WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN USED HOMESCHOOL BOOKS!
HISTORICAL FICTION - THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION & VICTORIAN ENGLAND
PICTURE BOOKS
Oliver Twist Finds a Home (Nigel Gray) $6 PB EC When Oliver Twist, a half-starved orphan, does the unthinkable and dares to ask for more to eat, his hard life at the workhouse is over. But will his next placement - as an undertaker's apprentice - be any happier? In this retelling of the opening chapters of Dickens' classic, young readers discover the cruel but colourful world of nineteenth century England as Oliver searches for a new home. 4-9 YO http://books.google.com.au/books?id=AB9kNHRxtssC&dq=Oliver+Twist+Finds+a+Home+(Nigel+Gray)&source=bl&ots=we8kRQbeCR&sig=wLF1f7nEiuafy6XtrEqCV2IHMCw&hl=en&ei=iwDJTKjWLYSiuQPrpZz9Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA
Charlie The Chimneysweep And Sooty (Bruce Peardon) $4 HB EC The story of orphan boy, Charlie, and his cat, Sooty, who scratch together enough pennies to survive by cleaning fireplaces in Victorian England. Father Christmas pays a surprise visit to Charlie and gives him presents which lead to a permanent home for Charlie and his cat. Great picture book showing the street and living conditions and their contrast with the houses of the wealthy in this fascinating era. 6-9 YO. http://www.mfpa.com.au/Charlie%20the%20Chimneysweep.html
The Highwayman (Alfred Noyes) $2 HB VGC (Ex lib) "The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees; The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas; The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor; And the highwayman came riding-riding-riding; The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door..." Returning by moonlight to the inn where his true love, the landlord's daughter, awaits him, the highwayman is unaware that the king's soldiers also lie in wait for him, concealed in the girl's bedroom. A wonderful poem that gives an insight into rural Britain in the 1800s. 10+ http://www.amazon.com/Highwayman-Alfred-Noyes/dp/019272133X
The Post Office Cat (Gail Haley) $5 PB VGC A striking picture book set in Victorian England and based on fascinating historical fact. Her Majesty’s Post Office was in an uproar when Clarence wandered in to warm himself. Mice had been eating the post! So the farm cat who had stowed away on a London-bound milk wagon did find fame and fortune, for he was taken on as the Post Office cat, starting a tradition that continues to this day. 4-9 YO http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0416874207/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1
Merrydale Treasure Hunt (Linda Jennings) $5 HB VGC (A few yellow spots) Set in Victorian times, this charming story tells of the twins’ search through the village of Merrydale looking for their birthday presents. This storybook has been specially designed for grown-ups to read aloud while young children follow the story through the beautiful colour illustrations which bring all the characters to life. http://www.amazon.com/Merrydale-Treasure-Hunt-Derrydale-Childrens/dp/0517651335
Humbert, Mr. Firkin And The Lord Mayor Of London (John Burningham) $3 PB VGC (Ex lib) Humbert is a horse who lives in the shadow of the brewery horses and pulls the scrap-merchant's cart picking up old iron around the streets of London. When disaster strikes during the Lord Mayor's Show, it's Humbert who saves the day and escorts the Lord Mayor to the Mansion House. A beautifully illustrated book which focuses on the lives of Victorian London's working horses. 5-9 YO http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/olid/OL7317459M-M.jpg
Molly, The Ship’s Cat: The Tale Of Dick Whittington’s Cat (Ludvik Askenazy) $4 HB VGC (Bumping to top of spine) You probably know about Dick Whittington: he has often told the tale of how he made his fortune and became Lord Mayor of London. But if you talk to Molly, the very superior cat who looks after Dick, she will explain that she was the heroine of the adventure, and it is time someone told her side of it! 6-9 YO http://www.amazon.co.uk/Molly-Ships-Cat-Ludvik-Askenazy/dp/0091381207
Bertie On The Beach (Jane Johnson) $4 HB VGC Set in the Victorian era, Bertie goes with his English family to the beach, seems to do nothing right, and ends up watching some clowns who kindly take him onto the stage to watch. Full of wonderful period illustrations and dialogue serving as a wonderful introduction to the Victorian age for young children. 5-8 YO Recommended! http://www.showlettwestbooks.com/si/21575.html
The Old Man Of Lochnagar (H.R.H. The Prince Of Wales) $2 HBDJ EC Written and illustrated by the HRH the Prince of Wales, this is the adventure of an old man who lives in a cave by the Loch of Lochnagar. It is filled with such characters as a grouse who repels visitors, underwater haggis who revolve as they swim, the miniature green people of Gorm, and the birds and fishes who live in the skies and lochs around Balmoral. 7-10 YO http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0140544143/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all
