Set in a dystopian vision of the future, Firebird and her brother Ford live in a swamp on the edge of the city with their father and grandmother. They make a living by trapping eels - or so they believe until they discover that the eel smokery has been closed for a year, and that the family's money comes from the bags that Firebird makes from dried eel skins. Their shock at discovering that their whole lives have been based on lies - of which the most shocking is that their mother is still alive - coincides with a cataclysmic storm which destroys the swamp and kills their father. Slowly the family has to reassess their whole way of life and, indeed, who they actually are.
There are 224 pages in this book. This book was published 2005 by Penguin Books Ltd .
Susan Gates has written books for a very wide age range and is perhaps best-known for her Carnegie shortlisted title, RAIDER. Susan lives in County Durham.
This book contains the following story:
The Firebird
The firebird was stealing the Tsar's famous golden apples, so he set his three sons a quest to find the firebird and bring it back to him. Dimitri and Vassili set off together and the youngest son, Ivan , was forced to go alone. When the Grey Wolf tears Ivan's horse to pieces he thinks it is all over for him, but guilt at his actions forces the Grey Wolf to carry Ivan to his destination. With help from the wolf Ivan manages to beat his brothers and retrieve not only the firebird but also the beautiful princess.
