Best Selling Books by Margaret Mahy

Strange and exciting things are in store when Tom and his mum move to Prodigy Street one ordinary Thursday. There''s a man with a magical name, a friendly dog with a powerful, waggy tail, and some remarkable surprises when anyone makes a wish. Includes more than 50 hilarious black and white illustrations by Tony Ross, who also illustrates Francesca Simon''s Horrid Henry books and David Walliams'' children''s books, as well as his own picture books.

Seventeen-year-old Ellis finds himself in a series of increasingly bizarre situations in the twenty-four hours following a chance meeting with a childhood acqaintance and three mysterious sisters.

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.

Tessa Fortune and her cousins want to raise one hundred dollars for the New Zealand National Telethon.

After living like a gypsy in Australia all of his life, Pete tries to adjust to living in a permanent place -- his father''s New Zealand hometown where Pete must pass a test to belong to his cousins'' exclusive gang.

The seven brothers are precursors to the modern comic book super heroes that are so popular. Each has an unusual skill. The first has remarkable hearing. The second can see over vast distances. The third has unusual strength. The fourth has bones of iron. The fifth has legs that can grow as long and thick as tree trunks. The sixth brother can never be too hot. The seventh brother can cry such large tears that they can drown an entire village. Much effort goes into keeping him happy. The key to the story is that they look alike. The Seven Chinese Brothers is for children who are past the time when they are easily frightened because they take everything very literally (because the brothers face death at the hands of the Chinese emperor in this story). Through great imagination in employing their remarkable talents, teamwork, and an indomitable spirit, the brothers survive the wrath of the emperor. This is the hero story of look-alike brothers who each possess a special physical ability. This rendition has a full-bodied elegance. Cada uno de estos siete hermanos tiene una habilidad especial. El primero tiene un excelente oido. El segundo puede ver sin importar la distancia. El tercero posee una fuerza inusual. El cuarto tiene huesos de hierro. El quinto tiene piernas que pueden crecer tan largas y fuertes como el tronco de un arbol. El sexto hermano no es sensible al calor. El septimo hermano puede llorar lagrimas tan grandes que pueden inundar pueblos enteros. Con una gran imaginacion, sus increibles talentos, su fraternalidad y su espiritu indomable, los hermanos tienen que enfrentarse a la colera del emperador.

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.

Formby Mackinaw is asked to write a book for school. He plans to tell how the villainous Squidgy Moot steals a computer game from Professor Mockery. However, the story is invaded by a collection of little sisters and, as his heroes and villains spill into the real world, he is confronted by chaos.

The three Harriman children anticipate a happy summer camping out in the cabin that was their father''s favorite boyhood retreat, especially when they find themselves involved in a mysterious adventure.

David and his mother outsmart the witch that comes to sample their freshly baked cakes.

The relationship between Tracey Fortune and her brother Jackson is temporarily strained by Tracey''s desire to be a bridesmaid in her cousin''s wedding and by the mysterious messages that Jackson begins to receive.

When the wicked Miss Taffetanotorious cheater and blackmailer, and former trapeze artist and human cannonballopens a selective school for rich young ladies, everything seems perfectly normal. But as strange occurrences at the school begin to make the students suspicious, Headmistress Taffeta''s true identity comes into question.

Book Band: Grey - Ideal for ages 8+ A magical collection of short stories from double Carnegie Medal winner Margaret Mahy. A wizard''s house with coloured windows that look into worlds of treetops and deserts, cloud-castles and diamonds. Two riddles that, once solved, will stop Shock Forest from burning. A flute-playing bear and a boy who just wants to spread his wings and fly... These fantastical short stories will take readers on a journey; sometimes haunting, sometimes surreal but always enchanting. This collection of brilliant stories from double Carnegie Medal winner Margaret Mahy has wonderful illustrations by Laura Borio and is perfect for children who are developing as readers. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with book-banded stories to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2 by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence. With engaging illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for home and school. For more information visit www.bloomsburyreaders.com. ''Any list that brings together such a quality line up of authors is going to be welcomed ... Bloomsbury Readers are aimed squarely at children in Key Stage 2 and designed to support them as they start reading independently and while they continue to gain confidence and understanding.'' Books for Keeps

Designed to introduce children to a wide range of social activities and relationships as well as general life skills.

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

The lives of Jack and Naomi Hamilton, their five children, their guest, and friends are disturbed by the arrival of three mysterious and sinister young men at Carnival''s Hide, the Hamilton''s seaside home in New Zealand, and by bizarre supernatural events.

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.