WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN USED HOMESCHOOL BOOKS!
AUSTRALIANA FICTION - AUSTRALIAN LIFESTYLE & LANDSCAPES
Picture Books
The Riverboat Crew (Andrew & Janet McLean) $4 PB VGC, $2 HB FC (Internal binding adrift, but repaired) A Murray River steamboat captain and the ship's stoker swap jobs to prove whose job is more important. Captain Bill and Gus the stoker argue about which is the more important man on the steamer - while Chinese cook Samsmiles inscrutably. But when Captain Bill and Gus switch jobs and come a cropper, there's no breakfast to bolster them. "Who's the most important man aboard this steamer?" "All right Sam, you are! 4-9 YO COMMENDED IN THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
River Murray Mary (Colin Thiele, illus Robert Ingpen) $6 HB VGC (A little edge bumping) Mary Agnes Baker lives with her parents at Gum Flat Farm on the banks of the mighty Murray. Her father is a soldier settler, one of the men who took up the offer of land when they returned from WWI in the 1920s. A real glimpse into early Australian life as children read the story of Mary, her parents and her friend, Abel Stenross, owner of the paddle steamer, ‘Backwater Bessie.’ Gorgeous, specially commissioned paintings by Robert Ingpen. 7-11 YO HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN HONOUR AWARD http://www.librarything.com/work/648936
Valley Of Bones (Gary Crew) $3 HB EC A multi-layered adventure for both boys and girls set on a massive Central Queensland beef property owned by the parents of Lachlan Reed. Tara, a feisty city girl, goes to stay at the property. There, she and Lachlan discover the fossilised bones of a pterodactyl on the property of a neighbour who has sold out to a giant coal mining concern. When they notify the local museum, the real trouble starts... 8-12 YO http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/images/0734400144/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=916520&s=books
The Lost Diamonds Of Killiecrankie (Gary Crew) $3 PB EC A piece of historical fiction set in the wilderness of the Australian state of Tasmania. In March 1969 Geoffrey Middleton, a young artist stumbled upon one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 19th century-the fate of the lost diamonds of Killiecrankie. Middleton kept his knowledge of the lost diamonds secret until, driven by guilt, he told his dark and dreadful story to novelist Gary Crew and illustrator Peter Gouldthorpe, both award winning story tellers. 10+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA NOTABLE AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK http://www.byroncs.nsw.edu.au/starfish/books/kill/index.html
Children Of the Shipwreck Coast (Sandra Feldman) $4 HB EC An Australian story set in seaside village of Port Fairy in the Great Australian Bight, known as the ‘Shipwreck Coast.’ It is the story of a dog who is befriended by young children and loses its life saving them from drowning. Part 1 told from child's perspective, and Part 2 is told by the dog. Includes maps and a glossary. Wonderful photographs with illustrations superimposed over. 7-11 YO http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0646302701/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Australia at the Beach (Max Fatchen) $4 PB EC A story of sun, surf, picnics, fish and chips, and one-legged seagulls. This is how one Australian family spends Australia Day at the beach, from packing up the car to getting dumped by a wave, playing beach cricket, and coming home sandy and exhausted. It's an Aussie tradition! 4-9 YO http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Australia-at-the-Beach/Max-Fatchen/book_9781862914285.htm
Sly Old Wardrobe (Ivan Southall) $2 HBDJ VGC (Jacket has a few minor tears) Long ago an old English gentleman in a top hat sold the old wardrobe for fifty-one guineas and it passed through many hands until it was finally sold to a young man who took it to Australia. And so begins the marvellous adventures of the sly old wardrobe, mostly conducted by a very well-meaning boy named Tom, with the help and hindrance of his mother and father, his music teacher, the parson, a jockey, the butcher, the sailor, a train driver and a little girl. Vibrant illustrations. 5-8 YO THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/ivan-southall/sly-old-wardrobe.htm
Where The Forest Meets the Sea (Jeannie Baker) $3 PB EC A boy travels with his father to a tropical rain forest in North Queensland. Walking among the trees and vines, he imagines the forest as it might have been in the past, with now-extinct creatures and aboriginal children inhabiting it. The collage constructions have the life and intensity of photographs, from a tangle of trunks and vines to the faint outlines of an aboriginal child melting into a background of trees. An exquisitely wrought work with a simple, profound message. All ages. http://www.amazon.com/Where-Forest-Meets-Jeannie-Baker/dp/0688063632/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200880472&sr=1-1
Marty Moves To The Country (Kate Walker) $2 HB GC (Ex lib) When 9-year-old Marty moves to the country to live in an old run-down Queenslander, he is lonely. He misses riding his skateboard with his friends and is unhappy until he meets Josie, who teaches him to ride her motor bike and becomes his best friend. A great insight to life in the country today. 5-10 YO THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AUSTRALIA PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR – HIGHLY COMMENDED
Queen Of The Wheat Castles (Christobel Mattingley) $2 HB GC A story based in the wheat belt of the Australian Wimmera. Cathy loves the wheat silos, which seemed to her, like castles in a fairy tale, especially at sunset or when the wheat was shimmering gold at harvest time. Join her at wheat harvest time, whilst enduring the mouse plague that comes with a bumper season and help her find homes for Mrs Tabbs’ kittens as mousers along the railway line that takes the wheat to the markets. A charming story with line drawings throughout. 6-10 YO http://www.tarmans.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=92&CLSN_420=1248328377420621194b15ad01f0db4b
The Great Ballagundi Damper Bake (Christobel Mattingley) $4 HB GC, $3 PB GC The little town of Ballagundi has a problem - a wheat glut. The silos are full to overflowing, and the people's pockets are empty! The situation seems hopeless - and then the Shire President has a Great Idea ... an idea to save the day, and idea to bring the tourists and their dollars flocking - The Great Ballagundi Damper Bake! A great read! http://www.oztion.com.au/oa/oa_previewpic.aspx?itemid=7729321&picnum=1&#pic
Rightway Jack (David Cox) $2 HB VGC Rightway Jack shows Becky how to get on Bindi-eye, the horse, the wrong way, with unexpected results. Great Aussie scenery and country life are depicted in the picture book. Charming illustrations of an Australian property complete with the iconic Queenslander, windmill, rain water tanks, hazy mountains, dry, brown grass, cattle dogs, haystacks and more. 5-9 YO
Waiting For May (Thyrza Davey) $4 HBDJ VGC, $3 PB VGC Spanning generations, this is a tale about the special friendship between a feisty old man and a young boy. A social worker wants Old Alec, who lives with his dog on a houseboat on the coast of Queensland, to move to a pensioners' home; but to escape such a fate, the old man decides to sail his broken-down old boat up the Barrier Reef, until a fierce storm and the friendship of a young boy change his plans. Exquisite paintings capture both the tenderness of the tale and the exotic beauty of its Sunshine Coast setting. Thyrza’s artwork and writing are highly regarded by experts. She has won the Christian Book of the Year award twice (for her first two children’s books), and one of Australia’s best-known artists, Pro Hart, bought the entire collection of paintings she did for Waiting for May. 7-10 YO http://www.showlettwestbooks.com/si/17092.html
