** GORDON, Gus Herman and Rosie Viking, 2012 unpaged $24.95 ISBN 9780670076031

 Every adult and every school kid knows what it’s like to feel lonely in a crowd. 

Herman and Rosie were amateur jazz musicians living parallel lives in New York City. They loved the city, but it was often a lonely place. Although  Rosie lived in the building next door to Herman’s, she didn’t know where the sounds of the groovy jazz oboe were coming from, and Herman didn’t know whose singing it was that made him feel so wonderful. The tension in the story builds as we watch Herman and Rosie pass each other again and again and finally end up in the same place ... and walk off in opposite directions. When Rosie hears the familiar music coming through the window once more, she leaps off the balcony, scales a wall and springs to the roof, where she and Herman find each other.

Gus Gordon’s mixed media illustrations are amazing. They incorporate maps, newspaper, postcards and photos of instruments and give the impression of a loud, bustling city. Even though I’ve never been to New York, I now feel as though I have. The flowing text and illustrations work together beautifully to tell the story.

This book has depth and romance, but by using animal characters, Gus Gordon has avoided an ‘adult’ feeling and created a book about friendship perfect for both adults and children (6+). Reading this book will make you feel (like Herman) that you have eaten honey straight from the jar.

TIMMERS, Leo The Magical Life of Mr Renny Gecko Press, 2012 unpaged $15.99 ISBN 978187767899

Mr Renny’s paintings looked real, but nobody wanted to buy them. He had no money, and longed to eat his painting of an apple. One day, a stranger gave him the ability to make his paintings come to life. He painted everything he had ever wanted – a hotdog, dessert, a mansion and more. He painted everything he had ever dreamed of, but he didn’t enjoy his creations. All that he could think of was what to paint next. It wasn’t until someone came along wanting to buy a painting, that he realised what he really wanted ... to be a painter.

This book is beautiful, funny, quirky and thought provoking. The large size gives it the feel of a special book. The painted illustrations are bright and original, with amusing details on every page. The story has a heart warming ending, and we realise, without needing to be told, that life consists of more than our possessions. For age 5 to 93.

** ROWE, Jeanette Rex the Tyrannosaurus ISBN 9781743310083 Tracy the Pterodactyl  ISBN 9781743310151 Bruce the
  Brachiosaurus ISBN 978174310144 Tip the Triceratops ISBN 9781743310113 (Dinosauritis: Catch the Dinosaur Bug)
  Allen & Unwin, 2012 unpaged $12.99

If you know a preschool-aged boy, then you are probably familiar with dinosauritis, an affliction which has children everywhere addicted to dinosaurs.

 Dinosauritis: Catch the Bug is a non-fiction series suitable for 2-4 year olds. The illustrations feature Jeanette Rowe’s trademark vibrant colours, cute dinosaurs and favourite vehicles. The information is presented in a way which the youngest children will relate to, for example: a triceratops was ‘bigger than ten rhinos all glued together’. There is plenty of childish silliness, such as ‘pterodactyls do love children, but only with sauce!’ 

Each book has an activity page: Rex has a maze, Tracy has match-the-shadow, Tip has spot-the-difference and my favourite is Bruce, with a simple snakes and ladders style game. The joke pages may not be as funny to a preschooler as the fun facts: A single poo from a brachiosaurus was the size of a small car. A fun series for budding dinosaur fans.

**HUME, Lachie Banjo Bounces Back Omnibus Book for Scholastic Australia, 2012 Unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781862918467

What should a horse do when he falls down? Bounce back, of course!

Banjo is a star hoofball player for his team, the Whinnies. Every day he practices with his best friend. After an injury, Banjo does nothing but play Haystation and eat Molasses. Out of shape and no longer a star, Banjo refuses to return to hoofball. It’s only when his best friend is horspitalised that he is motivated to go back to training. Banjo loves being a star again, but is even more pleased to be back in the team.

The appeal of this book is the humour, which had me laughing louder on each subsequent reading. The illustrations are
painted in a simple style and add to the emotion and humour of the book. For 3-8 year olds and anyone who values being part of a team.

** COMBE, Peter(text) MCDONALD, Danielle (illus.) Wash Your Face in Orange Juice Scholastic, 2012 Unpaged $16.99 ISBN 9781741699616

 Prepare for extreme silliness! This brightly coloured book comes with a cd containing 3 Peter Combe songs. His greatest hit, Wash Your Face in Orange Juice is followed up by Stuck in a Pizza. The third song is the ever-popular Spaghetti Bolognaise.

The fun illustrations complement the crazy lyrics of Peter Combe’s catchy songs and will appeal to preschool aged children. The only drawback I found with this book and cd set is that the choruses are repeated in the songs but not in the book. Following the song requires flipping backwards and forwards to the correct page. Despite this, the book is a great resource for preschool and kindergarten teachers who like the students to bellyflop in a pizza. Bellyflop in a pizza? Eeew!

**Balarinji (illus.) MORIARTY, Ros (text) Ten Scared Fish Allen & Unwin, 2012 Unpaged $12.99 ISBN 9781742379128

**Balarinji (illus.) MORIARTY, Ros (text) Kangaroos Hop Allen & Unwin, 2012 Unpaged $12.99 ISBN 9781742379159

 Ten Scared Fish is a fun number book. Using the time-tested pattern of threes, this book brings an element of surprise into a simple story, which will have preschoolers and toddlers giggling along. 

