Books with author Jackie French Koller

A story of transportation and life in a new world from Australia's Children's Laureate At the tender age of eight, chimney sweep Tom Appleby is convicted of stealing and sentenced to deportation to Botany Bay. As one of the members of the First Fleet, he arrives in a country that seemingly has little to offer - or little that the English are used to, anyway.Luckily, not long after tom's arrival in the colony, the fair and kind Sergeant Stanley decides to take on tom as a servant. Together Tom, Sergeant Stanley and his son, Rob, build a house, set up an orchard and a vegetable garden for themselves - and thrive, unlike many others in the new colony.Jackie French weaves Tom's story in with the story of the development of Australia. She tells of a colony that, despite its natural abundance, cannot offer what the colonists want - familiarity. While the people's health is better than it ever was in England, their morale is low as they wait for news from home.PRAISE FOR NANBERRY: BLACK BROTHER WHITE'For really, really good Australian young-adult (and middle-grade) historical fiction, Jackie French has always been a winner ... With Nanberry: Black Brother White she delivers an excellent fictionalised account of the First Fleet's settlement at Sydney Cove ... a powerful novel' -- Australian Bookseller & Publisher, 5 stars'She is one of few masters who can embed historic characters in rattling good tales, and her meticulous research is seamlessly inserted so that you live the detail rather than learn it. Even if you are not into history, Nanberry will hook you in ... Irresistible for history buffs of any age' -- Good Reading Magazine, 5 stars'I've been telling all my friends to read this book, and to give it to their kids to read. It's absolutely engrossing' -- Herald Sun

The third title in the Matilda saga, which began with A WALTZ FOR MATILDA and followed with THE GIRL FROM SNOWY RIVER A true cross-over, that becomes a terrific holiday read for our literary adult market A page-turning, heart-warming family saga set in the Snowy Mountains during the Depression in the 1930s. Ages:11 years+ Blue Laurence has escaped the prison of her aunt's mansion to join the Magnifico Family Circus, a travelling troupe that brings glamour and laughter to country towns gripped by the Depression. Blue hides her crippled legs and scars behind the sparkle of a mermaid's costume; but she's not the only member of the circus hiding a dark secret. the unquenchable Madame Zlosky creates as well as foresees futures. the bearded lady is a young man with laughing eyes. A headless skeleton dangles in the House of Horrors. And somewhere a murderer is waiting ... to strike again. this third book in the Waltz for Matilda saga is set in 1932, at the height of the Depression. Miss Matilda is still running Drinkwater Station, but has put aside her own tragedy to help those suffering in tough economic times and Joey, from the Girl from Snowy River, uses his new medical skills to solve a mystery. Praise for A Waltz for Matilda: 'Jackie French has a passion for history, and an enviable ability to weave the fascinating minutiae of everyday life into a good story.' Magpies Magazine Praise for the Girl from Snowy River: '... when I was 11 or 12, I would have read and reread it until it fell to bits. It has everything: horses, poems, ghosts, heroism, war, the bush and a love story.' Saturday Age 'this is a genuine gem that is impossible to put down and must be swallowed whole in one sitting.' Newcastle Herald Ages: 11+

Darek searches deep into Krad to find Zantor and Pola in this fourth book in the fantastical Dragonling chapter book series!When Darek’s beloved dragonling, Zantor, and Darek’s best friend, Pola, disappear into the mists of Krad, they are assumed dead. But Darek knows Zantor and Pola are alive. He can hear the dragonling’s cries for help, deep inside his own head. And much to his surprise, Rowena—the cause of all the trouble—hears them, too. Together they sneak into Krad to rescue their friends. But they soon find Krad is even more dangerous than they’d feared. So dangerous that it may be impossible to save anyone, even themselves…