Sandy The Cane Train (Jean Chapman) $3 HB VGC (A vintage collectable) A little gas engine saves the day when five steam locomotives are blocked on the rail to the sugar cane factory. Set in Queensland in the sugar producing areas, a lovely book illustrated by Walter Cunningham. 4-9 YO http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Sandy-Cane-Train-Jean-Chapman-Walter-Cunningham-/370416727531?pt=AU_Books_Childrens_New
Magpie Island (Colin Thiele) $5 PB EC Colin Thiele takes us to the the islands of offshore South Australia. Gaunt, windswept and solitary, it is a strangely perfect setting for the story of a lonely magpie, "a castaway, a Robinson Crusoe... a dot on a tree, that was a twig on a hill, that was a lump on an island, that was a barrow-load of rock." This book is much more than a story about a magpie. It is a story about loneliness and fortitude, joy and tragedy, struggle and failure; a story marked by that compassionate insight into the meaning of solitude which illuminates so much of Thiele's writing. Beautifully illustrated by Roger Haldane. Large picture book style. 8-13 YO CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AUSTRALIA COMMENDATION http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/41416.jpg
Brass Bob (Graham Houghton) $2 PB VGC Tells the story of an old bushman who lives in the Pilbara region in outback WA. Brass Bob is a good bloke, His best friends are Blackfellas; the old station mob. And his most prized possession is the gramophone he and his missus bought in their early days together. Attractive illustrations showing much detail of outback landscapes. 6-10 YO
Happy Birthday, Australia (Prudence Grieve) $2 HBDJ EC A story about how an inner suburb street of an Australian city celebrates the bicentenary of Australia. Bright, engaging photos. 5-10 YO http://www.nannysweb.com.au/book.php?book_id=2428
When Tracey Came For Christmas (June Epstein) $2 PB VGC A great little picture book interspersed with ink drawings and actual photos of when Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin in 1974. 6-10
Chapter Books & Novels
Pastures Of The Blue Crane (H.F. Brinsmead) $2 PB VGC This novel, set in the Tweed district, is a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl, Ryl Merewether. Ryl is all alone in the world - or so she thinks - when she suddenly inherits a rundown shack in northern NSW, which comes complete with a crusty old grandfather and some other surprising relatives she didn't know about. In this little adventure story, Brinsmead tackles many big issues, including the irresponsible property development ruining the pristine Tweed coastline, and the casual racism, sexism and narrow-minded conformity of Australian society. 11+ WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL BOOK OF THE YEAR http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Pastures-of-the-Blue-Crane/Hesba-Fay-Brinsmead/book_9780702234620.htm (Cover different)
A Fortune for the Brave (Nan Chauncy) $4 HBDJ EC (Ex lib) Orphan Huon Trivett inherits a remote island off the east coast of Tasmania, which holds 'a fortune for the brave.' Huon, who has been learning to farm in England, travels to Tasmania and finds that courage is, indeed, called for, both to seek and hold what is hidden on the island. 11+ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORTUNE-BRAVE-NAN-CHAUNCY-/360135923995?pt=Fiction&hash=item53d9c6191b
Lizzie Lights (Nan Chauncy) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex lib) For Elizabeth Wigg (Lizzie Lights), Shag Island is a place of refuge and she secretly fears the outside world. Her pen-friend Myra comes to stay for the summer holidays and Lizzie's life will never be the same again. Set in Tasmania in the early 1900s. 9+
Echo in the Wilderness (H.F. Brinsmead) $4 HB VGC Set on Lake Pedder on the eve of its destruction, Clippie is a restless young engineer and pilot working at Dubbo airport when he inherits his uncle’s Tasmanian property. He sets off at once to inspect his new property and in the process, comes to know and love the wilderness and its people. When Lake Tara is to be flooded in the interests of a big mining venture, Clippie becomes involved in the rescue of as many animals, including the rare Tasmanian Tiger, as possible and taking them to a wildlife sanctuary. The author is known for her wonderful descriptions of the great beauty and splendour of this region, with its rocky gorges, cliffs and impenetrable blue-gum forests. Brinsmead was among the first writers to see the Australian bush as beautiful and fragile. She makes her young readers aware that care must be taken, that the wilderness must be cherished. Back in the 1960s, she was a generation ahead of her time as an environmentalist. 10+ http://cgi.ebay.ie/Echo-in-the-Wilderness-by-H-F-Brinsmead-VG-1972-1st_W0QQitemZ150283734648QQihZ005QQcategoryZ279QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Season of the Briar (Hesba Brinsmead) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex lib) The titanic environmental struggles in Tasmania are the cornerstone for much of Brinsmead's work. These "Tasmanian" books began in 1965 with this novel, which depicts weed sprayers causing havoc through the countryside. This was the first of several stories set in a state which she got to know intimately, thanks to her brother-in-law, Ron Brown, a long-serving independent state MP who campaigned tirelessly for conservation. 10+ http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=9794106315&browse=1&qwork=5955970&qsort=&page=1
Eight Days At Gaura (Anne Farrell) $4 HB VGC The young Mitchell children find themselves unexpectedly left to cope with running their Jersey stud and dairy farm beside the Mersey River in Tasmania, while their parents are on the mainland on a bull-buying expedition. 10+
The Hammerhead Light (Colin Thiele) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) As with many of Colin Thiele's books, the main theme of The Hammerhead Light is the conservation of our heritage. The story is set around an old lighthouse and the main characters Axel and Tessa. Axel is an old man who was once the lighthouse keeper and Tessa has grown up within sight of the lighthouse and calls Axel 'Uncle'. Both characters have a strong love of nature and a commitment to preserving the landscape and fauna for the future generations. Nature and man have different plans for the lighthouse and so the scene is set for the unfolding of the story. 10+ http://www.leurabooks.com.au/si/000004.html
Listen to the Wind (Hesba Brinsmead) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex lib) A young girl defies boundaries set by the local communities of whites and Islanders when she offers a young Islander the opportunity to join her in partnership of a fishing boat. A rich portrait of a coastal community near Brisbane, populated by a complex racial mix of fishermen. Lovejoy and Tam, teenagers from different cultures, work against odds to restore a fishing trawler. Interesting characters, vivid writing. 10+ http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/thechi/63092.shtml
Seashores and Shadows (Colin Thiele) $5 PB VGC, $5 HB VGC Fourteen-year-old Joe had never heard of Wayward Island before he came to live with his cousin, Meg, and her family at Cockle Bay. Nor had he ever heard of Scarface! Wayward Island, out to sea, is a spellbinding place of windswept hills and beckoning seashores. Scarface is a huge, white pointer shark, a fearless killer, an ever-present yet elusive shadow. Terrible events carve the names of both Wayward Island and Scarface into the memories of Joe and Meg of seashores and shadows they will never forget. 10+ http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0850919258.02.MZZZZZZZ.jpg (Cover different)
Farm Life/Bush Towns
