Shoo! by Susie Bower

04 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars Tags: , , , ,

Published: 30th September 2021Goodreads badge
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Illustrator: Francesca Gambatesa
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Mrs Golightly doesn’t like animals – and now a whole zoo has moved next door! No matter how hard she tries to shoo them away, she finds animals a kangaroo on the loo, a giraffe in her bath, and even ants in her pants.
What can she do to get rid of these stinky, bothersome creatures?

This was a fun read, nothing too deep about it and certainly one that kids will love. There is a loose poetic structure which makes it fun to read aloud, and there are onomatopoeic words mixed with the illustrations that add extra humour along with the visuals of a giraffe in the bath and a llama in pyjamas.

The illustrations are the main focal point of the page, the words mostly relegated to the top and bottom, but it does provide some great visuals of Mrs Golightly’s horror and anger at the animals that have essentially broken into her house. As the story picks up and the animals get more disruptive the words and illustrations work together as they mix down the page.

Interestingly, she isn’t wrong to be annoyed there are all manner of creatures infiltrating her house. It was different if they were only being loud next door in their own zoo, but if you find crocs in your socks and ants in your pants I feel you have a justifiable cause for outrage.

Overall, it’s a fun story about partying with what must be the strangest and most well stocked suburban zoo. Mrs Golightly learns to coexists and have a bit of fun, and Gambatesa makes the whole thing visually entertaining.

You can purchase Shoo! via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Equal Rites (#3) by Terry Pratchett

17 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, Fantasy Tags: , , , , , , ,

Published: 15 January 1987 (print)/28 April 2022 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher: Corgi Press/Penguin Audio
Pages: 240/7 hrs and 50 mins
Narrator: Indira Varma, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fantasy
★   ★   ★   ★ – 4 Stars

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the newborn baby’s sex…

I love Pratchett’s writing style. It’s a lot like Douglas Adams, even a lot like Michael Ende. It’s serious, has important messages, but is absurd and quirky, funny but also has heart. It’s no wonder he’s so revered.

Equal Rites is third book in the Discworld series and is a refreshing tone form the first two which was good but a bit dull.

The miscalculations of giving the 8th son of an 8th son wizard magic, when the baby turns out to be a daughter instead is the initial plot problem. Rules are rules is a great way to deal with this, and I loved the journey Esk, Granny Weatherwax and other characters go on dealing with this fact.

There’s a great introduction to the wizarding world, as well as the overall Discworld which was fascinating to discover. The different regions of the world means there’s always something new to learn and different communities to explore.

I loved how much importance Pratchett places on witches and the good they do in the community to help people, while also acknowledging that belief in the magic of witches goes a lot of the way to believing a herb concoction will cure you through magic and not basic science. And believing something will cure you often will.

Celia Emery is the fabulous audiobook narrator and she brings Esq and Granny to life, her great narration style making Pratchett’s words vivid and lively. I always wondered how the footnotes would work in audio form but there’s wizards in our world too and the subtle little differences in tone, voice, and music let you know when a side bit of information has popped up, never once disrupting the flow of the story.

I really loved Granny Weatherwax and her teachings to Esk, the good and the strict. There is a powerful message through this whole book that despite its age is still very Girl Power and feministic. It isn’t enough to overshadow the phenomenal fantasy story, but enough push back to make you realise yes why are these the rules, and of course this is stupid. Which coming from a Pratchett book set ibn Discworld where a lot of this can be silly and intentionally ludicrous, it was refreshing to see a push back against the more serious stupidity. Of course it ends just as silly as it should, but those sprinklings of moments that make you think are a great inclusion.

With a few more well-known Discworld characters introduced in this book I look forward to continuing my journey through the series and getting to know them all better.

You can purchase Equal Rites via the following

QBD |  Dymocks

Wordery |  Blackwell’s

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Long Lost Review: Can’t Say it Went to Plan by Gabrielle Tozer

12 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Audiobook, LGBTQIA, Young Adult Tags: , , , , , ,

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all. 

Published: 14 September 2021Goodreads badge
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

School’s out.

Forget study, exams and mapping out the future.

For the next seven days, the only homework is partying with friends, making new ones and living in the moment.

 There are no parents or curfews – and no rules. 

Zoe, Samira and Dahlia are strangers, but they have something in common: their plans for a dream holiday after their final year of school are flipped upside-down before they even arrive at the beach.

From hooking up and heartache, to growing apart, testing friendships and falling in love, anything can go down this week. 

