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.

Inked by Karen Wasson illustrated by Jake A Minton

When I read the title of this book I thought it was about tattoos - I should have looked more closely at the cover - can you see the octopus. His name is Otto and Otto is an opera singer but instead of arriving in Rome ready to perform at the famous opera house he finds himself in Rone. 

He is in the wrong town but also in the wrong place - this is a fish shop and humans eat calamari (octopus). Meanwhile twelve-year-old Sid scores a place in the art school of his dreams but his family have no money and the fish shop is not going well because a rival over the road is offering cheaper meals. 

How can a singing octopus save the day? 

Inked is a madcap adventure told as a graphic novel. It looks like a long book with close to 300 pages but the format means you will read it very quickly and also you will want to read it all in one gulp because, while you know there must be a happy ending, I was desperate to see if my predictions came true (they didn't).

Bookseller blurb: When 12-year-old Sid discovers a talking octopus in his family’s fish shop, he is shocked – and annoyed. Otto the octopus is cheeky, demanding, and won’t leave Sid alone until he helps Otto get to the ocean … roughly 300 kilometres away! But Sid has bigger fish to fry. He has to figure out how to get into the art school of his dreams, or else high school next year will be a nightmare.    Can these frenemies find a way to work together, or will it all end in disaster? Or even worse … will Sid and Otto realise they actually make a pretty great team? Brimming with hilarity, hijinks and plenty of heart, the first graphic novel from author Karen Wasson and CBCA-acclaimed illustrator Jake A Minton sparkles with slapstick humour and fish-out-of-water misunderstandings. With extraordinary full-colour artwork and a bonus 'making of' section at the end, readers of all ages will be surprised and delighted with this stand-out suburban adventure for middle-grade readers. Prepare to get INKED!

You can see more pages inside Inked here

Check out more about Jake A Minton on his Instagram page. I was a CBCA Judge when Jake A Minton's first book was published - it was submitted for the New Illustrator award - "There's no such Book".

Inked is a 2026 CBCA Younger Readers shortlist title. Here are the judges' comments:

If I was introducing or book talking Inked with a group of students (Grade 4 and up) I would begin with the music from this story. It would be fun to involve your school music teacher if you have one. You could just listen to these extracts for a minute or two.

• M'ama, sì, m'ama, lo vedo, lo vedo! from the Donizetti's Opera (video from YouTube) 
• Here is a terrific orchestral version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• La donna e mobile Verdi (here is Pavarotti)
• Octopus's Garden
• Cry me a river (here is Michael Buble)
• Recitar mentre preso del delirio (video from YouTube)

Here are the teachers notes which oddly do not mention the music. 

A quick summary of the plot makes this book sound completely absurd, but readers will be surprised and delighted by thoughtful character development, witty dialogue, and Jake A. Minton’s warm, polished artwork. Inked is a strangely compelling reading experience with a filmic style and energy. An excellent, wildly entertaining read for ages 9+. Readings Melbourne

Brimming with hilarity, hijinks and plenty of heart, the first graphic novel from author Karen Wasson and CBCA-acclaimed illustrator Jake A Minton sparkles with slapstick humour and fish-out-of-water misunderstandings. With extraordinary full-colour artwork and a bonus 'making of' section at the end, readers of all ages will be surprised and delighted with this stand-out suburban adventure for middle-grade readers. Lamont Books

The Touchstone by Andrew Norriss

Opening sentence: One morning, as Douglas was leaving for school, he heard a voice calling his name. It was a faint voice, hardly louder than the wind blowing through the trees, but when he looked round to see who was calling, there was nobody there. He was wondering if he might have imagined it, when the voice called again.

The voice is a woman named Kai and she explains:

​‘I do not have much time, so you must listen carefully. Three things.’ She spoke in short bursts, breathing through clenched teeth between each of them. ‘One, my name is Kai and I come from another planet. Two, my mission is to take this...’ she gestured to the case in her lap, ‘...back to my home world and liberate people my people. Three, I am being hunted by the Guardians of the Federation and my only chance of escape is to find someone to hide me for the next forty-eight hours.’ She looked up at Douglas, her dark eyes staring intently into his. ‘Gedrus says you are the only coda I can reach. Will you help me? Please?’

Things to notice - Kai is from another planet. She is hurt and needs help. There is sure to be some danger ahead for Douglas even if we have, at this stage, no idea about the Guardians of the Federation. Also who is Gedrus? More in a minute ...

First you need to know Kai has a box and a mysterious green stone necklace. We later find the box contains more of these stones and that the holder of the stone can contact the librarian named Gedrus. He can answer any question - yes read that again ANY question. Think of the possibilities here - help in a test; help with homework; and what about his mum and dad - Douglas would love some help to bring them back together. BUT of course we know the old adage "be careful what you wish for". 

‘You might like to think of me,’ Gedrus leant forward with his elbows on the desk, ‘as the sort of access point to an encyclopaedia.’ He gestured to the rows of books behind him. ‘A very large encyclopaedia, that contains information about events and people from all corners of the galaxy. Anything you want to know, you hold the stone, ask me, and I give you the answer.’

The complex part of this story comes when we make a discovery about Kai - is she really trying to save her planet? Is she really telling the truth? And what about Gedrus - does he have a motive for giving the answers he supplies and then another character arrives - and he is a Guardian - his name is Quomp.

Back to that first quote. Douglas is a coda:

The C means that you are the sort of person who can absorb new and disturbing information without too much emotion – in other words you don’t panic. The O means you’re someone who likes his privacy, so you’re the sort of person who can keep a secret. The D means you’re honest and dependable, and the A means you have a very trusting personality and you tend to believe what someone tells you as long as it doesn’t contradict common sense or something you already know.’

Along the way, in this crazy tale, Douglas does find a terrific new friend - Ivo. Ivo is crazy about robots and rockets and now there is a way for Douglas to help his new friend because of Gedrus. Douglas will also need money - older readers aged 10+ and adults are sure to find the way Douglas manipulates the stock market rather thrilling. 

Blurb from author webpage: The Touchstone is a pretty remarkable object. You hold it in your hand, ask a question and it gives you the answer. You just have to be a bit careful what you ask... This is the story of how one of the most valuable objects in the galaxy falls into the hands of a very ordinary English schoolboy, Douglas Paterson, and what he decides to do with it. Like so many things that are supposed to make life easier, this one starts off by making everything very difficult! Shortlisted for the Sheffield Children's Book Award, the Solihull Children's Book Award, the West Sussex Children's book Award.

I met a wonderful young reader last Christmas and when she discovered I was a fellow book lover she enthusiastically shared her favourite book which was read to her class in Grade 2 or 3. She explained that in every bookshop she visited with her parents she always asked if they had this special book but so far no one could help her.

Naturally I went back to my motel and Googled the book using the information she had shared and I easily found this book was The Touchstone by Andrew Norris (2021). Sadly it is now out of print but there are copies available from online sellers and also there is an eBook version which is the one I just read.

In books for young children characters rarely if ever die - of course Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Terabithia are two exceptions but I would say they better suit an older child. I am explaining this because my young reading friend told me (huge spoiler alert) that the main character, a boy named Douglas, dies in the story! NO I could not believe that this would happen in a book shared by a class teacher with children aged 7 or 8. Please, please do not worry though - this book does have a happy ending. 

I do still wonder why the teacher selected this book for her class. I think it would better suit readers aged 10+ but perhaps she (unfortunately in my view) wanted to use some existing teaching resources from one of the many commercial online companies.  In any case this book really resonated with the little girl I met. You can see more books by Andrew Norriss here. I read Mike many years ago and Ctrl-Z looks very familiar - we must have had this one in my former school library.

Companion book - this has just been published and I will talk about it in detail in a few days:

Bookseller blurb: 'The world will end at ten thirty-six in the morning, on the fourteenth of March this year.' This is the message aliens send to ten-year-old nerds Harrison (Aitch), Ally and Mo. How do they send it? Via the magnetic letters on Mo's fridge, of course. Aitch and Ally aren't sure what to believe, but soon they're in an alien spaceship travelling at lightspeed to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Mo is worried his mum will be furious that he boarded an alien craft with strangers. And Aitch is not too happy that they've kidnapped his dog. But maybe the aliens aren't that scary after all? They say they want to save the planet. It's only humans they're not so impressed by... The future of the human race might just be in the hands of three nerds and their lazy dog. What could go wrong?

