The Grey Beret's guide to Surviving the Odds by Anna Battese illustrated by Erin Reeves

Three bad things have already happened to Odie - the worst is the third:

"When Odie turned eight, her mother - a beloved and renowned biologist - disappeared in a stampede of pink-fairy armadillos during an expedition in central Argentina."

Odie has retreated into her room and her father, in his grief, has also withdrawn. Odie is now homeschooled but wait - just in case I have made you very sad we also discover Odie has messenger pigeons. Her pigeons named Pudding and Plonk, deliver her homework to the Homely Homeschooling Assessment Centre. Odie also has her cat named Knuckles - he had been her mother's rescue tomcat. When I said Odie had withdrawn - she now lives in her room. Her father does make delicious food which is delivered via a small elevator.

"Her father was very good at making sure she had everything she could ever need. And yet, since Odie's mother had gone, he seemed as baffled by the world as Odie was afraid of it, and he preferred to spend his time alone, in the silence."

The stage is set for change - CHANGE. First of all, a strange book arrives addressed to Cadet Odie Gusberry-Smith with the intriguing title 

"The Grey Beret's guide to Surviving the Odds. Volume one."

Yes, this book does sound strange, but it is a perfect fit for Odie because she is a girl of facts not fairy tales. She happily reads chapter after chapter about poisonous plants, dangerous reptiles, and the antidotes for eighty-seven kinds of toxins. But can the information in this book and her newly made coat with thirty-eight pockets help with her next big life event? Her father announces they are going on a cruise. And Odie, and you as the reader, are sure to think of shipwrecks, islands, survival and perhaps the importance of making new friends with kids her age along with a baby dressed up as a chicken. Dressed up?  Yes the sinking of the ship happens on the night of the Halloween dress-up party so all kids - Baby (a chicken), Gus (dressed as the ship's captain), Sunny (a donkey pinata), and Chuck (real name Charlotte dressed in a black tulle ball gown) are in costumes except for Odie who luckily has her survival pockets.

Publisher blurb: Odie Gusberry-Smith doesn't like surprises. But when a mysterious package arrives in the mail, she finds The Grey Beret's Guide to Surviving the Odds – a book that feels like it was written just for her. Odie is going to need it, because her dad has had the ridiculous idea that they should go on a cruise. When calamity strikes (as she could have told you it would), Odie will need to use every trick in the Guide to keep herself and her alarmingly danger-prone group safe. Along the way, she might just realise that the Guide is not the only thing she can rely on…

When I read this Instagram post from Gleebooks Kids I knew this was a book I needed to read. 

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"She'd worked so hard on preparing for exactly this kind of calamity, but now that it was here, in actual real life, she wasn't quite sure what to do."

"Part of being a Grey Beret is preparing for the worst. So, when you all fell asleep, I did a risk mitigation plan. Our greatest risk was catching hypothermia from the waves and rain. Luckily I had a tarp in my eleventh pocket. Once I put it up, the risk of us catching hypothermia dropped by thirty-five percent. And then I found the space blankets in pocket thirteen, and that brought the risk down to twenty per cent."

If you are sharing this book in your library you could read Chapters 16 and 17 which is the scene where the kids are almost 'eaten' by huge plant-frogs.

This book is sure to be included on the CBCA 2027 Notables Books list. I especially appreciate the way it is designed and that it is presented in hardcover with spot varnish on the cover. I read this book from beginning to end in one sitting. Note my label melodrama - that seems like the perfect descriptor. I thoroughly enjoyed the tone of this book with Odie constantly quoting statistics and catastrophising every scenario.  And yes, we do eventually reach a happy ending, BUT I have to warn you this is part one of a planned trilogy and turning the last page you will be so keen to reach for the next book - but I cannot discover the date it will be released - sorry. 

Odie is a sweet protagonist, coping with grief, loneliness and trying to find ways to manage her ever-present fear. The world Anna Battese has created is wild and whimsical ... Readings Melbourne

I previously talked about this book by Anna Battese:

The Recorder Racket

Companion books:

The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters

The Lost Island

Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast

Giraffe Island

The Detective's Guide to Ocean Travel

Bailey Finch takes a stand by Ingrid Laguna

Bailey has a special friend - her dog Sheba. She takes Sheba for a run down at the creek near their home nearly every day. Bailey loves to climb trees and this bush retreat is her happy place but one day Sheba is badly hurt when she swallows some glass. Sheba is rushed to the vet but this incident means Bailey now looks more carefully at the creek. She sees all the dreadful litter and degradation of the natural environment. 

