AustLit

A classis of Captain Woolcot, his young second wife, and the seven children who run wild at their riverside home of Misrule.

See the AustLit record for Seven Little Australians.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

An adventure story about a young boy who undertakes some serious risks to prove that he has 'guts'.

See the AustLit record for Luko and the Shark Attack.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

This harrowing story of the brutalities of convict and colonial life is one of the most frequently adapted works of Australian literature, and has rarely been out of print since its publication in the 1870s.

See the AustLit record for His Natural Life.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

A group of bush children set out in pursuit of horse thieves who have stolen their father's valuable mare. This 1947 film was adapted into a children's book and rem-made in 1983.

See the AustLit record for Bush Christmas.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

Cass and Carl race through time, from the convict days of Botany Bay onwards, to save their beloved Trumper Tree from destruction. Written by three authors under a common pseudonym, the book was followed by Challenge of the Trumpalar, in which the children travelled forwards as well as backwards in time.

See the AustLit record for The Riddle of the Trumpalar.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

In this picture book from Jane Jolly, beautifully illustrated by Robert Ingpen, the residents of isolated communities await the arrival of the 'tea and sugar train', especially the pre-Christmas visit where Father Christmas rides the line, distribtuing gifts.

See the AustLit record for Tea and Sugar Christmas.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

First published in 1982, Thing follows the wonderful adventures that happen when Emily Forbes mistakenly picks up a stegosaurus egg in the park, and her attempts to keep Thing a secret from her evil landlady. The book, followed by Thingnapped! and the four short books in the Thinglets series, was written by award-winning children's author Robin Klein.

See the AustLit record for Thing.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

Originally created for radio by Ruth Park, The Muddle-headed Wombat has been republished multiple times since 1962. Park was the author of a number of beloved children's books, including Playing Beatie Bow. (She also wrote for adults, including her Miles Franklin Award-winning work Swords and Crowns and Rings.)

See the AustLit record for The Muddle-headed Wombat.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

Part of the My Story series, this instalment from beloved children's author Nadia Wheatley puts Rosa Aarons, newly arrived from Australia, into the Ballarat goldfields and, ultimately, the chaos of the Eureka Stockade.

See the AustLit record for A Banner Bold.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

Leigh Hobbs, Fiona the Pig. Melbourne: Puffin, 2004.

---. Horrible Harriet. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2001-2021.

---. Mr Chicken. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2009-2019.

---. Old Tom. Melbourne: Puffin, 1994-2008.

Former Australian Children's Laureate (2016-2017) Leigh Hobbs is a popular and prolific author of picture books. This unit provides a range of primary-school activities relating to the characters above.

See Leigh Hobbs's AustLit record.

Download the teaching notes as a PDF.

The River Murray and its landscape provide a unique setting for The River Kings with its universal theme of coming of age. Chasing a childhood dream, and escaping an unhappy home life, 16 year old Shawn Hofner takes a job on a paddle-steamer on the River Murray. The harsh realities of working on a riverboat, tempered by friendships and romance, contribute to the boy becoming an adult.

Written in 1966, The River Kings was Max Fatchen’s first book. Inspiration for the story came first-hand from Max’s experiences in the Riverland reporting on the 1956 floods and later the proposed Chowilla Dam. Two of Max Fatchen’s novels, The River Kings and Conquest of the River, were together adapted to make the mini-series The River Kings. Max Fatchen wrote for both adults and children, and many of his novels have been inspired by his experiences as a journalist. He received numerous awards for both his novels and poetry, and in 1980 was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to journalism and literature. 

View AustLit record for The River Kings.

Download Teaching Resource (Shaw, A. 2021, PDF3.67MB)

Paul Jennings, Uncanny! Even More Surprising Stories. Ringwood: Puffin, 1988 (reprinted 1999).

Paul Jennings, Undone! More Mad Endings. Ringwood: Puffin, 1993 (reprinted 1999).

Jump into Paul Jennings' unsettling stories for children.

See the AustLit record for Uncanny!

