My Place

Despite one failed invention after another, young Henry knows in his heart that he's a brilliant inventor. Against the advice of his friend, Franklin, Henry conducts his biggest experiment ever... but succeeds only in blowing up the local schoolhouse. Expelled, Henry continues to believe there's a living to be made from inventing weird and wonderful labour-saving machines...

Minna lives with strict German-born parents who privately hope their young daughter's friendship with the well-to-do Owen children - Toby, Harold and Adelaide - will do her some good. Minna's parents have no clue what these kids get up to when they're on their own...

Benjamin's one wish is for his wandering American family to be able to celebrate a proper Thanksgiving dinner in their new place with a real roast turkey. But his efforts to earn the money to buy a turkey plunge him into escalating rivalry with a local Chinese boy, Leck. Their competition leads to one mishap after another until they realise they might be better off co-operating than fighting. But is it too late? And if Ben does succeed, will his family move on again?

Johanna lives with her grandmother, Sarah. Johanna doesn't go to school. She has a job - every day she pushes a barrow-load of potatoes around the town, delivering them to her grandmother's customers. She works like a donkey and the Owen children treat her like one. But do they have the right to be so superior?

When Davey, working as a stable boy for the powerful Owen family, learns that his favourite horse, Duchess, is to be sold to the local tannery, he puts everything on the line to save her...

Alice and her friend, George, have each adopted a piglet as their own. Alice's piglet is called Wilhelmina and George's is called Benny. When Alice's father declares a half-day picnic, Alice and George propose a pig race between Wilhelmina and Benny as part of the entertainment. Alice's siblings, Maryann and Little Sam, enter a third pig in the race, a lumbering old sow named Oink. Oink doesn't strike Alice or George as posing much of a threat but they each fear defeat from the other's entry. And that's when the skulduggery begins...

Charles and his older brother John are both expected to work on their parents' farm. Charles loves it but John is lazy, shirking the work at every turn. Both boys will soon be sent to England to learn how to become refined, young gentlemen. This doesn't appeal to Charles, who sets out to make himself indispensible on the Owen family property so he won't have to go. And that's when he strikes a deal with a stranger, an escaped convict who agrees to help Charles in exchange for food and freedom...

Sarah works as a servant for the cold and demanding Mrs Owen. As if being bossed around by the lady of the house isn't bad enough, Sarah has to deal with that woman's sly and sickly daughter, Alice. Alice is as mean as her mother and twice as cunning. She sets out to make Sarah's life a misery, always trying to get her in trouble. But the two girls have more in common than they realise...

Sam is a child convict. Having lived his whole life in towns and cities, he's sent to an isolated farm on the edge of the bush. Keen to impress, Sam tells his new master, Mr Owen, that he knows all about farming. Then Mr Owen, with business to attend to elsewhere, leaves Sam on his own, in charge of the house, the farm and one terrible goat named Katie. Sam has a long list of jobs to do and it's like the goat's main aim in life is to make it as hard as possible...

Waruwi is an Aboriginal girl looking after her Nana while the rest of her extended family is away from camp. It's just for a day but what a day it turns out to be...

Dan is on his second patrol to the Botany Bay area when he's asked to capture a native dog to take back to the colony's Governor. The only trouble is, the dog in question, Lapa, belongs to Waruwi, the girl Dan befriended last time he was in the area. Dan protests that it's stealing but his commander overrules his objection...

Bunda has a problem. His older brother, Garadi, acts like Bunda doesn't exist. Bunda does everything to try and get his older brother's attention - but for his trouble, all Bunda gets is his brother's anger and contempt. Their father decides to take them deeper into the bush to try and teach them a lesson but the boys are so intent on fuelling their feud that they miss the point of the challenges their father sets them. Will they ever learn how to stop teasing each other and become friends as well as brothers?

Barangaroo's world would be perfect if only Mani, the biggest boy in her group of friends, would stop trying to be Number One. Deep down Mani knows she's better than he is. That's why he keeps shutting her out from important adventures: to make himself look good. But when a little boy (Mung) goes missing, Barangaroo and Mani are forced to follow his trail into a scary gully ruled by a legendary monster...