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Volcano Boy
by Libby HathornA powerful verse novel from one of Australia's favourite authors.Alone and grieving, Alexander feels ready to erupt. Can he find his way back to hope?'A real volcano boy,' his mother had called him.Placed in the custody of his puritanical but well-meaning Uncle Frank, Alexander moves from Brisbane to volcano-circled Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. There the dark powers of the rumbling volcano call to him as irresistibly as the dark eyes of Alice, his newfound love. Alexander records his experiences in a moving, candid journal that surfaces many years after the volcano's fury has settled to ash.'VOLCANO BOY is beautifully written, and Hathorn is a beautiful writer.' - LITERATURE CAFECelebrating 25 years of Libby Hathorn, acclaimed author of the Australian young adult classic THUNDERWITH. 'Hathorn deftly injects a sense of wonderment into this intense, very real story. Readers cannot help but be swept up on the action and emotion.' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on THUNDERWITH
Feral Kid
by Libby HathornCan Robbie survive alone on the streets?Robbie, homeless, caught up in a crime he wants no part of...Iris, an old lady he mugs in a city park...Their chance meeting brings about an unlikely friendship which offers both a new future.But can life really change for the better?Winner of Society of Women Writers NSW Award for Novel 1995 and the Australian Violence Prevention Certificate Award 1995, and shortlisted for the Human Rights Award 1995.'Eventful and well-paced' - THE CHILDREN'S BOOK MAGAZINE ONLINE'This is a most powerful novel. Libby Hathorn has created a haunting picture of vulnerable and troubled youth... Highly recommended.' - READING TIMECelebrating 25 years of Libby Hathorn, acclaimed author of the Australian young adult classic THUNDERWITH.
Operation Boy Band
by Yvette PoshoglianWhat if everyone's favourite band was working for the bad guys? Only Frankie can save the day!Junior Griffin agent Frankie Fox is undercover on her second mission, visiting an international kids' robotics competition in Scotland. She's investigating the evil Alliance's robot army when she discovers something even more terrifying: the world's number one boy band, Band of Brothers, is brainwashing kids to serve the Alliance!To crack this case, Frankie will need to solve puzzles, deprogram evil robots, and sneak backstage at a Band of Brothers concert. Can she save the day - and will her best friend ever forgive her if she makes Band of Brothers break up?
Ready, Set, Spy
by Yvette PoshoglianSmall spy. Big trouble.Frankie Fox thinks she's just a regular 11-year-old girl.She loves hanging out with her best friend, playing with her dog, solving puzzles and reading stories about secret agents. But then Frankie discovers something amazing: someone is secretly training her to be a spy!When Frankie's billionaire inventor dad is kidnapped by the mysterious and evil group known as the Alliance, it's time for her to put her spy skills to work. It's a big first assignment for a small spy. Can she solve the mind-bending puzzles? Work out the head-spinning gadgets?Is Frankie ready to save her dad?READY, SET, SPY is the first book in the completely addictive Frankie Fox, Girl Spy series. Stay tuned for her next adventure.Visit the author at yvetteposhoglian.com or facebook.com/yvetteposhoglianauthor or follow her on twitter.com/yvetteposh
Ratface
by Garry Disher'heart-pounding suspense' Publisher's WeeklyWhat do you do if an outsider tells you the teachings of Ratface and the White League are wrong? What if Ratface shuts you away behind an electric fence, or if he expects you to help him mould another child in the ways of the White League?For Max and Christina, the White League is all they?ve ever known. But if Gillian is telling the truth, it?s time to run and hide and live by their own wits ? before it?s too late.A compelling story of escape from a way of life that has gone terribly wrong.
Good One, Erm
by Craig Smith Garry DisherGood One, Erm is a warm and moving story of cranky neighbours and family love by the author of The Bamboo Flute.It?s not easy moving house and making new friends. Especially not when the neighbours think you?re weird.And not when Ermyntrude, your grand piano, sends wolfhounds and comets after the man next door. And sirens, and horses and roosters, and barn owls?It?s not easy when you know you?ll never see your father again ? will you ever be able to play the grand piano without him? And will Ermyntrude let you play music any more anyway?
Walk Twenty, Run Twenty
by Garry DisherA stunning tale of intrigue and survival in the dusty outback, from the author of The Divine Wind.Rick?s cousins are two specks floating on the horizon, leaving him far behind on the treacherous bush track. He looks at his punctured tyres in dismay. Ten kilometres. If he walks, he?ll be too late to save them. If he runs, he?ll expire in the heat.Somewhere across the flats, in between the red-dirt back roads, there?s real trouble happening. Rick has never felt so alone; the land around him feels as alien as the moon ? nothing like the city.But now is no time to hesitate?Ian and Nita are depending on him.Then the voice of his dead father comes back to him: `Don?t use up all your energy at once. Walk twenty, run twenty.?
