Book Reviews: Apples Not Orples, Connected, and Stephen and the Heroes: a Tilt in Time

R.A Stephens is the author name of Rochelle Stephens, an Australian children’s writer. I first met Rochelle about 15 years ago at a writers conference in Queensland when her publishing company Rhiza Press was just beginning. Since then she’s managed to build a successful children’s and YA publishing brand with multiple imprints (Wombat Books, Riveted Press, Rhiza Edge). I’ve had a few of my books (both Penny Reeve and Penny Jaye) published by Rhiza over the years and have gotten to know Rochelle both as a publisher and friend. She’s a publisher with integrity, a heart for emerging Aussie authors and always on the look out for great books for kids. After investing in so many other people’s books, it’s super exciting to see her writing more of her own. In this post I review three of her recent releases: Apples not Oprles, Connected and the first book in the Stephen and the Heroes series. 

Review 1 - Apples Not Orples: A Rule Breaking Counting Book

​Apples Not Orples is a picture book about maths! Yep, maths. The basics of algebra to be exact. In the dedication, R.A. Stephens writes “To all the inquisitive minds who ask, ‘Why?”, and that’s what this book does. A ginger cat starts adding things up: “Here are 4 books. Here are 3 more books… Wow! That’s 7 books.” But what happens when you start adding different types of things? “1 orange plus 2 apples = ?” Would it be “Orples”? Obviously, the answer is no. But the book delightfully explores various examples and combinations, allowing kids to think through basic algebraic concepts in hilarious illustrated form, setting a confident groundwork for later math experiences. Sure, the average picture book reader mightn’t be needing these algebra terms until high school, grounding the concepts in fun, crazy scenarios and word play means when x, y, a, b and c arrive on the scene I’m guessing the fear factor won’t be there, because these readers have already figured out you can only “match values that are the same!” Younger children may find the lack of narrative drive a little hard to sit through (there isn’t really a traditional “story”), but readers 5 and up will enjoy thinking through the various scenarios and begin building their math muscles!

All the details you need: 
Title: Apples not Orples: a rule breaking counting book.
Written by: R.A. Stephens
Illustrated by: Carmen Dougherty
Publisher: Wombat Books

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Review 2 - Connected: Networks for Kids

Following on with the math theme, R.A. Stephen’s most recent picture book, Connected, tackles another mathematical concept, this time it’s networks. This one is illustrated by Tamlyn Teow and tells the story of Chloe who has a dot (mathematical term: "node") on her shirt. She introduces her family to the reader and explains how they are all connected (with lines called "edges"). The connections between people expands as Chloe shows how everyone has different friends, and each are connected to yet more people. Mathematics aside, this book is a lovely exploration of how we humans are all connected to one another. It’s that seven degrees of separation idea, but in delightfully illustrated fashion.
I really liked this book. It’s one for kids who love noticing details, and also communicates an affirming message of being together. (Plus, for the math lovers, there’s a useful page at the end expanding on the concepts depicted.)

All the details you need: 
Title: Connected: Networks for Kids
Written by: R.A. Stephens
Illustrated by: Tamlyn Teow
Publisher: Wombat Books

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Review 3 - Stephen and the Heroes: a tilt in time

​Jumping to chapter books now, Stephen and the Heroes: a tilt in time is the first book in a new series of chapter books with Christian themes. The book is sprinkled with black and white illustrations by Ruth-Mary Smith.
The main character and book’s namesake, is Stephen, a modern-day fourth-grade student who thinks a lot. When a new kid, Harry who is named after Harry Houdini arrives, Stephen starts wondering about where his own name came from. He knows he was named after Stephen from the New Testament, but he wonders who this Biblical Stephen was and what he was like when he was a child. After hanging out with Harry, and discovering some lost kittens on the school grounds, Stephen discovers a mysterious gate that magically transports him back in time to the first century where he meets the Stephen he is named after. However, the interesting thing about this series is that going back in time doesn’t land Stephen in the familiar stories of grown-up Bible characters. He meets the children these characters were before the Bible story picks up. This affirms the experiences of children, showing that their interactions with the word as children, their ownership of beliefs and learning what it means to follow God, matter even before they are adults. 
Although there were small sections of the story that felt a little slow, and I did wonder a little about some of the school details, (I blame Markus Zuzak - I was reading one of his novels at the same time and whatever competes with Zuzak comes up wanting regardless of how amazing it could be. I really should learn.) I absolutely loved the internal dialogue of Stephen the main character! He’s uncertain, he questions everything, he’s testing out prayer, drawing on his background knowledge about the Bible and things he’s learned from his parent, and thinking things through as he goes. By the end of the story, Stephen has grown in confidence and is able to take the lessons he learned from his time with the Biblical Stephen and apply them in his modern-day setting. A great book for sparking kids’ interest in Biblical characters and getting them thinking about how the stories from back then, and ours today, might intersect. 

All the details you need: 
Title: Stephen and the Heroes: a tilt in time.
Written by: R.A. Stephens
Illustrated by: Ruth-Mary Smith
Publisher: Chapterhouse Press 
Available from Koorong.

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Disclaimer: Although I also have a “publisher-author” relationship with Rochelle via Rhiza Press, we are also friends apart from the publishing world. As such, I feel comfortable offering the above reviews with no obligation. I only ever review books on this site that I genuinely like.