AustLit

'Why does each koala in a zoo need 1000 trees? How do you check a Tree-kangaroo’s pouch for joeys? Why is a wombat’s poo square-shaped? And how do dogs help look after ‘extinct’ bandicoots?

Discover all this and more, as we take you behind the scenes of a modern Australian zoo and animal hospital. Find out what it’s really like to be a zookeeper and hear their funny and fascinating stories about the animals they look after – from the koala who regularly escapes her cage, to cheeky Tasmanian devil cubs nipping the keepers’ ankles for food; and from Jess, the majestic wedge-tailed eagle, to tiny but precious frogs and skinks.

These delightful and fascinating stories for children aged 9 to 12 reveal the essential role of zoos today, from preserving and rehabilitating endangered species to making groundbreaking scientific discoveries and uncovering more about how animals think.

Packed full of fascinating facts, Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charged Wombats is the perfect read for animal-loving kids.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'How Australian Marcus Lee and his wife, Julie, survived wrongful imprisonment, house arrest and five years of trials and tribulations in Dubai. In 2006 Marcus Lee moved to Dubai with his wife, Julie, to take up his dream job working for Nakheel, the emirate's largest property developer. Everything went swimmingly until one day in 2009 when Marcus was picked up by the state police and imprisoned in solitary over charges of bribery. Marcus managed to get out of prison - and out of Dubai - with the help of Julie, who found her husband and spent five years working to free him - first from one of Dubai's notorious jails, and then from house arrest. In jail she kept his hopes up by smuggling notes and poems to him (she received smuggled diary entries in return). The tale of a foreign posting gone horribly wrong and a relationship which survived despite enormous odds, this is at heart a love story and a testament to the strength of a marriage.' (Publication summary)