Sports on the Page
Some people like to play sport, while others prefer to watch. Whether
you’re a player or a spectator, don’t miss the books listed below. You’ll find
fiction with a focus on sport, as well as biographies and autobiographies of
world-famous sportspeople.
The Dogs – Bill Condon
Mick Doohan: Thunder from Down Under – Mat Oxley
Alex – Tessa Duder
Making the Most of It – Lisa Forrest
Deadly Unna? – Phillip Gwynne
Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder – Tony Hawk with Sean Mortimer
Last Wave – Paul Hayden
Lee 2: Lee to the Power of Two – James Knight with Shane and Brett Lee
Lionheart – Jesse Martin
Touch Me – James Moloney
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
Fabulous Fantasy
‘Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.’
(Lloyd Alexander, author of The Prydain Chronicles)
You loved Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but what next? Let the books
listed below transport you to other worlds. And don’t forget classics by
authors such as Susan Cooper and Alan Garner.
Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles) – Isobelle Carmody
The Seeing Stone (The Arthur Series) – Kevin Crossley-Holland
The Kin – Peter Dickinson
Ferren and the Angel and Ferren and the White Doctor – Richard Harland
A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Quartet) – Ursula Le Guin
The Changeover and The Haunting – Margaret Mahy
The Wind Singer (The Wind on Fire Trilogy) – William Nicholson
Sabriel and Lirael – Garth Nix
The House of Many Rooms (Doorways Trilogy) – Michael Pryor
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials Trilogy) – Philip Pullman
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
Imagining the Past
Reading about the past can inform and inspire us, and help us to
understand today’s world. As well as the great books listed below, look for
the books in the My Story series, published by Scholastic.
Songman – Allan Baillie
Voyage with Jason and Golden Prince – Ken Catran
Strange Objects – Gary Crew
Catherine, Called Birdy – Karen Cushman
Moondyne Kate – Garry Disher
Young Nick’s Head – Karen Hesse
Soldier Boy and Young Digger – Anthony Hill
Pagan’s Crusade (Pagan Quartet) – Catherine Jinks
Whistle Man – Brian Ridden
Poison Under Their Lips – Mark Svendsen
The House That Was Eureka – Nadia Wheatley
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
Real People
Readers often ask authors like John Marsden, Margaret Clark and Judy
Blume, ‘How do you know how I feel?’ Do you like reading about real
people? Try these books by Australian writers who can imagine how it
feels to stand in someone else’s shoes.
A Dangerous Girl and The Year it all Happened – Catherine Bateson
Night Train – Judith Clarke
Borrowed Light – Anna Fienberg
A Simple Gift – Steven Herrick
Mahalia – Joanne Horniman
The Best Thing – Margo Lanagan
Chain of Hearts – Maureen McCarthy
A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove – James Moloney
Hot Hits – Bernie Monagle
Grinders – Chris Wheat
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
SF – Future Worlds
Millions of people have seen the Star Wars films. 2001: A Space Odyssey,
another cult movie, was based on a groundbreaking book by Arthur C
Clarke, a writer who helped to make SF respectable as well as hugely
popular. Try these SF classics as well as some more recent titles.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Omnibus) – Douglas Adams
Horsehead Boy (Horsehead Trilogy) – Rory Barnes
A Cage of Butterflies – Brian Caswell
Tales from the Wasteland – Paul Collins (ed.)
Eva – Peter Dickinson
Singing the Dogstar Blues – Alison Goodman
Have Spacesuit – Will Travel – Robert A. Heinlein
White Time – Margo Lanagan
The Sterkarm Handshake – Susan Price
Blackout – Michael Pryor
Galax-Arena and Terra Farma – Gillian Rubinstein
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
Crime – Action – Adventure
Anyone who enjoyed John Marsden’s thrilling Tomorrow series will love
the page-turners listed below. If you’re after a quick read, try any of the
books in the Crime Wave series, published by Lothian.
Crystal Coffin – Anita Bell
Homebird – Terence Blacker
Tin Soldiers – Ian Bone
Talking to Blue and Blue Murder – Ken Catran
After the First Death – Robert Cormier
The Wanderer – Sharon Creech
Hunters and Warriors – Justin D’Ath
Thunderfish and Under No Flag – Simon Higgins
Monster – Walter Dean Myers
White Fox – Gary Paulsen
Area 7 – Matthew Reilly
Compiled by the Australian Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria