Worth Presenting

To The Children

Some worthwhile Christmas

offerings for the youngsters,

selected from those now flood

ing from the presses:

THE 1963-64 Australian Children’s Annual is the 6th of the series and like them is edited by Dr. T.

S. Hepworth, who is also editor of the Australian Children’s Newspaper.

As contributors he has the active assistance of some of the people responsible for the Australian Broad casting Commission’s Children’s Hour—including Jason who runs the ABC Argonauts Club. Some of the 70,000 Argonauts themselves also contribute short articles.

This is not a book for Quiz Kids —or even high-brows kids—but for all kids who like imaginative adventure stories as well as factual articles about an assortment of modern subjects that range all the way from motor racing to training seeing-eye dogs.

There are cartoons, things to do and make, plays, music and games, black and white drawings galore and colour and other photography by Frank Hurley.

Suitable for children from eight to early teens.

(Australian Children’S Annual.

Published by Angus & Robertson Ltd. 30/-.) AMELIA MUDDLE only in frequently did the right thing but had a peculiar gift for doing the very opposite. In fact, she was very much an everyday kind of a child.

Jean Chapman who writes about Amelia (in Amelia Muddle, with illustrations by Adye Adams), isn’t an everyday kind of a writer. Her small book has real charm, a sense of humour and something more than an academic knowledge of small fry.

All muddled Amelias and their mothers will get a laugh out of it. (AMELIA MUDDLE. Angus & Robert son Ltd. 13/6.) ALTHOUGH adults might spend their time trying to give a label to the illustrations in the small Bible story-book (Come to Me all of You), most children will find them interest ing without worrying whether they can be classed as “primitive” or “modern”. They are near enough to what they might draw for themselves

to illustrate some of the most cele brated of Christ’s miracles and parables. The drawing are by Reinhard Herrmann and the book was originally published in German.

(Come To Me All Of You.

Macmillan. 13/3.)

River Fugitive, By Melva

Lear, and Ship in Hiding, by George Finkel, are both adventure stories for teenagers.

River Fugitive will appeal to youngsters who like the water and especially sailing, as it is a story of a Western Australian family and their friends who find that the Swan River provides most of their fun and some extraordinary adventures as well. The

author writes with a great sense of humour and as though she enjoys life as much as her characters.

Ship in Hiding goes further afield —a Pacific island—and employs adult characters for the entertainment of a younger audience. It all begins when Group-Captain Alan Metcalfe arrived on his island to inspect a Commonwealth War Graves Com mission cemetery. He and his party soon find themselves involved in international intrigue which centres around the wreck of an old destroyer which had run aground on a neighbouring reef.—lT.

(River Fugitive. 17/6; Ship In

HIDING. 17/6. Both published by Angus and Robertson Ltd.)