Deborah Burnside Rebecca and the Queen of Nations (New Zealand)
When ten-year-old Rebecca Kelly is sent to the dreary Derry workhouse she decides that this is not the life for her. So she runs away, Rebecca is determined that she will join her brother, who is a sailor on the Queen of Nations, a ship bound for New Zealand, but this will be difficult for a young girl without a penny to her name. The first book in the New Zealand Girl series.
Ken Catran Dead Harry (New Zealand)
Sam’s best friend Harry is working on a school assignment about refugees from the Balkans, and comes across a photo of the school caretaker as a war criminal. The next thing he knows, Harry is dead and has returned as a ghost to help Sam solve the mystery of his murder.
Eoin Colfer The reluctant assassin
The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run. Riley has been pulled into the FBI’s covert W.A.R.P. operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Book one in the W.A.R.P. series.
Joy Cowley Dunger (New Zealand)
William and Melissa have been roped into helping their old hippie grandparents fix up their holiday home in the middle of the Sounds. They’ll have no electricity, no cellphone reception, and only each other for company. As far as they’re concerned, this is not a holiday.
Sharon Creech The boy on the porch
When a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch, their lives take a surprising turn. Unable to speak, the boy Jacob can’t explain his history. All John and Marta know is that they have been chosen to care for him. And, as their connection and friendship with Jacob grow, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family and begin to see the world in brand-new ways.
Kate DiCamillo Flora & Ulysses
Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived.
Neil Gaiman The silver dream
After mastering the ability to walk between dimensions, sixteen-year-old Joey Harker and his fellow InterWorld freedom fighters embark on a mission to maintain peace between the rival powers of magic and science who seek to control all worlds. An Interworldnovel.
Morris Gleitzman Extra time
When 13-year-old Matt is discovered impressing the livestock in an Aussie country town with his remarkable soccer skills, he’s offered the chance of a lifetime – a try-out at one of Europe’s biggest and most glamorous soccer clubs.
David Hill Brave Company (New Zealand)
Boy Seaman Russell Purchas is stationed on HMNZS Taupo. It’s 1952, and the frigate has just entered hostile waters off the coast of Korea. Russell is determined to prove he is a hero, to shake off the shadow of his spineless uncle who died in the WWII. Russell doesn’t have to wait long to be tested. Never far from enemy fire, the waters are swarming not only with battleships and mines, but also with fleeing Korean refugees.
Paul Jennings Don’t look now: Book One
Ricky is an ordinary boy, who dreams of being famous. And he has a secret that might just help him realise this dream. Because Ricky can fly. Truly. He can really fly. But there’s a hitch. He can only fly when absolutely no one is looking. The first book in a new easy reading series.
Jeff Kinney Hard luck
Greg Heffley’s on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Book Eight in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Hope Larson Madeleine L’Engle’s A wrinkle in time: A graphic novel
A graphic novel adaptation of the classic tale in which Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government
James Norcliffe Felix and the red rats (New Zealand)
When David’s uncle comes to visit he sets off a bizarre series of events. David’s pet rats change colour and David senses that somehow the red rats are connected to the story he is reading. The parallel story sees Felix and his friend Bella inadvertently shifted into a strange land where they must solve a riddle. But this puts them into great danger. How will they escape and find their way home?
Stephen Pastis Mistakes were made
Meet Timmy Failure, founder of the “best” detective agency in town Total Failure, Inc. Timmy may only be eleven, but with the help of his polar bear, Total, he already has plans for world domination. Plans that will make his mother rich and unpaid bills a thing of the past. The first book in the Timmy Failure series.
When ten-year-old Rebecca Kelly is sent to the dreary Derry workhouse she decides that this is not the life for her. So she runs away, Rebecca is determined that she will join her brother, who is a sailor on the Queen of Nations, a ship bound for New Zealand, but this will be difficult for a young girl without a penny to her name. The first book in the New Zealand Girl series.
Ken Catran Dead Harry (New Zealand)
Sam’s best friend Harry is working on a school assignment about refugees from the Balkans, and comes across a photo of the school caretaker as a war criminal. The next thing he knows, Harry is dead and has returned as a ghost to help Sam solve the mystery of his murder.
Eoin Colfer The reluctant assassin
The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run. Riley has been pulled into the FBI’s covert W.A.R.P. operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Book one in the W.A.R.P. series.
Joy Cowley Dunger (New Zealand)
William and Melissa have been roped into helping their old hippie grandparents fix up their holiday home in the middle of the Sounds. They’ll have no electricity, no cellphone reception, and only each other for company. As far as they’re concerned, this is not a holiday.
Sharon Creech The boy on the porch
When a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch, their lives take a surprising turn. Unable to speak, the boy Jacob can’t explain his history. All John and Marta know is that they have been chosen to care for him. And, as their connection and friendship with Jacob grow, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family and begin to see the world in brand-new ways.
Kate DiCamillo Flora & Ulysses
Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived.
Neil Gaiman The silver dream
After mastering the ability to walk between dimensions, sixteen-year-old Joey Harker and his fellow InterWorld freedom fighters embark on a mission to maintain peace between the rival powers of magic and science who seek to control all worlds. An Interworldnovel.
Morris Gleitzman Extra time
When 13-year-old Matt is discovered impressing the livestock in an Aussie country town with his remarkable soccer skills, he’s offered the chance of a lifetime – a try-out at one of Europe’s biggest and most glamorous soccer clubs.
David Hill Brave Company (New Zealand)
Boy Seaman Russell Purchas is stationed on HMNZS Taupo. It’s 1952, and the frigate has just entered hostile waters off the coast of Korea. Russell is determined to prove he is a hero, to shake off the shadow of his spineless uncle who died in the WWII. Russell doesn’t have to wait long to be tested. Never far from enemy fire, the waters are swarming not only with battleships and mines, but also with fleeing Korean refugees.
Paul Jennings Don’t look now: Book One
Ricky is an ordinary boy, who dreams of being famous. And he has a secret that might just help him realise this dream. Because Ricky can fly. Truly. He can really fly. But there’s a hitch. He can only fly when absolutely no one is looking. The first book in a new easy reading series.
Jeff Kinney Hard luck
Greg Heffley’s on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Book Eight in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Hope Larson Madeleine L’Engle’s A wrinkle in time: A graphic novel
A graphic novel adaptation of the classic tale in which Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government
James Norcliffe Felix and the red rats (New Zealand)
When David’s uncle comes to visit he sets off a bizarre series of events. David’s pet rats change colour and David senses that somehow the red rats are connected to the story he is reading. The parallel story sees Felix and his friend Bella inadvertently shifted into a strange land where they must solve a riddle. But this puts them into great danger. How will they escape and find their way home?
Stephen Pastis Mistakes were made
Meet Timmy Failure, founder of the “best” detective agency in town Total Failure, Inc. Timmy may only be eleven, but with the help of his polar bear, Total, he already has plans for world domination. Plans that will make his mother rich and unpaid bills a thing of the past. The first book in the Timmy Failure series.