Australia Books

These are original poems/lullabies from people living on the islands. My 7 year old loves this book. Even if you never read it all, the book is worth it for the fabulous artwork. This would be a great gift for anyone who has lived in the islands or feels connected to the sea.

In a story told by death, Zusak gives us the tale of a foster child living in Nazi Germany. Liesel finds many ways to subvert the fatherland, including stealing a book from a burning, leaving food for prisoners, and, with her family, hiding a Jewish man in the basement. Because the story is told by death, the reader is given a glimpse into Liesel's life, but also shown the wider view of an exhausted Death during World War II.

Quote: "He chose his words gradually. `Don't get caught.' This from a man who'd stolen a Jew."

I really liked this book. The idea of Death being an observer of life- given a task to do regardless of personal feelings- is very interesting. A unique tale. Additionally, there is a cast of primary and secondary characters introduced, which adds a great dimension to the story since they are all fascinating individuals. Although it is classified as "youth fiction," it is quite sizable (over 500 pages), and would be good reading for most adults.

In this book the reader is introduced to a Road Trip made by the author in the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally.Driving a modified Leyland P76 Mr. Green takes the reader on a wonderful epic journey through deserts, rain and fog.The title of this book refers to the many people Mr. Green encountered who remarked 'I woud give my right arm to go on this trip with you". The reader learns of the complexities of modifying a car in order to make this trip successfull . I found this very interesting. Sadly the author passed away a few years ago but he did leave behind some wonderful books.

While this book definitly represents a large investment. Therecan be no doubt of the fact that it is the true bible on Bordeaux.Whenever we have any question what so ever about Bordeaux, this is the book we reach for. END

Borribles are runaway children who don't want to grow up. They get their names from adventures. But the greatest adventure is The Great Rumble Hunt.After a note that gets passed to Charlotte about a horse that saved their life during the Great Rumble Hunt, Charlotte gets together with the rest of the Hunt members and tries to save the horse. When things go terribly wrong and they end up in Wendle territory, warrior borribles that would love to kill them, their only hope is to trust a borrible that was a Wendle. Will the borribles ever make it out alive??

This book was a very good book. It was really tense for me and there was always action so it kept me reading. There was a big plot that was unraveling and I tried to guess it but it was very hard because of dips and turns. The author wrote very well and it captured my imagination. I wish to see pictures of the borribles because it is hard to imagine them.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

Jamal and Bibi have a dream, to lead Australia into the next soccer world cup.Jamal and Bibi live in Afghanistan, their mother is the teacher of an illegal school and their dad is a taxi driver.The government in Afghanistan is evil and tried to blow up their house, and kill their mother, for running a school.Jamal and Bibi are in danger, so their parents decide they will travel illegally to Australia, as asylum-seekers, seeking asylum.This is the hilarious and down trodding story of a young boy and his sister fighting for their freedom and rights, rights any perople deserve to have.I highly reccomend this book.

"A Boy's War" tells of a six-year old Australian boy, son of a missionary, who went off to Chefoo boarding school in China in 1939 and didn't see his parents again until 1945. World War II intervened and he was interned by the Japanese in Weihsien camp in Shandong province, China.

This is a brief book of 170 pages, but Michell covers a lot of ground. He tells about his life at the boarding school as the clouds of war gather and Japan conquers more and more of China. Then, he endures two years of internment with more than one thousand other foreigners at Weihsein. The internees were rescued dramatically by American partroopers at the end of the war and young David undertakes an epic journey back to Australia by ship where he is reunited with his family. The author concludes by telling us about his 1985 return visit to Weihsein.

This is a missionary's story and the author affirms his faith, although not in a way that will offend the non-religious. The boy was fortunate in having many surrogate parents during his years of isolation, of whom one of the most important was Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner (recall "Chariots of Fire?") who lived and died at Weihsein. John Birch -- who inspired the radical political organization, the John Birch Society -- is a minor character in the book as he too was a "mish kid" in pre-Communist China.

Weihsien camp in China has generated a great deal of literature. Rarely have so many talented people resided together in such close quarters. "Shantung Compound" is a sociology classic by Langdon Gilkey and "The Call" by John Hersey is one of my favorite novels. "A Boy's War" is a brief introduction to missionary life in China and the experiences of foreigners trapped by war.

Smallchief

I love this book! It's so well put together, and the information is so easy to follow. It's a great guide for any new mother who is unsure at what age to give various foods to give babies. Encourages healthy eating at a young age too!

Any book which attempts to analyse the art and the life of an artist of Whiteley's magnitude has to fall short. However, this book is a good attempt and has been written by two experts on the great man's work: his former wife Wendy and Barry Pearce, curator of the Art Gallery of NSW. It contains fairly good plates of some of the artist's best work, although much is of course missing. I'd recommend this along with the aritst's own catalogues as the best place to start in any attempt to understand the artist and his work.

Parker's got an eye for humor, beauty, and the essence of Hong Kong. Here in this big art book for all ages are his drawings (technically gorgeous) of HK festivals, street life, panoramas, architecture, and people.

I always like to give a copy of this book to people who have visited or lived in Hong Kong. It captures the flavor of the place so well!

Great for kids to get "lost" in, great for adults to enjoy. Fine enough for the coffee table.