Danger Road by AL Tait

Twenty-five years ago Corey Armstrong was killed in a hit and run accident on a lonely country road. Grayton is a small town. People who live here know each other and many have lived here their whole life. Corey was a popular kid - good at sports, good at school and he had a charisma about him. A newcomer to the town is in the process of making a podcast about this true crime - no one was ever charged with killing young Corey. The real name of the road is Dangar Road but everyone calls it Danger Road - hence the book title. The nighttime scenes set on this remote road are especially atmospheric.

It feels as though so many people in Alex and Leo's lives have a connection to Corey - their absent dad, the town mayor, the school librarian and a mysterious girl called MJ. Mum has been listening to the podcast in the car. In a moment of impatience with her two sons, she tells them if they can work together and solve the mystery of Corey's death, which is the purported purpose of the podcast, she will give them a reward. She offers this as a way to stop the two boys from their constant bickering but what she doesn't know is, while this does draw the two boys closer, it also means they uncover lots of details about Corey, his friends, and the actual events of that night twenty-five years ago. Luckily the boys also have help from Alex's friend Harry (Harriet). She is a lateral thinker and also very systematic and so she helps them set up a crime board/timeline which helps all three identify the avenues of their investigation.

Here is the blurb from the author page (you will also find a chapter sample): Twenty five years ago, on a dark winter’s night, teenager Corey Armstrong was left to die by a hit and run driver on Danger Road. Now Corey’s the subject of a podcast that’s putting his hometown on the map, but with the series almost over, the case remains unsolved. When brothers Alex and Leo decide to try to find out what happened to Corey, they learn more about his world than they could have imagined. Everyone’s talking about the popular footballer, but the question remains: did anyone really know him? As Alex and Leo sink deeper into the past, they uncover old secrets, ready to resurface, and realise that someone in town must know something which means someone they know might be the killer. Will bringing up the past jeopardise the brothers’ own futures? And could bringing a cold case back to life prove fatal?

In this short video AL Tait talks about her book. 

A.L. Tait has written a ripper of a cold case mystery for middle grade readers. The premise is great, playing off the popularity of cold case true crime podcasts, and I loved the little NCIS references that Alex dropped every now and then. The novel is told in alternating perspectives, going between thirteen-year-old Alex and almost fifteen-year-old Leo. This allows the case to unfold, as each point of view brings different perspectives to the story, and the boys are able to play off their strengths. Including the ones they’re not too keen on everyone knowing about. The Book Muse

This is a great story set in a small country town involving teachers, coaches, the mayor, and many other potential suspects around their parent’s age who were teenagers at the time. It has themes like sibling rivalry, but also sticking up for your sibling when they are in trouble, sporting success and striving to make it big, and uncovering secrets from the past that have been hidden for so long. It is a terrific story that I couldn’t put down that will appeal to all readers aged 11 and older. Lamont Books

Here is a sign that I am enjoying a book. I wake up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. I think I should read for a while - that will calm me down but only if it is a book that I am enjoying. So it was that I read Danger Road at 2.30am and then more the next day on my long train trip and the remaining pages in the library where I volunteer (it was a very quiet afternoon) and so I finished the book in just one day.

Readers aged 10+ are sure to enjoy Danger Road - especially kids who already love to read realistic fiction and mystery stories. For myself I did find the print size a little small and this might put some kids off but in a library I think it would be very easy to book talk this title especially when you mention the words cold case and mystery. The library where I volunteer have put this book into the Young Adult collection, but it is also certain to appeal to primary school readers in Grades 5 and 6. I used to host an evening for senior boys with their dads in my school library. Danger Road is a book that I would have enjoyed showcasing on one of those nights. 

Things I really enjoyed about this book:

• The alternating voices and the contrasts between Alex - he loves art and drawing - and Leo his older brother, who is crazy about sports. There is a subtle change of font as each voice changes.
• There are extracts from the podcast at the beginning of each chapter and this is a terrific device to fill in more details of the events surrounding Corey's death.
• I found it interesting that running is the thing that really gives Leo a sense of peace and not the competitive part of winning at football or his other sports pursuits.
• Leo is also a clever student but like many teens he thinks he should keep this hidden for fear of ridicule by his peer group. 
• I loved the way his younger brother Alex shared his deeper insights into his brother Leo. Alex has very well developed emotional intelligence. 
• There are some really good moments of tension in this story such as when the Mayor picks the boys up and offers to drive them home. Alex know this man is not exactly a stranger but this sure does feel like a dangerous situation. I also held my breath when the boys dive into the deep river - I was sure there was going to be a terrible accident. 
• To some extent the ending is an open one - with a group of students in a book club for example you could raise the issue of the justice or morality of this outcome. 

