No 23, February, 2004

Belated greetings for the New Year, 2004!    

I have the feeling that I have taken on a bit too much in the way of travel this school year and so if I look a little jaded at a Conference near you, you will know the reason why.

In October we made a quick unscheduled trip to Jakarta to visit some schools and to attend the Conference for National Plus International Schools in Indonesia.  There are some extremely interesting new bilingual schools in Indonesia, national in student body but with a growing international curriculum focus.  It will be fascinating to see how they develop.  I hadn't been to Jakarta for five years and it was wonderful to be back there again, and to receive such a warm welcome. 

Our November trip to Prague and Hamburg had its high and low points.  The lows were concerned with Ron's severe back and sciatic pain and also having a bag stolen in a cafe in Prague.  It is the second time I have lost my mobile phone this year.  (I don't think I am meant to have a mobile phone.)  I hope the thief has read The Reading Bug by Paul Jennings from cover to cover.  Mabe it will cause a change in his attitude to the world!   The ECIS Conference in Hamburg was quieter than usual but that gave time to meet up and chat with lots of people which was very enjoyable.

At the end of January we went to the NESA Early Childhood and Librarians' Conference in Dubai.  The Conference was excellent and we really enjoyed visiting the wonderful city of Dubai and the schools there.  We also had a couple of days in Singapore which we hadn't visited for some years.  Again it was great to catch up with old friends at schools in this city which is now much greener and leafier than I remember.

At the end of March and beginning of April, both the NESA and EARCOS Conferences will be held in Bangkok and I have been asked to visit the International School of Manila to help with library selection so this will all fit in well.  There is the possibility of attending the PYP Conference again in Martigny at the end of June.  My resolution for the next school year is to spend a lot more time at home!

I was very pleased that so many librarians and teachers found the list of resources for the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureat that was sent out with the September newsletter so helpful.  It was good to get so much feedback and so many orders, from PYP schools and also other non-PYP schools which found the list helpful since their schools also have an international emphasis in their curriculum. 

I hope that the list of suggested books for the PYP student profile sent out with this newsletter will be equally helpful.  This was not an easy list to compile.  I have an intense dislike of didactic books and am also not keen on books written for a particular supposedly therapeutic purpose in mind.  Consequently I have not

listed any of those types of books, rather the books I have chosen are books that I really like as literature, that I think are thought-provoking and could be used to spark stimulating discussions about the various characteristics listed under the student profiles.  They are certainly not intended to be used as a formula to suggest that students should behave in a particular way.  Many of the books demonstrate in some way a number of attitudes, and some certainly do so with a quirky sense of humour which appeals to me.  Hopefully they are also books that students and teachers will enjoy reading and discussing.

Occasionally I am a little perturbed and surprised when I am asked if Austral Ed can supply the books on the lists of recommended books that I compile.  YES!  Austral Ed can definitely supply these books and please order them through Austral Ed.   Without the support from so many International Schools throughout the world, I would not be able to continue making up these lists of recommended books as I would very quickly go out of business.  I think that perhaps some teachers think that Austral Ed is supported by a large body such as a Department of Education or a large publisher.  Not so.  I set up Austral Ed in 1993 as my own book supply business to specialise in supplying overseas International Schools.  I have deliberately kept the business small and specialist in order to keep the personal contact which I so much enjoy with teachers and librarians throught the world.  However it is solely orders from overseas International Schools which enable the business to continue and pay my salary and also that of Ruth Waterman who works with me. Making up these lists of recommended books takes many weeks of work and is the result of the twenty five years of experience that I have had in children's books.  It is what distinguishes Austral Ed from other book suppliers.  In case you were not aware of it, as well as the books on the various lists, Austral Ed is also able to supply many other titles from a wide variety of publishers.  We can also supply textbooks - it's not my area of expertise but they can be easily ordered and supplied.   Do contact me if you have any queries about supplying particular books.

Thanks very much for your support and please continue to order these (and other) books through Austral Ed!

