Raised by Wolves by Tristan Bancks

Tristan Bancks you need to know the power of your story. There is a sentence early on this story that set me up to feel so much pain. Olive leaves her home to chase after her criminal father.

"If Olive lets dad go now, they'll never see it (the money) again, which could mean very bad things for their family. ... She slides the door closed behind her and leaps over the giant puddle at the back door, splashing down at the edge of it, bare feet snap-freezing. If she goes back for shoes, she'll talk herself out of this. ... She squints her eyes shut, musters every ounce of courage she has, then closes the gate behind her and sets out into the night." pg 45

Wait a minute! Go back a re-read this. Olive has no shoes on. I think I felt every step, every rock, every horrible surface over that terrible night as Olive chases her father across the dark, rainy city. Oh, and her phone battery is nearly dead too! How will she contact Ben, her brother. Ironically, he is training to be a police officer, but things are spiraling out of control and Olive really needs his help. 

Just to back-track a little. Mum is working hard to support the family so she is often late coming home. Olive is always on the alert checking the house and locking the doors and windows. Then one day she sees her Dad - the dad who stole over $900,000 five years ago. She follows him, talks to him and even shares a donut with him. Then dad asks her for money - $10,000!

At the heart of this story there is a theme of love and belonging. Olive knows her father committed a dreadful crime and that he put their family in terrible danger but she just wants to know - does he love her?

"Do you love me?' she asks and immediately wishes she could gobble the words back up. Dad looks surprised. ... 'Course I do,' Dad says. Olive feels a rush of blood from her chest to her cheeks. She has never heard Dad say this before. Technically, he didn't actually say it, but pretty much." pg 18

"She thinks of Dad. He's a bit rough around the edges, and he smells weird, but he's nicer than she remembers. And he loves me. She feels like an idiot for thinking it. Judges and lawyers need to be good at picking lies, but she believes him. She really does." pg 23

Maybe this is why Olive offers to give her father the $10,000 and why he finds their house and why he takes the bag with all the money that mum has been hiding and why Olive then decides she has to go after him to get that money back so that she and mum and Ben can possibly, perhaps, maybe, find a happy 'normal' life.

I read Raised by Wolves late into the night and continued into the early hours of the morning. I turned to the last page at 1.21am. It is very early in the year but I am absolutely certain Raised by Wolves will be a CBCA 2027 Notable title (fingers crossed the judges agree with me that it can stand alone because there is an awards rule about sequels). I highly highly recommend you add Raised by Wolves to your library - add it to your shopping list today. 

Publisher blurb: Twelve-year-old Olive Silver knows how to check every room with a knife when she gets home from school, how to survive alone and how to keep secrets. She’s had to – ever since her criminal dad abandoned her family five years ago and let them pay for his crime. But now, he’s back.

The day she spots him outside her school, everything tilts. Olive calls her big brother Ben, who’s two days from graduating the police academy, and follows Dad through rain and darkness, across railway tracks and through wrecking yards, desperate for answers. Does Dad love her? Or is he only back for the money? As the night spins out of control, Olive faces a choice: let Dad go or hunt him down and bring him to justice. Raised by Wolves is a tense, heart-stopping thriller about loyalty, betrayal and finding out who you really are when the people you trust most let you down.

There is a scene towards the end of Raised by Wolves at the airport - I suggest you use part of this as a way to book talk this thrilling story with your students. 

Raised by Wolves is the sequel to Two Wolves (2014) but this new installment can stand alone. That said, though, your reading experience of Raised by Wolves will be a richer one if you are familiar with Two Wolves. I read Two Wolves in 2015 and so I could only remember fragments of the plot but now I am keen to go back and read it again. In the US Two Wolves has the title 'On the Run'.

I highly recommend all of these other books by Tristan Bancks - we are so lucky here in Australia to be able to share books with our readers by this very talented creator. Pop each title into my search bar or go to this post.

Middle Grade Musings writes on Instagram about Raised by Wolves: I had high expectations for this book and they have been blown away. It’s incredible that Tristan was able to fit so much into 215 pages. It’s a book of 2 tales: the non-stop thrilling action that puts lives in danger and keeps you completely hooked - dodging trains, gun toting cowboys, barefoot pursuits, vicious dogs and much much more (no spoilers here). Then there is the portrayal of Olive’s inner turmoil, as her world falls apart around her and she is completely torn in 2 by the moral dilemma that she faces. Tristan so powerfully portrays the internal struggles of Olive as she deals with the ramifications of her father’s arrival back into her life. You can feel her genuine anguish throughout. It’s a credit to Tristan that he could capture this internal battle in a storyline so fast-paced and filled with action.

Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell

A spectacular return to a magical world. Kirkus Star review

"Her grandfather's death was not enough. Her father's conviction would not be enough. When she turned eighteen, she would take the throne. She was the heir. She was in his way. Unless she was dead, her uncle would not be king. He had chosen to clear the path. He needed all three of them dead: grandfather, father, child."

The blurb below talks about Christopher returning to the archipelago but the actual focus of this second book is on Princess Anya Phoebe Cornelia Argen. Years ago her mother died but she has spent a happy childhood living with her father in a remote part of the kingdom. Unfortunately she and her father are forced to move back into the castle where young Anya is given training on how to behave as a perfect princess. Her father, Argus, is the first-born son and so when the old King Halam dies, which everyone assumes is years away, he will be crowned kind and then in turn, again decades from now, if her father dies, Anya as the next in line will become the Queen.

I imagine you have guessed that no one has to wait for this. Right from the start I did not trust the second son, brother to Argus - Prince Claude or Uncle Claude. On the night of a huge an important banquet, Halam is found dead and Argus is accused of the murder. Anya knows this has all been set up by her uncle but how can she prove it. In the middle of the night guards arrive ostensibly to take Anya to boarding school but in a scene reminiscent of Snow White, Anya is taken into the forest to be killed.

Anya is not alone in all of this. Yes she will meet up with Christopher and together they will discover the truth about the killing of many dragons but also he will help her return to the castle so she can reveal the truth about Uncle Claude and, as the title tells you, also reveal how he made and used such a deadly poison. Time is of course ticking because Claude plans to execute Argus in just a few days. As well as Christopher, Anya has her loyal gaganas. The Royal Gaganas are large bird with silver claws and beaks of solid gold. They are capable of extraordinary and lasting love and it is clear they will protect Anya. She also meets a Chimaera, a Sphinx, and several unicorns along with many other fabulous 'impossible creatures'. Oh and thank goodness for the skill of the firebirds who have been trained to detect the fainest whiff of any poison. Yes, this does lead to the wrongful imprisonment of Argus but later they are also able to definitely show that Claude has used this poison again on (spoiler alert) Anya herself.

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"There was a smell that she had never encountered before, of something metallic and acrid. He (the king) was still clad in the clothes he had died in, and a fleck of dark purple-red liquid lay on his collar, and another on his beard: a fleck of poison. She took scissors from his desk and cut the piece of cloth from his collar, where the poison had fallen ... even the tiniest amount of the poison might help her identify it, and if she could identify it she'd be closer to knowing who had committed the murder."

"The dragon led them down a long passage, which widened to become the mouth of a cave, vast enough, Anya thought in awe, for a thousand humans. The ceiling was open in places to the sky outside; ... There, at the heart of the cave, were five dragons. They lay like black-and-red carvings of unspeakable beauty; like the final great inventions of a perfectionist god. They did not move. ... It was the site of a massacre."

There are a myriad of characters in The Poisoned King all with distinct personalities and voices. One of my favourites is Meridarpax a Batrachomyomachian mouse and the assistant librarian. He is known as Meri and lives to help people with book finding and information requests. 

"It would be a great relief to me if you would allow me to assist you, given I am the assistant librarian. ... I yearn to be out there, valiantly assisting, but there have been so few opportunities ... "

I also enjoyed the slowly emerging love story between Irian Guinne who is part neried and Nighthand a Berserker. (An illustrated glossary of the creatures can be found in the back of the book).

Here is a link to some discussion questions you could use with The Poisoned King. 

I can hardly express how much I loved this second book in the Impossible Creatures series. Yes, I have read a plot like this before where the second son, who aspires to be the next king, kills his father and is set to kill the next two family members who are in line for the throne but in the hands of Katherine Rundell this story takes on a whole new dimension. 

This is book two in the series but it can stand alone. I read the first book in 2023 and only remembered fragments. I didn't need to re-read the first book to thoroughly enjoy this second installment. I highly recommend you add both of these books to your library (Primary or High School). I visited a city bookstore today and they have a scrumptious hardcover of The Poisoned King with edge or for-edge painting. Even if this book feels outside the genre you usually read please add this book to your to-read  list. The Poisoned King is such a rich and rewarding reading experience. 

You can buy this special edition here for a great price [9781526685452]

Bookseller blurb: The dragons call out, and the ratatoskas tell of murder. Come with us now. There is justice to be done. Return to the magic of the Archipelago... The Poisoned King is the dazzling second book in Katherine Rundell's epic and bestselling Impossible Creatures series. When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago - the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon's lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice...

You can read a generous text sample here. Katherine Rundell talks about her book here. Listen to an audio sample (read by Samuel West his voice is perfect). 

An absolute, exquisitely written, expertly plotted, emotionally affecting and totally immersive triumph! Love Reading4Kids

The plot is captivating ... YA Books Central

There are moments of high drama, laugh-out-loud humour, wonder and amazement. I love that the librarian in charge of a mysterious long-hidden library is a very wise and knowledgeable harpy – she is clearly of my tribe *grin*. Nighthand’s complete resistance, in fact denial, to the very idea of being in love is highly amusing. Jacques may be a dragon but he always reminds me of Reepicheep – the smallest warrior with the biggest heart as well as his ego. Once again, it is an absolutely marvellous piece of high adventure and fantasy, with so many underlying themes to unpack: loyalty and treachery, greed and generosity, revenge, justice, courage and compassion. Kids' Book review

Here is the cover of the first book:

Impossible Creatures

 In my post about this first book I list all the other books by Katherine Rundell that I have read and loved. I also included further reading about Mythical Creatures.

You could follow the Poisoned King with these:

Small wonder

The Letter for the King

Winter of the White Bear by Martin Chatterton

 

The cover of this book belies the very deep issues that are explored in this text. Themes of murder, power, slavery, forced labour, attempted suicide and justice. The power differential is evident right from the front cover where we see a tiny brown bear overshadowed by an enormous angry-faced white bear. This is not a book for a young child - this is a picture book for older readers aged 13+.

Little Bear has a happy life with his father in the forest which is filled with bright colours. The opening double page spread is almost a visual shock after seeing the snow filled cover and ice shards on the end papers. Little bear loves to catch fish with her father and her delight is echoed in the way the fish glitter like falling stars. Following a horrific battle between the father bear and the White Bear, Little Bear is taken captive and forced to undertake the long journey to the polar lands. Once there, she is ordered to dive into the frozen waters to catch fish for the tyrannical White Bear. Finally Little Bear cannot take this suffering and so she dives deep into the ocean hoping to end her life. She is saved by a vision of her loved father telling her to stay strong and find a way to leave. Little Bear swims back to the surface and sets out to trick her captor. Each day she places tempting fish closer and closer to the edge of the ice. Finally, the White Bear steps onto an ice floe and he plumets to the ocean floor. Little Bear is now free to find her way home.

This story is presented as a fable, and it is designed to draw attention to the injustices of slavery not just from the past but also the reality and Injustices of modern slavery. This is a passion topic of the author and formed the basis of his PhD study. Here is a video trailer for Winter of the White Bear. 

The illustrations depict vast, lonely landscapes. Layers of blue are used to show the depth and freezing temperatures of the polar waters. The danger is amplified by the silhouettes of fierce sea creatures following Little Bear as she tries to catch fish for the insatiable appetite of the white bear. When discussing this book with students notice Little Bear is a girl and she is brown and the bear with power is white. These would be deliberate character choices. A sentence from the opening of the story is repeated at the end giving the story a satisfying conclusion.

"The fish glittered under the water. Little Bear lifted it from the river in a shower of stars."

"The fish glittered under the water. Little Bear watched it swim pas, trailing stars."

Looking closely at the illustrations you could talk about the use of red to emphasize the anger of the tyrannical bear. On the half title page, the bear is walking to the left - this shows, in my view, that he will be able to walk away from the slavery and find his way back home. The final scene we see Little Bear is nearly home, the view looks like a welcoming carpet of colour. And if you look closely dad is welcoming Little Bear back home.

Awards (read the judging comments here)

• 2021 shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
• 2020 shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards

Read about the Kickstarter project that was used to fund the publication of this book. And more about ending modern slavery through the organisation The Freedom Hub.  Sophie Masson interviewed Martin Chatterton about his book in 2019. 

