Troll by Frances Stickley illustrated by Stefano Martinuz

"There beneath the bridge unseen,

he found is easy to be mean.

Disguised beneath the bog and bubbles,

Troll could never get in trouble.

No one even knew his name."

Anyone that comes near his lair is subject to terrible abuse by troll. 

"I'll shove those turnips up your nose." "I'll squash your bun." "I'll spit on you. That bunch of bad weeds stinks like poo."

Then one day a little white rabbit comes along. Troll tries shouting his usual insults but instead of running away the she comes closer. 

"She pointed towards her ears and shook her head. 'I cannot hear, but please repeat the things you said. I'll try to read your lips instead."

Troll feels ashamed. He no longer wants to be mean. He practices being polite and kind and then he sets off to visit all the animals that he previously treated so badly.

You can see inside this book here. And you will want to look for other versions of The Three Billy Goats Gruff or perhaps begin by reading couple of these before you share Troll.

Publisher blurb: In this funny tale, inspired by both internet trolls and The Three Billy Goats Gruff, there is a terrifying troll that lives under a bridge. Unseen, he delights in shouting nasty things to passers-by. But when a d/Deaf bunny unwittingly faces up to him, he realises that it's not so fun to say nasty things to someone's face. Can Troll finally learn to love himself and others?

Troll is on the Empathy Lab list. This is a fabulous resource which will give you some terrific titles to consider for your school library. Read more here. 

The Empathy Lab annotation says: Everyone’s scared of Troll, who revels in being mean. Then a little rabbit asks: ‘you seem so cross. Is something wrong?’ which triggers real change. Troll practices saying kinder things, including to himself. About understanding yourself before you can be kind.

Inspired by internet trolls, cloaked in anonymity, he delights in shouting mean things to passersby, hurting feelings just for fun. That's until a little deaf rabbit unknowingly crosses his path and shows concern for the Troll as he looks so cross. Finally understanding the hurt his words and actions have caused, Troll learns the errors of his ways and realises his behaviour has isolated him and caused so much harm to others. Love Reading4Kids

The Kids Book Curator explains how this book can teach children about tolls and trolling on the internet. 

Grace and Mr Milligan by Caz Goodwin illustrated by Pip Kruger

Grace has a very special relationship with Mr Milligan who lives next door. Mr Milligan owns a goat called Charlie and Grace loves spending time, especially on the weekend, with Mr Milligan and old Charlie. They go to the beach, they enjoy strawberries in the garden (with cream), and they eat grapes and apples. But Charlie is an old goat and one day he falls ill and sadly dies. On his final day Mr Milligan takes Charlie on a memory walk down to the beach, over to see Grace, and through the garden. 

After Charlie dies, Mr Milligan withdraws into his house. Luckily Grace is a problem solver. Each day she visits her old friend and takes along a treat - strawberries, grapes and apples but nothing is working so she invites Mr Milligan to a picnic. They are able to talk about Charlie and reminisce about their time together but Mr Milligan still seems so sad until Grace runs inside and returns with a big bowl of whipped cream and Mr Milligan finally finds his smile. OH, and your young reading companion will smile over the possibilities of the final page. 

"Cream makes all the difference ... and so do you."

Caz and Mr Milligan has been short listed for our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards - Early Childhood Picture Book and New Illustrator. Here is an audio interview with Caz Goodwin and Reading with a Chance of Tacos [begin 12.25].

An ideal resource to use for explaining ageing, loss and grief, and how loving memories can be the most precious of all requisites in life. Kids' Book Review

There are several challenging themes for readers – death and dying, grief and loss — but Goodwin has introduced them empathetically and sensitively, leaving lots of room for discussion. The theme of friendship as an antidote to loss is portrayed throughout the book, strengthened by the love and happiness which Grace has shared with Mr Milligan. Reading Time

Judges critique Early Childhood: This gentle, beautifully told story explores themes of friendship, loss, grief and healing. The carefully crafted text reveals genuine friendship between the two main characters, their shared joys and their love for constant companion, Charlie, the goat. There is use of repeated phrases, humour, alliteration and rich, descriptive language. The narrative transitions sensitively, allowing readers to realise the passing of Charlie in their own time. A gentle pace offers opportunities to pause and reflect, whilst the use of the progression of the days of the week effectively conveys the passing of time. The pairing of the text and dynamic, sensitive illustrations is faultless and deftly edited throughout. The final double spread is wordless, depicting the cycle of life.