See the AustLit record for Undone!

Download a PDF of the lesson plan.

Image source.

Jenny Wagner, The Nimbin. Melbourne: Nelson, 1978. (Reprinted by Puffin in 2001.)

While on holiday at the beach, Philippa is adopted by a strange little creature who lives in her beach bag.

See the AustLit record for The Nimbin.

Download a PDF of The Nimbin lesson plan.

Ivan Southall, Ash Road. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1965. (Reprinted by Text Publishing, 2013.)

Graham, Harry, and Wallace are enjoying themselves, camping independently for the first time. But when they accidentally start a bushfire, it spreads more rapidly than they could have imagined. Along Ash Road, the adults rush to fight the fire and man the aid centres, leaving the children behind in safety — or what they think is safety, until the fire turns.

In this land of fires and floods, Ash Road remains a relevant text, which can be read in conjunction with Ivan Southall's Hills End or Colin Thiele's February Dragon, as part of a natural disaster unit.

See the AustLit record for Ash Road.

Download a PDF of the Ash Road lesson plan.

Revised April 2020.

Gary Crew, Quetta. South Melbourne: Lothian, 2002.

---. The Castaways of the Charles Eaton. South Melbourne: Lothian, 2002.

---. The Kraken. South Melbourne: Lothian, 2001.

---. Gothic Hospital. South Melbourne: Lothian, 2001.

---. Strange Objects. Port Melbourne: Heinemann, 1990. (Reprinted by Hatchette Australia, 2003.)

Gary Crew is a prolific and widely popular author of children's fiction, especially notable for works with a supernatural or adventurous bent. This set of lesson plans explores five of Crew's works, including three shipwreck adventures: Quetta, The Castaways of the Charles Eaton, and The Kraken. They also include lessons on two longer works for older readers: Gothic Hospital and Strange Objects.

See the AustLit record for Quetta.

See the AustLit record for The Castaways of the Charles Eaton.

See the AustLit record for The Kraken.

See the AustLit record for Gothic Hospital.

See the AustLit record for Strange Objects.

Download a PDF of the Gary Crew lesson plans.

Michael Panckridge, The Vanishings. Fitzroy: Black Dog Books, 2008.

Michael Panckridge and Pam Harvey, Out of the Blue. Sydney: HarperCollins, 2009.

The Vanishings and Out of the Blue are both by Michael Panckridge, a prolific author of children's fiction, best known for his supernaturally tinged sports books.

In the Vanishings, Francesca's life in the vast spaces of the outback and a town so small the train doesn't stop any more is disrupted by the disappearance of her twin sister.

Out of the Blue (co-written with Pam Harvey) traces the effect on a small town when mysterious lights are spotted in the night sky.

See the AustLit record for The Vanishings.

See the AustLit record for Out of the Blue.

Download a PDF of the Michael Panckridge lesson plan.

Victor Kelleher , Beyond the Dusk. Milsons Point: Random House, 2000.

From significant Australian children's author Victor Kelleher, Beyond the Dusk tells a story from forty years earlier, when the protagonist, Meg, came face to face with a mysterious creature in the bush behind her grandmother's farm.

Particularly apt in this age of increasing extinctions, Beyond the Dusk explores Australia's lost (or perhaps not so lost) megafauna.

See the AustLit record for Beyond the Dusk.

Download a PDF of the Beyond the Dusk lesson plans.

Lilith Norman, Climb a Lonely Hill. Sydney: Collins, 1970. (Reprinted by Red Fox, 1995.)

Written by Lilith Norman, a children's librarian, author, and former editor of the NSW School Magazine, Climb a Lonely Hill is one of the classic Australian narratives: two children, lost in the forbidding outback after a car accident, must find their way home. In particular, the children focus on a distant hill, from the top of which they hope to see their way.

Climb a Lonely Hill is an excellent introduction for students to the trope of being lost in an unforgiving landscape, so significant to Australian writing.

See the AustLit record for Climb a Lonely Hill.

