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AUSTRALIANA FICTION - THE GOLD RUSHES & BUSHRANGERS
Picture Books
The Loaded Dog (Henry Lawson – Young Australia Series) $3 HB EC Lovely picture book on the rugged goldfields life. Dave Regan, Jim Bently, and Andy Page were sinking a shaft at Stony Creek in search of a rich gold quartz reef which was supposed to exist in the vicinity. There is always a rich reef supposed to exist in the vicinity; the only questions are whether it is ten feet or hundreds beneath the surface , and in which direction. They had struck some pretty solid rock, also water which kept them bailing. They used the old-fashioned blasting-powder and time-fuse...but what about that mischievous dog??!! 6+ http://www.desertship-books.com.au/picture-books/1980-1989/henry-lawson-the-loaded-dog/prod_18.html
Lola (Susanne Ferrier – co-author of The Ashton Scholastic History Of Australia) $3 PB VGC The story of Lola Montez at the Ballarat goldfields in cartoon format, similar to Roland Harvey’s books. Shows life at the diggings and on early ships from England. Picture book. 6-11
The Stew That Grew (Michael & Rhonda Gray) $5 PB VGC A lovely picture book set in the 1850s when thousands of people from all parts of the world were lured to the goldfields of Australia. Few of them find their fortune but, in this humorous verse-story, many discover the value of friendship and sharing. Wonderful pictures. 5-10 Lesson ideas: http://books.google.com/books?id=ArMS9OUdFEMC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=the+stew+that+grew+michael+%26+rhonda+gray&source=web&ots=rz52U8sXje&sig=Pp-P9-u_YqttYyrw220XusDX-dI#PPA60,M1
The Little Candlemaker And His Dragon (John Kenney) $3 HB VGC A charming story how a poor young candle maker discovered gold and about how the town of Bendigo got its name. 5-9 YO
Bossyboots (David Cox) $3 PB VGC Set in the frontier days of the Australian outback, this is the story of Abigail, “the bossiest girl in all Australia,'' and her journey on the stagecoach to Narrabri. The feisty heroine orders everyone around: the driver, the other passengers, even the horses! When the wild outlaw Flash Fred holds up the coach, Abigail intimidates him into handing back the stolen goods and letting the coach go safely on its way. A rollicking picture book showing life and landscapes in the early Australian towns and the bush, transport and bushrangers. Wonderful illustrations! 4-8 YO http://pbskids.org/readingrainbow/books/episode_detail_044.html
Broomsticks And Old Lace $2 PB GC (Ex school) Set in Bendigo in 1858, this is the humorous story of two women who went with their husbands to the gold diggings. After being widowed, they take up laundry and mending to survive, but this doesn’t pay them much. So they take to bushranging to make ends meet! Good insights into life on the gold fields in Australia. 5-8 YO
The Oath Of Bad Brown Bill (Stephen Axelsen) $3 PB VGC Gruff and tough, shrewd and rude, Bad Brown Bill was a bushranger of the worst kind. Mounted on his mare, Mudpie, he bailed up every bank and pub from Broome to Cooper’s Creek, and bundled up the Mudgee not one, but every week. A lively picture book written rhyming verse. Great illustrations! 5-8 YO CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AUSTRALIA COMMENDATION http://www.oztion.com.au/-THE-OATH-OF-BAD-BROWN-BILL-by-Stephen-Axelsen/auction/170375.aspx
The Little Bushranger Series “Goldfields Glory” (Terry Watt) $2 PB VGC Humorous scenes of the goldfields and bushranging life abound in this light-hearted look at the gold rush era. Lively illustrations with many details of gold prospecting and life on the diggings. 6-10
Herman’s German Band Meets Thunderbolt (Alex Hood) $4 HB VGC The true story of Herman and his happy band of musicians who delighted townsfolk in little outback settlements all over the Australian countryside at the end of the last century. The performance that Herman and his band remembered the rest of their lives was the time when they played for the famous bushranger, Captain Thunderbolt. Great picture book. 4-8 YO
Dirty Dave The Bushranger (Roland Harvey) $3 PB GC Dirty Dave is one of Australia’s roughest, toughest and nastiest bushrangers. So is his sister Sue. As for their mother Maude, she’s the stuff that nightmares are made of. When Dave, Sue and Maude hold up a particularly fashion-conscious load of innocents, the results are surprising, funny and profitable for the whole family. 6-11 http://www.oztion.com.au/-DIRTY-DAVE-/auction/997745.aspx
Novels
The Rusty Kee Adventures (Garry Hurle) $3 PB VGC Rusty, the illegitimate son of a Chinese gold-prospector, is brought up by Smiler Harris, the false-teeth maker, during the gold rushes of the last century, the boy having been found abandoned on the doorstep by Ah Kee, Smiler's servant. Smiler Harris needs to obtain enough teeth for Widow McDuff's new dentures. This quest leads to a far more dangerous search for a key which provides the directions to a fabulously rich gold mine. Introduces a very strong puzzle element involving measurement, this time based on the cuts of a key. 10+