CHAPTER BOOKS & NOVELS
Street Child (Berlie Doherty) $4 PB EC The exciting account of a young orphan named Jim Jarvis, who escapes the workhouse in London in the 1860s and survives brutal treatment and desperate circumstances until he is taken by Dr. Barnardo, founder of a school for the city's unwanted children. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/berlie-doherty/street-child.htm
My Side Of The Story “Trouble At The Mill” (Philip Wooderson) $7 PB EC "My Side of the Story" is completely unique approach to historical fiction. Read the story of one youngster's life in turbulent times, then flip the book and find out first hand how another child reacts to the same events - with very different feelings and results! Lizzy lives in a cramped mill worker's cottage and toils at a loom for fifteen hours a day. Her childhood friend Josh is the mill owner's son and leads a life of luxury. When Lizzy's father becomes involved in the reform movement, Lizzy and Josh's friendship is put to the test. 10+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0753413558/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
My Story “Mill Girl: A Victorian Girl’s Diary, 1842-1843” (Sue Reid) $7 PB VGC (Cover crease) In spring 1842, Eliza is shocked when she is sent to work in the Manchester cotton mills - the noisy, suffocating mills. The work is backbreaking and dangerous - and when she sees her friends' lives wrecked by poverty, sickness and unrest, Eliza realizes she must fight to escape the fate of a mill girl. 10+ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1407103733/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Harvest of the Sun (E.V. Thompson) $4 HBDJ VGC 1846, a ship is bound for Australia. Aboard are Josh Retallick and Miriam Thackeray, prisoners destined for the convict settlements...until the random hand of fate wrecks their vessel on the Skeleton Coast of South Africa. Far from the brooding Bodmin Moor, Josh and Miriam find themselves in a strange and hostile land, an alien world of Bushmen and Hereros, of foraging Boers and greedy traders, of ivory tusks and smuggled guns . . . 12+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/e-v-thompson/harvest-of-sun.htm (Cover different)
Black Ivory (Norman Collins) $5 HBDJ GC (Some wear commensurate with age to jacket) Set in 1829, this is the story of Ralph Rudd, the son of a farmer who has been evicted from his landholding by an unjust landlord. He goes to Liverpool where a gang of scoundrels force him to sign on as a cabin-boy on board the Nero, which he later discovers to be a slave ship bound for another load of ‘black ivory.’ An exciting and informative tale full of adventures, perils and misfortunes on land and sea, including close encounters with high-jacking, mutiny and violence off the African slave coast. 11+
The Stolen Watch (Leon Garfield) $5 PB EC Victorian London comes to life in this sparkling comedy-adventure. Two ragged children, Young Nick and his nine-year-old sister Jubilee, live on the streets in London. Young Nick knows that it is his responsibility to find a husband for Jubilee. And there lies his problem - for Jubilee can neither cook nor sew, read nor write. Who'd wed such an article? Young Nick decides that he and Jubilee must enrol at Wesminster's famous Blewcoat School. To do so, they need a dad, and who should they find but Mr Owen, the light-fingered Welshman who'd nick the shine right out of your eye as soon as your back was turned! 10+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Watch-Leon-Garfield/dp/0140388613
Smith (Leon Garfield) $2 PB VGC Twelve-year-old Smith is suddenly on the run when a group of murderous thugs realize that he has stolen a document they desperately want. Smith, an illiterate boy who relies on his pickpocketing skills to survive on the streets of 18th-century London, doesn't know what secrets the document holds. All he knows is that he is in mortal danger. 11+ Highly recommended! http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/leon-garfield/smith.htm (Cover art different)
Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens) $4 HB VGC Set in 19th century London, we follow the story of an orphan, Oliver Twist who becomes caught up in the dangerous criminal underworld of the time and subsequently embroiled in the fearsome Fagin's pickpocket gang. 11+ http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Oliver-Twist/Charles-Dickens/e/9781593081744 (Cover different)
