Vashti Farrer
Australian Author
Fantasy & Humour
(scroll down for titles)
Lilli-Pilli - The Frog Princess
(Scholastic)
Princess Lilli-Pilli is not your average princess. She has legs like a frog and loves to spend her days hopping about the palace. Then one day the Queen decides to have a Royal Ball, and Lilli-Pilli must learn to act like a normal princess … unless she can find a prince as unique as she is!
Illustrated by Owen Swan
Available - Contact Me
Fearsome Creatures
(Pearson Education)
Brad has volunteered to care for two gerbils over the school holidays, but he has to work out how to convince his mother, who is terrified of pointy-toothed creatures, that it is a good idea. But something quite unexpected happens which changes her attitude entirely!
Illustrated by Melissa Webb
Available - Contact Me
Mr Pavlov's Possum
(Lothian)
When the last of his perfectly behaved dogs dies, Mr Pavlov feels very sad. Then one night a possum arrives at his window and Mr Pavlov thinks he can train his new pet just as he trained his dogs. But the possum has other ideas, and Mr Pavlov's life is never the same again!
Illustrated by Vilma Cencic
Available - Contact Me
Mr Noah and the Cats
(Lothian)
All Mr Noah asked for was a bit of peace and quiet but then God told him to build an ark and life suddenly became very noisy. Among all the animal noises there was one he hadn't heard before from an animal he didn't even know existed. That is, until the lion sneezed...
Illustrated by Neil Curtis
Available - Contact Me
Big Feet, Very Sweet
(Lothian)
Prince Flip-Flop is rugged and handsome and plays football with the Bengal Tigers. His brother, Prince Flim-Flam, is bearded, untidy and writes poetry in his ivory tower. Princess Marigold likes to grow marigolds, but can hardly see without her glasses.
Who will win Princess Marigold’s heart?
Illustrated by Neil Curtis
Available - Contact Me
Breakfast with Buddha
(Scholastic)
"I climb up onto the roof. I am higher than all the cats and dogs. My tail twitches back and forth. I am Sati. I am now top cat. I will wait here."
When Sati finds herself homeless after a flood, she goes to a monastery to beg for food. But she is accustomed to being the top cat, and here she is just one of many. She tries to have her own way, but this makes trouble for the others and creates havoc in the courtyard. In the end, it is only the patience of the old monk that wears down Sati’s pride.
Illustrated by Gaye Chapman
Available - Contact Me
Atalanta-Fastest Runner
in the World
(Pearson Education)
Atalanta could run like the wind, faster than the hunters, faster than anyone alive. She was also very beautiful, and young men came from all over the country to see her. But she declared that she would only marry the man who could beat her in a race. Who would find a way to reach the finish line before her?
Illustrated by Naomi Lewis
Available - Contact Me
Tales of the Dreamtime
(Angus & Robertson)
Aboriginal Legends collected by K. Langloh - Parker - Adapted by Vashti Farrer.
Illustrated by Walter Cunningham
Available - Contact Me
Bruno Fiddlestein's Dilemma
(and other tall tales)
Bruno plays the cello in a big orchestra. He calls his cello Hildegarde. But when he is playing his cello all he is thinking about is his wife, Berthe’s wonderful cooking. When he is eating whatever Berthe’s has cooked for him, all he is thinking about is playing beautiful music on Hildegarde. Then the orchestra decides to take a world tour but Berthe says she won’t be there when he gets back. What is he to do?
Illustrated by Naomi Kelly
Available - Contact Me
Molly O'Malley and the Magpies
(Momentum - Barrie Education)
Old Molly lives alone in a high-rise flat building and gets around on a walking-frame. Her only visitors are magpies which come to her balcony for scraps. Molly thinks they have bad manners until one day she does something and finds they have nice manners after all.
Illustrated by Margaret Power
Available - Contact Me
Princess Euphorbia
(Supa-Doopers /
Addison Wesley Longman)
Princess Euphorbia was a perfectly normal princess - except for one thing. The King and Queen want her to marry, but who will want a princess with bright green hair? So the King and Queen decide on a plan and along comes the charming Prince Nasturtium. Will this dashing young prince ask for Princess Euphorbia's hand in marriage?
Illustrated by Nan Bodsworth
Mrs Papadopoulos's Purple Hippopotamuses
(and other stories to snortel)
Mrs Papadopoulos has cold feet. But she has warm slippers. The trouble is her slippers are shaped like hippopotamuses and they have a mind of their own...
Illustrated by Naomi Kelly
All in Together
(Angus & Robertson)
Stories by Vashti Farrer:
Otto Makes Friends
Harold and the Big House
Eric's Alarm Clock
Ernie and Emily
Rama's Bad Memory
Illustrated by Patricia Mullins
Available - Contact Me
Lulubelle and Her Bones
(Scholastic)
Lulubelle doesn't even know she's a dog!
Then she meets Bones, rescues him from a life of slavery, and together they run away to London. Life on the road isn't easy. Danger lurks behind every bush and every corner. But Lulubelle and Bones find friends in the strangest places, and their luck soon turns...
Illustrated by David Cox
Available - Contact Me
Widow Hegarty's Goat
(and other unlikely escapades)
The Widow Hegarty and Seamus McGuire are next-door neighbours. They’re both lonely. Seamus wants to marry her but she has a bad-tempered goat who isn’t going to make it easy…
Illustrated by Naomi Kelly
Available - Contact Me
Knitting Bea
(click image to read)
Mrs Bea loves knitting. She can knit anything, even teapots. But what happens when she runs out of wool and there’s a cold snap?
Illustrated by Vilma Cencic