Tinkers

Author: Paul Harding

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George is not a hero. He lives in a comfortable house, and it would seem has had fulfilling life. He has a loving family, and is surrounded by the evidence of his passion for clocks.

In this densely written book Harding sets out to challenge our assessment of people like George. He certainly does not set out to prove that George is a hero, but does an extraordinary job in showing how rich and complex an ordinary life can be, how deeply connected to others, and fascinating any human would become if we were able to see through their eyes, and listen in to their thoughts.

This is not a simple book, though unlike Andrew Davidson (The Gargoyle) he has not felt the need to immerse the reader in overwhelming details of pain, savagery, mysticism and sex. All of these dimensions are there in the stories we read about George and his father, but we experience the pain all the more poignantly for being vectored in rather than directly immersed.

It is no book to skim read. Large and complex stories are often told in as little as a paragraph or a page, rich with imagery and haunting evocations of other's lives and struggles. The voice and focus flicks between George (who is in the last hours of his life), his family who surround him, and for a good part of the book, an independently told tale about his father.

George's father was a backwoods tinker... who carried a small general store in a carriage from farm to farm and did odd jobs as well. Tragically, he suffered from epilepsy with potentially terrible consequences in an age when this was treated as a form of insanity.

It is not usual for me to finish a relatively small book, set in normal type, less than 200 pages long, and feel as though I have been running in a mental marathon. I will read this again. Once you finish and realise the scope and breadth of the story, you are ready to read again from the start as a more understanding reader. This is suitable for any age but the complex and redolent writing suggests only older teens with some staying power will really enjoy this book.

Andrew Lack

The Great Expedition

Author: Peter Carnavas

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This book is about a team of brave young explorers, a group of little kids who have been directed by their mum to deliver a parcel to their grandma. Some of the explorers don’t make it and in the end there are only two explorers left who have made it across the wild country.

This may sound serious but when you look inside the book you find the wild country is in fact a local playground. The inspiration for this story has come from the story of Burke and Wills, the two men who led an 1860-61 expedition to become the first Europeans to cross the Australian continent from south to north.

The illustrations are delightful and there is a great play between the words and pictures. A wordless double page illustration shows the land the children have crossed. This is suitable for young folk age four and up.

Helen Sillar

Just a Dog

Author: Michael Gerard Bauer

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Every year books by Australian authors compete for the “best book” award during Australian Children’s Book Week. The 2011 winners were announced on Friday 19th August. “Just a Dog” came in second in the Younger Readers Book of the Year section.

“Just a Dog” is the story of a pup that came to be more than a dog in ten year old Corey’s family. Corey had the choice of the litter when the family went to the kennel for a new puppy. The litter was a “real mixed bag”. They were supposed to be Dalmatians, but Uncle Gavin forgot to shut the kennel door one night.

Corey chooses the mostly white pup. He grows to be a big, gangly Dalmatian-and-something cross. It is Corey who tells of the family’s ups and downs, as well as the joys and love that come to his family because of Mr Mosely. Moe is such a great dog-character! Corey doesn't entirely understand everything that's going on in his family, but he does, at the heart of it, understand Family. Corey’s stories of Mr Mosely give a gentle but insightful picture of this suburban family and of the journey of self discovery that Corey is on.

Note: Keep a box of tissues handy.

Reviewed by Gayle Davidson
Odell Learning Resources Centre

Blowing My Own Trumpet

Author: James Morrison

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It was a relief after reading some torrid and challenging books recently to come across this autobiography that was fascinating, amusing and delightful. For the very few people who do not yet know, James is one of Australia’s leading jazz instrumentalists and has played all round the world in elite company.

This book is as idiosyncratic as James himself. The layout is roughly chronological, but he groups recollections thematically as well (“Girls”, “Europe”, “The Best Jever”). Reading it is much more like sitting listening to a polished raconteur telling his favourite stories than reading a “history of”.

James on stage is a bubbly, infectiously joyful musician. He also looks anything but heroic: relatively short, dressed in a dark suit and with a bald pate shining in the stage lights. His book will surprise some as tells of his lifelong fascination with boats, and the various bizarre and even deadly situations he has dealt with. He has trained for and run triathlons; much more than most of us can claim, and of course, there is the music.

He does not hold back, those who want to know more about this side of his life. He talks about his own musical journey, the strange and wonderful situations he has been in as a musician, and reflects discreetly on what he loves about jazz and performing. As he has played with luminaries of the jazz world such as Ray Brown and Dizzy Gillespie the stories about the music and the individuals are engrossing. For those who want to know more about James the man, there are stories about how he met his wife, tales he tells against himself about their relationship, and even some stories about his children.

There is much in this for the Australian reader to connect with. James was bought up in country towns, and people of roughly his vintage will recognise and relate to the customs, sights and smells of the time that he describes. This is a great read for anyone who has been touched by his music, or would like to find out more about a very special Australian.

Andrew Lack

NO!

Author: David McPhail

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This slim book is a moral lesson in picture book clothing. The story is simple and told almost entirely without words. A little boy writes a letter to the president of his country. As he walks to the letter box to post it, he sees various horrors of war. There are bombers and explosions, a tank, jack booted soldiers, a policeman who sets his dog on an older man.

The boy is physically unscathed, but when he reaches the letterbox, an older boy starts to bully him. Much to the surprise of the bully, the little boy delivers his big line… “NO!”. You can read the book in a minute, but the issues that it raises are far from easily dealt with. While I thought the key question about “what has happened to the rules?” was effectively asked, I was less comfortable with the apparently instant resolution of the cities problems… if only it was that easy!

The book is supported unobtrusively by Amnesty International, who give a brief reflection inside the back cover.
The pictures are quaintly drawn with a partially naïve style, and much play of light and dark. Would you actually give this book to a five year old? I actually think that that might be a bit of a problem. There is a fair amount of implicit violence: the policeman’s dog is shown biting the older man, and the soldiers are kicking in the door of a mother with young children. I wonder if the instant resolution actually is more likely to give false hope.

The book is therefore a bit lost between younger readers for whom it may not be suitable, and older readers who may demand significantly more from any work on the subject of war and violence. I think it would be best used by a teacher in Middle School as a talking point, and indeed the book is dedicated “for teachers everywhere”.

Andrew Lack