Martin Chatterton in his notes at the back of the book says:

"Winter of the White Bear is a story about a small captive who, like so many captives, fights back against a stronger and meaner captor. It is also a lesson about the big picture of slavery; no good comes of cruelty and suppression, and there is a way to end it. ... My hope is that this book, in one way or another, helps someone else find their way home."

This blog post contains part of the text I submitted to The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature for use in the Picture Books for Older Readers database. 

Azizi and the Little Blue Bird by Laila Koubaa illustrated by Mattias De Leeuw translated by David Colmer

"Not that long ago, in a country that still exists today, Azizi was relaxing in an orange tree."

Azizi hears his father hanging portraits in their lounge room. They are huge and portray very ugly people. His father explains he has to hang them - these are the two rulers Tih and Reni. The family have to appear to be loyal and at all times they have to be careful about what they say incase 'the walls have ears'.  Readers will begin to feel the oppression and fear of their lives, and this is only page two!

"Tih and Reni ruled the Land of the Crescent Moon with an iron hand. And they stuffed their stomachs full from early in the morning until late at night. ... (their) courtyard was filled by an enormous white cage that had all of the country's blue bird locked up inside it."

I would stop reading at this point (sorry to interrupt the story), but can you anticipate an act of heroism? Also why are they locking up all the birds? Why would these cruel rulers be afraid of little blue birds? What power might the birds have? (twitter, twitter!)

As Tih and Reni grow in power (and size) the people seem to shrink and almost disappear. Then one day a blue bird lands on the window ledge of Azizi's house. Azizi and his mother have made garlands of jasmine which they attached to twigs tied together with red threads. The little blue bird tells Azizi to gather the jasmine and join all the threads together. It is time to fly to the castle. Azizi is now so small that their sewing needle is almost like a sword. Remember how big Tih and Reni have become - their bodies are like huge balloons. 

"swift as an arrow, Azizi and the little blue bird drilled a hole right through Tih and Reni. Everything the greedy rulers had stolen exploded into the sky like giant fireworks, and the key to the big white cage shone among the vases, carpets, and dishes."

The little blue bird and Azizi set all the birds free.  I love the final sentence:

"And as Azizi and the little blue bird did somersaults in the star-filled sky, the sweet smell of jasmine rained down over the Land of the Crescent Moon."

The blue birds are representative of Twitter, and the widespread censorship of the internet by various governments during the revolutions – when I worked this out, suddenly the story made a whole lot more sense, and became more than just a poetic tale.  Bookseller NZ

I picked this book up at a recent charity book sale. I wonder who previously purchased it here in Australia. This book was originally published in 2013 in Flemish with the title Azizi en de kleine blauwe vogel by Book Island. There are teachers notes on the publisher page. You could use this book with students aged 10+ as a good discussion starter. The book size is extra large and the illustrations are colourful, appealing and very detailed. 

Bookseller blurb: Azizi lives with Umma and Baba in a country ruled with an iron fist, whose leaders capture all the blue birds and lock them up in a white cage in the courtyard of their palace. While the rulers swell and bulge like hot air balloons, stuffing their stomachs from morning till night, the people shrink and suffer until they are almost invisible. One day, when Azizi is no bigger than a pine nut in a glass of mint tea, a little blue bird escapes from the cage. Determined to live in fear no longer, Azizi and the little blue bird set out on a journey to free the people of their cruel and greedy rulers and bring peace to the land once more. This contemporary fairy tale of freedom against oppression is inspired by the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia.

This gorgeous story is reminiscent of traditional fairy tales, with a brave hero, evil villains and a plucky sidekick. The descriptive writing is superb, conjuring images of a warm land bathed in sweetly scented air that is slowly turning into a place of hardship and oppression. Book Trust

From The Book Trail: In 2010 the Jasmin revolution in Tunisia inspired Laila Koubaa to write the story of Azizi and the little blue bird. Inspired by the Arab Spring and the blue birds of Twitter… Crescent Moon – The setting of the novel is a despotic place where every household must display their pictures; free speech is stifled, and the people live in abject fear. The rulers decree that all the blue birds in the land must be captured and locked in a big cage in the courtyard of the palace. But one day, a tiny blue bird escapes and flies to Azizi’s house…. Despite his young age Mattias De Leeuw (1989) is one of the most prolific illustrators of his generation. He is a talented artist who can create a character in a few quick lines. Some reviewers call him the Flemish Quentin Blake.

