New Releases by Colin Thompson

A book about a special relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter who tries to see life through his eyes. When you are very, very young or very, very old, you can see things out of the corner of your eye. In between, all you can see is all you can see. Unless you are very, very lucky. Then the corner of your eye stays awake forever. The story of an ageing man who has lost something. But what and where? His granddaughter, Sally, helps him find it. Subtle and touching, this is an emotional response to people trying their best to live in an imperfect world.

Dorothy the dog is old. But that doesn''t bother her too much - all she worries about is when dinnertime is. Besides, she''s always been wrinkly, which means she has always been old forever or young forever depending on how you look at it.A beautiful story about growing up from bestselling author/illustrator, Colin Thompson.

From the creator of FEARLESS comes a new canine tale. ''It was very quiet in Stanley''s house. there were no brothers or sisters, no dads or grannies, not even a cat, a budgie or a goldfish.'' Stanley lives with his human, Gerald, and Gerald''s mum. Life is peaceful, but sometimes Stanley feels quite lonely ... But then one day another dog steals his favourite red rubber ball at his park, and sets in motion a chain of events that will change Stanley''s life forever. Ages: 3-7

Radius Limpfast, TV producer extraordinaire, has sent the Contrast family to live in a glass dome on the moon. It will be the greatest reality TV show ever. What could possibly go wrong? Lots of things, actually, and the worst one is that after only a week on the moon, the family are bored out of their brains. But the door of their spaceship is locked and won''t open for five years. Luckily, rRego, their genius robot, comes to the rescue. He breaks into the spaceship, reprograms it, and the Contrasts set off back to Earth. Except, when they get there, Earth seems to have turned pink and got two more moons ...

"Everything in this book is true. You might think some things are just too unbelievable or funny or silly to be true, but every tiny detail really did happen." Take one small boy; add manic depression, three wives, three daughters, two divorces, amazing creative talent, and Asperger''s syndrome. In this memoir, Colin Thompson invites you to explore his almost-unbelievable life from past to present, though not necessarily in that order. Filled with family photographs and mesmerising illustrations drawn by the author himself, prepare to step inside the life and mind of an extraordinary man. If you, or your friends or relations, have ever felt that you do not fit in this world, then this book will tell you how one person survived it all.

You never know what you fill find in an abandoned super villain base! It could be priceless treasure or it could be a deadly trap or villain. Perhaps you could even find potential allies. From the Underground contains new heroes, villains, traps, super teams, and gear, suitable for use in any campaign. For use with the Base Raiders Role Playing Game and is compatible with most Fate system games.

From the team who created the award-winning GOOD NIGHt, ME comes this captivating picture book. Emma Quay''s delightful and warm illustrations of a family moving through their day bring to life all the funny and silly names we call our children: cheeky monkey, lucky duck, sweet pea, silly billy and more. Simply delightful. Ages 3-5.

Everyone''s favourite scaredy-cat bulldog is back -- with puppies! Everyone''s favourite scaredy-cat bulldog returns in a brand-new adventure! When we last saw Fearless, he had fallen head over paws for the beautiful Primrose. Now, they''ve got puppies to care for, and Fearless must figure out what it means to be a father. Fearless warns his children about the dangers lurking around every corner -- things like vacuum cleaners and handbags -- but when Primrose is in trouble, will Fearless put aside his fears or will it be brave pup Eric to the rescue? Another charming and hilarious tale about Fearless the bulldog, from award-winning duo Colin Thompson and Sarah Davis. Ages: 2-5

Nothing and nobody is safe in this third collection of hysterically funny poetry. WARNING: only read this book if you have a sense of humour! There?s something really nasty on the bottom of my shoe It?s making me feel sick. Can?t you smell it too? I don?t know what it is, but it smells much worse than poo. COLIN THOMPSON''S hilarious poems are wonderfully matched by illustrator PETER VISKA''s zany illustrations. They team up again on My Brother Drinks Out of the Toilet and other poems and The Dog''s Just Been Sick in the Honda and other poems.

A riotous collection of poetry about toilet-water drinkers, non-stop eaters, rock ‘n’ roll teachers and much, much more! My brother drinks out of the toilet; He does it to make Mum go mad. Each time she catches him at it She says, ''I’m telling your dad.’ COLIN THOMPSON''s hilarious poems are wonderfully matched by illustrator PETER VISKA''s zany illustrations.They team up again on There''s Something Really Nasty on the Bottom of My Shoe and other poems and The Dog''s Just Been Sick in the Honda and other poems.

