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( Agnes-Mary Brooke ) |
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Magical Children's Literature Nelson
author and critic, Amy Brooke, until 2002, wrote her children's books as
Agnes-Mary Brooke, but has now decided on a shorter version
of her name. Amy won two award places for her book The Mora Stone.
Nominated by the New Zealand Children's Literature Foundation as one
of the top ten Notable Senior Fiction Books of 2000, "The Mora
Stone" was also included on the initial list of nominees for the
prestigious international Fantasy Awards for Children's Literature in
the US Mythopoeic Awards. For details on how and where to buy any title, click on the smaller picture, for access to the larger version. The distributor is Nationwide Book Distributors, P.O. Box 4176, Christchurch, New Zealand. Email access supplied with a click of your mouse. New book now available. The
exciting and imaginative new sci-fi fantasy
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The
Testing
- brings this author's total ofchildren's books to
eleven
titles - from the 8-10 year age group,
through to intermediate and young adult readers.
( For cover and review details, click on the titles below. ) Amy's first book, A Ring Around the Sun (Random Century) was followed by Night of the Medlar (Ashton Scholastic). Its two sequels, The Last Chance and The Keeper Sleeps, were published by Hazard Press under the umbrella title of The Owl, the Two and the Medlar. The Mora Stone and The Duck Who went to Heaven were followed by Dragon Moon, the Jasper and Granny May stories, The Little Brass Bell, From Whatever Shadows They Come and other Stories - all published by The Medlar Press. While successful in both Australian short story and Press feature-writing competitions, as well as a finalist in the Best Columnist category of the 1998 Fletcher Challenge Commonwealth Media awards, Amy's first love is writing for children. Her absorbing and highly original stories disregard the current fads of political correctness. She is a story-teller in the classic tradition, writing the kinds of books young readers pick up to read again - and again - the ultimate test of great children's writing. Children's
literature - or children's writing? Unfortunately,
the latter is by no means the former.
Writers as Judges - Conflict of Interest
Magical stories for children, which will captivate and enthrall.
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The Duck Who Went To Heaven Now an original New Zealand folk tale "... gentle, sensitively written story with black line drawings that perfectly match the mood of the text. It's one of my favorite New Zealand stories. Highly recommended."Margaret Kedian. Hamilton |
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Night of the Medlar "Ingredients guaranteed to fire the imagination... inevitably invites comparison with Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising... It is also a pleasure to read a story where children and adults enjoy warm, mutually respectful relationships." Betty Gilderdale. New Zealand Herald |
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The Owl, the Two & the Medlar "Agnes- Mary Brooke writes confidently with a style that builds layers of plot and creates genuine suspense for the reader." The Press "The storyline has the potential to become a children's classic. Very highly recommended." Jackie Pittman |
A Ring Around The Sun ..."Full of nail-biting tensions... reminiscent of Susan Cooper's 'The Dark is Rising" with a conflict between good and evil climaxing on mid-winter's day..." |
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The Mora Stone ..."A very well-crafted longer novel for young adults. The time travel device of a yellow silk parachute in a willow box must be unique..Recommended." Grace Funk. Mythprint |
Dragon Moon The story of a tiny, beautiful creature who appears to an ill boy. ..."I just loved it!" Kathryn Asare.
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Jasper and Granny May Written in the classic style of the much-loved Milly-Molly-Mandy stories, the Jasper and Granny May stories are safe, happy stories for children everywhere.
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The Little Brass Bell and other stories "Nine wishes for the nine times child" The Little Brass Bell is one of a collection of evocative stories written in the European tradition for younger children.
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From Whatever Shadows They Come Exciting and new! "Some superb fantasy...what an imagination..." Ann Macrae. |
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The Testing "Congratulations on your brilliant The Testing. Read it all before lunch - only intended to read first chapter, but got hooked." |
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The Duck Who Went To Heaven - Night of the Medlar - The Owl, the Two & the Medlar - A Ring Around The Sun - The Mora Stone - Dragon Moon - Jasper and Granny May - The Little Brass Bell - From Whatever Shadows They Come - The Testing Background Completing
an M.A. English, B.A. Latin at Otago University, where she was
literary editor of the student newspaper, Critic, Amy
subsequently taught languages at Queen's High School and
at St. Hilda's Collegiate, Dunedin, before moving first to North
Otago, then finally to Nelson. Married to a medical practitioner
and with four sons, she has written and reviewed for the print
media for over two decades,
published poetry, and reviewed for National
Children's Book Week on National Radio. A former
regular commentator on Canterbury on Air,
and World Service Soapbox, then Radio
Liberty, Amy was for seven years a columnist for The
Dominion, and The Daily News.
Her company, Cognos Ltd, formerly
published her own bi-monthly
magazine: formerly
published her own bi-monthly
magazine: The Best Underground Press - Critical
Review. She contributes occasional pieces to other
metropolitan papers as well as to Australian publications. She
co-founded Nelson's Founders Park Book Fair, and through her
company, Cognos Ltd,
she founded and runs, in the Marlborough Sounds, the
annual Summer Sounds Symposium drawing
participants from the academic, corporate, government and senior
media sectors debating the issues of the day.
Visit Laraine Ann Barker's children's writing website at http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz for an interesting and informative overview of Laraine's work, and the current children's writing scene. 
The Medlar Press Copyright Amy Brooke 2001 - Web creation sparry@ihug.co.nz |
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