Sally Murphy's web site

Toppling

A moving and triumphant illustrated verse novel about childhood illness and support for friends.

John is obsessed with dominoes, but not with playing the traditional game. Instead, he is obsessed with toppling. He spends hours setting up spirals, ramps, patterns and lines of dominoes all for that satisfying topple. Beginning with a small push in the right direction, everything falls as it is meant to. When John’s friend Dom falls sick and is diagnosed with cancer, it is John and his friends’ worlds that fall apart. Can they face Dom and support him through this uncomfortable illness? It’s hard for all at first but John and his friends find a way to comfort Dom and laugh with him again. They even find support and understanding from an unlikely source within their class, the school bully.

Deals with childhood illness in an understanding and sensitive way.
Uplifting and hopeful ending
Striking illustrations by Rhian Nest James, illustrator of the highly successful Samurai Kids series

Released by Walker Books in March 2010.

Toppling is available now from all good bookstores. You can purchase it online from Leading Edge Books.

You can read reviews of Toppling here:

Teacher's notes for Toppling are also available on the Walker Books website.

Snowy's Christmas

Snowy's Christmas, a picture book illustrated by David Murphy (my wonderful brother in law), was published in hardcover by by Random House Australia, on October 1 2009, and will be released in paperback in October 2010.

You can read reviews of Snowy’s Christmas here:

Snowy is feeling left out and doesn't want to celebrate with his friends. But then a mysterious stranger arrives by the billabong. Suddenly Snowy's Christmas is looking up . . . up . . . UP!

Snowy's Christmas is a collaboration between author Sally Murphy and her brother-in-law, David. Featuring bright, beautiful, funny illustrations, this is a touching Christmas picture book with a lot of heart and a lot of bounce. A story about family, friends, fitting in and doing something special at a special time of year.

Snowy's Christmas can be purchased online from Booktopia.

Pearl Verses The World

Pearl Versus The World

At school, Pearl feels as though she is in a group of one. Her teacher wants her to write poems that rhyme but Pearl's poems don't. At home, however, Pearl feels safe and loved, but her grandmother is slowly fading, and so are Mum and Pearl. When her grandmother eventually passes away, Pearl wants life to go back to the way it was and refuses to talk at the funeral. But she finds the courage to deliver a poem for her grandmother that defies her teacher's idea of poetry – her poem doesn't rhyme; it comes from the heart.

A powerful and moving story about loss, grief and isolation.
Deals with sensitive issues of dementia from the child's perspective.

Illustrated by Heather Potter, Pearl Verses the World was released by Walker Books in May 2009.

Pearl Verses the World is available now from all good bookstores. You can purchase it online from Leading Edge Books.

You can read reviews of Pearl Verses the World here:

It has also been widely reviewed in the print media including The Australian, The West Australian, Good Reading, Magpies Magazine and more.

Teacher's notes for Pearl verses the World are also available on the Walker Books website.

Pearl Verses the World is also going international – to be released in the UK by Walker UK in late 2010 and in the USA by Candlewick in 2011.

Awards

Pearl Verses the World was the winner of the Children’s Book category in the Indie Awards, 2009, and is shortlisted for the Indie Book of the Year Award.

Pearl was also shortlisted in the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, 2009.

Pearl verses the World was named as a Notable Book and shortlisted for the CBCA’s Children’s Book of the Year Awards, 2010 (Younger Readers Category)

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 Fishpond or request it at your local bookshop. For distribution enquires, contact Dennis Jones and Associates.

Pemberthy 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 Fishpond 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.

Educational Chapter Books

The Big Blowie

When a drought dries up Lake Blowie and stops the tourists from coming, Syd knows he must do something to get them back. What tourists love better than natural attractions is big things, so Syd decides to build one – a Big Blowie. But will the tourists like it?

The Big Blowie is part of the wonderful Aussie Aussie series from Aussie Schoolbooks, distributed by Blake Education. You can order it online.

ZigZags

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!
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!
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

LM Chapters

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 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 through Learning Media, in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.

Other

Two emergent readers Buzzy Fly and Be Careful have been published by the Wright Group (US). Levelled readers Remember Me and Over the Fence were published by Macmillan Mc-Graw Hill (also in the US) and The Extraoridnary House was published by Macmillan Australia. Four more readers, about a dog called Amity, will be published in the future by Taiwan publisher San Min.

Nonfiction Children's Books

Frogs: Awesome Amphibians

I love frogs and in 2008, the international year of the Frog, my first nonfiction frog title was published by Ready Ed Publications. A handy classroom reference, or as private reading, it can be purchased online direct from the publisher.

Other

Icecream, about how icecream is made, was published by Macmillan Australia as part of the Springboard series.
Sonoran Desert Animals was published by Macmillan McGraw-Hill (USA).

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (about money) and Desert Critters were both published by ACER Australia in 2008.

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