AL Tait has two sons herself, and I think her understanding of the way brothers interact really shines through in this story. The sports played by her own two boys might also be the reason she can talk so accurately about the way football is played. Readers who play football (is it Rugby or AFL) are sure recognise the tactics and game highlights.

Here are a couple of text quotes from Danger Road:

"I'm sick to death of listening to you two pick at each other. ... I'm also sick at heart about Corey. His death might be a podcast to you and all the gawkers who've come to Grayton since it started, but it's my history, and it's your home town's history. The two of you carry on like you know everything about everything, so prove it."

"Well, yeah, but you're not from around here so why this injustice in particular ... I'm only wondering because the podcast format is so specific and I thought maybe you could tell us a bit about how you decide on the narrative structure. Like, do you make a decision about how to focus on before you begin your interviews or does it evolve?"

This is the fourth book by AL Tait that I have read and probably her best book so far. It is also interesting to see how she is exploring different genres. I know she has an easy chapter book due out next year. It will be part of a series from her Facebook and Podcast Community (Your Kids Next Read). I have my fingers crossed that these will be terrific stories similar to the wonderful series from here in Australia that we had in the past such as Solos; Aussie Nibbles; and Aussie Bites. And hopefully as good as a more recent UK series such as these from Little Tiger. 

Willow Bright's Secret Plot

Race to the end of the world

The Firestar

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

"And that's when I saw him, my dad, staggering from the bedroom, his lips bloody, a pistol in his hand ... me and my mum kept rolling. The sound of the gun cocking. The sound of the door unlocking. As soon as she swung the door open, my dad fired a shot. He was shooting at us! My dad! ... One things is for sure, that was the night I learned how to run."

Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) thinks his true sport destiny is basketball - not that the other bigger kids will let him play but then he stumbles on the track and decides to join in a race and even though he is wearing the wrong shoes and the wrong clothes and he has had no training and has missed lunch he somehow wins the race. The coach can see this kid has potential and so he invites Ghost to train with his team. Ghost is not a kid who knows how to stick with things, but he does keep coming back to the track and he does try to master all the warmup drills and endurance races. He desperately wants to fit in and one way to do this would surely be wearing the right shoes but Ghost has no money and his mum is working hard and only just keeping them afloat.

"Where I live. Where I live. When anyone ever asks about where I live, I get weird because people always treat you funny when they find out you stay in a certain kind of neighborhood. But I was used to people treating me funny. When your clothes are two sizes too big, and you got no-name trainers, and your mother cuts your hair and it looks like your mother cuts your hair, you get used to people treating you funny."

The sport shop has so many fabulous shoes - surely it cannot hurt to just try them on. At this point in the story I actually called out a warning to Ghost but of course he didn't listen to me (after all I was only the reader, the  bystander, the observer).

Publisher blurb: Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons —until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?

Readers aged 10+ need to read this book especially those kids who ask for sport stories. Ghost is a quick book to read with only 200 pages and large print and a story that will keep you turning the pages. I read it in one sitting. Listen to a five-minute audio sample here. If you don't have this series in your school library please add all five books (see below) to your library wish list. I highly recommend Ghost - I wish I was still working in my school library because I would love to put this book into the hands of so many Grade 6 readers. 

An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. Kirkus Star review

Readers will quickly fall into step with Ghost’s slangy voice and will find themselves relating strongly to a character who’s just trying to get through each day with all the anger and hurt he feels about the cards life has sent his way. ... This story also interrogates our perception of wealth and poverty and the impact of poverty on kids. Finally, at its core, the story is about healing, moving forward from the need to escape oneself because of past trauma. Reading Middle Grade

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. 

The most perfect book to read after Ghost is not about sport - it is about shoes!

The Wrong Shoes

I am very late in my discovery this fabulous book from 2018 but I am now totally hooked, and I can't wait to read the rest of the Track series (and that is fairly unusual for me as I don't always continue with a series). All of the books are currently available but might need to be ordered from your local independent bookstore. Colby Sharp shared the newest book from the series - Coach. You can see more books by Jason Reynolds here and notice how many have award stickers on their covers. 

