Mina wants her own bedroom more than anything else in the whole wide world. And it’s almost ready! Just one more lick of sunny yellow paint and it’s hers.
But when Mina's parents take in an unexpected guest, they give her room away. At first, Mina is too upset to speak. She doesn’t care that this new boy, Azzami, needs a place to stay.
At school, the other kids call Azzami names, and Mina wishes he’d stand up for himself. Then she sees his drawings, and for the first time really thinks about the life of the quiet boy in front of her.
Here is a story about finding friendship where you least expect it and making room for everyone across this big wide world.
REVIEWS
‘One of the most moving stories written in verse that I have read and I would love to have a class of children I could read it to.’ Good Reading magazine
‘A beautifully crafted book...Mina and the Whole Wide World shows young readers that ultimately, it is kindness and compassion which connects us all across this big wide world.’ Aussie Kids Books
‘Gently written, with great characters and strong themes of friendship and helping others, this book will become a favourite.’ Lamont Books
‘This endearing verse novel will tug at your heart and no doubt encourage conversations about attitude towards refugees in Australia.’ Reading Opens Doors
‘Mina and the Whole Wide World is a great story beautifully told... that will certainly invite readers to stop, reflect and imagine.’ Agnew Reading
Sasha doesn't really mind moving. It's not like there was any reason to stay in her old life, after all the trouble. But Manna Creek is strange. And when after a pretty nasty fall, she starts hearing and seeing things that haven't happened yet, or happened a very long time ago, it gets even stranger. Maybe King, their new retired police dog, can help solve the mysteries. He thinks he can. He told Sasha he could. And she heard him ...
Published in USA by KaneMiller -
Australian publication - 1 February 2014
It's 1915 in Melbourne's inner west and Jimmy has left school to support his family while his brother is away at war. But when Jimmy's brother returns, he is a different person, and Jimmy finds his 'odd jobs' for the local crims have also taken a turn for the worst. Will Jimmy go to gaol and can he save his family and his brother...?
Cassie and her brother, Jack, are on the run from the past, from the future and from their failure of a family. But where can they go? And can you ever really run away?
Told in two voices - Cassie and Jack - Runaways is a verse novel that takes the reader all the way across Australia and back again.
Who could possibly defeat Nicholas Nosh? Only a pirate with a deadly weapon - the most disgusting, stinky ship to sail the seven seas! Join Nicholas in his latest Nibble adventure - more fun and fearsome fighting, and no sign of the Golden Pudding.
PIRATE X
Step into a world where pirates rule and one false move could be your last!
Pirate X is an exciting pirate adventure about a boy who finds himself far away from home.
Will, a modern boy, is transported back from current day London to 1717 through a portal and lands in the pirate haven of Nassau. He's forced to work on board Blackbeard's pirate ship, learns how to fight with a cutlass, fire a cannon, and forms a bond with the hapless Captain Bonnet.
However, Will is looking for a way to return to his world and to put together the pieces of the puzzle that took him back in time in the first place. But all the while, Blackbeard is suspicious of Will's strangeness and dismissive of his master, Captain Bonnet, who is still learning to be a pirate.
With his every move watched, Will is desperate to get home but will he make it alive? Or will he find himself at the end of the hangman's rope?
Find out more about pirate history, read an extract, ask the author! All at the Pirate X website.
RRP $16.95
Meet Rose
(Our Australian Girl series - Book 1)
It's 1900 . . .
and Rose lives with her family in a big house in Melbourne. She wants to play cricket, climb trees and be an adventurer! But Rose's mother has other ideas. Then Rose's favourite young aunt comes to town, and everything changes. Will Rose's mother let Aunt Alice stay? And will Rose ever get to do the things she loves?
Meet Rose and join her adventure in the first offour stories about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!
Click here for more about Rose's books and the OAG series.
Books 2, 3 and 4 are out now, too.
The Littlest Pirate in a Pickle
(now out as a picture book)
When Nicholas Nosh's cousin Primrose tells him he's too small to be a real pirate, he just has to show her she's wrong! But when things don't go to plan and Primrose is kidnapped, he wishes he'd kept his mouth shut. Can the littlest pirate in the world make it out ofa very big pickle?
ISBN-13: 9780143503781
NOW I AM BIGGER
Now I Am Bigger captures all the excitement and wonder of a small child's world, when every day brings something new – new teeth, new words, new shoes, new bed – and every little change is very, very BIG.
As the author Sherryl Clark says:
When you're very little, time doesn't mean anything. What is an hour? A day? Are we there yet? Time is measured in growing, and in accomplishing new things like walking and growing teeth and eating by yourself, and most exciting of all, discovering the power of words and learning to talk. So much of little kids lives is about is now - 'I can wear real shoes now with
laces'. I wanted to try and capture their world, where everything, almost every day, is new. It's a very busy, intense and wonderful time.
Teacher's Notes here. Poetry writing using Now I Am Biggerhere.
ONE PERFECT PIROUETTE
Attending the National Ballet School is every aspiring dancer's dream. It's been Brynna's for as long as she can remember.
When her parents move her family to Melbourne so Brynna can attend a top ballet school, it looks like her dream is about to become a reality. But why does she feel so awful about the move? Her brother Tam is angrier than she has ever seen him and her mother is working hard to keep the family afloat. Will every step towards success come at a price? For Brynna to realise her heart's desire, something has to give. But will it be her family?
This novel is for readers 10-14 years.
(Publisher UQP)
MOTORMOUTH
Since Chris lost his best mate, Dave, cars are all he really cares about. Then Josh Carter moves to town. His dad is a famous racing car driver and everyone wants to be Josh's friend. But as Chris soon discovers, Josh is a bit of a motormouth, and that's where the trouble begins . . .
Motormouth is a new verse novel, published by Penguin Books and available now.
Rebellious Dobie despises her wealthy background and has just lost the chance to be a professional dancer. Then there's Melissa - smart and sensible, always doing her best to compensate for a life on the run with her alcoholic mother. They couldn't be more different yet in between the anger and disappointment there's common ground. Once, they both had dreams - what went wrong? Bone Song is a moving story about the magic of friendship, and the power that love and hate can wield inside every family.
Bone Song is published in the UK by Ransom.
You can buy this title in Australia from Digital Education Services, along with other books in the Cutting Edge series.
The Littlest Pirate and the Hammerheads - picture book!
Nicholas Nosh has to battle nasty Captain Hammerhead to get his treasure back - but how can he win when the captain has four hammerhead sharks surrounding his ship?
Out now in all good bookshops!
Published by Penguin Books.
Tracey Binns is Lost
TRACEY BINNS IS LOST AND THE LAST PEOPLE SHE WANTS TO BE STUCK WITH ARE JUSTIN ZIT-FACE AND HER ANNOYING TEACHER, MR GUNNING.
Tracey's school has started a new healthy-eating and exercise program and the kids are not happy. They're even less happy when Mr Gunning, their dreaded PE teacher, announces that he is taking the Grade Six students on a bush survival and fitness camp.
Facing the pitch dark and the strange calls of the wild is not Tracey's idea of fun. But all this looks like a walk in the park when they become lost on a long day's march ...
When Gemma sees a starving horse in a paddock, she wants to help. She names him Moonbeam, and takes him food.
But Moonbeam's owner doesn't want help, and no one else seems to understand why Gemma won't give up.
The Littlest Pirate is a picture book!
Nicholas Nosh, the littlest pirate in the world, isn’t allowed
to go to sea. “You’re too small,” his parents say. But
when Redbeard the Pirate captures his family, Nicholas must sail off with
Gretta, the cook, to rescue them. Originally published as an Aussie Nibble, Nicholas's adventures are now in full colour! Available at your local bookshop - great price too - $19.95.
Special new website all about the Littlest Pirate's worldwide adventures!
Tracey Binns is Trouble
(UQP)
Everyone knows Tracey is trouble - she never does her homework and she likes being the class clown. Her report card is full of Ds and Fs. But Tracey's hiding something, and when new kid Isabella becomes her friend, Tracey finally gets to show what she can really do.
Tracey is a great character! She has her own website - find out more about Tracey, her favourite stuff, and the next Tracey book here.
***
SIXTH GRADE STYLE QUEEN (NOT!)
HONOUR BOOK 2008 CBCA Awards - Books for Younger Readers
All the girls want to be style queens - except Dawn. Problem is, she's not really sure what she wants.
But as everything in her life starts to change, Dawn learns that sometimes not having all the answers isn't such a bad thing after all. Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!) is a verse novel that tells the story of an awful year in Grade 6 and a girl who finds that nothing can be made to stay the same forever.
Beth wants a horse more than anything. When her family move to a new house which has a paddock - with horses! – at the end of the street, she pleads with her parents to let her have her own horse, but to no avail. Then Aunty Grace needs someone to look after her pony, Brady. Only trouble is, Brady is old and very grumpy, and isn't interested in anyone riding him, especially not Beth.
PIRATES OF QUENTARIS
(Lothian Books)
The next exciting addition to the
Quentaris Chronicles.
When Kiall and Eena's father is
thrown in the dungeons, they
are desperate to save him. But
no one is allowed in the rift caves.
They stow away on a sky pirate
ship and end up in a harsh,
windswept world with the
evil Captain Bloodwine.
The Littlest Pirate and the Hammerheads
(Aussie Nibbles - Penguin)
Nicholas Nosh, the littlest pirate in the world, is back in another adventure!
Captain Hammerhead sneaked into the pirate castle and stole all the treasure. Nicholas and first mate Gretta have to get it back.
But can they outwit Captain Hammerhead and his deadly sharks?
(OUT IN 2007! The Littlest Pirate in a Pickle)
Farm Kid
(Penguin)
The family farm is the only life Zack knows. To him it's space, blue skies, cows, hay and the creek. But the drought could change everything.
'Farm Kid' is a novel in poems, described by one reviewer as '...a series of beautifully crafted blank verse, free of condescension and sentimentality' (Ruth Starke, ABR)
'FARM KID' won the 2005 NSW Premier's Literary Award - Patricia Wrightson Prize
I HATE TO SAY THIS BUT FARM KID IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE/OUT OF STOCK. i AM HOPING TO GET IT REPRINTED SOON.
Susie the Lifesaver
(Aussie Nibbles – Penguin)
Susie is very shy, too shy to make friends or speak in class at school.
But when she overhears two bullies planning to hurt Ben, the only boy
who has helped her, she must find a way to warn him. But how, when she’s
too scared to talk to him?
Boots
And All (Aussie Chomps – Penguin)
Tony has two talents – drawing and playing football. His father
is his footy team coach and wants Tony to try out for the regionals. Tony
wants to attend a special cartooning workshop with his hero, Bren Tong.
How can Tony do what he most wants without making his father angry?
It’s the school holidays at last and Simon can’t resist the
Grubb twins’ flying fox. It’s up to Molly to save him. This
story is full of action and includes a tangle with a crazy neighbour,
trying to save an endangered possum and avoiding Grandma’s naughty
parrot, Pecker.
Merry dreams of being a ballerina, dancing on the stage in a beautiful
tutu. But there are no ballet schools where she lives, and everyone thinks
she is too fat to dance and wear a tutu. When Merry gets her chance to
dance, nothing can stop her!
Nicholas Nosh, the littlest pirate in the world, isn’t allowed
to go to sea. “You’re too small,” his parents say. But
when Redbeard the Pirate captures his family, Nicholas must sail off with
Gretta, the cook, to rescue them.
Eric’s mum is a worry at the best of times, but when she gets hypnotised
at the circus, trouble looms. Why is Mum dancing in weird places? How
can Eric stop her embarrassing behaviour?
Batter
Up (Aussie Bites – Penguin)
Haggis and Spit used to be best friends – now they’re enemies.
What happened? And will the big softball game solve the problem? Or will
Front End Loader, their terrible teacher, make things worse?
If you want to know more about the Aussie Nibbles, Bites and Chomps,
you can go to the Penguin
website.
Wednesday
Was Even Worse (picture book now out of print – sorry, even I don't have copies to sell any more!)
Tuesday was a very windy day – the wind blew hats, umbrellas and
washing around – but Wednesday was even worse…
Other Titles
Mathew Madigan and the Motor-Mouths (chapter book – Macmillan
Education)
Slow Down, Sam! (chapter book – Macmillan Education)
Which Dog? (chapter book – Nelson Learning)
The Big Bubblegum Blow-Out (chapter book – Nelson Learning)
Whose Birthday Is It? (early readers – Watts Publishing)
Asking For Trouble – series of 3 chapter books (Pearson Education
Australia, Scholastic Canada, Sundance USA)
For Teens
Shooting Through
Blues Point Blues
Flip Side (all short novels for high school – Pearson Education)
world, when every day brings something new – new teeth, new words, new shoes, new bed – and every little change is very, very BIG.
ttending the National Ballet School is every aspiring dancer's dream. It's been Brynna's for as long as she can remember.
fitness camp.
Boots
And All
The
Too-Tight Tutu
The
Littlest Pirate
Tiger
Trouble
Batter
Up
