New Releases by Colin Thompson

Comparing the short, happy lives of rats with the long, complicated, dissatisfied lives of humans can lead to depression for the humans. The answer: simplify.

The youngest child in the Flood family, Betty, is a pretty little girl, who looks quite normal - unlike some of her brothers and sisters. She goes to the normal primary school down the road and she even has a normal best friend, Ffiona Hulbert. But Betty is not normal - she is a witch.

Colorful, fanciful castles are described.

Gilbert is not a happy cat. The lady he calls his mum has put him outside and shut the door. Nature is horrible. The grass is hurting his feet and the only place to hide is inside an old paper bag. He has had a scary dream and now he is going to be sick all over the big angry cat from next door..

Gilbert was not an ordinary cat. This wasn t surprising because he had never seen another cat. Taken from his mother before his eyes had opened, he had spent most of his childhood inside a paper bag. As a result, he was frightened of just about everything. The best place to be was inside a nice brown paper bag, under the bed, away from the changing skies, away from vicious birds, and scary butterflies. One night something else crawled under the bed and Gilbert soon discovered that life wasn t as frightening as he d thought.

Children''s picture storybook. Mrs. Golightly retires and decides to set off around the world on her bicycle. She doesn''t mind if other people come along and she starts to collect companions from all over the world. Author''s previous works include ''Sailing Home'' and ''The Staircase Cat''. Illustrator''s previous works include ''Down My Street'' and ''The Last Clown''.

Paperback release of a children''s picture storybook. Zippo the clown is the oldest person in the circus, so it is his job to look after all the circus children. But he sometimes feels sad and lonely being the last clown, until something happens to Max, the tightrope walker, and Zippo has a brilliant idea how to keep Max in the circus. Author''s previous books include ''Sailing Home'' and ''The Staircase Cat'', which was shortlisted for the 1999 Children''s Book Council Picture Book of the Year Award. Gamble has previously illustrated ''Down My Street'' and ''Nadia''s Luck''.

A collection of curious creature poems, including everything from cats, dogs and goldfish to bacteria, jellyfish and slugs. Even pet-owners aren''t left unrhymed.

Ignored by prospective human owners who walk past her cage at the pound, a shy dog with an unusual name becomes a hero during a lightning storm.

Picture story for pre-school and younger primary school children. Oscar the cat''s life changes when war comes to the city where he lives and the people he lives with disappear. He waits patiently for his family to return to him, and eventually someone comes back to the old building where he has been living for so many years. The author''s other publications include ''The Last Circus''.