Other books to look for in your library:

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency

The Book of Wondrous Possibilities

The Library of ever

A Little Bit Lola: Too Big to be a Fairy by Kiah Thomas illustrated by Bec Kitson

Lola needs money. She hits on the idea that the tooth fairy gives money - all she has to do is pull out a tooth - oh no that's not as easy as it might seem. (you could look for the book Andrew's Loose Tooth by Robert Munsch). Wait a minute Lola could become the Tooth Fairy. She tries to squish herself into her smallest clothes hoping she will instantly become smaller but sad to say that doesn't work. Lola does not give up - she thinks about fairies and their magic. Perhaps Lola can make some magic. She will need a magic wand (easy) and magic potion (are you worried about this?). Now the house is a big mess. Lola decides to clean up then dad comes home and he sees how clean everything is. Perhaps it is time for Lola to have some pocket money. Then she picks up an apple takes a big bite and ....  I'm sure you have made a connection back to that opening scene where she thought about the tooth fairy?

This story reminded me of a favourite Bluey episode - Season 1 episode 20 - Markets. 

Bookseller blurb: Everyone in Lola’s family has wheels except Lola. So, when she spots the perfect pair of roller skates, she has to have them! There’s just one problem: Lola doesn’t have any money. But the tooth fairy does … Can Lola figure out how to shrink down to the size of a fairy so she can be rich too? ... Youngest sibling Lola inspires and delights with her limitless imagination, inventive problem-solving and determination to prove she’s NOT as little as she looks. No matter the obstacle, Lola always finds a way to be whatever she dreams and to be herself.

This book is very pink and the illustrations do not really appeal to me but the story itself has some sweet moments. I think I might be tempted to read Too Big to be a Fairy without showing the pages - reading it more like a series of connected short stories. You can see many of the pages inside this book here. For a different perspective read the Reading Time review. You can see more art by Bec Kitson on her Instagram page. 

Too Big to be a Fairy is a CBCA 2026 Younger Readers Notable title. 

Here are other books from this series:

I loved a previous book for readers aged 10+ by Kiah Thomas - The Callers.

The Callers

Busted by Dan Gemeinhart

An exuberant joyride. Kirkus

This seamless blend of comedy, adventure, and heart, sprinkled with some “Pearls of Wisdom” from Sunny Days’ residents, hits the mark from every angle. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Squeeze the orange” of life

YOLO - You only live once

Oscar Aberdeen lives with his grandfather. You are sure to have read about kids in life circumstances like this in previous books. But in this story his grandfather lives in a retirement community called Sunny Days and it is filled with other senior citizens. Oscar has lived there for many years and so he has formed brilliant relationships with many of the residents. His 'normal' life means he joins in with all the seniors' activities from morning teas, to crafting and card playing. Retirement villages and aged care homes always seem to have almost insulting names like Sunny Days because while yes, these people might enjoy some sunny days all of us are destined to end our life journey eventually. In fact, Oscar is a bit of an expert when it comes to funerals and as this story opens that is where we find him - at the funeral of Mr Howell. This is the 49th funeral Oscar has attended. The big problem is Mr Howell has been running Sunny Days Retirement Community and because he has died it will now be taken over by his son. Again, you have probably guessed this will mean BIG changes for the community and the most serious change is a huge hike in the weekly fee. Oscar's grandfather only just gets by on his meagre pension so there is no way he can pay this. Will Oscar and his grandfather have to move away?

One resident that no one really interacts with is Jimmy Deluca. He is loud, he is always swearing, he smokes hideous cigars and drinks (a lot) but he now needs Oscar to help him and in return he offers Oscar a huge amount of money which might mean Oscar and his grandfather can keep their home.

Jimmy has a 'bucket list' of things he needs to achieve. He owns an amazing car (you can see it on the cover of the book) but he needs help to escape from Sunny Days because he is classified as 'monitored and restricted' which means if he goes out through the main building front door alarms will alert the staff. 

Oscar, along with Natasha, (daughter of the new Sunny Days owner) hatch a plan to break Jimmy out of Sunny Days but Oscar has no idea that he will be pulled into a totally wild adventure involving gangsters, cigars, Jimmy's hairless cat Mr Buttercup, breaking into the backyard of a suburban house, playing poker with dangerously high stakes, leaving a restaurant without paying (this is mortifying for Oscar), and even buying a bra!

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"I was in a heckuva pickle. I didn't want to smuggle known lowlife Jimmy Deluca out the door, in plain view of the cameras. Get busted, get in huge trouble, disappoint Pops and all my Sunny Days family. Law-breaking troublemaker? That wasn't me."

