Young Adult Fiction

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel - Fattah Abdel – Fattah, R. (2006). Ten Things I Hate About Me. Australia: Pan MacMillan Australia Jamilah or Jamie as she prefers to be known at school is 16 years old and living two completely different lives. At home she is Jamilah, a brown eyed Muslim girl who has a strict (but caring) father; she attends Madrassa, and enjoys the traditional Lebanese food and loud conversations that are constant in her home. At school she is Jamie, a blonde haired and blue eyed (thanks to contact lenses) student who does not reveal any of her cultural heritage and background to even her closest friends at school. She is desperate to be just a typical Australian girl that is not different in any way from her classmates. Jamiliah then finds a boy that she can reveal herself to and be completely honest with in an online chat forum and finds huge relief in these conversations. This relationship grows throughout the story as does Jamilah’s journey and discovery about her relationships with her siblings, father, and friends. As Jamilah gains confidence in whom she is and starts to realize who she wants to be, she agrees to perform traditional Lebanese music at her school dance and to face her classmates as the Lebanese – Australian girl that she is. Randa Abdel – Fattah describes the dynamic relationships that Jamilah has with her family, friends and teachers with humour, insight and delicacy. Teenage girls will thoroughly enjoy this story as it explores issues of racism, fitting in, romance and relationships with depth and in way that teenagers will easily relate to.

Fiction 6 - 12 years

Wabi Sabi by Mark Rebstein Rebstein, M. (2008). Wabi Sabi. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company Wabi Sabi falls into the ‘sophisticated picture book’ category and children between the ages of 10 to 15 should enjoy either having this book read to them or reading this book independently. Wabi Sabi is a beautifully written and illustrated book that combines the ancient Japanese poetry form, Haiku, with a story about a cat embarking on a journey to find out the real meaning of her name. Wabi Sabi is a book that is rich with language, history and culture, and one in which can be read many times and on different occasions and new things will be discovered each time. The book opens lengthwise which will capture the attention of readers to begin with. The illustrator, Ed Young, has created stunning collages that seem to be three dimensional at times. Children will want to touch the pages to feel the ‘textures’ and see for themselves that the art work is in fact one dimensional. Wabi Sabi, as explained at the beginning of the book, is finding beauty and harmony in what is simple, imperfect, and natural. The concept that something can be completely ordinary and beautiful at the same time is quite a difficult concept for the younger reader to grasp but one which is explained during the cat’s journey, the characters that are met, and the places the cat visits. The haiku that is part of the story and written in both English and in Japanese (with translations at the end of the story), blends in to the story and is not a separate concept. ‘A warm bowl of tea Offered by a monkey, “Please!” Steam rising gently. This book can be thought of as looking through a small window into the Japanese culture. It is thought provoking for readers of all ages (including adults), and a book that offers a calm and quiet introduction to Japan’s history, customs and traditions.

Fiction 0-6 years

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin Litwin, E. (2008). Pete the Cat. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Pete the Cat is a picture book that will engage and excite young readers. Pete the Cat is a calm and cool cat who is going for a walk in his brand new white shoes. He is so happy about walking in his brand new white shoes that he sings a song as he walks along. His walk takes him through strawberries, blueberries, mud, and water, each time turning his shoes a different colour, and then back to white( but wet) shoes at the end of the story. Readers (and listeners) will love the opportunity to ‘interact’ with the words on the page by singing the song that repeats itself throughout the book and answering the questions that are repeated throughout the story, “Did Pete cry?” And, “What colour did it turn his shoes?” These questions give young readers the opportunity to shout out the answers, to show their cleverness by guessing what colour his shoes will turn, and to have lots of noisy fun during any story time session. One of popular children’s author Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments is, ‘Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud’. Reading this book with children will definitely fulfill this Read Aloud Commandment! This is author, Eric Litwin’s first published book that was written especially for the character Pete the Cat. Illustrator, James Dean, had already created Pete and both author and illustrator have formed a successful partnership. Eric loves to combine music with stories and to bring books to life for children. Pete the Cat comes with access to a downloadable song from HaperCollins that will keep both adults and children moving and grooving long after story time has finished. References Fox, M. n.d. Ten Read Aloud Commandments. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.memfox.net/ten-read-aloud-commandments.html Litwin, E. n.d. About Eric. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.ericlitwin.com Pete the Cat. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_the_Cat