AWESOME! Australian Art for Contemporary Kids

Cree, Laura Murray (2003) Awesome! Australian art for contemporary kids. Melbourne:Craftsman House (ISBN 1-877004-20-0)

Shortlisted by the CBCA for the Eve Pownell Award for Information Books in 2003, Awesome! is a collection of 54 contemporary Australian artworks targeted at upper primary and junior secondary students. Through an exciting and often unusual selection, the book aims to stimulate young peoples' imaginations and their appreciation of art.

Each double page spread introduces an artist and his/her work. The artwork is reproduced in colour and the accompanying text discusses the artist and his/her intentions, as well as the artwork itself. A fact box outlines essential details of the piece and occasionally the author's personal response is included. The language is very accessible and addresses the reader directly. A table at the end of the book provides information on the artists’ collections and gallery information.

Overall, this is a highly engaging text, often pored over by students during lunch time, and a valuable resource for the NSW Visual Arts Syllabus, Stages 4 and 5.

The Human Body Revealed

Written by Sue Davidson and Ben Morgan
Published by DK (Dorling Kindersley)
(2002) ISBN 0751344230

There are other "revealed" titles such as Egypt revealed. The revealing comes through the use of OHT type inserts that show things on the surface and then at a deeper level. This is perfectly suited to the topic of the human body as the reader can be shown the different systems and organs at different levels and how they interact. It is quite realistic and informative. Pictures usually take up the middle of a double spread while the outer edges are dotted with paragraphs and captions relating to parts of the pictures. Each paragraph is a self-contained topic or chunk of information which makes it possible for the reader to start at any point on the double spread. Because it is not constrained by a through composed genre, more diverse facts and information are included.

The Human Body Jigsaw Book

Waite L V 2006, The Human Body Jigsaw Book The Five Mile Press: Rowville: Vic. (ISBN 1741249899)

This is a good example of a contemporary non fiction book. It covers 5 systems of the body and the senses.

The layout is clear, easy to read and non-crowded. Each page is constructed of board to hold the puzzle on one side of the double page spread. There are 5, 48 piece puzzles looking at the different body systems: skeletal, central nervous, circulatory, muscular, and digestive. Each page explains 3 main areas of the system with clear and interesting diagrams with close ups of interesting things relating to the system.
The double page spread on the 5 senses does not have a puzzle (it's the last pages in the book) but it does have cut away diagrams of the organs involved.

While the book may be aimed at middle to upper primary students, because of the puzzles, it would still be useful in the high school library collection. It is quite engaging to read. Teachers could use it to introduce the various systems to the class (or refresh their memories).

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird

Hoose, P 2004, The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, Melanie Kroupa Books, New York.

This is an amazing book about a species of bird the majority of readers will never have seen or heard and never will. What is extraordinary is the ability of the author to draw you in and involve you emotionally from the very introduction. This is the story of the Ivory- billed Woodpecker and its ultimate demise. It is written from the heart and impeccably researched. It reveals not only the bird’s incredible beauty, but the role of many diverse players in its disappearance. The development of the south-eastern USA from the 19th century is an integral part of this book. It is a book full of fascinating anecdotes about the bird’s intelligence and tenacity against the odds. Photographs, sketches, drawings, maps and engaging prose make this a book hard to put down until you finish.

Posted on behalf of Sheila Pontifax

The Kelly Gang

Hocking, Geoff (2004) Australia In History: The Kelly Gang The Last of The Bushrangers. Harcourt Education, Melbourne, VIC.

This non-fiction book tells the story of Ned Kelly and the rest of his gang. How Ned's life began, information about his family history, how the Kelly gang took on the police even with a huge reward being offered for their capture, and eventually the end of the Kelly gang in 1880 at Glenrowan Hotel after a shoot-out and fire. Later that year Ned Kelly was hanged for his crimes.

This book is very interesting and I would recommend it to any school library collection, not only because it provides important information about some of Australia's history but because there are other books available in this Australia in History series.

Throughout the book there are words typed in bold, mainly different terms that are not commonly used in today's spoken language, for the reader to refer to the back of the book in a glossary of terms. Very handy for children who may not be widely read and to come across strange words to be able to look them up in the same book.

Jo-Anne Phillips ETL402

Egyptology

Sands, E 2004 Egyptology, The Templar Company Plc, Surrey, UK.

The author has created a ‘facsimile of a journal’ (publisher’s note) of a traveler in the 1920s. The text presents a mystery to the reader whilst demonstrating an interrelationship between the nature of thinking which encapsulated expeditions of discovery during this era, the close links between different professions such as museum curators, archeologists and geographers and information about the topic. There are many concrete features included, a game, postcards, and a book of hieroglyphs. Text type reflects the era. An online site supports the text with information about the sources and further activities.

Morecroft, R., Mackay, A., & Lloyd-Diviny, K. (2003). Zoo Album. Sydney: ABC Books.

Theme: The role zoos play in animal conservation.

Zoo Album is about ten real-life animals who have lived, or are living in Australian zoos. It would be a great resource for those interested in animals or to support curriculum units on the needs of living things and how they adapt to their environments.

The text includes a profile of each animal and a zoo keeper's blurb, which provides a real moment in the life of a real animal and its keeper. The main text is written as a narrative and is in large print. This makes the text more easily read and more appealing to children.The beautiful, vibrant and life-like watercolour illustrations, support the text and capture the attention of children. These aspects of the text would assist in engaging the reluctant reader.

The book would provide an excellent basis for a debate on whether animals should be kept in captivity.

Zoo Album is a user-friendly book that contains a thorough glossary to assist children in understanding the text. It is a great book to read aloud, to demonstrate the importance of non-fiction literature as a source of information.