Picture Books

We All Went on Safari  A Counting Journey through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs illustrated by Julia Cairns  pb $12.95

This is a delightfully illustrated counting book which as well counting up to ten in numbers and in Swahili introduces us to some of the wonderful African animals which range across the grasslands of Tanzania.  The illustrations show a group of Maasai children and young people dressed in brilliant red cloaks as they point out and count the animals that they see on their wanders.  The very simple rhyming text is lively and as each child counts a different group of animals, we get to know the names of the children.  At the end of the book the meaning of each name is explained and the fact that the parents hope that each child will grow up to have the same qualities as the name suggests for example Akeyla (a girl's name) is for someone who loves nature and the outdoors, Bodru (for a boy) is hardworking and takes time to finish what he starts.   There is also additional information about the animals, the Maasai people, and facts about Tanzania as well as a map and a pronounciation guide.  This bright and lively counting book also serves as a very helpful introduction to this African country.       (4 - 10 years)

Two Summers by John Heffernan  illustrated by Freya Blackwood  hardback $27.95

This story of the difference between two summers on an Australian farm is graphically illustrated but subtly told by a young boy pondering the difference between the last year when Rick came to stay on the farm and this year when the farm is stricken by drought.  The first summer everything was lush and green.  The two boys had great fun mustering the cattle and swimming and boating in the river and the dam.  This year the landscape is dry and brown.  Food has to be dropped for the cattle and sheep and some might have to be killed.  Many of the lambs have to be fed by hand as the sheep are too weak to be able to feed them.  The text is understated but the distress of the family at the starkness of the land and the suffering of the animals is evident.  In this story the understatement gives a dramatic edge and allows additional impact and importance to be given to the striking illustrations.  It is also a very Australian way of telling a story.  Australians tend to avoid too much emotion and definitely avoid sentimentality.   This is a striking picture book which could be used to show the effect of drought on a farm and also could be as a discussion point about the different ways of telling a story.  Another good discussion point would be the way the illustrations fill in what the text omits and how Freya Blackwood's sparse but striking illustrations perfectly complement the text.     (6 - 11 years)

Tokyo Friends  - Tokyo no Tomodachi   by Betty Reynolds  hardback $ 22.95

This picture book is a charming and very informative introduction to Japanese language and culture and also some of the differences between Japanese and western customs.  Katie is a young American girl living in Tokyo and when she meets her two Japanese friends, Keiko and her young brother Kenji, they show us some of the everyday things that they do and the Japanese and English words for them.  The words are written in English, in Japanese phonetically and also in the Japanese script.  Betty Reynolds has written the simple rhyming text and also drawn the lively and amusing illustrations which often show both the American and Japanese way of doing things.  She shows the contrasts between the American and the Japanese breakfasts, and how in Tokyo it is easy to choose either a western restaurant where you sit on chairs or a traditional Japanese restaurant where you sit on cushions and leave your shoes at the door.  There are some very amusing examples of English adaptations of words such as "bakku-pakku" for back pack and "sunika" for sneakers.   The author also gives helpful advice.  It is OK when you eat to slurp soba (a type of Japanese noodles) but not when you eat spaghetti.  When you use a Japanese tub (ofuru) it is necessary to first wash before getting into the tub.  The last half of the book describes some of Tokyo's many festivals, held throughout the year so that we also get an idea of the weather and changing seasons in Tokyo.  This is a very attractively presented book.  The illustrations are vibrant and always interesting.      (6 - 12 years)

Poetry

Poems for the Very Young   Selected by Michael Rosen Illustrated by Bob Graham  pb $22.95

What a wonderful collaboration!  Michael Rosen chooses poems which are strong, playful and as we read them it is as if we can hear them spoken aloud.  Bob Graham's illustrations provide a delightfully witty and lively commentary on the poems but they never dominate the text.  Illustration and poems just complement each other perfectly.  Michael Rosen loves humour and so of course many of these poems are funny but as he says "the core of this collection is a playful use of words and sounds."  He goes on to say that "there are also ideas, feelings and observations chosen for their tone of discovery and revelation."  There are many traditional poems, even more by that oustanding poet Anon and others by well known contemporary poets.  Most are from the UK but there are a sprinkling of poems from countries round the world and there are some delightful poems by young children.  This is perhaps my favourite poetry collection for very young children.      (3 - 7 years)  

Fiction

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke pb $16.95

As I promised in the last newsletter, after being so impressed by Inkheart I also read Cornelia Funke's earlier novel The Thief Lord.  For me, it wasn't quite as surprising, intriguing or entrancing as Inkheart but it was still very enjoyable with an exciting plot which has many twists and turns.  Cornelia Funke creates some delightful characters to people her novels.  In this story there is the angelic looking little Bo and his older brother Prosper who are both orphaned and who have fled their aunt who wants to separate them and adopt just the angelic-looking five year old Bo.  Bo and Prosper are taken in by three homeless children who fend for themselves with the help of the mysterious Thief Lord, who isn't much older than they are.  Then there is also Victor a bumbling kind-hearted detective who loves disguises and is on their trail and Ida a photographer who used to be an orphan herself.  All the action takes place in Venice which sparkles by night and has a crumbling, misty beauty by day.  A wonderful story which is exciting, mysterious and very satisfying.    (8 - 14 years)

Two excellent new books in the series My Story have recently been published.  Reading well written historical fiction like this is an enjoyable and effortless way to gain an insight into two very different historical periods in Australia.

My Story  Fords and Flying Machines: The Diary of Jack McLaren  Longreach 1919 - 1921 by Patricia Bernard  pb $16.95

The story is written in the form of letters that fourteen year Jack McLaren writes to his  twin sister Matt or Matilda.  While he is lucky enough to be apprenticed as a motor mechanic to his uncle in Longreach, an outback town in Queensland his sister, who Jack insists has more mechanical prowess than he does, has been sent out to work as a housemaid.  When his uncle is asked to be the mechanic on an epic trek by Model T Ford from Longreach to Katherine in the Northern Territory to find the best route for air strips for an air race from England to Australia, Jack is also invited as general help.  His account of the trip is a  fascinating description of the country, the birds and animals, the Aborigines they meet and the outback towns and stations.  Perhaps the most interesting part is the detailed description of the idiosyncracies of the Model T Ford (Tin Lizzie) and how they had to improvise to enable her to travel the 1,360 miles to Katherine, most of which had never been travelled before by car.  The Model T had a gravity fuel system and so when the car tried to go up the steep banks of creek beds, the fuel went backwards, the engine would splutter to a stop and the car would slide back into the creek bed whereupon Jack would be the one to crank it again to start it.  The answer to this problem was where possible to back up all the slopes.  Much improvisation and ingenuity was necessary and there were endless puncutures in the tubes of the tyres which had to be mended along the way.  Much of this account is obviously factual for there are diaries of this journey which was made in real life by Mr Fysh and Mr McGuinness (also characters in this story) and which Patricia Bernard has used extensively.  Jack also writes with delight about the plans that Fysh and McGuinness have for setting up a new air service which would fly passengers and mail between Queensland and Northern Territory.  Many were extremely sceptical but Jack is taken with excitement for this new venture which did eventuate in 1920 as QANTAS, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service.  This is a fascinating combination of history and fiction which makes informative and rivetting reading.                        (10 - 16 years)

My Story  Snowy: The Diary of Eva Fischer  Cabramurra, 1958 - 1959 by Siobhan McHugh  pb $16.95

Snowy is set in 1958-59 in the Snowy Mountains on the border of Victoria and New South Wales at the time of the vast engineering project which involved harnessing the flow of the Snowy River, making enormous dams and extremely long tunnels under the mountains.   It was the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia but it also brought together Australians and migrants from many different nationalities.  The way they worked and lived together helped forge a new multicultural Australia.  Eva Fischer has a German father and an Australian mother and is initially very apprehensive about the move to Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia so that her father can work as an engineer on the Snowy River Scheme.  She is reluctant at first but becomes enthusiastic as she meets new friends, and discovers the delights of eating pizza and other different foods.  This is an extremely well written story in which Eva grows in confidence and happiness while at the same time many of the tensions between the many different nationalities and the rivalries and dangers involved in the work, especially on the various tunnels are revealed.  It is a very lively and entertaining story.(10 - 16 years)

Following are other excellent books in the My Story series (10 - 16 years)  pb $16.95 each

A Banner Bold: The Diary of Rosa Aarons, Ballarat Goldfield, 1854 by Nadia Wheatley  pb $16.00 

A vivid description through the eyes of Rosa Aarons of the dramatic events of the Eureka Stockade, the miners' uprising against unfair treatment at the Goldfields.     

The Rum Rebellion: The Diary of David Bellamy,  Sydney Town, 1807 - 1809  by Libby Gleeson  pb $14.95  

A well written absorbing story of one year in the life of David Bellamy and the momentous happenings of his first year in Sydney Town, as he grows in strength and confidence.

A Different Sort of Real: the Diary of Charlotte McKenzie, Melbourne 1918 - 1919  

by Kerry Greenwood  pb $15.95  

A most absorbing and believable story.   Charlotte struggles to understand her father's shell shock as a result of the Great War and to help the local doctor as he tends patients stricken by the devastating influenza epidemic sweeping the community. 

Who Am I?  The Diary of Mary Talence,  Sydney, 1937  by Anita Heiss 

The story of an Aboriginal girl who was taken away from her mother at the age of five and taken to an Aboriginal Children's Home.  When she was ten, she lived with a white family and begins to question why she doesn't fit in.

Plagues and Federation:  The Diary of Kitty Barnes,  The Rocks  Sydney 1901 by Vashti Farrer  pb $16.95        

Kitty writes a lively very interesting diary about her life in Sydney in a poor Irish family of nine children.  As well as the trauma of a bubonic plague caused by a plague of rats in the Rocks area where the family lives, the letters from her brother from the Boer War give us an idea of some of the horrors of this war.          

Surviving Sydney Cove:  The Diary of Elizabeth Harvey,  Sydney, 1790 by Goldi Alexander pb $16.95

This is the story of a young British girl wrongly accused of stealing some clothes from her mistress and sentenced as a convict to transportation to Australia.  It describes life in very early settlement times in Sydney Cove.  (11 - 14 years)

A Tale of Two Families:  The Diary of Jan Packard,  Melbourne, 1974  by Jenny Pausacker pb $16.95               

Set during a time of change and dissent in Australia when many people and families were divided over the war in Vietnam.   Thirteen year old Jan Packard grows up a lot during the year and understands some of the reasons for the deep divisions over the Vietnam War and becomes involved in the growing Women's Liberation Movement.    (11 - 16 years)

The Bombing of Darwin: The Diary of Tom Taylor,1942   by Alan Tucker

Tom and his mother make their way to Darwin during the second World War in order to be with Tom's father working as a wharfie on the wharfs.  Tom describes his experiences in this tropical frontier town and also the terrifying time when Japanese bombed the town.   Also:

Yankee Whaler: The Diary of Thomas Morris, Bunbury, 1876 by Deborah Lisson

On Board the Boussole Julienne: The Diary of Julienne Fulbert 1785 - 1788 by Christine Edwards 

While I Live: The Ellie Chronicles  by John Marsden  hardback  $29.95

I must say that this book was a surprise.  I hadn't really thought that there would be another series following on from the Tomorrow When the War Began series.   I thought that seven books were enough but all those teenagers who loved reading about Ellie Linton and her friends will be absolutely delighted that there is to be another series called The Ellie Chronicles.   In this series Ellie is back on the farm again (briefly) with her parents and pleased to be leading a more normal life.  However life will never be the same again as the Linton farm has been divided and just nearby there is a border where the previous invaders have now set up a new nation.  Normality never lasts long for Ellie and very shortly there is a disaster and Ellie again has to take on a role of responsiblity, ingenuity, and caring way beyond what should be expected of someone of her age.  The interest of the book lies in how she and her friends cope with the extreme dangers of this new situation and how Ellie manages to keep the farm going.  The format is very similar to the previous novels.  There is suspense, action and also introspection about growing up, relationships, responsibility, belief and how one should live one's life.

Here is the complete Tomorrow when the war began series   pb   $14.95 each title

Tomorrow when the War Began  

The Dead of the Night

The Third Day the Frost 

Darkness be my Friend 

Burning for Revenge  

The Night is for Hunting 

The Other Side of Dawn   

The Ellie Chronicles 

While I Live hardback   $29.95

Grass for His Pillow  by Lian Hearn  hardback  $29.95

This is the sequel to Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori.  It continues the intriguing story of Kaede and Takeo who struggle against almost impossible odds to be together and also to survive.  The Tales are set in feudal Japan with many of the traditions and customs of that period but there is also a fantasy element which adds surprise and charm to this story of intrigue, courage, danger and beauty.  It is very simply but vividly written.  Lian Hearn is actually the well known Australian children's author Gillian Rubinstein (see the Austral Ed website for a list some of her titles).  Gillian has had a long time interest in Japan and wanted to keep this series of the Tales of the Otori quite separate from her children's writing.   Across the Nightingle Floor (hardback $29.95 and paperback $19.95) and Grass for His Pillow have both had phenomenal success with translations into some 22 languages and with the film rights also sold.  Students and adults will enjoy both books.    (13 years up)

I think that part of the reason why I enjoyed our recent to trip to Dubai so much was that while we were away I managed read about four adult books.  What a luxury!  Perhaps my favourite was Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin.  This is an amazing story of a young Chinese boy who manages to escape from extreme rural poverty in China to become a dancer of international repute.  His personal story is intriguing but his comments on the impact of the Cultural Revolution and Deng Xiao Ping's reforms on his family, friends and teachers at the Madame Mao's Dance Academy are also very revealing.  Ron also read it and enjoyed it.  Here is his review.

