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Impossible creatures

£8.99

Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he sees an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how he learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through. Then Mal appears in Christopher’s world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth – with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds.

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ISBN: 9781408897430 Category: Older Readers Tags: "Children's / Teenage general interest: Monsters, dragons & mythological creatures", Children's / Teenage fiction: Action & adventure stories, Children's / Teenage fiction: Fantasy & magical realism, Children's / Teenage personal & social issues: Friends & friendship issues
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Description

‘There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing.’ – Michael Morpurgo

‘A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight, and a world of richly imagined wonder‘ – Cressida Cowell


* BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR * WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER * BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS’ AWARD WINNER * FOYLES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR * SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON KIDS AND YA BOOK OF THE YEAR


* THE TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN SEPTEMBER 2023

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began ? From Katherine Rundell, the British Book Awards Author of the Year, comes the paperback release of the first novel in the critically acclaimed, award winning, best-selling Impossible Creatures series. This edition includes The Centaur’s Spectacles bonus short story.

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it’s too late.

‘Rundell’s first foray into fantasy is both a deft, rich homage to the greats of children’s literature and an absorbing, profoundly poignant quest story for those aged 9+ – quite possibly her best yet’ – The Guardian

‘A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle – a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime’ – Jacqueline Wilson

‘The world of this new book is so intriguing and so well put together that I couldn’t resist it. Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once’ – Philip Pullman

‘A masterpiece to rival Tolkien and Pullman’ – The Daily Telegraph

‘Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell’s best, which is something to be marvelled at’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave


‘Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth‘ – Frank Cottrell-Boyce


‘Rundell’s book packs a punch with imagination and creativity in its purest form. She has created a story with potential to be adored by fantasy lovers for years to come’ – The Independent


‘With a delightful cast of characters, breathless adventure, and an abundance of myth and magic, Impossible Creatures offers the very best of fantasy’ – Aisha Bushby


‘A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon’ – Sam Sedgman


‘A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller’ – Catherine Doyle


‘The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent’ – The Times


‘Surely the next classic’ – The I

Additional information

Weight 0.32 kg
Dimensions 19.4 × 12.8 × 2.2 cm
Author

Rundell, Katherine

Publisher

Bloomsbury Children's Books

Imprint

Bloomsbury Children's Books

Cover

Paperback

Pages

384

Language

English

Edition

1st paperback ed

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

Reviews

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After such a successful pre-order campaign, we just HAD to invite Anna Zoe Quirke to come and speak about their new book, Sad Girl Hours.

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Thank you to everyone who came and discussed Spoilt Creatures with us this month. We are so excited to announce our September book - Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino!

Please note our evening session is on a TUESDAY this month, rather than a Wednesday. Our Zoom meeting will be on Monday, and our afternoon session on Thursday.

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