Caz Goodwin has written seven books including these:

Judges Critique New Illustrator: Pip Kruger is an accomplished freelance illustrator who lives on the coast of South Australia. She employs a lovely, folksy style that beautifully captures the essence of whimsy and love in this book. The cleverly executed endpapers hint at the importance and value of memories. Colour, framing and a variety of shot types and angles are executed in a highly engaging way and the characters’ emotions and personality are shown beautifully through gesture, body language and the inclusion of unique details. The illustrations are colourful, joyful and lively and sensitively depict the grief and joy in the story and provide substance to the relationship of Grace, Mr Milligan and his ageing goat, Charlie. 

Companion books:

The Biscuit Maker

Rose meets Mr Wintergarten

Pip Kruger is a freelance Illustrator. She lives in a small seaside town on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, with her husband and two daughters.  Since completing a Master of Design in 2012, she has created graphics for international children’s and lifestyle brands, illustrated for local and state government agencies and magazines, designed logos and branding packages, and developed a line of illustration-based greeting cards, prints and textiles.  Pip's work incorporates hand-drawn elements with digital collage, fabric patterns and textured decoration. She celebrates the personal touch and appreciates imperfections and freehand lines that bring warmth and charm to her unique illustration style. From the publisher page

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Sophie Blackall

A luminous tale of fate, love and the power of words

Beatryce is found in a barn nestling beside a goat. This is not just any goat. Her name is Answelica and she has a reputation as a bossy, belligerent creature who usually butts people out of her way. She also has fierce teeth. The young girl has been found by Brother Edik. He is a monk from the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Brother Edik is a kind man even though in his own life he has had his own share of suffering. 

Have you ever given much thought the idea of a prophecy. The book called Chronicles of Sorrowing contains prophecies. Some are good and some are bad.  The king has heard this prophecy:

"There will one day come a girl child who will unseat a king and bring about a great change."

If you go back to my quote at the beginning of this post I mentioned the power of words. In the prophecy there are several very important words. Obviously the dangerous character will be a girl but what of the king. The words say "a king".  Who is this king? Is he the rightful monarch?

And why is a girl considered dangerous? What power could she possibly have? Read on my friend.

Back to the story. Beatryce is injured. Answelica will not leave her side so the pair are bought inside the monastery. Brother Edik gently cares for Beatryce and eventually she recovers enough to tell him her name but the rest of her memory is lost for now. Beatryce has no idea how she came to be found at the monastery but there is deeper mystery - the astonishing discovery by Brother Edik, that Beatryce can read and write.

"Only brothers in service to God could read, and also the tutors and scholars who came and studied the prophecies. And counsellors to the king. And the king himself. In the whole of the world ... there was only a handful of people who could read. All of them male. None of them were female. It was against the law to teach a girl to read, or a woman to write."

So the stage is set. Beatryce has a destiny to fulfil. The current king is determined to stop her. Brother Edik will be her travelling companion as will the goat Answelica. Along the way Beatryce will make new friends, a young boy called Jack Dory and an old man called Cannoc, and she will gradually remember all the pieces of her past life. 

Readers will also be given, from time to time, small glimpses into the machinations of the king and his power hungry adviser until eventually we reach their anticipated but also surprising meeting. 

In keeping with the medieval setting, Sophie Blackall has included an illuminated letter at the beginning of each chapter and there is one also hiding under the dust jacket. 

Sophie has designed end papers which are printed on a rich gold background and inside her black and white full page illustrations seems almost cinematic. When you finish reading this book take some time to linger over and marvel at the cover. Beatryce has something to share with you - she's looking straight at the reader inviting you to enter her story. You can read the first 48 pages of this book here. 

"We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong.

We shall all, in the end, find out way home."

I read that an edition of this book has been released in a special box with a ribbon book mark (it costs over $75 here in Australia but if you are tempted here is the Gift edition ISBN 9781536218671). When ribbons like this are added to a book they make it seem extra special and I think this anticipates the fact the The Beatryce Prophecy is destined to become a Children's Literature classic. I read this book in one sitting. I did not want it to end but when it did I smiled a huge smile because, as usual, Kate DiCamillo has penned a glorious story filled with tiny details which feel like glistening jewels and which are all brought together at the end into one truly special object to treasure.

You MUST listen to this Podcast interview with Kate from The Children's Book Review. 

