AustLit

'Sometimes the simplest spells are the most powerful.

'Sibyl is the apprentice hotel witch at the splendid Grand Mirror Hotel.

'She is busy each day drawing useful spell patterns to keep the hotel guests happy: spells to shine shoes, spells to remove dust and spells to return lost belongings like hats and gloves to their owners.

'But Sibyl dreams of other possibilities – wonderful possibilities like her mother returning from the Black Mountains, and like Grandma letting her draw spell patterns from the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic.

'When Grandma gets stuck in last Tuesday, somewhere on the hotel’s thirteenth floor, Sibyl is left to take charge of all the hotel magic – and to solve a mysterious and perplexing problem.

'Can she find a way to open the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic?

'And will it contain the spell she needs?

'The Hotel Witch is a magical tale of courage, love and the power of imagining possibilities.' (Publication summary)

'OLGA loves the stories of the old cartographers and pores over their ancient books and maps, trying to unlock their secrets. Sometimes, she can even feel through the maps—almost see into them—as if by magic.

'But magic is banned in Tsaretsvo, ever since the war with the birds. Now, any girl who shows signs of being magical is whisked away to Bleak Steppe—to a life, so the story goes, of unspeakable horror.

'When the bird army kidnaps Olga’s sister, Mira, Olga knows that only she can venture into the Republic of Birds to rescue her. But first, she must unlock her magical ability.

'As her journey takes her into the hidden world of the Iagas and the wilds of the Unmappable Blank, Olga discovers the truth about the war with the birds— and learns just how much is at stake in her quest to save her sister.

'Inspired by Russian folklore, The Republic of Birds is a rich and spellbinding middle-grade fantasy adventure.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Timid Elizabeth and her unusual and fearless friend Zenobia arrive at Witheringe House, the old manor where Elizabeth's father and his beloved sister Tourmaline lived as children. Zenobia loves it – she's convinced it's haunted and is eager to make contact with a spirit presence. Elizabeth is relieved when her efforts seem to come to nothing.

'But strange things begin to happen at Witheringe House, especially in the East Wing, where Elizabeth and Zenobia have been forbidden to explore.

'Why do the flowers and vines on the wallpaper in the nursery seem to be alive? Could it have something to do with the strange book that tells a different story after midnight? And what really happened to Tourmaline all those years ago?

'Elizabeth and Zenobia is a wonderfully mysterious middle-grade adventure story about friendship and courage and the power of imagination.' (Publication summary)