Koronglea Holidays (Fae Hewston Stevens) $4 HBDJ GC (Inner binding a little worn, but solid) The start of the long Australian summer holiday is near, and Mrs. Dixon and Cathie have been busy preparing for visitors. They will have a houseful, for Helen and her husband Greig, their son Paul and his friend Steven, to say nothing of the twin babies, are coming, while Max will be arriving from school in Sydney with his friend Hugh. The unexpected arrival of an aeorplane, the mysterious disappearance of an old jacket, a trail of bran, and some new neighbours, add up to an exciting story which will enthral all readers. The third book in the Koronglea series is about the Dixon family, who live on a sheep station 300 miles from Sydney, with their animals, including their ponies Flare and Paint. An Aussie collectible like the Billabong series. 9+ http://www.oztion.com.au/buy/auction.aspx?itemid=10477037
Koronglea Cobbers (Fae Hewston Stevens) $4 HBDJ GC (Inner binding a little worn, but solid) The eldest Dixon sister is bringing her young son to visit the family from America. The Koronglea series is about the Dixon family, who live on a sheep station 300 miles from Sydney, with their animals, including their ponies Flare and Paint. An Aussie collectible like the Billabong series. 9+ http://www.scottish-books.net/gallery.php?m=1&b=17301
Koronglea Adventures (Fae Hewston Stevens) $4 HBDJ GC Unexpected things happen when Jonny goes for a ride on Paint. The Koronglea series is about the Dixon family, who live on a sheep station 300 miles from Sydney, with their animals, including their ponies Flare and Paint. An Aussie collectible like the Billabong series. 9+
Koronglea Ponies (Fae Hewston Stevens) $4 HBDJ GC Noelle and Anne, two Dixon cousins, come to visit while their parents are away travelling. The Koronglea series is about the Dixon family, who live on a sheep station 300 miles from Sydney, with their animals, including their ponies Flare and Paint. An Aussie collectible like the Billabong series. 9+
The Year Of The Currawong (Eleanor Spence) $4 HBDJ VGC Moving from a busy city into a country village can bring big changes into the life of a family. The Kendalls look forward to their move from Sydney to Currawong Crossing with mixed feelings, especially Elizabeth, who dreads starting at a new school. But in the course of their first year, so many things happened, beginning with a forest fire and ending with a Back-To-The-Crossing Day, that no one has time to regret the old life in Sydney. 9+
A Prayer for Blue Delaney (Kirsty Murray) $6 PB EC (Ex lib) Since early convict days, thousands of orphaned children have come to Australia in different eras and many of them were of Irish descent. Such a boy is Colm, on the run and determined to escape from the cruelties of Bindoon Boys' Home. He strikes up an unexpected friendship with Billy Dare and his dog Rusty, and together they travel from the goldfields of Kalgoorlie to the rugged north. Whether they're working along the Dog Fence, eluding the police or confronting a wild boar, they're a team. When Bill's life is at risk, it's up to Colm to go in search of the mysterious Blue Delaney and lay to rest the ghosts that haunt them both. This action packed story, set in the 1950s, continues the richly detailed historical quartet that began with Bridie's Fire and Becoming Billy Dare. 10+ WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PREMIER’S BOOK AWARDS 2005; WINNER –YOUNG ADULT WRITING; CBCA NOTABLE BOOK 2006 http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781865087368
Martin’s Mountain (Colin Thiele) $3 PB VGC Martin is enjoying life on the family farm, helping his father, when one day disaster strikes. He then has to face new challenges and accept new responsibilities. At times the mountain looming ahead seems steep and forbidding, but in the end, together with his family, he finds the strength and the faith to conquer it. 9+
Uncle’s Show (Myrtle Wilson) $4 PB VGC This book is good fun for all the family, especially for anyone who has ever competed at a country show, or wished they could. It is Myrtle's sixth published book. Myrtle Wilson was born in Berwick, Victoria, and has lived in that district all her life. Her great enthusiasm for show-work and creative writing filled all her spare time during her school years, and inspired much of this story. 10+ http://cgi.ebay.com.au/UNCLES-SHOW-MYRTLE-WILSON-/360286322580
Johnny Hart’s Heroes (David Metzenthen) $5 PB GC (Cover crease) Working as first - time drovers for Johnny Hart, Lal and Ralph find themselves inching along a dusty, desperate road. In the drought stricken country, Johnny has purchased 1000 sheep and he intends on droving them until they are fat enough to sell for more alive than what they are dead. When the rain doesn't come, the bunch of four drovers, Johnny, Lal, Ralph and Kate, Johnny's niece have to struggle to keep the mob alive. The two best friends find out how strong their friendship really is when they rely on each other. There is a future there to be grabbed if only they can outlast the drought and roll with the punches. But nothing is easy in the 90s in the not - so - lucky country.11+ http://www.schools.ash.org.au/bullyard/jhh.html
Man-Shy: A Story of Men and Cattle (Frank Dalby Davison) $2 PB EC A four day old heifer loses her mother and cannot find anyone to answer her thin, quavering cry for help. Confused and nervous, she sets off on a life that will lead her into many battles with the tough, wiry old stockmen who think of cattle as nothing but beef-on-the-hoof, to be mustered and sold for profit. In desperation she breaks out to join the scrubbers – the wild cattle living in the high country. But her battles are not yet over…..9+ http://www.leurabooks.com.au/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=78576&keyword=dalby+davison+frank&searchby=author&offset=0&fs=1&CLSN_2841=1281760819284193212402c4be193744
Six and Silver (Joan Phipson) $4 HBDJ GC (First edition 1954) Five children, and Ted, their guide, make an eventful camping expedition to the Karkoo Ranges. Silver, Jack’s sheep-dog comes to the rescue when disaster happens on Mount Calca. One of the children, Tess, is a city girl, and the way of life on the station is very strange to her. Jack, equally, finds it hard to accept his ignorance of surfing and sailing when they have a holiday by the sea. 9+ http://www.janebadgerbooks.co.uk/australia/six%20and%20silver.jpg
Peter And Pompey (John Misto) $3 PB GC A trio of kids living in a small North Queensland coastal town get involved in adventure when they discover a 2000 year old Roman boat. 10+
The Gum Tree Gang And The Mystery At The Old Queenslander (Eileen Marie Rafferty) $4 PB VGC We are introduced to four ordinary children: Krystal and Tracey and their brothers, Matthew and Kevin who call themselves The Gum Tree Gang. The children love adventure and investigate what their friends are up to, but they often get caught in places they should have avoided. 8-11 YO http://images.bookdepository.co.uk/assets/images/book/large/9780/6463/9780646373638.jpg
Crusoe Boys (Vincent Serventy) $2 PB EC Set in Western Australia, Matt and Tom were off on the adventure of their lives! Sailing to an island of their own, exploring unknown territory, setting up house, living off the land, having adventures and, for a time, all by themselves. Wasn’t that every one’s dream? They could be Crusoe boys, with no school, no clocks, no rules….. But – the storm, illness, then the bad news…. It almost turned into a chilling nightmare.. 10+ http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781863681209/crusoe-boys
The Edge Of The Rainforest (James G. Porter – University of Qld Press) $2 PB VGC Karen and her mother live on a small collective farm in the Atherton Tableland rainforest. But this idyllic world of looking after their banana plantation and goat herd is turned upside down when a neighbour cuts off their water supply. The family is forced to move to town but Karen and her mother are determined to fight back, even if Karen has to give up her dreams of attending university. A story of strength and determination and the youthful search for independence. 12+