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

"The first time you forgot my name

feels like yesterday. Feels like an hour ago.

Feels like I blink and you forgetting

is right there in front of me."

We have a new adult television series (based on a book by Brendan Cowell) here in Australia called Plum and this program covers the same issue as Before the Ever After of brain injuries to football players. In the book by Jacqueline Woodson it is American Football and Plum is all about Rugby League but really the consequence of constant head injuries is the same - an acquired brain injury. 

ZJ is watching his football dad fall apart. Dad visits so many doctors but no one seems to know what is wrong and when they do offer a diagnosis none of their medicines work and worse some make his dad's behaviour even more erratic. 

"I feel like someone's holding us,
keeping us from getting back to where we were before
and keeping us from the next place too."

"There's not a name for the way

Daddy's brain works now.

The way he forgets little things like

the importance of wearing a coat outside

on a cold day. There's not a name

for the way I catch him crying

looking around the living room like

it's his first time seeing it."

This book is a MUST add to your library especially a High School library. Listen to Colby Sharp talking about this book. I know nothing about American football but that did not take away from my appreciation of this important story. Like me, Colby loved the friends in this book. I just wanted to thank and hug Ollie, Darry and Daniel. They are so supportive of ZJ and also beautiful in the way they relate to his dad.

You know – I think I thought I was writing Before The Ever After to talk about head injuries and loss. But in the end, it became a book about friendship and family and love. So I guess I wrote because that’s what I wanted to talk about here. ZJ has some really cool friends. It was so fun putting them on the page. Jacqueline Woodson

Before the Ever After is a verse novel and you know I love this form. The publisher site suggested age nine, but I think this book will better suit mature readers aged 10+. 

A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport. Kirkus star review

Here is the publisher blurb: For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has always been everyone's hero: a pro football superstar, a beloved member of the neighbourhood and a really, really great dad. But there's something not right about ZJ's dad these days. He's having trouble remembering things, seems to be angry all the time and is starting to forget ZJ's name. Bit by bit, ZJ has to face this new reality that his family can't keep holding on to his dad's glory days. As his dad begins to have more bad than good days, will they ever find happiness again?

In 2018 Jacqueline Woodson won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international award for children’s and young adult literature, and in 2020 she won the Hans Christian Andersen Award (IBBY) an international award for lifetime achievement in children’s literature.

Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth by Anna Fienberg

There is so much going on in the life of young Frances right now. She has moved to an outer suburb away from the busy city, to a home with a garden and lower rent. One special thing about this new place is the nearby bush.  But only a week after they arrive and begin unpacking that dad announces he has to travel overseas for his work as a journalist so now it is just Frances and her mum and the memory of her toddler brother Henry. Clearly something truly dreadful has happened to Henry but Frances is riddled with guilt and just does not want to revisit these terrible events.

Talking about this book I don't want to give too much away. You will work out some of the content from the labels I've assigned this post. Another way to introduce this book might be to look at the title. Moving to the new house means mum and dad decide to buy Frances a puppy. Picasso is her favourite artist and she has his painting Le Chien on her bedroom wall so the new pup is named Picasso. 

Visiting the beautiful Australian bush near her home Frances surveys the scene as the sun is setting and declares that moment - The Greatest Show on Earth. Here are some quotes from the text that will show you the highly evocative way Anna Fienberg describes the natural environment - trees, colours, light and shadow:

"The track turned into a spindly trail that zigzagged round rocks splotched with lichen. It was the palest olive green, thin as dried paint. ... On our right the creek trundled on, gathering into shallow pools, vanishing into mud. Trees towered above, filtering light that ended up as glitter on the water."

"After the rain the angophoras turned tangerine, their juicy pieces of bark smashed around their roots. I pressed my cheek against a massive trunk and the cold was startling."

Anna Fienberg has added some wonderful art insights into her book too - no doubt inspired by the late Kim Gamble. They met at the School Magazine where she was the editor. Kim Gamble illustrated The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels by Anna Fienberg, which is a favourite book of mine, the Tashi series the Minton series and Joseph which was shortlisted for the 2002 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award. 

All the art Kit and Frances create surely must link with the special relationship between Anna Fienberg and Kim Gamble. It is described with so much care:

"Crosshatching ... you create a hollow with shading by doing lots of parallel strokes one way, crossed with parallel strokes the other way."

