Draws on scholarship from leading figures in the field and spans Australian literary history from colonial origins, indigenous and migrant literatures, as well as representations of Asia and the Pacific and the role of literary culture in modern Australian society.

Many children learn from a young age to tell the truth. They also learn that some lies are necessary in order to survive in a world that paradoxically values truth-telling, but practises deception. This book examines this paradox by considering how deception is often a necessary means of survival for individuals, families, governments, and animals.

As the three little murmels play in a leaky old arkel, a wild whirligig destroys their homeland and sets the arkel drifting towards an alien shore. While the shipwrecked murmels sleep, they are thrown into prison. They awake to hear the ruler of the land, the Boss Snig, telling them that as soon as their boat has been fixed, they must leave. There is little hope for homeless murmels until they are befriended by a young snig. Soon the four friends begin to share each other's lives and customs: their food, their games and their dancing.

Childhood and Nation explores the historical and manifold current relations between nation and childhood. Millei and Imre bring together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars to address many pressing questions of today. The analytical incisions created by nation and childhood bring answers to the following questions: How do national agendas related to economic, social and political problems exploit children and tighten their regulation? How do representations of nations take advantage of ideals of childhood? Why do nations look to children and search for those characteristics of childhood that help them solve environmental and humanitarian issues? The book offers a fresh look at the theme of nation and childhood by offering multiple methodologies from fields including education, policy studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, literature, and psychology.

Some kids refuse to read, others won't stop &– not even at the dinner table! Either way, many parents question the best way to support their child's literacy journey. When can you start reading to your child? How do you find that special book to inspire a reluctant reader? What can you do to keep your tween reading into their adolescent years? Award-winning teacher librarian Megan Daley, the passionate voice behind the Children's Books Daily blog, has the answers to all these questions and more. She unpacks her twenty years of experience into this personable and accessible guide, enhanced with up-to-date research and firsthand accounts from well-known Australian children's authors. It also contains practical tips, such as suggested reading lists and instructions on how to run book-themed activities.Raising Readers is a must-have resource for parents and educators to help the children in their lives fall in love with books.

A mysterious and extremely whiffy smell has caused the Pong Police to close the lane. Now Cheryl with a C, the dancing diva who puts the wah-wah in Chihuahua, has nowhere to practice for Anton Du Bark's Hotpaws Barking Boogie, and she needs a partner! Newly appointed leader of the gang, Dodgy Dave, has a secret he's not keen to share. Can the Alley Cats bring the lane back to life, and can Buddy Bites get Cheryl off spicy fajitas for ever?

The study of children’s literature and culture has been experiencing a renaissance, with vital new work proliferating across many areas of interest. Mapping this vibrant scholarship, Keywords for Children’s Literature presents 49 original essays on the essential terms and concepts of the field. From Aesthetics to Young Adult, an impressive, multidisciplinary cast of scholars explores the vocabulary central to the study of children's literature. Following the growth of his or her word, each author traces its branching uses and meanings, often into unfamiliar disciplinary territories: Award-winning novelist Philip Pullman writes about Intentionality, Education expert Margaret Meek Spencer addresses Reading, literary scholar Peter Hunt historicizes Children’s Literature, Psychologist Hugh Crago examines Story, librarian and founder of the influential Child_Lit litserv Michael Joseph investigates Liminality. The scope, clarity, and interdisciplinary play between concepts make this collection essential reading for all scholars in the field. In the spirit of Raymond Williams’ seminal Keywords, this book is a snapshot of a vocabulary of children’s literature that is changing, expanding, and ever unfinished.

Instead of napping, baby dances with the farm animals.