The Toymaker and the Bird Pamela Allen (Penguin Books)A toymaker creates beuatiful music on his violin. When a plain coloured bird joins a gathering flock of colourful birds she starts to sing. All the birds stopping to listen to her melodious sounds. The bird travels everywhere with the toymaker but at the dawn of spring flies away. When the bird does return, at season's change, the toymaker places her in a cage so that she can be with him forever ... but the brown bird no longer sings and the toymaker has to make a heavy decision.
Pamela Allen creates some of the most wonderful picture books and this book, of longing, freedom, loss and friendship, is another.
Swan Lake Ballet Theatre Viola Ann Seddon & Jean Mahoney (Walker Books)This delightful box set will be a request from every ballet lover.
Favourite scenes from Tchaikovsky's best-loved ballet can come alive with this ballet theatre. The package contains the fold-out theatre set with scenery and backdrop (and a draw to store all the parts), figures of the dancers, CD of selected music and story booklet and stage directions. Play the CD, read the story, replay the scenes in the theatre - just wonderful!
Kids' Night In! #3 Jessica Adams (Penguin)This has long been a favourite - a THICK book with lots and lots and lots of stories written by some of Australia's best kids authors ... and a few other folks as well. It's months of reading!!!
Here are just a few of the wonderful creators in this collection who have written NEW stories, poems and illustrations ... Leigh Hobbs, Meredith Costain, Paul Collins, Gus Gordon, Stephen Axelsen, Garth Nix, Shaun Tan, Libby Glesson, Kim Gamble, Tohby Riddle, Morris Gleitzmann and a whole lot more.
And even more wonderful than a HUGE book chock-a-block full of stories is that every copy purchased raises money for War Child, the aid organisation that helps children all over the world, affected by war.
And don't miss the kidsnightin website.
Enjoy!
