Karl's Reading List

Published by Metaphorosis Publishing, 2026. Edited by B Morris Allen. Short story collections are interesting to read cover-to-cover. No matter how good the collection is, there will always be some that grab your attention more than others, particularly if the collection is from a number of authors, rather than one. Trunk is one such collection, and what makes it an even more intriguing beast is that the connective tissue between these stories (other than they fact that they all fall into the fantasy or science-fiction genres) is that, in order to be considered for inclusion, the stories must have been rejected for publication multiple times. Each story ends with a short blurb about the author, followed by the history of rejection for the story that you have just read. Almost by necessity, then, the stories in this collection are a little odd, a little 'out there', a bit different in some way to your 'standard' short story, although most of them did hold my interest to ...

Published by One Tree House Ltd: New Zealand, 2021. A very easy book to read, The Tomo follows Phil Davidson, a New Zealand teenager who is sent to work on a sheep farm over the Christmas holidays when his father - sick with cancer - is undergoing special treatment. Phil doesn't want to go, and so the family allow him to take Blue, his dad's beloved dog, with him as a treat. When Phil arrives at the farm, he firstly meets Chopper, the grumpy farm manager who sets him to work on the most menial jobs, and then later meets Emara, a girl his own age who becomes his potential love interest. Emara is also quite environmentally savvy, and has discussions with both Phil and Chopper about ways to run the farm in a more environmentally-friendly fashion. A Maori farm worker, Toko, brings the Maori perspective to the story as well, making this a book which has clear study-able themes (should a teacher choose to do it with a class of English students).  Drama arises when Blue falls down a t...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 11 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five on a Hike Together. ' Followed by ' Five Go Down to the Sea. ' First published 1952. On occasion, Elise and I have noted that a particular Famous Five story might take a while to get on to the mystery itself. Five Go Adventuring Again is the first one to spring to mind in this way. However, Five Have a Wonderful Time takes this idea to the next level! Although the five are camping, and encounter some suspicious 'Fair Folk' whom they wish to befriend, the actual mystery or adventure element doesn't really kick in until literally over half the book has passed. At that point, the Five, along with returning character Jo from Five Fall Into Adventure , finally notice something suspicious in the ruins of a nearby castle - a face at a window! - and set out to find out how the face is ...

We have been living in my parents' house for two months now, and they have a lot of picture books here. As a result, we have been reading a lot of new stories to Ezekiel, and it feels only right that I should do another picture-book entry to acknowledge some of them. Keeping the list to only ten has been tricky, particularly as I also wanted to include two books we read when we went to a friend's bach at the lake a few months ago. Aside from those two, I have limited myself to books that belong to my parents, knowing that the ones we own will still be with us the next time I do one of these. As is now usual, each of these books has their own page, meaning that you can easily skip all ten if you want to just move on to the next 'proper' book on my list. Karl's List First Flight ; Good Night, Alice and Other Stories ; Skarloey ; Swiggo ; Minny Car Elise's List Just Me and My Puppy ; Dogs ; Who's Driving? ; Mosan Mouse ; I've Lost My Kisses Previous Book ~...

Published by Gecko Press: Australia and New Zealand, 2007 (2006). English translation by Gecko Press, 2007. First published in Belgium by Clavis Uitgeverij. I say this a lot for Ezekiel's books, but this is a beautifully illustrated book! And it's a pop-up book too! Who's Driving? is fairly self-explanatory. Each page has three animals dressed in different uniforms, each approaching a vehicle that they could conceivably be driving. When the pop-up tab is pulled, the driver of the vehicle is revealed, and sound effects are added as the vehicle 'drives' away. The illustrations are clever in that there are hints given as to which animal will be revealed. The desert jeep, for example, is being approached by a hippo in khaki. Of course the one in khaki is the driver! The pop-up elements are also cleverly done, with my favourte being a small convertible that is revealed as being driven by a giraffe. I am still impressed by how that giraffe pops up from that little convert...

Published by Macmillan Children's Books: London, 2012 (2009). A fun book about dogs, opening with "I love dogs." After this the book goes through, giving different types of dogs from "stroppy dogs and soppy dogs" to "Scruffy and smart dogs" among others. The book then ends with the twist that it is being narrated by a cat, which means that the dog "that I love best? Let's see... ...is any dog that won't chase me!" The illustrations in this book are well drawn, the types of dogs are well varied, and the twist of having the narrator be a cat is a fun joke at the end. With Ezekiel now more into dogs, this book and Just Me and My Puppy are definite favourites. Karl's List First Flight ; Good Night, Alice and Other Stories ; Skarloey ; Swiggo ; Minny Car Elise's List Just Me and My Puppy ; Dogs ; Who's Driving? ; Mosan Mouse ; I've Lost My Kisses Previous Book ~ Next Book (Ezekiel Books) Previous Book ~ Next Book

Published by Scholastic Press: Lindfield, NSW, 2012 (2007). Set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, I've Lost My Kisses stars Matilda, a little cow who fears that she has 'lost her kisses.' This is especially an issue for her as her Poppa is going to arrive at the airport soon, "And the first thing he always says it "Where's my big smoocheroo?" I just have to find my kisses!" Despite her mother's reassurance that "They'll be there when you need them" Matilda spends the book looking for her kisses in such places as her room, the garden, and the supermarket. In each location, when someone asks her what kisses look like, she says that she doesn't know, but that she knows what they feel like, or taste like, or sound like. Eventually, Matilda, still without having found her kisses, goes to the airport, quite upset. However, when her Poppa arrives she finds her kisses within her, and learns her lesson that they will always be there...

Published by Daan Retief Publishers: Pretoria, 1989 (1988). Also published in Afrikaans as Moesan Muis. This is a weird little picture book, which somehow makes more sense when its South African and Afrikaans origin is taken into account! Mosan Mouse, the head of his family, is hassled by his wife for not providing enough food. She asks him whether he is a man or a mouse, to which he replies: "Wife," said I, "in this house I am the man and the mouse." He then proceeds to go through the house, facing off in turn with the cat, the farmer, the farmer's wife and the farmer's daughter. Each one in turn is knocked unconscious or otherwise side-lined, leaving Mosan Mouse free to help himself to the food they have on offer. At the end of the story, he returns home and tells his wife that "now it is up to you" to go with the children to collect the food, "And never shout at me again, for it should really be quite plain: in this house I am the man and t...

Published by Western Publishing Company, Inc./A Golden Book: New York, 1985. This 'Little Critter' book tells the story of the titular Little Critter swapping a baseball glove for a puppy, and the subsequent ways in which he plays with and 'trains' his pet. Little Critter books always have an element of humour in the drawings, even when the story is being told matter-of-fact, and this exists in Just Me and My Puppy as well. As an example, on one page the narration states "My puppy is a big help around the house. He's a good guard dog." Meanwhile, the picture shows Little Critter's mother pulling the puppy away from the mailman, who has fallen on the ground, with letters everywhere. As Elise observed, the fact that the mailman is an anthropomorphic dog adds another level to the humour. Just Me and My Puppy is sweet-natured, fun, and light, with great illustrations. And it talks about dogs, a topic that Ezekiel is becoming more fond of (see also Dogs ). ...

Published by Happy Cat Books, Bradfield, Essex, 1999 (1997). First published by Little, Brown and Company, USA, 1987. One of two books in this entry that we found on a shelf at a friend's bach and read to Ezekiel repeatedly over the few days we were there (the other being Good Night, Alice ).  This particular entry, written in first person, tells of a small boy taking his first flight without parents. The story outlines the steps involved: going to the airport, watching the planes arrive, boarding, having a meal, using the toilet, etc. This is all told very matter-of-factly, and would be a good book to help prepare a small child for a similar flight. It even ends with the child's grandparent collecting them from the airport after the flight. Meanwhile, the illustrations for the story add in a fun subplot that is not mentioned at all in the text: the boy is seen carrying a teddy bear with him through the airport, and yet as he boards the plane the bear becomes a real bear, who s...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 10 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five Fall Into Adventure. ' Followed by 'Five Have a Wonderful Time.' First published 1951. Some of the tropes of this series are becoming more noticeable as we finally reach Book 10 and enter the double-digits. This entry includes the five going on a journey without adults (as happened in Five Go Off in a Caravan and Five Get Into Trouble , and effectively happened in Five Go Off to Camp ), the mystery unfolds partially because one of the five are involved in a case of mistaken identity (as happened in Five Get Into Trouble and Five Fall Into Adventure ), and adults are side-lined for various reasons that probably wouldn't happen in real life (in this instance, the five decide to report their findings to the police but are dismissed as ragamuffins making things up!). This is not to say th...

