AustLit

'Imagine what it would be like to represent Australia as captain of the Matildas, like the amazing Sam Kerr!

'How would it feel to hold the record as Australia's greatest goal scorer? Find out what it takes to get so good - the training, the big breaks and the challenges along the way. Get inspired to find your own passion and BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!

'Every Amazing Sporting Hero has a story. Featuring easy-read text and fun illustrations, this series is suitable for readers who are happier out of the classroom than in it! Collect the whole series: Amazing Ash Barty, Amazing Pat Cummins, Amazing Dylan Alcott.'  (Publication summary)

'Imagine what it would be like to be one of the best tennis players in the world, like the amazing Ash Barty!

'How would it feel to lift the trophy at the Australian Open?

'Find out what it takes to get so good - the training, the big breaks and the challenges along the way. Get inspired to find your own passion and BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!

'Every Amazing Sporting Hero has a story. Featuring easy-read text and fun illustrations, this series is suitable for readers who are happier out of the classroom than in it! Collect the whole series: Amazing Pat Cummins, Amazing Sam Kerr, Amazing Dylan Alcott.'  (Publication summary)

'The powerful and incredibly moving story of Mojgan Shamsalipoor and Milad Jafari - two young Iranian asylum seekers who are showing that the power of love can conquer all obstacles.

'After fleeing their homeland, Australian refugee policies threaten to tear this young couple apart. An unforgettable story of love, hope and a quest for freedom.

'At seventeen, all Mojgan Shamsalipoor wanted was to be safe from physical and sexual abuse, go to school, and to eventually marry for love. In Iran, she was denied all of this.

'Milad Jafari was a shy teenage boy who found his voice as a musician. But the rap music he loved was illegal in his country. All Milad's father, a key maker, builder and shopkeeper, wanted was for his family to live free from the fear of arrest, imprisonment or execution. To do that they all had to flee Iran.

'Mojgan and Milad met in Australia. But in the months between their separate sea voyages, the Australian government changed the way asylum seekers were treated. Though Milad is recognised as a refugee and will soon become a proud Australian citizen, Mojgan has been told she cannot stay here even though the threat of imprisonment and further abuse, or worse, means she can't return to Iran.

'UNDER THE SAME SKY is a powerful insight into the human face of asylum seekers and the the way history has shaped the lives of these two young people. It also shows the compassion alive in our suburbs. For Mojgan and Milad, their love keeps their hopes alive.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Today most of us know that Henry Lawson and Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson were famous writers. We know about Matilda, Clancy of the Overflow and the Man from Snowy River; The Drover's Wife, While the Billy Boils and Joe Wilson and his mates, but little else. Here, in a compelling and engaging work, James Knight brings Henry and Banjo's own stories to life. And there is much to tell.

'Both were country born, just three years and three hundred kilometres apart, Henry on the goldfields of Grenfell and Banjo on a property near Orange, but their paths to literary immortality took very different routes - indeed at times their lives were ones of savage and all too tragic contrasts. Banjo, born into a life of comparative privilege, would rise from country boy to Sydney Grammar student, solicitor, journalist, war correspondent and revered man about town. Henry's formal education only began when his feminist mother finally won her battle for a local school but illness and subsequent deafness would make continuing his lessons difficult, seeing him find work as a labourer, a coach painter and a journalist, all the while wrestling with poverty, alcoholism and mental illness. Both men would become household names during their lifetimes. Both would have regrets.

'HENRY AND BANJO details two incredibly fascinating lives and delves into the famous (and not so famous) writings of the two men who had the power to influence and change Australia.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On 21 May 2009, after weeks of gruelling climbing, Mick Parker reached the summit of Makalu in the Himalaya, 8463 metres above sea level. He was now a veteran of the ‘8000ers club’ – those elite adventurers who have scaled the world’s highest mountains. What’s more, as with all his climbs, he’d done it without the help of bottled oxygen, guides or Sherpas: a method that was extremely dangerous, but revered by purists. The stunning achievement crowned a ten-year climbing career that had begun in suburban Victoria, before taking on New Zealand, the US, South America, and finally the ultimate challenge – the Himalaya. His face slathered in sunscreen, Mick smiled, squinted, took a photo of the magnificent vista, then prepared for the long descent. Thirteen days later, he was found dead in his Kathmandu hotel room. He was only 36.

'A story of courage, determination and high-altitude adventure, Spirit High details the exhilarating but all-too brief life of Mick Parker. An Aussie larrikin who knew no fear, but cared deeply for his fellow human, it is a tale of triumph, tragedy and chasing your dreams – no matter where they take you.' (Publication summary)