Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World by Phil Cummings

I am sure you do this too - trying to predict the direction a plot will take as you turn each page. I am so happy to say I was utterly wrong in this story. This tale has an enormous twist which I absolutely did not predict. The three kids in this story are on a wild ride into the unknown and as a reader you are on your own wild ride. 

Phil Cummings also deliberately ends nearly each chapter with a cliff hanger.

Here are some of the cliff hangers:

"And so ... he climbed onto the old metal steps ... and down he went."

"Bodder pushed his back hard against the splintery wood and held his breath."

"But no one, not even a child with an imagination like Bodder's, could ever predict how far his journey would take him, and what he was about to discover."

"Whatever was out there, it was restless."

"What will tomorrow bring? he wondered."

It is difficult to talk about this book because I do not want to spoil the plot twist. 

Publisher blurb: Bodder Finn, of Middle Spot Village in Alibon, is a very curious child. When his father travels to the remote coastal village of Light’s Edge, Bodder jumps at the chance to join him, along with his sister Ailie and his best friend Olo. Bodder is keen to see the Shadow Rim: the band of grey that surrounds Alibon at the edge of the orb’s light, before disappearing into the terrifying darkness of the Forever Night. But Bodder gets more adventure than he bargained for when thunderous rocks fall from the sky, making waves that sweep him, Ailie and Olo out to sea on their small boat … and plunging all of Alibon into darkness. With no light to guide them, the trio must survive the perils of the Forever Night and find their way home, without falling off the waterfall at the edge of the world …

If you are book talking Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World with your class or library group you could briefly explain the main characters - Bodder Finn, his sister Ailie, his best friend Olo and the adults - Webly (Bodder's father), Larn (Olo's father) and Tooby (the inn keeper) - and then read Chapter Eight.

You can read the first six chapters here and see a map of Alibon. And here are some discussion questions.

This is an exciting adventure story that will delight young fantasy readers. It’s full of charm, and the mysteries of the world are slowly and carefully revealed, satisfying your curiosity while raising new questions to keep you turning pages. Readings Melbourne

This is a delightful adventure filled with a gigantic twist that I didn’t see coming. Lamont

I am going to predict that Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World will be a 2027 CBCA Younger Readers Notable title. If you are looking for a story to read in your family at bedtime this is one you definitely should seek out. 

When I saw Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World I thought how exciting to discover a novel by Phil Cummings whose work you are sure to know from all the picture books he has created since his first book in 1989 - Goodness Gracious illustrated by Craig Smith. (Just as an aside how lucky was Phil Cummings to have art from Craig Smith for his first book - amazing). Phil Cummings is the author of nearly one hundred books. I have talked about many of them here on this blog including one just a few days ago - Millie and the Frame of Wonder.

I also thought Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World could be a first full novel for Phil Cummings but I now discover there have been others - even some I may have read long ago The Great Jimbo Jones (Solo series); The Rented House; Angel; Danny Allen was here; Take it easy Danny Allen; A Piece of Mind; Spike (Solo series); and Chook Shed Snake (I may have missed some). 

I am huge fan of maps in books, and I am sure readers will find themselves referring to this one as they follow the adventure.

Special mention - this book has such an inviting cover. The art you can see there is by Phil Lesnie and he did the map too. Phil Lesnie did the art in these picture books by Phil Cummings:

The plot of this book is not really related but as I read Bodder Finn at the Edge of the World I thought about this book by Odo Hirsch (yes, it is out of print but is sure to be in your school library):

Bartlett and the Ice Voyage

Millie and the Frame of wonder by Phil Cummings illustrated by Shane Devries

Without being didactic this book gently introduces the idea of mindfulness and of slowing down enough to see your world.

Millie finds an old picture frame on a household throw out pile. When she holds up the frame she makes a discovery - suddenly she can see the world in a whole different way. This is a sweet idea but it becomes way more poignant when she uses the frame to help her little sister who is in hospital.

Opening sentence:

"Millie Biggins lived at the end pf Puddle Bridge Lane."

This is such an inviting story opening - as a reader I knew I would really enjoy meeting a girl called Millie Biggins.

When you share this book with your young reading companion make sure you linger over the end papers - front and back. You could also use this book to talk about recycling and of course it would be very easy to make your own picture frames and then use them to explore your school or neighborhood. 

I think Millie and the Frame of Wonder is a book you should just share in your library or family but if you need discussion ideas Scholastic have written some teachers notes. 