"Kit let me share his chalk pastels and showed me how to make a twilight sky. I made notes of his instructions in my sketchbook ... At home I practised sky after sky. And I learned how to make a star sparkle.With white chalk you do the blue at the top, then take one dot and make it into a cross, smearing out the points into long white lines. When you stand back it sparkles."

I finished this book this morning having started it a couple of days ago and yes I did cry but that's okay because the happy, but not saccharine, ending restored me.  Anna Fienberg adds a wonderful layer of tension to the story. I just kept reading and reading even though I knew something dreadful was going to happen. This is a five star book. It is Australian in so many ways but it is also such a heartfelt human story.

Thinking about this story one word that came to my mind was consequences. Frances is obsessed with germs and diseases because she see this as a consequence of her action or inaction with her brother Henryre. Kit worries about consequences too. He cannot reveal anything about his house or mother because in the past the consequences were dreadful. Then there is the consequence of a tiny decision Frances makes when she makes a sketch of her friend. (When you are reading this book take your time over page 140-141). 

This story is also about personal growth. We watch the trust between Kit and Frances grow and both find a way to trust each other with their deepest secrets and sadness. Kit also has such emotional maturity and his gentle advice to Frances is uplifting

Someone asked about the themes in this book on a Facebook forum and whether it was too confronting for an eleven year old reader. I’d be happy to have this book in my primary school library but I’d be recommending it to mature Grade 6 readers. Yes it’s sad and yes grief and the death of a sibling and mental health are BIG topics but that’s okay. The writing is wonderful. You just feel as though you are right in the bush with all the sounds and smells and light and shade. This is a long book so really only kids with good reading stamina and the right level of maturity will persevere. I’m sure this book will go on to win many awards and be on short lists.

This book is like a warm, comforting hug when you need a friend, and I found myself wanting to read on to find out what had happened yet at the same time, it felt like one to savour and sit with so my reading pace could match France’s pace as she slowly revealed what had happened to her brother. The Book Muse

The different ways grief is expressed is a significant theme throughout this novel but there are other important ideas upon which to reflect such as family, bullying, courage, the healing provided by nature, dogs and art therapy and loneliness. Just So Stories

After reading Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth you might like to revisit these classic Australian stories:

I do wish we could see the mural created by Kit and Frances but keen artists might like to look a little further into the art of Wang Wei.

It would be interesting to compare Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth with a 2001 novel by Anna Fienberg - Witch in the Lake. I did read that one many years ago but sadly I cannot recall much of the plot. Other companion books:

The Losers Club by Andrew Clements

Alec and his younger brother have to spend time every day in an after school care program. In their school this is called Extended Day. His brother Luke goes to a different part of the program. Oh and I should mention at this point that mum and dad work in technology and they are both huge fans of Star Wars so we have Luke named after Luke Skywalker and Alec named after Alec Guinness who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the movie. Star Wars fans will love all the references to these cult films in the story.

Back to Alec. His passion is reading. He reads all the time. He reads at home, on weekend and in class. It is this last bit that has caused a huge problem. He has been sent to the school principal yet again - for reading in class. The Principal says Alec will have to attend a summer school and miss is family holiday if he cannot stop this habit. So that's the first challenge. Then he begins attending Extended Day and this seems like the perfect place to sit and read for a few hours but alas NO - the organiser Mrs Case gets on his case! Alec has to join an activity. Sport, Chess, Origami or the Homework club. Luckily Alex is a problem solver. He decides to begin his own club - and YES he names it The Losers Club. He tells Mrs Case it is a Book Club but in reality Alex just has a plan to read and read all afternoon every day. All he needs is one more club member and every one will be happy. 

Challenge number two. Alec's parents are sent a letter from the Principal about Summer School. There is no way they want to cancel their summer holiday plans so they tell Alec he can only keep attending his book club if he scores over 8 out of 10 for every subject from every teacher at the end of every week. Meanwhile, the Principal has organised for every teacher to allocate Alec a seat right in the front row and so now he has no choice. He has to pay attention and by doing that his grades improve and for a while the world is in a good balance because he can work through the day, achieve the scores demanded by his parents and then spend a few happy hours reading after school. 

