New Releases by Margaret Mahy

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

New edition of a classic tale from one of the 20th century''s bestselling children''s authors.

A hilarious rhyming romp from Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar. With a poetic text, a fun and funny story, and bright artwork, this is a perfect read aloud for story time.

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

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.

A beautifully illustrated paperback edition of Margaret Mahy''s classic verse Follow the chaotic antics of the dashing dog and his family in a mad, dizzy and joyful walk along the beach. Margaret Mahy''s beloved children''s story has been beautifully reillustrated by the talented Donovan Bixley who also illustrated the Wheels on the Bus, the Looky Book, Old MacDonald''s Farm and many more.

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. Sam has an ordinary life - but his mother used to be a pirate! One day at breakfast, they decide to go to sea and an amazing adventure begins. A brand new Early Reader edition of this hilarious story.

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.

Sammy''s mother tells him to forget about adventures and get cleaned up for his grandmother''s visit, but the new bathtub Sammy''s father brought home seems determined to have an adventure of its own.

In these two stories the protagonists have mischievous fun with a former pirate and a band of robbers.

Illustrations and rhyming text introduce a dancing, juggling, bouncing man who appears once every five hundred years.

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.

A legend is born. Heriot has always known that he was different with his terrifying dreams and psychic powers. Ripped from his family farm, he is forced to serve as the King''s magician in the capital city of Diamond. Isolated and lonely, his only friends are the ''mad prince'' Dysart and Cayley, a mysterious wild city child. But their friendship is about to be tested to the limit when chilling violence and ambition threatens to crush Diamond and its King. Heriot''s psychic abilities hide a deeper power that has the strength to bring Diamond''s enemies to their knees. But will he be able to control this power without becoming a monster himself? ''Margaret Mahy is outstanding in the richness of her ideas and in her great story-telling ability. She has a fresh and vivid imagination, which speaks directly to the imagination of the child and an ability to use language to increase the force of her imagery to great effect.'' Twentieth Century Children''s Writers ''The queen of children''s fiction...her plots are complex, her language is both rich and precise.'' Independent on Sunday ''A prolific and versatile writer.'' The Times ''Few writers can match Mahy in her ability to exploit the exuberant possibilities of the playfulness of words.'' Irish Times ''Mahy displays a deep understanding of the emotions and conflicts of growing up.'' Independent on Sunday ''Sympathetic, unsentimental, effortlessly funny.'' Jan Mark, TES

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.

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.

What happens to a girl who has dangerous dreams? What if the land itself punishes those who would harm it? This is a supernatural eco-thriller for young teenagers, by internationally acclaimed New Zealand author Margaret Mahy, about a girl caught up in a fight over a beautiful wild island, where different values, commercial interests and versions of the past collide.

An international collection of ghost stories and spooky tales by such authors as Susan Cooper, Roberto Piumini, and Bjarne Reuter.

Roland is intrigued that his classmate, the mysterious Jess, is studying alchemy. When a sinister magician from Roland''s past gets involved in the mystery surrounding Jess, Roland realizes he is trapped in a dangerous web of magic, power, and greed.

Leveled reader that supports comprehensive literacy instruction and actively engages students in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. (Single Book)

During his first twenty-four hours after finishing high school, seventeen-year-old Ellis unexpectedly becomes part of an inner-city world far different from his comfortable life, which helps deal with his best friend''s recent suicide.

Seventeen-year-old Ellis has just graduated from prep school. In the next 24 hours, he will find an old friend, shave his head, get a tattoo, and help rescue a kidnapped baby.

"When Sophie Sapwood discovers a whalebone pendant hidden in a chest of drawers, the ghost of Captain Cathcardo awakens from an ancient sleep, trapped in the frozen wastes on his ship, The Riddle. His cries for help travel through the stratosphere to three different pairs of ears - Sophie''s famous explorer father Bonniface Sapwood, renowned naturalist Corona Wottley and oily villain Rancid Swarthy. All three parties immediately organise trips to the Antarctic"--Back cover.

The goats bleat. The pigs squeal. Join the bun fight going on all over the top of the hill.

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