The round-the-world flight of pilot Matevz Lenarcic in 2012 and his flight over the North Pole in 2013 have given rise to the idea of a monograph that would take us into the attractive, colourful and interesting world created by the diversity of the Earth.

A story for children about why we should care for our little blue planet, the only home we have, to teach ecology, sustainability and responsibility.

Brimir and Hulda are best friends who live on a small island on a beautiful blue planet where there are only children and no adults. Their planet is wild and at times dangerous, but everything is free, everyone is their friend, and each day is more exciting than the last. One day a rocket ship piloted by a strange-looking adult named Gleesome Goodday crashes on the beach. His business card claims he is a “Dream.ComeTrueMaker and joybringer,” and he promises to make life a hundred times more fun with sun-activated flying powder and magic-coated skin so that no one ever has to bathe again. Goodday even nails the sun in the sky and creates a giant wolf to chase away the clouds so it can be playtime all the time. In exchange for these wonderful things, Goodday asks only for a little bit of the children’s youth—but what is youth compared to a lot more fun? The children are so enamored with their new games that they forget all the simple activities they used to love. During Goodday’s great flying competition, Hulda and Brimir fly too high to the sun and soar to the other side of planet, where they discover it is dark all the time and the children are sickly and pale. Hulda and Brimir know that without their help, the pale children will die, but first they need to get back to their island and convince their friends that Gleesome Goodday is not all that he seems. A fantastical adventure, beautifully told, unfolds in a deceptively simple tale. The Story of the Blue Planet will delight and challenge readers of all ages.

Ours is a watery planet, with two-thirds of its surface made up of water. Yet few places on Earth retain their secrets as well as oceans. Beyond the shorelines lies a largely undiscovered world, with its secrets only just beginning to be revealed. The Blue Planet explores this fascinating environment in all its variety, from the apparent 'desert' of the open ocean to the abyssal depths where monstrous creatures lurk in the darkness. The Blue Planet is divided into seven chapters, each focusing on a single habitat, which combine to form a comprehensive guide to the world's oceans. A series of smaller, specialist-interest books associated with The Blue Planet are being published simultaneously which each take an in-depth look at particular marine animals.

From breakfast to dinner, dusk to dawn, children will love spending the day with this curious young spider monkey. Follow this adventurous spider monkey exploring the bustling rainforest of South America with his mother by his side in the third title from Ella Bailey's bestselling series, now in paperback.

View more details of this book at www.walkerbooks.com.au