Book Review: Dinosaur Bash & Dinosaur Chew by Peter Curtis

 Dinosaur Bash!

The Ankylosaurus

by

Peter Curtis

Dinosaur Chew!

The Iguanodon

by

Peter Curtis

 

 

Publisher: Macmillan Australia

 

Publication date: 9th August 2022

 

Genre: Children's

 

Pages: 22

 

RRP: $14.99AUD

 

Format read: Board book

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My review

 

Dinosaur Bash and Dinosaur Chew are part of a collection of board books inspired by the classic picture book, Dinosaur Roar.

 

Each book features one dinosaur highlighting their unique features and personality.

 

Dinosaur Bash's large club on his tail, armoured plates and short legs made it hard for him to play with his friends as they were all scared of getting injured. Dinosaur Roar explains to him that his tail is special and rare but he needs to take care when playing.

Dinosaur Chew just wants to eat grass and laze in the sun all day. While watching his friends he was learning new ways of doing things and after a busy day all he wanted to do was laze in the sun.

Other dinosaurs in the series pop in and out of each story, sometimes helping and sometimes causing havoc.

This would have to be on of Jay's favourite series and his eagle eye spotted a new dinosaur and now he is eager for Dinosaur Thud's story.

I like how each dinosaur has a name that relates to their personality. They are like a little community. Jay can name them all and points them out as they appear in each other’s books.

We have always been big fans of Dinosaur Roar and Ten Terrible Dinosaurs and this new collection adds to the delight by naming the dinosaurs and giving them personalities.

The front of each book has the correct pronunciation of the dinosaurs scientific name. Which is very helpful as some are quite a mouthful. The rear of the book points out specific features of that dinosaur.

With bright illustrations and rhyming text these board books are sure to appeal to little dinosaur enthusiasts and their parents.

 

Our rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

Book Review: Flipper and Finnegan by Sophie Cunningham

 Flipper and Finnegan

by

Sophie Cunningham

illustrated by Anil Tortop

The True Story of How Tiny Jumpers Saved Little Penguins

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Imprint: Albert Street Books

 

Publication date: 16th August 2022

 

Genre: Children's Picture Book

 

Pages: 24

 

RRP: $ 19.99AUD

 

Format read: Hardcover

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My thoughts

 

🐧🐧 This delightful tale about two tiny penguins, inspired by real events, is a heart-warming story about community and the power of media for a call out for help. 

 🐧🐧 Flipper and Finnegan are part of the huge penguin family living on Phillip Island but when a large oil spill occurs off the coast of the island their lives are put in danger.

Local rangers from the Wildlife Centre spring into action to save the penguins. They all need washing to remove the oil. A call-out goes out for tiny knitted jumpers for the penguins to wear while waiting to be cleaned. All around the world people knit jumpers and send them in.

 

 

🐧🐧 An uplifting and positive story, fun and full of warmth, with underlying environmental themes presenting a good opportunity to talk about our natural environment and the animals living in it.

 

With visually stunning and colourful full page illustrations Flipper and Finnegan is sure to delight children aged 3 years plus.

 

Note: Thousands of jumpers were received and surplus jumpers are sold on toys to raise funds for wildlife conservation on Phillip Island. 

 

Our rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

publisher recommended age: 3 - 6 years 

 

About the author

 

Photo credit: Mathew Lynn

Sophie Cunningham is the author of five books, City of Trees, Geography, Bird, Melbourne, and Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy. She is a former publisher and editor, was a co-founder of the Stella Prize and is now an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University's Non/fiction Lab. In 2019 Sophie Cunningham was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her contributions to literature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the illustrator

 

Anil Tortop was born and raised in Turkey. She moved to Australia in early 2011 and has been trying to get used to the local eight-legged house intruders and slithering visitors to her garden ever since. Anil also works as an animator and character designer, and lives with her husband in Brisbane. Her previous books include A First Time For Everything by Tiffiny Hall & Ed Kavalee and Bat vs Poss by Alexa Moses.

Book Review: Lego City Safari Rescue

 Lego City Safari Rescue

 

A Push, Pull and Slide Book

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

 

Publication date: 12th July 2022

 

Pages: 10

 

RRP: $9.99 AUD

 

Format read: Boardbook

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

 

My thoughts

 

Come on a rescue safari!

 

The park rangers need YOU.

 

🦁We were excited to receive the latest book in the push, pull and sliding fun of Lego City board books.

🐒Climb aboard the safari jeep and feed the swinging monkeys.
🐘Watch the elephants at their waterhole and check on the lion cubs 🦁

⬇️⬆️➡️⬅️ With tabs to push, pull and slide on every page it’s a fun way to enhance motor skills, develop hand-eye coordination and grow the imagination.

Name the animals, count the animals and talk about different safari animals, endangered species and protecting our wildlife.

The Lego City Safari Rescue is another playful board book, brimming with imaginative play, that we are happy to add to our shelf. 

 

 

 

 

 

We are big Lego and Duplo fans and this book will be cherished for years to come.

Recommended age 18months - 5 years

My rating 5 / 5 🦁🐘🐒🦒🐍 

 

 

Book Review: A Little Spark by Barry Jonsberg

A Little Spark

by

Barry Jonsberg 

 

From the bestselling multi-award-winning author of My Life as an Alphabet and A Song Only I Can Hear  

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Publication date: 2nd August 2022 

 

Genre: Middle Grade

Pages: 256

 

 RRP: $ 16.99AUD

Format read: paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

My thoughts

A Little Spark is a wondrous story of love, imagination, friendship and heartbreak.

Thirteen-year-old Caitlyn Carson's parents have been divorced for 7 years. She spends every second weekend with her father and they have adventures to spark the imagination and believe in the impossible.

Barry Jonsberg has written an inspiring book about building on a child's imagination past the early childhood years. Don't let that little spark go out!

Many opportunities arise throughout the book for classroom discussion with themes of divorce, a child's rights, how divorce affects the children in a relationship and parent responsibilities.

 

The story is narrated by Cate and she is extremely likeable and comes across as a very mature and open 13 year old, wise beyond her years. I was relieved when there was a scene of screaming and door slamming because I feel the character needs to be relatable.

A Little Spark highlights strong parent/child relationships and a fun and supportive friendship with Cate and best friend Elise. It is filled with magical encounters featuring UFOs, a unicorn, a beach serenade and a flash mob orchestra, just to name a few.

A Little Spark is a book that will ignite your imagination, make you laugh and break your heart.

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher recommended age 10 - 14

I feel even those 15 -16 would enjoy this engaging story.

About the author

Barry Jonsberg has won numerous awards for his books, both nationally and internationally. He has been published in eighteen countries and translated into many languages. His bestselling novel, My Life As An Alphabet, was recently made into an award-winning film, H is For Happiness, released throughout the world to great critical acclaim. The same production company is now working on television and film adaptations of his last two novels, A Song Only I Can Hear and Catch Me If I Fall.

Barry lives in Darwin, in the Top End of Australia, with his wife Anita and his crazy dog, Zorro.

 

 

Book Review: The Breakfast Club Adventures by Marcus Rashford

The Breakfast Club Adventures

THE BEAST BEYOND THE FENCE

by

Marcus Rashford with Alex Falase-Koya

Illustrated by Marta Kissi 

 

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

 

Publication date: 31st May 2022 

Genre: Middle Grade / Illustrated

 

Pages: 256

 

RRP: $ 16.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

My thoughts

 

I loved this book right from Marcus Rashford's welcome note. He pens words of encouragement to broaden our horizons, dream big and celebrate our differences. Ask questions, listen and learn. When someone is low pick them up.

 

" Enjoy every word at your own pace and remember there's no rush to get to the end" - Marcus Rashford MBE

Meaningful words of encouragement for a child who is struggling with their reading.

 

Lots of items are mysteriously going missing from the Rutherford Secondary School. Twelve-year-old Marcus has lost his football and with it his confidence. He can't seem to kick a ball anymore.

When new girl Stacey asks him to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, she is certain they can find out what happened to Marcus' ball, Marcus is nervous at first but he really wants his football back. The team consists of four members; Stacey, Lise, Asim and Marcus with each member bringing different skills to the team.

