WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN USED HOMESCHOOL BOOKS!
HISTORICAL FICTION - MODERN HISTORY
PICTURE BOOKS
My Dog (John Heffernan) $5 HB GC (Ex lib) This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of a young boy, Alija, whose life is suddenly and drastically changed when war breaks out in Bosnia and ethnic cleansing begins. His school closes, his granny and little sister disappear, and the little town of Liztar is being evacuated. Alija adopts a small blotchy dog whose owner dies and a few days later soldiers come and Alija’s mum is taken away. Alija is left with only his dog and together with a group of villagers he walks to the coast. He is befriended by an old man who tries to help him find his Aunt Magdabut. 6-10 YO http://cdn3.fishpond.co.nz/9781876289423-crop-325x325.jpg
Boat Boy (Hazel Edwards) $2 PB VGC Down, down, down. The water was attacking every part of his body. His lungs were going to burst….but this time, there were no shots. No soldiers firing at a sinking boat. Dieu hates swimming because it reminds him of the desperate and dangerous boat journey he and his family undertook from Vietnam in the bid for a better life. 6-9 YO
When Artie Was Little (Harriet Berg Schwartz) $6 HB EC As an old man, Artie sits on his front porch and talks to the neighbourhood children. They ask him questions about "when he was little," and he is glad to oblige. He tells them about the early automobiles that were always breaking down and needed fixing at his father's garage; about the taste of the potato chips that his mother made and sold at her little roadside stand, along with her other wonderful foods; and about the best present he ever got: “A pony tied to the Christmas tree.” He tells them about his saddest memory: “The death of his little sister”; and about his best memory: “The day he saw his first biplane, flown by stunt pilots called "barnstormers," and talked one of them into giving him a ride.” It was then he decided to become a pilot. Artie, the author explains, was a real friend and next door neighbour of hers. Faded, sepia-toned old photographs of Artie as a young boy are shown in endpapers, adding authenticity to his reminiscences. Together with the photographs, they effectively convey the feeling of a time gone by. 5-10 YO http://search.barnesandnoble.com/When-Artie-Was-Little/Harriet-Berg-Schwartz/e/9780679932369
Song And Dance Man (Karen Ackerman) $1 PB VGC Once a song and dance man, Grandpa reclaims his youth and profession before the delighted eyes of his three grandchildren one afternoon. He simply cannot resist the urge to dress up in clothes left over from his vaudeville days--complete with top hat and gold-headed cane--and to perform tricks, play banjo and tell jokes. He taps, twirls and laughs himself to tears on a thrown-together stage in his attic. Artist Stephen Gammell takes full advantage of lamplight to render Grandpa in shadow and silhouette, trivializing the concept of age and creating a feeling of intense nostalgia. Related from the point of view of the children, the text in Song and Dance Man is soft and understated, and Gammell's artistry is superb. 4-9 YO CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER http://www.amazon.com/Song-Dance-Man-Karen-Ackerman/dp/0394893301
CHAPTER BOOKS & NOVELS
My Story “Suffragette: The Diary of Dollie Baxter, London, 1909-1913” (Carol Drinkwater) $7 PB VGC (Ex lib) 18th June, 1910 “We marched from the Embankment to the Albert Hall. It was a glorious day. The sun shone warmly. Everyone was in good spirits. There were aristocrats, artists, even my mother looked happy. She who has been so opposed to my work with the WSPU. More than 10,000 people had rallied and there were dozens of bands playing. It was quite incredible. We waved banners, carried flowers, sang along with the tunes. Hundreds who have been imprisoned for our Cause marched together in a powerful band. It was all very rousing of spirit. I felt proud to be a woman, proud to be alive, proud to be a part of a movement that is fighting to make a difference.” 11+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suffragette-Dollie-Baxter-London-1909-1913/dp/0439982685/ref=pd_sxp_f_r
Polly’s March (Linda Newbery) $4 PB EC When 13-year-old Polly befriends two suffragettes in the top floor flat at 6 Chelsea Walk, she finds herself questioning the views of those around her. The Votes for Women campaign strikes a chord with Polly and she becomes determined to join the suffragettes' protest march. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/linda-newbery/pollys-march.htm
