The Long Hard Road Out of Hell

The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson is an autobiography. It is quite a funny yet disturbing book filled with personal tales of Marilyn’s ride to fame in the world of rock and roll. He tells stories which will shock the reader, but each gives you a great insight to the person he is now and all the events which led to who he has become. The themes often include sex, drugs and of course, rock and roll. 

The structure of the book is in chapters, each chapter has a story to tell and they begin and end after each chapter. In saying this it is all in chronological order, from when he is young up until the present time while writing the book. This meant the map of the narrative was constantly going up and down, with constant complications and resolutions throughout the whole book.  

As the book is written in an autobiography form many unique language features can be used such as telling a story in 1^st person, but then applying it to 3^rd person as if it is written in the form of a narrative. It also doesn’t simply have to follow a narrative structure, the book included many diagrams, letters and other artworks created by Marilyn. This was done so to enhance the story and allow for a greater understanding and appreciation for the subject by the viewer.

It is a story suitable for year 10 students and above due to the themes, although it is not a book a teacher would look at within in a class room, rather a recreational viewing by the readers for their own enjoyment. Also the viewer should be mature as they may mimic some of the behaviour if they want to ‘be like him’.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. In this book the storyline becomes far darker with some of Harry’s secrets being revealed and more of his past and his conflict between Voldemort unfolds. For those who don’t know the Harry Potter series is about a boy who finds out he is actually a wizard and can attend a school for wizardry. From this he meets many other witches and wizards and goes through many adventures which slowly reveal his dark past and all the secrets surrounding his life.  

The language used in the book is quite descriptive with situations and characters being described thoroughly. This allows the reader to have a great understanding of what is happening and allows for them to paint a picture in their mind of the wizardry world. It is also written in third person who allows the reader to know exactly what the characters are feeling. This allows the viewer to relate and put themselves into the situation. It can also cause biases between characters they may have a liking for (which sets up for good vs. bad guy).  

The structure of the story is in chapters with each chapter presenting a new mini story/idea/ complication. All the chapters eventually build to the ending, which like in the past two books is a good versus bad guy even. In this installment it is between Harry and Sirius Black. The book is also ended knowing that there will be another book following, so it is never truly resolved due to the many unanswered questions.

This is a great read for people of all ages and would be a good book to just read to in front of the class because it is just so likable. Plus it is well written which would only assist students in their English ability.

The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff

The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff is an Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a classic of Australian children's literature. The story is set in Australia with humans mixing with animals. It tells of a magic pudding which, no matter how often it is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again. It is owned by three companions who must defend it against Pudding Thieves who want it for themselves.

The book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. Due to the book being quite old it is not similar to current children’s books format. The illustrations are all in black and white, pencil form. It is also quite long, and I can see many children viewing it in this day and age finding it boring and not engaging. In saying this is good to read a book like this due to its cultural and historical value, it gives the viewer an understanding of a time in which they did not live, a time in the past. It could be used as a teaching tool in this way, by examining the language used, the pictures or the things that are mentioned and explaining them to students so they can gain an understanding.

The language used within this book is very typical ‘Australia outback’ lingo. Such terms as bunyuip, chip off the old block and cobber are used. For people who have not heard such terms, whether it be their culture or social upbringing, it would make it hard to understand what the characters are talking about and may make it untreatable

There are many short songs interspersed throughout the text, varying from stories told in rhyme to descriptions of a character's mood or behavior, and verses of an ongoing sea song. This makes the book fun, but still it may not have the same effect it does on viewers in current society. Finally, the book is based around quite crude humor, with characters often fighting or insulting each other. Again, this is quite Australian but not very relatable to today’s society.

Overall The Magic Pudding is a timeless classic and will provide and insight into what Australians children’s books first included and what times were like many years ago.

Soldier Boy

Soldier Boy is an adolescent novel written by Australian author Anthony Hill. It is quite a historical book with many of the story being fiction as Anthony researched much of the main characters papers in order to write it. The story is about a 14 year old boy named ‘Jim Martin’ who joined the army to fight the war in Gallipoli with a false age so he could be in on the adventure and be an Australian hero.  Jim makes several friends while he is going through his adventure; he learns the harshness of the war, and the many complications that it realistically brings.