Here is a list of some similes found in this book:

• as small as a pine nut in a glass of mint tea
• poppies glittering like red diamonds
• like a knight on horseback
• swift as an arrow
• like giant fireworks
• danced like palm trees
• curled like calligraphy

I wonder if this might be a book you could compare with this title from our CBCA 2024 short list which also explores the power of social media.

That Bird has Arms

Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Linda Sunderland illustrated by Daniel Eguéus

You might like to begin with this spellbinding animation of Raven Child and the Snow Witch. 

Anya's mother sets off at the start of Spring, with a flock of ravens, to collect gentian flowers. I had never heard of these but after a little research I have discovered these pretty blue flowers represent justice and victory - and these are themes in this story. 

Image Source: BBC Plant Finder

While waiting for her mother to return Anya falls asleep and she has a dream that her mother has been taken prisoner by the Snow Witch. Anya tells her father they need to set off straight away to rescue her but a Raven arrives with a broken wing. The Raven explains that he saw Anya's mother fall into a glacier - it seemed to swallow her and all of the Ravens. 

The next day Anya, her father and the wounded Raven set off to the ice covered mountains. Close to the glacier they find a wounded Arctic Fox so now they are a group of four but it is Anya who marches bravey alone to confront the Snow Witch. This evil woman is filled with rage and power but Anya has a secret weapon - she has her own deep love for her mother and this is more powerful than the bitterness of the evil witch. The ice begins to melt and the Ravens lift the Snow Witch into the sky.

"The Snow Witch shrieked as her world began to melt and she felt her power failing. The ravens caught hold of her hair and pulled her upwards, crashing through the glacier like black fireworks. She shattered into a thousand jagged crystals that sank into the depths of the ocean."

The story in this book feels like a fairy tale (I am thinking of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen) and Linda Sunderland uses some beautiful phrases but the real magic in this book comes from the delicate illustrations. The snow looks so cold. 

Here are a few fragments of the text:

"They were Anya's special lucky flower and they glowed in the dark like sapphires."

"Far away, the gleaming glacier stretched high into the coldest sky where snow is born."

"The hunted creature shook its silvery fur and sniffed the air with its pointy noise; it was an Arctic fox, ghost of the snow."

"They trudged many miles, until at last they saw lights from a village. As they approached the air filled with tears, and the villagers told them of the beautiful woman who had enchanted their children and stolen them away ... "

Make sure you stop and read the poem on the title page which serves as a warning about the Snow Witch.

Who wakes from a sleep of a thousand years? 

Who loves the sound of sighs and tears?

Who changes water into stone?

Who puts the cold in the aching bone?

Who kills colour with deadly white?

Who gives the wind its freezing bite?

Who lurks beneath the glaciers skin?

Who watches, smiles and lures you in?

Today I visited a charity book sale (Lifeline Book Fair) and picked up 48 books for just $80. There are always treasures to be found at these regular fairs and the organisers have high standards to you can be sure the books are in great condition. Some books are in such great shape they look brand new. I don't think my book today has been read more than once in a family - it is in mint condition. It cost $2. 

Raven Child and the Snow Witch was first published in 2016 by Templar in the UK but my copy is from Five Mile Press in Australia. I have the hardcover edition [9781760405144] and it is out of print but the paperback is still available. This is a longer picture book with 48 pages so I would share it with children aged 6+. This book will greatly appeal to fans of the movie Frozen too. 

The illustrations are as powerful and dramatic as the story with bold dark colours set against the vast white of the snow and ice. The use of perspective highlights how small Anya and her father are against the imposing glacial mountains and there is a real sense of anticipation surrounding the Snow Witch. Acorn Books Blog

A stunningly illustrated story, reminiscent of Hand Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, Anya's quest to find her mother and her befriending of animal friends along the way is a mythic tale you'll want to return to every winter. Book Trust

The glittery and sparkly cover is incredibly attractive – I am not sure if I have ever seen such a beautifully presented front and back cover of a book. In the right light the books glistens like freshly fallen snow. Daniel Egnéus has exquisitely illustrated this book. Each page is a complete work of art and shows the emotions of the characters. The use of contrasting colours really makes the main theme and subject stand out of the page. His use of black portrays the desolate landscape, whilst the varied blue tones give the cold frozen ice feeling. Book Bag

Daniel Egneus is a also a fashion illustrator. Born in Sweden, Daniel has lived in Prague, London, Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Milan and has now made Athens his base.   I previously talked about The Thing and I have seen Moth and it is also a wonderful book. 

