Cirrus@Austlit

Handicapped by cerebral palsy and overprotected by his parents, a twelve-year-old, left alone for the first time, in a desperate need to exert his independence, does precisely what he has been forbidden to do.

(Source: Trove)

Matt saves a young galah and his growing attachment to the bird leads him to a greater concern - saving the huge gum trees on the recreation ground on which the birds perch. (Source: Trove)

'Tim, a young Australian boy, loves the windmill on his father's farm, but is scared to climb it.

When Tim's father injures his back the windmill's future is threatened unless Tim can conquer his fear and brave the magpies too that haunt the top of the windmill.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sometimes when Lexie fingered a string of shells she had been given as a little girl, she felt strange memories stir. It was as if something very precious was buried away in her own mind. Great-great Aunt Rita's old shell necklace carries a power that Lexie can't possibly know. Then, when it leads her to a new friend, she and Merrina enter the secret gully where Merrina's people live.But the gully holds a terrible secret, as old as the necklace itself. Will Lexie be strong enough, as she relives the nightmare her Aunt Rita endured?This deeply moving classic by one of our great children's writers is part fantasy, part history, and one hundred percent masterpiece.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (UQP reprint).

The first of P.L. Travers's novels about the magical nanny, Mary Poppins.

When Katie Nana, the much-tried nanny to the Banks family of 17 Cherry Tree Lane, finally storms out in a huff, the wind blows in Mary Poppins and her carpetbag. The Banks children find that Mary Poppins is stern, vain, and usually cross – but also has a touch of magic about her.

'After ten years of happy marriage, Joy Miller, a young Australian woman, overcomes the reluctance of her husband to return to his native Germany. There she discovers the truth about his family background and his Nazi upbringing.' (Publisher's blurb)

'First published in 1949 as the sequel to the award-winning "The Harp in the South", this novel continues the story of the Darcy family of Sydney. The author also wrote "Swords and Crowns and Rings", which won the Miles Franklin Award.' (Publication summary)

'Amid the brothels, grog shops and run-down boarding houses of inner-city Surry Hills, money is scarce and life is not easy. Crammed together within the thin walls of Twelve-and-a-Half Plymouth Street are the Darcy family: Mumma, loving and softhearted; Hughie, her drunken husband; pipe-smoking Grandma; Roie, suffering torments over her bitter-sweet first love; while her younger sister Dolour learns about life the hard way.' (Book description from publisher's website.)