Trails Up and Down Under

Books for Teens

To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through our OPAC. Happy Reading!

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Trails Up

Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause.
RC 37955.
Aboard a space freighter en route to the planet where her scientist parents are based, Robin (Puck) Goodfellow, almost 13 and recently expelled from her proper English boarding school, befriends an alien called Hush (for short). Hush has had a cherished artifact stolen from him, and he believes it is on the ship. Puck vows to help him retrieve it, and is soon enmeshed in a mystery with an abundance of suspects. For grades 6-9 and older readers.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.
RC 53171 or LP 642.
London, 1872. Well-to-do, eccentric Phileas Fogg is certain that he can travel around the world in 80 days. He's so sure that he's wagered half of his fortune and set off on the grand adventure with his servant, Passepartout. For senior high and older readers.

Dancing with an Alien by Mary Logue.
BR 13491.
Branko, a teenage boy from outer space, travels to Earth to help save his planet from extinction by bringing back a female. Then he meets six-foot-tall Tonia, ultimately falls in love, and puts his mission at risk. For junior and senior high readers.

From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne.
RC 8767 or LP 660.
Written almost a century ago, this fantasy deals with a moon shot fired by an enormous gun from a hill in Florida. The three intrepid adventurers traveling in the capsule find themselves off course, and seem doomed to orbit the moon as a satellite forever. For junior and senior high readers.

Have Space Suit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein.
BR 14679.
High school senior Kip Russell longs to go to the moon but is kidnapped by space pirates. He meets other prisoners on a flying saucer, an eleven-year-old girl named Peewee and a strange creature they call the Mother Thing. For junior and senior high readers.

“It Is I, Sea Gull” : Valentina Tereshkova, First Woman in Space by Mitchell R Sharpe.
RC 13604.
A realistic portrait of the world's first woman cosmonaut, from her childhood in Russia during World War II to her historic space flight and her marriage to a fellow cosmonaut. For high school and adult readers.

Johannes Kepler and the New Astronomy by James R. Voelkel.
BR 13520.
A biography of the German astronomer whose discoveries include three of the laws that govern the movement of planets. Kepler (1571-1630) was born on the threshold of the scientific revolution in Europe, lived through Catholic-Protestant conflicts, and died before his work was fully appreciated. For grades 6-9 and older readers.

Plane Talk: Aviators’ and Astronauts’ Own Stories by Carl R. Oliver.
RC 20408.
A collection of vivid first-person accounts by the men and women who have made American aviation history. Includes narratives by Orville Wright, Eddie Rickenbacker, Richard Byrd, and a quartet of astronauts. For high school and adult readers.

Time for the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein.
RC 14186.
A pair of identical twins provide communication between Earth and spaceships exploring distant solar systems. One twin retains his youth in the frontiers of space while his brother ages on Earth. An imaginative tale combining humor and adventure for junior and senior high and adult readers.

The Travellers’ Guide to Mars: Don’t Leave Earth without It by Michael Pauls and Dana Facaros.
RC 49723.
Since more families are considering Mars for their vacations, the authors have developed a humorous yet factual guide to educate tourists (and others) about the Red Planet. Describes Martian geography, the history of Mars in myth and popular culture, and its space-age exploration. For senior high and older readers.

Trails Down Under

Looking for Allibrandi by Melina Marchetta.
BR 12681.
During her senior year in a Catholic school in Sydney, Australia, Josie meets her father, whom she has never known. She also has to contend with her cantankerous Italian grandmother, her illegitimate background, and her relationships with beaus Jacob and John. For senior high readers.

MacKenzie’s Boots by Michael Noonan.
RC031265.
Rod McKenzie, fourteen, tall, gangly, awkward, and with oversized feet, has succeeded in disguising his age to enlist in the Australian army during World War II. He finds himself in combat in the Pacific. Promoted to corporal, he must handle the older men in his charge, keep his age under wraps, and confront his own reactions when he discovers that the enemy is also human. Some strong language. For junior and senior high and older readers.

Reef of Death by Paul Zindel.
BR011814.
Maruul, an Aboriginal girl, and PC McPhee, an American boy, help their relatives dive for ancient treasure beneath the Australian reefs. But a killer fish and an unscrupulous scientist are also hunting in the sea. Some violence. For junior and senior high readers.

Secret Lives by Caroline MacDonald.
BR 11286.
Australian Ian Ganty, 14, lives with his grandmother because his parents died. When she leaves town for a few days, Ian's life spirals out of control. First, his new older friend Gideon steals a car, and then Ian becomes a suspect in two other crimes. He tries to break free of Gideon, but can't escape his partner's overpowering influence. Some strong language. For junior and senior high readers.

Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden.
BR010509.
A group of Australian teenagers decide to spend a week in the bush instead of attending the annual fair with their families. At their remote campsite, they notice an unusual number of planes flying over but think nothing of it until they return home. There they find their families gone, their pets left to die, and the phones and electricity out. Some violence. For junior and senior high and older readers. For other books in this series, contact the library.

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall.
RC041555 or LP 50058.
An Aboriginal boy, who is on his ritual walkabout in Australia's remote Northern Territory, encounters a brother and sister from South Carolina who have just survived a plane crash. Although the Aborigine is supposed to complete his walkabout alone, he realizes he must save the children. But when the girl looks at him in fear, he thinks she has seen the spirit of death and that he will soon die. For junior and senior high readers.

Wilderness Trek by Zane Grey.
RC 10978.
Two American cow pokers sail to Australia and sign up to drive a mammoth herd of cattle across wild and strange bush country, where they encounter hostile aborigines. Adult reading level.

Wolf on the Fold by Judith Clarke.
RC 56523.
A series of poignant stories that follows members of an Australian family through several generations. In the title piece, fourteen-year-old Kenny Sinclair sets out to find a job during the Great Depression to support his family after his father dies. For junior and senior high readers.