Rossamünd Bookchild’s trip from the orphanage where he has been raised to distant High Vesting, where he is to be a lamplighter, becomes a peril ous journey as he encounters villainous people, bogles, and other monsters. Cornish has created a fantasy set in a richly detailed world. Although it isn’t necessary for understanding the story, there is a one-hundred-page Expli carium and maps for those who want to delve more deeply into the details of this fantastical adventure. Cornish’s portraits of the major characters are interesting additions. 2007 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year: Older Readers Honor Book. ca

Originally published by Omnibus Books, an imprint of Scholastic Australia, in 2006.

Meet Rossamünd'a foundling, a boy with a girl's name who is about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor of the Half-Continent. What starts as a simple journey becomes a dangerous and complicated set of battles and decisions. Humans, monsters, unearthly creatures . . . who among these can Rossamünd trust? D. M. Cornish has created an entirely original world, grounded in his own deft, classically influenced illustrations. Foundling is a magic-laced, Dickensian adventure that will transport the reader.