This edition of Father of the lost boys: The Mecak Ajang Alaak story by Yuot A. Alaak has been adapted for younger readers from the original text, Father of the lost boys (2020). It is a very important read on so many levels for young people living in a privileged country such as Australia. Despite the fact that currently Australia is now home to around 16,000 diasporic Sudanese people, many Australians know nothing of the horrific nature of what happened to the South Sudanese. This true story documents the lived experience of the four year journey(1989-) of thousands of displaced and orphaned boys (the Lost Boys) from Ethiopia to Kenya under the leadership of Mecak Ajang Alaak, undertaken in order to protect the boys from becoming child soldiers. It is told by Mecak's son who was beside his father the whole way. Australians need to know about where the Sudanese people living in our cities have come from, what they have been though and why they had to leave their beloved country. Understanding this would go a long way to build relationships between the Sudanese refugees and the Australian populace. Yuot Alaak's family eventually arrived in Henley Beach Adelaide after the horrific journey so this book is an especially powerful read for Adelaide schools as it is globally significant local material for the school curriculum.
Father of the lost boys: The Mecak Ajang Alaak story is movingly dedicated to Yuot's parents and to the lost boys. The accompanying photos are of Mecak and Yuot in 1991. The horrors of their experience seem to be present in their eyes. (A later photo at the end of the book in 2020 is a much happier one). During their escape, the boys, beside walking, travelled at various times in military trucks, tractors and canoes. They suffered attacks from wildlife including lions, hyenas and snakes, aerial bombardment of the Sudanese army and rebel forces, landmines, harsh desert conditions, dense jungle and crocodile infested river crossings. We could not imagine this kind of horror being forced upon our young boys of the same age.
There is a map of the area that the boys had to traverse in the front of the book showing the towns, countries and rivers that featured in their story. On the inset map we see the relative location of Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya on the continent of Africa. What would have been useful would have been a map showing the path taken by the boys. As a classroom teacher it would be helpful to provide an outline map for students to trace the path that the boys travelled. In the prologue Yuot begins: 'Once, there was a man who rescued 20,000 boys from becoming child soldiers and facing almost certain death. That man was... my father. One of those boys was me. This is our story.' Yuot concludes...'Every time I turn on the television and see images of suffering children, I see myself...I am one of the South Sudanese diaspora and I still dream of home.'
Written in the first person narrative, the reader gains the intimate perspective of the young Yuot Alaak. Despite the horror of the story, Yuot does not play the victim card or wallow in self pity or anger. Rather this is a clear eyed account of events revealing love, loyalty, perseverence and belief in the pen being mightier than the gun. It moves and humbles the reader in the vein of A.B Facey's A fortunate life. Additional reading could be They poured fire on us from the sky; The true story of three Lost Boys from Sudan by Deng. B., Deng, A. and Ajak, B.(2005). Books like these speak for the millions of African children who have witnessed and been victims of genocide. Like The diary of Anne Frank, it is important that books that tell the true story of genocide are made available and studied by students everywhere so that they understand the fragility of our world, their current relative safety as opposed to many children elsewhere in the world and the need to be informed and educated so that it does not happen again.
Highly recommended: moving and accessible account of the journey of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Refugees, The Sudanese civil war, Child soldiers, The Lost Boys of Sudan, Genocide.
Wendy Jeffrey
Artezans: The forgotten magic by L.D. Lapinski
Hachette, 2024. ISBN: 9781510110090. (Age:11-14) Recommended for fantasy devotees.
This book is set within the whirlpool of a magical world, like a seething and roiling dreamscape of possibility, that extends into human existence in Scottish territory. In this land of magical possibilities we encounter Edward and Elodie Crane, twins raised by their two magically inclined dads, and standing on the edge of the discovery of their own magical talents and expertise. Edward always seems the more timorous of the twins and Elodie seems to have more success in life, but together they prove to be formidable as they are forced to confront their own nightmares (literally and figuratively) and use magic in ways that the world of reality and the world of dreams has not seen for at least 400 years. Is there a future for magic in the hands of these young wielders of the charmed and powerful forces being revealed through their inexperienced control?
This is an intense magical journey, beginning in a Scottish world where the remnant of the magically-blessed gather in a holiday camp experience to train and hone their magical skills. But the transformation of Ed and Elodie breaks open the vastness of magical experience and the dream world. Snippets of Scottish brogue travel through the dialogue in an appealing way, and the holiday camp descriptions have a touch of humour to them. There is a more serious side to the story and the sense of the coming-of-age of the young magic recipients into their magical maturity, that also deals with overcoming fear and insecurity when you are young, is woven into the story. Dream scenarios and understanding of ‘dream magic’ is a feature of the author’s craft, but this a darkly rendered magical experience, travelling into some scary moments for readers. Perhaps not for the faint-hearted or the very young.
Raped by her supervisor at UCLA, Elizabeth is forced to abandon her PhD studies leaving the perpetrator in place, unchecked. She takes a lesser job at Hastings Research Institute in California, where she meets the same hostility to women that she met with at UCLA. But she does meet one man who sees past the stereotype, Calvin Evans, and together they discuss the one thing she is passionate about, chemistry. But Elizabeth becomes a single mother, and forced to resign again because of her status, abruptly reminding the readers this is historical fiction, set in the post World War Two USA, when women did not become chemists, or single mothers, or report assaults to the police or challenge the status quo. Her research has been denied her and without her expected PhD, her work at Hastings is also stolen when the supervisor publishes her work as his own.
Without work she turns her kitchen into a laboratory to further her research and finds the other chemists where she worked, come to her for help and advice. But this work is not enough to sustain Elizabeth and her daughter and when she is offered a job at the local TV station, presenting a cooking show, she takes it. Here she meets the same paternalism she met at Hastings, and she fights.
Her cooking show, Supper at Six, rattles the norms. She talks in chemical terms, encourages women to speak out, decries men who beat their wives, offers information on the best mushrooms to use as a means of revenge, much to the chagrin of both her immediate boss and the station manager, whose approach to discussion with Elizabeth is sexual violence. She is fired but the overwhelming popularity of the show sees its continuance.
This superb novel takes the reader on a journey of women’s lives through the 1960’s.
I was alternatively laughing, almost crying but certainly cringing and feeling angry, because the story lays out the attitudes in post war USA for many women when education and job opportunities were denied them. Men and women went along with the stereotype of women staying home with children, being a good wife and mother, which was all they wanted. Elizabeth not only shows women good nutritious meals but undermines the myth of women’s lot only being in the home.
I found this a breathtaking read, and will be interested to see how well the Netflix series does justice to the story. And you can hear Bonnie speak to 2000 people at the Sydney Writer’s Week at https://iview.abc.net.au/video/RN2311H014S00.
Themes Feminism, Sexual violence, USA-1960’s, Chemistry.
Fran Knight
The paradise problem by Christina Lauren
Little Brown, 2024. ISBN: 9780349440415. (Age:Adult) Recommended - Content warnings.
Be warned! Don't let The paradise problem fall into the hands of your mother or daughter if there's any chance that they might think that you actually read this type of fiction! And definitely don't let it fall into the hands of children or teenagers. Romance fiction has moved far away from the bodice rippers of the past! But hold up - there is more to this...
Christina Lauren is the penname of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings - an amalgamation of their names. Hobbs and Billings (aka Christina Lauren) are bestselling authors of The beautiful and wild seasons series and many stand-alone romances. The paradise problem is another stand-alone romance novel. One can imagine the fun, laughter and wicked creativity that goes into writing romance fiction such as The paradise problem and if Hobbs and Billings research by travelling first class to exotic, exclusive island locations such as Pulau Jingga - a luxury resort and conservation area in the Indonesian archipelago (which may itself be a mash up of island destinations)...well-lucky them! And if they must read the Forbes list and Financial Review and shop the lifestyle of the gobsmackingly rich and famous so that The paradise problem can ring with authenticity then - what a problem!