One girl, Nina, joins his group and she is very happy to sit and read too, but things get complicated when the school bully, a boy named Kent, decides he likes Nina. He is a cool dude and a sport jock who is also a bully. At first Alec is sure Nina likes Kent but in reality she is far wiser than he could ever have guessed. And what about the other kids who want to join The Losers Club? Will Alec lose his peace and quiet? Oh and Mrs Case is pestering him about the end of term club presentation and Alec has NO idea what he will share with the audience of 500 parents and children. (The final scene will make all teachers and Teacher-Librarians SMILE).

Clements's latest is engaging and funny. Book lovers and reluctant readers alike will enjoy the relatable characters, realistic dialogue, and humorous scenes. School Library Journal

This will keep readers turning the pages, and along the way they will encounter a list of books that the characters like that they might be interested in picking up after they have finished The Loser's Club. Ms Yingling

Awards for The Losers Club:

• Winner of the Rhode Island Children's Book Award (2019)
• Winner of the International Reading Association and Children's Book Council: Children's Choices List (2018)
• Winner of the Garden State Children's Book Award (2020)
• 2021 Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee
• A Kansas William White Master List Selection (2018 & 2019)
• An Arkansas Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Nominee (2019)
• A California Young Reader Medal Nominee (2019)
• A Nebraska Golden Sower Award Nominee (2019)
• A Virginia Young Readers Program Award Nominee (2019)
• A Minnesota Maud Heart Lovelace Award Nominee (2019) 
• A Missouri Mark Twain Award Nominee (2019)
• An Oregon Reader’s Choice Award Nominee (2019)

The Losers Club was first published in 2017 but my copy is a 2021 paperback. Very strangely one of our big chain bookstores here in Sydney, Australia, has been culling their book stock. The price sticker shows me this book arrived in the store in May 2022 so I wonder why it only lasted twelve or thirteen months on their shelves? I am not a fan of the cover but I do think it would appeal to the intended audience as will catchy the title. The culling by the shop means that a AUS$17 book cost me AUS$5. So I am a winner.

My only two quibbles with The Losers Club were, firstly the way Alec and other members of the club spend a lot of time re-reading books they have already read. Do kids really do this? Alec has read Charlotte's web and Hatchet so many times - I found this a little hard to believe. Secondly, it is fabulous to see the book lists in the back of the book but I had a few issues with the Young Adult and even adult titles suggested. Putting that aside though, there are some wonderful books mentioned by Alec and other readers in his group such as Because of Winn Dixie; Bud not Buddy; Julie of the Wolves; Hatchet (it is easy to see why Colby Sharp loved this book Hatchet is his all time favourite book); A Long walk to Water; Sarah Plain and Tall; Shiloh; and Tuck Everlasting.

I am a HUGE Andrew Clements fan. Sadly he died in 2019.  I've read all of these. My favourites are Frindle, Extra Credit and The Landry News:

Frindle (1996)

The Landry News (1999)

The Janitor's Boy (2000)

The Jacket (2001)

The School Story (2001)

Week in the Woods (2002)

The Report Card (2004)

The Last Holiday Concert (2004)

Lunch Money (2005)

No Talking (2007)

Lost and Found (2008)

Extra Credit (2009)

Troublemaker (2011)

The Losers Club (2017)

The Friendship War (2019)

The Jammer by Nova Weetman

Publisher blurb: Fred has moved around her whole life, one small town after another, and never minded starting over. She’s always had her mum, her dad, and her love of roller derby. On the track she’s Fred or Dead, the star jammer, a gun at smashing through a line of bodies and scoring for her team. But Fred’s life has fallen apart, and now she can’t imagine ever putting her skates on again. On a road trip to Melbourne with her dad, Fred meets a bunch of people who think they know what’s best for her. And although Fred tries to avoid it, roller derby has a way of barging back into her life. A true jammer could push through anything, but Fred doesn’t know who she is anymore. What do you do when the thing that could save you is the thing that hurts the most? This moving story of broken bones and healing hearts is a must-read for Nova Weetman’s fans and will find her many new ones.

I found this blurb a little bit strange - most the story takes place in Melbourne and that is where Fred meets people who want to help her - not "on the road".  Also in the story Fred catches a tram with her new friend Sammy. The book says they pull the cord on the tram but if this book is set in 2022 (which I think it is) I'm confused. I thought I used a button on a Melbourne tram on my recent visit to the city, but Nova Weetman is from Melbourne so perhaps I am wrong. 

