Weekend Reads: 7 December 2024

Bridge to Anywhere.  

Written by Sarah Milne. 

Illustrated by Laura Bee.  

Beatnik Publishing, 2024. 

ISBN 9781991165787. 

Aotearoa. 

Family connections. A bit of fantasy. Mention of death and loss. 

It's ok. Nothing great. Heading towards twee. 

Possible reading companions: 

• North an South by Sandra Morris. 

• Hanukkah Upside Down by Elissa Brent Weissman and Omer Hoffmann. 

• Milo Imagines the World by Matt De la Peña and Christian Robinson. 

• Papa Brings Me the World by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. 

We Disagree. 

Written and illustrated by Bethanie Deeney Murguia. 

Beach Lane Books, 2020. 

ISBN 9781534438804. 

Rhyming text. Dialogue in speech bubbles. Friendship. 

Possible reading companions: 

• Two Rabbits by Larissa Ferenchuk and Prue Pittock. 

• Friendship is Like a Seesaw by Shona Innes and Írisz Agócs. 

• A Better Best Friend by Olivier Tallec and Antony Shugaar. 

• Sun shower by Melinda Szymanik and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. 

Deadly Animal Atlas: amazing facts, fold-out maps, and
life-size surprises. 

Written by Camilla De la Bédoyère. 

Illustrated by Dusan Lakicevic and Alex Sotirovski. 

Lonely Planet Global, 2024. 

ISBN 9781837582624. 

So much to discover and explore. 

Possible reading companions: 

• The World's Most Atrocious* Fearsome Animals: or are they? by Philip Bunting. 

• Lifesize Deadly Animals by Sophy Henn. 

• The Not Bad Animals by Sophie Corrigan. 

• Critters of Aotearoa: 50 bizarre but loveable members of our wildlife community by Nicola Toki  and Lily Duval. 

5,000 Awesome Facts (About Everything!): updated and expanded! 

National Geographic Kids, 2024. 

ISBN 9781426376139. 

From spies to survival. Sharks to Aliens. 

This went down a treat with my fact-fan great-niblings. 

Possible reading companions: 

• The Bedtime Book of Even More Impossible Questions: adventures for curious minds by Isabel Thomas and Margarida Esteves. 

• Name That Thing! stretch your brain power with 20 picture quizzes by Garth Moore and Ryan O'Rourke. 

• Everything Under the Sun by Molly Oldfield 

Australia's Baby Animals. 

Written and illustrated by Jess Racklyett. 

Affirm Press, 2024. 

ISBN 9781923022812. 

Australian. 

Cute and informative. 

Possible reading companions: 

• Remarkable Animal Stories: form New Zealand and Australia by Maria Gill and Emma Huia Lovegrove. 

• Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats: stories from behind the scenes at the zoo by Hazel Flynn. 

• Lifesize Baby Animals by Sophy Henn. 

• Born to be Wild: how baby animals survive and thrive by John Woodward, Caroline Stamps and Sanya Jain. 

Galápagos. 

Written by Tom Jackson. 

Illustrated by Chervelle Fryer. 

Introduction by Steve Backshall. 

Dorling Kindersley, 2022. 

ISBN 9780241528068. 

Galápagos is the subject of so many nature documentaries, but this book adds to that. 

Possible reading companions: 

• Welcome to New Zealand: a nature journal by Sandra Morris. 

• Weird and Wonderful Nature by Ben Hoare and Kaley McKean. 

• Darwin's Voyage of Discovery by Jake Williams. 

I Wonder. 

Written and illustrated by Philip Bunting. 

Walker Books, 2024. 

ISBN 9781760657802. 

Australian. 

A quirky collections of questions - but no answers. 

Possible reading companions: 

• We, the Curious Ones by Marion Dane Bauer, Deepti Nair, and Hari Panicker. 

• I am a Story by Dan Yaccarino. 

• Mr Santa by Jarvis. 

• Do You Wonder? by Wallace Edwards. 

Apples not Orples: a rule-breaking counting book. 

Written by R. A. Stephens. 

Illustrated by Carmen Dougherty. 

Wombat Books, 2024. 

ISBN 9781761111693. 

Australian. 

Puns. Word play. Beginning algebra. A winning formula! 

Possible reading companions: 

• One Is a Snail, Ten is a Crab by April Pulley Sayre and Jeffrey Sayre. 

• P Is for Pterodactyl: the worst alphabet book ever by Raj Haldar, Chris Carpenter, and Maria Tina Beddia. 

