New Junior Fiction

All new titles for younger readers ... grab them and enjoy!

Brigid Lucy Wants a Pet Leonie Norrington & Tamsin Ainslie (Little Hare)
This is the first title in the new Brigid Lucy series. These are terrific books with generously sized text and each page has a few 'enhanced' words. There are lots of delightful coloured illustrations (some full page) and solid covers that make for great page markers - all important for these titles. The storyline is well written and appropriate for the intended audience.

In this title Brigid Lucy has a pet slug but it dies in very unhappy circumstances so a new pet is required but unfortunately Brigid's dad is allergic to just about every pet available - except for a goldfish which Biddy has to choose. That is no easy task with so many good looking goldfish. And then there are the other pets to distract them too ... and when all the cages in the store happen to get unlocked, a little trouble develops. Home with her goldfish Brigid Lucy has to care for it and help it and ... she even tries to train it. All of which makes great reading. as does the invisible imp hiding in Brigid’s hair who is the cause of much of the chaos - and tells the story! Delightful.

Mr Moonlight (Aussie Bites) Jane Carroll & Anne Spudvilas (puffin)
A new Aussie Bites title is always terrific and this one continues that tradition. A "what was that noise under the house last night?" asks Tom at breakfast. It certainly isn't rats or rabbits as other family members suggest and it definitely is not a possum. There are lots of possums on Tom's farm and the noise he heard does not sound like any other possum noise. So Tom sets about finding out what animal is making the noise and discovers a very wonderful resident. But when the creature goes missing more investigation is required.

Aussie Bites are great for younger readers moving into chapter books. the text is well spaced and there are ample illustrations. The stories are also always terrific reads.

Mr Badger and the Difficult Duchess Leigh Hobbs (Allen&Unwin)
This is the third title in the Mr Badger series. They are delightful amusing reads, again with generous text and humorous illustrations in Leigh Hobbs' quirky and very amusing style. A great fun read!

In this Mr Badger adventure we discover that Mr Badger has to deal with a very difficult guest, at the same time as the Philatelic Society is having its annual dinner. The difficult guest causes quite a commotion and is most definitely not who she seems to be. She is a Duchess, although she didn't make a reservation for her stay at the hotel and she is extremely TALL (and so will require an extra long bed), and she requries the Royal Suite. Mr Badger wl certianly have some work this time.

The titles in the Mates series from Scholastic are great. The stories are very Australian. The titles are very short chapter books with very generously spaced text and lots of full colour illustrations. The books are short - ideal for younger readers moving out of picture books.

Hanging Out Catherine Bateson & Adam Carruthers (Scholastic)
Ben has told lots of fibs to his cousin and that is a big problem because his cousin Weston is coming to stay for a week. After failing to convince his parents that it is not a good idea, and that they have already seen all that there is to see in the city, Weston has arrived and he is itching to do all the great things that Ben has told him about. How will this get resolved?

Also look out for Barnesy (Allayne Webster and Tom Jellet)

Lightning Strikes

The Lightning Strikes series

Have you been struck by lightning - well at least lightningn of the reading kind.

The Lightning Strikes series published by Walker Books Australia are just the perfect titles for readers who want fast-paced action-packed rivetting stories. Each title, often less than 100 pages, has short chapters and clear well-spaced print. These books encourage a love for reading and are perfect for readers, both boys and girls, aged 9-13. The stories have authors who include, James Roy, Sue Whiting, Moya Simons, Janeen Brian, Meredith Costain, Meg McKinlay,

Have you been struck yet?
Check out the website too (http://www.lightningstrikes.com.au/)

Here are two of the latest:

Lightning Strikes: Dead Certain Sally Gould (Walker books)
Uncle jack has died and Max and his family are at the funeral. The problem is that after the funeral service Uncle Jack is going to be cremated but Max knows that Uncle Jack wanted to be buried next to his own dad. The problem is that Max is the only one who knows this so he has to set about delaying the cremation until he can confirm Uncle Jack's wishes. But when Max's dad tells him that it is too late to change the plans Max has to work out what else he can do and there is only one thing - and that is to steal the body!

A fantastic read that will have the young readers in stitches and wondering all along how Max will solve the problem and save his Uncle from being cremated.

Lightning Strikes: Spaced Out Moya Simons (Walker Books)
Jesse lives on earth but his dad, who is a space scientist, is taking him on a trip to CenCity on the planet Centuria in deep space (not just to the outer planets like other kids in his class) to help teach him some responsibility. And Jesse has some serious spending money - 250 space credits which his dad wants him to use wisely! Soon Jesse is rescuing Michael, a human-like robot boy, who is part of a bad confidence trick by the robot's creator. But it costs Jesse a lot in space credits. But that is just the beginning of his problems because Jesse has to return Michael to his robot family who are living in the Farlands and he has to get back to CenCity, and then Earth.
This sci-fi adventure is action packed with robots, rockets, sledge-racing and fascinating inventions.

