The Courage of Magnolia Moon by Edwina Wyatt illustrated by Katherine Quinn

"For whoever she was and however she changed. Whatever she dared to be. It was a fact. 

Proved to be true. And with that one simple fact she knew that everything would be okay. 

Since love gave you the courage to face anything. Love made you brave. It was the light in the dark. The anchor to the ship. The sticky jam in the jar that caught all the crumbs. 

You could not buy it. It could not be spent and used up. It came free."

Magnolia is ten now, almost eleven. Each chapter of this book describes different life experiences where Magnolia has to find courage and in the process discover a little about herself and others. The final chapter, chapter 10, contains a summary of her year:

"It was true. After all she had been to the dentist, failed a maths test and fought an underwater battle with a pool vacuum cleaner. She had discovered a black hole. Helped save the planet from more rubbish and stood up for what was right when a friend had needed her. Visited her sick grandmother in the hospital. Lost a dog and a brand-new bedroom. She had followed her heart and told the truth even when it was as ugly as the bottom of the compost bucket. And she had almost been to jail!"

In the Magnolia Moon stories, Edwina Wyatt adds sweet little ideas about time. I talked about this in my post for the first book The secrets of Magnolia Moon such as "Four days - that's a lifetime for a stomach lining".  She also plays the fruit game with her best friend Imogen May. I think I would like to be an apple!

Each chapter in this book is a complete story so this book would be a perfect family read aloud. The chapters are given titles about aspect of courage - Bruised courage; Deep courage; Half courage; Dark courage; Heart courage; Big courage; Lost courage; Tough courage; True courage; and New courage.

This is the third book in the series about Magnolia Moon (I wish I was ten years old and her friend - Magnolia is a very special little girl). I decided to re-read the first instalment this week before jumping into book three. I loved The Secrets of Magnolia Moon all over again and then today I read all of The Courage of Magnolia Moon and as you can see I am giving it five stars. The final scene at the school dance is simply perfect. This is such a splendid series and I highly recommend you add them to your primary school library shelves. 

The third Magnolia Moon book is lyrical and delightful, just like the first two. It is a gentle story that shows kids – and adults – that being brave comes in lots of shapes and sizes, and that it can make us feel anxious and uneasy, but there is also power in being brave and courageous. The Book Muse

The Secrets of Magnolia Moon

The Magic of Magnolia Moon

Well done to Walker books on their design of these small hardcover books. I would be happy to add all three to my own shelves - they make such a sweet little set. 

Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin illustrated by Astred Hicks

Things that appealed to me about this book:

• The cover
• The back story of the real shipwreck off the coast of south-west Victoria in 1891 which contained exotic animals including a real rhinoceros
• The apple pie recipe at the back of the book
• The small sections of text where we read the thoughts/perspective of Rhino himself
• The themes of justice for animals and healing for humans
• The beautiful "voice" of young Evie
• The wonderful happy ending

Publisher blurb: A moving tale about love, connection and the healing power of friendship. 1891 On a stormy night off the coast of southern Australia, a ship transporting a cargo of exotic animals tosses and turns in enormous seas. Rhino senses they are in grave danger. Not far away, ten-year-old Evie and her grandfather shelter in their crumbling, once-grand old home. They know too well how deadly storms can be. When all is calm, Evie treks over the dunes to the sea and makes a discovery that will change her life, and Rhino’s, forever. Will the tragedies of their pasts finally be put to rest?

This book was published in October 2022. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance copy.

Narrated in the present tense, this charming story of friendship and conservation will be enjoyed by those who like adventure, animals, and justice. McMullin’s descriptive language and captivating story-telling leave the reader wanting more after each chapter. In addition, she incorporates the rhino’s perspective, narrated alongside the child’s perspective, which allows the reader to fully understand the bond between Evie and Rhino. Reading Time

I would pair this book with this picture book:

Recently on a social media forum someone asked for books to read after Storm Boy. Here is their request: Hi everyone! I just read Storm Boy to my 7-year-old son and he loved it, and wants to read more real-life stories about special friendships with animals. 

I did disagree with a few of the suggestions especially Pax by Sara Pennypacker which in my view is aimed at a much older reader and I would like to say save this for later.  I would suggest Evie and Rhino might be a book this parent could read with their child. Other books suggested on the forum were: 

Wandi by Favel Parrett (this could be perfect)

Blueback by Tim Winton

One dog and his boy by Eva Ibbotson (not a true story)

The last bear by Hannah Gold

The dog with seven names by Dianne Wolfer

Speedy by Colin Thiele

The one and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I previously talked about two picture books by Neridah McMullin

Fabish - the horse that braved a bushfire

Drover

The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper by Margaret Mahy illustrated by Helen Craig

First off I do need to tell you this book was first published in 1990 so it is long OUT of Print!! If you are a publisher reading this book (I know that is unlikely) but can I BEG you to republish this gem and then consider publishing lots of other Margaret Mahy titles (so many are brilliant). If you are not a publisher then I do hope you can find this book in your local or school library. 

This book is a perfect book to read aloud. I dream one day of using this book with a group of teacher education students - reading it aloud - as a way to show them the magic of a perfect read aloud book! The library I visit each week had a copy of The Pumpkin Man and the Crafty Creeper on their shelves and I was thrilled to see it was the larger format hardcover edition. My old library copy (which very very sadly was tossed out by my unqualified replacement) was just a small, very flimsy, paperback.

Mr Parkin loves his pumpkins.  On his way back from the garden store, pushing his wheel barrow filled with the very best potting mix, he passes a small plant creeping out from under a metal gate. The gate belongs Lily Rose Willowherb. 

The plant had "trumpet-shaped flowers of such a pure and beautiful blue that they reminded Mr Parking of the sky on a midsummer's day. For a moment his loyalty to pumpkins wavered."

But Mr Parkin should not stop to talk to this plant - she is utterly treacherous. Of course Mr Parkin is not listening to me!  The plant tells Mr Parkin she is being abused by Lily Rose Willowherb. 

"She makes me stay out in all weathers. She never reads to me or helps me enjoy the finer things of life. Take me home with you, and I will be your humble little pot plant, though I am actually a rare and valuable species."

Mr Parkin is not sure this is a good idea but the little plant tells him this is not stealing. She is happy to creep, creep, creep into his wheelbarrow. 

At home Mr Parkin put her in a pot, but this is a huge mistake because now her demands begin - more water, but not too much. Turn on the television - alas for the creeper Mr Parkin does not own a television. She demands entertainment. Mr Parkin tries playing his banjo but she is not satisfied.

"I can't bear it ... I need music, poetry, light and laughter. Is that too much to ask?"

Mr Parkin phones up the 'Dial-an-Orchestra' people who are listed in the telephone book. Just to add an aside at this point it would be such fun to show your young readers a real telephone book and also, if you can find The Boy who was Followed Home (also my Margaret Mahy) you might compare this scene with the one where the parents look up witches in their telephone book and find Mrs Cathy Squinge. 

Now back to the book.

The orchestra agree to come to Mr Parkin's house and they will bring their own strawberries but they also want champagne and a piano. Of course Mr Parkin does not own a grand piano but the orchestra come anyway. They fill up the kitchen and even have to perch on top of the fridge.

"The orchestra played mightily, sustaining itself with strawberries and champagne in between minuets and mazurkas."

But the creeper is not satisfied. She demands Mr Parkin read her some poetry and at that moment Lily Rose Willowherb arrives. She has heard the orchestra and has guessed her naughty plant is causing havoc for her poor unsuspecting neighbour. 

"He kidnapped me! He kidnapped me! ... He reached through the gate and dragged me into his wheel barrow. ... I'm too sensitive for this rough life ... I'm beginning to droop."

"You? Droop? You're as tough as old boots,' said Lily Rose Willowherb, whisking it out of its pot. 'You're so tough you're practically a weed!"

When I read this book aloud in my library I would always gather some ivy or other "creeping" plant so the children (Grade 2) could see the way creepers cling onto walls and fences. 

To those attuned, the satire here cuts with rapier precision, but Mahy's use of language is so deft and good-humoured that her tale will also be read as more lighthearted hyperbole. Illustrator Craig nicely extends the characterisations, adding plenty of amusing details Kirkus Star review

Margaret Mahy, as I have said in previous posts, was a superb storyteller. I do love the way each of her books has a different illustrator. This one is illustrated by the wonderful Helen Craig who also illustrated Jam. (And the Angelina Ballerina book series). 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Mac Barnett illustrated by Jon Klassen

"Who seeks to reach the grassy ridge? Who dares to walk across my bridge?"

