The Peculiar is a wonderful new fantasy story, by debut author Stefan Bachman. I haven’t read a good fantasy in a while and this is making me fall in love with the genre all over again. The faery have crossed over into Britain and it’s now populated by humans, the faery and halflings. I’ll post my review of The Peculiar here on the blog next week and you’ll have a chance to win a copy.
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachman is out now from HarperCollins NZ.
Zom-B is one of the most horrific, gruesome, twisted stories for teens I’ve ever read, and I loved every minute of it! It’s the first book in Darren Shan’s new 12-book series and Zom-B left me hungry for more. It’s out now in Australia and New Zealand.
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
Darren Shan is the master of horror stories for children and teens. His vampire series, The Saga of Darren Shan, and the Demonata series have been hugely popular. Now Darren has turned to another staple of the horror genre, zombies. You may think that this has been done many times before, but Darren has created a fresh and original zombie tale, with plenty of bone-crunching and brain-chomping.
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B Smith’s racist father thinks it’s a joke– but even if it isn’t, he figures, it’s ok to lose a few Irish. B doesn’t fully buy into Dad’s racism, but figures it’s easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. But when zombies attack B’s school, B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors, making allegiances with anyone with enough guts to fight off their pursuers.
Zom-B is one of the most horrific, gruesome, twisted stories for teens I’ve ever read, and I loved every minute of it! Darren leaves nothing to the imagination, vividly describing the way the zombies crack open skulls with their claw-like hands and devour their victim’s brains. It’s one of the only books that has made me cringe at the actions of the characters, and I couldn’t read it before bed, for fear that zombies would invade my dreams.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a main character who makes me hate them before either. B’s father is an incredibly racist man, who is part of different groups who want a ‘white’ Britain, so B is brought up with these views. He is a vicious man, who beats his wife and shares his racist views freely. Every time he opened his mouth I cringed and I didn’t really want to hear anything he had to say. Just when you think he might have had a change of heart, he shocks you again. B struggles with these views, but they often take over and B ends up beating up black kids or Indian kids at school. This is the first book in a 12 book series so we will have to wait and see if their views change.
Darren Shan’s zombies are not your average zombie. When you turn into a zombie, your teeth thicken and become very sharp, and claws grow out of your fingers and toes, making them perfect for digging into skulls to get to the brains. It’s not known where the zombies came from, but there is a sinister figure in the book that I’m sure has something to do with it. No doubt Darren will drip feed us details over the course of the series.
There are several shocking twists in the story that blew me away, especially the ending. At one stage I had to reread what I’d just read several times to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. Darren leaves you hungry for more (story not brains) and I can’t wait to get my hands on book two!
5 out of 5 stars
NB: This is not a book for a primary school library. It’s perfect for fans of Darren Shan and anyone who likes horror, including adults.
Mister Whistler is the wonderful new picture book by Margaret Mahy, with stunning illustrations by Gavin Bishop. I absolutely love Mister Whistler and it’s my favourite New Zealand picture book of the year (you can read my review here). Everyone should have this book on their bookshelf!
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
Saturday 13 October is International Ivy + Bean Day, when we celebrate two very cool characters created by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall. Book shops and libraries all over the world (including here in New Zealand) are having special Ivy + Bean parties. I’m hosting one in my library, with activities, games, giveaways and a reading of the latest Ivy + Bean story. Here is Annie Barrows to tell you all about International Ivy + Bean Day:
I sat down with Ivy and Bean to ask them a few questions about their favourite things and what they like about each other. Thanks for joining us Ivy and Bean!
Ivy: Bean was running away from home.
Bean: I had to run away from home. Because of Nancy. That’s my older sister.
Ivy: You had to run away from home because you wiggled your behind at Nancy.
Bean: But I wouldn’t have wiggled my behind at her if she hadn’t been trying to get me in trouble.
Ivy: But she wouldn’t have been trying to get you in trouble if you hadn’t taken her twenty dollars.
Bean: But I wouldn’t have taken her twenty dollars if she hadn’t been such a tightwad.
Ivy: So really, it was Nancy who helped us meet.
Bean: Sometimes Nancy’s okay.
Bean: She can cross one eye without crossing the other.
Ivy: One time, Bean ate wood for a dollar.
Ivy: There’s this girl named Nellie in the book I’m reading who’s really annoying. She says mean things about the main girl’s dog.
Bean: She’s not real. You can’t say she’s the most annoying person you know, because you don’t really know her.
Ivy: I know her. I’m reading about her.
Bean: But she’s not real. She’s in a book. You have to say someone real.
Ivy: You.
Bean: You.
Bean: Syrup! Or doughnut holes! I love doughnut holes! I can stick four of them in my mouth at once and then I smash them flat between my tongue and the top of my mouth. It’s great!
Ivy: Chocolate mousse. I used to think it was made out of moose.
Ivy: I’m going to be a witch.
Bean: I’m going to write the fortunes that go inside fortune cookies. Or be an arborist. I haven’t decided.
Bean: I don’t want to talk about it. Sometimes, people are thinking about other stuff and aren’t paying attention every single little second and they don’t exactly see where they’re going and it’s not their fault.
Ivy: It could have happened to anyone. It probably does happen to almost everyone, but maybe not when twenty-six other kids are watching.
Bean: And their parents.
Ivy: Never mind. They probably would have painted that part of the room over anyway.
Ivy: Crazy?
Bean: Crazy?
Ivy: Do we do anything crazy?
Bean: Nah. He must be talking about someone else.
One of my favourite picture books from last year was Stephanie Blake’s Poo Bum!, published by the wonderful Gecko Press. It’s a book that kids immediately love (and end up repeating Simon’s favourite phrase) and divides adults (they either love it or hate it). Thanks to Gecko Press I have a Poo Bum badge that I wear with pride in the library, which makes a great talking point. Gecko Press have just published Stephanie Blake’s second book featuring Simon the rabbit, Stupid Baby, and it’s just as hilarious as Poo Bum!
In Stupid Baby, Simon has just gotten a new baby brother. Simon is always getting told off because he’s making too much noise. Of course, Simon doesn’t like his new brother at all and wants the ‘stupid baby’ to go back to where he came from. His parents tell him that the baby is here to stay, but he won’t stay forever will he? What a stupid baby!
Stupid Baby is a spectacular picture book! I loved Simon in Poo Bum and he is certainly on fine form in this book. He’s such an amusing character, who is pretty horrible, but loveable at the same time. Although he acts all tough and mean, he worries just as much as most kids. He’s scared of the dark and the wolves that are coming to get him, and he’s scared that his baby brother might stay forever. The text is simple, but the wonderful translation and the design of the text make the story special. The variation of the text size helps the reader to put the emphasis in the right place, whether it’s the Ka-boom! of the rocket or whispering around the teeny, tiny baby. Stephanie Blake’s illustrations are big, bold and bright (similar to Lucy Cousins’ illustrations) making them appealing to kids. There is no white space in Stupid Baby, every page is colourful. The bright red cover, with Simon in his superhero outfit, jumps off the shelf and shouts ‘READ ME!’ I love the page where Simon is worrying about all sorts of things, as his expression goes from worried to angry. I also love Simon’s wide-eyed expression when he’s worrying about the wolves.
The ending is unexpected and will have kids rolling around on the floor laughing. Get a copy of Stupid Baby now and meet the worst role model in the picture book world.
Children love singing and dancing to songs like ‘The Wheels on the Bus,’ ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm,’ and ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It.’ In the last few years there have been a number of books, based on these action songs, that have been given a Kiwi twist. Donovan Bixley’s The Wheels on the Bus and Old MacDonald’s Farm, and Do Your Ears Hang Low by The Topp Twins and Jenny Cooper, are recent favourites of mine. Scholastic New Zealand, along with Kiwi entertainer Pio Terei and illustrator Stevie Mahardhika, have just released a Kiwi version of ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It,’ called If You’re a Kiwi and You Know It!
They have taken the original action song and given it a Kiwi twist by adding in some of our wonderful wildlife. Kids can join in the song and dig for worms like a kiwi, dive and play like a dolphin, strut around like a pukeko, slither away like an eel, and many more. The actions are easy to do and you can have a lot of fun pretending to be different creatures. Stevie Mahardhika’s illustrations are beautiful and they get funnier as you go through the book. I love how each of the animals pretends to be a different animal (the kiwi and pukeko trying to dive like a dolphin and flap their flippers like a seal are absolutely hilarious!).
The book comes with a great CD of Pio Terei singing the song (and just the guitar accompaniment), as well as a Te Reo Maori version of the song. Thank you so much Scholastic New Zealand for including the Te Reo version of the song on the CD and for including the Te Reo lyrics in the back of the book (rather than as a separate book). This is a godsend for librarians like myself who will use this book and CD in their preschool sessions in the library, and for parents all over the country. We certainly need more bilingual books of this quality. Get a copy of If You’re a Kiwi and You Know It! from your library or bookshop now, and sing and dance along with our wonderful wildlife.
4 out of 5 stars
Zom-B is the first book in a new 12-book series from the master of horror, Darren Shan. It’s classic Darren Shan – totally creepy, with lots of blood and guts. Look out next week for my review and your chance to win a copy.
A Medal for Leroy is Michael Morpurgo’s latest book. It’s a story of war, love and family secrets from this master storyteller. If you haven’t read a Michael Morpurgobook you don’t know what you’re missing.
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not like he’ll ever know what happened…
This Is Not My Hat is a perfect picture book. The story is quirky and captures children’s attention, the illustrations are wonderful and the ending is unexpected. The thing that really makes this picture book stand out for me is that the illustrations tell a slightly different story to the text. Tiny fish tells us that Big Fish probably won’t wake up for a long time and that he probably won’t notice that his hat is gone, but the illustrations tell us that this is not the case. The humour of the story comes from these mismatched illustrations and text. This just goes to show you what an incredibly talented story teller Jon is and the wonderful things that can be achieved in the 32 pages of a picture book.
Jon’s illustrations are quite basic, but he has managed to convey so much humour and emotion on each page. I love the way that Big Fish’s expression changes when he realises something isn’t quite right and he figures out pretty quickly what has happened. Jon uses a very limited colour palette in his illustrations (mostly brown, green, blue, grey and black) and these set the tone of the story. It’s not all bright and colourful so you know straight away that it’s not going to be a bright and happy story. I like the way that the story moves with the fish (swimming away towards the right) and the way that Jon shows this movement through the bubbles that follow each of the fish.
My absolute favourite thing about This is Not My Hat is the surprise ending that shocks you and also makes you laugh. After reading I Want My Hat Back I kind of expected a shocking ending but it still made me laugh, and I’m sure children will too. If you want a picture book that you will enjoy even more than the children you’re reading it to, get a copy of This is Not My Hat from your library or bookshop now.
5 out of 5 stars
Join me tomorrow when I host Jon Klassen on his This is Not My Hat blog tour. I’ll be asking Jon about being an author/illustrator, how he creates his illustrations, and what he does when he’s not working on books.
My Best Friends Are Books 