Children's Fiction Recent Picks

November 2009

The underlined title links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

The 39 clues: The black circle by Patrick Carman.
"A strange telegram lures fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, deep into Russia and away from the only trustworthy adult they know. Signed with the initials NRR, the telegram launches a race to the last Russian royal family. All too soon, the treasure hunt starts to smell like a Lucian trap. But the bait might just be irresistible... what will Amy and Dan risk to find out what really happened on the night their parents died?" (book cover)

Odd and the frost giants by Neil Gaiman.
"In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy. Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story to tell..." (Book cover)

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight by Jenny Nimmo.
"The evil Bloors are collecting ever more powerful magical allies. Their cronies are taking over the city and driving everyone away. Charlie is determined to stop them. But with the Pet's Cafe closed down, Billy trapped in Badlock and another friend in league with the Bloors, it looks like Charlie's only hope is the mysterious Red Knight..." (book cover)

The Keeper's Daughter by Gill Arbuthnott.
"Orphaned as a baby, Nyssa can only dream about who she is and where she comes from, but with the arrival of dark strangers, her past is revealed. Nyssa has a hidden tattoo that bears one half of a secret message. Now her future depends on finding the other half, written on a twin she's never known, and the truth of the words that mark them." (Book cover)

The best bad luck I ever had by Kristen Levine.
"That night, I relived the scene in the barbershop over and over in my dreams. Each time, I kept my mouth shut and both Big Foot and Doc Haley got out alive. And each time I awoke, I realized that dreaming ain't worth squat. The only thing I was good at was killing things." (Book cover)

Tensy Farlow and the home for mislaid children by Jen Storer.
"Dumped in the River Charon, hunted by an accursed river creature and betryed by the wicked Matron Pluckrose, Tensy Farlow is in mortal danger. She has no parents. Worse still, she has no guardian angel. When she is thrown into the Home was Mislaid Children - a gloomy orphanage where ravens attack, Watchers hover over your bed, and even the angels cannot be trusted - it seems that all hope is lost." (Book cover)

The Battle for Rondo by Emily Rodda.
"Determined to take control of the Rondo, the power-hungry Blue Queen has a new, secret plan, and an enchanted dragon to help her carry it out. Leo and Mimi rush back into the world of the music box join the final battle against the tyrant, risking everything to stop her before Rondo falls under her spell forever." (Book cover)

Darius Bell and the glitter pool by Odo Hirsch.
"The water lit up. It danced, it glinted, it gleamed. There were flashes of light everywhere, as if the expanse in front of him wasn't water, but a carpet of jewels. Darius looked questioningly at the torch in his hand. It was just a torch. He looked back at the glittering surface of the water. Then, for the first time, her glanced up." (Book cover)

Lessons for a werewolf warrior by Jackie French.
"Boojum bark is a werewolf... and delivery pup for his mum's 'Best Icecream Shop in the Universes'. But when the gluttonous Greedle kidnaps his mum, Boo is sent to the School for Heroes to learn how to become a Hero..." (Book cover)

A croc called Capone by Barry Jonsberg.
"Blacky the farting dog has a mission that Marcus and Dylan can't refuse. Trouble is, this mission involves a monstrous saltwater crocodile who would much rather chomp on a human for dinner than have a civilised conversation. Of course, there's also the small matter of a giant big-game hunter on a collision course with our heros... will Marcus be any match for his mean older sister Rose and her light-sabre-wielding best friend Cy Ob Han?" (book cover)

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