Blackjack (Leon Garfield) $2 HB GC (Ex lib) A swarthy villain, nearly seven foot tall and presumed hanged, seems to wake from the dead in the presence of young Bartholomew Dorking. Having outwitted the noose, Black Jack enlists the unwilling boy to be his companion. Together they weave their way through the seamiest parts of old London, a travelling circus, and a private madhouse where forgotten lunatics are chained in empty rooms, and from which Bartholomew rescues Belle, a girl who may not be mad at all. 11+ http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=730237&matches=110&author=Garfield%2C+Leon&browse=1&cm_sp=works*listing*title
Blewcoat Boy (Leon Garfield) $3 HBDJ EC Victorian London comes to life in this sparkling comedy-adventure from the masterly pen of Leon Garfield. Once, back in Ireland, they had a father, but now they are alone. Two ragged children, Young Nick and his nine-year-old sister Jubilee, live on the streets in London. Young Nick knows that it is his responsibility to find a husband for Jubilee. And there lies his problem - for Jubilee can neither cook nor sew, read nor write. Who'd wed such an article? Young Nick decides that he and Jubilee must enrol at Westminster's famous Blewcoat School. To do so, they need a dad, and who should they find but Mr Owen, the light-fingered Welshman who'd nick the shine right out of your eye as soon as your back was turned! 10+ http://www.stellabooks.com/shop/see_stock_photo.php?StockNumber=619090
John Diamond (Leon Garfield) $2 PB GC (Tanning) Young William Jones discovers that his dying father is a swindler. When he sets out for London to right the wrongs his father has done to his old partner, Diamond, he finds the backstreets less than welcoming. 11+ WINNER OF THE WHITBREAD AWARD. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/leon-garfield/john-diamond.htm (Cover different)
The December Rose (Leon Garfield) $3 HB EC, $2 PB VGC A young sweep's fall down the wrong chimney in Victorian London lands him in the centre of a terrifying chain of events that includes espionage, treachery, and murder. A thrilling tale of deceit, intrigue and espionage set in the teeming, colourful world of Victorian London. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/leon-garfield/december-rose.htm (Cover art newer)
The Strange Affair Of Adelaide Harris (Leon Garfield) $2 PB EC After learning about the ancient Spartan custom of exposing infants to the elements, two schoolboys, Harris and Bostock, decide to test the theory for themselves. Will wolves actually adopt Harris's baby sister, Adelaide, after she is left in the woods? Before the boys can find out, Adelaide is rescued by a well-meaning stranger, thus setting off a startling chain of events. 10+ http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=6370196&matches=78&author=Garfield%2C+Leon&browse=1&cm_sp=works*listing*title
To Ravensrigg (Hester Burton) $4 HBDJ VGC (Ex school) In late 18th century England a young girl, in trying to find the identity of her real father, is led to the Liverpool slave trade. 11+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/hester-burton/to-ravensrigg.htm
The Strawberry Jam Pony (Sheila Lavelle) $3 PB VGC Nine-year-old Tommy can't wait until he's 14 and old enough to work with his brother in the coal-mine, driving the pit ponies. Then the miners come out on strike and Tommy’s dreams come true! The ponies have to be brought up to the surface, and Tommy’s help is needed. His favourite pony is Gleam, the pony who loves strawberry jam sandwiches. But meeting Gleam only marks the beginning of his adventures. 6-10 YO http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strawberry-Pony-Young-Puffin-Books/dp/0140329773
A Candle In The Dark (Robert Swindels) $3 PB FC (Minor cover wear) Nothing could be worse than life in the Union workhouse, or so orphan Jimmy Booth, thinks. But when he becomes a collier’s apprentice, he discovers that life at the coal face is harsh, violent and dangerous. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/robert-swindells/candle-in-dark.htm
The Horn Of Mortal Danger (Lawrence Leonard) $3 PB EC A classic tale of a brother and sister’s perilous adventures in industrial London. Visit the secret underground world of mine shafts and tunnels, and of Railwaymen and Canal Folk. 11+
My Story “The Hunger: The Diary Of Phyllis McCormack, Ireland 1845-1847” (Carol Drinkwater) $7 PB EC It's 1845 and blight has destroyed the precious potato crop leaving Ireland starving. Phyllis works hard to support her struggling family, but when her mother's health deteriorates she sets off in search of her rebel brother and is soon swept up in the fight for a free and fair Ireland. 10+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/series/my-story/hunger.htm
