"Set in the bizarre and beautiful port town of Alveridge, a fascinating place of unique clans and classes, where Felines struggle to maintain the upper hand. Bullied and misunderstood, Lonely Dog became a refugee in his own country. His was a hard scrabble life on the working class side of town, where motorbike gangs mingled with milkmen and everything was faded, including dreams. The story follows Lonely Dog from abandonment at the Houndside Orphanage, steps through his emergence as a dapper, pin-stripe suited dog with a message of hope through his music"--Lonelydog website. Suggested level: intermediate, secondary.

"This is a story of music and passion, love and loss, defeat and victory. But his birth was not legendary. Abandoned on the cold steps of a Houndside orphanage, this small unhoundish pup grew up knowing nothing of his mother and father and everything about loneliness and sorrow. His was a hard-scrabble life on the working-class side of town, where motorbike gangs mingled with milkmen and everything was faded, including dreams. Yet it was here that Lonely first heard the blues, gritty barb-wire blues, leaking from clubs and honkytonk bars. And it was this music that became his lifeline and his destiny. Yet it came at a price. Bullied and misunderstood, Lonely was hounded from town and became a refugee in his own country. Rejected, hunted, he knew both prison bars and freedom's kiss. Some called him a troubadour, others a troublemaker"--Inside cover.

When Louis Light-Saber left Boring Town and went seeking adventure he never dreamed it would take him to Giant Mosquitos, Machine Gun Monkeys and Rock 'n Roll Mermaids!

Do you know about the Word Witch? Has she cast her spell over you? This bestselling book now comes with a CD of poems performed by Margaret Mahy. She can lasso with a limerick, haunt with a haiku and wrap you tight in a rhyme, quick as lightning. Her cauldron is a dictionary, her wand a mighty pen, and she stirs her words at midnight, making tempting treats for children, to please and tease and tantalise them with imaginary treasures and delectable dreams. She weaves words into adventures, sets verses wildly dancing, makes similes sing and stamp their feet and poems purr like pussycats who've eaten all the cream. Her name is Margaret Mahy. These are her spells.

Originally published: London: Marion Lloyd Books, 2010.

A prize-winning collection of vivid, accessible stories. These fresh, contemporary stories can be read purely for the immense pleasure they offer. However, the stories can also be read for the way they explore elements from earlier works: from Maori myth and fairy tale to masterpieces by writers such as Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce and Anton Chekov. As the award-winning author says, those stories 'touched me deeply and I can recall their substance without hesitation'. Using them for inspiration, she also explores their concerns of dignity, honesty, bravery, weakness and passion. 'Sue Orr's stories have that riveting mesmerizing quality that makes the reader race on, hoping they will never end, yet desperate to find out what happens next. Their stylishness marks a new departure in contemporary short story writing, her weaving of new and vibrant stories on to concepts that began with the great masters of old is high-wire risk taking that succeeds magnificently. I admire these stories immensely: by turn tender, sly, comic, and always deeply informed about the ways of the human heart.' - Fiona Kidman

The first volume of Maurice Gee's acclaimed trilogy wherein Susan and Nick are transported to the terrifying land of O... 'Nick had seen the birthmark on Susan's wrist. It had two parts. Each was shaped like a tear drop, curved like a moon. One was bright red and the other golden brown.' Susan had always been a bit odd and never really got on with her cousin Nick, but the mark on her wrist draws them together in a frightening adventure. They are summoned to the beautiful land of O in a last-ditch attempt to save the planet from cruel Otis Claw and his followers, the evil Halfmen, who have lost every trace of human goodness and kindness. Also available as an eBook