What ensues is an action packed story rich in suspense, adventure, danger, bravado and imagination as they encounter a deadly mythical creature and a furious head mistress.

 

Will Marcus get his ball back and be able to play football again??

 

The Breakfast Club Adventures - The Beast Beyond the Fence is a story of friendship, adventure and fun. Delightfully illustrated throughout by Marta Kissi

Different styles of typography are used throughout the book to convey the message and give a striking visual element to the reading journey.

 

Marcus Rashford, in collaboration with Alex Falase-Koya, has written an entertaining book that will be read and enjoyed over and over.

 

Recommended age 8 - 11 years

 

My rating 5 /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the authors

 

Marcus Rashford MBE is Manchester United's iconic number 10 and an England International Footballer.

 

Alex Falase-Koya is a London native. He was a winner of Spread the Word's 2019 London Writers Awards for YA/children's.

 

About the Illustrator

 

Marta Kissi studied BA Illustration & Animation at Kingston University and MA Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art.

 

 

Book Review: Click by Kayla Miller

 Click

by

Kayla Miller

Illustrated by Kayla Miller 

Places everyone.... Olive just wants to find hers

 

Publisher: Walker Books Australia

 

Publication date: 6th October 2021

 

Series: Click #1 

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic novel

 

RRP: $17.99AUD 

 

Pages: 208

Format read: Paperback

Source: Own purchase

 

Dot's Review

 

I rated Click five stars because some people, like me, can actually relate to the problems in the story.

 

My favourite characters are Olive, because she never gave up and always tried to be brave, and Aunt Molly, because she helped Olive and supported her.

Click is all about friendship and trying to find your place. I really liked the ending. This was my first graphic novel and I want to read more in this series.

Dot's rating 5 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

I haven't read the book but here's the blurb:

Olive “clicks” with everyone in the fifth grade—until one day she doesn’t. When a school variety show leaves Olive stranded without an act to join, she begins to panic, wondering why all her friends have already formed their own groups . . . without her. With the performance drawing closer by the minute, will Olive be able to find her own place in the show before the curtain comes up?

 

Recommended age:  8+ 

 

About the author

 

Kayla Miller is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator living and working in New York. They have a BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. When not busy working on graphic novels, Kayla enjoys watching bad movies, trying to cook new recipes, playing games (both board and video) and reading other people’s graphic novels.

 

 
 

Book Review: Stunt Kids by Trent Roberts

 Stunt Kids

by

Trent Roberts

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

 

Imprint: Pan Australia

 

Publication date:  31st may 2022

Genre: Middle Grade, Children's Fiction

Pages: 272

RRP: $16.99

Format read: Paperback

My review

Gretel's parents are super cautious, wrapping her in cotton wool so she doesn't get hurt. She is home schooled, is not allowed outside and twelve-year-old Gretel has no friends.

When Gretel's parents win a very boring holiday they enroll her in a STUNT camp, which they thought was a Sensible, Totally, Undangerous, Never Thrilling camp.

I liked how Gretel, who changes her name to Glory, was reserved and nervous when she joined the camp but slowly, with the encouragement of the leaders and other children, she starts to relax and join in. Along the way she discovers strengths she didn't know she had.

There is plenty of silly humour that will have readers laughing out loud. I did find the start of the story a bit slow as Roberts sets the scene and the main characters, 3 boys and 3 girls, get to know each other.

Once the action starts it is full on. The pre-teens face a giant octopus and laser shooting hummingbirds. The stunt kids must work together and draw on the stunts they learnt at camp to survive and save the day.

Brimming with fun trivia facts and a couple of unexpected twists, Stunt Kids is an adventure filled book with themes of facing your fears, never giving up, finding your strengths and team work.

We are looking forward to book 2 and seeing what adventures the stunt kids will have next.

 

Ages: 8 - 12 years

Rating 3.5 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐½

*Thank you to the publisher for our copy to read and review

About the author

Trent Roberts is a screenwriter and author who lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with his partner, two kidlets and French bulldog, Ziggy. He loves the ocean, weird animals, indie pop and choc-tops. While he can't do any of the stunts described in this book, he can do a half-decent forward roll and, in perfect conditions, remain upright on his surfboard for a few seconds.