My Dead Bunny is the gory, glorious new picture book, written by Sigi Cohen and illustrated by James Foley, coming from Walker Books Australia in October. The illustrator, James Foley, will be featured on My Best Friends Are Books in October as part of my Seriously Spooky Month. Keep your eyes peeled for James and Bradley the zombie bunny.
I love this book and the trailer is fantastic! Watch it now:
The River and the Book by Alison Croggon
In our village we had two treasures: the River, which was our road and our god; and the Book, which was our history, our oracle and our soul. Simbala is a Keeper of the Book, the latest in a long line of women who can read the Book to find answers to the villagers’ questions. As developers begin to poison the river on which the villagers rely, the Book predicts change. But this does not come in the form that they expect; it is the sympathetic Westerner who comes to the village who inflicts the greatest damage of all.
Timmy Failure: Sanitized for your Protection by Stephan Pastis
Everyone’s favourite kid detective is back in award-winning author Stephan Pastis’s fourth book in the Timmy Failure series, perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid and Barry Loser. Shenanigans abound as Timmy Failure finds himself on a road trip with none other than notorious criminal Molly Moskins. Travelling halfway across the country to help your mother’s boyfriend settle into his new job would be inconvenient for any detective, let alone the founder, president and CEO of Total Failure Inc, the world’s greatest detective agency. Timmy has a case to solve, and nothing can stand in his way. If he is to arrest Corrina Corrina and solve the YIP YAP case, Timmy, his sidekick polar bear Total, and Molly Moskins must go on the run!
The Iliad by Gillian Cross and Neil Packer
The team behind The Odyssey now tell the story of the Trojan War. Cross’s vivid adaptation begins with a beauty contest: the prize, a golden apple. In return for securing her victory, the goddess Aphrodite helps Prince Paris abduct Helen, wife to the king of Sparta. Enraged, the king and his Greek allies wage war on the Trojans. Nine years later, the fighting still rages on, but the Greeks are beginning to quarrel among themselves – Achilles and Agamemnon’s petty argument has dire consequences for everyone caught in the crossfire. Neil Packer’s pictures capture the beauty and remoteness of the setting, and bring a profound humanity to one of the finest literary achievements of Greek civilisation.
Counting Lions by Katie Cotton and Stephen Walton
Larger-than-life black and white drawings are paired with poetic texts that reveal the ways in which endangered creatures – including lions, elephants, giraffes, tigers, gorillas, penguins, Ethiopian wolves, macaws, turtles and zebras – live on Earth. Artworks by wildlife artist Stephen Walton are rendered in charcoal and give little ones the chance to get up close and personal with nature’s wildest creatures. Virginia McKenna – actress and wildlife campaigner – has written a foreword which urges us to look at the beauty of these animals and do all we can to save them.
My Dead Bunny by Sigi Cohen and James Foley
“My dead bunny’s name is Brad; his odour is extremely bad. He visits me when I’m in bed, but Bradley wasn’t always dead …” A hilarious rhyming tale about a zombie bunny who comes back to visit his owner.
National Theatre: All About Theatre
The book is packed with interviews with famous directors and actors, like Lenny Henry, Meera Syal, Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw, and productions like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and One Man, Two Guvnors. Hear from experts at the world-famous National Theatre about every aspect of stagecraft, including prop-making, set building and lighting design, and discover, from first idea to final curtain, how plays are made.
Santa’s Reindeer by Tom Duxbury, Matilda Tristram and Nick Sharratt
It’s Christmas Eve and Santa and Reindeer are about to deliver the presents. But then Reindeer loses his nose! Polar Bear, Seal and Penguin haven’t seen it. Can Reindeer find his missing nose before it’s too late?
Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers
Sometimes, with a little electricity, or luck, or even magic, an imaginary friend might appear when you need one. An imaginary friend like Fred… Fred floated like a feather in the wind until a lonely little boy wished for him and found a friendship like no other.
Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
Jack’s Grandpa…
An exquisite portrait of the bond between a small boy and his beloved Grandpa – this book takes readers on an incredible journey with Spitfires over London and Great Escapes through the city in a high octane adventure full of comedy and heart.