Published by Walker Books Ltd: Vauxhall Walk, London, 2008. Book 1 in the 'Chaos Walking' series. Followed by 'The Ask and the Answer.' I knew of this book. I knew it had also been made into a not-very-well-received movie. I knew that it was set on a planet where all of the men uncontrollably broadcast their thoughts and the women had disappeared. I knew it was a Young Adult novel and part of a well-loved trilogy. I didn't know it would be so gory and heavy. There is a lot of death in The Knife of Letting Go, including much loved supporting characters, and even (keeping it a little vague to avoid spoiling too much) some characters that most books would avoid killing in order to keep the audience from disliking the narrative too much. The main character even has an arc where he is unable to kill people, and as a result, things keep getting worse. Considering this to be a weakness, he eventually pushes himself to kill - a horrific moment in the book that I felt sure w...

Published by Triad/Panther Books: Frogmore, St Albans, 1976. First published by Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1952. This is a very famous, and very short, book that is also the second Pulitzer Prize winning book I have read! To be fully transparent, I am currently also listening to an audiobook version of The Age of Innocence , but this was short enough that I finished it over two days, whereas Innocence still has hours of listening time to go. The Old Man and the Sea has a very simple story: an old man (Santiago) has not caught a fish in eighty-four days. On the morning of the eighty-fifth day, he sets out, hooks a large fish, and determines that he will stay in pursuit until he catches it. The fish swims out to sea for a couple of days before the two finally 'fight', and then the old man must attempt to return home with the fish. There isn't much more to the story than that. He also talks to a young boy at the beginning and end of the story. Some tourists mistake the bones of his fi...

Published by Walker Books Ltd: Vauxhall Walk, London, 1996 (1994). Ok, so this one is pretty cute. Little Nutbrown Hare is getting ready for bed, and wants to communicate to Big Nutbrown Hare how much he is loved. So Little Nutbrown Hare begins to say how much he loves Big Nutbrown Hare, using actions such as outstretched arms, high jumps into the air, and even describing distant locations to say, "I love you this much." However, whatever Little Nutbrown Hare is able to do, Big Nutbrown Hare can repeat, but do it bigger, or see further, suggesting that he loves Little Nutbrown Hare even more! At times, Little Nutbrown Hare is very impressed with Big Nutbrown Hare, such was when Big Nutbrown Hare reaches his arms up to say he loves Little Nutbrown Hare as high as he can reach, and we read: "That is very high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I had arms like that." The game continues until Little Nutbrown Hare, trying to find the most distant thing he can, says th...

Published by Little Tiger Press: Munster Road, London, 2013. This book is written and illustrated by Ben Mantle, who also illustrated Bunnies on the Bus, a book I featured in my first picture-book group review , and that still remains one of Ezekiel's favourite reads. A sweet rhyming story about the joy of hugs, each page of this book shows a pair of animals embracing in some way, with descriptive adjectives describing the type of hug it is. From "wriggly, jiggly" for a pair of snakes to "upside-down" for a pair of bats, each animal is given fun illustrations to add to the light-hearted nature of the poem.  The book builds to the final statements: "Sharing hugs is lots of fun. Time to snuggle, everyone!" In the context of a children's book being read to a child by their guardian, this is a good message. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  Make Tracks Trains ;  Guess How Much I Love You ;  Hug! Elise's...

