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I'm Serious
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for Children.
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Introducing:
MID
GRADES WITH AN "Aussie" THEME
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Midgrades
Receiving a Final Tweak and Polish:
(Books with an Aussie theme)
*Taconi
and Claude - Double Trouble (boy's adventure)
Set
in the mid nineteen hundreds, Taconi is the only young aboriginal
boy living on Coorparoo Cattle station in the Queensland
outback. He is nervous about his upcoming man ceremony,
and worried about his dad losing the job of Station Cookie.
His only friend is Claude, a sulfur crested cockatoo. Claude
often spouts an outrageous list of one-liners. Dreamtime
Spirits, a magic kingfisher feather and keeping one foot
in two cultures, has Taconi battling doubts. He and Claude
manage to save the Boss's big party day, and Dreamtime Spirits
have the last say after a wild tribal gathering.
*Survival
by Walkabout (boy's adventure)
Set
on Coorparoo Station in the present day, the characters are
the grandchildren of those in the Taconi and Claude book.
After a nasty fight with his brother, Josh runs away on walkabout
with his old playmate, Bindi. Lies are told that will come
back to bite both boys. Josh realizes his life depends on
Bindi's knowledge of the outback, but snake, witchetty grubs
and ostrich eggs are not what Josh considers food - let alone
prickly pear juice! Anger and guilt war within Josh about
the fight with his brother, and he wonders if he will ever
taste his mum's meat pies again. Several near death experiences
force the boys to settle their differences. The Medicine Man
has nasty plans for Josh, but the Headman steps in to save
him. Back home again, Josh confronts his brother. He suggests
that they sort out the conflict festering between them.
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A
Midgrade Ready to GO:
*Down
Under Calling -
Grandma
Rose is not Andy's idea of a pen-pal - no WAY! Snippy and
rude at first, Andy is finally caught up in Rose's web of
stories. How did she grow up without a TV, computer, DVDs,
washing machine or microwave? Grandma Rose's letters bring
him the Aussie animals that frequented her garden, and tales
of growing up in the mid nineteen hundreds. Rose's neat
suggestions help Andy find ways around his dad's stingy
attitude regarding money, and the fact they lost their home
when he was downsized. Rose is a sounding board for his
problems with the girl he kinda likes - a lot! He loses
his tongue when that girl just looks at him. Why is that?
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AUSSIE PICTURE BOOKS
Ready to GO:
*Kobi
Koala Borrows a Pouch -
A
know-it-all young koala tries to go it alone. He soon discovers
that the Aussie bush is a dangerous place for a kid without
his mom and a safe pouch.
*Oscar
- the Tasmanian Devil Who Needs a Friend
All
young Oscar wants is a few friends. But the bush critters
have reason to be scared of Tasmanian Devils. However, Oscar
is different. . . And he sets out to prove this.
*Dreamtime
Man - (for older kids - told in rhyme)
Long
ago, the Australian aboriginal tribes led an idyllic life.
Then came the white man. They brought guns. They brought herds
of sheep and cattle. Change came fast, and with it death and
isolation. The Dreamtime Spirits wept and knew not what to
do.
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OTHER
MIDGRADE BOOKS
Receiving a Final Tweak and Polish:
*Daisy
and the Bookworm - and the Oogledork too!
Procrastination
is Daisy's downfall!. However, Bartholomew Q Bookworm,
tartan scarf flying, has other ideas. To save her essay
from a likely "F," he morphs Daisy right inside
her dictionary. This wordy worm opens her eyes to the
delights of the talking Mother Noun Tree, a Raccoon that
wears glasses, and a rude Oogledork. Kidnapped, and the
terrors of Black Crow and his minions are upon her. All
this, before she finds a single noun, verb or adjective
for her essay.
Midgrade
Already With an Editor:
*The
Revenge of Thelma Hill -
A mother gone missing, a twin who is a pain in the you-know-where,
and a ghost that wants Frannie to help her find the man
who murdered her many years ago. Add a scary basement and
a monster arachnid named Adolpha. Enough to freak any almost
teen. Add that it's summer vacation, they've just moved
to Oregon, and friends are like, NOT!
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PICTURE
BOOKS
(Published
& Pending)
ALREADY
PUBLISHED
*Rattlesnake
Jam - in rhyme ( for
older kids)
Guardian
angel Publishing
This wild and quirky rhyme has crazy Gran and
Pa up to their false teeth in rattlers. Pa hunts'em, and Gran
makes 'em into jam. Gran swears her Rattler Jam cures everything
from hives to heartburn!
STOP
PRESS - Published in the first half of 2008 by Guardian
Angel Publishing. Illustrations by award winner
Kevin Scott Collier's are awesome!
TO
BE PUBLISHED IN 2009: (both in rhyme)
*
Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind
- illustrator K.C. Snider
A little girl gets "really"
bent outa shape when her parents move her far from friends
and familiar things. Ruthie is miserable, and she develops
moods that drive her parents crazy. But Ruthie finds her own
solution: a puppy to love. And hey presto, their sweet girl
is back!!
*
Horatio Humble Beats the big "D" -
illustrator Ellen Gurak
A boy who can't read like his friends,
dreads the thought of special classes, and being thought dumb.
Then . . . he discovers there is a reason he can't read simple
words. That's when Horation does battle with the big "D"
-
and WINS!!
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