Clementine Rose and the Bake Off Dilemma (#14) by Jacqueline Harvey

clementine rose 14.jpgTitle: Clementine Rose and the Bake Off Dilemma (#14)

Author: Jacqueline Harvey

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Published: 3rd December 2018

Format: Paperback

Pages: 145

Price: $14.99

Synopsis: Clementine Rose is bursting with plans for the school holidays! But with the announcement that a new cooking show will be filmed in the village, everything changes. While Clementine is disappointed that her activities have been cancelled, she soon has an idea and takes to the kitchen in a baking frenzy. If only her mother wasn’t feeling so sick and could help out when things turn sticky.

Everyone wants to be a part of the show – especially Mrs Bottomley! – and it doesn’t take long before temperatures are running high. With the main event being held at Penberthy House, Clementine has the inside scoop and spies some surprising behaviour from the contestants. Will she uncover a secret? And will the show be a flop, or a scrumptious success?

~*~

Six-year-old Clementine Rose lives with her mother, step-father, step-bother, aunt and grandparents at Penberthy House. It’s school holidays, and Clementine has all kinds of plans to have lots of fun. But her family home, Penberthy Hall, has been chosen to host the Great Village Bake Off – and all Clementine’s activities are put off. That is, until she decides to participate in the bake-off. Disheartened to find out she is too young, Clementine convinces those in charge to run a mini junior bake-off as well, and she sets about finding the perfect cake. If only her mother wasn’t so sick. But then Clementine and her brother stumble across nefarious activities and goings on with at least one bake-off contestant after they notice all the other contestants’ bakes are always going wrong – but who – or what is behind it and why? It is up to Clementine and Will to find out – and to stop cheating in the junior bake-off as well!

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I came to Jacqueline Harvey earlier this year with Kensy and Max – and thoroughly enjoyed the first two in that series and am keen for the next ones when they come out – hopefully soon. But this was my first adventure with Clementine Rose, a series aimed at younger readers who are just starting to read alone, and gain confidence in their reading abilities. This is book fourteen in the series, and I found it utterly charming. Clementine is a delightful little girl, who partakes in activities such as baking and ballet, but shows a determination to do things on her own and with her brother, like investigating the strange goings on at the bake-off, and uncovering the secrets behind the catastrophes. What will they uncover, and how will people react?

I loved this book – it was charming, and a quick read for young children, or anyone who wants a quick and fun read at any time of the year. Clementine Rose is the kind of character that shows children of all ages and genders that they can do whatever they want if they put their mind to it – she doesn’t let anything stop her, but she still knows to ask for help when she needs it, but that’s what makes her great – she knows what she can do on her own and knows what her limits are and this shows kids that they can be just like her. I loved Clementine Rose, and I enjoy Jacqueline’s style of writing.

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Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook

hogwarts movie scrapbook.jpgTitle: Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook

Author: Judy Revenson

Genre: Movie scrapbook, fantasy, popular culture

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 1st December 2018

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 48

Price: $29.99

Synopsis:Every year, students clamber aboard the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4 and make their way back to Hogwarts for the start of another school year. In the atmospheric castle and its vast grounds, they learn how to brew potions and cast spells, how to tend magical creatures and defend themselves from dark magic.

This magical scrapbook takes young readers behind the scenes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, covering everything from how students arrive at the school and are sorted into their houses to the many magical subjects they study while there. Detailed profiles of each class feature information about the professors, classrooms, and key lessons seen in the films and are heavily illustrated with dazzling concept art, behind-the-scenes photographs, and fascinating reflections from the actors and filmmakers, giving readers a spellbinding tour of Hogwarts life.

Destined to be a must-have collectible for fans of Harry Potter, Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook also comes packed with interactive inserts.

~*~

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter keeps growing, The current books exploring the wider world of Hogwarts, and how the movies brought the settings, characters, spells, the Dark Arts and everything else to life, going through prop hunting, and snippets of behind the scenes interviews with cast and crew. In the most recent scrapbook from Warner Brothers and Bloomsbury, the world of Hogwarts, and how it was brought together is explored, from classes to letters, to teachers, ghosts and getting to the school each year.

