Twelve-year old Gemma loves to draw. Her latest passion is illustrating the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, rendering in heart-stopping detail the terrifying giant, Blunderbore. Then, on a trip to stay with her Aunt Lucy, Gemma’s drawing is ripped in a lightning strike. When she hears strange calls for help coming from the beach, Gemma sets off to investigate and discovers that somehow her art has become reality. Jack and Blunderbore are in her world. And Blunderbore has kidnappe...

The incandescent new novel from the acclaimed Miles Franklin winner author of The Eye of the Sheep and The Choke.WINNER OF THE 2021 COLIN RODERICK AWARDLONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARDLawrence Loman is a bright, caring, curious boy with a gift for painting. He lives at home with his mother and younger brother, and the future is laid out before him, full of promise. But when he is ten, an experience of betrayal ...

For the first time, read all four Grace stories in one beautiful hardback edition.It's 1808 . . .and Grace's world is about to change - from her tough life as a mudlark on the River Thames in London, to the adventures and challenges she faces as a servant girl in a new country.Journey with Grace across all four exciting stories about a convict girl who's given a second chance.Dreamy, thoughtful, brave and compassionate, Grace is an unf...

A beautiful, illustrated adventure story with a classic feel, about a quiet boy and a talking crow on an extraordinary hot-air balloon ride to the Arctic.Matthew stood on the snowy peak and stared out at the world spread before him. Every picture in his books had been limited by the size of the page, contained within frames. Here, there was no frame. Here, the picture didn't end. Beyond those icy plains, the sea, and beyond the sea, a land that floated on the i...

Sugar boy gave me the name Bird, otherwise I'm James Burdell. I live with my dad who has a big tattoo that says Live to Ride. He is so strong he can lift up a car, but he can't tell me what he's thinking. Maybe he's thinking about my mother who shot through. Sugar Boy is my best friend. We hang around down at the river, in the bush tunnel, or beside the railway tracks riding our bikes fast enough to beat the train. There's only two of us, but we're the whole team. I don't know wha...

Fighting Bones is the convict-era adventure in this series of exciting, action-packed Australian stories for boys aged 8 to 12.Irish brothers Danny and Declan Sheehan are inmates at Tasmania's Point Puer prison for convict boys in 1836. When tragedy strikes and the prison bully is on the rampage, escape is their only chance to survive... But will they dare?It's an adventure in history.Do you dare?

When Mother Bird and Father Bird discover a large blue egg in their nest, they treat it as their own. A beautiful story about love and kindness and loyalty in the face of adversity, from the award-winning creators of many much-loved picture books including Iceberg and When You're Older.Mother Bird sat over her eggs.'Not long now,' she said to Father Bird.Father Bird brought her worms and seeds.'N...

Winner of the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary AwardShortlisted for the 2015 Voss Literary Prize and the 2015 Stella PrizeLonglisted for the 2016 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardMeet Jimmy Flick. He's not like other kids - he's both too fast and too slow. He sees too much, and too little. Jimmy's mother Paula is the only one who can manage him. She teaches him how to count sheep so that he can fall asleep. She ho...

A spooky, exuberantly funny and hugely entertaining book about a boy who is having trouble making friends in his new neighbourhood… From bestselling author Sofie Laguna. Perfect for Halloween reading!Alby and his family are new on Pleasant Street. Their house is perfect, with a great tree to climb, and a pool. Their pet, Delia, is still in training, but she's settling in just fine.And tonight is Halloween - Alby's favourite night of the year - so ANYTHING c...

It's 1808 . . .and Grace is on board the ship Indispensable with her friend Hannah. The girls wonder what the new land will be like – the convict women say there are giant rats and other strange animals! Then sickness strikes the ship . . . Will they survive to reach the shores of New South Wales?Follow Grace on her adventure in the second of four exciting stories about a convict girl who is given another chance.

Meet Jimmy Flick. He's not like other kids - he's both too fast and too slow. Jimmy's mother Paula is the only one who can manage him. She teaches him how to count sheep so that he can fall asleep. She holds him tight enough to stop his cells spinning. It is only Paula who can keep Jimmy out of his father's way. But when Jimmy's world falls apart, he has to navigate life on his own, and make things right.

It's 1808 . . .and Grace is living with her uncle in London. They have no money, and Grace is always lonely and often hungry. The best part of her day is going to Fleet Street to talk to the horses that she loves so much. One afternoon Grace can't resist taking a shiny red apple from a grocer's cart - and then another... Before she knows it, Grace is being chased through the streets! Will she be caught and sent to prison - or worse?Meet Grace and join her adventure in the fi...