Showing results by publisher "Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd" in Growing Up & Facts of Life

Owen and his mum are struggling. It’s just the two of them now and they’re finding it difficult to ask for the help they need. When Owen discovers a battered old war memorial in the local park, he finds great comfort in confessing his worries to the war-weary stone soldier. No matter what Owen says, the soldier just sits and listens, and most days that’s all Owen needs.

After Saffron discovers that she's adopted, life is never quite the same. Her artistic parents and doting siblings adore her, but Saffy wants a piece of her past. So when her grandfather bequests her a stone angel—a relic from the childhood she never knew—Saffy knows she has to find it. Realising that Siena holds the key, she stows away on a car trip to Italy. The rest of the family are engaged in their own wacky projects.

Hen dreams of becoming a spell tailor, stitching magic into clothing like his beloved Nana. But thanks to new factories, spell tailors are struggling. His Uncle Bertie’s fancy shop has shut down, and when he, Aunt Lucia and stuck-up cousin Connie move in, it’s a disaster for all the family. Then Hen stumbles upon a new kind of stitch—one which causes Nana and Bertie to ban him from sewing. What is the power of the stitch that can sew memories into clothes—and could it be the very thing to save them all?

When Lissa spends the summer with her dad on his boathouse, she can’t help but feel a little lonely. She misses her mum and sister back home, and her dad’s job means that he can’t spend as much time with her as she’d hoped. Then one morning during a paddle boarding lesson, she spots a lost seal pup in the river trying to find its way home. Lissa wants to help her, but can she protect the young seal without scaring her away?

It was strange how staring at things could alter their appearance. Miranda thought it was weird how she could transmute quite ordinary things into images. It was no good. What with Grandma looking after the family, little Jimmy to care for, her sister's baby bellowing in the middle of the night - not to mention Yvette's creep of a boyfriend Dave - it was no wonder Miranda had started to see things. Trouble is, it soon starts to get a bit out of hand, and it's about time they all discovered what is really going on.

Peter, a new boy at Park Ridge school, is thankful to be rescued from the school bullies by Anton the Swashbuckler. Even if Anton does speak in such a weird way and wears outlandish garments. After this Peter and Anton become firm friends and discover that they each have family problems. Together they turn those problems into challenges to be tackled in true Swashbuckler style.

Two more stories from the fantastically fun, magical cycling adventure series, Flying Fergus. The Winning Team: The Hercules' Hopefuls are going to the Nationals, and not even Wallace's Winners competing too can wipe the smiles off their faces. The Cycle Search and Rescue: After their amazing win at the National Championships alongside the Wallace's Winners, Fergus and the rest of the Hercules' Hopefuls are keen to get back to training as a team.

When the neighbors are forced to sell the farm, Chris is desperate to own the cows he has been milking. But Chris' Dad cannot cope with the idea! Then, one moonlit night, Chris sneaks out and follows the cow Petal on a wild rampage to...a mob of motherless cabbage patch babies. Will Chris get to keep his cows? Will he be able to look after this new crop of cabbage patch babies? Will their mothers ever come back?

Megan kept drawing. The drawing seemed to have a mind of its own. She felt herself begin to panic. She wanted to stop. But her hand didn’t stop. Please, could she stop. Stop! Megan is obsessed with drawing fantastical creatures, and she shares her drawings with her best friend Li who writes stories to go with the pictures. They are kindred spirits with big creative dreams. One day everyone in town – except Megan and Li – is immobilised by a strange glow coming from their devices.

Beloved characters hunt monsters, stop cheese thieves, and find their purr in this collection of delightful animal stories. Many of the stories show characters overcoming their fears, learning how to say sorry, and solving important problems, like how to get a good night's sleep! These laugh-out-loud stories, from beloved storyteller and illustrator Tim Warnes, will have the whole family listening.

Cadmium Casson is 12 years old the summer that everything changes. Not only are her closest friendships in jeopardy, but her mum is expecting a baby. And when the baby arrives early, Caddy's world turns upside down. Her mother spends all her time at the hospital, and her father takes over the household, which of course turns into one chaotic (though hilarious) crisis after the next. When her charmingly dense boyfriend dumps her, Caddy is at her wits' end. Then she discovers that the fragile baby she is so afraid of losing is not an ending, but a beginning for her whole family.

Rose knows that nothing stays the same forever. Still, it's hard to watch her sisters and brother growing up and moving so far ahead of her. Caddy is back, but she's not living at home. And worse—she's broken up with Darling Michael. Saffy and Indigo are so busy, they are seldom home. With her father in London and her mother painting in the shed, Rose is often alone in the house. Maybe that's why she agrees to her new friend Molly's crazy scheme. At least it seems crazy when Rose finds herself locked in the zoo at night with a roaring tiger.

When Willow witnesses her animal-loving father, Silas, get kidnapped by a group of foxes and a huge wolf-like creature, she pursues them into the woods. There she meets wolves who tell her they know her father. Together they boldly enter the enormous tower the foxes have built deep in the forest. In the tower Willow discovers the dark project of the chief fox, Reynard, to create new life forms from magical clay buried in the Deep Forest where few can enter.

It's Valentines Day and everything's changing in the Casson household. Indigo sets out to do something special to win over Sarah and ends up organising the Valentines Day disco and playing cupid. Saffy has a strange new boyfriend who teaches her all about the stars. Sarah falls very ill—when she can no longer laugh it off Saffy gets scared. And Caddy has fallen in love and is getting married...but not to Michael. With a wedding to plan everything's a little crazier than usual in the Casson household.

Indigo's going back to school after a long bout of glandular fever. He's not looking forward to it, as he knows the bullies will be waiting for him. But he's determined to stand on his own two feet—so when Saffy and Sarah break up a fight in the boys' bathroom, he's furious. Until he meets Tom. Tom is over from the States for a term, staying with his gran while his family sort out their own problems back home. He loves music and joking and is unfazed by the bullies.

Lissadell House, Sligo, 1915. In the Big House, young housemaid Lily feels life is changing for everyone—and she fears for her new friend Sam and his choices. Plans are also being made for Maeve de Markievicz, daughter of the famous Countess, whether she likes it or not. Can Lily help her friend without getting into too much trouble? All the while, Lily knows she has a chance to grab hold of her own special dreams, as long as nothing goes wrong. With friendship they can face anything.

Pip the labrador puppy is learning the skills he needs to be an assistance dog for Kayla, a young girl in a wheelchair. He’s desperate to have a human of his very own, but will Kayla want his help? And how will he get his Resist Temptation badge and become an assistance dog if he can’t stop himself from chasing any ball that moves?

Ruth, Naomi, Rachel and Phoebe Conroy are all struggling to deal with the trials and tribulations of first love(s). Ruth develops a crush on the school bus driver, but finds herself conflicted when she also develops feelings for Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre, the temporary English teacher (who Naomi is also smitten with) and Alan Adair who works in the butcher's shop. Meanwhile, the younger two sisters have other things on their minds—Rachel is plotting to become May Queen at her school and Phoebe is in training to become an international spy.

Nothing ever happens in World's End Close. So when Stevie discovers a runaway girl in her coal shed, the first thing she does is fetch her best friend, Ray. Both are dying for a bit of adventure, and when the girl begs for help, they readily agree. Yet they soon realise they've taken on more than they bargained for. The girl, Anna, reveals she's on the run from people who are trying to poison her. Meanwhile, on the news, the Americans and Russians are arguing over missiles in Cuba. As the threat of war grows, Anna's behaviour becomes more mysterious.

With his space-pod destroyed, the Star Boy is adapting to life on Earth with help from his friends Kiki and Wes, but Kiki's long list of don'ts is a constant reminder of how hard it is to pass for a convincing human. But more troubling for the Star Boy is the strange pings and pangs he's experiencing, and the hard-to-hide electrical surges that are worrying his human rescuers. And when the Star Boy accidentally channels his true form on to the whiteboard of every class at Riverside Academy, things reach a whole new level of panic.