The details present in the books reflect the intricate efforts that the set designers took when collecting props and designing the sets for each classroom and aspect of Hogwarts across the films shows how much thought was put into recreating the world from page to screen, and each stage had to be just right, to create a feeling of magic and wonder, but also a sense of familiarity in the lives and look of the characters and their world.

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Included in the book are brief profiles on the key Hogwarts classes and professors, and information about houses, sorting and house points, contributing to what is already known from the books and films, and adding to the knowledge of those who may not know all of this, and be discovering new secrets as these books come out and as they explore the world that has existed for over twenty years for many fans over and over through the books and the movies. It is an intriguing book, that brings the world further to life for new and old fans, and gives deeper insight into exactly how the movies were created from the books, and the time and effort that went into them to make sure the books were translated seamlessly to film.

Book Bingo Twenty-Four – the PENULTIMATE BINGO POST! Featuring A Book with A Number in the Title and A Non-Fiction Book.

Book bingo take 2

That time has come around again, and I am ticking off two in this post, with the final three to come in a fortnight! I again have a few bingos – Row Two Across gains the bingo with the non-fiction square finally being ticked off, as well as row three and row five down. I have one more book to read, and a review to write for the next book bingo, as well as several others so keep an eye out for all that coming out in the coming weeks, and finally, at the end of the year, my wrap up posts for each challenge and my reading for the year overall.

Book bingo take 2

Across

Row #2 – BINGO

 

A book with a yellow cover: Australia Day by Melanie Cheng – AWW2018

A book by an author you’ve never read before: If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken

A non-fiction book: Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer – AWW2018

 A collection of short stories: Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane – AWW2018

A book with themes of culture: Relic of the Blue Dragon (Children of the Dragon #1) by Rebecca Lim – AWW2018

Row #4

 

A forgotten classic:

A book with a one-word title: Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend – AWW2018

A book with non-human characters: A Home for Molly by Holly Webb, Beast World by George Ivanoff

A funny book: Archibald, the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson, Illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky -AWW2018

A book with a number in the title: We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni – AWW2018

Down

Row #3: – BINGO

 

A memoir: No Country Woman by Zoya Patel – AWW2018

A non-fiction book:Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer – AWW2018

A prize-winning book: Chain of Charms series by Kate Forsyth – 2007 Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fiction – aWW2018

A book with non-human characters: A Home for Molly by Holly Webb, Beast World by George Ivanoff

A book everyone is talking about: Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee – AWW2018

Row #5 – BINGO

 

A Foreign Translated Novel: The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti

A book with themes of culture: Relic of the Blue Dragon (Children of the Dragon #1) by Rebecca Lim – AWW2018

A book with a mystery: The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes (Mitford Murders #1)

A book with a number in the title: We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni – AWW2018

A book written by someone over sixty: Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French – AWW2018

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The first book I’ve ticked off for this post is a book with a number in the title – We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni. Part of the Medoran Chronicles series, it is three novellas, told from the perspectives of Alex’s three best friends, Jordan, D.C. and Bear, and is linked to the previous four books – so if you wish to avoid spoilers, make sure you read Akarnae, Raelia, Draekora and Graevale. It is a well-written book, delving into the lives of three heroes who help Alex in her battle against Aven. Seeing what has happened through the eyes of D.C., Bear and Jordan fills in the gaps in the stories we see through the eyes of Alex, and what they mean to her and what she means to them. It gives the series a new insight and delves into the secrets of Alex’s friends that are hinted at in the other books and gives readers a deeper understanding of D.C. and why when we first meet her, she comes across as prickly and off-putting, and what caused this attitude.

A great book for those who love the Medoran Chronicles.

amazing australian women

The second, and final book on this post, is a non-fiction picture book that tells the stories of remarkable women in Australia and what they did to contribute to our history and nation as it stands today. Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer is a non-fiction picture book, women who were involved in arts, politics, activism and resistance, business owners, singers, teachers and politicians, whose achievements and roles in society had a great impact on Australia but are perhaps not as well-known as some. The book does explore a few well-known women, such as Dame Nellie Melba, Sister Elizabeth Kenny, and Edith Cowan, yet the others were ones that I had not previously heard about or come across in my history studies. In bringing them out of the archives, and into the light and to life, for readers young and old. Learning about new historical figures is always interesting and important to reshape our thinking of how we view history and the people who built it – those who were once hidden but are not anymore – and these are figures that I would have enjoyed writing assignments on during my history studies.

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This has been my penultimate post for the book bingo I’ve been participating in with Theresa Smith and Amanda Barrett for the past year, and hope to do so again next year. This is one challenge I have managed to complete, whereas my other one was trickier, as there were some very difficult categories to fill. Until next fortnight!

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Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

mary poppins.jpgTitle: Mary Poppins
Author: P.L. Travers, illustrated by Lauren Childs
Genre: Classics, Children’s Literature
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 16th November 2018 (originally published 1934)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 192
Price: $39.99
Synopsis: An exquisite flagship gift edition of an iconic classic, illustrated by the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child.
When Mary Poppins arrives at their house on a gust of the East Wind and slides up the bannister, Jane and Michael Banks’s lives are turned magically upside down.

Who better to reimagine this endearing children’s classic than today’s most instantly recognisable and best-loved artist-illustrator? Lauren Child brings the magic of Mary Poppins into the hearts and imagination of readers and fans new and old.

First published in 1964, Mary Poppins has been delighting readers ever since, both in books and on film. This stunning deluxe edition is published ahead of the release of the hotly anticipated Disney film Mary Poppins Returns.

~*~

In 1934, Australian author, P.L. Travers, a pen name for Helen Goff, wrote and published Mary Poppins, the first in a series of books about a magical nanny who looked after the Banks children, Jane, Michael, and their twin brother and sister, Barbara and John (Barbara and John do not appear in the 1964 Disney movie). In this edition, Lauren Childs has illustrated the stories told by P.L. Travers, and the world she created in London, and Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, which is an address that is familiar to many through the books, and the movie, and that has captured the imaginations of children and adults for generations.

When Katie Nanna up and leaves the Banks family at the beginning of the book, Mary Poppins appears out of nowhere to take charge, flying in on the East Wind on her parrot-handled umbrella and with her magical carpet bag. Throughout, she goes on adventures with Bert, the Match Man, and takes her charges, Jane and Michael on outings, and shares the secrets of talking to animals with the twins. She has promised to stay until the wind changes to the west – at which point, her work will be done and she will have to depart the Banks family.

AWW-2018-badge-roseThe latest edition has come out in anticipation of the upcoming movie, Mary Poppins Returns, which sees Mary Poppins, this time played by Emily Blunt, return to Cherry Tree Lane, to a new generation of Banks children. The story is simple, but at the same time, filled with a sense of reality, where a family must learn to be a family again, and this is done through the magic of Mary Poppins – though in the book, she is much less saccharine than in the Disney version. Here, we have a Mary Poppins who does not shy away from the realities that the Banks children do and must face in the world that is about to become quite dangerous.

The world that P.L. Travers creates is set in London, referred to as the City, and landmarked by St Paul’s Cathedral, where we meet The Bird Lady – who has a bigger role in the novel than the film, and even though this is an abridged version, it still gets the main ideas and story across, and people can enjoy this and the original together now, as each publication, both movies and the stage show bring a new level and new layers of story to Mary Poppins and what she does for the family.

The story is set in the early twentieth century, though Lauren imagined it in the 1930s – perhaps it could be either, and at the start, it reads like it could possibly be set in early twentieth century Australia until those classic London landmarks are mentioned to cement the setting. It is a delightful edition, and the illustrations are whimsical and fun, but still capturing the essence of the original story that P.L. Travers intended for her characters. It is an Australian classic that has endured for over eighty years, and will hopefully, continue to charm readers for years to come, both child and adult.

I enjoyed reading this book, and hope that others enjoy it too.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by J.K. Rowling

crimes of grindelwald.jpgTitle: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Author: J.K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy, Script

Publisher: Hachette/Little Brown UK

Published: 16th November, 2018

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 290

Price: $39.99

Synopsis: J.K. Rowling’s five-film Fantastic Beasts adventure series continues with the original screenplay for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

The Wizarding World journey continues . . .

The powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most of whom are unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second screenplay in a five-film series to be written by J.K. Rowling, author of the internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Set in 1927, a few months after the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and moving from New York to London, Paris and even back to Hogwarts, this story of mystery and magic reveals an extraordinary new chapter in the wizarding world. Illustrated with stunning line art from MinaLima with some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of both the books and films.

