Lancelot by Hudson Talbot

Your school library could be the key to the discovery of important stories such as fables, myths and legends, fairytales, and stories like this one about the Arthurian Knights.

Author webpage blurb: Though Arthur was the greatest king that Britain had ever known, Lancelot was the Round Table's greatest knight. Orphaned in battle and rescued by the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot is raised in the enchanted domain of Avalon, where he is schooled in the arts of chivalry by the finest knights in the world. After his arrival at Camelot, Lancelot goes forth to prove himself worthy of the honor bestowed upon him as the queen's champion. Defeating giants, slaying dragons and rescuing damsels in distress are all in a day's work for the dynamic, young warrior. But the passion that drives him to great deeds eventually drives him mad when he discovers the truth of his own heart's desire. Only love could wound him so deeply, but only love can heal him.

If you have some time and are curious about the story of Lancelot this article is filled with details from the various sources which have been used to create the story in this version by Hudson Talbot. 

As a way to begin your exploration of Lancelot with your young readers you could look for these books in your school or local library:

Sir Lance-a-little series

This book is one from a set of four Tales of King Arthur - The Sword in the Stone; King Arthur & the Round Table; Excalibur and Lancelot.

I previously talked about this wonderful book:

Leonardo's Horse

Hudson Talbot (1949-2026) was an American author and illustrator celebrated for more than 27 children’s books blending art, humor, history, and travel. Best known for We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, adapted into a Spielberg animated film, his works include A Walk in the Words, River of Dreams, and his illustrated Newbery Honor book Show Way. His vibrant watercolors and storytelling continue to inspire readers after his death in 2026.

The Rise of Wolves by Kerr Thomson

"I, Innis Munro, a native of the island of Nin, do hereby proclaim and declare that I will endeavor to traverse the chasm known as Bonnie's Laddies Leap ... Upon successful execution of this challenge I will claim the rewards offered, to wit Lairdship of Nin and all accompanying lands and titles."

Why is Innis prepared to risk his life? He wants to stay on the island but his grandfather is unwell and if he is taken away Innis will have to move to Skye too. Innis also wants to preserve the wild areas of his island home and stop the building of a huge wind farm.

But there is something else going on here. Innis sees a wolf. Wolves have been extinct in Scotland for hundreds of years. And who is the mysterious boy who seems to be wandering around the island what is going on at this so-called wildlife sanctuary? 

The setting for this book is the part that really appealed to me - a small Scottish island. I have visited a few of these and I do understand High School aged children do have to travel to larger islands for their education and they do stay in hostel style accommodation so it made sense when Innis and his friend Kat went to school during the week on the island of Skye. I also enjoyed exploring the wild areas of this island of Nin especially the cliffs, caves and barrens.

Innis hears it first – a bloodcurdling howl that stops him dead in his tracks. And then he sees it. Silhouetted against the sky, head raised: unmistakeably, a wolf. Living on a remote Scottish island, Innis is no stranger to nature in its rawest form. But a wolf? Wolves became extinct in Scotland centuries ago. And Innis has other, more pressing things to worry about: his grandfather’s failing health and the threat of his unspoilt island being desecrated by the construction of a wind farm. If Innis has the courage to rise to an ancient challenge, it might just solve all his problems at once but, if it all goes horribly wrong, he could be paying with his life. This tale of conflict between ancient traditions and contemporary technology features a gripping plot, stunning setting, great characters, and an underlying theme of loyalty to family and friends. A multi-layered mystery adventure. Book Trust

Here is a sample of the story. 

About the author Kerr Thomson:

My first children's novel The Sound of Whales won the 2014 Times Children's Fiction Prize. My children's fiction, as well as being adventurous and relevant, has landscape and nature at its heart. My first novel was set on the fictitious Scottish island of Nin. It concerned the themes of place and identity and being different, as well as being a good old-fashioned adventure story with a big mystery and a hint of the supernatural. And there were whales! My second novel The Rise of Wolves is also set on Nin but with a different set of characters - other young islanders with their own adventures to be had and mysteries to solve. In this book it is wolves, long thought extinct from Scotland, that play an important role in the story. The Rise of Wolves was shortlisted for the Scottish Teen Book Award 2019.

Aspects of this story that are based on facts:

Rewilding 

• Providing the space and conditions for dynamic natural processes to shape and govern Scotland’s land and seas.
• Recognising the critical role of all species – including missing native species – in sustaining functioning food webs and other ecological interactions.
• Nurturing nature recovery at different scales and accepting that approaches to rewilding can look and feel quite different and still offer valuable benefits.
• Improving connectivity across fragmented habitats to give species more freedom to roam, supporting biodiversity recovery and climate resilience.
• Helping communities to prosper in a diverse, nature-based economy that works in tandem with ecological recovery.