"I let out a low whistle. Jimmy Deluca's car was ... well, it was a beaut. A gem. An absolute humdinger. It was baby blue, with a cream coloured top. It had chrome. It had curves. It had white-walled tires. It had style. It was like one of those cars you'd see in a parade, or at a classic car show or something. Yeah, I was impressed."

"I broke Jimmy the Wrench out of a secure facility. Ran out on a restaurant bill. Got punched by a sleazeball. Puked up an entire ravioli dinner. Trespassed on private property. Lied to my grandpa. Got clawed by a hairless cat. Stole a car. Even bought a bra. ... Oh (and) I'm currently wanted by the police."

This book will make you laugh (I laughed a lot); and you will marvel at the clever plot twists which bring together pieces of Oscar's life experiences; and then Dan Gemeinhart will, yes you might have guess this, he will make you cry. This is also one of those 'time is ticking' stories because the staff is due to check on Jimmy is 6.30pm so they only have around four hours to complete Jimmy's list. Speaking of lists - I highly recommend you add this book to your 'to read list' and also to your school library. It will be enjoyed by readers aged 10+. Read the blurb on the publisher page. Listen to an audio book sample. 

This story is also truly FUNNY. I cannot overstate that fact. Finding humorous middle grade books that don’t feature wacky or slapstick humor can be challenging, and sometimes readers just want a different kind of funny. I laughed (out loud) so many times throughout this book and I know kids will be giggling along as they read, too. Reading Middle Grade

Companion books:

Not Nothing

I confess I should have had more faith in Dan Gemeinhart but when I saw this book in a local independent bookstore last month I did not buy it because I really didn't like the cover! I was WRONG, so wrong. Luckily, I read a few reviews. I previously loved Dan's books. 

The honest truth

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

The Midnight Children

I was visiting a small country town in southwestern NSW and I spied Busted on the shelf in their very well stocked newsagent and so as you have guessed I grabbed it AND I read the whole book in one afternoon over Christmas. 

I have been trying to remember a book I read with a boy who also lived in an aged care or retirement home and the residents all taught him different skills but then the school authorities demanded that the boy go to school, and this is all so hard for the boy - adjusting to life with his peers.  (This might be the Gordon Korman book I shared above). 

Here are few other titles I am going to look for that might link well with Busted:

The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicolas Day illustrated by Brett Helquist

Who stole the Mona Lisa?  This book is a fantastic mystery/detective story. By the end you might discover the answer to this age old question. 

Publisher blurb: On a hot August day in Paris, just over a century ago, a desperate guard burst into the office of the director of the Louvre and shouted, La Joconde, c’est partie! The Mona Lisa, she’s gone! No one knew who was behind the heist. Was it an international gang of thieves? Was it an art-hungry American millionaire? Was it the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who was about to remake the very art of painting? Travel back to an extraordinary period of revolutionary change: turn-of-the-century Paris. Walk its backstreets. Meet the infamous thieves—and detectives—of the era. And then slip back further in time and follow Leonardo da Vinci, painter of the Mona Lisa, through his dazzling, wondrously weird life. Discover the secret at the heart of the Mona Lisa—the most famous painting in the world should never have existed at all. Here is a middle-grade nonfiction, with black-and-white illustrations by Brett Helquist throughout, written at the pace of a thriller, shot through with stories of crime and celebrity, genius and beauty.

Here is a detailed summary of the plot.

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of the writing in this book - it is funny at times, and shocking and interesting and even matter of fact. 

None of them saw the man leave the closet. But if any had, they might not have noticed. He was wearing a white smock, the uniform of the Louvre maintenance workers. It was a suit of invisibility. He was too normal to be noticed.

The Mona Lisa was gone for over twenty-four hours before anyone realized it was gone. If not for the persistence of Louis Béroud, it might have been days. It might have been a week. The theft of the Mona Lisa—the art heist of the century—was discovered because Louis Béroud got bored. The Louvre was lucky.

Everyone in Paris could tell you it was obvious what had happened. It was just that everyone told you something different was obvious. It was blackmail, obviously. It was sabotage, obviously. It was the work of a madman, obviously. It was the work of an extremely wealthy man, obviously.

I especially love the way the narrative flipped between scenes and characters and also back to the time of Leonardo himself. 

Back in Florence, he hears from a silk merchant who wants a portrait of his wife. And in 1503, Leonardo, after turning down far more prestigious commissions, after expressing little interest in painting at all, says yes to Francesco del Giocondo. No one knows why. If Leonardo met Lisa before he took the commission—we don’t know whether he did—maybe he saw something in her. Something that took him beyond financial calculations. Or maybe not. Why this woman? It ranks among the greatest mysteries in the history of art.