The Green Laurel (Eleanor Spence) $2 HBDJ GC (Square cut from endpaper, ex lib) A nomadic family works carnivals throughout Australia, moving from one Australian country town to another taking part in shows and festivals. But Rae and Lesley would like an ordinary childhood a ‘house with roots.’ So when their father becomes ill thus necessitating a stay in a boarding house at Dragon Bay, they make new friends, fulfil ambitions and begin to grow up. 11+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD http://www.marlowesbooks.com/index.php?action=recommend&prodid=44652&title=The-Green-Laurel&author=Spence-Eleanor#
Crossfire (James Moloney, University Qld Press) $4 PB GC (Light tanning) Luke could almost count the pig’s strides as it closed in…His father lay frantic in the dust, scarcely able to raise his head…The pig would kill him. Luke doesn’t live with his dad, but he still idolises him. Dad is a hunter, a hard man who knows everything about guns. When Mum is unexpectedly hospitalised, Luke finds himself unexpectedly able to accompany his father on a pig-shooting expedition. He’s the only kid with a group of men – men who will, it seems, shoot at anything that moves. Luke starts to see the other side of shooting and killing. And when the expedition turns dangerous, he wonders whether all this is worth the thrill of the chase. 13+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA NOTABLE BOOK http://www.amazon.com/Crossfire-Uqp-Young-Adult-Fiction/dp/0702223840 (Cover different)
Dingo Boy (Michael Dugan) $3 PB GC Carl, a thirteen year old from an orphanage, is fostered by a farmer who values him only as a source of unpaid labour. As Carl's disappointment and resentment intensify due to his isolation, his sympathy grows for a pack of hunted, starving dingoes beyond the farm's dog-proof fence. He formulates a plan that will get him back to the orphanage. 10+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/97104.jpg
First Born (Jane Carroll) $2 PB VGC Merry lives on a farm in the country and loves it! The news that she is going to spend the Easter holiday with her aunt in Sydney is both scary and exciting. 7-10 YO
Patterson’s Track $2 PB GC The discovery of carved initials in a cave at Convict Bay sets Karen and her two brothers, Geoff and Barry, off on a 5 day hike through the bush to try to find the answer to a 140 year old mystery. Was the escaped convict found in the cave all those years ago responsible for the murders of the pioneer family and his convict servants? 10+ http://www.harpercollins.com.au/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0207197962&tc=cx
The True Story Of Lola Mackellar (James Aldridge) $2 PB VGC Lola is brought from a foster home in Melbourne to the country town of St. Helen by the wealthy Eyres when she is five, but it isn't until eight years later that the secret of her true identity is slowly and painfully revealed. Set on a vast riverside property in the Australian countryside. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/james-aldridge/true-story-of-lola-mackellar-puffin-books.htm
Bush Christmas (Ralph Smart) $2 PB VGC Set in the mountains of New South Wales, the story concerns a family of Australian kids who are heading homeward for the Christmas holidays. En route, they unwittingly provide the information which enables a band of thieves to steal their father's horses. Deciding to set things right on their own, the children head into the Blue Mountains to track down the thieves, relying on Aboriginal survival skills to keep themselves going. 10+ http://www.amazon.ca/Bush-Christmas-Ralph-Smart/dp/B000B6CO3O (Cover different)
Good Luck To The Rider (Joan Phipson) $2 PB GC (Ex lib) Twelve-year-old Barbara is the youngest of four children growing up on a remote sheep station. Fearful of what the future holds for her, Barbara finds new confidence from her friendship with an unlikely foal named Rosinante. A moving story of a girl and her horse, who together face all the challenges and uncertainties of growing up. One of the greatest horse stories ever told and a true Australian classic. WON THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD. 9+ http://www.bookworm.com.au/shop/scditem.asp?ProdID=20032
Windmill At Magpie Creek (Christobel Mattingley) $4 HBDJ EC, $3 PB VGC The story of Tim, a boy beset by two fears: first, there are the magpies who seem always to choose him to attack; and second, there is the windmill, which Tim has climbed once and thereafter dreads. The book describes how, following an accident to his father, Tim has to confront and eventually to overcome his fears by climbing the windmill with his own anti-magpie device because, if the mill does not get proper maintenance, his incapacitated father will have to replace it with a more manageable, diesel-operated one. Tim's triumph in reaching the top is succinctly drawn out on the last page when he tells his friend Barney: 'It's a stiff climb and it's a bit scary the first time you do it. But it's worth it to get to the top.' It’s a heart-warming conclusion to a deceptively simple book which is perfectly suited to its seven- to nine-year-old readership. THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA HIGHLY COMMENDED BOOK http://coombs.anu.edu.au/~helen/GP/GP1June/gpchristobel.html (Cover newer)
The Summer In Between (Eleanor Spence) $4 HBDJ GC The long, hot Australian summer stretched before Faith Melville. It was an important summer for her because she had just left the junior school and would start at Kenilworth Public School next year. Even though there was Christmas to look forward to, Faith felt like she would like something particularly exciting to do. This summer proves to meet all her expectations. 10+
The Nargun And The Stars (Patricia Wrightson) $2 PB GC The Potkoorok, Turongs and Nyols - those trick-playing spirits from aboriginal lore who helped save Sydney's Botanical Gardens from a parking lot developer in An Older Kind of Magic, are less cooperative when the human hero's enemy is an ancient rocklike monster who shares the mythological creatures' displeasure with the crew from town that has begun to clear the ridge at Wongadilla. Simon Brent, newly orphaned and come to live on the remote sheep run with old Charlie Waters and his sister Edie, is amused when the mischievous spirits dump the grader into the pond one night and hide the bulldozer inside the mountain the next, but he is terrified by the angry howl of the primordial Nargun, recently arrived at the spot after a slow 80-year journey from his long-time home to the south. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/patricia-wrightson/nargun-and-stars.htm
Barmy Army And The Good-For-Nothin’s (Margaret Patterson) $2 PB EC Being a kid in Taylor’s Creek wasn’t easy. At least, not when the Wild Man From Borneo was on the rampage, or when dippy Granny Goodhew was in a pickle, or when your mother, who could track you down like a bloodhound, was sniffing around. But the worst of all was having a cranky old fellow like Army MacDougall around. Because, according to Barmy Army, just about everything was “good-for-nothin’” – especially the kids of Taylor’s Creek! 8-11 YO http://www.booksaround.com.au/books/view/Margaret-Patterson/Barmy-Army-And-The-Good-For-Nothin%27s/16285/
Flash Flood (Colin Thiele) $4 HBDJ EC (Inscription, a vintage collectable) The story of a boy and his family caught by a flash flood whilst on holiday. Lovely illustrations. 6-10 YO
Hero (Allan Baillie) $2 HB VGC (Ex lib) Three children are forced together by the rising floodwaters of the Hawkesbury River, in danger of breaking its banks. As their familiar world is ravaged by the flood, the three must find the strength within themselves to survive. Who will be the hero? 9+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/allan-baillie/hero.htm
Wildfire (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $4 PB GC The first third of the book, in which many characters are introduced, moves with a relatively slow pace: but the narrative turns suddenly to descriptions of the frenzied onrush of wind, smoke, and flame as wildfire erupts. As brilliantly graphic as the succession of fire scenes is the quiet after-math, when, with rain falling, the forest is seen "burned into stillness." Central to the story are four teenagers and an eight-year-old…. When the holocaust is over, each of them is a different person. 11+
