The Train of Dark Wonders
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Jump aboard for a journey to strange and spectacular lands…
The magical must-read middle-grade novel from the bestselling author of THE POLAR BEAR EXPLORERS’ CLUB and FROZEN CHARLOTTE.
Bess has always loved her grandfather’s collection of curiosities. So she’s delighted when she’s handed the keys to his Odditorium. But unless she finds a way to draw in the crowds, she’ll have to close its doors for good.
When a mysterious train pulls into town, bound for The Land of Halloween Sweets, Bess hatches a plan and sneaks onboard. She is soon discovered by Beau the puppeteer, Louie the violinist and Maria the fire witch. Eager to join their adventure, Bess sets out to search for the rarest sweet of all – the ghostly gobstopper.
But the land is ruled by the fearsome Candymaker. And beneath the sugary surface, things are more dangerous than they first appear...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The late Henry "Pops" Harper's Odditorium sticks out among the rose gardens in the sedate British village of Roseville. Only Pops's plucky 11-year-old granddaughter Bess, who reads as white, appreciates the strange house and its quirky contents, which include a vicious doll, an albino alligator, and whispering flowers collected during Pops's mysterious adventures. As the Odditorium's new proprietor, Bess must find a way to raise money to keep the establishment open and procure magic beans to feed the ravenous flowers overtaking the building. Clues left by Pops lead Bess to an underground railway and a wondrous train, where Bess befriends a magical puppeteer, a violin-playing werewolf, and a sorceress. Traveling to the terrifying Candymaker's Land of Halloween Sweets, Bess, like Dorothy in Oz, joins her trio of newfound friends to procure a ghostly gobstopper in the Candymaker's dangerous domain. In helping her companions, Bess uncovers startling family secrets—and a way to save her beloved Odditorium. Abundant extraneous fantastical features occasionally overwhelm the delightfully twee plot. Nevertheless, the courageous, overlarge band of singularly gifted characters—particularly loyal Bess—will no doubt endear themselves to readers and have them anticipating the next installment of this topsy-turvy series opener by Bell (the Polar Bear Explorers' Club series). Ages 8–up.
