Nobody in Preston could remember when the watertower was built, or who had built it, but there it stood . . . casting a long, dark shadow across the valley, across Preston itself. The Children's Book Council of Australia 1995 Picture Book of the Year '. . . a genuinely eerie picture book.' Kirkus Reviews

Nobody in Preston could remember when the watertower was built, or who had built it, but there it stood on Shooter's Hill -- its iron legs rusted, its egg-shaped tank warped and leaking -- casting a long dark shadow across the valley, across Preston itself.

For Tristan, the city dump was a treasure trove full of mystery. He would take things apart to see how they worked. Then he found the box, filled with lenses, polished glass and a microscope, and what he saw was like nothing he had seen before.

Martin is the runt of his family. Without a mother to protect him, his overbearing father and brothers reject him. Aided by the self-sacrifice of loving friends, Martin finds the courage to fight for personal fulfilment.

An astonishingly original novel for adults from the multi award-winning children's author, Gary Crew 'I lived many lives beneath that piano ...I heard ten thousand stories in that space. there I was privileged to observe, to gather - and not only gather, to concentrate within myself - so much that is usually denied a child of my age. As a result, I have, you might say, grown.' So says Augustus trump - a dwarf destined to be a circus freak. Cursed by nature as he is, Augustus is nevertheless blessed with a determination to survive, and more than survive, to grow. this growth, both in stature and in spirit, is brought about by a second blessing - his divine voice: an instrument so sublime that even the stars pay heed. Because no-one knows better the agonies, the violence and the love that inform the poetic than Augustus trump: dwarf, protege, man. tHE ARCHItECtURE OF SONG is a truly magical, unique novel of beauty, imagination and song, with a cast of dark, surprising characters who will enchant and delight you, just as the songs of Augustus trump enchant and transform them.