DEVIL'S HILL

Eleven-year-old Badge, a child of the Tasmanian bush, has little liking for his cousin Sam and his unfriendly ways. But when Sam and his younger brothers and sisters come to stay with Badge's family, he gradually comes to admire him. Sam is equally warmed at having a boy near his age as a companion and relinquishes his defensive ways. The friendship between the two is cemented when they work together to retrieve a lost cow from Devil's Hill. Proud of having dared the unfriendly region, united by their success, they emerge great friends, each boy possessed of a new security in himself and the other. Much detail of Australian bush life and a colorful portrait of two lively families make this a more than usually interesting book. A glossary of Australian terms is included.