The Book Thief

The time is World War II and the Nazis take Liesel’s father away. Liesel’s mother takes her and her younger brother to find sanctuary for them with a new family. When Liesel retrieves a burning book, it becomes emblematic of Hitler’s destruction of knowledge and life and inspires her to survive. Liesel’s unforgettable story is told through the unusual viewpoint of ‘Death’ as a narrator. The emotional spectrum of this novel includes hope and despair.

The Wrong Boy

Hanna lives in the concentration camp, Auschwitz. As a gifted pianist, she is ordered to play for the camp commandant. Hanna meets the commandant’s pacifist son and a relationship develops. This story reveals the human side of the Holocaust.

Teacup

A young boy has to leave his homeland carrying only a book, a bottle, a blanket and a teacup with earth from where he used to play. In this picture book’s poetic and moving text, the young boy is protected by a tree that grows from the soil in his teacup. He longs for his past while searching the horizon for land where he eventually arrives safely.

Metis, the Octopus and the Olive Tree

Metis and her family leave their small Greek island for Australia, but Yia Yia, her grandmother, stays behind. The family misses their culture, lifestyle and the all-important Yia Yia with her important story. The heartbreak of leaving family and culture behind lies at the core of this moving story.

Rafferty Takes to Fishing
Series: Rafferty

Rafferty is a Yorkshire immigrant to Australia. In this novel, one of three about Rafferty, he learns much about Australian life through a fishing trip. Rafferty, his mates, and his grandfather portray rural Australia.

Cloudwish

Van Uoc Phan is an Australian-born Vietnamese of refugee parents who arrived by boat after experiencing many hardships. Van Uoc recently won a scholarship to a private prestigious secondary school and finds cultural differences at home and at school make life difficult.

Light Horse Boy

In 1914, Jim, aged 17 and his friend, Charlie, leave the Australian outback for life in the Light Horse. Many perspectives including photographs, illustrations, primary sources such as letters provide a realistic insight into this time period and particular experience. Companion work to the author’s Lighthorse Girl.

Lighthouse Girl

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, 14-year-old Fay Howe lives with her father, the lighthouse keeper on bleak Breaksea Island. Fay knows semaphore and Morse code and responds when the soldiers on the warships signal to her. The soldiers send Fay messages for their loved ones, which she relays for them. After the soldiers depart for the battlefields of Egypt and Gallipoli, Fay continues her conversations with them through letters and postcards. This story uses archival material as source material and interweaves fact with fiction. This story highlights the hardships of those left at home during the war.

Never Lose Hope: The Story of Australia’s First School

John is a child convict, transported to New South Wales for stealing a shirt. Starving and alone, he is taken in by Australia's first schoolteacher, Isabella Rosson. There John learns to read and write and becomes a star pupil until he is discovered by the soldiers and again taken away in chains. John never forgets the power of words and always hopes for a better future. This picture book is inspired by the life of convict Isabella Rosson, the first teacher in the colony at Port Jackson, and John Hudson, the youngest First Fleet convict. Wilson’s artwork brings this amazing story to life.

Vietnam Diary

Leigh and Jason are brothers, best mates but with differing views on war. Jason is conscripted and sent to Vietnam to fight. Leigh struggles to understand Jason’s choice eventually coming to terms that he is doing what he thinks is right. This picture book covers Jason’s time in the war through letter writing and imaginative artwork.

Angel of Kokoda

Kari is an orphaned Papua New Guinean boy who encounters an injured Australian soldier. Together they make their way down the Kododa Track. Oil paintings and pencil sketches capture the times and emotions.

The Afghanistan Pup

Combining the story of an Afghani schoolgirl and an Australian soldier, who both love a lost pup. Issues in this picture book include the war in Afghanistan, education of girls, rebuilding war torn areas and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Compassion for those in need features.

Ten Pound Pom

The author’s family migrated to Australia in 1962 as 'Ten Pound Poms’ when she was 13-years-old. Leaving her teddy bear is one of the emotional issues for both author and reader. Daily life aboard the ship SS Arcadia features along with arriving in Australia and looking ahead. Illustrations in this picture book format add interest and historical details. An explanation of the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme is included.

The Treasure Box

When the town and its library is destroyed by the enemy, the family leaves. Peter’s father treasures the library book he had at home, and his dying wish is that Peter must protect this book. When Peter must flee he buries the book under a tree, returning many years later to return the book to a rebuilt library in his old town. Collage artwork in this picture book uses text from Gleitzman’s 'Felix and Zelda' series plus ephemeral objects which can be seen across the landscape, thus capturing the flight of refugees.