The Person Controller by David Baddiel
Fred and Ellie are twins. But not identical (because that’s impossible for a boy and a girl). They do like all the same things, though. Especially video games. Which they are very good at. They aren’t that good, however, at much else – like, for example, football, or dealing with the school bullies.
Then, they meet the Mystery Man, who sends them a video game controller, which doesn’t look like any other controller they’ve ever seen. And it doesn’t control any of their usual games. When the twins find out what it does control, though, it seems like the answer to all their problems. And the key to all their wildest dreams. At least it seems like that…
An Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo
1940. Barney and his mother, their home destroyed by bombing, are travelling to the country when their train is forced to shelter in a tunnel from attacking German planes. There, in the darkness, a stranger on the train begins to tell them a story. A story about Bobby Byron, the most decorated soldier of WW1, who once had the chance to end the war before it even began, and how he tried to fix his mistake. But sometimes the right thing is hard to see – and even harder to live with.
Gecko Press introduced us to Stephanie Blake’s naughty little rabbit, Simon, when they translated and published Poo Bum! a few years ago. They’ve continued to publish Stephanie’s books, with more and more stories of Simon’s naughty antics. I’ve loved each and every one (Stupid Baby is my favourite). Gecko Press has just released the latest Simon the rabbit book, I Want Spaghetti, and it’s every bit as funny as the previous stories. In I Want Spaghetti we get to meet Simon the fussy eater.
Simon only likes to eat one thing…spaghetti. His parents try to get him to eat other things like sandwiches and soup but Simon thinks they are disgusting and he won’t eat them. Simon isn’t fond of getting told what to eat or being told to go to his room so he throws a big tantrum. His parents manage to tempt him with chocolate cake and just when they think they’ve got Simon eating out of the palm of their hand, he turns the tables on them.
I Want Spaghetti is a laugh-out-loud picture book featuring a character that both kids and adults love. Simon is the child that you can laugh at but wouldn’t want as your own. He’s a horrible little rabbit, with bad manners, who has tantrums and makes a huge mess, but you can’t help but love him. Kids especially love him because he gets to do and say the things they aren’t allowed to. I have read I Want Spaghetti to kids in schools around Christchurch and kids of all ages love it, from 5-year-olds right through to 12-year-olds. In fact, the Simon the rabbit books are the most requested books that I get asked to read again and again. That’s the sign of a really great book!
I love how sparse Stephanie’s books are. The illustrations are quite simple, while showing an incredible range of emotions, and the colours of the pages are bright, allowing the text to stand out. The text is also quite simple but it has real impact. The design of the book is very clever, with the text changing sizes and being run together for emphasis. I especially like the pages of text and illustration where Simon says ‘I Want Spaghetti’ increasingly louder. The text gets bigger and the illustrations show Simon getting angrier and angrier.
The thing I love the most about Stephanie’s books is that there is always a twist in the story. I love seeing kids’ faces and hearing them laugh when you turn the last page.
Thanks Gecko Press for continuing to bring us more of Stephanie’s Simon stories. I certainly hope there are many more to come!
I absolutely love The Day the Crayons Quit, the hilarious collaboration between Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers about Duncan and his crayons. If you haven’t seen this picture book you need to grab a copy IMMEDIATELY! It features letters for Duncan, written by his crayons who feel overused, underappreciated and unhappy. When I saw that Drew and Oliver were publishing a follow-up I was super excited! The Day the Crayons Came Home is out now and (if this is possible) even funnier than the first book.
The Day the Crayons Came home starts with Duncan and his crayons colouring happily together, when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail for him. What follows are postcards from Duncan’s crayons that have been lost, forgotten, broken – even melted in a clothes dryer and stuck to a pair of underpants! There are postcards from Pea Green Crayon (AKA Esteban the Magnificent), Neon Red Crayon, Glow-in-the-Dark Crayon and Big Chunky Toddler Crayon and many more. Duncan must come up with a creative way to make his crayons feel included.