I read The Mona Lisa Vanishes last year (on my Kindle) while traveling. Over the coming days and weeks I am catching up on all the books I still need to share. I highly recommend The Mona Lisa Vanishes for readers aged 11+ and then you should plan a trip to an art gallery or even better time in Paris to see the actual painting and all the other treasures in the Louvre. The narrative style combined with all the actual facts of the case plus lots of background information about Leonardo make this book an engrossing one to read.  

Awards: The Mona Lisa Vanishes won the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction. And A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year • A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year • A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Best Book of the Year • Booklist “Top of the list—Youth Nonfiction” 2023 • NPR "Books We Love" 2023 • New York Public Library Best Book of 2023 • Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2023 • The Week Junior “The Fifty Books Kids Love Most”.

A multistranded yarn skillfully laid out in broad, light brush strokes ... Kirkus Star review

Colby Sharp talks about this book - I agree with so many of his thoughts - so many things you will learn about this painting and its rise to fame and the myriad of characters involved in the theft. 

I am quoting the entire School Library Journal review:

Most readers will not know that the Mona Lisa painting was once stolen from its home at the Louvre. This nonfiction middle grade book contextualizes this historic moment with world events. The publicity that surrounded the theft only added to the painting’s fame. Readers will learn of the heist, discover new connections to other artists, and find out fascinating details and facts of the long-ago crime. Moving back and forth between the caper and the life of Leonardo da Vinci, the text takes readers around the world figuratively and literally. Day writes in a pleasant conversational style, addressing readers directly. The story moves along at a reasonable pace and includes many historical figures; the abundance of cultural references makes the story challenging, but interesting.

Take a look at my previous post about Leonardo's Horse. You might like to explore these books too:

Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup by Giovanna Zoboli illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio translated by Denis Muir

As a soup lover, I hope that this story will also have a gastronomic impact: that is, if children liked this literary soup, it is not excluded that they could start eating 

real soups without raising a bat of protest. 

It will be enough to tell them that to cook them you have followed the secret recipe of the infamous Lepron Soup, and said soups will evaporate from the plates 

in the blink of an eye. Giovanna Zoboli

Click here to read more about the creative processes and original inspiration for Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup at Topipittori and see the exhibition at the Bologna book fair.

Mr Lepron is an older and handsome hare. He loves his family, his forest home through all the seasonal changes and his huge family. Reminiscent of Peter Rabbit, Mr Lepron loves vegetables, the vegetables in the nearby famer's fields - carrots, onions, celery, lettuce, beans, pumpkins, radishes and a variety of herbs. All of these are perfect ingredients for soup. These are seasonal vegetables and so each autumn everyone helps to gather the abundance from the fields. Mr Lepron has a wonderful cooking pot "which he bought by mail order from a world-famous shop." 

It is important to note - "the pot doesn't like to be watched while the soup is cooking, just like Mr Lepron doesn't like to be watched while he's hard at work in his kitchen."

While the soup simmers Mr Lepron dreams of magical things only waking up when the soup is ready. This soup is so delicious. What is the secret? No one seems to be able to create it in quite the same way even though they use all of the same ingredients. Over time word spreads about this soup. Everyone wants some. 

"Then suddenly, one day, to everyone's surprise, Mr Lepron opened a factory: a big brick building that worked around the clock cooking up soup."

Can you think of a problem? Will the soup still be delicious? Why or why not? What might happen to Mr Lepron?

Mr Lepron loves making vegetable soup, and all the other creatures love his soup too, It isn’t too long before he decides to monetise his passion and starts making soup at industrial scale. Well that’s fine, he can employ the other creatures which is great – we all need a job. But before long Mr Lepron has been sucked into the very machinery of capitalism. The money-making business of soup takes over his life, his dreams and his nightmares. His coat is no longer so shiny and his eyes lose their brightness. What should Mr Lepron do? Well, this is a fable so I can tell you he doesn’t do quite what the capitalist machine would have him do. Just Imagine

There are several things that drew me to this book. When I was researching Italian children's book illustrators prior to attending the 2024 IBBY Congress in Trieste I saw the name Mariachiara Di Giorgio. I previously read and loved another book by this illustrator - The Midnight Fair. You may also know the famous wordless book Professional Crocodile. 

