newkidsbooksinoz

Picture Books for many ages

2011-12-10T13:27:00.004+11:00

Thoroughly lovely picture books ....

Look, A Book! Libby Gleeson & Freya Blackwood (Little Hare)
This is beautiful. a wonderful exploration of the imagination and all it can offer.
In a run down area, two children discover a book, much like the book itself, lying face-down on the ground. They take it to the top of a shed and start reading the book - and imagining ... they shelter from the rain and escape the flooding in a teacup, they can sail the skies with the aid of a used plastic soft drink bottle, and their surrounding landscape is constructed from recycled cans and bottle and cartons. And as the story tells, this book can be read again and again enabling imagination.
With beautifully creative and evocative illsutrations you never know where a book might take you!

Captain Congo and the Klondike Gold Ruth Starke & Greg Holfeld

(Working Title) A gorilla and a penguin ... who would have imagined them as an adventurous duo but they are wonderfully exciting as they team up in the Captain Congo books. In their third adventure Captain Congo and Pup are sent on a mission by The Agency, to the Klondike, the Yukon, the Great North west to investigate strange happenings in a gold camp. There are ghosts and monsters, including Sasquatch, skeletons in mines, and film crews making movies. Then when an attempt is made on Pup's life the mystery deepens.
This is a fantastic book for readers who like adventure and love reading in graphic novel format. The illustrations are perfect for this adventure.
Also discover Captain Congo and teh Maharaja's Monkey.

The Little Refugee, the Inspiring True Story of Australia's Happiest Refugee Anh Suzanne Do & Bruce Whatley (Allen&Unwin)
This is the children's version in picture book format of Anh Do's award winning memoir The Happiest Refugee and it is a delight.
It is the story of how and why he and his family fled Vietnam in an old fishing boat they had bought, it stank of fish, of their brush with storms and pirates, how his family established a business and lived in their beautiful new country instilling in the children that you just always have hope and Ahn Do's early school days as friendships develop and he becomes class captain.
An inspirational story with bruce Whatley;'s throughtful and delightful illustrations.

Fiction Delights

2011-11-19T12:52:00.000+11:00

Here are some delightful fiction reads.

The Golden Door (The Three Doors Series: Book 1); Emily Rodda (Scholastic)
A new series from Emily Rodda will always be devoured and this one is no different. I couldn't put this book down and just HAD to finish reading it!
This is another richly created classic fantasy delight that the author creates so well with hideous creatures, magical objects, a quest to be endured, villainous villains and a very unlikely hero.
Weld is a city surrounded by protective walls. These walls must be maintained but this season the deadly Skimmers are getting more and more resourceful and getting over the walls in their nightly search for food. The city warden has called for more young men - 18 and over - to go forth and defeat the Skimmers and be forever rewarded. Rye is too young and is waiting for his brothers to return but after they fail to do so, young Rye takes matters into his own hands and ventures forth. But first he has to choose the correct door to leave the city.
See more at :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZY5yme7Nfw&feature=player_embedded\
http://scholastic.com.au/minisites/threedoors/

Harry’s War John Heffernan (Scholastic)
Harry loves spending time with his grandfather. They build model planes together and Harry loves listening to the stories about his grandfather's heroic World War 2 adventures. Harry even tapes the stories. He beams when he gets to share his grandfather with his class at school when he is asked to visit the school. They also build model planes and share time together, which is very important because Harry doesn't know his own dad and the adults in his life wont talk about him. He too was a soldier but in a different war.
Harry's own adventures start to cause problems and soon his grandfather's war stories begin to unravel revealing that not all is quite as it seems.

On Orchard Road Elsbeth Edgar (Walker)
After living as the only child for 13 years Jane has a brand-new sister. As well, her mother has to stay in the city with the prematurely born sibling while Jane and her father, who has just lost his job, live in the country.
As the tale unwinds Jane is bullied at her new school, she strikes up a friendship with a boy who assists her when she gets stranded after twisting her ankle, and they meet a mysterious and lonely old woman with a rambling garden who becomes entwined in Jane's and Michael's lives.
A story of friendship, hope and healing, growing up and coming of age, and families.

Another Picture Book feast!

2011-10-22T17:20:00.001+11:00

Glorous picture books ready to be snaffled by yougner readers.

Bilby Secrets Edel Wignell & Mark Jackson (Walker Books)
Part of Walker's Nature Storybook series, these wonderful books are all true. they are non-fiction presented in picture book format. There are 'facts' written into the narrative as well as specifically included within the book. The books contain an index and are wonderful for any child with an inquisitive naturalist mind.
Bilby Secrets is a narrative non-fiction picture book following the life of the bilby, an Australian marsupial. It tells of a young bilby's birth, habitat, behaviour and diet and how he learns the secrets of his desert home.
Beautiful accurate illustrations accompany the well structured text.

The Jewel Fish of Karnak Graeme Base (Viking)
A picture books from Graeme Base has not just exquisite illustrations and wonderful text, it often has a puzzle or riddle that must be solved to gather even more information and The Jewel Fish of Karnak is another of these treasures.
This tale set in ancient Egypt follows two scruffy thieves, Jackal and Ibis, who, have been assigned the task of returning the golden Jewel fish by the Cat Pharaoh to receive his pardon. They are also instructed not to steal anything else ... which they find very hard to resist.
Entwined with a puzzle that is resolved online, this is a lusciously illustrated book and comes complete with hieroglyphics and sparkling jewels. And don’t miss the work on the inside of the book’s dust jacket.
See more and hear Graeme at the youtube clip.

The Bicycle Colin Thompson and others (ABC Books)
As the title suggests this book is all about bicycles. But this book is different to the usual picture book about a bicycle.
For a start all royalties from the sale of THE BICYCLE will go to Save the Children, an organisation that works to improve the quality of children’s lives around the world.
Then it has illustrations from some of the world's leading illustrations including Quentin Blake, Shaun Tan, Tony Ross, Sarah Davis and Freya Blackwood - all with a picture of a bicycle within and snippets of text and quotes about the importance of bicycles.
This is a beautiful picutre book exploring how bicycles fit into our lives in all different situations. It is a celebration of how much one bike can help - and change lives.

Come Down, Cat! Sonya Hartnett & Lucia Masciullo (Viking)
This is a lovely tale of friendship and bravery between a boy and his pet cat with delightful illustrations that beg for more investigation.
When Nicholas' cat decides to spend the night on the roof, even after he climbs a not too safe ladder to attempt a rescue, Nicholas has a restless and anxious night of attempted slumber. Then when it rains Nicholas hears the desperate calls and ventures outside to rescue his loved cat.

Once There Was a Boy Dub Leffler (Magabala Books)
This is a longer picture book, delightfully written and lovingly illustrated and showing the vastness of the landscape with exquisite double page spreads.
A young boy lives successfully and alone on an island until a young girl appears. As she enters his life things change and when she uncovers the boy's secret box under his bed, which she has been instructed not to, she is surprised and breaks the contents of the box, his broken heart. But the girl has a solution, which they both share.
A beautiful loving story of friendship and temptation and as the author states "... show(ing) kids that boys have feelings too (just like girls) ...."

The Carousel Ursula Dubosarsky & Walter Di Qual (Viking)

One winter's day my dad and I
Went down to see the carousel.
We stood and watched as round and round
The little horses rose and fell.

... begins the tale of a little girl experiencing for the first time the magic of a carousel with wooden horses, flashing lights, organ music, mirrors and the magical adventures (and sorrows) that are told by the carousel horses. Beautiful illustrations are covering every page. Girls who love horses will imagine too!

These are books to be deeoured and treasured.

Great Fiction Reads for Independent Readers

2011-09-24T12:43:00.002+10:00

Mr Badger and the Magic Mirror Leigh Hobbs (Allen&Unwin)

Every day is full of adventures for Mr Badger at the Boubles Grand Hotel and none more amazing than when a new mirror (that had been in a private room) is hung above the stairs. Mr Badger, checking the mirror, suddenly found that he could leap right though the mirror. And when young attention getting and rather annoying Sylvia also discovers the mirror she pops on through the mirror to join Mr Badger and they both find themselves n Bouble Land where there is mystery and danger and a few surprises as well.

The Mr Badger books (this is number four) are delightful fun reads.

Neville No-Phone Anna Branford & Kat Chadwick (Walker Books)

Neville is the only kid in his class at his school who does not have a mobile phone - at least that is what he tells his dad. When repeated attempts at persuading his parents to get him a mobile phone have proved fruitless, their suggestions included using an old mobile phone or the baby monitor, and when Neville and his friend Enzo stumble across a fully functioning as mobile phone left in a bus shelter, the boys get into all sorts of mischief and adventure trying to use the phone and eventually seeing it back with its rightful owner.
A laugh out loud story about not giving up.

T-Wreck-Asaurus (Dinosaur Rescue Series: Book 1) Kyle Mewburn & Donovan Bixley (Scholastic)

Welcome to the Stone Age and the land of dinosaurs. This title in the new Dinosaur Rescue series is wonderfully funny and will have readers - especially boys - giggling with fits of laughter.

Arg is not like all the other Stone Age cave dwellers. Arg's brain is twice as big as everyone else's and that means he is heaps smarter so when an angry T-Rex is set to destroy Arg's village it is Arg who has to find a solution - and really quickly too. Of course to save the village Arg gets into quite a few pickles - especially when everyone else wants to kill the T-Rex, who has a very good reason for being in the valley anyway. The T-Rex is a talking dinosaur and together they embark on a mission to save the dinosaurs from extinction.

also available Stego-Snottysaurus.

Fun reading - perfect for the holidays.

Board Books

2011-09-24T11:56:00.002+10:00

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Present 1 2 3, and
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Present Colours May Gibbs (Scholastic)
Board books are very special and a beautiful start to the world of books.
Featuring the May Gibbs Gumnut Babies these two new titles are gorgeous and will introduce May Gibbs to a new generation of young australians.
Both titles have short phrases
Three buzzing bugs,
Seven floating flowers
Black spider weaves
Red ladybird crawls
... across the lower board with the illustrations above. The numbers title also showing the appropriate number.
Royalties from both titles go to two charities: the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and the Northcott Society.

Our Australian Girl series

2011-09-03T14:17:00.001+10:00

Our Australian Girl series (Penguin) featuring Grace, Letty, Poppy and Rose

Our Australian Girl is a new Historical Fiction series - with wonderfully written titles that I just couldn't put down. Each character has four titles in the 16 book series telling their own story, in their own voice at that time. The stories are fast-paced, compelling and engaging with each girl enduring hardships and disappointments to become strong memorable characters that will want to be read again and again.

Through the 16 book series (with titles released throughout the year - currently the third title for each character is available) we are able peer into the lives of four very different Australian girls in very different time periods in Australia's recent history. Grace is from 1808 (the convict era), Letty 1841 (colonisation), Poppy 1864 (the gold rush) and Rose 1900 (federation). And very importantly the historical research is great.

There is also the supporting Our Australian Girl website (http://ouraustraliangirl.com.au) that contains character information, funs tuff, and notes.

beginning with:

Meet Grace, Sofie Laguna

As a mudlark Grace's job is to find things in the mud of the Thames River to sell. But muddy and with nothing to sell, Grace (who is living with her Uncle in London and giving him the money from the things she sells) stands wanting to mind a horse for the gentlemen of on Fleet street. Hungry, she spies a man selling apple from a barrow and ... soon winds up on a convict ship - bound for Australia.

Meet Letty, Alison Lloyd
In 1841 Letty's big sister is going by boat all the way to Australia. Letty and her Papa are there to see her off but when the big sister suddenly has to attend to business on shore, Letty is left under orders from her father to stand right by her sister's chest. And within moments, the chest is hauled onto the boat deck, which Letty has to follow, the gang plank is removed and the boat is getting ready to sail - with Letty on board.

Meet Poppy, Gabrielle Wang
Poppy is a young Chinese Aboriginal girl living on a Christian mission near Echuca. She hates life here and when she is cleaning the matron’s desk and discovers that her brother Augustus is to be sent to another mission she tells him the news and he runs away in search of gold. Alone, Poppy decides that the only thing left for her to do is to also escape and find Gus.

Meet Rose, Sherryl Clark
It's 1900 and playing cricket with her brother in the early morning hours in Melbourne - even on your birthday - is not the correct thing for Rose to be doing. Rose wants to play cricket, climb trees and be an adventurer! But Rose's mother has other ideas, and only wants Rose to be a proper young lady, wear frilly dresses and learn how to sew, which to Rose was a punishment. And then her favourite Aunt arrives and things really start to change!

See all of the available titles and lots more information at the Our Australian Girl website. These really are wonderful reads.

Star Girl

2011-08-29T17:55:00.000+10:00

New Girl (Star Girl #1) Louise Park (Macmillan Education Australia)
This is absolutely terrific - a SPACE series for young girls from the creator of the spy series Zac Power Test Drive. Star Girl is a brand new tween fantasy adventure series of books perfectly crafted for young readers - especially girls, who are just starting to handle chapter books ... and of course who want space adventures.
In the first series of 8 titles Addie Banks is a Space Cadet (in the later series she progresses to Space Captain and then Space Agent). Addie is in a boarding school - on a space station and she is learning how to protect space. At the same time she also has to learn how to cope with some of the other school girls on the station who don't quite think Addie is up to joining the Space Agent program. She has amazing gadgets including a SpaceBerry communicator and a holographic watch - and of course lots of space cleverness too!
In this first title -New Girl- Addie has to discover why the alien life forms are in danger on one of the planets where the ice is melting. But the aliens are not her only danger. Her roommate creates dangers of her own. And like many schools there are scoreboards for the top students and also for the school houses ... points for these are accumulated, or deducted, from the space adventures.
These 78 page books have generous sized text, perfect for the younger reader, and lots of illustrations.

Other titles include
#2 Odd One Out
#3 Winning Moves
#4 Three’s a Crowd

And Star Girl is now online at http://www.stargirluniverse.com/.

Check out Star Girl! They are wonderful.

Terrific Fiction

2011-07-30T18:06:00.000+10:00

Two delightful fiction titles - both a little different and fun.

The Truth about Verity Sparks Susan Green (Walker Books)
Set in late 1800s England, 13 year old Verity is no ordinary orphan girl. She is working as a lowly hat girl for a milliner where she discovers that she has the unique talent of Teleagtivism ... she can find all sorts of lost things and she also has an almost perfect memory. When she is accused of theft and dismissed from her job after delivering a hat to a wealthy client, she soon winds up at the CIA - the Confidential Inquiry Agency where her talent excels. But one thing Verity still has to discover - the truth about her own past. there are nasty letters being sent about verity, the mystery of a fatal fire, pet snakes, a chase through the dark back alleys and of course the truth to be revealed.
This was a wonderful read, a great detective mystery title that I couldn't put down with well developed characters and setting. Great.

Lost Floods #10 Colin Thompson (Random House)
The dysfunctional Floods, having been restored to their rightful place as the rulers of Transylvania Waters are attempting to bring their country out of the Dark Ages. To get things underway the first task that must be done is to draw an official map of Transylvania Waters - especially as the population of Transylvania Waters is growing and wizards are returning there to live. So Maldegard, Winchflat's new wife set off with Edna to begin the task ... and they discover some amazing revelations about the country. They also have to start giving all the places they visit names and at the same time they have to also conduct a census. So much to do!
Fans of the Floods will love this latest riotous tale that continues the wonderful floods tradition!

Great fun reads to share.

Picture Book Delights

2011-07-23T16:28:00.000+10:00

That's Not a Daffodil! Elizabeth Honey (Allen&Unwin)
Young Tom's next door neighbour, Mr Yilmaz, gives him a daffodil bulb but to Tom it looks more like an onion so his neighbour suggests that they plant the bulb and Tom starts to watch the pot, and watch and watch and watch but nothing seems to be happening. Eventually a green beak starts to appear and the plant continues to grow. Of course every time Tom and Mr. Yilmaz look at the yet-to-completely-grow daffodil Tom imagines something different.
A lovely story and beautiful illustrations with themes of change, imagination, grwoth, friendship.

Nog and the Land of Noses Bruce Whatley (Scholastic)
This is the story of the noses from the land of Nog. Here every nose was different and every nose did something special. There were running noses, blocked noses, picked noses and lots of other noses that did strange things. but Nog's nose just sat there. he tried all sorts of ways to make his nose special to no avail. but one day when he sneezed his nose began to get itch and suddenly he found a use for his special nose!
Illustrations created by Bruce Whatley are just wonderful and this one, along with his own story, continues that tradition. A humorous tale about patience, differences, and discovery

The Last Viking Norman Jorgensen & James Foley (Fremantle Press)
Young Josh is very brave. He's not afraid of anyone or anything – mostly, but when he has to stay at Nan and Pop's house Josh is a little nervous, especially because Pop tells some hair-raising but exciting stories about Vikings. Pop gives Josh a present - a book about Vikings Josh decides to become a Viking even dressing like one with Pop's help. All this excites the Gods who are watching way up in the sky and when Josh encounters a little bit of local trouble its quite amazing who comes to the rescue.
A delightful story of bravery, imagination, resilience and growing up, with terrific illustrations. Also contains a puzzle to solve.

Enjoy these new titles.

Fun, Fun Picture Books

2011-07-16T14:54:00.000+10:00

Here is a picture book feast full of giggles and fun.

No Bears Meg McKinlay & Leila Rudge (Walker Books)
This is a lovely Once upon a time, Happily ever after, The End type of story with fairies and princesses and castles and funny things and exciting things and maybe even giants and lots and lots more but as Ruby, who is in charge of this book, writing the story and illustrating the pictures will tell you, there are absolutely NO BEARS in this book, not even one. But there are heaps of characters that will be recognised. And just who is saving the characters in Ruby's story?
A delightful picture book that is your not quite so traditional fairy tale.

Good Morning Mr Pancakes Chris McKimmie (Allen&Unwin)
This book is a real family affair with McKimmie family members contributing the title, some of the phrases and even the end papers as well as providing the inspiration for the story - a holiday on Moreton Island.
It's holiday time for Bee. But before she embarks on her week away she must take care of all her animals. She has to paint the toenails of her chooks so that they don't get mixed up with her uncle's chooks, and she has to pack her cat's things because he is going to the cat house (and not on the holidays). then when Bee does make it to the island it is a wonderful time, talking to dolphins and crabs, watching spiders and swimming in the ocean.
Full of imagination and adventure this is a wonderful celebration of childhood.

Bobo, My Superdog Michael Salmon (Ford St)
It is terrific seeing a new book from Michal Salmon and this one is another of his funny creations.
Bobo is a dog and he is a very spoiled Shichon (Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise cross). he has failed Miss Tiggy's Puppy Obedience School down at the local park, he gets washed in Mr Rex's pampered Pooch mobile dog wash, he eats with the family, sits and watches TV, and likes playing ball or chewing his favourite squeaking toy. He even has a fancy doghouse with lots of comfy cushions. But he is also Super-Bo, a dog with super powers, a one dog, crime fighting, lost girl finding, damsel saving, alien bandit defeating, pirate fighting super hero dog. He wears a mask so that he won't be recognised and an old striped beach towel as a cape. And no one knows, except of course the young boy telling the story.
A fun superhero tale that's just a little different.

The Aunties Three Nicholas Bland (Scholastic)
The three aunties that are arriving at the house to look after the children are not the nice loveable friendly aunties that would be hoped for. These are rather severs and very proper, withered and pompous aunties. When these aunties arrive the children can't smile, or giggle or sniffle or sneeze. They have to dress perfectly, a dress for the girls and a tie for the boy, the aunties will want biscuits and tea and of course there must be a thank you and please.
But chaos develops even though the children are on their best behaviour and try their very best to do as requested as things don’t quite go to plan and the aunties are forced to leave.
Told in rhyming verse with glorious illustrations, this is a book to be read again and again, which will make children giggle again and again.

Have fun sharing these.

Holiday Fiction Reads

2011-07-04T14:21:00.001+10:00

These books are great for holiday time reading.

Liberator Richard Harland (Allen&Unwin)
I was so thrilled that I had this book to read on a recent long plane trip ... I couldn't put it down.
The juggernaut Worldshaker has been renamed Liberator. Now the “Filthies” are in charge and the members of the Upper Decks who remained on board are living greatly endangered and victimised lives. For Col and Riff their world is rapidly changing. There is a saboteur on board and the revolution which enabled the lower decks to take control of the vessel is getting out of hand. The coal reserves which powers the mobile city are running dangerously low so the vessel has to port in Botany Bay to replenish supplies - and quickly too as the other Imperialist juggernauts are closing in to battle the overthrown vessel.
This is the wonderful sequel to the steam punk fantasy novel Worldshaker.

Surface Tension Meg McKinlay (Walker Books)
Another beautiful read.
A town is flooded; it is drowned, to provide a water supply but no one in Cassie's family sees the lever as it is flipped to drown the town. That was the day she was born. But years later during the drought when Cassie and her friend Liam are swimming in the new lake they discover the water is receding. Now parts of teh old flooded town are being revealed from the top of the water, first the tall tree, and then a roadway and sheds are revealed - soon parts of the flooded town are floating to the surface. Swimming on this side of the lake is very dangerous so it has been fenced, and locked ... or is there some other reason why it has been forbidden. As the water continues to recede a mystery is revealed and there is more than a town bruied beneath the waters.
What secrets lie beneath?
A riveting read for both boys and girls.

Nanny Piggins and the Accidental Blast-Off R. A. Spratt (Random House)
In space no one can hear you oink!
This is the fourth Nanny Piggins book and this time she blasts off in to space, accidentally of course, and with the Green family children in tow (being with nanny the children will learn way much more than at school anyway). When the greatest aeronautical engineers are having trouble launching the Space Shuttle they call on Nanny Piggins after all no one knows more about being blasted that the world's greatest flying pig.
She also wrestles with a crocodile, bungy jumps of the roof using the elastic from Mr Green's underpants, staples chicken wire over their chimney to keep out Santa, and heaps more.
The Nanny Piggins books are great fun reads, perfect for giggling all the way through. Young readers will love the humour and the Pig who takes control.

Happy holiday reading ...

Picture Books

2011-06-11T17:38:00.000+10:00

If you need some great new Aussie picture books then you can't go past these. They are terrific.

My Mum Is the Best Rosie Smith & Bruce Whatley (Scholastic)
I missed this for Mother's Day but mum's deserve celebration every day - as do dad's - and this book is just a lovely celebration of all things mum!
From the kisses and hugs, feeding, transporting to school, and all the other things they do, like singing and playing games and just generally taking care. Of course the mum's in the terrific illustrations are well chosen mum's from the animal kingdom like fish, seals, bears elephants and gorgeous bats who snuggle heir babies to bed each night and each mum is demonstrating a different wonderful activity that mum's do. There is generous space surrounding the text and the illustrations.
A delightful book to share with the very young.
Hooray for mum's everywhere.

Song of the Dove Errol Broome & Sonia Kretschmar (walker Books)
How terrific to find a picture book with some lovely period illustrations that touches on the world of opera.
Vincenzo Bellini (best known opera is probably Norma - at least for me) wrote the music for beautifully flowing operas. Bellini gives music lessons in Naples (before writing is first opera) and one of his students is the beautiful Maddelena. They fall in love. When her parents forbid them to marry they vow that nothing will tear them apart - even when he is called to Milan to continue composing operas.

Alpha Monsters Chris Kennett (Scholastic)
This is a delightful take on the alphabet book with monsters being the alphabet stars. Told in rhyming verse it is the story of a boy and his teddy who go out in the rain and get caught in a thunder storm and land in another world. They land no an island of alphabetical monsters and one of those monsters has lost his teddy. together Freddy and the monster set off to find the monster’s lost teddy. The rhyming text and bright, cartoon style illustrations make this book fun and entertaining.

Button Boy Rebecca Young & Sue DeGennaro (Scholastic)
People collect the most amazing things and Banjo loves collecting the buttons that the folks in his neighbourhood seem to be continually loosing. Even day he would come home with a new button and every day Grandma Woolly would sew the button onto his favourite jumper (that was her idea). Of course having lost the buttons all the neighbourhood knows where to find them and they are soon meeting Banjo for their buttons.
A lovely tale with simple illustrations about lost and found things and of course friendships.

Waiting for Later Tina Matthews (Walker Books)
A delightful story about being told to wait for later that will ring true for nearly every child.
When Nancy asks all her relatives to spend time with her doing different activities, that include rocking backwards and forwards, being tickled, being told a story, they all tell Nancy to wait for later. So Nancy climbs a tree to wait for later. In that tree Nancy find that all the things that she wants to do with her relatives, the tree can do too.
And when later arrives, it’s her family who wonder where Nancy’s got to.
Lovely woodcut and stencil images accompany the text. Great for young readers.

Enjoy sharing these lovely titles.

from Magabala

2011-06-08T16:17:00.001+10:00

Two new great titles from Magabala books, Australia's oldest independent Indigenous publishing house.

Stolen Girl Trina Saffioti & Norma MacDonald (Magabala Books)

A young Aboriginal girl is taken by the Child Protector of Aboriginals to live in a new home with other Aboriginal children. At night she whispers to herself her Aboriginal name and she sings songs, imagines and dreams. She remembers her early life and upbringing with her mother and the Elders. She hears of the 'lucky' girls who are taken as domestic help and decides she doesn't want to be that lucky. One day the time has come and she takes her first steps back to her home.

This fictionalised account is a great way to introduce young readers to the Stolen Generation. The story is beautifully and emotionally told and accompanied by lovely water colour illustrations.

Ubby's Underdogs : The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon Brenton E. McKenna (Magabala Boooks)

The cast of Ubby’s Underdogs – a small rag-tag group of misfits who makeup the town’s smallest gang but are often underestimated by the other town gangs includes Ubby, a street-wise Aboriginal girl, Sai Fong, a Chinese girl just off the boat from Shanghai, Fin a cool Irishman and Sel a big friendly giant and a New Zealander descended from Maori warriors called Gabe.

Set in the 1940s in the small pearling settlement of Broome this graphic novel is a heroic tale of fun and adventure, with themes that include courage, bravery and friendship, and the weak and the strong and the battle of the underdogs. It is intertwined with myths and legends.

This is a fun read – especially if readers like graphic novels. It is the first Australian Indigenous novel (and the first in the Ubby's Underdogs trilogy).

First Fiction

2011-06-04T15:32:00.001+10:00

Here are some titles that are just perfect for the younger reader who is stepping away from picture books into reading fiction titles. they all have generously spaced text and appropriate font size as well as illustrations on every page. each title also has a number of chapters or stories within the title.

Mr Tripp Smells a Rat (Walker Stories) Sandy McKay & Ruth Paul (Walker Books)
This is a collection of three stories about Room 5 and their teacher Mr. Tripp, who loves telling jokes. The first is about a class rat that has escaped from its cage; another about a birthday party for Mr. Tripp who just happens to be on a seafood diet which makes party food hard); and lastly the number one problem of all early school years - the dreaded Nits. These are lovely stories appropriately told for the early reader.

Our Gags (Walker Stories) Catriona Hoy & Annabelle Josse (Walker Books)
There is a new baby in the house and so mum is very consumed with feeding and change smelly nappies and burping and little vomits … luckily there is a gag's machine on hand to lend assistance and keep it all running smoothly. Gag's of course is grandmother and the three stories in this book delightfully tell tales about Gags and her adventures with the family, getting things in order in the house, playing in the park, and going on family holidays - again perfect stories for the early reader.

The Deep End (Aussie Nibbles) Ursula Dubosarsky & Mitch Vane (Puffin)
The Deep End is Ursula's latest instalment for the Aussie Nibbles series - and this time Becky who has appeared in earlier nibbles titles - is learning to swim. She loves swimming lessons at the local pool but now it is time for her group to move up. Now she is moving into the deep end of the pool and Becky doesn't know if she is quite ready for the that part of the pool yet.
A wonderful examination of a young child's discovery of learning to swim in the deep end of the pool.
This title is shortlisted for the Younger Reader Book of the Year award.

New Junior Reader Series Titles

2011-06-03T12:23:00.000+10:00

Great new series titles for younger readers have been hitting the shelves.
here are some of the ones I really like.

Camp Croc Trudie Trewin (Walker Books)
Another title in Walker's Lightning Strikes series that are great for readers who want a good solid read that is fast paced with plenty of action.
School camp has never been like this. Daks and his mates have been waiting all their school lives to go to camp - school camp at Camp Trib is legendary and the boys have arrived. WHen they set out on the first activity and come across the sign at the boundary fence it doesn't take too much to entice the boys further intuit eh jungle. and that is where the unsexpected adventure begins as they discover two wildlife smugglers in the process of increasing their illegal collection. Now the boys have to decide exactly what to do and who they are afraid of - the muggers or the wildlife!

Out of This World, EJ12 Girl Hero : Book 9 Susannah McFarlane (Scholastic)
another delightful Emma Jack title. These books are just the thing for young girls who want adventure with a girl who is the hero.
EJ is at school when she receive the call from SHINE and she soon becomes a Special Agent. This adventure finds the evil SHADOW agency with a mission to destroy SHINE's top-secret spy satellite, that contains all of SHINE's secrets. EJ has to decipher coded riddles to defeat the SHADOW scientists and she has to fly a rocket into space - even to the moon to find the solution.
Even though EJ can become a super spy she still has trouble with her school assignments and especially this one on space but he SHINE adventure might just have given her the assignment solution!

Pearlie and the Silver Fern Fairy Wendy Harmer & Gypsy Taylor (Random House)
With their simple tex, vivid illustrations and appropriate size, the Pealie books are great reads - especially for the younger readers who are transitioning from picture books.
Pearlie is back and her latest trip to the lush New Zealand forest where she is meeting the park fairy Omaka is as sparkling and exciting as ever! Omaka is planning a surprise birthday party for her forest friend, the 150 years old tuatara and Pearlie assists by delivering the invitations. unfortunately for Pearlie she gets lost among the ancient trees and starts to worry … but all is not lost as she meets many amazing creatures and one, which eventually shows her the way back.

Boys Vs Beast: Flamatoraq Battle of the Mutants #10 Mac Park (Scholastic)
This series is just right for young boys moving from picture books who want short titles with lots of action and adventure. Large font size and illustrations scattered throughout make this easy to read.
Kai Masters is a high tech border guard and beast battler and this time he has to battle new and bigger beasts - mutants - and his battle is against a fire-air-water beast. He has new combo gear and an ice chopper but will he be victorious?
also see Boy Vs Beast: Terraserpix

Aussie Dog (Mates series) Eleanor Nilsson & Beth Norling (Scholastic)
Mates are a series of titles for younger readers, illustrated in full colour and in an easy to read chapter book for
mat.
It was June and already Sophie was putting in her Christmas order - she wants a dog - a good australian kelpie. And because they are expensive to keep (her father told her so she would even have it as birthday present nest february. still pestering her parents weeks later a dog comes across her path … but it's not the dog she hopes for.
A lovely tale that wishes can come true - although not quite the way we might expect.

Rivetting Fiction

2011-05-18T13:19:00.001+10:00

These are great reads so read and enjoy.

Head Spinners Thalia Kalkipsakis (Allen&Unwin)
The subtitle is Six Stories to Twist Your Brain and that is most certainly true. With tittles like, Tick Tock Time Machine, It began with a Tingle, Alive Again, these stories, all of varying length with really hook in readers who want something not suite so predictable.
Tick tock Time Machine - about a clock, given as a present (Sam really wanted a surf board) from her ingenious Uncle, that becomes a time machine…
It Began with a Tingle - an itch on the arm that soon grew to be a rather useful appendage, that is about to surgically removed!
These are FUN! Great for jump starting imaginations too.

Vinnie's War David McRobbie (Allen&Unwin)
With war raging in London, and Vinnie homeless after a bomb destroys the pub where he was living, Vinnie is evacuated on a train to the countryside with nothing but the clothes he is wearing (he doesn't even have a gas mask) and his harmonica and amazing musical talent. Vinnie and his three friends arrive in Netterfold to begin their wartime stay. The children, labelled the Vaccies by the locals, are soon entwined in mystery as things start to go missing in the town and the blame is laid right at their feet. Vinnie stands tall, the truth is revealed, and his life after Netterfold will be amazing.
This author writes wonderful fiction and this one is just fantastic. It is a wonderful crafted story about the impact of World War 2 in wartime Britain. It is the story of Vinnie, a homeless boy who starts by losing everything, and - through his experience as an evacuee in World War II - finds friendship, vocation and a place to belong. The characters and settings are vivid, the drama is real, and emotions, raw. I couldn't put this book dow. It is one of he my favourite reads so far this year.

Henry Hoey Hobson Christine Bongers (Random House)
Imagine being twelve and half years old, starting your sixth school in six years and finding out that in you are the only boy in the final grade at our Lady of Perpetual Succour ("a school that even Catholic boys avoid") - that's what happens to Henry Hoey Hobson - and he's not even Catholic. Henry also has braces, unfortunately they make his mouth bleed so he soon is known as a vampire. And when the strangers move in next door, with some very strange nightie activities, Henry really thinks his life has taken a plummet. Henry just doesn't fit in … but all is not lost. There is always the school swimming carnival for Henry to redeem himself (as well as seeing the school queen fall) and the neighbours next door one of whom has a secret that changes Henry drastically. heroes come in all sorts of styles.
This book, shortlisted for the 2011 Children's Book Council Awards, is a terrific read.

Yep - these are great reads.

Gorgeous Picture Books

2011-05-02T13:48:00.001+10:00

Here is a collection of picture books that are just oh so gorgeous.

Dream of the Thylacine Margaret Wild & Ron Brooks (Allen&Unwin)
The release says that this is an "arresting and beautiful picture book" and it is so very true. The masterly illustrations of Ron Brooks are haunting as it twists from reflections of the Thylacine as it could have appeared in its natural state in the vast Australian landscape to the last known images of the thylacine as it appeared in captivity in 1937 in Hobart Zoo. These ilustrations will require repeated viewing.
Margaret Wild writes some of the most lyrical and poignant picture books texts and this is one of those.
This book is another call to action for our vulnerable native animals and environments.

Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate Joy Cowley & Sarah Davis (Gecko Press)
This book is just delightful. I love the story about a fierce little woman who lived in a house at the end of a jetty. Here she knitted socks to sell the sailors who got their feet wet and played bagpipes to the seagulls. One stormy day a wicked pirate came to the house and demanded to be let in but the fierce little woman was strong and refused him entry even threatening to whack him with her knitting needles. but this wicked pirate wasn't as tough as his bluster made him out to be ... and things change!
The illustrations are just beautiful, imaginative and humorous and require repeated examinations - the parrot has many funny appearances. And don't miss the endpapers.

Goodnight, Mice! Frances Watts & Judy Watson (ABC Books)
A lovely good night tale in rhyming verse that will help those restless mice settle down to sleep.
It is time for four little mice to prepare to go to sleep - grandpa mouse is already snuffling and snoring and mother and father mouse have already called them to bed, but the four little mice have other ideas and want a little more play time before going to bed, first in the bathtub, then brushing teeth, right the way till the four little mice are fast asleep.

The Runaway Hug Nicholas Bland & Freya Blackwood (Scholastic)
A heart warming story with gorgeous illustrations makes this a loving book that must be shared with the whole family.
Lucy has borrowed her mother’s very last hug which she will bring back as soon as she has finished with it. First she visits her father and gives him a hug which he immediately gives back, then her twin brothers, and then her sister Lilly. Each in turn returns Lucy's hug but when the family dog Annie runs away with the hug Lucy has to tell her mother that her very last hug has gone ... or has it?

These are just perfect for sharing!

New Junior Fiction

2011-04-21T18:37:00.001+10:00

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

2011-04-16T15:22:00.000+10:00

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

2011-04-03T10:38:00.000+10:00

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

2011-04-01T09:37:00.007+11:00

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.

Junior fiction and New Historical Fiction - especially for girls

2011-03-30T13:23:00.001+11:00

These new Junior Fiction Reads will be loved by kids and really can't be missed.

Bungawitta Emily Rodda & Craig Smith (Scholastic)

Bungawitta is the latest creation by Emily Rodda of Deltora Quest fame and this title is another great one.

The town of Bungawitta has been hit severely by the drought. The residents have left in droves so that it was "like Noah's Ark in reverse" ... until there were only 12 people left in town. The folks would gathered every morning at the general store to drink tea and to watch the morning news. One morning they decided that enough was enough, even if the rains came tomorrow they still needed money to help keep Bungawitta alive. And a festival would attract city tourists with money to spend. But can such a small band of enthusiast pout on a festival?

Our Australian Girl Series.

This is a fantastic new series. The books are un-put-downable. They are history, wonderfully written, about girls and the development of early Australia. Each of the four titles Meet Poppy, Meet Grace, Meet Letty, Meet Rose, are the first books and each character has four titles in the series telling their stories. Each title also has as sample chapter from the next title and a few pages of facts about the period of time that each character is in. Must reads that will make history real!

Our Australian Girl: Meet Poppy Gabrielle Wang (Penguin)

It is 1864 when we meet Poppy. She is a young Chinese Aboriginal girl, who lives on a Christian mission with her brother Augustus and other children. When she discovers a letter about her brother's removal to a new home in a room she was dusting in the Mission Office she immediately warns Augustus who flees that night. But poppy is also to be moved, so using the secret Her brother told her about a secret passage behind sacks in the Darkling Room Poppy to flee ... in search of her brother of freedom and a better life and the gold that will save them.

Our Australian Girl: Meet Grace Sofie Laguna
It's 1808 when we meet Grace who soon becomes a convict girl. She is living with her uncle in London. Her Uncle sends her daily to scour for anything that he can sell for money. She is barely fed and lonely. But Grace loves talking to the Fleet Street horses and so when one day, when she has hunger pangs after her uncle has drunk all the money from her latest find she takes an apple and then more from a grocer's cart fleeing on the back of horse. She is pursued and in a hopeless escape she is caught. What will happen to her? Will she be sent to prison and hanged ... or worse.

Other titles:
Meet Letty (1841) and Meet Rose (1900)
see the terrific website (http://ouraustraliangirl.com.au/) for lots more information and fun!

Classic Australian Picture Books

2011-03-28T11:07:00.001+11:00

It is thrilling to see these new classic paperback editions out once again. These are titles that every Australian child should read and enjoy!

Waltzing Matilda Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson & Desmond Digby (Angus&Robertson)
Waltzing Matilda is AB Paterson's classic poem about a swagman who steals a sheep, stuffing it into his 'tucker-bag', the squatter who raises the alarm and the police who chase the swagman. The swaggie, rather than be caught by the police, jumps into the billabong to escape - forever.
Beautiful illustrations accompany the verse.

The Man from Snowy River Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson & Annette MacArthur-Onslow (Angus&Robertson)
Possibly our most famous poem by one of our most famous bush poets, a poem that has been made into a movie and TV series, and that forms Australia's early independent colonial identity.
It is the tale of valuable colt that escapes and is chased by many busies until a steep slope confronts the bushies, all of whom will no longer chase the colt, all except one who rides the slopes, captures the horse and collects the reward.

Also look out for:
Advance Australian Fair Peter Dodds McCormick (Angus&Robertson) which is delightfully illustrated by some of Australia’s greatest artists.
Click go the Shears illustrated by Robdert Ingpen

Beautiful Australian Classics.

Junior Fiction adventure

2011-03-26T15:53:00.000+11:00

Terrific new Junior Fiction that are fun reads.

Hiro’s Quest #3 Shadow Stealers Tracey West & Craig Phillips (Scholastic)
This is the third title in the fast paced action packed adventure books that belong to the Hiro's Quest series which should be appealing to younger readers. There are comic style illustrations in every chapter that include text from story.
In this adventure Hiro has to find a cure for the mysterious illness that has inflicted his family. When Mr Sato who had trained Hiro and his friends to become Ninja since they were young can find no cure but suggests that the answer might lie with the Monks of the Dusk who reside in an ancient temple Hiro and his friends set off on a treacherous journey that involves shape-stealing cats and their evil controlling monk.

The Fixers #3 Curse of The Vampire Sean Williams & Nial O'Connor (Scholastic)
This is the third title in a fun junior fantasy series with highly appealing comic book style illustrations.
Ollie's is lost in a strange world for his world is just one of many. This time he lands in a world at the foot of a large ruin and it is raining. Ollie dives for shelter under a tree only to be confronted with another who has been thrown out of his village, another who has teeth as sharp as needles. When Ollie is caught in a net and Xander approaches, is he trying to free Ollie or do something much worse. And what of the villagers? Why have they thrown out Xander and can Ollie find his way home. Fast-paced and fun!
also look out for The Fixers #4 Invasion of The Freaks

The Goannas of No. 1 Martin Place Vicki Steggall (ABC Books)
This hardback book is set in Sydney at number one Martin Place, the site of the old General post Office, which many Sydney-siders will recognise.
Moreton is a goanna he and his parents are the last remaining goannas in the Sydney's Botanic Gardens. They are forced to leave their beautiful home in , when the humans decide to place a seat right at the place where the goannas like to lie, they decide they need to move somewhere that's high above the ground, away from all the humans. that place is the sun-filled room at the top of the clock tower at No. 1 Martin Place.
But nearby dwells the Pitt street cat who rules Martin Place and who has no intention of permitting the goannas residence. It is up to the goanna family and some very unlikely feathered and furred friends and a small human, to sort out the cat!

Picture books and non Fiction

2011-02-22T14:23:00.001+11:00

Here we go with some delightful reads ... and don't forget the stories that are in the illustrations too.

Maudie And Bear Jan Ormerod & Freya Blackwood (Little Hare)

Some books you just don’t want to put down, and you definitely don't want them to end... and this is one of those books. five short stories, lavishly illustrated are bound into this glorious hardcover book, that also includes a ribbon marker.
Maudie and Bear have a very special friendship. their lives are entwined and revolve around each other. Maudie is the youngster who is always occupied, who always has great ideas, who has tantrums. And Bear is patient, trustworthy, and the one with undemanding and never ending love.
In the first story Maudie thinks it would be a great idea for exercise, a bike ride and in the end a bike ride is taken - and it is Bear who completes the exercise. The stories and the illustrations are simple and loving.
A book worthy of every shelf house.

Town Possum, Outback Possum Yvonne Morrison & Heath McKenzie (Little Hare)
Told in rhyming verse, this picture books is the tale of two possum cousins, one for the outback and the other from the city, and when the city cousin comes for a visit to the country she soon is bored by the slower pace of life and three days of bush food and bush views. So an invitation to the outback cousin to accompany her to the city and is accepted. Of course when outback possum arrives in the city the noise and the rush and the frantic pace of life is too much and home he heads to the safety of his tree … or is it!

Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors, The True Story of the Fight for Ancient China Alison Lloyd & Terry Denton (Penguin)
Now this is fun!
Wicked Warriors tells the history of the unification of early china - when all the waring states were gathered into the fold - how a 12 year old king became the first emperor of china.
Filled with History from a period of time in China we rarely mention or know about. There is information on the building of the Great Wall of China, the burial (and superstitions) of the first emperor, the weapons crafted to defeat the enemy, the waring states, the armies ... and much much more. There are maps, timelines, and wonderfully comical illustrations which add to the telling of this history! and it makes history FUN!

More soon ....

Picture Books and Junior Fiction

2011-02-11T14:48:00.000+11:00

It has been a little quiet on the newkidsbooksinoz front for the past bunch of weeks but we are now up and rolling again with some of the great books that I have seen recently.

Leo the Littlest Seahorse Margaret Wild & Terry Denton Terry (Viking)
This is a baby-being-born story with a difference because this time there are 100 babies being born, the father is carrying the babies and the father is (of course) a seahorse. as well the story is about a seahorse who isn't quite like the rest of the sea horse family, Leo has a tail that won’t quite curl and a fin that wont quite flutter and when a hungry groper arrives the questions is pondered ... where is Leo?
This is a lovely picture book tale with many facts written into the narrative and lovely, humorous illustrations.

Samuel's Kisses Karen Collum & Serena Geddes (New Frontier)
Kisses are really special ... especially from the little people. Samuel loves shopping with his mother so when Samuel and his mother shop at the local mall and discovered that the big people didn't smile back to him when he smiled at them young Samuel had to do something about it. When he blew them each a kiss something amazing happened to these people who weren't smiling back.
A cute story with lovely illustrations.

Always Jack Susanne Gervay & Cathy Wilcox (HarperCollins)
Jack is back (for his third book)! He is still joking. he is still inventing. He has some great friends and Nana is still buying purple undies! Everything is going well for Jack, even the move to the new house has been relatively smooth - there is of course the wedding of his mum and soon to be stepdad but that isn’t causing too many issue either, although he doesn't like the idea of wearing the tuxedo! But his mum's latest news is not good news at all. It's scary and frightening and changes Jack's world - and the news is all to do with cancer.
Touching and delightfully written this book is endorsed by the Cancer Council of NSW

Plum Puddings and Paper Moons Glenda Millard & Stephen Michael King (ABC Books)
This is beautiful. Once again the Silk family are here, but this book features Scarlet.
When she meets young Anik she hears of all that he has endured so Scarlet decides to declare PEACE in the valley (black tights make great armbands). Scarlet's small action has a big result and has an impact on all the valley folk culminating in a special celebration - a march for Peace - right on Christmas Eve.
Lookout as well for the other books in the award-winning Kingdom of Silk series:- The Naming of Tishkin Silk; Layla, Queen of Hearts; Perry Angel’s Suitcase; All the Colours of Paradise, and now, Plum Puddings and Paper Moons.
One of my favourite books from last year!
Enjoy the reading!

Holiday Trivia and Drawing Time

2011-01-09T14:45:00.001+11:00

Here are few books that are great for holiday time fun!

Monster Book of Drawing Bind-up Marc McBride (Scholastic)
Monster Battles, Dangerous Beasts, Mythical Creatures ... learn to draw all of these with this wonderful book from the master of fantasy illustration, Marc McBride.
With simple and well presented step-by-step instructions drawing monsters in battle, in flight, and creating your own mythical beast has never been this easy.
As well there are examples of lettering styles for the creatures.

Australia and World Records 2011 Morse & Harris (Scholastic)
Beginning with a section dedicated to just Australian records this book is for the readers who has lots of questions .... like

What is Australia's driest town?
What is Australia’s wettest town?
Which AFL player has kicked the most goals?
What is Australia’s coldest place?
What is Australia’s hottest town?
Who scored Australia’s highest test innings?

All of these questions and many more world records are answered in the pages of this full colour book. There is even a section on technology, human endurance, music and movies.

World Cricket Records 2011 (Scholastic Australia)
Cricket is not over yet ... there's more to come so here is the book for the fanatics who want records ...

Who is Australia’s highest test run scorer?
Which country has the longest unbeaten streak in test cricket?
Which Australian bowler has the Australian record for the most ducks?
Who holds the record for the most test dismissals by a wicketkeeper?
Who is the only batsman to make three double-centuries in a single test series?

These questions can all be answered in this new edition. Full of cricket trivia and fascinating facts from all formats of the game including test, 20-20 cricket, domestic and women's cricket, and information about some of the stars past and present, this is a must for cricket buffs.

Enjoy the facts .....

More Picture Book Feasts

2010-12-31T13:44:00.001+11:00

And more ...

All Through The Year Jane Godwin & Anna Walker (Penguin)
Gorgeous illustrations and a gorgeous text make this a gorgeous book.
It is the reflection of a very Australian year as seen through the eyes of a girl from an ordinary family. her reflections are about the weather, her family, school, falling leaves, feasts and festivities like Easter egg hunting and Mother's Day preparations (in May of course), end of year school concert nights and much more. Each double page spread is the home of a month and is written in a wonderful rhyme and told with appropriate voice of the child. The illustrations are rich with the characters and the environment changing appropriately, and the book cover is padded - making this even more of a treat. And don't miss the end papers ... they too reflect change.

Plato the Platypus Plumber (Part-Time) Hazel Edwards & John Petropoulos (IP Kidz)
Water and a platypus ... that goes together very well.
Plato the platypus plumber is a quirky new picture book from the prolific Hazel Edwards. This platypus is a part time plumber who fixes all manner of water problems for his human friend Zanzibar whose family is repairing a run down house by the creek. When the shower hose in the bath breaks, or when the toilet gets blocked while dad is sitting on it ... it is Zanzibar who swims to the rescue. He also brings other special tools in his tool-kit like Smile Spray for grumpy people. This story, with its well crafted message about the importance of water, and the small side lines about feral animals, drought, and the environment, is a delight.
Also available is the Teachers' Guide and the Classroom Performance Script as free downloads from the website.

Shake A Leg Boori Monty Pryor & Jan Ormerod (Allen&Unwin)
This is a super book with a wonderful story and illustrations in comic strip frame format that is (as the back cover says) a joyous celebration of food, dance and cultural understanding.
Three hungry young boys stop in at Bertie's Pizzeria in far north Queensland and meet Bertie - an Aboriginal chef who speaks Italian and makes the best pizza in town. And while Bertie makes the boys a pizza he also tells stories, stories of a boy who didn't listen, and boys who went hunting for honey.
Woven in with these stories are the cultural understandings as Bertie reveals Aboriginal culture in the hunting, music, dance and spirituality. As written in the acknowledgement this book most definitely shows the beauty and colour of this ancient culture in a new way!
See the clip here.

Monkey Red Monkey Blue Nicki Greenberg (Allen&Unwin)
Bold strong colours and photographic images with a simple and quirky text make this a fun book to share with the very young.
Like many children Monkey Red and Monkey Blue don’t want to go bed. Instead they want to stay up so their friend chameleon suggest having a midnight feast ... and that’s when the chaos begins as the two monkey, with a little help from chameleon gather the food, popcorn, spaghetti, pancakes, sauce and more and put it all together with a cherry on top. Of course the end result is a mess when chameleon gets just a little too enthusiastic!

Chill Carol Thompson (Little Hare)
Dolly and Jack are best friends. Some days they are quiet together and other days they totally chaotic ... and make them laugh. One day the two friends decide to paint picture of each other - except that neither friend is impressed with each other’s portrait. The best friends are no longer friends any more and each of them gets MAD ... and then each of them gets Sad. But with a bit of deep breathing and counting to ten the fallen out friends are soon best friends again.
Lovely story and illustrations.

Princess and Fairy: Twinkly Ballerinas Anna Pignataro (Scholastic)
Another gorgeous Princess and Fairy "Look and Find" book that will be adored by all the little fairy and ballerina girls - especially with all the pink glitter on the cover and the final pages of the book!!
Princess and Fairy - two cute bunnies - have been invited to attend the Ballet Frou-Frou. First they have to travel through different lands to find the tiems on their list, hidden in the illustrations. The book includes a pullout invitation and list of ballet related items to be found on the pages throughout this book.
Written in rhyming verse, and with each double page spread overflowing with delicate illustrations, this is another that will be read and poured over time and time again.

More coming soon.....

A Picture Book feast!

2010-12-23T16:37:00.000+11:00

So many gorgeous new picture books ... here are some:

Our World; Bardi-Jaawi Life at Ardiyooloon One Arm Point Remote Community School (Magabala Books)

If you want to see inside the life of a remote aboriginal community then Our World - Bardi-Jaawi Life at Ardiyooloon is the perfect book to investigate.

Full of colour and wonderful words it looks at the children of this aboriginal community and celebrates the connection of the BARDI-JAAWI people to the land and the sea. there are wonderful photographs of the children and other people in the community as well as artwork by the children and delightfully written text. there are explanations and a pronunciation guide for some of the bardi words included as well as explanation of some of the camping, fishing and hunting activities, a Bardi kinship chart and many more insights into this community. Ardiyooloon is at the top of the Dampier Peninsula, 200km north of Broome in the north-west of Western Australia. This is a book to be explored and enjoyed.

The Legend of The Golden Snail Graeme Base (Penguin)

A Graeme Base book is always a feast of reading and exploration of the intricate artwork and this one continues that long tradition for there will be continued re-reading and continued re-examination of the so richly created artwork.

The Legend of the Golden Snail is Wilbur's favourite book. he loves hearing it read to him. It fills his mind with endless possibilities and imaginations so much so that Wilbur decides to set out on a mission to free The Golden Snail for it has been banished to the ends of the earth only to be released if a new master is found. Along the way Wilbur makes friends with a cat, a monstrous sea creature, a bush of blossoming butterflies, and lantern-fish.

Of course there are also hidden snail 'n' crossbones images to find in every picture that will surely encourage a closer look!

And dont forget to check out the clip.

Feathers for Phoebe Rod Clement (HarperCollins)
Like all of Rods books this one is a joy wit hilarious text and rich vibrant illustrations.

A small, grey and not often noticed little bird wants very much to be noticed, to stand out in the crowd ... just like Zelda and Zelda is only tooo happy to transform Phoebe for she runs the most popular beauty salon in the forest. so the transformation beings, starting at the top and working right through her 'look' with feather extensions and added crests, moves, songs and colours and more. unfortunately for Phoebe each added transformation leaves phoebe unnoticed and it also makes it a little more difficult to walk and fly and just get around until eventually the all the added extras are just to much for little phoebe.

I Don't Believe In Dragons Anna Walker (Scholastic)

"I can see a dragon," says miss may. Everyone in kindergarten can see a dragon ... everyone except jack. Jack doesn't believe in dragons. While all the children ask questions or ponders dragon possibilities when a feather or apple skin is found or a strange sound is heard, jack provides a real-world reason for the possibility even though reading the story we can see that there is a dragon present until jack makes a discovery.

A delightful story and pictures with a beautiful, lovely, friendly dragon that dragon-lovers everywhere will adore.

More to follow.

More Junior Fiction Series titles.

2010-12-14T11:47:00.000+11:00

Two more junior reads. Both books have well spaced text, ample illustrations, and short fun chapters or entries. Both will be especially appealing to girls.

Harriet Bright Holiday Hullabaloo Craig Claire & Melanie Feddersen (Penguin)

The Harriet Bright books are fun to read and this continues the tradition with four delightful holiday-time stories.

Harriet Bright loves poetry and she is going to have the best holiday ever and Christmas is very nearly here! But there are 6480 seconds (Harriet knows because she calculated it) before she is allowed to get out of bed. She promise, promise, promised, her mother that she wouldn't get out of bed until 7 am so she takes out her notebook and writes down some good ideas to pass the time.

Other stories include the 'being bored' story, and the summer holiday friend that comes by (who causes a whole heaps of trouble for Harriet), and the best holiday story ever - starring Harriet Bright and her best friend Melly ... and a camel, and a pyramid and more.

The three Harriet Bright books, all have short stories with light illustrations, highlighted text ... and of course there are poems scattered throughout! Delightful reads. See the website for more including a Christmas competition and poetry entries.

Musical Mayhem - The Fabulous Diary of Persephone Pinchgut Aleesah Darlison & Serena Geddes (New Frontier)

This new series stars Persephone Pinchgut and her sister Portia, identical twins who are opposites in so many ways, but, as regularly happens with twins who are also often compared. Persephone is sensible and shy, Portia is glam and good a most everything (including losing her strawberry lip gloss) so Persephone writes this personal secret diary with her innermost secrets to have something of her very own. In Musical Mayhem the dreaded school musical has been announced - at least Persephone thinks it is a disaster. Portia though cant wait for she will take the lead of the Princess - so she hopes. Throughout the story Persephone writes about her 'twin troubles' and especially of her twin's teasing but in the end the two girls move from 'twin troubles' to 'totally together twins'.

Written in diary form with well spaced text and lovely simple line illustrations scattered throughout the Totally Twins series will be enjoyed by young girls.

Also available is Model Mayhem.
These are fun reads. Enjoy!

More Junior Fiction

2010-12-12T15:51:00.009+11:00

More titles in new or exisitng series for yougner readers. These are just terrific reads.

Tiger Trouble Justin D'Ath (Penguin)
The Extreme Adventures titles have been a great series and this is the latest instalment.

Sam Fox and his family are in New Delhi and one moment he is watching a cricket match and then the next Sam is chasing a pick pocket who has stolen his backpack which had been sitting at his feet in the stand. In this backpack was a cricket ball - autographed by the whole Australian cricket team and Sam couldn't let it go! And it doesn't take long before Sam is caught up in an international animal smuggling ring with wild tiger cubs as trade. Soon Sam is confronting a maharaja, a king cobra, adult wild tigers, guns and a whole lot of trouble.

Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot Anna Branford & Sarah Davis (Walker Books)

This is a beautiful early reader book for young girls with short chapters, generously spaced words and with lovely illustrations that are on nearly every page.

Violet Mackerel is a girl with a theory that she calls the Theory of Finding Small Things because whenever you are thinking of something very important and brilliant you will find something small and special on the ground! She also believes that when you want something really, really important, then ordinary plans are no good - you need a brilliant plot. When Violet decides that she would like to get the blue china bird that costs a lot of money that she sees at the markets her family attends every Saturday, she spies a little red button on the ground. Now she knows that a brilliant plot is called for.
This is a lovely story, delightfully told, with sweet illustrations.
See the Violet Mackerel website for the newsletter, lots of activities and a holiday competition.

Early Reading Chapter Books

2010-12-11T09:36:00.001+11:00

Here is a collection of early reader chapter books .... just perfect for readers who have moved to their first 'real' book with many illustrations and large print.

Mr Badger and The Big Surprise Leigh Hobbs (Allen&Unwin)

I love these books. Great for read-alouds.

This is a new series of short chapter books by the hugely talented Leigh Hobbs, the creator of the Old Tom series. These books are a treat and absolutely engrossing with well structured text and generous illustrations - tipped with Leigh's humour!

In this first title we are introduced to Mr Badger and his friends and discover the world of the Boubles (pronounced Boublay) Grand Hotel, a splendid old London hotel. Mr badger is in charge of special events at the hotel and he is preparing for the seventh birthday party of the seriously spoilt granddaughter of the hotel owners. Miss Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers' is having 205 of her closest friends to the party AND her invitations included the words DO NOT FORGET TO BRING A PRESENT! Fun and chaos happens at this party!

Also available Mr Badger and the Missing Ape.

Boy VS Beast Battle Of The Borders #5 : Tempesta Mac Park (Scholastic)

The first 4 titles in the Boy vs Beast belonged to Battle of the Worlds - now it is time for Battle of the Borders. This time the beasts that are attacking have changed - now they are combo beasts and the five boys who are the Border Guards must defend the border wall.

A storm beast has been created. There is a lightning storm but no rain and now it is up to Kai and his Jet-Charge to fight the beast and defend the border in Tempesta.

Also available now in the Battle Of The Borders series, Sludgia, Isolus and Volcan

Two new titles in the Mates series. These books have full colour illustrations and short simple, fun text.

Tomato Sauce, Of Course! Moya Simmons & Jim Grimwade (Scholastic)
The Aussie Tomato Sauce company has stopped making Aussie tomato sauce - the only tomato sauce that Tammy likes ... and that she eats all the time - even on ice cream when her mum and dad aren't looking! But a day at the beach, a huge shark and Tammy's last remaining bottle of Aussie tomato sauce that is worn around her neck like a pendant saves the day! What happens to the tomato sauce?

Also available Crikey! Jane Carroll & Chris Edser

Castle of The Zombies Sean Williams & Nial O'Connor (Scholastic)

This is the first title in a new fantasy series created just for junior readers. The text is well paced and not too large and there are full page black and white illustrations throughout the book.

Ollie has moved to a new street but things there were not quite right, The air wasn’t right. Neither was the light. The trees looked different And it smelled like ..... and on top of all of that Ollie find access to another world when he crosses the door threshold one night when a guy holding a giant fork confronts Ollie one night! In this new world Ollie meets the despicable Lord Wight who wants to take over everything!

also available Planet of the Cyborgs.

Two new titles in the Battle Boy series. These are great fast paced books with lots of action - perfect for boys who are reluctant readers and for readers who enjoy history and adventure ... and there are great gadgets too.

White War (Battle Boy #9) Charlie Carter & Russell Jeffery (PanMacmillan)
It's Christmas Day and Battle Boy's latest adventure lands right in the middle of the First World War on the Western Front in the middle of No Man's Land.
This mission is so top secret that not only has Battle Boy not been told what his mission is but even Battle Boy's Skin doesn't know what is happening! And the person that Battle Boy meets is someone so very special to him he will be very, very amazed!

Also available: Mission 10 - Caveman Bash

Cooking and giggling!!!

2010-11-09T15:02:00.001+11:00

Here are a two non-fiction titles that are sure to be popular ... a great kid's cookbook and a joke book!

Stew A Cockatoo, My Aussie Cookbook Ruthie May & Leigh Hobbs (Little Hare)

With cooking shows being a star this book is wonderfully well timed. This is just perfect for kids to read and to investigate and then to jump into the kitchen. Mum's and dad's beware - the kids are set to take over the kitchen. As the introduction says ... this is a book for the whole family - kids and oldies alike, full of old-time recipes, with a few new ones added in.

There are recipes for Bush-Pig fairy Bread, Lamingtons, banana benders (especially for the chocoholics), even BBQ burgers.

The book also has terrific Leigh Hobbs illustrations that will bring on more than a few giggles, and to give it an authentic Aussie voice (as if Dinky-di meat Pie wasn’t enough) slang like "arvo-tea" and “fair dinkum" are added. For the purely Aussie twist to chocolate crackles - Roo Doo in a Patty Case is a must. Ripper mate!

365 Awesome Aussie Jokes (Scholastic)

Here is a book with a joke for every day of the year ... so be warned. If you give this book as a present this year expect to be hit with a joke or two every day.

What Aussie bird is a master chef? A cook-aburra!

What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with sheep? A woolly jumper!

Why did the cockatoo sit on the clock? So he would be on time!

This book is the annual joke book that supports the wonderful work of Camp Quality ... and just in case your young readers have a joke that is not in here there is also the web or postal address where they can submit jokes that might just end up being published in next year's joke book.

Cook up a treat and giggle as you do with these two books!

Picture Books about Friendship and more....

2010-11-06T15:06:00.002+11:00

These are wonderufl picture books for young children, great for sharing and reading aloud. Some are also filled with giggles too.

I Found a Friend and My Friend Found Me Beth Norling (Penguin)

Every child wonders about finding friends and every child finds that first friend. Then when they are found there are the great times that friends share and also the not so good times that happen - often from misunderstanding ... or by accident. This book is about just that - finding friends, making friends, things friends do and then how they fall out of friendship and are just fine doing things without their special friend, until they realise all the things they miss doing with their special friend. And of course the little sorry word pops in too!

A lovely story with equally delightful illustrations.

The Cocky Who Cried Dingo Yvonne Morrison & Heath McKenzie (Little Hare)

This is a pure Aussie retelling of the classic Aesop fable, the boy who cried wolf, this time told in wonderful rollicking verse! And great for discovering our colourful Aussie birds!

Cocky is so very cheeky.

Cocky loves to play tricks on the other birds and when the other birds discover the pranks they are furious with Cocky - and tell him so. Each time Cocky is humbled and very apologetic. Eventually Cocky's cries of I'm trapped in the jaws of a big hairy dingo and are ignored by the others and this time he really is in trouble as all the other birds ignore Cocky's cries of distress. When cocky does escape, although not completely unharmed, he still plays tricks, but never mean ones! Or does he?

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies Tom Niland Champion, Kilmeny Niland & Deborah Niland (Allen&Unwin)

In a tiny apartment in a big city lives a tall man with twelve babies with the boys called Alistair and the girls were called Charlene. When they were all happy they laughed and when they were angry they all yelled. One day, frustrated with the craziness of the babies, the tall man scoops up the Charlene’s and the cat and steps outside only to have the wind blew the door shut. So the tall man tries to squeeze through the cat-flap ... only to get stuck and be pushed and pulled by the Charlene’s an the Alistair’s until eventually he is free.

A lovely quirky tale with absolutely delightful illustrations that require second investigations.

Noni the Pony Alison Lester (Allen&Unwin)

Books by Alison are always a treat and worthy of multiple investigations and this new title, written in rhyming verse, does likewise.

Noni is a pony. Noni's friends are Dave Dog and Coco the Cat. They enjoy playing games together and even with her speed Noni always makes sure her friends stay together. And when thunder scares her friends Noni tells them a story to help them be brave.

This is a beautiful book about caring, sharing and friendship.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Tom Skinner & Annie White (New Frontier)

A young sorcerer's apprentice who is told NOT to practise magic on his own does just that when the master has to go out. of course the spells cast by the apprentice don't quite work out as they should and the chaos develops.

In 1897 the wonderful classical piece of music - the Sorcerer’s Apprentice was created, based upon a poem by Goethe and this book - with accompanying CD is the 2010 creation. Part of the music box series it is a fantastic way to open minds to the wonders of classical music.

The Very Itchy Bear Nick Bland (Scholastic Press)

The very cranky bear is back and this time he is ITCHY! This hilarious story, great for reading aloud, about one very big bear and one very small flee and the friendship these two create.

Bear is sitting alone on a log, reading. Flea is close by. Flea bites bear, as fleas do, not to be impolite, but to say hello. Of course a biting flea to a bear is not very comfortable and soon he is being bitten everywhere. bear's only escape is to jump into sea in the hope of getting rid of flea, but flea bites him just to remind him he is still there. So when bear finds flea he flicks him way out to see - and now that bear is all alone, he is frightened floating on the sea but at the same time concerned for flea’s survival ... all of which means that bear ends up rescuing flea and in the end the two of them go everywhere with flea biting bear no longer.

Just delightful books.

Perfect Fiction for Younger Readers

2010-10-21T12:31:00.000+11:00

Here are some recent delightful titles for the younger readers just starting out on that journey into the world of fiction titles.

The Lost Treasure Jan Stradling & Cassandra Allen (Walker Books)

A fun piratical adventure about two pirates, one good and one bad and about the thrill of a pirate's life - treasure.

The bad pirate - Hamish who also doesn't like water and caring for people finds a message in a bottle and sets sail for the island. Pirate Ruby, the good pirate wasn't interested in the treasure nearly as much -- she wanted to help the person (who happened to be another pirate) who stuffed the message in the bottle. On the island the two pirates offer to help jack find the treasure - if only Jack could remember where he hid the treasure! And like all good piratical adventures, the treasure is found, although not quite the usual way.

Part of the Walker Stories series, first fiction titles with three short stories.

These two titles are in Puffin's Aussie Nibbles series (again short stories richly illustrated for readers just starting to tackle their very first chapter books)

A Strange Little Monster Sue Whiting & Stephen Michael King (Puffin)

This is a gorgeous book about being different and loving it!

In the twisty trees of Grotty Hollow live the Grotty Hollow Monsters - and they loved scaring - especially trolls and goblins!! It can be a very noisy rumbly place when all the Grotty Hollow monsters are out and active for most were loud and rough! But Sasha was different. Her favourite time was the quiet early morning and she loved playing her flute -- which made her parents very upset. So Sasha sets out to be just like the other Grotty Hollow monsters her parents are delighted. But When a troll comes close to the Hide and Go Scare Games a little secret is revealed about trolls and music that makes Sasha a very special little monster.

Rosie and Ned and the Creepy Cave Meredith Costain & Tina Burke (Puffin)

Rosie and Ned are back and this time ned has to be exceptionally brave to save his friend Rosie.

When Rosie and Ned head off to Ghost Gum Creek, near Nellie McGinty's place, Ned knows it is not a good idea because Nellie McGinty has a very bad reputation with all the kids at their local school. They all say that Nellie is a witch with a warty chin and she casts witchy spells. Rosie convinces Ned and the two make it to the creek but when heavy rain starts they head for a cave to seek shelter. And that's when they get trapped. But when Rosie twists her ankle trying to find a way out in the cave that is filling with water it’s up to Ned to remove the rocks and go and get help. And the only nearby help is Nellie. What will Ned do?

And for those slightly readers who are more confident there is the following title in Puffin's Aussie Bites series

Sophie's Salon Anna Branford & Cheryl Orsini (Puffin)

A lovely title about friendships and dreams.

Sophie loves being a hairdresser, helping out at Madam Tulip's salon after school and she loves learning to create terrific hairdos - even when the mean girls at school call them hair don'ts.

Her best friend Melita loves ballet and when she gests the role of Odette in Swan Lake the two girls are thrilled. But Melita is soon forging friendships with the other ballet girls and when Sophie and Melita have an argument, life in the school is very different and not so pleasant for Sophie. But when the hairstylist sprains her wrist on the night of the performance it is Sophie, with a little help from Madam Tulip who save the night and so ... things are worked out in the end!

Have fun sharing these great aussie titles.

Terrific Series Titles

2010-10-12T12:21:00.002+11:00

For younger and older readers here are books that they will surely enjoy.

Series books are great, especially because if the readers enjoy the title they will want the next one.

For independent readers:

August (Conspiracy 365 #8), Gabrielle Lord (Scholastic)

6 August, 148 days to go ....

10.32 am

Overpowering fear and worry about Gabbi had me pacing the room, desperately looking around for an escape. Together with the loss of the Ormond Riddle and the Ormond Jewel, and the long hours of boredom, it took everything I had not to start kicking the door and screaming my head off.

But the days I spent in this room had helped me get clear about one thing: I had to get away from this hospital .....

Callum is trapped underground, buried alive, and his friends Boges and winter are trying to find where he has been buried.

This is a fantastic read. The titles (and this is number 8 in the series, naturally) are absolutely absorbing reads. Kids - especially boys, love the adventure and the fast paced action. There is always a twist or a turn in every book and of course the reader is left wondering what is going to happen to Callum in September!

Excalibur (The Dragons #2), Colin Thompson (Random House)

Hooray -- for the wonderful Days of yore have begun. Peace has settled and dragons are no longer at war with humans for Brat, the false old king of Book 1 has been deposed. He is now a lowly kitchen hand and not very happy. He escapes of course and wants to return the kingdom to the Dark Ages, with the aid of Bloat, a teenage dragon.

On the run as a highwayman with a big walking potato, all covered in cuts and bruises, they snaffle another king’s daughter riding to the celebrations at the palace, who isn't so princess like and takes over the gang making her own trouble along the way. So Sir Lancelot, Morgan le Fey and vampire set out to make sure no ill comes to the celebrations.

A fun read that will really suit kids who like crazy humour and impossible happenings.

For younger readers:

Great for younger readers just moving away from picture books and wanting to move to the next level. Both these titles have simple text and wonderfully vibrant full-page illustrations.

Pearlie in Central Park Wendy harmer & Gypsy Taylor (Random House)

Pearlie is not in Jubilee Park this time. Now she is in Central park New York where it is cold and snow and freezing. she has come to stay with Crystal (another fairy), arranged by Queen Emerald but when she arrives a grey squirrel is waiting with a note for Pearlie. Crystal has gone on holidays and is leaving Pearlie to run all of Central park - which is much bigger than what Pearlie is used to. She needs a place to stay and to help the squirrels find food but how? An ice show might just do the trick!

The Pearlie books are heaps of fun and loveable!

Danger in Redwitch Villa (Belmont And The Dragon #4) Robin Gold & Mike Zarb (Random)

They're back, Belmont, a would-be knight and a chicken of a dragon and this time they have to save Old York from an explosive destruction!

Three Beastly Bedraggled Batniks have stolen a top-secret compound called Kablooey for the Boss, tripping over Belmont along the way (who doesn't recognise them at all). Belmont soon discovers that the compound can blow solid matter into itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny pieces.

Who is the Boss? Will Belmont and the dragon escape? Will the Kablooey for kablooey? All will be revealed.

And these two titles have a little more depth and are fun reads too:

Kumiko and the Dragon's Secret Briony Stewart (UQP)
Kumiko has a guardian, Tomodo, a dragon. Her family is of dragon heritage and so have great powers and the Shadow Catchers, spirits of the earth who want to add dragon powers to their own, have discovered this family secret.
When her sister is kidnapped by the Shadow Catchers, even the dragons are powerless to stop them for they cannot let their magic get too close. Only Kumiko can save her sister and defeat the shadow catchers. But first she must convince the dragons that she alone can do it and then she has to descend from the clouds and find her sister ... all without being caught by the Shadow Catchers.

Making Waves (EJ12: #7) Susannah McFarlane (Scholastic)
School girl Emma jacks is also Special Agent EJ12 who cracks codes and foils evil plans all over the world. She receives text messages on her mobile phone and when she does she has to get to the last cubicle in the toilets which will transport her to SHINE's headquarters where she can begin her special agent assignment to battle the evil agents of SHADOW.
At school Emma Jacks is nervous about the school swimming carnival and swimming in deep water but when she gets a text message from SHINE and she finds out that SHADDOW are making waves and the coral reef is in danger EJ12 is quickly into action. But how will a secret agent who is nervous of the school swimming carnival save the reef?

For beginning readers:

Rascal Runs Away Paul Jennings & Bob Lea (Penguin)

This series of small story books are designed for beginning readers. It has simple clear illustrations and a single line of text running across the bottom of each page.

Rascal is a small dragon and the world of this book dragons are just like pet dogs. When Rascal runs away from his home a crazy chasing game follows. He is soon captured but the fun continues when he is taken to the Stray Dragons’ Home because he escapes again -- soon everyone around wants Rascal and is in hot pursuit.

Finally, after gathering many chasers, Dragon makes his way back to the Home for Stray Dragons and not only is Rascal reunited with Ben but the chasers all find dragon pets too.

Language FUN!

2010-09-25T14:17:00.000+10:00

This book deserves a post all of its own....

The Return of the Word Spy : A Funny and Fantastic Voyage into Language, Grammar and Beyond... Ursula Dubosarsky & Tohby Riddle (Penguin)

I adored the first book and this one is just as much fun. I learnt more wordy information too in this books which is all about the joy of sharing the love of language.

Last time it as a discovery of the english langauge and espeically words. .. this time we venture with the Word Spy to discover language and grammar ... learning about it has never been this much fun!

Discover information about language; extinct languages, endangered languages, new languages and silent languages - there is even a braille alphabet that you can feel! And then there is grammar, and the explanation the meaning of verbs, adjectives, articles, conjuctions, prepositions and so much more. There is even information on obsolete words. And as with the Word Spy there are puzzles to solve, and this time twelve words to find - to make this even more fun!!!

This book is a delight with surprises at every page turn.

Enjoy....

2010-09-24T12:34:00.000+10:00

Great reads of fiction....

Thai-Riffic! Oliver Phommavanh (Penguin)

If you are ready for lots of giggles (but then what would you expect from a comedian) then this is a book to read.

Albert (Lengy) Lengviriyakul is Thai. His parents run a Thai restaurant called - Thai-riffic!! Albert wants to be an ordinary kid and fit in, after all he has just started year 7 at high school but his parents have other ideas, like making him wear t-shirts that advertise the restaurant) complete with baby photo of Albert), pushing a shopping trolley full of discounted toilet paper! A cultural day at school finds Albert’s parents bringing their Thai dishes to school which Albert tries to sabotage but things don't quite work out as planned and soon the orders are flowing in! When Albert and his best friend finally complete a school project on Thailand Albert realises that maybe being Thai is not too bad after all!

For independent readers.

Takeshita Demons Cristy Burne & Siku (Frances Lincoln)

Are you afraid of ghosts and evil spirits, or the black space under your bed? If you are then put this book down right away and start another.

These are the first words of this title and just wanted me to keep on reading. this is a wonderful book full of action and adventure with creepy demons from Japan that have followed her family all the way from Japan to the UK - worse still the replacement teacher at her new school happens to be the demon Nukekubi a bloodthirsty demon who can turn into a flying head (by unzipping its body at night) and whose favourite snack is children - and it wants to destroy Mika to prevent her learning about the power her grandmother has taught her. To do so the demon visits Miku's house and steals her younger brother forcing Miku and her best friend to face the demons to rescue her brother ... but can she?

For independent readers

Water Geoff Havel (Scholastic)

This title is full of suspense, surprises, twists throughout - and an amazing secret! a great book for older readers.

Tully's father has very strict rules that include stay clear of strangers and never go near the water. When Tully's father has failed to arrive home one night she is kidnapped by a mysterious stranger and taken to a distant scientific lab - where she finds out the secret about who she really is. There are others who are just like Tully ... exactly like Tully for Tully has been genetically engineered and is able to survive under water. Now that Tully has experienced the water she can never go back to her earlier life - but she and the others like her must escape!

Now Morris Gleitzman (Penguin)

I can't believe I haven’t listed this book before - for it is one that I couldn't put this book down and is possible one of the best i have read all year. This is a powerful and emotive read - a book of hope!!

This title Now is the final book in the series that began with Once and Then - books that were moving stories of survival during the holocaust.

Now is set, today and in this book Felix, a retired surgeon in his later years, is the grandfather of Zelda. He has achieved great things in his life, the promise he made to become the best human being he can be has come to fruition. His childhood memories, once buried come alive again when his granddaughter Zelda comes to stay. This time the holocaust is the recent Victorian bushfires - vividly portrayed. Throughout the book Felix reflects on his life long ago and Zelda on her life today. This time Felix and Zelda have to fight to survive and to confront their demons … bullies at school and bullies of the past.

This book for independent readers is shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction prize 2010.

Morris' dedication: For all the children who never had the chance to do their best.

Grab a book and enjoy the read!

Unputdownable Fiction

2010-09-11T17:52:00.000+10:00

All these novels are new and I couldn't put them down.

The Red Wind Isobelle Carmody (Viking)
This is the first title in the Kingdom of the Lost series, a delightful fantasy series written for younger readers.
Two brothers live in the middle of a vast bare plain in their simple stone cottage, with gardens and household items crafted with their own hands. In autumn every year the elder brother Zluty travels to the northern forests to gather supplies of mushrooms, tree sap and honey that the two will need to endure the long hard winter on the plain. The younger brother Bily meanwhile nervously waits at home for his brother to return. But this trip a devastating Red Wind sweeps across the land being with it much destruction and torment, destroying everything in its path, including the brother's cottage on the plains. Bily survives by hiding with his animal friends in the cellar, along with a terrifying monster, while Zluty endures the torrential rain and fights to survive! United the two, with their cottage destroyed and little to no food for them to survive the coming winter, must decide what to do.

Get a Grip Cooper Jones Sue Whiting (Walker Books)
Cooper Jones has never known his dad. He lives with his mum (who is mad keen on joining the Women's circus aerial troupe (no matter how embarrassing that is to Cooper) in a small coastal town near the bush close to the beach (and the surf which he wont swim in). and things are changing. He constantly thinks of the father he has never known, he even starts searching the internet for his father, and now things seem different between him and his mother ... especially now that he's taller then her. Life is getting complicated and is no longer simple. Then Abeba arrives, his neighbour's niece and soon Cooper realises that he is not the only one whose life is getting complicated as Abeba has problems of her own with her mother about her heritage. And when the bushfire approaches and Abeba is bitten by a snake, it is Cooper who has to realise that when life is spinning out of control, sometimes you just need to get a grip.
A wonderful story of families and relationships and growing up!

The Wildkin's Curse Kate Forsyth (Pan)
This is the companion book to the earlier novel, The Starthorn Tree, but it most definitely can be read as a standalone novel. The characters are wonderful created in this fantasy world.
Three children who are time-honoured enemies, Merry (a heathkin boy and son of a rebel), Zedrin (a starkin lord and heir) and Liliana (a wildkin girl developing uncanny magical powers) are on a perilous quest to the palace of Zarissa to rescue the wildkin Princess Rozalina (who is also muzzled for she has the power to enchant with her words) from her lifelong imprisonment in a tower in a palace built of glass. But to do so the three must work together and endure family treachery, discover their real heritage and their destinies become clear.

Grimsdon Deborah Abela (Random House)
What a wonderful environmental tale is this novel.
The once modern and grand city of Grimsdon is in ruins much of it submerged having been devastated by a massive flood that broke the barriers. Most survivors have left, while a few remain behind surviving on whatever they can scrounge from the remains, including the children Isabella and Griffin and the three other smaller children they care for. they live in the remains of an opulent mansion and into this world enters Another child, Xavier who has an Aerotrope, a flying bicycle, that can take the children even further into the ruins in search of what they require. But Xavier, should he join the gang, endanger all their lives with his risks - and his past.
As well there are also bounty hunters and pirates, sneaker waves that could cause more damage, as well as something that lies deep beneath the waters.

These are terrific reads.

Mirror

2010-09-11T14:55:00.000+10:00

Mirror Jeannie Baker (Walker Books)
This wordless book is something very, very special.
It is two books in one.
It is about two boys and their families from different worlds, one Australian, one Moroccan. It shows two different cultures, two different countries, two different families and the day-to-day life of each family.
The pages reveal how even though the two families are on different sides of the globe, living in different societies and different climates and in worlds under different forms of development, the way they care for each other, and the loving relationships within the family - families are still essentially the same. We are the Mirror of each other.
Created in Jeannie’s wonderful collage style, the pages of this story are two stories opening from the inside out, the two stories to be read "side-by-side".
This is a book to be devoured at all different ages, singularly or shared, looking for similarities and differences and pouring over the exquisite details of each illustration - and looking for the "belonging" of the family.

More Picture Book Delights

2010-09-04T13:31:00.001+10:00

Shrieking Violet Emma Quay (Scholastic)

This big / little sister story with humorous illustrations (the facial expression on the mum and the girls are wonderful) is delightful and just perfect for young families.
Big sister is supposed to be the star of this story but younger sister Violet always seems to get in the way and grab the spotlight, Violet is the one who is making all the fuss, who isn't old enough to wear shoes with laces, who only 'think' she is helping, who plays in the water and who can't be woken at sleep ... and much more!
But then big sister suddenly comes up with a situation where both girls can claim the spotlight.

Precious Little Julie Hunt, Sue Moss & Gaye Chapman (Allen&Unwin)
As stated on the cover, a thrilling story about flying high, diving deep and daring to take a chance. The book is filled with very detailed illustrations and swirling text, that sometimes appears upside down and twists and turn over the page which will have readers coming back to check more and more each time.
Precious Little want to fly just like the Light Fantastic trapeze artists she works for as a circus-hand. She practised hard on the ground but was not good enough. Other circus entertainers encourage her to join them but Precious Little only wants to fly the trapeze. Then, when Fat Chance offers he the chance to walk a tightrope strung between the Lucky dip, Precious Little has to take a risk...
a story about perseverance, friendship, and taking a chance.
See the trailer here

It's Bedtime, William Deborah Niland (Viking)
After many excuses (like the goodnight story and the bedtime kiss) William is sent to bed. He finally enters the room only to find a lion in his bed. A quick trip down the stairs to tell his parents who instruct William to ask the lion to "remove itself at once" which the lion does. But now the lion isn't tired anymore and wants to play so it's William's turn to tell the stories and play the games, just like his parents did. Then after many excuses - this time from the lion - a tired William and his lion finally curl up to sleep.
A lovely story and simple but beautiful illustrations. A gorgeous, "go to bed" "I don't want to" book!

Zizzy Penny Matthews & Danny Snell (Scholastic)
Zizzy is a baby sloth, who hangs upside down and walks very slowly and eats (as sloths do) and who dreams about the things he sees in his rainforest. When he glimpses a tiny path of blue - that too becomes part of his dreams. his wondering about the tiny patch of blue is soon answered by a bird who perches in his tree and who also offers to show it to Zizzy. He is reluctant but with coaxing from the bird "you don't know what you can do until you try" Zizzy and the bird set off on their adventure, with a few stumbles and encouragement to never stop dreaming along the way.
A book of encouragement, fulfilment and continued dreaming.

The Truth About Penguins Meg McKinlay & Mark Jackson (Walker Books)
This is fun and zany and all too humorous.
There is much excitement at the zoo for the penguins are coming to stay so when one of the zoo residents poses the questions "what is a penguin?" all the knowledgeable animals contribute to the description of what a penguin really is. Of course the zoo residents’ descriptions of penguins are slightly exaggerated so it is up to the zookeeper to set the animals straight and provide the truth about penguins. But when the penguins do arrive...

A Whatley Picture Book Feast

2010-08-29T10:26:00.000+10:00

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

2010-08-28T17:23:00.000+10:00

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

2010-08-19T09:49:00.001+10:00

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

2010-08-17T09:35:00.000+10:00

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!

early chapter books for young readers

2010-06-26T17:02:00.000+10:00

More terrific junior books:

Crooked Mick Dave Luckett & Andrew Joyner (Scholastic)
The books in the Mates series are all junior novels with clear text and short chapters. They are illustrated in full colour and are fun reads - as the subtitle says - Great Australian yarns.

This title stars Crooked Mick of the Speewah - who can do anything - like spilt a hardwood post by look at it, or twitch his eyebrows to drive a bullocky team, or even ride lightning bolts bareback. Crooked Mick is an outback legend
All this is being discussed around a campfire in the outback by a Jackaroo, a drover and an old bushman - who is the wandering bushman?

Fool's Gold Margaret Clark & Andrew McLean (Penguin)
This is another delightful title in the Aussie Bites series - books that are just right for readers who have progressed past the beginning chapter books, but not quite ready for the longer junior chapter books.

Set in the Victorian gold fields of the middle 1800s two boys need money - or find gold to buy food. Their families are hungry and the slate at the local goldfield store is full - no money, no food! But jack finds a back entrance into the store and is soon borrowing food - even writing or drawing IOU notes. There is also a legend about McHools gold that lies somewhere around - if the boys can only find the gold, then everything will be alright. But first they have to contend with Laura, the store owner's daughter, and the curse that is said to be on the gold!

Joe's Boat Raewyn Caisley & Anne Spudvilas (Penguin)
This is another delightful title in the Aussie Nibbles series - books that are just right for younger readers who are tackling their very first chapter books.

Joe and his dad have arrived at Great-uncle Allan’s beach house and in the shed there is a boat. Joe loved everything about this place so much that he couldn't sit still to eat his lunch. And Bob arrives, an elderly friend who shows and tells Joe all about lures and tackle and helps clean the boat - while Joe’s dad sets about cleaning the house. Joe can't wait until they can take the boat out and go fishing.

Longer Younger Readers

2010-06-24T14:19:00.001+10:00

Here we go with a few more books for younger readers. These are shorter stories, great for younger readers who want short chapter books that are fast paced and appealing. The illustrations are fun and the books, of course, great reads!

Harriet Bright: The Star You Are Claire Craig & Melanie Fedderson (Puffin)
I really like Harriet Bright. She is a female character with class and grit and determination and she loves poetry! This is the second book about 9 years old Harriet Bright who has been nine nearly every single day this year but will soon be ten.
There are three short stories in this book:
Laugh Out Loud ... where Harriet conducts a ground breaking survey to find out why adults don't laugh as much as kids do - to do that she becomes a laughologist (and finds out about crinkles and wrinkles and laugh lines along the way)
Only Lonely Me ... where Harriet delves into her family history and discovers she is not the first Harriet Bright! Now not only is she an only child she is alone not the only Harriet Bright! bjt she does discover something about her great aunt that she really likes!
In Talent take Two, Harriet and Melly have one week to find their talent to enter the talent quest which is no easy task!
Scattered throughout this book are Harriet's poems. There is also ahs a great website where young readers can send poems to Harriet. See the website http://www.harrietbright.com/

Tikki the Tricky Pixie Tiffany Mandrake & Martin Chatterton (Little Hare)
This is book number 4 in the Little Horrors series ... and they are little horrors!
Tikki Flicker is fed up being good. She wants to earn her Badge of badness and then be a bad fairy. She wants to go to Hag's Abademy of Badness to become even badder! But her uncle Sedge Withy, the Marsh fairy, is sure that Tikki is good, so to convince her Uncle otherwise Tikki sets out doing bad things ... not pesky things that are annoying but really really bad tings in the marsh. And when she flitters across the Pixiepackers (in acutality dryfeet, aka humans) Tikki might just have a chance of proving her badness!
A bad fairy book ... how good!

Skoz the Dog: All at Sea Andrew Daddo & Judith Rossell (ABC Books)
Skoz the dog is a sleep walking dog and he finds himself waking up in a boat with his head on a pillow that is actually a bag of bait.
Skoz the dog is all at sea in the middle of the ocean. Soon Skoz also discovers he has a shark swimming very close by. a few rough waves and Skoz is floating in the air, free of the boat and heading for shark teeth! but when he escapes from that teethy encounter more troubles being to unravel as the boat gradually falls apart as the boat is bring dragged through the water while Skoz holds onto the fishing line. But Skoz's sea adventure has only just begun!

Duck for a Day Meg McKinlay & Leila Rudge (Walker Books)
This is a delightful story about a teacher, her students and the classroom pet - a duck!
A new pet, Max, has been brought to the school by the teacher and everyone wants to take Max home. The problem is the teacher has some very rigid rules that must be adhered to before Mac can stay overnight such as:
No dogs or cats, with the supplementary rule of
No ferrets or other clawed or toothy animals of any kind ... and just a few more. So Abby and her annoying neighbour Noah set about creating just the perfect environment in their homes that will meet the teacher's rules! When finally the conditions are met Max does get to stay over night with Abby all goes well ... until the next morning. Where is Max and what will happen to Max, and Noah and Abby?
Delightful illustrations accompany the short chapters - and comes with Little horror tattoos too!!

Enjoy these great reads!

Young Readers Stepping Out

2010-06-19T15:01:00.001+10:00

Thes are new titles for the young reader who is movng away from picture books and tackling books on their own. These are just lovely.

the Honey and Bear Stories Ursula Dubosarsky & Ron Brooks (Puffin)
Honey is a bird and Bear is a bear and for the first time all of the ten Honey and Bear stories are together in this one lovely book - complete with colour illustrations too.
The stories are short and easily read. They are gentle, calming and reassuring, touching on issues that are part of every youngster’s life. These stories are just perfect for the beginning readers who want to read by themselves. The illustrations are masterful.
It is terrific to see these two delightful characters back again!

Squidnapped! David Metzenthen David & Stephen Axelsen
When a little girl wanders along the beach showing her prize catch to beachgoers she gets lost. At the same time her parents get worried wondering where she is and start looking for her. When a baby squid is taken from the sea by the little girl the parents of the missing baby squid start getting worried too wondering where their youngster is and they too start searching. Eventually both youngsters, squid and human are reunited with their parents but what an adventure they both have! Another great book in the Aussie Nibbles series ... books with large clear text and delightful illustrations that are just the ones for young readers who want to read by themselves.

Lighthouse Lucy Kate walker & Serena Geddes (Blake)
Lucy, the lighthouse keeper, likes a quiet life but when unexpected visitors arrive and her life becomes noisy, first a ghost, then a sea lion and then a giant squid, Each of the arrivals stay at the lighthouse which soon isn't quiet any longer - but Lucy doesn't mind... she likes the noise. Then, when a storm blows up Lucy, with the aid of her visitors has to go to rescue of drowning sailors - and she soon finds out that the quiet life is no longer for her. This chapter book for the young reader is a lovely story with absolutely fantastic illustrations.

Pearlie In Central Park Wendy Harmer & Gypsy Taylor (Random House)
Another Pearlie book is always a delight for young girls starting to read on their own. And this is the latest. This time Pearlie has left Jubilee Park because Queen Emerald has arranged for Pearlie to stay with Crystals the Central park fairy for a wonderful winter holiday. But when Pearlie arrives Crystal has left for her holidays leaving Pearlie to look after the park. What an adventure Pearlie has with her new friends the squirrels in the park. There is food to find and an ice skating show to present and of course spring is to come too!.
Pearlie fans will love this one!

These books are great for young readers stepping out on their own.

Great for Boys

2010-06-12T16:32:00.001+10:00

Two more new series

Boy Vs Beast (Scholastic)
The first 4 titles in this series are out now. These are sure to have the boys reading! They give young readers who want to move to chapter books something to grasp and really get absorbed in. The titles have a larger font (but not too big) and great illustrations - with a few pages that look like graphic novels and a powerful, face paced storyline -- it is a terrific read.

Boy vs Beast, Battle of the worlds is the first series where a 21st Century boy battles ancient beasts ... with the titles Aquatan, Infernix, Tornados, Terradon
Once beast and man shared the world ... but no more. Now they are separated by a border-wall patrolled and protected by five boys

Boy Vs Beast Battle Of The Worlds 01 : Aquatan
Kai masters and his dogbot must battle a mega-beast Serpinitan - or is it something else. Has he chosen the right weapon? Will it work against toxic jellyfish and be enough to take on a wave attack?

and see http://www.boyvsbeast.com/ for heaps of great 'stuff" including a competition to win prize packs. great sounds and images and really tempting to play in!

Space Scout (hardiegrantegmont)
Another new series is SPACE SCOUT ... and again this is a great collection of titles perfect for the younger reader (especially boys) wanting quick, fast-paced adventures ... this times the adventures are out in the space fields. The chapters are not too long, have appropriate text size and are scattered with illustrations - the first title also comes with an World Corp Issue, replica space cuff (a watch type thingummyjig ... well you have to read the book). There are starships, and aliens and space monsters and planets vastly different from the earth we inhabit and heaps of techo assistance for the space scouts!

Space Scout : The Big Freeze H. Badger (hardiegrantegmont)
This is the first space mission for twelve-year-old Kip Kirby! He has a spaceship that gives him orders (and sometimes won't follow his) and his second in charge is half human half wolf! His mission to find a new planet because the earth is running out of room (well it is 2354 and there are over a trillion people here!) But his first mission might also be his last if he can't work out a way of getting off the rather frozen planet he had landed on and was exploring!

also
Space Scout: The Robot King
Space Scout: The Jelly People
Space Scout: The Shrinking Race

See too http://www.spacescoutportal.com/. It has games, more information, downloads and heaps of fun ... love the sounds too!

Sure is plenty to tempt reluctant young male readers.

Younger Reader series fun!

2010-06-11T13:03:00.003+10:00

Wow ...
There have been a heap recently so here we go with the first of a few posts for new junior fiction series books ... these are terrif.

A new series:

Billie B Brown Sally Rippin (HardieGrantEgmont)

Billie B Brown is a terrific new star for the younger readers - especially girls - who want to move to their first chapter books. The books are 44 pages in length and have a large font size. There are generous illustrations scattered throughout. BUT most importantly Billie B brown is a delightful character. She is strong, determined, brave, and clever ... and a bit sassy too! This girl will soon be in demand!

And what does the B in Billie B Brown stand for? So far it is something different in each title. She also has her best friend Jack appearing in the titles, so the boys are in there too.

The titles so far:

Billie B Brown: The Bad Butterfly (when Billie goes to ballet class she and Jack have some role swapping to do so they both enjoy it).

Billie B Brown: The Soccer Star (when the boys announce that girls can't play soccer its up to Billie and Jack to prove them wrong)
Billie B Brown: The Midnight Feast (when Billie and Jack decide to camp in Jack's backyard strange night sounds disturb their plans)
Billie B Brown: The Second-best Friend (when a new girl arrives Billie has a new friend...but what about jack?)

And http://www.billiebbrown.com/ is the dedicated website for this star where readers (and parents can send emails to the creators), where kids can check out more about the books, find colouring in pages, activity pages to create and print and a whole lot more.

Existing series:

Freak Street Knife & Packer (Scholastic)

The Freak Street series is totally warped and totally funny and the kids love them.

Schools that I know with the Freak Street books have not been able to keep them on the shelves. These are great too for the very bight visual graphic of this graphic novel format for younger readers.

Four new titles and this time each of the families are travelling through time!!!

Aliensons' Time Machine
Humansons' Time Machine

Wizardsons' Time Machine

Zombiesons' Time Machine

The Aliensons have zoomed over 1000 years into the future ... and when they land there they find that Freak Street and its residences have all been made of metal, where robots rule the world and where no non robotic life forms exist ... or so it seems - and its all to do with the 3011 version of talent called Galaxy Idol - and here they meet the Robotsons too. If the family can't fix he broken lever they will be stuck there forever!!!

For the Wizardson's Mr Wizardson's magic staff is now a pile of cinders so back to medieval times to Magikville the family must travel through the magic cauldron of course tp purchase another magic staff but they must first confront a grumpy dragon, Flamethroat, with toxic breath. Of course witches and giants and a new family the Knightsons are here too!

And don't forget the Humansons' and Zombiesons' who have time travelling adventures too!

EJ12 Susannah McFarlane (Scholastic)

This series stars Emma Jacks but Emma Jacks the school girl is also known as EJ12 Special Agent. She is a member of SHINE, a secret agency that protects the world from evil-doers. Emma Jacks was chosen because of her wonderful maths skills - EJ12 cracks codes and foils plans all over the world while at the same time coping with all the issues of going to school - issues like mean girls, and best friends. This is a fun book for the younger readers - especially girls who want a girl superhero.

EJ12 : #3 In The Dark SHINE is powered by a solar energy station but when SHADOW finds the secret location and has a way of infiltrating and causing the power to rapidly decrease SHINE will be in the dark very soon ... and maybe out of business! It is up to EJ12 to crack the code and find the solution ... of course at the same time Emma jacks has to deals with scary noises at night and spooky slumber parties

Also out now EJ12 : #4 Rocky Road

Don’t forget the website ... http://www.ej12girlhero.com/ and drop in there to see a message from the author.

So ... lots of series fun for younger readers!

More Picture Book Delights

2010-06-05T16:47:00.002+10:00

More .....

Two Peas In A Pod Chris McKimmie (Allen&Unwin)
Marvin and Violet have been friends since they were babies (dinosaur time according to Marvin) and these two friends absolutely go together ... like Roundabouts and swings, fish and chips, socks and shoes, and two peas in a pod.
But then Violet moves away (she says they are going to the moon) and for Marvellous it is unsettling - and he nearly puts her into the 'forgets' until ....
A book about childhood friendships and separations and reunions.

I Spy Mum! Janeen Brian & Chantal Stewart (New Frontier)
A little boy scans a whole lot of mums searching for his own, and sees a waking mum, a baking mum, a making mum, a roaring mum a scoring mum .... and many many more (including a ding-a-linging mum) but none of them are his mum ... until (of course) eventually he discovers her! told in rhyming verse with soft illustrations, this is celebration of the wonderful mums out there who do so many wonderful things!.

The Important Things Peter Carnavas (New Frontier)
Christopher's mother does everything from painting the house, to cooking breakfast, and building cites with Christopher because Christopher’s father has left the family. When she decides to remove some of the unimportant things from their lives, that just happen to be the things of Christopher's father, they are boxed and taken and taken to a second-hand store. Mysteriously, a few days later, the 'unimportant' things start to return until the mystery remains no more.
A lovely book about remembering, about parents, about absence and the way the unimportant things in life actually might not be so unimportant.

An ABC of Pirates Caroline Stills & Heath McKenzie (Little Hare)
Here it is ... just what all pirate-lovers (of all ages) have been waiting for ... an ABC book of pirates and all things piratical!
A is for adventure on an azure-coloured sea.
Hoist the anchor, maties, 'tis a pirate's life for me.
Great rhythmic text with absolutely entrancing illustrations of pirates - rather young pirates too. Also includes a list of objects hidden in the pictures and a glossary of a few of the more complicated words (eg: zephyr, mutiny)
Ahoy there maties ... This book has to be part of any pirate day!

Keep sharing the reading!!!!

Picture Book Delights

2010-06-04T11:38:00.003+10:00

Over the past weeks heaps of delightful picture books have been arriving ... so I will start with these treats:

Hooray! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party Hazel Edwards & Deborah Niland (Penguin)

30 years ago these wonderful creators crafted the FIRST gorgeous Hippopotamus book - and today Hippopotamus is still going strong. many many children have grown up with the hippo books so it is terrific to see this latest hippo sensation. And what better way to celebrate the anniversary of Hippo than with a new hippo book. This time there is a birthday party being prepared downstairs and hippo is getting ready too!!!
There are only three sleeps to go till the birthday party and animal invitations have to be made, animal character costumes have to be organised and animal party food created - and of course all the time these are being organised Hippopotamus on the roof is in party preparation mode too!
And if you want to host your own hippo party then just drop in at this link on the Penguin Australia site to get Hippo party invitations and lots more! (or http://tinyurl.com/26qhkrm)

Family Forest Kim Kane (Hardie Grant Egmont)
A fantastic book for the children of blended families that explains their families - because while most kids talk about family trees, this family is a family forest. The ‘forest' is made up of half sisters, and whole sisters, and brothers and step mums (who aren't wicked) and mums and dads and partners.
This well written and delightfully illustrated book (the characters are whimsical and full of expression) is a book for the modern family and celebrates how they come in all shapes and sizes.

Wibbly Wobbly Street Trudie Trewin & Cheryl Orsini (Scholastic)
Wibbly Wobbly Street is in dull Squaretown where streets are straights and smooth, flat and trim and where the houses were all lined up and ordered. It was a delightful street (one i am sure folks would love to live in) but the councillors didn’t like having their well ordered town messed up by this one street and they want to straighten it out. So restorations to Wibbly wobbly Street begin. The street-straightener and teams of council workers and their engines work long and hard and after repeated efforts finally straighten the street .... until deep in the ground something shuddered and shook and twanged!
With delightful phrases like "our wibble's too strong" and words like wibble-ectomy and wobble-ocotmy kids young and old will be giggling along with this delightful book.

You Stephen Michael King (Scholastic)
I really adore the books by this terrific author and illustrator and this new title just continues that tradition of charming and emotive creations. It is a lovely blend of simple text and delicate soft illustrations telling us that it is the people we love who make the world a beautiful place. The perfect book to share with a child, parent, friend, or any special person.
The central character describes the wonders of the world - the colours around, the things in the world, the music that surrounds, but for all the glorious colours, and things, and all the wonderful music - the best part of the world is ... YOU.

Noah's Garden Mo Johnson & Anabelle Josse (Walker Books)
This is a touching story of the beauty of nature, the joy of a child's imagination and the patience in wishing and hoping and waiting ....
Noah's garden is a wonderful garden. There are tigers and pirates and camels and thundering helicopters and penguins roaming around in this garden. Yes ... it is not an ordinary garden. This is the hospital garden. Here Noah comes with his family during the days while waiting for his baby sister to leave hospital and come and join Noah in his garden.

Enjoy these gorgeous Australian picture books ... more soon.

Fiction delights

2010-05-30T10:33:00.002+10:00

Oh it has been quite a few weeks between posts with trips attending conferences and right now putting the finishing touches to a booklet of techers' notes for the 2010 CBC shortlist for e:lit (the face of the Primary English Teaching Association) but never fear -- a heap of books have been read and will start appearing this week.
In the meanimte I wanted to add three titles that had completely slipped by last year. They are great fiction reads and of coruse are shortlisted.

The Whisperer Fiona McIntosh (Angus&Robertson)
This is a terrific fantasy novel, a triumph of good over evil, by an author more recognised for her fantasy titles for adults.
Griff has exceptional powers ... he can hear people's thoughts without them knowing. The greedy circus owner, for whom he works, wants to put Griff's powers to use - for his profit of course! Griff's friend Tess and her magical creatures also work in the circus and so this menagerie escape. But Griff continues to hear the voice as they flee. Meanwhile Lute, the Crown Prince of the realm of Destonia is under attack from his evil Uncle - who wants his throne and will stop at nothing to obtain it - even if it means killing his nephew. When Lute and Griff meet, secrets are revealed and their lives are changed forever as Tess's plan for survivial is enacted. There are also magical creatures, mysterious foces and amazing heroes within these pages.

Matty Forever Elizabeth Fensham (UQP)
This is a delightful story of friendship, families, jealously, betrayal and trust. It is a lovely read.
Bill and Matty are neighbours who share secrets that only best friends do. Bill misses his dad and is having trouble at his new school (he has moved a few times recently) but Matty and her family makes life easier for both Bill and his mum. Matty and Bill form a special club with just two members.
When a new girl arrives at the school, who lives a very different lifestyle to that of Matty and Bill, secrets are betrayed and trusts broken and the friendship is tested when Bill starts spending more time with Isabelle and it is up to Bill to sort this one out!

Darius Bell And The Glitter Pool Odo Hirsch (Allen&Unwin)
Another absolutely delightful work of optimism, frienship, family and hope from this wonderful storyteller.
For generations Darius' family has given a gift to the town every 25 years. Now it is the turn of Darius's father. But the Bell family do not have a gift of immense value to give to the rather obnoxious local council and so will loose their property and be shamed. But Darius has other ideas. He is determined to save the family honour. When an earthquake reveals a cavern that is exquisite to behold on the family property Darius begins the process, facing many obstacles, of making this the most delighful gift that the town has ever recievid.
But has Darius found the answer to the family problems?

Lots of new titles will start appearing here later this week.

Margaret Wild Picture Book Treats

2010-04-26T13:38:00.000+10:00

Margaret Wild is the wonderful creator of the most gorgeous picture book texts and here are three of her latest.

Hush, Hush! Margaret Wild & Bridget Strevens-Marzo (Little Hare)
In this gorgeous sequel to the hugely popular Kiss Kiss! it is the end of the day and a restless Baby Hippo is having trouble falling asleep so off he walks and as he wanders he hears those words 'Hush, Hush' as other mother animals hush their babies to sleep. Soon baby hippo begins to yawn and he knows what to do ... he retraces his steps until he gets back to his mother (seeing sleeping animals along the way) and soon snuggles up to sleep.
Gentle soothing rhythmic text will make this a bedtime favourite.

Kiss Kiss! (My Little Library) Margaret Wild & Bridget Strevens-Marzo (Little Hare)
First published in 2003 this is a new edition of this hugely popular book in the My Little Library collection of books. It is just delightful and if you missed it in its first version then jump on in and grab this one for the home library.
Baby hippo wakes one morning and is in such a hurry to ge tout and play that he forgets to give his mum a kiss. as he wanders baby hippo hears other baby animals giving their mothers a 'kiss kiss'. Suddenly he stops and remembers what he has forgotten to do so baby hippo retraces his steps until he gets back to mum and ... well we all know what happens!

No More Kisses Margaret Wild & Nina Rycroft (Little Hare)
This lovely repetitive text with terrific soft illustrations will have toddlers and their parents playing with the sound words in this book.
The three animals are in the garden playing Baby runs away after lots and lots of kissing with the other two animals in hot pursuit first up the steps where they go trip trap, trip trap and then down a slide where they go whooshy-whoo, and more until they end up under the old oak tree were baby finally stops and it is Baby's turn to start smothering the others in kisses!

Enjoy these fantastic Picture Book treats by Australia's best Picture book creator.

More Picture Book Treats for Youngsters

2010-04-17T12:35:00.005+10:00

Enjoy these delights for babies and toddlers.

Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House Libby Gleeson & Freya Blackwood (Little Hare)

Clancy and his family have moved to a lovely house but to Clancy this house is just way too big. Clancy remembers the beauty of his old familiar house. When outside he discovers the pile of moving boxes and starts playing with them. A voice from Millie, his new neighbour, is heard and soon the two are playing with the boxes, creating towers to the sky and trains all over the garden. Then together they build houses, just like the three little pigs until they build the best house that is a very fine dwelling that Clancy loves.
This book about friendship, change, moving house and belonging from this award-winning team is just delightful. Lovingly written and gorgeous illustrations.

Ivy Loves to Give Freya Blackwood (Little Hare)
Beautiful illustrations make this a very special book about giving.
Ivy loves to give and she gives lovingly. Sometimes the gifts she gives are not quite right, although they are always given with love. They might be too big, or too small - slippers to a snail, glasses to a dog, tea to a chicken. But sometimes Ivy gives gifts that are just right - the right fitting glasses to grandma, or slippers to father, or the perfect cup of tea.
This is a book that is a celebration of giving and receiving!

Count My Kisses, Little One Ruthie May & Tamsin Ainslie (Little Hare)
A sweet new counting book with simple rhyming text for babies and toddlers that is of course filled with kisses.
A young girl and her toys, with the dog being the baby, and numbers and love hearts for kisses are in this small book which is great for small hands.
One kiss for baby on baby’s nose.
Two kisses for baby tickling toes.
This will be just right as the last book before bedtime - along with the kisses for baby!

More coming soon ...

Picture Book Treats for the Young

2010-04-15T14:30:00.002+10:00

These picture books are just delighful for sharing with young readers.

Itsy-Bitsy Babies Margaret Wild & Jan Ormerod (Little Hare)

This is just beautiful and perfect to share with a baby or youngster. I love the baby pictures and the simple verse.

Mums and dads everywhere will be doing the itsy-bitsy baby ...
playing peek-a-boo,
twiddling toes,
wrinkling up noses,
playing all fall down,
looking through legs and a whole lot more.

Two Bad Teddies Kilmeny Niland (Little Hare)

Two Bad Teddies is oh so good. I just love the illustrations of the teddies ... and those facial expressions show how bad they really are! This is such a delight and so very lovely.

Gruffy and Tilly are Mollie-Sue's teddies (from the delightful book Two Tough Teddies) and they do everything together but one day a new toy arrives - Bendy Bill and he even squeaks. When Bendy Bill becomes the centre of attention the two teddies soon find things to dislike about Bendy Bill and they show it too. But when Gruffy falls out the window it is Bendy Bill that stretches his arms to do the rescue and teh three become friends.

A beautiful book about jealousy, friendship and sharing.

The Flying Orchestra Clare McFadden (UQP)

Have you ever heard music on windy days? If you have then it must be the flying orchestra playing those melodies.

The Flying Orchestra's repertoire includes
a violin solo for someone missing their train,
a symphony at the airport for a traveller coming home,
even a concerto when someone stay awake all night thinking!
Music is all around us ... we just have to stop and listen.
This is a lovely tale with deligthful illustrations - listen to it as well with some delighful music!

More picture book treats soon.

Great Fiction Reads for Independent Readers

2010-04-14T12:03:00.001+10:00

I have just finished reading three great fiction titles for independent readers, each are special in their own way and all great reads.

Send Simon Savage Stephen Measday (Little Hare)
Simon arrives home from school to be confronted first by police and then federal agents (they wear dark suits Ray-Ban sunglasses). His dad is missing, drowned under mysterious circumstances ... and soon pronounced dead. The agents immediately start searching Simon's father's home office for research papers and his computer because Simon's father was working on a top-secret government project. They leave, but not before scanning the family with a forensic scanning device. And within months Simon and his family have moved from Australia and are in England and Simon has been enrolled at a very special school. Simon has become an agent for the very secretive Time Bureau ... agents, temponauts, who travel through time! But as well as travelling through time on mission for the Tim Bureau Simon also has a mission to find out about his father's disappearance!
Fantastic, riveting read. Where will Simon go next?

Chess Nuts Julia Lawrinson (Puffin)
A wonderful read about friendship, sports, chess (of course) and
Anna loves chess - in fact she is a chess nut and captain of her schools chess team. She loves chess. Jackson is the schools star athlete, racing for the title of the Outstanding athlete of the year for the school. Anna detests the physical sports and the sporting people, so admired by the school population. So when Jackson, joins the schools chess club and shows that he is also an excellent chess player (as well as a sporting jock) Anna has to confront her sporting issues (and learn to do some running too) and Jackson has to make some very serious decisions.
It's great to see a title where chess is the star school sport!

Willy Waggle-Dagger: By the Picking of My Nose Martin Chatterton & Gregory Rogers (Little Hare)
Wearing a fake beard to see the latest production of hugely famous Black Skulls, we meet young illy Shakespeare wearing a big false ginger beard (because he is in disguise as only grown-ups are allowed inside the theatre). Soon Willy is hiding beneath the Queen's petticoats. but when the beard starts tickling the queen - chaos begins and Willy is on the run. The Queen's guards are chasings him. His own father is chasing him! Where will Willy hide .. with the Black Skulls of course!
There are giggles and laughter by the bucket loads with this book - which is not quite Shakespeare as we know it although there are plenty of links to the great bard and his works!
Hilarious fun, lovely reading and terrific illustrations.

More Treats

2010-04-05T14:22:00.001+10:00

The Tomorrow Book Jackie French & Sue de Gennaro (Angus&Robertson)
This is a book for today about the environment, about change and very timely - how important BOOKS and LIBRARIES are!
A young prince has been left in charge of the kingdom by his parents who are off travelling in their royal campervan. Using the resources of the palace library (a must for every palace) the prince sets about improving real life which, as it turns out, is nothing like he imagined!

When the local kids visit informing the prince that water is sparse the Prince access the library and suggests water collection, when they ask for better ways to get around he suggests solar or helium to fly!... and heaps more. As well as the great text the pictures, with their own reusing message, and wonderful.

This book is also printed on recyclable paper from sustainable plantation forest. All in all just brilliant.

Mum And Me Anne White (Lothian)

What is so good about mothers? Well this charming book written in rhyming verse shares all those special delights between a mother and daughter that include wearing favourite clothes, painting nail polish on toes, wishing and laughing and playing hide and seek, and making yummy food.

With Mother's day just around the corner this book is a timely addition to the library.

Many more gorgeous picture books shortly.

Picture Book Treats

2010-04-03T17:15:00.001+11:00

Heaps of Picture books have arrived so here we being with a few ....

The Littlest Pirate and the Hammerheads Sherryl Clark & Tom Jellett (Puffin)

The latest instalment in the Littlest Pirate is just terrific.
This time Captain Hammerhead is to blame for the ill state of Nicholas' family, and for the stolen treasure, so with barely a crew, Nicolas sails in hot pursuit of the much bigger and deadlier Captain hammerhead. Of course Nicholas might be the littlest pirate but he is very, very clever and it is amazing what he can create with the sparse food in the galley to deter sharks, and how he can protect himself with his special garlic repellent used in the water.
Pirate lovers all over will enjoy this adventure.

All Together Now Phil Cummings & Cassandra Allen (Scholastic)
Dad is organising the family holiday. Things are pretty desperate but they head off for Wallaby Creek to camp and sing songs and to enjoy - even the cat and dog are in the truck too ... they check the map and camp under the gums. And as you read this if it all feels like tie me kangaroo down ... well you might just be right because this time it is:
Throw your bags on the truck, kids, Throw your bags on the truck.
Stop your running amuck, kids, And throw your bags on the truck.

Can I Cuddle the Moon Kerry Brown & Lisa Stewart (Scholastic)
A fluffy baby owl is looking for something to cuddle including the moon, a shining star, the sun, a butterfly and even a snake (and many more unusual things). Each time baby owl considers what to cuddle advice is offered from the mother-owl nearby until eventually baby owl realises that the cuddle is there right under baby owl's nose.

Fiction Reads

2010-03-20T14:37:00.001+11:00

Jaguar Warrior Sandy Fussell (Walker)

Atl is in box, imprisoned and waiting for death. He is the sacrifice chosen by the Serpent-Sun God. Suddenly he is free for the city is under attack and soon the city and temple will be overrun. Atl's task is to race and deliver a message to the people of his birthplace Purepecha, requesting them to send warriors to defeat the Spanish army for if they don't Purepecha will be attacked too. As Atl flees, he is assisted and then accompanied by Lali, who has a mystery of her own. Together they begin their flight. In rapid pursuit is the Captain who wants Atl sacrificed! But who is he and what is his relationship to Lali?
This book, set in Aztec time, was another rivetting read. It is fantastic; face-paced, full of action and suspense with great descriptions. Boys will really love reading this book as they hook on to the character of Atl. Girls will love the heroine Lali. She is strong and not afraid to speak her mind.

Toppling Sally Murphy & Rhian Nest James (Walker Books)
John collects dominoes - he has thousands of them in big crates under his bed and he loves to build spirals and paths and ramps and drops ... just to watch them topple. His best mate is Dominic, and not just because Dominic sounds like domino either. Back at school after holidays, the days begin as normal but soon Dominic falls ill and misses the whole week of school (and tehn more), and when John discovers that Dominic has cancer both their worlds start toppling. Will Dom return to school and what will he be like? How will John cope with his best friend being so ill? Will they have the same relationship?
This verse novel with a delightful ending is a touching story about friends, cancer and bullies.

A Dog, a Seal and Aussie Animal Picture Books

2010-03-19T13:12:00.002+11:00

Littledog Katrina Germein & Tamsin Ainslie (Scholastic)

Littledog is a stray. Littledog is found by a family one holiday evening waiting for them at their beach side shack. very soon most of the family Sam, his mother and his bigger sister - but not dad) are besotted with the dog and get more and more attached to him. They put up found posters and advertisements but no one comes to claim him and soon Sam and Littledog are very attached. When the holidays end and the family leave the holiday house will Littledog go too - especially when dad has other ideas?

Littledog is a lovely story and the great beachside holiday illustrations are delightful.

Tatiara Jo Oliver (New Frontier)
A girl wearing a back brace for her spine spends her days at her father's wharf-side cafe, gazing out to sea - she can't swim in the water - at least not yet. She sees a face like a pup come out of the water in the sheltered harbour - and it is Tatiara, an injured seal. Soon the girl and the seal form a bond with eh girl even catching fish (which she didn’t like doing before) for the seal. Eventually the seal's wounds have healed and the girl is also able to swim in the bay.
A story of patience and friendship and healing.

Snug As A Hug: An Australian Lullaby Marcia K. Vaughan & Pamela Lofts (Scholastic)
This is a beautiful lilting bedtime lullaby with simple rhyming words and soft illustrations of sleeping Australian animals.
As night falls, one by one, the animals start to fall asleep, first joey, then koala, turtle, cockatoo, echidna, spider and more Australian animals. Soon all the animals outside are asleep - and even the nocturnal ones! Soon the little child who is hearing this lullaby is also dreaming surrounded by her toy animals snuggled in her room.

Share these lovely Australian picture books.

New Series Books

2010-03-17T11:27:00.000+11:00

New titles in popular series that will have readers wanting more ....

Conspiracy 365 : March Gabrielle Lord (Scholastic)
January and February have gone ... here comes March.
Cal is in deep, deep trouble. He is about to shredded by a fast moving train. it will be impossible to survive. He is being chased by criminals as well as the police who have an alert out for him. He can't turn to his family. Things are looking grim for Cal ... he still carries the drawings and he is beginning to piece together some of the clues to the Ormond Riddle but each clue holds more puzzles and more dangers for Cal. Will he survive the year! Cal's friend Boges helps, as does Repro who rescues him from the train but Cal must move alone.
A great riveting title that will have readers hanging out for April!
See the website for online games, downlaods and heaps more!

The Floods 9: Who Wants To Be A Billionaire Colin Thompson (Random House)
The Floods are back and this time Wall Street is their target - and solving the global financial crisis too.
Setting up Summer School in a block of luxury apartments in Manhattan in New York city is where the Floods begin. When New York children wake up one morning with a mystery disease - a red mask-shaped pattern on their bottoms it can only mean that witch Betty's spell turned out not quite the way it should. When Winchfalt and Aubergine invade the nearly empty stock market buying and selling they make millions instantly and when they decide to corner the market with a machine that transports all the toilet paper in the world to a secret location people have to think laterally to find something to replace the missing toilet paper ... and there are many other hilarious happenings throughout the pages of this book. And readers will love the footnotes!

Mates: You Turkeys! Michael Gerard Bauer & Nahum Ziersch (Scholastic)
This title features a crazy dad who loves his garden and will protect it at all costs from the two scrub-turkeys who want to call his backyard home.
Lots of humour as the turkeys go round scratching and establishing nests that dad has to pull down and then come up with scrub-turkey deterrents! And in the end Dad gets a very special award!
This full colour junior novel series is great for young readers.

Watch out for new titles following these!!!

Fiction for the Younger Readers.

2010-03-09T17:43:00.000+11:00

Here are books for the reluctant reader and also for the younger reader. They are all books in new or near new series ....

Dance of the Deadly Dinosaurs Jackie French (HarperCollins)

Oh this book is FUN!

Boojum Bark is a werewolf puppy, and a student at the School for Heroes. His mother has also been kidnapped so with his friends (that include a zombie, a warrior mouse and other ‘beings’ who are all trainee heroes) he sets out to find her. but to do this he has to go into the Ghastly Otherwhen ... and strange things start to happen here. There are dinosaurs, and bogeys, and a strange hypnotic spell that causes chaos.
Following on from the previous School for Heroes book comes this new title which will have readers giggling all the way through at the craziness and silliness and the 'weirdness' within these pages.
This series is designed for reluctant readers ... but with lots of pages to develop their reading confidence. And this series should do that!

EJ12 #1: Hot and Cold Susannah McFarlane (Scholastic)

This new series stars Emma Jack but Emma Jack the school girl is also known as EJ12 Special Agent. She is a member of SHINE, a secret agency that protects the world from evil-doers. EJ12 cracks codes and foils plans all over the world while at the same time coping with all the issues of going to school like mean girls, and best friends. This is a fun book for the younger readers - especially girls who want a girl superhero.

In EJ12 #1 someone is melting the polar cap. There is a furious scientist who is creating chaos and wants to sell her invention to the highest bidder. there are secret agent tools for EJ to use to get the job done and when she does, she still has to go back to school and cope with the not so nice girls and the Ice Queen of Mean!

See: ej12girlhero.com and drop in here to see a message from the author.

And especially for beginning readers comes the new series Pen Pals Forever ...

Pen Pals Forever 1: Summer Days Lenny Pelling (Random House)

In this first title, Polly and Jez are the closest of friends but wile Polly begins an adventure around Australia during the school holidays Jez is stuck at home so to keep in touch Polly sends postcards form all the places she visits. As Polly reads each postcard her imagination is let loose and her summer days aren't quite so lonely without Polly there.
With large print, simple storylines and generous illustrations this is a series for the beginning readers that should be enjoyed. This title also includes Pen pal tips at the back.

Picture Book Delights

2010-03-01T15:37:00.002+11:00

Picture Books are always special. Here are some delightful new ones.

Hunting for Dragons Bruce Whatley (Scholastic)

One of the very best Australian illustrators is Bruce Whatley and he has the most fun story about one of my favourite animals - dragons. This book is such a joy to devour - both in the simple storyline and the illustrations.

This is the story of a child (complete with dragon discovering armour) who spends most weekends hunting for dragons, and dragons are found in the most amazing places around the home and the yard. Of course when a 'real' dragon is discovered and announced, not everyone is a believer.

Make sure you look closely at the illustrations ... it is amazing how many wonderful dragons appear here and where they are!

My Country Dorothea Mackellar & Andrew McLean (Scholastic)

Australia is a beautiful country and this is the classic poem about the landscape of our country written by Dorothy Mackellar when she was feeling homesick for Australia. It is accompanied by classic pictures of the Australian landscape - in its many wild and beautiful ways.

The poem describes our beautiful country including the bushfires, and deserts to the storms, moon-lit forest, floods and droughts.

