The fire crackled and Rachel was warm. ‘Let’s make some biscuits for Dad,’ her mother said. ‘Yes, let’s!’ Rachel cried. Rachel and her mother are at home on the family farm in Australia. Far away (presumably, though this isn’t stated, in Europe), her father, a soldier, battles the cold, the mud and the horrors of …
Picture Books
Apr 252013
Light Horse Boy, by Dianne Wolfer
Picture Books, Young Adult
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Apr 252013
Now I understand why the landing on April 25th is being called heroic. We’ve landed in hell. Bob didn’t make it. He was hit as we struggled ashore. I keep going over that moment. Writing a letter to his wife was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Harder even than going over the side of …
Apr 242013
‘Mr Darcy the Dancing Duck’ is a follow-up title to Field and Carnavas’s Mr Darcy. The setting is the same, with Darcy, Lizzy and the other characters portrayed as animals. Darcy’s reticence and clumsiness again features. This time it’s dancing that has Mr Darcy feeling out of sorts. He’s not convinced he likes to dance, and declines when asked by Lizzy to join their dance. But is it dislike of dance or insecurity about his abilities? It seems it could be the latter. But this time, he immediately starts to do something about it. Fortunately his friends are happy to help, which helps speed up the process somewhat. So when he again encounters the dancing Lizzy he can accept her invitation.
Apr 242013
Troggle, small troll, lives with his parents and his baby brother. Stamping feet and grinding teeth are popular pasttimes but the family’s favourite activity is eating. Troggle is bored with the sameness of the diet, but none of his efforts bring any change. Then he meets Tom. Together they find the perfect solution and bring harmony to the dinner table. Illustrations are bright and colourful and almost cartoon-y.
Dinosauritis, by Jeannette Rowe
Picture Books
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Apr 022013
Darwin was a normal child, who used to run and go quite wild. Until one day he clamped his claws, around a plastic dinosaur. Darwin loves dinosaurs, and nobody is better at talking about dinosaurs than Darwin. He can say all their names, and impresses everyone he meets. Everyone that is except Sally Dolomide, who …
Apr 022013
There’s a hush in the crowd as the mayor lifts his gun, then an ear-splitting Bang! and the race has begin, with a flashing of goggles and pale cyclists’ knees, and a murmuring sound like the bumble of bees. Monsieur Albert loves cycling – but he loves prizes even more. SO when he reads in …
I Love You Too, by Stephen Michael King
Picture Books
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Mar 272013
…there’s one thing I know, You love me and I love you too. Four animal friends (a rabbit,a mouse, a bird and a fourth which is possibly a cat) play and explore their way through life. Not everything goes their way – their sunny day rolling down hills leads to pollen sneezes and some days …
Mar 272013
We’re going on a croc hunt. We’re going to find a big one. I’m not afraid. We’re as brave as brave can be! This fun read-aloud offering uses the rhythm and refrain of the popular ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, but gives it a distinctly Aussie feel. The animal characters search for the croc …
The Light by Jo Oliver
Picture Books
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Mar 042013
The lighthouse stands on the high, smooth rock of the island. The light shines from dusk until dawn to protect those at sea.
My father is the lighthouse keeper.
Our family lives in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage.
Where are Snugglepot and Cuddlepie?
Picture Books
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Mar 042013
A Gumnuts lift-the-flap book
