The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist by Juliette MacIver, illus. Sarah Davis. Pub. Gecko Press, 2022.

RELEASE DATE 1ST OCTOBER 2022

A gem of a picture book from a NZ writer who has won the picture book award before with That’s Not a Hippopotamus, also reviewed on this blog.

Ms. Whiskersniff who prefers Ms Whisk takes her class of daredevils on an outdoor trek up the Dismal Hills. The children are excited and not worried about The grizzled grist that loner and hider Liam insists exists and that Ms Whisk insists does not exist.

The trip up the Dismal Hills is eventful with Liam hiding and seeing things the other children do not see. Then catastrophe as Ms Whisk and the children except Liam are captured by a large net put there by the grizzled grist. What is going to happen and what will Liam do? You will have to read it yourself to find out.

Superb illustrations with the characterisation of Ms Whisk and the Grizzled Grist brilliant. The language and text is rhyming and very witty making this picture book one of the best of the year.

Check the picture of the grizzled Grist at the end of the book and also the class photo at the start. Wonderful story.

Pigeon Holed by Nikki Slade Robinson. Pub. Duck creek Press, Imprint David Ling Publishing Ltd, 2022.

There is nothing worse than being pigeonholed into a category and Little Pigeon knows it.

When Big Pigeon tells little Pigeon he belongs in a little hole, Little pigeon rebels. “I am going to be big” he says and I am not plain or grumpy or noisy or fussy. “why do we have to be in holes anyway”

Big Pigeon is flumoxed and other pigeons are impressed with little Pigeon’s stand. Read it and see what happens.

Excellent portraits of Big Pigeon and Little Pigeon. A classic old v young conflict and questioning of why things are done. That is the right of the young.

Masher by Fifi Colston. Pub. Puffin, 2022.

This is literally a shaggy dog story for intermediate and junior readers and it is very funny. Reluctant boy readers in particular will love it and it would be a good story to read aloud to a junior class.

Freddy Foxworthy is an arty boy and he is daring. His father is a builder and his sister is flirting with the metal head a couple of house along from his. His name is Axl and he has a vicious Staffordshire bull terrier called Masher.

Freddy is inspired by a teacher to make a puppet made of paper mache but he struggles because it is too soft, so he mixes up a concoction of flour water and sugar to bind the paper mache together. Masher eats it all and dies. he is cremated and his ashes are left by the gate to Axl’s house.

In a comedy of errors Freddy kicks the ashes over, conceals the spilt ashes in a pie bag takes them home and mixes them in the flour mixture to stiffen up the paper mache, and uses it to complete the puppet.

The hand puppet morphs and comes alive as Masher and the action starts. Read it and see what happens. Freddy is a good role model. He is intelligent, imaginative and has good people skills, but will he survive a paper mache dog with all the appetites and qualities of the real thing.

There are lessons in how to form a business and how to do a puppet show as well as the crazy action that surrounds a talking dog puppet. Easy to read with great imagination.

Lisette’s Green Sock by Catharina Valckx. Translated by Antony Shugaar.

Lisette’s Green Sock by Catharina Valckx. Translated by Antony Shugaar. Pub. Gecko Press, 2020.

If I wanted a go to a picture book to cheer me up, this is the one I would read. It’s about individuality and difference and how everybody can use things in a different way. In this instance it is a green sock and a very comfortable looking sock it is too.

“On a bright sunny day, Lisette goes out for a walk“. She passes her mum reading a book. Lisette and her mum both wear head scarfs, which I like, and they both are birds, probably chickens. Lisette finds a single green sock, likes it and puts on her left foot although it ends up on her right foot by the time she gets back home again.

Bert the rat likes the sock too but he prefers it as a hat. Tim and Tom cat find the other sock and Lisette and Bert give chase but they throw it on the river where fish finds it. What do you think fish will do with it? read it and find out.

The illustrations are superb, the colours are pastel, the characterisation inspired, and it can be used as a read aloud for juniors. Quite simply the best picture book this year. Don’t miss it.

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate. Pub. HarperCollins, 2020.

Children love animal stories and so do I. This excellent novel for primary and middle school readers is a sequel to the award winning The One and Only Ivan.

Ivan is a silver backed gorilla who was taken from the jungle as a baby, brought up by humans and never understood that in his own community he would be in charge. He is a gentle giant and when confined to a small zoo off a major highway he is befriended by Bob a small dog who has been abandoned by humans.

Bob has a human care giver, Julia, who taught Ivan art, and still visits him and his elephant friend Ruby at the zoo. Bob has doubts about himself but a massive hurricane and tornado wreck the zoo putting all the animals and humans in jeopardy. Bo finds strengths that he never knew he had.

Superbly narrated by Bob who has doubts over whether dog is man’s best friend or that man is dogs best friend. See what you think yourself.

The illustrations by Patricia Castelao are superb and add a necessary dimension to the characters and the story. Don’t miss this beauty.

Wayside School. Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar, illus. Tim Heitz.

Wayside School. Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar, illus. Tim Heitz. Pub. Bloomsbury, 2020.

This short, easy to reader novel for primary and intermediate kids is crazy from the first to the last page. It is funny, it is serious, it is absurd, it is honest and it is always entertaining.

Wayside School is in a 30 story building. The headmaster is wacky, the teachers are eccentric and the pupils have every quirk and difference that society can muster. Still they get on well together with a lot of tolerance of each others behaviour.

Mrs Jewls class want to know what a million looks like so they start collecting toe and fingernails in an attempt to get a million. Will they do it? Then a large dark cloud they call the Cloud of Doom settles over the school and doesn’t move.

The cloud affects everybody’s behaviour and culminates on the day that the Ultimate school test finishes. Totally bizarre but very entertaining.

Tim Heitz’s illustrations help you picture the characters and the action.

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker.

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker. Pub. HarperCollins, 2020.

This easy to read novel with short chapters for primary and Intermediate students, is a delight from beginning to end. It is set in Florida and Sara Pennypacker’s style reminds me of Kate Di Camillo.

Over protection is one of many disadvantages of being an only child. Ware is eleven and a half years old and is a disappointment to his hard working parents. He knows they are disappointed and he would like to change completely.

I think he is a fabulous person. He is a dreamer, a thinker and above all an artist. He struggles to meet and mix with people and prefers to be with his own fantasies. He is the type of boy who when he closes the door to his room, every cell in his body breaths a sigh of relief.

He is put in a childminding school during the summer holidays after his grandmother who he calls Big-deal, and he hates it. Over the fence from the play centre is an old churchyard and he goes in there to play. It reminds him of a medieval castle and his great love is the code of a knight which concentrates on fairness.

Ware meets Jolene in the yard and she is a die hard realist but the two get on with lots of disagreement and banter. Jolene plants a garden in the old churchyard and Ware builds a moat around the old church tower.

Then an older girl Ashley tells Jolene and Ware that the bank is going to sell the church site and destroy the work they are doing.

Read it and find out what happens. Brilliant ending. One of the best of the year.

Starbird by Sharon King-Chai.

Starbird by Sharon King-Chai. Pub. two Moons, Imprint MacMillan, 2019.

This beautifully presented sophisticated picture book has a message for all the World. Read it and find out what it is.

The powerful Moon king is proud when he has a daughter and he wants to give her the most wonderful gift imaginable. He decides to catch the one and only Starbird, duly does so and puts it in a cage so his daughter can hear the Starbird’s enchanting song.

The daughter sees how the Starbird suffers and lets it go. The Moon King is furious and hunts it high and low. Other creatures of the World shelter Starbird but the king is determined and has his way.

The recapture of Starbird has tragic consequences and the ending is sad.

Splendid illustrations especially of Starbird and of all the different environments of Earth. This will make you think.

For everyone but a great read-a-loud for juniors. Don’t miss this one you will kick yourself if you do.

Hannibal. The camel who longed to be special by Pauline Marshall. illus. Candice Haare-Smith.

Hannibal. The camel who longed to be special by Pauline Marshall. illus. Candice Haare-Smith. Pub. 2018

Good manners dictate that one eats with ones mouth closed. Hannibal the camel doesn’t do this, no camel does. Their flubbery lips flap, their jaws swing and whatever they are eating sprays around like a sandstorm. That’s what being a camel is all about.

Hannibal is not happy with this and he wants to impress the lovely Cleo. He consults a number of others including Dugg the dung beetle, Oz the ostrich and human beings. He just makes himself look silly but he has a lot of fun doing it.

Then he discovers something about Cleo that changes everything. Read it and see what it is.

First time illustrator Candice Haare-Smith does a splendid job with acrylic and watercolour illustrations that capture the camels image and manner. The eyes are particularly important because through the eyes you can see the soul.

Lovely story about identity and individuality for juniors either to read alone or for an adult to read aloud.

Purchase on Amazon.

Erik. The lone Wolf by Sarah Finan.

Erik. The lone Wolf by Sarah Finan. Pub. Allen & Unwin, 2018.

This picture book impressed me the minute I picked it up, before I even  opened it up to see what was inside. The cover was done in a relief type of art. The title stuck out from cover you could feel it like a blind person. So did Erik with his red scarf and the mountains as well. It was lovely to rub my hands across it.

Inside the written text and illustrations did not disappoint either. I do admire author/illustrators.

It is about belonging and feeling crowded at the same time. Erik is sick of being with the pack and being told to do this and not to do that. He takes off on his own.

At first the freedom is exhilarating but then trouble, Erik is in the deep stuff. Fortunately the pack haven’t left Erik and they rescue him and he is so glad to be back. Sometimes people do not appreciate you till you’re gone and vice versa. Lots of positive messages about this work.

Great to read aloud and to read on your own. A real beauty, don’t miss this one.