Cult Writers by Ian Haydn Smith; Kristelle Rodeia (Illustrator)

$24.99 AUD

Category: Literature | Series: Cult Figures Ser.

In Cult Writers Ian Haydn Smith introduces 50 novelists deserving of a cult status. The literary genres and subjects explored within these writers’ pages are rich and diverse – acting as mirrors of their genius minds: from Irvine Welsh’s gritty Edinburgh streets, to Ken Kesey’s drug-fuelled madness; fro m feminist trailblazer Sylvia Plath to the magical realism of Angela Carter. Discover little knowns with small, devout followings and superstars gracing the covers of magazines: each writer is special in their individuality and their ability to inspire, antagonise and delight.  Following Cult Artists, Cult Filmmakers and Cult Musicians, Cult Writers is an essential addition to any book lover's library, as well as an entertaining introduction to our weird and wonderful world of literature.The writers:  Kathy Acker, James Baldwin, J.G. Ballard, Mikhail Bulgakov, Charles Bukowski, William S. Burroughs, Octavia E. Butler, Italo Calvino, Albert Camus, Angela Carter, Colette, Maryse Conde, Julio Cortazar, Philip K. Dick, Douglas Coupland, Marguerite Duras, Ralph Ellison, Elena Ferrante, Janet Frame, Jean Genet, Joseph Heller, Michel Houellebecq, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Ken Kesey, Chris Kraus, Milan Kundera, Ursula K. Le Guin, Doris Lessing, Cormac McCarthy, Carson McCullers, Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami, Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Pynchon, Raymond Queneau, Ayn Rand, Pauline Reage, Jean Rhys, Juan Rulfo, Francoise Sagan, J.D. Salinger, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Donna Tartt, Jim Thompson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Virginia Woolf, Irvine Welsh. ...Show more

Prehistoric Mammals by Ken McNamara and Peter Murray

$18.95 AUD

Category: Animals & Natural World

In 1909 a rich accumulation of many thousands of bones was excavated from Mammoth Cave in Australias south-west. Many of the bones far exceeded in size any modern-day native mammal, evidence that in prehistoric times giant mammals had roamed the Australian bush. They included a marsupial the size of a b uffalo, kangaroos more than two metres tall, wallabies much bigger than any living species, a marsupial lion about the size of a leopard, giant echidnas and wombats, plus the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). What did these animals look like and how did they live? And how did they become extinct in a relatively short period of time? ...Show more

What's Happening to Me? For Boys (Usborne) by Alex Frith

$16.99 AUD

Category: Teenagers | Series: What's Happening to Me? | Reading Level: Children's - Grade 3-4, Age 8-9

A sensitive, detailed and informative guide to male puberty, invaluable for young boys and parents alike, tackling key subjects from physical changes to emotional ones. Bright, stylish original colour illustrations and diagrams reveal everything young boys need to know about the changes they experience as they near puberty. Written in a witty yet factual and clear style that makes this confusing and tricky subject approachable. Includes basic details on what's happening to girls, too. Written in conjunction with medical and counselling experts. For 9+ year olds. ...Show more

Australia's Most Extreme by Kathy Riley

$14.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

The biggest, fastest, toughest and smartest creatures! What animal runs so fast it goes blind? Which creature had a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant? What insects carries a bomb in its rear end? The creatures in this book are the superheroes of Australia's animal world, beating all the records when it comes to size, speed, strength and survival. Enter the world of Australian's Most Extreme - and prepare to be amazed! ...Show more

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

$32.99 AUD

Category: Encycopaedias, Science, Maths & reference materials | Reading Level: 10-14

"Bill's own fascination with science began with a battered old schoolbook he had when he was about ten or eleven years old in America. It had an illustration that captivated him - a cutaway diagram showing Earth s interior as it would look if you cut into it with a large knife and carefully removed abou t a quarter of its bulk. The idea of lots of startled cars and people falling off the edge of that sudden cliff (and 4,000 miles is a pretty long way to fall) was what grabbed him in the beginning, but gradually his attention turned to what the picture was trying to teach him namely, that Earth s interior is made up of several different layers of materials, and at the very centre of it all is a glowing sphere of iron and nickel, which is as hot as the surface of the Sun, according to the caption. And he very clearly remembers thinking- How do they know that? Bill's story-telling skill makes the "How?" and, just as importantly, the "Who?" of scientific discovery entertaining and accessible for all ages. In this exciting new edition for younger readers, he covers the wonder and mysteries of time and space, the frequently bizarre and often obsessive scientists and the methods they ...Show more

How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath; Mary Reckmeyer

$24.99 AUD

Category: Children

An illustrated adaptation of the long-running bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? (more than 400,000 copies sold) for kids -- told through the story of a boy who learns a valuable "bucket filling" metaphor and watches it come to life as the day unfolds. Every moment matters. Each of us has an invisibl e bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful. Yet most children (and many adults) don’t realize the importance of having a full bucket throughout the day. In How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids, Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well. Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the buckets of his classmates, teachers and family members. Before the day is over, you’ll see how Felix learns to be a great bucket filler, and in the process, discovers that filling someone else’s bucket also fills his own. ...Show more

Pop Art: A Colourful History by Alastair Sooke

$24.99 AUD

Category: Art reference

Pop Art is the most important 20th-century art movement. A shift from the archetype to the stereotype, from the exalted to the everyday, it brought Modernism to the masses, making art sexy and fun with Coke cans and comics. Today, in our age of selfies and social networking, we are still living in a wor ld defined by Pop. Full of brand new interviews with the most important living Pop Artists, Sooke's book traces the movement's surprising origins and describes the great works by Warhol, Lichtenstein and other key figures, revealing Pop's often overlooked global story, forgotten female artists, and afterlife today. ...Show more

Every Day is Malala Day by Rosemary McCarney

$12.99 AUD

Category: Picture Books | Reading Level: 7+

This is a letter, illustrated with beautiful photographs, to the girl who stood up to the Taliban and continues to inspire people all around the world.

1,000 Books to Read Before You Die - A Life-Changing List by James Mustich

$49.99 AUD

Category: Literature

"The ultimate literary bucket list." --THE WASHINGTON POST          Celebrate the pleasure of reading and the thrill of discovering new titles in an extraordinary book that's as compulsively readable, entertaining, surprising, and enlightening as the 1,000-plus titles it recommends. Covering fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die ranges across cultures and through time to offer an eclectic collection of works that each deserve to come with the recommendation, You have to read this. But it's not a proscriptive list of the "great works"--rather, it's a celebration of the glorious mosaic that is our literary heritage. Flip it open to any page and be transfixed by a fresh take on a very favorite book. Or come across a title you always meant to read and never got around to. Or, like browsing in the best kind of bookshop, stumble on a completely unknown author and work, and feel that tingle of discovery. There are classics, of course, and unexpected treasures, too. Lists to help pick and choose, like Offbeat Escapes, or A Long Climb, but What a View. And its alphabetical arrangement by author assures that surprises await on almost every turn of the page, with Cormac McCarthy and The Road next to Robert McCloskey and Make Way for Ducklings, Alice Walker next to Izaac Walton.  There are nuts and bolts, too--best editions to read, other books by the author, "if you like this, you'll like that" recommendations , and an interesting endnote of adaptations where appropriate. Add it all up, and in fact there are more than six thousand titles by nearly four thousand authors mentioned--a life-changing list for a lifetime of reading. "948 pages later, you still want more!" --THE WASHINGTON POST   ...Show more

The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers by Nancie Atwell

$30.00 AUD

Category: Teacher Resource | Series: Bright Idea

Desert Lake Big Book (Nature Storybooks) by Pamela Freeman; Liz Anelli Liz

$44.99 AUD

Category: Teacher Resource

It's raining up north and soon everything will change for the desert lake. The dry salt bed of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre shimmers in the desert heat. But far up north, the rains have come. Water is flooding into empty riverbeds and swirling down towards the lake. Soon everything will change.

The Great Wall in 50 Objects by William Lindesay

$31.99 AUD

Category: Asian

The culmination of a lifetime's field work and research, William Lindesay selects fifty artefacts from around the world to tell the story of the Great Wall from the second century BC to the late-twentieth century. Abraham Ortelius' pioneering world atlas, the unexpected origins of 'wolf smoke', the prol iferation of the blunderbuss in the fifteenth century Great Wall theatre of war, even Kafka's classic short story 'At the Building of the Great Wall' are some of the unique objects that were shaped by China's most famous national landmark. Enhanced by stories of their discovery, and those of their modern-day keepers, The Great Wall in 50 Objects is a personal and historical exploration of a world wonder. 'William Lindesay has a knack for approaching the iconic Great Wall of China in ways that are creative, idiosyncratic, and deeply personal ...He has succeeded again with The Great Wall in 50 Objects.' Peter Hessler, author of River Town and Oracle Bones 'William Lindesay shows us the Wall in a completely new light by looking at the smaller objects that make up its history ...Through these objects we feel the Great Wall transform from architecture into a living part of the history and culture of China. ' Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World 'For years, Lindesay has hiked and studied the Great Wall with exceptional passion. To him, it seems, the Great Wall is not a mere structure, a political icon, or a cultural curiosity, but a treasure trove of stories.' Jaime FlorCruz, former Beijing bureau chief of Time magazine and CNN 'If you are going to China, and intend to see the Great Wall (or even if, unwisely, you don't), take this book on the plane with you, and absorb as many of its intriguing nuggets of Wall-lore and China-lore as you can - it will make your visit infinitely richer.' Prof. Christopher Cullen, Emeritus Director, Needham Research Institute, Cambridge 'William Lindesay lives and breathes Great Wall history and he exudes it with an engaging passion.' Mike Loades, author of Swords and Swordsmen 'Lindesay presents a coherent and highly informative account of the geography, history, and material culture of China's Great Wall. His compelling and well-written account is rich in profound and often quite unexpected insights.' Lothar von Falkenhausen, Professor of Chinese Archaeology and Art History, UCLA ...Show more