Firestorm (Roger Vaughan Carr) $4 HBDJ GC An adventure story based on the actual events of Ash Wednesday in February 1983 when huge areas of Australia were devastated by the most destructive bush fires there had been for many years. SHORTLISTED IN THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA'S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD. 10+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/0140341013/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books (Cover different)
Ash Road (Ivan Southall) $2 PB GC (Light tanning) Three city boys go camping in the bush and get caught up in a terrifying ordeal - a raging bushfire, in which they find themselves quite isolated and with a massive challenge ahead of them, to survive and they only have each other and two old men to look to for help. This is nail-biting stuff for any reader. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/ivan-southall/ash-road.htm (Cover different)
February Dragon (Colin Thiele) $2 PB FC+ The three Pine kids truly belong in the bushland where they live on Bottlebrush Barn, the home of the Pine family, lies halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide. And they have nicknames to match - Resin, Turps and Columbine. They like fishing for yabbies, taming unusual pets, riding in the local show and astonishing their teachers. But their usual adventures are nothing compared to the dire events that take place when somebody lets loose the February Dragon - the dreaded bushfire. 9+ http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/book/february-dragon/5779409/
Family At The Lookout (Noreen Shelley) $2 HB GC (Ex lib) The Wetherall family move from their small flat in Melbourne to Gully Heights in the Blue Mountains. Mr. Wetherall has inherited ‘The Lookout’, a large house with 25 rooms, from his uncle. Mark and Lindy love their new home, the mysterious bush that surrounds them, and their new friends and neighbours. But the only drawback is their great-uncle’s housekeeper, Miss Hatch, whom the children are afraid of and who they think is involved in suspicious activities. But then a bushfire threatens ‘The Lookout’ and Mark takes action to expose Miss Hatch. 9+ http://www.librarything.com/work/1589898
City Life
The Other Side Of the World (Noreen Shelley) $4 HBDJ VGC (Top edge of jacket creased) Ben didn’t understand why his parents were sending him to live in Australia, on the other side of the world from his home in England. They were going with their jobs in the WHO to Africa for six months and were insisting on leaving him with his Australian grandmother – a strange woman he hardly knew, in a strange country very different from his own filled with strange people with curious manners and loud voices. 11+
New Patches For Old (Christobel Mattingley) $3 PB GC Problem face Patricia when her family decide to emigrate to Australia; there's the pain of parting and the difficulties of settling into a new country. Will she ever feel at home in this unfamiliar country? 11+ http://www.collectablebooks.com.au/children-s-fiction/new-patches-for-old-by-christobel-mattingley.html
Callie’s Castle (Ruth Park) $2 PB GC Nothing seemed to go right for ten-year-old Callie Cameron. Victim of the younger children's pranks and teasing, she felt the odd-one-out in the family. Then Grandpa Cameron realised what she needed and came up with the perfect solution. He discovered a secret room in the roof of the house and it became Callie's private hideaway. In her own 'castle-in-the-air', with it's marvellous view of Sydney Harbour, Callie regained her old feeling of happiness and had to agree with Frances when she said "You're the luckiest, Callie". 7-11 YO THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA HIGHLY COMMENDED BOOK http://www.librarything.com/work/3560550
Dancing In The Anzac Deli (Nadia Wheatley) $2 PB GC (Ex lib) When Mareka and the Wilson kids go on an ordinary everyday aluminium can-collecting expedition in Newton, Sydney, they get much more than they bargained for. THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA COMMENDED BOOK. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/nadia-wheatley/dancing-in-anzac-deli.htm
Mister Eternity (Maggie Hamilton) $2 PB EC (Ex lib) An exciting and thoughtful story of two friends, Sebastian and Josie, as they travel from Kings Cross, Sydney, to the Blue Mountains tracking down one clue after another in their search for who beat up their elderly friend, Lil. They find that there is much more to the mystery than they had imagined. 12+ http://www.maggiehamilton.org/booksandaudio/mister.htm
The Murray River
Adventures Down Under “Race to Wallaby Bay” (Robert Elmer) $5 PB EC A desperate letter from his grandfather prompts Patrick McWaid and his family to return to Boomerang Bend, where the Lady Elisabeth still rests on the bottom of the river. But they arrive to find the Old Man crushed by many setbacks. Not only has his entire crew left him, but the money meant for repairs has disappeared! With no other choice, the Old Man has sold half the boat to a mysterious investor in Goolwa at the mouth of the Murray River. But there's one catch he must deliver the paddle steamer to her new half owner in thirty days or lose his remaining half! It's a long way to Goolwa, and first they must raise the Lady E from the river bottom. Can the McWaids make the necessary repairs in time? 8-12 YO http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0764221035/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
River Murray Mary (Colin Thiele) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) This is the story of Mary, her parents and her friend, Abel Stenross, owner of the paddle steamer "Backwater Bessie". Mary lives on the banks of the mighty Murray and river life offers adventure for her and her friends. She encounters tiger snakes, soldier settlement on the land, hardship of life in the country and raging floods that nearly take her mother. 9+ http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780734404145-Colin_Thiele_Classics_River_Murray_Mary_by_Colin_Thiele.htm
River Murray Mary & Skipton’s Landing (Colin Thiele) $4 PB VGC Two stories about children living with their families on the Murray River in the 1920s. Learn about soldier settlers, opening up the land and the dangers of life on its banks. 10+
Bush Voyage (Stephen Fennimore) $2 HBDJ GC (Vintage 1950 edition, jacket shows wear) Two children, Martin and Penny, join Jo who has bought a floating shop. In the paddle-steamer, Bunyip, they sail down the Murray River, stopping at all the towns and villages on the way so that people can buy the things they need. 7-11 YO CBCA CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR HIGHLY COMMENDED BOOK.
Jess And The River Kids (Judith O’Neill) $2 PB GC Jess spends her days peacefully and in solitude by the river Murray, until one day she finds two boys there, who agree to share her secret place. This is the beginning of an eventful summer for all of them. FINALIST FOR THE AUSTRALIA CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD. 10+ http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=9668771073&browse=1&isbn=9780099357001&qsort=&page=1 (Cover different)
The River Kings (Max Fatchen) $2 PB EC Follow Shawn as he joins Captain Elijah and the crew of the Lazy Jane on their spirited journey up and down the great river Murray, fighting to remain the mighty River Kings. 12+ http://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/books/riverkings.html (Cover different)
Save The Lady (Yoram Gross) $2 PB GC (Minor cover wear and tanning) Ben, Specs, Gina and Jo are plunged into a desperate race against time to save the gallant old ferry, the Lady Hope. To her owners, the Maritime Transport Commission, the Lady is just a heap of junk only good for scrap. But beneath the layers of filth and neglect there is a soundly built boat with a history and worthy of preservation.
