The Keys to the Kingdom

Arthur Penhaligon just wants to fit in at his new school; having an asthma attack the very first day really got in the way of that!

Instead of dying, which should have happened, he encounters the first of seven Trustees of the Will- Mister Monday - and receives the first of seven keys, a magical atlas to the place known as the Secondary Realms, and the title of Rightful Heir of the House.

Cool! A twelve year-old homeowner! Well, sort of.

All Arthur has to do to get is house is to collect all the keys, gather all the pieces of the Will, avoid the Nothing that turns into the devastating killers, Nithlings, as well as other nasty creatures of all design, rescue his friend Suzy Turquoise Blue, Leaf, and the rest of the Piper's Children, and cure the plague that has entered Arthur's world from the Secondary Realms. Then he'll be ready to move in!

Keys to the Kingdom is recommended for grades 5 and up. It is also recommended that you read the books with no interruption to help keep track of who's who, what's what, and where's where - a serious proposition in this series!

The Abhorsen Trilogy (The Old Kingdom)

Ready for a challenge? How about crossing the boundary between your country, Ancelstierre, a place similar to England in the 1900's, and the magical and deadly Old Kingdom and living to tell the tale? Oh, yeah, they've got your undead, your living dead, your Necromancers, and, of course, no one across the border in Ancelstierre is any the wiser.

Sabriel and Mogget, a cat with a mystery, cross into the Old Kingdom to try to find her father, the Abhorsen, the sorcerer with the difficult job of keeping the undead dead and confined instead of running amok for the necromancers and doing evil.

The remainder of the series traces the Abhorsen line and their work to keep things contained in the Old Kingdom so no magic bleeds out into Ancelstierre.

Across the Wall is a collection of short stories about the Old Kingdom.

For grade 7 and up.