Ireland to New Zealand 1874 When Ten-year-old Rebecca Kelly is sent to the dreary Derry workhouse she decides that this is not the life for her, so she steals a pony to ride it to Belfast. Rebecca is determined to join her brother, who is a sailor on the ship Queen of the Nations bound for New Zealand, but this is difficult for a young girl without a penny to her name. Rebecca must become a servant and earn her passage to the new colony.

Book two in the New Zealand Girl series, Paula Morris' Hene and the Burning Harbour tells the story of Hene, a Maori girl living in 1840s New Zealand. Northland, 1845. When Hene's twin brother falls dangerously ill, her parents fear she will also catch the sickness, so they send her away from her home at the pa to the Paihia mission station. Life with the missionaries is difficult. Hene must wear a hot European dress and learn to sew, which she hates. Meanwhile, across the water in Russell, the world is in turmoil. Hone Heke has cut down the flagpole again and has attacked Korororeka. Hene sees smoke and fire from across the bay; the town is on fire and her best friend from the mission house, Rangi, is trapped there. Hene is the only one who can save her. What was life like so many years ago? Find out through the eyes of a girl who's just like you.