The foolish tortoise by Eric Carle

A witty modern fable tells how a tortoise discovers the need for a shell after several scary encounters (from the publisher).
An oldie, but a goodie. It's a dangerous world out there and the tortoise comes to realise this after he decides that his shell is slowing him down and thinks he would be better off without it. He has a few narrow escapes before coming to the conclusion that there really is no place like home.
Rating - I give this 4/5 GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Only in New York. How I Took Manhattan (with the kids) by Caroline Overington

Most journalists would crawl over broken glass to secure the glittering prize of being a foreign correspondent in New York. Caroline Overington is understandably over the moon about her plum posting, but there's a problem (or two). New York is a great playground for grown-ups, but is the crowded skyscraper capital of the world a good place to live when you're raising toddler twins. As her mother says, "Are you mad?"

Caroline took the challenge on and in 2004, headed off for a three year stint in New York with her two year old twins and her husband in tow. Unable to work legally, her husband made the switch to primary child-carer while Caroline became full-time money-earner for the family. This book is really more about her family's experiences adjusting to a culture they expected to find familiar but didn't, than about her journalistic adventures. (She is a Walkley Award winner). Still, it was very enjoyable and funny. If you can't live in exotic locations yourself, you might as well read about others doing it!

Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!

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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

Dumbest Criminals by Wendy Lewis

This book is full of real life examples of hilarious escapades, antics gone wrong and stories that will make you shake your head in disbelief and laugh out loud. Criminals. How could they be so dumb (from the publisher)?
You just need to look at the cover of the book and you get the impression that the people in this book are not going to be the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to committing a crime. The Average Joe could point out all the crime/police shows on TV that have aired over the years should give a good indication of how not to do something... But the amount of people that rob a store on the way home from work and forget to take off their name badges, or their hard hat that has their name on it - dumb is the only word you can use. A giggle is guaranteed from this book.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Wicked Prey by John Sandford

Having spent the past two years in hiding following a daring and successful heist, a big-time robber is back in Minneapolis, having spotted the opportunity for an even greater steal. It's two weeks before the big Republican party convention: thousands of people are spending up big and the money is flowing into a warehouse protected by only a few armed guards. The robber's plan is to distract the cops by alerting them to a possible assassination attempt. Lucas Davenport, meanwhile, has problems of his own - he's targeted by a psychopathic pimp, who blames Davenport for putting him in a wheelchair. Only it's not Davenport he's going after; it's his innocent daughter, Letty...

Hooked yet? Sandford gets better and better; I've read all the books in his Lucas Davenport series and each one has been a winner. There's lots of nasty stuff, manipulation on both sides and plenty of thrills. The writing is intelligent, the pace is cracking and the ending - well, find out for yourself. And I wouldn't be surprised if the resourceful Letty has her own series one day.

Rating - I give this 4/5
GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

More softies

I grew up with soft toys made by my mum and in turn delighted in making them for my daughter. The patterns we used were pretty simple , but we loved the results.
Now there's a variety of books available for making soft toys - or softies, as they're now known - that are cuddly, glamorous, quirky or fun. Many of these designs are simple, too, but they're anything but basic.
Two of the best of the recent titles, to my mind, are More Softies and its predecessor, Softies . Published by Penguin in Australia, they feature designs from around the world and utilise a range of techniques, from simple hand-sewing to crochet.
More Softies provides instructions and patterns for 22 original and adorable soft toys that will appeal to adults and children alike. Elsie the Little Dog, Little Pup, Owl Friend and Maisie are on my ever-growing to-do list. The Piggy Bed Warmer and Mister Rooster may join that list, but I can't see myself making Smirky or The Scream (Munch's painting reproduced in crochet? Strange but true!)
The instructions are straightforward, there are plenty of colour photos illustrating the steps and the finished result and the patterns are easy to enlarge on a photocopier.
Whether you're a beginner or an avid crafter, this is a book to turn to time and time again.
Rating - I give this 4/5
GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

All that happened at number 26 by Denise Scott

"I'll never forget the first time John and I saw number 26. We just knew it was going to be ours. It was so awful and ugly and repulsive in every way". And so Denise Scott moved into number 26 with her partner, John, his circus equipment, a king-sized futon (but not a base), a Ventolin inhaler (to cope with stress-induced asthma), no savings to speak of and their newborn baby.

Denise Scott will be familiar to many from appearances on The Big Gig and Spicks and Specks among other things. This was a laugh-out-loud read as Denise recalls the trials, tribulations and fun of family life at number 26. There is something for everyone to relate to, perhaps with the exception of a circus performer partner and regular standup and television appearances. Denise describes the challenges of balancing work, family and life in general with candour and generosity. I, too, grew up at (a) number 26 but my childhood was far more sedate than this! Recommended if you feel like a quick, easy read with a giggle or three along the way.

I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Julie @ Wendouree library

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Nina Harrison became a vampire in 1973, when she was fifteen, and she hasn't aged a day since then. But she hasn't had any fun, either; she still lives with her mum, and the highlight of her sickly, couchbound life is probably her Tuesday-night group meeting, which she spends with a miserable bunch of fellow sufferers, being lectured at. But then one of the group is mysteriously turned to ashes . . . and suddenly they're all under threat. That's when Nina decides to prove that every vampire on earth isn't a weak, pathetic loser. Along with her friend Dave, she hunts down the culprit ─ and soon finds herself up against some gun-toting werewolf traffickers who'll stop at nothing. Can a bunch of feeble couch potatoes win a fight like this? Is there more to your average vampire than meets the eye (from the publisher)?
This is a great book that has a lot of fun with the vampire genre that doesn't take itself too seriously. But it will bust a few myths some may have about vampires. And then there are the werewolves - for all the time I have spent in Cobar over the years, I never knew about the werewolves... You may never look at a guinea pig in the same way again either.
Rating - I give this 5/5 GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Mud, muck and dead things by Ann Granger

Don't expect lots of laughs in Mud, muck and dead things : the first Campbell and Carter mystery by English crime writer Ann Granger is deadly serious.
Lucas Burton doesn't like the countryside. To him, it's full of mud, muck and dead things, and he's right. Turning up at a deserted farm hoping to conduct a business deal, he stumbles over a girl's body. And just when he thinks things couldn't get any worse, they do...
I've thoroughly enjoyed Granger's previous series' - yes, in the plural: she's a serial series-writer, if there's such a thing. I'm warming to the pairing of Lizzie Martin and Ben Ross, while the Fran Varady and Mitchell and Markby series' are particular favourites.
I have to admit I was disappointed - so far the new offering isn't a patch on the latter series but it's early days yet. Inspector Jess Campbell was introduced in Granger's final Mitchell and Markby mystery; it will be interesting to see how she develops as a character,and how she gets on with her new boss, Superintendent Ian Carter.
Rating - I give this 4/5
Not bad!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress (DVD)

Based on the book of the same name by Dai Sijie, and directed by the author, who also co-wrote the script, Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress is a beautiful film set during the harsh period of China's cultural revolution.
University students Luo and Ma are sent to a mountain mining village to work with the "real" people and rid themselves of their decadent Western education and ways.
The young men face ignorance, hunger and poverty - both of money and thought - in their new life. Books are forbidden, but Ma is allowed to keep his violin after playing a piece he assures his audience is called "Mozart is thinking of Chairman Mao". The music, and the village's lovely girls, are bright spots in an otherwise harsh existence, which is improved further when they meet the little Chinese seamstress, granddaughter of a travelling tailor.
The boys steal a departing student's secret store of classic western literature, including the works of French author Honore de Balzac, and set out to woo her with words. Their actions change all their lives.
Profound, moving, funny - this film has so much to offer the viewer. The scenery is beautiful and there are some truly hilarious scenes, notably when the boys are sent to a nearby town to see a film then must return to the village and narrate it to the villagers.
Highly recommended!
Rating - I give this 5/5
GREAT!!
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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

What Alice forgot

Alice is taken to hospital after a fall at the gym. Her main concern is the health of her unborn baby - so she's astounded to discover that not only is she not pregnant with her first child, she has three children she doesn't remember. She's desperate to see her husband Nick - but the husband she loves so much is divorcing her. Home is unrecognisable, as is the rest of her life. Her sister Elisabeth is acting oddly - and who is Gina?

Alice has lost 10 years of memories and this book is the story of her journey of discovery - discovering that she no longer likes the self that she has become, or the way her life has turned out..

I enjoyed this book so much. It's amusing without being light and fluffy and Moriarty deals well with the serious issues. She really gets inside her characters' heads so the dialogue and the feelings ring true.

This is the first of her books I have read and I'm now looking forward to reading others.

Rating - I give this 4/5
GREAT!!

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Reviewed by Jan @ Ballarat branch

Bloodflower by Christine Hinwood

Vivid, compassionate and totally absorbing, Bloodflower follows the fortunes of young Cam Attling and all those whose fates entwine with his. Cam has a hunger, an always-hunger; it drives him from home, to war, from north to south. When he returns from war alone - all his fellow soldiers slain - suspicion swirls around him. He's damaged in body and soul, yet he rides a fine horse and speaks well of his foes. What has he witnessed? Where does his true allegiance lie? How will life unfold for his little sister, his closest friend, his betrothed, his community, and even the enemy Lord who maimed him (from the publisher)?

This is a story set in times long past, and the text of the book represents that time. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book, and I thought the entwining of the characters lives was done well. And then the book ended. It seemed to come to a sudden end while in the middle of tying up the story lines - I was left thinking 'did he...', 'what happened to..,' and 'what about...'. I have to fill in the blanks myself. This was recommended to me by a relative, as the author is one of her friends.
Rating - I give this 4/5 Not bad!
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Reviewed by Michelle @ admin

Marley and me (DVD)

I loved John Grogan's book about his family's rambunctious golden labrador Marley so much that I couldn't wait to see the DVD, even while cautioning myself that it couldn't possibly be as good as the book.
And, of course, it wasn't. While the film is fine on the surface, and will be a hit with viewers who haven't read the book, what is missing is what is so apparent in the book - why the family loves Marley, despite his mega-destructive behaviour. Chewing through walls, furniture, kids' toys, disgracing himself on the doggie beach and his fear of thunder are all part of the reason the Grogans call Marley "the world's worst dog". All through the film I kept thinking "Why wouldn't you get rid of a dog like that?"
There were some great laugh-out-loud moments - when Marley knocked over the bossy dog trainer, or when, tied to a table at an outdoor cafe, he took off, table and all, after a passing dog, for example - and some emotional moments that had me reaching for the tissues.
Jennifer Aniston as Jenny Grogan is just as lovely as depicted in the book, while I thought Owen Wilson, with his unkempt surfie looks and irritating drawl, was miscast as a dumbed-down John Grogan. Another quibble - the couple looked just the same throughout the film, right down to clothing choices and hair, despite the passing years and a busy family life with three growing children.
Did I enjoy this film? Well, yes. Would I watch it again? No. Would I read the book again? Any time.
Rating - I give this 3/5

Not bad!

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Reviewed by Jan@ Ballarat branch