AustLit

'The powerful new novel from master storyteller Katrina Nannestad.

'I don't want to remember the truck, or the night I was taken, or the family I left behind. I am not a sad Polish girl. I am a good and happy German girl.

'I am. I am. I am.

'It's the Second World War and Himmler's Lebensborn Program is in full flight when eight-year-old Zofia Ulinski is kidnapped by the Germans. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the other Polish children taken from their families and robbed of their names, their language, their heritage.

'But when Zofia is adopted into a wealthy and loving German family, it is easier, it is safer to bury her past, deep down, so everything is forgotten. Until the Polish boy arrives.

'And the past comes back to haunt her.' (Publication summary)

'Kunyi June Anne McInerney was just four years old when she and of her siblings were taken from their family to the Oodnadatta Children’s Home in South Australia in the 1960s.

'Through an extraordinary collection of over 60 paintings, accompanied by stories, Kunyi presents a rare chronicle of what life was like for her and the other Children’s Home kids who became her family.

'Her paintings are a healing trove of memories that reveal the loneliness, fear and courage of the Stolen Generation children who were torn from family and loved ones. From bible lessons to sucking bone marrow and collecting bush fruits, the escapades, adventures and sorrows of the children are painted with warmth, humour and unflinching honesty.

'Kunyi’s story is one of healing and reconciliation. She is telling it so that the lives of the children at Oodnadatta Children’s Home will not be forgotten. This is a collection of tender and honest stories that will educate children on our nation’s history and remind adult readers of the real impact of the Stolen Generations.' (Publication summary)

'Meet 11-year-old Bindi. She’s not really into maths but LOVES art class and playing hockey. Her absolute FAVOURITE thing is adventuring outside with friends or her horse, Nell.

'A new year starts like normal—school, family, hockey, dancing. But this year hasn’t gone to plan! There’s a big art assignment, a drought, a broken wrist AND the biggest bushfires her town has ever seen!

'Bindi is a verse novel for mid-upper primary students. Written ‘for those who plant trees’, Bindi explores climate, bushfires, and healing. Written from the point of view of 11-year-old Bindi and her friends on Gundungurra Country.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'One girl. One dream. A few hurdles.

'Ten-year-old Vivian is determined to win a medal at the Olympic Games one day. Problem is, she hasn't found a sport she's any good at yet. But everyone says if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, right? So when Vivian discovers she has a talent for cross country running, finally, her Olympic dream might actually come true.

'But then a family illness is uncovered and all of Vivian's plans begin to unravel. Can she keep her dream alive? Or will she be stopped in her tracks?

'A funny, heartfelt novel about resilience, acceptance and dreaming big.' 

(Publication summary)

'The town of Spindrift is home to the Orphanage School where Finlay lives. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. And then Whispering Wars break out, and Spindrift is thrust onto the front lines. Children are being stolen. Witches, sirens and a deadly magical flu invade the town. Finlay, Honey Bee and their friends must join forces to outwit the encroaching forces of darkness and turn the tide of the war. But how can one bickering troupe outwit the insidious power of the Whisperers? And who are the two mysterious figures watching them from the shadows?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.