Jack Lasenby's Books

The Haystack

By: Jack Lasenby

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Maggie torments the boy down the road, sets fire to the dunny, helps with half the district to build a haystack, and sees the tragedy of unemployment. Along the way, Maggie makes new friends, and receives kindness and help in learning what a girl needs to know. Vintage Jack Lasenby tale set in Waharoa, the same town and Depression years as the setting for Old Drumble, and featuring some of the same characters. this time the protagonist is Maggie, a young girl being raised by her widowed father, with the help of the whole village. the whole of Waharoa is also banding together to beat the weather and bring in the harvest and build the haystack. Warm, witty, delightfully poignant story with fun, mischief, the burning down of a dunny, and ultimately a tragedy as seen through the eyes of a child.

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Page Count

178

Publisher

HarperCollins Australia

Published Date

ISBN 10

0730446085

ISBN 13

9780730446088

Aunt Effie and Mrs Grizzle

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie and Mrs Grizzle

By: Jack Lasenby

Wonderful, funny junior fiction for children from talented storyteller Jack Lasenby. Ideal for reading aloud, this deliciously wicked romp with Aunt Effie and her crew is guaranteed to entertain and astonish. At every opportunity, the capricious Aunt Effie takes to her beloved bed, and enchants her twenty-six nieces and nephews and six enormous pig dogs with tall tales of beguiling proportions. Enter Mrs Grizzle, a red-haired, doublejointed magician. Nothing is as it seems, and we encounter edible gunpowder, monster pukekos, Pookackodiles and Krockapooks, and is this a removable glass eye? How will Aunt Effie wrap up the captivating story of Mrs Grizzle? And where is the lost treasure?

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Page Count

159

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1869796497

ISBN 13

9781869796495

Travellers #2

Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #2

Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

A powerful award-winning young adult fantasy — the second novel in the excellent Travellers series. Pursued by the hateful Salt Men, Ish flees south with his friend Taur, the mute Bull Man. But nowhere is there refuge from the brutal Squint-face, who wants his greenstone god back, and wants Ish's life. Across the ice of Cook Strait lies the South Land. Can Ish and Taur find peace there? 'Taur', winner of the 1999 Senior Fiction category in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards, is the riveting sequel to 'Because We Were the Travellers', winner of a 1998 NZ Post Honour Award and shortlisted for the 1998 Esther Glen Medal. Lasenby writes impeccably...with an uncommon preciseness, a poetic flow. His language is poignant, profound, yet held back from sentimentality, each word weighted for relevance.

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Page Count

153

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775532275

ISBN 13

9781775532279

When Mum Went Funny

By: Jack Lasenby

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When Mum Went Funny

By: Jack Lasenby

It's war-time and Dad's away, so Mum has to run the farm. Sometimes the stress of it all gives her funny ideas, in this hilarious tale by a much-loved, award-winning junior fiction author. ‘You wait till Constable Cuff hears about this ... We’re going to tell everybody in the district you sold your children for sixpence.’ In When Mum Went Funny, the cry of mothers everywhere is heard loud and clear. Ideas like trying to sell off the children, making nail soup and sleeping out in a haystack to catch whoever’s ‘bandicooting’ the potatoes. When Mum gets that look in her eye, the children go on high alert. They watch Kate, to see how worried they should be, because Kate, the eldest, is an even match for her Mother. Their frequent battles of wit and will-power keeps everyone entertained. In spite of Mum’s tricks and grumbles, she never loses control; the children know they can rely on her, even as they try to frustrate her at every turn. Mum’s mischievous tugging at the rug under her children’s feet provides lots of delicious fun and fretful anxiety. In this gently comic novel, Lasenby draws a heart-warming but unsentimental portrait of a family and community under duress, and of a mother who channels her exasperations into inventive ploys that not only help save her own sanity, but also bring grist and intrigue to family life.

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120

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

177553118X

ISBN 13

9781775531180

Travellers #4

Kalik

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #4

Kalik

By: Jack Lasenby

The fourth and final volume in Jack Lasenby's award-winning Travellers fantasy series for young adult readers. Ish is introduced to Lutha's society; a cruel and primitive society driven by fear and superstition. He quickly distrusts a quality in Lutha and her beautiful, elegant friend and lieutenant, Kalik. Ish wishes to escape but realises he cannot go alone - he cannot leave behind a group of terrorised Children. In Kalik, Ish uses all the skills and knowledge he has gained thus far: from Hagar and their travelling, from Taur and from the Shaman. He challenges superstition, he questions leadership and the use of violence, he sees what ignorance and fear brings. He in turn becomes the teacher to his group of Children. In this novel, Jack Lasenby weaves threads of ancient myths, religions and folk tales from cultures as diverse as Ancient Persia and old Russia. His inventiveness reminds us how vital the power of story-telling is, and how it creates a sense of history, community and identity for all. This magnificent, powerful YA fantasy novel concludes the award-wiining series by one of New Zealand's finest writers for younger readers.