Download the PDF of the Climb a Lonely Hill lesson plans.

Explore the AustLit information trail on Children Lost in the Bush.

Eleanor Spence , Patterson's Track. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1958.

The earliest novel from Australian children's writer Eleanor Spence (whose best-known work, including The October Child and A Candle for Saint Antony, was published two decades later), Patterson's Track is a story of mystery in the Australian bush, as the three Winter children, on what seems to be a very dull holiday, stumble into an old puzzle.

Unlike many bush-focused stories, Patterson's Track is less about the children becoming lost and more about reading, navigating, and experiencing the bush.

See the AustLit record for Patterson's Track.

Download a PDF of the Patterson's Track lesson plans.

Elyne Mitchell, The Silver Brumby. London: Hutchinson, 1958. (Reprinted by HarperCollins, 2012.)

The opening novel in Elyne Mitchell's long-running and dearly beloved series, The Silver Brumby follows Thowra, the magnificent silver stallion who is king of the brumbies, in his struggles against man and rival horses. Alongside 'The Man from Snowy River', The Silver Brumby is on of Australian literature's most seminal high-country stories.

See the AustLit record for The Silver Brumby.

Download a PDF of The Silver Brumby lesson plans.

Joan Phipson, The Boundary Riders. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1962.

Joan Phipson was already an established author of children's literature when she published The Boundary Riders in 1962. In The Boundary Riders, three children become lost in the outback after volunteering to ride the fences of their family sheep station.

See the AustLit record for The Boundary Riders.

Download a PDF of The Boundary Riders lesson plans.

Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Melbourne: Cheshire, 1967.

Mysterious, open-ended, mystical — in many ways, Picnic at Hanging Rock is a strange choice for an Australian classic. But Australian classic it undoubtedly is. On Valentine's Day in 1900, three boarding-school girls and their teacher wander off during a picnic; only one ever returns.

See the AustLit record for Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Download a PDF of the Picnic at Hanging Rock lesson plans.

Betty Roland , The Bush Bandits. Melbourne: Lansdowne, 1966.

Betty Roland is perhaps better known these days as a playwright — her breakthrough work, A Touch of Silk, is still being adapted and performed nearly a century after its debut. But she also wrote children's books, including the four-volume Jamie series, about the misadventures of the titular country boy.

The Bush Bandits, published in 1966, addresses then still-urgent issue of poaching native species. Two young boys find an orphaned koala, and decide to keep him, just for a while, in spite of the strict laws against it. But their decision brings them up against ruthless wildlife poachers.

See the AustLit record for The Bush Bandits.

Download a PDF of The Bush Bandits lesson plans.

Nan Chauncy, They Found a Cave. London: Oxford University Press, 1948. (Reprinted by Text Publishing, 2013.)

Nan Chauncy may be Tasmania's best-known children's writer, and this remains, perhaps, her most beloved book. When four English orphans migrate to their Aunt Jandie's farm outside Hobart, all is fun and exploration — until Aunt Janie falls ill, and the tyrannical Pinners take over the children's care.

See the AustLit record for They Found a Cave.

Download a PDF of the They Found a Cave lesson plans.

Mrs Tucker doesn't want to remain in Sunset House, a highly regimented home for the elderly. But when she ups stakes and moved to a dilapidated cottage, she finds another being already in possession: a gnome-like creature called a Njimbin. And neither is willing to share their home, not the old woman who is looking for a new start nor the ancient being who has occupied it for centuries.

See the AustLit record for A Little Fear.

Download a PDF of the A Little Fear lesson plans.

James Aldridge, The True Story of Spit MacPhee. Ringwood, Vic: Viking, 1986.  

When young Spit MacPhee comes to live with his grandfather, the people of the country town of St Helen fear for his future. Fyfe MacPhee is a crazy old man, and barefoot Spit has to fend for himself along the riverbank where they live. While some people feel that Spit can look after himself, others believe he would be better cared for in a boy’s home and when old Fyfe dies after one of his ‘turns’ a fierce battle to decide Spit’s fate begins.

