Cirrus@Austlit

'Jane stops being Jane at breakfast on Monday. It's way too plain a name.There must be a better one, more suited to who she is. Mum and Dad go along with her plan. So does her class teacher. But finding the right name is far more difficult than Jane expected.

'Every name she tries for herself feels wrong until her class holds a Name Jane Contest. Jane chooses a winner and the family plans a picnic to celebrate her new name. When there is an incident at the park, Jane must decide whether to become Sharla - or stay Jane.'  (Publication summary)

'Amy's unusual pet has won the family a summer vacation in the school Pet Parade but Mum and Dad say Rocky has to stay home because no pets are allowed at the beach cottages.

'How is that fair? They wouldn't be going to the seaside if weren't for Rocky.

'Amy has to find a way to take him. Luckily the strange neighbour who gave Rocky to Amy has an interesting solution to the 'no pets' problem.

'Mum and Dad don't know it but an extra guest has come along to join the summer fun.

'Can Rocky stay Amy's secret?

'Perhaps her holiday will be a monstrously more fun if he doesn't...' (Publication summary)

'Anyone can write stories. You can too!

'Writing stories is like having an adventure.

'This book will lead you on your own story adventure.

'Imagination is your passport. It can take you anywhere.

'Start with an idea...choose your characters...decide where they live and when their story takes place...think about what could happen to them.

'Follow the simple instructions in this book and write your own story to share.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Emi and her twin brothers have a secret.

'There's a Christmas elf in their backyard and she's eaten so many strawberries it's given her a tummy ache. She needs help and the grownups mustn't find her. Emi, Max and Sam know the perfect place to keep her safe while they work out what to do. Their special remedy might work but will their special visitor recover in time to can return to the North Pole and deliver her Christmas gift list to Santa?' (Publication summary)

'Jake can't believe his luck when he finds a strange object at the beach. It is shaped like a banana, gleams like a copper coin, crackles and pops and is getting hotter by the minute. The story about a flying saucer crashing in Pelican Bay must be true and this is an alien object. There is only one thing for four cousins to do - take home The Find and study it in secret. Strange things begin to happen to Jake and the cousins have to figure out how to return him to normal before the grownups find out. But just when they think their problems are over, The Find's owner turns up and wants it back. It might have been best to leave the strange object where they found it...

'An alien encounter story for young readers.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Who do you trust when those you love most let you down? Kate should have hung up the minute the caller said he was her father. She already has a dad, and now it turns out her life with him, Mum and younger brother Ben was a happy family fantasy. Her mum has been keeping secrets. Now the father she never knew she had is coming to Perth. He wants to take Kate back to Brisbane with him because his mother has cancer and wants to get to know her only granddaughter before it's too late. Kate is on an emotional roller coaster. Everything she believed about herself and her life has been based on a lie. Her wonderful dad is not her father. Even her beloved Nana Hannah is not her "real" grandmother. Kate has to find out who she is and where she belongs. Only then can she find out if her friendship with newcomer Joshua Perrin can become something more.' (Publication summary)

'It's 1817 and Rosie has lived all her life in Parramatta. Pa came to the colony in New South Wales as a free settler and is a successful trader, importing goods from foreign lands. Ma is an ex-convict who stitches fine gowns for the ladies of the colony. Now Pa's brother is on his way from England with his family to join them. Rosie can hardly contain her excitement. She and Cousin Amelia will surely become the best of friends, sharing secrets and adventures. When Pa decides to take Rosie along with him and the new arrivals to help set up their farm in the bush a day's journey from town, she can't believe her luck. It means leaving behind the puppy she rescued from a group of cruel boys but what fun it will be to spend every day with Amelia. It is fun...but there is also danger. A raging bushfire threatens to destroy the farm and everyone in it. How will they survive? Will Rosie ever return home to Ma, the little kids and Patch the puppy?' (Publication summary)

'Trouble comes to Tea Tree Bend...

'In cowboy movies the sheriff forms a posse to round up all
the bad guys. Cam and Ellie from Daisy Cottage and their friends Billy and
Louisa have formed a different posse. Their mission is to find and fix all
the signs in Tea Tree Bend with missing apostrophes. The summer holidays are
almost over so they have just nine days to complete their task.

'How can trying to do the right thing go so wrong?' (Publication summary)

'There is magic, mystery, adventure and fun in this collection of short stories for young readers.

'Meet a monster with a toothache, a princess who doesn't behave like one and a fairy who can't fly. Find out what happens when Cinderella's slipper is the wrong fit, the answer to a Dads' Day dilemma and how to find a little brother lost in another time. Often funny, sometimes serious, the 15 stories are an entertaining mix of humour and whimsy, fantasy and reality.

'The Fifty Per Cent Princess & Other Goodnight Reads is certain to become a family favourite for bedtime sharing or reading alone.'   (Publication summary)

'Elephants never forget – or do they?

'One rainy day Jumbo Jim is on his way home from school alone when a tiger stops and offers him a lift. Tim promises to get him home and dry quicker than a snake can blink an eye – but Jimbo says no. Mum has told him never to go with strangers. That’s when Tiger Tim says he is a family friend – and he has chocolate, too.

'Will Jimbo remember his mother’s stranger danger warnings – or go with Tim?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'This gentle story is a conversation about God between a mother and child. Told from the child's perspective, the series of questions and answers in rhyme introduces young children to the idea of a higher being that can see, hear and speak without eyes, ears or tongue, and does not live in a house with roof, walls and locking doors.

'"For God's house is this world we share and God is in it everywhere."'

Source: Publisher's blurb.