New+books

New Guided Reader Sets Stage 2 

Just a Dog by [|Michael Gerard Bauer]

Mr Mosely is a big gangly dog, half Dalmatian, half something else large, who was chosen from the litter by Corey, the young narrator. He grows up to be the perfect companion—loyal, funny and endlessly patient—and each short chapter tells of a different event in his life with Corey’s family. Some are very funny, some dramatic and some endearing, so at first I thought the book was going to be a classic, easy-to-read dog story for eight- to 10-year-olds. But it runs deeper than that. It is also the story of a family: of the changes and tensions in relationships as seen through the eyes of a young boy, and of the grief that follows Mr Mosely’s death (from natural causes), which draws the family together in different ways. Michael Gerard Bauer, who is better known for his books for older readers (//The Running Man// and the Ishmael books) has written a story that beguiles, with its loveable canine character, but also packs an emotional punch. =Alone On A Wide Wide Sea =

** by Michael Morpurgo ** There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember[|...more]There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember of England! When orphaned Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WW II he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. The coming years will test him to his limits, as he endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback. But Arthur is also saved, again and again, by his love of the sea. And when he meets a nurse whose father owns a boat-building business, all the pieces of his broken life come together. Now, at the end of his life, Arthur has built a special boat for his daughter Allie, whose love of the sea is as strong and as vital as her father's. Now Allie has a boat that will take her to England solo, across the world's roughest seas, in search of her father's long-lost sister! Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together?

Stage 3 **Just a Girl ** **by Jane Caro ** Review by [|Deborah Abela] This novel begins on the eve of Queen Elizabeth the first’s coronation. She sits in the same room where she once awaited death. As the daughter of King Henry VIII, she has seen many betrayals, murderous plots and beheadings, including that of her mother, Anne Boleyn. Hers was a reign that was long and successful, despite being ‘just a girl’, at a time when girls were considered very much the inferior species. Jane Caro creates so perfectly what the thoughts and recollections the young Elizabeth could have been. Her fears, sadness and determination, after what she has seen from her father’s life, never to marry. Elizabeth reigned for 44 years and Caro believes this even lead to the emergence of feminism in Britain. This is a fascinating, well-told glimpse into an historical period that was fascinating in its detail and remarkable in it’s unfolding impact on Britain and the countries in its orbit.
 * Stage 2 and 3 **

**Journey to Eureka ** It is 1854 and Llew Jones swindles his way on board the 'Great Britain' as it sets sail for Australia, anxious to find his mother and uncle who have been sent there. After several long months at sea, Llew finally reaches Australian shores with new friends and the prospect of a new home at the Goldfield near Ballarat. But his journey has only just begun. Old enemies are waiting and a violent and bloody battle called the Eureka Stockade threatens to destroy his newfound happiness forever. This is a truly great read for all ages 9+.
 * by Kerry Greenwood **

**<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Private Peaceful **
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">by Michael Morpurgo **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Heroism or cowardice? A stunning story of the First World War from a master storyteller. Told in the voice of a young soldier, this story follows 24 hours in his life at the front during World War 1, and captures his memories as he looks back over his life. Full of stunningly researched details and engrossing atmosphere, the book leads to a dramatic and moving conclusion. Both a love story and a deeply moving account of the horrors of the First World War, this book will reach everyone from 9 to 90.



**<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Winter Room ** **<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">by Gary Paulsen **

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The winter room is where Eldon, his brother Wayne, old Uncle David, and the rest of the family gather on icy cold nights, sitting in front of the stove. There the boys listen eagerly to all of Uncle David's tales of superheroes. Then one night Uncle David tells the story, "The Woodcutter," and what happens next is terrible--then wonderful.



**<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Under The Persimmon Tree ** **<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">by Suzanne Fisher Staples ** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">An outstanding novel exploring the relationship between a young American woman and a refugee girl. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Northern Afghanistan, 2001. When the Taliban takes her brother and father to be soldiers and the bombing of her tiny village kills her mother and baby brother, Najmah makes a dangerous journey over the mountains to Pakistan. Here she meets Elaine, an American woman waiting for her doctor husband to return from the front. Najmah joins Elaine's refugee school under the persimmon tree, until, sure that both their families are dead, Elaine tries to persuade her to go to America. But when Najmah's brother arrives at the school, still alive, she bravely decides to return with him to the village of their birth. Based on the true stories told to the author whilst in Afghanistan and the refugee camps in Pakistan, this is a heart-rending and powerfully topical novel by the Newbury Honor-winning author of "Daughter of the Wind". Officially endorsed by Amnesty International.

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**To The Moon and Back** **by Bryan Sullivan and Jackie French**  [|teachers notes] <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Who are the Honeysuckle Creek mob? And how did they assist the first moon landing? When man took the first step on the moon it was a bunch of Australian technicians who tracked the spacecraft and sent the first television pictures to the world. No, not at Parkes - the movie The Dish got it wrong. They were from Honeysuckle Creek in the ACT. This is their story, told by Bryan Sullivan, one of the technicians on duty at the time, and his wife, children's author Jackie French. This book also includes information about the space program and the birth of the internet, as well as supplying the answers to questions such as: How do you go to the toilet in a spacecraft? Have the astronauts ever seen an alien? What made the moon? Can I have a holiday in space?

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**The Ivory Rose** <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">by Belinda Murrell <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">An ivory rose charm is the beginning of a terrifying adventure in 1890s Sydney in this gothic ghost story - another thrilling time slip tale for girls from best-loved author Belinda Murrell**.**

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Jemma has just landed her first job, babysitting Sammy. It's in Rosethorne, one of the famous witches' houses near where she lives. Sammy says the house is haunted by a sad little girl, but Jemma doesn't know what to believe.

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">One day when the two girls are playing hide and seek, Jemma discovers a rose charm made of ivory. As she touches the charm she sees a terrifying flashback. Is it the moment the ghost was murdered? Jemma runs for her life, falling down the stairs and tumbling into unconsciousness.

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> media type="youtube" key="51DMfZTc_SE" height="360" width="640" align="center"

The Last Summoner by Sherryl Jordan

Ari longs to be a boy so that she can learn the secrets of dragon summoning. When the last summoner, her blind grandfather, makes one last trip to raise the dragons for the king Ari goes too, to act as his eyes. Together they raise dragons to fight in the king’s army. But the king is cruel to the dragons and Ari and her grandfather long to set all the dragons free. This is a well written novel for younger readers, a tale of adventure for both boys and girls.