Birdbrain

The funny, whimsical and quirky new adventure from Australian rising star Kelli Anne Hawkins.

When seven strangers arrive at a small Australian caravan park to tell Hadley Boggs that her dad is the long-lost heir to the kingdom of Ludrovia, she can hardly believe it.

Her dad -- the world's most indecisive man, a man who takes the advice of their pet budgie, a man named BARRY -- is king?!

Soon, Hadley jets off to an exciting new life, where she meets dancing goats, learns of an ancient Ludrovian prophecy and comes face to face with the country's hair-obsessed president.

Hadley quickly falls in love with her quirky adopted home, so when she and her new friends discover the president's secret deal to sell the country to a cheese-loving billionaire, she knows they must act.

But can the Birdbrain prophecy help them save Ludrovia before everything turns to fondue?

In her return to middle-grade fiction, Kelli Anne Hawkins delivers another madcap caper for 10- to 12-year-olds that has puns aplenty and some genuine chuckles. Hadley Boggs is 11 and not so different from all the other kids, although she is homeschooled in a caravan with her wildly inventive (although spectacularly unsuccessful) dad Barry, and their savvy budgie, Mr Beaks. After another of her father's money-making schemes flops, they are delighted to be whisked away to a small European country called Ludrovia, where Barry is next in line to the throne following the untimely demise of his mother and six elder siblings. They settle into a life of luxury and Hadley finally has the chance to make some friends-but all may not be as it seems. A nefarious Texan, a mysteriously ineffectual maid and a lot of dancing goats are just a fraction of this action-packed novel. The style can only be described as extravagant: puns, similes and farcical character traits are crammed onto every page. Imagine mashing together The Emperor's New Groove and The Princess Diaries and you'll be in the ballpark. If you had to dig for themes, friendship, loyalty and trusting your gut come to mind, but to best enjoy Birdbrain, you have to embrace its silliness. Annie Waters sells books, writes about books and podcasts about books.

Kelli Anne Hawkins has worked as a journalist, graphic designer, administration assistant and mystery shopper -- she's even had a job where she just had to remove staples! But all along, her love of books and libraries and reading and daydreaming should have told her she was meant to write books. Some of her favourite things are airports, velvet jackets, mangoes, the colour yellow, the satisfaction of crossing stuff off lists and staring at the ocean. She lives in Newcastle, NSW, with her two children, who are now taller than she is and far better at maths.

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