Here is a quote from the interview:

My outrageous hope … that somebody will feel less alone, that they feel like they’re walking through the world with somebody, and that it will help. The book will help to make some more sense out of the world. Kate DiCamillo

I just loved spending time in that world, even though it’s a world in which lots of bad and dangerous and sad and troubling things happen. There is this light of hope and joy and overcoming obstacles and friendship and love and forgiveness and all of these things that Kate does so beautifully and mesmerizingly ... Sophie Blackall Children's Book Review interview

The story is told in language as clear and beautiful as an illuminated manuscript, with characters who spring instantly to life. The fairy-tale conventions give it a sense of timelessness and omnipresence without once becoming twee or unwieldy. Kirkus Star review

It is, in short, a very good book, worth any kid’s time to read. And that, my dears, is the kind of book that you should probably read too. Betsy Bird School Library Journal

I love it when the book itself shows how important reading is and how important words are, how words and reading connect us to the world and how, ultimately, through education, we can begin to make wiser choices. The Children's Book Review interviewer - Bianca Schulze

A final wise word from Kate about books and reading (one of the important themes of The Beatryce Prophecy):

And the other thing is, having somebody reading to you seems like such an act of love to me. So, I just want to say thank you to everybody who puts a book in somebody else’s hand and everybody who’s reading to somebody. That goes for kids too. I say, when I talk to kids, you can read to the adults in your life. They need it too, you know.

Companion read:

The Book of Boy

You might also like to explore some books involving journeys, young and very brave girls, wise mothers who may be imprisoned, and helpful travelling companions:

The Wolf Wilder

The Forest of Moon and Sword

Fire Girl

A home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor

Here is the publisher blurb: "It’s a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother’s death. Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming—and a little quirky. Lydia’s struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl’s arrival. Wasn’t one rescue enough? Lydia is not a dog person—and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past. Meanwhile, Lydia doesn’t want to be difficult—and she does not mean to keep secrets—but there are things she’s not telling... Like why the box of “paper stuff” she keeps under her bed is so important...  And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger... And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past—but at what cost?"

I picked up this book because I really enjoyed another book by Leslie Connor - The Truth as told to Mason Buttle.  Earlier in 2011 I also read and thoroughly enjoyed Waiting for Normal.  Both are books I would add to my top 100 titles for senior primary and junior high school readers, but while I did enjoy A home for Goddesses and Dogs it did not hit the same emotional highs and lows I felt with these other two titles. Ms Yingling gave this book 3 stars out of five. Colby Sharp included this title in his list of best books for 2020.

You can listen to an audio sample from Chapter one on the US Publisher web page.  Warning (Chapter 26) - sensitive readers may find the description of the badly hurt baby goats very distressing.

An almost-orphan and a rescue dog share lots of heart in a winsome coming-of-age story. Kirkus

This novel will surely be a big and important story when it reaches the children who need it most. The Children's Book Review

Full of dogs, warmth and love, this is another great read from a talented author. Waking Brain Cells

Even though these are much shorter books and written for a slightly younger audience, I would pair A home for Goddesses and Dogs with these two books which explore the theme of dogs and their healing powers:

White Fur Flying

Waiting for the Magic

You should also look for Small Mercies which explores forming new relationships when children have to move in and live with other relatives after the death of a parent. 

Small Mercies

Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt

"But if the instrument could give, it could also take away, 

 and what it took was harmony."

I am reading my way through the CBCA Notables (Younger Readers). A few of the titles were in my local public library including Shine Mountain. How did I miss this one last year?

One of the things I love about reading is when a book is so inventive, so powerful and so unpredictable I just have to keep reading and reading. I started Shine Mountain one morning and devoured about a third. Then I had to go out but Shine Mountain was calling me home. I just had to get back into the world of Ellie and her friends (human and animal). I left everything when I came home and sat down to read right through to the end.

The opening scenes of Shine Mountain read like a movie. Pop is dying. Unfamiliar family members have gathered at the farm. Ellie and Oma know the time is close and so they are making their preparations. Late in the evening the shine-moth arrives.

"A slab of moonlight fell on Pop's bed and I saw the shine-moth land on the bedhead. It was still for a moment, then it opened its wings and began a slow, steady beating. Pop gave a sigh as the insect took over his breathing. He looked so relieved I thought he might die right then ... "

Pop still has a few hours left. The shine-moth grows bigger but there is time for Pop to write his will.  All of this goes along as expected with gifts for various family members but then Pop asks for a box which is under his bed. Pop asks the family to bury this box with him in his grave.

"I thought it was a little jewel box at first. It was a pretty thing with a pattern of leaves carved on what seemed to be the lid, but when Tod opened it I realised it was a button-box, a tiny concertina."

Pop plays a tune, sings a song and Oma joins in. They sing about Spring and the music seems to work. Plants start to grow, the ice cap on top of Mount Ossa begins to melt. Pop quietly dies and is buried along with the button box but the lawyer has a greedy eye. He sets off late in the night returning to the city on his horse but on the way he stops at the grave and digs up the button box. Ellie sees him but she cannot get close enough to stop him. The lawyer is drunk. There is an accident. The button box lies broken on the ground. Ellie knows there is a mystery about this old instrument but she has also seen the good effect it seemed to have on the farm and on her Oma. She picks up the pieces and organises for the repairs.

