The Dream Box

The Dream Box lies at the far end of Grandpa Zachary’s work bench. Tins of old paint, rusty tools and dusty wood shavings have kept it hidden for many years. Until one day – the day he tries to remember the past. Struggling with the frailty of his mind, Grandpa Zachary takes the little box into his big and wearied hands. Touching the delicate carvings around its base, he yearns to once again touch his past and the precious story of his own life – the uncertainty of WW1, the fun of climbing Alby’s Oak and the sorrows of the Acorn Army. Will Mr Cregin or Alby’s father ever return?

Written for a contemporary audience, this tender-hearted and beautifully illustrated story will help children from all backgrounds and social situations to understand the difficulties of loss – loss of home, friends, family and loss of memory, caused by dementia.

The Caterpillar and the Butterfly

From Michael Rosenblum, the bestselling author of Happily Ever Always: A Guide to Personal Transformation, Security, Confidence, and Healthy Self, comes a debut book for beginning readers. This ageless story introduces us to a caterpillar named “Fear”. Fear is afraid of everything – the other critters who share the garden, lightning storms, being bullied and making new friends. A chance encounter with a wise butterfly named “Faith” helps Fear find the courage within to experience the world in a bolder and more joy-filled way. Rosenblum’s message for children is simple yet profound: fear is just faith turned inside out.

“Children will realize that changing fear to faith is up to them as they explore this magical story. Bravo, Michael Rosenblum!”

Dr. Kathleen Hagstrom

Principal

Walt Disney Magnet School

Chicago Public Schools

The Boastful Pansy

In a beautiful English country garden, all manner of plants and flowers grow peacefully in their flower beds. The winter sunshine beams brightly, but the tall, tall fence that surrounds the garden blocks almost every ray of light from reaching the ground – well, almost every ray. 

One very proud golden winter pansy stands in the only sliver of light that reaches the flower bed, and oh, how it boasts to the others. This pansy needs to be taught a lesson in humility and the very seasons themselves help the pansy to realise the error of its ways.

The Big Wall Feeling

Mum, Dad and primary school aged, Jacob, live happily and simply with their cat, Marley, somewhere in Australia. When new neighbours move in next door, although they have the identical family set up (but no cat), their perceived differences passively prevent there being any contact between the families. Only Marley doesn’t notice this big wall feeling and moves happily between the families until the night of the big storm…

Told through the adventures of two primary school aged boys and a cat called Marley, this beautifully illustrated picture book tackles Australia’s very real issues with intercultural acceptance. Ali, Jacob and Marley’s story shows how simple it is to embrace cultural diversity and value individual difference.

The Amazing Adventures of Eco Boy Vol. 1

Saddened by the rubbish all around him; a little boy turns into an eco-superhero to save his beloved planet Earth through the concept of reducing, reusing and recycling.

The Alphabet Stories – Belle Belle the Busy Bee

Belle Belle is a very busy bee, buzzing, baking, building and believing!

Join her on a busy day as she buzzes around town on a fun and exciting journey, discovering a world full of words starting with the letter B and let The Alphabet Stories – Belle Belle the Busy Bee spark that desire to learn more words in a fun and interactive way!

See how many words you can find that start with the letter B!

******

To parents and guardians,

There are multiple studies that provide an undeniable link between a child’s vocabulary size and their levels of mental ability when they grow up.

The wider the vocabulary, the more effectively you can read and, more importantly, understand what you are reading. There are also multiple studies that prove a wider vocabulary enables a better ability for a child to express themselves and interact with the world around them.

So get reading, anything and everything! Books, signs, leaflets, anything with a word on it! Words are everywhere and all around us every day!

Also don’t forget we are never too old to learn something new, so yes adults, this applies to you as well!

You are never too old to learn a new word!

How many words do you know that start with the letter B?

The Almost True Story of Sandy Primary School

When Hurricane Soft and Fluffy completely flattens Sandy Primary School, an unlikely turn of events means that the children of Mr Bell’s class are handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The government wants a bunch of ordinary children to not only design the new school, but to decide on its location, too. Unfortunately, the government can’t find any ordinary children, so Mr Bell’s class are chosen instead.

When the school is reopened, Mr Bell leads his bonkers class through perilous bus journeys, calamitous school fairs, an exhilarating treasure hunt and all-out parent warfare at the sports day. Gluey guinea-pigs, a local artist’s Big Plastic Windy Bottom and daft doctors are all part of the usual ebb and flow of Sandy Primary School.

This is a story that needs to be told, but who could possibly write it and would anyone believe that it was true? It is...almost.

The A to Z of Animal Magic

This book is written and illustrated by myself. I have never done anything like this before. As I suffer with essential tremors I am trying to keep my hands busy for as long as I can. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing and illustrating it.

Tessa Tidies Up!

Meet Tessa, a little girl on a mission to save lost litter in her home village of Patchworth.

Travel with Tessa as she journeys around town helping a crumpled coffee cup, a crushed tin can and a soggy crisp packet all make it home safely to their family and friends.

Tessa Tidies Up! is a delightful story of love, care, imagination and hope for the future.

Teamwork االعَمَلُ الجَمَاعِي

A series of stories about Yousef and Leena.

About this series:

It is a collection of educational stories that aims to:- 

Assist non-Arabic speaking children in learning Arabic terms through the use of a simple and fun storytelling style.

Build spiritual, ethical values and morals.

About this story:

Youssef and Leena help their parents with chores around the house, but when Ahmad, their friend, arrives, he is initially shocked until he hears an inspirational story which changes him forever!

Tafara and the Patchwork Blanket

Tafara lived with her parents and little sister, Tanaka. More importantly, she lived right next door to her grandparents, Gogo and Khulu. She loved going to their house every day after school and especially on Saturday afternoons, after all her lessons were done. Gogo was always up to something wonderful, like baking, cooking or making decorations. What was so special about her was that she would always let Tafara and Tanaka join in on the fun. This Saturday, Gogo was doing Tafara's favourite 'Gogo-thing': sewing. She loved the noise of the machine and the amazing pieces that Gogo came up with. On this occasion, her creation was no less glorious than all the others before, but this one had a little extra magic sewn in its seams. It was something that helped her see just why the world was full of beautiful colours…and all the shades in between.

Susie's Silly 1, 2, 3s

Do you like to be silly? Like wearing flowery tops and patterned bottoms together? Do you like to listen to rhymes or better yet, listen to those rhyming words roll off the tip of your tongue? Do you doodle and shade with a pencil?If you answered “yes” to any of these, then I invite you to follow me on a journey from 1 to 10 in a world brimming with silly rhymes and shady pencils.