Mao's Last Dancer by  Li Cunxin    pb $19.95

What makes the reading of special interest is that the book works at many levels simultaneously.  Yes, we are given vivid pictures of gruelling poverty which was the author's own provincial background, the kind of struggle just to survive that we have read about in  numerous previous memoirs about Chinese provincial life in the years of the Cultural Revolution.  But additionally this is an account of the author's extraordinary journey from nonentity to supremo, itself the result of a chance event when he was selected as a child to join Madame Mao's ballet academy set up in those times to show off China's international cultural achievements to the Western world.  Li Cunxin's journey takes the reader from a young boy's emotional isolation when he is separated from his family at a young age, to his almost total bafflement at the start as to what Ôballet' is and what he is supposed to do to succeed in the Academy, and through a regime of years of strenuous training to his gradual improvement and eventual realisation that he might have a special future ahead of him, something which is later brought  about by his defection to the West. Arguably the most interesting memoir thus far to have come out of the Chinese experience. (13 years up)

Non-Fiction

During our visit to Jakarta in October, we met teachers and authors Lisa Cook and Joel Simonetti and wanted to let teachers know that Lisa and Joel will be speaking at the EARCOS Conference in Bangkok about a recent book that they have written called Why I care about Sharks.  This is a book written by authors who are passionate about sharks, their beauty, and their survival in a world where sharks are feared.  So many sharks are now being caught that the very existence of some species is threatened.  This book combines fiction and non-fiction to convey an amazing amount of information about sharks, about how they live, and also some of their extraordinary attributes and the threats to their existence.  This wonderful resource is available at no charge to teachers who are prepared to use it with their students and to later carry out a survey with them.  For more information, contact Lisa on lcook@jisedu.or.id, Joel on jsimonetti@jisedu.or.id, speak to them at EARCOS in March or visit the website of the non-profit Marine Biology Institute which helped with the funding for the book .   www.mcbi.org     Click on the book's icon.

Book People: Meet Australia's Children's Authors and Illustrators  by Paul Collins

Boxed set of 7 volumes   hardback  $250.00 ($227.27 less GST)

I have been asked a number of times recently about books on Australian authors and illustrators.  I know of no recent publication in just one volume.  Seven volumes may seem a lot but it is extremely comprehensive and up to date since it was published just in 2002.   The information on nearly 200 authors and illustrators is presented in an interesting, very easy to read format.  Photos of the authors and illustrators and book covers are combined with background information, fact files containing personal likes and dislikes, and an interview or sometimes a day in the life of the more well known authors or illustrators.  There are also suggestions of which books students could try and a section where authors' tips on writing and illustrating are given.  There is a comprehensive index.     (9 - 13 years) 

Boys and Books by James Moloney  pb $19.95

Whenever I display this book at Conferences it always arouses interest.  James Moloney is a parent, librarian, teacher, writer and so writes from a variety of view points and experience.  For teachers and parents and anyone interested in boys' reading, this is an extremely thought provoking book.  James Moloney looks at the reasons why so many boys reject books and reading and also why boys need to read.  He examines the vital role of parents and how they can create a reading environment for boys at home.  There are chapters on  the various stages of development from the very young to teenage years and James Moloney suggests reading material that he has found  of particular interest to boys.  The book was published originally in 2000 and was updated in 2002.       

Great Australian Stories is a series of non-fiction titles which look at particularly interesting historical events or periods in detail.  Several of them provide excellent background support for some of the My Story fictional novels reviewed earlier in this newsletter. 

Building the Snowy Scheme   by Robert Hillman  hardback $28.60

The construction of the Snowy River Hydro-electric Scheme was a huge undertaking.  It took 25 years and 170,000 people of many different nationalties to construct it.  Eva Fischer's story is a fictionalised account of how a young girl's life was changed when her father worked on the Scheme.  This book gives the detailed factual background on why and how the Snowy was built as well as its severe environmental consequences.  (10 - 14 years)

Smithy and the Southern Cross also by Robert Hilman hardback $28.60

This is the story of the legendary Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith who was the first pilot to fly around Australia and the first to fly across the vast Pacific Ocean in his three-engine aircraft, the Southern Cross.  This is the same period as that described in Fords and Flying Machines and provides further fascinating background for enthusiasts of early flying machines.                      

Great Australian Stories series hardback $28.60 each  (10 - 14 years)

Building the Snowy Scheme                                   Crossing the Blue Mountains

Gallipoli                                                                    Smith and the Southern Cross

The Kokoda Trail                                                     The Rum Rebellion

The Story of Canberra                                             The Voyages of Captain Cook

Everyday Life  Great Inventions series by Paul Dowswell  hardback $36.30

Inventions - such a popular topic so it's surprising there is so little in print at the moment.  I was very impressed with this series, and found the book on inventions for everyday life especially interesting.  Each invention has a double page spread and its early development  is discussed, for locks and central heating this dates back to Greek and Roman times.  Clear and interesting diagrams add to our comprehension of how the invention works and there are often marvellous early advertisements for appliances such as washing machines and toasters.  Other inventions described include clocks, flush toilets, teflon and Velcro.  In each of the books the inventions are arranged chronologically to show how they develop and evolve.  Each title describes life before the inventions, the inventors and how the inventions have made a difference to the way we live.  There is an excellent use of photos, illustrations and time lines.  The complete Great Inventions series is

hardback $36.30                (9 - 14 years)

The Picture History of Great Inventors by Gillian Clements pb $19.95

In this book, Gillian Clements takes a very different approach by looking at some 62 individual inventors, starting with Archimedes back in 287 BC and moving through the ages till modern times.  For each inventor there is double page spread in which some background  information about the inventor and his inventions is given.  However there are also many small illustrations with captions describing inventions by other inventors in the same period.  The author/illustrator also tries to give an idea of historical events occurrring both in Europe and round the world at the time.  The result is a lot of small detailed illustrations in which the information is sketchy but it does gives the students an idea of what was happening in that period and they can then continue researching if they wish.       (10 - 14 years)

How Plants and Animals Survive in Australia's Deserts by Greg Pyers hardback $29.70

Surviving in the desert is a popular topic and I was impressed with the examples and descriptions in this book in its discussion of habitat and the variety of ways different animals, insects, fish, reptiles and plants have adapted to the harsh desert conditions.  There are some truly amazing examples.  There are excellent photographs and also an index and glossary.                                                                                  (9 - 14 years)

The complete series is

How Animals and Plants Survive in Australia's Deserts

How Animals and Plants Survive in Australia's Grassland and Wetlands

How Animals and Plants Survive in Australia's Oceans and Coasts

How Animals and Plants Survive in Australia's Forests               $29.70 each

Earth's Continents   Continents series  hardback  $29.70

It seems that plate tectonics and the formation of the continents is studied increasingly by schools at about grade 7 and 8 level.  However there seem to be very few books on the topic at that level.  This book discusses the theory of plate tectonics which was only substantiated in  the 1950s and 60s and how this theory supports the idea of Continental Drift which was first put forward in 1912.  The explanation is written simply enough for students in Grade 6 or 7 as well as Grade 8 or 9 to understand and the text is well supported by diagrams and maps.  The continental landscape, the effect of erosion, the oceans, climate, wildlife and people of the various continents are also discussed.  There is also an index and a glossary.  Other books in the series look at the various continents in detail.  There is considerable overlap  but the other books do provide greater detail about each of the continents.  (10 - 14 years)

The complete Continents series is                                           hardback $29.70 each title

Earth's Continents                                      

Europe, Asia and Africa: Old World Continents

North & South America: New World Continents and Land Bridges

Australia & Antartica: Island Continents & Supercontinents   

If you would like to order any of the books reviewed in this newsletter or in the accompanying list, send orders to Austral Ed by fax, post or email. 

All prices are in Australian dollars.  Prices include GST of 10% which is not applicable  to overseas schools.

For additional lists of recommended books and newsletters from Austral Ed, visit our website www.australed.iinet.net.au   

© Kate Shepherd 2008.