WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN USED HOMESCHOOL BOOKS!
AUSTRALIANA FICTION - THE DEPRESSION & AUSTRALIA IN THE WORLD WARS
Picture Books
The Unknown Australian Soldier (Mary Small) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) Two children who have attended the interment ceremony for the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial are somewhat bewildered as to why this event took place. Laura and her brother Brent travel back in time with the Unknown Australian Soldier after the reburial ceremony to visit the battlefields of Gallipoli and France. Rather than a book of memories the children are confronted with real events. 7-10 YO http://www.marysmall.com.au/images/books/tuas-lge.jpg
Chapter Books & Novels
Candles At Dawn (Serpil Ural) $6 PB EC (Ex lib) A moving story of two families - one Australian and one Turkish - who are drawn together by the common bond of a past war. Australian teenager Ellie and her mother travel to Turkey to attend the Dawn Ceremony at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. The boarding house in which they stay is owned by a Turkish woman and her daughter Zeynep. A friendship develops between the girls, and when they discover that their grandfathers fought on opposite sides in this same war, they soon find that despite their differing national identities, they share the same human warmth. Readers are drawn into the awful irony of war, as well as its horrors. The book explores the futility of enmity and they find ourselves left with the question, "So why do we fight each other?" 11+ http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780957935273-Candles_At_Dawn_by_Serpil_Ural.htm
The Gallipoli Story (Patrick Carlyon) $6 PB VGC (Ex lib) Takes young people on an unforgettable and tough journey deep into the heartland of war. Patrick Carlyon digs past the myths to explore the lives and choices of the men – soldiers, politicians and generals alike – who found themselves caught up in a battle fought far from home. A powerful piece of storytelling that brings history to life – and shows us the human faces behind the grand story. 11+ http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143001430/gallipoli-story
Deepwater (Judith O’Neill) $3 PB GC Interesting as it highlights the build-up of anti-German attitudes before 1914. The story is set in rural Australia, 200 miles from Melbourne. The farming families are struggling with severe drought, and some of them take their frustrations out on the Henschke family, even though the Henschkes had been born in Australia, could not speak German, and whose eldest son had joined the Australian army. Deepwater paints a vivid picture of the vicious anti-German hysteria of the time. 11+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER READERS SHORTLISTED
Emma Keppler (Colin Thiele) $5 PB VGC It is 1929, the start of the Depression, and Emma, intelligent and determined, is part of a German-speaking farming community close to the Barossa Valley. Emma’s hopes of accepting a scholarship to continue her education are clouded by family finances and a father who sees daughters as home-makers and no more. This rich vignette of Australian social history is in every way a superb addition to children’s fiction. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/colin-thiele/emma-keppler.htm
The Undercover Secret (Colin Thiele) $3 PB GC Set during the Depression of the 1930s when Jenny’s father was out of work and times were hard for everyone she knew. Jenny's favourite pastimes are playing at the river near her home and visiting an elderly neighbour, Swampy Marshman. When Swampy dies suddenly, there are many questions to be answered. Who are the strangers searching Swampy's home? What is the significance of the stamp album Swampy left to Jenny? Will they lose their home because Jenny's father becomes unemployed? A great insight into the tough times of the Depression era for children of today. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/colin-thiele/undercover-secret.htm
The Bamboo Flute (Garry Disher) $4 PB GC (Minor cover crease) Paul is a dreamer, his head full of gentle violins and rippling pianos. But his father is battling to keep the farm and dejected men are tramping the roads looking for work, a sandwich, a cup of tea…..No one has time for music or dreams when there is a Depression on. In 1932, during Australia's deep economic depression, young Paul meets Eric the Red--a wandering swagman--who teaches Paul how to play the bamboo flute and brings music back into Paul's life. 8+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR: YOUNGER READERS http://books.google.com.au/books?id=bf0sM6BQnP4C&dq=The+Bamboo+Flute+(Garry+Disher)&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
Chilla’s Apprentice (Bruce Simpson) $5 PB VGC (Cover crease) While Snowy and Simmo stretch out the painting of the publican's roof and wangle their ways into any bits of work they can find, Snowy tells tales of the notorious, inventive and lovable Chilla. Chilla's roguish scams and road nous soon endear him to us forever and, just here and there, we find ourselves brushing away a tear as well. Chilla's Apprentice is a collection of tales of vanishing Australia during the Great Depression. It's an Australia populated by wandering swagman on foot, exploring the length and breadth of the country, making camp whenever they can. It's a world of hardship, humour and resourcefulness, and a spirit which never-says-die. 11+ http://www.familybookshop.com.au/EShop/Product.aspx?EshopID=52e4c7e6-d98e-4bbe-8c71-23ff43b5c2b4&CategoryID=9796cb4c-751a-4f00-8ab6-8d1351d186ab&ProductID=f98de1fd-4ebf-4262-86ef-b7b76734e070