"Bailey found chocolate wrappers, old tennis balls, bits of foam, coffee cups, beer cans, a Coke bottle, rubber bands, string, plastic packaging and tinfoil."

A few days later when she visits the creek Bailey means a boy called Israel. He is a natural history walking encyclopedia. He talks about the birds and the frogs and even shows Bailey a photo of a platypus - but we do learn is a very long time since any platypus were seen in this area.

Bailey is a girl of action. Things are hard at home because her mum has died and her father has retreated into his grief. Bailey wants to reconnect with her dad and she hopes if she can inspire the community to assist with cleaning up the creek then he might notice her and move on from his deep sadness. Meanwhile she is also desperately worried about her precious dog because he seems to be getting worse not better. Every visit to the vet is so upsetting. 

Bailey and Israel visit the council office but they won't help them because they are too young so she and Israel decide to clean up the creek anyway. They make some posters and flyers and they invite the community to come on Saturday. It is a wonderful affirming scene when lots of people turn up and heaps of hessian bags are filled with debris and even better every one is keen to make this a regular Saturday event. 

I picked up this 2021 book because it was a Environment Award for Children's Literature, Fiction, 2022 winner.

Bailey’s desire for change stems from sentiment: the creek where she’d spend time with her parents, and her dog’s sickness from that same creek. If we all started to initiate the change needed in the places we regularly interact with, we can collectively make a difference – and Israel and Bailey’s friendship is a testament to this. Better Reading

This book is an easy read with that all important happy ending. I had one tiny quibble. Early in the story Bailey mentions giving her dog Sheba some chocolate cake - this is very dangerous. Dogs should not be fed any chocolate. I wonder why how the book editor missed this? I do like the cover. If you are studying local government with your class you could use Chapter 17 as a way to discuss the role of councils and local community activism. Here is an interview with Ingrid Laguna where she talks about this book. 

Ida B and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster and (possibly) save the world by Katherine Hannigan

There were times when I almost could not keep reading Ida B.  Having said that I will also say this is a very powerful book and I am keen to put it into the hands of a sensitive reader.  I wonder if the little girl who donated this book to our school library last year, read it.

I loved the voice of Ida B :
 "Daddy'd hand me a dish, I'd sprint to the cupboard and put it away, race back again and put my hand out for the next one, with my right foot tap, tap, tapping the seconds that were ticking by. 'Hold your horses, Ida B,'  Daddy told me.  'There's plenty of time to do whatever you're planning,' And he passed me a plate, slow and easy.  Well that stopped me in my tracks.  Because what Daddy said might have seemed all right to him, but it was sitting about two miles beyond wrong with me.  I wasn't going to be able to put away another tiny teaspoon till I set things straight. 'Daddy,' I said, and I waited till he was looking at me before I went on.  'Yes Ida B,' he answered..... And staring right into his eyeballs I told him, 'There is never enough time for fun."

Ida B lives with her mother and father on a farm somewhere in America.  She has an idyllic life and a special relationship with her caring parents and also importantly with the trees and environment on the farm.

The trees are very wise.  The trees do give Ida B some advice but it is confusing and then disaster overtakes the family and Ida B's world is turned upside down and worst of all Ida is forced to betray her beloved trees.  She is also forced to go to school and this is a horrible experience.  Her resentment towards her parents is such an awful thing to behold but as a reader I had to trust Katherine Hannigan to help me (and Ida B) through the turmoil.

Here is the web site for the author.  By coincidence I have another book by this author on my current reading pile so watch this blog for my thoughts about True (... sort of).  Here are some teaching ideas for Ida B.

Here are two more covers.  It is so interesting to see the way different editors and publishers interpret this book.  The one on the right is in German.

Ida B, believing she can no longer trust anyone, hardens her heart to even the kindest overtures and declares war: against her family, against her new teacher and classmates, and most determinedly against herself. Readers are intimate witnesses to her inner struggle.