Biography



Cheryl Keane || Red Hill Primary ACT || Lightness || Portia De Rossi || The author gives a detailed account of her struggle with anorexia. This book gives the reader an insight into the mind of a person who suffers from this condition. || Debbie Haddrick || Red Hill Primary ACT || Red Hill Primary ACT || "Irresistible. I thought I knew quite a lot about Roald Dahl, but now I know much much more. Donald Sturrock's book lucidly describes a complicated life and relates it to the richness of Dahl's storytelling." Quentin Blake || Sue Warren Red Hill Primary ACT || Alex is the adoptive mother of 8 children with Downs Syndrome or other disabilities, children who some parts of society would perhaps prefer to forget. Age 28 and unmarried, Alex adopted her first Downs child, Matthew -- and became one of the first people in the UK to be approved for adoption as a single woman. She then went on to take eight more children under her wing, Simon, Adrian, Nathan, Andrew, Chloe, Tom, Emily and Callum. As well as the children, she also tries to get the birth families to acknowledge and accept them - with varying degrees of success. Clip from the doco "If you are placing unusual children, then you need unusual families". || Barbara B ||
 * **Title** || **Author** || **Synopsis** || **Recommended by...** ||
 * **Three Cups of Tea** || Greg Mortenson || One man's mission to create peace one step at a time. "Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” || Barbara B. ||
 * **Stones into Schools** || Greg Mortenson || The sequel to Three Cups of Tea. Over the past seventeen years, Greg Mortenson, through his nonprofit Central Asia Institute (CAI), has worked to promote peace through education by establishing more than 171 schools, most of them for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. || Barbara B. ||
 * **True Spirit** || Jessica Watson || The story of Jessica Watson, the Australian teenager who became the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world. || Barbara B. ||
 * The Happiest Refugee || Ahn Do || If you have not read this one yet, it is a must. Ahn Do tells the story of his family and their struggles in Australia as refugees. The new picture book The Little Refugee is an adaptation of the story for children. Also available as a Kindle edition. || Debbie H
 * [|Playing the Shape Game] || Anthony Browne with Joe Browne || If, like me, you are a devotee of the delightfully simian-like Browne and his extraordinary body of work, you will love this book (I was lucky enough to receive it as a gift!). Anthony Browne and his brother used to play a game as children which they called 'the shape game'. Turning random doodles into recognisable objects foreshadowed Browne's work as an author/illustrator with his constant theme of 'transformation'. In his memoir Browne uses 'the shape game' concept as a metaphor for his life and award-winning career. Beautifully presented in a large book format and written in collaboration with his son Joe, this would make an exceptional Xmas gift to yourself :-) || Sue Warren
 * Unbearable
 * [|The Fry Chronicles] || Stephen Fry || Thirteen years on from Moab is My Washpot Stephen Fry presented the ongoing turmoil, decadence, successes and distresses of his life. I love Fry's wit and there were many moments when I laughed out loud reading this. Easy, enjoyable and entertaining (blatantly stealing one of Fry's own 'triplet' descriptions!) || Sue Warren
 * [|Hiding Edith : a true story] || Kathy Kacer || In recent years there has been a kind of spurt in books about the Holocaust and the plight of Jewish people under Nazi Germany which are more accessible to younger people. I purchased this for our collection after coming across it in a box of 'on approvals' because we'd had quite a number of students who had read their way through Once and its sequels, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Anne Frank, Hana's Suitcase and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. They were drawn to these books but particularly interested in 'real life' and this book is wonderful because it not only illustrates the Jewish tragedy but affirms that there are innately good people in the world who put others before themselves.It also demonstrates what the original ideals of Scouting were and having been involved in Guiding for many years that resonated. I enjoyed it very much - a wonderful story for either young adults or older ones :o). || Sue Warren
 * [|Storyteller : The life of Roald Dahl] || Donald Sturrock || Can you tell I enjoy biographies? Anyway, this was actually the first book I read in 2011 as it was a Xmas present. I learned so much more about Dahl than I had ever known before. It is written by someone who was personally acquainted with the family and was assisted by them in his research, so this is the definitive authorised bio. Although it's a hefty tome it was a pleasure to read and whiled away a couple of very rainy Queensland days.
 * **A mother like Alex** || Bernard Clark || This story captivated me and left me in awe.
 * **A Simpler Time** || Peter FitzSimmons || Peter FitzSimmons, the author of many books (Mawson, Kingsford Smith, Kokoda, etc) writes about his growing up on a farm at Peats Ridge (NSW near Gosford). It is a easy to read, charming tale of growing up in rural Australia in 1960s. I could relate to much of it. Also available as a Kindle edition. || Cheryl Keane ||
 * **[|One\One/ive]** || Alan Manly====Julian Day====

Graeme Brosnan
|| A personal true story that begins over a dispute involving $115 & does not end for nearly 10 years. Two 'unremarkable' men find themselves in Australian courts "battling for their lives". A well written story that is funny in an ironic way. The Australian Legal system will be embarrassed about this one lol!! || Soula J ||
 * The Master: a personal portrait of Bart Cummings || Les Carlyon || focuses solely on Cummings' Melbourne Cup success...one for all readers, as well as the horse folk. Carlyon is a dream to read especially when he loves his subject, and he does love Bart. Very enjoyable. || Neil D ||
 * Kenny's Dad || Ron Jacobson with Jim Lockwood || I picked this up on spec last year, and read it very quickly: a great portrait of the family behind "Kenny" the movie. Well worth finding, especially for the man around the house! Can be read in a day by a slow reader!! || Neil D ||