The beast of Hushing wood by Gabrielle Wang

Life in the village Dell Hollow, which sits beside Hushing Wood, is an unhappy one.  Outsiders are shunned and everyone is deeply afraid of the woods which wrap around this isolated community. Prosperity and joy seem to be things of the past.

Ziggy Truegood lives in this town. She is different.  Her father was an outsider.  He has now left taking her two older brothers with him. Her momma has withdrawn into her house.  Ziggy is treated as an outsider by the people of the village but she is not fearful of the woods.  She often goes there alone and loves to spend time in her special place inside a huge Hollow Tree.

Ziggy has some true friends.  Pearl, Big Bobby Little and her faithful dog Mystic. Her precious grandfather has been moved in to a care home. His memory seems to be failing but Ziggy is sure he has important things to tell her.

A new boy called Raffi arrives at school. He seems to be watching Ziggy and she is immediately afraid of him.  The mystery deepens when Ziggy sees him with a leopard. Her friend Pearl cannot see this huge and beautiful wild creature but Ziggy is convinced the creature is real as is the animal with white fur she glimpses in the woods.  Then at school Ziggi is attacked by a golden eagle.

"Raffi is standing at the edge of the woods. He looks at me, then turns, shielding his eyes from the sun. At that moment, as it he's summoned it, a huge shadow swoops out of the trees and flies straight for us. ... I feel a wing brushing my hair and then a sudden sharp pain on my cheek."

Ziggy has been having dreams for weeks.  They seem to be predicting a series of terrifying events culminating in her own death on her birthday.

All the pieces of this complex puzzle begin to come together when Ziggy and the silent boy, Big Bobby uncover old books hidden behind the walls in the town library.  Ziggy reads about a trickster dragonfly who is really a jinn.  The jinn has taken a young girl and now her brother (Raffi) and his grandfather must find Kalila before it is too late.

This is a book filled with tension and a well crafted story that will keep your interest right to the end. I love the idea that your imagination can take you to other realms.

"When it becomes strong, your imagination can take you to incredible places. These are real places, although you cannot touch them with your hands ... But you can touch them with your heart."

We have fourteen books by the Australian author Gabrielle Wang in our school library. I was interested to read that she spent time in America to get the right feel for her small community in The beast of Hushing Wood. Here is a review of The beast of Hushing Wood.  I recommend you also read The Garden of the Empress of Cassia.  You might also enjoy The Stonekeeper's daughter by Linda McNabb.

This book has a dark fairy tale feel to it, where magic and mystery intertwine to bring you a reality where you are not always sure what is real and 

what is in your imagination. Kids Book Review  

Absolutely almost by Lisa Graff

My whole life I've been an almost. "Almost, Albie." "Almost."

"You can't get where  you're going without being where you've been." Mr Clifton maths teacher

If you plan to write a book about a kid with learning difficulties, a kid who doesn't fit in, a kid with difficult parents - please read this book and use the beautiful Calista as your model.  Albie is the main character in Absolutely Almost but Calista is the hero. Without her kindness, quiet wisdom, understanding and love of Albie this book would have been unbearable.

Albie is really just a normal kid who struggles with spelling, reading and maths. He also struggles with understanding 'cool kids'. Life is tough in Grade 5 at a new school.  His private school have rejected him due to low test scores. Mum is an overachiever, dad is distant and forgetful. Both of them love Albie but they work long hours and perhaps need to spend more time actually talking with their son.  This task is left to Calista his not-a-babysitter, babysitter.  You will know from the beginning that Calista is a special person. She has a little neon pink section in her hair. Albie knows his mum and dad would not approve of this. He knows they have not seen it.  It is clear Albie and Calista will share a lot of things that his parents might not allow him to do - that he will be allowed to take a few risks.

Albie lives in New York city.  If you know the city you will love all the references to the famous sights, parks, zoos and museums.  Albie is half Korean and lives in a high rise apartment building. Luckily his best friend, Erlan Kasteev, lives on the same floor.  Intriguingly Erlan is a triplet and he has a set of triplet sisters too and his family are participating in a reality television show.

Albie also has a special friend at school.  A girl named Betsy who has a terrible stutter.  Albie likes Betsy, she gives him gummy bears at lunch but really his kindness comes naturally.  "I didn't mind that Betsy didn't talk too much. Because it can be heard sometimes, saying what you mean. And I thought maybe I understood her most of the time anyway."  Albie has such deep authentic empathy.  This book might make you cry but you will also cheer when Albie stands up to the bullies and defends his true friend.

Now some advice.  Before you begin reading this book go out a grab a bag of donuts.  The story is full of donuts and you will find yourself wanting to munch them just as much as Albie.  I read this book all in one sitting.  Yes it is long with 288 pages, but the chapters are short (very short) and the pages will fly through your hands.

