Children’s World.

RUN AWAY TO ADVENTURE
Melbourne schoolgirl Alexandra Adornetto burst onto the children’s fiction scene at age 13 with her first book The Shadow Thief. We talk to the 15-year-old about her second book, due out this month.

The Lampo Circus is your second book in The Strangest Adventures series. How many are you planning?
The third and final instalment is called Von Gobstopper’s Arcade and it will be released in November 2008. I have ideas for a new series I’d like to write after this one is completed.

What are the points of realism in your two books?
Milli and Ernest are based on my cousin, Thomas and me. Many of the characters are based on people I know – even if it’s just one physical trait, a mannerism or a distinctive way of speaking. An example is when Milli sleeps under her bed instead of on top of it to rid herself of the fear of the monster who lives there. I attempted this, although I didn’t last long.

What do you want the readers of your books to come away with?
I want my readers to come away dreaming of magical lands and to have their own adventures. Also to realise the importance of imagination and childhood – don’t grow up too quickly, because we’re only children for a short time.

Who is your favourite young fictional hero?
Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, because she faces so much madness so calmly. She isn’t afraid to give the characters in Wonderland a telling off about how ridiculous they are.

Will you always write for children?
Writing children’s fiction is such enormous fun and you can include talking flamingos and food fights. I am considering writing a teenage novel because that is where I am right now age-wise. But I’d love to be like Roald Dahl and make a living out of writing children’s stories!

The Lampo Circus is published by HarperCollins, AU$19.99, ISBN 9780732286194.

A COLOURFUL CHILDHOOD

THE FLOODS: THE GREAT OUTDOORS

The sixth instalment of this popular series by Colin Thompson sees the wizards at the beach, getting embroiled in a sandcastle-building competition and a circus where the animals are mistreated. Will the Floods do the right thing? Random House, AU$14.95, ISBN 9781741662535.

CRUNCH TIME: THE FIGHT TO SAVE FOOTBALL

Fans of Mascot Manor comics by Boyd Hicklin will delight in his first novel about Aussie Rules Football mascots and the world they live in. Even for non-footy fans, young Toby’s passion for the AFL and the strange adventures that arise, are entertaining. Geoff Slattery Publishing, AU$14.95, ISBN 9780980346602.

THE FARAWAY FAIRIES

Tasmania-based Eleanor Coombe, author of The Ultimate Fairy Book, is launching a six-book series on the Faraway Fairies (and assorted gnomes, dragons and goblins) living on Faraway Island, where good triumphs over evil. Lothian Children’s Books (Hachette Livres Australia), AU$12.99.

ONE BIG WACKY FAMILY

It’s quadruple the pleasure with four Wacky Families books by award-winning author Jackie French and illustrator Stephen Michael King in one essential compilation book. HarperCollins, AU$19.99, ISBN 9780732287450.

WHAT COLOUR IS YOUR WORLD?

This children’s classic by illustrator Bob Gill – the first reissue in 40 years – encourages children to think about the colourful world around them. Phaidon Press (Bookwise International), AU$19.95, ISBN 9780714848501.

Book of the month
KYM LARDNER COLLECTION

Kym Lardner has been adding his stardust to Australian primary schools for more than two decades. Describing himself as “a stand-up comic for children”, Lardner’s stories are now available in the one illustrated volume. ABC Books, AU$24.95, ISBN 9780733320248.