Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig, former arch-swindler and confidence man, has exceeded all expectations in running the Ankh-Morpork Post Office. So-- it's an offer he can't refuse. Who would not to wish to be in charge of Ankh-Morpork's Royal Mint and the bank next door?
SUITABLE AGES:
12 to 18
SIMILAR AUTHORS:
Douglas Adams, Piers Anthony, Orson Scott Card, Susanna Clarke, Eoin Colfer, Phillip K. Dick, Jasper Fforde, Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Sebastien de Castell
To help her granddaughter accept the risks of loving, Sadie Watson mines her memory for the tale of the unquenchable love of her life, Jim. Sadie's Jim was an ambitious young slave and seer who, when faced with the prospect of being sold, escaped down the Mississippi with a white boy named Huck Finn.
SUITABLE AGES:
15 to 18
PUBLISHED:
2011
PUBLISHER:
Crown Publishers
ISBN:
9781400054015
GENRE:
historical
CATEGORY:
Novel
THEMES:
Grandparents
Slavery
Love
AWARDS:
Alex Award 2006
Cooper, Helen
Baby who wouldn't go to bed
1997
9780552528382
TITLE:
Baby who wouldn't go to bed
AUTHOR:
Cooper, Helen
Recommendation:
Recommended
This is a story about a little boy who won't go to bed. At first it's fun staying up, but gradually the drowsy world nods off all around him, and the baby finds himself alone. But there is someone who is not asleep.
SUITABLE AGES:
5 to 7
PUBLISHED:
1997
PUBLISHER:
Doubleday
ISBN:
9780552528382
CATEGORY:
Picture book
THEMES:
Bedtime
Sleep
AWARDS:
Greenaway Medal
Clark, Margaret
Care factor zero
1997
0091833043
TITLE:
Care factor zero
AUTHOR:
Clark, Margaret
Larceny Leyton is a wild child - tough, smart, willful and proud. Like so many others, she wears her attitude like armour.
Dandylion is a weed, who resembles a lion. He joins Miss Gardener's rather orderly class and the other children, accustomed to following rules, are shocked then delighted by the chaos and excitement that Dandylion trails in his wake.
Based on The little white horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Maria inherits a book of secrets from her dad. She moves to her uncle's Moonacre estate. A family curse was cast on the valley. Only Maria can break it using her book.
Putting iconic Australian sayings and slang to the familiar rhythm of the Clement C. Moore poem, Kilmeny Niland uses her artistic talent to portray a DownUnder day before Christmas through stunning illustrations that capture a very different picture of Santa than the traditional one our children are so familiar with.
S. Horten is not the ideal name for someone who is small for his age and Stuart gets very annoyed at being mistaken for a seven year old when he's actually ten.
SUITABLE AGES:
8 to 10
SIMILAR AUTHORS:
E. E. Nesbit
PUBLISHED:
2019
PUBLISHER:
David Fickling Books
ISBN:
9781788451017
GENRE:
mystery and suspense
CATEGORY:
Young novel
THEMES:
Friendship
Magic
Puzzles
Sorcery
AWARDS:
Carnegie Medal shortlist 2012, Costa Book Award shortlist 2011
The hostile environment of the Australian desert is captured in words and illustrations in this superior picture book, telling both a story and giving factual information about the rare Australian mammal, the bilby.
Nik and his fellow year 12 students are alert. ISIS representatives have entered the school hall, ready to take away the best of the best for acceptance and training for their elite guard. One by one, Nik's friends stand, their name called, but at the end of the ceremony, Nik is still there, seated.
Gavin Stokes is a regular city kid from London who thinks that his parents want nothing to do with him. Ever since he was a child, Gavin has seen things that no one else will believe.
Sixteen-year-old Kyla has been 'slated': all of her past memories erased, her entire personality wiped blank. The government claims she was a terrorist, but Kyla knows that the government has been lying.
Udayan will give everything, risk all, for what he believes, and in doing so will transform the futures of those dearest to him: his newly married, pregnant wife, his brother and their parents.
Cosmo knows his Grandad is losing his mind. When he gives him a key to Blackbrick Abbey Cosmo finds himself face to face with his grandfather as a young man, and finds he is falling in love with the wrong woman. Can he change his family's future?
SUITABLE AGES:
13 to 18
PUBLISHED:
2013
PUBLISHER:
Orion Children's
ISBN:
9781444006599
GENRE:
adolescent
CATEGORY:
Novel
THEMES:
Grandfathers
Alzheimer's disease
Memory
Bereavement
Time travel
Supernatural
Loss
Kadohata, Cynthia
Thing about luck
2013
9781471116858
TITLE:
Thing about luck
AUTHOR:
Kadohata, Cynthia
Recommendation:
Highly recommended
With their parents called away to care for relatives in Japan, 12-year-old Summer and her younger brother, Jaz, accompany their grandparents to go harvesting.
