Books & Learning Packs

An adventure novel set during the First World War in France.

This resource aligns with the historical , cultural and differing viewpoints in a text listed in the Australian Curriculum : English [Literature Strand] for Years 6-9.

Written by Ian Jones. 56 pages text only. Retail price $8.80 Size A5 Lucien is 16 and in love. To impress his beloved Marie-Claude he sets out with a horse and cart to rescue an abandoned crop from a First World War battlefield in France. A young Australian soldier, Percy, becomes his ally in this mad quest and they share an encounter with the legendary German fighter ace, The Red Baron. For all of them – Lucien, Marie-Claude, Percy, even for The Red Baron – no other day will ever change their lives as much.

Suitable for upper primary to lower secondary. New release November 2009. ISBN 9780980448016

This resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum : History  for Year 3 and the historical text component of the Australian Curriculum : English [Literature Strand] for Years  5-7.

A story about the Australian war horses, the Walers, who went with the Australian troopers to the Boer War in South Africa and with the Light Horsemen to World War 1. Delightful illustrations, many humorous, to help younger readers understand the role of these Australian horses in wartime, the hardships suffered by the men and their horses and the special bond they shared. Suit lower – middle primary.

ISBN 0-9577957-6-9

Published December 2001
Author – Vashti Farrer
Illustrator – Sue O’Loughlin
Paperback with celloglaze cover; 32 pp excluding cover; B5 Portrait; Colour illustrations every page;

This resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum: History for Year 10: "The impact of World War II, with particular emphasis on the Australian Home Front"

By Vashti Farrer

Sally and her friends live in Kings Cross where there's a constant fear of possible invasion, especially after Japanese mini-subs enter Sydney Harbour! There are rations and restrictions and blackouts and the constant worry of having fathers serving overseas. Even Sal's eccentric Gran can't always cheer her up as she waits for her Dad to come home.

Vashti Farrer is an author well known for her books for young people and her wonderful historical fiction. This account of the Second World War as viewed through a young Sydney girl's eyes is an accurate, exciting and invaluable record for all youngsters who would like to know about this important period in Australian history.

Aligns perfectly with the Year 10 history syllabus "The importance of World War 2 with particular emphasis on the home front…"

This text also supports differentiation of learning by having accessible entry points and multiple exit points. The students can read the text and the teacher can provide opportunities for them to display skills reflective of Blooms Taxonomy.

Suitable for Upper Primary to mid Secondary. Published by the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Qld) Inc, 2012. Soft cover, 105 photographs, 112 pages. ISBN 978-0-9804480-4-7

An illustrated and pictorial tribute to Australia's tracker dogs in the Vietnam War. (Read more.)

This resource aligns with Australian Curriculum : History for Years 6 and 10 as well as the historical context required in the literature strand of the Australian Curriculum : English Years 5-10.

seek! is a 48-page tribute to the Australian tracker dogs that served in the Vietnam War.
In full colour with more than 110 photos (black & white as well as colour)—plus maps and illustrations—this book gives an overview of the Vietnam War and the service of the Australians who were deployed there; and the role of the eleven dogs that were part of the combat tracker teams that operated during Australia’s commitment from 1966 to 1972.

Authors: Di Burke and Mary Small

Suitable 10 yo to adult. -- ISBN 978-0-9804480-6-1

An A to Z of Australia and the Second World War

By Matt Anderson

Nothing before or since has rivaled Australia's participation in the Second World War, both in its extent and its intensity. The war changed how we saw ourselves as a nation and to whom we would look in the future to underwrite our security. It modernised our industry, swept away the unemployment of the Great Depression, and redefined the role of women at home, in the work force and in the armed services. Through a collection of short overviews and sketches, K is for Kokoda explores these and other aspects of Australians at war in 1939-1945.

Published by the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland), 2010. Soft cover, photographs, 104 pages. ISBN 978-0-9804480-3-0

The individual book from the In Search of … series.

ISBN 0 9581625 8 1

Shortlisted for The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing for 2003.

This resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum : History  for Year 3. It may also be used within the Australian Curriculum : English [Literature Strand] for Years 1-3 in the Big Book format.

• Primary Teaching and Learning Package
  Published March 2003
  Author - Mary Small
  Illustrator - Ester Kasepuu
  Paperback with celloglaze cover and celloglaze pages; 32 pp excluding cover; Big Book/Portrait; Colour illustrations every page
• Includes:
  A teachers’ manual on CD-ROM written by Tracey Linnane, Early Childhood Consultant;
  The narrated story -- Simpson and Duffy on CD; and
  A set of 4 colour posters telling the Simpson and Duffy story using selected text and illustrations from the book.
  6 x Simpson and Duffy Shelf books

(Shelf Book)

ISBN 0 9757123-2-2

The individual book from the In Search of … series.

ISBN 0 9581625 6 5

By Matt Anderson

This resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum : History for Years 3 and 6 as well as the historical context component in the Australian Curriculum : English [Literature Strand]for Year 5.

Paperback with celloglaze cover 26 pp excluding cover; Full Colour

Package includes

• 1 Big Book 490mm x 340mm colour
• Teachers Manual & classroom activities on CD Rom
• 6 x A is for ANZAC Shelf Books (B5)