BANJO of DESTINY CARY FAGAN PICTURES BY Selçuk Demirel GROUNDWOOD BOOKS HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS TORONTO BERKELEY
For Emilio and Yoyo and Rachel and Sophie
1 The House Built from Floss JEREMIAH BIRNBAUM lived in a house that looked like a medieval castle It was surrounded by a moat and ten acres of grounds Swans and flamingos floated serenely on the water in the moat Inside the house was anything but medieval There were nine bathrooms a games room with antique pinball machines a fully equipped exercise room with an oval track an indoor pool with a water slide and a hot tub There was an art gallery with paintings from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries a movie theater a bowling alley The floors were heated in the winter and cooled in the summer Hidden sensors turned on the lights when someone entered
