Set in Sydney, Australia, in the early 1950s, the memories and observa tions of three sisters, aged six, eleven, and fifteen, are interwoven with news paper clippings from the Sydney Morning Herald. The story depicts how the world events and issues impinge on their day-to-day lives. Their merchant marine father’s depression, their mother’s relationship with their musician uncle, Russian spies next door, polio epidemics, and various Sydney misad ventures and murders are all connected in this complex narrative. The sym bolic significance of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Red Shoe” builds as family secrets are revealed. Queensland Premier’s Literary Award, New South Wales State Literary Award, Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year. mjw

Originally published by Allen & Unwin Australia, in 2006.