books

Picture Book Nook: Bad Dog Flash by Ruth Paul

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I’m a sucker for a good dog story, especially when it features a very cute dog who you can’t help but love.  Bad Dog Flash is New Zealand author and illustrator Ruth Paul’s dog story.  Like her previous books, including the 2012 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards finalist book, Stomp, Ruth has proven that she can tell a fun and entertaining story using very few words and her delightful illustrations.

Bad Dog Flash is the story of a playful puppy whose games keep getting him in to trouble.  Whether it’s chasing the cat, digging a hole in the garden to hide his bone or chasing the washing on the line, he always gets told off.  However, as all dog lovers know, you can only be angry with your dog for so long, and then it’s back to giving them lots of love and affection.

Bad Dog Flash is a wonderful picture book, full of mischief and humour.  It certainly has the cute factor because I just want to pick the wee guy up and give him a cuddle.  Ruth Paul’s illustrations are soft, making Flash look fluffy and adorable, but she’s also given him loads of character.  Ruth has made Flash bouncy and full of energy (as all puppies are) and you can tell by the expression on his face and the curl of his tail that he’s happy.  Flash also has a really good guilty face.  You can tell by the way that Ruth has illustrated Flash and his actions that she is a dog person.  The way that Flash plays with his stick and the shoes is absolutely spot on.

The thing that I love the most about Ruth’s books is the way that she can tell such a wonderful story with so few words.  The text on the pages with Flash and his stick is ‘Push stick, poke stick…chew stick, chuck stick…’  Ruth could have used more words, but these eight words work so well just by themselves.  All you need are these action words and you can fill in the rest yourself.

The rhythm and rhyme of the text make the story a lot of fun to read aloud and I’m sure you’ll find the children joining in with you as repeat ‘Bad dog, Flash!’ Grab a copy of Bad Dog Flash from your library or bookshop and meet this loveable little troublemaker.

 

Tina Matthews reads A Great Cake

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Tina Matthews is a finalist in the 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards with her book, A Great Cake.  I’m a huge fan of Tina’s books, which she both writes and illustrates.  This video is Tina reading her wonderful book, and she tells me that there will be more videos to follow of her other books.

Light by Michael Grant

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CAUTION: May contain spoilers

I need to get this out of the way now: OMG! This book is AMAZING! Michael Grant, you are brilliant and I bow at your feet!  OK…calming down now.

Ever since Michael Grant launched his Gone series I have been wondering how the series would end.  With each book, the situation in the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) has got progressively worse.  When you trap a bunch of kids inside a dome (some with super powers), with no adults, limited food, disease, and no idea if or when they’ll ever get out, you know it isn’t going to end well.  After the previous book, Fear, I have to say I had no idea how the series was going to end.  One of the things I love about Michael Grant is that he certainly keeps you on your toes and isn’t afraid to shock you.  He certainly does this in the final book in the Gone series, Light.

All eyes are on Perdido Beach. The barrier wall is now as clear as glass and life in the FAYZ is visible for the entire outside world to see. Life inside the dome remains a constant battle and the Darkness, away from watchful eyes, grows and grows . . . The society that Sam and Astrid have struggled so hard to build is about to be shattered for good. It’s the end of the FAYZ. But who will survive to see the light of day?

Light is everything I hoped it would be and much, much more.  It is a truly EPIC conclusion to the series and the way in which Michael wrapped the series up left me totally satisfied.  I won’t go in to any details because I’d hate to spoil the ending, which fans have been waiting years for.  Michael had me on the edge of my seat and it was nerve-wracking from beginning to end.  I read it over a couple of days and found that I could think of little else but the story.  As soon as I put it down I wanted to know what was happening to the characters.  By the time I’d read the final page, I felt like I was a survivor of the FAYZ who had to adjust to normal life again.  You’ve been with these characters through the whole experience so you really feel like one of them.

Everything that I love about Michael Grant’s books is here in Light.  There is plenty of violence and gore (including some cannibalism), the action is non-stop, the suspense makes you tear out your hair and chew your fingernails, and there are the characters you love (and those you hate) fighting against incredible odds.  There is also plenty of death and destruction, and not all of the main characters survive the ordeal.  I found myself saying ‘Oh no Michael, not them!’ several times during the story.

Out of all the things I love about this series, it’s the characters that have made me keep reading.  Michael has created so many great characters in this series and they get a lot thrown at them.  From the very first book, I’ve wondered who would make it through to the end, and I’m pleased to say that Michael totally surprised me.  It has been really interesting to see how the characters react to different situations, and seeing their true nature shine through.  None of the characters have made it through unscathed and I’ve loved watching their development throughout the series.

Thank you Michael Grant for creating this incredible series and these memorable characters that I’ll never forget.  I absolutely found it worthwhile and I had so much fun getting lost in your crazy world.

Even though this series has ended, we still have much more of Michael Grant to look forward to, with his BZRK series, The Magnificent 12 series (for younger readers), and hopefully more of Eve and Adam (with his incredibly talented wife, Katherine Applegate).

