Picture Book Treats for Youngsters

Fearless Colin Thompson & Sarah Davis (ABC Books)
Lots of folks think bulldogs are scary looking animals ... so naming a bulldog Fearless would usually be just right. And just like people are sometimes given the wrong names it was especially the same with Fearless -- Fearless wasn't! If a car backfired in the street - so did Fearless. He knew there were scary things everywhere, like dangerous black handbags and stairs and monsters! But eventually Fearless does live up to his name when a not-too-nice visitor arrives at the house one night!
Kids will love the story and adore Sarah's fantastic illustrations - especially of the dangerous monsters and the facial expressions of Fearless.


Ten Little Hermit Crabs Lee Fox & Shane McG (Allen&Unwin)
This is a delightfully bright counting book told in rhyming verse.
Ten little hermit crabs scuttle to the sea ... and of course something happens and the ten become 9, the 9 become 8 and so it goes until there is just one little hermit crab sitting on the pier all alone. But that little hermit crab shouldn’t worry ... all turns out well in the end when the nine reappear!
The illustrations are bright, especially with the hermit crab’s ever changing shells. And includes a nice note about hermit crabs in the world too. Great for youngsters starting to count and play.


To The Top End: Our Trip Across Australia Roland Harvey (Allen&Unwin)
Roland Harvey has been creating some of the best Australian picture books for ages and this one continues his outstanding tradition. Readers of all ages will delight in pouring over the illustrations examining all the action on the pages as they follow the twisty windy words.

This time the family is off on an adventure travelling from Tassie to the very tip of The Top End. And of rouse there are happenings in each of the environments that they visit. Lots of jokes in the illustrations too (beginning with the scale of the map on the end papers) ... and there is a football to find in every illustration - I missed one or two!


Halloween In Christmas Hills: The Legend of Stingy Jack Karen Tayleur & Heath McKenzie (blackdogbooks)
Just in time here comes this funny picture book. Everyone in the Johnson family has a favourite holiday and come Halloween time they all dress up and go trick or treating and for the first time Miles gets to join in! They can visit all the neighbour's houses in the street ... except for Stingy Jack's house. But Cameron doesn't listen and rings the doorbell and doesn’t run away! When stingy Jack opens the door Cameron is in for a really big surprise.



What Will Baby Do? Mike Dumbleton & Craig Smith (Working Title Press)
A beautiful rhyming picture book that is just great for babies and their parents to read and read and read again. It features the important things in a baby's day - eating, bathing, going on an outing, sleeping ... and of course being loved.
Bib ... Bowl ... and small spoon, too. Now what will baby do?

Delilah's Dream Ian Trevaskis & Janine Dawson (New Frontier)
Delilah is a hen and she dreams of adventure but her sisters in the coop laugh at her dreams. Still Delilah continues dreaming and one night, when Delilah senses an intruder is coming to threaten their existence she puts her dreams into actions and it is Delilah the dreamer who saves the coop!
With delightful bright illustrations this a lovely tale of dreams coming true and friendship.

Grandpa Baby Margaret Wild & Deborah Niland (Penguin)This wonderful storyteller and illustrator have teamed up to create a picture book that grandpas and their grandkids are just going to love.While Georgie's parents are at work she is looked after by grandpa but one day their roles are reversed and it is Georgie who decides that he is big enough to look after grandpa. Soon Grandpa baby is doing all the things that little kids love to do with their grandparents ... like walking on the fences and pressing traffic light buttons and hanging on the monkey bars. When Grandpa Baby trips over and hurts his knee, it's Georgie who kisses it better but when grandpa baby stops halfway to home Georgie has to be creative to get them both home. Just beautiful.

Glorious picture books to share with younger readers.

TASHI

AWESOME ...
I have been a Tashi fan since the books first dropped onto bookshelves and they continue to be just brilliant. Younger readers developing a love for books will just adore this!

The Amazing Tashi Activity Book Anna & Barbara Fienberg & Kim Gamble (Allen & Unwin)
This is fantastic.
Tashi lovers have been waiting for someting special like this - a Tashi activty book, and inside these pages there are heaps of things to do. Not only is there a wonderful NEW Tashi story (Tashi and the Strangers ... there's a new family in the village and General Zeng's soldiers too) but the activities include a board game, a Tiger pop-up card to make, word puzzles, recipes for some of the favourite foods in the books including Tashi's favourite - fish cakes, a crossword puzzle and Kim has even included a how-to- draw Tashi instuctions.
This has to be a sure fire hit for any Tashi lover.

Enjoy!

Picture Books

Picture Books an be for the very young as well as for the older children and here are three lovely new titles.

Finding Home Gary Crew & Susy Boyer (Ford Street)
A young boy, a lover of books, loves a tall ancient tree solitary standing proudly on his parents bush property. it is the home to a flock of cockatoos which he sees as truly beautiful. His parents though see the cockatoos as destructive pests and set about ridding the property of this last lone tree and to the boy's distress the cockatoos.. Inevitable conflict follows with a dramatic conclusion.
Set in the time of the early settlers with hand driven bush saws, and travelling library staff and ha'pennies, this is a book that will leave an impact on its readers in both the text and in the well created bush illustrations.
This is one of those special picture books for mature readers.