Next, I saw this book was a 2024 IBBY Honour book for illustration. It has the Italian title: La zuppa Lepron. At the congress there were lots of books on display including all the 2024 honour books and so I was able to see Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup but, because it was in Italian, I could only guess at the story. Opening the book, though, I spied the most delightful endpapers and so when I later saw this book had been translated into English I just knew I had to find it and even buy it. 

See more illustrations from this book here.

Walker Books Australia have the English version of this book [9781529520859] but very strangely I have found it hard to source. Luckily one of our city bookstores did have a copy and because the author's name starts with 'z' it was hidden on a low shelf. Even though the shop had stocked it back in July 2024 it had not been sold. One more thing that made me determined to read Mr Lepron's Soup - I am collecting picture books for older readers (Upper Primary/Elementary and Junior High School) in readiness for a library conference later this year. The age range listed for this book is ages 3-8 but that, in my opinion, totally misses the themes of this book about commercialisation, consumerism, enterprise, exploitation and the dangers of spreading rumours. You could also think about the way social media can inflate or ruin a reputation and there is the issue of the fleeting nature of fame. 

Image Source: Bologna 2022

Zoboli’s lengthy, descriptive text, translated from Italian, and Di Giorgio’s watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil art, together infuse Mr. Lepron with a deep humanity and construct a compelling, dreamy world that harkens back to the past in its tone and look but, with its nods to the all-consuming nature of capitalism, feels grounded in current realities, much like their previous collaboration, Professional Crocodile (2017). A clever, compassionate, and elegantly wrought reminder to do what makes you happy.  Kirkus Star review

Publisher blurb: Mr Lepron lives in the forest and has a toasty warm home and many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Oh, and he adores vegetables and making soup. Mr Lepron also enjoys napping and he always dreams of being a famous chef, cooking his magnificent soup. After his vivid, fantastical dreams, Mr Lepron's soup tastes out-of-this-world irresistible. So irresistible, that Mr Lepron becomes famous. So irresistible, that Mr Lepron opens a soup factory that starts working around the clock. But as his dreams turn to nightmares about the factory, Mr Lepron's soup loses its magical flavour, and he realizes that what matters most in the world is not fame and riches, but time spent with his beloved children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, playing, laughing, napping and, sometimes, cooking his soup ... with love.

Beginning with the title you could talk to your group about the name of the hare Mr Lepron. In French hare if Lievre; in Italian it is Lepre; in Latin it is Lepus; and the Spanish is Liebre. One reviewer also noted the eyes of the hares throughout the book look startled as though they are on alert for predators. And if you look closely at the cover it does resemble a can of soup. 

When you open this book take a moment to think about the official Mr Lepron portrait opposite the title page. Older students could compare this with the portraits of actual people (known and unknown). 

Image source: Topipittori

Think about the opening words of this book: "Mr Lepron is a very handsome hare with a bright, shiny coat and lovely, long ears." Do looks equate with success? Why has the illustrator used this pose? 

... this is what happens until Lepron decides to follow his fantasy, that is, to want the whole world to taste the soup. Thus he opened an industrial plant, where, however, the initial success was quickly followed by the awareness that the soup made in this way could not maintain the same flavor, since the vegetables would have to be available all year round and the preparation would have to be mechanized. ... A story that makes us reflect on the simple pleasures of sharing, of waiting for the times of nature and of the reward and gratification we derive from it. ... Lepron's dream had never been to earn, but to make his autumn soup known in the world. Instead, the soup produced in his factory, canned and designed to have a long shelf life, had nothing to do with the delicious taste of the original soup and this had made him sad.

Another reviewer commented: Lepron's dream of greatness, which does not foresee the times of nature and the importance of human work, instead turns into an ugly reality, so much so that even his dreams change and become disturbing. Fortunately, he decides to follow his heart, close the factory and make peace with himself.

This Reviewer links the illustrations in this book especially the pantry and kitchen scenes with the work of Beatrix Potter and Jill Barklem.

Giovanna Zoboli is the author of over 30 picture books, including Professional Crocodile, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio and The Big Book of Slumber, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. Giovanna is also the co-founder of an Italian children's publishing company where she is currently editor and art director.

Mariachiara Di Giorgio is an illustrator, storyboard artist and concept designer from Rome, Italy. She illustrated Midnight Fair, a wordless picture book with a storyline by Gideon Sterer, which won the 2022 Yoto Kate Greenaway Shadowers' Choice award. Her first picture book, Professional Crocodile, was also wordless, with a storyline by Giovanna Zoboli.