Twist Of Gold (Michael Morpurgo) $4 HBDJ EC, $3 PB VGC History and wonder combine in this novel that uses the Irish potato famine of 1847 as its core. Readers will come away from it with an understanding of the dreadful conditions in Ireland that prompted so many to find a new life in America. Sean O'Brien, 13, and his 10-year-old sister, Annie, leave their ravaged homeland and following an eventful sea voyage from Cork to Boston, the youngsters struggle across a rough, new America to find their father in California. 9+ http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Gold-Michael-Morpurgo/dp/1405229284/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196578892&sr=1-1 (Cover different)
Fields of Home (Marita Conlon-McKenna) $6 PB EC The final book in the famine trilogy. For Eily, Michael and Peggy the memory of the famine is still strong. But Mary-Brigid, Eily's first child, has the future to look forward to. What kind of future is it? Ireland is in turmoil, with evictions, burnings, secret meetings, fights over land. Eily and her family may be thrown off their farm. Michael may lose his job in the big house. And Peggy, in America, feels trapped in her role as a maid. Will they ever have land and a home they can call their own? Eily, Michael and Peggy have once shown great courage. Now this courage is called on again…… 10+ http://www.obrien.ie/covergallery/index.cfm?covergalleryID=176
The Baker Street Mysteries “The Giant Rat of Sumatra” (Jake & Luke Thoene) $5 PB EC When an investigation calls for some helping hands, a baffled Sherlock Holmes turns again to a trusty band of orphaned teens able to infiltrate the back alleys and dark hideouts of bustling 19th century London, the Baker Street Brigade. It's London, 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Monarchs from around the world have brought her gifts so priceless they must be held under guard in the Tower of London. But someone is stealing the gifts, one by one. How does the thief get past the guards and into the Tower? And why did the dying man gasp, "Beware of the Giant Rat."? Holmes has only once choice: to enlist the Brigade, his beloved 'Irregulars,' Danny Wiggins, Peachy Carnehan and Duff Bernard. With courage, determination and a bit of Providence, the boys stay hot on the trail. But can they solve the case that Holmes himself said was too fearful for the public to be told? 9-12 YO A CHRISTIAN TITLE http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/jake-thoene/giant-rat-of-sumatra.htm
Sparks “The Lost Treasure: The Travels Of A Young Victorian” (Mary Hooper) $3 PB EC (Ex lib) This series looks at history through the eyes of fictional and real-life characters. Introduces events, people and ways of life in Victorian times, and follows Poppy, a lively young Victorian, in adventures which take her from rags to riches. 7-10 YO http://www.wheelers.co.nz/books/9780749626358-lost-treasure-the/
The Mill On The Floss (George Eliot – simplified by Michael West) $2 PB GC The novel details the lives of Tom and Maggie Tulliver, a brother and sister growing up on the fictional river Floss near the fictional village of St. Oggs, after the Napoleonic Wars but prior to the first Reform Bill in 1832. Spanning the years from Tom and Maggie’s childhood up until their deaths in a river flood. 12+ http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780486426808
The Year Of The Stranger (Allan Campbell McLean) $3 HBDJ GC The Stranger came to Skye in that terrible year of 1877, and with him came the sun and fresh hope. It was the year that Mata the tinker had died a brutal death for salmon poaching. A blight fell on the crofting village so it seemed cursed forever. And Calum Og had been beaten senseless by his uncle, but had gained his liberty. Calum Og survives the resulting havoc of the stranger's visit, and discovers his secret as well as the glory of the Cave of Gold. 11+ http://childrensbookshop.com/catalogue.php?cno=62559
Hideaway Johnny (David Scott Daniell) $2 HBDJ GC (Ex lib, light tanning) Alone and in trouble in 19th century London, Johnny Merrifield is befriended by a young nobleman with a passion for prize-fighting. In the swift course of events the boys find themselves protecting the military secrets of England. Illustrated with line drawings. Clear, easy text. 8-12 YO
The Amazing Adventures Of Amabel (Natalie Jane Prior) $2 PB EC A lovely book set in the Victorian era recounting the adventures of Amabel and her nanny in rescuing an unwilling bride from the clutches of the hunchback, Richard III. 8+ Detailed pen illustrations, very charming! 8+ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/natalie-jane-prior/amazing-adventures-of-amabel.htm
Amabel Abroad: More Amazing Adventures (Natalie Jane Prior) $3 PB GC (Signed by author, tanning) From the sewers of Paris to the pyramids of Egypt: from the Scottish lochs to the snow-covered Alps, the amazing Amabel Cholmondeley embarks on a grand tour that nothing and nobody can stop! Detailed pen illustrations, very charming! 8+ http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver/tq/21/146231521.jpg
(Last update April, 2011)
