Junior Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Victor Hugo, unfortunately not related to our protagonist, once said, 'Life is the flower for which love is the honey.' 

Author Taylor Jenkin Reid brings this quote to life in her historical drama, romance novel, which focuses on the glamorous life of former Hollywood hot-shot Evelyn Hugo. 

Through her writing, Reid demonstrates that true love is unsuspecting, taking the reader on a wild rollercoaster ride of Evelyn Hugo’s life from the 1950s to 1980s.

The novel starts off by introducing us to Evelyn Herrera, a young Cuban girl who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, with no money & just a simple dream to become an actress on the Hollywood stage. 

She left home by marrying neighborhood boy, Ernie Diaz, to chase her sunset dreams but quickly learned that Hollywood doesn’t have any leading roles for brunette Latinas. 

Meet The Illustrator: Elizabeth Misek

Name: Elizabeth Misek

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Whimsical worlds, full of warmth, wonder and movement.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
My paint tins. I have one that holds my signature colours as well as a larger storage tin, that holds random accent pans.
I then add one or two fresh colours to my signature tin, depending on the project.

Guest Post: Eileen O'Hely on Science By Osmosis

The greatest scientist of the twentieth century is, without a doubt, Albert Einstein. 

Einstein’s amazing reasoning and powers of observation brought us the photoelectric effect (key to solar panels), special relativity (E=mc²) and general relativity which describes our current understanding of gravity. 

However, my favourite observation of Einstein’s – which is pertinent to teachers not just in science, but in all fields – is his assertion that 'If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, then you don’t truly understand it.'

This has huge relevance to me in my line of work as a children’s writer and also in my day job as a science communicator. 

Review: Sunny At The End Of The World

Predicting the future is a tricky thing. It is, invariably, one of the most inconstant of certainties. One never knows how one’s narrative will play out, either in life or between the pages.

Perhaps that is what I like best in Steph Bowe’s posthumously published, Sunny At The End Of The World. Even this ingenious title suggests something beyond utter hopelessness. Can an ending really be the start of something new? This premise forms just one part of Bowe’s YA fiction which prima facie, seems a straightforward dystopic foray into Zombieland.

We’ve seen that all before, right? An almost comic romp into the horror of the after dead. And yet, within Bowe’s capable and quirky hands, Sunny’s worlds, past and future, assume a reality that teens immediately warm to.

It’s 2018 just days after a global outbreak leaves the world afflicted and stricken. Zombies plague the major living centres, destroying civilisation as we know it, undermining any survivors’ sense of security and sanity. 

12 Curly Questions with children's author Olivia Coates

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I don’t like touching the yellowy foam inside couch cushions or mattresses. It actually freaks me out. And foam body sponges in the shower? Hard pass.

2. What is your nickname?
I got called Charger by my soccer team. I’m not sure why.

3. What is your greatest fear?
It already happened and was worse than I could have imagined. The fear is 100 times worse now. It’s too scary to think or even write about so I’ll jump to the next question.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Evolving. Heart with a tentative toe dipped towards humour.

Review: Teeth: You Only Get Two Sets

Dental health may seem like a strange and unusual subject for a children’s picture book.  But this will be recognized as a surprising and worthwhile  publication in the learning sphere.

The outstanding, Teeth: You Only Get Two Sets, is designed for young readers and adults, to equip themselves with a complete understanding of their mouth, and its internal structure and workings;  something perhaps, that is seldom thought about.

With thick pages that don’t bend, the book is packed with detailed illustrations depicting the growth course in stages, of the 32 permanent teeth (four of which are wisdom teeth), what we can expect and when, beginning from birth.

What is needed for tooth care, from choosing the proper toothbrush and how to use it, includes the right and wrong way to go about protecting both sets.

Seriously important issues such as good and bad food and drink for your teeth, keeping up with dental appointments, (we get a close-up of the consulting room), maintenance, rewards for diligent care, and the correct way to remove a wobbly tooth, all come in bold colour images.

I loved this book and haven’t come across another one like it, considering its invaluable worth for children.

This non-fiction book is Dentist approved. Parents and carers will rejoice at its content which is set out in such a way, that learning becomes a form of entertainment.

Highly recommended, this excellent publication should be in every school and public library and on shelves at home.

Title: Teeth : You Only Get Two Sets
Author: Magda Gargulakova
Illustrator: Marie Urbancova
Publisher: NewSouth Books, $26.99
Publication Date: 1 April 2025
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 97880000724
For ages: 5+
Type: Non Fiction