Charlie loves the sea.

He loves the seashells and the seahorses, the sharks and the stingrays, the crabs and the crayfish.

He loves the gentle waves that creep up onto the sand and tickle his toes.

He loves the huge wild waves that crash onto the sand and make the beach tremble.

But most of all he loves the whales.

'A simple but heart-felt story about the wonders of the natural world and the rewards of patience' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

'Libby Gleeson's words are lyrical, and Hannah Somerville's illustrations are almost ethereal as they combine to make a story that is as magical as the whales themselves' READPLUS

Twelve year old Eleanor doesn't want to move from her home in the cool New England region of New South Wales, to the hot dry Western Plains and a new home on her mother's family farm. One day, in the old schoolhouse on the farm, she makes an amazing discovery, finding her grandmother's diary, written when she was Eleanor's own age. Eleanor doesn't remember her grandmother Elizabeth, who died when she was three; but as she explores the diary and its secrets, she begins to understand not only her grandmother's life and personality, but also to appreciate the special qualities of the region where she lives. But her grandmother's diary will prove to be much more than just absorbing reading material, when great danger threatens Eleanor and her brothers...

Vividly written and grippingly told, this new edition of multi-award-winning author Libby Gleeson's first novel, originally published in 1984, features a new introduction by the authorand illustrations by Beattie Alvarez.

A gripping mystery unfolds in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone that leaves a young girl unable to remember her name or where she comes from

Mud. In her mouth, her nose and her eyes. Mud in her hair and caked on her neck and her arms. Mud filling her shoes and seeping through the thin cotton weave of her trousers. She lay sprawled on her side, a garbled, barely distinct sound coming from her: jaymartinjaymartin. Her world was mud and pain.

'What's your name?' A boy was sitting on a kitchen table floating in a muddy pool. At his feet was a child's doll, the head lolling to one side.

Red can't remember the cyclone. She can't remember anything--her name, where she lived, or who her family might be. Her identity has been ripped away. Then she makes a discovery, and finds she has an important mission to accomplish. But in this chaotic, bewildering world, can she do it on her own? Who can she trust?