Most Popular Books by Colin Thompson

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.

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.

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.

CBCA shortlisted picture book -- now in paperback! When a new baby is born, it''s difficult to tell if it will grow up to be big, or small, or brave, or scared of the dark and spiders. So sometimes babies get the wrong name. It''s the same with dogs. So when the Claybourne-Willments, who should have been called the Smiths, got Fearless as a little puppy, it seemed a good name for him. Except Fearless wasn''t. How does Fearless finally live up to his name? By accident, of course! AWARDS Winner -- CBCA Junior Judges Children''s Choice Award 2010 (Picture Book) Winner -- KOALA Award 2010 (Picture Book) Winner -- YABBA Award 2010 (Picture Book) Winner -- COOL Award 2010 (Picture Book) Winner -- KROC Award 2010 (Picture Book) Shortlisted -- CBCA 2010 (Early Childhood) PRAISE ''the illustrations are accurate depictions of doggie habits, the expressions are clearly readable and the extra inclusions are clever, entertaining and appropriately pitched to the early reader. this is a wonderful pictorial study of a family and their pet.'' -- Children''s Book Council judges, 2010

Ruby was made in 1934 by Austin Motor Company in Longbridge, England. She''s shiny, she''s beautiful and this is her story.

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.

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.

In response to the stark reality of children around the world dying from starvation, and from natural disasters over which we have no control, thirteen internationally famous artists created a book, the royalties earned being donated to the Save the Children Organisation in Australia.

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.

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 ...

For as long as anyone can remember, Oscar has played his violin outside the theatre. Every night, as the people queue for their tickets, Oscar fills the air with his music and the echo of his lost dreams. In the old days, his daughter, Marietta, had been there as well, dancing. For just as Oscar dreams of being a famous violinist, it was Marietta''s dream to be a famous ballet dancer. But Marietta became ill and now Oscar plays alone. Some nights, though, he catches sight of Marietta''s ghost, dancing under the street light. One night, Oscar''s dream comes true and he is invited to play in the theatre in front of an audience. They are swept away by his music and his skill. But under the glare of the spotlight, Oscar can''t see Marietta dancing. He decides to play only outside on the pavement, where he and Marietta can perform together. ''Don''t worry,'' he says. ''I won''t leave you again.'' A lyrical tale of love, loss and music by master storyteller and illustrator, Colin Thompson.

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!

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.

Stanley, the dog, lives with his human, Gerald, and Gerald''s mum. Life is peaceful, but sometimes Stanley feels quite lonely until one day another dog steals his favourite red rubber ball at his park. This small event changed his life and Gerald and his mother.

The Great Montefiasco''s magic tricks are so bad that his audiences find them hilarious, and when he hires the Fabulous--but clumsy--Betty as his assistant, the duo''s fame is assured.

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?

Comparing the short, happy lives of rats with the long, complicated, dissatisfied lives of humans can lead to depression for the humans. The answer: simplify.

The Floods children are suspects in a murder case! There''s been a murder at Quicklime College and the world''s most famous Forensic Special Investigator, Grusom, has been sent to investigate. With the help of his super-smart new assistant, Avid, and a can of magic beans, Grusom unearths the clues that will help him find the murderer. In no time, he has five suspects. Their names are Winchflat, Morbid, Silent, Merlinmary and Satanella Flood ... Will the Floods be able to stay hidden from the law - and from the evil enemy who is secretly following their every move - until they can prove their innocence?

Sometimes it gets pretty crowded in the naughty corner ... Babies George and Cleopatra, 14-year-old Peter, 38-year old Brian, Nigel the cat, Credence the dog, and Monique, the yellow bird all of them have spent time in the naughty corner. It s meant to make them think about their behaviour, but they''ve turned it into a place to have fun. The only member of the family who hasn t spent time in the naughty corner is Maureen, aka mum. She couldn t be naughty if she tried. She thinks being good makes you a better person but perhaps it just makes your life dull and grey.

A family of wizards and witches living in an ordinary neighborhood in an ordinary town decides that they have had enough of the noisy family living next-door and makes them disappear.

Sally, gifted with flight, flies to remote lands and fulfills her dying grandmother''s wishes by bringing her snow in the summer, and taking her on a journey to the islands in the winter.

Everyone''s favourite bulldog discovers what it really means to be in love... The delightful follow-up to the multi-award-winning picture book FEARLESS. Ages: 4+ the only thing Fearless could remember his mother telling him was, ''Life is much nicer if you love everyone.'' But loving everyone is much more complicated than Fearless had imagined. Until he meets Primrose ... A hilarious new picture book about Fearless the bulldog from award-winning duo Colin thompson and Sarah Davis. Ages: 4+

Ignored by prospective human owners who walk past her cage at the pound, a shy dog with an unusual name becomes a hero during a lightning storm.

Orkward, Quicklime College''s biggest bully, devises a horrid plot to get the better of the Floods, a family of witches and wizards, during the annual sports day competition.

What do you get when you cross the legendary heroes of Camelot with the legendary humour of Colin Thompson? The Dragons! In the days when dragons roamed the earth turning people into toast, a mighty King ruled the world. This King lived in the great castle of Camelot in the beautiful island of Avalon. Guided by the great wizard Merlin, this King became a legend and his name was Arthur. The trouble with legends is that every time their stories are told they become more and more fabulous, so useless twits are often turned into superheroes.This is the true story of King Arthur, who was not a superhero. He was a nasty little spoilt brat who was totally up himself. Or was he . . .?

In a castle, in the heart of an almost-forgotten country, lived a king, who, like all the kings before him, had one dream - to discover the secret of gold. As the dawn of the new Millenium approached, the king''s 19th alchemist, Spinifex, goes to more and more extravagant lengths to build the machine that will realise the king''s dream.

King Arthur has been overthrown. Long live King Arthur! The Dark Ages are over and the wonderful Days of Yore have begun. Everyone is looking forward to a magnificent coronation of the new King Arthur, followed by huge amounts of legendary peace and happiness that will entirely cover the whole of Avalon and there will be purple tights for all. But there is a rebellion in the land. Brat, the old false king, and Bloat, a teenage dragon, have vowed to overthrow the lovely wonderful King Arthur and bring back the Dark Ages. But Morgan le Fey and Sir Lancelot and a thirsty vampire will save the day. Or will they?

In the final book of the Floods series, the job of running the Kingdom of Transylvania Waters is up for grabs. Who will replace King Nerlin? Nerlin''s decided to retire u but which of his children will rule Transylvania Waters next? Everyone gets a turn to try their hand at being the king or queen. Will it be Betty, Winchflat, the twins, or Satanella the dog? The final result might surprise you!

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 . . . ?

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.

"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.

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?

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.