Cirrus@Austlit

'Sam's finally got what he always wanted - he's popular!

He's owns the school's most wanted marble, kids sit with him at lunch and even Johnny Wilson has stopped calling him 'Derr-brain'.

Things are looking up at home too. When his new baby sister arrives, he'll no longer be a lonely, only child.

But when Sam becomes the teacher's pet his popularity drops faster than a tomato in a lift. Soon even his best friend Gary won't talk to him, and the new kid at home is an attention sucking, crying disaster.

Who knew that getting exactly what you wanted could be so painful?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'New kids aren't cool. Everyone knows that. Eleven-year-old Sam is the new kid at school but he has a plan, or two, or three to make himself the most popular kid ever. What you are about to read is unforgettable (lonely losers, frog underpants, human umbrellas, bad boys ...). It's bumpy (jumping out a window is never a good idea). It's the story of a kid who wants to be more. P.S. Sam was not harmed (too much) during the telling of this story.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Age range 6-10 years This whimsical, witty history of Sydney will entertain and inform children like nothing else they've seen! Through a series of (unexpected) 'firsts', Hilary Bell and Matthew Martin trace the events, people and places that have shaped their city, however unintentionally. Where else will you find Sydney's first traffic light sharing pages with its first tightrope walk across Middle Harbour? (And just so you know, it was performed by the marvellous funambulist Henri L'Estrange in 1877.)' (Publication summary)

'From Cameron Williams and Matthew Martin comes a hilarious and energetic story about the worst Christmas present ever. Wal tries to be good, he really does, but his bad behaviour lands him on Santa's Naughty List. And all he gets for Christmas is a peg. Can Wal ever change his ways?' (Publication summary)