AustLit

'Now the war is over

And they say the world is free,

Though somewhere guns are snarling,

You've come back to me.

'War may never truly end, but there can be homecomings.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The iconic ballet Swan Lake, the tragic love story of a princess transformed into a swan by an evil sorcerer, has been revered for more than a century. In this atmospheric adaptation, one of Australia's most talented visual artists reimagines the classic tale of passion, betrayal and heartbreak in the dramatic riverscape of the Murray-Darling.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bertie Bear was going on a long journey. He didn’t realise it would be on a camel! And he never imagined he would be having adventures on his own, far away from Jessie.

'Bertie sets off with his family to head out into the Outback. He is packed into a box to travel with the cameleers as he won’t fit on the horse-drawn cart with the family (and young Jessie, his owner). But Bertie doesn’t understand where his family has gone. ‘Where’s Jessie?’ is the refrain that runs through the book, as Bertie bumps along on the camel, then falls off unnoticed. Bertie has adventures with the kind cameleers, and meeting desert animals before he is swept along in a flash flood, gets taken high in an eagle’s talons, and finally falls to the ground, left all alone. Luckily, a young Indigenous boy finds him and returns him to Jessie: a happy ending!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''Our village sits above the great river, nestled in the Himalayan mountains. This is what we do on summer days when school is closed for holiday time, in our village in the sky.'

Janeen Brian's evocative poems, beautifully illustrated by Anne Spudvilas, reveal how the vital work of children in a remote village can be transformed through imagination into joyful play.' (Publication summary)

'Childhood, family relations and the seaside all provide the backdrop to Joe's story.

'When Joe and his dad go to Great-Uncle Alan's beach house after the old man's death, Joe discovers a boat in the garage. He longs to take it out on the sea, and he gets his wish when he goes fishing with Dad and Great-Uncle Alan's elderly friend Bob. After the fun of the fishing, and eating the fish on the beach, the men decide that the boat should now belong to Joe.' (Publication summary)
 

'It is 1821 and the child is a loner who spends her time hiding in the Vienna Woods until she spies an old man - a music maker. And so begins an odd friendship which develops through their mutual love of music. The man is composing a new work. It will break new ground. He fears it will be ridiculed and is aware that he is thought mad. He confides in the child who sits for hours watching and listening as he revises and plays. She has a feeling for the music that he cannot fathom. And not only for the music, but for what he is. She knows his pain, his anger, his fear and also his gentleness. Together they give each other the courage to face their critics and dare to be different.

'A tale written about an old man who couldn't hear, for a child people considered strange. Yet the song will live forever in the heart and mind of every child where there's nurtured love of music.' (Publisher's blurb)

'In a mostly abandoned city, Ben lives in a musty basement room, terrified of the "woolvs" that dwell in the shadows outside, with only an upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Radinski, to help him cope with his fears.' (Publication summary)

'Here is a playground of dazzling lights, sounds and noises, shapes and patterns, buildings that reach to the sky and the bellies of aeroplanes, almost close enough to touch. Here is a chance to stop, look and really see and hear the city that is In My Backyard.' (Good Reads)