The Thing

The Runaways of Haddington Hall by Vivian French

There were times when I had to stop reading this book because such dreadful things were happening to the young main character Minnie O'Sullivan.  

Minnie lives in Victorian England. Society observes strict levels of class - servant, working class and gentry. Minnie and her mother are working class. Her mother is a laundress. Minnie is quite young but she is her mother's only helper. Payment for the washing and ironing work is their sole megre income but Minnie has an accident with the mangle and an expensive shirt is ruined. Minnie offers to apologise to the rich owner but when she meets Reverend Obadiah Marpike things completely spin out of control.

Minnie has no idea that she and her friends are about to uncover a complex sham scheme which sees this awful man fraudulently conning money from rich older ladies. The Reverend Marpike is convinced Minnie could spoil is plans so he has her thrown into Haddington Hall which is to be established as a home for wayward girls. Of course this place is utterly dreadful and Minnie is subjected to terrible cruelty.

Luckily Edith, the daughter of Lady Lavingley, is on Minnie's side and she also has the wonderful loyalty of young messenger boy Enry. The three of them need to work together and gather evidence to expose this supposed Reverend and his "New World" ruby scheme and time is running out.

This whole book reads like a melodrama in the theatre of old. You will cheer the heroes and heroines and boo when the villains appear in their scenes. Thank goodness for team work, courage, wise friends, and dogged persistence which ensures everything does work out perfectly in the end.

I really like the cover of this book - do you?  That's partly why I selected this book from the huge holdings of our Sydney bookshop - Gleebooks. The cover is by Lia Visirin. 

A high octane, high drama romp, (with) ... Irresistible characters and a compulsive plot with twists aplenty; Vivian French conjures up the very spirit of Dickensian England in a wonderful new novel for middle-grade readers. Paperbird

This book reminded me of these:

Miss Penny Dreadful and the Midnight Kittens

Thursday's Child

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

The truth about Verity Sparks

Here is the web site of Vivian French.

Take a look at her wonderful picture book:

The Most Wonderful thing in the World

Born behind bars by Padma Venkatraman

You might like to begin with my discussion of The Bridge Home also by Padma Venkatraman. Born Behind Bars is not a sequel but it has the same setting and themes. 

Kabir has spent his whole life in jail. In the months before he was bor,n his mother was accused of theft from the house where she worked as a maid. A new warden arrives and Kabir, who only nine years old, is sent out alone to live in the community. A man arrives at the jail claiming to be Kabir's uncle but he is one of the people another jail inmate - Grandma Knife - has warned him about:

"All I know it your mother's a good judge of character - and that's a gift she passed on to you. So if something doesn't feel right, trust yourself and run as fast as that mouse."

When the man tries to sell Kabir - he runs away and luckily his running takes him to Rani. Rani is another street kid. She is wise. She is kind. She is a survivor. With her help Kabir now needs to find his grandparents and then find a way to set his mother free.

This compelling novel develops at a brisk pace, advanced by evocative details and short chapters full of action.  A gritty story filled with hope and idealism. Kirkus Star review

This is a story about finding where you belong, the wonder of family, and the desperation of so many children on the streets of India.  Here's our chance to walk in someone else's shoes, to be grateful for our good fortune, and perhaps to ask the question, "How can we help?" A book and a hug

Hear the author read an extract from her book here. In this interview Padma talks to Nerdy Book Club. In this video (4 minutes) Colby Sharp talks about Born Behind Bars.  He says, and I agree wholeheartedly, "I love all of the white space."  It makes this book so easy to read. In this video Padma reads the first page of her book. 

