More than 20 years after publication of the classic NZ story, The Bantam and the Soldier, Jennifer Beck and Robyn Belton have joined forces again to produce another heartwarming story from the First World War.

This time it’s the true story of Otago’s Alexander Aitken and the violin that travelled with him on his wartime journey, bringing music and solace to his fellow ANZACs.

Celebrate the extraordinary men and women
who have shaped Australia's history.

Nancy Bird Walton grew up during the golden age of aviation. By the time she was 13, Nancy knew she wanted to fly. When she was 18 Nancy studied under the famous aviator Charles Kingsford Smith.

This is the story of how Nancy began her career as Australia's first female commercial pilot.

EARLY MORNING, 1 DECEMBER 1876:

There is something about this morning — a quiet in the hills, a shiver in the air — something that prickles the nose of the stockman's horse.

A DRAMATIC shipwreck
a DARING rescue
an ASTONISHING true story

An evocative retelling of the wreck of the SS Georgette off the coast of Western Australia in 1876, this inspiring account chronicles the heroic efforts of 16-year-old Grace Bussell and Sam Isaacs, an Aboriginal stockman.

Lavishly illustrated, this mixed media book  depicts Bussell and Isaacs as they rescue 50 passengers and crew.

1945 was a hard time to be a child in Japan. Many had seen their cities destroyed by US bombers. Food, fuel and materials were in short supply. Yet spirits remained high.

In April 1945, Yoko Moriwaki started high school in Hiroshima, excited to be a prestigious 'Kenjo' girl and full of duty towards her parents, school and country. But the country was falling apart and in four months time her city would become the target for the first atomic bomb ever used as a weapon.

In her diary, Yoko provides an account of that time — when conditions were so poor that children as young as twelve were required to work in industry; when fierce battles raged in the Pacific and children like Yoko believed victory was near.

With additions by Yoko's relatives and fellow students, and an introduction by award-winning author Paul Ham, Yoko's Diary not only shows us the hopes, beliefs and daily life of a young girl in wartime Japan, it is a touching account of the consequences of the first nuclear bombing of a city. 

Sidney Nolan is one of Australia's most admired and recognised visual artists. This is the story of how he developed his iconic Ned Kelly series of paintings, brought modernist art to Australia and took Australian art to an admiring international audience.

32-pp softcover.

Celebrate the extraordinary men and women
who have shaped Australia's history.

Captain Cook was the first European to discover the eastern coast of Australia. Along with his crew on the HMB Endeavour, Cook set out from England with royal orders to look for signs of the great southern land known as Terra Australis, which they chartered in 1788.

Celebrate the extraordinary men and women
who have shaped Australia's history.

The perfect book for kids learning about Ned Kelly and his gang. Ned Kelly was a notorious bushranger. He lived in Australia's earliest days. He was daring and clever and bold. In a suit made of iron he battled police. And his story is still being told.

Meet Torty! She’s one tough little tortoise with a beat-up shell and some missing toes.

Torty survived a great war that raged in Europe 100 years ago. Torty was rescued back then by a young Kiwi soldier. She is a World War One survivor!

This extraordinary story about the friendship between Captain Arthur Phillip and Indigenous man Bennelong is one of Australia's most important and intriguing stories, yet remains largely unknown.

56-pp softcover. Primary.

William Bligh unpeels the layers of some of the most incredible circumstances in Australia's colonial history.

Some people may have heard of the famous mutiny on the bounty; others may have heard of the rum rebellion coup; but the details in and around these events are largely unknown and truly extraordinary. This is precisely what the latest book reveals.

Beautifully written by Michael Sedunary and complimented with the stunning artwork of Australia's most prominent ceramic artist Bern Emmerichs — this is an exceptional book.

Based on the true story of a quilt made by convict women
on board the Rajah, bound for Australia.

Lizzie Flynn has nothing but her name when she boards the Rajah bound for the penal colony of Australia. On board, the convict women were given a 'useful bag' containing, among other things, fabric and needle and thread. They were taught to sew, and together they made the Rajah quilt, which is currently housed in the National Library.

Claire Saxby, illus Elizabeth Newcombe. 32-pp hardcover. Primary.

As a boy, David Cox lived in the dusty outback on a sheep station. His lessons came in a brown envelope from the Correspondence School, but out of doors his father was his teacher. David learned the stockman's skills of riding horses and mustering sheep and cattle; and when they were out riding his father would tell stories about old times. Sometimes they would repair stockyards or fences, and when the job was done his father would step back and say, 'Well, it's good enough for a sheep station.'

David Cox concludes the moving story of his country childhood that began with The Road to Goonong and continued with The Fair Dinkum War.