Cirrus@Austlit

'‘The city was stuffed full of wickedness, everyone knew that …’

'Banished to the Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls, Maggie Fishbone is sure she’s in for a life of drudgery. But she soon discovers there’s more to the Midwatch than meets the eye …

'The city shimmers with jewels and secrets, and when a woman goes missing, Maggie is thrust into an adventure that takes her deep underground, high above the clouds and face to face with danger itself.

'Turn the page and prepare to be drawn into a lavishly illustrated world, brimming with mystery, unlikely heroines and an adventure as big as the sky.' (Publication summary)

'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)