At first, they just look like discarded parts of something we may or may not recognize. But how about when the workers put everything together? Don't the reassembled parts resemble something else you know? Join the miniature workers in this trip through the familiar yet new world of Tatsuya Tanaka's miniatures. Although a picture book, this book is not just for children, but is also aimed at adults interested in Miniatures, art, photography, and people interested in Japanese culture. The perfect coffee table book or gift for everyone.

Tatsuya Tanaka is a miniature photographer and Mitate artist born in 1981 in Kumamoto, Japan. In 2011, he started “Miniature Calendar,” an art project in which he reimagines, from the miniature perspective, everyday objects as something else. Since then, he has been presenting his creations every day on the Internet. ...  Over 3.8 million people follow his Instagram account (as of June 2024). Mitate is Tatsuya Tanaka's unique art of reimagining everyday objects as something else.

I have followed Tatsuya Tanaka on Instagram for many years. His clever photographs make me smile, laugh and marvel. Now I have seen his new picture book which I know will be a hit with readers aged 6+. The ideas here might even inspire your young reading companion or class at school to try adapting everyday objects into creative photos.

Here are some of his other books (for adults) and you could look for his calendars too.

You can row a boat made of chili. You can enjoy an easy morning stroll among asparagus trees. You will be excited alongside the racetrack, which is actually the surface of a vinyl record. In this miniature world life looks ordinary - yet from a different perspective. Japanese photographer Tatsuya Tanaka started posting miniature pictures every day in in 2011, calling it "Miniature Calendar."  In this book (Small Wonders) you can find more than 100 works created by utilising everyday objects, tiny figures, and an immense amount of imagination. You will be amazed by the ideas found in the ordinary things around you that bring back the curiosity you used to have in childhood.

When you go to Tatsuya Tamaka's web page be prepared to be amazed and also to spend a long time there. If you scroll to the bottom there is a theme list - it is a bit like a pandora's box but if you click on a theme you can see even more tiny imaginative creations by Tatsuya.

Image source: Calendar products Tatsuya Tamaka

On his web page you can also select a date from the archive of calendar images - there are hundreds to explore. 

I picked a random date September 23rd 2017 This is Grape Picking

Image source: Miniature calendar

This book reminded me this inventive vegetable book:

The images and creativity behind the work of Tatsuya Tanaka also reminds me of another wonderful Japanese illustration - Mitsumasa Anno.

Anno's Alphabet

The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla

I thought my summer would be safe. 

That I’d left all my troubles behind in Texas. 

But maybe troubles trail along with me like sparks along a fuse. 

Maybe I’m the trouble. 

Bad luck all the way around. 

What if there is no safe place for me to be?

Maudie spends term time with her mum and dangerous step father and holidays with her dad in a different part of the US. Her time with her dad is joyous and calm but just as she arrives a wildfire breaks out, her dad's cabin is burnt to the ground and so Maudie and her dad are forced to move to a caravan part at the beach in California. The park is in the area where her dad grew up. Dad finds it hard to get work which means money and food are scarce but Maudie discovers she can surf. At the end of summer this town hosts a famous surfing competition and one category is beginner. The prize money would certainly help Maudie's dad - so now she has a goal - to win!

Maudie has a very dysfunctional mother (and as a said a dangerous and abusive step father). Her mother is all about fame and appearances. She tolerates her but it is so clear that she wishes Maudie could change into the perfect daughter she imagined. Her mother fancies herself as a star of social media. 

I remember once Mom told her viewers, “Imagine if your only child refuses to give you so much as a hug,” which was a lie. Mrs. Jills, my therapist, trained me up to hug. So I’ll do it. But Mom told the camera: “Having a child like Maudie? I confess, while I love her dearly, sometimes it feels like God is testing me.” Well, I sort of think maybe God is testing me, too. The year I was ten, Mom put lots of blush on my pale cheeks so I would look healthier and made me come on her show with her. She said to the camera, “Maudie’s growing up so much! We hardly ever have to deal with her meltdowns or tantrums anymore. She’s so much more under control!” Then she grabbed my hand and swung it up, as if we’d won a race. Which was weird.

Obeying Mom was my job. Obeying Mom. Obeying Mrs. Jills. And now, I guess, obeying Ron.

A perceptive, poignant tale of self-discovery. Kirkus

I like the use of the word perceptive in the Kirkus review final sentence. Maudie does have autism but she is also deeply self-aware and this helps the reader gain a deeper insight into her reactions to other people and to the changes in her life. One thing you will quickly notice is that the autism makes Maudie hyper aware of smells and sounds. 