Radical Red (James Duffy) $3 HBDJ EC (Ex lib) Set in 1894, this historical docu-novel combines an episode in the struggle for women's suffrage with a family drama of what it was like to grow up female at the time. A chance encounter between Connor O'Shea, 12, and Miss Bertha Hall, one of "Aunt Susan's girls," changes the lives of the girl and her mother forever. Susan B. Anthony is in town to convince the state constitutional convention that women are entitled to vote. Connor (and her mother's) feminist sympathies grow as her father, the sergeant of the capitol police, becomes increasingly antagonistic. He isn't able to vote, either, since he can't read; but he is happy to rely on his friend Senator Phelan to guide him, and gets abusive when his wife and daughter disagree. 11+ http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Red-James-Duffy/dp/068419533X
A Question Of Courage (Marjorie Darke) $2 PB GC Emily could hardly credit her own daring – here she was, Emily Parker from the back streets of Birmingham, carrying a placard that boldly read VOTES FOR WOMEN! As she gets increasingly involved in Mrs. Pankhurst’s Suffragette Movement, the danger and violence grows, but for her the choice of continuing the fight became a question of courage. 11+ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YCAiokwsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
The Poacher’s Son (Rachel Anderson) $2 PB FC (Has cut section out of front cover) This is an intense and exciting story about rural life in Britain just before the First World War. Arthur is the school dunce and is always being picked on by his teacher but away from the classroom his knowledge of nature and the country is remarkable. When Dad dies and Arthur has to support the family he uses his skills to keep the family alive but poaching is illegal and Arthur worries about how long he will manage to evade capture and stay out of prison. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/rachel-anderson/poachers-son.htm (Cover similar)
The Sailing Ship Tree (Berlie Doherty) $2 PB VGC (Ex lib) This is the story of the Big House by the Mersey and the people who lived there, just before the outbreak of the First World War. In particular the twins Walter and Dorothy, whose father is the butler; Master George, the desperately lonely son of the wealthy owner; and Tweeny, the little maid treated hardly better than a slave. In a way the house belongs to all of them, though the lives of the servants and masters couldn't be more different. When disaster strikes and Master George needs help, the four children find refuge in the branches of a beautiful chestnut tree in the grounds of the house and there create a daring plot to help him escape to a new world. 11+ SHORTLISTED LANCASHIRE AWARD, 2000; NOMINATED CARNEGIE MEDAL http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/berlie-doherty/sailing-ship-tree.htm
Flambards (K.M. Peyton) $2 PB FC Christina Parsons, who has been shunted around the family since she was orphaned at five years old in 1901, is sent to live at Flambards with her mother's half-brother, the crippled Russell. Her Aunt Grace speculates that Russell plans for Christina to marry his son Mark in order to restore Flambards to its former glory using the money that she will inherit on her twenty-first birthday. Mark is as brutish as his father, with a great love for hunting, whereas the younger son William is terrified of horses and aspires to be an aviator. Christina soon finds friendship with an injured William, who challenges her ideas on class boundaries, as well as a love for horses and hunting. William and Christina eventually fall in love and elope at the end of the first book. 12+ http://rpmedia.ask.com/ts?u=/wikipedia/en/b/bb/KmPeyton_Flambards_US.jpg
My Story “Voyage On The Great Titanic: The Diary Of Margaret Anne Brady, 1912” (Ellen Emerson White) $7 PB EC Margaret Anne dreams of leaving the orphanage behind, and she can hardly believe her luck when she is chosen to accompany wealthy Mrs Carstairs aboard the great Titanic. But when the passengers are woken on a freezing night in April 1912, she finds herself caught up in an unimaginable nightmare. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/ellen-emerson-white/voyage-on-great-titanic.htm
