AustLit

'As Flynn watched everyone having fun, sadness swarmed inside him, and then, he spotted the bird. Weightless. Free. It skated across the sun-splashed sky, painting the earth below with its shadow.

'That’s how I want to be, thought Flynn.

'A sensitive and nurturing story about a boy who is finding life difficult after being confined to a wheelchair. Flynn’s story will inspire children and adults to look beyond their current situation and to dream for their own greatness and freedom.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bessie’s War takes a look at the part women on the home front played in World War 1. Bessie is frustrated because her brothers and father are off fighting the war and she is stuck at home feeling like she can offer no help. When she discovers that the soldiers need socks she enlists the help of her whole class to knit socks for the war.' (Publication Summary)

"The boy from upstairs plays in the yard. His name is Matata. I call him Mate for short. When I see him I shout, 'Hello Mate!', but he doesn't join in my games."

'When Mate moves in upstairs, he has an instant friend. But Mate is shy and learning to adapt to a new home. There's a new family downstairs too. A secret family. Where have the families come from and what happens when the downstairs family goes missing? Where will their silver treasures lead?

'A celebration of the power of friendship in the face of displacement and loneliness.' (Publication summary)

'Innocent about the meaning of war and looking for adventure along with so many others, Aidan Jackson, known as Jack, sets out for Gallipoli with his bugle. He becomes best mate to Harry, who later brings Jack’s bugle home.

'This book is a salute to the men at Anzac Cove. It’s a hymn to the mateship and camaraderie shared in the sands of Egypt, and the trenches. And amidst the bullet fire, it’s always mates looking after mates with loyalty and sacrifice.

'Ever present in the story is the bugle; Jack’s Bugle, that brought something singular to the men at Gallipoli and which remained along with a bent photo, the only reminder for Harry of his friend.' (Publication summary)