Oceania

Materials from Oceania

The Firefighters

Children will want to grab their coats and boots and rush straight to this winsome firefighting tale full of sound words and bright illustrations. Our fire engines are fast and noisy — just like the real ones.”From sounding the siren to speeding off in their fire engines, from finding the fire to expertly putting it out, the children love playing firefighters with Mrs. Iverson. They are brave and strong, just like real firefighters. And after a hard day of fighting fires, nothing is better than having two real live firefighters come to visit and getting to climb aboard their big, red, shiny fire engine!

Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku

The true story of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, six-time Olympic swimming champion and legendary surfer who popularized surfing around the world.

The Battle for Skandia: Ranger’s Apprentice

Still far from their homeland after escaping slavery in the icebound land of Skandia, Will and Evanlyn’s plans to return to Araluen are spoiled when Evanlyn is taken captive by a Temujai warrior. Though still weakened by the warmweed’s toxic effects, Will employs his Ranger training to locate his friend, but an enemy scouting party has him fatally outnumbered. Will is certain death is close at hand, until Halt and Horace make a daring, last-minute rescue. The reunion is cut short, however, when Halt makes a horrifying discovery: Skandia’s borders have been breached by the entire Temujai army. And Araluen is next in their sights. If two kingdoms are to be saved, an unlikely union must be made.

Good Neighbors

The Floods may bury relatives in their backyard, grow cobwebs in every room, and eat slugs for breakfast, but this loving family of wizards and witches is a delight to have next door unlike their neighbors the Dents—a mean, nasty family that shatters the calm of the whole block. Maybe a little of the Floods’ magic will cure the Dents of their obnoxious ways. And if not, a lot of magic will rid the neighborhood of the Dents once and for all.

River Song

Jessye has each foot in two very different worlds: her grandmother Nana’s rural village, rooted in Maori tradition, and her irresponsible mom’s city existence. Although she loves Nana fiercely, Jessye misses her flighty mom and decides to give living with her one more chance.

Cat

Cat. Dog. Tall Tree. Thank goodness for that! A cat’s life is not all fun and games, or even all milk and mice. With very few words used to convey all kinds of action, Mike Dumbleton’s sparse yet descriptive text joins perfectly with Craig Smith’s whimsical illustrations. Cat will have young listeners on the edges of their seats, ready to join Cat…thank goodness for that!

The Mats

Marcelina’s father comes home from a trip to Manila with beautiful hand-made sleeping mats for each member of his large family, including the three daughters who died when they were very young.

The Mats first appeared as a short story in Philippine Magazine in 1938.

The Best Beak In Boonaroo Bay

The birds of Australia’s Boonaroo Bay hold a contest to determine which of them has the best beak.