Soon the care of the soldier becomes the girls' preoccupation, but it's not just the secret they share that emboldens them to steal food and other comforting items for the man. They are fascinated by what he holds in his hand — a tiny silver donkey. As the girls and their brother devise a plan for the soldier's safe passage home, he repays them by telling four wondrous tales about the humble donkey — from the legend of Bethlehem to a myth of India, from a story of rescue in war to a tale of family close to the soldier's heart. Sonya Hartnett explores rich new territory in this inspiring tale of kindness, loyalty, and courage.

    The adventures of those splendid fellows Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff, the penguin bold, and of course their amazing, everlasting and very cantankerous Puddin'.

    But then Alison Ashley shows up, and right from the start, seems to threaten Erica's position. Can these classmates ever see past their difficulties and find friendship?

    Distraught over her parents' separation, Abigail follows a strange child called Beatie Bow and time slips back a hundred years where she becomes involved with an Australian shopkeeper's family.

    Can the children defeat the robbers in the Secret Forest?

    Soon she discovers she has no choice, unless she can win an ancient and mysterious board game. And every roll of the dice leads her further into danger. The Name at the End of the Ladder is a fantasy adventure for younger readers by award-winning New Zealand poet Elena de Roo. This junior fiction novel about the power of language and friendship is ideal for fans of Jumanji, Zathura and The Phantom Tollbooth. For more about the author and her books, please visit www.elenaderoo.com

    Marley has grand ambitions to jump in Pony of the Year, but every good pony she’s ever had has been sold out from under her to pay the bills.Then a half-wild pinto pony comes into her life, and Marley finds that this most unlikely of champions could be the superstar she has always dreamed of. As Marley and Cruise rise quickly to the top of their sport, it seems as though her dreams of winning the Pony of the Year might come true after all.But her family is struggling to make ends meet, and as the countdown to Pony of the Year begins, Marley is forced to face the possibility of losing the pony she has come to love more than anything else in the world.Can Marley save the farm she loves, without sacrificing the pony she can’t live without?

    And not just any bookshop. In 1893, Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne is the grandest bookshop in the world, brimming with every curiosity imaginable. Each day brings fresh delights for the siblings: voice-changing sweets, talking parrots, a new story written just for them by their eccentric father.When Pearl and Vally learn that Pa has risked the Arcade – and himself – in a shocking deal with the mysterious Obscurosmith, the siblings hatch a plan. Soon they are swept into a dangerous game with impossibly high stakes: defeat seven challenges by the stroke of midnight and both the Arcade and their father will be restored. But if they fail Pearl and Vally won’t just lose Pa – they’ll forget that he and the Arcade ever existed.

    Come deep into the forest if you dare...but beware the Terrible Bloodsuckling Toothpluckling Stonechuckling Spittler!

    Gold! For as long as the castle had stood, alchemists had struggled to make gold from the simple elements of the earth. And for as long as the castle stood they had failed. Then comes the greedy, ambitious Spinifex, who promises the king riches and glory beyond his wildest dreams. Arthur, the alchemist's young apprentice, cannot see the point - after all gold cannot make you happy, heal the sick, or make people love you - and he watches in amazement as the experiments grow more elaborate and fantastic. As time ticks on Spinifex becomes a man obsessed, plundering the country for more gold to aid his experiments, even tearing the rings from people's fingers. Then, as the Millennium approaches, Spinifex constructs his last great experiment - a monstrous machine stretching up from the cellar through the castle to the roof. But the great gold-making machine only suceeds in destroying its creator, leaving just one tiny nugget of gold. However, gold of another kind floods the castle - glorious sunlight rains down on the kingdom, dispelling darkness and gloom forever. As for Arthur, he takes the tiny nugget and fashions a sunflower pendant for the king. One day the king loses it while out swimming, but he doesn't even notice, it is forgotten.

    For her, the whole world seemed to sing with joy. The sky seemed brighter and the sunshine more golden. When Jodie Carpenter won the Greenvale Junior Show Jumping Championship there were tears of happiness in her eyes. She was not to know that she was about to be cruelly struck down by a crippling disease, and the hurdles ahead of her would be more challenging than those she had just overcome.

    Each kingdom is filled with its own exotic delights, and her loyal subjects constantly send her gifts from far and wide. But there is one fruit she craves--the melidrop--which, until now, has been out of her reach because it rots on the long journey from the far off country in which it grows. This is where Bartlett--the intrepid, stubborn, inventive and irreverent explorer--comes in!A rip-roaring, fantastical roller-coaster of an adventure story overflowing with wit and rollicking suspense. This is good, old-fashioned storytelling at its very best!

    He’s spotted the signs: the cross looks, the unkind comments, the way they squash cane toads with their cars. Limpy is desperate to save his species from ending up as pancakes. Somehow he must make humans see how fabulous cane toads really are. Risking everything, he sets off on a wart-tinglingly dangerous and daring journey to . . . the Olympics?This is the epic story of a slightly squashed young cane toad’s quest for the truth.

    But it doesn't work. Everyone can see.Also on show...Bad rabbit habits. Rapt - in toilet paper. Birds with teeth. A live face on the wall.A collection of brilliant and bizarre stories from the amazing Paul Jennings.

    Now a grown child, Thora is beginning to figure out that she doesn’t belong; the daughter of a spellmaker, Thora can’t seem to get her magic to work. Across the valley, Oddo, living with a family of farmers, hides his magical skills after his father scorns him for changing the weather and mystically controlling animals. When Thora and Oddo meet, they become friends and use their strengths to help each other. But when things go terribly wrong, Thora and Oddo must embark on a perilous sea voyage to fix the mess they have created.