The Ratbags are on holiday on the trash-filled Scum Island, where everything is just how the ratbags like it – terrible! Even cats are kept in line by a high-flying falcon, who puts on a show for the ratbags! But when Cracker is carried away to the falcon’s lair, Jigsaw starts to worry... is the pesky falcon a feathery friend or foe? One thing’s for sure, with the ratbags in town, the holiday is packed with action, danger and VERY bad manners.
An incredible collection of true crime characters from Australia's master storyteller. The bold, the bad, and the slightly mad... Criminality, some say, is part of Australia's national identity, and in Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags Jim Haynes profiles fifteen larger-than-life Aussie rogues - some of our greatest ne'er-do-wells from colonial times to the modern era. These stories uncover the truth and expose the myths about characters ranging from the most despicable examples of humanity, to those whose courage has to be admired and whose so-called 'crimes' were unjustly punished. This fascinating collection features felons who have sprung from Australia's underbelly since 1788, such as the infamous Kate Leigh of the razor gangs; the convict Mary Bryant, who in 1791 escaped from the Sydney penal settlement and somehow made it back to England; James Hardy Vaux, who was sent to Australia no less than three times; Henry James O'Farrell, the madman who attempted to murder Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868; and John Leak, who was repeatedly charged with insolence, disobedience and being absent without leave in World War I - and awarded the Victoria Cross. Told with Jim's inimitable combination of history and humour, Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags is packed with murders, mystery and miscreants: true stories of true criminals from Australia's past. 'entertaining . . . highly readable . . . you will find some genuinely amazing new facts and insights.' ArtsHub
The ratbags are on holiday on the trash-filled Scum Island, where everything is just how the ratbags like it - terrible! Even cats are kept in line by a high-flying falcon, who puts on a show for the ratbags! But when Cracker is carried away to the falcon's lair, Jigsaw starts to worry... is the pesky falcon a feathery friend or foe? One thing's for sure, with the ratbags in town, the holiday is packed with action, danger and VERY bad manners.
He’s the first teacher to cook us breakfast. Is his spark-maker beetle really that dangerous? I heard he drank yak’s milk in Mongolia. He’s the only person who isn’t afraid of Canteen Carol. My mum says he used to be in the circus. The class in room 12B has a new teacher, and nothing is ever going to be the same . . .
What are the 79 wackiest excuses for being late to school? How do you stop a maniac dentist from terrorising children? Why is the new smartphone so ridiculously dumb? And what does it take to get every single student at Milford Junior School put on detention? Find out in this hilarious collection of short stories. One thing is guaranteed - you will NEVER pick the endings!
A young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and, in the face of tragedy, finds strength in new friendships. Poignantly told from the child’s perspective, Sister Heart affirms the power of family and kinship. Suitable for ages 10–15, this compelling novel about the stolen generations helps teachers sensitively introduce into the classroom one of world’s most confronting histories.
Climbing Glass is a unique personal view of climbing, climbers and Tasmanian and Australian climbing and mountaineering from a personal perspective from the 1970s to 2010s. Coverings climbs and expeditions in Tasmania, Greenland, Australia, K2 and Antarctica from the 1970s on.
Have you ever been followed home by a giant seagull? What are the 79 craziest excuses for talking in class? What happens when the pages of a book go to war against each other? And why is a simple chicken soup recipe one of life's more difficult tasks? Find out in this hilarious collection of short stories. One thing is guaranteed - you will NEVER pick the endings!
For the most part we inherit our opinions. We are the heirs of habitsand mental customs. Our beliefs, like the fashion of our garments, depend on where we were born. We are moulded and fashioned by oursurroundings. Environment is a sculptor---a painter. If we had been born in Constantinople, the most of us would have said: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet." If our parentshad lived on the banks of the Ganges, we would have been worshipers ofSiva, longing for the heaven of Nirvana. As a rule, children love their parents, believe what they teach, andtake great pride in saying that the religion of mother is good enoughfor them. Most people love peace. They do not like to differ with their neighbors.They like company. They are social. They enjoy traveling on the highwaywith the multitude. They hate to walk alone. (...) Belief is not subject to the will. Men think as they must. Children donot, and cannot, believe exactly as they were taught. They are notexactly like their parents. They differ in temperament, in experience, in capacity, in surroundings. And so there is a continual, though almostimperceptible change. There is development, conscious and unconsciousgrowth, and by comparing long periods of time we find that the old hasbeen almost abandoned, almost lost in the new. Men cannot remainstationary. The mind cannot be securely anchored. If we do not advance, we go backward. If we do not grow, we decay. If we do not develop, weshrink and shrivel. - Taken from "Why Am I An Agnostic" written by Robert Green Ingersoll
Toffle Towers hotel has been run by a Toffle for over one hundred years – and it’s about to be inherited by the next generation. Chegwin Toffle is only ten years old. But he isn’t going to let that stop him from turning this run-down hotel into a success. Chegwin is determined to transform Toffle Towers from a boring hotel for grown-ups into an incredibly exciting destination for children (and their families). But running a hotel isn’t easy. Chegwin has a lot to learn, and his tendency to drift off into daydreams isn’t helping. Chegwin has plenty of ideas. But can he turn his madcap daydreams into reality?