This is story that could truly inspire parents and teachers to find or make a frame of wonder and let young (and old) find one’s own moment of joy and happiness to share and discuss. A truly delightful book worth sharing with our young readers. Kids' Book Review

I loved a previous book by Phil Cummings and Shane Devries:

Crumbs

Phil is an award-winning author who developed a love of children’s literature when working as a teacher. It was during this time that Phil decided to write a children’s book. He soon discovered that it wasn’t easy, and after seven years of rejection, Phil’s first book Goodness Gracious!, illustrated by Craig Smith, was published by Omnibus/Penguin in 1989. Since then, Phil has written over sixty books for children. His most recent titles include Echidna Jim Went For A Swim, Be Brave Pink Piglet, Anzac Biscuits, Ride, Ricardo, Ride!, Bridie’s Boots, and Boy.  

In 1990 Phil visited my school library in Lithgow and I have very strong memories of his presentation and of sharing Goodness Gracious with the readers in my school. 

Newspaper Hats

The Hidden Hat

A boy and a ball

The Hidden Hat by Phil Cummings illustrated by Jennifer Goldsmith

From Phil Cummings webpage:

While playing hide-and-seek at Grandpa’s house, Lucy and Mitch find a hat, hidden away in a deep, dark corner. It’s Grandpa’s hat, filled with memories … In this moving story of rediscovery, truth and mateship, a hidden hat stirs memories of a grandfather’s days serving in Vietnam … 

Phil’s brother-in-law served in Vietnam, at Nui Dat in 1968/69, and the book has been dedicated to him.

Book design - Notice:

• End papers are filled with Rosemary.
• Army Helicopters on the title page
• Seasonal references - April is Autumn here in Australia and April is the month of ANZAC Day
• The subtle change of colours to show present day and past times in Vietnam
• The very young faces of the soliders
• Poppy flowers for remembrance

Take a look at my previous post about ANZAC day books. I did write this ten years ago so there are sure to be other books to use for ANZAC day with your library group that have been published more recently. The Hidden Hat was published in March, 2024 so it is brand new! And many school libraries will have this book as it was supplied with some of our Standing Order services. This book is a perfect addition to a library because it looks at a different war - Vietnam and also it is a book that is accessible for very young children aged 6+.  Here are some others for older students.

And for a different perspective try to find this moving story:

Here are the teachers notes from Scholastic for The Hidden Hat. You should read The Hidden Hat alongside this book also by Phil Cummings which also has a duel narrative:

Read more here

You could also take a look at this very special book which also features hats and a grandfather by Phil Cummings:

Newspaper Hats

Here are other books illustrated by Jennifer Goldsmith:

Crumbs by Phil Cummings illustrated by Shane Devries

A young girl and her dad have had a busy morning shopping and now they plan to eat lunch at some outdoor seating. While the girl waits for her dad to collect their lunch from the take-away counter Ella sees a little bird with only one leg. He is hopping around looking for crumbs but the people on the busy street either ignore the tiny creature or worse the shout or growl. At the same time Ella sees a man - read these heartfelt words by Phil Cummings:

"A man with prickle whiskers, wild hair and his life in a bag on his back came weaving through the flow of the crowd. ... Ella watched as the man sat and hung his head. His laden shoulders slumped like the broken wings of a storm-weary bird."

This man clearly has nothing but in a beautiful moment, when the sparrow hops over close to the man looking for crumbs, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled bag. He pours crumbs onto his palm and the tiny bird hops up and gently (a perfect choice of word) eats the cumbs.

Ella's father has also seen the man and so, when he has collected their lunch, he walks across to the man, stretches out his hand and then leads the man over to their table to share their meal. 

This is a reassuring and compassionate story. The message in this book is clear but not heavy handed and the simple act of sharing lunch with a stranger will give readers room to imagine what might happen next.

The bird and the man both need food, and they are both obviously hungry and desperate, but the text has a quietness somehow, rather like the soft fog that surrounds the people in the street. The father and daughter clearly also have a very special relationship. 

The text is spare but filled with meaning such as when the father smiles kindly and then simply helps the man over to their table. So little is said but so much is implied.  I like the way Shane Devries gives the reader a different perspective as we look down on to the scene seeing the same view as the little bird. There are some exquisite phrases in this book – “a morsel was its gold”; “his life in a bag on his back”; “a smile shone from the deep shadows of his prickle-bush whiskers”. In the final illustration you can see Ella has given the man her scarf – a gesture which then gives the green spots on the end papers a much deeper significance. 

The colour palette used in this book conveys a sense of cold and bleakness which is essential to the overall impact of the story – we need to feel the cold ourselves, to understand the full desperation of the bird and the man. The cold colour backdrop also acts as a visual metaphor for human ignorance that the man and bird contend with every day. 

Crumbs was a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) 2023 Notable title. I was a 2023 judge. We had over 200 books entered for this round of the award. Only 25 can reach the Notable list, then six on the short list and just one week ago the 2023 winners were announced. Check out my posts about My Strange Shrinking Parents; Paradise Sands; and Dirt by Sea. 

Companion books:

The Invisible

I saw Pete and Pete saw me

The Old Man

I have not read this book illustrated by our IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Robert Ingpen but a couple of readers have mentioned the link with Crumbs.

