Encouraged by Nat from Book, Line and Sinker (so you know who to blame if this all goes awry), I have been on the lookout for book puns after exploring the hair-raising efforts of hairdressers and the half-baked article titles of a local recipe magazine.

So, here they are in all their punnish glory – book and reading puns at their worst best.

Book Stores

• Better Read than Dead
• Arcadia Unbound
• Book & Cranny
• Pages & Pages Booksellers

Book Blogs

• Book, Line and Sinker (could Nat have had an ulterior motive in suggesting that I list book blog puns – surely not!)
• Follow the Reader
• Between the Covers
• Book Ends
• Framed and Booked
• Burning Leaves
• Library Queue
• Babbling Book Reviews

Of course, if you’re looking for gratuitous book puns, you can’t really go past the star of  Vicki Myron’s novel about the Spencer library cat that captured the heart of book lovers around the world. The cat’s name? Dewey Readmore Books.

This is just a sample of what is out there. I don’t think my husband is going to buy my “I have to look at all these book blogs. It’s research” line any longer. If you have a book pun blog name or know of one, please comment and let us know.

Title: The Great Paper Caper
Author/Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-00-718229-9

I found the quirky illustrations and story line of this picture book quite appealing, although I think younger children (i.e. those most likely to read picture books) would need to read it with an adult to get the most out of it, despite the fact that there is very little text and the story is largely conveyed through the illustrations.

An unusual collection of animals (beaver, pig, duck, deer, owl) and a young child living in the forest notice something strange happening. The trees are losing their branches. They each blame each other and then decide to investigate further.

Eventually they discover the source of the problem, a bear who is turning the stolen branches into paper so that he can practice for the 112th biennial paper airplane competition.

The humour is in the details, such as the scrunched paper planes so often overlooked by the investigating animals and the interesting alibis that they come up with to prove that they aren’t guilty.

To increase the appeal for older children (ages 7+) the inside cover includes instructions on how to fold a paper airplane and the inside of the dust jacket gives instructions on how to make your own paper from the dust jacket and other scrap pieces of paper.

I think that The Great Paper Caper has a quirky charm that will be most likely to appeal to children with an eye for detail.

Title: The Stamp of Australia
Author: Kelly Burke
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 2009 (250 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-74175-614-2
Topic: Australian history – Australia Post bicentenary

Despite the fact that I have a (much neglected) stamp collection of my own, I approached reviewing this book with some trepidation. I expected a rather factual presentation of names, dates and places in a kind of extended timeline illustrated with various stamps of significance.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Stamp of Australia is both interesting and engaging. Not merely an account of stamps issued and the development of Australia Post as a business, it also contains numerous anecdotes and selected personal accounts of letters sent and received.

The story of communication in Australia is very closely entwined with the exploration of the country, making this fascinating as a book about Australian history in general as well as the postal and communication service in particular. The Stamp of Australia is based on a Foxtel History Channel documentary of the same name.

My favourite anecdote by far, is the tragic story of stockman Jimmy Darcy. Darcy was thrown from his horse while mustering cattle in the Kimberley. A 12-hour, 65-kilometre buggy journey to Halls Creek post office saw Darcy receive medical treatment from the most qualified man in town – the postmaster who had completed a St John’s Ambulance course.

Receiving instructions in Morse code via 3674-kilometres of telegraph line, the postmaster Fred Tuckett performed a 7 hour operation to repair Darcy’s ruptured bladder. And I’m annoyed when I have to wait 24 hours to get an appointment with my GP! How times have changed.

This book is likely to appeal most to anyone with an interest in Australian history.

For a more detailed review of The Stamp of Australia, visit Susan’s reviews at Suite101.com.

I recently found myself crouched behind a boat in the dark, with my hand on a dog’s collar to prevent him from barking, hiding from searchers with torches. OK – I was playing night-time hide and seek with two eight-year-old boys, but at that moment I had a bit of a literary flashback. I was George from the Famous Five! And my trusty black lab-border collie cross Ralph was Timmy! I’ll admit it was a little ridiculous how excited that made me feel. (OK – more than a little, and I’m sure that mentioning it here will give Susan more than enough fodder for merciless mocking for quite some time.)

But I just loved Enid Blyton’s books when I was my son’s age.  My friends and I used to play Famous Five every recess and lunch when we were in second class. And like tomboy George, we all wanted to be the boys. Our girliest friend begrudgingly accepted being Anne, while the rest of us fought over who got to be Julian, George and even Timmy. (No one wanted to be Dick, for obvious reasons.)

Rereading a few with my daughter recently, they are a bit dated, but that’s part of their charm. I’m not a fan of updating old stories for modern kids. My daughter had a good giggle at all the jolly good, old chaps and I says.  And she was suitably indignant at the sexism shown towards poor Anne, who always got stuck with the washing up.