Let the Celebrations Begin

The author was inspired to capture an important time in history. She read about a small collection of stuffed toys made by Polish women in the German Belsen concentration camp in World War II. The toys were created for an anticipated celebration and liberation of those imprisoned. It is a topic seemingly impossible to convey in a picture book, yet both author and illustrator have captured the preparations and emotions involved in this momentous occasion. Two historical quotes included in the book authenticate this work of fiction.

First Day

The first day at school features for several children from diverse backgrounds. The day begins before school, getting there, various traumas and humorous moments all feature for kids, mother (also attending school) and teacher. Liberally illustrated picture book with childhood a strong feature.

The Feather

The setting could be post-war, post-apocalyptic or simply one of hard times. Young Maria and Nico find a mysterious giant white feather, which they protect as a sign of future hope. The sparse text, open ending and darkly cinematic full-page images in this picture book will provoke discussion with older children about world events.

The Invisible War: A Tale on Two Scales

This is a science-history graphic novel set on the Western Front during World War 1. The story involves a Victorian nurse who supports the troops in the Western front trenches and at the same time views the gut microbes that protect her body from a bout of dysentery. The story is based on scientific and historical facts.

A Gift of Squares

Emma is 10-years-old when her family move from England to Warradale, a country town in Australia. She is very homesick and lonely. The teacher at her new school is returning to England and the class wish to give her a gift. Emma suggests they make a friendship quilt. With the making of this quilt, Emma finds friendship and belonging.

Trouble Tomorrow

Based on a true story, Obulejo reveals life for this 16-year-old Sudanese boy who escapes from his war torn country and becomes a refugee in Kenya. His first years in refugee camps reveal extreme hardships until his decision to make a better life for himself through education. The story is one of courage, resilience and hope.

Making My Place: Behind the Scenes of the Television Series

This book is a photographic record of the making of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series, My Place.

My Place: The Story of Australia from Now to Then

This picture book reveals the story of Australia from 1988 back to 1788 and earlier. The story shows how one small piece of Australia has changed over the years as revealed through the various cultural groups and individuals who lived there.

Flight

A small family of refugees flees across a dangerous and sombre landscape threatened by tanks and bombs in this powerful picture book that ends on a note of hope.

Australians All: A History of Growing Up from the Ice Age to the Apology

Universal experiences of children growing up such as making friends, being brave, feeling loved are the same the world over. Based on research into the lives of children, these 80 individual stories of famous people and little known individuals reveal varied cultural traditions over time. Enhanced by historical images and fascinating anecdotes.

Paper Planes

Alex is only 11-years-old when he and his family are trapped in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. He experiences extreme dangers and struggles to survive with his friends from different cultures who stick together and offer support.

Pearlie’s Ghost
Series: Our Australian Girl

The time is 1942 and Darwin is under attack. Pearlie tries to save her pets and help the wounded soldiers while hoping to reunite with her friend Naoko. Naoko has problems of a different kind which involve a ghostly mystery.

Little Paradise

This tale is inspired by a true story set in 1943 in Melbourne and Shanghai which involved a forbidden relationship between a Chinese man and an Australian girl.

The Lion Drummer
Series: Aussie Bites

Lulu is a little Chinese girl who sees a Chinese new year procession. More than anything, she wants to be a lion drummer. Though she is told that girls cannot learn the drums, she goes to the master drummer and asks if she can take lessons from him. He agrees and at the Easter parade, Lulu leads the lion dancers.

A Ghost in My Suitcase

Celeste is 12-years-old when she travels to China to return her mother’s ashes to her homeland. Through her grandmother, she learns cultural traditions, a secret about her father, and befriends her grandmother’s adopted child, Ting Ting.

The Race for the Chinese Zodiac

In this Chinese Zodiac picture book, a doctor finds a wounded sheep and restores its health. When a monster threatens the village and demands a child from each family for sacrifice, the sheep turns itself into a girl and volunteers to go. Using her wits, she drives the monster away. When it returns, the sheep sacrifices itself, and both turn into a rock formation that exists today.

The Garden of Empress Cassia

Mimi is 12-years-old and experiences bullying at school as well as embarrassment about her Chinese background and her family’s traditions that make her different. A sympathetic teacher, aware of her artistic talent, gives her magical pastels lending this story a fantasy element. Understanding a child’s difficulties in embracing two cultures underlies the story.

The Mysterious Hubbub

This thought provoking book is set on a 17th century passenger ship that sails close to the Frozen Sea, where a fierce battle occurred. Words and sounds of the battle are frozen in the air. The spring warmth is starting to melt the ice, releasing the words into the air in a cacophony of frightening sounds. The last words in this picture book go off like fireworks leaving only one word in the sky, “Peace”.

