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Impossible creatures

£8.99

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began ? From Katherine Rundell, the British Book Awards Author of the Year, comes the first novel in the award winning and globally bestselling Impossible Creatures series.

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ISBN: 9781408897430 Category: Children's - 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

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began ? The first novel in the award winning and globally best-selling Impossible Creatures series is the story of two children’s epic adventure to transform the world. This edition includes The Centaur’s Spectacles bonus short story.

Read the stunning sequel to Impossible Creatures: book 2, The Poisoned King, is OUT NOW!

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a Way-Between from our world 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.

*Please note the book cover you receive may be different from the one that is shown

* 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

* 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

‘Full of adventures, wonderful side characters, new lands and so many fantastic creatures. I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages’ – Rick Riordan

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

‘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 0.313 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

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At HOBAF we want to create opportunities for people to meet over coffee and good conversation, providing the chance for people to forge new friendships and community. For Loneliness Awareness Week 2026, we’ll be celebrating those little moments of connection that make such a big difference with Coffee & Connections! 🤝

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NEXT WEEK 🎉

Ella Willis joins us on Wednesday 3rd June at 6pm to discuss their new book 'LITERALLY: A Joyful Guide to the Ups and Downs of Being Autistic'. Our bookseller Leah will be in conversation with Ella, and this is what she has to say of the book:
'What a breath of fresh air to read an account of neurodiversity that feels more like chatting to a friend than reading a medical webpage. Ella is funny, honest, and creative in their writing, and I can't wait to talk with them!'
Tickets are still available on our website or in-store now 💛💙
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THANK YOU to everyone who came along to discuss The Vet's Daughter in May. For June, we will be reading The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. We have multiple sessions available to choose from, including our baby-friendly session on Thursday mornings.

Information and tickets available in-store or on our website.

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In acknoweldgment of this, Our Chatty Café Volunteers will be around to do what they do best – chat! Why not pop in to the shop, enjoy some free pastries, and have a good natter. No need to book, just drop in.☕🥐

🕑Monday & Wednesday 12 – 1pm

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Don't forget we are hosting a Lunchtime Lecture with Chris Moss on 5th June, discussing his book 'Lancashire: Exploring the historic county that made the modern world.' 

Chris will be specifically discussing Manchester, it's identity within Lancashire and eventually 'Greater Manchester' in 1974. This is a great talk for those interested in local history, as well as the wider context that makes our industrial city so important to British historians. Tickets available on our website or in-store 🏙️


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