December 2024 Middle Grade Book Selection | First Editions Club

New York, NY: Scholastic Press (September 17, 2024)

First Edition. Signed on a tipped in page.

As new in dust jacket.

A breathtaking new fantasy world: In the Archipelago, all the creatures of myth are real—and in danger.

A daring adventure: Two kids embark on an urgent quest to save the last magical place on earth.

Christopher hadn't quite believed his grandfather’s story about the Archipelago—a hidden world where magical creatures of every kind have thrived for thousands of years. But the baby griffin currently biting his ear is undoubtedly real. And the fierce girl demanding his help is not someone he can say no to.

And so Mal and Christopher embark on a wild adventure. They race from island to island, searching for someone who can explain why the magic is fading and why magical creatures are suddenly dying. They consult sphinxes, and battle kraken, and negotiate with dragons. But the closer they get to the dark truth of what’s happening, the clearer it becomes: no one else can fix this. If the Archipelago is to be saved, Mal and Christopher will have to do it themselves.

Katherine Rundell begins a landmark new series that will be devoured by readers young and old.

KATHERINE RUNDELL is the author of Rooftoppers (An ALA Notable Book, winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize), Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner), The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer (Winner of the Costa Children's Book Prize), and The Good Thieves. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize) and Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise.