Skip to navigation Skip to content
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • facebook
Shop Now
House of Books & Friends
My Account
  • £0.00 0
House of Books & Friends
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Resources for Connection
    • News
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Coffee & Connections
    • The Loneliness Project
  • Contact
    • Hire Us
    • Accessibility Information
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Resources for Connection
    • News
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Coffee & Connections
    • The Loneliness Project
  • Contact
    • Hire Us
    • Accessibility Information

Buy Online

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.

In Stock

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
  • Description
  • Additional information
  • Reviews (0)

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

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Related products

  • Snow White and the Seven Bears

    £7.99
    Add to basket
  • The wrong shoes

    £7.99
    Add to basket
  • You and me and the the land of lost things

    £7.99
    Add to basket

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Aug 4



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18229325854320667


House of Books & Friends is excited to welcome Pete Wharmby to discuss his book 'Different Minds: How We Can Help Our Autistic School Children Thrive'. 
📆 1st September
🕑 6pm
Tickets in bio 🎟️

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Aug 2



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18619492048025753


Have you got a little bookworm in your life? Then look no further than House of Books & Friends. We are excited to invite you to Little Bookworms, our monthly book club for 8-12 years. The book club runs the first Sunday of every month, 11am-12pm.

For September, we will be reading The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons. You have until the day of the book club to finish the title – this is available to buy as part of your ticket, or you can purchase a ticket only.

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Aug 1



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18108603449094536


August is Women in Translation Month! We asked some of our booksellers for their favourite recent reads for global reading; what would you recommend we check out this #WITM?

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Jul 31



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18112150217297401


Another month, another bookseller reading wrapped! July has been a fruitful reading month for us at House of Books and Friends! How has your summer reading been going, let us know in the comments (: 🌟

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Jul 31



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 17891142873663659


Thank you to everyone who attended July's book club and discussed Cooking in the Wrong Century with us! For August Book Club, we will be reading 'Happy Life', by David Foenkinos. As always, we have multiple sessions, so grab your tickets and we can't wait to see you there!
Link in bio for info and tickets 🎟️

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Jul 30



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18093140318294763


House of Books and Friends are thrilled to welcome childrens author Oliver Jeffers to the store on 27th October at 11am to sign copies of ‘A Day off School‘ and ‘There’s a Ghost in This House‘.

Tickets included in the price of the book, choose which option to add on; a copy of either or both books! A free art print will be gifted with either book bought!


Follow on Instagram

You're here, so you must like reading.... our newsletter is akin to a literary classic! We have so many projects, events and plans for House of Books & Friends all of which we will pack in to our newsletter so you can be among the first to find out about all the latest news. Don't worry, we promise not to bombard you!

SUBSCRIBE
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • facebook

Get in Touch

We love to hearing from fellow Bookworms!

Please drop us a message, find out where we are or get directions via our contact page.
Contact Us

 

© House of Books and Friends 2026 / Website designed by Bookswarm

The House of Books and Friends CIC is a community interest company registration number 13909633, the registered office of which is 53 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LQ. Trading Address - 81 King Street, Manchester M2 4AH. what3words ///stars.wished.papers

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy and Cookies
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Basket 0