The Miner’s Rest (Robert L Muddyman) $3 PB VGC Harry Lawson is not pleased. Harry is the caretaker of the Miners Rest Hotel, but now the Carter family has moved in. Dan Coulby is not pleased either, but then he’s a ghost. Together they try to get rid of these unwelcome guests, but nobody has counted on young Danny Carter – not when there’s a haunted hotel to explore and gold to be found…. Great ink illustrations. 8-12 YO
The Golden Shanty (Edward Dyson) $3 PB VGC A collection of short stories introduced by Norman Lindsay about the gold rushes. Edward Dyson specialised in short stories of which A Golden Shanty has become a classic of the genre. This unforgettable sketch of life during the Gold Rush at Ballarat is often included in Australian anthologies. 10+
Rough Road South (Valerie Thompson) $4 HBDJ EC Rob is 14 years old and alone in Sydney Town and has to reach Melbourne before his uncle sails for England early in July. As a newcomer to this strange, harsh land, he looks every inch the ‘new chum’, so Rob’s ride takes on many extra, unknown problems. Especially since the road between Sydney and Melbourne should really have been called a track. Yet there were times when it was crowded with a fascinating cross-section of people from bushrangers to gold-seekers. 10+
The Chinese Boy (David Martin) $3 PB FC (Cover wear) Angelica meets Ho, a young boy travelling with five Chinese villagers to find their fortune on the Kiandra goldfields over 100 years ago. She is in danger and seeks the Chinese boy’s help – but neither of them has any idea of the terror and danger that awaits them. Complete with map.10+
The Family Book Of Mary-Claire (Eleanor Spence) $4 PB EC, $5 HB EC Share the life of Mary-Claire’s ancestors Marius, Miriam and Marion among escaped convicts and Aboriginals on the fringes of settlement on the coast of early New South Wales. We see the dramatic kidnapping by a bushranger as we go back with her through the extraordinary family history of the Clevelands. A wonderful insight into the struggles of the early Australian settlers and the landscape of the bush and coast back then. 10+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA HONOUR BOOK
Robbery Under Arms (Rolf Boldrewood) $2 PB FC An Australian classic that has never gone out of print since it was first published in 1888, specially adapted for younger children. The story of Dick Marston, his life and his association with the notorious bushranger Captain Starlight, a renegade outlaw from a noble English family. Set in the bush and gold fields of Australia in the 1850s, Starlight's gang, with Dick and his brother Jim's help, sets out on a series of escapades that include cattle theft and robbery under arms. 9+
There’s A Bushranger In My Bedroom (Thurley Fowler) $2 PB EC A delightful, light-hearted mystery from this award winning author. Rebecca is not happy. She’s had to leave all her friends and move to a new town and a new house. But all is not so bad when she discovers that the ghost of Harry Sutton, a bushranger, lives in her new room! 8-12 YO
Bushrangers “Billy Fishbone: King Of The Kids” (Dianne Bates) $3 PB VGC On the Buttibotti goldfields, a gang of orphan kids roam wild. Billy Fishbone, his wee sister Matilda, his always-dirty brother Nugget, and his not-so-bright brother Candle are taking a break from the busy life of bushranging. They race around the goldfields knocking over tents, locking old ladies in lavatories, gobbling up the miners' jellybeans and swigging their ginger beer. Something has to be done! Can the strict and stern (and perfectly dressed) school teacher Archibald McBean change the gang's wicked ways? Or can Billy turn the tables and convince McBean to join the gang? 7-10 YO
Ned Kelly’s Helmet (Paul Stafford) $5 PB VGC (Ex lib) Written as a 'time-slip' adventure, to give readers a taste of travelling back to the time of bushrangers, with a mission in mind - the kids in question are trying to steal Ned Kelly's helmet to win a history project prize. 10+ http://www.glenrowan1880.com/ned_helmet.htm
Secrets Of Walden Rising (Allan Baillie) $4 PB VGC Something strange is happening outside the dusty town of Jacks Marsh, but Brendan seems to be the only one to have noticed. For years the mysteries of Walden have remained unsolved – mysteries of the gold rush, of Thunderbolt the bushranger. But Walden is coming back – and some people will stop at nothing to unearth its secrets. http://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Walden-Rising-Allan-Baillie/dp/0670873519
Eureka Stockade (Richard Butler) $3 PB FC+ (Minor tanning) Captures the spirit of Australia’s wild gold mining past and brings to life the Eureka drama and its chief players: the digger leader Peter Lalor, the corrupt magistrate John D’Ewes and all the rest of those determined men and women who took part in the confrontation. Contains original photos, sketches and maps. Highly recommended. 12+ http://cgi.ebay.com/Richard-Butler-Eureka-Stockade-1984_W0QQitemZ150183003396QQihZ005QQcategoryZ109392QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem