The garden is not the only thing slowly awakening from its winter slumber. In the hive, a colony of bees can sense the changing seasons and soon it will be time to go to work. Spring is calling, sweets scents and bright colours await. There is nectar to drink, pollen to spread and dances to do. It won’t be long until the garden is blooming once again thanks to the busy little bees…

The capabilities of animals never cease to amaze me and from Christiane Dorion, the author that created the award-winning Invented by Animals, comes another brilliant book about the awesome things that they do.

For as long as humankind has been on planet Earth they have had the need to build. But humans are not the only ones with an aptitude for construction. The animal kingdom is bursting with creative and ingenious animals who are able to use paws, beaks, teeth and fins to create incredible things. Animals, with their millions of years of experience in the construction industry, their unique building talents and array of impressive skills, are providing inspiration and are influencing the human world of architecture and design in the twenty-first century…

Our Stories, a new early reader series, is a celebration of Australia’s rich and diverse culture and acknowledges the First Nation’s lands. Large spaced-out print, plenty of illustrations and short chapters make these highly accessible stories that are perfect for sharing together. The first two books in the series, Maku, and When Granny Came to Stay, are released simultaneously with two further titles due out in August.

Maku, ‘You say it like mug: the cup you drink tea out of and coo: the sound an owl makes’, loves watching superhero movies, imagines starring as the hero in one and even has dreams of directing his own smash hit blockbuster. Then his new third grade teacher challenges him to come up with a plot for his movie. But where to begin? Pop and Nan, with their wonderful stories about the Rainbow Serpent and the Great Emu, soon provide some inspiration…

The boy who can burp himself into a monster and then sneeze his way back into human form returns in another monstrously exciting gross-out adventure. Along with his equal best friends Frankenstein and Peregrine, Max is determined to use his unique talent to ‘Protect and Do Good Stuff’ and will need all of his crime-fighting, evil-defeating skills if he is to save his town from the terrible Marmalade Ghost.

The summer holidays have been nowhere near as exciting as Max was hoping. With a lack of protecting and doing good stuff needed, Max and Peregrine find themselves volunteering at the local day centre for old people. But trouble is afoot. The old people are acting really, really bizarrely and Max’s monster senses are on high alert. Max and his friends need to stop the madness and fast.

Whilst the First World War has ended, people are still bearing the scars and when Natty moves to a Welsh village she meets two young soldiers who are struggling to adjust to post-war life. Huw is unable to forget the terrors he has seen whilst Johnny is unable to recall anything, even who he really is. As Natty settles into her new life she finds herself trying to keep a secret, having to unravel a mystery and learning to fight for what she truly believes in…

Set in rural Wales in the 1920’s, When the War Came Home is a beautifully crafted work of historical fiction from Lesley Parr whose debut, The Valley of Lost Secrets, immediately catapulted her into the same echelons as Emma Carroll (widely known as the Queen of historical fiction).

One of Charles Dickens’ most-loved villains gets a fresh outing in this Oliver Twist inspired tale from the fabulous Karen McCombie. True to Barrington Stoke form this read is printed in dyslexia-friendly font and on tinted paper ensuring the book can be accessed by every child.

Although it was a struggle to make ends meet, ten-year-old Ettie, her brother Joe and their mother made the best of what they had. But when Joe walks out and mother dies, Ettie finds herself alone in the world and with no money to pay the rent is out on the streets of London.

Ten-year-old Pearly Woe is desperate to become a member of The Adventurologists’ Guild. The guild, founded by Grandpa Woe, is made up of a top-secret group of adventurers and Pearly is determined to be the next member of her family to join its ranks. Unfortunately, Pearly’s training is not going well and she constantly worries that she will not be good enough.

Worrying is something that comes naturally to Pearly and when her parents go missing and her pet pig is pig-napped she has two very big things to worry about. With no one else to help, Pearly is accidentally thrust into the adventure of a lifetime when she stows away on a ship heading towards Antarctica with a cruel villainess at its helm. With danger lurking everywhere and Emmeline Wood up to no good, can Pearly save the day…

There’s trouble in paradise in Mim’s second adventure that takes her and the amazing Travelling Bookshop to a picturesque village on a Greek island.

The Travelling Bookshop could turn up anywhere with Flossy the horse expertly sniffing out where the bookshop is needed most so that Mim, her brother Nat, and their dad Zeddy can hand out the perfect books to the locals. The Greek island upon which the bookshop has just landed is a buzz of excitement as preparations for a wedding are well underway. Everyone is looking forward to the big day except Anjelica, the bride.

Mim is sure that if Anjelica would just read the right book then everything would be ok but with Zeddy handing out the books that the bookshop chooses rather than the books the locals would like it appears that Anjelica and Stavros are heading for a woeful wedding. Can Mim help them follow their hearts and their dreams…

It was awesome to be back with Ray Grey and friends. Spending time in Laura Ellen Anderson’s imagination is an utter joy and is sure to get you out of a slump or bring some much-needed colour to a grey day.

Ten-year-old Rainbow (Ray) Grey is slowly but surely learning to master her weather weaving powers. Unfortunately, Ray is at the stage where things have a habit of going wrong and when all of the cloud creatures in The Weatherlands start disappearing the obvious explanation is to blame Ray and her misfiring magic. Ray knows that there is more to this mystery and is sure that the worst ROGUE in history, Tornadia Twist, is to blame. But can Ray stop Tornadia whipping up the ultimate storm and destroying her world, cloud magic and planet Earth…

Children who love quirky animals will find much to enjoy in the tales of this unlikely pairing who get into plenty of light-hearted and silly trouble.

Mary is a very happy panda who loves life, spending her days singing, dancing, playing the ukulele and quite often shouting ‘OINK’. Marcus the snake is the polar opposite, he doesn’t particularly enjoy any of the things that Mary does but he is always on the lookout for his best friend who sometimes get herself into a little bit of a pickle.