June highlights in children's and young adult books
A word that keeps coming up when we talk about YA is resilience. Melbourne writers Fiona Wood (Wildlife) and Gabrielle Williams (The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and His Ex) spoke very movingly about resilience as a theme of their recent work during a Readings event. Visiting US author Laurie Halse Anderson also used the phrase ‘Resilience Lit’ to describe what she writes (The Impossible Knife of Memory and Wintergirls), as a response to her books being labelled ‘Issue’ or ‘Problem’ Lit. People who don’t read YA often accuse the category of dwelling on topics considered too tough for teenagers. But unlike adult fiction, YA books never leave the reader on the precipice of despair. The author may lead you to a dark place, but ultimately they’ll take your hand and walk you towards a chink of light.
Two Australian young adult books this month do just that. Trinity Doyle’s Pieces of Sky is about a champion swimmer whose brother dies in a night surfing accident. This from our reviewer Angela Crocombe: “Death and its aftermath are rendered complex and chaotic in this stunning debut novel. There are no trite answers to the aftermath of tragedy, just a gradual discovery of the capacity to endure. Pieces of Sky is beautifully written, packed with longing and sadness, but also filled with hope. I inhaled it in enormous gulps like briny sea air and felt more passionately alive.”
, in which the story of a young woman whose mother is white and whose father is a radical black activist switches between the 1960s and 80s to explore Australian society. Bronte Coates described it as “well-worth picking up – a fast-paced, heartfelt and assured debut.” Teenagers need Resilience Lit, and Australian teenagers need Australian Resilience Lit in particular, so have a look at some of our recent recommendations
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Without doubt Frances Hardinge will be one of my favourite discoveries of the year. She weaves history and dark fairytale worlds together with the richest prose I’ve seen in contemporary work for a long time. Her books are perfect for avid readers over 11 and into teens. Reading Cuckoo Song recently made me kick myself for not having listened to the recommendation sooner, but also happy to find a wonderful backlist to explore. Her latest, The Lie Tree, has just come in. If you’re an adult who loves children’s fiction for its vast imagination, and craves the sort of imagery that stops you in your tracks, this is the writer for you.
But it’s not all serious, folks. At home, my 8-year-old has inhaled the latest Anh Do book from his Weirdo series, Super Weird and as it’s number one on our bestseller list this week I can safely assume he’s not the only one! Meanwhile my 11-year-old tried very hard to read Fortune Cookie by Cathy Cassidy slowly, as its the last in the Chocolate Box series, but failed miserably and came to me as usual with her head hung low, declaring she would never read another book again because she was too upset to say goodbye to her favourite characters (this is usually a 24-hour pact). And our home bedtime reading is The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, which makes a brilliant family read-aloud with its pirate-speak, inclusion of the reader in its daft japes, and a satisfyingly complex plot with the most endearing cast of characters.
is my top pick for readers over 10 who love fantasy. It looks special from the outside, with its wood-cut illustration jacket, and if the reader is a fan of
and
, it’ll be special inside too.
Equally beautiful but for much younger readers is The Most Wonderful Thing In The World by the inspired team of Vivian French and Angela Barratt. It’s a fairytale that starts in the old-fashioned way with suitors being advised that to win the hand of the princess they must find the most wonderful thing in the world. Meanwhile, the princess is off quietly finding her own wonderful things, thank you very much. The artwork is just stunning.
And, we all loved discovering the true story of a fascinating quilt in the picture book My Name is Lizzie Flynn by Claire Saxby and Lizzy Newcomb. It’s set in 1841 on board the convict ship The Rajah, and follows the story of Lizzie who joins in with a group of women who are making a quilt for the Governor’s wife. That quilt went missing for 147 years, and is now in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Finally, two extremely fun picture books that are both, in their way, about perseverance. In Tony Wilson’s The Cow Tripped Over The Moon (illustrated by Lara Wood), that well-known nursery rhyme is pulled wide open and explored in a way that will delight pre-schoolers. While in Jennifer K Mann’s I Will Never Get A Star On Miss Benson’s Blackboard, a little girl who marches to the beat of her own drum and causes a few ripples in the classroom is eventually recognised for her talents, in a triumphant story about being yourself.
