Surface Tension by Meg McKinlay

If you're looking for really good quality Australian junior fiction, look no further than Meg McKinlay. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and its many layers.

It's set in a town that had relocated to make way for a dam catchment area. The lake now hides the old town, and many secrets. So one Summer, as it gets hotter and hotter, and the water gets lower and lower, what secrets will rise to the surface?

Cassie was born on the day that the town was drowned. She feels like she is missing out on all the shared history that the rest of the population have, and is somewhat obsessed with the underwater town. She likes to sneak far around the edge of the lake, way past the designated swimming areas, past the keep out sign, where it is quiet. Where secrets lurk.

One thing I really liked about this book is how it talks about how history is recorded and the implications of that. Cassie's older sister works for the Mayor and is helping to prepare a celebration for the town's centenary and is putting together a book with all the notable points from their history. Well, all the pleasant, happy points. Cassie can't understand this. Surely history is everything that happened, not just the good things. "History is written by the winners" floats around in her head. By all means, it's not a major part of this book, but it was there enough for me to appreciate what it was saying. That, and that it adds depth and colour to the mystery that unravels.

 

4 Gold Stars

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Duck For A Day by Meg McKinlay and Leila Rudge

Did you ever have a class pet? Perhaps a guineapig or a fish? Or if you were lucky, you’d have a rabbit or a lizard. What if your teacher brought in a class duck? And what if there was a chance you could take home that Duck for a Day!

Abby has never been allowed pets, her mother thinks they are un-clean, and even a fish can drive you batty just swimming in circles all day. Therefore, the possibility of being able to take Max the duck home for a night is incredibly exciting! She’ll be able to pretend that she has a pet, even if it is only short lived.

But first, she must prepare her back yard to the strict specifications that Mrs Melvino has set down for anyone to take custody of her precious duck.

This sparks a bit of rivalry between Abby and her next door neighbour, Noah, and she is determined to win.

Meg McKinlay’s writing is light, fun and fresh and this adorable little chapter book is perfectly interspersed with Leila Rudge’s cute cartoon style drawings. I’ve already said how much I love these two when I reviewed their picture book ‘No Bears’. So if you’ve got an independent reader who’s after a little Australian Classroom pet drama, then look no further.

3.5 Gold Stars

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What’s In A Name
Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Topographical Feature: Sea Hearts

Something You'd See In The Sky:

Creepy Crawly:

Type Of House:

Something You'd Carry In Your Pocket, Purse, or Backpack:

Something You'd Find On A Calendar: Duck For A Day

No Bears by Meg McKinlay and Leila Rudge

Do you ever get sick of bears in books? I know from experience that many book sellers do. “Bears again?” “More Bears?” “I’m so over bears!”

Ruby, the precocious protagonist in No Bears feels the same. So much so, she is making her own book with absolutely no bears in it. As she states fairly plainly, and convincingly (as she unloads more than her height in books into the ‘Bear Book Recycling Bin’): “You don’t need BEARS for a book.”

So after listing all the things that you need in a book (pretty things, fairies and princesses and maybe a monster, just to name a few), she begins with “Once upon a time…” (so that you know it’s a book). The story unfolds with out a single bear in it.

Or does it?

She’s not aware of the bear that lingers outside the pages of her book, doing its best to help out. Little does she know that when the princess (played by Ruby herself, of course) is abducted by a terrible monster, it is the bear that saves the day. 

So when she concludes that her book is “the prettiest, most exciting, scariest and funniest book ever. … Because there were NO BEARS in it.” The attentive reader might be able to offer another version. The other characters in Ruby’s story have noticed the bear, and listen to its side of the story in awe on the last page.

A delightful romp into book-making with a mischievous look at how outside influences can make it past even the most stubborn of authors. Leila Rudge’s adorable illustrations are the perfect match for Meg McKinlay’s whimsical tone and cheeky story telling.