Thursday, June 30, 2011

Black Painted Fingernails

Black Painted Fingernails, Steven Herrick (Allen & Unwin)

James is off in his graduation-present BMW on his first teaching rounds in the country and reluctantly gives hitchhiking Sophie a lift.

'How about we toss a coin? Heads, it's west and a lift. Tails, it's still west, but no lift.'

Sophie’s on her way home, but she also has a secret, which comes out bit by bit as the two learn more about one another. She makes him nervous and shy, but their friendship develops throughout the book. James’ secret isn’t hard to guess – he isn’t 100% sure about this teaching idea.

Told in alternating chapters, Black Painted Fingernails is a lovely, poetic prose novel about taking time to figure out what the hell to do with your life, and finding someone nice to spend that time with.

--Kate--

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Emily Gravett PLUS Julia Donaldson!!


Now in stock in paperback is this wonderful story for chidlets aged two or three or ninety.

Here is Cave Baby, with words by Julia Donaldson (the Gruffalo lady!) and pictures by the incredible Emily Gravett (she drew Monkey and Me!).

A hairy mammoth takes a cheeky little baby on a thrilling ride through a moonlit landscape populated by a sabre-toothed tiger, a leaping hare, a laughing hyena and even, just maybe, by a big brown bear... But where are they going? And what has it to do with the baby's scribblings on the cave wall?

We love this book for its energy, fabulous illustrations and for the woolly mammoth.

Clara in Washington

The new book by Younger Sun-favourite author Penny Tangey (she wrote Loving Richard Feynman) is here!

Clara in Washington is a fabulous new Young Adult novel:

Washington D.C. is meant to be all glamour, politics and great conversations but what do you do when you don't have the words to join in? Or the knowledge to ride the subway? Or you're scared someone will mug you?

Joining her mother on a trip to Washington is Clara's end-of-school adventure and a chance to be someone else other than the studious geek she's always been. Although, starting an adventure is hard to do when you won't leave the house.

But Clara didn't count on meeting Campbell and his anarchist group and she didn't count on her new discoveries threatening to unravel all her plans.

Will she still be the same after Washington?

Review coming very soon!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Andy Griffiths...here?!



It's all very exciting.

The Younger Sun Bookshop is so excited to launch Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton's hilarious new book

The 13-Storey Treehouse

When? Tuesday 23rd August 2011 at 4.30pm

Yes! Andy Griffiths will be here.

Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry.

Two new characters – Andy and Terry – live here, make books together, and have a series of completely nutty adventures. Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse.


Free event, all very welcome.
RSVP: info@sunbookshop.com or 9689 0661

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

What books do they read in WA?

Oh la la what excitement. The shortlists for the 2010 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards have been announced!

Children's
  • Henry Hoey Hobson (Christine Bongers, Woolshed Press)
  • Mirror (Jeannie Baker, Walker Books)
  • Sarindi's Dragon Kite (Janine M Fraser & Elise Hurst, HarperCollins)
  • The Red Wind (Isobelle Carmody, Viking)
  • The Three Loves of Persimmon (Cassandra Golds, Penguin)
  • Toppling (Sally Murphy & Rhian Nest James, Walker Books)

Young Adult
  • Anonymity Jones (James Roy, Woolshed Press)
  • Happy as Larry (Scot Gardner, A&U)
  • The FitzOsbornes in Exile: The Montmaray Journals 2 (Michelle Cooper, Random House)
  • The Midnight Zoo (Sonya Hartnett, Viking)
  • This is Shyness (Leanne Hall, Text)
  • Wavelength (A J Betts, Fremantle Press)

The Quiet Book

The Quiet Book, Deborah Underwood and Renata Liwska (Houghton Mifflin)


This darling new picture book is about all the different kinds of quiet. You might be familiar with some of them:

Colouring in the lines quiet.

Hide-and-seek quiet.

Some might make you giggle:

First look at your new hairstyle quiet.

And others will reach that little place inside you:

Last one to get picked up from school quiet.

Best friends don't need to talk quiet.

All accompanied by the cutest, most expressive illustrations of wee mooses and rabbits, foxes and bears. It's a gentle, sweet, funny book - perfect for reading before bed.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Beauty Queens

What's that?

A book about a plane full of teenage beauty queens crashing on a deserted* island?
Is that you I hear in the background shrieking hurraaaaaah?

Oh wait, that's me.
Hurraaaaaah!

Now, I'm sure you all remember Libba Bray from the thoroughly excellent Going Bovine? Or perhaps from the Gemma Doyle series?
Even if you don't, I'm sure you are all very eager to absorb her latest offering, Beauty Queens. Not only is the cover entirely appealing,

(does anyone else also now want a sash like that?) the story is rawther fab also. And it is worth reading just for The Peacock and General Good Times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was an easy, fun read, but also had an interesting social commentary lurking in the background. Recommended!


*Perhaps not entirely deserted. But I shall say no more here. Apart from that there are some REALLY BIG snakes. And they are a bit sparkly. AWESOME.

-clare-

Friday, June 17, 2011

What would you wish for?

3 Wishes for Pugman, Sebastian Meschenmoser (Wilkins Farago)

When Pugman wakes up late one morning, things go from bad to worse. There is no cereal in the cupboards, no milk in the fridge for coffee and the newspaper is soggy. Pugman begins to wonder why he bothered to get out of bed at all.

Then an irritatingly cheerful and vaguely mad looking fairy arrives, promising 3 wishes. What will Pugman choose?

Raspberry sweets or fresh cream cake? A kitten? A castle?

Nah.

What he will choose may surprise you. But it will almost certainly make you chuckle.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Sequels

Two sequels have arrived in the shop this week. They both have really beautiful covers!

First off, Red Glove by Holly Black. The sequel to White Cat.

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

Then Passion, by Lauren Kate, the third book in the Fallen series.

Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way...

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime...going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel...and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames...forever.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Ever wake up in someone else's body?

Flip, Martyn Bedford (Walker Books)

Fourteen year old Alex wakes up one morning. Alex wakes up six months after he went to bed. In Manchester, when he went to bed in London. Alex wakes up in Philip’s body – in Philip’s house, with Philip’s family.

This is a very intriguing body-swap story, detailed and psychological. While he does explore the more silly and light hearted side of waking up in someone else’s body – there’s the issue of Philip (aka Flip)’s multiple girlfriends, his reputation with his teachers, his relationship with his big sister and the idea of going to the toilet in someone else’s body – Bedford really focuses on the more serious side to create a truly gripping story. Alex researches his condition on the internet to find that it’s not unheard of. He joins a community of psychic evacuees and starts to piece together the puzzle of just what has happened to him. If he is in Flip’s body, then what has happened to his old body?

Flip is an intense and moving story with excellent characters and an intriguing premise. Highly recommended.
--Kate--

Friday, June 10, 2011

What a combination!

Here at the Younger Sun we don't usually get excited about movie spin-off paraphernalia, but for Harry Potter we can't help but make an exception. Plus, we really like Lego.

Introducing - this guide to all the Harry Potter themed Lego around. There's Number Four Privet Drive, a really impressive Hogwarts Castle, some delightfully spooky Professor Snapes (some with glow-in-the-dark heads!) and so much more...broomsticks, golden Galleons, Goblins, scary Dementors and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.


For Potter fans and Lego fans alike!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Where's Walrus?

Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage (Scholastic)

Walrus has escaped from the boring old zoo. The zookeeper goes right after him, but Walrus is wiley and spends the day in all kids of different hats to disguise himself. He joins a line of can-can dancers with feathers on top, a line of men building a wall wearing yellow hard hats and enters a diving competition in a little red cap.


Vibrant retro illustrations and a particular (wonderful) sense of humour make this a wonderful, wordless picture book for little and big children.

A couple of weeks ago we listed this fabulous book as our Book of the Week and it was so exciting to get a message from the author himself!

Thanks for featuring my book, Sun Bookshop! Wish I could be there to read and sign it for all of you! -- Stephen Savage, Brooklyn, NY



Thank YOU, Stephen. We love your book.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Die For Me

Die For Me, Amy Plum (Atom)

16-year-old Kate is from New York. After her parents die in a car accident, she and her big sister Charlotte move to Paris to live with their grandparents (luckily they are both fluent in French!). Kate spends her days reading in cafes, going to the cinema or browsing through museums and galleries, wallowing alone in her misery, until one day she meets a dashingly beautiful stranger. He falls for her, she falls for him – but he’s no ordinary boy ... Is she strong enough to be a part of his dark world? It might have a cheesy title, but Die For Me is a reliable and enjoyable addition to the teen supernatural romance genre, with the added benefit that it’s set in Paris, complete with trendy bars and hipsters. Though Plum is a self-confessed Twilight-addict, she’s deliberately created a protagonist with a bit more integrity than dearest Bella. Much of the novel involves handsome-boy explaining all the supernatural stuff to Kate as well as introducing the characters, so it feels like there should be a sequel, but there’s no talk about that yet. Here’s hoping!

--Hannah--

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

DEPARTMENT 19

WILL HILL’S

DEPARTMENT 19

is an amazing futuristic fantasy novel about a kid called Jamie Carpenter whose dad gets killed (in the prologue). After a while Jamie’s mum gets taken by a vampire named Alexandru Rusmanov who wants Jamie dead because his father (Julian Carpenter) killed his wife (Ilyana) who was the only thing he loved. The plot is Jamie trying to rescue his mum from Alexandru. Jamie joins DEPARTMENT 19 so that he can save his mum.

DEPARTMENT 19 was made to kill Dracula the oldest vampire ever but he turned others, lots of others, into vampires and they turned even more, so there are heaps more vampires in the world.

I really like this book because, well, it’s a really good book - I just can’t explain it. I can’t wait for the next one to come out because DEPARTMENT 19 was the best book I have ever read.

--Ned Pearson, nearly 10