Christmas Press Christmas Press i(6740618 works by) (Organisation) assertion
Born: Established: 2013 ;
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1 y separately published work icon Sabina and the Cats of Rome Sophie Masson , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2024 27388604 2024 single work children's fiction children's 'It is a hot afternoon in ancient Rome and Sabina is at a loose end. Everyone in the house is napping, even the family dogs, Major and Minor. Sabina doesn't want to sleep and she's tired of playing with her toys. So she goes out into the garden, venturing into her favourite part, the wild part, where she feels anything might happen, and you might meet a faun or a nymph, or someone else extraordinary. It's never happened before, but that afternoon, it does! Only it's not a faun or a nymph perching there in a tree, but a cat. A very unusual cat. A princess, to be precise, the only daughter of the King of the Cats of Rome. She can talk human every bit as much as she talks cat. And she needs Sabina's help to save her father, who's been put under a wicked spell by the King of the Rats. And so begins an exciting adventure, as Sabina and Cleo the cat, with the enthusiastic co-operation of Major and Minor, race against time to get help to the King of the Cats before it's too late...A funny, action-packed fantasy adventure for young readers by multi-award-winning author Sophie Masson, set against a fascinating background, and illustrated with verve and humour by acclaimed illustrator Laura Wood.' 

(Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Leaf Letters Lorena Carrington , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2024 27388561 2024 single work children's fiction children's 'Nine-year-old Hazel Bird is happiest on her own, photographing the tiny wild worlds in her neighbourhood bushland. But then she meets Cole, a boy with a hundred pockets and a strange and marvellous way of talking. Together they find hidden treasure and a handwritten book of secret codes... A unique, interactive story for young readers, with coded messages to decipher and mysteries to solve.' 

(Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Messy Magic Phoebe McArthur , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2023 26542253 2023 single work children's fiction children's fantasy

'Lucy has to clean her room—without using magic. Only, every time Lucy returned from a well-earned break from cleaning up, she found her room tidier than ever. Lucy soon begins to think her house might be haunted…by a ghost who loves cleaning.' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon The Key to Rome Sophie Masson , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2023 26259310 2023 single work children's fiction children's historical fiction

'Ancient Roman province of Britannia, AD 84.

'Eleven-year-old Livia has known no other life than travelling alone with her father, a respected eye doctor, for her mother died when she was born. But now her father has died too and Livia has to keep a promise she made him: to take a mysterious key to her estranged uncle Marcus. She has no idea what it opens, and she has not seen her uncle for years.

'But she is determined to keep her promise and sets out with the key, her old horse Pegasus and her father's medicine kit, only to learn that her uncle has left for a friend's place in Viroconium, further north. By the time she reaches that town, her uncle has gone, and his friend, Aurelius Silvius, won't tell her where he is. It seems her quest is at an end: until a boy named Mato informs her that he knows where her uncle is headed. But he refuses to tell her unless she promises to take him with her.

'As Mato and Livia journey on the trail of Livia's uncle, they begin to suspect that the secret of the key is extremely dangerous. But just how dangerous, they will soon learn. And now Livia and Mato must keep their wits about them or pay with their lives. But figuring out just who is friend, and who is foe, in this game of cat and mouse, is the greatest challenge of all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon Lucy Newton : Cat Trouble Phoebe McArthur , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2022 24842920 2022 single work children's fiction children's fantasy 'Lucy is spending the holidays with her grandparents at an old house near a loch. Thomas the cat disappears on the train trip there and Lucy is frantic. Taking advice from her spell book and a talking library, Lucy casts a spell to find him. But when she does there's something different about him Can Lucy Newton solve the mystery in her second magical adventure?' (Publication summary)
1 1 y separately published work icon Wanderer Victor Kelleher , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2022 24842874 2022 single work children's fiction children's 'In a dangerous world where predators roam both land and sea, an orphaned young boatman, Dane, wanders alone. Faced with the terrors of the water and the ever-present threat of a warrior group called the Clan, he struggles to survive. Along with his precious kayak, Dane has one other treasure: a much-loved book given to him by his mother, which is a source of comfort in the hardest of times. When he encounters Garth, a book-loving old boat builder, and his amazing granddaughter Lana, everything changes, as he and Lana are pitched into a perilous quest that challenges all they hold dear. The first middle-grade novel in many years, by one of Australia's greatest storytellers, Wanderer is an exciting adventure set in a brilliantly-imagined world. It is also a lyrical love song to the power of books and stories.' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Four Up In Lights Sophie Masson , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2022 24842816 2022 single work children's fiction children's 'It's a big day for Maxie, Flash, Fergie and Lady. The first day of the film shoot for the movie that is going to make them into stars! They've been through a lot to get here at last and they're looking forward to a great time. But nothing is quite as it seems on the film set and when on the first night one of their co-stars, the great stunt plane Daredevil, is kidnapped, the four friends are flung into mystery and danger. How will they find Daredevil and defeat the bad guy before the humans come back in the morning? From two acclaimed creators comes the third fabulous, fast-moving, funny adventure of four lovable friends who just happen to be machines.' 

(Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon A Very Special Moon Mission Rebecca Fung , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2022 24770654 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'Phoebe and Elliott are best friends but Julia, the unpopular new girl at school, has tagged along with them on them on a visit to the local Space Station. There, they meet the three astronauts competing to be the first woman on the moon, and they’re also introduced to the magnificent rocket known as The Obsession, and its know-all super computer IMP. But when they start the rocket without meaning to, and IMP malfunctions, the adventure takes a real turn for the unexpected! Sure, a moon mission is great: but how do you get back to Earth?'(Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Four All At Sea Sophie Masson , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2021 23648968 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'After the adventures of Four On the Run, Maxie, Flash, Lady and Fergie's lives have changed, because though they still live on the farm, they are now all spruced up and about to take part in their first film, The Famous Four. Part of it is set overseas and the four friends and Mrs Brown will be travelling to the set by a luxury cruise ship chartered by the film company. It's the first time any of them - including Mrs Brown! - have been at sea, and they are nervous and excited.

'Everything goes well - until the big storm. Washed overboard in their luxury container, the four friends find themselves landing on a desert island. At least, it seems deserted, at first... but soon they become aware someone else is there. Someone who is not very friendly - a rusty old tank that thinks there's still a war on! They need to escape from the island and get back to their ship and very worried Mrs Brown. ...but how?' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Charlie Chaplin : The Usual Suspect Phoebe McArthur , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2021 23324132 2021 single work children's fiction children's mystery

'Charlotte Chaplin is a city girl. She's cool and stylish and her best friend is Sarah, the Prime Minister's daughter. Her life is perfect.

'That is until her parents get divorced and Charlie is dragged to the sleepy town of Gulgong in the middle of nowhere.

'There's nothing to do - or so Charlie thinks. Things start to heat up when she makes an unlikely friend: Ruby, the daughter of a man wanted for burglary.

'Charlie and Ruby, with a little technological aid and some friends in high places, must catch the real thief and clear Ruby's dad's name before he's sent to gaol.

'A lively, fast-paced mystery with vivid characters and an atmospheric country town setting.' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon The Magic Ball of String Chelsea Hardi , Olya Badulina (illustrator), Armidale : Christmas Press Richmond Publishing , 2021 21063505 2021 single work picture book children's

'A magical fairytale from an exciting new storyteller: six-year-old Australian author, Chelsea Hardi

'Three beautiful princesses set out to explore the kingdom, looking for adventure. When they become separated from their father, and cross paths with a hungry bear, they become lost in the midst of a dark forest. The eldest princess is determined to find a way home, and the King is determined to find his daughters.

'And with the help of a man with a brave and kind heart, the grateful gesture of a tiny hedgehog, and a magic ball of string, everyone may just find what they truly seek …

'Charmingly told in Chelsea’s distinctive voice, with beautiful illustrations by Olya Badulina, this is a picture book that children and their families will cherish.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon Fil and Harry Jenny Blackford , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2021 20915707 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'Fil always suspected that her cat Harry could talk if he really tried. Sometimes she even dreamed about it. But it was still a shock when he did start talking, on the worst afternoon of her life – or one of them. She seemed to be having a lot of them lately.

'Her friend Kirsten had ignored her all day at school, again, after spending the weekend at her place. Harry told her that her friend Kirsten was “selfishness personified”, and maybe he was right.

'Things got worse after that. Grandma painted Fil’s older brother’s bedroom walls black, escalating tensions with Fil and Stephen’s stepmother Elspeth, who tried far too hard. And Kirsten soon showed her true colours, making Fil’s life even more difficult…

'Harry was the only one in the family who knew the way out of the tangle.

'Fresh, lively junior fiction by acclaimed author, Jenny Blackford, winner of the 2020 Davitt Award for Best Children’s Crime Novel, with fabulous pictures by emerging illustrator Kristin Devine, winner of the 2019 New England Illustration prize. (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Robin's Destiny Beattie Alvarez , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2021 17200703 2021 single work children's fiction children's

'Michael Robins has a new game. It’s cool. It’s retro. It has bows and arrows, an evil king and something that he can see out of the corner of his eye.

'A chance glitch and a child’s sticky fingers finds Michael and his friends sucked inside the computer where the game is reality and The Master is about to reset the program.

'Time is running out. Complete the levels or be deleted.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon A Country Christmas Beattie Alvarez (editor), Sophie Masson , Jenny Blackford , Goldie Alexander , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2020 20915758 2020 single work children's fiction 'The Eliots at Bluewren House always host a big Christmas party for all the village, which includes a massive feast, a big Christmas tree, presents for all the children, carols, and a visit from Santa. It's a big, fun, glittering occasion and everyone always looks forward to it, especially the children. But this year, everything is much more subdued-the Eliots are not making their usual preparations, planning, ordering things from the village, sending staff on secret errands and so on. The gardens are brown. The dams are dry. The drought has been going for two years. The adults are busy creating fire breaks and making the town safe from bushfires. No one in the town has any money or heart for Christmas. Gloom has settled on the big house. Christmas is only six days away, but it seems there won't be a party, for the first time ever, as Mr Eliot announces the festivities are cancelled. But the youngest Eliot daughter, nine-year-old Bessie, who fervently believes that Santa will bring rain, is determined that the Christmas party must go ahead, and so does her best friend, Katie Phelan. They start by talking Bessie's siblings into helping with their plan, then all of them go to talk to the other village children: and everyone agrees they have to take matters into their own hands and start planning the best Christmas party ever, with the help of some of the adults who learn about what they are doing. It's a secret to everyone else. Or so the kids think. One by one the grown-ups are let into the secret until most of them know, but are all sworn to secret, so they all think that no-one knows. In the finale, all ends well-and there's a lovely Christmas surprise in store, as Santa shows up after all?' (Publication summary)
1 y separately published work icon Four on the Run Sophie Masson , Cheryl Orsini (illustrator), Armidale : Christmas Press , 2020 19755763 2020 single work novel children's

'Maxie, Fergie, Flash and Lady are good friends who live in Mrs Brown’s farm shed. Life isn’t exciting, but they’re happy. Until the day they learn that Mrs Brown wants to sell them–to the scrap yard! So they decide to run away, and life suddenly becomes very exciting for the four lovable machines in a series of adventures that puts them in more trouble than they ever imagined!

'Written by award-winning author Sophie Masson, with lively, appealing pictures by acclaimed illustrator Cheryl Orsini, Four On the Run is a fresh, funny and original chapter book which is great fun both for reading aloud and for young readers to read by themselves.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)
1 y separately published work icon A Christmas Cornucopia Beattie Alvarez (editor), David Allan (editor), Armidale : Christmas Press , 2019 18458493 2019 anthology short story

'A Christmas Cornucopia is a delicious feast of Christmas stories — and food —from well-known and emerging Australian authors. With delectable illustrations by David Allan and Fiona McDonald, this is a book sure to make your tummy grumble!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon Petal and the Really Hard Riddle Kathryn England , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2019 16945851 2019 single work children's fiction children's 'Petal’s father likes to boast about his daughter. According to him she can do anything. One day, a particularly over-the-top boast about her spinning skill makes its way across the land into the King’s ear and Petal is brought to the palace. The King orders Petal to demonstrate her skill. With no hope of doing what her father says she can do, Petal agrees to a deal offered by a tricky old man who will carry out the task if she can answer a really hard riddle. But surely it can’t be that hard, can it?

A lively, funny take on Rumpeltstiltskin.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 y separately published work icon Lucy Newton Series Phoebe McArthur , 2018 Armidale : Christmas Press , 2018- 26542198 2018 series - author children's fiction fantasy
1 y separately published work icon Second Look Books 2018 Armidale : Christmas Press , 2018- 15035809 2018 series - publisher children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon Princess Hayley's Comet Rebecca Fung , Armidale : Christmas Press , 2018 15334603 2018 single work children's fiction children's

'Princess Hayley has everything a princess could want … except a comet. It’s her only birthday wish. Comets are so sparkly and they shoot through the sky so fast – who wouldn’t want one? But then Hayley realises the only way she’s going to get her wish is to catch a comet for herself. Joined by the very best friends a princess could have, Hayley aims to build the biggest and best – the only – comet-catcher in the world and make sure her birthday dream comes true!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
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