Flood by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

Flood, by award-winning author Jackie French, is a picture book for children which tells the story of the dreadful floods that wreaked such havoc on Queensland at the beginning of this year. It describes the devastation caused by the quickly rising water, as well as the many acts of bravery, including the well-known story of the little tugboat that pulled away the broken boardwalk in Brisbane. The book also celebrates the generosity of the many volunteers who helped with the clean-up. Evocatively illustrated by Bruce Whatley’s beautiful watercolours, all profits from the sale of the book will be donated to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. Paperback, $17

Age Book of the Year 2011

Congratulations to Sydney writer Fiona McGregor on winning the Age Book of the Year Award this year for her novel Indelible Ink. Fiona won the overall prize as well as the Fiction Book of the Year.

The Non-Fiction Book of the Year was won by Jim Davidson for A Three-Cornered Life: The Historian W K Hancock, and the Poetry Book of the Year was Starlight: 150 Poems by John Tranter. Well done, all!

Popular Penguins- You asked for more, and now they’re here!! Plus a FREE BAG if you’re quick!

Tho good people at Penguin Australia have heeded the call and added another twenty-six titles to their very popular Popular Penguins! Cue massive rejoicing! With an impressive range of modern to contemporary classics, there is literally something for everyone in the current crop.  Favourites include Boy by Roald Dahl, I Claudius by Robert Graves, Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

For a limited time, lucky shoppers will also get a FREE BAG with any purchase of two popular penguin titles (from the whole range, not just the new releases)!! The lovely black canvas bag is a sturdy and fashionable addition to your collection, don’t miss out!!

In store now.

STUCK!!

Stuck is the latest offering from Australian-born, Belfast-raised, author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers.  His previous works include the whimsical and irreverent gems The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Up and Down, and The Way Back Home, and his new picture book Stuck is a wonderful addition to his catalogue.

Stuck tells the tale of young Floyd and his adventures in getting his kite down from the tree.  Should he throw a shoe at it to knock it down?  Or perhaps a bucket of paint, a duck even…?  Jeffers’ understated and subtle text is the prefect accompaniment to his charming illustrations, and should have both parents and kids giggling at Floyd’s efforts.

We’re always excited to receive a new Oliver Jeffers book here at Fairfield Books, in no part due to the author himself being quite dishy! For picture proof see below, no thanks needed…

Stuck, rrp $25 in hardback

In store now!

Nana’s Colours

A Beautiful Introduction to the Wonder of Colours!

 

The much-loved children’s author Pamela Allen (of Who Sank the Boat, Hetty’s Day Out, and I Wish I had a Pirate Suit fame, to name a few!) is back with another gloriously illustrated hardback picture book for early learners (6 to 24 months).

 

It’s Nana’s birthday and she is being given many beautiful bunches of flowers in various colours.  The illustrations look like the’ve been made by cut-out shapes of raw potato dipped in paint, remember making those in kindergarten?! A great introduction for infants and toddlers.

 

Available in hardback only, in store now!

Nana’s Colours, rrp $19.95 

 

Classics – Now With Extra Pretty-ness

As much as we all appreciate the economical brilliance of a Popular Penguin or any classic format, sometimes you want something, well, better. Penguins Clothbound hardback classics fit the bill perfectly. A wonderful gift for a book lover, because with these it doesn’t matter if they’ve already got it. They might even have read it 20 times. These are still beautiful editions of beautiful stories that will add something classy to any bookshelf. Titles such a Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre could never be wrong… All $19.95, stock may vary.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer: the saga continues

It’s getting close!! The next book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series will soon be here.  September will see it arrive through our door.  Pre order your copy so you get it as quickly as possible.  It’s $20. 

National Bookshop Day: Thank you.

As most of you will know, it was National Bookshop Day on Saturday last.  It was a day of celebrating our local book communities and having some fun.  It was an initiative of The Australian Bookseller’s Association and many member bookshops around Australia too part in varying ways.  We had some local authors with us, handed out over 200 mini cupcakes and lots of prizes.   We have a wonderful tree drawn on our window with the favourite books  of many of our customers.  We will leave it up there for the rest of this week, so come and have a look. All in all in was a terrific day, and thank you to all who made it so, especially the authors who came along, Michael Pryor, Zana Fraillon, Kylie Ladd and Jen Storer.

Let us continue with the positive feelings we got from the day.  Heather, Dick, Steph Jess, Sally, Fiona & Marissa

National Bookshop Day: Thank you to a lot of people

As National Bookshop Day draws to a close, for us at Fairfieldbooks at least, I would like to say how proud I was today to be involved in the book industry.  We have had a tough year or so, along with a lot of other retailers, but today felt very positive.  We had four wonderful local authors during the middle of the day spruiking the joys of reading, and had lots of giveaways, including over 200 mini cupcakes.  (I’ve learnt I really shouldn’t try and bake and decorate after 9pm on a Friday evening.  ‘Twas a messy business!)  I would like to thank the publishers who donated prizes for us, the authors who helped us, our young buskers,  and the customers who participated in the fun.  Special thanks to the Australian Bookseller’s Association whose idea it was.  Our window with the book tree looks terrific with all of the contributions from people with their favourite book. I’m not sure how long we will leave it up, but it will be enjoyed for a few days at least.  Happy National Bookshop Day.  It’s been wonderful.

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

Ginny and William are a retired couple in their 60s with three grown-up children. They are enjoying a peaceful summer in their home in Vermont when their eldest daughter Lillian arrives with her two young children, fleeing problems in her marriage. Next, son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane drop in for a weekend visit, which becomes a prolonged stay due to a medical problem. And finally their youngest daughter Rachel appears, seeking comfort to mend her broken heart. Soon the house is full to bursting, and Ginny and William revisit the chaos of hands-on parenting as each adult child works through their problems and learns to accept the responsibilities of adulthood.

Meg Mitchell Moore is a great storyteller with a real understanding of the complexities of human emotions and relationships. Her characters and their dialogue ring true and she really captures the mixture of love, loyalty and frustration of family life. Her novel is clever, funny, moving and honest. This is Meg Mitchell Moore’s first novel, and I eagerly await her next! Trade paperback, $33.