Paddle-Ghosts (Roy Pond) $2 PB EC When Matt drops his coin into the box of the static display of the old paddle wheeler PS Return, he started more than the engine. The paddle wheeler takes Matt and his friends on a ride into the past on the River Murray. 10+
The Man In The Red Turban (David Martin) $3 HBDJ EC The man in the red turban is Ganda Singh, the Indian hawker who is well known and liked by hundreds along the Murray River. Times are hard. It is 1933, the Depression and many have no work. Meet some remarkable people, including a few rogues, and laugh along at the adventures of Ganda, his travelling companions – and his horses as they ply their trade amongst the Murray River inhabitants! Great historical fiction! 10+
The Incredible Steam-Driven Adventures of Riverboat Bill (Cliff Green) $3 PB GC Riverboat Bill sets out once more to prove that he is the best skipper on the Murray. Set in the 1890’s, he sinks his own boat, salvages an abandoned craft, names her Mystery and heads for adventure full steam ahead! Great illustrations! Recommended! 8+ http://www.librarything.com/work/5897038
The Further Adventures Of Riverboat Bill (Cliff Green) $4 PB GC More resourceful than ever, Riverboat Bill is back! Abrim with life and eccentric outback characters, this bubbling yarn is overflowing with humour, all punctuated by the run of the river and its seasons. Join Bill as he once again leads the crew through a series of hilarious steam-driven adventures on the Darling River to find triumph and prosperity. 8+ http://www.librarything.com/work/4584176
Red And The Heron Street Gang (Kerry Kenihan) $2 PB VGC Red lives on the wrong side of town. Whenever people call her Regina she knows she’s in trouble and somehow, that often seems to happen, especially when she forms a gang to defend her street from the tough Cherry Avenue kids. The Heron Street Gang get out of most of their scrapes until one day the Murray River swells into a flood, bringing real danger. 10+ http://www.leurabooks.com.au/shop_image/product/001899.jpg
Mining Life
Iron Mountain (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $4 HBDJ VGC, $3 PB FC Joey Simpson is in trouble with the police. In an attempt to break away from his poor home conditions in Melbourne and the trouble which dogs him, he sets off for Western Australia where there is an iron mining boom. Joey meets the Rose family who are themselves making their way to Mount Tom Price to join their father. They give him a lift all the way. But Joey gets deeply involved with the family and each one, not least Joey, has his own problem to face up to. 11+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/57568.jpg
A Stranger Came To The Mine (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $4 HBDJ EC Pete and his two brothers loved spending time down their father’s opal mine in the central Australian desert. An enthralling story set against the unique backdrop of the Aussie opal fields, 11+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/63999.jpg
The Ballad Of Benny Perhaps (Hebsa Brinsmead) $4 HBDJ GC Benny has succumbed to the lure of the opal and has made his home at Sunday Creek, a small outback opal-mining community. Learn about the rough way of living, the various tough community members and opal mining methods in this interesting book. 11+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/57379.jpg
The Fire In The Stone (Colin Thiele) $2 PB GC Fourteen-year-old Ernie, who has had his precious cache of opal stolen, sets out with his Aboriginal friend Willie, determined to track and catch the thief who has robbed his opal mine. 9+ http://www.librarything.com/work/1322142
Spark Of Opal (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex school) Discouraged that their family has not made its fortune in the Australian opal fields, a teen-age brother and sister make a dangerous final attempt to change the family's fortunes. 11+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/juv.htm
A Sapphire For September (H.F. Brinsmead) $3 HB FC (Ex lib) Sixteen year old Binny helps her mother run a coffee shop in the heart of bustling Sydney, but she is always restless, searching for something more. Then she meets Adam O’Donnell, a member of a lapidary club who invites her on the club excursion to the Blue Mountains in search of precious gems. Illustrated. 10+ http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1226312506s/5580907.jpg
The Outback & Remote Areas
We Of The Never-Never (Mrs. Aeneas Gunn) $5 HBDJ EC (Name on inturn) (Complete and unabridged), $4 PB GC A well-loved turn-of-the-century classic by a Mrs Aeneas Gunn who, as a genteel Melbourne bride, was expected to add a woman's touch to her husband's isolated cattle station. She battles constantly to be seen as an equal amongst the menfolk on the station on which she lives with her husband. The fight seems a losing battle, however, as the views held by the men regarding both women and indigenous people are hard to overcome. An accurate portrayal of the early relations between Australian Aborigines and white Australians. A beautiful copy. 12+ http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/1404338853/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all (Cover different)
We of the Never-Never and The Little Black Princess (Mrs. Aeneas Gunn) Two books in one specially condensed volume. $4 HB GC (Ex school) 11+ http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/1404338853/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all (Cover different)
Brumby Plains (Joanne Van Os) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) Sam and George, 13 and 11, live at Brumby Plains, their parents' sprawling buffalo station in the Northern Territory. They're counting down to the Christmas holidays, and anticipating the fun they'll have exploring the property, horse riding, and spending time with their cousins Tess and Darcy. But weird things are happening at Brumby Plains - who is leaving the gates open, and why did a plane land in darkness in a deserted area? A chance encounter with an Englishman who knows more than he's letting on leaves Sam suspicious, but all their worries are forgotten as the four kids find a spooky cave up in the hills. Vincent, their old Aboriginal friend, says they shouldn't go there - he says it's a dangerous place, full of angry spirits. Surely there's no harm in exploring, though - is there? 10+ http://randomhouse.com.au/Books/BRUMBY-PLAINS/9781741661477/Paperback/
Jeedarra Country (James Preston) $4 HB VGC (Ex lib, tape residue on endpapers) When the car broke down as they were driving across the vast desert of the Nullarbor Plain, Mr and Mrs Edwards were not worried at first. It was part of the holiday adventure with their children, Greg and Janie. But while Mr Edwards was working on the car, Greg noticed that Janie had wandered into the bush. He chased after her, but she thought it was a game. She ran further and further into the wilderness, until Greg realised suddenly that they were lost. The Aborigines knew the Nullarbor Plain as ‘Jeedarra Country,’ home of a monster snake which devoured those who ventured across the desert. But the dangers which Greg and Janie faced were those of scorching heat and bitter cold; hunger, thirst, and the prowling dingoes who waited for them to weaken. It became a race against time as Greg found ways to survive, while his parents sought frantically for help in finding their children.