Colour In The Creek (Margaret Paice) $5 HBDJ GC (Ex lib, tape residue on endpapers), $4 PB GC 1932....and the Depression is at its height. Like many families, the Fletchers have been wandering the Australian bush looking for work. When the news of gold discoveries reaches them, they head for Coorumbong Creek hoping to strike it rich. For Alec and his brothers and sister, life on the back of a truck is a lark, but with friends to be made and gold to be found, the little settlement at the Creek looks like a good place to stay for a while...until their father is involved in a mine shaft accident. Great Aussie historical fiction! 11+ http://cgi.ebay.com.au/COLOUR-CREEK-novel-juniors-australian-Gold-/200505730604
Shadow of Wings (Margaret Paice – sequel to Colour In The Creek, above.) $4 HB GC (Ex lib) Follow the lives of the Fletcher family in a small Queensland sugar town in the Depression of 1933. Alec is fortunate to find himself part-time jobs, but he has no intention of being a drifter like his father, but has set his heart on becoming a pilot. 11+ http://www.leurabooks.com.au/si/030387.html
Mavis Road Medley (Goldie Alexander) $2 PB VGC (Ex lib) While Didi and Jamie happen to be watching an old film, 'On Our Selection' they are inexplicably transported back to 1933. Though initially terrified, Jamie and Didi are quickly befriended by the lively argumentative Sam and his fiancee Selma and taken into the Finkelsteins' welcoming boarding house. Once the shock of finding themselves in a totally strange environment wears off, Didi and Jamie decide to make the most of their unusual circumstances. Against a backdrop of Depression Melbourne, early European migration and the excitement of Wirth's Circus on the site of the present Victorian Arts Centre, they must find a way home or stay in 1933 forever. 11+ http://www.goldiealexander.com/teachersnotes/mavisroadmedley_notes.php
Half Days And Patched Pants (Max Colwell) $3 PB GC (Spots on inside covers) Everyone in Mike’s street was born on their kitchen tables. The time was the Great Depression. The place was an Australian working class community. Everyone was battling to survive, but to 10 year old Mike and his mates, Siddy and Fred, the situation seemed quite normal. Gives a vivid picture of life as it was among the dispossessd, yet full of wry humour. 10+ http://www.maxcolwell.net/books_max_colwell.htm
Full Days and Pressed Pants (Max Colwell) $3 PB GC Sequel to ‘Hald Days and Patched Pants.’ In 1938, Mike was seventeen and the depression just about over. Things weren't as bad as they had been when he lived down the hill, but they weren't too good, either. So Mike's Uncle Harry, being a careful sort of man, told him it was time he put childish things behind him and started to earn his keep. Max Colwell paints a vivid and nostalgic picture of life as it appeared to a young man before the outbreak of the Second World War. There is a blend of wry humour and deep compassion, rich in the down-to-earth flavour of the Australian vernacular, and written with sincerity and conviction, in this great read! 11+ http://www.maxcolwell.net/books_max_colwell.htm
The Broken Saddle (James Aldridge) $3 PB FC (Minor cover wear and tanning) Living in a small Australian Township at the time of the Great Depression, Eric and his mother have nothing. Until one Saturday, in one of his fleeting visits home, Eric’s drover father leaves him a pony of his own. At first, Eric is afraid of the wild, unbroken pony which he must tame and learn to ride. But as mutual fear gives way to mutual friendship, both horse and boy begin to enjoy their daily contest to outwit each other. A remarkable story about how a boy’s relationship with his horse affects his entire life. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/james-aldridge/broken-saddle.htm
Somewhere Around The Corner (Jackie French) $4 PB EC The demonstration was wild, out of control. Barbara was scared. She saw the policeman running towards her. She needed to escape. She closed her eyes and did precisely that: she walked somewhere around the corner….into another demonstration….another time. Barbara was lucky – she met Young Jim who took her out of the strange, frightening city to his home. It was 1932, when Australia was in the grip of the Depression, and Jim lived in a shanty town. 9+ HONOUR BOOK, CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR: YOUNGER READERS. HIGHLY COMMENDED IN THE NSW FAMILY THERAPY ASSOCIATION & VICTORIAN ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY THERAPISTS, THE FAMILY AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS http://www.harpercollins.com.au/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0207183597
McKenzie’s Boots (Michael Noonan – University Of Qld Press) $5 PB VGC Although he is only 15, tall, strapping Rod is able to talk his way into the Australian army during World War II; he joins a platoon fighting the Japanese in New Guinea. A sympathetic encounter with an enemy soldier makes him aware of their shared humanity. Some time later, Rod is killed in battle, and, as a souvenir, the Japanese take Rod's enormous boots. His outraged mates storm the camp to regain them; years later one of them realizes that the Japanese troops considered Rod a genuine hero, and that the boots were taken out of respect, not as a morbid wartime trophy. 13+ http://vigilancebooks.com/images/uploads/thumbs/thumb_0011084.jpg