The structure of the book is in chronological order with the orientation, complication resolution occurring in their appropriate places. There are constant smaller versions of these throughout the book, but with a climax and a resolution (death and naming Jim a war hero) right at the end.

The language used is fitting for the age group it is aimed at, with it not being overly complicated, but still descriptive enough to drive the appealing storyline. In saying this, there are some war terms that I did not even know and had to look up so I could understand the storyline. This would allow for some investigation by the reader.

The themes presented within the book include Australia being a patriotic society, mateship and friendship, and themes based around war. Such themes would make for a great discussion in a classroom.

Young readers, especially boys will enjoy reading such a book as it is quite relatable in terms of how Jim thinks, acts and reacts to certain situations. There is action, comedy and enough drama to keep students engaged and wanting to keep reading. It would be suitable for high school students, possibly for an engagement activity in History with cross curriculum to English.  

The Day My Bum Went Psycho

The Day My Bum Went Psycho is an adolescent novel by Australian children's author, Andy Griffiths. The book is quite a ridiculous story about a boy named Zack Freeman who has to seek the help of some "bum-hunters" to catch his bum after he learns it is actually the leader of a band of rogue bums determined to control the world. Even in this short description of the book you can see that it is not to be taken seriously in the least, it is a title purely for humour and enjoyment.

The structure of the story is in a traditional narrative form with orientations to the story and the characters, followed by complications which are resolved. There is also a climax towards the end of the book where the story hits a peak and is then finally resolved (well until the next book that it).

The language used fits perfectly for the age group it is aiming for. Andy Griffiths states that this is his aim, to write book that are fun for children and he does so perfectly. It is his understanding of younger children, and what they enjoy which sets his books a part from other authors.

It is illustrated by Nicole Arroyo, who also illustrated some of Andy Griffiths' other books, including the Just! series. These illustrations are very complimentary to the book and add something extra to the story, almost a second story in themselves. They are fun and are a good way to keep students who may not overly like reading engaged in the story line. The idea behind them is to make the drawings basic but fun and full of humor.  

Younger readers in middle to upper primary would be suited for reading this book. Although, it could be considered extremely immature, this may put off some readers due to the absurd nature of the story and the simplistic toilet humored writing style. I believe that this book would be great for engaging students who don’t like reading, possibly think that it is lame, and show them that it can actually be quite funny and actually fun.

The Lost Thing

The Lost Thing is a picture book written by the Australian Author and illustrator Shaun Tan. The book follows a large trash can like living object with tentacles, and a man who is trying to help it find out where it belongs. The man finds the ‘thing’ at the beach, and although it first appeared scary, had a good time with it. From this point the storyline follows the mans trouble of finding out where it fits. After a long search he finds a place full of weird mystical creatures and feels it fits in here. I believe the book is excellently written with illustrations to match.   

The language used within the story is very basic, basically words for a child. Although the storyline does not fit with the age group the words do. This can be confusing but Tan himself has stated that his books are for people of an older year level, personally I’s say in high school. It is set in 1^st person as the main character is describing the story. This technique allows the reader to understand how this character feels, can grasp what understanding he has of the storyline and can follow his narration of events.

The illustrations are very descriptive, similar to a lot of Tan’s other work. As his words are so simple it allows for more of the story to be told. As described by Winch “Pictures do not simply illustrate language, they inflate it into the making of new meaning; they add something different, stimulating an inner imaginative process that in itself is another type of language”.

The narrative follows the traditional structure with the orientation (meeting both characters), complication(trying to find where the thing belongs and what it is) and the conclusion(finding a place for the thing). What is special about this story however that is there is no mention if the ‘thing’ actually does fit in or not? It leaves in open ended towards the viewer. For myself this left me thinking about it constantly after I had finished.

The theme of belonging is dominant within this story and I think this would be a great way to engage high school students if you were ever talking about accepting others or belonging in school. It was a sense of appeal to it, a very relatable book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. In this book the storyline becomes far darker with some of Harry’s secrets being revealed and more of his past and his conflict between Voldemort unfolds. For those who don’t know the Harry Potter series is about a boy who finds out he is actually a wizard and can attend a school for wizardry. From this he meets many other witches and wizards and goes through many adventures which slowly reveal his dark past and all the secrets surrounding his life.  