The Australian distributor has the first five chapters of The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn on their webpage. One of the great features of this book for readers is that while there are 72 chapters each chapter is only a page or two. This book is also a hybrid with verse novel sections interspersed between the narrative pages.

Here are a few text quotes:

I hate it when Mom calls Dad a lump of clay. If that’s what he is, then Mom’s a beautiful shard of glass: so pretty, you forget about her sharp, jagged edges. I’d rather be clay, like Dad. If you’re clay, you can mold and adapt to the new. And that’s what I always do. Mold myself into this or that kind of kid. Adapt. For teachers, for Mom, for Mrs. Jills, for Ron, for the other kids at school . . . I try hard to be the right kind of Maudie for each situation, for each thing. I’ve always felt sort of ashamed of this, but maybe it’s also a skill. To remold, instead of shatter. So yeah, there may be different versions of me for different times and different people, but they’re all made from the same clay of me.

I remember Ron swearing and swooping me off the step. Don’t remember much of anything else. Just a sort of tornado of rage. His hands grabbing my arms. His blood-red face. And I remember feeling like I deserved it all. That I was a dirty, broken kid. Not a nice, capable, normal kid. That’s why my mom had to hide herself, close herself off from me. She was ashamed of me. She had given up on me. That’s why we needed Ron, I guess. Because I was too much trouble for Mom to handle alone. I was too big a disappointment.

About why Dad and I understand each other so well and have a special bond. He hyperfocuses on woodworking, I hyperfocus on reading or writing or surfing. Dad gets overwhelmed sometimes, and so do I. He has a scatter-brain about some things, and a hyperorderly brain about other things. So do I. And we both are deeply uncomfortable around new people and new situations. . . . My insides are all squiggly with strange new feelings. I’m a little irritated, to tell the truth. I wish Dad had talked more to me about this before now. It would have helped me to feel less alone.

If I still worked in my former school library I would be very keen to share this book with Grade Six students because that school was located beside the beach and many of the students were keen surfers. In The Fire, the water and Maudie McGinn, Maudie learns to surf, displays some talent, and she is mentored by a surfing champion. Every surfing scene felt so authentic.

Before I know it, I’ve paddled out past the break, my arms pumping like machines. It’s choppy out here, but I turn and watch the horizon, watch the sets, and I find my waves. I pounce on everything I can possibly ride. I feel supercharged, like I’m in some kind of high-energy trance. I fall a few times, but I definitely get in a few good runs, too.

Awards:

• American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award
• Children’s Literature Council of SoCal Juvenile Fiction Award
• Publishers Weekly Starred Review
• NY Public Library Best Book
• Bank Street Best Book (starred for outstanding merit)
• Cybils Awards Finalist
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award Finalist
• Alabama Yellowhammer Award – Honor Book
• 2024 Dog-Eared Book Award Winner
• “Reading MG” Top 15 Books of the Year
• Imagination Soup Best Books of the Year
• Mr. Colby Sharp’s Best Books of the Year

Bookseller blurb: Maudie always looks forward to the summers she spends in California with her dad. But this year, she must keep a troubling secret about her home life—one that her mom warned her never to tell. Maudie wants to confide in her dad about her stepdad's anger, but she’s scared. When a wildfire strikes, Maudie and her dad are forced to evacuate to the beach town where he grew up. It’s another turbulent wave of change. But now, every morning, from their camper, Maudie can see surfers bobbing in the water. She desperately wants to learn, but could she ever be brave enough? As Maudie navigates unfamiliar waters, she makes friends—and her autism no longer feels like the big deal her mom makes it out to be. But her secret is still threatening to sink her. Will Maudie find the strength to reveal the awful truth—and maybe even find some way to stay with Dad—before summer is over?

Read this detailed review from Ms Yingling. And here is an audio interview with the author.

Here is a quote from the interview:

I wanted it to be a book of hope and overcoming and realizing how important it is to speak out. And I guess maybe that’s partly from my own. I got diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult, and it took me a while to be able to speak out about it myself. And once I was able to talk about all the failures and the struggles of my past and what brought me to this point and all that stuff, it’s just so healthy to be able to talk about that, just to be open.

Given the physical and verbal abuse Ron has apparently dished out regularly, being trashed by waves is kid’s play for Maudie. It sure feels like Maudie has found her passion, and it is easy to imagine her and Dad together full-time, living in this great coastside town. Could that ever really happen? You can’t help wondering and hoping for a big break for Maudie and Dad (and a few broken bones for Ron). A Book and a hug

I picked up The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn because I previously really enjoyed this book by Sally J Pla:

The Someday Birds