Kids
Scratcher
Have you ever wondered why clocks have hours, and minutes, and seconds…but not firsts?
You will not find the answer to this question in this book, but Scratcher will tell you what happens if your dog goes wild in a butcher’s shop, or if an eel gets up your trouser leg when you’re standing in the middle of the creek in the rain, or if you fall in love with your teacher.
And he’ll tell you about the McPhees, and his friends, and about the cat whose feet never touch the floor,
and what happened when a swan’s EGG learnt to fly,
and about the world’s only fat butter of a dog,
and…
and…
and, well about one or two other things as well…
Lissie Pendle
Lissie Pendle is about trouble. But not trouble with a capital T. It's trouble which just...well, it just happens. Usually with the help of her little brother, or Scratcher and his friends, or just....things.
Lissie is busy, pre-occupied, if you like, coping with events and trying to sort out, and put in their proper place (ie beside and slightly in awe of her), the various "eligible" boys of the town.
She succeeds quite gloriously in these endeavours, though she's actually the only person who understands this.
In the course of telling us about a number of pretty unusual events, such as the case of the killer koala, or what happened in old-fashioned trains' toilets, or when she met a lady who inserted capital letters into her conversation, or when there was blood instead of ink in the inkwell, or....well, a pile of other things, we discover an Australia of another time.
When things were clear, including the air, and life was simpler and, yes, funnier.
The Day and Night Machine
It’s Jess’s thirteenth birthday. She’s been in bed for nearly a year, the result of a car accident that killed her father.
Surprisingly, she finds a birthday present from her father, an unusual gift for a girl and one which she, her grandfather, and her mother, puzzle over.
In the course of playing with it she discovers that it has some highly-unexpected properties.
But then, purely by accident, she discovers perhaps its most amazing feature.
She wonders how she can use this for the benefit of the world, but is foiled by Miss Sturzen, a villainous redhead, who steals the ‘machine’ for her own enrichment and evil ends.
When she captures and imprisons Jess, she has a clear run, but Jess is able to circumvent her difficulties and come up with a particularly appropriate counter strategy, aided by a phlegmatic police sergeant and his retinue of colour-coded Labrador puppies.
Miss Sturzen is arrested and taken away - facilitated by a massive flying dog - but escapes and returns to wreak mortal revenge on Jess, using a day and night machine. Unfortunately for her, however, things don’t quite go to plan.
And then we discover the real reason for Jess’s father’s gift.
This story is also in screenplay form.
Cover design: Sophie Sirninger Rankin
The Package on the Tram
A sequel to The Day and Night MAchine.
The world's largest dog that vanishes or re-appears out of nowhere, with hairs larger than trees.
Creatures larger than mammoths that can help the tiniest.
A cobweb that changes colour according to whether...
Where Jess can be killed at any moment by anyone she loves, and who love her.
And a decision that leads to a desperate loss.
A mystery story of a thirteen-year old girl, her unwanted visitor, her mother and grandfather, three detectives, a man of two tribes, and a bunch of Labrador puppies with colour-coded collars.
Oh, and a father who may not be really there…
Cover design: Sophie Sirninger Rankin
The Search for Quong
Who is he?
Is he a kangaroo? Does he live in a rain forest? Does he eat possums? Or children?! What does the encyclopaedia say?
‘Quong was a creature of the olden olden days, even before grandmother. He was a short fellow, with long, thin legs and an even longer, thinner tail. His face was fat and wrinkly, and big bushy eyebrows kept out the sun and flies. He lived far away from anywhere, especially where you live.’
Well, that’s encouraging, except that the encyclopaedia said “was” and “was” and “was”. And “lived”. Not “is”. Or “lives”.
So?
Well, Lissie Pendle is an “is” kind of girl, who “lives” in the country, and who “knows” that there are quongs, and that they must live near where she lives.
And she will find them.
And, being the kind of girl she is, she will allow some boys to come along with her.
As long as they do what they’re told.
Cover photo Ian Burns, Hanging Rock, Victoria
Possum and Python
She lay on a great branch high above the rain forest floor, a splendid creature, shimmering black hair glistening in the starlight.
Above her, on an even higher branch, another splendid creature: a mortal enemy.
She didn’t know it was there, and it wasn’t interested in her, but an extraordinary adventure was about to begin.
A tale of surprise, dedication, and, above all, love (which, as we all know, can change the world).
Cover design: Pat Sirninger
Twevven and the big bigger biggest baby burp
Never go into a shop without your purse unless you’re prepared to expect the unexpected.
One forgetful thing leads to another never-to-be-forgotten thing.
Which Twevven will remember for the rest of his life.
Twevven in a very dangerous situation
Twevven decides to go to the beach – it’s so hot and the water will be so cool.
But – the beach is packed. People, umbrellas, dogs…
But – he knows that another beach nearby should not be like this, and it isn’t.
Very soon he’s splashing in the sea (he calls this ‘swimming’).
And pretty soon he’s out to sea and in trouble! Fortunately, he unwittingly does what a person should do in this kind of situation, and he’s rescued by his friends.
To atone for his naughtiness he, well, he does something very sensible and good.