This is sweet story of self discovery. Fred is a memorable character. I have read stories exactly like this in the past with a grieving father and angry confused child so there is nothing especially original here but readers aged 10+ will enjoy this book. As an adult reader I was not especially interested in the roller derby scenes but readers who play sport - especially roller derby - are sure to really enjoy these references and games. 

Here is Nova Weetman's web site. And here are a set of teachers notes for The Jammer. Read more of the plot here in the Reading Time review. And here is an extensive author interview by Joy Lawn on her blog Paperbark Words.

There are plenty of words that seem appropriate to describe this story; heart-breaking, heart-warming and poignant being amongst them. But the two words that sprang to mind for me were real and raw. Weetman has spoken about hers and her children’s grief after the death of her partner, and how that grief fed into this book. This story gives a palpable sense of that period in Weetman’s life. However, at no stage does the story feel morbid or hopeless. Story Links

I have previously talked about these books by Nova Weetman.

Sick Bay

The Secrets we Keep

August and Jones by Pip Harry

Jones Kirby and her mum and dad have had to sell their family farm and move to the city because after years of dreadful drought they can no longer afford to live in the town of Cotton. Their new flat is small and right beside a railway line. For readers who live in Sydney you might know the suburb of Wollstonecraft. In the alternate chapters we read about August. He lives with his footy mad dad, older brother Archer who has the potential to be a football (Australian Rules Football) star, mum and his sister Lexi. I just need to make a comment about Lexi - I love her!  She is a beautiful older sister. There is a scene near the beginning of this book where August tells Lexi he has been chosen to show Jones around the school. Here is part of his conversation with Lexi that made me cheer!

"Want me to tell you the school tour I'm going to do for Jones, in order of importance?"

Her reply: "Absolutely."

So Jones has to go to a new city school leaving her two best friends back in her old class. When Jones was a baby she lost her eye to retinoblastoma. She now only has vision in one eye but she knows how to navigate her way around, she is keen on climbing and running and she is very used to answering curious questions about her prosthetic eye. 

August has his own issues at home. His dad is crazy for football but August is not a skilled player and he really does not want to practice or play this game every weekend. He prefers reading, telling jokes and learning new facts. He is also learning, thanks to Lexi, how to knit. His mum and dad keep fighting and it is clear that very soon they will separate. 

August and Jones become the very best of friends and Jones suggests they should write a bucket list. At the top of their list they put - see a sloth - but it turns out there are no sloths in Australian zoos so they have to settle for a Francois Langur monkey at our Taronga Zoo here in Sydney and best of all this monkey has a new baby named Meimei. Also on their list is running a 10km race across Sydney and climbing Mount Kosciuszko.

It is SO lucky that the class teacher asked August to show Jones around the school on her first day!

Here is the publisher blurb: Eleven-year-old Jones Kirby has just moved to Sydney from her farm in country New South Wales. She's missing her alpacas and wide-open paddocks and can't get used to her family's tiny city apartment. She's also worried that her vision is blurry - she lost her eye to cancer as a toddler. Could it be another tumour? Enrolling at her new school, Jones meets shy, awkward August Genting. He loves fun facts, the library and knitting as much as Jones loves rock climbing and being outdoors. Who would have thought they'd become fast friends? At home, August's parents are fighting. And for Jones, the news from the doctor is not good. To cheer themselves up, the pair hatch a brilliant plan: the August and Jones Must-See Bucket List. Together, this brave duo will set out to meet a rare monkey, run across the Harbour Bridge and even climb Australia's highest mountain.

Here are some review comments for August and Jones:

Kindness and love are celebrated in this story of an unusual and moving friendship. Reading Time

This was a wonderfully heart-warming story about friendship, and what it means to find that one person who will stick by you and do all they can to support you and be there for you. That you can share everything with and be yourself with. The Book Muse

In this interview with Paperbark words Pip Harry talks about writing her book during the pandemic. 

Here are the judges comments for August and Jones:

August and Jones explores complex and challenging concepts such as parental expectations, drought, unemployment, changing homes and schools, anxiety, depression and childhood cancer. The characterisation is strong, with adults and children presented in an authentic and believable way. Contrasts in family life are highlighted with Jones's supportive family juxtaposed with August's angry father, depressed mother and sibling ties. The book is written expertly and sensitively, balanced with humour, showing how friendship, love, personal strength and belief in oneself and others can help overcome difficulties, change and loss. Jones’ cancer is never used for sympathy, and she remains positive despite the hardships she faces.

