Molly Makes Music: Molly has to deal with the problems associated with separated parents. A special friend helps her to come to terms with her new lifestyle. Double Take: Through a mix-up, two children end up with the wrong adults. The mix-up is sorted out, regardless of the language barrier. The Wheelie Wonder: Born with wheels instead of feet, Royce rolls, rather than walks. The story contains interesting incidents that highlight the value of being different. The Great Detective: When the television set disappears from the house, young Alexander and his trusty dog, Watson, go looking for an unusual criminal.
The Great Sandwich Swap: Everybody in the playground is unhappy with the sandwiches they have in their lunches. After a great deal of sandwich swapping, one character in the story is particularly happy – Walter, the dog. The Huge Adventures of Trevor, a Cat: The cat’s craving for even larger prey eventually leads him on an interplanetary journey. Scuff the Sock: After being hit by a car, a young boy ends up in hospital. A present makes his visit easier to cope with, as a firm friendship develops.
Marty Makes a Move: Marty is city kid, with lots of mates to play with, in an area he knows really well. When he and his family move to a small country town, Marty is horrified to discover that he is the only boy in his class at his new school. Much to his surprise, he discovers that girls can be just as good friends as boys. Wombat and Gumshoe: Wombat: the private eye, and his mate solve the mysterious case of missing baby Australian animals.
Penny Pollard’s Diary: A horse-crazy girl is surprised to discover someone like herself in the most unlikely of places - an old age home. The Cure: When a little boy catches the hiccups, his sister tries every trick in the book to help cure him of the affliction.
The Secret Life of Trees: Tree gnomes take a young girl on a remarkable journey, through the mysterious underground world beneath the huge pine and gum trees in her garden.
Joshua Cooks: Joshua is a very ambitious young boy, who attempts to bake a cake for Nan’s visit all by himself. The result is wonderful, but Nan brings her own cake. The Wizards of Solmar: A mysterious puppet comes to life and convinces two children to come to the magic land of Solmar to fulfil a prophecy, and head off a war between wizards.
Snow White and the Dreadful Dwarves: A funny send-up of the traditional tale. Snow White is presented as the leader of a bikie gang. Foxbat and Mimi: A foxbat takes refuge in a cave, where the spirits come to life and attempt to capture him.
Gung Ho: Now in their eighties, Gung Ho (the cat) and Roguefort (the mouse) are bespectacled and teetering, but still living out their age-old struggle for a piece of cheese. The Girl and the Pumpkin: A young girl finds herself a magic pumpkin, and all her wishes could come true – especially with a jar of try-harder powder. Lock Up Your Toys: Despite his parents’ assurances, an eight-year-old boy worries after he learns that his mum is going to have a baby. When the baby comes, the boy decides the newcomer could turn out to be fun.
There’s Dragons: Dragons can turn up just about anywhere, as this light-hearted story graphically illustrates. The Kobold and the Potato: When a helpful elf appears in their house, the whole family is thrilled - except for Potato the Dog. The good luck brought by the elf comes to an end, with interesting consequences. Talo’s Story: When the first rain for a hundred years bursts from the sky of a distant planet, a boy and his friend are trapped in a cave. To comfort his friend, Talo tells of a distant planet where rain happens nearly all the time.
Older scouts frighten the younger ones, by telling them about the ‘Fogbrook Thing’: lost in the bush for decades, intent on carrying off unsuspecting campers. The joke backfires. Could it be that the ‘Fogbrook Thing’ really exists?
The Marvellous Adventures of Miriam: Life doesn’t hold much excitement for Miriam, until one night a magic horse appears to take her away and show her she has as much right as anyone to adventures and an interesting life. The Birthday Present: Kelly has one week to prove to Mum that her gigantic, unruly puppy can learn to behave. A crash course in obedience training seems hopeless, but Kelly has to try, or Bonnie will be given away. There’s a Sea in my Bedroom: What better way to lose your fear of water, than have a seashell spill a whole ocean into your bedroom?
Thing: A little girl finds what she thinks is a very pretty rock. It turns out to be a prehistoric egg, and when it hatches, she finds herself the proud new owner of a pet stegosaurus, which has some drawbacks. The Steam Train Crew: A hill covered in ripe blackberries is just too much temptation for the crew of a steam train. While they are gathering the fruit, the engine gets away, leading the crew on a merry chase. Whiska: When Whiska pops out of a hole in the ice near the South Pole, she spies what would warm any seal’s heart – something which appears to be a bright red ball.
The Idea: An idea comes to a young girl in a dream. This ‘idea’, however, has a mind of its own, and it is a battle of wills over what form the ‘idea’ will take. A compromise is reached, and the idea ends up as part of the girl’s homework. The Ghost and Katie Domigan: Tough little Katie comes face to face with the ghost of the old mill, but it’s the ghost who has the daylights scared out of him. Waltzing Matilda: The ‘Jolly Swagman’ of the classic Australian folk song comes to life in this inventive and comic version of the familiar story.
Kindly, old Mr. Snip is the hedge trimmer at a stately historic home. As the two pesky Wrottan children, Hamish and Penelope, discover, Mr. Snip’s leafy creations can come to life - with unexpected results. The children have adventures with clowns that swallow too much, a haunted house, a sea monster, an island of frisky animals, speeding trains and cars, a maze and man eating plants and reptiles that grow too large. Hamish and Penelope have lots of fun, but also get into lots of trouble. Luckily, Mr. Snip is always on hand to come to their rescue.
Young Alexander Holmes and his trusty dog, Watson, combine their talents to solve mysteries around their neighborhood. There’s the mystery of the magic lamp; the mystery of disappearing animals at a circus; the mystery of ‘Chew-Goo’ - a sweet to stick noisy children’s teeth together; the mystery of the haunted woolshed; the mystery of the missing skater; and the mystery of Grandpa’s abduction by the ‘Gruff Granny Gang’. Elementary logic and a good nose are the keys to Holmes and Watson’s success.
Whilst clearing the old barn, Elsie, Adam and their friends, Tom and Sarah, discover one of their grandfather’s old inventions. Powered by lemon juice, the machine transports the kids into the dream world of the child who pulls the switch. One by one, the kids, the family dog and Dad lead each other on exciting adventures of the imagination. They travel into Space, float on marshmallow clouds that rain bubblegum, play in a high-tech treehouse, meet a medieval knight and dragon and almost end up in the doghouse! Thank goodness for the magic yo-yo.
Little Echidna finds herself stranded on the wrong side of the road. She and her new friend, Wombat - together with help from other familiar Australian bush animals - get into one hilarious scrape after the other, as they struggle to return Echidna to her home. Kookaburra wants Echidna to fly across the busy road, Platypus wants her to swim across the river, and Possum wants her to swing from branch to branch, to get to the other side. Even if little Echidna does get back home, will it be as wonderful as she remembers it?