AustLit

'A tantalising tale of animals as they fight for their home territory' 

'A guide on how to show up as the best version of you and live happily. This little book of wisdom is what a bunny would tell her younger self so she could live out her wildest dreams and find magic within.

'Take a trip with Wise Shickers the bunny, as she shares her wisdom from the past to her younger self. She helps you embrace life’s wonders and challenges with courage, kindness and love on your journey through life.

'Life tips so you can be all that you want to be, do all that you want to do and have love and kindness in your life.

'Suitable for all ages, Adults through to teens that maybe looking for a little life guidiance.' (Publication summary)

'Everyone has an interpretation of what the ‘all round entertainer’ should be. The term once invoked the image of a singer who could dance a little, tell jokes and hold an audience’s attention with anecdotes of his life and career.

'In my world, in order to wear this label successfully, the description of the ‘all round entertainer’ expands, with the ability to perform not only as an actor in films, television, and on stage, but also to direct, write books and plays, and even pen his own autobiography.

'The definition of the ‘all round entertainer’ is a generational conundrum. When I became a ‘showbiz professional’ in 1956, I found myself part of the end of the age of vaudeville, being lucky enough to learn from those who had been there and done that, and now I am wearing the same shoes as those who paved the way for me.

'Sadly, most of those contemporaries who shared the same journey have either shuffled off the mortal coil, or are in retirement.

'Now, with the departure of Ernie Sigley, Jimmy Hannan, Graham Kennedy, Stuart Wagstaff, Don Lane, and Bert Newton I find myself left alone now to carry the torch, hence the title of this book.

'Through this book, with its words and many photographs, I pass on the story of a wonderful and rewarding sixty years of parading my wares around the globe with plenty of humour along the way.' (Publication summary)

'In late nineteenth century Vienna, Moritz, a young man from a well-to-do Jewish family, lives in the shadow of his older brother. Afflicted by a birthmark which in ancient times would have seen him left out for the wolves, he tries to retreat into a world of reading and writing. But unable to escape the ‘target on his face’, as his father calls it, Moritz is forced by his impatient nation into war. A story that takes the reader deep into the heady world of war, Zionism, salons, writers, artists, sexual awakening and the randomness of tragedy and redemption that follow.' (Publication summary)

'When a golden trophy goes missing at school, mischievous Fish is the prime suspect.

'With the help of his best mate Chip can he and his friends prove everyone wrong and track down the thief.' (Publication summary)

'Life has changed a lot for Sophie Weston since her family inherited a dilapidated mansion in the Hamptons and moved there from Brooklyn, New York. For one thing, her parents are unaware of the spirits who are trapped in the house and Sophie finds herself responsible for helping them find peace so they can move to the other side. Then there’s the complicated love triangle between Sophie, Charlie, the handsome boy next door, and Gus, the ghost of her childhood friend who visits her bedroom at night. Sophie loves them both and doesn’t want to lose either one from her life. But Sophie’s greatest challenge comes when she is possessed by the spirit of a troubled young woman who died in her family’s home and is out for revenge. How can Sophie free herself before Mia ruins her life? Or worse …' (Publication summary)

'Angus and Elsa have moved house, and finally they have time and space for a dog!

'The family adopt a rescue dog to give her a second chance. But do they really know how much work is involved in training and caring for a rescue dog, and winning back her trust?

'With every family member pitching in, Reggie slowly changes from a sad and frightened dog to a friendly, well-mannered family member, and one day it’s Reggie’s turn to rescue someone, making the family proud and happy. A beautifully illustrated and heart- warming story, Reggie the Rescue Dog is about responsibility, commitment, making good choices and enjoying the benefits that wonderful dogs can give us.' (Publication summary)

'Lester loves books, children, and his job as a library dog. Children wait eagerly for their turn to read to him, and Lester s the perfect listener.

'But Lester does more than listen to stories. He inspires children to read with confidence, helps them deal with emotions, sorts out squabbles, teaches responsibility, and makes everyone laugh.

'At a time when more and more schools have library and school
dogs, Lester the Library Dog is a perfect fit for school, preschool, and public libraries. This book shows a day in the life of one library dog and the impact he has, whilst emphasising the team effort and responsibility of having a dog in a school community.' (Publication summary)

'Missy and Beefy are on the next adventure to meet more tradies.They also learn that there are Mum's that are tradies too and Beefy gets into more trouble as he gets in the way, and creates havoc when he meets new tradies. From a house flipper to a sign writer and many more, Beefy & Missy meet a whole of new tradies and what they do for work.'  (Publication summary)

'Geraldine Turner is one of Australia’s most renowned stars of the stage, but growing up in Brisbane in the 1950s and 1960s in a dysfunctional family fraught with alcohol abuse, violence and mental health issues, Geraldine could hardly have imagined the places her talent would take her and the esteem in which she would one day be held.

'Turner shares poignant stories of her relationship with her parents and siblings and the many years of commitment required to make it to the top.

'She describes frankly the highs and disappointments of a life in show business, the challenge of maintaining personal relationships alongside a demanding schedule of rehearsals and performances, as well as the rivalries and camaraderie amongst those who have made the stage their life.

'Geraldine Turner’s career has seen her star in acclaimed Australian productions of great musicals including Chicago and Anything Goes and Stephen Sondheim works including Sweeney Todd, Company and Into the Woods, which led to an enduring friendship with the great composer.

'Turner's Turn is Geraldine Turner’s story which is a fascinating page turner.'

'Snuffy is a little dog who just has to sniff EVERYTHING!