The Divine Wind (Garry Disher) $4 PB VGC Hartly Penrose was a young man changed by war, love, and the choices of others. In the small pearling town of Broome against the backdrop of World War II, Hartly Penrose, the son of a pearling master, and Misty the daughter of a Japanese diver fall in love. Their love will push the boundaries of everyone around them. As Japan enters the war, the small town of Broome turns against the many Japanese residents, turning the town into a war zone. With the war hanging over them, Misty and Hartly find it hard to keep their love alive. Will it survive? 11+ NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARDS WINNER; THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SHORT-LISTED BOOK http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0732023114/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Nowhere To Hide (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $5 HB VGC (Ex lib) The winter months of 1942 are a critical time for Australia when invasion by the Japanese is considered imminent. Australians have become custodians of thousands of POWs with camps set up in Victoria and other states. The South Gippsland farm of Bracken is a long way from the fighting, and the Brewster family carry on normal daily activities, as much as rationing, lack of man-power and the absence of their husband and father fighting in the war, permit. But when two German POWs escape from a nearby camp, life for the family becomes even more difficult. 9+
Soldier On The Hill (Jackie French) $6 PB EC It is 1942 and Joey Smith, an evacuee from Sydney, sees a Japanese soldier in the hills behind the town. But in 1942 many people have nightmares about invasion. Is the soldier real? Why does he stay on the hill above the farm? This is a story about adventure, friendship, loss and prejudice - and above all, a day to day account of life in a country town in 1942 - the fears, the rationing, the extraordinary dedication of women and children raising money for the war effort or making camouflage nets. Of Aunt Lallie who keeps organising to try to forget, the telegraph boy who must deliver the telegrams that everyone dreads, Miss Tidcombe who believes the invasion has started because someone is stealing her cats and Myrtle, the baker's daughter, who comes to believe in the soldier too. 11+ http://www.jackiefrench.com/soldier.html
Yesterday’s Enemy: Tomadachi (Zillah Williams) $5 PB EC Janice, a first-year university student, is lonely until she meets Hisako, a Japanese girl. The two become friends, but Janice's father remembers the Second World War. He was only a young man at the time of the Japanese breakout from the prisoner-of-war camp at Cowra, New South Wales, but he has other disturbing memories… 10+
The Boys From Bondi (Alan Collins) $4 PB VGC The world of ten-year-old Jacob and his younger brother Solly falls apart when they are orphaned and pitched into a Sydney children's home, where other refugee Jewish children are gathering as Hitler rises to power in Europe. 11+ http://www.alancollins.com.au/novels/the-boys-from-bondi
Closer To The Stars (Max Fatchen) $2 PB GC It is 1941. Paul Sims lives with his mother and sister, Nancy, on an Australian farm. Near by young men are training to be pilots-waiting to be sent to war. As yet, up in the world of the hawks and pigeons, they know nothing of battle, only the excitement of the sky, the wild thrill of a roll or the crazy landscape-turning manoeuvre of looping the loop. And they play games, barnstorming haystacks and frightening the locals. 11+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST
The Fort (Gary Crew) $2 PB EC On an island off the northern Australian coast, a concrete gun emplacement has been built on the cliff top to repel Japanese forces during World War II. Now deserted, the fort has become a favourite play area for local children. But when a Japanese boy, Hiro, comes to live on the island, fear and prejudice provoke a new and deadly game. 9-13 YO http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/gary-crew/fort.htm
Brothers In Arms (Graeme Farmer) $3 PB VGC When 14 year old Yukio comes from Japan to the quiet coastal town of Yangan Bay, he tries to enlist the help of Josh and Daniel – sworn enemies – to uncover a 50 year old mystery. In 1942 his grandfather, Gukei, came on a secret mission in a Japanese submarine to set up a spy cell in Australia. The sub disappeared, never to be seen again and Yukio wants to find it and take his grandfather’s bones back to Japan to be buried in the Shinto manner. 10+
The Green Wind (Thurley Fowler) $2 PB GC It’s 1948 and the Robinsons have more problems than most of the families in the fruit-growing community in which they live. They have very little money, Jennifer’s father still suffers from the terrible effects of his experiences as a P.O.W. in WW II, and their fruit crops have been hit hard by bad seasons. 12+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780143301288-The_Green_Wind_The_Wind_Is_Silver_by_Thurley_Fowler.htm (Cover different)
(Last update January, 2012)