Shane Devries has illustrated another book by Phil Cummings - Boy. This book has been added to the prestigious IBBY Collection for Young People with Disabilities. 

I have happy memories of Phil Cummings visiting my rural school library in about 1989 just after he released his book Goodness Gracious (illustrated by Craig Smith). That book was a terrific one to read aloud to Kindy. I also loved sharing and recommending Marty and Mei Ling (illustrated by Craig Smith). This still is the PERFECT book to share during Harmony week here in Australia.

IBBY Outstanding books for Young People with Disabiities 2021

Every two years, IBBY invites nominations from national sections for its international list of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. The final list is selected from these by the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Young People with Disabilities, which is based in Toronto. Because of its international content, the list is unique in the children’s book world. It is a huge voluntary undertaking as every country is encouraged to submit up to twelve titles across the three categories. This identifies well-written and illustrated books for and about young people with different abilities, presented with dignity, emphasising the person rather than the disability itself. The full collection of nominated books is held at the Toronto Public Library and can be accessed online here. It is searchable by title, author, subject, format, keyword and language. An annotated printed catalogue of the final selection is published. 

This time the organisers received 194 submissions from 31 countries in 24 languages. From these, 40 titles from 27 countries in 21 languages were selected.

Category 1  Books produced in special formats, such as Braille, sign language, PCS or Bliss symbols, tactile, and easy-to-read books, specifically written for young people with developmental, mental or language disabilities.

Category 2  Picture books from the regular production especially selected for young people with disabilities that also answer their particular needs through design, topics, illustrations and texts.

Category 3  Picture books and novels that portray persons with disabilities.

IBBY Australia nominated seven titles with a range of themes, genre, and age groups. Titles that were not chosen will remain in the reference collection for research and study at the Toronto Public Library.

Cheeky Dogs to Lake Nash & Back, D. Beasley & J. Bell, Allen & Unwin

Mika & Max, L. Bloom, Walker Books 

Boy, P. Cummings and S. Devries, Scholastic Press

How It Feels to Float, H. Fox, Pan Macmillan

Lenny’s Book of Everything, K. Foxlee, Allen & Unwin

Everything I’ve Never Said, S. Wheeler, University of Queensland Press

Impossible Music, S. Williams, Allen & Unwin

Here are the two Australian titles which have been accepted as additions to the list for 2021:

Everything I've Never Said

Phil Cummings reads his book here. Kirkus said: Cummings’ fable rolls out with poetic economy, heightened by Devries’ spacious page design. ...  Deftly persuasive.

Here are a set of teaching notes from Scholastic and Phil Cummings web site where you can all of his books.

You may be interested to explore some of the other Picture Book nominations from the UK. The 2021 Selection of Outstanding Books will be launched at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair in March/April 2021. The illustrated and annotated print catalogue will be distributed worldwide by the IBBY Secretariat, and an electronic version will be posted on the IBBY website.

The Refugee Experience in picture books

These are two brand new Australian children's picture books on the theme of refugees.  Both of these are sure to be part of our 2021 CBCA awards as Notable titles and on the final short lists.

A Boy and a Ball by Phil Cummings illustrated by Phil Lesnie (2020)
Publisher blurb: "The cloudless sky suddenly roared like thunder. Shadows, swift and frightening, descended. The boys brother grabbed him by the arm. Run, quickly, But my ball. Leave it.' From the Prime Ministers Literary Award shortlisted creators of Feathers, comes this compassionate tale of a familys search for a safe place to call home."

Text Quote: "The boy was hot ... then cold ... and always frightened. They sailed over reefs as treacherous as the shadows back home."

The story opens with a young boy playing with a soccer ball within the space of a destroyed city. The ball disappears into the distance but his brother grabs his hand and the pair run back to shelter with their father. As bombs fall around them the father tells his boys they are leaving. "You will have a new ball and you will run on grass, soft and green." The journey is long, terrible and very dangerous. They finally arrive. There is some grass in the new place but it is not soft and it is not green and this place is surrounded by high fences and gates. Outside looks better and there is some hope that one day the boy and his ball will find freedom and safety.

You can see other examples of art by Phil Lesine in A Soldier, a dog and a boy by Libby Hathorn and Once a Shepherd by Glenda Millard.

Here is a video of Phil Lesnie reading his book and here is one he has made for his publisher Scholastic where he talks about his design decisions and shows preliminary art ideas.

Anisa's Alphabet by Mike Dumbleton and Hannah Sommerville (2020)
Publisher blurb: "For many refugees the alphabet represents the start of a new language and a new future, but Anisa’s Alphabet is different.  A poignant and highly imaginative telling of one girl’s story which will appeal to children and adults alike…Come with Anisa, and see things through her eyes. In this picture book, Anisa takes the reader though the alphabet, describing her journey from an unnamed war-torn country to a refugee camp, then on to an overcrowded boat towards supposed freedom and security."

