Fantasy

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll & Robert Ingpen (Walker Books)
This gorgeous hardback book is a joy to hold, to read, and especially to look at the illustrations again and again. This new complete and unabridged edition of the classic Lewis Carroll tale of Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy land where she meets characters like the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Puss and the Queen, has the wonderful illustrations in Ingpen's renowned style. This is a book to treasure for children young and old.

the East Wind (The Cloudchasers 2) David Richardson & Steven Hunt (ABC Books)
This is a very different book, part picture book, part graphic novel, part movie stills this adventure fantasy title is a good read (even the with the frightening Lopper) and the illustrations are well worth close examination.
At the end of the first book, Alice, Thomas and Spinner were sailing aloft in a balloon, no longer citizens of Bankertown but as the Cloudchasers. Now they continue their quest, Still they are chased by the catcher and his army, who are determined to catch the escapees at all costs and by any means, as the trio continue their quest to restore imagination and freedom and to draw! Strange creatures inhabit the pages, from the really small bookworm to the gargantuan sand-monster, and the survival of the trio is continually threatened.
This book is full of unexpected twists and turns and results in a thrilling and satisfying conclusion to the Cloudchasers saga.

Have fun with these ....

A little break but we are back and reading lots of books ....

One, Two, Cockatoo Sarah Garson (Random House)
A delightful counting featuring some of the most amusing cockatoos. I especially love the illustrations of the eight cockatoos hanging upside down drying off in the sun. This is just perfect cockatoo behaviour. Young children will love couting the cockatoos in each picture and of course the 'surprise' at the end.

Baby Wombat's Week Jackie French & Bruce Whatley (HarperCollins)
Mothball, from the amazing picture book Diary of a Wombat is back ... but this time Mothball is not alone. Now Mothball has a baby and once again craziess and havoc follows. There are friends to play with and time to sleep, food to eat and faces to see, and tunnels to dig to create the best hole ever - big enough for a mother wombat and her baby. But where do they find the most enormous hole?

Mascot Madness! & Robot Riot! Andy Griffiths (Pan Macmillan)
Two books in the Schooling Around series that have been out for a little while but which kids just adore. It’s all about class 5C and their teacher Mr Brainfright. These books are full of humour and jokes that younger readers really enjoy.
In Mascot Madness Mr. Brainfright finds a brand new banana suit
"Why anyone would want to throw away a perfectly good banana suite is completely beyond me!" but of course the class teacher didn't know what Gretel knew about that banana suit.

And in Robot Riot ... Henry is suspicious about the new girl in class - Roberta ... could she be a robot? He is quite sure he is but the trouble is convincing his friends! After all she writes amazingly good stories and she certainly does not think Robot jokes are funny!

These books will have kids giggle all the way to the next one!

Grace

Grace Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Books)
This is one of the best books that I have read this year. It was consumed on a recent Sunday morning in one sitting. This is a powerful, rivetting read and just absorbing.
Grace is eleven years old. She lives in a strictly religious community where much of what happens to its members, including her family, is decided for them. Like many eleven year olds Grace is asking questions and becoming an independent thinker ... traits that get her into very deep trouble. Her loving father, who answers his daughter's questions honestly, causes the elders to brandish him as evil and expell him from the church. Grace, though, attempts to right the wrong (with the aide of a tow truck driver and his son), to stay in the church and to keep her family together.

See Morris speak at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ANChOBUE8

Popular Series titles

These are the latest titles in really popular series and of course they are books that I really enjoy reading - and very importantly the kids are enjoying reading them too.

On the Case (Walk Right In Detective Agency Book 5) Moya Simons (Walker)
They are at it again. The Milk Bay school-aged detectives have some very intriguing cases to solve. Like the case of Jake, the new kid in Milk Bay who has drawer full of stolen things that he swears he didn't steal and now he's being charged. There's also a really bad smell (a killer really) that needs solving and a missing lorikeet that needs to be found.
Great fun reads for kids that they might not even put down.

Monkey Fist (Samurai Kids #4) Sandy Fussell (Walker)
The Samurai kids are back and this time they are venturing deep into China and confronting the advisor to the Emperor - Secretary Lu Zeng. Kyoko has been kidnapped, and sensei knows by whom. But what reason would the Secretary have for this - surely there is only evil in his mind. Could it be to further his search for eternal life?
As with the other titles there is still much to be learnt for the Little Cockroaches in this is a riveting read.

Battle for Rondo Emily Rodda (Scholastic)
This is the thrilling climax to the Rondo books.
Leo and Mimi return for one final time to the magical world of Rondo with its talking creatures and magic and mystery. But the evil Blue Queen herself has become more powerful. This time she has an almighty powerful dragon by her side and the queen has revenge firmly on her mind. A defence shield encompassing the Blue Queen's castle is not enough to protect the world of Rondo. A quest is begun, a prediction whispered from the Tideseer that must be unravelled, a ferocious battle engaged, a name denied, and once again ... the key to Rondo is vitally important and enables the final resolution.
This series has been a joy to read. Rondo readers who love this book and will not be disappointed. Just right for competent readers.

These books are great reads and should be thoroughly enjoyed along with teh other titles in various series.