A Whatley Picture Book Feast

These books are all by the amazing illustrator Bruce Whatley and all the illustrations are wonderfully different. Grab them and enjoy!

Martha Doesn't Say Sorry! Samantha Berger & Bruce Whatley (Hachette)
I missed this wonderful book last year so I just have to add it now because I love it ... especially with the follow-up book hitting the shelves shortly!
Martha is a very lovely little otter. She gives hugs, and she shares snacks, and she makes presents and reads stories but Martha doesn’t say sorry. And when she does things that are not so nice, including to her family - she still doesn’t say sorry! So when Martha wants a cookie, or a piggyback ride, or a hug she realises that maybe a little sorry will help.
A beautiful book for parents and youngsters to share with a very simple message.

Monster Andrew Daddo & Bruce Whatley (ABC Books)
A young boy is not going to sleep because the monster is back! his parents tell him to go to sleep. Repeated monster sightings and observations delaying the boy going to bed, have appropriate replies from the parents, like monsters don’t have tails. Eventually when the parent counting starts and arrives at three (which every parent knows will happen) the parents arrive and carry the little boy to bed ... but who really is the monster.
Read the story and look very closely at the illustrations throughout this book. This is fun!

Queen Victoria's Underpants Jackie French & Bruce Whatley (Angus&Robertson)
Oh this is sooooo much fun and it is thrilling to know that it was Queen Victoria who championed the wearing of these very essential items. These are the underpants that changed history for it was Queen Victoria made the wearing of underpants popular! A pair of her underpants are on display at the Museum of London - complete with royal insignia and numbering!
Lizzy's family is in the clothing industry and she makes the finest underpants in the world so when a footman from the palace brought the message the whole family (including grandma who thinks that underpants are unnecessary) become involved in working out what types of pants they should be, where the materials should come from, and then the eventual sewing and embroidering of the underpants.
See the trailer here (or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX9Ll5CDVkM)

So many giggles and so much fun!

Picture Books Abound

It's a picture book feast at the moment.
Have are some absolutely delightful titles.

The Princess And Her Panther Wendy Orr & Lauren Stringer
This is a luscious book filled with imagination and the end papers are quite stunning. One brave big sister (the princess) and one not-so-brave little sister (her panther) camp out under the night-time stars in the backyard - of course with imagination this is the most glorious camp-out ever as owls become witches and frogs become monsters and the dog becomes a wolf and ... imagination runs riot! a gorgeous story about sister and imaginations and night-time campouts.

Twinkle Nick Bland (Scholastic)
Night-time has rarely been this lovely!
Penny Pasketti is a lonely little girl and one night, while staring out befriending the stars (she imagines that every twinkle was a smile or a secret or some such wonderful thing) a shooting star lands in her backyard. together Penny and the star do become friends - and they share the night-time joys. But soon the star must return to the sky. They imagine ways of returning the star to the sky but when nothing worked and Little star thought he might never get home Penny comes up with a bright idea - and does send Little Star on his way!
A beautiful story of friendship and sharing and helping.

Rufus the Numbat David Miller (Ford St)
Leaving his bush home Rufus the numbat passes through town, not planning to cause any chaos but of course - it happens. He startles a cyclist which causes the painter on a ladder to fall, which causes chaos at the coffee shop, and through the noisy Chinese dragon parade and sends a skateboarder astray ... all as Rufus the numbat is passing by on his way to his bush home!
Another wonderful 3D creation; this time about the relationship between humans and other animals; the natural and built environments, and the dwindling native animal habitats.

April Underhill, Tooth Fairy Bob Graham (Walker Books)

Bob Graham creates some of the most sensitive and gorgeous picture books, and this is another to join his list.

Daniel Dangerfield has lost his first tooth. April and Esme Underhill are tooth fairies and are on their first tooth collecting flight, that is if they can persuade their parents, who always do the teeth collecting. And when they do, they fly off with a bag, a coin and a mobile phone (it's lovely they are modern tooth fairies) which becomes very necessary when they have to text for advice about what to do when they are seen.

This book will be read over and over again adn teh illustrations we be poured over and over.

These wonderful picture books are just perfect to share ....

