Picture story book - early childhood, 3 years+

Wells, Rosemary, 1998. Noisy Nora. London: Transworld Publishers.

"I'm leaving!” shouted Nora,

“And I'm never coming back!”

Nora is a middle-born mouse, trying to get some attention from her busy parents. Despite the noise she makes and the antics she performs Dad and mum are too preoccupied with her older sister and baby brother to bother with her. So Nora decides to try another way of getting noticed. She announces that she is going to run away. When things become too quiet round the house, the parents’ antennae go up and they go in search of Nora, but to no avail. Finally, Nora makes a noisy come-back, as she returns to the security of her family. This picture book has terrific appeal in its pictures and words. The personification of the mouse family is endearing and more surprising than depicting humans. Illustrations are big and bright and children will love to point out familiar domestic objects in the pictures. 8 to 10 simple words at the bottom of each page help tell the story. The upbeat rhyming sentences make it a pleasure to read and hear. Its universal theme – the need for attention, is easy to identify with, and makes this heart-warming tale a treasure for pre-schoolers as well as older children.

 

Realistic fiction - Humour - ages 9 and over

Meek, Stephen, 2012. A boy arrives. Lincoln: Hawkwood.


This touching, funny tale opens with the arrival of Jimbo, at the front door of his great uncle, Grimwood Streep’s creaky old mansion, and from then life is turned topsy-turvy. A series of farcical misadventures ensue with the help of an assortment of eccentric characters, but happily everything comes right in the end. In fact the world is a better place than it previously was. Though the plot is a simple one, there are some  surprising twists in the story to keep the reader engaged all the way through. The boy protagonist is mischievous, kind and likeable whose antics are sure to delight most 9 to 12 year olds. The adults’ exaggerated personalities are mostly entertaining and include an accident-prone “baddie”.  A special feature is the clever play on language that the author has deliberately used which will amuse as well as stretch the vocabulary of the reader. For example, in reply to the question “who are you?” a male character answers

 “I am…well, my name is immaterial. I phoned you. You knew I was coming.”

“Did you say your name was …Emma? Emma Terial? You don’t look like an ‘Ema’’.”

While the story will appeal to most upper primary children, those who relish word play, jokes and puns will have double the fun. A book that has the cast, characters and plot just waiting to be made into a comedic, family film.

Realistic fiction - historical - ages 12-18 years

Hill, David. 2012. My brother's war. Auckland, N.Z.: Puffin.

It is 1914. World War 1 has broken out in Europe. In New Zealand, two brothers with opposing views on war, follow different paths into the trenches. One proudly volunteers to protect his country from the dangerous Huns and the other, a “conchie” (a dismissive term used for conscientious objector against war) is shipped across as a prisoner. Both brothers find themselves  in England and  France, and  we follow them through a narrative of the indignities suffered,  the horror and fighting and the oftentimes stupidity of military power. We also feel the warm comradeship that develops between men. The story culminates after a bloody battle when the brothers are reunited. But they meet as changed men, because their experiences force them to reconsider their initial beliefs and opinions on war. The strength of this story lies in its complex theme which has been treated in a thought-provoking and non-judgmental manner. Using a straight-from-the heart style, touched at times with a dark humour quite appropriate to the setting, David Hill has given young adults a chance to personalise an important idea and think beyond their world.  The thought-provoking subject of this awarding winning novel would make it a perfect choice for a teen book club.