You can listen to the first chapter.  Lisa Graff has some teaching ideas and discussion questions on her web site.  You could also read my review of A Tangle of Knots also by Lisa Graff.   Here is an excellent audio interview with the author.

Younger readers might also enjoy Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie.  For middle primary I recommend Saraha Special, and My name is Will Thompson.   You might also look for books by Andrew Clements because he is also able to perfectly capture life in a Grade 5 class and Blue Balliett because she also has strong themes of empathy in her books especially in Hold Fast.

Other books to read about kids who face up to problems in real life:

• Kaline Klattermasters Treehouse
• Problem Child
• Firegirl
• Wonder
• Out of my Mind

Click these quotes to read some reviews :

Life is not going to be easy for Albie, but thanks to the lessons learned here, you’re confident that he’s gonna make it through. Let’s hope other average kids out there at least take heart from that. A hard book to write. An easy book to read.

In a tale about not being good enough, Graff introduces readers to a young hero who struggles to measure up.

... gentle story invokes evergreen themes of coming to appreciate one’s strengths (and weaknesses), and stands out for its thoughtful, moving portrait of a boy who learns to keep moving forward, taking on the world at his own speed. 

The wayward witch and the feelings monster by Sally Rippin

Polly is the wayward witch of the title. She has no skill for spells (or so it seems) and sadly she has no witch friends.  The feelings monster is Buster. He is a monster but he is also Polly's bestest best friend in the whole world.

In this world of witches and warlocks there is huge prejudice against monsters and this was the aspect of this book that I found most interesting.  Think about a passage like this :

"Then Buster stands to one side to let the witches get on first, just as his mother has taught him. And just as his mother has taught him, he is careful to pick a seat at the back with the other monsters  - not in front where the witches like to sit. After all a monster must always know their place."

The idea of a feelings monster is also an intriguing one. When Buster is happy he swells up to an enormous size but when he is sad he shrinks.  Polly goes on a school excursion to the National Gallery where they study portraits of famous humans.  On the same day, Buster, and his class also go the gallery.  Polly knows their special friendship must be kept secret. She says some cruel things about monsters as a way to stay friends with a classmate and Buster hears her.

"Buster is curled up on the hard floor in a great ball.   Polly has never seen him so small and so grey. It's as if every last bit of light has been squashed out of him, and all that's left is a hard mass of grey fur, twisted and dry as a dishcloth."

It is this awful scene that literally sparks wild magic out of Polly.

This is a joyous story with some clever ideas.  I especially love the food.  Polly's mum cooks awful things such as mealworms, thistle and kale salad, and for recess she has bats' ears.  Meanwhile next door the monster family enjoy flummery cake topped with bilberries and slathered with cream and Buster brings jamcakes when they meet up in their special tree.  What a perfect word - slathered. I should also mention Polly's teacher and her wonderful clothes.

"She has curly red hair ... and she jangles with silver jewellery when she walks. Instead of the plain black school cape most of the Academy teachers wear, Miss Spinnaker wears a velvet cape embroidered with colourful threads and studded with little octagonal mirrors.... Polly thinks Miss Spinnaker is glorious."

This is the first book in a new series by Sally Rippin author of the popular the Hey Jack and Billie B Brown books.  Sally has written over 60 books.

Here is an interview with Sally Rippin. You can find some teaching notes here.  You might also enjoy Thalia the Failure by Robin Klein, The worst witch series by Jill Murphy and The power of Poppy Pendle.

My rows and piles of coins by Tololwa M Mollel illustrated by EB Lewis

This is one of the most important award stickers you will ever see on a book.  It is awarded for books that continue the messages of Martin Luther King Jr.  My rows and piles of coins was published in 1999 and received an Honor award.

My friend at Kinderbooks and I were talking about books to read when we share the CBCA short listed title The Patchwork Bike later this term.  I am so glad my friend mentioned this book.

"By the dim light of a lantern, I feasted my eyes on the money. I couldn't believe it was all mine. I emptied the box, arranged all the coins in piles and the piles in rows. Then I counted the coins and thought about the bicycle I longed to buy."

Saruni longs for a bike.  Not just so he can enjoy riding but so he can help his mother on market days. His kindness is inspirational as is the generosity of the person who eventually makes sure this young boy does get a bike of his own.

Here is a review which will give you more detailed of the plot. You can see a video of the whole book here.  There are a lot of sets of teaching notes available for this book.  The author Tolowa M Mollel was born in Tanzania (the setting for this story) and now lives in Edmonton in Canada. He has written 16 books so I need to investigate them and add some more to our library.  I was also excited to see EB Lewis has done a new cover for Because of Winn Dixie.

Tilt by Mary Hoffman

Why did I pick up this book on a recent shopping expedition?