See the AustLit record for The True Story of Spit MacPhee.

Download a PDF of the The True Story of Spit MacPhee lesson plan.

Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with strange situations in which his cartoons place him, combined to make Felix one of the most recognizable cartoon characters next to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Woody Woodpecker. Felix was the first character from animation to be so popular that he drew an audience.

See the AustLit record for Feline Follies, the first 'Felix the Cat' animated film.

Download a PDF of the Felix the Cat lesson plan.

Colin Thiele, Klontarf. Willoughby, NSW: Rigby, 1988. 

They said that the old deserted homestead of Klontarf was haunted. Nobody ever went there especially at night. There were stories about ghostly figures wandering around from room to room. It was definitely the last place that Matt and Terry would have wanted to take refuge but when terry hurt his leg, they had no choice. The frightening events of that night led Matt and Jessica Kemp to search for the truth about the myths and ghost stories surrounding Klontarf. 

See the AustLit record for Klontarf.

Download a PDF of the Klontarf lesson plan.

Colin Thiele, The Sea Caves. Port Melbourne: Lothian, 2000. 

Twelve-year-old school friends Sam and Nicholas are exploring the wreck of an old ship near some cliffs. They decide to return the following day to explore some caves which they have discovered nearby. But, once inside the cave, they disturb the roof of unstable rock and find themselves trapped inside. Nobody knows where they are. They have no food or water, and the batteries in their torches are running low...

See the AustLit record for The Sea Caves.

Download a PDF of The Sea Caves lesson plan.

Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding: Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and His Friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1918.

The adventures of two koalas, a penguin, an old sailor and a cantankerous walking, talking pudding that is vulnerable to thieves.

See the AustLit record for The Magic Pudding (also freely available online)

and

May Gibbs, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1918.

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are two adventurous little gumnut foster brothers who long to see a Human. Snugglepot, the leader, and the gentle Cuddlepie are good friends with Mr Lizard and Little Ragged Blossom and together go on many heroic adventures.

See the AustLit record for Snugglepot and Cuddlepie 

Download a PDF of the lesson plan for a combined unit on The Magic Pudding and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

Tim Winton, Blueback. Sydney: Pan, 1997.

"Abel Johnson was ten years old and could never remember a time when he could not dive. His mother said he was a diver before he was born; he floated and swam in the warm ocean inside her for nine months so maybe it came naturally. He had lived by the sea at Longboat Bay all his life. Every day was special. But it all became much more precious the day he first shook hands with old Blueback." 

See the AustLit record for Blueback.

Download a PDF of the Blueback lesson plan.

James Roy, Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery, St Lucia: UQ Press, 2003.

"This is history told like you've never heard it before, where steam is king, convicts are half-man, half-machine, dirty tricks are simply the way things are done, and almost anything at all can happen."

See the AustLit record for Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery.

Download a PDF of the Ichabod Hart lesson plan.

Ruth Park, Playing Beatie Bow, Melbourne: Nelson, 1980.

"In 1980s Sydney, Abigail Kirk finds herself transported back to the late nineteenth century (Sydney in the 1870s) and becomes embroiled in the extraordinary family life of the Bows. The Bows will not let her return home believing that she is "the stranger" who will preserve the family ‘gift’. This is a time slip adventure written by renowned adult and children’s fiction writer Ruth Park."

See the AustLit work record for Playing Beatie Bow.

Download a PDF of the Playing Beatie Bow lesson plan.

Colin Thiele, Storm Boy, Adelaide: Rigby, 1963.

"Storm-Boy lived between the Coorong and the sea. His home was the long, long snout of hill and scrub that curves away southeastwards from the Murray Mouth. A wild strip it is, windswept and tussocky, with the flat shallow water of the South Australian Coorong on one side and the endless slam of the Southern Ocean on the other. They call it Ninety Mile Beach." (extract)

See the AustLit record for Storm Boy.

Download a PDF of the Storm Boy lesson plan.