Most Popular Books by Anna Fienberg

An intensely honest book, brimming with ideas and emotion. How do you make the most difficult decision in life when your family, friends and lover are more distant than the nearest galaxy?

After his mother witnesses some shady dealings at the casino in which she performed, Jackson, a numbers freak, is forced to move to the suburbs where he becomes a pawn in a dangerous high-stakes game that leads to the disappearance of his new girlfriend.

Will could walk a tightrope and juggle bananas as he went. ''One day you''ll be the star of a circus,'' his mother told him. ''But until then, you must be a secret.'' For each year pirates came to the islands to steal young boys for their crew. And if that happened to you, well, you may as well kiss your life goodbye. So what''s a young lad to do when his mother disappears and pirates arrive at his door? Will takes courage from a crazy truth-telling parrot, and his mother''s advice: ''Keep putting one foot in front of the other and your eyes on the prize.'' But will this be enough to survive the perils at sea? And will that infuriatingly polite boy called Horrendo finally tip the balance? A high-seas pirate adventure about scoundrels and blaggards, devilish treachery, and finding the most precious treasure of all.

Tashi scares ghost monsters and steals their secret recipe for Ghost Pie.

"''Chintu took one of his giant steps over to our village...and roared, Bring Tashi out to me!'' Jack ran all the way to school. Today Tashi was coming to tell him more stories...about Chintu, the giant, who is as big as a mountain, and the robber bandits, who kidnap him to be their son. Only someone as clever as Tashi could find a way to escape."--From the publisher.

A fast, funny and action-packed adventure from the award-winning author of the Tashi series. Boadicea lives with her grandfather, Admiral Bolderack, and is always dreaming of excitement and adventure. But when Boa discovers a secret from the Admiral''s past, and accidentally releases four terrifying pirates from her grandfather''s curse, she gets more excitement that she ever could have imagined. Can her best friend, Wiggy, brave the curse of the pirates to save Boa and the Admiral?

Misdirection, illusion, locked doors and old secrets - these are the tools of the magician. What happens when they''re used to escape from real life? Rachel Lambert can escape from a Bohemian Torture Crib, but she can''t leave her marriage. ''You''re stuck,'' says the voice inside her head. ''And you''ll never get out.'' Her whole life she''s tried to be a good girl - she considers others first and she''s never missed a deadline. Now her family''s doing a vanishing act, her book on magic is a year late to the publishers, and Rachel''s losing her grip on reality. She''s even taken to fantasising about Harry Houdini in the grocery aisle at the supermarket. Guido, her husband, is spending more and more time with his star pupil, Silvia, and her daughter, Clara, has run off to Italy, seeking independence and adventure. From Florence, Clara sends news like mysterious puzzle pieces, forming a disturbing picture of Guido''s past and exploding her mother''s illusions. Yet sometimes truth is the key to freedom - and possibly our salvation... Anna Fienberg''s new novel is a wry and wrenchingly honest look at the pitfalls of motherhood and modern marriage - and one woman''s attempt to escape them.

That lovable little Tashi has more adventures to recount - this time about Baba Yaga, whose amazing house on chicken legs blows in on a wild storm, and about the time the wicked Baron stole all the hens in the village to sell to the fearsome River Pirate.

Leo lives in a village on the outskirts of Fiesole, in sixteenth-century Italy at a time when superstition and fear of the plague rule people''s lives. The lake in his village is a forbidden and dangerous place, for it is where the witch lives, and she is always hungry for children. Though just a young wizard, Leo is the only one with the power to confront and and overcome the witch''s curse. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.

Another enjoyable Tashi book with two stories. In ''Tashi and the Demons'' Tashi makes a clever escape from the demons when they throw him into the Dragon''s Blood Tree. And in the second story Tashi has to face the ferocious River Pirate who has come back for revenge.

Tashi’s life is never dull. In this exciting new quest, Tashi plots with the wife of Chintu the giant to rid the village of his Only Brother--a giant who will eat anything in sight, including the villagers, unless Tashi can stop him. Things go terribly wrong when a stranger appears with a magic flute, but in the face of trouble Tashi acts fast and saves the village from a terrible disaster.

There’s no stopping Tashi in his new adventure, where Tashi encounters magic shoes and confronts Uncle Tiki Pu’s sneaky plan at the Emperor’s court. Things are looking great again for Tashi until he visits the fortuneteller, Luk Ahed, who tells him that his 10th birthday will be his last. The next morning, Tashi prepares a lavish meal for the protector of long life and begins the race against time. As always, this story is told in exciting detail that will thrill young readers.

When Jack''s class studies Egypt, Tashi relates an adventure he had in a burial ground discovered in his homeland, and then Jack describes Tashi''s search for a missing book of spells.

Louis, who enjoys building his vocabulary rather than playing sports, has a week filled with misadventures, including a burglar incident, hiding a runaway, and dealing with his father''s attempts to teach him wrestling.