5 out of 5 stars

Win a copy of Light

I have a copy of Light to give away to one lucky Gone fan.  All you have to do is enter your name and email address in the form below and tell me who is your favourite Gone series character.  Competition closes Wednesday 10 April (NZ and Australia only).

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The 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards Finalists

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nzpcba_new_logoThe finalists in the 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards were announced this morning.  There is a great selection of books this year, by some of our best authors and illustrators.  I think that the picture book and junior fiction categories are particularly strong and the judges have got a huge job ahead of them.  I’m aiming to read all of the finalists before the week of the Festival this year so I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each book here.  I’m also the Canterbury coordinator of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Festival and we’ve got some great events in the pipeline.

What are your favourites?

Picture Book

  • mr-whistler-cover-working-final-2.inddA Great Cake, written and illustrated by Tina Matthews
  • Melu, written by Kyle Mewburn and illustrated by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly
  • Mister Whistler, written by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by Gavin Bishop
  • Mr Bear Branches and the Cloud Conundrum, written and illustrated by Terri Rose Baynton
  • Remember that November, written by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Lindy Fisher

Junior Fiction

  • The ACB with Honora Lee, written by Kate De Goldi and illustrated by Gregory O’Brien
  • The Queen and the Nobody Boy by Barbara Else
  • My Brother’s War by David Hill
  • Red Rocks by Rachael King
  • Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull by Jack Lasenby

Young Adult Fiction

  • Earth Dragon, Fire Hare by Ken Catran
  • Into the River by Ted Dawe
  • The Nature of Ash by Mandy Hager
  • Reach by Hugh Brown
  • Snakes and Ladders by Mary-anne Scott

Non Fiction

  • 100 Amazing Tales from Aotearoa by Simon Morton and Riria Hotere
  • At the Beach: Explore and discover the New Zealand seashore by Ned Barraud and Gillian Chandler
  • Kiwi: the real story by Annemarie Florian and Heather Hunt
  • Taketakerau, The Millenium Tree by Marnie Anstis, Patricia Howitt and Kelly Spencer

Enter the Skulduggery Pleasant Exquisite Corpse Competition

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Are you a huge Skulduggery Pleasant fan? Well here’s the competition for you.

I received a very exciting email today from HarperCollins, the publisher of Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series.  The email was about a new competition that HarperCollins and Derek Landy are running for all Skulduggery fans, to celebrate the release of The Maleficent Seven.  There are some awesome prizes up for grabs and it’s super easy to enter.  Read all about it below and enter your masterpiece.

INTRODUCING EXQUISITE CORPSE

“There are things, pieces of artwork, stories… creations. Objects that burn with an inner light. These things have power. They are fused with the magic imbued in them by their creators. They are fragments of their creators’ minds, of their very souls, fragments taken and cut free, wrenched loose, torn from them for all to see and then stitched together to form a patchwork world, a collage of dreams… an Exquisite Corpse.” Your Golden God, Derek Landy

Exquisite Corpse is our very first fan works competition!

We know you’re awesome. You know you’re awesome. We know that you know that you’re… you get the idea. But the thing is, sometimes it’s not enough to just know, sometimes you have to show everyone else. So, this is your chance. We’re looking for fan works, created by you, inspired by the Golden God himself. Derek, that is. And we’re going to have a theme. This month, unsurprisingly, the theme is Tanith Low. We love her. You love her. Get to it!

You can submit anything… well, anything you’ve created. It could be a poem, a drawing, a short story (under 1,000 words, please, we know how prolific you all get, and Derek needs a little time to, you know, finish Book 8), it could be a Haiku, a clay model, a photo montage. Anything you like, as long as it was inspired by Tanith.

Simply email it – or a picture of it – to us at skulduggery@harpercollins.co.uk.

Derek will judge the entries, and then one lucky fan will WIN the chance to be featured in our newsletter and on the Skulduggery Pleasant website, as the creator of the Exquisite Corpse Work of the Month! Everyone who enters will get an exclusive The Maleficent Seven themed poster, plus we’ll also send the winner a signed copy of The Maleficent Seven.

Derek Landy’s new book, The Maleficent Seven, is a one-off novella focusing on Tanith Low.  The Maleficent Seven is released in NZ on April 18.  Look out for my review soon and your chance to win a copy.

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

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Every time I read a book by Cornelia Funke I’m taken to a magical place filled with all sorts of wonderful creatures and characters.  While her worlds are strange and very different from ours there is also something really comforting about stepping in to them.  With Cornelia Funke you know that you’re going to read a story that will enchant you and I find myself instantly transported there from the first page.  I can still remember the first time I read Inkheart (my favourite children’s book) and feeling like Cornelia had written the book just for me.  Her latest series, starting with Reckless and now Fearless, is aimed at an older audience but filled with all the things I love about her writing.

After saving his brother, Jacob Reckless faces death from the fairy’s curse burning in his heart. In search of a cure he returns to the Mirrorworld, where he is reunited with Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting girl. He has one more chance: a golden crossbow, with the power to both save and destroy life, buried in a dead king’s tomb beneath an invisible palace. Jacob must cross continents, face monsters and men – including a dangerous rival – and learn what it means to stay alive.

