New Releases by Valerie Thomas

Winnie loves diving beneath the ocean waves . . . Wilbur isn''t so sure. So Winnie changes herself and her big black cat into creatures of the deep. But when her magic wand sinks out of sight, how will Winnie rescue it and find a way to see the wonders of the sea in safety?

Winnie is looking for adventure so she decides to go into space! She magics a rocket and Abracadabra, she blasts into orbit! It''s quite tricky dealing with all the controls in a rocket but it''s even trickier knowing what to do with hungry extra-terrestrial rabbits . . . will Winnie have enough magic up her sleeve to save the day?

Winnie is looking for adventure so she decides to go into space! She magics a rocket and Abracadabra, she blasts into orbit! It''s quite tricky dealing with all the controls in a rocket but it''s even trickier knowing what to do with hungry extra-terrestrial rabbits . . . will Winnie have enough magic up her sleeve to save the day?

"Lord have mercy, Have mercy on me" relates to a compilation of encouraging prayer for the entire family and hopeful self expressive poetry.

Life seems to have it in for Franny Flanders. Her best friends aren’t speaking, her parents just divorced, and her hippie grandmother has moved in. The only karma Franny’s got is bad karma. Then Franny gets her hands on a box of magic recipes that could fix all of her problems. It could even change the world! Finally, life is looking up. But Franny is about to learn that magic and karma aren’t to be played with. When you mess with the universe, it can bite back in unexpected ways. Ouch!

When Winnie decides to grow vegetables in her garden, she gets more than she bargained for - giant beanstalks, colossal cabbages, and an enormous pumpkin perched on her roof! But what can Winnie do with her huge pumpkin when only the shell is left? Prepare to be amazed!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Winnie the Witch! Join Winnie and Wilbur on the day her wand stops working, on the day her computer mouse causes mischief, and on the day they decide to go to the beach . . . Here, in one book, are three of Winnie and Wilbur''s craziest capers: Winnie''s Magic Wand, Winnie''s New Computer, and Winnie at the Seaside.

Winnie the Witch lives in a black house. She has black chairs and black stairs, black floors and black doors. The trouble is that Winnie''s cat, Wilbur, is also black. After sitting on him and tripping over him, Winnie decides to turn Wilbur into a green cat. But then he goes out into the long grass! Winnie is going to need a little magic to make sure she can always see Wilbur... A beautifully crafted story with a colourful final twist, this big book is ideal for sharing with a group. ''Both illustrations and story are truly memorable'' Books for Keeps Dedicated website at www.winnie-the-witch.com

Winnie''s sisters have given her a flying carpet but Winnie is struggling to find something nice to say about it in her thank-you letter as the carpet has been more than a little wayward. Winnie decides to give the carpet one last chance but then disaster strikes. The carpet swoops off with poor Wilbur as its unwilling passenger. Winnie tries to catch it but the carpet is too fast for her and it heads straight for a funfair where it subjects Wilbur to a string of crazy rides. Winnie has to resort to magic to stop the carpet in its tracks and rescue her beloved moggy. Then she takes Wilbur home and, ever the resourceful witch, she has an idea for a wonderful way to enjoy the carpet in the safety of her own garden. This story is full of noisy antics: a collision with a rubbish truck, a splash-down into a pond, and a sequence of exciting rides at the funfair are just some of the wonderful sound-effect additions to the narration of Winnie''s Flying Carpet on the accompanying audio CD.

An incredible boxed set containing six Winnie the Witch picture books and two CDs with narrated versions of the stories with imaginative sound and music effects.

There was something on the doormat. Something with big green eyes . . . Winnie and her black cat, Wilbur, are all tucked into bed when, suddenly, Wilbur is woken up by a strange noise. There''s a baby dragon at the door! Soon Winnie finds her house filled with breaking bowls, armor clattering down the stairs, puffs of smoke . . . and even clouds of butterflies. What''s a witch to do?