As I read this book I had so many personal connections with the story. At my former school we had a student with retinoblastoma. He had lost both his eyes but nothing could stop this wonderful boy. I feel so privileged to have met him. I recognised all of the places in the story, even the cafes because I have been to many of them here in Sydney. I'm terrified of heights so I really sympathised with August when he is too frightened to ride the chair lift at the ski field. Pip Harry read a story in our Sydney Morning Herald (October 19, 2019) about two kids just like August and Jones. You need a subscription to read the article but I found this report from the ABC about Mathilde and Jarrah.

I have been reading my way through the 2023 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Younger Readers shortlisted titles. When the list was announced I had already read three of the six and today I completed my final title - August and Jones by Pip Harry.

Runt by Craig Silvey

Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin

The Raven's Song by Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble

Xavier in the Meantime by Kate Gordon

The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon

The early scenes in August and Jones when Jones and her family pack up their farm reminded me of this wonderful (but sadly now out of print) verse novel:

Jones has cancer. You might like to also read these books:

Exit through the Gift Shop

The Honest Truth

Sick Bay

Lenny's Book of Everything

Here are two other books by Pip Harry:

Are you there, Buddah?

The Little Wave

Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer

Sport fans, especially fans of basketball and netball are sure to enjoy this new Australian verse novel due for publication in June 2023. This is the second book I have read by Karen Comer and I was happy to discover this one relied a little less on familiarity with Melbourne.

There are a few reasons I enjoy verse novels. They are quick to read of course but more than that they usually contain quite emotional stories. Sunshine on Vinegar Street didn't quite touch my heart but I did relate to Freya's fear of riding in lifts. At her age of twelve, I had a fear of riding on escalators. 

Back to the setting of this book. Freya has moved with her mother to the eleventh floor of a city apartment building. She has to navigate a lot of stairs each day and worse, she now has to navigate relationships in a new school. Especially relationships with awful girls who plan to be selected for the A Grade basketball team. Freya loves basketball and she is a skilled player but Val is determined to see her fail. Freya also has to cope with desperately missing her dad who is working in Broome. 

Across the road from their new apartment there is a Melbourne landmark - The Skipping Girl Sign or Skipping Girl Vinegar Sign, colloquially known as Little Audrey - an historic animated neon sign in the inner suburb of Abbotsford, Melbourne. You can read more about Little Audrey here. Turn off the sound and watch this video of the neon sign in action. 

Publisher blurb: Freya's world is turned upside down when she and her mum move to inner-city Melbourne. Now she's ... Stuck in a new apartment on the eleventh floor and Freya is afraid of lifts. Stuck in a new basketball team where not everyone likes a killer new player.  Stuck in a classroom of kids who don't know Freya is a donor-conceived baby. Stuck, just like little Audrey in the Skipping Girl sign suspended in mid-air over the suburb of Abbotsford. Being the new girl makes Freya feel like a dark cloud on a summer's day. Can she figure out how to belong on Vinegar Street?

Here is Karen Comer's previous book which was also a verse novel but aimed at an older reader:

Worse Things by Sally Murphy illustrated by Sarah Davis

Using alternating voices Blake, Jolene and Ahmed share with readers the ups and downs of their daily lives. Blake is a sports star but he now finds himeself on the bench because of a broken arm. Blake feels alone for the first time in his life. He no longer 'fits in'. Jolene is being pressured by her mother to become a hockey star but Jolene does not like hockey. All she wants is for her father, who is a doctor working far away, to come home and spend time with the family. She also wishes her mother would listen and not expect Jolene to fulfill her mother's failed childhood dream. Amed is new. He is a refugee kid with very limited English. Amed would like a friend and he would like to play sport but for him this sport is played with a different ball. For now he quietly observes Blake, who is forced to watch the footy from the sidelines, and Jolene who excels at hockey but who does not seem happy.

Between each voice Sally Murphy supplies some definitions. Here is an example:

ALONE
[uh*lone] (adj.)
Single
sole
solitary
separate
sad.
Set apart
unattached
unaided
unassisted
Un-together.

