Blabbermouth by Morris Gleitzman

Rowena Batts has a disability; she can't speak. Roweena lives with her good-natured but somewhat eccentric dad on an apple farm. She was enrolled in a special school where she learnt sign language but now she attends a public school in a small county town. Rowena finds is exceedingly hard to fit in and is bullied by Darryn Peck. She is resilient though and along with a new found friend Amanda, Stickybeak and Gift of the Gab which continue on from this novel are both available for borrowing from in the Little Library of Rescued Books. To listen to the first chapter of this book, click on the link below the book cover.

http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_blab_audio.html

Sticky Beak by Morris Gleitzman

"I put my face close to the cocky's and gave it a look. Don't be scared, you poor little thing,' the look said. 'I want to help you. 'Rack off,' said the cocky." (The cocky reminds me of Claude the Crow from Shirl's Neighbourhood).

Now, the very last thing Rowena wants in her life is a cockatoo with a bad temper. She's got enough problems of her own. For a start, she's just spattered two hundred grown-ups with jelly and custard. However, Rowena comes to discover that a crazy cockatoo could actually be just what she needs. This is the hilarious sequel to to Blabber Mouth from one of Australia's best known authors. Click on the link under the picture to read and hear the first chapter of the book.

http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_intro_sbeak.html

Gift of the Gab by Morris Gleitzman

This a very humorous book by well-known Australian novelist Morris Gleitzman. It is suitable for 10-14 year olds and focuses on the issues Rowena Batts is having with a local larrikin, her mother's death and her exuberant father. Due to a birth defect Rowena can't speak, however, this doesn't affect her having plenty to say. Her story begins in the local lock-up where she is being detained for filling up a local lout's car with rotten apples and turning the heating on full bore. Her quest to find out more about her mother's death in a hit-and-run accident takes her to France. Here she meets with a wide range of personalities and her determination to seek revenge on the hit-and-run driver leads her into more trouble than she can handle by herself. There is sadness and pure joy in this novel and once you start you really won't be able to put it down. There are two other books about Rowena, Gift of the Gab and Sticky Beak. This is the third and final in the series.

Gleitzman has an excellent website where readers can go to his bookshelf and hear the first chapter of the majority of his books.

http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_gab_audio.html