New Releases by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

When Dilly arrives on the island of Ollipest, she is unsure what to expect from her new life... She certainly doesn''t expect to find magic! But as she crosses the threshold of her aunt''s house for the first time, she wishes for a dog, and her companion wishes for tea... low and behold, the two things appear. Until now, the magic of Ollipest Island has been a well-kept secret. Then the Museum of Lost Umbrellas opens after many years of closure... The museum is about to show Dilly that magic not only runs through the island but through her ancestors, too, and perhaps even through her. And when the museum attracts some very unsavoury anti-magic outsiders, Dilly must unlock the powers she has to help keep the island safe. A dazzling, epic adventure where witches fly with umbrellas, magical dogs walk out of the sea and pet parrots suddenly become humans. This will keep readers on their edge of the seats and leave them desperate for the next instalment.

Suzy Button is grieving. Grieving for her dead mother, but also for the friends she''s left behind, the father who no longer laughs and the life that she once had. In desperation she finds herself in the garden in the middle of the night, under the light of a supermoon, wishing everything would change. And suddenly, it does. Into school walks Rhiannon, a fearless new girl who makes Suzy her instant best friend. And Rhiannon seems to make things . . . happen. If Suzy wants something, somehow Rhiannon can make it so: friends, beach parties, midnight photoshoots under a moonlit sky . . . Suzy''s life is finally moving forward again. But where did Rhiannon come from? She doesn''t seem to live in Sallycove. Why can''t Suzy go to her house? And why does she never have any stuff? Suzy might be her best friend, but does she really know who Rhiannon is?

Once there was Daddy and Mummy and me. Then there was Daddy and Mummy and me and - BOO! Boo can roar, kick and bite. But so can Geraldine. And she''s not going to be left out! Full of empathy and humour, this delightful story perfectly captures the feelings of a child with a new baby in the family.

In this rhythmic read-aloud, all you need is an imagination to experience the thrill of a great train ride. When a girl shouts "I can make a train noise, now!" her imagination transforms a coffee shop into a zooming train, and her words clickity-clack across the tracks and blare like a train horn. In a flash, salt shakers and ketchup bottles become skyscrapers, and the girl''s voice rattles along the tracks with "I can make a train noise I can make a train noise." Her voice whistles "Nowowwwwww!" The propulsive, rhythmic text that mimics train sounds is sure to captivate all kids, pair it with gorgeously detailed artwork and you have a read-aloud like no other. Michael Emberley, is the author and artist of many acclaimed children''s books, including most notably It''s Perfectly Normal. Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick is one of Ireland''s most distinguished illustrators of books for children. A BookPage Best Book of the Year A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Donegal, 1976 When a dolphin takes up residence in Carrig Cove, Emer and her best friend, Fee, feel like they have an instant connection with it. Then Dog Cullen and his sidekick, Kit, turn up, and the four friends begin to sneak out at midnight to go down to the beach, daring each other to swim closer and closer to the creature . . . But the fame and fortune the dolphin brings to their small village builds resentment amongst their neighbours across the bay, and the summer days get longer and hotter . . . There is something wild and intense in the air. Love feels fierce, old hatreds fester, and suddenly everything feels worth fighting for. In this beautiful, epic coming-of-age novel, an old tale is rewoven as a stunning YA story by well-known Irish author/illustrator Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick.

An owl and a bat family endeavor to share living spaces on the same tree branch, where initial wariness is overcome by the curiosity of the families'' babies on a wild and stormy night that compels them to set aside their apprehensions.

There is a new baby in Beth''s family, and because he cannot walk or talk and simply cries, Beth thinks he is a very silly baby.

A young girl asks questions about growing up as she walks over rolling hills, climbs a ladder up to the stars, and meets a dragon.

Beth doesn''t want to go to silly school! She doesn''t want to go for storytime, or painting, or singing. So what does she want to do? This is a great book to share with young children who are just starting school themselves.

Two small boys wage war against each other in this parable about the futility of fighting.

When Mother tells her young son about a sea voyage they took some years earlier she adds, "but you were only a baby, you wouldn''t remember." But, as the reader soon discovers, the boy has quite vivid memories--of increasingly hilarious goings-on that made no impression whatsoever on his amusingly oblivious mother and aunt.

Friends can be found in all sorts of places, if your imagination is big enough-- in the yard, under the tree, by the pond. But as this handsome picture book shows, sometimes the best friend of all turns up when you least expect it.

When Izzy''s favorite puppet is lost, she overcomes her fears to find him.

Off the coast of Ireland there lies an island. It looks just like a giant sleeping in the sea. What if it really is a giant -- and what if, one day, the Sleeping Giant wakes up?

In 1847 an impoverished group of Choctaw Indians donated $170 for famine relief in Ireland. This book draws together the story of the Choctaw Indians and their Long March and the lives of Irish people suffering in the Great Hunger. The story is told through the eyes of 14-year-old Choona.