A Safe Place to Live

Bic Walker escaped with her family from Vietnam as a refugee in 1979 when she was three-years-old. In simple and direct language, she writes and illustrates this true story of her escape from war to a new home in Australia.‎

No-Name Bird

Set in 1970’s East Timor, the story reveals the relationship between 14-year-old Jose and his elderly uncle. Together they face many challenges due to the political situation in East Timor at that time.

The Search

This adventure story features Hung Ly, a Vietnamese boy living on an Australian farm. He runs away to Melbourne to find his mother. Gemma, the farmer's daughter, decides to come along. Their friendship deepens as their quest reaches a dramatic end. By then Hung Ly has found himself involved in another important search. The novel is written to promote an understanding of the Christian message.

Castaway
Series: Brumby Plains, book 2

Brothers Sam and George are 13 and 11 years of age. They live at Brumby Plains, a buffalo station in Australia’s Northern Territory. They discover a small child, who is the only survivor of a shipwreck. The child is also an illegal immigrant by Australian Government regulations, and their Uncle Mungo has strong views about refugees. The boys hide the child while they work out what to do as they battle racism and the Australian Government’s policy on putting immigrants in detention centres.

Stepping back

Somaly is a 16-year-old Cambodian girl who has lived with her mother on the west coast of Tasmania since she was a toddler. Somaly's mother was a nurse in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia when she gave birth to Somaly. When Somaly's father is killed by a land mine, Somaly and her mother leave the country for Tasmania. Juxtaposed with Somaly's life in Tasmania is the life of Keo, a traumatised Cambodian who works as a hospital orderly on the Thai border. About the time Keo is informed that he'll finally be allowed to return to Cambodia, Somaly's mother in Tasmania finds out she has MS. She has yearned to return to her country and decides she must do it soon. So Keo from the Thai border, and Somaly and her mother from Tasmania, return to a war-ravaged country.

Channeary
Series: Rave

The time is during the Cambodian-Vietnamese Conflict between 1977 and 1991. Channeary must flee for her life when the Khmer Rouge attack her small Cambodian fishing village. She finally reaches safety in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand. There she is offered a chance to come to Tasmania, a new land and a new home, both unknown.

What was the war like, Grandma? Emmy Remembers World War II

Rachel tells this story of raising her children during World War II in Port Melbourne. She recalls blackouts, sandbagging and more. Although the war was far away, this story helps the reader experience the times. Illustrations in this picture book generate interest and authenticity. A strong community spirit underlies this appealing reflection on wartimes.

Dust: Save the Children

Fourteen illustrators confront the plight of children in Third World countries suffering from starvation, environmental disasters and lack of living spaces. The brief text & haunting images in this picture book are a stimulus for discussion.

The Staircase Cat

In this picture book, a cat lives a solitary life in his home, damaged by war. His family and all the villagers have left. Patiently the cat waits, hoping his family and the villagers will return and homes will be rebuilt. In a heart-warming conclusion, his family does return after years away, and they are happily reunited.

Moonrunner

Set in the 1890s twelve-year-old Casey has moved to Australia from America. He misses the wild mustangs and discovers a herd of brumbies that change his life.

The Valley Between

This book is set in country South Australia in the 1920s in a German speaking farming community. Benno has left school to work on the farm and finds himself caught between two cultures. A humorous story of family and adventure.

The Magic Doll

In this picture book, a young girl flees from her unnamed country with her mother and her doll because of war. They become refugees in another unspecified country and her magic doll helps her make friends, heal the sick, and bring food to herself and her mother. The author was a refugee from Czechoslovakia who fled to Russian Siberia.

Room on Our Rock: There Are Two Sides to Every Story

Two seals are sitting on a rock. When others need shelter, do they share it? This book shows there are two sides to every story. A clever picture book has one story that can be read two different ways. When read from front to back, the seals believe there is definitely no room on their rock for others. But when the book is read from back to front, the seals welcome others to shelter on their rock. A heart warming story about sharing and compassion.

Sketches from a Nameless Land: The Art of the Arrival

Shaun Tan describes the origins of his book The Arrival about immigrants arriving in Australia. In this book Tan explores his early research, concept sketches and developing his final artwork.

The Arrival

This is a wordless graphic novel of 96pp that explores the experiences of a man who leaves family behind and arrives in an unfamiliar and mysterious land. The land has strange cultural traditions and unfamiliar creatures. He gradually discovers a new life through support from others. This work is viewed as a modern day classic speaking to all cultures.

