Kate Lalor

The Faber Book of Bedtime Stories is a wonderful collection of seventeen stories written by a mixture of bestselling, and up-and-coming authors. It is wholesome and nostalgic in its style of writing. It rekindles memories of hearing classic fairytales at bedtime. However, the stories are contemporary with the characters encountering modern challenges. In the classic fairytale fashion, the heroes of the stories are presented with problems that they must overcome with a mixture of compassion, love and friendship. Each story has a positive and hopeful message for bedtime.

In this fun and metropolitan mystery story, Rita Wong stumbles upon Neon city after accidentally following what she believes to be a someone dressed as a dragon. There Rita meets Lester Thyme, the dragon she haplessly followed into the magical city of werewolves, goblins, dwarves, and all other species of magical creatures.

Caitlyn McCabe lives in fear of any of her classmates touching her and discovering her strange secret. That is until Professor Sackimun Brody orchestrates a school-related trip in order to meet her. Caitlyn subsequently learns there is more to her gift and more to her parents’ past than she ever realised. She steps into the Second Realm and discovers something sinister is leaking in from the Third Realm, that if unleashed, will compromise the order of all three.

From page one, Holland captures the reader’s interest and transports them into an intoxicating and alluring world where myth, fantasy and familial love collide. From the outset of the novel, the stakes are high, as blood and time are intertwined to form the currency of the citizens of Sempera. It is an unjust system, allowing the rich to live for decades, while the poor bleed themselves dry.

When 11-year-old Suzy Smith finds herself awoken by a troll building a railway through her hallway, she cannot help but hop aboard the Impossible Postal Service to satisfy her inquisitive mind. Suzy journeys across the Impossible Places hiding that she has stolen an object from the terrible sorceress Crepuscula.

Morgana Mage is an eleven-year-old witch who cannot do magic. After a trip to the nearby city with her father, Morgana is enchanted by how humans have advanced without magic, instead using technology. Morgana decides to enrol in the non-witch school in the city to study robotics.

The Stegosorcerer is the second book in The World of Supersaurs series. Imagine a world where dinosaurs have never become extinct and co-exist with humans in the twentieth century. Dinosaurs are used for manual labour and for showmanship, but they are also hunted by poachers.