Books with author Janet Rees

Walter is a young child when his parents decide to leave their home in Germany and start a new life in the Netherlands. As Jews, they know they are not safe under the Nazi regime. Walter is at first too young to appreciate the danger that he is in, and everything seems like a great adventure. But as his family is forced to move again and again, from city to countryside to, eventually, a hidden village deep in the Dutch woods, Walter’s eyes are opened to the threat that surrounds them every day and to the network of people who are risking their lives to help them stay hidden. Based on a true story, the novel shines a light on a little-known part of WWII history and the heroes of the Dutch resistance—particularly those involved in the hidden village—without whose protection, Walter, his family, and hundreds of others would not have survived.

Walter is a young child when his parents decide to leave their home in Germany and start a new life in the Netherlands. As Jews, they know they are not safe under the Nazi regime. Walter is at first too young to appreciate the danger that he is in, and everything seems like a great adventure. But as his family is forced to move again and again, from city to countryside to, eventually, a hidden village deep in the Dutch woods, Walter's eyes are opened to the threat that surrounds them every day and to the network of people who are risking their lives to help them stay hidden. This true story shines a light on a little-known part of WWII history and the heroes of the Dutch resistance—particularly those involved in the hidden village—without whose protection, Walter, his family, and hundreds of others would not have survived.

When Amber discovers a dusty red bott le in her elderlyneighbour’s shed, she knows at once that it’s meant to be hers. Then she meets the strange djinn that lives in the bottle, and is catapulted into an adventure she never imagined.Amber’s had a few problems to deal with lately – bullies at school, a cranky teacher and her best friend moving away. Now at least she has a magical friend to talk to … if she can keep him safe.Can Amber find the courage to deal with the bullying, make new friends and protect her djinn from harm?And what’s the mysterious task she’ll have to perform that the djinn keeps hinting at?Janet Reid grew up on a dairy farm with hay sheds and pigsties, old abandoned farm machinery, and lots of open space. It was a haven for hours of story weaving with her sister between milking cows, feeding calves and pigs, and sneaking milk for stray cats.She went into teaching and taught in places from the cane fields in Central Queensland to Brisbane before retiring to concentrate on her writing. She lives on the northern outskirts of Brisbane with her husband, two sons and a very ‘human’ cat called Kelsey.

Winner, IP Picks 2012 Best Junior Prose.Tim Trickett – shy, over-protected and troubled by memories – is the new boy in a small country town. When his classmates put him up to an initiation test, he finds himself on his way to visit Granny Rags, the reclusive old lady who lives near the creek and is rumoured to be a witch. But one visit turns into several, and soon Tim finds himself deep in a mess of buried secrets, crooked business deals and long-harboured grudges. He’s going to need all his courage and resourcefulness to put a stop to it all... before someone gets killed.

"Letters From Tom" tells the story of Molly, a thirteen year-old girl who lives in an old house in a small town. She discovers mysterious letters from the past in her attic bedroom and is drawn into the relationship between Susan, the maid in the olden day's house, and Susan's brother Tom who is fighting in France during WW1. Molly and her friend Emma find more letters as they prepare their own video project on the Great War. At first, they think the letters are stuff Molly's father has packed away in boxes under the attic eaves but they find an unfinished and un-sent letter from Susan that persuades them to intervene in time by writing a letter to Tom. He is desperately ill. Their letter gives him the will to survive. The girls don't know how the loop in time works but they look up Einstein's theory of time and hope for the best.