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Page Count

223

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531228

ISBN 13

9781775531227

Travellers #1: Because We Were The Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #1: Because We Were The Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

The first novel in the exciting Travellers series — a young adult fantasy story of survival against the odds in a fearful futuristic world. In a land called the Whykatto, south of the city of Orklun, the sun rises angry in the sky, eats the winter grass and flames towards the western horizon. As the sky turns fiery, figures appear in the landscape: a boy, limping, accompanied by an old woman. Cast out from their tribe they make the journey alone, away from the sun's rage, away from the deserts of the north, toward the southern lands. This is Ish's tale, a tale of rejection, of survival against the odds, of growing up in an age when much is feared, and few can be trusted. Written by one of New Zealand's most awarded writers for children and teens.

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Page Count

144

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775532305

ISBN 13

9781775532309

Grandad's Wheelies

By: Jack Lasenby

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Grandad's Wheelies

By: Jack Lasenby

When Jack visits his grandparents, they tell him stories - each outdoing the other with a tale taller and wilder than the last. When Jack visits his grandparents, there's no television to entertain him. No internet, no mobile phone, no tablets. In fact, there's no technology or modern distractions at all. But he still likes to visit, because Grandad and Granny tell him stories - each trying to outdo the other with a tale taller and wilder than the last. Did you ever hear about the dragon of Waitemata harbour? Or the bridge between the North and South islands? Or why the Beehive is round in shape - and who REALLY made the Marlborough Sounds? And then there's the pumpkin larger than a garden shed, and a wheelbarrow that converts into a boat for a seasick kangaroo. There are lost false teeth, eels and the ingenious invention of the world's first rotary clothesline helicopter . . . and a flying train that touches down at the station in Nelson. With equally wild watercolour illustrations throughout by Bob Kerr, Grandad's Wheelies is a hilarious, rollicking yarn stitching together a picture of life in New Zealand a couple of generations back that is just about true. Jack can't get enough of his Grandad and Granny's stories - and readers young and old will love them too!

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136

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1743487304

ISBN 13

9781743487303

Mr Bluenose

By: Jack Lasenby

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Mr Bluenose

By: Jack Lasenby

A charming novel for young readers by an award-winning writer, based on a young boy's summer in the countryside and the characters — real and imagined — that he meets. Dad has to go to work, so you go down to see Mr Bluenose; there's always something to do there. He tells you stories while you give him a hand to sort apples, feed the pigs, teach Horse how to push the wheelbarrow, and terrify boys who plan to raid the apple trees. On the way home, you look for empty bottles and sell them for boiled lollies to Mr Bryce at the store. He pays you more boiled lollies for telling him stories about how Mr Bluenose got his name, how he rode a whale to London, and was so seasick for so long in the crow's nest that he ran away from sea to Waharoa and planted his orchard. And then there's always Freddy Jones and the other kids to scare with stories about vampires, moreporks, and the White Woman of Waharoa who has a face as smooth as an egg... Think Spike Milligan meets Roald Dhhal, this is the captivating and amusing, rich and fun-filled story of a country summer, seen through a child's eye and created by a master story-teller.

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Page Count

103

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531201

ISBN 13

9781775531203

Because We Were the Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

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Because We Were the Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

Ish and Hagar - tame boy and old woman - are cast out from their tribe and must survive in the hostile landscape alone.

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155

Published Date

ISBN 10

187713502X

ISBN 13

9781877135026

Aunt Effie's Ark

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie's Ark

By: Jack Lasenby

The second book in the hilarious and outrageous 'Aunt Effie' series for junior readers. Aunt Effie, dressed in her green canvas invalid's pyjamas, hibernates all winter, leaving her 26 resourceful nieces and nephews to deal with snowstorm and flood, ravening monsters, a barnful of hungry animals and a wild ark-ride over the Vast Untrodden Ureweras. Among the comic cast of cousins are Daisy, whose primness puckers the mouth, Alwyn, who echoes and 'backwardises' the most emphatic statements, and Jack, a junior version of Jack-the-deer-culler Lasenby. There's a horse who acts as a dubiously qualified doctor, a gander who causes the ark to roll, and cows with insomnia - snoring in tune. With his trademark embellishments and wonderful blend of humour, excitement and wacky fun, award-winning writer Jack Lasenby has created another story of mayhem and delight.