The Roan Colt of Yamboorah (Reginald Ottley) $4 HBDJ VGC (Ex lib) The boy likes his life on the Yamboorah cattle-station well enough - he has his dog Rags for company, but he can’t see the point of the boss giving him a saddle when he can’t even ride. He does learn to ride, and starts to become a cattle man. Then he finds a lame roan colt which he is told must be culled, but he is desperate to save it. 10+ http://www.janebadgerbooks.co.uk/australia/_wp_generated/wp0ed714a8_0f.jpg
By the Sandhills of Yamboorah (Reginald Ottley) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) In this timeless story, a boy struggles to come to terms with the loneliness of the Australian outback and the ruthlessness of living and working on a remote property. With Brolga the cattle dog and her pup Rags as his only companions, the boy begins a journey of self-discovery. It is a journey that will take him outside the confines of the Yamboorah cattle station, and into the vast, unrelenting sandhills beyond. 11+ http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780702233500-By_The_Sandhills_Of_Yamboorah_by_Reginald_Ottley.htm
Rain Comes to Yamboorah (Reginald Ottley) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex school, tape residue) When Kanga cured Roany's hoof and the boy could at last ride him he wanted to shout, he was so happy. Now he really belonged somewhere, he had a horse as well as a dog of his own. But despite his joy the boy sensed uneasiness in the air. Rain was desperately needed, but each new dawn brought only the same strength-sapping, dry heat. There were signs that gave hope, the emus were laying, snakes were more numerous (one even came near to causing the boy's death), but they served only to increase the tension. When rain came at last it brought the boy a chance to save the life of Old Kanga, the dog-man. Thus he repaid a debt which had long ago established a special relationship between the two. This is the third of Reginald Ottley's trilogy set in the Australian outback in the early nineteen thirties. Now a new stage in the boy's development is reached. He becomes conscious of his place in the station's pattern of life, acquiring a confidence that is a sign of maturity. 11+ http://www.librarything.com/work/1940809
No More Tomorrow (Reginald Ottley) $4 HBDJ VGC (Ex school) A faithful dog accompanies his old master on travels through the Australian outback. A deep devotion is forged between the two – a bond so strong that when an accident separates them they barely survive the interval apart. Blue continues searching for the old man. 11+ http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/FrameBase?content=/en/imagegallery/imagegallery.shtml?images=http://pictures.abebooks.com/NOTONA/3168652271.jpg
Crocodile River (Geoffrey Malone) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) Tom is visiting his Uncle's cattle ranch in the Australian outback. And when old Sam offers to take the boys walkabout, Tom knows it will be the highlight of his holiday. But the wilderness is a harsh and unforgiving place, concealing dangers that even Sam cannot foresee.10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/geoffrey-malone/crocodile-river.htm (Cover different)
Morning Star Evening Star: Tales of the Australian Outback (Donald Stuart) $3 PB GC This collection of stories brings the outback to life, and will afford the reader an insight into a dying way of life as remote areas become connected with the outside world. His characters show independence, resourcefulness, respect and dry humour. Stories include: Mataranka, Last Ride, Just Poking About, Riches of Travel, Bush Tucker, Summertime, Tracking at Joomaldarri, To Each a Dream, The Blue Horse, All Weather Road, Condamine Bell and several more.10+
Strange Objects (Gary Crew) $2 PB VGC On a school field trip to the outback, 16-year-old Steven Messenger discovers a 17th-century iron pot containing a leather-bound diary and a mummified human hand. These artifacts are turned over to the authorities, but an antique ring from the hand becomes Steven's prized possession. 11+ NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARDS WINNER; NSW STATE LITERARY AWARDS WINNER; THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER READERS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/067179759X/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books (Cover different)
The Min Min (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $4 PB VGC A young girl searches for a way to escape her desolate life in the isolated Australian outback. The author has an extraordinary talent for recreating the sense of isolation and the relentless heat of the desert, the gibber plain, the red dust, the scattered mulga and saltbush. 10+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD http://members.iinet.net.au/~mayger/books/004726.jpg
Steam-Phantoms (Roy Pond) $2 PB VGC (Ex lib) The modern silver train raced across the eerie desert plain, the Nullabor, on the world’s longest straight stretch of rail – 478 kilometres without a bend. The Indian Pacific was hitting its paces on the gun-barrel track, taking Christopher with it to his destiny. Then time warps. Christopher finds himself back in time aboard an old steam train. Who is the stranger on the fettler’s handcar? Can he and his new friends Jennifer and Danny return to their own time and reach their destination? Only time will tell.... 10+
Border Line (Dianne Wolfer) $3 PB VGC The Nullarbor? How could her parents do this to her? When Cassie's dad is retrenched, her whole world is turned upside down. Their move means leaving all she knows behind - her home, her friends, her school. And Eucla - what a place! It's in the middle of nowhere, and the only other girl she has met so far is three years old! When Cassie meets Ella and Bernie, however, things begin to change - and so does she. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY'S ENVIRONMENT AWARD AND THE WA YOUNG READERS BOOK AWARDS 10+ http://www.diannewolfer.com/books.html#border
Feeling The Heat (Pat Lowe, author of ‘The Girl With No Name’) $4 PB EC Matthew follows his heart back to the remote town in the Kimberley where he spent the happiest years of his childhood. He needs to find work, and he is also looking for his past. An edgy, unpredictable story of self-discovery set in Australia's far north west. 12+ http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Heat-Pat-Lowe/dp/0141309024
In Queen Puffem’s Fold (George Fewtrell) $2 PB GC Georgie lives with his parents, his brother, his uncle and some local Aborigines in an isolated part of Queensland with no contact with the outside world. Georgie’s life is full and interesting, with plenty of happy, some sad experiences, all shared with his very special friend, Ding Pup. 9+
A Boy Called Tully (Lawrie Ryan) $4 HBDJ VGC (Dust jacket a little tattered at edges) Tully is a young boy who lives on a sheep station with the Gunner, a cruel and gloomy man. His life is lonely and austere until the arrival of the horse-breaker, Lew McCabe, who introduces him to a world hitherto unknown. A dramatic story suitable for children from 8 years upward.
