The Glasshouse

by Paul Collins & Jo Thompson

$26.95 Hardback

$17.95 Paperback

Clara lives in her balanced world where everything is perfect. Her glasshouse is free of bugs, her prized pumpkins free of blemishes. But then one day a boy walks into her life and slowly Clara realises that her world is not perfect at all. Her paranoia spreads and she loses all her customers. Finally, she must face up to the realisation that her world is not perfect, and she must make allowances and compromise if she is to survive.

 

Rufus the Numbat

by David Miller

$24.95 hardback

$15.95 paperback

Rufus Numbat walks out of the bush at the front of the book back into the bush at the end of the book. Rufus does not care for things of the town like cappuccinos or cream cake, or for the town and its parade and noise. But on his way Rufus startles a cyclist and later a Chinese Dragon creating all sorts of mayhem.
David Miller’s minimalist text contrasts with his detailed paper sculptures set over pen and ink backgrounds.

 

The Star

by Felicity Marshall

$26.95 Hardcover

$17.95 Paperback

The Star reflects the contemporary phenomenon of “fame without substance”, a part of our celebrity-soaked culture.
Marion, a wooden doll, her friend Harley and their dog Polka, enter the imaginary World of Fame where Marion becomes a glamorous Star. But she learns painfully that stardom has a use-by-date. Her experience changes her forever but her true friends still love her. The story explores the superficiality of stardom and the value of true friendship.

 

Finding Home

by Gary Crew and illustrated by Susy Boyer

$26.95 (Hardback)

Rich and beautiful, Gary Crew’s text is redolent with the sounds and colours of the Australian bush. This picture book for older children is an ode and an obituary to the indigenous landscape, much of which was destroyed by white colonists. Ignorance and selfishness can destroy the things we love and value most – the child whose parents don’t value his differences, the beauty of wild nature – and this story offers the reader a metaphor for the greater destruction of the environment through thoughtless acts.

 

Big and Me

by David Miller

$26.95 Hardback

Big and Small are machines that work together as a team. ‘But some days Big goes a bit wobbly, and I get a lot worried.’ Big malfunctions in a variety of ways and Small tries to help with the assistance of The Boss and Mechanic.

The story is a metaphor for a child living with an adult who suffers from mental illness. Big and Me is dramatically illustrated with paper sculpture