• Firstly the cover - Tilt - great title for a book about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• Secondly the author - I do love the writing of Mary Hoffman (I met her in London in 2012).  I always to read her book The Colour of Home to our senior classes.

The suggested reading/interest age for Tilt is 12+ but there is no reason why a senior Primary student should not read this book.

Netta (Simonetta) watches her father working on the tower at Pisa.  It is leaning but this is not the fault of her father. He is the head mason of the city but there have been other masons before him.

"Oh I know girls aren't supposed to be interested in the structure of buildings or in stone carving. But all my life I had seen my father come home from his work covered in marble dust or seen him drawing his designs for statues ... His work fascinated me, spoke to my every instinct, and I couldn't pretend to be keen on learning how to cook or clean and sew, as real daughters were supposed to."

So this book embraces themes of women's rights, science and technology, STEM subjects along with a fascinating historical setting of Pisa in 1298 all in just 92 pages.

Here are five questions with Mary Hoffman about Tilt.  Tilt is designed for readers with dyslexia. You can read more here.  You might like to read this detailed review.

The evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

"It turned out to be not a book at all but a wooden box trickily carved and painted to look like a calf-bound volume. Strange, I fiddled with it and found the catch and the box opened. Inside was a waxed paper parcel containing a thick roast beef sandwich. ... Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life really."

This is a description of a gift to Callie (Calpurnia Virginia Tate) by her Grandaddy.  None of her six brothers have even dared to talk to him but over the summer of 1899-1900 Callie ventures into his world - his workshop, his scientific endeavours and discovers her own passions and curiosity.  She reads the work of Darwin and her grand father shows her how to record her observations in her notebook - how to observe the world.

In 1899, though, a young lady is expected to learn sewing, knitting, cooking and housekeeping. Callie is eleven, almost twelve, and she has no interest in these things.

"My biscuits were like stone, my samplers askew, my seams like rickrack. ... My mother's life was a never-ending round of maintenance. Not one single thing she did ever achieve but that it had to be done all over again, one day, one week or one season later. Oh the monotony."

Callie does her best to rage against her mother's expectations so she can follow her desire to study plants and animals.  She has a warm relationship with her brothers but they do not share her interest. The title is simply perfect as we watch Callie evolve into a different girl aided by the gentle and wise encouragement of her precious grandfather.  Each chapter also begins with a quote from Darwin's famous book The Origin of the Species.

You can see this book is a Newbery honor book. I read all 338 pages in one day - yes it is that good!

Here is an excellent and very detailed review in the School Library Journal.  Read about Jacqueline Kelly and the sequel to The evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  Take a look at the Kirkus star review.  here is an interview with Jacqueline Kelly well worth reading.  Listen to this audio sample taken from page 14.

As an added bonus there are some wonderful words in this book :

quadroon
pestiferous
chivvied
repose
citadel
tenuous
perspicacious

I would follow this book with Chains and of course the sequel - The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate.

Set in a time of great change, this story combines humor, beautiful writing, and unforgettable characters, to give readers a book that they will remember long after 

the last page is read.

Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges illustrated by Sophie Blackall

I mentioned in a previous post that we have been exploring picture books with an Asian focus with our senior classes.  One of the first books we looked at was Ruby's Wish and it certainly generated some deep discussions.

Ruby is living in China in the early nineteenth century.  Her grandfather has made his fortune on the Gold Fields or "Gold Mountain.   That was what the Chinese called California when many men left to join the Gold Rush there."  As was the custom of the time, Grandfather has many wives and many sons who also have many wives and they all live together in a magnificent home.  "So at one time, the house was filled with the shrieks and laughter of over one hundred children."

Life is good for Ruby. She like to wear red but this is traditionally meant for celebrations.  This does not deter Ruby who adds a red ribbon to her jet black hair when her mother insists she must wear somber colours.  Grandfather is generous and so all the children are provided with lessons.  In spite of this, though, things are not always equal for boys and girls.  Ruby observes that girls are expected to learn cooking, keeping house and embroidery while the boys are free to play after class.

Ruby is careful with her calligraphy and is noticed by her grandfather.  One day she uses her calligraphy skills to write a heart-felt poem.

Alas bad luck to be born a girl; and worse lucky to be born 

into this house where only boys are cared for.

Her grandfather is given the poem and Ruby is summoned to his office. This is where the real skills of Ruby shine.  Her grandfather asks for examples of this inequality.  Her first example is small and unimportant. The boys get better cakes, Her second is also fairly minor. The boys have splendid lanterns in the shape of goldfish and dragons while the girl's are plain. Finally she makes her most important point :

"the boys will get to go to university, but the girls will be married."

How will her grandfather react?

Here are a set of teaching notes, Kirkus review and illustrator web site.  A note at the end of the book explains that this story was inspired by the author's mother - the real Ruby who did indeed attend university as one of the first female students.  You can see the whole book here.