Illustration - blue butterfly on pink, flowering shrub slowly opening and closing

its wings. It unrolled

its tiny spring

shaped

tongue and tasted

her wrist. Perhaps it liked

the flavour of her favourite honey-scented sunscreen.

She lay, mesmerised by the tranquil but ever changing scenery. Her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted into sleep. The last few days had been exciting but very, very tiring.

She woke to the awful feeling of something cold and wet trickling down her face. As she opened her eyes in alarm she heard a giggle and saw that her brother was dripping iced water from a flask held just above her. Anger blazed, she rolled over and, in one swift movement, kicked him on the shin with her hard leather riding boots.

Charles staggered back, hopping on one leg, and stumbled, cursing, down the grassy slope. He collided with the two men who were climbing the slope carrying their huge rucksacks.

‘You deserved that!’ said Athol to Charles. He turned and spoke to Saffron. ‘Sorry to disturb you, Ronnie. We’ve had a good look around here, we though it was time to move over and have a squiz at the rainforest gullies before darkness sets in.’

‘Yes, we should,’ she replied, sitting up and trying to

Read this amazing new children’s novel or chapter-book. 240 pages of exciting adventure. Corrupt councillors, bikers, heavy metal musicians, a city girl in a country town trying to rescue her precious black pony called Magic when the developers try to build a new suburb in her agistment paddock. With 88 full colour, detailed illustrations - virtually a Graphic novel and an excellent resource for teachers wanting to run cross-curriculum studies - environmental science, art, local politics and story writing for English language courses.

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Use these crazy rainbow stars to guide your way