Cirrus@Austlit

'An accidental trip back to the Roman Empire sets off a race against time to save a friendship - and a life. A thrilling time-slip adventure from a much-loved Australian author.

'When Perry steps into a crumbling ruin while on holiday in France, he is not expecting to be transported back 1700 years to Roman times. While he hunts desperately for a way home, he must blend in as a slave in a grand villa - even if it means eating mice for dinner!

'Gradually, Perry is caught up in the fascinating world of Villa Rubia and a life he could never have imagined. But when he makes a new friend, he has a startling realisation. He has seen her name in his own time…engraved on a child's stone coffin. This couldn't really be the same girl, could it?

'The question burns in Perry's head as he dodges the perils of Roman life. And all the time there is the danger that he will be trapped in the past forever…'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Nomi - the little girl from The Family with Two Front Doors - is now Nana Nomi, standing in her kitchen in Melbourne, a long way from Poland, a long time after losing much of her family in the holocaust. Her granddaughter Anna gets into all sorts of scrapes - like glueing her baby sister's foot to a plank of wood (then worrying she'll have to live like that forever). Anna and her family celebrate Passover, and birthdays and trips to the zoo, they also deal with prejudice, and other more serious sides of life. And through it all, Anna is on the hunt for the most beautiful doll she has ever seen...'  (Publication summary)

'Hugely readable historical fiction in the classic style of Little House on the Prairie – this warm and engaging story, inspired by the author’s own family, offers a glimpse into a life rich with tradition, celebration and love.

'Meet the Rabinowitzes: mischievous Yakov, bubbly Nomi, rebellious Miriam, solemn Shlomo, and seven more! Papa is a rabbi and their days are full of intriguing rituals and adventures. But the biggest adventure of all is when big sister Adina is told she is to be married at the age of fifteen – to someone she has never met.

'Based on the author’s real family, the Rabinowitzes dance, laugh and cook their way through an extraordinary life in 1920s Poland. We join them for breakfast, and listen to the samovar bubbling while ten-year-old Nomi accidentally trails her long hair in the bowl of oily herring. We go shopping with them at the market, and watch eight-year-old Yakov struggle to carry home a huge fish. Day by intimate day, we follow them through the summer, until at last we reach the grand finale of Adina’s wedding.

'In the classic tradition, this highly readable story is fascinating, amusing and as warm as freshly baked bread. ' (Publication summary)