Our Australian Girl: The Ruby Stories

by Penny Matthews, Lucia Masciullo (Illustrator)

It's 1930 . . . and Ruby Quinlan lives in a big house in Adelaide with her parents and her fox terrier, Baxter. As she prepares for her twelfth birthday party, Ruby has never been happier, but the world outside is experiencing harder times. Ruby knows that lots of people are losing their jobs, but her own family life seems comfortable and secure … until things start falling apart.Happy-go-lucky, compassionate and loving, Ruby is an unforgettable Australian Girl.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2018

Reviews

[Michelle Hickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for kids. I like the way Matthews takes historical periods and writes about them for kids. She set this series in Adelaide and in the nearby countryside which is a nice change in Australian children's literature. The story of Ruby occurs over 4 books. Ruby lives a charmed life as an only child in an affluent family until financial misfortune befalls the family. Set in the 1930s amidst the great depression, it shows the confusion of a child facing changed status in life. Ruby goes to live with her country cousins and gets a rude shock about how hard life can be. Ruby's father is imprisoned over a wrongful embezzlement charge and her mother spirals into depression. Nevertheless Ruby thrives in her new environment and the family is happily reunited at the end of the saga. It is similar to many other historical novels for children but with an Australian flavour.

[Jazzy ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the grandma or great aunt or whoever the old lady is