Re-introducing Wolves

Advocates for the reintroduction of large carnivores to Scotland argue that they would bring ecological and economical benefits to Scotland and address some of the ecological imbalances affecting the country. In particular, it is argued that carnivores would exert top-down pressures on the overabundant deer population through directly killing and eating deer and create a landscape of fear, thereby helping habitats recover.

Read more here. 

Lairds in Scotland

In contemporary Scotland, anyone can become a Laird, Lord, or Lady of the Glen by participating in land ownership initiatives. These initiatives allow individuals to legally own a small plot of land and adopt a corresponding title. Becoming a Laird or Lady is a symbolic gesture, signifying your connection to Scottish heritage and commitment to preserving its traditions.

I am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend by Wendy Henrichs illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi

Bookseller blurb: Under the shadow of the white-capped mountains of Japan, a kind and gentle monk takes in a white cat with unusual markings and names him Tama, Lucky Cat. Tama watches as his new master teaches Buddha's ways to poor farmers, caring for their welfare while ignoring his own empty stomach. Tama truly earns his nickname -- "Lucky Cat," when during a powerful thunderstorm, he sees a towering warlord on a white horse. The cat beckons the warrior forward just as a large branch crashes to the ground and lands right where the warlord had previously stood. In gratitude to Tama, the warlord lavishes gifts on the monk's poor temple.

Here is the website for Yoshiko Jaeggi. You can see inside I am Tama, Lucky Cat here. 

You see these little waving cats in Asian restaurants and shops but I never thought to wonder about the story connection. Many years ago our school welcomed a delegation of educators from China. I immediately thought of the waving cat and I involved the children in making or colouring them for our library foyer notice board BUT just days before the visit I discovered the waving cat is a from Japan. I quickly had to pull down the display and make some sweet little purple origami pandas.  The visit went well (no one was offended by my error) although this visit was strange. It was all part of a proposal from the school Principal to partner with a school in China - this idea never eventuated.

Wikipedia tells me: Because of its popularity in Chinese communities (including Chinatowns) the maneki-neko is frequently mistaken for being Chinese in origin rather than Japanese, and is therefore sometimes referred to as a "Chinese lucky cat" or jīnmāo ("golden cat"). ... The figurines are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance,[1] as well as households.[2] Some maneki-neko are equipped with a mechanical paw which slowly moves back and forth.

I found a couple of other books that explore this story - there are four different versions of the folktale from Japan (check the Wikipedia link above).

The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm by Karen Foxlee illustrated by Freda Chiu

Could there be any truth to the myth of the beast who lives in the ancient well? And if so, why would it return? 

What is a Wyrm? 

I did a little research and found these definitions:

• In European mythology, a wyrm  is often depicted as a snake of considerable size and somehow related to dragons.
• A huge limbless and wingless dragon or dragon-like creature.

Mary-Kate also does some research and discovers a picture of an Annelid. It looks very similar to the painting of the legendary worm that she has seen in the village library.  "Annelids are segmented worms. If their tail ends are cut off they can sometimes grow them back again." "An earthworm is a type of annelid. They can have five or more hearts. ... They leave behind trails of slime." "Earthworms don't have eyes, but they can sense light. They also feel vibrations."

Mary-Kate is a sensible girl. She has her strawberry scented notebook and glitter pens. She fills her bag with things that give her courage and help her to overcome her many anxieties. It is time to get the facts about this wyrm and then to formulate a theory about the mysterious happenings in this small village.  

Publisher blurb: Dressed in sparkly red shoes and carrying her strawberry-scented notebook, Mary-Kate is accompanying her archaeologist mother to the tranquil English countryside to investigate some interesting bones found in an old well. But once they arrive, they realise that the village of Woolington is not as peaceful as it seems. Mysterious noises, earth tremors and a terrifying legend have the locals frightened.

I especially appreciated the way Karen Foxlee gives her readers a strong sense of place - in this case a small English-style village. There is a map included at the beginning of the book. I do enjoy books with maps  It is also easy to like Mary-Kate because she is so honest about her fears and personal rituals.

"Mary-Kate Martin chose from her lucky items collection carefully. First, she chose the lucky silver packet that contained the last seven pieces of gum that her father left behind before he disappeared on Mount Snishapangma when she was five."

Then she adds - her novelty Big Ben torch; her lucky stress ball; and her international coin collection of 33 coins in a small glass jar. She puts on her red sparkly shoes. Her backpack is also red and sparkly so she has exactly the right amount of sparkle. Mary-Kate is somewhat of a catastrophist. 

"She'd worry that by not wearing matching clothes something would happen. Something terrible. Like a train crash. Or an avalanche. Or an avalanche onto a train travelling through a mountain tunnel."

Mary-Kate does not like brown pencils; beginnings and ending; facing backwards on trains; small talk in social situations; slime; or sudden changes. But she has uncovered a mystery and she has a new friend Arabella and she likes the eccentric village residents so now it's time to put aside some of her fears and try sort out the truth.

Each chapter begins with a extract from PK Mayberry's Guide to Monsters of the Northern Hemisphere:

"Truth is at the heart of every monster hunters' search."

