It's 1953 and Peter is determined that his scout patrol will get to the finals of a First Aid competition. This means travelling to Auckland by train on Christmas Eve, a journey that Peter will never forget. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.

Based on a true event, the author tells his story of the Tangiwai disaster set in the context of his everyday life.

Alois Hartmann was cursing his father's incredible view, not to pass the farmstead over to him, the second born. Hand over head he left embittered and angry, together with his young wife Judith, the home valley in Switzerland and immigrated to New Zealand. He vowed loudly that he would show them all, who knew best about livestock and crop cultivation. The land at Taranaki was fertile and the Hartmann-Station became with the years an impressive property. But it demanded everything, hard work and solitude. Judith felt robbed of all her dreams and illusions. On Christmas Eve 1953 she set off to visit her only friend at Auckland, to find comprehension, comfort and advice. On that Holy Night nobody knew that the train would never reach its final destination, perhaps only the angry Mount Ruapehu...

It's 1953, in Napier, and Peter Cotterill starts the year writing in a journal given to him by his Great Aunt. We follow him through a year of many changes as his small community struggles through hard times. After joining the Scouts, Peter is determined that his patrol will get to the finals of a First Aid competition. This means travelling to Auckland by train on Christmas Eve, a journey that he will never forget. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.

When Peter Cotterill begins his diary in 1953, little does he realise that something is happening elsewhere in New Zealand that is going to have a huge impact on his life. As he tells of his day-to-day life in Napierschool, paper round, Scouts, as well as the lasting effects of World War II on his friends and familythe forces of nature are at work, culminating in an event so tragic that it will shock a whole nation. That was, of course, the Tangiwai rail disaster on Christmas Eve 1953, as a result of the Tangiwai bridge being washed away by a lahar from Mt Ruapehu.

Simon is a typical teenager – in every way except one. Simon likes girls, weekends and enjoys mucking about and playing practical jokes. But what s different is that Simon has muscular dystrophy – he is in a wheelchair and doesn t have long to live. See Ya, Simon is told by Simon's best friend, Nathan. Funny, moving and devastatingly honest, it tells of their last year together. Winner of the Times Educational Supplement Nasen Award, the Silver Pen Award and the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-loved Book, See Ya, Simon has been published in the USA, UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, China, Japan and Slovenia.

Ben is useless at sport but when he joins the writers' group at school he finds he has some talent. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.

"'As a boy in the late 1930s, young Boden's life is changed for ever the day his neighbour Dudley drives him over the mountains into the vast snow-covered plains of the Mackenzie Country. He realises he will never be the same again. Years later, the 20-year-old Boden, now a university student, helps build an alpine hut high up on the eastern slopes of Mount Cook. Living in snow caves while the hut is built, Boden forms important relationships with members of his working party, most notably with Walter, a conscientious objector from the Second World War" --Back cover.

When Debbies grandmother gives her a copy of her forefathers old sea journal, she finds it fascinating. While Debbies own diary tells of 1960s school life and troubles with her friends, excerpts from the diary of 1841 tell of the hardships of life on an emigrant sailing ship. At home, sick with glandular fever, Debbie feels transported back in time. Is it the fever, or is her long-dead relative trying to tell her something? Following a trip to the South Island to visit relatives, Debbie boards the ferry to return home to Wellington. It is April 1968. The ferrys name is Wahine...

Set in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1942, in an area of the city known as Chinatown where the descendants of the Chinese miners and market gardeners gathered together to maintain their culture and provide a sense of community. New Zealand is at war when Silvey starts her diary, but for Silvey this is just a backdrop to the main issues of her worldthe closure of her school and the arrival of Chinese-American soldiers