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Page Count

130

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

177553121X

ISBN 13

9781775531210

Billy and Old Smoko

By: Jack Lasenby

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Billy and Old Smoko

By: Jack Lasenby

Very funny, must-read-aloud yarn for junior readers about the fantastical adventures of a talking horse and a boy looking for his mother. Billy wakes one morning to find his mother gone and the house in control of a strange woman burning the porridge. According to Billy, his father has gone all lackadaisical. So it’s Old Smoko, a well-spoken Clydesdale farm-horse, who takes Billy to school each day and teaches him to read. Together Billy and Old Smoko go in search of Billy’s real mum under the Kaimai Ranges, out the back of Waharoa. They meet a queen disguised as the Rawleighs Man, cannibal eels and man-eating Captain Cookers, but even they cannot prevail against a boy and his horse, especially when they have both read the mythology section of the School Journal. Billy learns the secret of Mount Te Aroha, hears the ancient Maori story of Snow White, and sees how Auckland got its electricity. He goes pig hunting, plays footy, discovers roast pork and apple sauce sandwiches – and falls in love with the blue eyes of Harrietta. Written by one of New Zealand's wittiest and most original and delightfully anarchic storytellers fior children, this book is guaranteed to make the world a better place for those who believe in the value of friendship.

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Page Count

169

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531198

ISBN 13

9781775531197

Travellers #1: Because We Were The Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #1: Because We Were The Travellers

By: Jack Lasenby

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144

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775532305

ISBN 13

9781775532309

Travellers #2

Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #2

Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

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153

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Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775532275

ISBN 13

9781775532279

Grandad's Wheelies

By: Jack Lasenby

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Grandad's Wheelies

By: Jack Lasenby

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136

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1743487304

ISBN 13

9781743487303

Aunt Effie and the Island That Sank

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie and the Island That Sank

By: Jack Lasenby

The third, crazy, Spike Milliganesque story in the hilarious Aunt Effie series for junior readers. Aunt Effie is restless. She and her 26 nieces and nephews are off again in the scow Margery Daw on a treasure hunt across the pirate-infested waterways of the Hauraki Gulf and The Waikato. However boat and crew become marvellously sidetracked: the scow is converted into a travelling cowshed for cross-country travel; a hot-pool swim makes the little ones go bendy; the race between Banana Bob's Model T Ford and Uncle Chris's Stanley Steamer is fraught with high-jinks and skulduggery. Meanwhile back in Auckland, One Tree Hill has sprung a leak and Rangitoto Island is sinking while the Prime Minister gambles away the nation's taxes in the Casino Tower. In this third Aunt Effie travelogue, Jack Lasenby creates another glorious, crazy kaleidoscope of time, place and circumstance.

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Page Count

146

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531244

ISBN 13

9781775531241

Aunt Effie and Mrs Grizzle

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie and Mrs Grizzle

By: Jack Lasenby

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159

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1869796497

ISBN 13

9781869796495

Travellers #3

The Shaman and the Droll

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #3

The Shaman and the Droll

By: Jack Lasenby

A wise and extraordinary YA tale of great challenges, myths and folklore; the third title in the award-winning Travellers series. Lutha of the Floating Village helps Ish, the outcast boy, escape with his beloved dogs, Jak and Nip, but before long, they are swept away, hurtled down an underground river only to emerge in the harsh land of the Great White Bear. The Bear Man comes to their rescue and takes Ish under his wing. It’s through their friendship, Ish discovers the Bear Man is a servant of the village people: he is their wise one, their healer, their shaman. In this timeless story by one of New Zealand's finest writers for children, Ish gains wisdom and a place. He learns the profound power of knowledge, the terrifying force of superstition, and witnesses first hand the mysteries of the human spirit. But in this land of blinding light there lurks a dark, menacing presence threatening all who may offend her. Ish, discovering he is to be blinded, escapes the Droll and her servant with the help of the Shaman, and finds his way back to Lake Ka and Lutha.

