Meg McKinlay's Books

A Single Stone

By: Meg McKinlay

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In an isolated society, one girl makes a discovery that will change everything — and learns that a single stone, once set in motion, can bring down a mountain. Jena — strong, respected, reliable — is the leader of the line, a job every girl in the village dreams of. Watched over by the Mothers as one of the chosen seven, Jena's years spent denying herself food and wrapping her limbs have paid off. She is small enough to squeeze through the tunnels of the mountain and gather the harvest, risking her life with each mission. No work is more important. This has always been the way of things, even if it isn’t easy. But as her suspicions mount and Jena begins to question the life she’s always known, the cracks in her world become impossible to ignore. Thought-provoking and quietly complex, Meg McKinlay’s novel unfolds into a harshly beautiful tale of belief, survival, and resilience stronger than stone.

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Page Count

273

Publisher

Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0763691763

ISBN 13

9780763691769

Catch a Falling Star

By: Meg McKinlay

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Catch a Falling Star

By: Meg McKinlay

This coming-of-age story by multiple-award-winner Meg McKinlay is about loss and grief, dealing with change and fighting to hold on to what you can, while letting go of what you can’t. It’s 1979 and the sky is falling. Skylab, that is. Somewhere high above Frankie Avery, one of the world’s first space stations is tumbling to Earth. And rushing back with it are old memories. Things twelve-year-old Frankie thought she’d forgotten. Things her mum won’t talk about, and which her little brother Newt never knew. Only ... did he? Does he? Because as Skylab circles closer, Newt starts acting strangely. And while the world watches the sky, Frankie keeps her own eyes on Newt. Because if anyone’s going to keep him safe, it’s her. It always has been. But maybe this is something bigger than splinters and spiders and sleepwalking. Maybe a space station isn’t the only thing heading straight for calamity.

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Page Count

201

Publisher

Walker Books Australia

Published Date

ISBN 10

1925381498

ISBN 13

9781925381498

A Single Stone

By: Meg McKinlay

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A Single Stone

By: Meg McKinlay

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273

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Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0763691763

ISBN 13

9780763691769

Bella and the Wandering House

By: Meg McKinlay

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Bella and the Wandering House

By: Meg McKinlay

Her parents are too busy to notice, but even they can't pretend it's not happening when they wake up a few days later to find their house on the banks of a lake. Night after night, the house moves and the family wakes to a new location. When Bella realises that her room at the top of the house is built from Grandpa's old boat, she finally knows what the house is looking for. It seeks the sea. So Bella dons the captain's hat her Grandpa has given her and guides the house safely to the shore, where finally they are home.

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Fremantle Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1925162664

ISBN 13

9781925162660

Bella and the Voyaging House

By: Meg McKinlay

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Bella and the Voyaging House

By: Meg McKinlay

Bella's house likes to travel, setting sail across the ocean while everyone sleeps. Bella's parents don't mind as long as the house is home by daylight. One night, Bella has a wonderful idea for her grandfather's birthday. She wants to find a figurine he made of her grandmother, which was lost overboard in an accident. Bella and the house go in search of it, but things don't quite go according to plan...

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Fremantle Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1760991112

ISBN 13

9781760991111

Duck for a Day

By: Meg McKinlay

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Duck for a Day

By: Meg McKinlay

When Abby's class gets a pet duck named Max, she is eager to take it home overnight, especially since her parents will not let her have a pet.

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Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0763657840

ISBN 13

9780763657840

How to Make a Bird

By: Meg McKinlay

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How to Make a Bird

By: Meg McKinlay

To make a bird, you'll need hundreds of tiny, hollow bones, so light you can barely feel them on your palm, so light they can float on air. Next you'll need feathers, for warmth and lift. There will be more besides - perhaps shells and stones for last touches - but what will finally make your bird tremble with dreams of open sky and soaring flight? This picture book shows how even the smallest of things, combined with wonder and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.

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Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1536215260

ISBN 13

9781536215267

DUCK!

By: Meg McKinlay

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DUCK!

By: Meg McKinlay

In this funny nod to Chicken Little, a quiet afternoon on the farm might be the scene of a barnyard disaster waiting to happen. When Duck runs around the farm shouting “DUCK!” to the other animals, they grow exasperated as they haughtily explain to Duck which animal is which. Unfortunately, something is falling from the sky. But perhaps “DUCK!” isn’t the best warning. Perhaps what Duck should have said is . . . “RUN!”