It''s Winnie''s birthday and she''s celebrating in style with a garden party. She uses all sorts of magic to invite the guests and transform her garden into the perfect party venue. There are presents to unwrap and games to play but then things start to go wrong when Winnie toots on the magic trumpet that cousin Cuthbert has given her. All her guests disappear! Winnie''s party is suddenly in danger of being a rather bothersome occasion but, true to form, Winnie soon has everything back under control and she ends the party with a stunning edible surprise for all her guests to enjoy.

Winnie lived in her black house with her cat, Wilbur. He was black too. And that is how the trouble began. Everything in Winnies house is black—the carpet, the chairs, the bed and the sheets, the pictures on the walls, and even the bathtub! And of course her cat, Wilbur, is black too—all except for his bright-green eyes. Whenever poor Wilbur closes his eyes and tries to take a catnap, Winnie stumbles right over him. Or accidentally sits on top of him. Until one day, when Winnie gets a brilliant idea. What if Wilbur were a different color?

It''s just after midnight. Winnie has gone to bed and is snoring peacefully when Wilbur is woken by a strange noise. He goes downstairs to investigate and, to his horror, discovers a baby dragon squeezing through his cat-flap! Wilbur is not impressed by the scaly visitor, especially when it starts chasing him around Winnie''s house. But the baby dragon just wants to play and, in his exuberance, manages to topple a grandfather clock and knock over a suit of armour. All the clattering wakes Winnie and she''s not happy about a baby dragon in her house, either. After all, there are puffs of smoke coming out of his nose and he might start a fire. So Winnie uses a little magic to turn the smoke into . . . a cloud of butterflies. This makes Wilbur feel better, he loves chasing butterflies! So now Winnie has a baby dragon and a cat who just want to play whereas she just wants to sleep! Winnie decides she''s had enough of babysitting a dragon and goes onto the roof to look for his mother. But how will she catch the attention of a mother dragon flying past? By magicking a full moon over her house! So with mother and baby dragon reunited, Winnie and Wilbur can finally settle down for an overdue good night''s sleep. This story is full of noisy antics: clanging clocks, clattering armour, crashing crockery and the sound of dragon wings beating are just some of the wonderful additions to the narration of Winnie''s Midnight Dragon on the accompanying audio CD.

Winnie the Witch is getting ready for the Witches'' Magic Show. She can''t wait to show off her favourite spells with her magic wand. But when Winnie inadvertently puts her wand in the washing machine with her party dress it comes out crumpled, soggy, and certainly not in working order! How is Winnie going to wow her friends at the show? Wilbur dashes into town and buys a new wand for Winnie. She''s delighted and rushes with Wilbur to the show. The problem is her wand is only a trick wand and so when all eyes are on Winnie nothing happens as she tries to turn Wilbur into a green cat. In desperation, she waves her wand over and over and suddenly . . . a bunch of flowers bursts from the tip. The audience just loves Winnie and Wilbur''s hilarious routine and a disaster turns into a triumph! This is a magical story and the sounds of a clanking, fizzing washing machine, Wilbur racing against the clock, the hush of an expectant audience and roars of delighted laughter are just some of the wonderful additions to the narration of Winnie''s Magic Wand on the accompanying audio CD.

Winnie the Witch lives in a black house with her black cat, Wilbur. A beautifully-crafted story with a colourful final twist. This is the original Winnie the Witch story and the sounds of creaking doors and floorboards, comedy tumbles, squeaky bed-springs and squawking birds are just some of the wonderful additions to the narration on the audio CD.

Winnie the Witch is tired of winter. She''s tired of shivering in the cold and looking out at her garden covered in snow. And Wilbur is tired of frozen fur and whiskers. So Winnie uses a little magic to bring summer and sunshine to her house. But just as she settles down in her deckchair . . . hordes of people arrive. They are fed up with winter, too. But with the unruly crowd comes noise, and mess, and chaos! Winnie grows increasingly indignant. Why should all these people spoil her summer? Winter may be cold, but at least it''s peaceful. So Winnie summons back the snow to make her unwelcome visitors disappear. This is a great story that really conjures the contrast of frozen winter and scorching summer and the sounds of crunching through snow, Christmassy themes, summery birdsong and sun-seeking revellers are just some of the wonderful additions to the narration of Winnie in Winter on the accompanying audio CD.

