What’s the book about?
Frances Bloom lives all alone in a cottage by the sea. She’s having a marvellous time until her nasty teacher, Ms Thistle, learns there is no-one looking after her. Frances needs to find a family, quick smart, or she’ll be sent away to Bleak Island Home for Unwanted Children and Dogs.
As hard as Frances looks, nobody meets her high standards … until she stumbles across a large, honey-coloured bear raiding the rubbish bins … and a garden gnome fishing in the flowerbed. Welcome, Grandma Maude and Grandpa Harold!
Together, this strange trio creates a new family, writing their own rules with each misadventure!
Recommended for:
Ages 7+
Three reasons to read it:
- With black-and-white illustrations by Zlatanova scattered throughout, you’ll get to see the characters in action. The artwork adds loads of charm and makes the book even more fun to read, especially for kids who love a visual story.
- From a rubbish-bin-raiding bear to a fishing gnome and a grumpy teacher named Ms Thistle, this book is a full-on giggle-fest. It’s perfect if you like books that don’t take themselves too seriously and always have something unexpected waiting around the corner.
- Nannestad is a bestselling, multi-award-winning Australian author known for her brilliant books that mix heart and humour. When her name’s on the cover, you can expect something special and perfect for children. She knows how to take readers on a wild ride, and yes, you can find the same energy in Frances Bloom.
Buy a copy of Frances Bloom here.
About the author:
Katrina Nannestad is an award-winning Australian author. Her books include We Are Wolves, The Girl Who Brought Mischief, the Girl, the Dog and the Writer series, the Olive of Groves series, the Red Dirt Diaries series, the Lottie Perkins series and Bungaloo Creek. Katrina grew up in country New South Wales in a neighbourhood stuffed full of happy children. Her adult years have been spent teaching, raising boys, perfecting her recipe for chocolate-chip bickies and pursuing her love of stories. She now lives near Bendigo with her family and an exuberant black whippet called Olive.
Marina Zlatanova is a Bulgarian-born designer, illustrator and printmaker living in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. She has illustrated several picture books to date, including Charlie’s Shell, her debut as an author, which won a Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year award. Her style is varied and eclectic, using a diverse range of media — from watercolour and inks to digital illustration and block printing — but her love for depicting the humorous and endearing always underpins her creations.
Traps Everywhere: The sheer variety of traps in poor bunny is one of its highlights. Spikes, lasers, moving walls, and other hazards keep you constantly on your toes. Each new level introduces a fresh combination of obstacles that forces you to think on your feet and adapt your strategy.