New Releases by Margaret Mahy

The goats bleat. The pigs squeal. Join the bun fight going on all over the top of the hill.

Though their Saturday morning walk is not as peaceful as planned, a group of children and their dogs, with one brave adult, enjoy themselves.

Seventeen-year-old Ellis finds himself in a series of increasingly bizarre situations in the twenty-four hours following a chance meeting with a childhood acqaintance and three mysterious sisters.

Margaret Mahy is known throughout New Zealand as a brilliant and prolific children''s writer. Less widely known but equally remarkable are her commentaries on fiction, writing and the imagination. The sense of delight and careful attention which she brings to the writing of others has germinated many astute and fascinating talks and essays which are collected here for the first time.

On the fifth anniversary of his older sister''s death, nineteen-year-old Jonny Dart, troubled by feelings of guilt and an imperfect memory of the event, goes in search of the only other witness to the fatal accident. Through a chance meeting with a senile old woman, he finds a way to free himself of the past.

When Saracen Hobday is left alone he falls in love, makes a fortune from a strange new plant, and defeats a gang of ruffian pirates all because of tingleberry ice cream, the tuckertub plant, and a solid gold telephone.

Monty is allergic to ghosts-if there''s one around, he sneezes. That''s how he discovers a ghost-girl called Lulu haunting an old vintage car at the bottom of the garden.

A novel written for young adults by a New Zealander.

Guinea pig grass (big book)

The relationship between Tracey Fortune and her brother Jackson is temporarily strained by Tracey''s desire to be a bridesmaid in her cousin''s wedding and by the mysterious messages that Jackson begins to receive.

Tessa Fortune and her cousins want to raise one hundred dollars for the New Zealand National Telethon.

As the only Bancroft in a family of Fortunes, Lolly has always felt left out of her Fortune cousins'' exclusive gang but when her parents separate Lolly discovers a new inner strength and aspects of kinship that go beyond names.

Captain Wafer and the crew of the Sinful Sausage set sail for the Thousand Islands with a plot to kidnap a famous inventor, only to be thwarted by a witch, a firedrake, and the dastardly Dr. Silkweed.

The seven brothers are precursors to the modern comic book super heroes that are so popular. Each has an unusual skill. The first has remarkable hearing. The second can see over vast distances. The third has unusual strength. The fourth has bones of iron. The fifth has legs that can grow as long and thick as tree trunks. The sixth brother can never be too hot. The seventh brother can cry such large tears that they can drown an entire village. Much effort goes into keeping him happy. The key to the story is that they look alike. The Seven Chinese Brothers is for children who are past the time when they are easily frightened because they take everything very literally (because the brothers face death at the hands of the Chinese emperor in this story). Through great imagination in employing their remarkable talents, teamwork, and an indomitable spirit, the brothers survive the wrath of the emperor. This is the hero story of look-alike brothers who each possess a special physical ability. This rendition has a full-bodied elegance. Cada uno de estos siete hermanos tiene una habilidad especial. El primero tiene un excelente oido. El segundo puede ver sin importar la distancia. El tercero posee una fuerza inusual. El cuarto tiene huesos de hierro. El quinto tiene piernas que pueden crecer tan largas y fuertes como el tronco de un arbol. El sexto hermano no es sensible al calor. El septimo hermano puede llorar lagrimas tan grandes que pueden inundar pueblos enteros. Con una gran imaginacion, sus increibles talentos, su fraternalidad y su espiritu indomable, los hermanos tienen que enfrentarse a la colera del emperador.

Tris and Winola find the underrunners, a vast network of tunnels, the ideal place to escape their unhappy lives and act out their fantasies, but the tunnels become a dangerous place when invaded by an unseen stranger.

A collection of short stories by the noted New Zealand author, including "The Giant''s Bath", "The Pumpkins of Witch Ginger", and "The Devil and the Corner Grocer".

Delphinium & Jason Jones, space orphans on Space Station Vulnick, push a wrong button or two, & whirl off into space on the Skip-ship Dragonfly. In their adventure they must avoid the dreaded Acropola, who is invading this sector of the universe.

"When his parents move to the small town in New Zealand where his father grew up, ten-year-old Pete can hardly wait to meet all his relatives who live there - especially the four cousins his own age. Will he like them? And, more importantly, will they like him? But his cousins - Tracey, Jackson, Tessa and Lolly - decide that Pete must pass a test before he can join their gang: the good fortunes gang. Now Pete must face a scary ordeal that means facing up to his very worst fears - alone in the dark ..."--Back cover

Miffed that her pirate nephew never invites her to the parties he attends, an old woman throws a wonderfully horrendous hullabaloo for herself and his parrot.

While babysitting for the three Terrapin boys, the retired pirate Orpheé Mâchefer throws a big party for all the other pirates at the Terrapin house. It is a grand adventure for the boys, until their parents come home.

In the first of these two short stories, Bassington, a rich little boy who has never had a birthday, decides to steal one from Mrs. Herringbone and Joanna Joy. In the second story, headmistress Tatiana Taffeta seeks an affluent farmer''s hand in marriage.

A fiddle provides more effective protection than a gun; a wobbly table gets fixed; a giant''s daughter saves the day when school is flooded; the residents of Number 10 Timber Lane form a band, using kitchen utensils as instruments, as well as two short poems. Suggested level: junior, primary.

Relates the tangled events that lead the students of the Unexpected School on Hurricane Peak to foil the wicked Sir Quincey and his accomplices and to solve several mysteries.

With humor and wit, internationally acclaimed author Margaret Mahy captures the courageous adventures of seven brothers who use their supernatural gifts to overpower a cruel emperor. This ALA Notable Book features beautifully executed illustrations full of historical detail. "Exceptional".--School Library Journal, starred review. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.