Children’s books
Fiona Stager
Fiona Stager
Anna Hood
Anna Hood
Mission Telemark
When You Reach Me
Time Riders
The Flying Orchestra
Amanda Mitchison, Paperback $19.95 Ages 10+
Rebecca Stead, Paperback $16.95 Ages 12+
Alex Scarrow, Paperback $16.95 Ages 10 – 14
It’s 1942, in the midst of WW2 and four young teenagers, Ase, Freddie, Jacob and Lars find themselves recruited by the British Army Special Operations Executive for a secret mission. But before they depart they undergo extreme training in the Scottish Highlands. Think mountain climbing in a blizzard, learning morse code, signals, rabbit catching & hand to hand combat.
US author Rebecca Stead won the highly coveted Newbery Medal for her charming novel When You Reach Me. The Newbery Medal was established in 1922; it’s the longest running children’s book prize in the world and America’s highest honour for children’s books. It is selected by children’s librarians and is awarded for the ‘most outstanding contribution to children’s literature’.
Once the mission is revealed these three boys and one girl are sent to Norway to stop Hitler from making the atomic bomb. They must penetrate the fortress-like Vermorck Power Plant and then escape over the freezing mountains into Sweden with the Germans on their heels.
When You Reach Me is set in Manhattan in the late 1970s, and sixth grader, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
Time Riders is the story of three teenagers who, had their lives taken a normal path, would never had met. Yet together they keep the world from being destroyed every single day. Liam should have died in 1912, Maddy in 2010 and Sal in 2026. Yet something far from normal happened to them: just before they are supposed to die they get recruited by a secret agency. The ethos of the Time Riders team is to use time travel, a reality in the rear future, to go back and fix broken time caused by others misusing this technology. The three teens, two girls and one boy, rescued moments before certain death are each chosen for their own special skills and together they become an unstoppable team.
Clare McFadden, Hardback $24.95 Children’s picture book. Ages 6+
Mission Telemark is a story about a true mission--one of the most astonishing feats of bravery and endurance in the Second World War. It’s also a survival manual-inside are some fold-outs for secret agents. Find out everything you would need to know about frostbite and hand guns and surviving a Gestapo interrogation. The range of inserts and beautiful drawings make this book a fascinating combination of both riveting drama and historical information. For readers who have loved the Henderson Boys series by Robert Muchamore or the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson.
Miranda and Sal are best friends, but when Sal gets punched by a new kid for no apparent reason, he shuts Miranda out of his life. Then she finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper. Miranda finds other notes left for her in strange places and she realises that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that haven’t even happened yet...
Pacey, riveting & exciting, Time Riders takes you on an adventure you won’t soon forget. Also the book is packed with historical facts so readers will definitely learn as they are entertained! This is Alex Scarrow’s first young adult novel and it will be continued as a series. Perfect for readers aged 10-14 who loved the Cherub series, the Alex Rider books and Gabrielle Lord’s new teen reader series Conspiracy 365.
‘Some days are so windy that even the angels lose their balance from the top of City Hall’. It’s always a day like this when the Flying Orchestra blows into town.’ And so begins one of the most beautiful children’s picture books that reveals the music that surrounds us every single day in everything we do. Written and illustrated by first time local Brisbane author Clare McFadden, this whimsical tale travels the streets of a city (no specific city is named but it is overtly reminiscent of Brisbane’s streets and cityscape) exploring the idea that music can be found in the world around us at any time of the day. I love the idea this book poses that life has an orchestral score, and not just in the happy times but at sad and seemingly unremarkable moments too. This book is a prefect gift for adults and children alike because of its beautiful message and engaging illustrations.
When You Reach Me is a story about friendship and time. It’s an intriguing puzzle with pieces that fit together in the most intricate and unexpected ways.
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