The language used in the book is quite descriptive with situations and characters being described thoroughly. This allows the reader to have a great understanding of what is happening and allows for them to paint a picture in their mind of the wizardry world. It is also written in third person who allows the reader to know exactly what the characters are feeling. This allows the viewer to relate and put themselves into the situation. It can also cause biases between characters they may have a liking for (which sets up for good vs. bad guy).  

The structure of the story is in chapters with each chapter presenting a new mini story/idea/ complication. All the chapters eventually build to the ending, which like in the past two books is a good versus bad guy even. In this installment it is between Harry and Sirius Black. The book is also ended knowing that there will be another book following, so it is never truly resolved due to the many unanswered questions.

This is a great read for people of all ages and would be a good book to just read to in front of the class because it is just so likable. Plus it is well written which would only assist students in their English ability.

Goosebumps Special Edition #5

Goosebumps Special Edition #5 is written by R.L. Stine is an incredibly popular series among upper and middle primary students. In this version the book contains 10 horror stories.

The language used within the book is quite basic, with the use of simple/moderate adjectives to describe the situations or things within the book. Majority of the stories are a build up, so there is a lot of description on what is occurring as well as the storyline progressing quite quickly. This leaves little characterization and doesn’t make the characters overly relatable.   

As there are 10 stories, each chapter represents the start of a new story. Each story is like a short narrative, all following the traditional structure which includes having an orientation, complication and resolution. It is a simple structure to follow yet effective as students who do not overly like reading can only read a little bit and still follow and understand the storyline. A downfall to this is that it is very basic and all very similar.

These are good books for students to read in their own time, just as a recreation. They are a good way of engaging students who may not want to read as they have gruesome stories and a simplistic writing style

Eric

Eric is a picture book written by the Australian author and illustrator Shaun Tan. The story follows Eric, who is an exchange student within a house which is presumably in Australia or a western country. He is a little odd looking creature(this symbolizes the fact he doesn’t fit it very well) and he doesn’t see or act in the way his temporary caring family do. This leads them to believe that he is not happy. It concludes by finding that he was just different to them and that he did appreciate the time he spent there.

The illustrations within the book often vary in size, sometimes make them like photographs, has some black and white, and also on some pages just has illustrations without any words at all. They are far simpler than in other Tan books, but still connect well with the storyline. The language is simple also adding to this connection. In saying this, even with its simplicity it is still quite emotive with the words which are used.

The book follows the normal narrative conventions by having an orientation (introducing Eric), a complication (trying to help him fit in and make him happy) and resolution (finding out that he was happy with his stay).

The theme in the book is one of its great assets with the way it portrays belonging and fitting in. Tan does this through showing what it is like for an exchange student, and ends the book by teaching the reader a lesson. For this reason the book would be excellent for high school students if a social studies teacher was talking about belonging as you could use this to introduce the topic as it is quite engaging, relatable and can capture the reader.

The Echidna and The Shade Tree

The Echidna and The Shade Tree is a picture book written by Mona Green and illustrated by Pamela Lofts. It is an Aboriginal dreamtime story which talks about how the Aboriginals believed that the Nongra river came about and how the Echidna got spikes in his back(they were spears thrown by the other animals, as he stole the shade tree).

The language used is quite basic, and it feel like it is being narrated by a person, which is the technique the author was clearly aiming for.

The illustrations use Aboriginal paints and colours. This also would be good to look into as students could learn to paint in such a way. Having such colours and plain effect shows the Aboriginal culture which is what the book is doing.

A book like this is great when looking into Aboriginal Studies and even I learnt something from reading this. Culturally, Australian students should have some history about their background and the Aboriginals belief. This would make for a good engagement activity for primary school students.

Milo and the Magical Stones

Milo and the Magical Stones is a picture book written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister. This is a story about a land full of mice who live peacefully, but are constantly riddled with storms. After one of the storms the main character Milo finds a gold stone. This gold stone is the most amazing thing any of the mice have ever seen and they go in search of more of these stones. From this point the book splits into two sections- a good ending and a bad ending. I quite like books and any type of media for that matter that are set out like this. It is a perfect way to cover different topics. For example this book covers the theme of greed and how if you take too much you can lose it all. By seeing the good and bad side you can learn from it.

The book would bed aimed at students in the lower to middle primary age group due to the story line and very soft/cute illustrations. In saying that the illustrations are a highlight in this book, the just look so soft and happy, this would engage students. Also the gold rock is a shiny material different to that of the book, again enhancing the book visually.

