Books published by publisher Onwards and Upwards

Hurricane Katrina happened on 29th August, 2005. It ripped thousands of children from their normal lives, their families and their friends; it destroyed their homes and their schools. Twelve-year-old Jade Williams is one of those children. Will Jade have the inner strength to overcome the sheer terror of the human tragedy caused by the hurricane? Her journey is dangerous – where to find safety? What must she do to protect Grandma, her elderly neighbour, Mary Lou Smith – and Bunty, the little dog that she rescues?Inspired by her life in New Orleans and her experiences in evacuation centres after Hurricane Katrina, Maeve Mc Mahon writes a powerful and moving fictional account of true events.

Hurricane Katrina happened on 29th August, 2005. It ripped thousands of children from their normal lives, their families and their friends; it destroyed their homes and their schools. Twelve-year-old Jade Williams is one of those children. Will Jade have the inner strength to overcome the sheer terror of the human tragedy caused by the hurricane? Her journey is dangerous – where to find safety? What must she do to protect Grandma, her elderly neighbour, Mary Lou Smith – and Bunty, the little dog that she rescues?

"What's the country coming to? Losing our homes, our jobs, that's one thing, but to lose our respect for each other, to stoop to this level to survive - it's... it's primitive!" Maghan Manley is the middle child of five, and her family are quite content living on their farm in 1931 Australia. But when they are forced to leave and join hundreds of others on the road, looking for work, they are faced with both the best and worst of humanity. At sixteen Meghan is not sure how to take this new life of desparation and uncertainty. Her friendships, beliefs and sense of self are tested, but nothing more so than her own character, pivoted on one of the hardest things of all - the need to forgive.

"I must say, Caitlyn, I have heard from some of your other teachers that you haven't been as attentive as you used to be, and that you're missing more and more assignments. It's not lack of skills, so why are you letting it get away from you?" Spending more time in the deputy principal's office was not what 14-year-old Caitlyn had in mind when she began Year 9 in her semi-arid Australian town. As far as she was concerned, life was perfect until her wayward cousin joined the household, her parents started fighting, her best friend turned into Public Enemy No. 1, and her mum started making her write to-do lists. Surely growing up wasn't meant to be this complicated. Now not only does Caitlyn have to navigate the unforgiving wilderness of school, but find a way to preserve the ties that are only just holding her family together.

An illustrated book of Bible stories, presented in the form of children's poetry and short stories.Take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Read a story from the Bible;Take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Based upon God's Word.Take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Think about its message;Take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Enjoy its rhythm and ryhme.For Jesus came to tell us allWhat we most need to know;As He scattered the seeds of lifeThis tree began to grow!So, take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Read a story from the Bible;Take a leaf from the Treasure Tree,Learn of the love of God!

This book is a real treasure. A wonderful combination of poetry, art and wisdom. This is a book that you will buy, read and keep for ever. Each poem is like a proverb - a perceptive word of wisdom told in a straight forward way that everyone will appreciate. The poems of Christine Dawling are complemented wonderfully by the beautiful illustrations of Howard Garbutt.

Nothing is ever good enough for Lisa. She moans about everything and everyone from morning ’til night. Even her parents are frightened of her terrible tantrums.But when the strict yet mischievous Aunt Gladys appears with her mysterious flying dustbin, Lisa’s world is about to be turned topsy-turvy. Lisa’s moaning takes her on a journey to a strange land – and into deep trouble…

When Lisa Onions’ magical Great Aunt Gladys turns up unexpectedly in her flying dustbin, Lisa is whisked off on a brand new adventure. This time it is Lisa’s cousin, Gary Spriggs, who seems to be in need of help. He has turned from a kind, helpful boy into the most feared bully at Orange Road Primary School, and his main target is a skinny boy who works hard in class – Sam Harrison. Lisa joins the school as Aunt Gladys’s undercover helper. Together with a new gang of friends, she seeks to unravel the mystery of Gary’s sudden change.

Everything changes for Harry Pritchett when young evacuees from London arrive at his village to be sheltered during the Second World War. Most of the children quickly find homes, but nobody wants Thomas, who seems weak, untidy and short-sighted. At school, too, Thomas is teased and finds it difficult to make friends, but Harry helps him out and sticks close by him through thick and thin. Soon they begin to share the most exciting adventures, from the crash-landing of a fighter plane to a visit from the police. But why has Harry's best friend Emily begun to act so strangely?...

Throughout the whole Roman Empire it was what every mother dreaded: crouching at the foot of a wooden stake, waiting for your son to breathe his last and to bring to an end hours of excruciating pain and torture. As well as the usual feelings that somehow it was wrong that the child should die before his mother, there was the confusion as to why my son, my firstborn, should be in that awful situation. Why was he being treated as a criminal? And not just any criminal, but on a par with insurrectionists?“How long?” was in everyone’s thoughts, if not on their lips…