Baker’s Dozen

Charlotte Cosgrove, nicknamed ‘Charley’, and her family emigrate to Australia from Ireland in 1864. After a short time in Sydney, they move to Boanyoo and there find happiness.

Beginnings

Aco and his family have migrated to Australia from Yugoslavia and he is finding it difficult to settle into school due to his lack of English. He dreads having to move schools but his new school is quite different.

Refugee: The Diary of Ali Ismail, Woomera, 2001-2002

Afghanistan is a country of great danger where the Taliban seeks young boys to join their army. Ali’s family gathers money to send Ali out of the country to safety in Germany, but his leaking boat is bound for Australia. He ends up in Woomera where school is a possibility in Adelaide, but he lands back in Woomera after breaking his temporary visa status. The plight of refugees pervades the book.

Nips XI

Spinner, the coach of the Nips XI, an all ethnic cricket team, tries to teach the boys about cricket, its traditions and values as they try to express themselves at their school’s Multicultural Day.

My Gallipoli

This nonfiction picture book features fictional accounts of the thousands of men from 16 nations that fought, survived, were injured and died in the eight months of the Gallipoli Peninsula occupation in 1915. Different voices speak about their own experiences and stories.

Armistice

Told in the words of those who lived through the experience, this is the story of the ‘Great War’ in Europe between 1914 and 1918 in which many countries participated, including Australia. When Germany was defeated, Britain, France, Italy and the United States gathered to create the Treaty of Versailles to ensure peace, determine reparations to be paid by Germany and ways to prevent future wars. These stories are told in the words of soldiers, military leaders, heads of countries, civilians and children who lived during these times. These personal responses recreate the time, place and people involved in war and its impact. Notes at the back of the book identify the people involved and their roles. Endpapers reveal maps of Europe in 1914 and 1925. This is a unique approach to presenting world history for the young in the form of a picture book combined with graphic novel approaches.

An Anzac Tale

Using a graphic novel format, this historical war story features anthropomorphic Australian and New Zealand animals to reveal the terrible experiences of soldiers at Gallipoli. A timeline, historical notes and an accessible format introduce this conflict to younger readers.

The Deliverance of Dancing Bears

This contemporary fable told in picture book format and set in Turkey, is a lyrical story with deeply moving illustrations about freedom, poverty and oppression. Yusuf buys a bear, determined to set it free. Until now the bear’s only life has been living in a cage by night and dancing for the public by day.

Amelia Ellicott’s Garden

Elderly Amelia Ellicot lives alone, next door to a block of flats. She loves her garden and her chickens and wishes she could show them to someone. The people in the flats have moved to the neighbourhood from various countries. Looking down on Amelia’s garden they wish they too could share Amelia’s garden. When a terrible storm destroys Amelia’s garden, her neighbours come to her aid and so begin friendships and belonging in this moving picture book.

Miranda Going Home

Miranda is brought up in the Middle East, a child of Roman and Jewish parents. When orphaned, she is sent to live with her Jewish grandparents. She badly wants to return 'home' but through her experiences as a refugee and her friendship with Jeshua, she finds peace.

Wilder Country
Series: Winter, book 2

The sequel to The Road to Winter, finds the three main characters Finn, Kas and Willow desperately trying to find Rose’s abducted baby. Underlying the story is the darker theme of the plight of asylum seekers within Australia and those who seek to be the dominant culture. The Winter series is a fast read and a compelling story of survival and triumph against adversity.

The Road to Winter
Series: Winter, book 1

This adventure thriller is set in a future Australia, after a virus has killed many people. Finn and his dog Rowdy survive due to their isolation in the countryside. When they meet Rose, a ‘siley’ (refugee) who is fleeing a gang while trying to find her younger sister, they band together in a fast-paced survival story.

Let Me Whisper You My Story

Rachel is a young German Jewish girl who survives the Holocaust when her father advises her not to speak. There is a focus on those who support and hide the Jews. Other Holocaust survivors share harrowing experiences when together at an English orphanage in hopes of locating family members after the War is over. The emotional content is believable and creates great empathy.

Forever Yours: Stories of Wartime, Love and Friendship

Personal love experiences of men and women in several wars are told through many genres including journals, postcards, telegrams, letters, interviews and illustrations.

Ancestry: Stories of Multicultural Anzacs
Series: Century of Service

Here are stories of individuals and families from a range of cultural backgrounds who served with Australian units in World War I. There are referrals to the Australian War Memorial's collection of private recordings, photographs, works of art and relics.

