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  • Published: 2 June 2020
  • ISBN: 9781760895150
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $12.99

What Zola Did on Monday




From the author of Looking for Alibrandi comes this gorgeous series to engage and entertain newly independent young readers.

Zola loves living on Boomerang Street with her mum and her nonna. Every day of the week is an adventure. But Zola has a problem. No matter how much she tries, she can't keep out of trouble!
Seven stories in the series – one for every day of the week.

  • Published: 2 June 2020
  • ISBN: 9781760895150
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 96
  • RRP: $12.99

Other books in the series

About the authors

Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author in more than twenty countries and eighteen languages. Her eighteen books range from beloved young adult fiction and fantasy through to contemporary and crime fiction, and works for younger readers. Her much-loved Australian classic Looking for Alibrandi swept the pool of literary awards when it was published, and was also released as a film, adapted by Marchetta, winning an AFI Award and an Independent Film Award for best screenplay, as well as the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Award. In 2009 Marchetta won the prestigious Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association. Her most recent novel is The Place on Dalhousie. She lives in Sydney.

Deb Hudson

Deb Hudson is passionate about drawing bright, happy and colourful images that evoke emotion and thought in the viewer – the dreamy, joy- and wonder-filled moments of the everyday. She has been drawing and creating since she was a little girl and lives in the fabulous city of Melbourne with her husband, three kids, energetic border collie and a bright yellow canary.

Praise for What Zola Did on Monday

A charming series that will enchant all who read it.

The Book Muse

What an absolute joy [this book] is! From start to finish it ticks every box I love! . . . it’s about re-connecting with community and sharing care, compassion and concern. There is a rich diversity in families with single parents, same-sex parents, multi-generational families and different cultures . . . Perfect for newly independent readers or for class or home read-alouds, I highly recommend this for little humans from around 6 years upwards.

Sue Warren, Just So Stories

A beautiful big family, cousins living in the house behind you, a hole in the fence for you to climb through and play. A beautiful street, a community of people you love . . . a neglected garden that everyone has forgotten. . . . . . a beautiful junior novel about family and community. . . It truly does warm your heart as you read it . . . This is a junior fiction series to pay attention to. It’s absolutely stunning!

kids-bookreview.com

Highly recommended. A series of stories for the newly capable reader [that] will captivate its audience as they read of a girl just like them: one who gets into trouble without trying to, who seemingly does the wrong thing without meaning to, but is loved and cherished despite her shortcomings . . . Well supported with charming, family friendly illustrations, this lovely rounded story is told with a sensitivity for the generations that have preceded us. The tale will delight younger readers, eager to find out how Zola resolves the situation she has made.

Fran Knight, readplus.com.au

Marchetta weaves a simple but engaging story that encompasses multigenerational families and a close-knit community working together. The black and white drawings by debut illustrator Deb Hudson are absolutely gorgeous and add a great deal of charm to an already delightful story. What Zola Did on Monday is a great book for a child who is in the early stages of their reading journey. Early readers aged 5–7 are very fortunate to now have a Melina Marchetta story just for them.

Angela Crocombe, Books + Publishing

A story bursting with warmth, family love, troublesome dogs, and growing things . . . perfect for beginning readers who are ready to try reading chapter books on their own or aloud to an adult. Alternatively, the book is also perfect for a caregiver to read aloud to a child who is not quite ready to read independently but still enjoys a story with a little more heart and solid storyline . . . Even slightly older readers would enjoy these books because Zola is such a delightful, thoughtful, and slightly mischievous character. The text is broken up with Deb Hudson’s charming black and white illustrations, which add warmth to the story and depict a diversity of characters.

Sandy Bigna, Aussie Kids Books

There is a story for every day of the week in Melina Marchetta’s new series for newly independent readers – not that each bright little chapter book is confined to one day: we don’t find out what Zola and her cousin Alessandro do on Mondays until the end of a book in which a lot of things happen and a modern neighbourhood is unobtrusively set up. . . The book is in eight spacious large-print chapters with Deb Hudson’s very expressive illustrations in shades of grey and black on almost every page. . . Young readers – particularly girls? – are encouraged with tick lists and pretty name-plates to collect the whole series and embark on an entertaining and instructive pathway to reading competence.

Katharine England, Magpies

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