RAINY DAYreads

Winter is the perfect time to kick back, relax and venture into the world of books. From romance novels, crime and horror stories, or something adventurous for the kids, Bookface has it all. Here are their top picks:

Dirt By Sea by Michael Wagner & Tom Jellett

Explore our wonderful coastline and the joy of a family road-trip with Dad and Daisy! Featuring 40 pages of extraordinary comicstyle illustrations, this unique picture book will have you dreaming of a holiday around Australia or maybe even planning a van life with the help of the journey map in the endpapers.

The hugely popular creators of Why I Love Footy and Why I Love Summer are back together with a moving family story that is also a true celebration of what we love most about the Australian landscape, family holidays and classic Kombi vans.

Daisy lives in inland Australia with her dad and her grandparents. It’s home, and she loves the red dirt land around her. But when her dad realises that she’s never seen the beach and thinks the Australian anthem is about a country ‘dirt by sea’, he sets off to show her the ocean in a once-in-a-lifetime father-daughter trip along the Australian coast, inspired by the first holiday he took with Daisy’s mum. Along the way they will learn about Australia and much, much more . . .

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

An exquisite winter tale of courage - and its cost, set in Catholic Ireland.

Limberlost by Robbie Arnott

In the heat of a long summer Ned hunts rabbits in a river valley, hoping the pelts will earn him enough money to buy a small boat. His two brothers are away at war, their whereabouts unknown. His father and older sister struggle to hold things together on the family orchard, Limberlost.

Desperate to ignore it all—to avoid the future rushing towards him—Ned dreams of open water.

As his story unfolds over the following decades, we see how Ned’s choices that summer come to shape the course of his life, the fate of his family and the future of the valley, with its seasons of death and rebirth.

The third novel by the award-winning author of Flames and The Rain Heron, Limberlost is an extraordinary chronicle of life and land: of carnage and kindness, blood ties and love.

Moon Rising: The Graphic Novel by Tui

T.

Sutherland

Peace has come to Pyrrhia ... for now. The war between the tribes is finally over, and now the dragonets of the prophecy have a plan for lasting peace: Jade Mountain Academy, a school that will gather dragonets from all the tribes and teach them to live together, perhaps even as friends. Moonwatcher isn’t sure how she feels about school, however.

Hidden in the rainforest for most of her life, the young NightWing has an awful secret. She can read minds, and even see the future. Living in a cave with dozens of other dragons is noisy, exhausting—and dangerous. In just a few days, Moon finds herself overwhelmed by her secret powers and bombarded by strange thoughts, including those of a mysterious dragon who might be a terrible enemy. And when someone starts attacking dragons within the academy, Moon has a choice to make: Stay hidden and safe? Or risk everything to save her new friends?

A Million To One by Adiba Jaigirdar

Four friends have stolen aboard the Titanic. They’re after the Rubaiyat - a book inlaid with priceless jewels. Josefa is a charismatic thief, Hinnah a daring acrobat, Violet an outstanding actress and Emilie a talented artist.

It is Josefa’s plan, but she needs all of their skills. Despite their very different backgrounds, in a world of first-class passengers and suspicious crew members, the girls must work together to pull off the heist of their lives.

But careless mistakes, old grudges and new romances threaten to jeopardise everything they’ve worked towards. And with the Titanic sailing ever further north, the girls’ chances of survival are a million to one...

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