New books!

What would happen if a spoonbill or a pelican or even an osprey came to your house? Fun and mayhem, that’s what! Don't Let a Spoonbill in Your Kitchen is written and illustrated by Narelle Oliver who has created many distinctive and beautiful picture books.  

A swashbuckling adventure story complete with a gang of pirates, evil villains, a trusty friend, a lost explorer, and a fabulous treasure, The Pirate Company: On the Trail of the Golden Toucan is the story of Tom Applecross, who found himself all alone in the world. Till he met up with a gang of pirates. Some would say, Any port in a storm. Others would say, Abandon ship while you’ve still got the chance!

New Mates! In Larrikin Lane, written by Kate Darling and illustrated by Ben Wood, the farm animals next door are making Mr Meyer very cranky. But Arkie has a plan. With Lola the sheep and Delilah the goat to help, what could possibly go wrong?

And in Drongoes, can Jack beat Rocket Robson in the cross-country this year? If only! But his best mate Eric might be the real winner in this race. Written by Christine Bongers and illustrated by Dan McGuiness this is a funny story about how winning isn’t always everything. 



The second in a new illustrated junior series from popular, award-winning author Michael Gerard Bauer, is Eric Vale: Super Male. It’s Superhero Week at school and Eric Vale is in for some SUPER surprises. A killer beast, a giant bully, a mutant orangutan bear and the dreaded Oogily-Boogily Man await him. This looks like a job for Eric Vale SUPER MALE! But will it end in a SUPER FAIL? Or will Eric finally go from ZERO to SUPERHERO?



Dog Tales is one of Emily Rodda’s most popular novels for younger readers. The Dolan Street dogs were Max 1, Max 2, Barney, Scruffy, Gina and Mavis. Mavis was actually a goat, but she did not know this, and none of the others liked to tell her ... Life for the Dolan Street dogs is not all lying around watching ‘Dog Hospital’. It can be very exciting. With a great new cover this is a funny, kid-friendly story from Australia’s most popular children’s author.

July books from Omnibus

There's been a little bit of jooshing on the old Omnibus lately. A new cushion on a comfy chair, some indoor plants, some dusting and some rearranging. And we're delighted to announce that Michael Gerard Bauer's new book Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel, the last in this wonderful school yard trilogy, fits in beautifully with the new colour scheme.

And now we have a cosy place (the aforementioned new cushion) for Baby Bilby to sleep. Dear little bilby, you can sleep on my velveteen cushion whenever you like.

Also out in paperback this month is the enduringly lovely Bush Concert, written and illustrated by Helga Visser.

Unwelcome on the bus, any time, are redback spiders, but we've cleared off a special shelf so we don't get a nasty surprise reaching for Redback on the Toilet Seat, out in paperback.

When it comes to kicking goals, it's all about the quality, not the quantity, as we find out in our new Mates! out this month, Losers! by Pauline Deeves and Adam Carruthers.

June books

We're a wee bit late with our June books post this month. The old bus runs a little slower and takes longer to warm up in the cold weather. We have to supplement our biofuel with liquid chocolate to keep us all running smoothly.

So, this month we have some old favourites popping up. The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay is a CBCA Award short-listed book by the amazingly talented Narelle Oliver. It's lovely to see this classic back in paperback. Also out in paperback is Give Me a Home Among the Gum Trees, the classic Australian song illustrated by the young and talented Ben Wood. This is a favourite at my house where sometimes singing the bedtime story is actually easier than reading it.

And as mentioned in our previous post, the first two books in Michael Gerard-Bauer's trilogy have been re-jacketed to be all matchy and beautiful next to the third and final book, Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel, due out in July -- stay tuned!

It's all about finales this month because next off the bus is the much-anticipated Calamitous Queen, the last in the awesome Grim and Grimmer series by Ian Irvine. Delivering on everything that has been promised, and much more, this is a worthy end to an epic journey for poor old awkward Ike and his prickly side-kick Melly. And don't forget to pop in on Ian Irvine's Facebook page regularly, he's just a crazy competition and give-away machine!

We're always excited to see a new manuscript thump on our desks* from the mysterious L.S. Lawrence, historical fiction author extraordinaire. Out this month is Horses for Arthur, set in the Arthurian period (7th century England). You need to be sitting up straight and paying attention to fully appreciate the historical context, but Alexa, the heroine of this story, demands no such effort. She is a feisty and independently minded woman who refuses an arranged marriage and instead follows her own passion. If you'd like to read more about the rich history and culture of this period, please follow this link to our Teachers' notes.

And if you love this kind of historical fiction, definitely hunt down the previous two L.S. Lawrence novels, Eagle of the East and Escape by Sea. And watch out for an interview with Mr Lawrence, coming soon!

* In actual fact, arrive with a polite 'ping!' in our inboxes, but that doesn't sound very romantic, does it?