For students

Grammar is not just a set of rules; it's the roadmap to clarity and expression. In a world where AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly offer assistance, mastering grammar lays the foundation for effective communication and personal style. This advanced Grammar Skills Handbook is tailored for high school students, and it dives deep into the essentials: style, vocabulary and more. Master the mysteries of grammar, and unlock the secrets of language, writing and reading. This book will elevate any student’s English skills and their creative voice.

Discover the keys to mastering life's challenges with Amanda Lecaudé's indispensable guide, the Life Skills Handbook. Tailored for high school students, this handbook is a roadmap to efficient time management and effective organisation. From prioritising tasks to creating systems that streamline the daily routine, this book is full of practical advice, templates and actionable strategies that will empower and support. Learn to juggle schoolwork, extracurriculars and personal commitments, with the Life Skills Handbook. Here are the tools to navigate life's complexities with clarity and confidence, ensuring every moment is maximised for success.

In the race to academic success, it's not just about how long you study, but how smart you revise. Scott Francis, renowned author and educator, unveils the Exam Skills Handbook, a roadmap for high schoolers to unlock their full potential. Delve into the secrets of using your class time, study skills, using the exam preparation block and performing well on exam day. Tailored to senior students, this handbook is your ticket to mastering the art of acing your exams. With expert insights and practical strategies, you'll transform study sessions into power-packed learning experiences. Say goodbye to inefficient cramming and hello to a smarter, more fulfilling academic journey. Get ready to conquer exams with confidence and make the most of your precious time, because life is too good for bad study!

Join Clancy and Little Billy on a musicial adventure. The mayor of Chance, the ubiquitous Mel Bell, decides that this small town on the bank of the Darling needs a cultural event. To ‘liven up’ the town. The townsfolk decide to have a music festival, Miss Aphrodite organises the school kids to perform and the whole population of the Overflow gets involved. There is a lot of singing and practising on new instruments – some, like the lagerphone – created in Dad’s shed. The music leans towards country but with a good smattering of corny old ballads.

Join Clancy and Little Billy on a wet adventure. Big Bill arrives as usual in a cloud of dust but it might be the last dust the Overflow sees for a long time. He has no time for small talk as he demonstrates the height to where the Darling River flooded in 1973. A tropical cyclone has dumped a huge amount of water in Queensland and it is working its way down the vast Murray-Darling river system. What will it mean for the Overflow and for the campers on the river bank?

Join Clancy and Little Bill on this fishy adventure. When Mum’s sister, Aunty Joan, visits from the big smoke with her two children the scene is set for a competition between the city slickers and Little Bill and Clancy. But when Dad organises a houseboat for a day out on the river, disaster strikes. Could it be the ghost of Uncle Buck at work?

Join Clancy and Little Billy on a cheesy adventure. Mum decides to set up a new business on the Overflow. Big Bill calls it ‘diversification’. But getting a pregnant cow and making cheese proves to be much more than curds and whey. After much trial and tribulation, and with the help of our two heroes, Mum’s cheese is a great success – it’s even ‘gouda nuff to eat’!

“Grammar exists to make communication easier.” Learning how to improve and master grammar and punctuation may seem tedious and challenging, but it will ultimately determine how you learn English. Despite the multitude of AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly that can help you with checking grammar, these tools can only help you so far to form the foundation of communication. Your own knowledge, and what you learn about English and writing it, will determine the quality, style and voice of your own creativity. Welcome to this handbook, designed to help you to develop the knowledge and skills to improve your grammar and punctuation. Aimed at high school students, Grammar Skills Handbook delves into the fundamentals of grammar, such as phrases, clauses, groups, punctuation, open-class words and closed-class words. Through getting a good grasp of grammar, you will unravel the different layers of grammar, starting with understanding the patterns of language, the parts of speech, and lastly, the essential element of written language, also known as the sentence. Knowing how written English works is at the mind and heart of writing and reading.

Reading is one of the most important skills. It is essential for success in not only high school, but life. Reading effectively isn’t always easy for students going through high school – including you, the reader – especially as students come across more difficult subjects. However, reading effectively doesn’t have to be complicated at all. In Reading Skills Handbook, Ben White provides a comprehensive approach to help students confidently unlock successful reading strategies and based on proven techniques and tips from years of teaching. Learn through the variety of reading skills, developing your reading comprehension, uncovering reading strategies for different types of texts, improving your reading speed and efficiency and, most importantly, developing a lifelong reading habit.  Filled with practical tips and activities, this book will help you practice and apply the skills you’ll learn. Whether you’re a struggling reader or if you’re keen on improving your reading skills, Reading Skills Handbook will help you reach your full potential.

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. In this book, Billy and his friends, Sally and Nathan are onto their second adventure; whitewater rafting! Billy can’t see the point of learning French at school until he meets Pierre, a world champion white-water rafter who happens to be French. We follow Billy and his friends as they battle nerves and prepare for the most extreme sport yet. When Billy falls into the water, it’s his new friend Pierre who saves him. At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when whitewater rafting. Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here. 

Grab all 8 books of The Xtreme World of Billy Kool series at this set price.   Teacher Notes here. 

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. After white-water rafting and bungy jumping, the Xtreme World of Billy Kool is becoming more popular and the TV ratings are getting higher. Billy’s friend, Nathan is sad because his father (who left him when he was young) is coming to visit. Luckily, Nathan cheered up when it came to filming another extreme sport; snowboarding. Nathan’s dad happens to be amazingly good at snowboarding and shows the cast a couple of moves. Ultimately, snowboarding was an extremely fun experience for Billy, Sally and Nathan especially! At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of snowboarding, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when snowboarding.  Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years. Teacher Notes here. 

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. Billy, Sally and Nathan realize that they want their viewers to believe that extreme sports are for anybody. They decide that Basher Brown, the neighbourhood cricket star, should join them in their next sport. Now, Basher, Billy, Sally and Nathan must prepare for the most extreme sport yet; Skydiving! At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of skydiving, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when skydiving.  Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years. Teacher Notes here. 

Welcome to the Clancy of the Outback series. Eleven-year-old Clancy has been thrust into life out woop-woop. These are the stories of his outback adventures at his uncle’s sheep station, Overflow Station. In this book, Big Bill decides to bring the shearing forward and Mum and Little Bill and Clancy clean the shearers’ quarters. Big Bill is keen to see if Mum will do the cooking for the gang but in the end a cook arrives with the shearers. Little Bill shows Clancy how to throw a fleece and then the rain arrives which means that the whole shearing process must stop. The cook has had enough. When shearing resumes some weeks later Mum does the cooking and it’s a great success. At the conclusion of this book there is the Outback Jokes section, a traditional rhyme ‘Lime Juice Tub” and a glossary of shearing terms.   Download the teacher notes here

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. Billy feels down that the final episode of the Xtreme World of Billy Kool is coming up. But he is also excited because the final episode will feature the most extreme sport yet: rock climbing! Will Billy be able to climb the full rock face, or will he fall? At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of rock climbing, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when rock climbing.  Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here. 

Welcome to the Clancy of the Outback series. Eleven-year-old Clancy has been thrust into life out woop-woop. These are the stories of his outback adventures at his uncle's sheep station, Overflow Station. In this book, Dad's old car has to be taken off the road, so Little Bill decides it could be Clancy's 'paddock bomb'. Meaning he was going to drive it around the farm. Meaning Little Bill was going to teach Clancy to drive. She makes Clancy sit in a baby booster seat so Clancy could see over the steering wheel, and that was just the start of his humiliation! At the conclusion of this book there is an Outback Facts section which provides information on all the car acronyms you will hear, there a poem about the paddock bombs as favourite cars, and the all-important, Outback Jokes section.

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. After skydiving, Nathan must honour his promise and retrieve the forty cricket balls from the monster’s backyard. Will he survive his most extreme sport yet? After this, Billy, Sally and Nathan (if he makes it) will go mountain biking! At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of mountain biking, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when mountain biking. Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here. 