The themes and plots of familiar fairy stories such as The frog prince, Cinderella, The ugly duckling and The emperor's new clothes can be read bubbling and weaving through this tropical island steamy romance. The text is reminiscent of of Bridget Jone's diary and definitely Fifty shades of grey as well. Although The paradise problem treads the well worn path of poor girl meets rich man and etc. it would be unfair to say only that. Our heroine, Anna Green, sassy and potty mouthed as she is, has the reader on her side. The part of herself that she witholds from the reader and other characters, particularly the handsome, extremely wealthy West, heir to Weston's Food's conglomerate who is about to inherit one hundred million dollars, is revealed slowly, and the reader is onside with a multidimensional, courageous central character. Of course she just happens to be stunningly gorgeous too.
The family machinations and dynamics are intensified on the tropical island. There is literally a whole lot of trouble in paradise and it takes Anna much courage to place her own values at the fore. Armed with sheer feistiness and bravery, she precipitates volcanic revolution.
The entire novel is structured using alternating chapters that are narrated in the first person by Anna and then Liam (West). This means that the reader is privy to the inner thoughts and emotions of both characters and can see the action that evolves from their viewpoints. This structure works well in framing the plot and characters for the reader.
A light and frothy, sexy romance as it may initially seem, The paradise problem is more than that. It portrays the greed and ignorant exclusivity of the one percenters versus the real life struggles of the rest - particularly with the state of the American health, education and housing systems. It is the perennial Cinderella (but especially her modern day well grounded but foul mouthed counterpart) who can climb out of poverty and expose corruption. We know we do not all have the capacity to be a Cinderella but we all love that dream and love to see Cinderella prevail!
Recommended (age appropriate exceptions).
Themes Romance, Lifestyles of the extremely wealthy, Corruption, Courage, Family.
Rebecca Fraser is a Mornington Peninsula writer who enjoys writing for Middle grade readers. Jonty's Unicorn is published by Queensland based publishing company IFWG which specialises in speculative fiction for middle grade, YA and adult readers. It is always pleasing to read the work of new Australian authors published by small Australian publishing companies. Palatino Linotype and Cleaver's Juvenia Heavy Typefaces have been chosen - a perfect choice for the intended readership. The coverwrap illustration, by award-winning fantasy illustrator Sarah Morrison, perfectly and correctly captures the darkness and the light - the essence of the story. The front cover depicts the pink softness of Rose the unicorn with Jonty's hand resting on her mane illustrating the trust between the young red-haired heroine with patched clothing and her magical steed as they overlook a distant fairytale castle. The back cover by contrast depicts the darkness and evil that threatens goodness. Compliments to the publishers!
Dagartha the witch lives in the dark forest that must be traversed by Jonty, her faithful horse Onyx and finally by Jonty and the magical unicorn Rose. Twelve-year-old Jonty is poor and lives with her dying mother in the quiet hamlet of Blaxby in the Kingdom of Irrawene. The cure for her mother's illness lies in a dangerous journey through the Terrenwild Woods to receive a tonic from the fearsome, relentlessly evil Dagartha. The price for the cure is extremely high both in gold and in regret. Jonty sees the annual great horse race as the only chance to achieve the amount of gold required and she and her beloved horse Onyx train hard. However, faithful Onyx falls causing Jonty to feel shame and regret for driving him too hard. Jonty rescues a magical and previously understood to be extinct pink unicorn from a hunter's trap. A magical quest ensues - full of dangerous encounters with dark forces of evil and the haughty, snobbish upperclass who don't believe a poor villager could possibly compete in the great horse race.
Bravery, trust and devotion are pitted against betrayal as the climax of the story approaches. The sacrifice demanded is powerfully moving.
This is a thrilling fantasy story with many real life links that can be drawn to the current struggle for survival of unique wildlife including the white rhinoceros of Africa and the efforts of conservation officers to protect them, to the exclusive behaviour that exists because of class divisions everywhere and the ethics of the use of animals for sport especially horse racing.
Fraser's writing is rich in descriptive language. It could be viewed that Jonty's Unicorn is slightly overwritten in terms of the overeuse of adjectives. That could be a point of discussion. However the main character, Jonty, is allowed to emerge through her thoughts and actions. As instructional models of well constructed sentences, many passages could be chosen by teachers for students to peruse.
Jonty's Unicorn is a moving fantasy story. Recommended indeed!
Themes Bravery, Sacrifice, Class division, Animal cruelty, Magic, Fantasy.
The Heelers and their next door neighbours sit down together to watch the state of origin match on television. Bluey and Chucky discuss the protocols of the audience, Chucky wondering who she should barrack for. Bluey tells her that as both of her parents support the blue team, then she does too. But Chucky’s decision is not so easy: she has a problem as her mum supports the maroon team while dad supports the blue team. As Chucky’s parents support opposing teams, her mum stays at home by herself to support her team. Bluey and Chucky are amazed at the way scoring a goal can spark off such different behaviour. They love it when the dads dance around, and sing out at a goal, but are disappointed along with the others when one is scored by the opposing team. Words of support are yelled between houses, and Bluey and Chucky saunter next door to support Chucky and Lucky’s mum who is watching by herself. Even by half time, Chucky is still undecided.
On a couple of very poignant pages, Chucky has to decide between mum and dad. But by the end of the story, all families are barracking for the same team, the gold team, so all is well, and a lovely image ends the book.
Full of the give and take of family life, Bluey: The decider recreates one of the most (to some) important decisions in their young lives, which footy team to support.
It does this by giving opposing sides and showing the reader that making up your mind is not as straightforward as it may seem.
In bold cartoon images, the board book is full of vibrancy and wonderful characterisation. The story unfolds, keeping the readers’ attention held firmly on the position of the children in the family and the choices they need to make.
Some readers have opined that the story is about divorce, but I think it reflects the decisions children need to make even as young children, and how happy supportive families will aid them in their decision making.
There is a website devoted to Bluey and the episodes can be watched again on ABC iView.
Themes Family life, Decision making, Football (Eastern states), Humour.
Fran Knight
To and fro by Anton Clifford-Motopi
Allen & Unwin, 2024. ISBN: 9781761180378. (Age:Adolescent) Recommended.
What a fun debut novel for young people (especially boys) is To and fro by Anton Clifford Motopi! Writing from his own experience of being mixed race and now raising four children of his own, Clifford Motobi has produced a lively, funny take on coming of age through the first person narration of Sam, a mixed race 12 year old Australian boy, son of a single mother and of mixed Australian and African race.
The novel hinges around the old chestnut school project where students are required to research their identity - basically Who am I and where do I come from? As every teacher knows this research can open a can of worms and in To and fro it certainly does! The children are to present their findings at a parent assembly. In the process they find out about themselves and each other with meaningful, life-changing and equally moving and hilarious consequences.
The reader is immersed in the warm and funny family life of Sam, his mother and his dog Trevor. In addition his nanna, his teacher (Mr Peacock) and his friend Aiden, enemy Lachlan Bott and other students play important roles. Sam is a white boy with an Afro. Into the story enters his father and Sam gains another African family with black skinned siblings. His efforts to understand his identity are both touching and funny. Amongst other things, he goes to extreme lengths to change his skin colour and runs into a great deal of trouble including inadvertently causing great offence through appearing at school in 'black face'.
Nanna holds racist views especially about refugees as she feels that they take Australian jobs and live off welfare. Her views moderate. Sam has the greatest shock to overcome. His dog Trevor is an enormous comfort to him. An example is the occasion when Sam confides in him...' 'It's okay, Trevor. I'm in shock because Mum lied to me about my father for twelve years. That's about seventy dog year's of lying.' Dogs don't know their dads, so the full effect of Mum's lies were lost on Trevor. ' (p.41)
Fresh and thought provoking insights about racial and cultural misunderstandings arise incidentally as the story progresses and are dealt with in a warm hearted manner.
To and fro would be a useful book for boys in particular to read as it deals in a light hearted and casually instructive way with potentially embarrassing things that can happen as boys go through puberty.
