Cirrus@Austlit

'Captain Cook's goat is the first of many historical animals to bring the past to life. the HM Bark Endeavour is sailing to tahiti to map the transit of Venus, but there are rumours that once the task is completed, Lieutenant James Cook has a set of secret orders - orders that command him to search for the Great South Land. Isaac is twelve and has joined the crew of the Endeavour as a master's servant, good for scrubbing decks and not much else. He's certainly not considered good enough to fetch hay for the Goat who will provide fresh milk for Cook and his officers. And this goat even has more experience at sea than Isaac - she has already sailed around the world once, watching the ocean and lands slip by from her spot on the quarterdeck. Over the months on board the Endeavour, a friendship grows between the Goat and Isaac, one that will last through shipwreck, bushfire and illness. A friendship that helps in the discovery of exotic new lands ... Ages 9 - 13' (Publication summary)

'The story of the famous Burke and Wills expedition ... as it has never been told before.

'The humans called him 'Bell Sing', but to the other camels he is known as 'He Who Spits Further Than the Wind'.

'Transported from the mountains and deserts of the 'Northwest Frontier' (present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan), Bell Sing accompanies explorers Burke and Wills as they try to cross Australia from south to north.

'Bell Sing has never had a high opinion of humans - or horses. And this expedition is the worst managed caravan he's even been in. Camel handler Dost Mahomet and soldier John King are also beginning to wonder if their leader is competent, or crazy.

'Bell Sing can smell water over the sandhills on the horizon ... and freedom too. Can the expedition succeed? And who - if anyone - will survive?

'This is the gritty and true story about one of the most extraordinary and iconic events in Australia's history.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Most Australians know of Simpson and his donkey, who became heroes at Gallipoli, even among the Turkish forces. Few know where the donkey came from, or what happened to him after World War I. Or that another man carried on rescuing the wounded with the donkey after Simpson died. This is the story of a small unassuming donkey. It′s also the story of Gallipoli, of Jack Simpson, and New Zealander stretcher-bearer Richard Henderson, who literally took up the reins after Simpson′s death. Exhaustively researched, it gives a new depth to our understanding of this story of Anzac heroism.'

Source: Publisher's website http://www.harpercollins.com.au/ (Sighted 16/02/11)

'All of Australia′s dingoes may be descended from one south-east Asian ′rubbish dog′ who arrived here over 5,000 years ago. This is a story about the first dingo.

'It is also the story of Loa, who heads off across the sea in his canoe when the girl he loves marries another. He takes only his spears and a "rubbish dog", one of the scavengers from around the camp to eat if he gets hungry, or to throw to threatening sharks or crocodiles. But when a storm blows boy and dog out to sea, both must learn to survive in a strange new world as partners - and even as friends.' (From the publisher's website.)