The language used is very basic with little adjectives, rather focusing on the storyline and building that up. The way is does build up to the separate ending is quite impression however, by basically saying you have two choices, which allows the reader to see the resolution to each choice.

 

Stripy Whiskers

 Stripy Whiskers is a picture book written by Sue Inman and illustrated by Martin Impey. The story follows a green dragon who walks around the woods talking to tiny pink, blue and yellow mice. They talk about their colour and all mention their big brother. Finally after conversing with each mouse, the dragon runs into the older brother. The older brother threatens to eat the dragon and the dragon runs away and never comes back. The book ends by saying to the reader “Do not worry, the large stripy mouse does not eat little children, only green dragons”.

There is no real structure to this story, there is an orientation, some random events, followed by an sudden ridiculous conclusion. The language is basic, and would be a good read if not for the storyline.

Upon reading this story I was stunned by the ridiculous ending, I could not believe that is how it ended. This is a book I certainly would not recommend to anyone nor would I use it in my classroom. Although taking into account the size of the book, the simple writing and bubbly pictures, it is suitable for beginner readers(if they have nothing better to read).

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz is a adolescent fiction novel, it is the seventh in the Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is an Australian teenager who is roped into being a spy for the Australian Secret Service after his dad dies a mysterious death, back in the first book. The series is based on the journey that Alex takes to find out more about his dad and uncover the truth. His spy duties take him on missions all around the world as he slowly uncovers more and more about his father he realises that he can't trust anyone apart from himself.

Anthony Horowitz is an Australian author who was voted Author of the year in 2007. His writing style for this particular book and series is a third person narration with the story only following the movements of the character Alex Rider. This writing style allows the reader to share in the discoveries of Alex and to know only what he knows. It is as if you were his side kick following his ever move. Although Horowitz does not use a great amount of interesting verb and noun groups to drive the story, he maintains the reader's interest by keeping the story moving quickly as Alex engages in reconnesense, sky diving, fighting, high speed pursuits etc.

The whole book is constantly filled with tension and resolution (conflict and resolution) as Alex finds himself in many life threatening or endangering situation which require quick thinking and actions to avoid. These consistent actions keep the book interesting and leave you wanting to find out more about where the book will lead too. Often Alex discovers certain clues in relation to the criminal organisation he is tracking, these clues slowly build up until the final climax in which Alex uses his intelligence to attack the organisation and shut down their operations. Some of the resolutions are predicatable however their is almost always a hidden twist in this series which makes them worthwhile.

This book is quite an easy read due to the straight forward language used and logical chronologically based events in the story. It is a book aimed at teenagers and young adults.

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Redwall by Brian Jacques is the ninth book out of twelve in a series called The Tales of Redwall. The series is based on a medieval time period but is based on a world in which there are no humans only animals particularly small animals such as mice, rats, beavers, badgers, foxes, rabbits and birds. In this book we follow a small mouse called Matthias who takes us on a quest to protect the creatures of the Abbey from the Scourge and their rat leader Cluny.

The story plot in this book follows the conventional shape in which their a range of minor actions and conflicts and then a major conflict/climax and resolution at the end of the story. In comparison to a book like Harry Potter and the Philosiphers Stone this book takes a lot longer between actions and conflicts and does not have a set focus for each chapter. This seems to drag out the story a lot more but is probably due to the author jumping from character to character throughout the course of the book to follow mini stories and quests.

The book is told in a third person narration which also includes comments from the author about how particular animals behave or speak. The author also includes many languages which are particular to certain animals and spells their speech in the ways in which it sounds when they speak it. For example a mole called Foremole says "Yurr moles, get outten loight. Let'n um dog at bone thurr". The books contain a lot of speech from the characters which allows the reader to understand how different animals interact with each other and the ways in which their personalities are reflected through their speech such as the main baddy called Clung says "Clown! Bungling buffoon! Get out of the way! Shift your fat little carcass and let Scragg take over."

These books would be likely suited to year 6/7 students as they are quite long and contain a lot of mini stories which need to be followed to understand the main story line. They do however contain a lot of good character speech which could be analysed in terms of how a character is represented through their speech.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling is a classic novel read by both young and old that never fails to disappoint. In short the story is about a boy called Harry Potter who becomes a wizard, goes to wizard school, meets his two best friends and ultimately defeats his arch enemy Voldemort.

Each chapter in this book has a main action or conflict which is focuses on keeping the book exciting and enjoyable throughout. The reader does not need to wait long before another mystery reveals itself. Over the course of the whole book each minor conflict or action builds and builds towards the major conflict (character vs character) at the end of the book in which Harry Potter confronts Voldemort (the dark lord who killed his parents). Harry Potter defeats Voldemort and the story resolves with Harry Potter being the hero and everyone else being safe and well.

The story is written in a third person narration with the author including mass amounts of details as to what the characters are thinking and feeling which allows the reader to really get to know the characters and share a close intimacy with them. The author's attention to detail for every sentence and every word is what makes Harry Potter such an enjoyable read.

An interesting feature of this book is when the author includes letters or notes within the text as the characters would see them in the story. An example of this is where Harry Potter has got his shopping list for the items he needs to buy from Diagon Alley. As a reader we actually get to see the list of items he needs to buy including the title and little side notes of information.  Using this feature exposes readers to non conventional ways of writing and reading which they would not normally encounter within a fiction novel.

This book could be read by students from year 4 and up.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very bad day by Judith Viorst

This picture book is about a boy who wakes up and cannot seem to catch a break. As soon as he gets out of bed he trips of a skateboard, drops his sweater in the wet sink, he doesn’t get an amazing prize out of his cereal box, like his brothers do, and it all escalates from there. His friend leaves him to play with someone else, the dentist finds a cavity in his mouth and he has to eat lima beans for dinner. Many other things happen that Alexander dislikes his mother assures him that everybody has bad days.

This book is a very cute depiction of a young boy whose day is turning into a catastrophe. Every child would feel some connection to this story as everyday can’t always be a good day; sometimes we just have to deal with bad days. This story is a great message for students to realise that everybody has bad days everywhere all over the world and also that the emotions that arouse due to these bad days can be confusing and tiring. This book is also relatable as everything that happens to Alexander could happen to anyone, like being picked on by your brother or tripping on a skateboard.

This book would be great for students in  year reception to year five but the concepts can also be enjoyed by older students.

The Last Noo Noo by Jill Murphy

This picture book is very imaginative and portrays an important message for children. This story is about a young monster called Marlon. Marlon loves his dummies, or rather, his Noo-noos, even though his grandma says he is too old for them and all the other monsters tease him he will not give up his Noo-noos until he is ready to. At the end of the story he plants his last Noo-noo in the garden and waits for a Noo-noo tree to grow. Amazingly at the end of the book one does and there is a picture of Marlon collecting all the Noo-noos that are ripe for picking.

This book could be interpreted as meaning that it is good to be yourself no matter who makes fun of you or tells you that you are wrong, you should only do what you want to do when you are ready to do it. This is a good message but at the same time teachers do not want to make students think that they do not then need to challenge themselves. It also gives a message about bullying as there are some monsters that tease Marlon as he walks down the street. Marlon of course does not care what they say and they all get what they deserve after trying to hurt Marlon’s feelings.

This is a great book for young students about years reception to 3 as it holds a decent message and gives some insight into bullying and how to over come it.

ABC and Counting by Maureen Spurgeon

This book is a very cute rhyme that is for very young children learning to count and say their ABC’s. It could be used for reception and earlier as it teaches children to say the alphabet and some words that start with each letter, as well as teaching them to count up to ten. However it could be used also as a tool for learning to read certain words and gaining an understanding of the rhythm of poetry and rhymes. There is quite a lot of written text in this book and each passage or verse has a picture that matches what was said and can be explored. This book would be a great one for a teacher to read out a loud for her class as it is important to read rhymes and poems to young students and they can also enjoy the rhythm of the teacher’s voice as he/she reads. Another aspect that makes this book a good one to read with a whole class is that there can be some input from everyone as the story asks students to find other items beginning with the letter just mentioned within the picture. This can help students who are struggling with letter recognition.

The story follows a young bear named Teddy who helps children learn their ABC’s by describing moments in his life where he can express words that begin with the letters of the alphabet. He goes many different places throughout his story while always finding many words to share. Teddy then explains that counting is easy too, he then goes on to tell the story of his birthday party and how his mother has asked him to count things like one cake, two jugs of lemonade and three bowls of chips. This helps students recognise the sound of numbers as well as what they look like and can count along with Teddy as he goes.

This book could be used for reception students and possibly year ones, especially if they are struggling with the concepts of the alphabet and counting. The rhyming also makes it interesting to listen to and can be an introduction for young students to poetry and rhymes.

The Yoopasootix by Eleanor Coombe

This picture book is a fun story about a bored young boy called Peter who just wants to play a game. He asks all his family members but none of them have time or are interested in playing a game with him. While sitting in his room bored he says out loud ‘I wish I could think of something fun to do.’ And then hears a strange husky voice that seems to come from nowhere in particular. It says it is a Yoopasootix. Peter asks his entire family what a Yoopasootix is but he does not get a promising answer from anyone. He later finds out when it asks Peter to stand on his head. A strange creature appears and makes a mess of the entire house, vanishing before anyone can see him. Peter gets sent to his room for making all the mess but while he’s in there the Yoopasootix makes a game in which they clean Peter’s room. After this the Yoopasootix takes him to his home land called Funtasmagorical land and they have fun for the rest of the day.

This book is a lot of fun as it gives life to an amazing and strange new creature for children to imagine. The concept of being bored and having to make your own fun is one that is commonly felt by students and therefore the existence of a creature like the Yoopasootix gives kids the ideas they need to create their own games in times like these. This story also creates a type of mini world for students as they can escape the normal day to day of being bored at home and live a fantasy game involving a Yoopasootix.

This book would be aimed at students around the age of year reception to year five as beyond that students are often distracted by technology and can find fun with their friends easy enough. This book was very cute to read and the Yoopasootix is like no fantasy creature I have ever seen before.

The Dead of the Night by John Marsden

This novel is the second of the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. Just as in the first it is following the lives of a group of teenagers who have come back from a camping trip to find their homes and town invaded by a foreign force. With no sign of their parents or friends they decide that the best thing for them to do is hide out in Hell, a secluded area of bush where they had been camping, and become guerrilla fighters attacking the enemy and helping to win this war they have found themselves in. As the second part of the series this book continues directly on from this and Ellie is still the narrator of the story.

Having had one of their friends shot and another take her to the hospital knowing that he would be captured and taken prisoner, there are only six of them left. They hide out in Hell and are faced with numerous challenges, including the weight of death and murder, the blow of not owning their own country as colonists take over their friends' and families' houses and farms and the usual teenage dilemma’s of love and relationships. They struggle to find the strength to make a difference although end up setting fire to a group of houses that seem to be a hive of important activity. Unfortunately they lose another friend who they find at the end of the book. He had been drunk and had gone looking for more alcohol while the rest of them were on a mission; he had flipped the car and laid there for days obviously just waiting to die. Now there is a weight of guilt on their shoulders as they know they should not have left him alone for so long.

This book is for adolescent students who are trying to find out who they are and learning about life and how they are meant to live and participate in it. This book probably should not be read by students under year 9 or 10 as some sexual experiences between some of the characters are depicted in it. The themes and concepts within this book are very much typical of Marsden as it is written for older students, even adults to an extent, and deals with some deep and dark topics such as war, murder, loss of friends, right and wrong and teenage life.

Corduroy By Dan Freeman

This gorgeous picture book is about a teddy bear who comes to life after the store he is stuck in closes. He is looking for his missing button from his overalls. He searches the store thinking that the elevator is a mountain and the furniture department is a palace. Corduroy finds a button on a mattress and tries to pull it off thinking it is his, he knocks over a lamp that is on show and draws the attention of a security guard to the area. Upon finding Corduroy he places him back on his shelf where he came from. The next day, a young girl buys him with money that she has saved. All at once Corduroy realises that he has found his home and that this girl, Lisa, must be his friend.

This story is incredibly adorable and children will love the idea of a toy coming to life and searching a department store. The happy ending gives the idea that everyone has a place in the world which is a great message for students to hear and learn. This will also remind younger students of their own toys coming to life and finding a wonderful home when those students bought them or had them given to them. This book would be best suited to students in years reception to year 3, possibly older simply for how cute it is.

The Barrumbi Kids by Leonie Norrington

This novel captures the paradoxes of a life lived in rural northern Australia with a wonderful amount of honesty and humour. It is written very well and uses a lot of Aboriginal language which gives it an authentic feel and makes it enjoyable to read and discover some of the culture of the Aboriginal peoples.

The story takes place in a small rural community called Long Hole community and follows the lives of two young boys Dale and Tomias. These two boys are best friends and do everything together. Just as every other kid of a pre-teen age they are struggling with school and the expectations their parents have bestowed upon them. Dale is more interested in wagging school and going bush, learning about the country he lives in,  rather than sitting in a hot stuffy classroom all day and even though Tomias’s mother thinks that he can learn more from the bush than he can from the class, he always gets in trouble when Dale convinces him to wag, only because Dale’s mum gets upset and she and Tomias’s mum have been friends for many years. The story becomes interesting as the boys take part in school activities and surprise even themselves at their ability, sneak onto a farm and set all of the caged hens free and go camping for possibly the last time together. Dale must also come to terms with the fact that because Tomias is Aboriginal he will be a man his next birthday and they will be going off to different high schools.

This book is a great read for students in years 4 to 12 as it is humorous, honest and gives a true depiction of life in a small community in rural Australia.

Get Into Bed by Virginia Miller

This book is a very cute depiction of a toddler that will not go to bed despite his guardians best efforts. It is a simple read for younger students and would be a good book for those who are just learning to read or struggling with their reading as there are not very many words per page and the pictures give a very good understanding of what is happening within the written text. It is also an attractive book not only for the gorgeous pictures but also as it is a relatable book because; let’s face it, how many young kids do go to bed when they are told?

The book is about a young bear cub named Bartholomew who refuses to get into bed no matter how many times his guardian, George, tells him to. After throwing a tantrum and angering George slightly, George says ‘Get into bed!’ in a loud voice. Bartholomew then gets under the covers but continues to play until he yawns and falls asleep. It was inevitable all along that Bartholomew was going to end up in bed and children will be able to relate to this story as the concept does often come up in everyday life.

This book does not really have any hidden meanings but sets up a type of mini world in which even young bears will not go to bed when asked and shows that no matter how much a child will protest they will almost always end up in bed when their parents or carers want them to go. It is however interesting if not appreciated that George is called George throughout the entire book and not given a title like dad. This means we do not know of the real relationship between Bartholomew and George. This is quite good in my opinion as it gives those children who may have step-parents or are in foster care a chance to read a book that does not assume they all have two biological parents and sometimes a guardian is called by their first name.

This book is aimed at younger children as it is a great one for learning how to read and connecting pictures to text. 

Mirror by Jeanie Baker

This book is a great story although it contains barely any text. Apart from a brief introduction about what the book portrays and instructions as to how it should be read, as well as a short note from the author about how this book came to be, every other bit of information the book uses is a collage image. This supports the ever growing theory that pictures are in themselves a form of text. Mirror is the story of two young boys and their families, one lives in Sydney in Australia while the other lives in the Valley of Roses in southern Morocco. 

The aim of this book is to show that however different a person may look to us, their outward appearance is not telling of who they really how and how they think. As shown in this book, each family does things differently, as their culture demands or as they see fit, however they have similar values and ways of doing things for example, the boy from Sydney goes to the market with his dad in a car on the busy roads of a major city, whereas the young boy from Morocco hops on the back of his families donkey and escorts his mother to the market to sell a carpet and some sheep.

This book very much relieves a barrier between two very different types of people as it shows we are all different yet very similar at the same time. This book would be a great theme to discuss in a primary classroom but could also work nicely for older students as well as there are no words to make it sound young or old.

In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew

In the Beech Forest is written by Gary Crew and illustrated by Den Scheer. Gary Crew is a famous Australian author who predominantly writes and collaborates with illustrators for images within his books. This book is very recent and was published this year. This book is about a ordinary boy who wanders into a beech forest to look for adventure or to slay imaginary monster. The boys imagination wanders and develops a story about what may have taken place.

As the story is in the mind of the boy and a figure of his imagination he does not directly interact with any of the creatures or beasts he creates which seems to leave the story without any character to character conflicts or resolutions. The story plot seems to focus on one conflict based on character vs environment in which the further the boy gets into the forest the more and more dangerous it seems. The boy decides to overcome his imaginations and gears and in the end he finds ancient runes and resolves his fears by leaving the forest.