Interestingly I remember reading this book which is often rare for a LLR, but I can’t actually think of anything to say about it. I have tried twice before to read a Tozer book, I didn’t like the other two, but I was willing to give this one a shot. Unfortunately it befell the same fate. I felt it was a little too long, or at least too drawn out, after a while it started to fade out and I became disinterested.

The characters were fine, I never became attached to them and there were a lot to keep track of. There were three different groups with numerous storylines between them so you had to pay attention. I did enjoy when the different groups would cross paths and when they eventually joined up. There is decent character development for a few of the characters but it took a long time. I didn’t expect a quick change, but with the story feeling drawn out the moments in between anything happening felt eternal.

There’s characters to like and characters to dislike, and it was good to see our main players come to their senses and not deal with the idiots they come across. Being a schoolies week of course there had to be the toolies, but Tozer manages them really well and I liked her approach to their inclusion. Clear judgement of a guy who is too old to still be hanging around.

There is still one more Tozer book, I have it on my shelf but deciding when to finally read it will be hard. Do I dive in and get it over with? Wait a few more years to give it a gap between the last one, or do I never even try? These are the questions. It might be that Tozer isn’t the author for me and I should give up.

My Shadow is Purple (#3) by Scott Stuart

30 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , , , ,

Published: 15 June 2022
Publisher: Larrikan House US
Illustrator: Scott Stuart
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

My Dad has a shadow that’s blue as a berry, and my Mom’s is as pink as a blossoming cherry. 
There’s only those choices, a 2 or a 1. But mine is quite different, it’s both and it’s none. 
An inspiring book about being true to yourself, by best-selling children’s book creator Scott Stuart. This effusive rhyming story considers gender beyond binary in a vibrant spectrum of colour.

I love the shadow books because it is an easy to understand concept for kids and anyone unfamiliar with the different “shadow types”, but it’s also amazing because the differences are the shadows, not the people. The people are themselves, it’s only their shadows that are different. It doesn’t change who they are. Which of course might be me reading too much into it, but I just love the fact the differences are part of them but also not their whole being.

Even with this third colour option Stuart still shows different gender norms with blues being sentimental and pinks being strong. What’s great about this book too is it straight up says why can’t people be into all things? Why must they chose between the pinks and the blues? Why can’t they be into both trains and ballet shoes?

After our introduction the story follows the struggle with dealing with environments that are split into two options with no place for a third. The teacher coming over to acknowledge that our main character is different and yet still tells them they must choose a colour is another wonderful example of understanding but still forcing people into binary boxes.

Stuart shows readers that one brave voice to stand up for who they are can open the doors for others. It lets them reflect and acknowledge they too may not fit into the boxes the world has created, thereby creating a more welcoming and comfortable environment for all. Even after the proclamations of new shadows like green and brown there are still those who are blue and pink so Stuart also tells readers that you can reflect and challenge your own shadow colour and still end up with the default setting and there’s nothing wrong with that.

As a visual it’s a great introduction to the gender diversities and what people call ‘other’ and Stuart makes this another welcoming and simple explanation of gender diversity with a great story as well.

You can purchase My Shadow is Purple via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Don’t Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton

23 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 1st June 2019Goodreads badge
Publisher: Walker Books
Illustrator: Chris Haughton
Pages: 43
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Little Crab and Very Big Crab live in a tiny rock pool near the sea. Today they’re going for a dip in the big ocean. “This is going to be so great,” says Little Crab, splish-splashing and squelch-squelching along, all the way to the very edge. Then comes a first glance down at the waves. WHOOSH! Maybe it’s better if they don’t go in?

Haughton has written a wonderful story about taking chances and trusting new experiences. Big Crab tells Little Crab they are going to the sea and it’s clear this will be Little Crab’s first time and they are keen to go on this adventure.

The story is a great exploration about being excited for a new adventure or experience but when faced with the reality being a little apprehensive. Putting their trust in Big Crab we see Little Crab gain confidence as they slowly embrace a new experience.

It’s also a great book for sounding out onomatopoeic words and puts you in the scene vividly, especially when the illustrations are minimal. The focus is on the squishing of seaweed and the tapping of claws which shows the journey they take with few words.

The illustrations are adorable, though basic. They are bold and simple and set the scene, changing a little to suit the story but remaining striking solid colours that fill the page. The contrast between on land and sea was great and it’s another way to highlight what Little Crab would have missed if they weren’t brave and trusting.

Drawn in by a cute cover and the prospect of a tiny version of an animal I was rewarded with an adorable story. It has a wonderful message that new experiences can be great but you’ll never know if you don’t take the plunge.

You can purchase Don’t Worry, Little Crab via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries