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New for Young Adults – The Midnight Zoo

by Sonja Hartnett

Her muzzle wrinkled, and Andrej saw a glimpse of teeth and pale tongue. 'They smell the same, ' the lioness murmured. 'My cubs smelt as she does. Like pollen.' She breathed deeply again, and Andrej saw the missing cubs returning to her on the wings of the baby's perfume. 'All young ones must come from the same place,' she said: then sat down on her haunches, seemingly satisfied.
Under cover of darkness, two brothers cross a war-ravaged countryside carrying a secret bundle. One night they stumble across a deserted town reduced to smouldering ruins. But at the end of a blackened street they find a small green miracle: a zoo filled with animals in need of hope.
A moving and ageless fable about war, and freedom.

Read an extract here
Get more details or buy the book here

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The latest and final in the 39 Clues Series – Coming soon

The 39 Clues, Book 10: Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Throughout the hunt for the 39 Clues, Amy and Dan Cahill have uncovered history's greatest mysteries and their family's deadliest secrets. But are they ready to face the truth about the Cahills and the key to their unmatched power? After a whirlwind race that's taken them across five continents, Amy and Dan face the most the difficult challenge yet- a task no Cahill dared to imagine. When faced with a choice that could change the future of the world, can two kids succeed where 500 years worth of famous ancestors failed?

Amazon is selling the book for $8.75 for the hardback

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Win one of Sandy Fussell’s books

Sandy Fussell has been kind enough to provide one copy each of her books Jaguar Warrior and Samurai Kids: White Crane to give away.

For your chance to win one of these books leave a comment on any the following posts on children’s and teen fiction by 9pm Sunday.

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For Young Adults – Paper Daughter

Paper Daughter
by Jeanette Ingold

Maggie Chen was born with ink in her blood. Her journalist father has fired her imagination with the thrill of the newsroom. But now Maggie’s father has been killed, and she is determined to keep their dreams alive by interning at the local newspaper. While assisting on her first story, suspicion of illegal activity falls on Maggie’s father, and she knows she must clear his name. Drawn to Seattle’s Chinatown, what she finds is far from what she expected: secrets, lies, and a connection to the Chinese Exclusion Era. Using all of her newspaper instincts and resources, Maggie is forced to confront her ethnicity—and a family she never knew.

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An interview with Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan’s illustrated books – The Rabbits, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, The Arrival and, most recently, Tales from Outer Suburbia – are loved and recognised by readers all over the world. Shaun has also worked as a concept artist for films such as Horton Hears a Who and Pixar’s WALL-E, and has just finished directing a short film version of The Lost Thing with Andrew Ruhemann. Spike sat down with him over the digital divide to find out about the problem of gravity, Lorenzo Mattotti and the beauty of emotional understatement in illustration

Read more ...

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Why Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is my favourite read

from Alison Croft

I love Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling for many reasons. There are a lot of little things that add up to make it a fantastic book but I’ll pick three big reasons.

Find out ALison's three reasons

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The Official Trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

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Win a copy of Bill the Fish

Bill the Fish is out now.

“Bill the Fish celebrates individuality. It teaches children through a series of wildly differing aquatic characters that we are all meant to be different. It’s OK to be yourself. Quirks and all.”
- Brett Curzon, author/illustrator.

You can find out more on the Bill the Fish website.

The Australian Literature Review has 5 copies of Bill the Fish up for grabs this week. For your chance to win send a photo of a child’s drawing of a fish, with the word auslit.net written somewhere on the page, to auslit@hotmail.com. 5 winners will be chosen throughout the week, so get in early for the most chances to win. 1 entry per child.

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Sandy Fussell interviewed

Kids Book Review has published an interview with author Sandy Fussell.

Sandy has written a number of novels for children, including the popular Samurai Kids series.

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CYA Later Alligator Conference

The sensational CYA Later, Alligator (Children’s and Young Adult (CYA) Writers & Illustrators Conference) will be held in Brisbane on 4th September 2010 in partnership with the Brisbane Writers Festival.

For more ..  http://bit.ly/boYIuB