Foster a lifelong love of stories and storytelling in children of all ages with our family-friendly ebookshelf!
The Library has a huge range of free ebooks – 200,000 and counting! – which you can either read online or download for up to seven days.
To get started, browse our latest selection of ebooks suited to children aged 12 and under. You can also scan our monthly curated ebookshelf for some reading of your own, or browse for even more free ebooks !
For tips and advice, read our Get started guide or watch our video on using ebooks.
To access ebooks from home, you need to be a State Library member with a Victorian home address. (Terms and conditions of use apply.)
The Science of Soccer: A Bouncing Ball and a Banana Kick The Science of Soccer: A Bouncing Ball and a Banana Kick John Taylor
University of New Mexico Press, 2016
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It is also an endless scientific panorama. Every movement by the players and each interaction with the ball involves physics, fluid mechanics, biology, and physiology, to name just a few of the scientific disciplines.
In a book that targets junior and high school players, Taylor begins with a history of soccer and its physical and mathematical aspects. He then addresses important questions such as how and why a ball bounces, how the ball spins, and what these dynamics mean for the game. He introduces readers to the science of kicking, heading, and trapping and looks at the sources of the energy required to run, jump, and kick for an entire game.
Taylor then puts it all together by following a sequence of plays and describing the science behind tactical manoeuvres. Sidebars and appendices allow those with a more mathematical bent to follow the physics and perform experiments to see the effects of phenomena like drag, bounce and spin. In addition, key terminology is highlighted, explained in the text, and summarised in the glossary.
101 Amazing Facts About Pirates 101 Amazing Facts About Pirates Jack Goldstein
Andrews UK, 2014
Arrr matey! Are you loaded to the gunwalls? Do you know what Blackbeard’s ship was called? Which pirate ate a man’s heart? Who makes the list of the top ten pirates of all time? All these facts and more can be found in this excellent quick-read guide to pirates. Whether you’re Henry Morgan himself, or just some unlucky Jonah, this book containing over one hundred facts is sure to float your boat. Land ahoy!
What is Weather? Louise Spilsbury
Rosen Publishing Group, 2013
This all-inclusive book takes a wide range of meteorological phenomena – including clouds, rain, snow, and fog – and examines their relationship to each other to explain how weather works in an easy-to-grasp way. Important scientific concepts such as energy, temperature, and electricity are described in the context of the weather cycle as well as the various climates on Earth, and how we as humans fit into the scheme. Key questions are posed to readers in textboxes to engage critical thinking skills in line with the Core Concept standards, helping connect the concepts included in the book with readers' own observations of the real world.
Because of You Pip Harry
University of Queensland Press, 2017
Meet Tiny and Nola: two very different girls with two very different stories who are just trying to find a place to belong. Tiny is an eighteen-year-old girl living on the streets in Sydney, running from her small-town past. She finds short-term accommodation at Hope Lane – a shelter for the homeless – where she meets Nola, a high school student on volunteer placement. Both girls share their love of words through the Hope Lane writing group. Can they share their secrets, too?
Stomp Rockets, Catapults, and Kaleidoscopes: 30+ Amazing Science Projects You Can Build for Less than $1 Stomp Rockets, Catapults, and Kaleidoscopes: 30+ Amazing Science Projects You Can Build for Less than $1 Curt Gabrielson
Chicago Review Press, 2008
Kids will learn how things they encounter every day operate by building their own models with this hands-on activity book. Projects include building a working model of the human hand's muscles, bones, and tendons using drinking straws, tape, and string; using a pair of two-litre bottles and a length of rubber tubing to learn how a toilet flushes; and discovering how musical instruments make sounds by fashioning a harmonica, saxophone, drum, flute, or oboe. All devices are designed to use recycled or nearly free materials and common tools.
Kids are encouraged to modify and improve the designs or create an entirely new device using the concepts explored. Each project includes materials and tools lists, step-by-step instructions with photographs, a summary of the science concept demonstrated, and follow-up questions.
The Four Seasons of Lucy McKenzie The Four Seasons of Lucy McKenzie Kirsty Murray
Allen & Unwin, 2013
The room was full of moon shadows and dancing light. But it was the wall around the window that Lucy couldn't stop staring at, the one with the painting of spring. It was as bright as a sunny day and the tiny yellow flowers that covered the fields were moving, as if a breeze had blown through the painting and set all the petals dancing. Then she heard the voice again. It sounded like a child's voice coming out of the painting. She looked again and in the distance, on the far side of the painted valley she could see the tiny figure of a girl. And the girl was waving, beckoning to Lucy and calling her name.
Lucy McKenzie can walk through walls.
Sent to stay with her Aunt Big in a hidden valley, Lucy discovers the old house is full of mysteries. One hot night, she hears a voice calling from inside a painting on the dining-room wall... On the other side of the painting, Lucy meets three children. Together they race horses through the bush, battle fires and floods, and make friendships that will last a lifetime. But who are April, Tom and Jimmy Tiger, and what magic has drawn Lucy to them?
Investigating the History of Earth Investigating the History of Earth Michael Anderson Jr.
Rosen Publishing Group, 2011
It may be hard to believe that the Earth, with all the complexity and biodiversity we observe today, originated in a cloud of gas and dust. Yet much of the plant and animal life that seems so common now evolved relatively recently on the timeline of Earth's long history. The Earth's remarkable origins are chronicled in this insightful volume, which also examines the prehistoric organisms – from bacteria to dinosaurs – that populated the planet long before humans arrived.
Cooking is Cool: Heat-Free Recipes for Kids to Cook Cooking is Cool: Heat-Free Recipes for Kids to Cook Marianne E. Dambra
Redleaf Press, 2013
Cooking can be a delicious learning experience for children. As children read recipes, measure ingredients, and taste each dish, they build maths and literacy skills, practice science process skills, and explore different food groups.
Cooking is Cool makes all this hands-on learning possible without stepping foot in the kitchen. These classroom-friendly recipes are all heat-free, meaning they can be made without an oven, stove, microwave or hot plate. With your guidance, budding chefs can follow the easy instructions to transform fresh, simple ingredients into tasty snacks, beverages, entrees and treats.
This book includes more than 50 heat-free recipes that are fun to make and taste great, an explanation of the learning that occurs as children cook, tips to create your own classroom cooking centre, and nutrition information, extension ideas, and interesting food facts.
