Showing results by author "Margaret Clark" in All Categories

What about all that stuff you keep reading about: the moonlit walks, waves softly kissing the sandy shore? It doesn't exist. Does it have to be a problem just because you don't want to hold your mother's hand anymore and you're not ready to hold anyone else's? Before you try to give yourself a hickey tonight, read this!

Fifteen-year-old Simone is lured by her new boyfriend with promises of a better life in a big city. On the run from a dangerous environment and her drug-addicted sister, she arrives in Palmino with stars in her eyes and hope in her heart. Simone's story is the story of a society in which no child was going to have to live in poverty: a land of milk and honey, which for some people, turns sour and is filled with despair. The way it is? Not necessarily....

Sam Studley's a bit older and wiser than when you met him in Hold My Hand - Or Else!. But it's a pity he can't say the same for his 15-year-old sister Leanne. No one seems to know where she is. Some kids are saying she's got AIDS and some are saying she's been abducted. Some are saying she's on the run to Kings Cross, some are saying she's a speed freak and gone to a drug rehab centre, and some that she's hiding out at home with chickenpox. But if living with Leanne sounds full on, you should hear about living without her!

Lennie's great-grandfather played for the Cheetahs. So did his grandfather. So did his dad. They're footy legends.

"You're a useless lump, Boxer. You'd forget your own head if it wasn't screwed on." With that sort of grief, why should Boxer stay around? He hates the new school. He's scored another detention. So what? Who cares anyway? He's not coming back. Ever.

Bullies, bras and bank robbers are all part of Patrick's crazy adventure when he is given a Polaroid camera for his birthday.

To Sam the stud, living with his sister Leanne's bad enough. But when his mother says she's getting married again - to the town cop! - Sam wishes he was anywhere else. You've got to be careful what you wish for: You might get it. Someone's pulling the moves, all right, and suddenly Sam's on a joyride heading in the opposite direction fast. Forget the white dresses, the soppy words, and the tissues - this wedding's burning rubber all the way. And it's a cack.

Filo's got girl problems! But at least they won't track him down at the Show, where he's working on his uncle's show-bag stall. Or will they? And talking about disappearing, what's happened to his Uncle Mike?

Earl wakes up one morning to find his hair sticking up like a toothbrush. He can't get it to stay down and he keeps on getting into trouble with everyone. What is he going to do?

Cattle dogs are extremely intelligent, love to work hard, and are fiercely loyal. So when Ben, the old hermit who's lived in the bush for years, suddenly vanishes, his blue heeler dog, Sheila, is very agitated, and comes to Animal Haven for help. When the Aussie Angels go back to the farm with her, there's no one round. Can Meg and Mike help Sheila to find old Ben? They spot some new tyre tracks and one of the neighbours has seen a big black Mercedes headed for the farm. So who's been visiting old Ben, and why has he disappeared without a trace?

Can Knot make his mountain-of-blubber uncle, Pharaoh Gut, lose weight? Their lives (and stress levels) depend upon it.

Why does the weasel go pop in the nursery rhyme "Pop goes the Weasel"? Jack wants to know really badly, so he asks his computer. And out pops the most amazing cyber weasel who refuses to tell!

A cockatoo is brought into Animal Haven with a broken wing. But this is no average bush cocky. This one can talk, so obviously it's someone's pet. To get some clues, the Aussie Angels try talking to it. 'Cocky want a cracker?' 'No Cocky wants a Tim Tam,' it says. So they know Cocky belongs to someone who likes chocolate. That narrows it down! But who? Trying to find this crazy cocky's owner leads to all sorts of adventures.

Silent Knight has two fears: meeting a fierce dragon and Rusting Up. When his horse Gallbladder runs off on a dark wet night, he finds that both of his fears come true....

Will he be able to hit the apple with his arrow? Willie isn't sure. He's not very good with bows and arrows, but his sister's life depends on it...

Four major stress factors: a marriage break-up, moving house, loss of income for the family, and a new school. Link James and his sister Claire get the lot! How does a boy from the wealthy side of town cope with the tough guys at Westlands? How does the bad boy tag his father gave him influence his life? The constant moving threads of Link's life up their tempo as he becomes a victim of his own perceptions and actions.

Charmwood High, and Year 8 plans to turn the school play, Romeo and Juliet, into a rock musical. Everything's moving along until someone mentions Equal Opportunity. There aren't enough roles for girls in this production. For the narrator, Peter Nutt, Equal Opportunity means more opportunities for teachers like Poxon and girls like Ravolini to get at him. And then there's Millie Miletic from the Holy Family of the Little Sisters by the Sea: she's in love!

Joan is really good at drawing. When the class bully starts to pick on her, Joan comes up with a very clever solution. She's Joan of Art, and no one can stop her!

Something's stirring Alice up, and she's usually such a placid dog. When the Green family follow her she leads them to an abandoned foal, and only Eddy the cocky seems to know where he comes from: a brumby herd led by the magnificent thoroughbred stallion Rise and Shine. Meg calls him Sunshine. With a sire like Rise and Shine, Sunshine could become a famous racehorse and win the Melbourne Cup, but would that make him happy? And do Meg and Mike want him to be a champion anyway - or just a horse?

There are lots of brushtail possums at Animal Haven and Fur Bag is the resident mischief maker. But when Ringlet the female ringtail possum is rescued, she needs special care and attention, and the Aussie Angels make sure she gets it. Then another ringtail is rescued from a flooded river and nearly causes a terrible disaster, but Boris Boola, who'd secretly like to be one of the Angels if only he could, and Carol the Camel save the day!