Alison: 1980 books

'Listening to children' is one of those feel-good phrases that always features in childcare literature as if it were self-evidently a good thing. Often, however, there is a lack of critical attention to what it really means: How does one listen? How can one evidence that listening has taken place? Starting...

It's1841 . . . and if Letty wants to keep her job she must travel with her mistress to a sheep farm in the Blue Mountains, leaving her sister Lavinia behind in Sydney. Letty has heard that the bush is a wild place, full of strange beasts and dangers, not to mention the bushrangers who hide out in...

When the Gladiators basketball team's nasty coach finally gets turfed midseason, things couldn't possibly get worse. The team hasn't won a game yet, and morale is at rock bottom. Sameer, who announces the games and keeps score, and Vijay, the team mascot, have their hands full keeping the team's spirits...

Have you ever wondered where Father Christmas came from? And how he ended up with a factory at the North Pole full of elves to help him make toys? A beautifully illustrated and timeless story about how a toymaker and his wife became Mother and Father Christmas for children all over the world.

What’s so important about a toenail? What about a nose? Or any part of the body, for that matter, especially that of a short, stubby tail? Mr. Rizzo T. Hamster goes seeking answers about his tail and learns a valuable lesson.

**Love the TV show Modern Family? Wait until you meet the family Fletcher! With two dads, four adopted brothers, two cats, and one pug, the Fletchers will have you laughing out loud! ** ** ** Welcome to Rock Island, Where Time Stands Still!   The Fletchers are back on Rock Island, home of all...

**From the author of The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher comes an epic cross-country train trip for fans of Dan Santat’s Are We There Yet? and Geoff Rodkey’s The Tapper Twins. Pack your suitcase and climb on board with the Johnston-Fischer family.  **   Sara Johnston-Fischer loves her family,...

For history lovers and journal fans comes a “hilarious and heartbreaking . . . 99–100% fantastic” (A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal) story about a boy on a mission to find his long-lost father in the logging camps of Michigan. There are many things that 11-year-old Stanley...

When little Etta the Elephant goes to her Aunt Ellen's house, she takes a journey through bicycle-filled Cycle City, a town filled with bikes of all kinds! At the end of the day, a special surprise awaits Etta—the most amazing bicycle parade imaginable. Detail-rich illustrations in this fun seek-and-find...

For the first time, read all four Letty stories in one beautiful hardback edition. It's 1841 ... Letty's older sister Lavina is leaving England for Australia by ship. But Letty ends up stuck on board too, much to her sister's dismay. Can Letty cope with the long sea voyage, as well as building a new...

Present day, alternative timeline. New Yorker Karen Brown is caught in a tangle of hot foreign agents, vicious maniacs and tough families. Running for her life, she is forced to flee to her dead mother’s homeland – Roma Nova – the last outpost of the Roman Empire in Europe. But can Karen...

'Bruce is doing for Cambridge what Colin Dexter did for Oxford with Inspector Morse' Daily Mail The promise seemed simple. The scars would last a lifetime. In a single night, Kyle Phipps's life is derailed. His relationship is over, he is denied access to his young son and everything...

This is the story of Darcy, a twelve-year-old Kimberley boy who likes nothing more than his family, his friends and the Fitzroy Crossing Rodeo. Darcy loves the life of the old stockmen and with his best friend, Jim Bulla, they do the circuit. When Jim suddenly dies Darcy's life changes forever. Yet, a surprising gift can lead to many things, and for Darcy this means pursuing his dreams.

The true story of the intrepid woman whose life-long determination to protect America’s mustangs captured the heart of the country. In 1950, Velma Johnston was a thirty-eight-year-old secretary enroute to work near Reno, Nevada, when she came upon a truck of battered wild horses that had...