Tashi is bold and clever, and tells the best stories ever! There''s a Magnificent Magician with a greedy plan, a haunted house about to go up in flames, ruthless ruffians after a rare orchid, and a quest for the bravest person in the land to face the fire-breathing Red Whiskered Dragon. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories.'' Magpies

The eleventh book in the Tashi series of daring adventures and tall tales about magic, courage and the triumph of brains over brawn. Created by the much loved, multi-award winning author/illustrator team of Anna and Barbara Fienberg and Kim Gamble. ''I raced up and down the street looking in doorways and behind stalls. But there was no Grandma.'' Tashi always has big adventures, like the time he''s lost in the city and has to escape from a mean man with a glass eye and a silver dagger then, on the way home, Tashi and Grandma are kidnapped by brigands called Fearless and Ferocious. But clever Tashi always knows what to do - stay calm, think hard and move fast. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' - Joan Zahnleiter, Magpies ''This little book reads just like a junior version of Raiders of the Lost Ark.'' Victoria Collins Sunday Night Live ''I just can''t get enough of Tashi, and neither can any of the students at my school!.a fantastic sense of anticipation and adventure.Definitely add this one to your library!'' Fiona Deppeler, Balgowlah Heights Public School, NSW

A compilation of seven books featuring the adventures of the cunning and clever Tashi.

First published in 1995, this book contains four adventure stories about Madeline the Mermaid in the seaworld. Also available in hardback. The author won the 1992 CBC Book of the Year Award for ''The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels''.

Tashi recounts his experiences with a grumpy genie and a greedy uncle, and Jack tells his parents how Tashi, while visting his hometown, rescued the village''s kidnapped children from the dungeon of the local warlord.

Tildy knew there were monsters. They sailed in from outside and hid behind the curtains. Moonlight brought them in. Tildy hated moonlight. Mum and Dad said there were no such things. Her aunt and uncle couldn''t see them, and when Tildy wrote to her twenty-three cousins about monsters, only one wrote back saying she shouldn''t eat spicy food before bedtime. Then a new boy came to school. Hendrik drew pages and pages of monsters when the class was writing numbers. He had a way of dealing with his monsters. When Tildy dares to stay over at Hendrik''s house, she panics when the moon rises... but together they make the night safe, and Tildy can watch the moon sail through the starry sky.

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! Tashi always has daring adventures. Like the time he meets Chintu, the giant as big as a mountain, or the time that Chintu''s Only Brother wants to eat everything in the village, or the time when the demons sneak onto the new bus and kidnap the driver''s son. But clever Tashi always knows what to do: stay calm, think hard and move fast! Explore the wonderful world of Tashi in these eight enormous adventures in one volume! ACCLAIM FOR TASHI First published in 1995 and has now achieved classic status with sales of over one million copies. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories. The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' Magpies ''The Tashi stories are some of my all-time favourites: a world within a world and a magical place for children to lose themselves in.'' Sally Rippin, bestselling author of Polly and Buster and Billie B. Brown ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love.'' Angelina Jolie

No one, living or dead, was ever more polite than Horrendo. In all his eleven years he''d never said a rude word to anyone. But was his mother proud of her charming son? Not at all! For Horrendo lived in a cruel world where kind words were as rare as dragons'' teeth, and pirates stole away twelve-year-old boys from under their mothers'' noses.

Another funny, action-packed pirate adventure from the award-winning author of Wiggy and Boa and the Tashi series. Boadicea lives with her grandfather, and a crew of pirates she released from a curse. LIfe is definitely looking up... except for Wiggy and Boa''s mean and stony-faced teacher Mr Rocke, who is determined to make life miserable for them. But then Mr Rocke mysteriously disappears. Can Wiggy and Boa rescue him before it''s too late?

Hector is unbearably, bone-achingly lonely. Until one day a storm sweeps Hector and Minton far away to the cold snowy lands, where they meet Gilda, a cool Viking adventurer, and life changes for ever... Minton makes his first appearance in The Hottest Boy Who Ever Lived and then stars in the three Minton Goes! books.

For twenty years Tashi has been telling fabulous stories. He escaped from a war lord in a faraway place and flew to this country on the back of a swan. And he wished he would find a friend just like Jack. In this first book of his daring adventures, Tashi tells Jack about the time he tricked the last dragon of all. Now, a whole generation of readers know that when Tashi says, ''Well, it was like this...'' a new adventure is about to begin. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories...The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' MAGPIES ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love'' ANGELINA JOLIE

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! Tashi is full of incredible tales. Like the one about a hideous monster that burst out of the garden workshop, or the one about slippery demons who tried to make Tashi talk, or the one about a house on chicken legs and a witch who eats children. Good thing Tashi is always ready for anything, with a clever idea and something useful in his pocket! Explore the wonderful world of Tashi in these eight monstrously exciting stories in one volume! ACCLAIM FOR TASHI First published in 1995 and has now achieved classic status with sales of over one million copies. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories. The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' Magpies ''The Tashi stories are some of my all-time favourites: a world within a world and a magical place for children to lose themselves in.'' Sally Rippin, bestselling author of Polly and Buster and Billie B. Brown ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love.'' Angelina Jolie

Anna Fienberg tells the extraordinary story of a boy''s self-discovery in her own unique style of magical realism.

