Book picks similar to
Grandma Joins the All Blacks by Helen McKinlay


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The Test


Nathan Leamon - 2018
    . .'It is the final Test match of The Ashes. A nation expects, and the rest of the cricketing world is watching.Fast-paced, humorous and candid, The Test follows the battles on and off the field as stand-in England captain, James McCall, tries to get his exhausted team across the finish line. Along the way, his story becomes one of fatherhood, friendship and trusting yourself when no one else will.Nathan Leamon's love letter to Test cricket is that rare thing: a novel that captures the feel and flavour of professional sport from the inside - the good, the bad and the simply surreal.Not since J. L. Carr's classic A Season in Sinji has there been a novel that quite captures the spirit of the game.

Angry Little Girls in Love


Lela Lee - 2008
    This book follows the promising first date of Kim and Bruce who hook up to have a dysfunctional boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Their friends offer help and advice along the way. Featuring vengeful, sarcastic, and hopeless love cartoons, anyone who has been in a relationship or is trying to find one for Valentine's Day will surely get a laugh out of this book.

Mrs. Armitage and the Big Wave


Quentin Blake - 1997
    Armitage and her dog, Breakspear, paddle out to surf the Big Wave. Soon the kindly Mrs. Armitage notices that Breakspear’s little legs are getting tired--so she swims off and returns with an inflatable desert island for him to rest on. Then she notices that Breakspear looks a little hot--so she swims off again and brings back an umbrella. Soon this silly pair is loaded down with flags, a horn, megaphones, and lots of other gear. What will they do when the Big Wave finally arrives?

Hairy Maclary: Five Lynley Dodd Stories


Lynley Dodd - 1996
    She is enormously popular for her rhyming stories of the unforgettable HAIRY MACLARY and his friends. She worked as a teacher before beginning to write her own books in 1974.Read all the Hairy Maclary and Friends books by Lynley Dodd!Hairy Maclary's Bone; Hairy Maclary Scattercat; Hairy Maclary's Caterwaul Caper; Hairy Maclary's Rumpus at the Vet; Slinky Malinki; Hairy Maclary's Showbusiness; Slinky Malinki, Open the Door; Sniff-Snuff-Snap!; Schnitzel Von Krumm Forget-Me-Not; Slinky Malinki Catflaps; Slinky Malinki's Christmas Crackers; Hairy Maclary's Hat Tricks; Scarface Claw; Schnitzel Von Krumm, Dog's Never Climb Tress; Hairy Maclary, Sit; Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack; Magnet Fun with Hairy Maclary; Hairy Maclary, Shoo; Hairy Maclary and Friends Little Library; Slinky Malinki, Open the Door; Slinky Malinki Early Bird; Where is Hairy Maclary?; Sticker Fun with Hairy Maclary; My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes

The Doubtful Guest


Edward Gorey - 1957
    The staid, pale, Victorian inhabitants of the mansion alternately stare and glare at the doubtful guest as it tears out whole chapters from books, peels the soles of its white canvas shoes, and broods while lying on the floor ("inconveniently close to the drawing-room door"). Strangely, or rather, typically, as this is a Gorey book, the stymied occupants never ask the guest to leave--and in 17 years it has still "shown no intention of going away."

It's a Book


Lane Smith - 2010
    This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.This title has Common Core connections.

The Lost Art of Putting


Gary Nicol - 2018
     To be childish is to expect a certain outcome will come your way, that you deserve to hole the putt or that you shouldn’t miss from a certain distance. The Lost Art of Putting will help you become more child-like on the greens and less childish. Leading tour coach Gary Nicol and performance coach Karl Morris have 60 years’ combined coaching experience. It is their belief that the game of golf is not about finding ‘the’ way to do it but more a case of discovering, or perhaps more importantly uncovering, ‘your’ way to do it. The perspective and concepts they share with you in this book have the potential to liberate you so that you can experience what you are truly capable of on the greens.

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan


Beatrix Potter - 1905
    The aim of these editions is to be as close as possible to Beatrix Potter's intentions while benefiting from modern printing and design techniques. The colours and details of the watercolours in the volumes are reproduced more accurately than ever before, and it has now been possible to disguise damage that has affected the artwork over the years. Most notably, The Tale of Peter Rabbit restores six of Potter's original illustrations. Four were sacrificed in 1903 to make space for illustrated endpapers, and two have never been used before. Of course, Beatrix Potter created many memorable children's characters, including Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-duck and Jeremy Fisher. But whatever the tale, both children and adults alike can be delighted by the artistry in Potter's illustrations, while they also enjoy a very good read. Because they have always been completely true to a child's experience, Potter's 23 books continue to endure.

