Billie five and six!

Only ten more sleeps until the next two Billie books hit the stores on August 2nd. I have some lovely new advance copies and if you (or any little girls you know) would like to get your mittens on one before anyone else does, email me at sallyrippin@optusnet.com.au and tell me which is your favourite Billie B Brown book and I'll throw in some stampers for your trouble. I only have a few to give away so be quick!

In other Billie news, the first six books have already sold into French-Canada and will be published there later this year. I can't wait to read in Billie in French!

Here is a nice review from the August edition of Bookseller and Publisher:

The Extra-special Helper: Billie B Brown

Billie B Brown’s class is off to the zoo and Billie couldn’t be more proud as she’s going to be her teacher’s extra special helper for the day. Billie needs to make sure that everyone behaves and that no-one gets lost—but is she up to the task? This cute little reader is the latest addition to Sally Rippin’s series for emerging readers that revolves around what the ‘B’ in Billie B Brown really stands for—this time, bossiness. Rippin’s aim is to offer an alternative to fairy and princess readers, and she carefully challenges gender stereotypes through the characters of Billie and her best friend Jack. This story develops their friendship particularly well as Billie learns to juggle her responsibilities as both a friend and helper. Illustrator Aki Fukuoka does a great job of capturing Billie’s quirky and defiantly messy character, complementing the overall bright, modern and friendly series design. Children will want to pick these books up and give them a try—and the layout, with its generous type and fun use of emphasised words, will help keep them going. Short and sweet, this engaging reader for children five years and up also makes a great accompaniment to a first school excursion.

Meredith Tate is a freelance writer, editor and reviewer who has worked for a children’s publisher