Aviva Gold (Jean Holkner) $2 PB GC Aviva and her family is uprooted from their familiar and safe home in Australia to live in Palestine in 1935, half a world away. 11+ http://www.bookshops.com.au/view_image.php?url=http://www.leurabooks.com.au/shop_image/product/003199.jpg
When I was a Soldier: One Girl’s Real Story (Valerie Zenatti) $6 PB GC This is the story of Valerie as she finishes her exams then leaves to take up her national service with the Israeli army. Nothing has prepared her for the strict routines, gruelling marches, lack of sleep, poor food, absence of privacy or crushing of initiative. However, the book also depicts the undeniable excitements of the work, including working in a 'spying centre' near Jerusalem, listening in on the communications of the Jordanian pilots. 11+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Was-Soldier-Girls-Story/dp/0747575665
Shauzia (Deborah Ellis) $5 PB VGC (Ex lib) Tells the gripping story of a young girl's fight to make a life for herself outside the refugee camps on the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. When Shauzia leaves the relative safety of the refugee camp she faces many difficulties. But she has spirit and pluck, and with the help of her dog, Jasper, she knows she will fulfil her dreams. 10+ http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9781741142846-Shauzia_by_Deborah_Ellis.htm
No Gun For Asmir (Christobel Mattingley) $4 PB VGC War has come to Asmir's home in Sarajevo. He is torn from his father, his home and everything he has known. He becomes a refugee and tries valiantly to take his father’s place for his mother, grandmother and baby brother when they had to flee their home in Sarajevo without him. This is a story of courage you will never forget. 9+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Gun-Asmir-Puffin-Books/dp/0140367292
Asmir In Vienna (Christobel Mattingley) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) The war in Sarajevo wrenched Asmir and his family from their homeland and worst of all, from their beloved father, Muris. Describes his life as a refugee, starting school in a different language, and longing for news of his father Muris. 11+ http://www.qbd.com.au/product/9780140380354-Asmir_in_Vienna_by_Christobel_Mattingley.htm
Escape from Sarajevo (Christobel Mattingley) $4 PB VGC A companion volume to No Gun for Asmir. It documents the time Asmir's father Muris spent in war-torn Sarajevo, his escape and his eventual reunion with his family in Austria. 11+ http://www.wheelers.co.nz/books/9780140375251-escape-from-sarajevo/
Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo (Zlata Filipovic) $4 HB EC, $3 PB VGC In November 1991 Zlata Filipovic, not quite eleven years old, started to write a diary. She lived with her parents in Sarajevo, Bosnia, part of the old Yugoslavia, and her life was quite ordinary. Her father was a lawyer and her mother a chemist so the family lived a comfortable life. Zlata wrote about herself, her friends, her holidays, parties and all the little things that made up her life – until 5 April 1992 when her life was turned upside down. The war that had started over the break up of Yugoslavia spread to Sarajevo and for Zlata “That was the day that time stood still”. Her diary changed dramatically as she began to record the horrors of war – the fear during bombing, hiding in the cellar, the gradual disintegration of life in a city without food, electricity or water and worst of all, the death of her best friend in a bomb attack. 10+ http://blog.mawbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/zlatas-diary-large.jpg
Thura’s Diary: A Young Girl’s Life In War-Torn Baghdad (Thura Al-Windawi) $4 PB FC (Minor cover edge wear) Nineteen-year-old al-Windawi began recording this diary a week before the first American bombs landed on Baghdad. The entries take her through the terror of the bombings to the difficult first days of post-war reconstruction. Much here will surprise American readers: though they understand Saddam was responsible for incredible evil, al-Windawi and her family feel a complicated mix of emotions when his statue is torn down in Baghdad. And though she expresses anger at the religious zealots who threaten women who don't wear headscarves, al-Windawi also asserts her belief that men should make decisions in a family. 12+ http://www.amazon.com/Thuras-Diary-Life-Wartime-Iraq/dp/B000C4SMJA#reader_B000C4SMJA
