Alex

A gripping story of one Australian boy's experience of devastating drought.

A few kookaburras laugh in the gum trees. Alex grins - they don't often come up this far. His grandpa told him that if kookaburras laugh late in the afternoon, it will rain next day. 'Ha, someone needs to tell the rain to listen, hey Tangi?' She grins at him like it's a good joke. Alex wishes it was just a joke.

Thirteen-year-old Alex lives on a drought-affected property in South Australia with his mom, his dad, his kelpie dog Tangi and colt, Jago. When he meets his new next-door neighbor, Bonnie, he is grateful to make anew friend and fascinated by the camels her family has brought to the farm..

For years it hasn't rained enough for them to put a crop in. And while all the farmers in the area are suffering - his dad is struggling more than most. It's nearly winter and the paddocks are still brown. But when Bonnie comes over to visit and cook with him, Alex feels lighter inside. And his mom loosens up a bit as well. As the drought stretches on, feral dogs are causing huge problems for the farmers and their livestock. Throughout the tough times, Alex must help his mom with the farm work, and draw wisdom and strength from his support networks so he can find a way into a brighter future.

Rosanne Hawke is the South Australian author of over twenty-five books. She lived in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates as an aid worker for ten years. Her books include Shahana, a CBCA Notable Book, Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll, a CBCA Notable Book, and Taj and the Great Camel Trek, winner of the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Children's Literature and shortlisted for the 2012 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She was the 2015 recipient of the Nance Donkin Award; an Asialink, Carclew, Varuna and May Gibbs Fellow; and a Bard of Cornwall. She teaches creative writing at Tabor Adelaide and writes in an old Cornish farmhouse with underground rooms near Kapunda.

Series editor and series creator Lyn White has extensive experience as a primary school teacher-librarian and EAL teacher and in 2010 completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Lyn is passionate about children's literature and has great expertise in engaging students with quality texts. Her work with refugee children motivated her to create the acclaimed Through My Eyes series of books set in contemporary war zones. Lyn created and edited the Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones series to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of children who are often the most vulnerable in post-disaster situations. Lyn continues to teach EAL and is an education consultant and conference presenter.