We are excited to finally reveal our country and theme for The Fairy Book Club February 2018!

We are going to read a book from an Australian writer which focusses on relationships. Below are the details of the book choices, and underneath that is where you can make your vote!

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton:

Precipitated by separate personal tragedies, two poor families flee their rural homes to share a “great continent of a house”, Cloudstreet, in a suburb of Perth The two families are contrasts to each other; the devoutly religious Lambs find meaning in hard work and God’s grace, while the Pickles hope for good luck and don’t share the Lambs’ appetite for hard work.
As they roister and rankle, the place that began as a roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts.

Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner:

19th century Australia: Captain Woolcot, having lost his wife tragically young, remarried a much younger young woman to provide his six children with a new mother. Together, they had another child, making seven. The Captain felt it was necessary to run the family with army discipline, but his rules and regulations were no match for the fun loving children, led by the redoubtable Judy.
When one of Judy’s escapades tests the Captain’s patience to the limit, he decides that extreme measures are called for and sends her away to boarding school.

But this leads to consequences not even he could anticipate.

Breathing Under Water by Sophie Hardcastle:

Ben and Grace Walker are twins. Growing up in a sleepy coastal town it was inevitable they’d surf. Always close, they hung out more than most brothers and sisters, surfing together for hours as the sun melted into the sea. At seventeen, Ben is a rising surf star, the golden son and the boy all the girls fall in love with. Beside him, Grace feels like she is a mere reflection of his light. In their last year of school, the world beckons, full of possibility. For Grace, finishing exams and kissing Harley Matthews is just the beginning.

Then, one day, the unthinkable. The sun sets at noon and suddenly everything that was safe and predictable is lost. And everything unravels.

I can jump puddles by Alan Marshall:

I Can Jump Puddles is Alan Marshall’s story of his childhood – a happy world in which, despite his crippling poliomyelitis, he plays, climbs, fights, swims, rides and laughs. His world was the Australian countryside early last century: rough-ri ders, bushmen, farmers and tellers of tall stories – a world held precious by the young Alan.

The Shiralee by D’Arcy Niland:

A shiralee is a swag, a burden, a bloody millstone – and that’s what four-year-old Buster is to her father, Macauley. He takes the child on the road with him to spite his wife, but months pass and still no word comes to ask for the little girl back. Strangers to each other at first, father and daughter drift aimlessly through the dusty towns of Australia, sleeping rough and relying on odd jobs for food and money. Buster’s resilience and trust slowly erode Macauley’s resentment, and when he’s finally able to get rid of her, he realises he can’t let his shiralee go. He discovers that the ties that bind can be as much a comfort as a burden, and what he thought of as his Shiralee could be the one thing that will save him from himself.