This is a brilliant picture book! I couldn’t get through the book without laughing – in fact, every page had me cracking up. It is a perfect combination of text and illustration and it’s very clever. Drew Daywalt has given each of the crayons a very clear voice and they’re each very distinctive. It certainly comes across how angry, upset or totally clueless the crayons are. It’s so hard to pick a favourite crayon but I think mine would have to be Pea Green Crayon or Esteban the Magnificent as he likes to be called. Oliver Jeffers’ artwork is stunning as always. His illustrations are full of humour and add extra character to each of the crayons. There are lots of little details to love about Oliver’s illustrations, from the crayon end papers, to the hand-drawn text and the use of real postcards. One of the coolest aspects of this book is that there is a special glow-in-the-dark drawing on one of the pages that will be a lot of fun to share with kids.
The Day the Crayons Came Home is one of those rare picture books that children of all ages will love and adults will only be too happy to read it over and over again. I know I’ll be sharing it with as many children as possible.
The Day the Crayons Came Home is available now from HarperCollins NZ.
Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey
Hey there guys. Would you like a banana?
What’s wrong with you, Brian? You’re a piranha.
Brian is a piranha. He is also a vegetarian. But do you think he can convince the others to join him?
Quakey Cat Helps Out by Diana Noonan and Gavin Bishop
Quaky Cat, five years on … It’s been five years since the first big Christchurch earthquake, but some of Tiger’s friends still have broken homes – or none at all. Kind-hearted Tiger rounds them all up for a gathering of friends.
300 Minutes of Danger by Jack Heath
George is trapped in a falling aeroplane with no engine and no pilot. Milla is covered with radioactive waste and her hazard suit is running out of air. Otto is in the darkest depths of the ocean, where something hungry is circling . . . 10 dangerous situations. 10 brave kids. 30 minutes to escape.
Dragon Knight: Dragons! by Kyle Mewburn and Donovan Bixley
The terrifying cyclorgs want their gold back – NOW!
If Merek can’t outwit the evil Lord Crumble, the village is doomed.
Star Wars Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully by Jeffrey Brown
It’s hard to believe this is Roan’s last year at Jedi Academy. He’s been busier than ever learning to fly (and wash) starships, swimming in the Lake Country on Naboo, studying for the Jedi obstacle course exam, and tracking down dozens of vorpak clones (don’t ask). But now, someone is setting him up to get in trouble with everyone at school, including Yoda. If he doesn’t find out who it is, and fast, he may get kicked out of school! Why can’t middle school just be easy?…
The Joy Cowley Award is an annual award that fosters the publication of excellent picture books by New Zealand writers. Some wonderful picture books have been published thanks to this award, including Kyle Mewburn’s Kiss, Kiss, Yuck, Yuck, and last year’s winner of the award is no exception. Emma Vere-Jones was the winner of the 2014 Joy Cowley Award with her book, Stan the Van Man.
This delightful, rhyming story follows Stan who offers to help with the mail delivery when the usual driver of the van refuses to do his job. The owner of the post office store, Miss Mickle, is ‘in a pickle’ because there is no-one to deliver the mail. Luckily, Stan, who doesn’t like to say no, offers to help out. He tries to tell Miss Mickle that he has a secret that she needs to know but she doesn’t listen and sets him on his way. The only problem with not being able to say no is that Stan just has to stop and help anyone that needs it, including a boy stuck up a tree and someone needing a tow. Stan’s secret is that he can’t read and so all his parcels end up going to the wrong people. Even though the people of the town are angry at first, they all band together to help Stan to read.
Stan the Van Man is a lot of fun to read! The rhyming text flows well and the language is wonderful, with words like ‘perplexing,’ ‘vexing’ and ‘quivered.’ I love how everyone bands together to teach Stan to read and that once he gets started he just wants to read more and more. The very last page, with Stan surrounded by books and his cat on his lap, is my favourite.
I read Stan the Van Man at the Christchurch Storylines Family Day at the weekend and the children absolutely loved this story. There is lots of laughter when the people of the town open their packages to find something completely different than what they were expecting. I especially love Professor John Moore and his lady’s pants.
Philip Webb’s illustrations are a great match for Emma’s story and bring her different characters to life. Philip’s Stan is a loveable, friendly guy that just wants to help out. I really like the design of the book, especially the way that the house numbers blend in to the illustrations.
I look forward to reading more of Emma’s stories in the future.
The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
They sound like the Bad Guys, they look like the Bad Guys . . . and they even smell like the Bad Guys. But Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark are about to change all of that! Mr Wolf has a daring plan for the Bad Guys’ first good mission. The gang are going to break 200 dogs out of the Maximum Security City Dog Pound. Will Operation Dog Pound go smoothly? Will the Bad
Guys become the Good Guys? And will Mr Snake please spit out Mr Piranha?
Dragon Knight: Witch by Kyle Mewburn and Donovan Bixley (Book 3)
A witch’s curse and brussel sprouts are bad enough. But will Percy’s revenge be the end for Merek? From the creators of Dinosaur Rescue comes an outrageous and revoltingly funny medieval adventure series that’ll set you on fire!
Stan the Van Man by Emma Vere-Jones and illustrated by Philip Webb
Sometimes, being helpful is not enough . . .
When the mail van driver walks out, Miss Mickle from the Post Office store is left in a right pickle. Enter Stan, a helpful chap who offers to drive the delivery van. Unfortunately Miss Mickle doesn’t give him the chance to explain that he actually can’t read … and parcel pandemonium ensues! When the angry recipients storm the Post Office and find out the reason for the misdeliveries, they decide to band together to help Stan learn to read.
Polar Bear is sad. He’s lost his underwear and doesn’t know what pair he was wearing today. Luckily Mouse comes along to help him find them. They set off to find Polar Bear’s underwear and see all sorts of underwear along the way. They see underwear with stripes on them and underwear with treats all over them, itty-bitty underwear and frilly underwear. None of these pairs are Polar Bear’s but they do belong to other animals. Will Polar Bear find his underwear?
Polar Bear’s Underwear is a giggle-inducing picture book full of surprises. The team behind this book, Tatsuya Kameyama and Atsuko Nakagawa, tell a simple story with sparse, clever illustrations and their combination works really well. The delight of this book is in the design, with the cut-out pages helping to provide some suspense. The illustrations give little clues about who the underwear might belong to. Who might a pair of underwear with carrots all over it belong to?
Children will love turning the pages to see what type of underwear is next and whose it might be. The children I have shared the book with have laughed every time the underwear and its owner have been revealed. If you haven’t laughed by the time you get to the last few pages you certainly will when you find out where Polar Bear’s underwear actually are.
Grab a copy of Polar Bear’s Underwear and share it with the children in your life.
There are a huge number of picture books about dinosaurs out there. Given the popularity of dinosaurs with young children it’s wonderful to have so many books to choose from. Some of my recent favourite dinosaur stories have been Dinosaur Police by Sarah McIntyre and The Dinosaurs are Having a Party by Gareth P. Jones and Garry Parsons. Tyranno-sort-of-Rex by Christopher Llewelyn and illustrated by Scott Tulloch is a brand new picture book about dinosaurs, full of dinosaurs that you haven’t met before.
Tyranno-sort-of-Rex follows a shipment of dinosaur bones from the desert where they’re dug up, across the oceans, arriving at a museum for a special exhibition. The bones get packed neatly into boxes, with ‘the name of each dinosaur stamped on its case.’ However, when the bones arrive at the museum the boxes are shattered and the bones are all out of order. The bones are dropped off in a heap at the museum and it’s up to the curator to put the ‘fossilised jigsaw’ together. The results of the curators efforts are hilarious! He creates dinosaurs with huge heads and short legs, dinosaurs with two heads, and dinosaurs with incredibly long necks. You wonder if he will ever manage to put them together the right way.
Tyranno-sort-of-Rex is a rollicking tale about a Jurassic problem that is solved with a bit of creativity. Kids will laugh out loud as the curator creates some interesting new dinosaurs. Christopher Llewelyn’s text is a joy to read aloud and really rolls off your tongue. I love the refrain that features throughout the book, ‘WHIZZ went the drill, and his hammer went WHACK! Checking his work the curator stepped back…’ I can’t just see children joining in and making the sounds. This refrain helps to give a sense of suspense, as you turn the page to find out what the curator has created next. Scott Tulloch’s illustrations are the perfect fit for the story. I especially love his illustrations of what the strange new dinosaurs might have looked like.
Grab a copy of Tyranno-sort-of-Rex and share it with the dinosaur fan in your life.
My Best Friends Are Books 