Category illustrators

Shortlisting for The Boy who Could Fly!

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We are delighted to announce that Ursula Dubosarsky’s The Boy Who Could Fly And Other Magical Plays for Children (illustrated by Amy Golbach) has been shortlisted for the 2020 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards, in the 8 to 10 year old category. Congratulations, Ursula and Amy, on this very well-deserved award for a very special book we are very proud to publish!

The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards which are held every year, aim to promote quality Australian books that help children get the best, most literate start in life.

Books are awarded for “Best Book for Language and Literacy Development” in the following categories:

  • Birth to 3 years
  • 3 to 5 years
  • 5 to 8 years
  • 8 to 10 years
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Authored Children’s Book Award.

Each book is judged on its appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in communication and literacy development.

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The Boy who Could Fly a Featured Book on United Publishers of Armidale website

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We are very pleased to say that our most recent title, Ursula Dubosarsky’s wonderful collection, The Boy Who Could Fly and Other Magical Plays for Children, (illustrated by Amy Golbach) is one of the Featured Books for the newly-launched United Publishers of Armidale website.

As well as details of the book, including buying links(just click on the book cover on the page), you will find some fabulous fun activities created by Ursula and Amy, centred around the book. We invite you to check them out!

Announcing United Publishers of Armidale!

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NEWS!

Christmas Press(of which Second Look is an imprint)  and fellow children’s books publisher, Little Pink Dog Books, are delighted to announce a brand-new joint initiative, United Publishers of Armidale, with the launch of a new website, www.unitedpublishersofarmidale.net, and associated social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The United Publishers of Armidale website features a number of books from each publisher, with free activities and resources to go with each, as well as information on each title. Activities and resources include audio and video presentations by creators, puzzles, quizzes, word searches, printable colouring pages, teachers’ notes, and more. The Featured Books page will be updated regularly with new, upcoming and backlist titles and their associated activities, while the About page gives information about the UPA partner publishers.

‘The idea behind United Publishers of Armidale is that in these difficult times, it makes sense for publishers, especially small, regionally-based publishers like us, to pool our efforts and resources in order to promote and showcase our books and help to support our creator communities, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Little Pink Dog Books on this,’ said Sophie Masson, co-director of Christmas Press. ‘But it’s also very much about supporting the wider community, especially children, their families, teachers and carers, by offering free resources and activities through a dedicated website.’

‘We are delighted to be partnering with Christmas Press in this new enterprise and we hope that everyone will have lots of fun discovering our featured books and the activities around them,’ said Kathy Creamer, co-director of little Pink Dog Books. ‘And we warmly thank our authors and illustrators for getting so enthusiastically behind the project and creating such fabulous and diverse activities for our readers.’

Books featured for the website launch are, for Christmas Press, middle grade historical fantasy novel, The Phantasmic Detective Agency, by Julian Leatherdale (out May 2020 in Eagle Books imprint) and Australian Children Laureate Ursula Dubosarsky’s recent collection of plays, The Boy Who Could Fly and Other Magical Plays for Children(Second Look, 2019); and for Little Pink Dog Books, author-illustrator Trish Donald’s picture book Tissy Woo and the Worry Monsters(2018) and Parmesan, The Reluctant Racehorse, written by Jacqui Halpin and illustrated by John Phillips (2017).

Check it all out here.

Great review of The Boy who could Fly in Magpies Magazine

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There’s a great review of The Boy who could Fly and Other Magical Plays for Children, in the most recent issue of Magpies Magazine. Here’s a short extract:

Dubosarsky uses straight-forward, sometimes humorous language for the dialogue and episodes. The scripts are ideal for children to read or perform and can be staged simply or more extravagantly…Amy Golbach has illustrated one simple picture at the beginning of each tale to help orient children into the ancient period and characters. 

The review isn’t available online, but below is the full review, as a jpeg.

Announcing our next Second Look title, coming May 2018

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We are very pleased to announce that our next Second Look title will be a brand new edition of Pamela Freeman’s fun space adventure novel for children 7-10, The Fastest Ship in Space. 

The new edition, out in May 2018, features lively new cover and internal illustrations by Yvonne Low. Cover reveal coming later!

About the book:

For Katie, exploring the far reaches of the Solar System in her family spaceship is just ordinary life – but living on Earth, now THAT would be exciting! There seems no way she and her brother, Sam, will ever see Earth, until they accidentally end up on the fastest Ship in space, on its way to the Moon. But will they ever get there? Space Station security, smugglers, space pirates – not to mention their parents – all see ready to stop them. Katie and Sam aren’t going to be pushed around. Neither is their gran…

 

Originally published under the title of Ship-Born by Koala Books in 2002.

About the author:

Pamela Freeman is an award-winning author of more than 30 books for both adults and children. Her children’s books include the much-loved Victor’s Quest and its sequel Victor’s Challenge (Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fantasy) and the Princess Betony series which is set in the same universe, as well as science fiction, family drama and non-fiction picture books. Her most recent children’s book, Desert Lake, won the ASO Librarian’s Choice Award, was highly commended in the Educational Publishing Awards, and was shortlisted for four other awards. Pamela also writes historical fiction for adults as Pamela Hart.

About the illustrator:

Yvonne Low is an illustrator, writer, and award-winning artist. Her book illustrations have featured in Sophie Masson’s Jack of Spades(Eagle Books), and in the anthology A Christmas Menagerie(Christmas Press), edited by Beattie Alvarez. Her work has also featured in The School Magazine, she has illustrated for ABC Commercial and her work can be seen at http://www.scbwi.org, http://www.thestylefile.com
and on her website http://www.yvonnelow.com.
Website: http://www.yvonnelow.com
Twitter: @YLcreate

 

 

A short but sweet review of Pocketful in Reading Time…

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Reading Time reviewer Mem Capp highly recommends the book. Here’s the review:

Max Fatchen grew up on the land, a fact reflected in his poems full of humour, fun and keen observation. Using a range of poetic styles, from couplet, to limerick, to prose poetry, he revels in family fun and folly, dances in the woodshed, and the joy of a flooding creek after times of drought; especially when it means being late for school.

A journalist and writer of more than 20 books, Fatchen wrote novels, picture books and poetry. This new edition of his much loved favourites has an introduction by Janeen Brian and playful  black and white illustrations by Kathy Creamer.

An important addition to any home or school library.  Highly recommended for ages 5+.

And another great review for Pocketful in Buzz Words

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Well-known children’s poet and novelist Di Bates has published a fabulous review of A Pocketful of Rhymes in Buzz Words. Here’s an extract:

What a wonderful idea it was of Australian publisher Christmas Press to introduce a second imprint to re-introduce children’s books which were popular in their day and/or which have gone on to become classics. Hence this collection of poems, his 13th book, written by Max Fatchen, first published in 1989 by Omnibus, is now given new life with an introduction by award-winning author/poet Janeen Brian, and illustrations by Kathy Creamer.

You can read the whole review here.