Three times a babe shall be born, between star-crowned and iron-bound. First, the sower of seeds, the soothsayer, though lame, he must travel far. Next shall be the king-breaker, the king-maker, Though broken himself he shall be. Last, the smallest and the greatest - in him, the blood of wise and wild, farseeing ones and starseeing ones. Though he must be lost before he can find, Though, before he sees, he must be blind, If he can find and if he can see, The true king of all he shall be. Merry, Zed and Liliana - three children born between those of hearthkin blood and starkin blood - are on a perilous quest to the Palace of Zarissa. Amid the splendour and treachery of court, they watch and wait: planning the rescue of Princess Rosalina, held captive in the dazzling Tower of Stars. And as their pasts and presents unfold, their destinies become clear. The engrossing companion to The Starthorn Tree by one of Australia's best fantasy storytellers, Kate Forsyth. Click here to see video clips of Kate discussing her writing for the Centre for Learning Innovation

A thrilling fantasy adventure for younger readers. With the young King of Estelliana mysteriously ill, the kingdom is placed under the harsh rule of a starkin regent, Lord Zavion. One day a hearthkin boy, Durrik, has a vision telling him that the regent is planning to kill the new king and take over Estelliana, and that he must go on a quest to find a cure for the King and save the kingdom. He and his best friend Pedrin set out on their journey and are soon joined by a noble girl, Lisandre, and a servant girl called Briony. On their travels they meet with soldiers, wildkin, pirates and monsters before they reach their final destination - the magic Starthorn Tree - which may hold the miraculous cure...

The kingdom of Estelliana is troubled. The young starkin count is trapped in a cursed sleep, and not even the light from the Astronomer's Tower, built from precious glass by the bound hearthkin, can rouse him. Then a prophecy turns the starkin against two hearthkin boys, Pedrin and Durrik, forcing them to run from the town and hide in the Perilous Forest. Here they meet up with another two runaways, the spoilt Lady Lisandre and her servant, Briony, a young weaver with strange skills, seeking a cure for the count, Lady Lisandre's brother. With nothing but a prophecy to guide them, the four must outrun and outwit soldiers, giant spiders, bandits and the outcast wildkin that live in the forest. A miserable old man and a belligerent bandit girl join their journey to the Well of Fate to find the cure. They must race against time to find the cure that will awaken the sleeping count and hopefully bring a new era of peace to the divided kingdom of Estelliana.

A new age dawns in the kingdom of Eileanan, but not without resistance. Now the Righ, Lachlan the Winged, overturns his dead brother’s decrees against witchcraft. But sixteen years of hatred and superstition have cloaked Eileanan in darkness. And though he has won the power of the Lodestar, Lachlan’s rule is challenged by a mere babe—and a civil war erupts. The flame-haired twins—Iseult the Scarred Warrior and Isabeau the apprentice-witch—must go their separate ways. Iseult to fight side by side with her husband, Lachlan. Isabeau to the Cursed Towers, to master her powers and to find the family she has never known. One woman battling for a new reign, one woman learning the old ways, their separate threads will twist and turn into a tale of mayhem, mystery, and magic.

Named Best First Novel by Locus 'Twas a time when dragons left their lair and evil shadowed the land.... On the Day of Reckoning, the witches of Eileanan were outlawed--and violations of the new order were punishable by death. Eileanan's Great Towers, once meccas of magic and learning, were left in ruins. And now, the entire land trembles in fear.... Yet deep in the mountains, in the shadow of Dragonclaw, a young girl is being tutored in the old ways. Ignorant of her past, uncertain of her future, the foundling Isabeau will soon be forced down a dangerous path of prophesy, conspiracy, and magic. It is a world where dragons possess the key to ancient mysteries...where a lost prince will discover a strange and wondrous destiny...and where the ultimate battle between good and evil will be waged.... A new Day of Reckoning is at hand....

Hannah Rose Brown is twelve years old when she finds out that her family is cursed. Desperate to find the truth about her father's disappearance, she travels to her ancestral home in Scotland, and discover a chain of dark secrets that plunge her into different worlds, timeframes and dangers... Another magical historical novel from the author of THE GYPSY CROWN

Ben and Tim and their cousins Thomas and Meg don't expect unusual adventures when they begin their summer holidays at the beach. But they couldn't be more wrong! When they stumble across a mer-boy called Sechiel stranded on the sand, they hear about a sinister diver in a submarine, who together with his razor-toothed shark is terrorising the mer-people and destroying the wildlife. Worse still, he has abducted Sechiel's sister! All of a sudden Ben and Tim find themselves in the middle of their most exciting and magical adventure yet.

Once there was a gypsy queen who wore on her wrist a chain of six lucky charms – a golden crown, a silver horse, a butterfly caught in amber, a cat's eye shell, a bolt of lightning forged from the heart of a falling star, and the flower of the rue plant, herb of grace. The queen gave each of her six children one of the charms as their lucky talisman, but ever since the chain of charms was broken, the gypsies had been dogged with misfortune. It is even worse for the Finch tribe – they have been thrown into gaol with only three weeks to live. The only members of the family to escape are thirteen-year-old Emilia and her cousin Luka, who have been entrusted to find the six charms and bring them together again. What Emilia and Luka do not realise is that there is a price to be paid for each lucky charm, and that the cost may prove too high... Book 1: The Gypsy Crown: 9th August – 12th August 1658 Maggie has given them the first charm – an old gold coin – but Luka and Emilia must escape the brutal thief-taker, Coldham. With a horse, a monkey, a dog, and a huge brown bear in their train, it is hard to travel secretly as they flee across the Surrey countryside. With a little bit of luck – or, as Emilia believes, magic – they manage to escape, but Coldham will not give up so easily.

The final three paperbacks of the award-winning six-book series by Kate Forsyth. Life is always hard for the gypsies, who live to their own rhythm and their own rules, but since Oliver Cromwell had seized control of England, life had been harder - and drabber - than ever. But now life for the Finch tribe has gone even more horribly wrong. They have been accused of vagrancy and murder, and thrown into gaol with only three weeks to live. The only members of the family to escape are 13-year-old Emilia and her cousin Luka. They have been entrusted to find the six charms and bring them together again. Then, perhaps, the gypsies could once again have some luck... and the Finch tribe could walk free. What Emilia and Luka do not realise is that there is a price to be paid for each lucky charm, and that the cost may prove too high... 27th August 1685: Sussex was the first county secured by the Roundheads because of its iron foundries. Here in the Weald, the Smith tribe are working for Parliament, making cannons and weaponry. They have prospered under Cromwell's rule, and have no interest in old gypsy charms. And it is here where Luka and Emilia must find the fifth charm, a finely-wrought lightning bolt, and amidst the smoke and noise of the Horsmonden foundry, the gypsy children run into old friends... and old enemies. Winner of Aurealis Awards' Best Children's Long Fiction 2007

Ben and Tim have always been told to "be careful what you wish for", but they don't know what this really means until one day Tim discovers a magic wishing ring - and a whole lot of trouble! Before they know it, Ben and Tim and their cousins, Nick, Emmy and Lach, find themselves fighting for their lives - and a few other people's, too - in a besieged castle full of knights and swords and a rather bossy countess. But soon they realise that making wishes is not as easy as it sounds, and that they will have to be very clever indeed to get themselves out of this mess!