Fearless picks up where Reckless left off and takes us back in to the Mirrorworld.  We join Jacob and Fox on a kind of ‘Amazing Race’ through the Mirrorworld to find the head, hand and heart of Guismond the Witch Slayer, which will lead them to the crossbow.  On the opposing team is Nerron the Goyl, a treasure hunter like Jacob, prince Louis and his entourage.  Each wants the crossbow for their own means and they’re incredibly determined to get to it first.

Cornelia’s remarkable characters and creatures fill the pages of this book, from the stone-skinned Goyl and the slimy Waterman, to the mysterious Mr Earlking and the sinister Bluebeard.  Some of the creatures are all her own creation, whereas others, like the Trolls, Giants and Dijin you will have met before in other stories.  I love the way that Cornelia weaves fairy tales in to the story too.  As Jacob is a treasure hunter he often gets sent to retrieve magical items for important people, like Cinderella’s glass slipper or the goose that lays the golden eggs.  You never follow Jacob on any of these quests though, you only hear about them in passing when he’s recounting the tales with his mentor Chanute or Valiant the Dwarf.  The character in Fearless that I found most intriguing was the Bluebeard, a sinister character who appears charming, but hides his true nature behind his clean-shaven face.  Watch out for this guy because he’s really creepy.

Fearless (and Reckless) are certainly darker and grittier than Cornelia’s Inkheart series, but fans of that series will love this one.  It’s like Cornelia has instilled the essence of the original fairy tales into her stories.  I really hope that there are more books to come in the Mirrorworld series, as it feels like Cornelia has just scratched the surface of this world and has plenty more to reveal about her characters.

5 0ut of 5 stars

Win a copy of Reckless and Fearless

I have a copy of both Fearless and the first book in the series, Reckless to give away.  To get in the draw all you have to do is enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Tuesday 9 April (NZ only).

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Win When We Wake signed by Karen Healey

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Last Friday we were lucky enough to host Karen Healey in Christchurch as part of NZ Book Month.  Karen talked about her latest book, When We Wake, and the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ stories that inspired her.  Karen is a great speaker, as well as an amazing writer, so it was a thoroughly entertaining hour.  You can read my review of When We Wake here on the blog.

I have a copy of When We Wake, signed by Karen Healey, to give away.  To get into the draw just enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Monday 8 April (NZ and Australia only).

Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner is Rachel Crewe.

Official US book trailer for Michael Grant’s Light

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This US book trailer for Michael Grant’s Light is quite different from the UK version but I think it’s great.  Light is one of my Easter reads and it’s fantastic but very nerve-wracking.  Light is the final book in Michael Grant’s Gone series and it’s available in NZ and Australia now.

James Dashner on The Maze Runner vs. The Eye of Minds

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James Dashner talks about the difference between The Maze Runner and his upcoming book, The Eye of Minds.  If you’re a James Dashner fan, you need to check out his Dashner Chat on Twitter.  Just head to Twitter and search #dashnerchat.

Hang in There Bozo by Lauren Child

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You’ve heard of Bear Grylls and James Bond, right? Well they have nothing on ever-resourceful spy Ruby Redfort.  For this year’s World Book Day, Lauren Child (creator of Ruby Redfort and Clarice Bean) wrote Hang in There Bozo: The Ruby Redfort Emergency Survival Guide for Some Tricky Predicaments.  It’s the cheapest and most accessible survival guide you’ll ever read.

Ruby Redfort: secret agent, detective, thirteen-year-old kid. And now… survival expert.

It’s not always possible to skip around smelling roses, ’cos sometimes you’re too busy gripping onto the cliff edge by your fingernails. But 99 times out of 100 it’s worth hanging in there bozo: just as things can get worse so too can they get a whole lot better. In this handy pocket-sized book, Ruby will give you the low-down on how to survive a whole bunch of tricky situations. So long as you keep a cool head, buster, you can make it out of there alive …

Hang in There Bozo is the ultimate survival guide, packed with tips and tricks from Ruby Redfort herself.  If you you’d like to know how to survive in the wild, but can’t stand Bear Grylls, you need to read this book, written in Ruby’s unique voice.  If you’ve read any of Lauren Child’s Ruby Redfort books you’ll know that Ruby likes to use the words ‘bozo’ and ‘buster’ a lot, and there are rules that she lives by.  This is all here in this book, along with heaps of really great survival tips like:

  • How to stay calm in a life-and-death situation
  • How to make a fire and find water
  • How to navigate using the stars or a compass
  • What to do if you’re lost in the desert or marooned at sea
  • How to charm a snake – ‘Don’t even go there buster’
  • What to do if you should meet a bear – ‘Wish you hadn’t’
  • Dealing with individuals who you know are dangerously dull

The best thing about this book is that it’s pocket sized so you can take it everywhere (especially when you go camping) and it’s only $4.99.  It has to be the cheapest, but most awesome, survival guide ever!