CATEGORIES

SEPTEMBER MAJOR GIVEAWAY

Let this month’s prize pack take you on an unforgettable journey – globe-trot with Joel Magarey, get lost among the desert elephants of Namibia, pig out in northern Spain. Relax and soak in William McInnes’ reflections on his father, and unleash your inner-child with the hottest children’s releases. The pack includes:

A Man’s Got To Have A Hobby by William McInnes SIGNED

Ivory Moon by Sally Henderson

Exposure: A Journey by Joel Magarey

Everything But The Squeal by John Barlow

Schooling Around: Robot Riot! by Andy Griffiths

Looking For Flavour by Barbara Santich

It’s Yr Life by Tempany Deckert & Tristan Bancks

Gone by Michael Grant

The Greatest Blogger In The World by Andrew McDonald

To go into the draw to win these books, just complete the entry form here. Entries close September 30, 2009.

SEPTEMBER FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY

When you join our Facebook Group, not only do you become a part of one of Australia’s fastest growing online book groups, you also go into the draw to win prizes! This month, one lucky member will win a pack that includes:

The Pheonix Files: Arrival by Chris Morphew

Brainjack by Brian Falkner

Big Stories From Little Lunch by Danny Katz, illustrated by Mitch Vane

Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson

Allie McGregor’s True Colours by Sue Lawson

Tales From The Labyrinth/The Stone Ladder by Peter Lloyd

Jetty Road by Cath Kenneally

Chinese Cinderella: The Mystery of the Song Dynasty Painting

A big thanks to our friends at Allen and Unwin, Black Dog Books, Hachette, Hardie Grant Egmont, Pan Macmillan, Random House, Wakefield Press and Walker Books for supporting our giveaways this month.

 “…Why don’t you write proper books?” I’m often asked by friends.

I write on the frontier of Australian story telling. It’s a wild and woolly place. A little bit dangerous even. There are Dragonkeepers and Ranger’s Apprentices. A Book Thief and a Bugalugs Bum Thief. You can go Hunting Elephants or into the Teenage Underground. There’s even a Pencil of Doom and my own Samurai Kids.

I’m a children’s author.

We’re raising the imagination stakes, encouraging a love of reading and opening the door to critical thinking. We’re always entertaining, sometimes educating and often making our readers laugh.

Children and young adults are not easy to write for. They won’t tolerate a story that doesn’t immediately engage their attention nor will they read a tale with an overt lesson. Their own ideas rival the most fantastic of storylines. They have widely ranging reading abilities, life experiences and interests. The youngest of readers need to be handled with care and the older readers exposed to new thought. It’s an enormous challenge and a lot of fun.

When I write for children, I get to tell the stories I want to hear. Another children’s author once told me you write for the age you are inside. So I’m somewhere between ten and fourteen on any given day. I think that’s about right. I also enjoy being able to regularly interact with my readers in their classrooms, the library and the wider community. Children want to meet their authors and listen to their stories. There are no barriers or pretensions. I know from experience kids will ask almost anything!

Sometimes I get the big reward. “Your book was the first one I ever liked. I’m going to read another one.” The storytelling frontier is an exciting place where things are growing all the time. As a children’s author, I’m helping to grow enthusiastic readers and maybe writers as well. I love it!

Want to win copies of the books in Sandy Fussell’s Samurai Kid’s series? All you have to do is email me a review of the last children’s book you read. You could’ve read it last night, last year, or even back when you were a kid. The catch? Your review has to be 20 words or less. In your email’s subject, be sure to write: ‘FICTION NOVELS FOR AGES 10+’

Another month, another giveaway. July’s is Ashes-tinged and filled to the brim for cricket fans and avid readers alike, so be sure to register HERE for your chance to win copies of:

Cricket Kings by William McInnes  SIGNED
Step into the lives of a team of regular middle-aged men who meet each week to play cricket in their local park. With these characters William will make us laugh and cry. And never again will we think that someone is just a regular bloke – everyone can be a king or a queen in their own suburb.

Glenn McGrath: Line and Strength by Glen McGrath SIGNED
From working the land in Narromine to winning cricket’s World Cup three times, Glenn McGrath has always faced life with fierce determination and an unerring will to succeed despite the odds. Now, following his retirement from international cricket, McGrath shares the story of his life – in cricket and off the field.
 

The Cricket War by Gideon Haigh SIGNED
It was the end of cricket as we knew it – and the beginning of cricket as we know it. In May 1977, the cricket world woke to discover that a businessman called Kerry Packer had signed 35 elite international players for his own televised World Series Cricket. The Cricket War is the definitive account of the split that changed the game on the field and on the screen. In helmets, under lights, with white balls, and in coloured clothes, the outlaw armies of Ian Chappell, Toney Greig and Clive Lloyd fought a daily battle of survival. In boardrooms and courtrooms Packer and cricket’s rulers fought a bitter war of nerves. A compelling account of the top-class sporting life, The Cricket War also gives a unique insight into the motives and methods of Australia’s richest man.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas SIGNED
A novel about the relationships between children and adults, and the new Australian multicultural middle-class from the controversial cult author of Loaded and Dead Europe.

Starting An Online Business For Dummies by Melissa Norfolk
Turn your dreams into profitable reality with this straightforward guide to setting up and running an online business. Including strategies to help you identify your market, set up a website and promote your business online.

 
Just Macbeth by Andy Griffiths
Take one Shakespearean tragedy: Macbeth, add Andy, Danny and Lisa the Just trio, whose madcap exploits have already delighted hundreds of thousands of readers for the last ten years. Mix them all together to create one of the most hilarious, most dramatic, moving stories of love, Whizz Fizz, witches, murder and madness. Ages 9+.

Brief Encounters: Literary travellers in Australia 1836-1939 by Susannah Fullerton
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, countless distinguished writers made the long and arduous voyage across the seas to Australia. They came on lecture tours and to make money, to sort out difficult children sent here to be out of the way for health, for science, to escape demanding spouses back home, or simply to satisfy a sense of adventure. In 1890, for example, Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, arrived at Circular Quay after a dramatic sea voyage only to be refused entry at the Victoria, one of Sydney’s most elegant hotels. Stevenson threw a tantrum, but was forced to go to a cheaper, less fussy establishment. Next day, the Victoria’s manager, recognising the famous author from a picture in the paper, rushed to find Stevenson and beg him to return. He did not. In Brief Encounters, Susannah Fullerton examines a diverse array of writers, including Charles Darwin, Rudyard Kipling, Stevenson, Anthony Trollope, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, DH Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, HG Wells, Agatha Christie and Jack London, to discover what they did when they got here, what their opinion was of Australia and Australians, how the public and media reacted to them, and how their future works were shaped or influenced by this country.

Good Night & God Bless: Volume One by Trish Clark
This is the modern traveller’s bible. Travellers and pilgrims seeking a unique experience can now uncover the ancient secrets of convents and monasteries around Europe. We reveal these atmospheric and affordable places that accommodate tourists or those pursuing a pilgrimage or spiritual retreat. Convents, monasteries and abbeys have always been places which generously welcome weary travellers. That tradition continues today and Goodnight & God Bless takes you on a tour of religious hideaways offering tourist and pilgrimage accommodation throughout Europe. Suitable for the traveller, the pious and the curious alike, this user-friendly travel guide provides invaluable information, travel tit-bits and anecdotes against a fascinating backdrop of history and religion.

Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart by Ashley Du Toit SIGNED
Enchanted by Bella, the Fairy of Pure Heart, Prince Arthur follows her into the immortal world. Angered by this, the powerful dragon Nemesis captures Arthur. To rescue her prince, Bella must complete the Great Dragon’s Hunt, and collect five magical tokens. As Bella and her butterfly friend Teague carry out her quest, they meet many mystical creatures, including a witch and a werewolf, elfins and leprechauns, and two very forgetful goblins.

A big thanks to our friends at Allen and Unwin, Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Random House, Melbourne University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Dragon Publishing and Paratus Press for supporting our monthly giveaway.

To go into the draw to win this month’s prize, complete the entry form HERE. Entries close 31 July, 2009. Don’t forget, it’s a monthly giveaway, so be sure to favourite that link and keep visiting every month. Please note, entrants will be automatically subscribed to our fortnightly Boomerang Books Bulletin e-newsletter.

… A bonus for our Facebook Friends

Need an incentive to join one of Australia’s largest book group on Facebook? Well, we have a great pack of books to give away to one of our Facebook Group members this month, which includes copies of Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart by Ashley Du Toit (SIGNED), Mascot Madness! by Andy Griffiths and Good Night & God Bless: Volume One by Trish Clark.

Just Macbeth!
Andy Griffiths (Illust by Terry Denton)
9780330425346
B-format paperback

• Take one Shakespearean tragedy: Macbeth.

• Add Andy, Danny and Lisa – the Just trio, whose madcap exploits have already delighted hundreds of thousands of readers for the last ten years.

• Mix them all together to create one of the most hilarious, most dramatic, moving stories of love, Whizz Fizz, witches, murder and madness, from the bestselling and funniest children’s author in Australia.

