A hilarious and charming story about a boy and his fishy friend who do a series of odd jobs for their eccentric neighbours, from an Australian Children's Laureate and the bestselling creators of The Terrible Plop.Ursula Dubosarsky was the Australian Children's Laureate 2020-2021Hercules Quick wants to be a magnificent magician. He just needs a special box of magic tricks. But the box is expensive, and Hercules doesn't have any money. Luckily, Hercules lives in a big apartment block with Aunt Alligator and his tadpole friend, Sylvie, and he has plenty of neighbours who are willing to pay for his help. Whether it's babysitting for the Elks, spring-cleaning for Queen Claude, or helping Professor Calamari choose the perfect bow tie, no job is too odd for Hercules Quick!Join the enterprising Hercules on his neighbourhood adventures as he discovers that sometimes the best magic of all is not a trick.Praise for Ask Hercules Quick and The...

A boy stood in the playground under the big fig tree. 'He can't speak English,' the children whispered.Sydney, 1942. The war is coming to Australia - not only with the threat of bombardment, but also the arrival of refugees from Europe. Dreamy Columba's world is growing larger. She is drawn to Ellery, the little boy from far away, and, together with her highly practical best friend Hilda, the three children embark on an adventure through the harbour-side streets - a journey of discovery and terror, in pursuit of the mysterious blue cat ...

A delightfully funny detective story for 6 to 8 year olds and a new kind of puzzle book from a bestselling duo working together for the first time.Buenos Aires' Chief of Police, Coco Carlomagno, is sure his office high in the Obelisco is haunted. Every day at the same time he sees a floating pineapple and every day he hears a terrible noise. What could it mean? Who could it be? There's only one guinea pig Coco can turn to to help him in his hour of need: his logic-loving cousin Alberta. Can Alberta help him unravel the mysteries of the perplexing pineapple?

The second in a series of delightfully funny detective stories for 6 to 8 year olds and a new kind of puzzle book from a bestselling duo working together for the first time.Coco Carlomagno, the well-respected (if somewhat easily startled) Chief of Police, has run into an unusually difficult problem. From his office high in the Obelisco, Buenos Aires' tallest building, he can see a light turn off and on. Could it be a message? How can he possibly decode it? In desperation he once again calls on his clever cousin Alberta to help him solve the puzzle of the looming lamplight.

A beautiful, haunting novel from the author of the multi-award-winning The Red Shoe. Set in 1967, and imbued with the atmosphere and psychological intrigue of Picnic at Hanging Rock. There were only eleven of them, like eleven sisters all the same age in a large family. Because it was such a very small class, they had a very small classroom, which was perched at the very top of the school - up four flights of stairs, up in the high sky, like a colony of little birds nesting on a cliff. 'Today, girls,' said Miss Renshaw, 'we shall go out into the beautiful Gardens and think about death.'In the Gardens they meet a poet. What follows is inexplicable, shocking, a scandal. What really happened that day? Is 'the truth' as elusive as it seems? And do the little girls know more than they are letting on?A haunting and unforgettable novel from a multi-award-winning author.

It's a national emergency! A rare and extremely valuable mongoose is missing and the legendary Buenos Aires zoo is in chaos. But with rabbits in the Tigers' Taj Mahal and hippos in Panda's Palace, the zoo is a very confusing place. Coco may be the Chief of Police, but solving crimes can be very stressful. Only the calming presence of his brainy cousin Alberta can help. Can Alberta and Coco follow the clues and deduce the whereabouts of the missing mongoose?

A beautifully written story about an ordinary family living in the Northern Beaches of Sydney during the 1950s, against the backdrop of such world events as the Cold War and the threat of the H bomb, the unrest in Indo China and the high profile case of KGB defector Vladimir Petrov. The story is chronicled by six-year-old Matilda, who sees but doesn't understand what is going on around her. Her sister Frances is troubled by the death of a friend, their sister Elizabeth, who decides she will not to return to school, becomes obsessed with reading the newspaper. Their father is often away and when he is, Uncle Paul seems always to be around. Mysterious people move in next door and one day, when she is at the pictures, Matilda notices that the Russian man in the newsreel looks just like one of the new neighbours. A novel that works on many levels, this is nothing short of Ursula Dubosarsky writing at the height of her powers.

This is a story about a boy called Pender and a kangaroo called Brindabella, about how they became friends, and all the things that happened to them because of it.Pender and his father live in an old house made of honey-coloured stone in the bush by the river, with only the company of his father's paintings and the loyal dog, Billy-Bob. Then, on one winter morning, a gunshot amongst the trees changes everything.When Pender rescues Brindabella from the pouch of her murdered mother, an unusual friendship blossoms between the lonely boy and the orphaned joey. But Brindabella is no ordinary kangaroo. And though Pender has saved her life, the untameable wildness of the bush—and freedom—call to her...Lyrical and unforgettable, Brindabella explores the brutal beauty of the Australian bush.

Coco is the well-respected, if somewhat easily startled, Chief of Police in Buenos Aires. Alberta is his more sensible cousin. Together they crack the cases that confound this puzzling city. Coco Carlomagno is trying to avert a national disaster. La Bella Cucharita, the highly strung world-famous opera singer, is due to make her return to the stage after an unfortunate nerve-wracking incident - but a strange message has her rattled. Who on earth would send La Bella Cucharita mysterious notes on the eve of such an eagerly awaited performance?Luckily Coco is on the case, and with a little help from his logic-loving cousin Alberta, he can discover just who is behind the quivering quavers.

Coco Carlomagno is the well-respected, if somewhat easily startled, Chief of Police in Buenos Aires. Alberta is his more sensible cousin. Together they crack the cases that confound this puzzling city.Coco's nerves are all a-jangle. Deep in a cemetery in Buenos Aires, the tomb of the famous, much-lamented tango singer Anibal Manzana has everyone baffled. It is talking! Could it be haunted?Luckily Coco has his commonsensical cousin Alberta on hand to help. Can they unravel this ghostly riddle?

Perplexing puzzles, mind-boggling mazes and cracking codes feature in this series of stories about a pair of guinea-pig detectives - Coco Carlomagno, the easily-startled Chief of Police, and his more sensible cousin, Alberta.