Alex: Through My Eyes - Australian Disaster Zones

(Paperback)

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A few kookaburras laugh in the gum trees. Alex grins - they don't often come up this far. His grandpa told him that if kookaburras laugh late in the afternoon, it will rain next day. 'Ha, someone needs to tell the rain to listen, hey Tangi' She grins at him like it's a good joke. Alex wishes it was just a joke.

Thirteen-year-old Alex lives on a drought-affected property in South Australia with his mum, his dad, his kelpie dog Tangi and colt, Jago. When he meets his new next-door neighbour, Bonnie, he is grateful to make a new friend and fascinated by the camels her family has brought to the farm..


For years it hasn't rained enough for them to put a crop in. And while all the farmers in the area are suffering, Alex's dad is struggling more than most. It's nearly winter and the paddocks are still brown. But when Bonnie comes over to visit and cook with him, Alex feels lighter inside. And his mum loosens up a bit as well.


As the drought stretches on, Alex must help his mum with the farm work, and draw wisdom and strength from his support networks so he can find a way into a brighter future.


This inspiring Australian Disaster Zones series is a powerful and contemporary reminder of the effects of natural disasters and the ever-increasing threat of climate change to our vast and volatile continent.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN DISASTER ZONES SERIES
'A thrilling story combining adventure with environmental warnings, Tyenna sets a high standard for the series.' - The West Australian

Author Bio

Rosanne Hawke is the South Australian author of over thirty-five books. She lived in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates as an aid worker for ten years. Her books include Shahana, a CBCA Notable Book, Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll, a CBCA Notable Book, and Taj and the Great Camel Trek, winner of the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Children's Literature and shortlisted for the 2012 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She was the 2015 recipient of the Nance Donkin Award; an Asialink, Carclew, Varuna and May Gibbs Fellow; and a Bard of Cornwall. She taught creative writing at Tabor Adelaide and writes in an old Cornish farmhouse with underground rooms near Kapunda.

Series editor and series creator Lyn White has extensive experience as a primary school teacher-librarian and EAL teacher and in 2010 completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Lyn is passionate about children's literature and has great expertise in engaging students and teachers with quality texts. Her work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones. Lyn went on to create and edit the Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones series set around international and Australian disasters. The novels pay tribute to the courage and resilience of children who are often the most vulnerable in post-disaster situations. Lyn is a conference presenter, runs workshops based on the Through My Eyes texts and has written several articles for teacher-association journals and children's literature magazines.