AustLit

"Our hearts connect with our pets no matter where they are, on this Earth or somewhere beyond... A valuable story for anyone who treasures the companionship of a family pet and the path of grieving and healing"

'Joan Derrick's spiritual story celebrates the love, warmth, and joy that animals give us in this life and beyond. Explaining the connection that we too will return home to Spirit someday. Whilst Laila Savolainen's emotive and uplifting illustrations, warm and gentle in colour and mood, suit the simple message perfectly. Josie's Heaven Awaits tells the story of five-year-old Riley and his grandmother, after finding Josie the elderly dog had died in her sleep. Grandmother and Riley visit the dog in her Spirit Home, which some people call Heaven. It shows a beautiful happy place where Josie's joy is obvious as she plays with angels and is surrounded by all the friends she has known. Heaven truly is a wonderful place.' (Publication summary)

'Joshua is waiting for his mum to collect him from school as lessons are finished for the day.

'He finds himself in a stranger danger situation as he impulsively runs onto the footpath waving goodbye to his friend who is leaving for home with his mum. Before he can regain the safety of the schoolyard, he is stopped by a policeman who informs Joshua his mum is in hospital, having had an accident. Being very concerned about his mum, he is about to leave with the policeman. Instantly his spirit guide Tav is between him and the policeman, shielding him - visible only to Joshua. Tav makes him aware this is not normal behavior for a policeman; reminding him of the school rules about not leaving the school grounds without his parent; urging him to run to the safety of the schoolyard; asking him to note what the policeman was doing.

'Joshua gets a very big fright and runs to his teacher who alerts the School Principal. Checking with the Police Department confirms that his mum has not had an accident. The police officer states, "No policeman had been sent to the school." With Tav's help, Joshua is able to give the policeman a description of the man and the vehicle he is driving.

'Joshua's mum and teacher realise the difficulty young children would have in knowing who to trust from looking at appearances; especially of people they are taught to trust. They realise there is a need to teach the children how to look at a person's behavior; to teach them what is normal behaviour for all people, including police officers and others whom they normally trust.

'After the incident is over Tav appears again to Joshua, telling him how to recognise his intuition and to listen to his body language - both are early warning signs of danger.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'After a busy birthday, Willard Waylon Wolfram and Widget go wandering through the realms of Who, What and Where. Even though many games were played at Willard's party and Willard was tired, his mind was racing as it always did. But it was his turn to hide and Widget's turn to seek. They decided to have one more game before sleep. Although Willard is the birthday boy, the little lizard gets caught in the excitement and rushes off to hide, and Widget being a chameleon is exceptionally good at hiding.
Willard will need help finding him in the wacky worlds they run through. Will you help him?'  (Publication summary)

'Giorgie's Christmas Dinner is a sensitive approach to nature's way. In the second of the series, author Joan Derrick introduces us to Giorgie's guide, Astara, and her intuitive voice, which shows us how everything in nature gives a gift of itself to another.
'What is unique about Joan's book is that she brings simple wisdom to the understanding that everything is connected. By encouraging young people to tap into the energy and gifts around us, Joan empowers children to clearly see the web that holds us together, and that everything has its place and purpose. Giorgie's Christmas Dinner represents the next generation of children's books and is a special gift to parents, whose busy lives, hopes and aspirations for their children make Joan's offering an essential tool.' (Publication summary)

'Panic turned to terror at the sudden onrush of two sets of feet. A rough hand clamped over her mouth to silence her.” Piano bar pianist, Christine Mears, becomes involved in a murder investigation when she meets Detective Ben Somers. She unwittingly becomes the main target of an unscrupulous gang of drug dealers. To them she is worth two million dollars and the gang goes to extreme lengths to snatch Christine to use as ransom.' (Publication summary)

'Lyla the long foot potoroo has settled in with her new family of Gilbert's potoroos at Two Peoples Bay in Western Australia. The Twins, Harry and Morry, go on an adventure with Lyla in one of her magic bubbles. They meet Fooey the Water Buffalo with unexpected results.' (Publication summary)

'Old bloodlines are awakening and their only hope to defeat the amassing shadows is two young rivals.Can you escape the secrets within your blood?

'Even with her soul’s companion and protector, the wolf Ardour is not enough to stop Ellawyn fleeing from the curse that threatens to consume her and that has torn the life from her best friend Daemon. Ardour is not what he seems and watches in anguish as terror turns to anger and drives his spirited and creative Ellawyn further from him and herself.

'While Faeren, a witch who fears nothing but ignorance and bad taste in fashion, silently vows vengeance upon Ellawyn and the Beast that stole Daemon from her. Flinching involuntarily to avoid his blood, as she was taught, Faeren refuses to accept his death. This should not have happened, he should not have died, her visions could not be wrong. After all on her sixteenth birthday, in two weeks Faeren would be the most powerful witch her family had seen in centuries and Daemon was to be her escort.

'Faeren delves in magic that had been hidden from her as she prepares to move to their ancestral estate to study openly with her Grandfather and Aunt. While Ellawyn dreams herself into a realm that she had believed only existed in faerie-tales.

Darkness and despair in the form of nightmares has descended upon the land once again while the Ageless ones argue over the two that would be their saviors, while the pair are unprepared and unaware of their destinies. The inhabitants of the In-between are forbidden to interfere or assist the Corporeal girls. Even the dead whisper of the coming war of darkness and the Chosen One, although they would do anything to prevent any useful information to pass to the living.

'EVERTWEEN is aimed at the older readers of YA, however there is a dynamic twelve-year-old, Aarina who is accepted as a peer by the others and is an unassuming heroine throughout the story. I believe she will appeal to the stronger younger readers, looking for a tale that takes them from being ‘forever-in-between’ child and teen.

'Ellawyn and Faeren must journey through the Shadows to find what was lost…the secrets hidden within their blood.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Squecco always thought he was quite normal, just like everyone else in his life until the fateful day when eating his favourite food became dangerous....

'Who would have thought that eating blackberries, bracken and grass could be lethal?

But they were...

'All the animals as far as Squecco could see, which was pretty far as he had rather large eyes, got sick. Even his favourite frog.

'So Squecco bravely embarks on a journey to find a new home. Along the way he discovers he's a sensitive, shy and much to his surprise an apparently mythical creature. Join him as he meets

'Rabbit, Tippy, Matilda Magpie, the magical Mr. Corker and many others.

'This is a delightful story to show children the dangers of chemicals and toxins being used in our environment today. It also teaches them not to judge others by their looks but rather by their hearts. With delightful illustrations by Laila Savolainen, children will be encouraged to care about our planet and the inhabitants that share it. ' (Publisher's blurb)