When Christopher Columbus-wannabe Rupert Lilywhite decides to set sail and discover a new land - it's all the rage in the fifteenth century - Walter Bailey and his twelve-year-old nephew Hugo are employed as the ship's mapmakers. And when the sailors do eventually spot a mystery island, it is Walter and Hugo who are dispatched to investigate (nobody else can be bothered).

Arriving on a beach of purple sand, the intrepid pair believe that they have found paradise . . . until Walter is picked off by a giant flying rat. But with the help of some weird and wonderful talking creatures, including Pigasus the flutterhog, Delphina the water-breathing merphin and Savage, the tiny but fearless mouse, Hugo is given a chance to save his uncle and put his mapmaking training to the test.

Rob Stevens is a British Airways pilot who writes between flights in hotel rooms all over the world! THE MAPMAKER'S MONSTERS is his first series for children. When at home, he lives in Dorset with his wife and two young children.