Sil is a rising star among tuis - a brilliant singer and composer - and the annual music competitions are looming. But a sense of menace closes in as the outcast magpies plot to devastate the valley. A compelling story about a community of tuis and the scheming magpies who set out to destroy their way of life. Competition, collaboration and coming of age are themes in this fast-moving novel for ages 10 and over. “A very [x 4] satisfying read. It’s engrossing... a very, very New Zealand story.” — John ... read more

Ruth is in her first year at university when she comes across an obscure headline that acts as a catalyst for traumatic memories of her childhood. These memories drive her to seek answers to some questions that have troubled her for nearly a decade: past and present interleave powerfully in the compelling novel.As a ten-year-old, Ruth accidentally runs into her father who is carrying a large pot of hot water. She is horrifically scalded, and suffers third degree burns. She is rushed from their isolated farm-house to the city hospit... read more

Pete doesn't mean to start anything, but one small act of defiance is all it takes to get him entangled into a web of intrigue, involving a vengeful corporation, the internet and a stalker... b>Deep Fried is a fascinating mixture of intrigue, psychological thriller and rebel-of-the-moment youth culture. For ages 14 plus. Contains "colourful" language. A standout novel featuring the debut of Clare Knighton along with veteran writer for teens, Bernard Beckett.

ALISON’S a practical sort: down to earth, a keen cyclist and steady student, she thinks clearly under pressure. Until a guy she vaguely knows turns up in her back yard – looking for shelter. Despite her own suspicions that what she’s doing is wrong, s... read more

Winner of the New Zealand Post Book Awards, Junior Fiction Award 2005. AUNT EFFIE is restless. She and her 26 nieces and nephews are off again in the scow Margery Daw — on a treasure hunt across the pirate-infested waterways north of Auckland. However boat and crew become marvellously sidetracked: the scow is converted into a mobile village for cross-country travel; a hot-pool swim makes the little ones go bendy; the race between Banana Bob’s Model T Ford and ‘everybody’s uncle’ Chris’s St... read more

The Little Red Hen has been a popular children's book for years, but some of its readers now feel uneasy about its thrust, as the central character - Little Red Hen herself - poses as the only industrious member of her household. This book presents fresh evidence and throws new light on the whole affair.

A gypsy reads Hannah's palm and says she will come in to a lot of money. But beware. Money has unpredictable powers Fortune-telling, that's all just a bit of fun, isn't it? But then Hannah's family does win the lottery. Six million dollars. Did you hear that? Six Million Dollars!!!!!! Life is going to be great from now on. The Guest family can have anything they want. Gavin can buy a drumkit and eat pizzas every night. Billy can have enough jellybeans to fill his entire bedroom. And Hannah? Hannah could go to Australia with her bes... read more

Winner of the New Zealand Post Book Awards Young Adult category 2005. Winner of the Esther Glenn Medal in the LIANZA Children's Book Awards 2005 (Best children's book written and produced in New Zealand) Here is the novel equivalent to a modern TV sit-com. Providing moments of farce and slapstick it takes on quirky but relatively credible teenagers and puts them in extraordinary situations (Malcom decides to make a documentary on sex), and watches them behave strangely and hilariously.Malcolm and Juliet is different in tone and st... read more

The story revolves around Sharon, who lives with her mother, Kaz, and brother Zinny. Sharon's in trouble at school, hates her home life and blames the system for her failures. She is in a classic downward spiral and desperate to find a way out. Her escape route is through Justin, who is running a clever burglary scheme with his brother. She convinces Justin to let her in on the scam so she can make some fast money - believing that money will solve all her problems. Of course she is double-crossed by her burglary colleagues, and fin... read more

This is the true story of some of the exploits of former American marine Bill (Red Dog) Redding, set in the lawless Colombian bandit country of the 1950s. Red Dog has been hired to fly a perilous payroll delivery to a construction company building a dam. Most of the previous pilots have been killer or robbed but Red Dog manages to outwit the bandits, deliver over half of the money and finds himself rocketed to hero status. He takes on an explosves job with the company, whose motto seems to be "safety last". But Red Dog makes his m... read more

A dark shape hurtled out of the fog...The bird turned in a curving steep dive, aiming for Tama...The boy was being dragged beneath it, his feet barely brushing the tops of tussocks...Owl and Tama could hardly be more different. Owl has a lot to cope with. He's trying to get used to life without his Dad while helping his family run their struggling farm, All he wants is to escape by getting into archaeology and improve his climbing. And along comes Tama, a disgruntled city kid. Owl's family supposedly has to help him out. Tama won't... read more

Reading age 4-8 years. Building a tree hut changes Milly and Molly's friend Maxter for life. One of a series written to promote the acceptance of diversity and exercise. Illustrated by Cris Morrell.

Reading age 4-8 years. When Milly and Molly's friend Oink is taken by a bad stranger they never give up hope of seing him again. This Milly, Molly book has been written to promote the acceptance of diversity and stranger danger.

Reading age 4-8 years. This Milly, Molly book gas been written to promote the acceptance of diversity and responsibility. Illustrated by Cris Morrell.

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A Canoe in the Mist has been selected as the third title to be released in this series of modern New Zealand classics, after Tripswitch and The Blue Lawn. With a younger readership, of 9-12, this much-loved classic retells the traumatic events surrounding the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera, from the viewpoint of two young schoolgirls. Lillian lives with her widowed mother at Te Wairoa, the village which acts as a centre for tourists who flock to see the famous eighth wonder of the world - the pink and white terraces. When Mattie, a... read more

A powerful novel about relationships; the story of a strong physical attraction between two young men. It won the 1995 AIM Children's Book Senior Fiction award. The Blue Lawn is a powerful novel about relationships, the story of a strong physical attraction between two young men. David is fifteen and a talented small-town rugby player. He is the attractive, popular only son of loving parents. Theo is sixteen and an outsider. He is new to the town, the grandson of wealthy eccentric, Gretel Meyer. David must work out how to... read more

You are not without power,’ the voice tells them. But what power can Jocasta, Flora and Cilla find to free themselves from Aunt Lureene? Will their malevolent aunt succeed in her evil schemes? And what will the lives of her three orphaned nieces be like if she does succeed? What really killed the girls’ parents? What lies behind the magical power in Lureene’s hands? Are the twins, Cain and Abel, to be sacrificed by their own mother?. . . And who is the mystery man on the bicycle? Tripswitch is both dark and humoro... read more

When Tyler Matthews wins a national ecological competition for a place on the NATURE SOUTH Eco Tour, he has no idea of where it will lead him. After he travels to the bottom of New Zealand's South Island to join the tour, he meets the other two winners, Hine and the maddening Mandy - and soon finds himself caught in a maze of mystery and adventure. Someone is rustling cattle, and when Tyler finds the mummified remains of a Moa Hunter in a secret cave he also finds an ancient mystery. Who was the dead boy and how did he die - and wh... read more

Another children’s fantasy from successful author Linda McNabb, once more set in the same fantasy world as The Dragon’s Apprentice and The Puppetmaster. Nakita, the twelve-year-old Stonekeeper’s Daughter, lives in the enclosed village of Eagle Rock, on a remote plateau high in the mountains where there is little contact with the outside world. As the official Stonekeeper, Nakita’s father guards a collection of sacred stones, and conducts mys... read more