A Waltz for Matilda (#1 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens Intermediate | Series: The Matilda Saga

The story behind Banjo Paterson's iconic Australian song.Ages 10-14 'Once a jolly swagman camped by a BillabongUnder the shade of a Coolibah treeAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiledYou'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me...'In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to fi nd her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. 'You'll never catch me alive, said he...'Set against a backdrop of bushfire, flood, war and jubilation, this is the story of one girl's journey towards independence. It is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams. Drawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation. 'Jackie French has a passion for history, and an enviable ability to weave the fascinating minutiae of everyday life into a good story.' Magpies Magazine ...Show more

Clancy of the Overflow (#9 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$29.99 AUD

Category: Fiction | Series: The\Matilda Saga Ser.

Clancy of the Overflow (#9 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens Intermediate | Series: The\Matilda Saga Ser.

From Australia's best-loved storyteller comes the final book in the bestselling Matilda Saga This is a love song to our nation, told in a single sweeping storyJed Kelly has finally persuaded her great aunt Nancy to tell the story of her grandparents. The tale that unfolds is one of Australia's greatest romances - that of Clancy of the Overflow, who gave up everything for Rose, the woman he adored, and yet still gained all he'd lost and more.But Nancy's story is not the history that Jed expects. More tales lurk behind the folklore that surrounds Clancy - the stories of the women hidden in Australia's long history, who forged a nation and whose voices need to be heard.It is also a story of many kinds of love. Clancy's growing passion for the bush, immortalised in Paterson's poem, which speaks to him in the ripple of the river and the song of the stars, and Nancy's need to pass on her deep understanding of her country.But perhaps the most moving love story of all is the one that never happened, between Matilda O'Halloran and Clancy of the Overflow. And as Jed brings all of these stories to life in her book, Matilda and Clancy will once again waltz beside the river and the forgotten will be given a new voice.PRAISE FOR THE MATILDA SAGA'An engrossing mystery story, an ode to strong women, and a moving exploration of the private wounds we carry ... The Last Dingo Summer is a must for your summer reading list' - Better Reading'The perfect read for anyone who loves immersing themselves in Australian fiction. Gripping, emotional and moving, Facing the Flame is a great book to curl up with' - New Idea'Highly recommended ... this was a complete binge, read in one night because it was just too good and too gripping to put down ... a cracking story filled with rich characters both old and new and imbued with all that we hold dear about Australian love of country and mateship' - ReadPlus ...Show more

Facing the Flame (#7 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens Intermediate | Series: The\Matilda Saga Ser.

There have been droughts before, but not like this. Heartbreaking and powerful, FACING THE FLAME is a story of the triumph of courage and community, and a love for the land so deep that not even bushfire can erode it. Gibber's Creek 1978 As grass dries and the hot wind howls, Gibber's Creek will burn. B ut if you love your country, you will fight for it. Lu Borgina has been recently blinded, but she battles flames to save a racehorse, even though her dreams of being Australia's first professional female jockey have been destroyed. Scarlett O'Hara risks her hard-won life at medical school, and the new love of Alex Romanov, to save a child. And Flinty McAlpine draws on the local knowledge of tens of thousand of years to protect her valley. And Jed Kelly must escape not just bushfire, but the man who plots to kill her with its power. ...Show more

Facing the Flame (Matilda Saga #7) by Jackie French

$29.99 AUD

Category: Fiction | Series: The Matilda Saga

There have been fires before, but not like this. Heartbreaking and powerful, FACING THE FLAME is a story of the triumph of courage and community, and a love for the land so deep that not even bushfire can erode it. Gibber's Creek, 1978 As grass dries and the hot wind howls, Gibber's Creek will burn. But if you love your country, you will fight for it. Lu Borgino has been recently blinded, but she battles flames to save a racehorse, even though her dreams of being Australia's first professional female jockey have been destroyed. Scarlett O'Hara risks her hard-won life at medical school, and the new love of Alex Romanov, to save a child. Flinty McAlpine draws on the local knowledge of tens of thousands of years to protect her valley. And Jed Kelly must escape not just bushfire, but the man who plots to kill her with its power. ...Show more

Goodbye, Mr Hitler by Jackie French

$16.99 AUD

Category: Childrens | Series: The Matilda Saga

Third title following on from the award-winning and best-selling HITLER'S DAUGHTER and PENNIES FOR HITLER. Ages: 10 years + This is the story of Johannes, and Frau Timmins, and the strange girl now known as 'Helga'. It is also the story of how they survived the death camps, the vast wilderness faced by refugees in World War Two, and how they eventually found happiness in Australia. The final title in the multi award-winning Hitler series, this compelling story follows on from Heidi's story in Hitler's Daughter and Georg's in Pennies for Hitler, and shows us that evil must be fought and won. But once you've won, the hardest and most necessary battle is to understand and forgive. And to learn how to love and live again. Ages: 10 years+ ...Show more

