April 2016: The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli - a fun read that combines, animals, mythology, friendship, mystery and adventure into a magical story for older elementary age children.

 “… something burst out of a bush right in front of me.
          Sir Crispin and I both let out a yelp.  It was only a bird: quite a big one, about the size of a chicken, with black-and-white feathers and a long neck and tail.  It stared right at me for a moment, with round gold eyes and an open beak, then stretched out its wings and sped off down the path.  Faster and faster it tottered on bony legs, until, at last, it got up in the air.  It didn’t seem to be very good at taking off.  I could hear it crashing through the branches.
          When I was little and scared of the dark, Dad used to say I had an Overactive Imagination.  Overactive Imaginations make you see things that aren’t really there, things that can’t be there, because they don’t exist.  Things like a bird with a beak full of teeth.  Birds aren’t supposed to have teeth …” George pg. 15 – The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli
 
Someone has stolen George’s bike and he needs to make some money fast so he doesn’t have to ride his sister’s old pink bike.  So, when he sees a help wanted sign for a job at Wormestall Farm, he decides to check it out, and that’s when things start to get a little weird, and kind of exciting.  Wormestall farm has cows, and a horse, ducks and pigs; but the cows are much bigger, and hairier, than your average cow, and the horse always seems to have his head in the hedge, the ducks like to eat raw meat and the pigs, well, you’ll have to read and find out.  Oh yeah, there are other creatures too, creatures you’ve never seen before … but I’m not going to tell you about them either.

Are you curious now?  You’re not the only one!  Prudence is new in town and her step-mother, evil step-mother, is a taxidermist looking for exotic animals to stuff.  When Prudence sees the same help wanted sign George saw, and also starts working at the farm, her step-mother starts nosing around.  George and Prudence must find a way to save the mysterious animals at Wormestall Farm, but first they have to escape “The Stuffing Room”.

Will George and Prudence be able to save Wormestall farm and all the creatures that live there?  What kind of creatures live there any way?  Read The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli, to find out.