Book picks similar to
The Willow Tree's Daughter by Pamela Freeman


fantasy
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ya-teen-fiction

Through the Tiger's Eye


Kerrie O'Connor - 2005
    Lucy and her little brother Ricardo follow their puppy and the mysterious, golden-eyed Tiger-cat into a secret tunnel leading to a foreign country - a country where children are held prisoner in the jungle.Cover designed by Jo Hunt.

Two Weeks in Grade Six


Anna Pershall - 2004
    Kaitlin has been best friends with Shelley forever, when suddenly she is dumped. How will Kaitlin handle this rejection?

The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie


May Gibbs - 1918
    As well as many friends, along the way they encounter the wicked Banksia Men.

Deltora Quest


Emily Rodda - 2006
    All that stands in his way is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven gems of great and mysterious power. Now, Leif, Barda, and Jasmine must unite to find the seven gems and save Deltora from an eternity of darkness.For the first time, all eight books of this epic series are presented in a single deluxe hardcover volume.

Del-Del


Victor Kelleher - 1991
    And their young son, Sam, for all his brilliance, gives every sign of being a normal little boy. Then, quite suddenly, exactly a year after the death of the middle child, Laura, Sam starts to act peculiarly. His strange behaviour, treated at first as a 'he'll get over it' syndrome, soon takes a demonic twist which can no longer be ignored, or indeed explained. For it seems that Sam is somehow possessed by a terrifying and evil presence he calls Del-Del, and Del-Del's influence is malign to a frightening degree. Sam tries to wrestle with Del-Del in his own way, and sometimes there are periods of normality which suggest that Del-Del has finally been defeated. But Del-Del is cunning, and knows exactly how and when to strike again. Under the intolerable stress of Sam's increasingly dangerous and anarchic behaviour, the fabric of the family begins to come apart and only Sam's sister Beth has the tenacity to go on probing for the cause, to piece together every clue which could destroy Del-Del forever. Inevitably a confrontation must come, and the climax to this tense psychological thriller leads to a conclusion of quite brilliant unpredictability and excitement.Del-Del, with its thoroughly contemporary setting and characters, is a novel so startling and original that it will no doubt win for Victor Kelleher readers of any age who respond to story-telling which grips like a vice.

Ruby Rosemount and the Magic Carpet


Jodie Brownlee - 2004
    There genies, wicked villains, sand sprites, spells and dungeons will test all of her powers - including the ones she still doesn't know she has.

The Sign of the Seahorse


Graeme Base - 1992
    Beginning at the Seahorse Cafe, social hub of the Old Reef, this novel takes the reader on a journey, from the doomed coral gardens of Reeftown, to a wreck and an underwater junkyard, across the expanse of the Withered Plain.

Runestone


Anna Ciddor - 2002
    Now a grown child, Thora is beginning to figure out that she doesn’t belong; the daughter of a spellmaker, Thora can’t seem to get her magic to work. Across the valley, Oddo, living with a family of farmers, hides his magical skills after his father scorns him for changing the weather and mystically controlling animals. When Thora and Oddo meet, they become friends and use their strengths to help each other. But when things go terribly wrong, Thora and Oddo must embark on a perilous sea voyage to fix the mess they have created.

The Grandest Bookshop in the World


Amelia Mellor - 2020
    And not just any bookshop. In 1893, Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne is the grandest bookshop in the world, brimming with every curiosity imaginable. Each day brings fresh delights for the siblings: voice-changing sweets, talking parrots, a new story written just for them by their eccentric father.When Pearl and Vally learn that Pa has risked the Arcade – and himself – in a shocking deal with the mysterious Obscurosmith, the siblings hatch a plan. Soon they are swept into a dangerous game with impossibly high stakes: defeat seven challenges by the stroke of midnight and both the Arcade and their father will be restored. But if they fail Pearl and Vally won’t just lose Pa – they’ll forget that he and the Arcade ever existed.

Moondial


Helen Cresswell - 1987
    Or is it a haunting? Minty believes she is a witch - not the type you would notice ordinarily - - she appears to be like anyone else but is quite used to seeing phantoms floating about the place, and thinks it is perfectly normal. Minty is very determined as well, which is just as important because when she goes to stay with her aunt in the village of Belton she soon realizes that she has a task to do. . .

Possum Magic


Mem Fox - 1983
    But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more. “Another treat from Mem Fox that is sure to be treasured. The whimsical illustrations are a wonderful complement.”--Children’s Book Review Service

The Witch in the Lake


Anna Fienberg - 2001
    "Don't go near the lake, little ones -- she waits there, under the water," mothers say. Countless children and adults have mysteriously disappeared, and the legends of the witch's powers have grown. Only one person has ever seen the witch -- Leo's grandfather -- and he was forever changed.It is the sixteenth century, and Leo's small Italian village harbors many great secrets. Some people believe that Leo and his father are evil, blaming them for the strange happenings near the cold, dark lake. Although forbidden to see him, Leo's best friend, Merilee, finds herself accompanying him on a dangerous journey in search of truth and redemption. Only Merilee knows that Leo, like his great grandfather Illuminato, is a wizard.Frustrated by the sinister secrets that surround him, Leo yearns to discover if the witch is real or just a superstition. On a rebellious visit to the lake one day, Leo challenges the witch to show herself, taunting her and calling her names, despite Merilee's desperate pleas. As the water peels back, "like the lips of an ugly wound," Leo knows that he has found his answer. From that moment on, he is locked in a fateful duel with the witch.At the height of Leo's quest, when the witch calls to him at night with a moaning cry, Merilee is taken by her acrid aunt to a refuge of Wise Women far away. With his only friend gone, Leo must now face the witch alone and free the village of her century-old curse. Although he has been honing his magical skills since he was a child, Leo is still young and his powers are untested.In a dramatic final encounter, Leo focuses all his strength, concentrating on the core evil of the witch. As she withers and fades, generations of lost villagers are released from their prison within her.In this gripping novel, Anna Fienberg has created a magical story about challenging fear and finding courage to face the truth.

I, Coriander


Sally Gardner - 2005
    But her mother's sudden death brings on a dark time for Coriander, and after mourning her beloved mother and dealing with the disappearance of her father and the wrath of her evil stepmother, Coriander finds herself locked in a chest with no hope of escape and no will to survive. But when a bright light beckons to her, it is then that Coriander's journey truly begins. Beautifully written, this magical and luminous story is destined to become a children's classic.

The Book of Lies


James Moloney - 2004
    Timmins's Home for Orphans and Foundlings awakes at first light with no name and no memory. But a strange girl who hides among the shadows of the orphanage tells him that a mysterious wizard's creation, the Book of Lies, holds the answers, and then gives him one clue: "Your name is Marcel."With that knowledge, and the help of three new friends, Marcel begins a quest to find the truth about his real identity—a truth that is hidden in the Book of Lies. As Marcel learns more about his past, he realizes that truth can change at any moment and can be manipulated by anyone, and he begins to wonder if the old book's so-called magical truth might be the greatest lie of all.

Five Children and It


E. Nesbit - 1902
    Every day 'It' will grant each of them a wish that lasts until sunset, often with disastrous consequences.Never out of print since 1902. The Introduction to this edition examines Nesbit's life and her reading, showing the change in childrens' literature from Victorian times.