01 Oct Book Reviews: More holiday reading for the over 8’s.

Here are some new books for the middle school readers. Two of them give lots of information about animal conservation and care and two books are for young sports fans, with missing koalas in the mix.                                                                                         

Turtle Moon
by Hannah Gold, illus. by Levi Pinfold, pub. by HarperCollins Children’s Books p/b RRP$17.99. Ages 8+

Hannah Gold has produced some wonderful and very timely books for young readers (The Last Bear, The Lost Whale and Finding Bear). They are all Award winners and it’s no wonder. They are beautifully written, conjuring up the atmosphere of their surroundings and quietly introducing young readers to wildlife conservation and its importance. In Turtle Moon, the turtles in Costa Rica are the focus and the story neatly brings Silver Trevelon and her parents for a 4 month visit to the tropical jungle and a Turtle rescue and Conservation base. There’s a bit of detective work; a new language and some new friends for Silver as well, as she learns about the Turtles and the other jungle wildlife. A compelling read.

The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage
by Charlie Archibald, pub by Text Publishing p/b RRP$21.00. Ages 8+

Andy, Eli, Harvey and the twins, Bernie and Fletch, along with Andy’s little sausage dog Washington, are off on their second adventure in tropical North Queensland. Two well loved pets have disappeared in suspicious circumstances and both of them need particular care to keep them alive! Can the Sugarcane kids follow the clues and return Gloria, the talkative blind parrot and Anna, the scrub python back to their owners in time? A rollicking adventure with lots of information throughout about the care of native wildlife and their habitat too.

Quite a few sporting greats have written books for kids. Ash Barty’s have been reviewed before (see……) and newcomer the cricketer Pat Cummins has now joined this group with his Howzat Pat Dare to Bowl and Mission Wildlife Rescue. Both these sports personalities have used their own back stories to create easy to read books for reluctant readers

‘Pat Cummins’ Howzat Pat!
‘Dare to Bowl’ and ‘Mission Wildlife Rescue’
by Dave Hartley, illus. by Serena Geddes, pub. by HarperCollins Children’s Books p/b RRP$15.99. Ages 8+

Created by Pat in conjunction with Dave Hartley and Serena Geddes, the books are stories developed around Pat’s childhood move from the coast to the Blue Mountains (NSW), and how he made new friends settling into a new school and developed his love of cricket. Using microchips and a drone Mission Wildlife Rescue continues our theme about wildlife, with some missing koalas safely returned.

Ash Barty Tennis Camp Diaries
by Jasmin McGaughey, illus. by Jade Goodwin, pub. by HarperCollins Children’s Books p/b RRP$15.99. Ages 8+

Written as a diary of a two-week live-in Tennis Camp, Ash is much younger than the other kids. She’s excited for this new adventure in camp as she has been accepted due to her growing tennis talent. She makes friends and loves all the camp offers – until the ‘end of camp’ tennis competition is announced and the jostling for good partners begins. Who will she be paired with? Sour worms and a quick phone call to her dad keeps Ash focused on the tournament when she is distracted and wants to pull out.