Dramatisations of two novels by the Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick WhiteAustralian author Patrick White is widely regarded as one of the most important English-language novelists of the 20th century. His debut novel, 1939’s Happy Valley, was awarded the Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society, and he won the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature – the only Australian to have received the honour. Two of his critically acclaimed works are featured here...

When Mr Tipkins, a gift-giver from the Department of Wishes of Faerie, arrives to give a wish to a newborn baby in the village of Widdershins, he isn't in the best of moods. His uncharacteristic burst of bad temper begins a chain reaction that has consequences no one can foresee. The Truth about Magic is a story of mistakes and of deception, of wizards (good and bad) and of what happens when perfectly ordinary wishes go wrong. This is a refreshed cover edition.

Young Piccolo Grande lives in his fine old family home. But one fateful afternoon his neat and ordered life is turned upside down and inside out when noisy, round and red-faced Annabelle bursts into his life. She claims to be his great aunt but Piccolo recognises her for the angel she is - a guardian angel, sent to mind Piccolo. But where Annabelle goes, disaster follows, and in two shakes of a feather it is the boy who is minding the angel.

A boy called George had a brilliant idea, To be like the heroes of old. He would go off and search for a dragon. To prove he was fearless and bold. Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, as he zooms back in time to track down a dragon! George climbs in his time machine with only a scooter, some cakes and tasty doughnuts to aid him in his quest. When he arrives in long, long ago he spies a dragon straight away! Or does he ...?

A boy called George had a wonderful plan To search for a real pirate crew. So he packed up a pizza, his favourite feast And rowed off on the wide ocean blue. Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, who longs to meet a real pirate crew. Seeing sail with a cheesy treat to sustain him on his voyage, he soon finds scurrilous sea dogs and marine monsters – not to mention an unusual feathered friend!

A boy called George had a magical plan, One Christmas Eve, frosty and bright. As Santa brought presents to him every year, He’d take gifts to Santa that night. Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, on a very festive quest – to find Father Christmas himself! This time George is heading to the North Pole to deliver lots of presents to Santa for a change! But oh no – Santa and the elves are in trouble, and Rudolf has lost the light from his...

A boy called George had a marvellous idea. One night as he gazed at the stars, 'I'll go and find out what sweets Martians like best.' So, he planned his first mission to Mars. Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, as he blasts into space to seek life on Mars! With his homemade rocket and map of the stars, George is sure the Martians will be easy to find. But when he lands, the Martians can't be seen. George is alone ... or so he thinks. ...

A boy called George had a staggering thought: The T-Rex could still be alive! So he built a hang glider and packed up his bag, With the tools he would need to survive. Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, on a Jurassic Park-style journey to find an island of dinosaurs! George swoops off to seek the fearsome T-rex on his home-made hang-glider with just his dog Trixie for company. But will he find the lost dinosaur island he seeks? And ho...

'Hurrah!' shouted George, 'At last it is you. I've been looking so hard for the Yeti.' The monster looked down with a horrible howl ... 'Are you bonkers? My name is Netty!' Join George, a young and courageous explorer with all the pluck of a little Indiana Jones, on a quest to track down the elusive Yeti against all the odds. With only a map, a woolly hat and a tin of spaghetti in his rucksack, George sets off on his journey up the steep mountain path ... and spots the Yeti immediately! Bu...

Clair-de-Lune has lived all her life with her grandmother at the top of a very tall, very narrow, very old building. Her mother, a great ballerina, died on stage when Clair-de-Lune was a baby. Ever since that day, Clair-de-Lune has not uttered a word. Then she meets tiny, brave Bonaventure (a talking dancer-mouse) who takes her to the mysterious monastery hidden in a secret fold of Clair-de-Lune's apartment building. But this is only the beginning of the journey for Clair-de-Lune, and she ...

Pete Perkins is a normal little boy who loves nothing more than making mischief and pulling practical jokes. But when he wakes up one night to find a tiny green alien called Binko crawling out of his belly button, Pete finds himself caught up in a prank that’s gone all wrong - with cosmic consequences! Binko lives on the planet Pok, where his parents are Head Keepers at the Galactic Zoo. Unfortunately, while trying to play a trick on them, Binko manages to let loose a whole enclosure of Ic...

In 1839 John Harrington voyages 12,000 miles from Ireland into the unknown to take up a sheep-run in the southern regions of Australia. From a distinguished family of Anglo-Irish aristocrats who have fallen on hard times, the youngest son has been sent to the remotest part of the world to make his fortune. For twenty years Harrington prospers, but he is plagued by a sense of dislocation and loneliness in a hostile place. When he is joined by his drunken brother and married sister, tragedy ...