Cirrus@Austlit

'Young Fidelia Knight arrives in Melbourne in 1874, alone except for her treasured companion, Samuel Johnson; well, half of him.

'To escape servitude, Fidelia hides each night in the renowned Coles Book Arcade. She loves words, you see, and wants to know them all.

'What she overhears in Coles sets her on a path that will change the lives of everyone she meets, starting with Jasper Godwin, the hopelessly underqualified manager of the new Billings Better Bookstore.

'Fidelia’s thirst for knowledge is contagious. She tutors two orphan boys and two illiterate women, inspiring them to unlock their creativity; and her exploration of colonial Melbourne takes her to some unusual places.

'Nothing daunts this diminutive genius, except the mystery of what really happened to her parents on the voyage from England, in Fin J. Ross' Billings Better Bookstore & Brasserie. With illustrations by award-winning author-illustrator, Judith Rossell.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Pink was born to stand out

'Pink is a small dinosaur who stands out from the crowd. Hide-and-seek is her favourite game, but her colour means she's always the first one to be found. She doesn't want to be pink anymore ... until her difference helps her friends find their way home again.

'An adorable new picture book about accepting yourself and finding your strengths, from award-winning author Margaret Wild and award-winning illustrator Judith Rossell.' (Publication summary)

'Stella Montgomery is in disgrace, and the Aunts have decided there is only one thing to be done. She is to be sent to Wakestone Hall, a grim and dreadful boarding school where the disobedient are tamed and the wilful are made meek.

Life at school is lonely and miserable, and when a friend disappears, Stella is determined to find her - no matter the dangers that certainly lie ahead…Soon Stella is thrown deeper into the mysteries of Wakestone… and her own past.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.