Kingdom of the Silver Cat

by Linda Huang (Illustrator), Jackie Carroll (Illustrator)

Overview

A routine morning ride on a school bus plunges fifteen children into a mysterious world. A story of adventure, friendship, danger, and magic.

On a seemingly normal day, an old school bus known as the "yellow beast" passes through a light in the road and is transported to an empty field in a strange land. When the bus gets stuck in mud and cellphones don't work, the bus driver heads off to find help.

Adjusting to their curious environment, the children begin to experience strange powers: Gabrielle can fly on her skateboard, Annie can freeze time, Emma can warp light, and Ted can make music by waving his hands around.

When the bus driver fails to return, the kids explore the land, taking trails that appear and disappear, and encountering strange creatures, including playful clouds, menacing mist, thundering fireballs, and talking fish. But when terrifying winged beasts begin hunting them, the children must flee for their lives.

They become separated, some finding a land of colorful warrior fairies, while others meet an old hermit who has his own strange power. The children learn their magical powers are "gifts", but each gift has a weakness. And, the winged beasts have been sent by an evil ruler, Sidtarr, who seeks to use the children's gifts for his own purposes.

Some of the children head south to the kingdom of a renowned silver cat who may protect them, while others head north toward Sidtar's realm. Along the way, the children face inner conflicts and personal hardships. They find help in unexpected places and endure trials and dangers as they journey through this mysterious land.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781733091732
Publisher:	Oriafen Books
Publication date:	12/08/2019
Series:	The Sapphire Fruit Chronicles , #1
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.91(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tom Carroll grew up in Northern California, where he fell in love with fantasy adventure stories. As a child, he read all types of fantasy yarns from folk tales to epic adventures. In the fourth grade, while riding to school he got the idea for a story about a bus full of children transported to a strange land. He wrote early chapters of the book over several years but eventually became interested in other things and put it aside.
As an adult, with children of his own, Tom returned to the story. He wrote early chapters and read them to his children. They responded enthusiastically, so he continued toiling away at the book. The tale grew in the writing until it no longer fit into a single volume. Tom decided to turn it into a series he called the Sapphire Fruit Chronicles.

Linda Huang is a gifted artist who specializes in visual design and has a background in illustration. Her passions include designing for social benefit and exploring emerging technologies. In her free time, Linda likes to listen to podcasts and consume bubble tea. For more information about Linda and her work, please visit her website at www.lindaicing.me

Jackie Carroll is an artist with a passion for painting the wildness in nature. Traveling throughout California and around the world has inspired images that appear in many of her works. Her primary medium is oil, using a palette knife and/or brushes, but she has worked with soft pastels and watercolor at times. She loves to share the wonder of the changing seasons and relationships in nature through her paintings. Her preference is to paint outdoors with light and shadow composing the images and providing the inspiration. For more information on her work, please visit her website at www.sites.google.com/site/jackiecarrollart/

Editorial Reviews

There are morals and lessons to be learned, especially for children, but it is not a preachy book. . . . The characters are fully-fleshed out and make the plot and situations land with harder emotional impact than many other fantasy novels. . . . The world becomes its own rich character and adds depth to an already robust novel. All told, a really fun book to read. . . . Pick it up and treat yourself to a book with heart and soul.

The Librarian Reviews

An original, fantastical middle grade adventure that's woven with lessons about friendship and fear.

Forward Clarion Reviews - Vivian Turnbull