Classics Australia

In Dot and the Kangaroo, five-year-old Dot becomes lost in the Australian bush. Alone and frightened, Dot is approached by a grey kangaroo, who brings her some berries to eat. Dot eats the berries and suddenly finds that she can talk to animals! She tells the kangaroo that she has lost her way. The kangaroo has lost something too—her joey—but decides to help Dot out. Together, they search for home.

Paul Kelly's songs are steeped in poetry. And now he has gathered from around the world the poems he loves - poems that have inspired and challenged him over the years, a number of which he has set to music. This wide-ranging and deeply moving anthology combines the ancient and the modern, the hallowed and the profane, the famous and the little known, to speak to two of literature's great themes that have proven so powerful in his music: love and death - plus everything in between.

This collection of short stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958) reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds, and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters.

On the far northwest coast of Tasmania at Cape Grimm lies the isolated and idiosyncratic community of Skye, which practises a religion that reveres the imagination. One clear evening in 1992 all the inhabitants enter the church hall, where they are locked in and burned alive. They have been persuaded to do this by a young man called Caleb Mean - also known as El Nino, the Christ Child.

Nothing is so easy as falling in love on a long sea voyage, except falling out of love. Especially was this the case in the days when the wooden clippers did finally land you in Sydney or in Melbourne under the four full months. Passengers and crew all saw far too much of each other, unless, indeed, they were to see still more. Their superficial attractions were mutually exhausted, they lost heart and patience in the disappointing strata which lie between the surface and the bed-rock of most natures.

The Ashes are on the line as England and Australia meet at Old Trafford in July 1961 for the fourth Test. For most of the match, England have their noses ahead – until a dramatic final day, of intensely fluctuating fortunes, as the tourists eventually storm to victory. In short, an Ashes classic, told here by David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts in vivid and immersive detail, recreating the sometimes agonising experience of millions of armchair viewers and listeners.

It is 1914, and the storm clouds of war are building on the horizon. In Sydney, Josiah Steele is the new head of the family and grappling with his two very different sons - David, upstanding, decent and heir to the family enterprises; and Benjamin, wayward, restless and a magnet for trouble. To give Ben some responsibility, Josiah sends him on a trade mission straight into the territory of their soon-to-be enemy. As war erupts across Europe, its repercussions are felt in the Pacific.

When a pampered cat has to share her home with a lost dog, sparks are set to fly. To her surprise, Catvinkle starts to like Ula. She even tells Ula her three secrets. But a cat and a dog can't be friends - can they? A tail-spin of a tale that will make you howl with laughter - and remind you that if you aren't open to adventure, you might never meet your best friend.

A word of warning - if you are expecting to listen to a story about model children, you'd better listen to something else. Not one of the seven children in this story is truly good - Australian children never are. The Woolcot children enjoy a life of fun and adventure in their rambling riverside home, despite frequent reprimands from their strict father, Captain Woolcot.

This is the story of a love song...and like any good love song, it has two parts. In Australia, Arie Johnson waits impatiently for classical pianist Diana Clare to return from a world tour, hopeful that after seven years together she'll finally agree to marry him.

When best friends Catvinkle and Ula are asked to defend two sheep accused of eating Amsterdam's tulips, they're not sure what to believe. The sheep say they're innocent, but they do look very sheepish. To win this case, Catvinkle will need the help of a wolfhound, a llama, two travelling koalas, a pair of Russian bears...and a very special bird.

Shyla is a researcher who resides in the underground desert city of Zirdai, which is ruled by the wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Even though Shyla is sun-kissed—an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess—she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents. Her quiet life is about to change when Banqui, an archaeologist, enlists her services to find The Eyes of Tamburah: legendary gemstones that bestow great magic on their wielder.

In the forest, armed men from the new settlement ventured to investigate strange lights and found three fires burning, a child at their center, tethered to a stake. The boy appeared to be white, perhaps three or four years old, unable to speak. He watched the men with the darting, fearful eyes of a wild animal and at their approach he crouched, snatched a stick from a fire, and snarled. So begins Dirk Wildlight's life in the tiny Victorian settlement of Tilmore.

Busy Betty has always been busy. Every day she wakes up with a million questions and a billion ideas! And today she has an amazing idea: she's throwing her mum a birthday party. Shhh . . . It's a surprise! Then Betty and her best friend, Mae, have the best idea of all: What if they threw Mum a circus surprise party?! It will be the greatest day in the history of the universe!

Une nouvelle, extraite du recueil "Garden Party", qui décrit ou peint à petites touches la journée d'une famille en Nouvelle Zélande dans le bungalow familial, un jour d'été au début des années 1900. L'auteur récrée avec précision et amour la Nouvelle-Zélande de son enfance. Elle écrit son pays, comme si elle ne l'avait jamais quitté.

Prélude est une nouvelle extraite du recueil "Félicité" de Katherine Mansfield. Une nouvelle, qui aborde à nouveau l'enfance...

Bill, transformed from a bitter thug to a steady and peaceful family man, bickers with Doreen over household issues, like the chopping of firewood, the raising of their son, young Bill, and medical treatment. Bill finds himself consistently outsmarted by his loyal - but strong-minded - wife and yields with wry grace to her manipulations and ministrations.

Laura, une jeune fille de bonne famille, jeune fille très sensible aide à la préparation de la fête qui va avoir lieu dans le jardin...

"Mariage à la mode" est une autre nouvelle de Katherine Mansfield (extraite du recueil "Garden party") qui aborde avec finesse la désunion, la brèche qui se creuse entre deux êtres, et ce dans un cadre idyllique par une belle journée d'été. Avec son stylo-scalpel, elle nous plonge dans les cœurs de William, époux délaissé et de sa jeune femme Isabelle, accaparée par ses nouveaux amis artistes.