Companion reads:

The Warden's Daughter

A Cardboard Palace - Young Adult book

Girl of the Southern Sea

Azaria: A true history by Maree Coote

Publisher blurb Walker Books Australia: 

A beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book that sensitively explores the collision of wilderness and civilisation, explains a famous miscarriage of justice, and examines the role of the media in history-telling, in an appropriate manner for children. A modern day fairy tale, cautionary and unforgettable. Essential reading for students of history and the law, young and old.  When a tiny baby is stolen by a dingo, nobody will believe the truth. Prejudice, ignorance and gossip grip the nation, and the tragedy is transformed into a quest for the truth. Are you sure you know what happened? Azaria is a cautionary tale about justice, the media, wilderness, and the perils of mob thinking. Azaria forms an excellent cross-curricular resource, ideal for class discussion and activity. 

Azaria was short listed this year for our Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. A couple of weeks ago Ann James, from Books Illustrated, suggested the 2022-23 CBCA judges read an interview the Maree Coote reported in Magpies Magazine, Volume 36, No. 2, May 2021. Here are some quotes from the interview:

"The book is about innocence, ignorance and injustice."

"This is very much a story about Place, and so the rock is absolutely at the heart of things. I wanted to insert layers of meaning into the imagery, to impart that other worldly feeling one gets in that desert, that something more is going on here than meets the eye."

"My drawing style is best described as having a collage-like feel ... rough-hewn shapes overlaid on each other."

If you need to understand more about this story take a look at this report from BTN. Here is an article about Azaria written for Books Illustrated. In this video Maree reads her book and shares her motivation for writing this important story. Here is a set of very extensive teachers notes with references suited to use in High School classes. You can see other books by Maree Coote here.

Image Source: Books Illustrated

This picture book is the epitome of a top-quality informational resource with superb illustrations.  It should be essential reading for students of history and law, both young and old. StoryLinks

The large digital illustrations are fantastic at capturing the mood and the place and they support and add to the text so well. From the fabulous colours of the red desert and Uluru, the night time pictures of people looking for Azaria while the sand is covered in dingo footprints and the sad eyes of Lindy. ReadPlus

Her illustrations shimmer with the beauty of the desert; the rich colours of the natural world juxtaposed with the sombre darkness of society and supposition. Kids' Book Review

All rise for the Honorable Perry T Cook by Leslie Connor

With complex, memorable characters, a situation that demands sympathy, and a story that’s shown, not just told, this is fresh and affecting.  Well-crafted, warm, and wonderful. Kirkus Star

Perry lives in a Nebraska prison. The Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in the town of Surprise. Perry did not commit a crime. He was born there. Warden Daughterty has allowed Perry to stay with his precious mum but things are about to change. This is the year Perry turns eleven and this is the year he moves over to the Middle School. He does have a very special friend named Zoey Samuels. The complication, which no one has anticipated, comes when Zoey's step father finds out that an eleven year old boy lives in a prison. Perhaps an ordinary citizen couldn't do anything about this but Thomas VanLeer is the Butler County District attorney and this gives him the power to move Perry out of the prision. To take Perry away from his mum and all of his friends. 

Text quotes:

"Lights from somewhere outside cast weird shadows on the walls, and I have a strange sense of how far down the hall the bathroom is. I didn't think to ask if I could just go ahead and use it in the night. The shower in there is all messed up. The water comes out of the little spout at the bottom - like for filling up the tub - but nothing comes out of the showerhead at the top."

"We all talk at once. We laugh, we cry a little. Mom and I share a chair. She holds me around the shoulders, squeezes me like she is making sure I am made out of the same things I was when I left six days ago."

"I know my mom's story now. It's about a young driver, a hailstorm, an infamously dangerous intersection, and a big mistake. ... That's a list of true things."

Publisher blurb: When Perry moves to the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means

Image Source: Primary Source Pairings.

Awards and Accolades

• The Kirkus Prize 2016 Nominee, Young Readers
• ALA Notable Books for Children Nominee–Summer 2016, Fiction
• New York Public Library 2016 Best Books for Kids, Fiction
• Goodreads Choice Awards 2016, Middle Grade & Children’s
• Shelf Awareness 2016 Best Books of the Year, Middle Grade
• E. B. White Read-Aloud Award 2017 Finalist, Middle Reader
• Brightly, 16 of the Most Exciting Middle Grade Books to Read in 2016

You might like to also check out my recent review of The Warden's daughter by Jerry Spinelli.  These two books have so much in common and would make a good pair of companion reads.

Here are some other books I have enjoyed by Leslie Connor.

