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When Tran's mother goes far away to Vietnam, his grandmother shows him something very special - a wishing cupboard. To cheer him up she shares her past wishes and lets him make one of his own. Behind the two big doors were more doors. Tiny inlaid ones that opened outward. Pale, shiny ones that could roll up like louvres. Burnished gold ones that moved sideways on metal grooves. There were drawers too, of all shapes and sizes. And little alcoves, spaces with no doors, that were dark and inviting.
It's night and the dark is filled with strange sounds as Shane makes his way home. On a fence he finds a stray cat that at first growls and spits at him. But Shane talks and strokes the kitten to calmness, and decides to take the 'Spitfire, Kitten Number One,' home with him. No gang of boys, or avenue of dense traffic, or fierce dog can stop Shane carrying his new found friend to the place he calls home. Greg Rogers' sensitive use of charcoal and pastel create Shane and his cat in splendid city-at-night time scenes.
A child discovers the smell, sound, excitement and magic of reading books. Suggested level: junior.
A modern Australian classic from bestselling author Libby Hathorn, now celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. Lara feels completely alone after her mother's death. She moves to the bush to live with her father, but his new family make her feel like an intruder, and a bully makes school just as unwelcoming. With the appearance of the mysterious dog Thunderwith, Lara begins to feel a connection to this harsh place. Will it ever feel like home - and will her stepmother and half-siblings ever feel like family? THUNDERWITH has won numerous awards, including the Children's Book Council Honour Book Award (1990), the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (1991) and was also adap...
Dramatic novel for teenage readers. When Vaughan's parents go overseas he is left with his grandparents in an isolated coastal town. He must undergo a terrifying initiation before he can join the local gang of boys. The author has won many national and international awards. Her other publications include 'The Wonder Thing', 'Way Home' and 'Feral Kid'.
Follow a river of poetry through country, town, the bush, the four seasons, night and day, and explore the Australian landscape through the eyes of our best Australian poets. Age 10-14. 'I am the river, gently flowing, as I wind my way to the sea.' (Mary Duroux) Follow the river of poetry through country, town, the bush, the four seasons, night and day and explore the Australian landscape through the eyes of our best Australian poets. In this beautiful collection of poems for children, award-winning author and poet, Libby Hathorn, has brought together favourites such as those by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson, Dorothea Mackellar and C.J. Dennis, as well as more contemporary poems by Steven Herrick, Eva Johnson, Les A. Murray and others. Exquisite illustrations by Cassandra Allan make this a collection to treasure. Age 10-14.
Set in 1932 against the magical backdrop of Bondi Beach, in the year the Sydney Harbour Bridge opens, the days of Phar Lap and Charles Kingsford Smith, Keiran a boy from Bondi hopes to help his family survive the depression. Hurtling towards the beach one morning in the famous Bondi 'Rattler, Keiran is inspired to become a paper boy on the Bondi trams. No Sooner does his dream begin to take shape than it is threatened by Saxon, the chief paper boy. Tensions build as their rivalry grows and culminates in a dramatic climax with unexpected results. Can dreams really come true? Keiran's quest is to find out. (1 act, 4 male, 2 female).
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Libby Hathorn has asked some of Australia's finest writers for their response to the painting by internationally acclaimed artist Brian Dunlop. First love, joy and disappointment, secrets, violence and the vagaries of fate are interwoven in these stories that remind us things are not always as they appear. Full of pathos, insight and wry humour, The Blue Dress is a stunning display of the possibilities of imagination. The contributing writers include Brian Caswell, Gary Crew, Libby Gleeson, Sophie Masson, Jenny Pausacker and Nadia Wheatley. 'These stories offer the reader different ways to define and access our common experience and in doing so the writers reflect with considerable insight on what it is to be on the threshold of childhood in an adult world.' Libby Hathorn
Little Georgie is the youngest and this sometimes means Max and Harriet forget about her. But Georgie is unfazed. She's armed with a big imagination.