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Candlewick

Published Date

ISBN 10

1536204226

ISBN 13

9781536204223

No Bears

By: Meg McKinlay

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No Bears

By: Meg McKinlay

A playful story that incorporates classic fairy tale themes introduces young Ella, who insists that stories require magical fairies, beautiful princesses and even the occasional monster, but absolutely no bears.

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Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0763658901

ISBN 13

9780763658908

Below

By: Meg McKinlay

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Below

By: Meg McKinlay

Secrets have a way of floating to the surface. . . . Mystery, compelling characters, and an abandoned town beneath a lake make for a must-read adventure. On the day Cassie was born, they drowned her town. The mayor flipped a lever and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pools’ worth of water. Now, twelve years later, Cassie feels drawn to the manmade lake and the mysteries it hides — and she’s not the only one. Her classmate Liam, who wears oversized swim trunks to cover the scars on his legs, joins Cassie in her daily swims across the off-limits side of the lake. As the summer heats up, the water drops lower and lower, offering them glimpses of the ghostly town and uncovering secrets one prominent town figure seems anxious to keep submerged. But like a swimmer who ventures too far from shore, Cassie realizes she can’t turn back. Can she bring their suspicions to light before it’s too late — and does she dare?

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Candlewick Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0763663808

ISBN 13

9780763663803

Wreck the Halls

By: Meg McKinlay

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Wreck the Halls

By: Meg McKinlay

An hilarious new Lightning Strikes story featuring characters from Going for Broke and The Big Dig. $500 prize money! Yes! This Christmas decorating comp is too easy. Decorations? No sweat. Strategy? Who needs it? What on earth could go wrong?

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ISBN 10

1921720697

ISBN 13

9781921720697

Catch a Falling Star

By: Meg McKinlay Meg,Megan McKinlay

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Catch a Falling Star

By: Meg McKinlay Meg,Megan McKinlay

This coming-of-age story by multiple-award-winner Meg McKinlay is about loss and grief, dealing with change and fighting to hold on to what you can, while letting go of what you can't. It's 1979 and the sky is falling. Skylab, that is. Somewhere high above Frankie Avery, one of the world's first space stations is tumbling to Earth. And rushing back with it are old memories. Things twelve-year-old Frankie thought she'd forgotten. Things her mum won't talk about, and which her little brother Newt never knew. Only ... did he? Does he? Because as Skylab circles closer, Newt starts acting strangely. And while the world watches the sky, Frankie keeps her own eyes on Newt. Because if anyone's going to keep him safe, it's her. It always has been. But maybe this is something bigger than splinters and spiders and sleepwalking. Maybe a space station isn't the only thing heading straight for calamity.

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Page Count

236

Published Date

ISBN 10

192538120X

ISBN 13

9781925381207

Annabel, Again

By: Meg McKinlay

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Annabel, Again

By: Meg McKinlay

A humorous and touching middle-grade novel about the changing shape of friendship by multiple-award-winner Meg McKinlay. Livvy and Annabel have been best friends forever. Together, they’ve survived kamikaze magpies, wacky mothers and a nemesis named Summer. Together, they’ve carried their netball team all the way to the finals. When Annabel moves away, Livvy is crushed. At her mum’s insistence she embarks on a fast-track plan for moving on, for forgetting Annabel. Because what else can you do when someone’s gone forever? And what can you do when, one year later, they come back? When they walk into class as if they were never even gone and sit down next to your nemesis? When it’s Annabel, again, but nothing seems the same?

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Page Count

117

Publisher

Walker Books Australia

Published Date

ISBN 10

1760651796

ISBN 13

9781760651794

Let Me Sleep, Sheep!

By: Megan McKinlay,Meg Mckinlay Meg,Leila Rudge Leila

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Let Me Sleep, Sheep!

By: Megan McKinlay,Meg Mckinlay Meg,Leila Rudge Leila

A hilarious picture book from award-winning picture book duo Meg McKinlay and Leila Rudge. When Amos starts counting sheep, there's one thing he doesn't quite count on ... How's he supposed to sleep when the sheep land - THUD! THUD! - in his bedroom? This zany tale of bedtime shenanigans is the new picture book from the award-winning duo behind No Bears and Once Upon A Small Rhinoceros.