In summary, To and fro is not only an entertaining and funny book; it would also be helpful for Middle school children (especially boys) coming to terms with identity, changing friendships and changing bodies.
A nice touch is the photo of Anton Clifford-Motopi at the same age as his intended readers on the back page.
When Jamila Dakhoul’s family need somewhere to live, after their property is destroyed by fire, their friends, Krista and Charlotte are quick to offer them a caravan in their backyard until they can rebuild. The families have been close since Billy Radcliff and Jamila were born 5 hours apart and the mums became friends. Now 18 and in year twelve Jamila is having to deal not only with the trauma of the fire and the humiliation of having to accept charity but also the incessant bullying prevalent at her school, and to make it worse, Billy has become friends with the worst offenders. One of the ways she keeps going is by posting to her YouTube channel called ‘Jam and Scream', sharing everyday events with her many followers, much to the disgust of her younger brother Elijah who can't see the point. Each year the families go to Hamil Bay Holiday Park for a long weekend in April, what used to be Jamila’s 'happy place' where she and Billy with friend Daphne Chen would make lasting memories. But this year Billy is planning on going to a party instead of the camping trip and Daphne hasn’t been in touch. After a series of terrible incidents at school, both Jamila and Billy find themselves under close parental scrutiny, compelled to make the camping trip, Jamila without her phone. When things seem to have reached rock bottom the deep friendships formed over many years are rekindled and, with the help of a polaroid camera, Jamila’s 'happy place' works its magic.
In this fast-paced romance and coming of age story bullying is taken to a whole new level through social media but being connected is also how Jamila deals with her situation and finds support outside the family. All lightened with a fine dusting of humour a nice addition to Australian young adult fiction. Teacher's notes are available.
Themes Relationships, Bullying, Coming of age.
Sue Speck
How to solve your own murder by Kristen Perrin
Quercus Books, 2024. ISBN: 9781529430066. (Age:Adult, young adult)
When 16 year-old Frances Adams got her fortune told in 1965 she took it seriously to the disbelief of her friends, Emily and Rose. When the fortune teller predicted 'Your future contains dry bones' and 'All signs point toward your murder', Frances’ life changed; despite the ridicule of her friends the prophecy would haunt her and within a year, one of the friends is dead. The narrative shifts to sixty years later when Frances is a great aunt living in Dorset while her niece, Laura, and Annie, Laura’s daughter are living in an eight bedroom house in Chelsea owned by Frances. Laura is a well known artist and she wants to clear the basement for a studio. When Annie sends some of the stored trunks to her great Aunt’s place in Dorset she gets back a request from Frances’ solicitor to attend a meeting there to discuss Annie becoming her beneficiary, even though they have never met. In much the same way as in Emily Barr’s This Summer’s Secrets the narrative switches back and forth between the past and present as Annie, an aspiring author of murder fiction tries to piece together the clues her great aunt left before she was murdered. It is a nice concept to use the ‘murderboard' set of notes Frances left as she imagined who might want to kill her, with the murder fiction aspect and the actual murder but it does sometimes make it hard to remember who the many characters are and where they fit in. At some points Annie and her mother in 1965 are indistinguishable. However, the double timeline does take the reader on the journey and Annie’s conversations with her friend Jenny help to keep the reader on track. Lovers of Midsummer Murders will enjoy the multiple threads of this entertaining read.
Birungi does not want to go to school. Getting up and having breakfast is nothing compared to getting her hair ready for school. After brushing and combing she announces to the kitchen, ‘I hate my hair’. Her unflappable parents take her outside for a walk to school, looking at everyone’s hair along the wy.
They see a vast range of hair styles, colours and lengths. They see people like Dad with no hair, some with hair that almost touches the ground, one with hair shaped into the pointers of a star, grey hair and red hair, hair cut into a bob shape, plaited hair, and frizzy hair. Mum tells her to listen to her hair, just with a sniff she can tell it is due for a wash.
Entering the school she calls out to her parents that she thinks that good hair is what is on her head, and goes into class happily. Every day is a good hair day.
This is a lovely positive book about image, chasing down the array of different hair types which are presented everyday. At odds with her own hair, Birungi walks to school with the parents, amazed at all the different hair types, colours, styles and lengths they see.
And I do so like the illustrations, showing Birungi and her almost impossible hair, having to comb and brush it each morning. But she finds she is not alone; there are many others who have to spend a lot of time with their hair, just as many who spend lots of time at the hairdressers getting it just right. I love the images of Birungi having a hissy fit about her hair and not wanting to go to school. How many kids do not want to go to school because of a something which they think is not acceptable, only to find their concern is negligible. I love Dad and Mum, walking beside their daughter, unfazed by her tantrum, ready to help her find her own way through the problem. The images of her parents are adorable.
These days young children are very aware of the importance of plants and bees, the deadly potential of climate change and the concept of 'green' being more than just a colour in the paint palette. But what is the connection between them?
It is all explained in this beautifully illustrated picture book. In accessible text, the young reader learns that a tree isn't just a tree standing green and shady but that it is really busy purifying the air through photosynthesis as it does, and from there they are led naturally through a timeline of the development of plants on the planet, the impact of using the remains of the ancient forests as fossil fuels, and the interaction and interdependence of plants on the planet's health and function, as they begin to understand why 'GREEN is the most important colour in the world.'
This really is the most remarkable book that explains really complex concepts in such a simple way that it should be the starting point for any study into the environment and why we need to protect what we have. It is the basic WHY of all the what, where, who, how and all the other questions that students have that will provide context and purpose for any investigation, encapsulating and explaining such a big idea in a way that just gives sense to so much else. No matter what the topic under investigation, if it is about the natural world, it will stem back to plants and their health and prevalence.
Research shows that the eye distinguishes more shades of green than any other colour and certainly the view from my window has more hues than I could count, but it never ceases to suggest a sense of calm and peace, which is why so many medical facilities are painted in shades of green. This book is the beginning of understanding why this is so, and why it is so important to our lives and well-being.
A must-have in any collection.
Barbara Braxton
Magic counting: Explore the world of numbers through the shapes and patterns around us by Nabeel Khan. Illus. by Tete Garcia
At first glance, Magic counting is a book for toddlers, with its board book format and bright colours, but once the book is opened and the flaps turned back, information about numbers is revealed that will intrigue adults and older readers.
The book opens onto the number One and on the left-hand side show the number, the world, a hand with one finger showing. On the opposite page is a globe with the words: 'One Earth turning, where countless creatures live’, and some information about Earth, all suitable for a young child. Turn the flap and magical knowledge awaits the reader regardless of age. The geometric shape of a circle and its properties are explained and then the reader learns about the ouroboros, a serpent that eats its own tail, the wheel with spokes of the same length and the enso, a Japanese Zen Buddhist symbol. The book continues in this way, with the numbers going to ten, the first two pages ideal for a young child, and then geometrical shapes and symbols that will expand the knowledge of all who read it. I was fascinated to learn about yin and yang for the number 2, the triskelion made of three interlocking spirals and used by ancient Greeks and Celts, and the wombat who makes square poo, made of four sides. I know that I will be looking at flowers in my garden to see if they have five petals and counting the segments in an orange to see if there are ten segments. And the illustrations in clear, bright colours complement the text and will help readers remember symbols and shapes.
Magic counting is an excellent way of linking numbers to everyday objects and expanding knowledge about shapes and symbols. Any person who is given this book or has access to it in a classroom or library is in for a treat. It is a keeper for me – just wonderful.
Themes Counting, Shapes, Symbols.
Pat Pledger
Sharkman and Blowfish world domination by David Woodland
When baby blowfish hatches out of his egg on the reef he is entirely alone. Small for his age, he is bullied at the Kraken Elementary school but always remains optimistic, enjoying the view when hanging from the basketball hoop and feeling clean after being put in the washing machine. His passion is learning about sharks and so when the new kid, a young great white shark, big for his age, befriends him they make a formidable team. Blowfish’s can-do attitude and amazing creativity combined with Sharkman’s big ideas and powerful family empire make world domination a real possibility.
The detailed drawings throughout the book are stylishly presented in monochrome with some wonderfully imagined machines in a variety of landscapes around the world. I particularly liked the fishy pops, displayed on the endpapers, that feature throughout the book. Some of the text seemed a bit clunky and poorly integrated with the graphics and sudden jumps in the timeline at the beginning were a bit confusing. The spoilt, egotistical Sharkman is not very likeable and the page where he has an axe for cutting down trees is a bit too nasty. Overall the story is fun and quirky, the graphics engaging and the characters consistent and well developed. Despite many attempts they don’t quite achieve world domination, leaving their story open to be continued.
Stitch by Padraig Kenny is a captivating and thought-provoking fiction novel that intricately weaves themes of friendship, loyalty, and the essence of humanity. The story revolves around two central characters, Stitch and Henry, who share an extraordinary bond. However, what sets their friendship apart is not just their unwavering connection between each other, but the fact that they are not ordinary beings. They are the result of scientific experiments conducted by the eccentric Professor Hardacre in his secluded castle.
Stitch is someone every reader is sure to love. He epitomises all the qualities of a true friend - kindness, acceptance, devotion and honesty, and that of a good person. He has a wonderful outlook on life, seeing each day as a special gift, appreciating the little things and accepting everyone for whoever they are. Stitch displays a level of humanity that challenges the natural order and raises questions about what it means to be truly human.
Stitch and Henry’s life is turned upside down with the arrival of Professor Hardacre's nephew and his young friend, Alice. Their presence in the castle serves as a catalyst for unforeseen events, and Stitch is left confused and unsure about what to do. As the story unfolds, Stitch and Alice must put their differences aside to find Henry. However, when the two find themselves confronted with the ignorance of the town’s people, will they be able to overcome the fear and prejudice that they face?
Kenny masterfully crafts a narrative that is both heart-warming and morally challenging. His portrayal of the characters' emotional connections and sensitivities enables the reader to see things through a different lens. With complex themes to explore, such as the ethics of scientific experimentation, the nature of identity and the power of friendship, this would work brilliantly as a class novel.
Stitch is a remarkable story that combines adventure, emotional depth, and moral questions in a seamless narrative. Entwining the true power of friendship, acceptance and living without bias, this is certainly a memorable and impactful read for all.
In the fourth inspiring book in the series about Ming and her to timeslips back to the past, author Jackie French has once again shown the reader an exhaustive look at life in another time. Her attention to detail and her ability to share fascinating facts about the period of history in question alongside a well-constructed story, allows this series to offer an engaging read for those who love history.
Ming & Ada Spark the Digital Age is an intriguing look at early ideas and developments around the area of Mathematics, though this does not become apparent until later in the story. Ming has been taken by Herstory to an English mansion in Notting Hill. She is to become a scullery maid in a home where Ada Byron, the daughter of Lord Byron, is convalescing after contracting measles. She has been desperately ill, suffering from temporary blindness and medical cures of the time are not improving her condition.
Ming in her new subservient role, befriends Hepzibah, an African servant who is subject to the prejudices of the times. Through a series of unfortunate occurrences, Hepzibah is accused of theft and it is up to Ming to try to find the culprit. Alongside the drama with servants, Ming has also moved on to become a personal maid to the ailing Ada and with Ming’s knowledge of modern medicine she is able to nurse Ada back to reasonable health. While Ming is spending so much time with Ada, she is also learning that Ada has advanced knowledge of Mathematical theories and is a visionary genius. It is not until the end that the reader finds out the Ada indeed is an amazing woman of History who without Ming’s intervention, may not have survived to become the famous person she does.
Throughout this book, there are times when Ming begins to question her own family and her absent mother. She is resentful about the situation and questions Herstory about where her mother may be. Herstory throws in an unexpected connection to a new friend and an enticing offer to find out more…Hopefully the fifth book in the series is not too far away!
Themes Women & Girls in History, Timeslip, Prejudice, Servants, Measles Epidemic, England 1829, Mathematics, Family, Secrets.