If I was still working in a school library I would ask my students what they think about this cover. For myself I have walked past this book several times because the cover did not appeal to me. This is a pity because inside this cover is a splendid verse novel. I am not the demographic for this book, however, and that is why I would like to know what readers aged 10+ think about the cover and whether it entices them to pick up Worse Things. (Yes you should pick up Worse Things - it is terrific)

"… this verse novel is stunning in every way.  It is an experience not to be missed. Children’s Book Review"

In this blog post Sally Murphy talks about the cover design, and she reads extracts from her book. 

Here is an interview by Joy Lawn for Paperbark Words. And here is a very detailed set of teaching notes from the publisher Walker Books. These notes also include an extensive list of other terrific verse novels. Click the link on my sidebar for other books in this form.

Here are some other verse novels by Sally Murphy:

Pearl verses the world

Toppling

The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Lowen draws cartoons. With a lot of practice he has become very skilled. He and his family live in a city apartment building. Across the hall lives a younger boy called Abe.  Abe likes to visit Lowen and watch him draw. Abe always has lots of questions and comments and suggestions but often Lowen just wants to get on with his work - alone! Lowen knows Abe loves twizzlers. Lowen gives Abe some money and tells him to go to the store and buy some. Abe is gone for a long time then Lowen's mum arrives with the utterly shocking news that Abe has been shot and killed.

Lowen is wracked with grief. He sees an advertisement for one dollar houses in a little town called Millville. The town are selling five rundown houses for one dollar each as a way to boost their falling school enrollments and as a way to add players to the various sport teams in the town.

"It seemed like a way out. If they moved, he wouldn't have to walk past the Siskins' door every day. He would no longer be tricked into thinking that Abe was going to pop out at any minute. He would no longer have to hear Mrs Siskin crying."

Dad is keen to move because he is training to be a doctor and wants to help people in less affluent areas. Mum is keen to move because she has a dream of opening a restaurant to sell Cornish pasties. Clem is open to the idea of moving because he loves sports and he thinks in this small town he can rise to be a star. Anneth, Lowen's sister, does not want to move. She will miss her friends and shops and social life.

The family make the move knowing there are conditions. After all how can a house only cost one dollar? How will the community receive them? Will Lowen ever recover? Can he take a risk and make new friends?

The house:

"The kitchen cabinets had doors, but they were ill-fitting, crooked. Two of the cupboard doors had come off ... the floor was a patchwork of bare wood and linoleum. ... They passed through the dining room, which had water spots on the ceiling and floor ... the bathroom had black grunge growing on the walls, and several of the shower tiles had fallen off."

The town:

"What was the word Lowen was looking for? Downtroddenness. Former stores and businesses were boarded up. And even those still in business ... were all in desperate need of paint. The spotty patches of grass in front of the stores needed mowing; the garbage needed picking up."

The mill:

"This spot afforded them the best view of the mill, or what used to be a mill. Here again, what had looked so proud and shiny on the website now looked decrepit. It was an enormous tangle of boxy structures, pipes, and vaporless smokestacks - a breathless giant."

Early one evening this week I picked up The Dollar Kids intending to read a chapter or two. I ended up reading late into the night and then I finished the whole book (400 pages) by mid morning.  This book engulfed me.

Here is an example of the graphic novel  pages by Ryan Andrews which appear in this book. I hesitate to call it a graphic novel because less than 20 pages use this format.

Jacobson insightfully examines the dynamics of small-town life and strategies for revitalization as well as the landscape of Lowen’s complex grief and survivor’s guilt. The story incorporates Lowen’s graphic-novel panels contemplating his feelings about his deceased friend, Abe,whom he calls “the unseen force,” …  A rich, thoughtful exploration of individual and community resilience. Kirkus

Jacobson manages to tell an excellently nuanced story of all sorts of after-lives—after death, after failure, after loss, afterwards.Bulletin of the Centre for Children’s Books

This was a great look at a different type of life that will be new and informative for many readers. The Grovers are struggling financially, although they were doing okay in the city. The family bonding because of the move was interesting, and the reality of setting up a restaurant was fun to read. The reaction of the townspeople was also intriguing, and the story moved at a decent pace. … the story of small town life is such a fantastic one that I can't wait to hand it to my readers. Ms Yingling

If I haven't convinced you to READ THIS BOOK! then take a look at this personal insight by Jennifer on the Nerdy Book Club page.

Listen to an audio sample here.  I loved a previous book by Jennifer Richard Jacobson - Paper Things.

I would follow The Dollar Kids with Each Little bird that Sings.