The Ghost by the Billabong (#5 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens | Series: The Matilda Saga

Hippies wear beads, demonstrators march against the Vietnam War, and the world waits to see the first human steps on the moon's surface. But at Gibbers Creek, Jed Kelly sees ghosts, from the past and future, at the Drinkwater billabong where long ago the swaggie leaped to his defiant death. But is seven teen - year - old Jed a con artist or a survivor? When she turns up at Drinkwater Station claiming to be the great - granddaughter of Matilda Thompson's dying husband, Jed clearly has secrets. As does a veteran called Nicholas, who was badly wounded in the Vietnam War and now must try to create a life he truly wants to live, despite the ghosts that haunt him too. Set during the turbulence of the late 1960s, this was a time when brilliant and little - known endeavours saw Australia play a vital role in Neil Armstrong's 'one giant leap for mankind' on that first unforgettable moon walk. The fifth title in the highly acclaimed Matilda Saga, The Ghost by the Billabong is a story of deep conflicts and enduring passions - for other people, for the land, and for the future of humanity. ...Show more

The Girl From Snowy River (#2 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens | Series: The Matilda Saga

In the tradition of THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER comes a gripping and courageous sequel to A WALTZ FOR MATILDA Ages:10-14 The year is 1919. Thirty years have passed since the man from Snowy River made his famous ride. But World War I still casts its shadow across a valley in the heart of Australia, particul arly for orphaned sixteen-year-old Flinty McAlpine, who lost a brother when the Snowy River men marched away to war. Why has the man Flinty loves returned from the war so changed and distant? Why has her brother Andy 'gone with cattle', leaving Flinty in charge of their younger brother and sister and with the threat of eviction from the farm she loves so dearly? A brumby muster held under the watchful eye of the legendary Clancy of the Overflow offers hope. Now Flinty must ride to save her farm, her family and the valley she loves. Set among the landscapes of the great poems of Australia, this book is a love song to the Snowy Mountains and a tribute to Australia's poets who immortalised so much of our land. The Girl from Snowy River combines passion, heartbreak, history and an enduring love and rich understanding of our land.It continues the grand saga that began with A Waltz for Matilda. Praise for A Waltz for Matilda: '...this absorbing saga abounds in social and historical detail' Magpies ...Show more

The Last Dingo Summer (Matilda Saga #8) by Jackie French

$29.99 AUD

Category: Fiction | Series: The Matilda Saga

A killer lurks behind the kindness of the Gibber's Creek community. Under the burnt timber of the church, the police have found the body of Merv Ignatious, the man who so viciously attacked Jed Kelly when she was fifteen, and tried to kill her and her unborn child in last year's bushfire. And also in th e church lie skeletons from many years ago. Newcomer Fish Johnstone refuses to believe Jed Kelly's husband, Sam McAlpine, killed Merv to save his wife and child, as the police suspect. Nor could heavily pregnant Jed have killed him nor Scarlett, who is now at last managing to leave her wheelchair to walk a few steps. But Fish must also face her own mystery -- a father who recently appeared as a Vietnamese 'boat person' refugee, but has vanished once again. As the last dingo howls on the hills above the river, Fish finds that Gibber's Creek has many secrets. And some of them are deadly. Set in the late 1970s, this haunting story shows how love and kindness can create the courage to face the past. ...Show more

To Love a Sunburnt Country (#4 Matilda Saga) by Jackie French

$19.99 AUD

Category: Childrens | Series: The Matilda Saga

In war-torn Malaya, Nancy dreams of Australia - and a young man called Michael. The year is 1942 and the world is at war. Nancy Clancy left school at fourteen to spend a year droving, just like her grandfather Clancy of the Overflow. Now sixteen, Nancys family has sent her to Malaya to bring home her si ster-in-law Moira and baby nephew Gavin. Yet despite the threat of Japanese invasion, Moira resists, wanting to stay near her husband Ben. But not even Nancy of the Overflow can stop the fall of Singapore and the capture of so many Australian troops. When their ship is bombed, Nancy, Moira and Gavin are reported missing. Back home at Gibbers Creek, Michael refuses to believe the girl he loves has died. As Darwin, Broome and even Sydney are bombed, Australians must fight to save their country. But as Michael and the families of Gibbers Creek discover, there are many ways to love your country, and many ways to fight for it. From one of Australias most-admired storytellers comes a gripping and unforgettable novel based on true events and little-known people. This is a story about ultimate survival and the deepest kinds of love. A book about a love of country that is heartwarming and heartbreaking, and hard to put down. Adelaide Advertiser, 4 stars Ages: 13 years+ ...Show more