With the Famous Five books reprinted as recently as 2001, a new series featuring the Faraway Tree characters and Noddy getting a digital makeover for his 60th birthday , Blyton’s stories are as popular as ever.

What was your favourite Blyton?

Title: Surprise!
Author: Karen Andrews
Illustrator: Kim Fleming
Publisher: Miscellaneous Press, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-646-48773-1
Suitable Age: 4 – 7 years

When Hamish borrows a book called Surprise! from the library, he discovers that the nicest surprise is a picture drawn by the last borrower and left inside the book for him to find. Hamish is the first in a series of children to discover a special drawing in the book when they borrow it.

The book ends with a special surprise for the reader and includes a pocket on the back cover for children to store their own drawing. The illustrations by Kim Fleming compliment the text beautifully and are very appealing.

Australian writer and mum Karen Andrews has produced a lovely picture book sure to delight young children. I particularly like that the child who draws each picture and the one that receives it get something a little different from the drawing depending on how they themselves are feeling.

I think that Surprise! would be a lovely birthday present given to a child by another child. The giver could include a special drawing with the gift, placed in the back pocket of the book. You could also include a set of pencils and a notebook of blank paper with the gift for extra inspiration.

Surprise! would also work well as the inspiration for a pre-school or kindergarten library activity and classroom discussions about surprises and feelings. Children could also discuss things they do with special family members, as each child in the story shares the book with someone special including a father, mother and grandmother.

Surprise! is available for purchase directly from Miscellaneous Press or through book retailers.

Title: Harry & Hopper
Author: Margaret Wild
Illustrator: Freya Blackwood
Publisher: Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia
ISBN: 978-1-86291-740-8

Harry & Hopper  is a touching and beautifully illustrated story about a young boy and his dog.

Harry and Hopper have been inseparable since Hopper arrived as a jumpy young puppy. Harry even sneaks Hopper inside each night to sleep on his bed.

When Harry comes home from school and is told by his father that Hopper died in an accident, he is scared and confused. He doesn’t want to acknowledge that Hopper is gone and sleeps on the couch instead of going to his bed. At night, he dreams that Hopper is with him until gradually even the dreams fade and Harry is finally able to say goodbye.

While this book isn’t necessarily one that I would find myself reading regularly with my children, it is a beautifully told story ideal for helping children to understand the process of grieving and perhaps helping them to open up if they are struggling to deal with the loss of a loved pet themselves.

Freya Blackwood’s illustrations are lovely and convey a real sense of movement, particularly for Hopper as a puppy. They compliment the style and mood of the book beautifully.

This book is certainly one I would recommend for parents of young children looking for ways to start discussions with their child about death and grieving.

April 25th is ANZAC Day in Australia. It is the day when our current and retired servicemen and women march in honour of those who have served in Australia’s military forces during a variety of wars and conflicts but most significantly the battle of Gallipoli in World War I.

I have read quite a number of military history books in the past year as well as several based-on-fact youth fiction. I can highly recommend the following for anyone wanting to encourage an interest in Australia’s military history in their children:
The Donkey who Carried the Wounded by Jackie French
A Rose for the Anzac Boys by Jackie French
Heroes of Tobruk by David Mulligan
Angels of Kokoda by David Mulligan
Gallipoli: Reckless Valour by Nicolas Brasch

I always find the ANZAC service to be a very moving one, both because of the sentiments expressed and the emotional power of the music and words that are often recited. I am unable to resist the emotional pull of the bugler playing The Last Post and the words of Thomas Binyon’s poem For the Fallen always bring a tear to my eye.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Another frequently recited statement that I find incredibly stirring are the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the Turkish Campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 and later the President of Turkey. They were written in 1934 and appear on a memorial erected at Anzac Cove in 1990 and on the Kemal Ataturk Memorial on Anzac Parade in Canberra, Australia.

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

I have heard both Binyon’s poem and Ataturk’s statement many times, yet they always stir emotion within me and I doubt their impact will ever fade.

Lest we Forget.

Title: Various in the Aussie Gems: Great Australian Yarns series

Author: Various

Illustrator: Various

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Suitable Age: 3 – 6 years

The Aussie Gems series features amusing Australian adaptations of well-known nursery rhymes and fairy tales and picture book versions of popular Australia folksongs.

