Oceania

Materials from Oceania

Maddigan’s Fantasia

When twelve-year-old Garland Maddigan asks Timon and Eden where they have come from, she is overwhelmed by their answer: the future.In a post-apocalyptic time, Garland’s family’s traveling circus troop, Maddigan’s Fantasia, leaves the city of Solis once a year to perform and earn a living. However, this year Solis has given the Fantasia the crucial task of obtaining a new solar converter, the only power source in Solis, because the old one is failing. Misfortune finds the Fantasia in their travels, and Garland’s father dies in an attack by Road Rats. Then suddenly two mysterious boys, Timon and Eden, appear with their baby sister, claiming to be from the future — a world in which the Fantasia has failed in its mission and the evil Nennog has taken power. The boys have come to help the Fantasia, but danger has followed them across time. Can the Fantasia protect Timon and Eden, and succeed in their quest to save their world? Internationally renowned author Margaret Mahy spins a vivid tale of time travel, adventure, and magic that no reader will soon forget.

My Dog, My Cat, My Mama, and Me!

Lift the flaps to find out why a dog and a cat and finally a mom might go off with expanded tummies — and return with a big surprise.What could it mean when your dog or your cat gets fatter and fatter, then hides in a cupboard or box and comes out thin? With the flip of a flap, little ones will be happy to help the young narrator as she discovers a litter of puppies and a batch of kittens — and finally knows what to expect when her own mom’s widening girth precedes a hospital visit. Bob Graham’s whimsical illustrations and a simple, repetitive text capture the curious anticipation that all new babies bring.

Troy Thompson’s Excellent Peotry Book

Troy Thompson, a Grade 6 student, in trying to understand the art of poetry, as he stumbles over the Japanese form of ‘Haiku’, the ballad, the limerick and the sonnet. At the end of the year, Troy’s poetry has improved and his respect for his teacher has grown too! An entertaining introduction to poetry, which can be read as a narrative. It is divided into assignments for the reader to follow and participate in and is peppered by Troy’s doodles and margin comments to his teacher. Ms Kranke obviously has quite a soft spot for this cheeky young student, and encourages him on his way, whether writing of his love for his school sweetheart, Kylie, or revealing the heroic and moving death of his policeman father.

Clinton Gregory’s Secret

A week in the life of a boy with a very active imagination. Clinton Gregory has at least seven secrets, one for each night of the week. Monday, he wrestled a dragon named Gordon; Wednesday, he was invited to dinner with giants; and Sunday, he made paper hats for a ship full of pirates and then rocketed to the moon and back.

Runner

Charlie’s father is dead, and although his mother insists he stay in school, Charlie has no patience for the classroom. All he wants is to make money, to give his mother and baby brother a better life. So when he catches the eye of Squizzy Taylor, a notorious mobster, and is offered a job as Squizzy’s courier, it doesn’t take Charlie long to accept—even if he has to go against his own mother’s wishes. At first, the job’s a thrill—running with messages, illegal liquor, whatever Squizzy orders. It fills Charlie with power. But then come the not-so-savory parts of the job. Collecting Squizzy’s debts. Dodging Squizzy’s enemies. The very real dangers of the streets. And at some point Charlie has to ask himself—how long before running for a better life means cutting his life short?

Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea

It looks like a bear, but isn’t one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey—but isn’t a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo,but what’s a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschie’s tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea’s cloud forest. Scientists in the Field.

The Day the Stones Walked

Pico’s father isn’t like the other fathers on Easter Island. Instead of building boats or hunting octopus, he sculpts the giant stone figures that he believes, in times of trouble, will rise and walk. Impossible, thinks Pico, until the Great Wave crashes into the island and Pico experiences firsthand the wonder of the stones. In this tale of faith and the humbling power of nature, T. A. Barron and William Low envision life as it might have been on the mysterious Easter Island . . . before the stones became the island’s only inhabitants.