Donovan Bixley: Illustrator / Author extraordinaire!

OMG! Donovan Bixley is the most awesome illustrator around.  

I recently read Monkey Boy (which I will be reviewing later!), written and illustrated by Bixley, and began to wonder just what he had illustrated previously. 

Low and behold, I have unintentionally read quite a few of the books he has illustrated - many of which are in the TPS library where I am the librarian.  (p.s. School librarian is the most awesome job around!!!) 

He has illustrated books by (to name a few):
Margaret Mahy
Kyle Mewburn
Brian Falkner
Yvonne Morrison (whom I worked with at Onekawa Primary - she is a great school teacher, a 'kool' author, and a fantastic dance instructor!)
Barry Crump
Marc Ellis & Charlie Haddrell
Lucy Davey

Some of the books he has worked on (also only to name a few) are:
Monkey Boy
The Three Bears: Sort Of
The Weather Machine
Dashing Dog
The Looky Book
Dinosaur Rescue series
Northwood
Mr. Tanglewood and the Pungapeople
... (like and EVEREADY battery, the list just keeps going on and on and on .... Yay!)

I will most certainly be re-reading our selection of his books when I get back to school and savoring his artistic talent.  I'm also going to try and get my hands on some of the books he wrote (I already have the wickedly amazing Monkey Boy).   

For more information check out Donovan Bixley's official website, or jump onto the Booknotes Unbound - Writers page and read his article.

Quotable Quotes - Anthony Browne

I love this quote from Anthony Browne, made during his inauguration as the sixth Children's Laureate in 2009.

"Picturebooks are for everybody at every age, not books to leave behind as we grow older.  The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader's imagination adding so much to the excitement of reading a book."    Anthony Browne

Follow this link to find out more about more about the Waterstones Children's Laureates.

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton, illustrated by Lynley Dodd

Sutton, E., & Dodd, L. (1978). My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes. London, UK: Picture Puffin.

ISBN: 9780140502428
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook / NZ Fiction
Rating: 5 stars

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‘Cats from many different countries may like to do all kinds of strange and exotic things, but my cat, an ordinary round-the-house cat, likes to hide in boxes’.

With simple rhymes and bright colourful illustrations, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is an entertaining read for young children.  The rhymes are repeated with a new line being added to the start each time (much like The Twelve Days of Christmas) enabling children to quickly pick up on the repetition and ‘read along’ to the story. 

Lynley Dodd, a well-known New Zealand author and illustrator, depicts each cat in a soft pallet set in a bold and bright background.  The simple illustrations relate directly to the new rhyme and amusingly show each new cat in the traditional dress of their country.  The common refrain, ‘But MY cat likes to hide in boxes’, is accompanied by humorous illustrations of the cat hiding in a variety of different boxes.

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is in the genre of a Picture Storybook, in that it is 32 pages long, and both the text and the illustrations tell the story.  Cat lovers and young children will love this book for the silly rhymes and the funny pictures.

English born, and moving to New Zealand in 1949, this is Eve Sutton’s only picture book, originally published in 1973, which she co-wrote with her cousin.

I got my copy of My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes from my bookshelf. 

Check out other reviews of 'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' on Goodreads.

The Rig by Joe Ducie

Ducie, J. (2013). The Rig. London, UK: Hot Key Books.

ISBN: 9781471402197
Pages: 368
Age Level: YA 12-18
Genre: Sci-Fantasy / Dystopia / Mystery / Thriller
Rating: 4 stars

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The Rig is an old oil rig, hundreds of miles from nowhere in the Arctic Ocean, which has been converted into a maximum security juvenile prison for the worst of the worst.  Surrounded by sharks and monitored around the clock, escape is impossible.

15 year-old Will Drake is a bit of an escape artist and loves a challenge.  He has escaped from every prison he has been put into.  There is no-where he can’t escape from, and he will stop at nothing to prove the warden wrong when he is transported onto the Rig.  However, not everything on the Rig is as it seems, from the reason Will has been incarcerated, to the use of the prison and how some inmates are different from the others – stronger and more aggressive!    

The Rig is a young adult, prison break story … but it’s really so much more than that.  It is science fiction, fantasy, thriller, adventure, and dystopia all rolled into one.  If you can suspend your disbelief about the futuristic vibe and harshness of the setting of this novel, which most young adults can do, then the plot and setting of this novel is realistic and believable.  It will make you question yourself, and humanity, and ask “What if?”  There are so many elements in this novel that make it a great young adult read.  


I got my copy of The Rig from my bookshelf. 

Check out other reviews of 'The Rig' on Goodreads.

Infinity Drake Bk1 The sons of Scarlatti by John McNally

McNally, J. (2014). Infinity Drake: The sons of Scarlatti. London, UK: HarperCollins. [Science Fiction]

ISBN: 9780007521593
Pages: 400
Age Level: Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: 5 stars

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This is the first novel in an exciting new science-fiction series for readers age 9 and up.  Infinity Drake, Finn for short, is going off on holiday with his crazy mad-scientist uncle Al (mad in the ‘always coming up with amazing creations’ way, not in the ‘evil genius’ way).  Their holiday plans come unstuck when a lethal, genetically modified wasp, is released in the south east of England and Al is summoned to help the government.  A military team (Apache helicopter, personnel and gear) is going to be miniaturised to track and kill the wasp before its eggs hatch and they go on a killing spree.  The operation is sabotaged and Finn ends up shoved into the food supply container and shrunk to 9mm along with the military team.

