Showing results by narrator "Roslyn Oades" in All Categories

From Australia's best-selling female author, Sally Rippin, comes Polly and Buster - a brand new junior fiction series about the magic of friendship. Who ever heard of a witch and a monster being friends? Everyone knows that witches don't mix with monsters. Witches are educated, clever, sophisticated. But monsters? Monsters are just uncouth. Some are even dangerous. But Polly the witch and Buster the feelings monster have been best friends forever.

Green Peas is our name, and pranking’s our game! A symphony of alarm clocks at assembly? Yep, that was us. A stampede of fluffy guinea pigs? It’s next on our agenda. But for me, Cookie and Zeke, it’s about more than just fun. We’re determined to make a difference. And when the adults won’t listen, us kids will find a way to be heard—as long as we can stay out of detention! No activist is too small, no prank too big...and things are about to get personal.

As the eldest child in a single-parent family, Kylie's always had more important things on her mind than smiling for random strangers. Controlling her job, her home, her romantic life and - most importantly - her family takes all her concentration. She's always succeeded, though, because that's just who Kylie is. When her fiercely independent mother breaks an ankle and needs help, it's up to Kylie, as usual, to fix things. She reluctantly packs her bags and moves in, but back in her childhood home, things start to unravel.

The thrilling finale to the much-loved Polly and Buster trilogy, written by award-winning and best-selling author Sally Rippin. Is being best friends enough to save a whole town? Polly and Buster have always believed that witches and monsters can be friends, but it seems no-one else agrees. With the witches furious and the monsters in uproar, their whole town is heading for a war...and yet no-one realises that a much greater menace lurks nearby. Can Polly and Buster bring everyone together in time to save their town from the biggest danger of all?

Polly the witch and Buster the monster shouldn’t be friends. And they definitely shouldn’t be on the run from almost everyone in town. But when Polly is called to the Hollow Valley Mines - the forbidden, haunted mines - by her magic stones, these two best friends have a big decision to make. Do they stay hidden and safe or risk it all to save the day?

A heartwarming story about unlikely friendships from best-selling author Holly Webb. Daisy loves watching the ponies that wander wild through the woods near her home. They’re beautiful but she’s always been afraid to get too close. Then one day, to Daisy’s amazement, a pretty silvery-white pony approaches her. Can it tell how much Daisy needs a friend?

It's time for a stakeout at Topple cottage in the sixth instalment of the best-selling and very popular Truly Tan series. "Dear Diary, I am writing to you with the aid of my Magical Mystical Gazing Owl pen. You know, the one whose eyes fell out. Our neighbour Mrs Topple has gone on a cruise. I have to weed the garden and water the plants at her cottage. But mostly I’m in charge of security. A strange car has been coming and going. A shadowy figure has been spotted snooping around on the veranda. Something big is about to happen at this cottage. Just you mark my words. Truly Tan."

Brave, clever and never more than a whisker away from adventure! When the museum’s visitors are gone for the day, it’s time for the cats to come out to play. The kittens can’t wait to welcome a group of schoolchildren to the museum’s first ever sleepover! Especially Bianca, who loves people fussing over her. So when Bianca goes missing after a squabble with the other kittens, they worry that she has run away with the children. But the rats have been sniffing around the sleepover too. Could the kittens’ old enemies be behind Bianca’s disappearance?

Tan Callahan, Great Detective, is back in the exciting Truly Tan series! Tan has never been fond of the old machinery shed. It's dusty and airless, full of dark secrets and bad memories. There's a mountain of junk in there, too: broken chairs, sideboards, couches, books and overcoats. But worse still is the creepy portrait of an unnamed little girl. She has cold, dark eyes and a gloomy face. And if the girl isn't scary enough, the china doll she's holding looks downright malicious.

In Shattered to Shining, nine women and one male domestic violence survivor describe how they were shattered, as their home became a place where physical and sexual violence, emotional and psychological control dominated their lives. Through persistence and courage, they have risen above their situation and come out the other side shining with positivity, strength, commitment, and empathy for others.

When the kittens overhear their enemies, the rats, whispering about a treasure map hidden in the museum, Boris is especially excited. Could the map belong to the legendary pirate queen Diamond Nell, whose ship - The Silver Lion - is on display in the museum? And can they stop the rats from getting their claws on the pirate’s gold first?

Disgraced fashion prodigy Apple March has gone into hiding, concealing herself within the cashmere and silk folds of a formerly grand fashion boutique - the hanging of blouses and handling of difficult patrons now her only concern. But when her sister, Poppy, needs a wedding dress, old passions are reignited...along with threats from her past.

Dear Diary, I am writing to you with the aid of my Plastic Cactus novelty pen. You know, the one that is cute and stylish and hard to hold. It is winter in Peppercorn Valley and we had a bonfire. At school. At night. We also had a lantern walk - and I spied on Journey’s End. Journey’s End is the creepiest house in Peppercorn Valley. The old ladies who live there have painted weird symbols all over the outside walls. Why? What could those symbols mean? Are the old ladies in danger? I have a hunch they are and my hunches always lead to adventure. Truly Tan.

Transported to the land of Tuscia, Sophie accidentally saves the daughter of a wealthy family and is swept along on their journey to the Golden Tower. Now she is the only one standing between sisters Isabella and Bia and the terrible fate their stepmother has planned. Sophie doesn’t think she is brave enough, but with the help of a talking cat, a stableboy and some very tiny mischief-makers, she might be able to save the day.

I wonder if the first day of Learning is always like this - do the girls on the hill always feel the ground tremble under their feet? Leira is about to start her initiation as a priestess when her world is turned upside down. A violent earthquake leaves her home - and her family - in pieces. And the goddess hasn't finished with the island yet. With her family, Leira flees across the sea to Crete, expecting sanctuary. But a volcanic eruption throws the entire world into darkness.

One stormy night, a little black kitten appears on the museum steps. Tabby cat Tasha is delighted to show Peter the museum's passageways and secret corners, but the other cats aren't as keen to welcome the new arrival. Determined to prove that Peter is just as much of a museum cat as any of the others, Tasha takes him on a rat hunt. But the pair’s quest almost ends in disaster when they find themselves in the Dinosaur Gallery, with its famous T-Rex skeleton.

Sophie returns to the magical land of Tuscia and is instantly thrown into danger—Nanna and Caterina Rossellana have been kidnapped. To save them, Sophie and Nicco must team up with a theatre troupe who are performing for the Mago, in the city across the Silver Sea. Can Sophie unravel the political intrigues of Venetto and save the grandmothers? Or will she fall foul of the evil Mago and be thrown into the dungeons to be eaten by the Mostro of the Dark Waters?

Tan investigates the weird, strange and highly suspicious actions of the grade four teacher in the next adventure from the best-selling Truly Tan series. Tan is cool, courageous and clever. But she's in for a shock!

This is the story of an adventurer who never gave up - who set herself incredible challenges beyond her years and experience. An adventurer who endured extremes of cold and blizzards; tackled treacherous terrain where one wrong step could be fatal; struggled through sastrugi, ice rubble and emotional lows to achieve an extraordinary goal. Along the way, she made a sandwich for online trolls, inspired young people and made international headlines. At 16, Jade Hameister became the youngest person in history to complete the Polar Hat Trick.

The Adventures of Bigsy the Little Horse is a fable full of life lessons. It is a story about how being the exception shouldn’t stop you being exceptional. Great achievements can happen if you always have the courage to try. This is a story for children and adults alike - sure to bring magic, laughter and a bit of Bigsy’s indomitable spirit to all who listen.