With such delightful illustrations this book is a lovely image of the Australian landscape. And this is the complete poem too.

Zoobots Bruce & Ben Whatley (Angus&Robertson)

Zoobots, created by Bruce and his son Ben, is lovely and kids all over will be making their own Zoobot characters from any bits of junk, and more, that is left lying around once they have discovered this book.

This is the story of three junk yard best friends and their quest to 'create' another best friend ... but things don't quite go according to plan,

The book is illustrated very differently from most of Whatley's other titles with the illustrations using cinematic 3D type imagery which makes it quite amazing.
This book celebrates friendship and recycling!!!

Have fun sharing these.

Fiction for Older Readers

2010-02-10T14:03:00.005+11:00

Destination Abudai Prue Mason (Penguin)
This is a terrific read - especially for teenage boys.
Jaz who has lived in a small Aussie town all his life is suddenly living in the land of his Arabian father who he did not know existed. He now has a luxurious palace for home, and travels from the airport by private helicopter. There are people to assist Jaz whenever he needs. His father, who is a very powerful man, has welcomed Jazirut into the family, as his half sister and other family members, although Jaz wonders what is his real motive for bringing him here. Unfortunately his cousin, who also lives in the palace is not so accommodating and causes Jaz to be very suspicious, so suspicious, that Jaz, aided by his half sister, attempts to go back home to be with his dying grandfather. But Jaz's father has other plans in store.
Characters are wonderfully created and the story is full of action.

Mostly Sunny, with the Chance of Storms Marion Roberts (Allen&Unwin)

This is the second book about Sunny Hathaway who comes from a very blended family.
Her father has remarried and Sunny now has a baby half-sister and her step-mother is not coping too well. Her mother and partner, soon to be husband, are moving with his children, (soon to be step-siblings Sunny calls the precookeds) to the house that her recently deceased grandmother lived in. And that's only the start of the events that are about to cause consternation for Sunny.
Who will live in the turret bedroom (sunny of course using her powers of reverse psychology?
Who are her imaginary friends Bruce and Terry?
Who is the boy who knits who breeds homing pigeons, who she meets on the bus and does not use computer or a telephone for keeping in touch - he sends Sunny letters instead.
Who is the old gardener that lives on the grounds and what does he want to do with the pigeons? This is a fun read that warmly touches on some serious issues.

These are top reads.

Hilarious reads for Younger Readers

2010-02-10T13:22:00.000+11:00

Ready for laughter and giggles .....

The Pony Patch Collection Bernadette Kelly & Liz Alger (blackdogbooks)
Here they are bound up in one book - the four books of the Pony Patch collection and readers - especially girls who love horses and horse adventures, will love these.

The stories are about a very mischievous horse called Norton and all the tricks. Of course his owner Molly thinks that he is the most wonderful pony.
As well as the hilarious storylines there are extremely amusing illustrations that often tell a different story!
Also includes sections on looking after your pony and pony facts.
Short chapters and large print make this a great rad for young pony lovers looking for chapter books.

Big Stories from Little Lunch Danny Katz & Mitch Vane (blackdogbooks)
The five Little Lunch books are here in one BIG collection.
Lots of people would think that not much can happen in the fifteen minutes of little lunch but they would be wrong. This books is filled with all the shenanigans and commotion and real action of the little lunch playground ... and some naughty things (but oh so nice things like big bottoms, and lunch boxes and school loos) that happen there too.
Kids love these books and giggle and snigger for hours.

With bigger print and generous spaces these young reader chapter books are delightful and easy to read.

Wonderful fiction

2010-02-01T13:01:00.005+11:00

Two fiction titles, one for younger reades and the other for more mature readers but both great reads.

Alice-Miranda at School Jacqueline Harvey (Random House)
Alice-Miranda is starting school, although a little younger than other students, at the prestigious Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies that her mother attended as did her mother. Of course the academy has changed a little since her parents went but still Alice Miranda (or is it Alic-Matilda) just loves being there. There are lots of problems at the academy - all of which are solved with a friendly hand from ALice-Miranda. The principal has not seen a student for ten year but that doesn't stop her seeing Alice-Miranda, and when Alice Miranda finds there are no flowers in the gardens a simple call to father solves that. There is of course the obnoxious, meanest, most spoilt older student that Alice-Miranda must contend with and of course Alice-Miranda shines through.
Great for young readers who want a solid strong and fun chapter book to read. I can't wait to read more about Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones.

Letters to Leonardo Dee White (Walker Books)
On Matt's fifteenth birthday he really wants art lessons but his dad gives him a motorcycle book instead. He also opens a bundle of cards - and one is from his mother who has been dead for ten years. Matt is confused and angry. Who is his mother? How did she find him? Where is she? Why has she been 'dead' for most of Matt's life and why did his father lie to him about his mother?

These are questions that start flooding into Matt's mind and soon he sets about on a twisted course that will eventually lead him to a family discovery and a traumatic conclusion.
Thoughout, Matt has a school project to deliver and he finds some similarities with Leonardo da Vinci, his project subject. Through the project, the discovery of his living mother, his investigations and the outcomes he chooses revealing the truth, Matt confronts the emotional journey that is entwined in his life.
Investigating themes of mental illness (specifically Bipolar disorder), friendship, family, identity and loss this wonderfully written book for mature readers, which I couldn't put down, has a surprising and tense conclusion.

Picture Book Treats

2010-01-28T14:59:00.006+11:00

Ballroom Bonanza Nina Rycroft (Working Title Press)
Music, animals, Dance and fun rhymes make up this lovely animal alphabet book.
Nina's animal pictures are delightful and very amusing and in addition there are musical instruments hidden (some very well) in each of the A-Z spreads. Yes the mischief monkeys have hidden them so investigative eyes are needed. There are lots of musical instruments to find, many dance styles are mentioned, and heaps of animals are 'dancing' to find out who is the best dancer.

I love alphabet books and this is another that was fun ... especially after I read through the book, looked closely at the illustrations and found out that I had to find the hidden instruments - so I started all over again!
And do see Nina's YouTube clip Ballroom Bonanza film (with wonderful music) that captures 35 hours of water colour illustration (the creating of the book's cover) in under 3 minutes

There Was An Old Sailor Claire Saxby & Cassandra Allen (Walker Books Australia)
There once was a FLY being swallowed by an old lady but now it is an old sailor who swallows a krill and I too am sure that it will make him ill ... especially after he starts swallowing a wide assortment of other animals from the sea including a jellyfish, a shark, a ray and a fish.

Of course when he finally swallows the last animal ... well you'll have to buy the book to find out! The last double page spread has some nice fishy facts too!
This is a fun new twist on a familiar tale with really absorbing illustrations that will have children in many homes and preschools and kindergartens chanting along!

FUN!

Fantasy Excellence

2010-01-28T10:25:00.008+11:00

Holidays have been a great time for reading so here we go with two of the wonderful titles that I have consumed! More to come soon.

The Keys to the Kingdom #7 Lord Sunday Garth Nix (Allen&Unwin)
This is it ... the final title in the wonderful and all-consuming Keys to the Kingdom series. From the moment I read the first page of the first title I was hooked. Each of the preceding titles has been unputdownable and Lord Sunday continues that heritage.

Now Arthur, with six of the seven keys has to defeat Lord Sunday and assume the position as rightful heir to the kingdom. But are the six keys enough? Can Arthur defeat Lord Sunday, the last of the trustees, as Nothing sweeps the house? And what will holding all seven keys reveal? The conclusion to this series is just amazing!

For kids (young and old) who like strong reads with fantastically developed characters and intriguing plot lines - this fantasy series is sure to hold them. It really has been the most delightful series to read. Yep ... I really loved this series!
Also check out the website.

Worldshaker Richard Harland (Allen&Unwin)
There is a huge iron ship sailing the world - over land and sea. The Filthies on the lower decks provide the labour that operates the vessel while the upperclass live a grand life on the upperdecks (going to school, resting, having holidasy - all on teh vessel of course) and never the two societies shall meet. But when one of the Filthies escapes to the upperdeck, and is soon assisted by Colbert, the assigned heir who will one day be Supreme Commander of the Worldshaker to bring up other Filthies from the lower decks, the 'world' order becomes unsettled and rebellion ensues.

This book is littered with twists and turns and adventure throughout these pages. Loyalty, betrayal, friendship, family, trust, cruelty, and rebellion are all part of this riveting fantasy read. Once I got into this, reading was hard to stop!

Enjoy these great new fantasy titles.

New Unputdownable Series Titles

2009-12-29T08:22:00.004+11:00

These two books are rivetting reads and the start of two great new series for independent readers. Boys espeically will devour these books.

Edsel Grizzler (#1): Voyage to Verdada James Roy (UQP)
Imagine a land for kids where you only have to work for a few hours each morning - and all that 'work' is sorting out and categorising the misplaced things and then the rest of the day is FREE!!! No school, No parents telling you what to do (Edsel's are way over protective), Pizza for breakfast, no bedtime - just time to hang out with your friends doing whatever you desire. That has to be the perfect place. And Edsel Grizzler has found it in a parallel dimension at Verdada where everyone stays forever young in this fun place.
But be careful things are not always what they seem.
This is the first title in a new three part series. It is a great read.

Conspiracy 365: Part 1 January Gabrielle Lord (Scholastic)
Are you ready for a 12 part crime action-packed thriller series with one book coming out each month and being published all around the world by one of the best crime writers? If you are then grab this series! I couldn't put this book down. Alex Rider fans will love it!

Callum Ormond is 15 years old. It's New Year's Eve and a sick and wild-eyed man confronts Callum with the dire warning:-
‘They killed your father. They’re killing me.’
‘The Ormond Singularity. Don’t let it be the death of you too, boy!’
And he is told that he has to stay alive for the next 365 days. Suddenly Callum is on the run fleeing criminals and the police. Who wants Callum dead? What is the Ormond Singularity? How can he survive for 365 days? There are drawings on documents that Callum has to decipher. His uncle is nasty and wants Callum out of the picture. And the end of this book is a cliff hanger! Bring on book 2!

For more info you visit the website: www.conspiracy365.com where there are competitions and prizes, online games and much much more. Do also check out the (UK) trailer ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uNiX1cFO4g

These books will have readers clammering for more!

Picture Books for older and younger

2009-12-28T17:26:00.001+11:00

I just found these - more picture books - sitting there to be put on the blog ... argh!

Wanted: The Perfect Pet Fiona Robertson (Penguin)
It's about a boy who wants the perfect pet and for him that perfect pet was a dog. It's also stars a duck who wants to be wanted. So when the boy advertises for the perfect pet - also known as a dog, and the duck reads this advertisement he turns into - a dog! Lovely illustrations, with clever story, and further text in the sides, make this picture book for young readers a delight to share.

Running With The Horses Alison Lester (Penguin)
This picture book for older readers is inspired by the rescue of the rare and precious Lipizzaner stallions from the Spanish riding school in Vienna during World War 2.
To escape the oncoming war ten year old Nina, her father and an old friend flee with the horses riding through the nights, through forests, past rivers and through snow over the distant mountains. The drama of the escape and the special bond that Nina has with the old carriage horse makes this a powerful read.

Australia at the Beach Max Fatchen & Tom Jellett (Scholastic)
This is the 10th anniversary edition and it is still the great Australia Day book!!!
What do Aussies love to do on Australia Day ... go to the beach and this book, written in rhyming verse, fills out a glorious Australia Day - from heading off, to the beach activities (of course including cricket), building sandcastles, swimming in seaweed forests and finally coming home exhausted.

With great side notes too -- like how to get an ice cream if you are a dog -- this book is a wonderful celebration of Australia and the beach!

Enjoy!

Christmas Picture Books

2009-12-26T13:28:00.007+11:00

I Love Christmas ... and these are just beautiful Christmas picture books to share with readers of many ages.

The Watchmaker Who Saved Christmas Bruce Whatley (Random House)
This is a beautiful Christmas tale of Santa, a watchmaker and young boy and a broken watch.
Kids all over ask how Santa can deliver presents all over the world in just one night and here we find out - it is all because of one very special watch that Santa owns and that watch slows down time!! But what happens when that watch is broken - it has to go to a talented watchmaker who uses all his skill to repair the broken wheel.

The ABC Book of Christmas Mark Macleod & various illustrators (ABC)
This beautiful book faithfully retells the story of the very first Christmas; of the three wise men, the shining star, the baby in the manger, the flight to Egypt and of course the shepherds. It is a really fine retelling.
What makes this book extra special are the stunning double page illustrations by each of the contributing illustrators - including Wayne Harris, Stephen Michael King, Ann James, and Anna Walker

Twelve Dogs of Christmas the Kevin Whitlark (Scholastic)
With DOGS and not days in the title you know that this book is going to star DOGS in these very special twelve days. This Christmas the dogs are preparing the Christmas tree and a little chaos develops.
On the first day of Christmas my true dog sent to me - a fat cat in a fur tree ... and there are also dogs a digging and pooping and licking and ffencing and skating and heaps more that will make the readers of all ages giggle with laughter under the Christmas tree.

Brucie Saves Christmas Yvonne Morrison & Michelle Pike (Scholastic)
This is a delightful sequel to An Aussie Night Before Christmas. It is also told in rhyming verse and it is FUN!
When Brucie the joey is born much anticipation surrounds his eventually joining the troop and pulling Santa's sleigh ... but Brucie is timid and shy and small and the other roos don’t think that he "Could be any help at all". But when catastrophe strikes one Christmas Eve and a fog rolls in ... you know that it is Brucie who saes the day - or night!

I Love Christmas Anna Walker (Scholastic)
This is such a treat and perfect for Christmas - and to add to the collection of sweet Ollie and Fred books. This book is just perfect for small hands and for sharing the joy of friendship at Christmas!
In this title we find out all wonderful things that he Ollie loves about Christmas including crinkly paper, the star, the donkey and the baby asleep, twinkling lights and baking cakes - but of course the best thing is listening for Santa's reindeer with Fred!

Share one of these books with someone close and Merry Christmas all!

New Titles from Great Series

2009-12-15T12:17:00.003+11:00

Here are new titles from books in existing series that I have absolutely enjoyed reading and most importantly so do the kids they were written for.

The Undys: On the Move Wagner Michael & Gus Gordon (Penguin books)
Oh No! ... Josh Undy and his dad (Fillmmore) have to move out of their public housing apartment. They have just four weeks to find a new dwelling. Manny work has been soooo good that they a re making too much money! So what do they do ... well in-between searching for a new apartment they do a lot! Josh and his friends go crab racing, Josh and his dad learn the art of trampoline dodge ball, and of course when they do find a place to move to ... they have to move all their things - and that calls for some very special strong help!
This is a fun book with short crazy linked tales that kids, especially boys love giggling over!

Battle Boy #3 & #4 - Destroy Troy and Bloodaxe Charlie Carter (Pan Macmillan)
These titles are fantastic for boys - especially those younger readers just starting on chapter books. In each book in this adventure series Battle Boy is flung back into time, in his specially designed body suit (AKA SimulSkin) and with his Battle Watch with the latest downloaded operating system that has all the information for the battle in which he lands. In each case his task is to operate as a HD-CD (Human Data Collecting Device) but not everything goes according to plan.
In Destroy Troy Napoleon Augustus Smythe (AKA Battle Boy 005) lands in 1185 AD has to find out if the Greeks really did leave the Trojan horse outside the city and in Bloodaxe he lands in Dark Age England 954 and is flung into a Viking battle.
Short action packed chapters make this history fun!

Ranger's Apprentice 9: Halt's Peril John Flanagan (Random House)
These are great reads with well developed characters. They are filled with action, mystery and tensions and will have the readers begging for more. Lots of solid reading here in this book for older competent readers.
Following on from the Kings of Clonmel (#9) Halt, Horace and Will are in pursuit of the dangerous cult leader Tennyson and his followers from the Outsider cult. This time Halt really is in peril, his life hangs in the balance as Will and Horace attempt to save him but they are forced to make very heavy decisions. Tension and drama throughout!

This series is award winning and readers just keep wanting more. If new to the series grab #1The Ruins of Gorlan and get going!

Enjoy this bundle!

Sport & more Sport!

2009-12-05T12:34:00.004+11:00

A History of Cricket Catherine Chambers (Black Dog Books)
With the sound of bat on ball starting to echo across the playing fields of Australia this is a book to devour for all things cricket.
How did cricket begin?
What are the ashes?
How is cricket played?
Which countries have played the most tests?
What are some of the different forms of cricket?
Who's the best batsman of all time?
This book will provide some insights to these questions and a whole lot more.
Includes a timeline, the top 10 test captains, highest batting averages and more.
Read this to find out all about cricket!

FIFA World Football Records 2010 (Scholastic)
With the 2010 Soccer World Cup just around the corner this is a book that soccer lovers will want to read and read.
It is not just a list of soccer records. This book also inlcudes the 2009 FIFA world rankings (Australia is in the first column), information about the competing countries and players as well as events, including the FIFA world cup, that link the football family. Competitions, players, records and a whole lot more are included in these full colour pages - photos of many stars are here too.
What is the record international score?
When were Greece European champions?
Where is the world's biggest stadium?
Who is the youngest player to appear in a World Cup final?
This is the book that will answer these questions and whole lot more!

for Sports fans!!!

Ballet & Toymaker & Kids Night In!

2009-12-05T11:30:00.005+11:00

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!

Fantasy

2009-11-30T18:04:00.002+11:00

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 ....

2009-11-30T14:06:00.010+11:00

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

2009-11-11T16:49:00.004+11:00

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

2009-11-04T15:20:00.003+11:00

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.

Picture Book Treats for Youngsters

2009-10-28T11:59:00.007+11:00

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.