THE SPINDLES ADVENTURES SERIES (Barry Chant) - A charming series about a young boy in the Outback who gets into all kinds of scrapes and adventures with his animal friends. Each story makes plain a vital aspect of Biblical truth, like a modern-day parable. Suit 9+ $3 each PB GC+ http://barrychant.com/kids/kids.php
Spindles And The Orphan
Spindles And The Sleepy Lizard
Spindles Of The Dusty Range
Spindles And The Children
Spindles And The Eagles
Spindles And The Wombat
Logging-Development & Other Contentious Issues
The Children Of Mirrabooka (Judith Arthy) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) Leaving a significant place undisturbed is the theme of this novel set in the Boonah district, in southern Queensland. When Jenny visits her great aunt at the family farm, like her aunt, she can see and sense beings. In a time slip, she sees a violent rounding up of the local Aboriginal people. This enables her to help stop a proposed deal to sell the property to tourist developers. 11+ http://www.amazon.com/Children-Mirrabooka-Judith-Arthy/dp/0140381678
Rachel’s Forest (John Heffernan) $2 PB VGC Rachael Richards loves the forest in an undeveloped area of her family's property. But when her parents are forced to sell part of their land, Rachael's forest is threatened. Rachael becomes a household name - the Little Greenie - when she confronts the authorities and the giant finance corporations about the future of her forest. Can a teenage girl really make a difference. This is the story of a spirited girl's battle to save her forest, and the huge personal price she pays. 10+ SHORTLISTED BY THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE. http://www.spudplus.com/Rachael.jpg
The Blooding (Nadia Wheatley) $2 PB EC (Tanning on inside covers only) “The greenies came to town today. They reckon they're going to stop the logging. It's real weird, but part of me wants them to win. I mean, I want the forest to live. But if the logging stops - my home town will die. Dad will lose his job, and I'll never get one. What am I going to do?” 17 year old Colum leads a double life. In public he plays football and hangs with the town gang, but in private he escapes to his secret place in the forest. When conservationists arrive in the area, Col is torn between two opposing forces - and eventually becomes the centre of a dramatic and violent confrontation. 12+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/nadia-wheatley/blooding.htm (Cover different)
High Valley (Colin Thiele) $4 PB VGC High Valley is a remote, gentle community of one hundred people, mainly fruit farming families, who have lived there for generations; nobody is a stranger. The primary age children attend a one-teacher school, while the older ones are bussed to the nearest high school. Life is ordered, friendly and community-spirited. This idyllic state is shattered when every family receives an identical, cold, official letter informing them that within eighteen months, their town will cease to exist. The government plans to inundate the whole valley to provide much-needed water for the hundreds of thousands of people in the large coastal cities. Angry and bewildered, the villagers organise public meetings with clumsy but well-meaning officials. But the end is inevitable. This is a sad, gentle but powerful portrayal of the clash between the rival demands of rural and urban Australians. Twelve-year-old Jamie Judd, is the central figure in this gripping story. 10+ http://cgi.ebay.com.au/High-Valley-Colin-Thiele-/370376197343?pt=AU_Books_Childrens_New
Chinaman’s Reef Is Ours (Ivan Southall) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex lib, tape residue) When their isolated town is bought by a mining company, a group of children and adults fight to save their homes. 11+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chinamans-Reef-Ours-Ivan-Southall/dp/0207953651
Fight Against Albatross Two (Colin Theile) $3 PB GC Albatross Two is an offshore oil well. From the moment the giant rig arrives off the little fishing village of Ripple Bay and begins drilling, it dominates the lives of everyone in the community. To Mr Huxtable, it is a beautiful machine, but to Mario Bukovitch and the other crayfisherman, it is a technological juggernaut that befouls their fishing grounds and destroys their livelihood. To Link, Tina, Craypot, Hookie, and the other teenagers of the village it is a source of wonder and endless discussion. Fourteen-year-old Link gets a job as cook's assistant aboard the rig and begins to learn something of the fascinating technology that makes offshore oil-drilling possible. He is there when Albatross Two blows out and the resulting oil spill threatens to kill all the marine bird life on the coast. 11+ http://www.wellerbooks.com.au/popup_image.php?pID=1558&osCsid=4181ad4bbe0dffeb9c51163f26896c4a
General Aussie Culture/Modern Australia
Soraya the Storyteller (Rosanne Hawke) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) Soraya is a storyteller. The stories from Afghanistan keep her memories alive in Australia, as she starts a new life under the shadow of a Temporary Protection Visa. But it is the ebony horse which flies through her dreams that helps her find a strange land between remembering and forgetting, a land where she can be safe. 11+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SHORT-LISTED BOOK; NOMINATED FOR THE SA KANGA AWARDS; COMMENDED IN THE 2005 VICTORIAN PREMIER LITERARY AWARDS; SHORTLISTED IN THE 2006 FESTIVAL AWARDS FOR LITERATURE. http://www.listal.com/book/soraya-storyteller-rosanne-hawke
Mahtab’s Story (Libby Gleeson) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) Mahtab and her family are forced to leave their home in Heart and journey secretly through the rocky mountains to Pakistan and then to far away Australia. Months go by, months of waiting, months of dread. Will they ever be reunited with their father, will they ever find a home? An important eye-opening book. Readers will hold their breath with each heart stopping bump in Mahtab’s journey. 10+ http://www.libbygleeson.com.au/mahtabs_story.html
Phoenix (Nan Hunt, illustrated by Junko Morimoto) $4 HBDJ EC A young girl with failing eye-sight and facing a risky operation befriends a phoenix which is afraid of fire. The choices each has to make are difficult but this hardship creates great strength. 6-10 YO http://www.leurabooks.com.au/?page=shop/flypage&wt=1.00&product_id=92277&CLSN_2841=12811618262841f47bce7c2825abdfdb
The Nothing Place (Eleanor Spence) $4 HBDJ GC (Ex lib) Almost all Eleanor Spence's books are set in New South Wales, with an emphasis on authentic Australian settings and characterizations. Learning to accept his partial deafness is bad enough, but having to adjust to a new neighbourhood and a bunch of do-good friends is almost too much for Glen. 10+
Treasure Hunters (Allan Baillie) $5 PB EC Pat joins his dad, Matt, and his mate in the waters of Indonesia as they begin to hunt for an ancient wreck. When they find clues on the bottom of the sea Matt believes that they are about to discover the world's richest wreck. But as they dive near a close island erupts in violence. Matt says this is nothing to do with them. He is terribly wrong. 10+ THE AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL NOTABLE BOOK. SA KANGA SHORT-LIST. ON THE LIST OF PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE (VIC, SA) http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/Allan-Baillie/Treasure-Hunters/0143300075.html
Tiggie Tompson All At Sea (Tessa Duder) $2 PB GC Tiggie Thompson is savouring a new taste in her life – success. Against all odds, she has won the coveted role of Eliza in a nineteenth-century television drama. Life seems so secure. But before the cameras even begin to roll, Tiggie becomes embroiled in her own family drama. Most disturbing of all are e-mails from an unknown half-brother in Australia, with unpleasant news about Tiggie's parents. But Eliza, the aristocratic young English woman who escapes abuse by way of steerage passage to New Zealand, has edged her way into Tiggie's waking thoughts. Their two stories, 150 years apart, are about to collide. The author shows a young woman caught up with the conflicting demands of family, friends and career and a growing awareness of the need to be true to herself. 12+ THE NEW ZEALAND POST CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS FINALIST http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9780141313238
Orphans of the Queen (Ruth Starke) $6 PB VGC (Ex lib) Hilly and her younger brother Gregory are shipped to Australia at the end of 1952 as part of the British child migrant scheme. They have no clear idea of where Australia is but they believe that they are going to good foster homes, with lots of sunshine and fruit that they can pick off trees. However both of them end up in strictly run orphanages. Starke makes the point that the story is ‘based on real experiences’ and ‘nothing is exaggerated.’ 11+ http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Orphans-of-the-Queen/Ruth-Starke/book_9780734405289.htm
Prayer for Blue Delaney (Kirsty Murray) $6 PB EC (Ex lib) Since early convict days, thousands of orphaned children have come to Australia in different eras and many of them were of Irish descent. Such a boy is Colm, on the run and determined to escape from the cruelties of Bindoon Boys' Home. He strikes up an unexpected friendship with Billy Dare and his dog Rusty, and together they travel from the goldfields of Kalgoorlie to the rugged north. Whether they're working along the Dog Fence, eluding the police or confronting a wild boar, they're a team. When Bill's life is at risk, it's up to Colm to go in search of the mysterious Blue Delaney and lay to rest the ghosts that haunt them both. This action packed story, set in the 1950s, continues the richly detailed historical quartet that began with Bridie's Fire and Becoming Billy Dare. 10+ WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PREMIER’S BOOK AWARDS 2005; WINNER –YOUNG ADULT WRITING; CBCA NOTABLE BOOK 2006 http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781865087368
(Last update January, 2012)
