Children's and Young Adult Books
Strange Journeys: The works of Gary Crew by Bernard McKenna and Sharyn Pearce
Rise & Shine by David Legge & I Know That by Candida Baker, illustrated by Alison Kubbos
The Listmaker by Robin Klein & The Apostle Bird by Garry Disher
A Dream of Seas by Lilith Norman & The Secret Beach by Jackie French
‘Years ago we threw the old didacticism (dowdy morality) out of the window; it has come back in at the door wearing modern dress (smart values) and we do not even recognise it.’ John Rowe Townsend’s words, from more than a quarter of a century ago, retain a fresh ring of truthfulness. I recalled them after reading The Girl with No Name (Puffin, $8.95 pb), Pat Lowe’s first novel for children.
... (read more)Hero, Allan Baillie’s sixth novel for young readers, shows this seasoned storyteller at his best. Succinct yet incisive, it is a highly disciplined display of how tight technique can turn a single incident into an exciting story. Right from the first line, ‘A single drop of water exploded on Pamela Browning’s open exercise book’, we know we are on the precipice of an event towards which every mumble on the earth and rumble in the sky lead.
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