I Can’t Wait For…

I Can’t Wait For…Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

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I’ve been a huge fan of Kate DiCamillo for many years.  I first fell in love with her stories when I read The Tale of Despereaux and have loved all of her books since.

I’m very excited to read her new book, Raymie Nightingale, coming from Walker Books in April.  Everything I’ve seen for it so far, from the blurb to the book trailer, makes it sound fantastic.

To whet your appetite check out the blurb and the book trailer below:

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Raymie Clarke has come to realise that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father – who has run away with a dental hygienist – will see Raymie’s picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton, but she has to compete with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante with her show-business background and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship – and challenge them to come to each other’s rescue in unexpected ways.

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo is available from Walker Books Australia in April.

I Can’t Wait For…The Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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I am not the world’s biggest Harry Potter fan but I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on the new, fully-illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.  It is illustrated by the wonderful Jim Kay, whose illustrations I first got introduced to in Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls.  Those illustrations were in black and white but his illustrations for Harry Potter are in colour and they look absolutely gorgeous!  A number of different spreads from the book have been released recently and with each new page I fall more in love with this book.  I imagine it can’t be easy illustrating a hugely popular book like this, especially after all the movies have been released, but it certainly looks like Jim has done an amazing job.

The cover alone shows you the magic that awaits inside the pages of this book:

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Check out this sneak peek inside the book from the  Bloomsbury UK website!

Watch this short video of Jim Kay explaining his illustrating process for the book:

The Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling and illustrated by Jim Kay is released in October by Bloomsbury Publishers.  It is supplied in NZ by Allen and Unwin NZ.

I Can’t Wait For…The Marvels by Brian Selznick

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Brian Selznick’s books are absolutely stunning!  I love his artwork and the way that he tells a story using a combination of illustration and text.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck are some of my favourite books and they’re the sort of books I love just holding.  They are huge books but this is because of the way that Brian Selznick likes to tell his stories, alternating between pages of text and pages of illustration.

Brian Selznick has a new book being released in October, called The Marvels.  I can’t wait to hold it in my hands and read what is sure to be an amazing story.  Here is the cover, blurb and book trailer:

The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Albert Nightingale’s strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.

I Can’t Wait For…Another Day by David Levithan

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David Levithan is one of those authors whose books I always pick up (I don’t always get round to reading them).  I love his writing style and his books stand out as being quite different.  Every Day is one of my absolute favourite books.  It’s one of those few books that has had a real affect on me and has stuck with me. In Every Day, A is in a different body each day, so it has to get used to being a different person (on the outside) and acting like that person. You can read my very gushing review here on the blog.

Another Day is a companion novel to Every Day and tells the story from Rhiannon’s point of view.  I know it will be very different from Every Day but I’m curious to see the story from Rhiannon’s perspective.

Another Day is published by Text Publishing and is available in Australia and NZ now.

Another Day

Bestselling author David Levithan (co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green) tells Rhiannon’s side of the story as she seeks to discover the truth about love and how it can change you.

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin. She’s even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

But one morning everything changes. Justin wants to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning.

Confused, depressed and desperate for another great day, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Until a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with—the one who made her feel like a real person—wasn’t Justin at all.

I Can’t Wait For…The Bakehouse by Joy Cowley

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Viewed from a distance of seventy-plus years, 1943 was history soup, everything mixed up, and it was difficult to separate reality from what he had read or been told.  One event, though, was crystal clear and refused to be forgotten.  He’d never talked about it to the others, not Meg and certainly not Betty, but he didn’t want to be buried with the truth.

Someone should know what happened that winter day.

Bert wants nothing more than be old enough to fight in the war—to handle weapons, defend his country, and have a life filled with adventure. Little does he know that the secrets and danger of war don’t always stay at the front line, and that one boy’s actions can change everything.

I have loved Joy Cowley’s previous books from Gecko Press, Dunger and Speed of Light, and The Bakehouse sounds equally as good.  Gecko Press always produce beautiful books and their covers for Joy Cowley’s books are no exception.

The Bakehouse is released in NZ in August.