The Zing family lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state - of - the - art surveillance equipment. They use these things to protect the Zing Family Secret - one so huge, it draws the family to the garden shed for meetings every Friday night. Into their world comes Listen Taylor - a girl who is about to enter high school, and social isolation. Her dad's girlfriend is a Zing, and she seems nice enough, but Listen doesn't know what she is getting into. Enter Cath Murphy, a young teacher at the primary school that Cassie Zing attends, who is suffering from a broken heart. How will the two worlds of these two young women connect with the delightful madness that is the family Zing? Only the reader can know!

A fairytale, a mystery, a history of hot-air ballooning, and a romance . . . A novel so brilliant, moving, zingy -- and Zingy -- that it could only have come from Jaclyn Moriarty.The Zing family lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. They use these things to protect the Zing Family Secret -- one so huge it draws the family to the garden shed for meetings every Friday night. Into their world comes socially isolated middle grader Listen Taylor, whose father is dating a Zing. Enter Cath Murphy, a young teacher at the elementary school that Cassie Zing attends, suffering from a broken heart. How will the worlds of these two young woman connect? Only the reader can know!

The second book in the captivating Colours of Madeleine series "Beautifully written and deftly imagined" NSW Literary Awards "Madcap, whimsical, smart ... Even better than the first." Kirkus Time slides around the world so strangely ... It's not easy being Princess Ko. Her family is missing, taken to the World through cracks in the Kingdom, which were then sealed tightly behind them. Now Princess Ko is running the Kingdom, and war is looming. To help her find her family, she gathers a special group of teens, including Elliot Baranski of the Farms. He's been writing secret letters to a Girl-in-the World named Madeleine Tully - and now the Kingdom needs her help. Madeleine and Elliot must locate the missing royals, convince them of their true identities, and figure out how to unlock the dangerous cracks between the Kingdom and the World. All before their enemies can stop them. WINNER - Aurealis Award (Best Young Adult Novel) 2014 WINNER - Queensland Literary Awards 2014 WINNER - New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Ethel Turner Prize) 2014 Shortlisted - Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015

This text contains convenient, ready-to-go booktalks for contemporary fiction and nonfiction books set in every continent around the globe, useful for librarians and other educators of grades three through nine. A public librarian introducing young readers to stories from around the world. A social studies teacher wanting to offer students extra credit on a unit about ancient Greece. A Spanish teacher who needs to generate some excitement and interest about Hispanic culture. All of these educators can achieve their goals by utilizing the internationally themed booktalk suggestions in this text—Booktalking Around the World: Great Global Reads for Ages 9–14. This collection of booktalks and book lists is designed to be an invaluable resource for teachers as well as school and public librarians seeking geographically themed booktalks for newer books published from 2000–2010. Because studying the countries of the world is a major part of most school curricula, this book will support or extend this important curricular area. All the booktalks in this collection are aimed at children aged 9–14. All seven continents are represented, but the United States is excluded.

The Zing family lives in a misguided world of spell books, flying beach umbrellas, and state-of-the-art covert surveillance equipment. There's a slippery Zing, a graceful Zing, and a Zing who runs as fast as a bus. But most significant of all, there's the Zing Family Secret: so immense that it draws the family to the garden shed for meetings every Friday night. I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes is an entirely new universe unto itself. The story passes among five female characters -- Fancy, Marbie, Cassie, Listen, and Cath -- all of whom are closely connected, as they -- and we -- come to discover. The two youngest heroines, Listen and Cassie, shoulder the biggest role in piecing together the mystery that saves everyone in the end.

“A grand finale to a grand adventure, complete with truly startling revelations . . . Colorful and madcap . . . deeply satisfying, perfectly ended.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Cello is in crisis. Princess Ko’s deception of her people has emerged and the Kingdom is outraged; the Jagged Edge Elite have taken control, placing the Princess and two members of the Royal Youth Alliance under arrest and ordering their execution; the King’s attempts to negotiate their release have failed; Color storms are rampant; and nobody has heard the Cello wind blowing in months. Meanwhile, Madeleine fears she’s about to lose the Kingdom of Cello forever. Plans are in place to bring the remaining Royals home, and after that, all communication between Cello and the World will cease. That means she’ll also lose Elliot, now back in Cello and being held captive by a branch of Hostiles. And there’s nothing he can do to help his friends unless he can escape the Hostile compound. Worlds apart and with time running out, Madeleine and Elliot find themselves on a collision course to save the Kingdom they love, and maybe even save each other. “A breathless and exhilarating race to the finish . . . with a variety of unexpected revelations and marvelous surprises, and with [Moriarty’s] usual perfect timing.” —The Horn Book (starred review) “The magic continues to be refreshingly inventive, and the world-building is so precise . . . This final installment will garner even more followers.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Startling and clever . . . A breathtaking climax . . . An eminently satisfying conclusion.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)