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. Billy’s grandfather is coming to stay, although not for the usual reasons. He wants to give Billy his car, his most loved possession since he believes he's too old to drive. Thinking about this, Billy talks to Shey, the show's producer. and they decide to include his grandfather in the most extreme sport yet; kart racing! At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of kart racing, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when kart racing.  Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here. 

Welcome to the Clancy of the Outback series. Eleven-year-old Clancy has been thrust into life out woop-woop. These are the stories of his outback adventures at his uncle's sheep station, Overflow Station. In this book, Little Bill's insists on turning Clancy into a country boy teaching him how to ride a horse. How hard can that be? Little Bill turns up on a humungous bay horse and Clancy begins to wonder if he has bitten off more than he can chew. In the end Clancy gets a tiny, mean-looking Shetland pony to learn to ride on. Just getting onto it was hard enough, but in the end, that pony and Clancy save the day! At the conclusion of this book there is an Outback Facts section which provides information about Australian horses, there is a A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson poem, The Man from Snowy River and the all-important, Outback Jokes section.

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. Billy finds an advertisement for a competition. A production studio is looking for hosts for a new reality TV show about extreme sports. Billy, as well as his friends Sally and Nathan, decide to try and win. It’s all or nothing. Will they make it? At the end of the book, there is an extreme information section detailing the origins of extreme sports as well as a glossary. Part of an 8-book series, the Billy Kool books are informative, empathetic and exciting; targeted to readers and reluctant readers alike ages 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here. 

Welcome to the Clancy of the Outback series. Eleven-year-old Clancy has been thrust into life out woop-woop. These are the stories of his outback adventures at his uncle’s sheep station, Overflow Station. In this book, we are introduced Brutus and Butters Clancy and Little Bill’s dogs. Clancy has a lot to learn, and Little Bill makes sure he begins to understand the rules of country living. She takes Clancy for a tour of the property in the old ute and when they are a distance away from the homestead, she lets Clancy take control of the vehicle. The result is disastrous when Clancy mistakes the accelerator for the brake. The ute is undriveable and so they must walk back to the homestead. Clancy is exhausted and goes to bed straight after dinner. He has a nightmare about being a racing car driver. At the conclusion of this book there is an Outback Facts section on the Darling River, a Henry Lawson type poem about Clancy of the Overflow and a page of Outback Jokes. Download the teacher notes here

Welcome to the Clancy of the Outback series. Eleven-year-old Clancy has been thrust into life out woop-woop. These are the stories of his outback adventures at his uncle’s sheep station, Overflow Station. In this book, Dad decides to build a chook house with encouragement from Mum. Big Bill’s ute is used to bring in the wood and corrugated iron and wire netting for the chookhouse. Dad and Clancy build it and ensure that the run is protected from foxes. Dad’s chook house is a bit shakey. Dad and Clancy buy the chickens at the Farmers’ Market. The trouble starts when a large fox gets into the chook yard and Clancy and Mum notice that the chooks are very big and growing very fast. Eventually Big Bill works out what’s wrong but the annual school Christmas fete is a great success. At the conclusion of this book there is an Outback Facts section which provides information about foxes and dingoes, there is a Les Murray poem, The Young Fox and the all-important, Outback Jokes section.   Download the teacher notes here

Billy Kool was an ordinary boy until he was thrust into the life of an extreme sports TV celebrity. In this book, Billy, and his friends Sally and Nathan are onto their third adventure; Bungy jumping! Billy, still riding on the high of white-water rafting, is finding school a drag. The only thing that keeps him excited is the idea of bungy jumping on the weekend. However, Billy and Nathan are both scared of heights! Billy pops his first pimple and then attends the school dance, where he dances with his crush, Crystal. After this courageous act, he moves on to an even scarier one. The most extreme sport yet; Bungy jumping. Packed with exciting information, a glossary and a description of the equipment used when bungy jumping, as well as great images, this book will appeal to readers and reluctant readers alike aged 8-11 years.   Teacher Notes here.