With the help of her understanding mother and a close friend, Jen eventually outgrows her nickname, Jinx, and deals with the deaths of two boys with whom she had been involved.
Jinx
Australia
Materials from Australia
Lockie Leonard, Scumbuster
Nothing’s simple for Lockie Leonard. He’s only lived in town for a year and his dad’s the local police sergeant, two facts that don’t win Lockie any popularity contests. Dumped by his popular girlfriend, he’s back to being the loneliest kid in town until he makes friends with Geoff Eggleston, or Egg, the weirdest human being Lockie’s ever known. Egg is a dark-haired, pimply-faced, very bright “Metal Head” who can’t even swim, though their town is right on the Australian coast. By contrast, Lockie is a trim, blond, expert surfer. Lockie and Egg decide to somehow clean up the town’s harbor, partly covered with scum from industrial waste. In the middle of all their planning, Lockie falls in love again, with a girl who turns out to be only eleven. To make it worse, she surfs better than he does, though he’s the best in his school. Can a thirteen-year-old surfrat have a headbanger for a best friend, stay in love with an eleven-year-old gremmie, and still save his town from industrial pollution? Tim Winton is a prize-winning Australion novelist whose The Riders was short-listed for the 1996 Booker Prize. He himself is an, expert surfer. With rich characterization, strong narrative drive, and much humor, Winton has written a contemporary story that reflects the concerns of all teenagers and will reach a wide audience.
The Magic Hat
One fine day, from out of town–and without any warning at all–a magic hat appears in the sky. It tumbles and bounces through the air and makes magic wherever it lands. Everyone is delighted as, one by one, the townspeople are transformed into giant playful animals. And then a wizard arrives.
Being Bindy
Eighth grade is torture–at least it is for Bindy!(1) Her best friend since kindergarten becomes her worst enemy.(2) She’s stuck taking yoga in sports ed, where she unleashes the Very Bad Thing that gets the whole school talking.(3) She suffers total humiliation when certain unmentionables are tossed around at assembly.What’s more, Bindy’s divorced parents are behaving badly.(1) Her laid-back father looks like he’s falling for–could it be?– none other than her ex-best friend’s mother. Which means that . . .(2) . . . Bindy’s worst enemy might just end up as her sister!(3) Her domineering mom always wants Bindy to do things her way.Enough is enough! To survive the drama in her life, Bindy must make some tough decisions in this funny, searching novel about being true to yourself.
Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully
After playing a prank on one of his “geeky” classmates, sixth-grader Max Quigley’s punishment is to be tutored by him.
When We Went To The Zoo
When Jan Ormerod takes a family to the zoo, they sing “hi-de-hi-de-ho, the elephant is so slow.” They see a pelican yawn. They laugh at an orangutan in a paper bag. But in the end, what they like best isn’t a zoo animal at all. It’s the simple, special sight of sparrows building a nest. The glowing illustrations make a trip to the zoo something to be remembered. Full-color illustrations.
“The Trouble With Dogs…” Said Dad
In this sequel to “Let’s Get a Pup!” Said Kate, Dave the dog proves to be a bit more of a challenge than the family anticipated. But when the Brigadier turns up to teach this pup a few things, Dave is not the only one who learns something new.
What The Birds See
/”Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale.\” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)Nine-year-old Adrian watches his world closely, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighborhood children might set out to buy ice cream one summer’s day and never be seen again. . . . In a suburb that is no longer safe and innocent, in a broken family of self-absorbed souls, Sonya Hartnett sets the story of a lone little boy — unwanted, unloved, and intensely curious — a story as achingly beautiful as it is shattering.
Where the Giant Sleeps
Do ogres snore? Do pirates have blankies? Do fairies suck their thumbs? We may never know the answers to these questions. But if we’re lucky–and very observant–we might be able to catch a glimpse of some fantastic creatures, all fast asleep. In soothing rhyme, bestselling author Mem Fox explores the sleeping habits of our favorite inhabitants from the world of fairy tales. Vladimir Radunsky fills a dreamy, picturesque landscape with surprising and fun details. Fairies, wizards, goblins, and even children all find peace under the same bright moon.
Falling From Grace
It was all meant to be just a game, but now Grace is missing and may not even be alive. During an elaborate game of hide-and-seek on the beach, twelve-year-old sisters Annie and Grace are caught in the rising tide, and Grace seems to have been swept away. In the midst of this, fourteen-year-old Kip is also in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finding Grace’s abandoned back-pack sets off a chain of events that lands Kip under police surveillance. As the search for Grace intensifies, suspicions grow. But can Kip piece everything together and clear his name before it’s too late for Grace? Told in Kip’s and Annie’s alternating voices, this spellbinding mystery looks at the choices young people make-and their consequences.