Just the Way We Are

This light-hearted picture book celebrates families of different shapes and sizes. Each child’s family is made up of different cultures and compositions. Jack lives with his Mum. Izzy is part of a foster family. Henry’s parents are separated. Chiara has two Dads and Anna and her parents live with her Grandpa. The conclusion is that each family is perfect just the way they are.

Under a Starless Sky: A Family’s Escape from Iran

Written for a general readership, but accessible by young people, this biography is about Banafsheh’s parents who supported the Iranian revolution, but found that a religious regime created war. The biography tells of their escape from the Khomenini regime while detailing a country much changed.

The Startling Story of Lachlan Macquarie: Founding Father or Failure?

This is a story of Australia’s Colonial history and that of Lachlan Macquarie as the Governor of New South Wales. His story also includes how Australia’s society developed and ongoing social issues such as the emergence of cultural diversity.  Macquarie’s achievements and weaknesses are outlined including his behaviour towards the Australian Aborigines. Some individuals in important positions had convict backgrounds, adding interest. Readers are encouraged to question the ideas prevalent at the time. In this picture book, the images are produced on porcelain tile and are highly detailed and appealing.

Butterfly Island

Charlie and his children live on and protect Butterfly Island in the Barrier Reef. When a 14-year-old Vietnamese refugee boy becomes entangled in the family business while searching for his parents, who are boat people and presumed lost at sea, trouble starts.

I Was Only Nineteen

The author captures his experiences of the Vietnam War in this well-known song revealed in a picture book format. It tells of the hardships and how war changes both those away at war and those left at home. Fear, pain, loss and suffering are all revealed in both words and images.

The Blue Chameleon

Bene Ish-Maher, a young Arabic migrant boy, living in Australia, searches for the truth about his Sahara Desert past. He discovers he is a survivor of an ancient desert clan. Bene goes on an epic journey to Antarctica to find his lost twin brother and discover his past.

Peacetimes

What is peace? What is the difference between wants and needs? This beautifully illustrated picture book shows the struggles for peace.

Bird to Bird

This picture book is a story that charts the beginning of a tree as its seed is carried by a bird. The tree is felled and the timber is used over its lifetime until it is recycled into a bunks for convict ships travelling to Australia. This story of nature, history, recycling and art features a lyrical, easy to read aloud text.

Willow Tree and Olive

Olive Alexandropoulos is in her last year of secondary school and enjoying it with her friend Kerry. She has an underlying problem due to sexual abuse trauma in her childhood, which she has forgotten. This makes her deeply insecure. Her parents hope to help by sending her to Greece to be with her relatives, where she resolves her insecurity and feels pride in both her Australian and Greek culture.

A Marathon of Her Own: The Diary of Sophia Krikonis, Melbourne, 1956

Sophia leaves post-war Crete with her mother and brother hoping for a better life in Australia. Once in Australia, she is challenged, struggling to learn English and labelled a 'reffo' at school. Her spirits remain high through her supportive family and her talent for running.

Good Muslim Boy

This memoir features Osamah, a 13-year-old refugee of the Iran-Iraq war. He is poor and in trouble with the police. He and his family immigrate to Australia where his father is a lead cleric in Melbourne. Osamah tries to be a good Muslim boy but the temptations of Australian society lead him astray from what is expected of him.

Lizzie and Margaret Rose

The time is London in 1940. Ten-year-old Margaret Rose survives an air raid, but her family home is destroyed.  She is sent on a long sea voyage to Townsville, Queensland to live with her aunt and 11-year-old cousin Lizzie who makes the adjustment to a new country and way of life hard.

Speak Chinese, Fang Fang!

Fang Fang was born in China but came to Australia when very young and remembers very little of her home. Her family retains Chinese traditions, but Fang Fang rejects these until her cousin Lily shows respect for them in this picture book.

A Lesson for Lina
Series: Our Australian Girl

The time is 1956 after the Melbourne Olympics. Lina discovers some of the Hungarian athletes are hiding in Melbourne rather than returning to their homeland where there is fighting. Inspired by these stories of persecution, Lina writes about her father who fled Italy because of political persecution. Her teacher secretly sends it to the Age newspaper. When Lina and her father are pleasantly surprised, Lina feels proud of her family heritage.

Fang Fang’s Chinese New Year

This picture book is a story of celebration and culture. Fang Fang was born in China, but is now Australian. Her mother asks her to invite her friend, Lisa, to their Chinese New Year celebrations. Fang Fang worries that Lisa may not enjoy herself or like the celebrations. Lisa samples all the different foods, learns to use chopsticks, and watches the parade and fireworks. 'That was fantastic,' says Lisa.