Fiction > Developing Readers > Aussie Bites

The death of a prime bull, which belongs to all the village, is a disaster for young Rif. After all, it's his fault the bull died. He was supposed to be guarding it, with his grandfather Larrikin, but instead they went fishing. Now Larrikin is threatened with a dunking by the angry villagers.

The Seaport Junior Sharks football team is in trouble. The Sharks haven't won a single match in the last two seasons, their oval has been declared unsafe, and they don't have enough players to form a viable team. But Eddie Atlas is determined to save the Sharks...

A young knight, who is unable to obtain good quality oil to lubricate his armour, meets a dragon who has lost his ability to breath fire. They head out on a journey together to find a solution to both their problems. Ages 8+.

Roland is the youngest of three boys, and a bit of a loner. One day, while he's wandering along the roadside, he finds an interesting- looking screw-top tin. He takes the lid off, and suddenly a small girl is standing beside him. Ages 8+.

Things aren't too great financially at Chris's house, and Dad has the bright idea that having a few chooks would be sound economy. So the whole family works together to build a terrific chook-house. Dad, Chris and older brother Max go to a chook farm and buy ten ex-battery hens. The hens must keep producing eggs, Dad says, or they'll get the chop. There should be ten eggs to gather every day. Chris forms a special attachment with one of the hens, Happy Harry. When the number of eggs dwindles to nine, and it's clear that Happy Harry... read more

Gemma's beloved horse has died recently, and she still misses him. One day, in a small bare paddock, she sees a grey horse in shocking condition. She feeds him, but hasn't reckoned on the horse's owner, who guards the horse jealously even though she can't care for him properly. Gemma is determined to help any way she can.

Marty isn't good at anything much at school, but he does have one highly unusual talent: his ability to fart on cue. Unfortunately it's not a talent that impresses many people, until he is discovered by farting coach, Mr Windybottom and recruited to star in the World Championship tournament.

Williams has a school project to do by Friday. He has to design a moon station. Williams has a few ideas - there should be laboratories where the astronauts can do experiments on moon rats, and a space where they can play games like moonstick and snatch. But in the end it's just too hard, and he lets his parents do most of the work. This is what his friend Baxter (whose parents are an astrophysicist and a cosmologist) calls 'outsourcing'. Pretty much everybody does it, apart from Kathleen, a girl in his class who affects Williams s... read more

Skeletal Haggis McGregor has been dead for hundreds of years, but that doesn't stop him wanting a wife. And while he's looking for her, he and his equally bony ghostly horse have fun rampaging around the little Scottish village of Dunroamin, scaring the inhabitants out of their wits. Lonely, middle-aged Miss McDoogle is certain that Haggis intends her to be his bride, and that prospect doesn't appeal to her at all - even though her supposed great-nephew, wispy little Gordon Cobb, wants her to marry Haggis very much indeed. Will Hag... read more

Norman is a dignified garden gnome who lives in the garden of elderly Mr Goodfellow and takes great pride in doing what gnomes are supposed to do: Nothing. He is also a keen observer of everything that happens around him, and sometimes he applies to his Inner Gnome for wisdom and strength. When Mr Goodfellow inexplicably goes away and his home is taken over by a stylish woman and a particularly annoying small girl apparently called Darling, Norman has to do a great deal of calling on his Inner Gnome. Darling seems to think he's som... read more

Jack's big brother tom has asked him to go fishing! But Jack knows you should never go fishing when there are crocs about . . .

Marty (a.k.a the Baked Bean Bandit) and his farting coach Mr Windybottom are off to China at the invitation of Mr Windybottom's old guru Master Pong, leader of the Order of the Sacred Wind. Master Pong and his warrior monks have dedicated their lives to achieving a perfect balance of mind, body and flatulence, and they take their flatulent power from the sacred Beans of Destiny. When Marty arrives at Pong's monastery, he soon discovers that the monks are being challenged by the evil General Pu, who is determined to take the Beans f... read more