~*~

The Wizarding World continues to grow and expand with the publication and release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. In this next instalment, in 1927, Gellert Grindelwald is thought to be in the custody of MACUSA in New York, but all is not as it seems. Soon, he will escape and find his way to Paris, where he will gather his followers and start a war that will mirror the war that takes place in the Harry Potter series. In this story, a dapper young Albus Dumbledore appears, and recruits Newt Scamander, who is banned from international travel by the Ministry of Magic and MACUSA following the events of the first Fantastic Beasts story. Newt is unaware of the dangers he will face from the wizarding community and Grindelwald, but he sets out to Paris to find Grindelwald, Tina and stumbles across new magical creatures to be saved, and a secret family history to be uncovered as his brother, Theseus, and Theseus’ fiancée, Leta Lestrange, become involved in the search as well.

This story takes up back to Hogwarts – the Hogwarts of the twenties, and in Newt’s time as a student, and back to 1927 as the characters uncover the horrors to come, and as they try to stop Grindelwald gathering his followers, involving a mystery child that Grindelwald seeks, and secrets that are uncovered but not quite what they seem as the story goes on. In this new story that takes place in the Wizarding World, there are echoes of what is to come in the original series, and hints at the real-world events taking place at the same time that lead to the rise of Hitler and World War Two.

The Fantastic Beasts series continues with its mystery and intrigue, building on layers already set out in the first, and hopefully, with more to be built on in future scripts and movies, where some threads were tugged on a little, but not quite pulled all the way, leaving room for interpretation and complexities to come. The experience of seeing the movie and reading the script separately is unique and fun, because fans get to see how the story plays out on page and screen. This is a series that I feel has many more secrets to reveal, and will do so gradually as time goes on, and we delve further into the dark years of Grindelwald, and how our hero, Newt, comes to battle him.

The Little Fairy Sister by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenbery Outhwaite

little fairy sister.jpgTitle: The Little Fairy Sister

Author: Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenbery Outhwaite

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: NLA Publishing First Edition

Published: 1st May 2013

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 112

Price: $14.99

Synopsis: ‘The Little Fairy Sister’ is a real fairy story of Bridget’s adventures among the wee people. She meets the most delightful little creatures: the Dragon-fly, the Kookaburra, the Lizard, the Teddy Bears, the Pelican, as well as the Mannikins, the Merman, and of course the Fairies.

This facsimile of The Little Fairy Sister, popular with children of the 1920s, has been reproduced by the National Library of Australia from an early edition of the book. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite’s enchanting illustrations will appeal to children as much today as they did yesterday.

~*~

Many children in Australia have been, and still are, brought up on a European tradition of fairy tales that have their roots in oral, salon and literary traditions: Oscar Wilde, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Charles Perrault and other French salon writers, including Charlotte Rose de la Force, and Hans Christian Andersen. Stemming from there, collections from Andrew Lang – his rainbow fairy books, and English authors such as John Jacobs would have largely shaped the fairy tale world children come to inhabit. In the early twentieth century in Australia, a young woman  named Ida Rentoul turned her hand to creating images of fairies, drawing fairies and whimsical creatures into a uniquely Australian setting, combining them with Australian flora and fauna.

Bridget is an only child who is doted on by nurse and her parents – and when she falls asleep after her father tells her a story of the little sister she was told went to live with the fairies, she falls into a world of magic, of fairies and talking animals, much like Alice did when she tumbled down the rabbit hole of Lewis Carroll’s classic Wonderland. In this new world, Bridget shrinks down to the size of a fairy as she explores the world of talking animals, a fairy queen, wonder, magic and a bushland paradise that is both quintessentially European in the tradition of a fairy land, and yet also, quintessentially Australian as native fauna and flora populate the world Bridget finds herself in. Accompanied by dragonflies, pelicans, a kookaburra and a myriad of other creatures that populate the world of fairy tales, and bridge the gap of the real and fairy tale worlds of Australia and the European tradition – where the familiar tales are transported into an equally familiar landscape for Australian children.