SkyMaul: Happy Crap You Can Buy from a Plane


Kasper Hauser - 2006
    Guaranteed.   Let award-winning comedy troupe Kasper Hauser transport you into the sublime universe that is SkyMaul, where Banana-ganizers and Reality-Canceling Headphones coexist with Crack Pipe Chess Sets and Llamacycles. More than just a catalog parody, SkyMaul explodes with razor-sharp wit, boundless creativity, and a keen eye for the absurd. This smart, edgy satire will earn your laughter again and again.

Gift of Gift (Super Amazing Princess Heroes)


Sanjay Nambiar - 2016
    Everything is going well until one of the heroes, Kinney, gets very sick with a heart condition and flies back to the U.S. for medical help. The girls soon learn that one of their Ugandan friends, a wonderful girl named Gift, is sick with the same condition. She needs to fly to the U.S. as well —but what if she didn't? What if she had a hospital in Uganda that could help other kids just like her? The story of the Super Duper Princess Heroes conveys positive messages to young girls to help others and to think of those outside themselves.

The Hungry Toilet


Jason Hall - 2012
    People are going missing and no one knows how or why. Your will meet some fantastic and hilarious characters on your way to solving the mystery. Includes the bonus story - Going on a Bat Hunt. The Hungry Toilet is a Top 10 Best Selling book with the author being described as the "New Roald Dahl of Rhyming." If your children enjoy Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and David Walliams they will love this book too! Free to Amazon Prime Members Updated for all devices (Kindle, Paperwhite, Fire, HD, iPad & iPhone)

Franklin Plays The Game


Paulette Bourgeois - 1995
    Franklin loves to play soccer and with practice he and his teammates learn how to have fun even if they do not win.

Noddy Makes a New Friend


Enid Blyton - 1993
    The Bunkey just loves to help out his pals in any way he can. But as Noddy soon finds out, there is such a thing as being too helpful! Fans of the television show Noddy are in for a laugh and a surprise as they discover a few important things about being a good friend.

The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus


Duncan Hamilton - 2019
    Between two world wars, he became the laureate of cricket by doing the same with words.In The Great Romantic, award-winning author Duncan Hamilton demonstrates how Cardus changed sports journalism for ever. While popularising cricket – while appealing, in Cardus’ words to people who ‘didn’t know a leg-break from the pavilion cat at Lord’s’- he became a star in his own right with exquisite phrase-making, disdain for statistics and a penchant for literary and musical allusions.Among those who venerated Cardus were PG Wodehouse, John Arlott, Harold Pinter, JB Priestley and Don Bradman. However, behind the rhapsody in blue skies, green grass and colourful characters, this richly evocative biography finds that Cardus’ mother was a prostitute, he never knew his father and he received negligible education. Infatuations with younger women ran parallel to a decidedly unromantic marriage. And, astonishingly, the supreme stylist’s aversion to factual accuracy led to his reporting on matches he never attended.Yet Cardus also belied his impoverished origins to prosper in a second class-conscious profession, becoming a music critic of international renown. The Great Romantic uncovers the dark enigma within a golden age.

The Ladybird Book of The Nerd


Jason A. Hazeley - 2017
    Featuring original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text.'Hilarious' StylistOther new titles for Autumn 2017:How it Works: The BrotherHow it Works: The SisterHow it Works: The Baby The Ladybird Book of the ExThe Ladybird Book of the New YouThe Ladybird Book of BallsThe Ladybird Book of the Big Night OutThe Ladybird Book of the Quiet Night InPeople at Work: The Rock Star A Ladybird First Grown-Up Picture BookPrevious titles in the Ladybirds for Grown Ups series: How it Works: The HusbandHow it Works: The WifeHow it Works: The MumHow it Works: The DadThe Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life CrisisThe Ladybird Book of the HangoverThe Ladybird Book of MindfulnessThe Ladybird Book of the ShedThe Ladybird Book of DatingThe Ladybird Book of the HipsterHow it Works: The StudentHow it Works: The CatHow it Works: The DogHow it Works: The Grandparent The Ladybird Book of Red TapeThe Ladybird Book of the People Next DoorThe Ladybird Book of the SickieThe Ladybird Book of the Zombie ApocalypseThe Ladybird Book of the Do-Gooder