Enjoy these great Lightning reads and look out for MORE Lightning Strikes.

Easy Reading books for Beginners

This has been a fun bunch of books to read. Younger readers who are itching to move from picture books will love these as they are perfect for beginners!

Rascal Bumps His Head Paul Jennings & Bob Lea (Penguin)
In this series (17 titles so far) moving from picture books to reading books is easy. Each title has minimal text and lavish illustrations. They are small in size, perfect for little hands.

Rascal is a dragon and this time Rascal thinks he is a chicken. He chases chickens, pretends to lay eggs like a chicken, sleeps in the hen house like a chicken, even runs from a fox like a chicken ... but Rascal is a chicken, not for long!

Boris Andrew Joyner (Puffin)
I just love this new series of Borris books, great for readers who have moved from picture books. each page is heavily illustrated in full colour. The story is written on the page as well as in speech bubble and the book is also broken into chapters.

Boris is a loveable warthog and lives with his mum and dad. They live in a bus that once travelled the world but now stays in the garden. Boris even has a world map with red pins for the places he liked to see and a green pin for Hogg Bay - the place he had seen. Boris wanted to travel. Then one morning when Boris was reading his favourite book and suddenly the bus starts moving and they are off - but it is not quite the travelling that Boris was hoping for.

Also look for Boris Gets a Lizard

The Aussie Nibbles series has been around for ages and is filled with books by some of Australia's best authros and illustrators. each book has shrot chapters, are filled with black adn white illustrations and have large print size. they are also the perfect books for young readers who have moved from picture books but are not quite ready for novels. Here are two more:

Aussie Nibbles: Fast Grandma Margaret Clark & Craig Smith (Puffin)

This is no ordinary grandma. This grandma is fast, even her grandkids Evie and Matthew can't keep up. When most of the other grandmas (and grandpas) sat around reading books drinking cups of tea and minding the bags Evie and Matthew's grandma is on the go! What is grandma's secret behind her fast pace? It might just have something to do with the vegetables that she eats, the vegetables that Evie and Matthew don't like eating!

Aussie Nibbles: Crusher Kevin Penny Matthews & Andrew McLean (Puffin)

Charlie wants a dog. His parents have promised him a puppy when they move into the new house that is being built. bvut he doesn't want a dog like crusher, who is on the building site guarding all teh building materials. Crusher is a huge scary dog but soon Charlies starts to see Crusher in a very different light.

Younger readers will love these.

Perfect for PreSchoolers

These are two just wonderful new series for preschoolers!

SmartyCat

One of the most frequent questions preschoolers ask - 'But Why?" and the answers are here (for some of them) in the SmartyCat series. this is glorious. Wonderfully written text explaining what is happening and lusciously illustrated full colour pictures - and all in an easy format for the young hands to hold. And at the end of each of the SmartyCat books there is a joke and an activity related to the topic of the book. These little books are educational, fun and wonderfully created.

SmartyCat: Frogs Louise Park & Jeannette Rowe (ABC Books)

And the question from SmartyCat for this book is: Where do frogs come from? and the answer is provided by Buddy beaver one of SmartyCat's friends from SmartyTown. There is a simple explanation for preschoolers of the lifecycle of a frog. And that final page activity - making Frog in a pond.

SmartyCat: Butterflies Louise Park & Jeannette Rowe (ABC Books)
And the question from SmartyCat for this book is: Where do butterflies come from? and the answer is provided by Mooey the cow. There is a simple explanation for preschoolers of the lifecycle of a butterfly. And that final page activity - making a clothes peg butterfly.

Little Mates

With slightly more text comes the Little Mates series - a series of 26 small books, again perfect for little hands, that introduces the alphabet. Each title is also themed with a question asked of the reader at the end (Are you amazing too? Are you Bouncy too?) that will stimulate further chatting. The text is filled with alliteration and the illustrations are lovely.

Little Mates: Amazing Amelia Susannah McFarlane & Lachlan Creagh (Scholastic)
Amelia is the most athletic ant on the ant hill but when she has an accident it is up to all her ant friends to give her a helping hand.

Little Mates: Bouncy Ben Susannah McFarlane & Lachlan Creagh (Scholastic)
Ben is the best bouncer in the bush but one day he bounces a little too high and gets stuck in a bush so it is up to his friends to set him free.