Cirrus@Austlit

'Little elephant’s parent can’t quite remember the name of the thing they’ve lost, but they need it back! While on the hunt for the misplaced thingamajig, little elephant discovers other animals are missing things as well. Snail’s hoo-pull-dee-pewp for staying safe from the sun has disappeared. So has squirrel’s shis-moo for carrying acorns. And all the ladybugs are missing the ha-bee ja-bee they use for a table.

'Is there a thief on the loose—or is there a simpler explanation for where all these different doohickeys have gone? Backmatter pages explain the around-the-world origins of each nonsense word appearing in the story.' (Publication summary)

'Kelton was the perfect hiding place. Until now... A plane crash destroys a house in Kelton. The cause of the accident is a mystery and all the passengers are missing. Jarli has been lying low since the crime boss known as Viper threatened his family. But then his Truth App uncovers a dangerous secret at the crash site: a secret Viper wants to stay buried. Suddenly Jarli is a target again. There is no one he can trust, not even the police. He has to find out what else Viper is hiding before it is too late. Lies can hurt, but the truth can kill...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'THE TRUTH APP is the latest craze in the town of Kelton. It listens to everyone around you and tells you if they are lying. When the app goes viral, its teenage creator, Jarli, becomes famous overnight. But being a celebrity can be dangerous. Especially when you have just exposed everyones deepest, darkest secrets. Now everyone is out to get Jarli. Kids at school. Teachers. The police. Even his own family. And the secret network of criminals based in Kelton have just added Jarli to their hit list. The TRUTH does not always set you free...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

From the creator of I Just Ate My Friend, comes this warm and funny story about friendship, and its limits — or lack thereof.

'Benz, are we friends?'

'Yes, Baz, we are best friends'

'For how long?'

'For ever and ever.'

'But will they be?

'With her trademark humour, lightness of touch, and beautifully expressive illustrations, Heidi McKinnon explores friendship and its boundaries. And this one might even have a happy ending! (Maybe.)'  (Publication summary)

'Introducing Rob Fitzgerald: thirteen years old and determined to impress the new girl at school, but it's a difficult task for a super-shy kid who is prone to panic attacks that include vomit, and genuine terror that can last all day. An anonymous texter is sending Rob challenges and they might just help. Or not.

'Beautifully moving and full of heart and humour, A Song Only I Can Hear is a delightful novel about dreaming big, being brave and marching to the beat of your own drum.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Imagine being offered an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City! It seemed like an impossible dream for Mac and his best friend, Paul. But they've just become coolhunters for a massively popular webspace and Mac is beyond excited. The catch: he has to find the Next Big Thing in NYC - or be sent home.

'Mac soon makes friends with Melody, an inventor with super-cool skates, who takes him to The Hive. It's an old boatshed where innovative kids are creating transport, sneakers and computer apps that are way more cutting edge than anything you can buy. And the Hive kids are about to test an invention that could change the world.

'Mac's boss at Coolhunters is desperate for him to spill the beans, but Melody has sworn Mac to secrecy.

'He's found the coolest thing in NYC and he's not allowed to tell a soul!

'Friends or fame. Which would you choose?' (Publisher's blurb)

'An anthology of original stories featuring the Edgar Rice Burroughs character John Carter, an Earthman who suddenly finds himself on a strange new world, Mars.' (Publication summary)

'It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

'Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way ... taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.' (From the Penguin website.)

'Could this be Max Remy's most dangerous Spyforce mission yet?

'Life's a drag for Max Remy. Her mum is getting married to her sop of a boyfriend, Aiden. Her dad wants Max to visit him in Hollywood, but she's not allowed to fly there on her own. And her arch-enemy, Toby Jennings, is acting strangely at school.

'A weekend at Mindawarra with her friend Linden soon cheers her up, especially when she discovers that Ben, Eleanor and Francis have finished their improvements to the Time and Space Machine and are taking it to America. Now Max has someone to travel with! But Max soon discovers that Hollywood isn't all glitz and glamour. First Toby Jennings turns up unexpectedly to crash her holiday. Then Max can't seem to do anything right on the set of her father's latest blockbuster. And Spyforce uncovers a fiendish plot within the movie industry to program hidden secrets into Hollywood films bound for worldwide distribution.

'Can Max and Linden find Dr Biggus Fartie, the world-renowed encoding expert, before it's too late? Why does Max's father stop paying any attention to her? And what is the mysterious Raychik really up to in the editing suite?

'This may turn out to be Max Remy's most dangerous Spyforce mission yet ..' (Publication summary)

'Discover a top-secret world of Matter Transporters, Invisible Jets and Spyforce in the first two books about Australia's favourite superspy!

'The Easter holidays are coming up and Max can't wait to go back to the farm to see Ben, Eleanor, Francis and Linden and escape a life she is convinced is more cursed than anyone she knows. She is even more excited to receive an invitation to attend a meeting at Spyforce HQ in London and Max and Linden board one of Spyforce's invisible super fast jets to make the trip.

'On reaching Spyforce headquarters they meet an extremely interesting collection of characters. But nothing shocks Max and Linden more than finding out that Alex Crane is real! Mr Blue is once again up to no good. Spyforce have come across information that Blue has invented a concoction that, when eaten, controls minds.

'Max and Linden, along with Ella and Alex and the team at Spyforce, must once again foil the evil work of Mr Blue before he creates an army of kids under his control. ' (Publication summary)

'As Max and Linden were being lowered into a giant vat of green jelly, Max wondered whether her life would have been better if she'd never heard of the stupid Time and Space Machine. She had always wanted to be a Superspy but now that she was in the middle of a dangerous mission and was about to be turned into a giant dessert, she wasn't sure this was the life for her. ' (Publication summary)

'Foxspell is a fable of shape-shifters and animal spirits, of teenage gangs and schoolyard friends and finding your place in the world—or worlds—all concentrated in a dense, vivid corner of the half-wild Adelaide hills. A Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers, Foxspell is a mysterious and unforgettable dream.

'Deserted by his father, Tod moves with his sisters and mother into his grandmother's house in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. He finds refuge in the hills and quarries, where he meets a fox spirit who teaches him to cross between the human and animal worlds. As his family life and his involvement in a local gang become more complicated, the lure of the fox grows ever stronger.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.