Meet Letty Read online

  The room inside was small and dim. Letty could make out a little table and a bed in the corner. The table had something bulky on it, covered by a cloth. Everything was still. She couldn’t see any bread.

  ‘Hello?’ Letty called.

  There was a sudden movement in the corner. Letty jumped. The bedclothes heaved, and someone sat up.

  Letty froze.

  It was a woman. Young, like Lavinia, maybe. But strange. She was wearing a nightshift in the middle of the day. She had heavy black shadows under her eyes. Her dark hair hung long and tangly. The woman gripped the blanket in front of her as if she were holding up a shield.

  ‘Get – out!’ she rasped.

  Letty took a step backwards, too frightened to say anything.

  ‘Get away!’ The woman’s voice was rising.

  Letty stumbled out over the threshold. She didn’t even close the heavy door behind her.

  She ran around the corner, hoping the woman wouldn’t come after her …

  Meet the other Australian girls and authors

  MEET GRACE

  1808

  It’s 1808 and Grace is living with her uncle in London. They have no money, and Grace is always lonely and often hungry. One afternoon, Grace can’t resist taking a shiny red apple from a grocer’s cart – and then another … Before she knows it, Grace is being chased through the streets! Will she be caught and sent to prison – or worse?

  Meet Grace and join her adventure in the first of four exciting stories about a convict girl who is given a second chance.

  Sofie Laguna, author of the Grace books, is a highly regarded and award-winning writer of books for children. Bird and Sugar Boy was an Honour Book in the 2007 CBC Book of the Year Awards, Younger Readers, and Sofie’s adult book, One Foot Wrong, was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 2009.

  Meet Poppy

  1864

  It’s 1864 and Poppy lives at Bird Creek Mission near Echuca. Poppy hates the Mission, especially now that her brother, Gus, has run away to pan for gold. What if Poppy escaped, too? Would she survive alone in the bush? And would she ever find Gus, whom she loves more than anything in the world?

  Meet Poppy and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Gold Rush girl who dreams of a better life.

  Gabrielle Wang, author of the Poppy books, is a much loved writer for young people. Gabrielle’s recent books include her bestselling Young Adult novel Little Paradise, and the very popular Ghost in My Suitcase which won the 2009 Aurealis Award for young fiction.

  Meet Rose

  1900

  It’s 1900 and Rose lives with her family in a big house in Melbourne. She wants to play cricket, climb trees and be an adventurer! But Rose’s mother has other ideas. Then Rose’s favourite young aunt comes to town, and everything changes. Will Rose’s mother let Aunt Alice stay? And will Rose ever really get to do the things she loves?

  Meet Rose and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Federation girl who’s determined to do things her way!

  Sherryl Clark, author of the Rose books, is a prolific and popular writer for children. Sherryl’s most recent Puffin book is Motormouth, a companion volume to Six Grade Style Queen (Not!), which was shortlisted for the 2009 CBC Book of the Year Award, Younger Readers.

  ouraustraliangirl.com.au

  Want to find out more?

  For all the latest news, behind-the-scenes information and to enter competitions, visit our website. We’d love to hear from you!

  Follow the story of your favourite Australian girls and you will see that there is a special charm on the cover of each book that tells you something about the story.

  Here they all are. You can tick them off as you read each one.

  A girl like me in a time gone by

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Melbourne • London • New York • Toronto • Dublin

  New Delhi • Auckland • Johannesburg

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2011

  Text copyright © Alison Lloyd, 2011

  Illustrations copyright © Lucia Masciullo, 2011

  The moral right of the author and the illustrator has been asserted. All rights reserved.

  Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders for material used in this book.

  If anyone has information on relevant copyright holders, please contact us.

  Poster on page 110 reprinted with kind permission from the Mitchell Library.

  puffin.com.au

  ouraustraliangirl.com.au

  ISBN: 978-1-74-253190-8