Catalog sorted by age group
As a child growing up in Australia, Annette Kellerman was a frail ugly duckling who dreamed of becoming a graceful ballerina. With courage and determination, she confronted a crippling illness to become an internationally known record-setting athlete who revolutionized the sport of swimming for women, a movie star who invented water ballet, and a fashion revolutionary who modernized the swimsuit.
What does it mean to earn the Silver Oakleaf? So few men have done so. For Will, a mere boy, that symbol of honor has long felt out of reach. Now, in the wake of Araluen’s uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader has been captured by a dangerous desert tribe. The Rangers are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before. Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays by its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a desert mirage, nothing is as it seems. Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers. In this red-hot adventure, winner of the Australian Book of the Year Award for Older Children, John Flanagan raises the stakes on the series that has already sold millions of copies worldwide.
A charming guessing game for the very young to introduce them to some of Australia’s unique animals.
Step into a town where all the children are friends, but a drought has made the adults so grumpy they can’t stop arguing! Only a miracle can heal this divided town. Folks are so hopeless, they almost don’t recognize that miracle when it appears as a woman who specializes in rainsongs. Yet slowly the townspeople realize that with faith they can sustain each other during the dry times, and then sing down the rain together. Joy Cowley’s lyrical text and Jan Spivey Gilchrist’s impassioned paintings create a story of a community’s struggle to believe, and to connect with each other.
Pairing two seemingly disparate elements, an orchestra conductor and a grove of trees, award-winning artist Laetitia Devernay herself orchestrates a visual magnum opus. Her spare, yet intricate, illustrations truly appear to take flight before our eyes and her wordless narrative nearly roars with sound as the conductor prompts the leaves to rustle, then whirl, then swirl to unexpected life with each turn of the page. It is a celebration of creativity, imagination, storytelling, and the renewing power of nature that will entrance readers of every age.
Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!
The majestic Osprey is an endangered bird that hasn’t been seen in Scotland for years, so when Iona McNair locates an Osprey nest, she’s desperate to keep the bird safe from poachers. She shares her secret with her classmate Callum, and the two become friends as they work to save the Osprey they’ve named Isis. They’re able to get the bird tagged by a preservationist, but after Isis flies to Africa for the winter, her signal becomes stagnant, then lost. Spurred by a promise to Iona, who has fallen ill, Callum is determined to track and save Isis, and a leap of faith and the magic of e-mail connects him with a girl in Gambia who can help him make good—in more ways than one. Set against the dramatic landscapes of Scotland and West Africa, this is a timeless tale of hope and friendship—a heartwarming novel infused with the beauty of nature.
What is the secret of Mallie’s picture? The mystery unfolds as evacuees Tony and Alice escape the terrors of London’s Blitz for the Lake District, where they befriend a fascinating and fearless old lady.
Here are seven Ananse stories from Ghana pulsating with mischievous animals, a touch of moral message and, peeping out wickedly above them all, Ananse the trickster spider. The original title story, The Parade, telling why Ananse became a trickster in the first place, is a worthy opener to six traditional stories including the favourites Ananse and the Sky God and Ananse and the Hat of Beans. For centuries, Ananse stories have been used in Ghana and the Caribbean to entertain children and teach them good behaviour – and with their vibrant sense of fun and cunning, these stories are sure to have enduring appeal.
In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, the book begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.