SUITABLE AGES:
11 to 14
PUBLISHED:
2013
PUBLISHER:
Simon & Schuster
ISBN:
9781471116858
GENRE:
war
CATEGORY:
Novel
THEMES:
Brothers and sisters
Farm life
Kansas
Family relations
Grandparents
AWARDS:
Publisher Weekly Best Books 2013, National Book Awards 2013, Horn Book Best books 2013
This is the version by British director Mike Newell, of the well known story of the humble orphan who suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Yirruwa yirrilikenuma-langwa = When we go walkabout
2014
9781743314562
TITLE:
Yirruwa yirrilikenuma-langwa = When we go walkabout
AUTHOR:
Lalara, Rhoda Illus. Lalara, Alfred
The beautiful landscapes and fauna of Groote Eylandt are brought to life in this unique dual-language picture book which introduces very young children to their unique surroundings. There is the frill-necked lizard - dukwululuwawa - on the big rock; the green frog - dilyaburnda - in the billabong; the wallaby - yiburada - in the scrub and many more right through to the dingarrbiya and the yikurridangwa!!
Kids of all ages will laugh hysterically at these poems. Older kids will groan at the puns and pretend they are not amused, but everyone, including adults will get quite a kick from the range of funny poems in this slim book.
Niko and his family are trapped in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. The siege lasts for three years and Niko's family struggle to find enough food and avoid the snipers whose targets are civilians in the streets.
SUITABLE AGES:
11 to 14
PUBLISHED:
2014
PUBLISHER:
Omnibus
ISBN:
9781742990699
GENRE:
historical
CATEGORY:
Novel
THEMES:
Friendship
War
Sarajevo (Bosnia and Hercegovina) - History
AWARDS:
Younger Readers Book of the Year Award Notable Books 2015
Haunted by disturbing dreams and terrifying visions, a teenaged girl in a paranormal witness protection program must remember her past and why she has strange abilities before a magic-wielding serial killer hunts her down.
Billionaire entrepreneur Radius Limpfast is the most successful creator of reality TV shows in history but is never content to rest, always seeking more spectacular attention on his programs.
Oscar Dunleavy, who used to make the world's most perfect apple tarts, is missing, presumed dead. No-one seems too surprised, except for Meg, his best friend, and his little brother Stevie. Surrounded by grief and confusion, Meg and Stevie are determined to find out what happened to Oscar, and together they learn about loyalty and friendship and the power of never giving up hope. (Back cover)
Steve is invited to participate in an elite building competition on Mushroom Island. His friends Max, Lucy, and Henry are impressed and want to join their friend on a journey to the island. Yet not everyone is happy: Steve's neighbor Kyra is upset because she wasn't chosen as a contestant.
The very cranky bear and his friends are back. There's music in the air in the jungle. Can Bear's friends help him find the perfect instrument to play?
SUITABLE AGES:
5 to 7
PUBLISHED:
2016
PUBLISHER:
Scholastic
ISBN:
9781760279349
GENRE:
animal
CATEGORY:
Picture book
THEMES:
Bears
Musical instruments
Verse stories
Humour
Read aloud
AWARDS:
Early Childhood Book of the Year Award Notable Books 2016
Clare, Cassandra
Lady Midnight
2016
9781471116612
TITLE:
Lady Midnight
AUTHOR:
Clare, Cassandra
Recommendation:
Recommended
Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles
This most unusual fable for modern times is narrated by a doll, Celina, left on the beach by its owner, Mari, besotted with her new playmate, a kitten. During the night the doll explains what is happening on the beach, the dark forbidding illustrations making the story feel most unsettling.
With ruthless enemies, near impossible situations to overcome, ruthless archenemies, surprising revelations, double crossing dramas and of course, tricky codes and ciphers this is a fabulous finale for Ruby.
Clementine and Aksel are off to celebrate the Chinese New Year banquet at their cousin Ying's house in Chinatown. When their father is uncertain about the origins of the Chinese New Year, Clementine decides it is a case for the Dinner Detectives to solve and Ying gives them the history of the brave little girl in a red dress who scared away the fearsome Nian and then the origins of dumplings.
"Ori the Octopus is so happy to be celebrating Christmas with all his friends. But what happens when Ori's friends all want to do different things on this special day? " (Author) "Christmas craft inside!"- Cover.
Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. (Publisher)
Halla is a 50-year-old environmental activist who crusades against the local aluminum industry in Iceland. As her actions grow bolder, her life changes in the blink of an eye when she's finally granted permission to adopt a girl from the Ukraine.
SUITABLE AGES:
15 to 18
PUBLISHED:
2019
CATEGORY:
Film
THEMES:
Environment
Women
Activism
Griffiths, Alex G
Bug collector
2019
9781925594539
TITLE:
Bug collector
AUTHOR:
Griffiths, Alex G
Recommendation:
Highly recommended
George loves bugs. Small ones, leggy ones, ones that glow. So he decides to become the world's best bug collector. But fabulous creatures aren't meant for life in a bottle. (Back cover)
