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Book Reviews June 2007
This month we travel across the Tasman to review five books, two
recording Australian history, the other three from award-winning
author Carole Wilkinson.
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Kokoda Track: 101 Days
by
Peter Macinnis, Publisher: Black Dog Books, NZ RRP: $16.95,
Reading age: 9+
Using first-person accounts and non-fiction to bring
history roaring to life, Kokoda Track tells the tale of
Australian soldiers who land in New Guinea in 1942. New
Guinea at that time was occupied by the Japanese who had an
army base at Buna, on the north coast of New Guinea. These
soldiers were ordered to capture Port Moresby and the route
that they were to take was called the Kokoda Track. It is
these true events that the story is based on.
It is the extraordinary story of a small force defeating
a much larger one. It is the tale of the 550 men of the 39th
Militia Battalion called Chocos because the regular
soldiers thought they'd melt under pressure. In eight short
and brutal weeks from 20 August 1942 these soldiers
slowed, and eventually stopped, the advance of 6000
experienced Japanese troops of the Nankai division across
the massive Owen Stanley range.
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True Tales Ned Kellys Jerilderie
Letter
edited by Carole Wilkinson, illustrated by
Dean Jones, Publisher: Black Dog Books, NZ RRP: $16.95,
Reading age: 9+
"I have been wronged..."
Ned Kelly was a dangerous man a thief, a bank robber
and a murderer. Yet when he was sentenced to hang, thousands
of people rallied to save his life.
In the Jerilderie Letter we hear from Ned in his own
words. Wicked, angry, vividly descriptive this is Ned's
justification to his countrymen of how it all transpired.
Superbly edited by award-winning Ned Kelly expert Carole
Wilkinson, this is one of the most important documents of
Australia's history. Having read this book, it made me
wonder why he was executed when he had a nation behind him!
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This wonderful series, by Carole
Wilkinson, is based on the young Prince Ramose and is an
excellent read for all boys nine years and over.
Ramose: Prince in Exile
by Carole Wilkinson, Publisher: Black Dog Books, NZ RRP
$16.95, Reading age: 9+
'Prince Ramose was very interested in this
funeral. It was his own.'
Someone is trying to kill Prince Ramose.
If they think he is dead, he will be safe.
Pampered, selfish and very much alive,
Prince Ramose lives in disguise in the Valley of the Tombs.
How will this spoilt prince survive such a
brutal place?
Can he outwit those who want him dead?
Ramose and the Tomb Robbers,
by Carole Wilkinson Publisher: Black Dog Books, NZ RRP
$16.95, Reading age: 9+
'A gag was tied tightly over his mouth. Ramose fought
furiously against his bindings but he couldn't break free.'
Prince Ramose must expose those who tried to murder him and
regain his position as Pharaoh's rightful heir. But he has
been kidnapped by tomb robbers. He will need more than the
luck of the gods to get out of this one.
Notable Book Awards
2002 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards
Ramose: The Wrath of Ra
by Carole
Wilkinson, Publisher: Black Dog Books, NZ RRP $16.95,
Reading age: 9+
"Ra will leave us in eternal darkness. It's the end of
the world." Prince Ramose has never been more alone. While
desperately searching for his friend, Ramose is captured by
rebels. It seems everyone has turned against him. After all,
someone is trying to kill him. Has Prince Ramose angered the
gods? Or is the threat closer to home? How will he escape
the wrath of Ra?
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