Kingdom of the Silver Cat

by Thomas M Carroll, 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:	9781733091701
Publisher:	Oriafen Books
Publication date:	12/07/2019
Series:	Sapphire Fruit Chronicles , #1
Pages:	404
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(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. One day in the fourth grade, while riding to school he had the idea for a story about a bus full of children transported to a strange land. He wrote early chapters of the book over the next couple of 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 several chapters and read them to his children. They responded enthusiastically, so he continued to toil away at the book. The tale grew in the writing until it no longer fit into a single volume. Tom decided to write a series and call it 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 a gifted 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/

Table of Contents

Gifted Ones Poem

Map of Hevelin

Map of Elderlan

The Children

Prelude

Chapter 1: The Yellow Beast

Chapter 2: Cloud Games

Chapter 3: Fire in the Sky

Chapter 4: Mist above the Grass

Chapter 5: Barriers and Paths

Chapter 6: Unexpected Words

Chapter 7: Humming in the Woods

Chapter 8: The Cage

Chapter 9: Light in the Dark

Chapter 10: Silver Blades

Chapter 11: Pools and Stones

Chapter 12: Lightning and Fire

Chapter 13: The Farm

Chapter 14: Anolari

Chapter 15: Departure

Chapter 16: The Sound

Chapter 17: Wings and Snow

Chapter 18: Tumbling Light

Chapter 19: The Pass

Chapter 20: Golden Fields

Chapter 21: Betrayal

Chapter 22: The Canyon

Chapter 23: Besenon

Chapter 24: The Cat

Appendix 1: Abbreviated dictionary of the Iapar Dialect

Appendix 2: Abbreviated list of People, Places, Creatures and Objects of Hevelin

Editorial Reviews

"A fast-paced, sparkling fantasy for tweens in which great wish fulfillment entails great responsibility." - Kirkus Reviews

"Creative, authentic, and unique, but also supported by strong life lessons and powerful messaging for impressionable minds." - The Independent Review of Books

"Imaginative, intense, and heartwarming . . . . Young readers will swoon." - Booklife Reviews

"An original, fantastical middle grade adventure." - Forward Clarion Reviews

"A unique story with unique characters. . . . [a] book with heart and soul." - The Librarian Reviews

"A really good read for middle schoolers who like longer, more complicated/detailed fantasy tales." - K. Sutherland, Akron-Summit County Public Library Librarian

"Perfect for young readers and young readers at heart." - Nicole Pyles, World of My Imagination book blog

From the Publisher

2020-02-19
In this debut middle-grade fantasy novel, a group of children are transported to another world, where they face dragon fire and huge buzzards with the help of new magical powers.

One day in fictional Annaberry, New York, a school bus full of kids drives through a mysterious blue light. Suddenly, it’s in the middle of a deserted field with no apparent signs of modern civilization. After the bus driver leaves, never to return, the 15 third-through-eighth graders are on their own in a land called Hevelen—a place that seems charming and menacing, by turns. There are luscious fruit trees to feast on, but paths through nearby woods seem to move around on their own, and ghosts emerge from the misty night who have the ability to freeze people stiff. The kids soon gain superpowers, which range from standard-issue comic-book fare (Gabi Miera can fly on her skateboard, Timmy Davin has bursts of exceptional speed; Emma Kadean can turn invisible, and Rhea Morgan can shoot flame from her hands) to more offbeat quirks (Annie Perel can momentarily stop time; Gabrielle’s sister, Cici, can create large pink bubbles; Ted Wallis can make music by waving his hands; and Josh Hester, the group’s natural leader, is invulnerable to others’ magic). The kids are attacked by rarewars—giant condors who try to fly them to the castle of Sidtarr, who wants to collect “gifted ones” like them and use their powers. The kids get help from the Panishie, a tribe of adorable, 6-inch-tall fairies, but they also have to dodge fireballs that emanate from the tower of a dragon master. Some of the kids head north to confront Sidtarr while others go south to find a renowned silver cat that might be able to protect them.In this first series installment, Thomas Carroll constructs a colorful, Narnia-esque world full of intriguing sights and creatures. With 15 characters jockeying for attention, the novel sometimes feels a bit overcrowded; indeed, it’s not until the kids separate into smaller groups that their personalities have enough room to seem distinct. They each face conflicts and inner crises, owing in part to the fact that their delightful gifts often come with weaknesses, which necessitate agonizing trade-offs; for example, Bobby Forester can sense danger from far away, but it causes him excruciating abdominal cramps. These weaknesses teach the kids tough life lessons about self-sacrifice, risk-taking, trust, and reconciliation. The author’s action scenes are exciting but never traumatic or gory, and his limpid, engaging prose style manages to balance exotic spectacle with down-to-earth practicality: “Rhea frowned. She liked the walking trees, but the snow monkeys gave her the creeps. She had almost smacked one when it slid too close and leered at her with its unblinking eyes.” The result is a fun, engrossing yarn about empowered kids who impressively step up when grown-ups can’t help. The book also includes Jackie Carroll’s black-and-white illustrations of each character; Huang’s small, monochromatic illustrations at the top of each chapter; maps; and a glossary of the Panishie language.

A fast-paced, sparkling fantasy for tweens in which great wish fulfillment entails great responsibility. (maps, glossary)

Kirkus Reviews