Annual 2. A New Zealand Miscellany edited by Kate De Goldi & Susan Paris.

Annual 2. A New Zealand Miscellany edited by Kate De Goldi & Susan Paris. Imprint Annual Ink. Distributed, Potton & Burton, 2017.

Reading this book made me very happy. I smiled all the way through it and in parts laughed out loud. What’s more it is totally New Zealand and although aimed at the 9-13 year olds, it really is for everybody.

It is loosely based on the annual type compilations that appeared through the 50’s and 60’s but it is better than that, there is a bit of depth about the subject matter and the means of delivery.

It has stories, essays, interviews, poems, comics, a song by Bic Runga, a recipe, a game and art works. Wait there is more, it is full of ideas for any young writer to get inspiration from and it is totally brilliant.

To give you an example one article looks at a community notice board that you will find in a supermarket or library. Folk offering services or requesting help. It then creates communication between the different players whether by design or accident, via email or texting by cell phone. The results are hilarious.

The article that really tickled me was titled Never say Goodbye: The Art of taxidermy. Tongue is firmly placed in the cheek.

Just loved it. You will too. Look at the part story of an old NZ classic, Barry Faville’s The Keeper – just superb.

 

Moto Mike the Motorbike by Deano Yipadee illus. Bruce Potter. Pub. Scholastic, 2024.

Nee Naw the fire engine and his friends plus granny and her goats are having the annual Pumpkin parade.

Farmer Tom fancies his chances of winning and carries his large pumpkin on the back of his tractor.

At the bridge over the river the tractor comes to grief with farmer Tom hanging precariously off the bridge by his trousers. Calamity.

Then a friend of nee Naw’s, the impressive blue Moto Mike the motorbike comes to the rescue.

Great illustrations from Bruce Potter add to the rhyming musical text of Deano Yipadee.

Download the song and you can sing it yourself.

Great fun.

Mango. Sharks and Rays of Aotearoa by Ned Barraud. Pub. Te Papa Press, 2023.

Sharks have been around for more than 445M years and survived 5 periods of extinction on this planet but today face the biggest threat ever to their continued survival. It is estimated that more than 100M sharks are killed annually on this planet and it cannot go on for much longer.

This superb picture book sized book looks at the history of sharks on this planet with particular attention to sharks that swim in New Zealand’s waters.

Some interesting facts about sharks are -the biggest shark ever was the Megalodon which weighed 50 tons and needed the equivalent of 2M 100gm chocolate bars a day to exist.

The sharks possesses Super senses such as the lateral line which allow the shark to detect movement in the water long before they can see it

A shark keeps bouyant by storing a lighter than water oil called squalene in it’s liver.

The Maori caught Mako sharks by lassoing the tail of a shark from the prow of a canoe and letting it tow them until it was tired. Mango is the Maori word for shark.

In spite of the fear generated by sharks you have a greater chance of being struck by lightening than being eaten by a shark. If you are attacked the best think to do is fight. Sharks are very sensitive around the eyes, nose and gills.

Superbly illustrated by Ned Barraud this is the best and most accessible book on sharks I have read. I have given some facts but there are more astonishing ones in this book. Read it and see.

Ideal for school libraries and any study on sharks and their distant relatives the Rays.

Dusty the Digger, Nee Naw and Friends by Deano Yipadee, illus. Bruce Potter. Pub. Scholastic, 2023

When Nee Naw the fire engine fills the school pool for the annual picnic Plinky and Plonky the goats steal Granny’s jelly powder and jump in the pool. Guess what happens.

Yes yopu are right the pool turns to jelly and Plinky and Plonky start setting in the jelly and Ploppy the cow gets in strife too.

Nee Naw has to call on his friend Dusty the Digger to sort things out but Dusty has never dug up jelly before. What is going to happen. read this book and join the fun.

Typical silliness from Deano Yipadee and well illustrated by Bruce Potter who enhances the fun. The goats in a pool of jelly with the cow is worth a look.

