Booklists

The Nazis want everyone to be the same. If you're different, you don't belong. Not belonging is dangerous... Anna's little sister, Eva, is frail and needs time to learn new things. She has a huge heart and a gift for loving, but Hitler doesn't value such riches. And so she's hidden away. Safe for now, but with the threat of discovery always near. Anna does her best to bring joy and light to Eva's small life with stories, trinkets and treasures from the outside world. But soon, more children need hiding. Risks are taken - by Anna, by her best friend Udo, by a Nazi seamstress and feisty Brunhilde. Until Anna wonders if any of them will make it through the war... LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Katrina Nannestad read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#all-the-beautiful-things-katrina-nannestad

Eleven-year-old Jones Kirby has just moved to Sydney from her farm in country New South Wales. She's missing her alpacas and wide-open paddocks and can't get used to her family's tiny city apartment. She's also worried that her vision is blurry - she lost her eye to cancer as a toddler. Could it be another tumor? Enrolling at her new school, Jones meets shy, awkward August Genting. He loves fun facts, the library and knitting as much as Jones loves rock climbing and being outdoors. Who would have thought they'd become fast friends? At home, August's parents are fighting. And for Jones, the news from the doctor is not good. To cheer themselves up, the pair hatch a brilliant plan: the August and Jones Must-See Bucket List. Together, this brave duo will set out to meet a rare monkey, run across the Harbour Bridge and even climb Australia's highest mountain." LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Pip Harry read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#august-and-jones-pip-harry

Lily and her parents are travelling performers are delayed in Canowindra, just as famous bushranger Ben Hall and his gang - who has pulled off the biggest gold robbery ever - arrive. The gang hold everyone in town hostage but instead of threats, hold a strange, giant three day party, and Lily is in enthralled. She writes a secret play 'Bold Ben Hall' and dreams of sending it to a famous theatre company in Sydney or Melbourne. Meanwhile, in Forbes, stable boy Sam works for Sir Frederick Pottinger, Ben Halls nemesis. Sam who dreams of helping Sir Fred to catch Ben Hall. When Lily and Sam meet, the two are soon at loggerheads about their heroes determined to prove the other wrong...and to try any means to do so! LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Sophie Masson read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#bold-ben-hall-sophie-masson

When the Fallen Star struck, some dinosaurs survived, but grew alert. They learnt to speak. To dream. To wage war. As the last dinosaur kingdoms continue to fight, Eleri, the disgraced son of a prince, is banished to the merciless Deadlands for saving an enemy soldier. To survive the dangers of the scorched desert he joins a herd of other young exile. But when Eleri and his fellow misfits discover the horrific truth behind the war, the unlikely heroes must do all they can to save their kingdom from a secret plot that could destroy them all. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Skye Melki-Wegner read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#the-deadlands-1-hunted-skye-melki-wegner

Neighbours and reluctant reading partners Basil and Terry are once again reading The Complete Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. Last time, they found themselves plunged into the fairytale world, where everyone was losing the plot. This time, words - well, chickens - are disappearing! Will the boys be able to stop the plot holes from destroying everything... including their way home? LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Annaleise Byrd read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#down-the-plot-hole-annaleise-byrd

Anahita Rosalind Ghorban-Galaszczuk (yes, that really is her name but you can call her Ana) is discovering that life is absurd. As if dying of cancer at the age of 12.5 isn't bad enough, she still has to endure daily insults from her nemesis, Alyssa (Queen Mean) Anderson. Ana's on a wild roller-coaster of life and death, kindness and cruelty, ordinary and extraordinary. And she's got a few things to do before she exits . . . LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Maryam Master read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#exit-through-the-gift-shop-maryam-master

Cassie Morgan is at boarding school and hates it. She is ignored or bullied by both staff and students, but she stays because of a promise she made to her mother, her only family, and whom she hasn't seen for 7 years. Suddenly, Cassie finds out that she has a relative in the small town of Hedgely, who is a witch. Cassie sets off to Hedgely to discover herself, become a witch and find her mother. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Skye McKenna read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#hedgewitch-skye-mckenna

