New Releases by Margaret Mahy

Good Baby gets a banana for pudding and, this time, he eats it all up. Boom-biddy-boom-biddy-yum-yum-yum!

En kidnappant Mlle Labourdette, la ravissante bibliothécaire, le chef des brigands et ses quatre complices croient pouvoir obtenir de la municipalité une rançon rondelette. Mais c''est compter sans le courage de la jeune fille, son bon coeur et ses talents de... bibliothécaire !

A brand-new edition of the Carnegie Medal-winning THE HAUNTING - written by internationally bestselling author, Margaret Mahy. ''Strong and terrifying . . . The novel winds up like a spring. A psychological thriller'' - Times Literary Supplement Eight-year-old Barney has been haunted before. He thought it was something he''d just grow out of, like the imaginary friends his step-mother believes he has. But this time it''s different. Footsteps follow him, there''s a demanding voice barking orders and Barney begins to feel that sometimes his body is not his own at all . . . With the help of his sisters, Tabitha and Troy, Barney sets out to uncover the truth about their family secrets and to find out once and for all who it is who''s haunting him. A thrilling ghost story about a ''mostly ordinary'' family and a secret legacy.

The man from the land of Fandango is coming to pay you a call! He wears a hat with a tassel and a polka-dot tie - and he juggles and bounces and dances with bears, bison, baboons, kangaroos and even dinosaurs. He''s wonderful and amazing - so watch out for him, and watch carefully - because he only appears every 500 years! This magical, fantastical poem, full of Mahy''s signature wordplay and joie de vivre, is brilliantly matched by the humour and energy of Polly Dunbar''s illustrations.

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. When the little boy tells his mother he has seen a big, roaring, yellow, whiskery lion in the meadow, she decides to make up a story for him too and gives him a matchbox with a tiny dragon inside. A brand new Early Reader edition of this beautiful classic story.

The kitten has climbed the Christmas tree! Climbed so high and climbed so far to cling with her claws to the Christmas star. So begins the magically illustrated story of the - Christmas Tree Tangle - in which the kitten, the cat, the dog, the goat and even the pigs get stuck in the branches of the town Christmas tree. This is a delightful tale to read along with Children at the festive season.

When Dad loses his car keys, little Mary suggests they might be down the back of the chair. Join in the fun as Dad begins the search, finding everything from a hairy string to a diamond ring-and much, much more! Could the solution to all the family"s problems be down the back of the chair? A lively rhyming text and quirky art come together in this visual explosion of fun and imagination.

Baxter the dog wakes at the same time as his mistress and is eager and ready to go for a walk at the same time as she is. Suggested level: junior.

On the fifth anniversary of his older sister''s death, nineteen-year-old Jonny Dart, troubled by feelings of guilt and an imperfect memory of the event, goes in search of the only other witness to the fatal accident. Through a chance meeting with a senile old woman, he finds a way to free himself of the past.

Though their Saturday morning walk is not as peaceful as planned, a group of children and their dogs, with one brave adult, enjoy themselves.

Monty is allergic to ghosts-if there''s one around, he sneezes. That''s how he discovers a ghost-girl called Lulu haunting an old vintage car at the bottom of the garden.

Adventures of a boy who helps his detective granny defeat a band of ruffian pirates.

A novel written for young adults by a New Zealander.

Saracen Hobday is a terribly shy orphan who lives on a secluded island with his grandmother. But when Granny, a former detective inspector, rushes off in pursuit of the wicked pirate chief, Grudge Gallows, Saracen finds himself forced to cope with the unexpected. Suggested level: primary.

Eleven stories ranging from the fantastic to the absurd. In the title story Mr Frisbee''s prize angora goats are saved from the infamous Gargle Goat Thief Gang by his five daughters armed with Dr Gumption''s Triple Super Duper Minty-mint Gum.

Tris and Winola find the underrunners, a vast network of tunnels, the ideal place to escape their unhappy lives and act out their fantasies, but the tunnels become a dangerous place when invaded by an unseen stranger.

Lolly Bancroft, whose mother was a Fortune, has always wanted to be a member of the Good Fortunes Gang, and when her father leaves home, Lolly welcomes it as an opportunity to be a real Fortune --at first ... Suggested level: primary.

Seven Chinese brothers elude execution by virtue of their extraorinary individual qualities. Suggested level: juniors, primary.

In the first of these two short stories, Bassington, a rich little boy who has never had a birthday, decides to steal one from Mrs. Herringbone and Joanna Joy. In the second story, headmistress Tatiana Taffeta seeks an affluent farmer''s hand in marriage.

The first story concerns and impossibly wealthy small boy who has everything but birthdays. He sets out to steal some, to the wrath of his victims, for each of whom the stolen birthday had special importance. In the second story the headmistress of a select school marries for money with unfortunate results.

Norvin has just two talents: acting and swimming. But there''s a problem--he looks like a shark! He devises a fiendish plan, and soon has the water to himself; or does he? A perfect beach book for all year round. Illustrated.