What happens when the King goes Doolally? Find out in the latest Floods adventure. Everyone gets old, even witches and wizards. Their backs get stiff. Their feet get sore, and their brains go and live far, far away. Not even Nerlin Flood, the King of Transylvania Waters, is immune to the curse of old age. The rest of the family have noticed that Nerlin is slipping into total Doolallyness – he even has an invisible friend called Geoffrey-Geoffrey, who warns him not to eat broccoli because it will give him global warming. Will the Old Crones be able to cure him, or is Nerlin doomed to spend his twilight years talking to the wall, wearing a crooked jacket* and incompetence pants? * Which is actually a more accurate description of a straitjacket.

Humorous fiction. Large Print. What happens when the King goes Doolally? Find out in the latest Floods adventure. Everyone gets old, even witches and wizards. Their backs get stiff. Their feet get sore, and their brains go and live far, far away. Not even Nerlin Flood, the King of Transylvania Waters, is immune to the curse of old age. The rest of the family have noticed that Nerlin is slipping into total Doolallyness - he even has an invisible friend called Geoffrey - Geoffrey, who warns him not to eat broccoli because it will give him global warming. Will the Old Crones be able to cure him, or is Nerlin doomed to spend his twilight years talking to the wall, wearing a crooked jacket and incompetence pants? Which is actually a more accurate description of a straitjacket.

Grandfather left his grandson a seafarer’s chest, a parrot called Titanic and a dream – the dream of looking for Atlantis. “Atlantis is right here all around you,” Grandfather said, “you have to learn how to look for it.” So when Grandfather dies, the boy starts looking: in the chest, on shelves, in books, under the stairs. Colin Thompson’s dazzingly detailed pictures richly illustrate the boy’s magical journey of discovery.

Save the world – but live forever. Peter and Festival have a terrifying choice to make . . . When Peter and his friend Festival destroyed the book called How To Live Forever so it could no longer work its spell, they didn’t know it would have disastrous consequences. Now, Peter’s world is in the worst drought ever – and Festival’s world, inside the museum, is drowning. The only solution is to re-create the book. Can they reverse the water flow? And if they re-create the evil book, can they hide it so it can never be read again?

Most people don''t like being different. They want exactly the same things as their neighbours, only bigger and more of them. Yet no matter how much they have, they always feel there is something missing. The Smiths are not like other people. They might not be any good at cooking, or housework, or homework, but in their jumbled house full of strange things that will probably come in useful one day, they are happy and content. Well, almost. The Smiths, too, feel that there is something missing from their lives. And today the children went down to the shops and found it.

Hidden within the pages of this intriguing book are the letters and numbers which make up Ruby''s numberplate. Ruby was made in 1934 by Austin Motor Company in Longbridge, England. She’s shiny, she’s beautiful and this is her story.

Barry came to save the world, but he’s been stuck down the back of the couch Barry may be no larger than a can of beans, but his powers are awesome. The trouble is he has been trapped down the back of the sofa for over fifty years unable to do the job he was built for. His creators have gone back to their own planet and without his control the Earth is gradually falling apart. Floods, droughts, wars and reality TV are only a few of the things that are threatening the whole of civilisation. With only a bright red lipstick to help him, can Barry emerge from the darkness and save the world before it is too late?

Colin Thompson''s stunning illustrations of ''home'' have been linked to verse and comment which they have inspired from children who have seen them. The result of this meeting between the vision of an artist and the honesty of children is an unusually imaginative book, touching, funny, provocative - and always surprising. Home will never seem quite the same again!

Betty and Ffiona cooking dinner? Run for your lives! Betty and her friend FFiona love cooking. The trouble is, they are both so useless at it that their families make themselves ill just to avoid their meals.It isn''t that their families are too kind to tell the girls how bad their cooking is - they actually tell them all the time. But Betty and Ffiona don''t believe them, and now the girls are planning to open Transylvania Waters''s first gourmet restaurant. Queen Mordonna forbids them . . . unless they can prove their cooking skills by winning TV''s most popular cooking contest. Will they poison all the judges, or will The Cheffie Olympics be Betty and Ffiona''s finest hour?

Every night for two years Peter searches in the library for the lost book on how to live forever, and when he finds it, he makes an important decision.

Betty and Ffiona cooking dinner? Run for your lives! Betty and her friend FFiona love cooking. The trouble is, they are both so useless at it that their families make themselves ill just to avoid their meals.It isn''t that their families are too kind to tell the girls how bad their cooking is - they actually tell them all the time. But Betty and Ffiona don''t believe them, and now the girls are planning to open Transylvania Waters''s first gourmet restaurant. Queen Mordonna forbids them . . . unless they can prove their cooking skills by winning TV''s most popular cooking contest. Will they poison all the judges, or will The Cheffie Olympics be Betty and Ffiona''s finest hour?

Fully illustrated and full colour throughout, Floodsopedia will improve your life in exciting and dramatic ways you never imagined, unless you imagined bacon, mildew, boils and germs.

The aim of this study is to assess the extent to which the Saudi Arabia National Dialogue and activities of King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) represent a viable attempt to address socio-political issues; whether the ongoing National Dialogue process accurately reflects the aspirations and concerns of contemporary Saudi society; what its impact on socio-political development may be; and how it relates to wider regime strategies and to the evolution of the Saudi polity. The thesis examines KACND''s institutions, practices and impacts, as well as Saudis'' perceptions of all these. It does so by embedding the analysis in a survey of the evolution of broader Saudi socio-political dynamics; drawing in particular on Gramsci, it asks whether the system is moving from a form of patrimonial state to one of ideological hegemony, and whether the KACND is a catalyst in this transition or may even be part of the apparatus that is driving this transition, including its indirect or unintended effects. To that end, the thesis examines the mutual relationship between KACND and the key Saudi social constituencies, with their attendant issues. In particular, it explores the extent to which the KACND''s activities directly and indirectly impact on internal cross-constituency communication and discourse in the Kingdom. The thesis explores the legitimisation of state-society dialogue in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the direct and indirect consequences of the National Dialogue process with reference to the role and activities of KACND. It examines the expanding activities of KACND, including the evolving range of issues discussed as part of the institution''s activities, and the scope of participants. It highlights the shift from ideology-based National Dialogue Meetings such as on national unity and women''s rights, to service-based National Dialogues such as on employment and health. It also examines the newly established Cultural Discourse and assesses the impact of this initiative as a space for ideological debate. The study is based on extensive fieldwork in Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2011, referencing information and official documentation not previously available, and drawing on findings from a wide range of focus groups, interviews, and participant observation with National Dialogue participants, KACND officials, government ministers, lawyers, journalists, scholars and members of minority constituencies.

Arthur has been crowned King, and peace and happiness have broken out all over Avalon. Life has never been more peaceful and everyone is living happily ever after. So why are so many people planning rebellion? On one hand, the Dragons are planning an uprising. On the other hand, King Arthur''s revolting little cousin Mordred is planning an uprising. And on the other, other hand, Brassica, the deposed fake King Arthur, is planning an uprising. It''s lucky that Merlin, who has more than two hands, has everything under control. Or does he . . . ?

The caves under Transylvania Waters are about to be explored for the first time ever. What will the Floods find? The Floods are back in their rightful place as rulers of Transylvania Waters and there is an enormous amount to do to bring the country out of the Dark Ages. But what does a country need to become part of the modern world? Well, it needs socks, PlayStations and seventy-three varieties of genetically modified sausage, but above all else it needs maps. Winchflat''s new wife, Maldegard, has been appointed Transylvania Waters''s first ever Official Map-Maker. What she and Edna Hulbert discover during their travels will astound, terrify, amuse and intrigue you.

With their worst enemy on their trail, the Floods family are on the run and in disguise in the seventh book of this hilarious bestselling series. While the Floods were on holiday with their human friends the Hulberts, the Hearse Whisperer totally destroyed their home back in Acacia Avenue. So now they''re on the run again . . . To avoid detection they are, like, totally heavily disguised, man. Yeah, man, it''s far out, the Floods have become hippies! Will they end up living a life of love and peace and singing folk songs about rainbows and sunsets? Will they wear flowers in their hair and wear soya-bean sandals? Yeah, right.

The Flood family go on holiday to the seaside! It isn''t just humans who need time off. Wizards do too - and after all the wild adventures the Floods have been through, two weeks at the seaside is exactly what they need. Of course, where the Floods go, trouble is sure to follow. Will Betty use magic to cheat in the sandcastle competition? Why is Winchflat stuck in the sand with the tide coming in? Will Mordonna take revenge when she sees animals being mistreated in the circus? One thing''s for sure. The sleepy town of Port Folio will never be the same . . .

In Transylvania Waters Mordonna and Nerlin should be King and Queen. But there are some seriously nasty characters standing in their way . . . After years on the run, the Floods are coming home. And just in time too. Since Nerlin and Mordonna fled Transylvania Waters, things there have gone from worse to much worse. King Quatorze has bled the country dry. He''s even sold everyone''s shoelaces. It''s time for a change, time for life with a lot less cabbage and a lot more chocolate. But first the Floods have to get rid of the old king . . .