11 Ruby Road 1900 by Charlotte Barkla

Bookseller blurb: It is 1900 and Dorothy and her family have just moved to a new house at 11 Ruby Road. Ruby Road is a busy street, bustling with activity - families and children, noisy carts and animals. The house is close enough to see the city and very different from the rural life Dorothy has known. Best of all it has a secret writing room that only she knows about! Dorothy has big plans for her new neighbourhood - she wants to put on a play and write it herself! But there are other reasons for her family's move to the city and, as Dorothy starts to learn about her new house, she discovers more about the period of time she's growing up in.

I picked up 11 Ruby Road 1900 from a charity book sale for just AUS$2 - this is a little surprising because this is a fairly new book published in 2024. The book that focuses on 1950 will be released in August this year. 

I would have liked a little more detail on historical facts but all in all, a jolly good read for kiddos from around Year 3 upwards. It would certainly be a good read-around-your-topic for history topics focused on this period ...  Just so Stories

Dorothy is bright, driven and rebellious, regularly in trouble at school but only for matters of principle! As the middle child of 6 girls, she looks to her older sisters for social precedents and sees herself as a trailblazer for the little ones. Curious and willing to break tradition, she is a perfect translator for young readers of the morals, values, opportunities and limitations facing young Australians, particularly women, in this era. Storylinks

Here are all three books from the series so far:

Here is the Lamont review of 11 Ruby Road 1900. Read more about Charlotte Barkla here. Walker Books have written some very detailed teachers notes. I am not sure I would use this book as a class novel but if you had a small book club style group (probably of girls) these notes might give you some ideas to discuss. As a character Charlotte annoyed me - she is too selfish and bossy for me. But I did enjoy the way she changed her play to link with the pressing issue of the times - votes for women. You could perhaps read chapter 20 and link this with your study of Australian history. The teachers notes have some useful ideas about this aspect of the story. I also worry about the awful teacher but perhaps her attitude to 'naughty' students is more a reflection of the times. 

The obvious companion text is this famous Australia book My Place.

I also thought of this book where a group of kids are putting on a play:

The Secret Hen House Theatre

And this wonderful book by Katrinia Nannestad:

Silver Linings