• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

As the earth splits and heaves in a terrible quake, Griffin feels his small bat body being sucked into a fissure deep below Tree Haven. Shade, Griffin’s father, soon realizes that his son has been drawn into the Underworld, where legend dictates that if the living stumble into the land of the dead, they have only a short time before death claims them too. Shade knows he must find Griffin quickly. What he doesn’t realize is that Goth, the powerful and evil Vampire bat, is also hunting Griffin. Although Goth is dead and trapped in the Underworld, he can live again?if he steals the life of a living creature caught inside this terrible place. Who will find Griffin first? And who will survive to embark upon the perilous journey to discover the Tree, the only portal back to the living?

Firewing, Kenneth Oppel’s latest adventure novel in the megaselling series, should carry a warning: “Do not open unless prepared to consume the entire novel in one sitting.” It’s that good a story, one that will capture readers?adults definitely included?from the very first words. The tale of Griffin, whose feelings of inadequacy stem from his formidable parentage (he’s the son of the heroic Shade and Marina, stars of Silverwing and Sunwing) and his unusual hybrid silver-and red-streaked fur, Firewing plunges the reader into Oppel’s richly imagined world of adventure and fantasy.

Here are all of the familiar elements that have made the series a winner: a feisty new hero who must come to terms with his heritage and his self-doubts; a truly evil but entirely believable foe in the form ofGoth, the Vampire bat; and a story that swoops and soars to exciting new heights. Firewing is a guaranteed hit.

KENNETH OPPEL is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and was adapted into an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by The Times (London). He is also the author of Half Brother, This Dark Endeavor, Such Wicked Intent and The Boundless. Born on Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and in England and Ireland, and now resides in Toronto with his wife and children.

WEB: www.kennethoppel.ca

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/kennethoppel

JON KLASSEN is the author-illustrator of This Is Not My Hat, winner of the Caldecott Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal, and I Want My Hat Back, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. He is also the illustrator of Cats' Night Out, which won the Governor General’s Award; The Dark, a finalist for the same award; House Held Up by Trees, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; Extra Yarn, a Caldecott Honor Book; and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, also a Caldecott Honor Book. He created the concept art for Coraline, the stop-motion animated film based on the book by Neil Gaiman. Originally from Niagara Falls, he now lives in Los Angeles.

WEB: www.burstofbeaden.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/burstofbeaden

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