Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy

Picture Book  Australian Author

Welcome to the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri People. We are part of this land and the land is part of us. This is where we come from. Wominjeka Wurundjeri balluk yearmenn koondee bik. Welcome to Country. Aboriginal communities across Australia have boundaries that are defined by mountain ranges and waterways. Traditionally, to cross these boundaries or enter community country, you needed permission from the neighbouring community. When this permission was granted, the ceremony, now called Welcome to Country, took place. Each community had its own way of welcoming to country, and they still do today.

James Hardy Vaux’s 1819 Dictionary of Criminal Slang by Simon Barnard

In the early 1800s magistrates in the Australian colonies were often frustrated by the language used by reoffending convicts to disguise their criminal activities and intentions. Convict clerk James Hardy Vaux came up with a useful idea: a dictionary of slang and other terms used by convicts. And so, in 1819, he compiled what was to be Australia’s first published dictionary.

This is a fascinating account of convict language, including the origins and early usage of several words that have evolved to become part of Australian English today.

Untamed by A.G. Howard

Fantasy Fiction

Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart.

In this collection of three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their favourite memories of Wonderland. In Six Impossible Things, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her human life with Jeb and her immortal life with Morpheus. Alyssa’s mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and how she gave up the crown to rescue the man who would become her husband in The Boy in the Web. And Morpheus delves into Jeb’s memories of the events of Splintered in The Moth in the Mirror, available in print for the first time.

The Game Master of Garden Place by Denis Markell

Fantasy Fiction

A quirky Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventure that will appeal to gamers and readers of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series.

What if your favorite fantasy game characters showed up on your doorstep IRL?
Sixth graders Ralph, Jojo, Noel, Persephone, and Cammi are hooked on fantasy tabletop role-playing games. When they somehow manage to summon their characters to Ralph's house, things take a truly magical turn!

The Spiderwick Chronicles – The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi

Fantasy Fiction

After finding a mysterious, handmade field guide in the attic of the ramshackle old mansion they’ve just moved into, Jared, his twin brother, Simon, and their older sister, Mallory, discover that there’s a magical and maybe dangerous world existing parallel to our own the world of faerie.

The Grace children want to share their story, but the faeries will do everything possible to stop them...