Jackie French – författare

A boy is pushed too far by his peers, resulting in dramatic and life-threatening consequences as he threatens to release a deadly virus into his schoolMike is just like any other normal kid. He lives in a small town where nothing unusual happens. His next door neighbour is Lance Loosley, known as Loser at school, a bit of a weirdo, always boasting, a kid no one wants to be friends with. One day Lance is pushed too far by his peers and this time the humiliation and teasing is too much. Lance seeks revenge. He has in his possession a test-tube filled with brown powder that he claims is a deadly virus. No one believes him until the test-tube gets smashed in the classroom. First the teacher starts having seizures, then the pupils. Lance disappears. The school is put into quarantine and isolated. No one goes in. No one is allowed out, except perhaps in a body bag. Mike feels he has to do something, and manages to escape and sets out to find Lance. He discovers that the brown powder is not a deadly virus. The reason for the illness is rat poison which Lance had tipped his classmates’ and teachers’ pencils in, the end some people like to chew or suck. Mike has saved the day, but not without personal cost to himself as he reflects on who is really to blame. ‘But I should have been kind to him. I should have been honest with him. I shouldn’t have laughed behind his back.’A chilling and thought-provoking novel about the devastating effects of an unhappy childhood, peer-group pressure and the desperate measures taken to be liked. An immensely exciting novel and a worthy follow up to Hitler’s Daughter, by the same author.

Fast-paced and fesity adventure where slave girl turns warrior in the battle for survival.Hekja is nothing but a slave. The property of her Viking masters. But one day soon, those masters will live to see a slave become a heroine: they will live to see her fight alongside them, for the very survival of the clan.‘Hekja's ma was white with terror and twisted with pain too. She screamed out, 'Run!'That was the last thing she ever said. One of the men – the largest, with a chin like a cod fish and almost no beard at all – plunged his sword into her heart, then pulled it out, all bloody.Hekja screamed. She ran towards her ma's body and knelt down. Her ma's eyes stared at the sky and there was a froth of blood from her mouth…’When Hekja’s family and friends are killed by Vikings, she is taken as a slave and carried away to Greenland. But she is lucky: her mistress Freydis is a kind woman who wishes her no harm. Fiery determination, intelligence and fleet-footedness soon make Hekja indispensable to her new owner – as a messenger, an advisor and a friend. So when Freydis sets off for America with her husband, Hekja accompanies her, along with the treacherous Viking lord Finnbogi.There, she finds a forbidden love with a free man. But this new world holds even greater dangers. Before Hekja can be free, she has to take a bloody stand alongside her captors: against the furious natives, but also against enemies closer to home…

Darren saw it first, then Pete and by the afternoon everyone could see it, too. Everyone, that is, except Mr Hanley. At first, Pete thought the large furry brown animal was a big dog. But when he looked closely, it looked more like a giant wombat. And it was! A wombat named Bosco. Bosco isn't like other wombats; he knows how to act like a hen laying an egg, gallop like a Mongolian horse and pirouette like a ballerina - and most importantly, Bosco knows when he's needed. Genevieve is someone who needs help and Bosco may be her only hope. But helping Genevieve in hospital may be too hard even for a miracle-working wombat. Can a little wombat-magic from Bosco make things right Ages 8+ Darren saw it first, then Pete and by the afternoon everyone could see it, too. Everyone, that is, except Mr Hanley. At first, Pete thought the large furry brown animal was a big dog. But when he looked closely, it looked more like a giant wombat. And it was! A wombat named Bosco. Bosco isn't like other wombats; he knows how to act like a hen laying an egg, gallop like a Mongolian horse and pirouette like a ballerina - and most importantly, Bosco knows when he's needed.Genevieve is someone who needs help and Bosco may be her only hope. But helping Genevieve in hospital may be too hard even for a miracle-working wombat. Can a little wombat-magic from Bosco make things right? Ages 8+

Iddy cannot remember her name, or where she comes from, or anything about her people. But she finds understanding and friends in the peace and calm of Summerland. Her friends are reassuring - Iddy will remember, when she is ready. In the Summerland the dragons eat mosquitoes and unicorns prune the apple trees; so many strange things to see and imagine, and question. Iddy finds it hard to worry about her loss of memory. Until one day the shadowmen arrive and Iddy is the only one who can save the village, if only she can get past the fear. Ages 12+ Iddy cannot remember her name, or where she comes from, or anything about her people. But she finds understanding and friends in the peace and calm of Summerland. Her friends are reassuring - Iddy will remember, when she is ready. In the Summerland the dragons eat mosquitoes and unicorns prune the apple trees; so many strange things to see and imagine, and question. Iddy finds it hard to worry about her loss of memory. Until one day the shadowmen arrive and Iddy is the only one who can save the village, if only she can get past the fear. Ages 12+

the book every parent and teacher should own. Written in Jackie French inimitable style, one of the aims of this book is to help parents and teachers identify children reading difficulties and then suggest ways to deal with them. the book is full of useful and practical solutions, rather than long, dense paragraphs dripping with educational theory and difficult words that are hard to pronounce. Jackie draws on her own experience of being dyslexic to show that there are many fun and rewarding ways to improve your child reading abilities and stimulate a love of books.