Never Ever Before Stephen Michael King (Scholastic)
Big dreams of drifting with the wind like the Smalls. Talls are wibbly wobbly and fall over in the wind. Smalls are carefree light and drift in the wind ... but when a breeze becomes a big wind all three team together and help each other as one. The Smalls are protected, the Talls, strengthened and Big gets to fulfil his wish.

This is not the usual book about small and big and tall ... this book has a very different treatment for them and has many different themes; about wishing for change, staying the same, safety, teamwork and friendship, security, shelter and wishes.

Beautiful 'shape' illustrations.


Princess and Fairy Most Charming Flower Girls Anna Pignataro (Scholastic)
The delightful bunnies, Princess and Fairy are back in their third look-and-find adventure.
Miss Joy and Princess Charming and getting married and Princess and Fairy are to be flower girls. But before they can attend the wedding they have to find everything on their list of charming things -- which will all be found inside the covers of this book.
With sweet illustrations and delightful rhyming verse, this book will be looked at again and again to find the items on the list and flower girls will especially love this glittery book!

a bit gothic but solid reads

New fiction of the fairy tale sort for long hours!

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children Jennifer Storer (Penguin)
In the world of Tensy Farlow every human has a guardian angel - except for Tensy. She also has no parents, although she is found by loving Albie (who names her after his mother and his truck) but then dispatched to the wicked home for Mislaid Children by Albie's mother. From here she is adopted and then unadopted and again returned to 'the home'. Why doesn't Tensy have a guardian angel? What is her purpose? What is happening in the celestial spheres? And who is the Mud Woman lurking in the river waiting to steal the soul. Read Tensy Farlow to discover the answers ... and much more! There are many humorous moments as well woven through this wonderful read.


The Museum Of Mary Child Cassandra Golds (Puffin)
In the Caretaker's Cottage next to the Museum of Mary Child, living a quiet and near solitary prison-like existence with her Godmother (the museum caretaker), is Heloise. Under the floorboards of her bedroom she finds Maria, a doll which she keeps hidden from her godmother. when she investigates the museum next door Heloise finds hundreds of handmade dolls with black stitches that disfigure their faces ... and she escapes

But who is Mary Child? Why does Heloise's Godmother behave as she does? what of the talking birds? Why is Sebastian, a young Prince, in prison and who really is Heloise?
This book for the mature reader and takes a little effort (I started it twice) but it is very engaging with interesting twists.

Australian Christmas Books

It's getting close to that time of year again because they have started arriving in book stores all around the country - Australian Christmas books and here is a smattering of those on offer. They are great and will make wonderful gifts for friends overseas too becuase these books (mostly) are very very Australian!


I Love Christmas Anna Walker (Scholastic)
The Ollie and Fred books are just beautiful and just in time for Christmas out pops this title.
This time Ollie is sharing all the things that he loves about Christmas; from the crinkly paper to his Christmas decorations, baking Christmas cake, singing about Santa and twinkling Christmas lights.
A gorgeous Christmas gift book for youngsters of all ages.


An Aussie Day Before Christmas Activity Book Kilmeny Niland (Scholastic)
What do you do on Christmas day after all the feasting and all the present unwrapping and giving and sharing and fun? You take out this book and then spend hours filled with Christmas Day activities, all based around the Aussie Day Before Christmas picture book. There are word finds and spot the difference games drawing pages and anagrams and even a page to write a story. There are also stickers to use, recipes, construction activities and a whole lot more.
This should be in many Christmas day stockings!


An Aussie Night Before Christmas Board Game Book Yvonne Morrison & Niland Kilmeny (Scholastic)
This title appeared last year and was hugely successful but this latest evolution takes it to a new dimension. This time not only is the title a delightfully executed picture book with lovely text and illustrations but the book also contains six wonderful Christmas themed board games (with instructions), stickers and playing cards. This book is just perfect for family reading on Christmas day and also for taking care of those "what do we do" hours after the Christmas feast.

Brucie Saves Christmas Yvonne Morrison & Michelle Pike (Scholastic)
This is the sequel to An Aussie Night Before Christmas - this time its Brucie the joey who saves the day.
But how can a roo who loves reading books and doing science reports, who can't tie presents or cook puddings and who definitely can't fly like all of Santa’s other roos save the day?
All will be revealed on the night before Christmas when a blinding storm rolls in that will surely stop Santa delivering his presents!

Australian Twelve Days Christmas Board Book Heath McKenzie (Black Dog Books)
This picture book is now a board book which is just right for little hands who love to grab and hold.
And of course it wouldn’t be the Australian twelve days of Christmas without 12 Australian animals, including emus, wombats crocs, penguins and
... a kookaburra up a gum tree!

Twelve Dogs Of Christmas Kevin Whitlark (Scholastic)
The traditional twelve days of Christmas has morphed into the twelve Dogs of Christmas and is filled with everything doggie. There are puppies pooping pooches playing canines skating labs licking .... and a fat cat in a fur tree!
It is a delightful interpretation of the original.

So dash along to your local independant books stores and grab these Christmas treats.