Series fun for younger readers

All of these books are fun reads. They are short, some with illustrations some without, and great for younger readers who want short chapter books with action and fun and that have other books of the same kind. Kids love the "collecting' aspect.

Stick Dudes #2 : The Secret Four-ce & #3 Champions Of The World Felice Arena (Scholastic)

The Stick Dudes are 4 'dudes', around about 10 years old. They return in more riotous fun – and they really are stick drawings so kids, especially boys, are going to love them!
In The Secret Four-ce, the Stick Dudes (Ben, Martin, Johnny and Michael) uncover a thief in their very own school. There is only one thing the Stick Dudes can do—form the ace spy team ‘The Secret Four-ce’ and attempt to uncover the culprit! With high-five slaps, secret spy names, and some crazy detectiving the mystery os about to be solved ... but not before some craziness too.

The Stick Dudes have World Cup Fever! Soccer is the rage and these dudes have been caught up with it too ... starting with an attempt at the world record for juggling a soccer ball. This fails when the school bully sends another soccer ball whooshing by that collides with the record attempt and eventually a soccer match where the winner gets to meet the soccer hero as he presents the cup. But to meet their hero they dudes have to play the perfect game!
Littered with quirky sketches and pages for readers to draw their own stick dudes these are fun! And this is a ripper for BOYS.

Slowcoach Turtle Kyle Mewburn & Heath MacKenzie (Little Hare)
Pop Hooper’s Perfect Pets is a fun series -- Slowcoach Turtle is the latest instalment. Great for younger readers who love animals and pets.
Tilda wants a monkey - which she thinks will make a perfect pet, so when Pop Hooper’s long shiny Pet Express truck arrives she was sure to get her perfect pet - after all Pop Hoopper guarantees perfect pets! And after her best friend Nat fell out of tree she is very lonely ...but things are not as they seem. Tilda gratefully accepts Houdini the monkey as a pet but when he runs away - that's when the trouble beings. Will Tilda find the perfect pet, and will she and Nat be friends again?

Haggis McGregor and the Night of the Skull Moon Jen Storer & Gus Gordon (Penguin)
This book is a real bony giggle.
Haggis McGregor is a skeleton. His horse is a skeleton too and together, once a month, on the night of the skull moon, they roam the village of Dunroamin for haggis is searching for a wife -even though Haggis has been dead for hundreds of years. Of course Haggis is not the only roaming spirit. Young Gordon has also, for the first time in years, materialised and he is searching for a family! When Miss Myrtle McDougal (standing alone on the railway station) breaks the second rule that all villages heed - never give Haggis anything, things get a little restless in Dunroamin!
A new Aussie Bites title - just right for kids wanting books with short illustrated chapters.

A Horse Called Darling Delwyne Stephens (Penguin)
Penny will never ride again; at least that is what she feels when her horse Manny is killed in a riding accident. Horse riding is expensive and her parents can't afford another horse but a when a mean-spirited horse called darling is brought home by her father Penny finds that she might ride again - but first she has to tame the wild horse! Will she and Darling ride the Windhaven one-day event and can they beat the not so pleasant Miranda!
A new Aussie Chomps title which are short chapter books and high interest.

the Word Spy

It's been a quiet bunch of weeks (with lots of reading) so here we go:

The Return of the Word Spy Ursula Dubosarsky & Tohby Riddle (Viking)

What a joy to read another instalment of the Word Spy ... this is not a normal detective book but "A Funny and Fantastic Voyage into Language, Grammar and Beyond.”

As the title suggests this book has the Word Spy returning on another amazing wordy quest. Where the first book explores the wonderful world of words, this book is "a journey into the very extremities of words" ... old words and new words, old, new and secret languages and a whole lot more. Find out about languages, word meanings, extinct languages, alphabets, nouns, verbs and even words that are not used anymore ... 'deadibones' words! And of course this is packed with wonderful cartoons, games, facts and puzzles and even a secret message to be deciphered. Heaps of fun for sharing and learning and enjoyment and is simply a wonderfully entertaining read and exploration. Perfect for reading a segment and then sharing around the dinner table.
A real treasure chest of the English language!