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Page Count

221

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531236

ISBN 13

9781775531234

Aunt Effie's Ark

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie's Ark

By: Jack Lasenby

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130

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

177553121X

ISBN 13

9781775531210

Travellers #4

Kalik

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #4

Kalik

By: Jack Lasenby

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223

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531228

ISBN 13

9781775531227

When Mum Went Funny

By: Jack Lasenby

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When Mum Went Funny

By: Jack Lasenby

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120

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

177553118X

ISBN 13

9781775531180

Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

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Taur

By: Jack Lasenby

Second in a trilogy of fantasy/adventure novels for young teenagers, following on from 'Because We Were The Travellers' Ish flees from the horrible Salt Men, in search of peace and a people to call his own. The author's other publications include 'The Lake' and 'The Mangrove Summer'.

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Page Count

160

Publisher

Hyland House Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1864470623

ISBN 13

9781864470628

Aunt Effie and the Island That Sank

By: Jack Lasenby

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Aunt Effie and the Island That Sank

By: Jack Lasenby

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146

Publisher

Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531244

ISBN 13

9781775531241

Travellers #3

The Shaman and the Droll

By: Jack Lasenby

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Travellers #3

The Shaman and the Droll

By: Jack Lasenby

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221

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Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1775531236

ISBN 13

9781775531234

Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull

By: Jack Lasenby

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Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull

By: Jack Lasenby

It's the 1930s. Our storyteller is crook in bed trying to get over a long sickness and wanting to go back to school, when Uncle Trev arrives to let Mum go out and do the shopping. Uncle Trev tells one story after another about the animals out on his farm, and about his neighbour Gotta Henry. He also goes through Mum's cupboards and helps himself to all her gingernut biscuits and Louise cake. If you think Mum should be grateful to get out of the house, she's not. When she comes home, she chases Uncle Trev and his dog, Old Tip, with her broom and threatens what she'll do to 'that man' next time he comes in.

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Page Count

207

Publisher

Gecko

Published Date

ISBN 10

1877467154

ISBN 13

9781877467158

National Geographic Field Guide to the Water's Edge

By: Stephen Letherman,Jack Williams

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National Geographic Field Guide to the Water's Edge

By: Stephen Letherman,Jack Williams

Beaches, shorelines, and riverbanks"--Cover.

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Page Count

340

Publisher

National Geographic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1426208685

ISBN 13

9781426208683

The Battle of Pook Island

By: Jack Lasenby

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The Battle of Pook Island

By: Jack Lasenby

In the final title, 'THE BATTLE OF POOK ISLAND', the gang find an island they call their own and build a fort, only to be attacked by their arch rivals, the Milk Street Gang. A momentous clash, featuring rotten eggs, lots of smoke and big bangs rounds off the trilogy in vintage Lasenby style. This is the classic trilogy of New Zealand junior fiction, following the exploits of a group of kids (the Seddon Street Gang) and their life in a rural township during the Depression. Heart-warming, funny and wise, these books have drawn fans in their thousands. 'Dead Man's Head', 'The Waterfall' and 'The Battle of Pook Island' have all three been finalists in the New Zealand Children's Book Awards, and two have taken out the ultimate prize. Critics are unanimous that this is a trilogy of the highest quality. I.

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Page Count

200

Published Date

ISBN 10

1877135003

ISBN 13

9781877135002

The Tears of Harry Wakatipu

By: Jack Lasenby

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The Tears of Harry Wakatipu

By: Jack Lasenby

Harry Wakatipu returns to the Hopuruahine Hut, and - out of the mythical mists of the bush - the Grey Ghost fires his .303 from the hip, learns his dogs to walk on water, slays the first of the Grim Inscrutable Wolves, and lives all winter on a single moa's egg. What happens when the flying dunny lands in the river-bed, when Harry Wakatipu ferments con-densed milk? Tuck this book under your swanny and listen and laugh to the muscular music of the Vast Untrodden Ureweras. A story of the classic days of deer culling when men were supermen, and weren't allowed to even dream of girls, let alone hide a copy of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES in the foot of their sleeping bag. Jack Lasenby at his best, and Harry Wakatipu at his worst. 'There's not a funnier character than the dreadful Harry Wakatipu.' Booknotes

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Page Count

203

Published Date

ISBN 10

1877361437

ISBN 13

9781877361432

Jack London's Tales of Cannibals and Headhunters

Nine South Seas Stories by America's Master of Adventure

By: Jack London

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Jack London's Tales of Cannibals and Headhunters

Nine South Seas Stories by America's Master of Adventure

By: Jack London

Jack London's Tales of Cannibals and Headhunters" is set in the romantic and dangerous South Seas and illustrated with the original artwork and several maps.

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Page Count

292

Publisher

UNM Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826337910

ISBN 13

9780826337917

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