The scientific fact and advanced technologies that this novel is based around, the action packed military scenes and the humour make for an exciting read that boys will be drawn to.  The character development and realistic settings make for an entirely believable read, and the elements of good versus evil is an age-old recipe that works time and again.  

 This is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat read.  It involves nano technology, crazy scientists (both kinds), military manoeuvres, teenagers who can out-smart the bad guys, lots of action and laughs, and one bad-ass grandmother that can scare anyone straight!  It is a fantastic and exciting start to a new series with a hero who is only 9mm tall. 

I got my copy of Infinity Drake: The Sons of Scarlatti from my bookshelf.

Check out other reviews of 'Infinity Drake: The sons of Scarlatti' on Goodreads.

What Children's Book Character Are You? NYPL

Thanks to our fellow 72276 class-mate Nikki for recommending this Quiz.

New York Public Library has come up with the ultimate quiz to help you determine which children's book character best describes you.  Are you game to find out who you really are??

Just go to the  NYPLs What Children's Book Character Are You? page.

Funnily enough Pippi Longstockings was my favourite book growing up, because she is independent, eccentric and happy to be herself ... AND she is friends with a horse and a monkey!  My results for the quiz are sooooo me :-)

You're Pippi Longstocking! Passionate and headstrong, you always have to get your way. You always want to have a child's sense of fun... and maybe get into a little bit of mischief, too. You're also incredibly, frighteningly strong. You go, girl.

Mem Fox - Ten read-aloud commandments

One of the resources included in our 72276 course was Mem Fox's Ten read-aloud commandments.  These make so much sense and are not in the least hard to follow.

And hey ... it's not just pre-schoolers and primary age kids that enjoy being read aloud to.  Don't forget your tweens and teens!  And what about your partner or parents?  I know I'd be really pleased if someone chose to read aloud to me every so often - well ... as long as they did it with expression and animation ;-)

Check out her amazing website.  There are links for everyone: from children to parents, writers to teachers.  There are even three different books being read-aloud each month - AWESOME!

Of Sea and Stone by Kate Ellison

Ellison, K.A. (2014). Of Sea and Stone: Secrets of Itlantis #1 [electronic resource]. Atlanta, GA: Author.

ASIN: B00I7LZV12
Pages: 260
Age Level: YA 12-18
Genre: Sci-Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

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I received a copy of 'Of Sea and Stone' from LibraryThing to review.

This is a great new YA series from Kate Ellison set in the underwater world of Itlantis. It is well written with great character development and many twists and turns in the plot.  It is an interesting and engaging read, and I look forward to book 2. 

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Aemi is a slave in the Village of the Rocks, good at fishing and very handy with a spear. The mayor's son, Nol, is her Nemesis.  One night their village is attacked and Aemi, Nol and a number of other villagers are taken captive.  Aemi and Nol end up as indentured servants in the same household, and Aemi is planning her escape right from the start.  Friendships are formed with the master and his daughter. 

On the eve of their departure to the city of Primus (and planned escape), the city of Celustrus is attacked, supposedly, by their enemies the Dron, and Nol is not found amongst the survivors. It is up to Aemi and the master to uncover the truth behind the attack. 

Check out other reviews of 'Of Sea and Stone' on Goodreads.

Book info on my posts

I'm going to be including full bibliographic details at the start of my reviews in APA format ('cause that's what's required for my OP paper).  I'm also going to be including other information I think is relevant to viewers like the ISBN or ASIN #, book length, and intended reading age, rating (out of 5), along with an image or two whenever possible.

Reviews will be separated into four categories (at this stage): Fiction Reviews, Non-fiction Reviews, New Zealand Literature Reviews, and my #365PictureBooks challenge reviews.  Of course some of them may very well cross-contaminate :-) and a few adult books my slip in there sometimes.

Reading levels will be:

• 0-6 years: Early Childhood / Babies & Toddlers
• 7-12 years: Middle Childhood
• 12-18 years: Young Adults (YA) / Adolescence

For those of you unsure what an ISBN or AISN is:

• An ISBN is the International Standard Book Number, which is a unique commercial book identifier barcode, either 10 or 13 digits, generally printed on the back cover of a book.
• An ASIN is Amazon's Standard Identification Number, in unique blocks of 10 letters and/or numbers, that identifies the item.  I'll likely be using this number for the majority of eBooks.

Oh Yeah..... I love books in whatever format they come in, so I will be reviewing any and all kinds of books.  I love the tactility and scent of a physical book, but eBooks are so much more accessible after hours, and they don't need a suitcase of their own whenever I go on holiday like they used to.

2015s #365PictureBooks challenge

I have accepted a challenge to read and review a Picture Book a day during 2015 … That’s 365 Picture Books!  Thanks @lucylibs & @megingle for the challenge.  We can rock this @StephEllisNZ & @alidevnz!!!!!

The inspiration for this challenge came from myfriendlucy.

I'm sure by the end of the challenge I will have reviewing books down to a fine art.

Let operation #365PictureBooks commence!!!