The dangerous thing, though, is that while the music of the button box can bring prosperity it can also bring terrible hardship. As quickly as things became good so they become bad. The heat ramps up. Crops die and Oma is failing. Ellie needs to set things right. She needs to take this button box back through the Palisades to Shine Mountain but this will be a dangerous journey in every way - physical danger of course but also the danger when she discovers the truth about her identity.

There is a link on the publisher web site (Allen and Unwin) to a set of very useful discussion questions to use with Shine Mountain.

I don't talk about covers often enough. I adore this one. It is by Geoff Kelly and he did the map too. I have said this before but I enjoy exploring maps.  Perhaps you have seen one of Geoff's earliest books - Power and Glory by Emily Rodda. It was an amazing book about a computer game. More recently Geoff did the covers for two new Paul Jennings books A different Dog and A different Boy.

Okay here is my BIG request/prediction/wish/plea/hope - Shine Mountain just HAS to make the CBCA short list. YES YES it is that good! If it is not on your reading pile go out and grab a copy now. Are you still with me?  Off you go and find this book - NOW! Fingers crossed for Julie Hunt.

I would link Shine Mountain with The Firework Maker's daughter by Philip Pullman.

I loved so many parts of this story: Luca's gift of weather making; the kindness of the wonderful Meridian and her ability as a Way-Lady; and the idea of map making using dust or dirt from your home. The descriptions are also wonderful. I can just see Harlan's shoes: "His boots had pointed toes and they were laced up at the side with leather thonging."

There are links in Shine Mountain with other books by Julie. An accordion (found in The Coat) and the coat itself worn by Harland: "He wore old-fashioned garb, a ragged frockcoat that hung on his thin frame and a wide hat that was turned up at the back.". If you look at The Coat illustrated by Ron Brooks it looks just like this. I asked Julie about this and she said she seems to have a 'thing' about concertinas, coats and white gloves. The white gloves are a reference to her book KidGlovz.

This is a mysterious magical quest for truth, identity, and reparation. It is designed to shine a light on the importance and necessity of stories handed down over time.  It is a movement of music in four parts. The story is made up of strands of the characters’ lives interwoven with the strongest strand being Ellie, in the middle, to hold it all together. Kids Book Review

Read my earlier post about Song for a Scarlet Runner also by Julie Hunt.

Here is a button Box concertina - click the link to hear it played.

Image source and video of this instrument being played: https://www.buttonbox.com/new-concertinas.html

Figgy in the world all you need is a plan and courage by Tamsin Janu

There are three things I need to say first of all about Figgy in the world.  Firstly I nearly did not read this because I do not like the cover (I am happy to say I have now changed my mind).  Secondly I predict this book will be short listed for our CBCA awards in 2015 which means quite obviously and thirdly I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

We meet Figgy on the first page of this book and I was immediately struck by her strong character and her unique voice. "I am the only person named Figgy in my village.  Probably the only Figgy in Ghana.  Maybe the only one in Africa.  And possibly, by the smallest chance, I might be the only person named Figgy in the World.  But that cannot be true.  I don't know much about The World. I don't know much about the people in it either.  But I do know that The World is big."

The world is certainly very big but this does not deter Figgy.  She knows her Grandma Ama is gravely ill.  Figgy has no confidence in the abilities of the local doctor and so she embarks on a journey to America where they have good doctors and medicines.  She takes her goat Kwame as a travelling companion.  In a very touching scene near the beginning of the book her friends kindly give her the little money they have and Figgy knows she "can walk for miles without getting tired."

Figgy does not know much about the world and has no idea about the distance to America. She makes some good friends particularly a boy called Nana who helps her with this important journey but Figgy also experiences some truly dreadful setbacks.  Very early in her journey all her money is lost after she falls into some mud. Later Nana is almost kidnapped.  As their journey continues Kwame is hit by a taxi and the children meet a man called Kofi.  This meeting will lead to a tremendous change of fortune for our two young heroes and an ending that may leave you slightly breathless.

Here are some very detailed teachers notes. Here is a short and very positive review in our Australian journal Reading Time.  Here is a video where the author Tamsin Janu talks about her book and her experiences in Ghana.

If you enjoy meeting Figgy as much as I did I recommend looking for the series of books about Anna Hibiscus and also a very old book called Callie and the Prince.  You would also enjoy Oranges in no man's land and Journey to Jo'burg.