Hills End

Publishing Details

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Description

On a fateful day in Hills End, a timber-milling town in the mountains of Victoria, seven children and their teacher set off to explore caves in the nearby mountains said to contain ancient Aboriginal rock art. While they are deep inside the mountain caves a storm of tremendous violence all but sweeps the town away and threatens to leave them stranded on the mountain. Tackling flooded creeks, washed out paths and fallen trees, the children make their way back to Hills End injured and exhausted, only to face a new battle to survive in the denuded town.

Reviews

'The author has the power to get inside his characters, and through them express his faith in human nature in the goodness of man...a solid work, strong in action, mood and discipline.' New York Times 'A book that has haunted me for years.' -- Ramona Koval By the Book 'I would highly recommend this novel for both children and adults as the vivid imagery which Southall creates is something which is not as prominent in today's literature. I believe that it is important for young people to read books like this as they encourage a love for the written word, something which is often neglected these days.' -- ReadPlus review blog

Author Bio

Ivan Southall was born in Melbourne in 1921. His father's death forced him to leave school at the age of 14 and begin working full time to support his family. During his spare time he wrote short stories (some of which were published) and completed four books before the age of 20. When the Second World War began he joined the RAAF, trained as a pilot and eventually became the captain of a Sunderland flying boat, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. After the war, Southall went to London and wrote war history for two years. In 1947 he returned to Australia and became a freelance writer. Southall's first children's book, Meet Simon Black was published by Angus and Robertson in 1950. This was the beginning of the Simon Black adventure series and was followed by eight more titles over the next 10 years, each drawn from his wartime flying experiences. In 1966 Ash Road won the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Award and Southall really came into his own as a children's writer. Numerous editions of his many books have appeared throughout the world in over 20 languages. Over the next 30 years he and his books received multiple honours and awards here in Australia and also in England, Japan, Holland, Austria, the United States, and Spain. Southall has travelled extensively and has lectured about children's books