A Message Through Time

A pacey and action-packed time-slip adventure that carries step-siblings Felix and Zoe back to Ancient Roman times - and also, accidentally, drags a Roman girl into the present.

When 11-year-old Felix finds a message in a bottle during a trip to France, he is in for the surprise of a lifetime. Suddenly he is flung back 1700 years to Ancient Roman times, dragging his very unwilling 15-year-old stepsister, Zoe, with him.

They are offered sparrows for lunch and horse-spit as medicine, but that is only the beginning! When they ricochet forward to their own time again, Felix and Zoe discover they have accidentally brought a high-class Roman girl with them... Can they navigate the strange Roman world - from opulent city to distant sacred spring - and return the 12-year-old girl to her family before time runs out?

In this standalone companion novel to the acclaimed The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, featuring a whole new cast of characters, award-winning author Anna Ciddor has created a roller-coaster adventure that will have young readers on the edge of their seats.

Anna Ciddor has been fascinated by the past for as long as she can remember. It would be her dream come true to step through time! Instead, she immerses herself in research and digs out the tiniest details so she can bring the past to life in her imagination - and in her books. Anna is based in Melbourne, Australia, but her research quests have led her across the world. She has hunted for druids in Ireland, Vikings in Norway, and her grandmother's childhood in Poland.

Anna's work has won her many accolades, including the Nance Donkin Award for Children's Literature, a grant from the Australia Council, Notable Book awards from the Children's Book Council of Australia, and shortlistings for numerous other awards. Some of her best-loved books include Runestone, The Family with Two Front Doors, and The Boy Who Stepped through Time.

To find out more, visit annaciddor.com.

CONTENTS
IMESSAGE IN A BOTTLE1
I II HAVE TO TRY8
I I IMULE DUNG AND HORSE SPIT12
I VTHE UGLY DOG17
VTHE BATHHOUSE24
V IINTRUDER IN TIME30
V I IARE YOU A PRINCESS?36
V I I IYOU MUST BE VERY POOR41
I XTHE SHRINE47
XBROKEN52
X IROMAN DRESS55
X I IOFF WE GO!60
X I I IGONE!63
X I VARITHMETIC70
X VANOTHER WAY75
X V IOVER THE BOAT BRIDGE79
X V I ITHE NASTY PROWMAN85
X V I I ITHE HOLE91
X I XHARD TACK AND PICKLED ONIONS95
X XHOMESICK101
X X ION THE TOW ROPES105
X X I IHEAVE, HEAVE!111
X X I I ITHE DRUENTIA116
X X I VBOY OVERBOARD122
X X VWRONG SIDE126
X X V INOT A GLINT129
X X V I ITHE SACRED SPRING134
X X V I I ISACRIFICE141
X X I XINVITATION148  X X XWATER JUGS AND OLIVE PIPS154
X X X ITHE PAINTER160
X X X I ICALVES’ BRAIN PUDDING165
X X X I I IWAITING171
X X X I VWHO WILL YOU MARRY?178
X X X VATTACK!185
X X X V IWHERE’S FURIA?193
X X X V I ITHE BONE198
X X X V I I ILAVENDER AND ROSES206
X X X I XFUNERAL211
X LLEMURIA217
X L IHEADING FOR ARELATE223
X L I IBASKETS OF CHEESE228
X L I I ISURPRISE234
X L I VTHE HEAD IN THE CUPBOARD238
X LVNO PLASTIC DINOSAURS246
X LV IRUNNING OUT OF TIME253
X LV I IALONE257
X LV I I ITHE BULLY262
X L I XA HUNDRED NUMMI!268
LTHE WINGED HAT275
L IIT’S MINE!281
L I ITHE GIRL WITH THE CAT287
L I I IUP IN THE GODS292
L I VVALE299
LVWHAT’S THE TIME?302
GLOSSARY309
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BOOK313