Jodie

Twelve-year-old Jodie Jackson lives with her father above, their family boatshed in Serpentine Bay in Sydney Harbor. She attends a new school, where she is, faced with bullying and loneliness. She is also feeling grief at the death of her mother the year before. She misses her mother and wonders where she is now. Her father is consumed by his work and won't share his emotions with Jodie, so she takes solace in sailing her boat around Sydney Harbor. Her favorite spot is Lighthouse Point, where her family used to go for picnics. Her father refuses to go there as it brings up memories, but Jodie likes to feel that she is connecting with her mother. She makes new friends with Sarah Chan and together they explore the derelict lighthouse and Jodie finds an old photo of a girl. The ranger finds them trespassing and they discover that there are plans for the area to be, turned into a marina and a restaurant. Jodie is horrified. The girls find some dead penguins floating in the water and later Jodie finds a live penguin living under the jetty on a nearby island. One night her mother appears in her bedroom and takes her with her to Heaven World and shows Jodie what a lovely, beautiful light-filled place it is, and how happy she is being there, and that she is always watching over Jodie. She can't wait to tell her father about seeing Mum, but he dismisses it as just a dream and walks away. Jodie is angry and sails her boat out into the Harbor despite the storm warnings. She capsizes but manages to swim to shore and seek shelter in the derelict hall on the nearby island. A girl appears looking for her own mother, and Jodie realises it is the girl in the photo that she found, and Jodie tells her to go towards the light that is shining through the trees. Her father finally rescues her and is distraught by the thought of losing her. He tells her he loves her and vows to be more open with her and talk about his feelings and their shared loss. The rangers at Parks and Wildlife investigate the area and discover a new penguin colony living in the bay, and the plans for the lighthouse are, shelved.

Twelve-year-old Jodie Jackson lives with her father above their boatshed in Serpentine Bay in Sydney. Jodie and her best friend Sarah are targeted at school by a bully. Jodie stands up to her but Sarah suffers from anxiety because of it. Jodie suggests that Sarah tell her parents about her worries. Jodie misses her mother who has died the year before especially as there is a Mother/Daughter lunch at school. She works at her grandmother's spiritual shop to earn money for an excursion and invites her grandmother to the lunch. Jodie sails her little boat around the harbour, exploring islands and bush areas and goes to Crater Cove, where there are old shacks from the depression era that she wants to sketch for art class. She discovers a homeless girl hiding there and learns that the girl is a vet student studying at university on a scholarship but with nowhere to live. Jodie sees smoke in the sky and hears the news report about a fire near Crater Cove and worries about the girl. Jodie is unable to contact her father or her grandmother, so she takes her father's runabout, even though she is unqualified. Jodie tries to land but the smoke is too thick to see. Her motor dies and she drifts closer and closer to the rocks but the water police appear and start to tow her boat back to safety. As they tow her away Jodie notices Serena waving for help from the shore and the water police rescue her. They take both girls back to Jodie's house and her father is very relieved at seeing her, but also cross that she took out the runabout. Serena is invited to stay at Jodie's house until they sort out her accommodation. The next day Jodie's grandmother falls and fractures her ankle and goes to hospital and Jodie is afraid she won't be able to come to the Mother/Daughter lunch. Jodie finds that she is missing thirty dollars when she goes to school to pay for the excursion. She confronts Serena who admits that she took it to buy some medicine for an infected cut from an oyster shell. She was planning to replace it later. Jodie is angry but when she sees Serena's infected leg, she understands. Dad helps Jodie pay the balance for the excursion and she is third on the waiting list. Jodie is afraid that her grandmother won't be able to make the Mother/Daughter lunch, but Dad picks Nan up from hospital and she is a celebrity at the lunch because she attended the school as did Jodie's mother. The fire destroys the shack that Jodie had sketched for art class, and her teacher organises it to be hung in the Council Chambers. A reporter learns about Serena's rescue and Jodie's involvement, and writes an article for the newspaper. The university promises to help Serena find accommodation, and Nan offers to have Serena stay with her while her ankle heals, in return for some cooking and cleaning. Jodie learns that she is next on the list to go on the excursion and Sarah talks to her parents about her anxiety.

Twelve-year-old Jodie Jackson goes on a school excursion to Driftwood Island. They go on bush walks through the rainforest and swim in crystal blue lakes. Jodie sleeps in a tent with her best friend Sarah Chan and one afternoon they spot a mother dingo with two pups. One of the pups is limping. Jodie finds a teddy bear in the car park and gives it to Andrea, who was, teased because she had brought her own teddy bear to camp. Jodie helps Teela, the senior ranger, try and save a beached dolphin but sadly it dies. Teela tells her a story about dolphins and living in Lemeuria. Jodie and her friends go on a boat to see the whales and she finds some more teddy bears and some white tubes hidden in the bottom of the boat. When they arrive back at shore, one of the girls goes off by herself to collect a piece of driftwood, and a dingo starts to stalk her. The teacher tries to help but falls over, so Jodie and her friends run over as a group, shouting and screaming and rescue her. When Jodie stubs her toe on a tent peg, and can't walk to the shipwreck, she accompanies Teela on her ranger duties. At the Resort, Jodie notices two men having an argument, and one of them drops a box filled with the same white tubes. Later she sees the same men at the creek at the Old Village where they act suspiciously. Jodie and Maddie drive to a historic cabin and discover some boxes containing white tubes, and Maddie is, bitten by a snake. Jodie tries to call for help on her two-way, but can't get reception. She tries to drive the jeep to the main road but the same two men appear and Jodie convinces them to drive Maddie back to the Ranger's Office. They leave her at the shack. Jodie notices a reptile coming out of one of the white tubes and finds more reptiles in other tubes, and realizes the men are wildlife smugglers. She releases the reptiles in the bush and the men return so she hides. They discover her and are angry at her for releasing the animals and they tie her up and leave with a baby dingo that they had captured. One of the men, drops a cigarette and a fire starts. Jodie struggles to free herself, but one of the men ,returns and releases, her and puts out the fire. Together they drive back and notify the rangers that the other man is boarding a ferry with the baby dingo. The police arrest both men and Jodie is, praised for her assistance with the smugglers. Teela promises to look after the rescued baby dingo.