This book is a delicious retelling of the famous story. It is not a fractured version instead it is a rich retelling with wonderful illustrations. Every school library needs to add this book to their collection.

I especially love all the ways the troll imagines cooking the goats that cross his bridge:

"A rump of goat in honey glaze. Goat smoked, goat poached, a goat pot roast. Goat smorgasbord! Goat smeared on toast! Goat escargot (That's goat plus snails)."

"Goat Benedict with hollandaise. Goat jerky, jerk goat, curried goat. Goat gravy in a silver boat. Goat flambe with candied yams. A goat clambake with goat, not clams!"

Three Billy Goats Gruff is a Norwegian fairy tale, collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe and first published between 1841 and 1844.

It’s amusing verbal play, and librarians and caregivers who love to read out loud will enjoy hamming it up ...  Kirkus review

I love how the illustrations grow from a small strip at the bottom of the first page to a full-page spread when the big goat does his thing.  Kids will love the story, too, with its funny troll and just enough disgusting details thrown in. Kids Book a Day

In this video Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett talk about their book. Here is the splendid trailer. 

I'm sure you will want to read other versions of this famous tale:

Always Clementine by Carlie Sorosiak

She's a mouse. She's a genius. She's on the run.

Clementine is a mouse living in a laboratory. She has been breed to test intelligence. She has a super brain. But one of the lab workers is distressed by the cruelty to the animals as they are used for science experiments and so one evening he grabs Clementine and another mouse named Hamlet. He does not know where to take them without getting caught himself, so he ends up putting them into the letter box of a well-known television presenter. 

"Back at the lab, I had many theories about the Outside: what would it smell like (fresh), what would it taste like (woodchips but woodier.). I wondered if the Outside was just another series of boxes, a maze within a maze. But it isn't. It's open! It's wide!"

Pop, the owner of the letterbox, is a former chess champion. His grandson Gus has come to stay for the Summer. Pop has given up chess and he won't explain why. Gus is a keen player but at Pop's he has to play by himself until they both discover Clementine is a genius and brilliant at chess. She is also a fugitive. How can Pop and Gus save Clementine and her friend Hamlet and can they also save the other poor mice back in the lab?

This lab does not just have mice, though. Clementine has a best friend at the lab - a chimpanzee named Rosie. Clementine is so desperate to return to her friend but she also discovers the scientists have plans to dissect her brain so returning is way too dangerous. All Clementine can do for now is write letters (in her mind) to her best friend. That is the structure of this book - it is a series of letters from Clementine to Rosie - a blow by blow account of her six days of freedom.

Do you see my five stars for this book? I read this whole book (308 pages) in one sitting. I highly recommend you add this book to your library shopping list. It might also be a terrific class read aloud for Grade 4 or 5. 

Starting with the adorable cover, this is a book that is sure to appeal to animal lovers and may turn some of them into activists. Kids Book a Day

Friendship and love are key in this poignant, sometimes gently humorous book, as are the importance of social justice and what true goodness really means. Be prepared to lose your heart to Clementine as she bares her soul in her letters. Red Reading Hub

Publisher blurb: I am an optimist. A very difficult thing to be, sometimes, at three inches tall. Clementine is a genius. She can calculate pi to 69,689 places, remembers the exact moment she was born, and dreams in Latin.  She’s also a mouse.  And when she escapes from the lab which has bred her, Clementine discovers that it’s not enough to be the smartest mouse in history if she wants to survive in the real world – especially while the scientists who kept her are trying to recover their prize specimen. So, together with her new human friends, Clementine must find a way to earn her freedom – for good.

You can hear the first chapter here.

Book Depository blurb: Clementine is different from other mice: she can calculate the speed of light and she dreams in Latin. The scientists say she's a genius and put her through test after test. Clementine is proud of being a good lab mouse, but she's lonely. Her only snatches of friendship occur during her late-night visits with a chimpanzee named Rosie. When a compassionate lab technician frees Clementine, the mouse discovers an outside world full of wonders: Brussels sprouts, games of speed chess, television fame, and a chance for a real home. But for Clementine, it's not enough to be free when she knows that Rosie and the other mice are not. 

Here is another cover from the hardcover edition - I prefer it - do you?

The most obvious book to link with Clementine is The One and Only Ivan.  Other companion reads are:

Word of Mouse

Mousenet

The Umbrella Mouse

A couple of years ago I read another book by Carlie Sorosiak - it's another five star book. Here are the US and UK covers:

I, Cosmo

Badger is Bored by Moritz Petz illustrated by Amélie Jackowski translated by Marshall Yarbrough

Lucky, lucky, lucky - that's my song today. I am SO lucky to be able to visit one of the very best school libraries in Australia! YES it truly is THAT good/wonderful/magical/special!!

Last week I spied the third book in the badger series by Moritz Pelz published by North South and I screamed yippee!! This morning I sat down to read this newest instalment and it did not disappoint - in fact I think every Primary school library should add all three of these books to their collection. 

Badger is Bored celebrates the power of imagination, the importance of play and the wonderful things that can happen when a group of friends come together. It also celebrates problem solving and perseverance. Badger is indeed bored but he does try to distract himself. He attempts some painting but it is not much fun. Then his friend Fox arrives. Badger suggests they could build a den. But again that doesn't really excite them. All through the day various friends arrive and each time Badger suggests different projects but everyone is just in such a slump today. You can see their attempts at a card game in the illustration below. 

Finally Mouse arrives. He is wearing a eye patch. Mouse looks like a pirate! 

"That's it!,' cried Badger. 'Mouse will be a pirate princess!' 

'And we'll need a pirate ship!' cried Fox"

And so the fun begins. They build a splendid ship, create a treasure map and Deer helps Mouse to bake some delicious cookies. 

"the animals sang a grisly pirate song, and the storm decided he'd better go off and do his storming somewhere else."

At the end of the glorious day all the friends share ideas about what they will play tomorrow and these are listed on the final end paper:

• Mouse is going to make some pretty bracelets.
• Fox is going to play hide-and-seek.
• Rabbit is going to write Bear a letter.
• Squirrel is going to play dress-up.
• Raccoon is going to play with play dough.
• Blackbird is going to paint stones.
• Deer is going to make a collage.

Badger is Bored! was originally published in Switzerland in 2022 with the title Der Dachs hat heute Langeweile! (Badger is Bored Today!).  Well he might be bored today but I am certain he, and his gang of friends, will NOT be bored tomorrow. I also love the way Badger keep taking the lead with his friends - making suggestions for appealing activities. He reminds me of Elmer (David McKee), Frog (Max Velhuijs) and even in a slightly crazy way - Tacky (Helen Lester). 

Our Table by Peter H Reynolds

One of my favourite things is when, it's a simple thing really, someone enthusiastically passes me a book, especially a picture book. Yesterday my colleague in Westmead Children's Hospital Book Bunker (library) pointed out Our Table which we had on a small display stand. I do wish we had room for more book displays - front facing books are way more enticing to readers that shelves full of spines.

Okay so now I have read a book that I want to share, gift, thrust into the hands of EVERY parent I see reading their phone and ignoring the precious little child in their care.

There are lines in this book that made me cheer and gasp:

"Recently, though, Violet found herself alone at the table. Her family had become busy. Very busy."

"She found her mother on the staircase ... charring silently on her phone."

"Violet found her brother in his room playing games with friends she could not see."

Then Violet sees that the family dining table, where everyone used to gather to talk and laugh, has now disappeared. Luckily Violet is a problem solver, she is a girl of action! She asks her father to join her to watch a carpentry program; she asks her mother to send a message on social media seeking a person who can build a table; she asks her brother to use his computer to draw a plan and then the action begins. 

You should share this book with parents, other adults, young children and older children. If you are looking for a text to explore the use of colours to express emotions this book is perfect. Violet's memories of the past are colourful but the technology distractions of her family make her world turn a monochrome purple. Building the new table, sharing stories around the table and the simple act of everyone coming together once again means life for the whole family is once again filled with vibrant colours.

Take a look at the trailer. 

In Reynolds’ established tradition, this story is simple and full of heart, celebrating the wonder and possibility of being human and being in relationship. Kirkus Star review

Our Table is a modern fable that is timeless for children and adults. It is a heartfelt, uplifting and important message for all families to balance their time connecting with each other and setting limits on their use of technical devices.  Children's Books Heal

I have talked about the wonderful and important books by Peter H Reynolds in previous posts such as this one.