Waiting for Normal

The Truth as told to Mason Buttle

A home for Goddesses and Dogs

The Violet Veil Mysteries: A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly

Fans of feisty girl heroes; detective stories; unsolved mysteries; and clever dogs will certainly enjoy this first book in The Violet Veil Mysteries series.

Publisher blurb: Violet Veil wants nothing more than to prove her worth and become her father’s apprentice at Veil & Sons Undertakers. And one rain-soaked night she gets her chance when she meets a boy, Oliver, who is wandering around the graveyard. Only, the last time Violet saw Oliver, he was indoors and very much dead, waiting to be buried. Violet has just found her first case, and it doesn’t get bigger than this: can she, with the help of her dog, Bones, help Oliver solve his own ‘murder’?

Other things you need to know about Violet:

• She is a girl living in Victorian England
• Girls are not allowed to aspire to an education and she will never be allowed to work with her father in the family Funeral business. 
• Violet's father has been accused of murder. Four men have very recently been buried in the graveyard beside the family undertaker's shop. The four men were all found in a dangerous and poor part of the town but these men, Violet discovers later, are all very wealthy.
• If Violet cannot prove her father is innocent he will hang. The police dismiss her as merely a girl who should not interfere.
• Violet is not afraid to spend time among the graves even at night - the dead feel like her friends.
• Oliver, the boy who someone has also tried to murder, needs to regain his memory but time is short. Oliver and Violet need to form a team and follow all leads to solve this terrible crime.

I read A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly (author of the Scarlet and Ivy series) very quickly because it is a story with a terrific pace. Violet does solve this crime about halfway through the story but the police will not act without evidence. Luckily her dog Bones has a good nose for clues and luckily Violet herself is a very brave and determined young girl.

Fans of The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman will also enjoy A case of Grave Danger. 

The Victorian setting with the morbid fascination with death, and life in a mortuary, evokes a sense of place, and oozes mystery throughout. Ashleigh Meikle

Full of mystery, excitement, adventure and suspense, this fantastic beginning to the series, sees Violet evolve and assert her individuality. Kids' Book Review

You can read the first chapter here. Or you can listen here.

Companion reads:

The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel

Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

The Truth about Verity Sparks

The Case of the Missing Moonstone

Black cats and Butlers

The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean

Friday Old Favourite

In ancient China superstitions are part of every day life. The gods might be watching you and so it is important to be careful. For example Haoyou wears a "brass collar his mother had put round his neck (it) was supposed to fool the gods into thinking he was a dog not worth picking on."

Haoyou lives on the coast. Traders fill their ships with goods to sell across the sea. It is important to know a voyage will go well so they use kites to test the wind but these are not ordinary kites. Haoyou sees his own father tethered to the kite.

"With a noisy rattle, the wind-tester shed gravity and rose into the air on a gust of wind, tautening the rope. ... his father plunged towards him face-first, eyeballs straining their lids, arms spread wide, head and shoulders buckled outwards from the hurdle."  "Somewhere during the flight, his heart, over crammed with fear, had burst like a sack of grain and his spirit had been spilled into the path of the prevailing easterly winds."

Why has this happened? The evil Di Chou wants to marry Haoyou's beloved and beautiful mother. Di Chou truly is the murderer but no one will believe a young boy such as Haoyou. He is determined to keep his mother safe and his cousin, the wise Mipeng, agrees to help. What follows is a wild romp involving a kidnapping, a circus, a meeting with the great Kublai Khan and numerous thrilling, dangerous and heart-stopping flights for Haoyou himself.

Fast-paced and densely plotted, absorbing, and at times even hilarious. Kirkus Star review

I first read The Kite Rider in 2001 and the images in this story lingered with me so strongly that I longed to read it again. I even purchased a brand new copy because I wanted to add this book to my own ever expanding shelves. Listen to an audio sample here from Chapter One. Take a look here to see the vast number of children's books by Geraldine McCaughrean. I have a plan to re-read another of her past titles - Pack of Lies.

Here are some past cover designs.  If you used this book with a senior primary class it would be great to talk about the power of covers, to discuss the decisions made by book designers, and to think about how much to reveal through a cover. I do like the newest cover above designed by Melissa Castrillion. You can see some of her work in the book Kind. She also did the cover for A pinch of Magic.

You might like to follow this book with these:

A single Shard

The Kite Fighters