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"If you didn't want them to think, you shouldn't have given them library cards."

Robert Kaufman

 [More on Libraries]


Indian in the Cupboard Study Guide

 

Omri receives several conventional gifts for his ninth birthday. However, two gifts you would expect to be of least interest to a young boy prove to be magical and exciting. Suitable for primary aged students this study guide has learning outcomes in key learning
areas such as English, Art and Society and Environment.

 

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Books for you to Read Right Now

 

 

A Game of Thrones: Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire                               Book into Movie

~ George R.R. Martin

The first volume in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" trilogy which tells of the treachery, greed and war threatening the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall. In a world scarred by battle and catastrophe, it describes the deeds of a people locked in conflict and the legacy they will leave their children.

   

Fortune Cookie                                                                  Coming Soon (15 November 2010)

It's the 1960s and the world of advertising is coming alive - and it's an exciting world to be part of. Simon Wong, a Chinese-Australian and promising young advertising executive, is sent to Singapore to establish an office.

From wartime Asian comfort houses to CIA spy rings, Bryce Courtenay takes us on a thrilling journey with a great love story at its heart.

   

The Neighbour                                                     Winner:  Best Novel, 2010 Thriller Award

~ Lisa Gardner

From a master of suspense comes a chilling new novel that explores the dangers lurking closer than you think. Because even in the perfect family, you never know what is going on behind closed doors...  It was a case guaranteed to spark a media feeding frenzy--a young mother, blond and pretty, disappears without a trace from her South Boston home, leaving behind her four-year-old daughter as the only witness and her handsome, secretive husband as the prime suspect.

Power and Majesty  (1st in the series Creature Court)

Tansy Rayner Roberts

She almost missed the sight of a naked youth falling out of the sky. He was long and lean and muscled. He was also completely off his face. A war is being fought in the skies over the city of Aufleur. No one sees the battles. No one knows how close they come to destruction every time the sun sets. During daylight, all is well, but when nox falls and the sky turns bright, someone has to step up and lead the Creature Court into battle. Twelve years ago, Garnet kissed Velody and stole her magic. Five years ago, he betrayed Ashiol, and took his powers by force. But now the Creature Court is at a crossroads. They need a Power and Majesty who won't give up or lose themselves in madness...

Don’t miss out on the debut novel from Australian Tansy Rayner Roberts … 
Click here to read the first three chapters 

and click here to watch the trailer 

   

The Passage                                                                                                           Just Released

by Justin Cronin

Cronin is a remarkable storyteller.  He doesn't shy away from identifying his "virals" as vampires. But, these are not sexy, angsty vampires (you won’t be seeing "Team Babcock" t-shirts any time soon), and they are not old-school, evil Nosferatus, either. These are a creation all Cronin's own--hairless, insectile, glow-in-the-dark mutations who are inextricably linked to their makers and the one girl who could destroy them all. A huge departure from Cronin's first two novels, The Passage is a grand mashup of literary and supernatural, a stunning beginning to a trilogy that is sure to dazzle readers of both genres. --Daphne Durham

   

All the Rivers Run                                                             This week's classic Old Favourite

~  Nancy Cato

A tale of romance and adventure, this is the story of Philadelphia Gordon, Philadelphia Gordon is an artist, a riverboat skipper and a beautiful, independent woman. Orphaned by a shipwreck, Philadelphia grows up on the banks of her beloved Murray River in Australia with her kindly uncle and strict aunt, seemingly destined for a conventional life. But then tragedy changes everything, and leads her to a successful career as a painter, and then to a meeting with the dashing captain of the paddle-steamer which bears her name.  Cato's previous books include "A Distant Land", "Brown Sugar" and "The Heart of the Continent".

   

Solo                                                        Winner of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize 2010

~ Rana Dasgupta                                                                                               $15.93    $11.15

                  .

The new novel from the critically acclaimed author of Tokyo Cancelled.

'Solo' recounts the life and daydreams of a reclusive one-hundred-year-old man from Bulgaria. Before the man lost his sight, he read this story in a magazine: a group of explorers came upon a community of parrots speaking the language of a society that had been wiped out in a recent catastrophe. Astonished by their discovery, they put the parrots in cages and sent them home so that linguists could record what remained of the lost language. But the parrots, already traumatised by the devastation they had recently witnessed, died on the way. Wondering if, unlike the hapless parrots, he has any wisdom to leave to the world, Ulrich embarks on an epic armchair journey through a century of violent politics, forbidden music, lost love and failed chemistry, finding his way eventually to an astonishing epiphany of tenderness and enlightenment.

 

 

   

Heart-Shaped Box                                                                                     This week's bargain

~ Joe Hill                                                                                         from $9.27

Do you sleep with the light on? Are you in the habit of checking your doors and windows before you go to bed? Maybe even checking under your bed? If you are about to crack open Joe Hill's chilling thriller Heart-Shaped Box, you might want to rethink your nighttime habits--Hill's story about an aging rock star (with a penchant for macabre artifacts) who buys a haunted suit online will scare you silly.

   

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5)                                                         Coming Soon

~ Richelle Mead                                                                                                    $17.99   $9.00

 

Vampire Academy

If you've read all the Stephenie Meyer Twilight books and crave more vampire stories then sink your teeth into the Vampire Academy series of vampire books.

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books follow the war between two races of vampires, living and undead. Rose Hathaway, a 17-year old half-vampire, is training to be a bodyguard for the living vampires and finds her life complicated by the constant danger. As well as an illicit romance with one of her teachers, Rose continually struggles to protect her best friend from the evils that surround them. If you like vampire stories, you'll love the Vampire Academy saga.

   
   
   
 

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Latest Booklists for Kids

 

 Step-by-Step/Sequencing picture books

The Newbery Medal 2009

Animal stories

Chinese New Year

Back to School

Lincoln

Bullying  

 

 

Try RocketReader Kids

RocketReader Kids Free Trial

The ultimate child reading tutor. Ages 4 to 8.

 

Latest Kids Book Reviews:

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman

Guiness Book of World Records 2009 and activities

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

by James Patterson

 

The Tale of Despereaux  

by Kate Dicamillo

 

Diary of a wimpy kid

by Jeff Kinney

 

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