La bruja Winnie vivía en una casa negra. Tenía el piso negro, las butacas negras, una cama negra con sábanas negras y cuadros negros colgados en las paredes. Hasta el cuarto de baño era negro. Por supuesto, su gato Wilbur también era negro. El único problema era que Winnie no podía verlo. Hasta que un día, la brujita decidió hacer un poco de magia. "[.] repleto de detalles divertidos, deleitará a muchísimos niños." Junior Bookshelf. "Profusión de detalles deliciosos y bromas visuales." British Book News. "Sus hilarantes travesuras ofrecen una placentera lectura." Oxford Times. The witch Winnie lived in a black house. It had a black floor, black chairs, a black bed with black sheets, and black paintings hanging on the walls. Even the bathroom was black. Of course, her cat Wilbur was also black. The only problem was that Winnie couldn''t see him. Until one day, when the witch decided to do a little magic.

Bella Bloksberg er en heks som bor i et svart hus i skogen. Hun har en svart katt som heter Bottolf som følger henne over alt. Alt hos Bella er svart, stolen er svart, gulvteppet er svart, senga er svart, men når Bottolf lukker øynene ser ikke Bella katten og snubler i han. Da tryller Bella forskjellige farger på Bottolf slik at hun skal se ham, men Bottolf vil ikke være en katt som enten er grønn eller flerfarget. Fornærmet rømmer han opp i et tre. Først når Bella farger han svart igjen og huset gult kommer han ned igjen. Har detaljrike fargeillustrasjoner. Nynorsk tekst. Billedbok for førskolebarn/småskoletrinnet.

We''ve come up with a magic formula: a Winnie the Witch sticker book, a Winnie doll, and some fun activity sheets - all zipped up in a clear plastic wallet. The fabulous sticker book includes many scenes of Winnie and Wilbur at home, or on their travels. But in every picture certain objects oranimals have mysteriously faded away. By selecting from over fifty re-usable stickers - ABRACADABRA! - children can complete each colourful scene, over and over again. The stickers can also be used to add a touch of magic to notebooks, drawings and pencil tins. And with a smiling Winnie doll, and aselection of activity sheets, too, this is a pack that will keep children entertained for hours.

Poems by members of This So Called Life, a writing workshop. Contributing Editors: C. E. Laine and Kathy Kubik, with poetry by Sherry Deanne Adams, Andrew Analore, Aaron Brauer, Pris Campbell, Corvin, David Curtis, David Durham, Deidre Elizabeth, Jason Fraley, Fulicasenia, Todd Heldt, Robert Kidd, Donna Hill, Poppy Hullings, Lisa Michelle Maloney, McGrittle, Dorothy Doyle Mienko, Mothdust, Nathan Novikoff, Nyktipolos, Rae Pater, Kari Rabarison, Redkat, J. Reed-Meeks, Heidi L. Nordberg, Sirrus Poe, Christopher R. Robbins, Don Schaeffer, D. K. Sterling, Melanie M. Stevenson, B. A. Stites, The Lost Lost Boy, Valerie Thomas, Paul Trombley, and Wintersong.

Texts include humour, consequences, helpfulness, imagination & fantasy. Settings include home, school, zoo, outer space, garbage hill and a magician''s bedrom. Situations involve grandad in a gorilla suit, a cranky pencil that can spell, three fat hedgehogs, a one-eyed alien and a queen with a toothache.

This popular story by Valerias Thomas, illustrated by Korky Paul is now available as a Big Book to help in the teaching of reading. This book has a simple text, bold pictures, and a good sense of humour. There will be a big demand for Big Books in the UK in this National Year of Literacy.