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ISBN 10

1925381889

ISBN 13

9781925381887

Surface Tension

By: Meg McKinlay

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Surface Tension

By: Meg McKinlay

On the day Cassie was born, they drowned her town. 12 years later, she and her classmate Liam are drawn to the man-made lake and the mysteries it hides. As summer heats up and the lake waters become lower and lower, secrets are slowly uncovered. Can Cassie bring the shocking truth to light before it’s too late? Surface Tension is a compelling coming-of-age mystery for younger readers by award-winning Australian author Meg McKinlay. In 2012, this atmospheric novel won the Best Young Fiction category of the Davitt Awards, was Highly Commended in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and was a Notable Book in the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Awards. For more of Meg’s engaging junior fiction, read A Single Stone. www.megmckinlay.com “A wonderfully layered story – reading it is like being gradually immersed in a pool of water as each layer of the narrative slowly washes over you ... There isn’t a dull moment in this book. The story is full of human connections that will delight readers and there is a whimsy to the text that makes it a great read for all ages.” Bookseller+Publisher “Meg McKinlay expertly guides her readers through a well-plotted coming-of-age story that’s beautifully atmospheric … A real page-turner.” The Sunday Age “Memorable and suspenseful.” The Wall Street Journal “A 12-year-old girl discovers a town secret hidden under thousands of gallons of water in this earnest, thematically rich exploration of the relationship between history and truth.” Kirkus Reviews “A poetic sensibility shines through this coming-of-age mystery.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Page Count

152

Publisher

Walker Books Australia

Published Date

ISBN 10

1921977175

ISBN 13

9781921977176

No Bears

By: Meg McKinlay

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No Bears

By: Meg McKinlay

Ella is in charge of this book, and she will tell you something right now. There are NO BEARS in it. Not even one. Ella wants to tell you a story -- a story with absolutely no bears. You don't need bears for a book. You need pretty things like fairies and princesses and castles and maybe funny things and exciting things. In Ella's kind of story, there are no bears in the village or the castle or the deep dark forest or faraway lands. But there might be . . . a monster Riffing on well-known fairy-tale themes, this fun, offbeat story is perfectly matched by playful illustrations with a running visual joke that will keep even bear lovers smiling.

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ISBN 10

1922077054

ISBN 13

9781922077059

Bella and the Voyaging House

By: Meg McKinlay

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Bella and the Voyaging House

By: Meg McKinlay

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Fremantle Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1760991112

ISBN 13

9781760991111

DUCK!

By: Meg McKinlay

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DUCK!

By: Meg McKinlay

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Candlewick

Published Date

ISBN 10

1536204226

ISBN 13

9781536204223

Surface Tension

By: Meg McKinlay Meg

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Surface Tension

By: Meg McKinlay Meg

A compelling coming-of-age mystery for younger readers by multi-award-winning Australian author Meg McKinlay. On the day Cassie was born, they drowned her town. Twelve years later, she and her classmate Liam are drawn to the man-made lake and the mysteries it hides. As summer heats up and the lake waters become lower and lower, secrets are slowly uncovered. Can Cassie bring the shocking truth to light before it's too late?

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Page Count

224

Published Date

ISBN 10

176065048X

ISBN 13

9781760650483

Bella and the Wandering House

By: Meg McKinlay

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Bella and the Wandering House

By: Meg McKinlay

Bella is very surprised one morning to discover her house has moved in the night – not a lot, just a little. Her parents are too busy to notice, but even they can't pretend it's not happening when they wake up a few days later to find their house on the banks of a lake. Night after night the house moves and the family wakes to a new location. It is all very mysterious. Bella discusses it with her beloved Grandpa, and he advises her to keep a close eye on thing. Heeding his words, Bella stays awake one night to try and uncover the house's secret. When all is quiet the house begins to move, faster and faster through the streets, and catching its reflection in the shop windows as they whizz by Bella discovers the house has legs – long hairy legs with knobbly knees and big feet. The house walks and runs, then settles back down before the morning. Each time it stops, it stops near water. When Bella realises that her room at the top of the house is built from Grandpa's old boat, she finally knows what the house is looking for. It seeks the sea. So Bella dons the captain's hat her Grandpa has given her and guides the house safely to the shore, where finally they are home. And sometimes, just sometimes, Grandpa and Bella take the house to sea.

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Fremantle Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1925162303

ISBN 13

9781925162301

The Big Dig

By: Meg McKinlay

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The Big Dig

By: Meg McKinlay

A hilarious new Lightning Strikes story featuring characters from Going for Broke! The Big Dig. Nathan's plan is brilliant. Brilliant and simple. Dig. Dig some more. Put water in. Swim. Professionals? Who needs 'em? Measurements? Boring! This pool is destined for greatness.

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