Meet the Heist squad. aka a motley crew of hot-headed misfits who hate each other but LOVE chocolate. But then they discover a sinister chocolatey plot, right in the bowels of their high school, that will threaten the entire human race with utter annihilation. Can they put aside their differences to achieve the most audacious chocolate heist ever and save the world? LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Joel McKerrow read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#heist-1-the-great-chocolate-caper-joel-mckerrow

Kip lives on a mountain in South Africa. She rides horses at Sunnybrook Ranch and a magical creature called Buffel is her loyal companion. Life is good. But when her roof falls in and her dad can't afford to fix it, Kip vows to save the day. She knows there's treasure in the Karoo desert. Unfortunately, there are also killer leopards and cowboy ghosts, and a film set full of dodgy Hollywood people. Knowing who to trust will be her toughest battle yet. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Emma Gourlay read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#kip-of-the-karoo-emma-gourlay

Kip is desperate for a best friend. She has difficulty at school with bullies and the teacher is not too nice either. She gets 'gifted' a kitten like creature and names his Buffel. She loves him and will do anything for him. Buffel listens to Kip, which isn't something she gets a lot of. So, when Buffel gets kidnapped, Kip will do anything to get him back. Kip will have to use all her ingenuity and bravery to get Buffel home. Luckily she has made a new class friend, who helps her on the rescue mission. This story is an action-adventurous mystery, with a touch of magic, taking the reader from the mountains to the sea. Kip's unique and believable voice provides a solid scaffold for this zany world where armadillos can become car wheels, and squirrels do their own ironing. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Emma Gourlay read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#kip-of-the-mountain-emma-gourlay

Zee is a loner. She likes to read Oscar Wilde and watch documentaries all day which, according to her parents, is not normal for 13 year olds. So they decide to send her on a five-day holiday camp, hoping she'll make at least one friend. Now, Zee would rather take a bath in Tabasco sauce than attend a camp called Youth Fusion. But with influencer Tiffanee and super-nerds Jonah and Moses, she soon finds herself in the middle of a hair-rising mystery, hurling her into some fierce detective work and bringing her face to face with the notorious Old Bat Viv. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Maryam Master read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#laughter-is-the-best-ending-maryam-master

Bones has a fascination with drawing animal skeletons and collecting small dead things. Her friends think she's weird and Bones is on her own after losing her brother in an accident. Her mum has gone too. When a tiny baby bird comes back to life Bones makes an unexpected friend. How can she let Bird go when she doesn't want to say goodbye? LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Sandy Bigna read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#little-bones-sandy-bigna

Basil doesn't want to help his sporty neighbour with reading. When Terry brings over Fairytales by the Brothers Grimm neither of them realise just how real the fairytales will become when they find themselves transported into the world in the book! Killing witches and escaping faceless giants is only the start. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Annaleise Byrd read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#losing-the-plot-annaleise-byrd

The kayak rolled as Max tried to get into it. The shock of capsizing into the cold, dirty water made him gasp and swallow some of it. It tasted muddy and disgusting. Was he going to drown? His chest thudded as he fought the floodwater gushing around him. How long could he hold his breath? He could feel a sense of panic rising. When an unexpected rain bomb hits south-east Queensland in late summer, an unprecedented disaster engulfs the city of Brisbane. Nothing can prepare Max and his family for the devastating flood as neighbours struggle to help each other survive. When floodwaters rise, homes are submerged and his newfound friend Trent goes missing, Max must face the greatest challenge of his life. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Prue Mason read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#max-through-my-eyes-prue-mason

Join Mr Erasmus-a dreamer and thinker-and his dear friend Sylphie Quicksilver as they share the wonders of stories, poems, plays, articles, puzzles and comic serials. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Claire Catacouzinos read a short story on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#eione-claire-catacouzinos

When Nanny Tobbins fell off a horse and broke her neck, the grown-ups told nine-year-old Albertine she'd never see her beloved governess again. But it simply isn't true. For every night, when the clock strikes twelve, Nanny returns to the nursery. Yet in her new ghostly state, Nanny Tobbins quickly causes chaos in the household -- and the timing couldn't be more inconvenient. Albertine's stepmother is struggling to settle in, and Papa is much occupied working with Prince Albert on the Great Exhibition. To make matters worse, the grown-ups don't believe in ghosts at all, leaving Albertine to take the blame for Nanny's unruly antics. How will Albertine restore peace to her home before the unthinkable occurs? LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Lucie Stevens read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#r-i-p-nanny-tobbins-lucie-stevens

In the spring of 1942 Sasha and his family are enjoying the beautiful flowers and sunshine while still missing his father who has gone to war and not come back. This peace does not last very long before Sasha is on his own and running for his life across the Russian countryside. Sasha soon finds himself in the company of Russian soldiers and faced with keeping himself and his new friends alive. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Katrina Nannestad read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#rabbit-soldier-angel-thief-katrina-nannestad

Any two Orbit or Touchdown magazines can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Nettie Sweeney is the youngest in her family and wishes they had a Mum. When her new Mum finally arrives, it seems like the Sweeney family have it made. But tragedy strikes and nothing will ever be the same again: Nettie attempts to help fix things but will her actions lead to disaster? LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Katrina Nannestad read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#silver-linings-katrina-nannestad

Leopold and Alytash - Leo and Tash - are neighbours who used to be best friends, but aren't anymore, for reasons that Leo doesn't entirely understand. But now it's the last week of Year Six and Tash is standing in Leo's front yard with a misdelivered letter - and a favour to ask. It's a request that will set off a chain of events in their little crescent in Noble Park, a suburb that is changing, and fast. In the process of solving an unfolding neighbourhood mystery and helping Ms Shepparson, a reclusive neighbour with a tragic past, Leo and Tash each have to confront fault-lines in their own recent histories and families. They will discover that friendships can grow and change, that bravery takes many forms, and that, most of all - whatever the future holds - friends and family are what matter. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Danielle Binks read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#six-summers-of-tash-and-leopold-danielle-binks

Any two books from this series may be read as Challenge books and up to five more can be read as personal choice books. Go to the online booklists for the PRC ID of the individual books in this series.

Sam feels like he is a weird looking kid, because he is the only kid he knows who is white and has an afro. He lives with his mum and his dog in Brisbane. One day, a surprise visit causes him to start to question his heritage and who he is. Faced with racist grandmothers, annoying school mates and some big questions, Sam is on a quest to find out who he really is. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Anton Clifford-Motopi read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#to-and-fro-anton-clifford-motopi

Gaming fanatic Jay receives a strange phone call on a school trip to Titanium Tower. The voice on the other end calls himself Z. And he has trapped Jays classmates in the elevator at the very top of the skyscraper. Jay finds himself with no choice but to try and solve Zs deadly riddles. Not only that, he has the worst person possible helping him: Hudson Hamm, the schools star athlete and resident tough guy. Soon Jay and Hudson are on a high-stakes scavenger hunt around the city. Can they team up to beat Z at his own game? If not, their classmates and family members will pay with their lives. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Adrian Beck read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#villain-adrian-beck

War is not just the story of soliders and generals and battles, but it is also the story of children and parents, and families lost and found. As the second World War comes to an end, the Wolf family face their greatest test of survival when the reality of a German defeat comes to their village. Liesl is tasked with keeping her younger brother and sister close and alive while also trying to survive without losing all the things which make them human. LISTEN ON BOOK BITES! You can listen to Katrina Nannestad read the first chapter of this book on the PRC's Book bites podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or The Arts Unit website! Copy and paste this URL into your browser to start listening! https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/listen-the-arts-unit/literature-and-language-arts/book-bites/5-6-book-list#we-are-wolves-katrina-nannestad