The Bamboo Flute
by Garry Disher'musical and haunting' Publisher's WeeklyPaul is a dreamer, his head alive with rippling pianos, gentle violins and the smiles of Margaret, the one he loves. But in the cold light of day, Margaret snubs him at school, the piano has been sold, 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. Then Eric the Red comes along. Eric the Red, with his silver flute, his knowing wink and boots held together with wire. Eric the Red, just a step ahead of the law. Eric the Red, who knows how to make a flute from a piece of bamboo?The Bamboo Flute is an evocative story of hardship, hope, respect and recognition, set during the Depression. Amongst many acclamations it has won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year for Younger Readers.
Restless
by Garry DisherA chilling series of stories of flight and fear. It?s a great feeling, breaking away from home, school and the restrictions of your childhood years, testing yourself in the world at last. First flight, first love, first job, first holiday alone, first place to call your own. You feel as if anything could happen, and you?re prepared for it. You?re no longer restless, but flying free. But there?s a final test if you can survive it. This collection offers six chilling stories of suspense and the supernatural from one of Australia's leading Young Adult writers.
Sykie
by John HeffernanSykie Martin sets off on an adventure to the Isle of Gloomb. Her mission ? rescue The Princess. She travels on the New Leaf, a beautiful white sailing boat, crewed by a bunch of strange characters: an Onion Lord, Mercurio the Cat, Keith the Scotch Terrier and Forgetful Bill the Porcupine, to name but a few.They are a brave band, ready to fight. But nothing can prepare them for their reception by the evil, foul-mouthed Ratbreath!
So Much to Tell You: A Performance Version
by John MarsdenThe stage adaptation of John Marsden's award-winning, bestselling novel.'I don't know what I'm doing here. Well, I do really I have been sent here to learn to talk again. Sent here because my mother can't stand my silent presence at home. Sent here because of my face ...' She watches; she dreams. She sees more than they realise. She has worries and fears, hopes and desires. She is troubled; she is angry. Above all, she is lonely. She may be someone you know. She may be you.In So Much to Tell You she tells her story. With humour and insight, with sensitivity and strength, with painful honesty. You will never forget her.'impressive emotional power, style, freshness and originality' CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA
Great Lead
by Raewyn Caisley'Netball is the ultimate team game and Great Lead demonstrates this, with everyone?s roles off court being just as important to the team?s ultimate success as their roles on the court.? ? Liz Ellis, former captain of the Australian netball team and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist.Hayley wants to play netball, but there are not enough girls to form a team. Mum?s got the solution ? boys! When three boys put their hands up to play for St Pat?s, the other team is afraid the boys will prove too strong, even if they haven?t got any experience. The local paper stirs things up and Brett thinks he?s leading a small revolution, but Seamus doesn?t want to know. And what?s the thing between Alex and Duncan?When the team receives their worst blow yet, they wonder if it was all a waste of time. Or was it perhaps the most incredible thing they?ve ever done?Other sports fiction titles from RAEWYN CAISLEY include IN UNION, TENNIS STAR, NOT CRICKET, FREE STYLE, HOT SHOT and TOP MARKS.
Free Style
by Raewyn Caisley'A fun and appealing read for all kids interested in swimming and sport in general.? ? Grant Hackett, Olympic gold medallist In the pool Kate can focus on doing on what she loves best: finding her rhythm, staying perfectly balanced, functioning as smoothly as a machine. And there?s nobody relying on her.Why can?t Kate?s dad, a soccer coach, understand that she prefers the pool to the soccer pitch? At least her cousin Melvin, with his rose-coloured sunnies and dazzling jewellery, believes in everyone having `free style?. And the Dolphins? swimming coach seems to understand her? or does he?Other sports fiction titles from RAEWYN CAISLEY include IN UNION, TENNIS STAR, NOT CRICKET, GREAT LEAD, HOT SHOT and TOP MARKS.
The Mystery of the Ruby Glasses
by Lindsay CrippsThe Mystery of the Ruby Glasses is a clever, original page turner with a series of enthralling, exotic adventures.Shey is staying at her Uncle Ruben?s dusty house full of paintings when she discovers a beautiful old pair of opera glasses, studded with rubies.When Shey looks through the glasses she?s transported into the paintings. Suddenly she?s confronting a dragon and facing a sandstorm in Egypt. But what is Uncle Ruben doing in the paintings?Even more peculiar are the clues left behind by Ruben?s missing wife, Maria. Where will her clues lead Shey and Ruben?
Cross-Currents
by Janeen BrianJulia is on the camping trip from hell. Her stepdad has convinced her to go bush with him and his son, Robert, whom she's only just met. Aloof and uninterested, he's impossible to talk to, and Julia has had enough of trying. All she wants to do is get back home to the family life she knows and loves.If only she could. As things start going horribly, drastically wrong it seems they'll be lucky to make it home at all...Cross-Currents is a gripping story from award-winning author Janeen Brian.
Sara Webb: Disaster Area
by Liz WilksSara?s family is unusual to say the least ? they?re also confusing and really embarrassing. Her older sister thinks she?s Dorothy from THE WIZARD OF OZ and her older brother repeats words like an echo. Sara?s problems increase when she is teased by the school bullies and has to cope with a series of disasters.Her story is seriously funny and inspiring as Sara works to solve her problems and learns to accept her brother and sister as loved and valued members of her family.
