New Fairytale Books

Well, the stories aren't new but these beautiful illustrations are. 

Ursula Jones also wrote The Princess Who Had No Kingdom. Here she works her magic retelling the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. Sarah Gibb brings the story to life with her stunning illustrations.

Once there was a rich merchant who had three daughters. The two eldest were very pretty, but the youngest daughter was beautiful, so everyone called her Beauty. That made her sisters horribly jealous...

Oscar Wilde's original story now with gorgeous illustrations from the Finnish-Australian painter Ritva Voutila.

The children always played in the Giant's garden, but when he returned after years away, he said, 'What are you doing here?' and the children fled.

'My own garden is my own garden,' said the Giant; 'anyone can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.'

The Boy Who Swam With The Piranhas

Fish fish fish fish fish!

Meet Stan, a quietly courageous lad whose uncles obsession with canning fish eventually forces him to leave home and join a carnival. As he journeys away from his old life, Stan meets the world famous Pancho Pirelli: the man who swims with the ferocious piranhas. Is Stan ready to face his fishy future, to plunge into the watery depths of the unknown and embrace his destiny? 

There's only one way to find out... read David Almonds charming new book: The Boy Who Swam With The Piranhas and enjoy Oliver Jeffers awesome illustrations.

Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day

Meet Clara Button!

Clara Button loves hats - making them and wearing them! But her favourite hat is the one that once belonged to her Granny Elsie. When her older brother Ollie breaks Granny Elsie's hat, Mum takes them on a special hat day out to cheer Clara up. While visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, Clara gets lost and embarks on an exciting journey of discovery. 

NOT-FOR-PARENTS

How to be a World Explorer 
(Your all-terrain training manual), Lonely Planet

Ever wanted to know how to avoid a Piranha attack? 

Or how to escape from quicksand?

Have you ever wondered how you would go about building an igloo?
(Hint: make sure you store your equipment INSIDE your shelter... One polar explorer left his shovel outside and wasn't able to dig himself out for SIX WEEKS after a snow storm buried it his tent!)

How close to water are you if you spot a frog?

All of the answers to these questions, and MANY MORE, are waiting for you inside...

How to be a World Explorer (Your all-terrain training manual)



And in
Extreme Planet 
(Exploring the most extreme stuff on earth!), Lonely Planet

there is plenty of information about the HOTTEST things on the planet
the REDDEST things
the YELLOWEST
(did you know that yellow anacondas have markings like a leopard?)
the most PAINFUL
and the NOISIEST
(Pistol Shrimps stun their dinner by making noise at it!)

also it has information about
Pichiciegos, also known as
Pink Fairy Armadillos*

images from http://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/the-pink-fairy-armadillo/

*are these not the greatest creatures you have ever laid eyes on?!?!?!?!?!?!!

Figaro and Rumba

Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe, Anna Fienberg and Stephen Michael King (Allen & Unwin)

Figaro and Rumba are best friends. 

Figaro is a dog who loves to run like the wind. 

And Rumba is a cat who once sang and danced in Cuba. 

When they catch the Very Fast Train that goes all the way to the beach, they meet a cunning crocodile with conga drums and an elegant satin waistcoat. Surely such a musical creature couldn't be a villain? 

This is lovely. It is well told, beautifully illustrated and a little bit funny. The chapters are perfectly sized for bedtime reading, and within them is a variety of enjoyable adventures. 

And the crocodile with the conga drums and the voice like icing (all thin on top and nothing underneath) and the elegant satin waistcoat is my new favourite potential villain. 

The Fairytale Princess

Check out this beautiful new book by Su Blackwell.

Step into a fairytale world, where princesses live in paper kingdoms that emerge from the pages of seven classic stories.

Cinderella

The Frog Prince

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

The Princess and the Pea

Snow White

Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty

Su Blackwell's paper sculptures summon up a magical world of beauty and mischief. 
Wendy Jones' retellings of these favourite stories are fresh and lyrical.

(Images from http://victoriastitch.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/su-blackwell-fairy-tale-princess.html)