Penny Matthews: 15 books

It's 1850 . . . and Nellie is returning to Adelaide after searching for the Thompson family at the Burra. She's keen to get back to her best friend, Mary, who is ill in hospital. But she is in for a terrible shock . . . Even Nellie begins to feel that all is lost and that she might never achieve her...

It's 1931 . . . and Kettle Farm is starting to feel like home, but Ruby is still desperately worried about her dad. He hasn't written for weeks, and nobody knows where he is. Will Dad ever come back to them? When nobody will give Ruby any answers, she sets out to find him herself . . . Follow...

It's 1930 . . . and Ruby Quinlan lives in a big house in Adelaide with her parents and her fox terrier, Baxter. As she gets ready for her twelfth birthday party, Ruby has never been happier. But the world she knows is collapsing, and people everywhere are losing their jobs and their homes. Soon Ruby's...

It's 1931 . . . and Ruby and her family have lost everything in the Great Depression.� Leaving behind her dad, her school friends and everything she knows, Ruby must move to Kettle Farm to stay with her cousins.� Life in the country is new and strange, and Ruby has never felt like such an outsider.�...

It's 1931 . . .and Ruby is settling into life at her school in the country.� But when a desperately poor family moves to the area, no one wants to be friends with them.� Ruby will have to choose sides, and she has already made one enemy at school - Doris Spinks.� Will Ruby do what she believes...

Their lives couldn't be more different, but Emmie can't help liking Bertha Schippan. She's funny and knowing and wild, and she distracts Emmie from the monotony of farm life in their tiny, isolated community. But, as Emmie soon discovers, Bertha has secrets. Terrible secrets. This heartbreaking story...

It's 1849 . . . and Nellie O'Neill is arriving in South Australia on a ship bringing orphan girls from Irish workhouses. Nellie and her best friend, Mary, have left the famine in Ireland far behind, and are full of hopes and dreams for the future. Nellie longs to learn to read, to be part of a family...

It's 1850 . . . and Nellie is returning to Adelaide after searching for the Thompson family at the Burra. She's keen to get back to her best friend, Mary, who is ill in hospital. But she is in for a terrible shock . . . Even Nellie begins to feel that all is lost and that she might never achieve her...

It's 1849 . . . and Nellie O'Neill has arrived in South Australia on a ship bringing orphan girls from Irish workhouses. She has left the famine in Ireland far behind, and is full of hopes and dreams for the future. She wants to learn to read, to be part of a family once more and never to be hungry...

It's 1849 . . . and Nellie is starting her new life as a kitchen maid in a grand Adelaide house with her best friend, Mary. But Nellie's desire to live out her dreams soon leads to a battle with the�spiteful cook Bessie Rudge. Can Nellie keep her temper and avoid being thrown out to beg on the streets?...

It's 1850 and Nellie's best friend, Mary, is gravely ill. To provide Mary with the care she needs, Nellie must break a promise and go on a quest to find the Thompson family. But will they be able to help? And who will Nellie turn to when her own life is in danger? Follow Nellie on her adventure in...

It's 1930 . . . and Ruby Quinlan lives in a big house in Adelaide with her parents and her fox terrier, Baxter. As she prepares for her twelfth birthday party, Ruby has never been happier, but the world outside is experiencing harder t**imes. Ruby knows that lots of people are losing their jobs, but...

Do you dare . . . Join a rebellion? Stand up to a bully? Risk your life for a friend? It's an adventure in history. Do You Dare? Henry lives with his father and sister on the Victorian goldfields. Still mourning the loss of his mother and baby brother, Henry helps his father to mine their claim and...

Their lives couldn't be more different, but Emmie can't help liking Bertha Schippan. She's funny and knowing and wild, and she distracts Emmie from the monotony of farm life in their tiny, isolated community. But, as Emmie soon discovers, Bertha has secrets. Terrible secrets. This heartbreaking story...