• Are You Big? and Are You Small? by Mo Willems. 

• How Many Mice Make an Elephant? and other big questions about size and distance by Tracey Turner and Aaron Cushley. 

Sparks of Imagination. 

Written and illustrated by Stephen Hogtun. 

Dorling Kindersley, 2024. 

ISBN 9780241661888. 

Anti-device, pro-reading - and preachy. 

If the message was 'use your imagination', I wouldn't have a problem, but this is pretty heavy-handed, and polemical. 

Possible reading companions: 

• This Is a Window by Lauren Paige Conrad. 

• This Is NOT a Polar Bear! by Barry Timms and Ged Adamson. 

• We Know a Place by Maxine Beneba Clarke. 

• Ronan the Librarian by Tara Luebbe. Becky Cattie, and Victoria Maderna. 

The Forever Garden. 

Written by Laurel Snyder. 

Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. 

Schwartz & Wade Books, 2017. 

ISBN 9780553512731. 

Intergenerational friendship over a garden, and passing on the shared knowledge. 
Possible reading companions: 

• A Hat For Mrs Goldman: a story about knitting and love by Michelle Edwards and G. Brian Karas. 

• Old Friends by Margaret Aitken by Lenny Wen. 

• Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten by Bob Graham. 

• Harry and Walter by Kathy Stinson and Qin Leng. 

• My Poet by Patricia MacLachlan and Jen Hill. 

• City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems  and Jon J. Muth. 

• Secret gardeners: growing a community and healing the Earth by Maija Hurme and Lina Laurent, Jen Pulju Porter and Sofia Karlsson. 

• Khalil and Mr Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures by Tricia Springstubb  and Elaheh Taherian. 

The Seal on the Beach. 

Written by Mara Bergman.

Illustrated by Brita Granström. 

Walker Books, 2024. 

ISBN 9781529505795. 

A lost seal is tied in with Maggie's mum and baby brother to come home from hospital. Poignant. 

Possible reading companions: 

• Rosie and Tortoise by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. 

• Stranded by Linda Jane Keegan and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. 

• Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. 

There Are No Ants In This Book. 

Written by Rosemary Mosco. 

Illustrated by Anna Pirolli. 

Tundra, 2024. 

ISBN 9781774881163. 

A fun way to learn about different species of ants. 
Possible reading companions: 

• The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting. 

• Bum Or Face? by Kari Lavelle. 

• Ugly-cute: what misunderstood animals can teach us about life by Jennifer McCartney. 

October Kiwi Kids Books: Day Five

Share a New Zealand book for children or teens: that taught you something new. 

Critters of Aotearoa: 50 bizarre but lovable members of our wildlife community.  
Author: Nicola Toki
Illustrator: Lily Duval. 
Publisher: Puffin, 2023; ISBN 9781776958023. 

I've known about blobfish for YEARS - but I didn't know they lived HERE! 

And, who wouldn't want to know about a Glow-in-the-dark freshwater snail limpet. 

Every entry in this book is fun and informative. 

World Kid Lit Month 2024: Nature

Up in a tree a bird sings so sweetly

Nature's own voice, I hear

Rustling whistling trees turning breeze to speech

Talk to me now, ease my mind 

~ Nature, by The Fourmyula. 

The Observologist by Giselle Clarkson. 

If you are planning a trip into nature, wherever it may be in the world, you need this book! No, seriously. 

Our Dreaming by Kirli Saunders & Dub Leffler. 

Dreaming has a specific meaning for Australian First Nations. It can mean asleep-visions, but also something so much more. You could read it as a straight story, like so many lullaby-style stories of animals going to bed. But, if you know a little teeny bit, about the depth of what Dreaming and Country means - then this book means so much more. 

Seree's story = Te kōrero mō Seree by Irma Gold, Kanapu Rangitauira, & Wayne Harris. 

Another addition to the collection of bilingual te reo Māori and English Vox talking books. 

The story of Rosy Dock by Jeannie Baker. 

Australian icon Jeannie Baker does it again, with her 3D assemblages, and commentary on nature and 'process'. In this case, it is the story of an invasive species to Australia. 

Tuatara, a living treasure by Katie Furze & Ned Barraud. 

Aotearoa has some amazing fauna and flora - and the tuatara is right up there. 

Where are you, Puffling? By Erika McGann & Gerry Daly. 

Baby puffins are called pufflings - and I think that is one of the cutest names around! How could you resist this Irish tale, with some of the cutest birds you could find. 