"A monster hunters' greatest tool is knowledge."

"Monsters quite often do very surprising things."

This story had me guessing right to the end. I kept forming my own theories about the wyrm, most of which were proved to be completely incorrect. 

Huge thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending this review copy. The Wrath of the Woolington Wrym will be enjoyed by readers aged 9+. It would also be a good book to read aloud in a family. 

Foxlee has the ability to create a world which is easy to imagine, captivating the reader from beginning to end. Whether it be set in the real world, or one which has an element of fantasy, the reader is always taken on a ride. All her stories so far have a young female central character and The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm is no exception.  GLAM Adelaide

This is the first book in a series entitled - Miss Mary-Kate Martin's Guide to Monsters. Book two is titled The Trouble with the Two-headed Hydra. There are just enough mysteries left over from book one that all readers will hope are solved in the second instalment - is Mary-Kate's father actually dead; what is her mother's real job and is this connected with monsters: and with just six pieces of gum left will Mary-Kate need to use another one for her next adventure. I do enjoy stories where objects, like the ones in her backpack, each have an important, but unpredictable, role in the story solution. Take a look at my discussion of My Father's Dragon for a great example of this. I do like the cover by Freda Chiu. This book has an old-fashioned feel a little like the Stella Montgomery series (book two) (book three) by Judith Rossell. 

I have talked about nearly all of Karen Foxlee's previous books:

Dragon Skin

Lenny's Book of Everything

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

A most Magical Girl

The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator by Matilda Woods

Fortune teller Freydis Spits arrives in the village of Nordlor on the night Captain Britt's wife is due to give birth to their seventh child. Captain Britt has six daughters. He is desperate for a son. Fredyis listens to the sounds inside shells to tell fortunes and having extracted an appropriate and large payment from the Captain she declares:

"After the birth of six disappointing daughters, Captain Britt of the Plucky Leopard will finally become the proud father of a bold and brave son."

Later that night a baby is born but this baby is another girl. The baby is named Oona and over the coming years we read that she is utterly rejected not just by her father but also by her mother and her six sisters. Oona is left to her own devices. Luckily she is a resourceful girl. The women in her family cannot read but Oona hides in the rafters of the school house and listens in to the lessons given to the village boys. She has two books where she reads about legendary sea voyages and sea monsters. Oona longs to join her father on his ship. She is especially curious about one special creature - the nardoo. This amazing creature is purported to fly, to control the weather of the north and to orchestrate the spectacular Northern Lights.

"The nardoos were bigger than whales, brighter than the summer sun and kinder than the kindest man. They were gentle beasts that swam through the waters during the day and flew through the stars at night. It is said that when they cried, the nardoo's tears floated up into the sky and became clouds that came back as fain. It is said that wherever they flew they left tails of brilliant light behind."

Oona's mother decides her daughters need husbands so she packs everyone into a carriage and heads down south. Oona does not want to go south. She feels the pull of the north so late at night she stows away on her father's ship, The Plucky Leopard, observed only by an ancient cat called Barnacles. 

We have all the story elements ready for a brilliant tale - a girl on a mission, an angry father, the gentle navigator, a fortune teller who makes dangerous mistakes and a very resentful cat desperate to preserve his last life. 

I am a little confused about this book. Can I claim it as Australian? Matilda Woods is Australian but her publisher is in the UK (scholastic.co.uk) and her agent is also in UK. I guess all of this explains why I didn't know about this book (published in 2018) and also why it did not appear on our CBCA Notable list in 2019.

Things I enjoyed about The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator:

• The cover - it is perfect
• The illustrations are superbly done by Anuska Allepuz - I think her name should appear on the cover. The illustrations remind me the images in Varjak Paw.
• The wisdom, bravery and heroism of Oona - she is a mighty girl!
• The kindness of the navigator Haroyld
• The village buildings in Nordlor which are made from the timbers of shipwrecks
• The wild battle scene when the ship is attacked by a huge sea monster with eight tentacles
• The fairy tale elements especially through the story thread of the ugly sisters and their marriage to Prince Manfred of Turnip Town!

I highly recommend The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator for all readers aged 10+. I think this book would also be excellent as a family or class read aloud. Click here for more details about each character. Listen to an audio sample from the first chapter by Bolinda Audio.

This is definitely a book to be enjoyed curled up under a warm blanket, by flickering candlelight, with a warm drink. Magical! Library Girl and Book Boy

Lyrical storytelling, a bold, brave, independent girl and mythical creatures, both monstrous & magical, are spun together to create a breathtaking story that reads like the very best fairytales. Miss Cleveland is Reading

With a determined female main character who won’t take no for an answer, the story is complemented with illustrations on every page,enabling you to join Oona on her adventure of a lifetime. Book Trust

I am very keen to read another book by Matilda Woods:

If you read The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator (yes you should read this book!) then you might also enjoy The Pearl in the Ice.

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