Companion books to read after Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup:

Read more here.

Finally, not to trivialize the themes of Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup but my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has a Pinterest collection of picture books about soup. Stealing the vegetables from the farmer's fields also made me think of this book for young readers - The Vegetable Thieves. 

Scar Town by Tristan Bancks

 

"The three of us lean on our handlebars, breathing and sweating hard, late afternoon sun pinkening our skin and the sky. We stare at the house that's poking from the water about fifty metres from shore - weatherboards caked in mud and water weed, a ragged monster rising from the deep. Only the attic and half a storey below are visible above the waterline."

You could introduce this book using this sentence. What do we know? There are three kids - perhaps they are friends. A house is rising out of the water. Why? What could have caused this? How does the phrases 'a ragged monster rising from the deep' make you feel? Does this change the things you anticipated about this story? Think about the contrasts here - extreme heat and (possibly) murky water.

Will is with his friends - twins Dar and J. J's real name is Juno but watch out she will punch you if you call her that name. This house, rising up from the lake, is so tempting. It is part of the old town that was flooded to make way for a new dam many years ago but with the drought the town is slowing reappearing. J is clearly the leader of this group, and she declares they all need to swim out to the house to investigate. Will is cautious but he decides to follow his friends. Inside the house they make two life changing discoveries - money, lots of it, and human bones. 

Scar Town feels like a real place - this is the prophetic nick name of Scarborough. Perhaps you have seen towns like this where there is a new town built beside an older town which is now submerged under a lake. The town has been 'drowned' to allow a dam to be built. An example of this is Adaminaby, a small farming town nestled in the Snowy Mountains on the border between New South Wales and Victoria states, was submerged under 30 metres of water in 1957 when the local valley was dammed to form the man-made Lake Eucumbene. In 2007 Australia was under drought conditions and so slowly the old town began to reveal itself. This is exactly the scene in Scar Town.

Will's father was the town cop. Seven years ago he, and nine other people, disappeared. Will and his mum have stayed in the town but their anger over the inaction of the authorities who never seemed to fully investigate what happened gives this whole story an undertone of grief, blame and unresolved anger. There is also a layer of decision making/moral dilemma. Should Will tell the police, or his mum or someone important about the money? Is it possible those bones might be his dad? Why is so hard to say no to J? Is this whole mystery way too big for three kids to handle?

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavor of the story:

"We've come across plenty of bones in the past year with the drought. Some famers had to walk away from their properties, leaving cattle to die. But these look different, and I wish like anything that we'd just taken the money and run."

"I want to shout at her that it might be my dad in that wall, but I know she'll tell me that's the perfect reason to go back to the house, and I can't do that. I want to keep my share of the money as much as she does. If I could find out what happened to my dad and use the money to help get mum and me out of Scar Town, my life would be two hundred per cent better."

"When mum first told me my dad had disappeared, I thought she was saying he'd become invisible. Being a cop, my dad was already a superhero, but invisible! That was next level. I used to set a place at the table for him and tell guests not to sit in a certain seat because Dad was sitting there. It wasn't my mum's favourite thing. I don't know how many times she explained he wasn't invisible. He was gone."

I often make predictions for our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards. I am absolutely certain Scar Town will be on the 2024 Younger Readers Notables list, and the short list and at this stage (there are still a few reading months to go) I am going to predict Scar Town will be the 2024 winner!! Yes, it is that good and YES you need to read this book and put it into the hands of your mature readers aged 10+. Here are some Teachers Notes for Scar Town. Listen to an audio sample. Read the first few pages here including my text quote at the start of this post. 

Short, punchy sentences, along with realistic dialogue create instantly relatable, believable characters. Tristan has a way of weaving words into graphic vividly cinematic scenes full of tension and strong emotion.  Serious themes of friendship, family, and loss underpin the fast paced action making this much more than just a thrill ride read. Story Links

Bancks has again written an un-putdownable read that races along and puts the reader firmly in the position of having to consider what they would do if they were in that situation. By creating characters that are, in so many ways, just like them, Bancks hooks the reader into being more than just an observer, and places them in the position of having to take a stance. The Bottom Shelf

I have enjoyed EVERY recent book by Tristan Bancks:

Two Wolves

Detention

Cop and Robber