The story behind Banjo Paterson's iconic Australian song. 'Once a jolly swagman camped by a BillabongUnder the shade of a Coolibah treeAnd he sang as he watched and waited till his Billy boiledYou'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me...'In 1894, twelve-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. 'You'll never catch me alive, said he...'Set against a backdrop of bushfire, flood, war and jubilation, this is the story of one girl's journey towards independence. It is also the story of others who had no vote and very little but their dreams.Drawing on the well-known poem by A.B. Paterson and from events rooted in actual history, this is the untold story behind Australia's early years as an emerging nation.PRAISE'Jackie French has a passion for history, and an enviable ability to weave the fascinating minutiae of everyday life into a good story.' -- Magpies Magazine

There is no such thing as a monster, and certainly no such thing as a monster under the bed. That's what Howard's mother tells him. There is no such thing as a boy, and certainly no such thing as a boy on top of a bed. That's what Monster's mother tells him. But no matter what their mothers say, Howard and Monster remain afraid of the dark. Then one spooky night Howard and Monster come face-to-face with each other. Jackie French Koller and Betsy Lewin have created a "monster-under-the-bed" story that offers the perfect cure for fear of the dark.

Darek must rescue Zantor and Pola from the dangerous mists of Krad in this fifth book in the fantastical Dragonling chapter book series!When Darek’s beloved dragonling, Zantor, and Darek’s best friend, Pola, disappear into the mists of Krad, everyone assumes they’re gone for good. But Darek just knows that Zantor and Pola are alive. He can hear the dragonling’s cries for help, deep inside his own head. And much to his surprise, Rowena—the cause of all the trouble—hears them, too. Together Darek and Rowena sneak into Krad to rescue their friends. But they soon find that Krad is even more dangerous than they’d feared. So dangerous that it may be impossible to save anyone, even themselves…

The world is at war, and women are working, often behind the scenes, in areas from nursing to espionage. And despite their many successes, these are the women the men don't see. Unimaginable danger creeps ever closer to Miss Lily and her loved ones . . .Amid the decadence and instability of Berlin in the 1920s, a band of women must unite to save all that is precious to them.With her dangerous past behind her, Australian heiress Sophie Higgs lives in quiet comfort as the Countess of Shillings, until Hannelore, Princess of Arneburg, charms the Prince of Wales. He orders Sophie, Nigel - and Miss Lily - to investigate the mysterious politician Hannelore believes is the only man who can save Europe from another devastating war.His name is Adolf Hitler.As unimaginable peril threatens to destroy countries and tear families apart, Sophie must face Goering's Brownshirt Nazi thugs, blackmail, and the many possible faces of love.And then the man she once adored and thought was lost reappears, and Sophie will be confronted by the girl intent on killing the mother who betrayed her family in the war: Miss Lily.The third book in the Miss Lily series, The Lily in the Snow is a story filled with secrets that also explores the strength of friendship and the changing face of women in this new Europe.

Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box – a children’s subscription that inspires a love of reading.A boy and a baby dragon forge an unlikely friendship in this first book in the fantastical Dragonling chapter book series!Darek can’t wait for his first Dragonquest. Then he can be just like his older brother, Clep, the hero who brought down a Great Blue, the largest and fiercest dragon of all. Darek goes to admire the kill—and finds a dragonling peeking out of the giant dragon’s pouch. Scared but curious, he feeds the hungry baby and makes an unlikely friend. But to save the helpless Dragonling he must now venture into the fearsome Valley of the Dragons, risking his life to return his friend to his own fire-breathing kind.

The building of the Quabbin Resevoir in western Massanchusetts in the 1930s signals the end of three small rural towns-and the beginning of a different life for 14-year-old Celie Wheeler.Celie Wheeler's family has lived in Enfield, Massachusetts, for generations, and she would love to live there forever. For all of her fourteen years, though, the threat that Enfield and two other neighboring towns might be claimed by eminent domain to build the Quabbin Reservoir has been very real. For Celie the coming of the reservoir has always been "someday", far off in the future. But that "someday" has now arrived, and the secure happy world she's known will soon vanish. What does the future hold for her and her family?