The Looky Book by Donovan Bixley

All kids love a good puzzle book.  When I was a kid I loved Where’s Wally, I-Spy and those pick-a-path maze books.  There have never been any great New Zealand themed puzzle books, until now.  New Zealand author and illustrator, Donovan Bixley, has just published his awesome puzzle book, The Looky Book.  Donovan is my favourite New Zealand illustrator and his illustrations for The Looky Book are wonderful.

The Looky Book is a puzzle book with 11 different puzzles, all with colourful New Zealand landscapes, birds and animals.  There are heaps of things to find in each picture, like find the numbers with the crazy All Black lambs, spot the difference with the mischievous keas, find the animals hidden deep in the bush, and match the farmers to their animals.  My favourite pictures are the ones where you have to spot what’s wrong in the scene.  In the beach scene on the first page, you can find a shark in a paddling pool and a man watching TV in the bath.  There are hours of fun for kids and adults, and when you’ve solved all the puzzles, you can go back and find the tui and the grumpy garden gnome on each page.

I love Donovan’s illustrations and The Looky Book just shows how versatile he is.  Not only does he give each human or animal it’s own personality, but he can make these a small part of a large scene.  He makes every little detail count, and these little details are hilarious (sheep holding up a ‘Lamb Carter’ banner or a penguin wearing a tie).  The reason I love Donovan’s illustrations is because they are always so colourful and they seem to glow.  He seems to use this effect that makes certain objects or characters shine.  Just look at the front cover and you’ll see what I mean (the eyes, the telescope and the kea’s beak).  I would love to know how long it took Donovan to create each spread.

There is an incredible amount to see on each page, and some things you won’t see the first time. Donovan his given the book a real Kiwi feel too, with lots of local wildlife and some Kiwi icons like Hokey Pokey ice cream.  If you have a very keen eye you might even spot a reference to one of Margaret Mahy’s stories on the first page.

Christmas is only weeks away and The Looky Book will make a perfect present for kids young and old.

5 out of 5 stars

Takeshita Demons Monster Prize Competition

To celebrate the release of the latest book in Cristy Burne’s Takeshita Demons series, Monster Matsuri, I’m hosting an awesome competition! Thanks to Walker Books Australia, kids from from Australia and New Zealand can enter the Takeshita Demons Monster Prize Competition to win 1 of 10 $50 prize packs.

WINNERS!

Thanks to everyone who entered.  Your monsters were fantastic!  Here are the winners of a $50 book pack from Walker Books Australia:

  • Roisin
  • Mackenzie
  • Lucy M.
  • Aiyana
  • Tony (Hudson Park Primary)
  • Ijaz (Hudson Park Primary)
  • EmiLee (HudsonPark)
  • Emmanuel (Hudson Park)
  • Joshua Ong (Ardross Primary)
  • Yu Weng Choong (Ardross Primary)

To learn more about Cristy Burne and the Takeshita Demons series you can visit Cristy’s blog.  Cristy also has some very cool free games and activities on her blog that you can check out too.

Monster Gallery Continue reading

My Most Anticipated August New Releases

Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett

Sadie is sixteen and bored with life in Perth. It’s summer, and lazing on the beach in the stifling heat with her cousins and Tom is a drag. Then something comes out of the sea.

Dark menacing forms attack an old man, leaving him for dead and Sadie wracking her brains to understand what she saw. Then there’s a mysterious inheritance, a strange young man called Jake and a horned beast trampling the back yard.

Sadie finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict that is nearing its final battle, a showdown that threatens to engulf Perth and all those she loves in a furious tsunami.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked by Derek Landy

Magic is a disease.

Across the land, normal people are suddenly developing wild and unstable powers. Somehow infected by a rare strain of magic, they are unwittingly endangering their own lives and the lives of the people around them. Terrified and confused, their only hope lies with the Sanctuary, which is having problems of its own. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are needed now more than ever – not only to find out what is causing the infection, but also to prevent the take-over of the Sanctuary by a consortium of international sorcerers.

And then there’s the small matter of Kitana. A normal teenage girl who, along with her normal teenage friends, becomes infected. Becomes powerful. Becomes corrupted. Wielding the magic of gods, they’re set to tear the city apart unless someone stands up against them.

Looks like it’s going to be another one of those days …

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

There’s nothing unusual about the Brockets. Boring, respectable and fiercely proud to be as normal as normal can be, Alistair and Eleanor Brocket turn up their noses at anyone strange or different. But from the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it’s clear he’s anything but normal. To the horror and shame of his parents, Barnaby appears to defy the laws of gravity – and floats. Little Barnaby is a lonely child – after all, it’s hard to make friends when you’re pressed against the ceiling all day. Desperate to please his parents, he does his best to stop floating, but he simply can’t do it. It’s just not who he is. Then, one fateful day, Barnaby’s mother decides enough is enough. She never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. She’s sick and tired of the newspapers prying and the neighbours gossiping. Barnaby has to go. Betrayed, frightened and alone, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon. And so begins a magical journey around the world; from South America to New York, Canada to Ireland, and even a trip into space, Barnaby meets a cast of truly extraordinary new friends and realises that nothing can make you happier than just being yourself.

The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner

History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!

When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel — a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring — they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.

Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

The Kill Order by James Dashner

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

The Kill Order is the story of that fall.

A prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, The Kill Order has been in the works since the completion of The Maze Runner. The  story of civilization’s fall was kept under wraps and is the explication of the events that began this bestselling series.

The Invisible Fiends: The Darkest Corners by Barry Hutchison

Kyle’s dad is one of the most powerful invisible fiends, and he is everywhere. Really everywhere. In windows, through doors, on advertising billboards. Kyle just can’t escape him – and maybe he’s tired of running, anyway.
It’s time to fight …

This is Barry Hutchison’s conclusion to his brilliant Invisible Fiends series.

The Billionaire’s Curse series by Richard Newsome (new covers)

While this series isn’t new, Richard’s fantastic publishers, Text, have reissued the first three books in the series with new covers.  I love the new covers and they’re sure to attract some new Richard Newsome fans.  The fourth book in the series, The Crystal Code, is due out in October.

Discover what the Scottish Book Trust has to offer

Beth Bottery from the Scottish Book Trust wrote this wonderful post about the promotions and events that they offer, even to children and teens in New Zealand.  Be sure to check out their brilliant site.

No matter where in the world you’re based or what kind of books you’re interested in, Scottish Book Trust has something for you to get involved with. Based in Edinburgh, Scottish Book Trust is the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Our Children’s Programme also run several projects which can be enjoyed by children, and adults, all over the world. You can find details of just a few of these below. Our website is a great resource, full of writing advice, book recommendations, author interviews, blogs and loads more www.scottishbooktrust.com

Authors Live

A series of fantastic of children’s and teen’s authors events which are broadcast live online to schools in the UK via the BBC. These events then become available to watch again for free a week later for people around the rest of the world. They feature a stellar line-up including Michael Rosen, Charlie Higson, David Almond, Jacqueline Wilson, Liz Lochhead and many more and you can download them from our website for free. Details of the next event are below. All events come with free classroom resources.

  • Francesca Simon (Horrid Henry) – World Book Day 1st March 2012

You can find further information about these and future online events on our website http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/childrens-authors-live. Keep an eye out for information about our next programme of live events by following the same link.

Virtual Writers in Residence

We have brilliant Creative Writing videos and tasks from top teen authors Keith Gray and Cathy Forde. Keith looks closely at several aspects of the writing process and Cathy has a series of creative writing tasks for budding writers to use in developing their skills. http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/teens-and-young-people/videos .

The Blog

Every week we have new blog entries from authors and illustrators, booksellers, publishers and Scottish Book Trust staff. It’s a great place to find out about what’s going on at Scottish Book Trust and in the world of books more generally. We have several regular blogs aimed at young people, learning professionals and parents. You can find out more by following this link: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog.

Teen Hit List

We regularly put together hit lists of some of the best teen books around. These often feature a theme and are a great way of getting your pupils reading new and different fiction, our latest one is all about understanding mental health: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/teens-and-young-people/hit-lists

Reviews

We are always on the lookout for reviews of what you have read recently, whether you loved it, hated it, would recommend it or warn everyone against it. Email your book reviews to heather.collins@scottishbooktrust.com and we will put the best ones on the website. You can read past reviews by following this link: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/children-and-young-people/books/reviews-and-recommendations


Scare yourself silly with the Invisible Fiends

Did you have an invisible friend when you were younger?  If you did you probably can’t remember what they looked like now.  Kyle had an invisible friend when he was younger whose name was Mr Mumbles.  Mr Mumbles lived in the loft and would come and tap on Kyle’s bedroom window when he wanted to play.  Kyle had completely forgotten about him until, one night, Kyle hears the tapping on his window.  This time though, Mr Mumbles doesn’t want to play, he wants to kill Kyle and he’ll stop at nothing to do so.  With the help of a mysterious girl called Ameena, Kyle races to escape his invisible fiend.  Kyle realizes that the only way to defeat Mr Mumbles is to use the thing that created him – his imagination.

Mr Mumbles is the first in the series of Invisible Fiends books by Barry Hutchison.  The second book, Raggy Maggie is also out, with the third book due soon.  These books are great for anyone who likes creepy horror stories, especially fans of Skulduggery Pleasant.  They’re creepy, gruesome, suspenseful and action-packed.  Invisible Fiends is definitely my new favourite series!   Recommended for 9+ DON’T READ AFTER DARK! 10 out of 10