The Victoria Cross (VC) is only ever awarded in times of war to people who risk their own lives to save others – the most heroic act imaginable. This is why the Victoria Cross is held in such high esteem. The Victoria Cross is not given out lightly. Only ninety-nine Australians, of the one and …
Non-fiction
For Valour: Australia’s Victoria Cross Heroes, by Nicolas Brasch
Non-fiction, Younger Readers
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Apr 252013
RSPCA Bumper Book of Pets and other Animals by Alexandra Hirst
Non-fiction, Younger Readers
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Apr 242013
There are no prizes for guessing what this book is about – it’s all in the title. ‘Bumper Book of Pets and other Animals’ has chapters on Pets, Farmyard Animals and Wildlife. Two thirds of the book is dedicated to pets, and covers the responsibilities of pet ownership as well as tips on different breeds and their particular requirements and behaviours. From the popular dogs and cats, to fish, reptiles, ferrets and more, there is something for every pet lover. Fun Stuff offers jokes and other activities all designed to increase knowledge of animals and their lives. Photos provide illustration throughout.
Great Anzac Stories, by Graham Seal
Non-fiction
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Mar 102013
Talk about go! We did go. We could only just see the enemey, as it was only break of day. You ought to have heard the cheer when they gave us the word to charge. You could have heard it for miles if you could have stopped to listen. Some were saying (or roaring), ‘Come …
Feb 232013
Maddy and Jack are going on a journey into space. They’re counting down and taking off on a rocket trip through the solar system. Along the way thy are going show readers what they see and share lots of intriguing facts. Starting at the Sun, and going past Earth’s Moon, the travellers then stop at …
Bethlehem’s Warrior Baby, by Ray Hawkins
Non-fiction
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Dec 212012
Reviewed by Dale Harcombe This book of 31 devotions is a little gem. It would be ideal advent project in the lead up to Christmas. Each devotion has a short bible passage or two, a meditation on the text, a prayer and a gift (read – suggestion of how it could be applied.) There are …
Heart of Stone, by Michael Chamberlain
Non-fiction
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Nov 282012
It was obvious to us, and our fellow campers, that Azaria had been taken by a dingo. Aboriginal trackers confirmed this, as did the finding of the Coroner Denis Barritt at the inquest. How then did my wife Lindy come to be convicted of murder and to be sentenced to life imprisonment at a trial …
A Youth Not Wasted, by Ian Parkes
Non-fiction
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Nov 262012
How can mere red dirt and stones and scrubby trees and shrubs and rises and fall sin the land and haze and a vast blue sky be so potent? Such was its power, even in intense heat, even at night, sometimes, especially at night, the landscape seized you. Ian Parkes grew up listening to – …
Oct 232012
Bodies slick with sweat, we walked in silence. To talk was to waste energy. I looked at my father’s face, searching for something that would reassure me. But all I saw was fear. Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die, don’t die. I chanted the words in my head like a mantra. At an age when …
Aug 212012
‘But I can’t sleep, I shrieked. What if this is a horrible mistake? What if I can’t think of any times I’ve been anxious? What if I haven’t been anxious enough to write a book about anxiety?’<br>T propped himself up on one elbow, rolled his eyes and gave me a pitying smile. ‘Kerri, if there …
Jul 192012
I began really learning to cook in my mid-twenties, at about the same time as I began really learning to write. I have only recently wondered if there is a link between these two things, other than the circumstances in which I found myself: an idle university student in possession of time for dawdling, some …
