AustLit

'Someone is out to ruin the reputation of his client's winery at the upcoming food and wine festival.

'The festival date looms, and tension grows as they put the team in jeopardy trying to find the culprit.

'Police are stumped. There are too many potential suspects. But the urgency increases when the case also involves murder.

'Sean puts himself in danger again and almost loses his life as he weaves his way through the clues to help solve the crime.' (Publication summary)

'When expert Persian cat detective, Ah-Fur, answers an urgent call on his special orders phone in his Australian office, he knows trouble is afoot. 

'The Australian Prime Minister, Martin Bigcheese, is on the line. The English Prime Minister, Ivor Bighouse has lost two cats. His ginger cat Winston, and his tabby Ponzie, have disappeared in London. One from his office at 10 Downing Street and one from his country residence.

'Put on a special flight to England, Ah-Fur and his cousin, Show-Fur, plan the investigation and go through their list of subjects. Ah-Fur thinks he knows who is did this dastardly deed. But is he right? 

'Join their adventures as they track the kidnappers in a country strange to them.' (Publication summary)  

'Gretta, the golden swan, was excited to see her beloved royal family arrive for a visit to their country estate. The royal twins and their mother were just as excited to be visiting Gretta for the summer holidays.

'But they didn’t know the trouble the twins would find themselves in.

'Lost in the forest, the twins waited to be rescued, but didn’t expect it to be Gretta who found them.

'Is she clever enough to help the search party find them?

'And will she achieve her fondest wish?'  (Publication summary)

'Help your child learn to retrace their steps to find lost objects with this fun picture book.'

The second book in the Bush Tails series. A collection of stories from country life.

'More than 50,000 years ago, Dippy the diprotodon (di-prot-o-don) danced through the dense forest heading for his breakfast of fresh eucalyptus leaves.'

'What he didn't know was that right behind him, stalking him, was a marsupial lion wanting to make Dippy his breakfast. Who will win this battle? ...'

'Banjo is an experienced stock horse and about to be retired. But his wisdom and experience will be needed on his last muster, not only by his owner, but by the young less experienced horses working with him. Not everything goes to plan.' (Publication summary)

'The newborn lambs are going missing and Matthew thinks the bunyip that lives in a cave, under the water in their billabong, is taking them. His grandfather told him about it. His mum, dad and big brother say bunyips don’t exist, but Matthew is not so sure.

'He and his grandfather camp out one night to watch the sheep. Matthew sees a dark shape dive into the waterhole. Now he is sure it is the bunyip.

'His big brother brings home his scuba gear to find out once and for all what Matthew saw diving into the billabong.' (Publication summary)

'A collection of short stories inspired by our presenters and written by students who attended the festival.' (Publication summary)

'For many generations the people of the spires have believed they were the only living human race left on their planet. They had been told that Daemons had inhabited the planet’s surface and driven their ancestors into the domed cities.

'When Markus and Filona fall in love, they break the strict laws of the domes. Markus is son of the Prefect of Alpha Dome, Filona an innkeepers daughter and their union is forbidden.

'The couple flee to the planet surface, despite thoughts of the dangers they might face. What they find there will astound them. The decisions they make for their future will have a dramatic effect on the whole planet. (Publication summary)

'Rhys is in trouble again. Despite his recent Cat-astrophe, his teacher, Mr Shakespeare, still wants him to hand in a story – pronto! To make things worse, Rhys’s friend, Oscar, runs into trouble and needs his help to rescue Mrs Watt’s prize cat – urgently!

'Short on time, Rhys has a story to finish that he hasn’t started, and to find a cat that’s gone missing – ASAP!

'But things don’t always work out as planned.

'Will he save the day? Or is he destined for another catastrophe?' (Publication summary)

'Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, many large and unusual animals lived in Australia. Some lived with the dinosaurs, but many were still here 50,000 years ago when humans arrived in our land. Some have survived to become the animals we see today. But some, sadly, died out like the dinosaurs. Step into Nida Valley, where they still roam. They are waiting to tell you all about themselves.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'This is a coming-of-age story about triumph and tragedy, love and loss, acceptance and letting go. Life's looking pretty awesome for 17-year-old, Nathan Thompson. He's the goal-kicking superstar from the small town of Kyabram. Nathan's in his final year of school and has big plans set for the future; like winning the Thirds' premiership cup, acing his Year Twelve exams and finally graduating. One problem - his tough, and over-bearing father, Mark, has other plans for him. He desperately wants Nathan to be the next AFL player to come out of Kyabram. He seems set to stop Nathan from following his dreams of studying architecture at university. But a thirtyyear-old secret of Mark's that resurfaces on Nathan's 18th birthday changes everything. Will it force Nathan and his father further apart or help them reconcile their fragile relationship? On top of that problem, Nathan's year gets worse as he deals with death, bullying and first love.' (Publication summary)

'Thirteen year old Erin loves horses and riding. After dreaming of the Bronze Age horses, she is starting to like history. Now curious about Ancient Greek horses, Erin again drifts into an opal dream. Agis, a teenage boy, travels alone from Sparta to Athens where Diodorus gives him work at the stables. Agis earns the trust of a vicious black stallion, but is targeted by the jealous, Tellus. When the stallion escapes, Agis is suspected and threatened with punishment of death or slavery. Will Agis keep his freedom and survive to fulfil his dream of riding a horse?

'When Erin wakes from her dream, she realises she can use what she has learnt about horses from the Ancient Greeks.

The Marble Horses, the second book in the Opal Dreaming series, describes horse riding and care in the Ancient Greek period. Each book in the series highlights the significant changes in horse riding throughout history and provides practical riding and handling techniques.' (Publication summary)

'Andrew Weatherby, a bullied computer nerd from Central Queensland is ripped from his world to lead The Knights of Katesch in their direct attack on Maligor the Destroyer. In the midst of the battle in Mountain City, he rescues princess Katarin to find he has been betroved to her since birth. This feisty young lady risks her life to save Andrew. The Knights believe that have finally defeated Maligor after ten thousand years of conflict. In an attempt to escape the fanatic red guards seeking revenge for the death of their god, Agmar accidentally releases a monster army: the Kazdoom. But... have they really defeated the cause of evil in the universe?' (Publication summary)

'Justin Credible is a real live Pinocchio with a keen sense of smell. Trained as a super sleuth for the DNA (Department of Nasal Affairs), he is often called upon at the first sniff of trouble. With a nose for those hard to crack smelly cases, it's no surprise when Justin responds to an urgent call for help. Someone or something has dropped a stink bomb in the city of Aroma and the stench is devastating! Gardens are wilting, birds are dropping out of the sky, and the residents are leaving in droves! With sleuth-like determination, Justin follows his nose to solve the mystery of the phantom smell before it wipes Aroma off the map! On the Nose is a fun and entertaining read that I'm sure would be enjoyed by young boys. This story is along the same lines as the Just books and Captain Underpants series: crazy, funny and really silly everything a young boy loves in a book. ' (Publication summary)