My Brother Drinks Out of the Toilet: And Other Poems
by Colin Thompson Peter ViskaA riotous collection of poetry about toilet-water drinkers, non-stop eaters, rock `n? roll teachers and much, much more!My brother drinks out of the toilet;He does it to make Mum go mad.Each time she catches him at itShe says, 'I?m telling your dad.?COLIN THOMPSON's hilarious poems are wonderfully matched by illustrator PETER VISKA's zany illustrations.They team up again on There's Something Really Nasty on the Bottom of My Shoe and other poems and The Dog's Just Been Sick in the Honda and other poems.
NIPS Go National
by Ruth StarkeIn this sequel to the bestselling NIPS XI, the cricket team, together with coach Spinner McGinty, are in Melbourne to compete for the Harmony Cup, and Lan has a lot on his mind: a new star batsman with something to hide, a mystery from Spinner?s past, conflict with his best mate, Izzy, and his fast bowler laid low just before their biggest match ever. Will Lan resolve his problems? Will the Nips get it together in time? Is the Pop Catholic?
NIPS XI
by Ruth StarkeIf white boys can't jump, can Asian kids play cricket? Lan's fed up with being called a nip. He wants to be a true-blue Aussie. What better way than by playing the greatest Anglo game of all?Lan gathers a team together and defiantly gives it a name: NIPS XI. Now all they have to do is get some equipment, find a coach, get themselves a sponsor and learn the rules of the game. Then it's time to challenge the best cricket team in the district.A funny, empowering story of cricket and curry, spinners and leggies, that is about overcoming cultural barriers, in sport and in life.Also by Ruth Starke, NIPS GO NATIONAL is the sequel to the bestselling NIPS XI.
The Three-Pronged Dagger
by Kerry GreenwoodEverything pointed to Ben ? the three-pronged knife, the scratches on his face. And why was he out and about that dark night?Penelope Thanatopoulos doesn't like Benjamin Thorpe but she is shocked when he is suspected of attacking Kevin Friend at the zoo where they are on work experience. Who stabbed Kevin and threw him into the seal pool?Penelope makes it her business to find out.KERRY GREENWOOD has written a chilling mystery for younger readers in The Three-Pronged Dagger.
Dead Red
by Ruth StarkeDear old Mrs Tuck has run the school canteen for years. But after a chain of nasty culinary upsets, she gets the chop and a slick new commercial caterer is appointed. Angelo Martinelli, junior private eye, smells a rat ? and not just the dead one in the canteen. Is it sabotage, or is it a red herring? Can The Angel get to the bottom of the mystery that has the whole school on the run?Dead Red is a saucy detective story from bestselling author Ruth Starke, full of humour and the kind of explosive jokes that children love.
The Sea Caves
by Robert Ingpen Colin ThieleA gripping tale of high adventure from master storyteller Colin Thiele.Twelve-year-old school friends Sam and Nick are exploring an old shipwreck when they discover a hidden cave in the cliffs nearby. Forbidden to climb on the dangerous cliffs, they set out secretly to explore the cave, expecting to find treasure washed in from the shipwreck.Without warning, the roof of the cave collapses behind them and they are trapped underground in total darkness, without water or food. Nobody else knows where they are. Nobody else even knows that the sea cave even exists?COLIN THIELE, AC, was one of Australia?s most distinguished and popular writers for children. Colin's books have won numerous Australian and international awards and have been made into many classic films, TV series, plays and picture books. His bestsellers include the multi-award-winning STORM BOY and BLUE FIN.
The Hammerhead Light
by Robert Ingpen Colin ThieleTo Tessa and all the people of Snapper Bay, the Hammerhead Light is more than just a lighthouse ? it is a symbol of all that is enduring and safe. Tessa has grown up within sight and sound of the light and she has formed a strong bond with old Axel, the lighthouse keeper. Both their lives are changed by their fight to save the lighthouse and by their love of a strange migratory bird, the whimbrel ? and Tessa begins to learn the meaning of change and the pain of growing up.
The Cave and The Glory of Galumph
by Robert Ingpen Colin ThieleTwo classic short stories from Colin Thiele.The CaveJenny and Tom would never have found the cave if it hadn?t been for the big storm. Yet within twenty-four hours they both wish they had never set eyes on it ? or ventured inside!The Glory of GalumphWhen poor old clumsy Galumph is sent to a farm while his family is on holiday, he is soon in disgrace for chasing the cattle and disrupting the sheepdog trials. When, however, fire threatens the farmhouse, the intrepid canine finally has his moment of glory.COLIN THIELE, AC, was one of Australia?s most distinguished and popular writers for children. Colin's books have won numerous Australian and international awards and have been made into many classic films, TV series, plays and picture books. His bestsellers include the multi-award-winning STORM BOY and BLUE FIN.
Swan Song
by Robert Ingpen Colin ThieleAn adventure story combining excitement, drama, tragedy and hope, set in a fragile natural environment.In Swan Song, Colin Thiele revisits the Coorong, the haunting setting of his classic story STORM BOY. Mitch Bird also lives in the Coorong. The son of a wildlife ranger, he rears a black swan which becomes his constant companion and ultimately helps save his life.