Weekend reading: 14 July

• Big babies written and illustrated by Patrick O'Brien. Charlesbridge, 2024. 
• Dinosaurs! 
• Oh my oh my oh dinosaurs! written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton. Boynton Bookworks, 2023. 
• Opposites AND dinosaurs. 
• The real cowgirl written by Isabelle Duff, illustrated by Susannah Crispe. EK Books Aust, 2024. 
• Self confidence. 
• The garden at the end of the world written by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Briony Stewart. University of Queensland Press Aust, 2023. 
• The Global Seed Vault. 
• New Zealand title: Ruru, night hunter written by Katie Furze, illustrated by Ned Barraud. Scholastic NZ, 2024. 
• New Zealand title: Nanny Rina's amazing nets written by Qiane Matata-Sipu, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. Puffin NZ, 2024. Translated from te reo Māori. 
• Matariki. 
• You make me sneeze! written by Sharon G. Flake, illustrated by Anna Raff. Astra Young Readers, 2024. 
• Are you small? written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Union Square Kids, 2024. 
• Two turtles written by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by Jake A Minton. Little Book Press, 2024. 
• Hope is the thing written by Johanna Bell, illustrated by Erica Wagner. Allen & Unwin Aust, 2023. 
• No dancing please written by Charlie Leahy, illustrated by Darcy Prendergast. Little Hare Aust, 2024. 
• Good hair written by Yvonne Sewankambo, illustrated by Freda Chiu. Walker Books Aust, 2024. 
• We're having a party (for everyone!) written and illustrated by Katie Vernon. Abrams, 2024. 
• LGBTQIA+ representation. 
• Unflappable written by Matthew Ward, illustrated by Scott Magoon. Clarion Books, 2023. 
• New Zealand title / Pasifika: Mataali'i written by Dahlia Malaeulu, illustrated by Darcy Solia, designed by Liz Tui Morris. Mila's Books, 2024. 
• Matariki
• What's the point of science? writers: Edward Aves, Ben Ffrancon Davies, A.M Dassu; illustrator Clarisse Hassan. Dorling Kindersley, 2021. 
• The moon is a ball: stories of Panda & Squirrel written by Ed Franck, illustrated by Thé Tjong-Khing; translated by David Colmer. Gecko Press, 2023. 

        
                                                                                                

World Kid Lit Month 2023: A Book from Oceania

A book from Oceania: 

Halu Bongo!

Story by Lani Young; gagana Samoa by Sisilia Eteuati; art by Nikki Mariner.

Nafanua Press, 2022. 

Poor Bongo and Bella! Before I continue - you will be glad to know that the grumpy school teacher does not use the broom on Bongo (or anyone). 

The story and situation is one I'm sure many would identify with. 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: ZAMBIA

ZAMBIA: 

Rise of the lioness: restoring a habitat and its pride on the Liuwa Plains. 

By Bradley Hague. 

In western Zambia, the vibrant world of the Liuwa Plains provides a perfect habitat for zebras, wildebeests and the mighty lions. But poaching and war have damaged this isolated wilderness, reducing its lion population to just one: Lady, the last lioness. 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: TONGA

TONGA: 

The mouse and the ant. 

Retold and illustrated by Lisala Halapua. 

Mouse is tricked out of eating a banana by some ants.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: TAIWAN

TAIWAN: 

Guji Guji. 

By Chih-Yuan Chen. 

Raised from an egg by Mother Duck, Guji Guji is quite content with life as a duckling, having no idea that he is actually a crocodile. Then one day three crocodiles ask Guji Guji to help them trap ducks. Can Guji Guji find a way to save his family? 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: SWITZERLAND

SWITZERLAND: 

The revenge of the black cat: Swiss myths. 

Edited and retold by Katja Alves. 

Offers 23 traditional tales from different regions of Switzerland, featuring ghosts, dwarfs, goblins, demons, devils, and dragons.

World Kid Lit Month 2021: SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA: 

The boy who met a whale. 

By Nizrana Farook. 

A thrilling adventure set in fictional Sri Lanka, jam-packed with peril and kidnap and a huge blue whale! 

World Kid Lit Month 2021: SOMALIA

SOMALIA: 

Muktar and the camels. 

By Janet Graber; illustrated by Scott Mack. 

Muktar, an 11-year-old refugee living in a Kenyan orphanage, dreams of tending camels again, as he did with his nomadic family in Somalia, and has a chance to prove himself when a traveling librarian with an injured camel arrives at his school.