Books With Flair

Offers guidance for transforming fears about environmental issues into useful forces in individual lives, advocating the taking of small, constructive steps toward handling problems that seem beyond our control, and maintaining hope.

Join in on Willy Nilly's first adventure as he gets swept out to sea in a little green boat. Stranded, he enlists the help of some dolphins, who carry him to a secret island where he finds a treasure map leading to a pirate treasure chest. But can he brave the crocodiles, bats, monkeys and other dangers on the way?

In the Same Boat is the hugely entertaining blend of romance and thrilling adventure that you never knew you needed. It's the eve of the Texas River Odyssey, and Sadie Scofield is finally ready for the 265-mile canoe race. It's three days of grueling, nonstop paddling, where every turn of the river reveals new challenges -- downed trees, poisonous snakes, alligators -- but the dangers are all worth it. Reaching the finish line is the only way for Sadie to redeem herself for last year, when one small mistake spiraled into disaster. Sadie has spent a year training, and she's ready for anything . . . except for her brother ditching her at the last minute for a better team. She has no choice but to team up with Cully, her former best friend turned worst enemy. Everything about him irritates her, from his stupid handsome face to the way he holds his paddle. But as the miles pass, the pain builds, and family secrets come to light, Sadie realizes she’ll have to work with Cully instead of against him. Last year's race was a catastrophe, but this year's race just might change her life in ways she never imagined. With an unforgettable heroine and an immersive setting, Holly Green's captivating debut promises heart-stopping action and a swoony romance that will leave you cheering.

When you have to leave behind almost everything you know, where can you call home? Sometimes home is simply where we are: here. A imaginative, lyrical, unforgettable picture book about the migrant experience through a child's eyes. When a little girl and her younger brother are forced along with their family to flee the home they've always known, they must learn to make a new home for themselves -- wherever they are. And sometimes the smallest things -- a cup, a blanket, a lamp, a flower, a story -- can become a port of hope in a terrible storm. As the refugees travel onward toward an uncertain future, they are buoyed up by their hopes, dreams and the stories they tell -- a story that will carry them perpetually forward. This timely, sensitively told story, written by multiple award--winner Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Sendak Fellowship recipient Rashin Kheiriyeh, introduces very young readers in a gentle, non-frightening and ultimately hopeful way to the current refugee crisis.

This digital edition includes the original artwork, has been specially adapted for ebook platforms and is optimised for tablet devices. A BOY WITH THE POWER OF A STAR . . . Lucky thinks he's an ordinary Human boy. But one night, he dreams that the stars are singing to him, and wakes to find an uncontrollable power rising inside him. Now he's on the run, racing through space, searching for answers. In a galaxy at war, where Humans and Aliens are deadly enemies, the only people who can help him are an Alien starship crew – and an Alien warrior girl, with neon needles in her hair . . .

By the winner of The Journey Prize, and inspired by a real incident, The Boat People is a gripping and morally complex novel about a group of refugees who survive a perilous ocean voyage to reach Canada – only to face the threat of deportation and accusations of terrorism in their new land. When the rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and five hundred fellow refugees reaches the shores of British Columbia, the young father is overcome with relief: he and his six-year-old son can finally put Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war behind them and begin new lives. Instead, the group is thrown into prison, with government officials and news headlines speculating that hidden among the “boat people” are members of a terrorist militia. As suspicion swirls and interrogation mounts, Mahindan fears the desperate actions he took to survive and escape Sri Lanka now jeopardize his and his son’s chances for asylum. Told through the alternating perspectives of Mahindan; his lawyer Priya, who reluctantly represents the migrants; and Grace, a third-generation Japanese-Canadian adjudicator who must decide Mahindan’s fate, The Boat People is a high-stakes novel that offers a deeply compassionate lens through which to view the current refugee crisis. Inspired by real events, with vivid scenes that move between the eerie beauty of northern Sri Lanka and combative refugee hearings in Vancouver, where life and death decisions are made, Sharon Bala’s stunning debut is an unforgettable and necessary story for our times.

When a traveling skycircus arrives in town, Lily and Robert can’t wait to step aboard. But something sinister lurks there. And before Lily and Robert can do anything, they’re captured and whisked off in the mysterious flying circus to somewhere far, far away...

A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2021 A New York Public Library Best Book of 2021 The creators of The Old Truck set sail with an old boat and an evocative, intricately crafted exploration of home and family. Off a small island, an old boat sets sail and a young boy finds home. Together, boy and boat ride the shifting tides, catching wants and wishes until fate calls for a sea change. Brothers and collaborators Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey’s newest picture book is a masterfully crafted celebration of the natural world and tribute to the families we make and the homes that we nurture.

It's not easy being a super special secret agent when you're only as big as a pin badge. But when a birthday cake is under threat, SPYDER is called upon. Will Spyder save the day, AND the party? Matt Carr, author-illustrator of the internationally acclaimed SUPERBAT, has created a new picture book masterpiece.

Have you ever had a dream so wonderful you wanted to tell everyone? Arthur has He dreamt about an amazing beautiful pink and green boat with a stripy mast but no-one (not even his dog ) is interested in hearing about it. In fact, they don't even notice that this very same boat is growing on his head