Perceived gender traits are the inspiration for a thought-provoking, moving and touching exploration of what it means to live life as a boy in Blake Nuto’s debut picture book.

If you’re a boy you might be told to roar like the oceans, to stand sure and tall like the mountains and to move confidently and with purpose like the swift-sweeping river. But does being those things really make you a boy? What if you admired the flowers and saw the beauty in colour, found comfort in music and solace in silence? What if you embraced the shield of slowly, the lightness of kindness and the strength of content? When you’re a boy you can be and feel anything…

Ready to give the brain a work out? Decision-making muscles will be given a thorough going over in this thought-provoking, entertaining and unique read.

Life is full of decisions and for a boy like Oscar, a self-confessed mental gymnast, that means opportunity. How to have breakfast eggs? Carnivores or vegetarians? Museum or mosh pit? Cat or dog? History or science? City or country? Beach or pool? Questions and choices all need to be twisted and tumbled, turned this way and that, and explored in every possible way. Oscar has a special way of thinking but will it guide his school to victory at the Aussie School’s Public Speaking Competition…

Where do sheep go to get their wool cut? The baa-baashop. And if time was of the essence then Jack Howe was the man that the ewes and rams would be queuing up to see.

With hands the size of tennis racquets, legs like tree trunks and wrists as strong as steel, Jack Howe was a giant of a man. Light on his feet, Jack could dance an excellent Irish jig but what he was really good at was sheep shearing. Lightning fast, precise and graceful, Jack could shear with the best of them. When a competition to crown the world’s greatest shearer was announced, could Jack clip, snip and shave his way into the history books and take the gold medal…

Endearing animal duo Mini and Milo are back in another emotionally intelligent story that helps little people develop big life skills.

Unlike those of her best friend Milo, Mini’s ears are massive. And with huger than huge ears, Mini should be fantastic at listening. Except she isn’t. And even when when she does almost listen she doesn’t always hear things correctly. When Mini fails to listen to important instructions and misses out on a class excursion she seeks advice from Milo. Will straightening, growing or cleaning ears help? Or is learning to use them the real solution to Mini’s listening struggles…

I loved Helen Rutter’s The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh so am absolutely delighted that she has brought her trademark empathy, humour and warmth to an accessible-to-all Barrington Stoke read.

A sharp tongue and a short temper are an explosive combination for Lacey Layton who is always getting into trouble at school. Out of love with learning, she spends more time in isolation than in the classroom. As a last resort, Lacey is sent to lunch-time music sessions to keep her out of trouble on the playground and there she discovers a love and talent for the piano that she never knew existed. With the help of music teacher Mr Day, Lacey is finally turning her life around so the  bombshell news of his departure hits hard. Will she fall back into her old ways or will music and the piano at the station be the salvation that she so desperately needs…

Summer holiday camp meets murder mystery in Cynthia Murphy’s gripping Barrington Stoke debut.

Chad and his team of instructors are buzzing with excitement at their American-style summer camp in the grounds of an English stately home. Tomorrow will bring new arrivals and signal the start of a month of fun and activities. The campers have hardly had time to settle in before things take a turn for the worse. A near-drowning out on the lake, a fatal cliff fall, death by arrow. Something is very, very wrong at Camp Miller. Are the counsellors victims of a terrible tragedy from the past or is there a more sinister explanation…

In 1930’s Australia, driving was strictly for the boys. Two ladies hadn’t got the message though and friends Jean and Kathleen were determined to show the men that women were just as capable behind the wheel. Having already driven from Melbourne to Darwin, the two friends had their sights set on something else…the land speed record from Perth to Adelaide. In their Lancia Lambda, could the girls break the record that had been set months earlier by celebrated automobile driver Norman ‘Wizard' Smith…

Created by some of the best authors and illustrators of children’s books, Barrington Stoke’s series of Little Gems, with a reading age of 5+, are excellent for emerging and newly independent readers and are a must have for the school or home library. These small packages, that are perfectly sized for little hands, offer a brilliant reading experience and give young children that sense of achievement of finishing a chapter book. No matter which title readers choose they are going to be richly rewarded with engaging and heartfelt stories that deal with issues, emotions and situations that matter and are relatable. Colourfully illustrated throughout, short chapters are perfect for building up reading stamina and dyslexia-friendly font and page tint ensure that every child can enjoy these fantastic titles. And if all of that wasn’t enough, bonus content, including games, trivia and jokes, can be found on the endpapers.

A love of maths provides the magic for friendship beneath a galaxy of stars.

Maddie loves spotting maths in the everyday; the light that casts shadows of parallel lines on her bedroom wall, the fractions that form part of her piano practice, the symmetry in flowers in the garden and the patterns in dad’s paving. She longs for a friend who sees the magic in maths but Grace and Olivia prefer dolls over degrees and icing rather than integers. Will a trip to the observatory with new girl Priya be a match made in maths heaven…