A good read-a-loud for pre schoolers and juniors particularly boys who like diggers trucks and things.

I, Claudia by Mary McCoy

I, Claudia by Mary McCoy. Pub. carolehoda Lab, 2019. Imprint Walker Books.

Sometimes there comes a novel that you don’t want to ever finish and this political thriller about a student council in a Los Angeles high school is one of them.

I savoured this novel over 10 days and was not disappointed by a thing. Yes I was. I was disappointed that the Head and Board of Governors of the school did not step in earlier in spite of ample evidence to do so, but then that would have ruined the story

The Imperial Day Academy is a prestigious school that is run by a student body titled the Honour Council which is structured somewhat like the Roman Senate with representatives from each class level and a President and vice President. The candidates are elected annually and have as many qualities as everyday American politics – liars, cheats, bullies, power freaks and idealists. . The aim is to destroy your opponents character and intentions and make you seem like the only wise choice. Whether it is true or not.

The novel is told by Claudia McCarthy in the form of a testimony and you the reader will find out why this is when you finish the book. The aim is to work out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys and it is not easy. Claudia’s approach is this “I make a habit of identifying the psychopaths in my environment as quickly as possible”. But is she right? Claudia’s character is charismatic. She appears to be a nobody and describes herself as an historian and is ultimately totally brave.

The characters are stunningly conceived from the ruthless, manipulative Livia, to the power crazy Cal and the heroic Claudia. There are deaths, there are inhuman episodes, there is corruption, there is sexual violation and there is love albeit misused.

The tactics used by Nixon during the Watergate scandal are a blueprint for the political drama at Imperial Day school and there is a lot of Trump’s America in there too.

This is a novel of today’s America and if you miss this one you will kick yourself. The ending provides all the answers but leaving some doubt as well. In politics do we ever learn the truth?

For High school students and Young Adults. Just superb. Stunning cover.

Eating Things on Sticks by Anne Fine

Eating things on Sticks by Anne Fine. Pub. Doubleday, 2009

Former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine has written some of the best stories for children and young Adults. This is not her best novel but it is still worth a read.

It is for younger readers from ages 9 to 12 years but her writing is so good it will appeal to older readers too. Take this line as an example as she describes a grumpy old man – “his face is miserable enough to make a funeral procession turn up a side street”. The whole book is scattered with descriptions and witticisms that leave you in awe of her writing talents.

Harry is a young lad with a sense of humour and a bit of nous, but through an oversight he has succeeded in burning down his mother’s kitchen. The family has to leave the house so repairs can be done and Harry goes to live with his uncle Tristram who is mother is not comfortable with even though he is her brother. Tristram fancies a hippy type girl, Morning Glory, who lives on an isolated island, but does she fancy Tristram?

Harry and Tristram go to visit Morning Glory and encounter a weird collection of characters who inhabit the island and take part in an annual competition from which the book gets it’s name.

The situations that arise are full of humour that will incite the most reluctant of readers to keep reading. Have a bit of fun and read it yourself.

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry. Oup, Houghton Mifflin, 1993.


One of the best novels ever written for children of ages 11-14.

Jonas inhabits a seemingly ideal world that has none of the social evils that confront todays society.  However there is a price for this, and Jonas soon discovers what it is, and has to make a strong moral decision.

The drama all starts on the annual Ceremony Day when the elders decide what all the 12 year olds will do for the rest of their lives to suit the needs of the community. Jonas is assigned as apprentice to the Giver who holds all the community knowledge and experience.

What does Jonas find out? How will the community react? Is there life outside the community? Can the community change?
A stunning novel that all children should know about which addresses the debate over the needs of the community against the needs of the individual.

Lois lowry has always refused to explain the ending of this book but she has written two other books Gathering Blue and The Messenger that can give a clue to what happens.

Read this to your year 7/8 students and the discussion will flow like water.