"Fontania is an adventure-packed world full of dastardly power-seekers and marvellous animals like hippo-geese and cave-lizards—but Barbara's heroes are beautifully written ordinary boys and girls struggling to do the right thing, to be of good character! Barbara is a writer who notices things about people." Julia Marshall, Publisher
A rollicking steampunk sea adventure in which a boy who suffers stage-fright is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdom.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
"Fontania is an adventure-packed world full of dastardly power-seekers and marvellous animals like hippo-geese and cave-lizards—but Barbara's heroes are beautifully written ordinary boys and girls struggling to do the right thing, to be of good character! Barbara is a writer who notices things about people." Julia Marshall, Publisher
A rollicking steampunk sea adventure in which a boy who suffers stage-fright is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdom.
Description
A rollicking steampunk sea adventure in which a boy who suffers stage-fright is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdom. Rufkin must learn to try harder. He is sent to work in a salvage yard, where vicious cave lizards lurk in the mud, among rusting ship hulks saved for scrap. When he hears a small voice cry “Help!” from the riverbank mangroves, Rufkin and his reluctant new neighbour, Nissy, are caught up in a perilous sea adventure that threatens to bring the end-of-days. Rufkin, the boy who suffers stage-fright, is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdrom.
Critic Reviews
"As usual with Barbara Else’s writing, there are some subtle descriptions and clever characterisations, that help the reader keep abreast of the fast-moving and often very amusing plot." -- Magpies (AU)
"A stand-alone fantasy adventure that will have children engrossed right from the beginning." -- Bookrapt (NZ)
About the Author
Barbara Else is one of New Zealand’s most successful writers, for adults and children. Her Tales of Fontania series—including The Travelling Restaurant—has been published around the world and her 2018 release Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women is a bestseller. Else is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, and has worked as a university tutor, editor and freelance writer. She lives in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Product Details
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