The introduction states that Ida would allow her family – mother, sisters and later, her husband, Grenbery, to put text and stories to her images. The text that accompanies Ida’s images of Bridget and The Little Fairy Sister was written in 1923, by her husband, Grenbery, and has been reproduced in the facsimile edition in this new print. Ida is known as the queen of the fairy book in Australia, and though her work is uniquely Australian, hr work is filled with echoes of Lewis Carroll, Arthur Rackham, Kate Greenaway and Aubrey Beardsley – where European tradition meets Australian wilderness.

It is an enjoyable and easy read, where the combination of European fairy tales and Australian nature, flora and fauna creates a new world, though sadly a little unknown these days, and so this reprint of the original facsimile of the 1920s edition brings it back to life for a new audience, and deserves a place in our literary canon, and the fairy tale canon of literature in Australia and around the world, to show how tradition can marry with a new world that is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time to people.

This book marks of my final book bingo square for the year, a forgotten classic, which will go up in December.

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The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson, based on the original tales by Beatrix Potter

christmas tale of peter rabbit.jpgTitle: The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit
Author: Emma Thompson, based on the original tales by Beatrix Potter.
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Warne/Penguin Random House
Published: 19th November 2018
Format: Hardcover/Board book
Pages: 72
Price: $16.99
Synopsis:. A wonderful new board book edition of The Christmas Tale of
Rabbits are always very uppity during the Christmas season, and Peter Rabbit was no exception.’
Emma Thompson continues the adventures of Peter Rabbit in this board book edition of a super new Christmas tale. It is almost Christmas and Peter Rabbit cannot contain his excitement. After he upsets yet another bowl of mincemeat, Mrs Rabbit sends Peter on an errand. He bumps into his cousin, Benjamin Bunny, and a feathered friend who makes an alarming announcement which throws Benjamin and Peter together in a race against time and the scary McGregors.
And so, our Christmas Tale begins…
Will the friends’ rabbity ingenuity save their friend from an unsavoury end?
Brilliantly told by Emma Thompson and charmingly illustrated by Eleanor Taylor, Peter Rabbit is back with a hilarious cast of characters. This time our story is set in Beatrix Potter’s beloved Lake District.
Emma Thompson, Oscar-winning actress and screen writer is a long-time admirer of Beatrix Potter’s tales. She has a talent for creating engaging narratives with a dry humour similar to Potter’s own and is the perfect choice of author for this new Peter Rabbit tale.

~*~

Rabbits love Christmas, so the stories go, and as has been witnessed by Beatrix Potter. Of course, the most well-known of rabbits is no exception, and he has revealed it to none other than Emma Thompson, Nanny McPhee and Professor Trelawney herself (amongst many spectacular roles in other films) – for a new generation – and let’s face it – anyone who grew up on the original tales as well. In this story, Peter and Benjamin cross paths – as they inevitably do in the other tales – gathering items for Christmas for their mothers. Together. they decide to have a bit of fun and follow William the Turkey into the Great Forbidden Place – Mr McGregor’s Garden! We all remember the line from the original, where Mrs Rabbit warns her delightfully good girls – Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail -and naughty little boy – Peter – not to enter Mr McGregor’s garden lest they meet the same fate as their father – being baked into a pie by Mrs McGregor.
And of course, this is where the fun and laughter start, as William tells Peter and Benjamin that Mrs McGregor has been feeding him quite well – as he is to attend Christmas dinner with the McGregors – just not in the way he thinks he will be. It is up to our brave little rabbits to break it to William that in fact, he is not to be a guest, but the main meal. And so, what follows is a series of attempts to hide William and save him from the slaughter. All their attempts are comical, seeing as they are very small rabbits, and William is a very big, fat turkey. It is their eventual success that brings joy to the animals, and they rush home for their rabbity Christmas.
Emma Thompson’s writing style matches Beatrix Potter’s so well, I cannot imagine who else would be the right person to take on the challenge of reinvigorating these beloved characters, and the illustrator, Eleanor Taylor, captures the magic of the original Beatrix Potter water colours too, with vibrant colours that evoke the old stories.
This charming tale, with the happy, and funny ending, ensures laughter and delight for the holidays, and a return to nature and the world of Peter Rabbit, the charming, yet naughty bundle of fur we all love.

Booktopia

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