Text Quotes: "C is for carrying all that we can"; "F is for fear always inside"; "P is for picturing life when I'm free".

This book is written as a poem. Mike Dumbleton uses each letter of the alphabet to take his readers on a journey with Anisa from her dangerous homeland, to a refugee camp filled with tents and scorching heat then onto the dangers of a journey led by people smugglers across the open ocean. The place at the end of her journey has high walls topped with barbed wire but Anisa carries hope in her heart. In her dreams which we see in her small drawings she imagines life will be better someday.

Teachers Notes

I have mentioned these two books together because, while both offer hope, both also end with the family in immigration detention. I think this makes the 'message' by Phil Cummings and Mike Dumbleton even more compelling, forceful, and telling.

I don't often mention publishers but in this case congratulations to Scholastic Australia, Midnight Sun, Penguin Random House, Windy Hollow Books and New Frontier Publishing. The topic of refugees is a complex but very important one and these books are perfect to use with senior primary school students and high school students. It makes me so sad to say Australia has a terrible record on the treatment of refugees but I celebrate the power of these books by Australian authors and illustrators.

I have a Pinterest collection on this topic.  It would be good to continue this topic by exploring some other Australian picture books:

Publisher Blurb: "Based on real events, this is the moving story of a little refugee girl's brave journey across the sea to make a new life, far from home. This lyrical story is accompanied by stunning illustrations by the acclaimed Robert Ingpen. Ziba came on a boat. A soggy old fishing boat that creaked and moaned as it rose and fell, rose and fell across an endless sea ... "

Publisher blurb: "The most fundamental of all rights is an asylum seeker's right to freedom. Zallah and her mother have escaped their war torn country and are looking for safety in Australia. Instead of freedom they find themselves in a refugee detention centre. Zallah struggles with the reason for this punishment. A True Person is a moving story which highlights the bond between Mother and Daughter in times of adversity. For Zallah there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we celebrate with her as she realises what it means to be A True Person."

Out

Publisher Blurb: "The ‘Flight’ of this book may at first seem to be a re-telling of the Christmas story, but the little family of refugees who travel through this book are living in a time and place that is all too familiar from the television news. In Armin Greder’s illustrations, the seemingly unending line of the horizon shows that the journey will be long and arduous. In Nadia Wheatley’s narrative, the sparse and understated words allow readers to experience the characters’ fears and hopes for themselves. As the story ends, and the child repeats his mother’s promise that they will find their new home, we are left with the feeling that we want to help this family, and others like them."

Newspaper hats by Phil Cummings illustrated by Owen Swan

Don't rush to open Newspaper Hats.  Take your time. Explore the collage end papers first where you will see headlines through the decades.  Some are tragic such as the Challenger disaster and some heroic - the conquer of Mount Everest.  Some will make you smile - Nelson Mandela free and some are nostalgic - The groovy ladybird portable record player.  Most importantly these clippings help establish the mood of a long life filled with memories.

Wait a minute - don't rush into this book.  Next stop is the dedication statement.  Have you ever noticed these?  Phil Cummings dedicates this deeply personal and fragile story to his Nanna Luce and "our newspaper hats".  I don't know for certain but this makes me think Phil made hats with his own Nanna.

Hold on a little longer.  Go and find a copy of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge because after reading Newspaper Hats I want you to share this book with a young reader too.

Each week I visit two special older people in a care home.  Both still have strong memories but around them I see people like Georgie's Grandpa and I understand her repeated concern :

"Grandpa,' said Georgie, 'do you remember me?"
"But do you remember me?"
"But Grandpa, do you remember me?"

Oh so gently Phil Cummings takes us into Grandpa's room and his memories.  His room is full of sunshine and old newspapers.  The newspapers are perfect for making newspaper hats.  Sharing this moment between the three generations it does not matter if Grandpa doesn't know Georgie.  The moment is all that matters - this time together is what really counts.

One of the most special images in this book for me comes from the opening line :

"Georgie walked through the doors that opened like curtains."

I have been a Phil Cummings fan for a long time.  Many decades ago he visited my rural school and shared his first books - Goodness Gracious, Midge mum and the neighbours and Marty and Mei Ling all of which are still in my school library and all of which are still used each year. Phil was once a primary teacher and so his visit was perfect for my youngest students.  Now all these years later Phil has published more than forty books.

Here is the web site for the illustrator.  His work can be seen in Anzac Biscuits also by Phil Cummings and you can read more about this wonderful book here.  You can read a review of Newspaper Hats from Reading Time.

Here is a simple video which will show you how to make a slightly more complex newspaper hats. Finally I am going to make another of my wild predictions and say surely this book will be short listed by the CBCA for the 2016 awards - fingers crossed for Phil.