'Sometimes Snuffy's sniffer gets her into trouble, but can her nose save a day at the beach from an unhappy ending?' (Publication summary)

'This is an authentic, entertaining, sometimes shocking, often funny, yarn from Outback Australia.

'Tom and Gidgee, best mates, toil and laugh together for decades, in the shearing sheds and stockyards of the challenging, semi-arid Western Division. Constantly tested by extremes of Nature, their huge capacity for both work and laughter helps them cope with everything that’s thrown at them.

'They support each other through personal tragedies. When Gidgee is wrongly imprisoned, Tom saves his soul and his future. When Tom, tough and funny, is driven to become a homicidal madman, through treachery from within his family, Gidgee will sacrifice himself to save his mate from going to jail.

'The humour features the coarse, often ribald yarns and jokes of the stockyards and shearing sheds, in an era when that was a man’s world, and the chauvo attitudes which were normal then, were balanced by chivalry. This is a bloke’s book, that will also be thoroughly enjoyed by broad-minded women.'  (Publication summary)

'Noah is visiting Grandma and Grandpa in the city and he’s in for a big surprise – he meets Gus, Grandpa’s new dog. Grandpa cannot see well, and Gus is his guide dog. Now, instead of being at home a lot, Grandpa is out nearly every day! Noah follows along with Grandma and sees Grandpa ride on a bus, find road crossings and seats, and avoid obstacles, all by using teamwork. Gus even avoids an accident by refusing to move because he can see something that Grandpa cannot!

'Written in a sensitive and friendly style and beautifully illustrated, Gus the guide dog is a lovely educational story about the teamwork and close bond between a man with low vision and his guide dog.' (Publication summary)

'Lily is visiting Auntie Beth and Uncle Jake on their alpaca farm. This visit is particularly exciting because Lily is going to meet Harriet, Auntie Beth’s new dog. Auntie Beth can’t hear, and Harriet is her hearing assistance dog. At the farm, Lily looks on as Harriet lets Auntie Beth know about approaching visitors and household sounds and saves her from near disaster!

'Written in a sensitive and friendly style and beautifully illustrated, Harriet the hearing dog is a lovely educational story about the work of hearing assistance dogs.

'Gina Dawson has written several children’s books about working dogs, including the Next Door’s Dog series.' (Publication summary)

'For decades Helen Baldwin has been painting outback Australia and the Aboriginal people. Her travels have taken her throughout western New South Wales and to Alice Springs, Darwin, Yuendumu, Napperby, Mbunghara, Papunya, Kintore, Docker River, Areyonga, Maryvale and countless places in between. Through her friendship with Michael Ellis and his wife Lizzie, a full-blood Aborigine of the Ngaanatjarra tribe, Helen has been taken to special areas that few white people have ever seen.

'The natural affinity for the Central Australian desert and its people felt by Helen is visible in her artistic work. She is able to see through the incongruous Western clothing, tangled hair and ubiquitous dust to the flame that gave birth to one of the purest forms of spirituality ever articulated. . At night, telling Dreamtime stories by the campfire, an ancient dignity lights the eyes of the old people.

'It is the essence of this message that Helen Baldwin captures in her paintings of the Aboriginal people: wisdom, simplicity, spontaneity and grace.
Children of the Dreamtime presents a vivid picture of the Aboriginal people of central Australia, their way of life and their environment.

'In her work Artist Helen Bladwin shows us the beauty she perceives in the Australian outback and the people who first made it their home.'

Source : publisher's blurb (New Holland Ed.)

'A collection of personal stories by victims of child abuse and their experiences and lifetime of living with the consequences. We believe there has been silence for too long, and these stories, uncomfortable though they may be to read, should be hidden no longer. The storytellers come from various backgrounds: white, Asian and indigenous, male and female. All the contributors have struggled to deal with the long-term effects of their abuse.' 

'The team that produced A Flair For Hair are back with their latest book A Flair for Fun .

'Meet all the new characters and with all the things these characters do for fun.

'Rhyming text to read to children with bright vibrant colours.' (Publication summary)

'Breathing Through a Straw is a memoir of a father's fight to do absolutely everything to save his son's life.

'Mark and Bridget received the devastating news that they had given their smiling six-month-old baby boy a genetic death sentence in the form of cystic fibrosis. They were terrified to learn that, at the time, a child with cystic fibrosis would be lucky to survive to their teenage years. The family's world was turned upside down and they were set on a path to find new treatments and support the efforts to find a cure, all while trying to give Cody as normal a childhood as possible.

'With good humour and emotion, Mark Sheehan tells a story familiar to anyone with a loved one battling a chronic cycle of medications, therapies, treatments and hospitalisations. For sufferers like Cody, every breath required to stay alive was like breathing through a straw.

'Following successful transplant surgery Cody is something of a miracle - living a full life in his thirties. Cody and his story provide living, breathing hope for others with cystic fibrosis. For Cody and for his fellow 'cystas' and 'fibros' the next best things to cure is hope.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Ernst Leitz II (“the photography industry’s Schindler”) not only designed and manufactured Germany’s most famous camera, but also saved hundreds of Jewish lives from certain death during the Holocaust.

'From the kernel of this true story, Joe Reich weaves an interesting – sometimes outrageous – blend of fact and fiction, historical and current times, drawing the reader into the fictional life and exploits of the protagonist elderly “survivor” Jack (Yaakov Stein) now living in Melbourne. After trying to pass off a false testimony to a young Catholic photographer, Ian Gross, he then relents and tells us the truth ... Or does he?

'With false memoirs all the rage, this is clearly a fictitious story with some real characters, at once highly entertaining and deadly serious.' (Publication summary)