Australian Kids

All the excitement and fun of Christmas is brilliantly portrayed in these stories and songs, full of all the joy and spirit of the festive season. From the much-loved 'Eloise at Christmastime' brilliantly told by actor Sophie Lee to the rollicking 'Crisis on Christmas Eve' humorously told by Mark Mitchell, children will love this special collection. Join actor Jane Clifton as she sings 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' and Kym Lardner and friends telling a beautiful version of the traditional Christmas nativity story.

A prequel story to The Adventures of Nanny Piggins.

In the middle of the night, Sam is woken by angry voices from the apartment above. He goes to the window to see what's happening—only to hear a struggle, and see a body fall from the sixth-floor balcony. Pushed, Sam thinks. Sam goes to wake his father, Harry, a crime reporter, but Harry is gone. And when Sam goes downstairs, the body is gone, too. But someone has seen Sam, and knows what he's witnessed. The next twenty-four hours could be his last.

Perched high on the snowy slopes of the Mabombo Ranges lies The Grandest Hotel on Earth. It's wilder than the African savanna, more fantastical than Disneyland and more magical than Shangri-la. So when ordinary 11-year-old Vincent meets the hotel's young Florence, he sets off on a path leading into his most wondrous dreams. But, of course, dreams have a funny way of taking strange and surprising turns, and, before long, Vincent is torn between right and wrong, friendship and family and the most enticing of desires—to see into the future.

Australia is home to some of the most unusual animals in the world. Did you know, millions of years ago, all the continents were clumped into one large landmass? When the continents began to break away, South America, Antarctica, and Australia were still stuck together. Later, South America connected to North America, but Australia separated. It kept evolving in isolation, which is why the animals of Australia can look very different from animals anywhere else in the world.