Airhead 2: Being Nikki
Meg Cabot
9780330453837
B-format paperback

From the queen of teen fiction… The second book in a spectacular, romantic, hilarious new trilogy with a spine-tingling twist!

She’s a brainiac trapped in the body of an airhead!

Teenagers Emerson Watts and Nikki Howard have nothing in common. Em’s a tomboy-brainiac who couldn’t care less about her looks. Nikki’s a stunning supermodel: the world’s most famous airhead. But a freak accident causes the girls’ lives to collide in the most extraordinary way and “being Nikki” isn’t as easy as it looks…

The Bone Magician
F E Higgins
9780330444828
B-format paperback

From the devilishly talented author of the The Black Book of Secrets comes another dark and thrilling tale with enough twists, turns and scares to satisfy any reader.

Since his father disappeared under a dark cloud of scandal, Pin Carpue has been alone in the world. His work for the local undertaker keeps him busy, but his life is bleak. Then Pin encounters the Bone Magician, a man who can raise corpses and make the dead speak.

As Pin pieces together the secrets of Bone Magic, his own life becomes fraught with grave danger…

Ugenia Lavender and the Burning Pants (3)
Geri Haliwell
9780330454308
A-format paperback

Thoughtful, brave and sassy, Ugenia Lavender is one amazing kid. With loads of energy, tons of attitude and brainwaves like thunderbolts of lightning, Ugenia leaps into adventures that are as packed with personality as their creator, Geri Halliwell.

Each book in the series contains three stories plus Ugenia’s Big News, Top Tips and extra Brain Squeezer puzzle pages.

Book 3: Ugenia discovers the true meaning of “liar, liar, pants on fire” and celebrates her tenth birthday in style. She also saves the day when her school stages its very own Olympic Games!

A friend passed this on, and as a children’s author whose novel was ignored by awards judges, I have to say that I agree with the idea that there is an element of elitism in kids’ lit judging despite exceedingly favourable reviews… That said, I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune if my book was garnering awards… What do YOU think about this story from ABC?

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2009/2595153.htm

Plenty of disgruntled authors both in Australia and abroad argue that there’s an underlying philosophy of snobbery among judges of children’s literature awards. Part of the problem is that the top prizes tend to go to books children don’t necessarily want to read.

But is there anything wrong with judges focusing on the highbrow end of the market, or should popularity play a part in their decisions? A confidential report commissioned by the Children’s Book Council of Australia suggests the time might be right to overhaul Australia’s top children’s literature award.

Melina Marchetta
Australian author of young adult fiction

James Maloney
Australian children’s author

Andy Griffiths
Australian children’s author

Mike Shuttleworth
Program Manager, Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria

Anita Silvey
American children’s book expert

The Brisbane Writers’ Festival program for young readers, writers and illustrators ‘Word Play’ has been announced. This year, 10,000 places are available for sessions with authors, illustrators, scriptwriters and filmmakers, including Jackie French, Jack Heath, Andy Griffiths, Tempany Deckert and Brian Falkner. View the program here.

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2009/06/12227/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2009, Thorpe-Bowke

Mascot Madness! (Schooling Around Book 3)
Andy Griffiths
9780330424868
$14.99 B-format paperback

The Mascot Madness! Test:

1. Northwest Southeast Central School have never beaten Northwest West Academy at their annual track and field challenge because A: they’re better at knitting than they are at sport. B: they are losers. C: Northwest West Academy will stop at nothing to win.

2. Mr Brainfright dresses up in a banana suit and dances around because A: he’s bored. B: he goes bananas. C: he thinks it will inspire the students of Northwest Southeast Central School and lead them to victory.

3. When Henry McThrottle attempts the triple jump, instead of a hop, step and a jump he does A: a burp, a dribble and a sneeze. B: a twirl, a spin and the splits. C: a stumble, a trip and a fall.

4. Mascot Madness is A: a new type of dance. B: when a mascot gets angry. C: a very funny book about running, jumping, throwing, winning, losing, cheating, chasing, biting and really hard squeezing.

The answers to these questions – and many more – are contained between the covers of this very funny book about running, jumping, throwing, winning, losing, cheating, chasing, biting and really hard squeezing.

The Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures
Sam Bowring
9780330424752
$14.99 B-format paperback

An imaginative and hilarious fantasy from an exciting new voice in children’s literature.

Twelve-year-old Zackary is the seventh son of the King and Queen of Solaris, and a most reluctant knight. He would rather put anchovies in the knights helmets or use his sword to cut sandwiches than learn courtly ways. In despair, the King and Queen assign him to the castle administrator, Barnabas, who sends him on an errand to the Zoo of Magical and Mythological Creatures, established by Zackary’s grandfather.

Mistaken for a job applicant, Zackary starts working at the zoo with the resident sorcerer, Acacia. Powerful magic is needed to control some of the extraordinary creatures in the zoo: from the Stymphalian birds of Greek mythology and the nine-headed hydra, to manticores from India and the squonks – Drufflefuster, Gobblesnocks, Snivelsnork and Grimelgrout. These are the ugliest, most endearing, little creatures that will be encountered in a children’s book in 2009.

But just as Zackary is settling in to his double life, a shadow is cast across the entire kingdom with the news that a strange creature is expected at the zoo-a creature which spreads evil and destruction in its path.

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls 3: Best Friends and Drama Queens
Meg Cabot
9780230700147
$14.99 B-format paperback

The third fabulous book in bestselling author Meg Cabot’s funny and sassy series for tweens!

Allie is excited when Cheyenne joins her class-now she won’t have to be the “new girl” any more! But Cheyenne wears zip-up boots, likes boys, thinks imaginary games are for “big babies” and tells everyone what to do. Still, Allie won’t be bossed around – it’s time to teach the “new girl” some tough rules! Such as…

1) Friendly people don’t tell other people that their games are babyish;

2) Snowboots may not look as good as high-heeled zip-up boots, but they will never let you down; and

3) Friends are all you need.

Bestselling author Andy Griffiths has sold over three million copies of his novels worldwide. Titles include the ‘Just’ series, and The Day My Bum Went Psycho. Mascot Madness! is as funny and as unlikely as his others; revolving around class 5B and their endeavour to win an interschool sports day. Imagine a PE teacher who hints that he’s an Olympic athlete, when all he really did was hand out programs at the Olympics; or a coach from an opposition school who trains their mascot dog to devour bananas on sight—not to mention a teacher who believes he’s a banana! It’s madness! Underlying the absurdity of the novel though, is the message that you should always be optimistic and embrace the power of positive thinking. The message is subtly included but is stated in a way that children will understand the value of it. As is typical of Griffiths’ novels, this story will appeal to the reader’s ‘silly side’, and is to be recommended to anyone who ‘thinks’ they don’t like reading. The storyline is extremely easy to follow and the characters are humorous and uncomplicated, with varying degrees of craziness. This will be a winner. (See interview, page 7).

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine (March 2009, Vol 88, No 6.) is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker.

The YABBAs (Young Australian Best Book Award) were announced this week in Victoria.

Best picture storybook went to Uno’s Garden (Graeme Base, Viking); fiction for younger readers went to Just Shocking (Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, Pan); fiction for older readers went to The Key to Rondo (Emily Rodda, Omnibus); and fiction for years 7-9 went to Mao’s Last Dancer: Young Reader’s Edition (Li Cunxin, Puffin).

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton also took out the award recently for younger readers in the WAYRBAs (West Australian Young Readers Book Awards), where Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (Orbit) received the older readers prize; Melina Marchetta’s On the Jellicoe Road (Viking) received the Avis Page Award for the highest ranked Australian author; and Andrew Lansdown’s Red Dragon (Omnibus) received the Hoffman Award for the highest ranked West Australian author.

The BILBYs (Books I Love Best Yearly) in Queensland were also swept by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton in the younger reader’s category. Early readers prize went to Jackie French and Bruce Whatley for Diary of a Wombat (HarperCollins), and older readers liked Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling (Bloomsbury) best.

The ACT’s COOL Awards (Canberra’s Own Outstanding List) recently awarded best picture story book to Where is the Green Sheep (Mem Fox and Judy Horacek, Picture Puffin); best fiction for older readers to Spookiest Stories by Paul Jennings (Viking); best fiction for years 7-9 to Dragon Moon by Carole Wilkinson (Black Dog Books); and unsurprisingly–best fiction for younger readers went to Just Shocking, by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Pan).

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/11/10163/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

The winners of the 2008 New South Wales children’s choice awards, the Kids Own Australian Literature Awards (KOALAs,) were announced on 22 October.

Authors such as Duncan Ball, Ursula Dubosarsky, Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble, Catherine Jinks, Chris Milne, and Emily Rodda, as well as school students, came through snow to attend the awards on the coldest Sydney October day in 16 years.

The 2008 winners were:

* Picture Book Winner: Annie’s Chair (Deborah Niland, Picture Puffin)
* Younger Readers Winner: Just Shocking! (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Pan)
* Older Readers Winner: The Key to Rondo (Emily Rodda, Omnibus Books)
* Fiction Years 7-9 Winner: Mao’s Last Dancer (younger readers edition) (Lee Cunxin, Puffin).

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/10/09967/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker