When Kiwi legends, the Topp Twins get together with one of New Zealand’s best illustrators, Jenny Cooper, you know you’re in for a treat. Scholastic New Zealand have teamed-up these two fantastic talents to bring new life to a classic song, There’s a Hole in my Bucket.
Jenny Cooper has transformed the Topp Twins into a goat and a duck full of personality. Henry the goat has a problem – there’s a hole in his bucket and he needs his duck friend Liza’s advice to help him fix it. Liza makes some helpful suggestions, but she gets increasingly angry when Henry keeps asking questions. Will they ever be able to fix their bucket?
There’s a Hole in my Bucket is a perfect combination of music, lyrics and illustrations from an outstanding team. The Topp Twins have made the song their own and it will be enjoyed by both children and adults. Jenny Cooper’s Henry and Liza are full of personality and you can see the Topp Twins shining through. I love Jenny’s illustrations because of the way she shows emotions in her characters. Liza the duck is a really good example of this, especially when she gets annoyed at Henry’s constant questions (I’m sure we’ve all felt like this at different times). There’s a Hole in My Bucket is a perfect gift book for Christmas, but parents be warned – you and your children will be singing this song for days.
Everyone knows the song – Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. In this latest picture book version of the song, one of New Zealand’s most talented illustrators, Donovan Bixley, has given the song a uniquely Kiwi twist. As soon as you open the book you get a dose of Kiwiana with illustrations of some of the things you might find on Old MacDonald’s New Zealand farm. You can’t help but sing the song as you join Old MacDonald on a typical day on the farm. These cows don’t just go moo-moo here and moo-moo there, they also make a mean milkshake. The dog bakes ANZAC biscuits, the pigs have a beauty salon and the sheep get fancy haircuts. Who knew Old MacDonald’s farm was so remarkable?
Christchurch kids have seen lots of diggers, dump trucks, and cranes lately with all the demolitions after our earthquakes so what better time for a book about a grumpy digger than now. Bruiser is a grumpy digger on a mission. He has to hurry up and plough the hillsides, crush rocks and tear up forests so that he can get the motorway built. But one day he gets stuck in the mud and no matter what he does he can’t get out. While he’s trying to get out, he knocks a magpie nest out of a tree and it’s up to Bruiser to get them to safety.
Two years ago we were introduced to Gerald Wilkins, the boy who inherited 20 billion pounds from his aunt Geraldine. In The Billionaire’s Curse Gerald found out that his aunt Geraldine had been murdered and that she wanted Gerald to track down her killer. In the second book, The Emerald Casket, Gerald and his friends, Ruby and Sam traveled to India on holiday, only to get mixed up with a mysterious and deadly cult. The final book in the trilogy, The Mask of Destiny brings Gerald’s story to a thrilling conclusion.
The Elves and the Cloakmaker is the latest title in the Kiwi Corkers series from Scholastic. Written by Chris Gurney and illustrated by John Bennett, I think this is one of the first, if not the first, Christmas book with a Maori theme. Chris and John have taken the idea of the original Elves and the Shoemaker story and given it a New Zealand twist.
Christmas is nearly upon us again and one of the first new Christmas books for the year is an illustrated version of song, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, originally by Don Gardner. This catchy little song has been brought to life by the quirky illustrations of Katz Cowley, who also illustrated the best-selling Wonky Donkey and Willbee the Bumblebee. I’ve loved Katz’ illustrations ever since I first saw how she’d perfectly portrayed the Wonky Donkey from Craig Smith’s song. The song is about a child who has lost their two front teeth and wants nothing more for Christmas than to have them back again so that they don’t have to keep talking funny. Katz has taken a different take on the song and instead she uses a monkey to tell the story. The monkey’s two front teeth have gone missing and he doesn’t know who to blame. The teeth police are on the case and they try to find where his teeth are gone. The monkey can see that everyone else has all their teeth apart from him and thinks up all the ways he could get new teeth, including asking Father Christmas, and replacing them with buttons or leaves.
Have you ever wanted to be in a movie? Kip gets this chance when he meets the mysterious Mr Lazarus in Philip Caveney’s latest book, Night on Terror Island. Kip’s dad owns the Paramount Theatre, a small movie theatre that is under threat of going out of business because of the big multiplex cinemas that have popped up. Kip loves the Paramount and helps his dad out whenever he can, making the popcorn, selling candy and the tickets. Just when things are really bad and their projectionist decides to retire, the myterious Mr Lazarus appears and offers to take up the job and turn things around. Something isn’t quite right with Mr Lazarus though; he knows things he shouldn’t about Kip and his family and he can make things appear out of thin air.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is one of my favourite books because of the way that the story is told. The ‘creator’ Brian Selznick uses a mixture of words and illustrations to tell the story. One minute you’re reading the words and the next you’re looking at the amazing illustrations to try and piece the story together. Brian has used the same storytelling technique in his new book, Wonderstruck.
Spencer Fogle is an ordinary kid who lives in the extraordinary town of Filmington. His hometown used to be called Flemington, until film and TV crews discovered its range of landscapes, from fiery volcanoes to snowy mountains and lush rainforests, and took over the town. The town’s richest resident, Jimmy Jangle, controls most of the business within Filmington and holds alot of people’s futures in his hands. When Spencer is walking home from school one day, he hears blood-curdling screams coming from one of the science labs and goes to investigate. Spencer uncovers a dark plot involving carnivorous plants, genetically modified flies and a mysterious, hidden file. However, Jimmy Jangle and his thugs are willing to do anything to keep the truth covered up.
Douglas, the loveable bear who wants a hug is one of my favourite picture book characters. David Melling really knows how to write and illustrate for children, particularly preschoolers, and he’s created a character that every child will love. In his first picture book outing, Hugless Douglas, our bear friend just wanted a hug, but he never seemed to be able to find the right type of hug. In Don’t Worry Douglas! he’s given a special wooly hat by his dad and he goes off to show his friends. On the way out the door his dad tells him to look after it, but this is exactly what Douglas doesn’t do. His hat gets caught on a tree and slowly unravels. The other animals say “Don’t worry Douglas” and try to help him put it back together. But what will Douglas’s dad think?
My Best Friends Are Books 