Lothian Classic
2 total works
"I goses by the name Moondyne Kate...
I was a Orphan Girl and fell into a great melancholy
of the spirit, great discouragement was my lot..."
Canongate was a colourful town in 1865 ? convicts, a gold rush, marauding bushrangers ? but nothing much happens now. Nat Whistler can't wait to get out of this place.
But then he discovers a thrilling link to the past: he's descended from the Whistler, who robbed banks and gold escorts with the notorious Captain Kydd and was shot dead by troopers at the age of fifteen. And who was the mysterious Moondyne Kate, who could ride like the wind and whose voice sings from the past?
The truth is dark, elusive. As Nat peels away the layers and becomes entangled in the shadowy affairs of the town, his life takes a turn into danger.
'musical and haunting' Publisher's Weekly
Paul is a dreamer, his head alive with rippling pianos, gentle violins and the smiles of Margaret, the one he loves. But in the cold light of day, Margaret snubs him at school, the piano has been sold, his father is battling to keep the farm, and dejected men are tramping the roads…looking for work, a sandwich, a cup of tea…
No one has time for music or dreams. Then Eric the Red comes along. Eric the Red, with his silver flute, his knowing wink and boots held together with wire. Eric the Red, just a step ahead of the law. Eric the Red, who knows how to make a flute from a piece of bamboo…
The Bamboo Flute is an evocative story of hardship, hope, respect and recognition, set during the Depression. Amongst many acclamations it has won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year for Younger Readers.