Showing results by publisher "Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd" in All Categories

Queenie Kenney seems born to suffer. Her mum dies giving birth to her, her drunken father George ignores her unless he is cursing her, and only her beloved Auntie Biddy provides an anchor for the little girl. And after her aunt dies, there is no one to protect Queenie from her father, who blames his daughter for her mother’s death. But in spite of hardship, Queenie grows tall and strikingly beautiful with her deep grey eyes and her abundant honey-coloured hair. Love, in the shape of Rick Marsden, might release her from the burden of the drink-sodden George.

Stare if you dare, into Paul Jennings' wild world. How will you stop a thousand rabbits breeding in your bedroom?

Jessie's friends from the Realm beg her to return and help them with a problem. Magic is thick in the air, and the terrifying griffins that guard the Realm's treasure house are out of control! The tiny, beautiful flower fairies play an important part in Jessie's clever plan to stop the griffins. But then the fairies themselves fall into a new and terrible danger, and only Jessie can save them.

An exciting new animal series for children, set in the magical Blossom Wood... Join the Unicorns of Blossom Wood on their many adventures!

The gnomes of the magical Fairy Realm are in trouble, and not even the Queen's magic can help them! Jessie and her friends must travel to the Hidden Valley to solve the gnomes' terrible problem. Along the way, they journey through a part of the Realm Jessie's never seen before - and meet the delightful furrybears of Brill! The Last Fairy-Apple Tree is the fourth exciting adventure in Emily Rodda's magical Fairy Realm series.

"Mr Brainfright is a teacher at Northwest Southeast Central School. He teaches Grade Five and in his class is a student called Henry McThrottle who likes telling stories. That's me. I'm Henry McThrottle and this is my latest story. It's about an evil pencil, a runaway lion, an avalanche and falling out of windows. I hope you like it."

Josephine Alibrandi is 17 and in her final year of school. Dealing with her mum and the ways of her Nonna are daunting enough as she prepares for her exams. But Josie is about to discover real life gets in the way of her carefully-made plans.

Specky can't wait to get to the country and have the chance to play grassroots football for the first time...against adults. But more is at stake than the outcome of just one game.

Who is Razorback Jack, the mysterious footy hero that Specky keeps hearing about? And what are the boys back at Booyong High up to? Can the massive underdogs, the Rivergum Redfins, serve it up to the Bull Ants? We have got a game on our hands this afternoon....

The 13th hilarious audiobook in the ever-popular Tom Gates series! Having two sets of grandparents is turning out to be VERY GOOD for me. The wrinkles are KEEN on giving presents, AND they're planning a FAMILY OUTING, too, which is going to be EPIC! Delia wants to come as well. (Why?) I can always ignore her.

Australia's national character and spirit have always been defined, rightly or wrongly, by 'the bush'. This entertaining, thought-provoking, humorous, nostalgic, and, above all, highly readable collection of stories for the modern reader shows why the romance endures.

From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific Australian authors, comes a collection of classic and iconic stories from the remote outback, cattle station, wheat farm, and rural town. The bush is where our iconic characters are found living in, taking refuge or exploring, whether an Aborigine, explorer, squatter, bushranger, or stockman.

"I'm only going to say this once more," said Dad, "so listen very carefully. We are not ever, under any circumstances, going to Australia." What does a kid do when his Mum and Dad are misery guts? Move them to a tropical paradise, decides Keith. That'll cheer them up. It's a brilliant plan, if he can pull it off.

On a country property a man named Holland lives with his daughter Ellen. Over the years, as she grows into a beautiful young woman, he plants hundreds of different gum trees on his land. When Ellen is nineteen her father announces his decision: she will marry the man who can name all the species of eucalypt, down to the last tree. Suitors emerge from all corners, including the formidable, straight-backed Mr Cave, world expert on the varieties of eucalypt.

On the afternoon of 8 April 1802, in the remote southern ocean, two explorers had a remarkable chance encounter. Englishman Matthew Flinders and Frenchman Nicolas Baudin had been sent by their governments on the same quest: to explore the uncharted coast of the great south land and find out whether the west and east coasts, four thousand kilometres apart, were part of the same island. And so began the race to compile the definitive map of Australia.

CEW Bean's wartime reports and photographs mythologised the Australian soldier and helped spawn the notion that the Anzacs achieved something nation-defining on the shores of Gallipoli and the battlefields of western Europe. In his quest to get the truth, Bean often faced death beside the Diggers in the trenches of Gallipoli and the Western Front – and saw more combat than many. But did Bean tell Australia the whole story of what he knew?

A silver brumby is special, but he will be hunted by man and horse alike, and must be stronger than both.... Thowra, the magnificent silver stallion, is king of brumbies. But he must defend his herd from the mighty horse, The Brolga, in the most savage of struggles. That is not the only danger. Thowra needs all his speed and cunning to save his herd from capture by man. In a desperate chase through mountains, it seems there is no longer anywhere for him to run to....

Great tales of the turf, from Jorrocks to Black Caviar. Jim Haynes loves the sport of kings nearly as much as he loves bush yarns, and in this volume he brings these two great loves together in the biggest book of Australian racing stories ever. Full of tall tales and true, laughter, romance and heartbreak, and chock-a-block with the best Australian racing stories, verses and yarns, Jim tells of the great champions, the tragedies, and the unique characters (equine and human) of the track.

One bright spring morning in the woods of France, a soldier, blinded by the war, is found by a little girl named Coco, and her older sister Marcelle. In return for their kindness, the soldier tells the sisters marvelous tales, each story connected to the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a perfect, tiny, silver donkey.

When Emily Oliphant married John Stratten, she thought it was the beginning of an exciting new adventure - standing shoulder to shoulder with the most eligible farmer in the district and pitching in to build a thriving agricultural business. Three years later, however, Emily sees her marriage for what it is - a loveless tie to a callous man. When John's cruelty reaches new heights, Emily is forced to move out, braving both her husband's wrath and her mother's glaring disapproval.

Despite the fierce, and seemingly personal, objections of secretary Gerald Hadleigh, members of the Midsomer Worthy Writers' Circle press ahead and invite bestselling author Max Jennings to talk to their group. Besides, it's not as though he'll say yes. So when Jennings turns up to their meeting, they are completely over-awed by his presence. But before the evening is over, Gerald has been brutally murdered. Summoned to investigate, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby discovers that Gerald's life was as much of a mystery to his neighbours as his violent death.

"This story does not begin on a boat." So commences Alice Pung’s memoir. This is an original take on a classic story - how a child of immigrants moves between two cultures. In place of piety and predictability, however, Unpolished Gem offers a vivid and ironic sense of both worlds. It combines the story of Pung’s life growing up in suburban Footscray with the inherited stories of the women in her family - stories of madness, survival, and heartbreak. Original and brave, this is a girl’s own story that introduces an unforgettable voice and captures the experience of Asian immigrants to Australia.