A Hand Full Of Stars (Rafik Schami) $5 HBDJ EC A teenager who wants to be a journalist in a suppressed society describes to his diary his daily life in his hometown of Damascus, Syria. His dream of becoming a journalist blossoms into the daring undertaking of publishing an underground newspaper despite the very real dangers posed by the government. 13+ WINNER OF THE GERMAN BATCHELDER AWARD. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0140360735/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books (Cover different)
Samir And Yonatan (Daniella Carmi) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) Nothing could be more frightening to Samir, a Palestinian boy, than to be where he is now: an Israeli hospital ward, trapped among the very people he blames for his brother's death. Amid this explosive atmosphere, Samir begins to learn about the Israeli kids around him. He discovers their hurts and conflicts - and hesitantly begins to share his own.This is a story of violence and healing - the story of a boy facing the enemy he has been taught to fear. 9+ http://www.amazon.com/Samir-Yonatan-Daniella-Carmi/dp/0439135230#reader_0439135230
One More River (Lynne Reid Banks) $2 PB VGC (Ex lib) Banks writes about the real-life situation of a Jewish family moving to find their genuine way of life. A large part of the novel, set in the days before, during, and after, the 1967 Six-Day War, chronicles Lesley's gradual and difficult adjustment, and her growing friendship from afar with Mustapha, an Arab boy. The story is fleshed out with numerous details about kibbutz life, farming, and military manoeuvres, which bring a sense of realism. Also included is a glossary of Yiddish words. This is a top rate novel for teens who are interested in the Jewish religion, travelling, and will give an insight into the history of and politics of the time. 12+ http://www.librarything.com/work/150617 (Cover different)
Habibi (Naomi Shihab Nye) $4 HBDJ EC (Ex lib) Liyana Abboud, 14, and her family make a tremendous adjustment when they move to Jerusalem from St. Louis. All she and her younger brother, Rafik, know of their Palestinian father's culture come from his reminiscences of growing up and the fighting they see on television. In Jerusalem, she is the only ``outsider'' at an Armenian school; her easygoing father, Poppy, finds himself having to remind her--often against his own common sense--of rules for ``appropriate'' behaviour; and snug shops replace supermarket shopping--the malls of her upbringing are unheard of. Worst of all, Poppy is jailed for getting in the middle of a dispute between Israeli soldiers and a teenage refugee. Shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region's troubled history. 12+ http://www.amazon.com/Habibi-Naomi-Shihab-Nye/dp/0689825234
The China Coin (Allan Baillie) $2 PB VGC As Leah steps into China in 1989 with her mother Joan, loaded with her father’s obsession with the blackened fragment of an ancient coin, Leah finds a vast and bewildering land. The mystery of the coin and a family that she doesn’t know draws her across China to the terror of Tiananmen Square. A great book! 10+ http://www.amazon.com/China-Coin-Allan-Baillie/dp/0140347534/ref=sr_1_2/002-5164673-2540815?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190338102&sr=1-2
Little Brother (Allan Baillie) $3 PB VGC, $4 HB VGC It’s Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge are now in power. Vithy has lost everyone and everything he loved – except his older brother Mang. They’ve escaped from certain execution, but the brothers are separated and Vithy struggles to escape to the border to freedom and find his brother. 10+ Highly recommended! http://www.allanbaillie.com.au/news.htm
Channeary (Steve Tolbert) $3 PB VGC Channeary's calm regular life as a child in a fisher family is destroyed by the Khmer Rouge. Her brothers and sisters are taken away but Channeary, with her mother, escapes to the Thai border. After many difficulties she ends up in Australia as the child of a Tasmanian couple. She faces cultural shock and racism but an old fisherman helps her cope. 10+ AUSTRALIAN MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD SHORT LIST http://www.southcom.com.au/~stolbert/images/Chan.jpg (Cover different)
Only The Heart (Brian Caswell and ) $3 PB VGC Toan traces his family's story beginning when he was five years old and including their escape from war-torn Vietnam and life as refugees in Malaysia before finally immigrating to Australia. They leave behind everything, pursuing a dangerous route to escape the devastated ruins of their homeland and the corruption they see taking over. 10+ http://clevdistshs.eq.edu.au/wcmss/images/stories/heart(3).jpeg
The Deserter (Nigel Gray) $4 PB EC (Ex lib) Four children playing in a derelict house stumble across Dave, a British soldier absent without leave from the British Army in Northern Ireland. Dave won’t go back. Should the children betray him to the police? Or, should they help him to escape? 10+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deserter-Nigel-Gray/dp/0060220627 (Cover different)
Drumshee Timeline Series “The Drumshee Rebels” (Cora Harrison) $3 PB EC The Drumshee Timeline Series are historical novels for children which tell the history of Ireland through two millennia. It is 1921 and Ireland is in a state of struggle to win independence from the British. The War of Independence is fought everywhere and Drumshee in County Clare is no exception. This time and the event are seen through the eyes of the children who inhabit the fort, castle or cottage at Drumshee. 9+ http://www.coraharrison.com/drumshee/rebels.html
Frankie’s Story (Catherine Sefton) $2 HB EC (Ex lib) In the republican areas of Ballybeg, Northern Ireland, the writing on the wall carries a clear message to anyone who steps out of line. Frankie, with a Protestant boyfriend and strong views of her own, has lived there all her life, but what she knows and what she believes are two different things. When Frankie's name goes up on the wall she is caught in the most dangerous conflict of all - survival.... 12+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frankies-Story-Catherine-Sefton/dp/0749705582
Between Two Worlds (Joan Lingard) $2 PB VGC (Ex lib) Continuing the story of the Latvian refugee family begun in Tug of War , this sequel opens with the Petersons' arrival in Canada, ready to make a new start after their country was lost to the Soviet Union in WW II. The twins, Astra and Hugo, quickly realize that their troubles are not over as they struggle to make ends meet and still try to get an education. Yet because the family survived together and escaped from the horror of wartime Europe, Toronto's hardships--including cruel bosses and landladies--seem minor. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/joan-lingard/between-two-worlds.htm (Cover different)
The Twelfth Day Of July (Joan Lingard) $3 PB EC It all started with a trip into Protestant territory by Kevin and his Catholic friends to daub paint on a wall. But feelings run high in Belfast and in the end paint-splashing turned into something far more dangerous. The only good thing to come out of the reckless trip was that it brought Kevin into contact with Sadie Jackson – and that was to change his life. 12+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelfth-July-Puffin-Teenage-Fiction/dp/0140371753 (Cover art different)
Across The Barricades (Joan Lingard) $2 PB VGC (Tanning) Kevin and Sadie both know their relationship is dangerous. In these terrifying times in Belfast, no Catholic boy and Protestant girl go out together without resentment and even violence flaring up around them. So what will happen if they insist on seeing each other? 12+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/joan-lingard/across-barricades.htm (Cover art different)
Hostages To Fortune (Joan Lingard) $2 PB FC A story of love born in the violence of Belfast. With Kevin out of a job and forced to leave the little cottage where he had settled with Sadie and the baby, the future looked bleak. Would Kevin find another job? 12+ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V92171MKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
A Proper Place (Joan Lingard) $2 PB GC A Protestant girl and a Catholic boy from Northern Ireland cope with family members, the baptism of their child, and a move from the Liverpool slums to a Cheshire farm. 13+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/joan-lingard/proper-place.htm
Micky Darlin’ (Victor Kelleher) $2 HBDJ EC Dealing with a series of incidents in the lives of an unhappy and wild Irish family living in poverty in London during the 1940s and 50s, seen through the eyes of a young grandson. 12+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Micky-Darlin-Victor-Kelleher/dp/070222801X (Cover different)
(Last update April, 2011)
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