Books For Children

Shadowlands: The Spirit of Willow Creek
From the award-winning Spinouts series. A mural with a ghostly secret is quietly fading in the dirty, littered, dust bowl that Willow Creek Park has become. Quietly, that is, until one night the entire town of Willow Creek is shaken by terrible howling, like that of a trapped and suffering creature. The kids of Willow Creek are scared, but none more so than Ben, who finds himself trapped inside the mural with the howler — a very upset Spirit of Willow Creek. Will Ben learn the cause of the Spirit’s upset and save himself and the town or is he destined to live forever in the cold, fading mural?

Illustrated by Marc McBride and Penny Azar
A ghost story for ages 10 to 13
Other stories in Shadowlands: The Scent of Violets by Elizabeth Hutchins;
Restless by Bill Condon
Longman
www.longman.com.au

Worms!
Something squirmy is going on in the greenhouse on Robinson Road. And it has nothing to do with the spaghetti Jason is having for dinner. There’s something very odd about the new neighbours . . . and what’s that strange radio signal? When Jason hears weird noises coming from his greenhouse one night he goes to investigate, but it’s what he finds out next that has him wriggling all over. Will his father and older brother finally start listening to him? Or is it already too late?

Illustrated by Tom Kurema
A science fiction story for ages 10 to 13
Contains an alien language based on a simple code so readers can translate the alien speech
Macmillan Education Australia
www.macmillan.com.au/primary

The Bravest Knight
Bren wants to be a Knight more than anything else in the world. But to do so, he must first face his greatest fear and retrieve Princess Kara’s stolen necklace from a dragon’s leg. Will he succeed and become a Knight? Or will his fears get the better of him?

Witch Upon A Star
Winkle, Worker of Magic, has lost her ability to cast spells. No matter how she mixes and stirs or how her cat prances and purrs, nothing at all magical happens. Nobody needs a witch who can’t work magic and people stop going to see her. Even her cat leaves home. Poor Winkle. Will she live a life of loneliness? Or will she find a way to rediscover the magic inside her?

Illustrated by Annie White
A fantasy story for ages 7 to 9
Ziptales Fantasy Forest
www.ziptales.com

Athletics
What is all the running, jumping, walking and throwing of athletics about? And how do professional athletes train for their events – some of which last no longer than ten seconds? An overall view of athletics for young readers.

A non fiction book for ages 7 to 9
MacMillan Education Australia
www.macmillan.com.au/primary

Jump, Trundle, Climb, Slither, Flap, Snap!
Australia has many animals not found anywhere else on Earth. And they move in fantastic ways! They jump, trundle, climb, slither, flap and  . . .  watch out for the ones that snap! 

A non fiction book for ages 6 to 8
MacMillan Education Australia
www.macmillan.com.au/primary

Chocolate . . . Yum!
Chocolate cake, chocolate milk, chocolate bars and chocolate fudge. Yum! Creamy, sweet chocolate. Most people like it. But did you know that chocolate comes from a tree?

A non-fiction book for ages 6 to 8
MacMillan Education Australia
www.macmillan.com.au/primary