Pemberthy Bear | The Floatingest Frog | Doggy Duo
Chapter Books | Reading Books

Pemberthy Bear

Pemberthy Bear might be covered in fluff, but he is also very gruff and grumpy. So, when the carefree Primula Doll invites him for a sing along, he refuses to join in. Later, however, he finds himself paying an unexpected visit to Primula. Can she convince him to sing with her?

Pemberthy Bear, a picture book in rhyme was released by New Frontier Publishing in May 2006.

Pemberthy and his toy room friends have been brought to life in stunning illustrations by the very talented Jacqui Grantford. This is perfect for reading aloud and would make an excellent gift for a newborn baby.

Pemberthy Bear is available online from Dymocks Books or request it at your local bookshop. For distribution enquires, contact Dennis Jones and Associates.

Pmberthy Bear has become a blogging bear. You can read his blog here.

The Floatingest Frog

My first picture book, The Floatingest Frog, illustrated by the wonderfully talented Simon Bosch, was released in hardcover in August 2004. Check out the cover!

Ferdinand the Frog wants to outdo his brother Frankie in every possible way. He can jump the farthest, croak the loudest, and even has the longest name! Sibling rivalry soon reaches hilarious heights when Ferdinand pushes his luck too far. Based on an Aesop's fable, The Floatingest Frog is a cautionary tale about being too full of hot air.

This is a great book for sharing at home, with plenty of humour and bold, bright illustrations which littlies will adore. It would also make an excellent classroom sharing book for all ages and fit right in to a unit focusing on frogs or on fables. Teacher's notes are available here.

The Floatingest Frog is available now online from Dymocks Books or request it at your local bookshop. For distribution enquires, contact Dennis Jones and Associates.

The Floatingest Frog is also now available in paperback and is featuring in Scholastic Bookfairs all around Australia. Keep an eye out for it.

Doggy Duo

Doggy Duo contains two stories - 'Little Dog' and 'My Dog Ate My Homework' - back to back in the one volume, illustrated by the extremely talented Teresa Culkin-Lawrence. Published by innovative Aussie publisher Banana Books in September 2003.

In Little Dog Mira is desperate for a dog.
So when she finds a tiny dog down a drain, she thinks all her dreams have come true.
Surely Mum won't mind a teeny-tiny dog?
But owning a dog is more difficult than Mira first thought - especially as her tiny dog grows at such an alarming rate...

In My Dog Ate My Homework, Jeremy doesn't have his homework.
Again.
Miss B. is going to be good and mad.
But at least he has an excuse.
Why is it, that adults will just not believe you, even when you are telling the truth?
Join Jeremy as he tells the hilarious tale of how his dog came to eat his homework!

Reviews
You can read an online review of Doggy Duo at Parent Bytes. In part, it says:

"This duo is not intimidating, it has short chapters, large print, amusing illustrations and is reasonably short in length. It is suitable for children who are just starting to read independently. Of course, there is nothing to stop Mums and Dads from reading it to their children, so they too can have a laugh.
Sally Murphy ...certainly knows what makes kids tick."

Thanks to Parentbytes for such lovely comments.

Doggy Duo is available direct from the author.

Chapter Books

I have three titles in the new ZigZags series from Oxford University Press. ZigZags is an engaging series of 30 fiction titles that use humour and appealing full-colour illustrations to involve students actively in the reading process.

It is a comprehensive, easy-to-use instructional reading series for students in their third, fourth and fifth years of primary school, and is designed to support and extend young readers who can already read many books independently.

R is for Rolf

Carlotta and her slobbery dog Rolf are the best of friends. So they’re both over the moon when Dad announces that Rolf can come on holiday! But one silly mistake leaves Rolf stranded, far from the family. Will Carlotta ever see her best friend again?

Stuck!

After school one day Robbie finds a large, sticky brown stain on his bedroom carpet. He has no idea how it got there. But one thing is for sure, his mum is going to be very very mad when she sees it! One way or another Robbie is sure to lose his pocket money.

Bugged!

Robbie is looking after two giant cockroaches for his friend Tim. All he has to do is take care of them for one whole month — that is, without his mum finding out! If those enormous cockroaches get out, Robbie is in VERY BIG trouble!

R is for Rolf, Stuck! and Bugged! are available as part of the ZigZags series from OUP and from educational book suppliers.

Reading Books

Two Tricky Tales

Aimed at readers in and around grade two, Two Tricky Tales retells two Aesop's fables: The Fox and the Crow and The Lion and the Mosquito. With delightful illustrations by Roberto Corona it is perfect for classroom sharing or study, but just as appropriate for individual reading.

Part of the LM Chapter series, Two Tricky Tales is available through Pacific Learning in the USA and through Learning Media, in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.

In Marty's Birthday, Marty can't believe that everyone has forgotten his birthday. Will they remember in time? This first chapter book for readers aged 6 to 8 is illustrated by Elspeth Alix Batt. In the US it has been published under the title Marvin's Birthday.

Part of the LM Chapter series, Marty's Birthday is available through Pacific Learning in the USA and through Learning Media, in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.

Two emergent readers Buzzy Fly and Be Careful have been published by the Wright Group (US) and four more readers, about a dog called Amity, will be published later this year by Taiwan publisher San Min. Macmillan NZ has also recently released a non fiction reader called Icecream about how icecream is made.

To download the free Acrobat reader from Adobe's site, please click the image below.