New Releases by Marcus Sedgwick

Download the chapter sampler of Midwinterblood, the Printz Award–winning novel by Marcus Sedgwick. An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking: the seven stories in this compelling novel all take place on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed where a curiously powerful plant that resembles a dragon grows. What binds these stories together? What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this idyllic countryside? And what might be powerful enough to break the cycle of midwinterblood? This is a book about passion and preservation and ultimately an exploration of the bounds of love.

The days between 27 December and New Year''s Eve are dead days, when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our everyday lives. There is a man, Valerian, whose time is running out, who must pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. His servant is Boy, a child with no name and no past; a child he treats with contempt, but who serves his master well and finds solace in the company of his only friend, Willow. Unknown to any of them it is Boy who holds the key to their destiny. But before that is revealed, Boy and Willow are held captive in the palace of the Emperor Frederick. Here they are plunged into a world of gilded finery and splendour. Beneath the golden veneer lies cruelty and madness. They are in terrible danger as they confront the whirlwind furies of the Emperor, the calculating ambitions of his confidante, Maxim, and follow a trail which will lead them to the murderous Phantom. THE BOOK OF DEAD DAYS and THE DARK FLIGHT DOWN are mesmerising stories of sorcery and desperate magic spanning dark cities, deadly courtrooms, and the threatening, frozen countryside. The truth about Valerian¿s past, Boy''s identity and many other shattering secrets are laid bare as the Book of Dead Days is opened for the final time¿

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Cudweed comes face to face with Roman soldiers, dinosaurs and Vikings in this funny, quirky story, perfect for beginner readers, from the bestselling Raven Mysteries team, Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson.

Elf Girl and Raven Boy have survived Monster Mountains and arrived on the shores of Scream Sea. Kidnapped by Scrim, pirate captain of the Naughty Porpoise, they're held prisoner below decks as the ship sets sail. But Captain Scrim and his crew are even more interested in mermaids than in bird boys and pointy-eared girls, and when they capture one they throw the pirate party of a lifetime. Our daring duo, plus Rat and mermaid Molo, escape and go their separate ways, but not before Molo has given Raven Boy a tiny shell on a silver chain and told him to call on her for help. They continue their search for the Goblin King with adventures on a desert island, an 'invisible' spell, encounters with an even worse pirate called Blackblood on the stormy high seas, and then below the waves with the many scary beasts and monsters that roam the deep. No one said saving the world was easy!

Eleven Doctors, eleven months, eleven stories: a year-long celebration of Doctor Who! The most exciting names in children''s fiction each create their own unique adventure about the time-travelling Time Lord. The Third Doctor and Jo Grant are trying to track down the magical spear of Odin when they find themselves caught up in a vicious battle between two Viking tribes. But one of the Vikings is even more dangerous than he appears to be. Can the Doctor stop the spear getting into the wrong hands before it''s too late?

Framed for a murder she did not commit, the innocent and beautiful Christie has no other choice but to run for her life. Set in a near-future Britain, this title tracks a young girl''s journey from the flooded landmarks of London to the vast, scorched and abandoned hills of the north.

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Cudweed encounters aliens and a time machine in this funny, quirky story, perfect for beginner readers, from the bestselling Raven Mysteries team, award-winning and multi-award-nominated author Marcus Sedgwick and illustrator Pete Williamson. With short, accessible chapters with full-colour illustrations on every page, these stories are perfect for bridging the gap from picture books to fiction.

Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. A trip to the circus has far-reaching consequences for the Otherhands when Fellah goes missing. Before long the Castle is plagued by a duck, a suspect fortune teller, and several cartloads of lethal cabbages. The family is preoccupied: Valevine is busy inventing a cabbage-counting machine; Minty is waiting to hear the secrets of the universe; and Solstice has discovered that Cudweed is concealing three hundred and forty-two rabbits in his bedroom. When chaos strikes and thieves infiltrate the Castle, it falls to Edgar to extract his family from a very fluffy predicament. Dedicated website on Raven Mysteries: www.ravenmysteries.co.uk

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Cudweed's birthday is coming up, and, like all small boys, he has big ideas and many lists about the presents he'd really like. Preparations for the party are in full swing at Otherhand Castle and the excitement is mounting. Sadly though for Cudweed, his parents, Lord and Lady Otherhand are definitely not keen on him adding to his collection of pets. Will he be disappointed, or will he get his heart's desire: a small but noisy monkey? And if he does get what he wants, will it be by fair means or foul?

Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. In the sixth of the Raven Mysteries, all manner of disaster descends on Castle Otherhand; weirdness abounds, the family are on the verge of being thrown out of their own home, and there''s still no sign of the fabled treasure of the Otherhand. Worse still, there''s no sign of Edgar, either. So will it be diamonds or doom for the Otherhands?

A menacing stranger. Stolen gold. And a loaded gun.

One of School Library Journal's Best Fiction Books of 2011 Some secrets are better left buried; some secrets are so frightening they might make angels weep and the devil crow. Thought provoking as well as intensely scary, Marcus Sedgwick's White Crow unfolds in three voices. There's Rebecca, who has come to a small, seaside village to spend the summer, and there's Ferelith, who offers to show Rebecca the secrets of the town...but at a price. Finally, there's a priest whose descent into darkness illuminates the girls' frightening story. White Crow is as beautifully written as it is horrifically gripping. This title has Common Core connections.

What with Pumpkin Hunting, a full moon and a vampire party, the scene is set for some ghoulish Halloween happenings in the fourth quirky mystery by BLUE PETER AWARD-winning team Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson.

Gasp! A horrible, hairy, howling new school teacher arrives at Castle Otherhand and Solstice and Cudweed are at his mercy in the third of Marcus Sedgwick''s quirky mysteries, winner of the Blue Peter Most Fun Story With Pictures Award 2011.

Solstice and Edgar, the sulky raven, go ghost-hunting, and pit their wits against the obnoxious Captain Spookini, in the second quirky mystery by Blue Peter award-winning team Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson.

In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in the inhospitable village of Chust and settle there as woodcutters. When a band of gypsies comes to the village Peter's drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, intoxicated by their love of life and drawn into their deadly quest. For these travellers are Vampire Slayers and Chust is a dying community - where the dead come back to wreak revenge on the living. Years on from My Swordhand is Singing and Peter is still on the trail of the Shadow Queen. His search leads him to Venice, a city whose beauty disguises many ugly secrets. The Shadow Queen is there, gathering strength, recruiting a new army of the Undead for a final confrontation. Hers is the kiss of death.

Marcus Sedgwick's award-winning debut novel about surviving in a sinking world. Winner of the Branford Boase Award, FLOODLAND is an unstoppable force in young adult fiction. Imagine that a few years from now England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island. Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a derelict boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. But Eels Island, whose raggle-taggle inhabitants are dominated by the strange boy Dooby, is full of danger too. The belief that she will one day find her parents spurs Zoe on to a dramatic escape in a story of courage and determination that leads to an unexpected and touching conclusion. FLOODLAND has a powerful and emotive theme, handled with warmth and humanity.

A present-day boy, a seventeenth-century girl, an ancient crone: for a single moment, their lives are fused by fire. A tense, brilliant and eerie novel, nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The fire was a family tragedy that Jamie can't forget, even in his dreams. And now there is something terrifying happening to him in Crownhill, the village where he's been sent to get over his problems. Something to do with an evil old witch who gets into his nightmares, and a frightened girl, the victim of a long-ago witch hunt, whose presence lingers on . . . As the dark secrets of Crownhill are revealed, Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past.

A dark and gothic novel of vampires and 18th Century Venice, filled with mystery and intrigue. A captivating story of love and loss, THE KISS OF DEATH is a stunning companion volume to the bestselling MY SWORDHAND IS SINGING. Peter's ongoing search for the Shadow Queen leads him to Venice - the fabled city with lapping waterways, crumbling magnificence, dark, twisting alleyways and surprising piazzas. A city whose beauty disguises many ugly secrets. The Shadow Queen is there, gathering strength, recruiting a new army of the Undead for a final confrontation. Marko and Sorrel meet in Venice for the first time. They must uncover the mystery of what has happened both to Sorrel's father, who is plagued by a strange madness that prevents him from sleeping, and to Marko's father, a doctor, who has mysteriously gone missing after travelling to Venice to help his old friend . . .

Edgar the Raven, guardian of Otherhand Castle rules the roost in this six book series of quirky tales of mystery, with a touch of goth-froth, by Blue Peter award-winning team Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson.

It¿s Christmas Eve, but the weather is warm and the grass still green. Before falling asleep, a boy makes a wish: for a snowstorm like the one in his swirling snow globe. Soon something magical begins to happen. First one flake falls from the cloudless sky, then more and more and more -- but it¿s no ordinary snowstorm! Full of superbly surrealistic full-color illustrations, this enchanting picture book features translucent pages that draw the reader into the magic of a seemingly impossible wish come true.