Beginning with 1 turtle by the waterhole, 2 turtles by the waterhole, 3 turtles by the waterhole and a snake...the story follows the river to the sea, ending with a shark and 10 scared fish. In addition to the satisfying story, a text is repeated at the end in Yanyuwa, an Aboriginal language.

The bright illustrations are in aboriginal style, using unlikely colour combinations, such as lime and maroon. The fresh turquoise cover is appealing and the observant child will even spot the shadow of a shark. This is a counting book to enjoy reading countless times.

Kangaroos Hop is an action book, which describes the movements of Australian animals. Butterflies dance and echidnas shuffle until they reach the riverbank where a crocodile is sleeping. Although this book doesn’t have the dramatic climax of Ten Scared Fish, it still has the brilliant aboriginal art and the translated version. It is perfect for a preschool or kindergarten class
to dramatise.

CHATTERJEE, Debjani and D’ARCY, Brian (ed.) ADL, Shirin (illus.)  Let’s Celebrate! Festival
Poems From Around the World Frances Lincoln, 2011 53 pp $29.95 ISBN 9781847800879

 This is a colourful collection of poems celebrating 24 festivals from around the world. Each poem captures one aspect of a celebration, focusing on the customs, rather than the meaning or history of the celebration. The styles of poetry are as diverse as the festivals, and many are a pleasure to read. My only disappointment is that some of the poems are bland and weak in rhythm and rhyme. 

Any weakness in the language is compensated for in the vibrant illustrations, which convey the atmosphere of each festival; from the wild splashes of red watercolour for La Tomatina to the serenity of The Cherry Blossom Festival. Collage adds to the uniqueness of each illustration, using photos of lentils and spices for Diwali, a homemade card for mothers’ day and a linen background for Eid-ul-Fitr. 
 
This book is a wonderful addition to the K-2 classroom and includes an explanation of each festival at the end of the
book. If you value diversity, then come on, let’s celebrate!

** HARTNETT, Sonya (text) MASCIULLO, Lucia (illus.) Come Down, Cat! Penguin, 2011 unpaged $24.95 ISBN 9780670074754

Nicholas was worried about his cat staying on the roof all night and didn’t understand how she could be ‘so little yet so fearless’. When he woke in the middle of a storm he ‘didn’t stop to worry about the dark night things’. He ran outside and climbed to the roof to save his cat. He fell asleep thinking that she is a brave cat because she was unafraid, without realising that he was the brave one, who didn’t let fear stop him from saving the cat he loved.

 This is a beautiful story about bravery for all cat lovers. I love the descriptions of the scary things, particularly the ladder, with its ‘legs shivering in the wind’. The paintings suit the mood of the story perfectly, with evening blues and soft yellow glows, and bring out the  emotions of worry, fear, love, relief and bravery. Suits 4-8 yrs.

**HEAD, Mat Warduff and the Corncob Caper Koala Books, 2011 unpaged $14.99 ISBN 9780864619532

This is a loud, fun book about Warduff, a cool cat who ‘out-sly’s a fox and saves his friends. 

When Warduff gets the distress call from his farmyard friends, he isn’t flustered. “Keep your feathers on,” he says, with the dry humour which typifies both the story and pictures. Inspired by a corncob, of all things, Warduff calmly executes his plan, creating the highlight of the book: the monstrous Gronklenork. 
 
This story gives the reader the basic satisfaction of seeing a bully scared. The language used makes it a pleasure to read again and again, with funny details to be found in the pictures.

What I particularly enjoyed about this book was the unusual colours, such as avocado green, warm custard yellow and dusty mauve. There are no standard primary colours here! The title page explains that Mat Head has hand drawn in black and white line, scanned, coloured and then rendered in Photoshop.

 This story is simple enough for 2-5 year olds, but the humour  extends the age range to the 6-8 year olds. Good fun.

** TULLOCH, Coral (text/illus.)LESTER, Alison (text/illus.) One Small Island Penguin, 2011 unpaged $29.95 ISBN 9780670072361

One Small Island is more than just a stunning picture book. Tulloch and Lester have successfully combined an inspirational story with a non-fiction work of history and geology.

This book gently tells the story of Macquarie Island, from before it was discovered in 1810, through the destructive effects humans had on the plants and wildlife until programs were recently launched to save it.

The story begins with a double-spread bird’s-eye view (albatross, actually) of the island in the ocean. The text of the story continues with a sentence or two on each single page, while the illustrations alternate between documentation and breathtaking double-spread landscapes. 9-12 year olds will glean a wealth of facts from the maps, newspaper articles, timeline, glossary,
climate statistics, diary extracts and more, which have been presented as journal entries in various styles to suit each era. The final landscape is Macquarie Island’s sunrise, anticipating a brighter future.

This book is a must for every school library, with potential to even be the basis for a unit of work. 6-8 year olds will enjoy it as a picture book, as it draws us into the sad story of the island, and the message of hope that ‘if we can save one small island,
perhaps we can save them all.’