The great dome of the sky, black, star-sprinkled, arched above him, appearing at that moment so limitless, so vast and free, that the fences and cages of Taronga were dwarfed, reduced to the point where they barely seemed to exist..

Alison Ashley. She was the most beautiful, graceful, elegant thing you ever saw in your life... And from the first day I HATED her. Rediscover the magic of our country's most memorable children's books in the Penguin Australia Children's Classics series.

It's the summer of 1987 and Mira is beginning her first year at uni. She's got a radical new haircut, and an all-black wardrobe -- she should be having the time of her life. But it's hard to get excited about anything when you're being smothered by your crazy Italian family and expecting nuclear warfare at any moment.

Pauline, Petrova and Posy are found as orphaned babies in different parts of the world by eccentric fossil collector and explorer Great-Uncle Matthew - 'Gum'. He adopts them, takes them to his London home and leaves them in the care of his niece Sylvia and the family Nurse. Then off he goes...

"There's loads of drama in store for Alice-Miranda and her friends at boarding school"--