Poppy's famous

The Real Poppy Jose

Yes, you guessed it - feisty Miss Poppy in The Ghost at the Point  is actually a real person (sorry cat). And she's even feistier in real life than she is in the book! We're all a bit scared of her at times, especially her pal Toggie the Tibetan Terrier (right). But apart from the occasional bite! and scratch! to put us in our place, she's very affectionate, very beautiful and a complete character. 

She was a year old rescue cat extraordinaire who had had all her kittens taken away from her, one by one :(  She literally stuck her scrawny(then), scarred (then) paw out of her death row cage, cried 'Miaooow!' and grabbed me! We hadn't even noticed her until then. 'Hmm ... ' I said. 'Oh well, guess we'll have to have a cuddle ... ' And that was it - love at first purr - she's ruled the house ever since!

Click here to see (this one was shot when Toggie was a puppy) just what I mean ...    

'The world change starts with educated children' - yay!!

Check out Room to Read - a fantastic organisation!

Room to Read is a wonderful charity that partners with communities right across Africa and Asia to promote children's literacy and girls' education. 

Just look at this -

Books distributed so far:  11.5 million

Girls' education participants:  17,810

Children benefited so far:  6.7 million

To find out how you can help, go to the Oz branch of their website

And for kids wanting to help there's Students Helping Students - a great resource they're looking to Australianise! 

 

Great Magpies and Viewpoint magazines reviews ...

Magpies:

... a very satisfactory adventure story ... The time and the landscape of the island are palpably authentic, as is the character of the self-reliant, determined and capable Dorrie and her warm relationship with Gah.

With a ripper plot ... and written in the jargon of the day, this is a corker yarn!

Viewpoint:

The Ghost at the Point is a gripping adventure story for children with all the elements necessary ... I particularly liked the book's setting ... this detail makes the book interesting from a historical point of view and is a good way of introducing Australian history to reluctant history-avoiders in the classroom.

Teachers' notes for The Ghost at the Point

Some detailed teachers' notes for The Ghost at the Point ... Didn't know there was so much in the book!!
http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Teachers/Classroom-Ideas

Some more great reviews for Ghost at the Point

Michael Earp's review for on Goodreads ...The Ghost At the Point


rated 4 out of 5 stars

..LittleElfMan's Bibliotherapy: Ghost At The Point by Charlotte Calder

littleelfman.blogspot.com.


And check out kids' author and blogger Dawn Meredith's lovely review of The Ghost at the Point here:

www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com

And I can recommend her latest book The Anything Shop, illustrated by Lesley Vamos. It's packed full of teachers' notes and fun exercises for students!

And a couple of other v kind reviewers:
buzzwordsmagazine.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/ghost-at-point.html
and
www.readplus.com.au/blog_detailphp?id+3044
- 'Highly recommended ... a great read. The plot, the believable characters and the depression years in which it was set captivated me. A great piece of writing and I would highly recommend this book to upper primary students.'

The Ghost at the Point - my new junior novel ...

My novel for readers 8+, coming out in June is has come out!

The Ghost at the Point

Set in 1931 on a wild, storm-swept island (actually Kangaroo Island), The Ghost at the Point is a ripping yarn of shipwrecks, villainy, treasure and survival.

Dorrie is hiding out, all on her own, and then a ghost starts appearing ...

For upper primary-aged readers, to be published by Walker Books.

ps  Sales have already been strong, and here is part of a lovely advance review that has appeared in Junior Bookseller and Publisher:

While the plot is fast-paced and interesting, it is the realistic and affectionate descriptions of Dorrie's life, family and friends that are the true highlight of The Ghost at the Point. The 1930s setting offers Dorrie the freedom that most children won't dream of today, and as such provides the perfect backdrop for this feel-good adventure, which will suit children aged eight years and up. With villains, some unlikely heroes and buried treasure, this chapter book is built around an old mystery and a new one where good triumphs most emphatically over evil.

Stuck! is being re-released in paperback ...

The new-look cover of the
paperback edition of Stuck,
coming has come out!out in January 2012!

Stuck! was a Notable Book, Picture Book of the Year, Children's Book Council of Australia Awards 2010 and was also shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Children's Book of the Year Awards 2010 

To a great reception! Stuck! is the only kids' book mentioned in January's
3 AW Book Talk Selection, in the respected website Get Reading!

Stuck!

My new picture book is

STUCK!

illustrated by Mark Jackson,

published by Walker Books.

Stuck! is a Notable Book in the CBCA 2010 Awards, and is a listed book for both the NSW and the SA Premiers' Reading Challenges. It's also been shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards 2010, Young Children Category.

Charlie's kite gets stuck up in the tree - how will he and his friends get it down, when everything else he and the gang throw up gets stuck, too?! Hint: watch that cat, and the bird!

ps: and spot the nosy caterpillar, on just about every page!

the idea for Stuck! came from Alexander getting his newly assembled remote control plane stuck in the big tree in front of our house, on its maiden flight! Just like in the book, everything we threw up got stuck too! It happened several years ago, but even now, things are still falling out ...

Some reviews for Stuck! so far:

"Charlotte Calder's wonderful and feisty child characters are not easily discouraged by the problem at hand and are beautifully brought to life by Mark Jackson's clever and funny illustrations. A simple story, splendidly told. Highly recommended for ages 2 to 5 years." Sydney's Child

" .. delightful ... a story that just about everyone who has flown a kite will understand." Chris Chen http://newkidsbooksinoz.blogspot.com

"Stuck! is a lovely story that children will relate to ... beautiful realistic illustrations that younger readers will enjoy." Gillian http://www.busymothers.com.au/

"A beautifully circular narrative ... beautifully composed ... just about a perfect picture book." Kate De Goldi, Saturday Morning, Radio New Zealand

" ... a most delightful book with a clear developing story and a few surprises ... highly recommended." Reading Time

This is my new novel,

Paper Alice,

published by Pan Macmillan Australia, coming out in June.
It's a mystery:

'It was in the Metro section of the Saturday paper - one of those "what people are wearing in the street"-type segments, featuring a photo of the person and a paragraph underneath describing what she (it was always a girl) had chosen to put on that day. There I was, Alice McBean, looking like the typical uni student. Fair hair springing around my face, sunnies stretched across wide cheekbones, smiling my having-a-good-time smile for the camera. Except it wasn't me.'

The original inspiration for Paper Alice came from just this - seeing a photo of 'myself' in the paper, that on close inspection wasn't actually me. My 'twin' was actually a Polish woman who was holidaying in Sydney ...
And guess what? Paper Alice is now being translated into Polish!!

And my other books.....

Cupid Painted Blind
Another mystery – midsummer madness and first love, combined with A Midsummer Night's Dream and an anonymous Gremlin

Surviving Amber

Heath's island world is turned upside down when
sophisticated cousin Amber and her dysfunctional
family come to stay.

Settling Storms
Mel's hellish move from Melbourne to a tropical backwater. New school, new kids. Plus a tragedy no one should have to go through ...