Nursery Rhyme Titles

• Goldilocks and the Three Koalas (Words: Kel Richards, Pictures: Claire Richards)
• Cindy-Ella (Words: Tom Champion, Pictures: Glen Singleton)
• The Three Little Bush Pigs (Words and Pictures: Paul Dallimore)

Folksong Titles

• Big, Bad Bushranger (Words: Bob Brown, Pictures: Ben Wood)
• Give me a Home Among the GumTrees (Words: Bob Brown & Wally Johnson, Pictures: Ben Wood)
• Click Go the Shears (Pictures: Charlotte Lance)
• Redback on the Toilet Seat (Words: Slim Newton, Pictures: Craig Smith)

Two further titles will be released in June 2009:

• There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Mozzie (Words: P Crumble, Pictures: Louis Shea)
• The Lamington Man (Words: Kel Richards, Pictures: Glen Singleton)

Oozing Aussie bush charm from every page, these stories are packed to the rafters with clichés of life in the Australian bush, Aussie alternatives to common words and an overabundance of koalas, wombats, kangaroos, gum trees and sheep.

This Cindy-Ella summary from the publisher offers a sample of the über-Aussie style:

Cindy-Ella’s stepsisters Rachelle and Sheryle keep her busy feeding the budgies, cleaning the dunny and cooking meat pies, but she dreams of romance with Steve, the best sheep-shearer in Gundaroo. She finally gets her chance when her fairy godnanna helps her get ready for the Gundaroo Singles Mingle Ball.

I can’t resist The Redback on the Toilet Seat, as my grandmother used to terrify us by humming this song whenever we went out to her bathroom, which was in a room tacked on to the back of the house. I’m curious to see which animals are included in the The Old Lady who Swallowed a Mozzie version, although I’m guessing that there will be a black snake, goanna, dingo and kookaburra in there somewhere. As for The Three Little Bush Pigs title, I’m just not sure that’s quite what I would have chosen to call it.

Much in the same way that the Aussie-fied Christmas stories the Fair Dinkum Aussie Christmas, Aussie Night Before Christmas and Aussie Jingle Bells and the recently released Fair Dinkum Aussie Easter are so Australian that you can almost smell the gum leaves, Aussie Gems titles focus on the images of the Australian bush that rightly or wrongly seem to represent Australia to the world.

I will probably pick up some copies of some of these titles to send to children of friends and family living overseas.  

PS Any non-Australian’s need a translation of the Cindy-Ella summary?

With my children on school holidays for the past two weeks and various other family commitments, including organising to kids’ birthday parties this week, my life has been a little hectic of late. (And that is “little” in the typical Aussie understatement sense where “a little hectic” = “insanely busy”.)

In the middle of all the busyness, my TBR pile is calling out to me like an abandoned friend and I have found myself sitting up even later to simply squeeze in reading a few pages before drifting off into an exhausted sleep.

When life gets super busy, I find that I need to read more than ever. It is my temporary escape from schedules, expectations and family pressures. I need to grab at least 5 minutes with a book a few times throughout the day to keep me going. If I can’t do that for a day or two, I really start to feel like I am going insane.

What about you? When life gets busy, is reading a luxury that you temporarily abandon or is it a necessity that keeps you sane in the midst of chaos? How do you make sure you find time to read? Do you read at mealtimes? Before bed? Travelling to and from work?

Title: My Booky Wook

Author: Russell Brand

Publisher: Hachette

ISBN:978-0-340-93617-7

Genre: Autobiography

Comedian Russell Brand’s bestselling autobiography My Booky Wook was released in paperback in Australia last month conveniently timed with his tour.

I’ll confess something here. I was all set to hate it. I thought Brand was not quite my cup of tea. You see, despite protestations to the contrary, I really am a bit of a fuddy-duddy. I like my celebrities humble, avoid reality TV and textspeak, and am more than a little prone to Nannaish phrases like “not quite my cup of tea”.  All I really knew about Brand was that he was a stupid-haired loudmouth and something about a lewd answering machine message to the actor who played Manuel in Fawlty Towers about his granddaughter – hardly stellar stuff. But if I am a bit of a fuddy-duddy, Susan by comparison is positively Victorian, so it fell to me to read My Booky Wook.  (She couldn’t even get past the title.)

And here’s the thing – I liked it. It is rare to read a celebrity autobiography that is so sincere and moving and also genuinely entertaining. Sure Brand has done some monumentally stupid things both in and out of the public eye, but he owns them wholeheartedly. He makes no excuses for them, beyond admitting that he was completely messed up on drugs, and even his drug-taking is not glossed over or blamed on anyone other than himself.

What sets this autobiography apart from so many others is Brand’s voice. You can hear him in every word of My Booky Wook. His sense of the ridiculous keeps you laughing through his troubled childhood, his addiction to drugs and sex and finally on to fame.  And you really begin to like him for being precisely who he is.

Living in Australia, perhaps I haven’t been as overexposed to Brand as the public in the UK, but I’ve since seen him interviewed, read his blog and also seen his supporting roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Bedtime Stories. I am looking forward to seeing where his career takes him next.