Some books are little treasures, and this is one of those where I felt transported back to when I was a child. I felt familiar with the story and felt comfortable that the content is safe for an 8 year old to read. There are a lot of books about magic, goblins and elves for young children, but in my role as a Librarian parents often ask me for books that don't have those components. For those types of requests this book is a perfect fit.
Things never go right for poor Ivy Pocket, and for this third novel in the series that was released not that long ago things keep going from bad to worse...or should that be from mad to madhouse, or perhaps even from on the run (still) from Miss Always to Disguise at Butterfield Park? Whatever it should be, Ivy Pocket does not disappoint in this her final book...yes you heard me right I am dreadfully sorry to say that there will be no more books about the incorrigible and infuriating Ivy Pocket.
Munro is a teenage boy struggling to come to terms with the death of his sister Evie, who had always dreamed of going to Australia. Munro is plagued by the coyote (a tormenting voice in his head), pain, flashbacks, and anger and feels that if he can fulfill Evie's wish and go to Australia as an exchange student that everything will be ok.
There is such strong YA fiction being written in Australia at the moment, and Sparrow is right up there as being one of the best. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book that was set along the coastal region of the Kimberley - a rugged remote Australian location, with deep gorges and mostly isolated coastline. It didn't take me long to be impacted by this book which went deeper than I expected. Those very first chapters saw the characters become so ingrained within me that I didn't want to close the book at the end. I wanted to continue to follow Sparrow on his journey.
The first time I opened this book I instantly loved it. The story begins with Mr Moot living his happy quiet life with his beloved Fluffywuffy. He wasn't troubled by anything, that is until cousin Clarence decides to move in for ..."a week...or a month, or quite possibly a year!" Mr Moot was optimistic that it wouldn't be so bad, fluffywuffy remained knowingly silent.
Initially when I opened this book to read it I was expecting the story to be full of fashion diva's, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is about so much more, its all about friendship, loyalty, family, winning at all costs and the very talented Mickey.
Heartwood Hotel, is just as endearing as it sounds, taking me back to my childhood where you imagine animals such as Mona scurrying about, leading lives just like us humans, making friendships and finding “home”.
When you take the time to open a book, you never know just what you might get. It seems like a simple story on friendship but then you’re delighted to discover it is more than that. It’s about middle graders who put others ahead of themselves, it’s about reaching out to the community to give back, and dynamics between people. It’s also about the journey of self and discovering all that you have to give is so much more than you ever imagined.
I wasn't sure what this book was exactly going to be about, apart from a Sloth Who Came to Stay of course. I could only imagine that there would be an element of slow to the book, I did not expect there to be such strong and emotive message for adults. Although I am not a mamma it certainly illustrated to me how our busy, fast paced lives that we continue to fill, shape how we are as a family (not just those with children) and dictate our lives. It takes something, like the Sloth in this picture book, to make us stop and realise just what we are bypassing when we are speeding around. There is so much to see, appreciate and love when we are reminded to take our time.
If you haven’t met Ruby Wishfingers before, you wouldn’t know that she gets 12 wishes a year, these make her fingers tingle and need to be used thoughtfully. You also wouldn't know that her parent's don't believe these wishes exist, that her brother Jellybean can make things appear and disappear, and that grandma has wishes too. These wishes were inherited from Ruby's great great great great grandfather Wishfingers.
Little Big Reads 