Published by Scholastic Australia: Gosford, NSW, 2023. Sigh. I guess we were always going to review this book eventually. I'm not a big fan of scatological humour, but I cannot deny that this book is popular for kids, including Ezekiel. And it is fun too. I'll admit it. The main character, a unicorn, comes across a " dark, stinky poo" in the middle of the forest, and sets out to play detective and figure out "who did this poo!" There is a little bit of playing with the fourth wall, as the first person the unicorn accuses is the reader -  "It wasn't, you, was it? Of course not. No, no" - but after that, the unicorn begins interviewing the various animals in the vicinity, learning about what their poo looks like, and whether or not they could have been the culprit. It all escalates to an eventual confession by the culprit, followed by a last twist that adds a bit more humour to the whole thing. Fairly decent, even if I admit it reluctantly. Karl...

Published by Templar Publishing: Dorking, Surrey, 2011. This is a fun little rhyming book that tells the stories of the various animals who bring their vehicles to get fixed by Larry and Barry at the Snappy Garage. Most of the pages are focussed on one vehicle and its issues, however, a little bit of plot enters in later in the book. An impatient hare who has a racing car has missed a light and gone into the river. Larry and Barry have to take their tow-truck out and pull Harry Hare's car - and Harry - to safety. Then all the animals gather to celebrate Larry and Barry's heroics. The story is basic and sweet, and about vehicles, so it's instantly a winner for Ezekiel. There is a gimmick to the book, in that when it is sold it also includes pop-out model versions of the garage and all of the main characters. I cannot review that part, though (which I'm sure Ezekiel would love), because we got given a second-hand copy in which the pieces had already been removed. Karl...

Published by Harper & Row Jr Books/Evil Eye Music, Inc: New York, NY, 1974. Elise, Ezekiel and I were recently house-sitting for my parents, and I came across it on one of their bookshelves. It is a book I first read when I was five (this particular copy of the book, as well, which has a written dedication to my family in the front from the person who gave it to us), and I loved it, and learned a lot of it by heart. I can still quote numerous poems from it verbatim. I don't read a lot of poetry. By now, anyone who has read my reviews regularly will have picked that up! This book, however, is a favourite of mine. How come I love this so much, when a lot of poetry leaves me cold? Well, Shel Silverstein is a very funny poet, along with being quite witty, and at times, surprisingly deep. So, we get a silly poem like 'The Battle', which in its entirety, reads: "Would you like to hear Of the terrible night When I bravely fought the -  No? Alright." And we recognise ...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Book, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 9 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five Get Into Trouble. ' Followed by ' Five on a Hike Together. ' First published 1950. By this point in the Famous Five series, Elise and I are prepared for the familiar beats: suspicious and 'ugly' people will be the villains, there will likely be a secret tunnel, and the five will, for some reason, be separated from the influence or oversight of adults. We know that these are likely to happen.  What we appreciated about this particular entry was how little Enid Blyton tried to disguise them anymore, particularly the 'children left alone' part. At the beginning of this entry, the five - staying at Kirrin Cottage - are simply left behind, on purpose, when Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny go to mainland Europe. There is a housekeeper on site, but there is no need for a further elabora...

Published by Penguin Books: New York, 2016. First published 1954. This famous book is a potential Year 12 text, on our English Department shelf near The Book Thief . It is also a book that I studied in high school myself, and have not revisited since - like To Kill a Mockingbird was before I re-read it last year. With that book, I remember the vague feeling of the book, and also that I enjoyed it on the whole. When I re-read it, those thoughts and feelings were validated, to the point where I ended up including To Kill a Mockingbird on my Top 5 List for 2025! This book, on the other hand, I remember thinking of in a slightly different way. I remember the overall plot. I remember a feeling of it being well written. But I also remember thinking it was a bit too intense, a bit bleak, a bit disturbing... and once again, those thoughts and feelings were validated. Let's begin with what Lord of the Flies has going for it, particularly if I was to choose to study it. Firstly, it is sho...