New Releases by Hilary McKay

Relates what becomes of Ermengarde and the other girls left behind at Miss Minchin''s School after Sara Crewe leaves to live with her guardian, the Indian gentleman.

"Tom and Ellie (and Whiskers the cat) have to go and live with Aunt Tab. That''s bad. Everything in her house is sticky with treacle. That''s worse (and really yucky). Then they find out she''s a witch. Will Tom and Ellie come to a sticky end? "--Back cover. Suggested level: primary.

Queens have two birthdays, one on the day they were born and one on the day it would have been most convenient for them to have been born on. It is the convenient one that counts. This Queen is not a happy little Queen. It''s her unofficial birthday and no one had brought her a present. Not the Prime Minister, not the Treasurer, and not even her lazy Ladies-in-Waiting. All she wants is one small, one very cheap, present. Just because it has four legs and a tail and isn''t very easy to wrap up. Shouldn''t put anyone off...

In the palace a most secret and important meeting is in progress. The Queen does not know about it - indeed, so she does not suspect a thing as it is being held after her bedtime (which is very late indeed). But where can they find a suitable Prince? Will he be practically perfect ...''

The children are saved from the dreaded School Holiday Club in the nick of time!They owe their escape to the elderly Miss Kents who live in the basement of Paradise House. The Miss Kents have agreed to look after them. How can the children thank their rescuers enough? They hatch a plan that they think will appeal to old ladies. But things don''t go quite as planned. Will the surprise be spoilt?

Being snowed in at school is bad enough, but being stuck with the horrible dinner ladies who cook up the most revolting food is a catastrophe! Can Bagdemagus, the magical school cat, help Class 4b escape?

It was Christmas time when the Bear arrived. He was not invited; he just appeared. Nobody needed him. Nobody wanted him. The Bear was dropped in a skip where he remained until a brave little girl and a cheery seagull helped him to get a life. Little did he know that his new home would be a place filled with rubbish mountains, bulldozers, blue rabbits and mad horses!

Although she is afraid, Sophie is determined to confront the dragon that she thinks she hears downstairs at night.

Young Saffron, known as Saffy, discovers that she is adopted. So she sets out in search of all she remembers from her youth--a stone angel in a garden in Italy.

Beetle has been planning to climb the big tree for as long as he can remember. But now it''s on the other side of the fence-and suddenly it''s someone else''s tree. That posh kid on the other side of the fence is not going to get to the top of the big tree first...

Sent by their vacationing parents to visit Mad Aunt Mabel, Perry and Ant have an adventure, while their younger siblings Sun Dance and Beany stay at home making burglar traps and searching for a magic sword.

Just where did Beetle get his hamster from? He''s always been desperate for one, and now it''s his to play with - but what did he have to do to get it? No one must ever find out

At preschool Bella learns all about Christmas -- that Santa Claus will come in his sleigh pulled over the snow by his reindeer. And he will bring a huge brown sack full of presents. Bella tells her beloved cat, Black Jack, about it when she gets home. But when Santa actually comes to her preschool, Bella is bitterly disappointed. He doesn''t seem to be the real thing at all -- no sleigh, no snow, no reindeer, and, worst of all, no present for Black Jack in his huge brown sack. Was that Christmas? Bella sobs to her mother on the way home from the school party.So Bella''s family has to show her all the things that still have to be done before it is really Christmas, like baking mince pies, buying presents for her mother and father, icing the cake, and getting the Christmas tree.This is a delightful story for small children about all the wonderful things that make Christmas so special, told and illustrated by an award-winning author-and-artist team.

Join Danny, Nathan and Anna, the children of Paradise house, in another mischievous adventure.

Snowtop is Simon''s favorite bear in the world, so he is frantic when he disappears and replaced by a strange bear. How Simon is magically reunited with Snowtop, with the help of the strange bear, makes for a funny and delightful story. Full color.

Prequel to The Amber Cat.

The four Conroy sisters'' efforts to raise money in order to sponsor a ten-year-old boy in Africa get them into one difficult situation after another.