Cirrus@Austlit

'A heart-warming debut about finding out what love and life is all about.

'At seven years old, Millie Bird realises that everything is dying around her. She wasn't to know that after she had recorded twenty-seven assorted creatures in her Book of Dead Things her dad would be a Dead Thing, too.

'Agatha Pantha is eighty-two and has not left her house since her husband died. She sits behind her front window, hidden by the curtains and ivy, and shouts at passers-by, roaring her anger at complete strangers. Until the day Agatha spies a young girl across the street.

'Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven when his son kisses him on the cheek before leaving him at the nursing home. As he watches his son leave, Karl has a moment of clarity. He escapes the home and takes off in search of something different.

'Three lost people needing to be found. But they don't know it yet. Millie, Agatha and Karl are about to break the rules and discover what living is all about.' (Publication summary)

'Now that Materena is a big star with her radio talk show, Pito can't help noticing some changes in his wife. She's spending more and more time at work and with her girlfriends instead of coming home to cook for him. And why does a Tahitian woman need to know how to drive, anyway? He tries to shrug it off, but when Materena gives him the silent treatment and doesn't come home after a night of dancing, Pito has had enough! How is he supposed to fix things with Materena when she doesn't even give him a chance?

'Luckily for Pito, his opportunity comes when a threemonth-old girl named Tiare–rumored to be their son Tomatoa's daughter–is left on the Mahis' doorstep. Anxious to pull his weight and set things right, Pito embarks on a hilarious and noble mission to prove himself to his granddaughter, his wife, and–most importantly–himself. TIARE IN BLOOM is the heartwarming story of a couple facing big changes on a small island–and a love that outlasts it all.' (Publication summary)

'In this fantastical world there are castles in space, floating castles, castles in the sky and castles made of glass. Each one hides a royal family and there are plenty of mazes. Colin Thompson’s wonderfully detailed artwork reaches new heights of ingenuity and invention in this brilliant new book.'  (Publication summary)

'Spinifex, the nineteenth alchemist, must discover the secret of turning base metals into gold before the dawn of the new Millennium or he is finished. His schemes, growing stranger and wilder each day, finally result in a monstrous machine, driven by the power of the sun. Will Spinifex succeed or will the secret of gold remain a mystery forever? With its stunning artwork and bold narrative, Colin Thompson’s magnificent picture book engages the reader in an intricate world of myth and magic where things are never quite what they seem.' (Publication summary)