My
Wacky Granny (‘94)
Look!
Up there in the sky. Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s
my wacky gran. Some grandmas sit at home knitting - but
not my gran. She’s more likely to be abseiling off
some ginormous mountain wearing a clown costume or entering
an all-you-can-eat-jelly-diving contest. I can’t believe
what she gets up to - what will my wacky gran think of next?
Curse
of King Nevertrustme
(‘95)
Oscar Bubblequrit had always dreamt of gold. Gold, glorious
gold! Oscar wanted to discover buckets of the lovely stuff.
And he knew where - inside the pyramid of Tell el Afone,
the tomb of the wealthy King Nefertrustme and his wife Queen
Tuttut Shuttup. So, with his friend, the great archaeologist
Theodore, Oscar sets out to Egypt to find the entrance to
the tomb. The trouble is if he gets the gold, he’ll
also get the curse. Great galloping gods! Can Oscar get
the gold and survive the curse of King Nefertrustme?
Schools
at War! (Random
House, 1997)
Jessica-Sue Clatworthy and Lyle Earnmore burned down their
exclusive pre-school. Since then they’ve been to over
40 schools between them. At their latest, the Lah-Dee-Dah
Young Ladies’ Academy and the By-Gum Young Gentlemen’s
College, a fight about which school is better turns into
a full-on war. Boasts and insults are hurled, followed by
bats and hockey sticks. So how long they’ll be there
- or how long the schools will be there - is anyone’s
guess!
The
Last Refuge,
novel (Hodder Headline, 1996)
Mitch is thirteen years old and life can’t get much
tougher. When her dad drinks too much he takes his anger
out on the family - with his fists. To make matters worse,
Mitch’s mum refuses to leave. Then one day things
finally go too far. Mitch is badly hurt and her mum decides
it’s time to get away. Will they ever find a safe
refuge away from their father? And can they ever leave behind
the painful memories? A fictional work based in part on
the author’s childhood experiences.
Supermouth
(‘95)
When Grandpa accidentally superglues his teeth together,
his grandson decides that something needs to be done. The
results are unexpected. A riot occurs in the Social Security
office, a hand turns into a face, the police are called
and television cameras roll.
Getting
Even (‘96)
Problems start when Linda’s older brother, Justin,
stops being a slob. Bathroom battles and a disasterous dinner
date lead to a family fight that gets worse and worse. Is
it possbile to forgive a sister who ruins your football
career, or a brother who takes revenge in a very mean way?
My
Other Mother
At Dad’s wedding, Matt eats too much ice cream and
throws up on his Great-Aunt Bess. But that’s no problem.
The big problem is that Dad and Jenny are on their honeymoon.
Matt’s staying with Gran. She is kind but is Dad ever
going to come home? And is Jenny going to be a wicked stepmother?
What if she makes him eat dirt or, even worse, green peas?
In
Big Big Trouble
Victoria Rigby is in big trouble. Her report card stinks.
It’s just awful! She promised to do her chores. But
her room looks like a junk yard. Her homework hasn’t
been done. She’s forgotten to bring the washing in
and it’s raining. Now Mum’s arrived home from
work. She’s going to be mad. What’s a kid to
do? There’s no escape...or is there?
The
Bogeyman in the Garden
When Lauren and Emily finish building a cubby in the back
garden, they think it might be great fun to sleep in it
overnight. Snuggled in their sleeping bags, the torch glowing
warmly... "What’s that? Who’s there?"
Is there a bogeyman in the garden? Or...?
The
Trouble With Parents
Open Day at school is just around the corner. Twins Craig
and Sarah are really excited until they ralise their parents
aren’t coming. They feel like orphans and all alone,
especially when good old Mrs Butler from next door can’t
come or Aunty Lyn or Uncle Peter. How can Sarah present
the welcoming speech when she feels so disappointed? Doesn’t
anyone care?
Troublemaker
Katy Hassell is always in the trouble. If you had great
big stick-out ears and kids called you Satellite Dish or
Dumbo, well, you’d fight back wouldn’t you?
One day Katy goes just a bit too far: she tells a teacher
to ‘grow a brain’! Boy, is she in Big Trouble!
Big
Bad Bruce,
picture book, (A & R, 1994)
Watch out, here comes Big Bad Bruce, the leader of the toughest,
roughest bikie gang in town! Everyone’s terrified
of Bruce and his gang. But do the boys deserve their fearsome
reputation? Ride along with Bruce and find out about his
other gang, the one he rides with every day.
Promise
Not To Laugh
(HarperCollins, 1997: Shivers series, ed Paul Collins)
Everyone knows a loner at school. That kid who wants to
be left alone. Karen is a loner, but she most definitely
doesn’t get left alone. Then again, neither do the
kids who taunt her. As the story begins: ‘The killings
occurred during the recess break, right in front of the
whole school. Five students lay dead...’ Karen doesn’t
deny her part in the murders, but her motive is so peculiar,
no-one can believe her.
A
Night at Benny’s
(‘89)
When Brian sets off to spend the night at Benny’s
place, an evening of mayhem is just beginning. Mrs Pozzobon’s
brand-new carpet, the missing biscuits, and worst of all,
Felicity’s diary: they mess around with them all.
Boy, are they in trouble!
Stagestruck!
plays (with Bill Condon, ‘92)
Wacky spies and detectives, lovestruck ancient Greeks, bored
holiday-makers, marauding Matrians and scheming matchmakers
are just some of the madcap characters in this entertaining
collection of plays. Jam-packed with witty wordplay and
non-stop action, the plays can be performed on the stage
or just read aloud.
Rotten Rellies
(‘96)
A dead bat in the freezer, peanut butter and honey sandwiches
on the floor, a bedroom which looks like a pigsty... they
don’t bother Anthony Marks, but his mum has gone ballistic!
What can Anthony do to satisfy his fussy mum? Nothing comes
to mind until the rellies come to visit.
