Welcome to Riverbend Standing Orders for August 2023
We are delighted to bring to you a great selection of titles.
Kind Regards, Pauline and Trish
Picture Books
Count the Stars – Raewyn Caisley; illus. Gabriel Evans (4+ themes of STEM, Maths, Space, relationships, friendships, pattern, space, Teacher Notes)
Leaf-light – Trace Balla (5+ themes of environment, community, connectivity, nature, habitats, wildlife, wetlands, relationships)
Nothing Alike – Zewlan Moor; illus. Peter Cheong (3+ themes of friendship, siblings, perception, differences, twins, stereotypes, racism, #SorryWrongAsian, cultural blindness, humour, Teacher Notes)
The Concrete Garden – Bob Graham (3+ themes of community, belonging, connectivity, art, technology, relationships, Teacher Notes)
Primary Fiction
Honey and the Valley of the Horses – Wendy Orr (8+ themes of adventure, family, grief, healing, horses, fantasy, self-sufficiency, resilience, courage, magical realism, Teacher Notes)
Magic Awry (#2 Big Magic) – Sarah Armstrong (9+ themes of fantasy, adventure, magical realism, natural world, dark magic, heroism, second in series)
The Perilous Promotion of Trilby Moffat (#2) – Kate Temple (9+ themes of adventure, abandoned/lost children, coming of age, rite of passage, time and memories, extinction, second in series Teacher Notes)
The Time Tider – Sinéad O’Hart (9+ themes of time-bending, adventure, single father parenting, poverty, power and responsibility, abduction, courage)
Middle School Fiction
Dirrarn (#2 Black Cockatoo) – Carl Merrison & Haekea Hustler (10+ themes of Aboriginal Studies, adventure, challenges, community, boarding school, homesickness, peer support, culture, totem connenction to country, second in series)
My Especially Weird Week with Tess – Anna Woltz (11+ themes of family, friendship, holidays, adventure, meaning of life, mystery, connection, humour, book to movie)
Scar Town – Tristan Bancks – (11+ themes of friendship, family, loss, ethical and moral dilemmas, coping with death and uncertainty, masculinity, regional towns, premature end of childhood, displacement, belonging, letting go, guilt, shame, secrets and mysteries, some mild weapon violence, drowned towns, kidnapping, murder, Teacher Notes)
The First Summer of Callie McGee – A.L.Tait (11+ themes of contemporary Australian, family, friendships, coming-of-age, identity, mystery, disappearance, summer holidays, bullying, bravery, times-of-change)
Secondary Fiction
All That’s Left to Say – Emery Lord (15+ Contemporary, grief and loss, revenge, mystery, opioid addiction, off-page overdose, family relationships, romance, secrets, flashbacks, friendships, twists and turns, suspense)
Chaos Theory – Nic Stone (15+: Contemporary, diverse characters, mental health issues, bipolar representation, depressive states, alcoholism, underage drinking, romance, family, secrets, sexual references, some strong language, dysfunctional parenting, positive representations of fathers)
Leonardo Forever – Richard Yaxley (12+ themes of historical, power, relationships, friendship, village life, expectations on women for marriage and family, an exploration of the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci)
One Song – A.J. Betts (15+ themes of Contemporary Australian, music competition, friends, rivalry, neuro-diversity, adolescent anxiety, miscommunication, mental health issues, female solidarity, humour, first love, disappointment, coming of age)
Adult Fiction
Tom Lake – Anne Patchett
The Things That Matter Most – Gabbie Stroud
Primary Fiction (Boys Only Pack)
The Boy Who Saved a Bear – Nizrana Firook (8+ themes of adventure, mystery, thieves, missing key, relationship between a bear and a boy, Sri Lanka)
The Quest for the Galleon of Time – Tanya Hunter (8+ themes of historical adventure, time travelling galleon, dimension crossing, pirates, mystery, family)
The Viking Attack (Time Travel Twins) – Josh Lacey (7+ themes of historical adventure, ancient civilisations, first in new series, siblings, time machine, Anglo Saxon and Viking history)
Until the Road Ends – Phil Earle (9+ themes of history, animals, World War II London, based on true story, evacuation of children from London, bombing of London)
Middle School Fiction (Boys Only Pack)
Deadlock – Simon Fox (11+ themes of action, suspense, thriller, crime fiction, mystery, fast paced, father and son relationships, friendships, secrets, diamond thieves, corruption, twists and turns)
My Especially Weird Week with Tess – Anna Woltz (11+ themes of family, friendship, holidays, adventure, meaning of life, mystery, connection, humour, book to movie)
Scar Town – Tristan Bancks – (11+ themes of friendship, family, loss, ethical and moral dilemmas, coping with death and uncertainty, masculinity, regional towns, premature end of childhood, displacement, belonging, letting go, guilt, shame, secrets and mysteries, some mild weapon violence, drowned towns, kidnapping, murder, Teacher Notes)
This Spells Trouble – Paul Collins & Sean McMullen (10+ themes of fantasy, magic, wizard apprenticeship, dragons, demons, quest plot, Teacher Notes)
Secondary School Fiction (Boys Only Pack)
Chaos Theory – Nic Stone (15+: Contemporary, diverse characters, mental health issues, bipolar representation, depressive states, alcoholism, underage drinking, romance, family, secrets, sexual references, some strong language, dysfunctional parenting, positive representations of fathers)
Leonardo Forever – Richard Yaxley (12+ themes of historical, power, relationships, friendship, village life, expectations on women for marriage and family, an exploration of the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci)
This – Lazaros Zigamanos (15+ Australian-Greek identity, set in the 80s, family, friendships, anxiety, panic attacks, therapy and counselling, underage drinking and smoking, bullying, some sexual references, LGBT, suicide attempts and ideation, parental expectations, Teacher Notes)
Let’s Play Murder – Kesia Lupo (15+ thriller, virtual reality, dark web, diversity, murder mystery, suspense, twists and turns, secrets, mental health, bullying, grief and loss, family, identity, shock ending)
Riverbend Standing Orders 