Prudence is invited by her father's distant werewolf cousins to their gloomy castle to hunt for some missing 'treasure'. Phredde and Bruce accompany Prudence, who is well aware that if she fails then her father will have to take her place. the zombie librarian also makes a reappearance, as does the castle banshee, and Cousin Flea decides that he wants to be a lighting and sound technician and turns what was once a nicely decorated castle into a setting for a television series. Ages 7-12

What do you do when your school librarian starts dressing in leopard-skin and goes off chasing dinosaurs? A school excursion to the Big Koala goes horribly wrong when Phredde, Pru and Bruce - and their vampire teacher Mrs Olsen, and Miss Richards, librarian and martial arts expert - head back into the time of the dinosaurs, not to mention giant marsupial lions, a dinosaur with diarrhoea and an exploding volcano. Who will save them? Can one kid, two phaeries, a vampire and a librarian dressed in leopard-skin survive in the past with just a laptop computer, a flying carpet and a plastic spoon? Ages 7-12

Another spell-binding and spooky story starring Phredde, a fractious but fun-loving phaery, Bruce, a mosquito-eating frog, and Pru, an everyday-normal school girl - except that she lives in a fairy castle, keeps pet piranhas, has a werewolf for a brother and a vampire for a teacher. AND EXCEPt that now she has just inherited her very own mansion and is the envy of ALL her friends. Is this too good to be true? Is there something suspicous about Mr Nahsti, the solicitor? Why do Phredde and Bruce, Pru's best friends in the world, keep sneaking off to Phaeryland without her? And most important: who keeps stealing Pru's underpants? A hair-raising, spine-tingling GHOStLY tale of phaeries, underpants and adventure!

A collection of four more favourites from the Wacky Families series. So you think your family is wacky? Wait till you read these stories...How can Buster solve the disappearance of his werewolf parents when Uncle Wal keeps bugging him to act like a human all the time? What would tJ's friends say if they knew his gran was a gorilla? Is Drackie's Auntie Chook really a vampire chicken? And what will Fuzz do when his Pa makes him travel in the Arctic dressed as a polar bear? With drawings by award-winning illustrator Stephen Michael King, this collection of four new hilarious Wacky Family stories is guaranteed to delight younger readers. Containing: My Uncle Wal the Werewolf My Gran the Gorilla My Auntie Chook the Vampire Chicken My Pa the Polar Bear Ages: 7 - 10

Jackie French explores a distant and fascinating world, where the future is not always as it seems, and the king's displeasure means death. Ages 10 - 14 After Nikko and thetis are taken from their village, their amazing acrobatic skills save them from slavery and make them the focus of the Mycenaean court. the courtiers are in awe of them; the King is enchanted. But thetis may destroy them both when she tells the King a truth about his future that he doesn't want to hear. Nikko and the daring horse dancer Euridce must travel across Greece to find his sister again - and the extraordinary future that awaits them all - in Delphi. Can one young girl change history? Jackie French waves history, myth and fantasy together into one enthralling tale of horse dancers, earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as love and courage, from beyond recorded time. Ages 10-14

A companion piece to the best-selling HITLER'S DAUGHTER, this is a story of war-torn Europe during WWII, as seen through the eyes of a young German boy Georg, who loses his family and must forget his past and who he is in order to survive. Ages: 10+ It's 1939, and for Georg, son of an English academic living in Germany, life is full of cream cakes and loving parents. It is also a time when his teacher measures the pupils' heads to see which of them have the most 'Aryan'- shaped heads. But when a university graduation ceremony turns into a pro-Nazi demonstration, Georg is smuggled out of Germany to war-torn London and then across enemy seas to Australia where he must forget his past and who he is in order to survive. Hatred is contagious, but Georg finds that kindness can be, too. the companion piece to HItLER'S DAUGHtER, PENNIES FOR HItLER examines the life of a child during World War 2, from a different perspective.

'The story is equal parts Downton Abbey and wartime action, with enough romance and intrigue to make it 100% not-put-down-able.'-- Australian Women's Weekly on Miss Lily's Lovely Ladies Australian heiress Sophie Higgs was 'a rose of no-man's land', founding hospitals across war-torn Europe during the horror that was WW1.Now, in the 1920s, Sophie's wartime work must be erased so that the men who returned can find some kind of 'normality'.Sophie is, however, a graduate of the mysterious Miss Lily's school of charm and intrigue, and once more she risks her own life as she attempts to save others still trapped in the turmoil and aftermath of war.But in this new world, nothing is clear, in politics or in love. For the role of men has changed too. Torn between the love of three very different men, Sophie will face her greatest danger yet as she attempts an impossible journey across the world to save Nigel, Earl of Shillings - and her beloved Miss Lily.In this sequel to the bestselling Miss Lily's Lovely Ladies, Jackie French draws us further into a compelling story that celebrates the passion and adventure of an unstoppable army of women who changed the world.

She eats. She sleeps. She scratches. She goes to school...She sleeps. She eats. She scratches - and finds a hole. When Mothball discovers a new hole, it unexpectedly leads her to the local school. the children learn that wombats love carrots and grass, while Mothball learns that lunch boxes contain very few carrots, that sports sheds can be a good place to have a nap, and that when you're brown and round, it's not a good idea to get too close to a ball ...Ages 3 years plus

Australian Children's Laureate, book lover and dyslexia sufferer Jackie French gives a wonderful insight into how you can help your child discover a world of books. Does your child love books, but can't stay still long enough to focus on reading one? Would you like to improve your child's reading ability? Don't know where to begin to stimulate a greater love of reading in your child? Award-winning author Jackie French knows what it is to struggle with reading and literacy. Drawing on her own experience with dyslexia, Jackie has written this book to help parents identify the possible reading difficulties their children may have. All children learn differently, and Jackie offers many fun and rewarding way s to help launch your child into literacy. these include games for coordination, concentration and focus as well as helpful steps to kickstart your child into reading and to foster a life-long love of books. I SPY A GREAt READER is filled with a wealth of advice, anecdotes and activities - it's a book every parent should own.

The school sports day is on and Mothball wombat is competing! She eats. She sleeps. She scratches. But can this wombat win? From the award-winning, bestelling creators of DIARY OF A WOMBAT. This is a book about a wombat ...winning. Yes, Mothball has become an athlete, albeit a little accidentally. In her never-ending quest for carrots Mothball stumbles upon the children at the local school competing in the school sports. And despite her somewhat limiting physique and lack of training, Mothball manages to go home with a gold medal. Why puff and pant when you can eat, sleep and scratch? Ages 3+

From Australia's Children's Laureate comes a delightful collection of stories about horses and unicorns. take a journey through the ages and around the world - from ancient Greece, to the time of Genghis Khan to Arthurian England and then to outback Australia in the 1950s. Each story weaves the fantastic into the commonplace or focuses on the special relationship that exists between humans and horses. Some stories are based on true stories, some on fantasy, all are brimming with heart-warming magic and adventure. Age 8+

Third title following on from the award-winning and best-selling HITLER'S DAUGHTER and PENNIES FOR HITLER. Ages: 10 years + This is the story of Johannes, and Frau Timmins, and the strange girl now known as 'Helga'. It is also the story of how they survived the death camps, the vast wilderness faced by refugees in World War Two, and how they eventually found happiness in Australia. The final title in the multi award-winning Hitler series, this compelling story follows on from Heidi's story in Hitler's Daughter and Georg's in Pennies for Hitler, and shows us that evil must be fought and won. But once you've won, the hardest and most necessary battle is to understand and forgive. And to learn how to love and live again. Ages: 10 years+

Bestselling Mothball is back -- with birthday cake! (Carrot, of course.)She eats, she sleeps, she scratches. But today it's Mothball's birthday and it's time to celebrate!Created by author Jackie French and illustrator Bruce Whatley, Happy Birthday Wombat is a very funny picture book about enjoying a special day -- as seen through the eyes of the world's most famous wombat.PRAISE FOR DIARY OF A WOMBAT AND OTHER BOOKS STARRING MOTHBALL'French and Whatley have conjured an affectionate, believable wombat self-portrait' -- The New York Times Book Review'I absolutely love the tone of Mothball's diary entries -- the dry brevity and classic wombat behaviour that's made this gorgeous creature an Aussie literary treasure. Whatley's divinely funny illustrations yet again make for an all-rounder of a book that will loosen smiles on readers of any age' -- Kids' Book Review

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.

'A wonderful read for anyone whether they are discovering A Midsummer Night's Dream for the first time or revisiting the classic tale.' - Books+Publishing, four stars Titania rose to her feet. 'What is going on here, Peaseblossom?' she demanded.I bowed to her. 'I apologise, Your Majesty. But I'd rather be known as Pete.''Pete?' She frowned. 'That's no name for a fairy.''No, it isn't,' I said, meeting her eyes.At court, he's known as Peaseblossom, a servant to the Fairy Queen.But as Pete, he prefers pizza to sugarplums and denim to daffodils. He wants to choose his own life too. But how can he when a fairy's sole duty is to obey the all-powerful Queen Titania?This is Shakespeare's popular and delightful comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream with an added army of Amazons, a sea serpent and a selkie called Gaela, who luckily for Pete makes the best pizza in the world.It is also a story of the intrigues of the Fairy Court, of vampire plots to dominate the world and of impossible loves that might just come true. Not by enchantment, but when two hearts thread together, making a magic of their own.PRAISE 'By melding the old and the new, French cleverly raises questions about free will and the abuse of power ... A wonderful read for anyone whether they are discovering A Midsummer's Night Dream for the first time or revisiting the classic tale.' - Books+Publishing, four stars'Jackie French enriches Shakespeare's plot with well-rounded characters, convincing additional people and interesting back stories ... an absorbing novel' -- Magpies magazine on Third Witch'The tenderness and beauty French injects into the text is mesmerising ... Evocative scenes, tangible smells and sounds combine to immerse the reader in a carefully designed plot that both stays true to the classic play, and also uncomplicates things for the younger reader' -- Kids' Book Review on I am Juliet

As the King of England wavers between duty and love, Sophie knows that she must choose duty.The year is 1936 and the new King Edward VIII wishes to marry American divorcee, and suspected German agent, Wallis Simpson. Top-secret documents that the king must read and sign are being neglected for weeks, and some are even turning up in Berlin.And as Germany grows its military might with many thousands of new fighter planes every year, Britain and its empire are under increasing threat.Can Miss Lily's most successful protege, Sophie Vaile, the Countess of Shillings, seduce the new king, prevent his marriage to Wallis Simpson, and turn him from fascism?And if a man can sacrifice his life for his country, should a woman hesitate to sacrifice her honour?Based on new correspondence found in German archives, Lilies, Love and Lies is a work of fiction.Or is it?In the fourth title in the Miss Lily series, Jackie French explores one of the most controversial events in history that saw the unthinkable happen when a king chose love over duty.

The final and thrilling conclusion to the popular and bestselling Miss Lily seriesA mysterious telegram that says, 'Lily needs you' arrives just before a plane from war-ravaged England lands in one of Sophie Greenman's paddocks.Sophie, Countess of Shillings, has been living a quiet life on her property in Australia, until love and loyalty draw her back to England where she once trained to become one of Miss Lily's 'Lovely Ladies'. Now, in 1942, Shillings Hall trains women to become espionage agents.Sophie's mission? To seek out disaffected German officers prepared to kill Hitler.Across Europe women like Sophie, or Parisian couturier Violette, or Hannelore, German Prinzessin and spy, must determine where their deepest loyalty lies. And as Europe slowly disintegrates, Miss Lily must also decide her final fate.Based on real-life events, this is the story of the women who wielded immense, yet secret, power. And in this fifth and final book in the Miss Lily series, Jackie French tells the story of the remarkable women who have been carefully left out of our war histories: those lost lilies of allied espionage.

A powerful novel from master storyteller Jackie FrenchThe soldiers she saved called her the Angel of Waterloo.The husband she loved and lost called her Hen.The patients she treated in secret called her Auntie Love.She was Henrietta Bartlett, a surgeon's daughter, a survivor of the Napoleonic Wars. But now the battlefield is just a blood-soaked memory, and Hen dreams of peace, a home, and a society that allows women to practise medicine.On the other side of the world, the newly founded colony of New South Wales seems a paradise. But Europe's wars cast long shadows ...From bestselling author Jackie French comes the story of one woman's journey from the hell of Waterloo to colonial Australia, where she can forge her own dreams in a land of many nations.PRAISE FOR JACKIE FRENCH'a master storyteller ... [she] gives women a rich, strong, and brutally honest voice'- Better Reading'Heartwarming, heartbreaking and hard to put down' - Australian Women's Weekly on If Blood Should Stain the Wattle