This book utilises a lot of words in comparison to most picturebooks which are important in driving the story forward as the images are based on imagination and are therefore surreal and disjointed at times from the words. Gary Crew includes a wide variety of adjective, verb group, and noun group combinations which keep the reader intrigued such as "blood read earth, beasts unconquered, wonderously renewed, grey shadows lengthened, trees leaned and reared threatening"

The book is told from a third person narration style with the author being intrusive on all thoughts of the main character. At times the writing also shifts to a first person statement as we hear what the boy was saying out loud to himself such as "That is the pulse of the mighty earth. I have found its mighty heart."

The images are in coloured in black and white and towards the end start to introduce a lot of red as the boy discovers the beating heart of the forest. The use of these colours suggests fear, loneliness, darkness, coldness and nightmares. The use of colours gave the the reader a sense of the feelings and emotions that the boy was feeling as he wandered around the forest.

Our Granny by Margaret Wild

Our Granny by Margaret Wild is a children's picturebook about some of the different types of grannies the world has to offer and what sets them apart. It is a fun read and makes grannies sound cool, which they are! "Some grannies wear big bras, baggy underwear", "Some grannies learn t'ai chi", "Some grannies have wobbly bottoms".

The story is told in a first person narration by one of the grandchildren of the main granny. The grandchild tells the reader some of the different types of grannies that they know of and and what type of granny theirs is. The book presents new text conventions and shares some similarities to a information report in the sense that the there is a topic heading which starts with "Some grannies..." followed by live in, have, wear, play. It also uses lists such as "thin legs, fat knees, bristly chins, interesting hair, crinkly eyes, friendly smiles, big soft laps" which are not as common in childrens picturebooks. Children would need to understand that all of the listed items relate back to the initial heading in this case "Some grannies have...".

The words are very important in this book and could tell the story by themselves without the use of images. However the images are important in linking some of the words that children might not understand. On one page the words say "Some grannies live in...apartments, big old houses, old people's homes, little rooms in the city, trailers, farmhouses, cottages by the ocean, nursing homes or nowhere at all. The images represent the words that children are less likely to understand with illustrations of apartments, trailers, farmhouses and cottages by the sea. The images do not contain much more information than what is depicted in the words.

This book does not follow the normal conventions of a story plot as it does not have any initial setting, conflicts, actions or resolutions. It does not even tell a story in the sense of the word, it only conveys messages about grannies and their attributes as well as the relationship between the grandchild and their granny.

This book would be suitable for preschool children in engaging them with their own lives ie. their grannies or family members and what interesting attributes they have.
Do they share similarities to the grannies in the book or are they different?

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The Arrival  is a fiction picture book about the journey of a man who leaves his family to seek better prospects in a faraway unknown country. This book contains five hundred and forty seven illustrations each being hand drawn. It is a unique book as it contains absolutely no words, which is a first for Tan. The story deals with the topic of immigrants and the personal struggles and hardships they face throughout their travels and settling. This book is based on social, historical and political subjects and provides links to immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. The story is inspired by Tan's own world as his father migrated to Australia from Malaysia in 1960.

This book follows most of the normal conventions of a narrative story plot.  The book moves in chronological order and is split into six chapters which each contain their own setting, actions and minor conflicts which all build to a major conflict/climax in the fifth chapter with a final resolution and conclusion in the sixth.The shape of each chapter is often based on some sort of minor conflict where the man in the story encounters strange, unknown foreign food, animals, languages (actions/minor conflicts) which lead to him meeting someone who helps him (resolution) and they share their tragic stories of why they escaped their countries and how they ended up happy where they are now (major conflict/resolution).

This book utilises imagery drawn in a third person narration style which is the most common form of images in most books. In order to show the passing of time Tan uses a chronological storyboard of a cloud moving over the sky or even a flower going through the stages of seasons. The images also follow conventions of written text to engage the reader.

Tan changes from present to past tense images to represent a change from external perspective to an internal one. For example when the main character meets someone new and the new character shares their past stories the images instantly change to tell the story of that character in past tense style, as if they were memory flash backs.  

This book is an absolute one of a kind and should be read by all. Especially those wanting to discover a whole new approach to story telling through images. It would be a useful book to use in Art classes as it not only uses amazing illustration techniques that look like art but also considers many important aspects of storyboard/comic strip writing.