Ariel had never met anyone who had returned from the Island. Still, her mother said it was a beautiful place, with shiny sand and ancient caves. There was some kind of school there, too, where characters went to learn their proper roles in life. But Concetta had always been a little vague... Deliberately, Ariel thought. Suspiciously. Ariel and Zed are both a bit weird. They''re misfits, reluctant to be thrown together for the holidays. But when they reach the mysterious Island, they soon face dangerous adventures, strange new friends and surprising discoveries about themselves and each other - not to mention the secret of life. Winner of the Alan Marshall Award, 1993 Victorian Premier''s Literary Awards. ''A rich and intricate story, full of humour, imaginative energy and good sense.'' - Cathryn Crowe, The Courier-Mail ''A deliciously clever trickle of humour running through sparkling prose.'' - Karen Jameyson, The Horn Book

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! Where there''s mystery and action, there''s Tashi. He''s brave enough to explore the ancient burial site discovered in the village and he''s clever enough to complete three impossible tasks. But is he fast enough to beat two mysterious strangers in a race around the village? And what will happen if he loses? When the going gets tough, it''s all up to Tashi! Explore the wonderful world of Tashi in these eight magical adventures in one volume! ACCLAIM FOR TASHI First published in 1995 and has now achieved classic status with sales of over one million copies. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories. The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' Magpies ''The Tashi stories are some of my all-time favourites: a world within a world and a magical place for children to lose themselves in.'' Sally Rippin, bestselling author of Polly and Buster and Billie B. Brown ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love.'' Angelina Jolie

Picture storybook for children retelling the classic story of Thumbelina, a girl smaller than a thumb. While she loved her home she often pined to play outside, till one day she is captured by an old Mamma Toad and was kept as a bride for her son. Author writes for both children and adults. Previous titles include the Tashi series. Illustrators live in Sandringham, Melbourne, and took two years to complete the illustrations. Previous titles co-illustrated include ''Goodnight and Thanks for the Teeth''.

Another five fabulous Tashi books all together in one big, fat volume. Ten terrific Tashi stories!

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! For twenty-five years Tashi has been telling fabulous stories. He escaped from a war lord in a faraway place and flew to this country on the back of a swan. And he wished he would find a friend just like Jack. In this first book of his daring adventures, Tashi tells Jack about the time he tricked the last dragon of all. Now, a whole generation of readers will know that when Tashi says, ''Well, it was like this ...'' an exciting new adventure is about to begin. This special anniversary edition includes the stories ''Tashi and the Silver Cup'' and ''Kidnapped!'' together for the first time. ''The Tashi stories are some of my all-time favourites: a world within a world and a magical place for children to lose themselves in.'' Sally Rippin, bestselling author of Polly and Buster and Billie B. Brown ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories. The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' Magpies ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love.'' Angelina Jolie

When Tashi finds poor Ning Jing hiding from her nasty Cousin Bu Li, Tashi thinks up a very spooky plan to scare him right out of the forest, and when two mysterious strangers appear in the village square, Tashi knows the demons are back. Nobody has adventures like Tashi.

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! No one in the village is as brave as Tashi. Only he could scare the ghost monsters out of the forest, or travel all the way along the dark underground passage to the Mountain of White Tigers. Tashi always has a cunning plan, whether he is facing a ferocious war lord, outwitting a sly genie or confronting Bang Bang, the trouble-making bully. There''s no stopping Tashi! Explore the wonderful world of Tashi in these eight mystifying stories in one volume! ACCLAIM FOR TASHI First published in 1995 and has now achieved classic status with sales of over one million copies. ''All children should meet Tashi. He can be their mentor on the road to reading, feeding their imaginations with fantastic stories. The Tashi stories have the evergreen qualities of classics.'' Magpies ''The Tashi stories are some of my all-time favourites: a world within a world and a magical place for children to lose themselves in.'' Sally Rippin, bestselling author of Polly and Buster and Billie B. Brown ''I read my kids Tashi - it''s this story that they love.'' Angelina Jolie

Young readers will cheer Tashi along as he uses his quick wit and keen bravery to drive the villainous monster Bluebeard from the castle and save the village once again.

Minton the spotty salamander loves things that move, and he''s always ready for adventure, but Turtle worries that it will end in disaster. From the creators of Tashi, here are two satisfying stories in one book, for beginner readers aged 4-6. Includes a guide to making your own model submarine and hot air balloon.

Minton the spotty salamander loves things that move, and he''s always ready for adventure, but Turtle worries that it will end in disaster. From the creators of Tashi, here are two satisfying stories in one book, for beginner readers aged 4-6. Includes a guide to making your own model car and truck.

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? Anna Fienberg is the author of the Tashi series, and Stephen Michael King has created many wonderful picture books. This is the first storybook they have made together.

An inventive salamander and his pessimistic friend Turtle help a lost acrobat find her way home from a desert island.