Queeneka and Klaude are not very happy about their roles in the school play, Candy Dreams. They were both trying for the lead role and shy, quiet Javier beat them both! Things get even stickier at rehearsals when Klaude tries to remember his lines and Javier's and when Queeneka adds more lines and solos to hers. No one is working as a team to make the play successful. That is, not until Javier goes missing on opening night! Can everyone work together to find Javier? Will Mrs. Holmes cancel the play? And who is that man hiding and lurking around the school? These mysteries are perfectly suited to keep readers guessing as they solve for clues. With longer sentences and fewer illustrations, they are just the right fit for your early fluent reader.Extensive back matterUnderlying issues related to friends, family, and growing upKeeps kids guessing with false clues

One of Australia’s most celebrated novels: one woman’s journey from Australia to London Nora Porteous, a witty, ambitious woman from Brisbane, returns to her childhood home at age seventy. Her life has taken her from a failed marriage in Sydney to freedom in London; she forged a modest career as a seamstress and lived with two dear friends through the happiest years of her adult life. At home, the neighborhood children she remembers have grown into compassionate adults. They help to nurse her back from pneumonia, and slowly let her in on the dark secrets of the neighborhood in the years that have lapsed. With grace and humor, Nora recounts her desire to escape, the way her marriage went wrong, the vanity that drove her to get a facelift, and one romantic sea voyage that has kept her afloat during her dark years. Her memory is imperfect, but the strength and resilience she shows over the years is nothing short of extraordinary. A book about the sweetness of escape, and the mix of pain and acceptance that comes with returning home. From the Trade Paperback edition.Review“Finely honed structurally and tightly textured, it’s a wry, romantic story that should make Anderson’s American reputation and create a demand for her other work.” —***The Washington Post “There may be a better novel than Tirra Lirra by the River this year, but I doubt it.” —***Cleveland Plain Dealer “Subtle, rich, and seductive, this beautifully written novels casts a spell of delight upon the reader.” —Library JournalAbout the AuthorJESSICA ANDERSON (1916–2010) was an accomplished novelist and playwright from Queensland, Australia. She was a writer in residence at the University of New England, Armidale; a Senior Commonwealth Fellow; and two-time award winner of the Miles Franklin Award for literature (for Tirra Lirra By the River and The Impersonators). Though she did not have the means to devote herself to writing until she was forty, she wrote six novels, ten radio plays, and one short story collection before her death in 2010. ANNA FUNDER is the author of Stasiland and All That I Am. 

Divya's day started out rough. She almost missed the bus and had a rough ride to school. Divya knew that her rough day was nothing compared to what Bus Driver McCool was going through. He never forgot Divya or drove like a race car driver. Something was up. Determined to find out answers and help, Divya follows Bus Driver McCool. What she finds out is not at all what she thought. These mysteries are perfect for your early fluent reader. With longer sentences and fewer illustrations, these are suited to keep readers guessing as they solve for clues.Underlying issues related to friends, family, and growing upKeeps kids guessing with false clues Extensive back matter

'He jumped down to the wharf and walked alone out of the torchlight to stand behind Letty. Frances looked from his face to her sister’s, and once again felt the weakening flush of fear. She was too much at the mercy of her company, and was about to discover which of her unpredictable selves would advance to meet these two strangers.' The penal colony of Moreton Bay is under the command of Patrick Logan, a man not afraid of brutal discipline. But his rule is being questioned and the arrival of his sister-in-law Frances will change everything.The Commandant, with an introduction by Carmen Callil, is an unforgettable tale of power, duty and humanity.'Quietly astonishing: enthrals, entertains and gratifies on every level.' Helen Garner Jessica Anderson was born in Gayndah, Queensland, in 1916. Anderson wrote stories and adapted novels for radio before she published her first novel, An Ordinary Lunacy, in 1963. In 1978, she...

Fifteen-year-old Calli has almost everything she could want in life—two loving moms, a good-looking boyfriend, and a best friend who has always been there for support. An only child, Calli is excited when her parents announce that they want to foster a girl named Cherish. Unfortunately, having a new sister is not at all what Calli expected. Cherish lies, steals, kisses Calli's boyfriend, and seems to get away with just about everything. Tired of being pushed around and determined to get even, Calli decides to take matters into her own hands. But her plan for revenge goes horribly awry. Calli ends up isolating herself from her moms, her boyfriend, and even her best friend, while she wrestles with her guilt. She is desperate for a chance to make amends, but finds some relationships are easier to repair than others.