A lovable imaginary friend is looking for his place in the world, and finds it through his companionship with three different children who need him. TISH is a story of friendship, goodbyes and longing, and a tale of having the confidence to believe.
TISH
by Edwina Wyatt
illustrated by Odette Barberousse
Berbay Books Australia, May 2021
Ages: 7-9
“Where did you come from?” The beast wanted to explain that Nowhere was a place halfway between Curiosity and Courage. But he couldn’t. For that, he would need a map; the heart is a vast place where one can easily get lost.
This is the exquisite tale of an imaginary friend, desperate to be loved and the children whose beliefs make him real – at least for now. CBCA Honour Award-winning author Edwina Wyatt has created a heart-warming story of friendship, longing and courage. Once you know Tish, you won’t ever forget him.
Edwina Wyatt is an Australian children’s author. She grew up in Sydney and worked as a lawyer and a high school teacher before becoming a writer of books for young readers. Her debut junior fiction novel The Secrets of Magnolia Moon (Walker Books) was awarded the CBCA Honour Book of the Year for Younger Readers, and shortlisted for the Readings’ Children’s Book Prize. She has received three CBCA Notables for her picture books. Edwina lives in the Victorian High Country with her husband, two children, and too many animals.
Odette Barberousse est une autrice/illustratrice jeunesse française. D’aussi loin qu’elle s’en souvienne, elle a toujours adoré dessiner mais il lui aura fallu vingt ans et quelques détours pour réaliser que c’est tout ce qu’elle voulait faire de sa vie… C’est en devenant maman qu’elle s’est découvert une passion pour la littérature jeunesse. Son premier album, Elénor, paru chez MonsieurEd en 2020, a été entièrement réalisé à la main, aux crayons de couleur et crayons de plomb. Odette Barberousse vit en Bretagne.

Seventeen-year-old Dare Chase is the star of a popular ghost-hunting YouTube channel—or she was, until her boyfriend and channel co-creator dumps her right after junior year. Dare’s determined to prove she can find success on her own, and thanks to a tip from a fan, she knows just where to start: the Arrington Estate. Arrington is known for its dark past, notably the mysterious death of Atheleen Bell, a teenager who drowned in the lake thirty years prior—and whose body was inexplicably skeletal when it was recovered only hours after her death. Along with the rumors of ghosts on the premises, this is the perfect subject for Dare’s new paranormal investigative podcast. Dare herself doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more to Atheleen’s death, so she accepts an internship working to turn the old house into a museum. As she digs deeper into the mystery with the help of Quinn, the new homeowner’s daughter, and as her podcast gets more popular, it becomes clear that someone—or something—doesn’t want Dare getting too close to the truth. Soon, Dare will have to reckon with the possibility that ghosts could be more real than she thinks. Because there’s something lurking in the lake…and it hasn’t finished with her yet.
Shade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming. Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes. Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes—the insufferable trio that rules the squad—including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming. Jadis won’t give Shade up so easily, though, and the pull between her old best friend and her new teammates takes a toll on Shade as she tries to forge her own path. So when one of the cheerleaders dies under mysterious circumstances, Shade is determined to get to the bottom of her death. Because she knows Jadis—and if her friend is responsible, doesn’t that mean she is, too?
Josslyn Drake, former First Daughter of Ironport, doesn’t know much about magic. She only knows that it’s dangerous, rare, and completely illegal. So when she’s infected by a mysterious piece of magic confiscated from Lord Banyon, one of the most infamous criminals alive, Joss’s life turns upside down. She begins to have visions, not of the future, but of the past—Banyon’s past. All Joss wants is for things to go back to normal, but the cost for doing magic is death, and there’s nobody she can trust to help her. So when wanted criminal and blackheart Jericho Nox offers her a deal, a way to extract the magic and give it to him instead, she’s forced to accept.
From myths and legends 500 years old, comes a fantastic adventure, even though Archibald was not looking for one… Exploring his grandma’s creepy manor, he just stumbled upon an ancient terrestrial globe, which turns out to be much more than an old relic. When he unlocks the storm trapped inside, Archibald gets whisked into the unknown, a mysterious land where a battle born in the Middle Ages is still unfolding. In the world of Lemurea, mostly forest, home to small wonders and great scares, it’s light versus darkness, magic versus fire… witches versus dragons. But not any kind of witches, an army of young girls, lost in time. And not your usual dragons, but the most intriguing creatures, half human, half beast. Through this unforgettable journey, Archibald will learn the true meaning of courage, friendship and tolerance. Meanwhile, left behind, his sister Hailee sets out on a quest across London to find out what happened to him, uncovering a dark secret and going through her own coming of age odyssey. Two stories, two plot threads, running parallel but tightly intertwined. Two worlds, on a perilous collision course…