AustLit

'A moving illustrated verse novel about a girl dealing with isolation at school, and with her grandma’s illness at home.

'At school, Pearl feels as though she is in a group of one. Her teacher wants her to write poems that rhyme but Pearl’s poems don’t. At home, however, Pearl feels safe and loved, but her grandmother is slowly fading, and so are Mum and Pearl. When her grandmother eventually passes away, Pearl wants life to go back to the way it was and refuses to talk at the funeral. But she finds the courage to deliver a poem for her grandmother that defies her teacher’s idea of poetry – her poem doesn’t rhyme; it comes from the heart.' (Publication summary)

'After his dad dies in a fishing accident, Stride turns to Ferd, his dad's pet bird, for comfort. He's determined to make sure nothing in his life changes so dramatically ever again. But soon Ferd makes a new friend - a girl! - and Stride's mother makes unsettling plans, and suddenly everything safe and familiar in his world spirals dangerously out of control...

'This summer, Stride has to overcome more than just his grief for his father - he has to learn to let go, trust others and even put his own life at risk. And he has to find a way to accept that change isn't always a huge and terrible thing.

'A coming-of-age novel about a boy, a bird and a bond that even a bushfire can't break.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Thomas has very itchy nipples. It's really embarrassing. It's the most embarrassing secret he's ever had.

'So the question is – why are his nipples so itchy? Is it a rare and special gift or the worst thing to EVER happen to a boy?

'Only one thing is certain. Thomas and his best friends are in for an adventure that will take them from the sunshine of Australia to the streets of Paris...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.